Thrive – Prep List

What the Texas Freeze and Blackouts in February Taught US

from Naturalnews.com (with changes)

The “Texageddon” blackouts and near-collapse of all infrastructure (food, fuel, cell towers, power grid, water systems, emergency services, roads, etc.) taught Texans some very difficult lessons in survival. They learned that the infrastructure is far more vulnerable than most people thought, and they saw with our own eyes that most people still refuse to prepare with extra food and water, even after a year of COVID lockdowns that should have been a universal wake up call.

Here’s a summary of 15 lessons learned the hard way, including learning which preps failed to function (and how to do better next time).

1. 1. Survival is very physical. Expect to exert a lot of physical effort.
   2. Culture matters. Don’t end up in a community without morals or ethics when it all hits the fan.
   3. Convergence of two “black sawn” disasters can wipe out your best plans, even if you have successfully prepped for any one (standalone) disaster.
   4. Some of your preps will FAIL. It’s difficult to consider all possible scenarios, so count on failures striking without warning.
   5. You need LAYERS of preparedness and “fall back” systems that are very low-tech and require nothing more than the laws of physics (gravity, chemistry, etc.).
   6. No one is coming to help you. In many situations, no one can get to you even if they wanted to.
   7. Containers (buckets, barrels) are extremely important. Have lots of pre-stored water and fuel at all times.
   8. Bitcoin and crypto were all completely valueless and useless during the collapse, since they all rely on electricity. Gold, silver and cash worked fine, on the other hand.
   9. You will likely experience injuries or mishaps due to new, unusual demands on your work activities. Practice safety and be prepared to deal with injuries yourself.
   10. Having lots of spare parts for plumbing. Standardize your pipe sizes and accessories. I have standardized on 1″ PEX pipe and all its fittings because PEX is very easy to cut, shape and rework. Plus it’s far more resistant to bursting, compared to PVC.
   11. Investment in food is always a good idea, as prices will continue to climb. No one ever said during an emergency, “Gee, I wish I had less food here.”
   12. You can’t count on any government or institution or infrastructure to solve anything. Usually they just get in the way.
   13. You MUST have good lights and many backup batteries, or you will be sitting in the dark. You’ll need a good headlamp (You can use the PETZL Nao+) and some good 18650-battery flashlights such as Nitecore.
   14. Guns and bullets are not needed in some survival scenarios, so balance your prepping. Don’t put all your money into ammo and fail to cover other important areas like emergency first aid.
   15. Think about what are stores of energy: Wood, diesel, gasoline, propane, water elevation, etc. Survival is a lot about energy management.

My Depression Preparations List

Based upon a deflationary depression (all depression in history have been deflationary), here’s a list of things to work on over the next 12 months, or so.

1. Rent whenever you can rather buying (large assets, like a home)

2. Sell what you don’t need

3. Live in a home that’s not larger than what you need

4. Learn to cook.

5. Start a garden.

6. Get out of debt

7. Cut costs to the bone

8. Develop a close community of skilled, positive-thinking friends

9. Exercise and concentrate on staying well

10. Stay in cash. Sell all investments. All assets depreciate in value. Cash rises in value (deflation).

11. Educate yourself about deflation and money

12. Save gold and silver (coins are best)

13. Move out of big cities.

14. Live within walking distance of fresh water.

15. Store 3-4 months of survival food.

16. Have a few months of emergency cash on hand (not in a bank)

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Fifty Things You Might Need

To me, the four primary priorities for preparing for an emergency scenario are food, water, energy, and shelter.  Once you have got those four basic areas covered, you can certainly build on that foundation by addressing other considerations.

The real challenges are going to start in 2021. They may not be large challenges in 2021, but I’m convinced that our problems are only going to intensify as time rolls along.

The stock market should find its final top over the next 12 months, and after that, things are going to deteriorate.  Hopefully, you will not need to use some of these items for a few years.  But this is definitely a great opportunity to purchase many of these things, because a lot of them are only going to become more expensive and more difficult to acquire the worse conditions get.

In putting this list together, I was envisioning a scenario in which most of you will be sheltering at home rather than “bugging out” to an alternative location.  In a “bugging out” scenario, this list would look quite a bit different.

Also, I didn’t address self-defense in this list, but without a doubt it is very important.  In fact, if you live in or near a major city, it is imperative to have a plan for defending yourself and your family.  For years, I’ve been encouraging readers to move away from the major cities, but for a lot of people that simply isn’t possible at this moment.  A good, stable job is an extremely valuable thing to have at this moment.  If your job is keeping you in a potentially dangerous area right now, you will also want to have a plan for “bugging out” to a more remote location if the need arises.

With all of that being said, the following are 50 things that I am encouraging everyone to stock up on in order to prepare for the chaotic times that are coming…

(I’m going to embellish this list as time goes on, providing more detail and options for some items)

#1 A Generator

#2 A Berkey Water Filter

#3 A Rainwater Collection System If You Do Not Have A Natural Supply Of Water Near Your Home

#4 An Emergency Medical Kit

#5 Rice

#6 Pasta

#7 Canned Soup

#8 Canned Vegetables

#9 Canned Fruit

#10 Canned Chicken

#11 Jars Of Peanut Butter

#12 Salt

#13 Sugar

#14 Powdered Milk

#15 Bags Of Flour

#16 Yeast

#17 Lots Of Extra Coffee (If You Drink It)

#18 Buckets Of Long-Term Storable Food

#19 Extra Vitamins

#20 Lighters Or Matches

#21 Candles

#22 Flashlights Or Lanterns

#23 Plenty Of Wood To Burn

#24 Extra Blankets

#25 Extra Sleeping Bags

#26 A Sun Oven

#27 An Extra Fan If You Live In A Hot Climate

#28 Hand Sanitizer

#29 Toilet Paper

#30 Extra Soap And Shampoo

#31 Extra Toothpaste

#32 Extra Razors

#33 Bottles Of Bleach

#34 A Battery-Powered Radio

#35 Extra Batteries

#36 Solar Chargers

#37 Trash Bags

#38 Tarps

#39 A Pocket Knife

#40 A Hammer

#41 An Axe

#42 A Shovel

#43 Work Gloves

#44 N95 Masks

#45 Seeds For A Garden

#46 Canning Jars

#47 Extra Supplies For Your Pets

#48 An Emergency Supply Of Cash

#49 Bibles For Every Member Of Your Family

#50 A “Bug Out Bag” For Every Member Of Your Family

From one of our members:
Coconut Oil …..
a butter substitute
a cooking oil
a deodorant
a skin healing application
a anti bacterial lotion
a sun burn lotion

Are there certain key items that you would add to this list?  If so, please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts below.

I understand that there are a lot of people out there that are feeling extreme financial stress during this severe economic downturn, and acquiring all of the items on this list may not be possible.

And that is okay.  Our job is to do the very best that we can with what we have.

Hope for the future is extremely important. You can’t live without hope. The times are going to get much better; There will be less corruption, more democracy, more work in rebuilding … for there’s some pain to come before we get to better times.

There is hope in understanding what is coming, there is hope in getting prepared, and there is hope in connecting with others that are also preparing.

Just like we witnessed during the early stages of this COVID-19 pandemic, the people that will be freaking out when things get really crazy will be those that do not understand what is happening and haven’t made any preparations in advance.

Millions will not be able to handle the times that are coming, but we prepare because we believe we can make it through all of the storms that are ahead — this has happened many, many times in history and we humans always pull through and do better in the future, as a result.