how long at home

[santaman2000]

My normal shopping is for enough to last one or two weeks so that in itself isn't a large part of the equation. Lack of electricity however means lack of refrigeration/loss of freezer. Before hurricane season I try to stock up on canned goods (enough for a week or two) before landfall I collect 20-30 gallons of potable water and fill the bathtubs for flushing water.

I've lost electricity almost every time but as yet have never lost gas so I have always been able to cook without resorting to the camp stove or BBQ; but both are always ready just in case. Also so far I've never lost water for more than a couple of days (although we are always issued with a "boil notice" right after any hurricane)

The harder part for me is loss off refrigeration as some of my meds need it (I'm considering a whole-house back-up generator) If I ever get to move back to the real country, I'll have my own well also.

My disasters to date: a dozen or so hurricanes (all but three were only minor annoyances) and a couple of floods and one ice storm.

 

[Laurentius]

If you have a toilet you just need fluids to pour down it to flush away your solids, pee into a Jerry can, use this to wash away your stools then a drop of bleach to counter the smell.

I live on a fourth floor, I suppose thinking about it if no-one else is about I could always whiz and crap over the balcony.

 

[mountainm]

I'm planning to be on the zombies side when it all hits the fan.... However, saying that, I do have concerns about the supplies of brains locally....

 

[forestwalker]

Probably indefinitely. The main issue is how well the wood burner powered water based central heating system would manage with just self circulation (it does a little, but would it be sufficient in a -30 C spell?). And we'd have to take a week or two to dry all the meat in the freezer unless it is winter, when there is an easier solution.

Water is gravity fed from a well on the hillside (i.e. not much that can go wrong). The major problem is wastewater; the septic tank would eventually need to be emptied, but that was done a week ago, so we are fin until next year. And no Internet, that is the bad one.

 

[jackcbr]

I'm planning to be on the zombies side when it all hits the fan.... However, saying that, I do have concerns about the supplies of brains locally....

judging by the plums that live in my area, it would be hard to tell when it was they turned to zombies. Guess I'll just keep an eye out for ones with spoons!

 

[Poacher]

Well i would say indefinitely as well. We get the water from the well and in winter when that freezes we get it straight from the stream by the house. Nearest neighbour is 3/4 mile away and that is a farm so with his livestock and ours we have plenty of meat/milk/eggs and when they run out it will be either the Lurchers or shotgun/rifles and then we have salmon in the river at the moment too.
Bring it on, i wish it would happen.

 

[EdS]

indefinitely here. 2 wood burners, 300 acres of woods, spring. No gas within a mile. And power is generated on site via an Archimedes screw and sludge digestion, what does come from the grid is via a private substation. When the power does go (again) if it is more than 12 hours we get an industrial genny supplied - bit over kill really.

 

[Welshwizard]

Well to start with we don,t have main gas ,we run our central heating off oil but also have a good size multi fuel heater/log burner which can also double up as hotplate , we have a couple of small generators when the electric has gone off and I have a VW camper which has three burners and a grill off bottle gas plus a kelly kettle if all else fails ,there is a freshwater spring in the village and we shoot and hunt for fresh meat ,good rabbit population
short walk along with woodies and partridge .

 

[Shingsowa]

Good thread!

We've got a 70-acre farm, and back onto Clocaenog Forest. We've got a few streams that run across the land, and a huge 'thing' in the back garden that I am convinced is a well...

Big room full of dried food, rat packs and enough outdoor kit to re-stock a branch of Cotswolds...

As others have said, I may have more of a problem with the influx of people who want my shiny things and resources!

Anybody know a good way of building a palisade?

 

[British Red]

Bring it on, i wish it would happen.

I don't. I'd miss modern medicine, dentists, the police, radio 4..... the things that preserve life, and the things that make life just a little nicer

 

[swyn]

Having just been to the dentist to have a major job done on a tooth. I would certainly miss his fantastic surgery and the, almost, pain free work that was needed!

On the other hand though, we are reasonably self sufficient here with all greenery and spuds at the moment coming from our garden and meat locally sourced. Storage is not a problem as we still have most of the Victorian infrastructure that was considered 'modern' when our house was built so the meat store, wash house and outside dunny are still working. Water is from the tank and as this is above ground works by gravity, except when it freezes for more than a week!
I've enough firewood for about three years so no trouble there for a while at least. We heat water this way too, with a gravity system so no issues there either.
I've no problem operating without power although the internet plays such a big part of life today I think I would really miss that quite quickly. Plus the convenience of the 1930's electrical wiring in our house...Well that's debatable too! I've still got a number of kero lamps but no fuel! I really must stock up there.
Realistically we would live quite well for a while during warmer weather but things would deteriorate rapidly during the winter. The learning curve on saving seeds, coping with crop loss and general every day hygene would be a steep one.
Swyn.