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I know that we all strive to get that dream property out in the wood’s, but that isn’t always achievable right away. Sometimes it can take year’s to save the money up to put a big enough down payment on to buy said property. A lot of you out there are stuck in town or an urban area, so you need to focus more on Urban preparedness as opposed to rural preparedness.
Your amount of space available can be quite limited to store all of your prepping supplies. If that is the case then you would need to focus on what is more important to store. Keep in mind that the most important thing’s that we as human’s need is Water and Food.
How do I determine what is important for me and my family?
There are a lot of factor’s that come into play here. No family is alike, we all have our difference’s and that is why every family prepares differently.
If you live in an apartment, you’ll know that you can’t fit everything in like you can a house. You should still have at least a month’s worth of food and water stored away. I know that it can be difficult, but you should think outside of the box.
Are you storing anything under your bed or overhead closet space? I have found that you have a lot of extra space to store thing’s under your bed. You can buy small plastic tub’s to allow you to keep everything organized under there.
You will need to determine a plan of action of whether or not you will be staying at your home in the event of a widespread disaster or if you will be bugging out to a desired location. This will need to be thought out and planned well before anything happens. So start getting that organized today!
If you do plan to bug out then you will need to get a bug out bag set up and have it ready to roll. That way you wont have to waste precious time leaving a bad situation. Be sure to remember that there is a difference between a bug out bag and a get home bag. The thing’s that you will have packed for a bug out bag won’t necessarily be the stuff you would use to get you home.
What additional items should I have in my urban BoB?
For bugging out of an urban area you’re going to need to have some specific item’s in your bag. Along with you other main item’s that you will have in your bug out bag, you’ll want to have add a water key, some N95 masks and a pry bar.
The water key will be very handy, it will allow you to open outside faucets that many of the commercial building have now. Most building’s are doing away with the handle’s to open and close the valve, so you will need a special key to do it. I suggest the Jones Stephens J40-005 Four Way Key
It is Plated Steel with sill-cock sizes of 1/4″, 9/32″, 5/16″ and
11/32″. I would definitely get at least one, but if you can get about two or three you are better off. Remember one is none and two is one!
The Pry bar will come in handy for gaining access to locked entrances.
The masks are great depending on what the cause of the emergency was. If there are is a lot of dust and debris floating in the air, then you’ll for sure need to have a mask. If there is a pandemic, you’ll be glad you had some masks. You can buy these in bulk and save money as well.
Of course you could settle for just a handkerchief to use in place of a mask, but are you willing to take that chance?
Friend or Foe?
Do you have the mean’s to fend off those who wish to do you and your family harm? Not every situation you run into will be people trying to do you wrong, but be cautious!
Have your friends came by your place because they know you are a prepper and they have run out of food? Do you bring them in and risk running out of food much faster?
Do you have item’s that will be good for bartering? Thing’s like alcohol, tobacco, extra staple item’s, gas or diesel?
People will be willing to trade-off just about anything for alcohol and tobacco. That is why if you are hooked on it, you should try to quit. Addiction in time’s of survival can turn deadly.
I ran out of food, now what?
If you are in a major city or a suburb of a major city, there will be distribution center’s. These DC’s will have a lot of supplies, things from food and water, to tool’s and weapons. Sure you can try the local store’s and shop’s, but odds are they will have already been wiped out of everything.
Now as far as frozen and cold food item’s, it’s safe to say that if the power is out, so are the unit’s that keep the food at the right temp. You will however be able to get a lot of canned good’s and boxed good’s.
If you have decided to go ahead and bug out after you have run out of your supplies then things will be much more difficult for you. Depending on how long it has been since the event happened, even the DC’s might be out of supplies as well.
Sure you can try to catch some fish, or hunt some wild game, but just keep in mind that you wont be the only one out there trying to get food for their family. Chance’s are the wildlife population will take a major hit, so wild game may become scarce.