A few weeks back, I got a tad more religion in terms of keeping an up-to-date list of what I have and, more importantly, what I needed. It’s settled into a routine now where, every weekend, I print out my most up-to-date version of the Preponomicon and head off to Costco or Wallyworld. I tell myself “I’m not gonna spend more than $XX today” and I try to stick to that. Thus far…meh…I do a fair amount of sticking to the amount I promised myself I’d spend, but, more importantly, I am always better provisioned after each trip.
Food was, of course, the biggest priority. Can’t repel the zombie hordes if youre weak from hunger, right? And while the food isn’t at 100%, it is mostly all in the green levels so I am comfortable moving a little bit into the other categories. Most notable, cleaning and hygiene.
Don’t let The Walking Dead fool you… wear the same sweat-stained shirt for days on end in the summer, while getting coated in dirt, grime, and bodily fluids, and take a hot shower once a week with laundry done even less frequently…. and you’re headed for major problems. Eat from filthy stained tableware, plates, or cookware and you’re gonna have a bad day. Add the threat of pandemic into the mix and now you relly have a reason to try and keep yourself and your environment reasonably clean. You don’t have to be fastidiously OCD clean, but try to keep yourself and your living conditions as clean as if you had a hot date coming over tonight.
So, what’s sitting on the wire shelving in large quantity? Pine Sol, Simple Green, Lysol, Clorox (which needs to be rotated every so often), sponges, bleach wipes, paper towels, brillo, laundry soap, dish soap, disinfectant, shower soap, shampoo, floss, toothpaste, toothbrushes (shouldn’t that really be teethbrushes?), mouthwash, TP, Q-tips, Kleenex, deodorant, lip balm, and a buncha other goodies. After a long day of hanging looters, quelling riots, and rescuing morally-challenged coeds from Aryan blood gangs wouldn’t you want to look and smell nice for the celebratory barbecue later that evening? Truth is, though, decent hygiene and sanitation prevents a whole lot of badness that you would prefer to avoid during a crisis. And it’s a lot easier to stay somewhat clean when you have the necessary resources. Plus, hey, in times of economic uncertainty when your paycheck is unexpectedly cutoff it’s kinda nice to know you don’t have to spend money on any of those things for over a year.
Just one more thing to ‘get into the green’ levels on the list. But, gotta admit, when i run out of something in my day-to-day usage it’s darn convenient to just trot downstairs and pull some extra off the shelf and get back to business.
“… it’s darn convenient to just trot downstairs and pull some extra off the shelf and get back to business.”
Yep. In our household, THAT is a trigger to add that something to the shopping list.
Although, if we had our own version of a Preponomicon, well, it would certainly be simpler to ascertain stock level vice par level, and shop accordingly.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
In a grid down situation, staying clean will become much more important in order to reduce the chance of infection. In earlier times, I’m quite confident that soldiers who were wounded in battle suffered infection at much higher rates than they would have if their clothes were not filthy from the rigors of campaigns. Bullets often carried bits of sweat-laden and dirty uniform fabric into wounds, and the surrounding skin, itself, introduced fatal bacteria into the damaged tissue.
Too many of those interested in preparedness place too little importance on soap, shampoo, and cleaning supplies. The results could be tragic if things get “spicy” when the chance of infection is greatly increased. At the very minimum, having access to products that allow good hygiene is a serious morale booster. While people a hundred years ago were satisfied with the “Saturday night bath,” Americans who have come to expect access to a daily shower probably won’t be.
One item I discovered that can help cleanliness efforts is shampoo that comes in gallon jugs at Sally Beauty Supply for salon use. It is diluted with water in an 8-to-1 ratio, and it costs around $13.00/gal. 8 gallons of shampoo for $13.00? That’s “a whole lotta” shampoo for the money (and the missus, in particular, will be very appreciative).
Until very recently(WW2) camp diseases were the primary cause of death in war. Influenza,fevers, cholera,dysentery,food poisoning, tetnus and simple infections would decimate armies before any other enemies were seen. The poisioning of water sources was a favorite tactic against a advancing or static enemy(dead animals in wells or upstream). Sieges were common to include bio warfare and even used in Vietnam. Invention of soap and disinfection of water are two of the greatest factors allowing humans to have civilizations.
On the general subject, also don’t overlook insect repellent, bug sprays, insect and rodent killers, traps etc… When there is no electricity or gas to mow lawns and keep properties trimmed back or it’s too dangerous to do so, those critturs will multiply exponentially in that overgrowth and inevitably spill into your dwelling.
No matter what you do or how neat and careful you are, the best you can do is slow them down. If you have to stay outside a lot due to lack of AC in the heat of the summer, mosquito and gnat repellent will be worth its weight in any precious metal you’d care to name.
Cheap headnets from Wally World are effective as well and you won’t smell of repellent if you’re trying to stay clandestine out there. When I was stationed in Alaska (Fairbanks) you didn’t dare venture out on the range in the summer without 2 things: 1. A bear and moose gun, 2. Insect repellent and headnet. The skeeters were the most present danger, they’d literally drain you dry without protection.
Regards
Good Hygiene and Antibiotics are what almost double the life expectancy in the United States from 49 in 1900 to 77-78 in 2000. So, you’re right along the line of staying clean and that includes taking care of your teeth. A lot of people use to die from bad teeth that got infected and spread.
If you don’t have antibiotics to treat open wound such as from a gun shot, you can always use sugar.
https://healthious.org/2017/10/03/how-to-use-and-prepare-sugar-paste-to-heal-open-wounds-faster/
Get your rat and mice traps, poisons, glue pads, etc before you need them. I fought with rats eating my preps for a year, and that’s grid up….
There are some great improvised traps on youtube and it’s worth spending some time to see how they work.
Vermin control is a vital part of traditional societies and there are lots of methods because it was such a huge problem a lot of people put a lot of thought into it.
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Nothing like a good mouser,until they show the misses what they just killed or they get good at birds. Cities used to employ(deploy) packs of ratter dogs(rats can be too large for cats) or paid bounties to kill them. Poison can be a bad idea as it can get in the food supply or they can die and rot in bad places. If things get really bad they could also be a food source(rat on a stick,rat burger,rat stew) or fur.
Speaking of fur has anyone else noted the culling of large amounts of commercial fur operations? Is this another tactic of the anti-fur movement?
I would like to welcome you, the rest of the world, to the daily life that is EMS. Constant hand washing / sterilizer use, the decon of your workplace after everything (and every part of everything), face masks, the whole bag. Everyone you meet might have something (mostly likely TB and not Covid) , you just don’t know and social distancing is not an option.
At the start of this recent hysteria, people would complain about washing their hands so much and I remember asking myself, “How often have you nasty people been washing your hands regularly?” Every shower is a decon shower, every hand wash involves scrubbing… it is the only way here.
From the prepping stand point, CZ is right. Masks are kinda available, cleaning supplies are flowing like rivers, NOW is the time to make that pandemic prep box for the next time. Couple cases of masks, gloves, institutional size dilutable Lysol, spray bottles, wipes (or better, a supply of dedicated wash clothes) and hand sanitizer. Next time the run starts you can walk into the Supply Room, pull that box open and be set.
Next time the clothes washer starts to make noises and you are shopping around… see if it has a “Sanitize” wash setting, all my uniforms go through that cycle.
Now we need to get these ranges to open… I got a new muzzle break that needs testing, a new Geissele trigger to get used too and .308 Match that is itching to go down range. Essential Worker overtime well spent IMO.
You should consider getting 1lb bags of pool shock. Each one can make 1000’s of gallons of bleach. If you want to use it to disinfect drinking water, make sure to find pool shock that doesn’t have added algae preventing chemicals.
Dental brushes. There, fixed it for you.