There is a lot of fun (and frustrating) conjecture on the Board regarding tomorrow's announcement. And of course there's no way to know ahead of time what PT will say. I like to be prepared for the worst.
I'm thinking about actual real-life preparation to deal with the immediate aftermath of him announcing, for EXAMPLE, that he is collaborating with the military as they implement Martial Law. It could be a different announcement of course, but basically I like to be prepared.
So, I thought I'd share my list of items that are relevant to me, and encourage Anons to add to the list as well as share your own context and relevant items.
The FOCUS, here, is a 2-3 week window of potential isolation, or being "locked down" under Martial Law, etc. Think "bug out" but not actually leaving your home... in other words, self-sustaining for 2-3 weeks.
I am in a rural community of about 25,000 in the Great Plains region. So, I'm not fearful of gangs of metro thugs (although I'm ready for that, too). The biggest threat I face is supply chain stoppage. So, my list includes:
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Short term: some cash in small bills, firewood, cars filled with gas, 5 gallon gas cans filled, generator, short-term food (unfrozen meat, vegetables, etc. basically a grocery run for the next two weeks), toilet paper (698 rolls, haha, just kidding), dog food, forms of entertainment that don't depend on the internet, muh weapons, stored water, batteries and flashlights, a way to cook food, a way to communicate with family (Hexchat, for example, and a landline that still works), and last but not least my close friends are on high alert along with me. And, I have God in my every day awareness and prayer.
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A lot of long-term prep stuff, like weapons, ammo, precious metals, a lot of stored food, etc.
Whatever happens, this is always a good exercise to do and I share it with my kiddos, too. And if the day passes and it's a nothingburger, that does not mean that this thought exercise (and some preparation if you haven't done it until today) is something that will serve you well into the future. You have about 29.5 hours before the announcement...
God Speed, everyone.
I think by now it will be too late, but one day of prepping could still save your life.
Just last week there was a power outage here. It took 5 hours for the power to come back on. I took it as an opportunity to test all preparations I have taken. I felt it was important as everything in my house is electric.
I filled about a 100 gallons of water in jerry cans. I figured I would have water for at most an hour after the power went out. In reality, the pumps were on a different circuit; I had water all during the outage. But I forced myself to use the water from the cans. It was entirely doable. Of course, I would mostly not drink this water as I have bottled water for that. About 40 gallons of it. Then there are a dozen bottles of cola, a lot of ultraheated milk. Obviously a lot of dried and canned foods.
Cooked dinner on my wood stove outside. It took slightly longer than normal, but once the thing was hot, it was way faster than electric cooking. Coffee for me. Tea for the wife and kids. A big pot of spaghetti. Fried some meatballs and made a tomato sauce.
Then I tested my heating rig; It is basically an outside fire barrel with a 15 gallon pot of water on top of it. I have built a heat exchanger in it and connected hosing to direct the warm water to inside of the house. In the house I made the hose coil (about 150 feet of it). A small battery powered pump creates the flow. It kept the living room very warm. The pump can be manually cranked if need be. I have ~500W of solar panels to charge lead acid batteries/USB devices and a small 2000W inverter, to run appliances when I need them (rarely).
During this time of year, the outside is a perfect fridge. I could freeze jugs of water and take them inside to keep the fresh stuff cool, but realistically, you should consume these things first. Similarly, if the heating system does not work, I could take several large rocks and heat them up in the fire. Then carry them inside on a baking tray. I still need to look at the thermodynamics of this, but I am pretty sure a 650 °C rock will heat up a room nicely. I just have to make sure they do not shatter, due to water inclusions.
I would say having a place to make fire and having a lot of firewood, cardboard, old furniture, could keep you going for weeks, easily. Make sure you have enough water and basic medical supplies and you will survive for months if need be. Get an axe so you can get more wood from nearby trees. Get a battery operated circular saw that you can charge using a solar panel. This thing makes everything very much less of a hassle. Of course, if it gets really cold, operating a hand saw can get you to feel warm pretty quickly.
Just my opinion from Europe, where it is quickly cooling down.
Great writeup! Glad you were able to test things out and prove you're ready. I really hope Europe isn't cut off from natural gas, too! Sometimes the cost of something is enough reason to bring out the gear. Best of luck to you and your family... and luck favors the prepared.