Survival Resource Analysis

[Wolffman]

I would like to do an analysis of my resources for survival preparedness and/or home defense. Can anyone suggest how to proceed, or where to look online? I searched online for "Survival Resource Analysis", and found links to all the big boy web sites like DIA, Janes, etc. Thanks for your help.

 

[Justus]

Can you explain what you're trying to analyze?
I'm not sure what you mean by resources.

 

[Wolffman]

For various scenarios, do I have enough stuff.
For example, in the event of a serious storm, maybe power out for a week to a month, shelter in place, how do I estimate what I need?
In the event of a more serious scenario, how do I estimate what I will need for family defense, etc.
Resources are food, weapons, stuff for barter, etc.
I have some food, some weapons, material for barter.
How do I analyze what is sufficient?
I realize that I have to decide on a threshold scenario that I can handle and go from there. But, I am wondering how do I think this through?
Is this going to be a matter of finding survivalist lists and decide what is necessary, or ?
Thanks.

 

[Jackson]

I'm not really a survivalist. I'm fairly new to the 'prepping' world, too. However, I think there is only one worthwhile way to decide what you need with regard to resources:

For food, water, and other things you use day-to-day, you need to gauge what you're already using. You can do that by documenting what you consume and using that data to analyze usage and project that out. Then you can make a serious estimate about what it takes for you and your family to function.

For tools or other items, make a realistic assessment of the real risks in your area. Research those scenarios and decide what your priorities are from there. If you think tornados and storms are a significant issue in your area, and your house or property might be damaged and power out... Tools like a gas powered chain saw, some extra building materials to cover broken windows, a few large tarps, and that sort of thing might be in order. If you have well water, an alternate supply for short-term power outages might be important (assuming your well pump is electric like most). There's just no way for we here on the internet to know what your real risks are and assess them. But you can. Figure out what you need, look at where it comes from, then decide what the risks are to that supply line. Address the most likely risks and work your way down.

For things like ammo and bartering... Well there's no way to know what you'd really need there. I would wager its likely to be far less than whatever wild scenarios people come up with on gun boards. I'd worry about those things after the more realistic things like water, food, shelter, tools, and short-term fuel supplies.

 

[Libertarian01]

To Wolffman (et alia),

The basics need to be covered first: food, water, shelter.

No matter what happens you need those three (3) things. How much food do you have? Off the top of my head the "average" person in the "average" setting needs 2,000 calories of food per day. If you have 20,000 calories of food stored then you have a resource of ten (10) mandays of food. If you need to feed two (2) people you have five (5) days of food.

If I recall correctly you need one (1) gallon of water per person per day for food, drinking and washing purposes. We often use much more than that but that is what we "need." As I understand it a woman needs three (3) gallons per day. How many gallons you have stored will determine your resource for dealing with any event where the normal infrastructure is interrupted.

The term "shelter" now implies a degree of a quality of living supported by electricity or gas that help heat, cool, cook and supply good communications. Can you store or generate any electricity? If so, then you should go through your house and determine exactly how much power is required for certain functions. How much electricity to you need per day to heat/cool your home? How much electricity do you need per day to run your refrigerator? This is a critical importance for the purpose of storing food!

If you are looking at preparing for a crisis put yourself on the map of Indiana and LOOK at it - really look at it! Are you near anything geographically that could be a threat to you? A river flooding? A nuclear reactor melting down and blowing bad air your way? A chemical facility burning and throwing bad air your way? Lots of tornadoes in the past? No tornadoes in the past? How bad was the worst storm in your county EVER? Are you near a fault line?

Once you have a good idea of what around you threatens you then you must do a risk assessment of exactly which threat is the most likely and review its worst case scenario. If it was an ice storm in 1955 that left thousands without power for three (3) monthes then you have a threat and a timeline to begin to work toward! Much of this area is up to your own personal assessment. My perception of a certain threat may be higher or lower than yours. However, getting the input of trusted friends may help you keep from exaggerating or underestimating a specific threat.

If you are looking at a TEOTWAWKI situation then all bets are off. I would suggest enough food and water to last one (1) year for you and your people while understanding that that will be the time to adjust. Either by planting crops, raising chickens, moving to Florida or whatever is needed to adjust to the new normal. This is an entirely different mindset that should be set lowest on the priority list. There have been almost no TEOTWAWKI scenarios in all of recorded history! Even the fall of the Roman Empire was gradual and quickly replaced with a new order. That said, if you want to plan consider the most likely threat that is survivable and work toward dealing with it!

Regards,

Doug

 

[skulhedface]

If your housemates/family are on board you can do a practice run. Switch everything off for a few days and live off your preps. It can really help show you your weak areas. Just keep track of what supplies are consumed and multiply it out to get a real good idea what you would need to cover a month, six months, whatever your goal is.

 

[Justus]

For various scenarios, do I have enough stuff.
Resources are food, weapons, stuff for barter, etc.
How do I analyze what is sufficient?

Look back at the worst-case events that have already happened and use those as a guide.

For instance, the ice storm up north that knocked out power for 2 weeks.
Set up your supplies at home to allow a reasonably comfortable existence for 2 weeks without going out for supplies.
Make a list of everything that your home necessarily uses for two weeks and maintain that level.
Once that is achieved, get set up for longer durations: 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months etc.

If flooding is a possibility in your area, it would be wise to get a relocation plan put in place.

Be sure to include plans for the disasters that you KNOW will happen.
Proper planning for long term illness, severe injury or job loss trumps worrying about the end-of-the-world and enemy invasion scenarios.
I don't know why so much emphasis is put on stockpiling THINGS to barter with.
I think folks would be much better off using that money to invest in skills and/or methods needed to create items to barter with.

 

[KittySlayer]

Financial First Aid Kit

While not as exciting as living out boyhood fantasies of escaping to the woods and living off the land having all your financial information in one place will help with the local and regional disasters (flood, tornado, etc.) that may happen to any of us. While much of the information seems simple it took me nearly a full weekend to gather all of the information. If my home were destroyed or inaccessible and I had evacuated it would be nearly impossible to quickly access some of this info without advanced planning. I have it all typed on a two sided, laminated sheet in our BOBs and scanned copies of documents and photos for insurance on a USB flash drive (password protected) in a waterproof pill case.

https://www.operationhope.org/emergency-kit
The Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) is a simple tool to help Americans minimize the financial impact of a natural disaster or national emergency. It helps users identify and organize key financial records and serves as a quick reference to their most important financial documents.

See the two downloadable PDFs at the bottom.

 

[Icarry2]

PM Inbound

 

[Txlur]

While not as exciting as living out boyhood fantasies of escaping to the woods and living off the land having all your financial information in one place will help with the local and regional disasters (flood, tornado, etc.) that may happen to any of us. While much of the information seems simple it took me nearly a full weekend to gather all of the information. If my home were destroyed or inaccessible and I had evacuated it would be nearly impossible to quickly access some of this info without advanced planning. I have it all typed on a two sided, laminated sheet in our BOBs and scanned copies of documents and photos for insurance on a USB flash drive (password protected) in a waterproof pill case.

https://www.operationhope.org/emergency-kit
The Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) is a simple tool to help Americans minimize the financial impact of a natural disaster or national emergency. It helps users identify and organize key financial records and serves as a quick reference to their most important financial documents.

See the two downloadable PDFs at the bottom.

Awesome post.

 

[Wolffman]

Thank you all. Great info.