I have a list of shit we have, and shit we need, if shit hits the fan.
It's located on my laptop, and appropriately entitled "My Shit List". Classy, huh? I'm a classy kind of girl. The laptop is always kept charged, so that if I need it, I can access it in the event of power failure. I pretty much know it by heart anyway.
I'm not going to give you my list.
I have a system for getting our family through an extended power outage. I like to be prepared, but frankly, I don't think anything's going to happen on such a scale that it'll turn us back to the stone age, or even the colonial era. We also don't have a whole lot of extra storage space for that kind of crap.
I'll give you the bare bones of what we can already do, and what we're doing to improve our self-sufficiency skillz.
Food & Water:
An A #1 priority. We have enough food in the house at all times to keep us for at least a week, if not longer, because these things aren't always predictable, or conveniently timed.
If I know about a storm in advance, I make certain all of our diapers are clean (this falls under the category of "water", not food ;) ). I also like to keep disposables on hand, should we run out.
At the very slightest hint of a flicker in power, I fill the water buckets in each bathroom. Once the power goes out, our well pump dies. The water in the buckets is used for flushing (we also implement the "if it's yellow" rule) & washing.
We also have about 10-12 gallons of Poland Spring water (which is essentially what comes out of our tap anyway, as we're on the same aquifer that they use) in our basement, and an assortment of smaller bottles of water kept in the kitchen. These are used for drinking, washing dishes, and food prep. We also have water kept downstairs for the animals to drink, which gets refreshed weekly.
If said storm happens while we have snow, I can melt it. If it happens during summer, we have small ponds & streams to use if we need more water than what I have on hand. I also know how to distill water to make it safe(r), and remove nasty mud, sand, and suchlike. Flat diapers are incredibly handy for removing sand & sticks, but you could also use a few layers of cheesecloth, or even a towel.
Suggestion: Learn yo' self about local water resources, and what needs to be done to make it safe to use.
We really need a better camp stove. We have an itty tiny backpacking-style thing. Cute, but not practical for an entire meal to be cooked. The gas grill is also a handy thing to have. GW & I can both cook a meal on a campfire with little trouble. We also have the skillz (and tools) to make fire from nothing if necessary.
Suggestion: Learn yo' self to make fires, bitches.
Sidetracking a little here- GW was in the Army, and has survival skills most of our population does not. I have a similar set of skills from being the daughter of an avid hunter, and also from the dubious benefit of having some crazies, as well as some off-the-grid peeps in my family. I also have the added benefit of veterinary first-aid training, which can also be applied to humans. I can evaluate, cleanse, stitch a wound, and have it not go septic. Pretty handy, especially when you take a major fall at camp, and your husband freaks out & thinks you need stitches (true story). /facepalm
Suggestion: Learn yo' self to stay alive.
GW has no hunting skills, but I've got that one covered. I'm too good, in fact, and would never, under any circumstance, hunt for recreational purposes. By the time I was seven, I could shoot with such accuracy that my father stopped teaching me, as I could hit the "kill zone" 9 times out of 10, whether my target was moving or not. I'm insanely lucky with projectiles of any kind. I can also read tracks like they were printed in a toddler's picture book. It wouldn't be fair to the animals.
Suggestion: Learn yo' self to shoot guns, and how to find things to shoot for noms.
I can also dress out a carcass, catch a fish with my bare hands, gut it, and cook it on a fire.
Suggestion: Learn yo' self some basic anatomy.
Salt is your best friend. You know, that stuff on potato chips, pretzels, and in your salt shaker that you take for granted? It has a value that is beyond compare. You can use it to preserve meat and fish, brush your teeth, wash yourself, cleanse wounds, and other diverse applications. The human body requires sodium to help maintain it, and it should never be overlooked.
Suggestion: Be a salty dawg. Learn how to use salt, yo'.
One thing that I also consider to be of great value is my knowledge of wild food sources. I know where to find food locally, what's good, and how to prepare it safely. Know your location, know where you're going, and what types of things you can eat when you get there and while in transit. Packaged food is great, but it'll run out eventually, so don't rely on it.
I've also tapped some maple trees to teach mahself how to make syrup. Obscure skills like this that haven't been used by most people in hundreds of years are important, and I'm always looking to expand my knowledge base when it comes to the utilization of natural resources. I think sugary goodness is going to be a valuable luxury commodity in a post-apocalyptic society. And now I can make it! Woohoo! (I also have a tree that produces extra-light grade AA syrup... O. M. G. It's so good, you don't even know. You can't even get that grade in stores.)
Suggestion: Learn yo' self what to eat, yo.
What to eat in the wild also brings up what not to eat, and it's even more important to know that.
Suggestion: Learn yo' self what'll, like, kill ya. Or at the least, make you either very sick or very itchy. When in doubt... DO. NOT. EAT. IT. I really can't emphasize that enough.
Also of importance are natural cures. Most minor things can be alleviated by the use of plants, if you know what to look for, and how to use them properly. Again... When in doubt, don't use it. A mistake could range from ineffective to deadly.
I will share with you one of my favorite medicinal plants of all time, because using it externally is considered totally safe:
Sweet Fern.
My (Native) grandmother on my mom's side used to tell her that Sweet Fern was "good medicine"- my mum took this to mean in it's simplest form; that it was good for the spirit. Smelling it does make you feel better, and after further research I discovered it was more than just a good-smelling plant for stuffing into pillows, or picking for a pick-me-up during a hike, or burning or hanging to smudge your home.
It's not actually a fern, it's a shrub. It grows in crappy, salty, nutrient deficient sandy soil of roadsides & sand pits, and is often found growing near poison ivy.
Native American lore says that the reason it grows near poison ivy is either one of two things; that the Great Spirit will provide the cure near the problem, or, that the Great Spirit is basically an asshat who likes mean jokes. I'm going with the second one.
Anyway, I hate referring to Wikipedia, but I will for this one, because it's accurate.... Basic Identification clicky here! The rest is up to you for research on it's other properties, if you're so inclined. I'm not going to offer any information on it's internal uses, because I don't feel I'm
So, you probably want to know what it's good for. Duh, poison ivy! And poison oak, sunburns, insect bites, eczema, and pretty much any other skin issue, too. I've put it on a potentially nasty sunburn, and then have it fixed by the next day. If it grows near you, I highly recommend experimenting with it*.
Preparation is simple, you really cannot screw it up unless you let all the water boil out.
Pick leaves, rinse off dirt and bugs in cold water, put in water to cover, simmer until they're icky greenish/brownish. Strain the water through a fine sieve or cheesecloth, squishing your leaf mess to get all the water out. Apply the cooled tea to the affected skin with a clean cotton ball or cloth, and allow it to dry without rinsing. Freeze leftover tea in an ice cube tray, to have it on hand for the next time.
Sweet fern can be dried, and saved for later use, without any loss of benefit. Rinse off any bugs or dirt with cold water, and give it a good shake to get it as dry as possible. Hang the branches in a cool, dry area.
The leaves will curl up as they dry, and are easily crushed for storage. Strip the leaves from the branches and compost the sticks (or use them as kindling if you so desire). Store the collected leaves in an airtight container away from sunlight or heat sources, like any other herb or spice.
It also has spiritual applications, and will drive unwelcome entities away when burned like sage (bundle the leaves together tightly before drying), or hung in the house at strategic points. Good medicine, indeed.
*For those who suffer from allergies:
I'm not aware of any allergic interactions with this plant, so you may want to spot test before going crazy with it. I'm allergic to... Nature. Pretty much anything that grows outside. I don't have a reaction to it, so I consider it to be fairly hypoallergenic.
Suggestion: Learn yo' self what plants to use, and when, and how. Know your native healing herbs- they might be those weeds you've passed by, or mowed down in your yard, 10,000 times.
Suggested other useful & common
Clover
Yarrow
Plantain (More)
Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot)
Chamomile Allergy & identification warning: Looks very much like the common daisy, so be sure you've got the right plant! The best way to know is to grow it from seed yourself, and it has quite a few interactions, so take care with it's use.
Cattails - make sure you're not collecting them from polluted areas, or roadside ditches.
And some others I'm too lazy to link: acorns, catnip, dandelion, milkweed, burdock, & fiddlehead ferns. Some are just too obvious to bother with like various berries & whatnot. And this is only a small list of things right off the top of my wine-addled head.
