BEST SURVIVAL ITEMS IF GRID GOES DOWN

Hey dear friends, like I had promised below is my blog with links to items I find to be the most important when it comes to being prepared in the case that shit hits the fan =) I hope it doesn't, but if it does it would be a good idea to be prepared.

The most important item to me is water - we can live 3 mins without air, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. Most food needs water to be cooked, even MREs need water. So to me water is one of the most important components in being prepared. Stackable options of cisterns can be great if storage is an issue for you, like it is for us. I also highly recommend water bags, which I will add links to as well. When and if the grid does go down, getting your water storage together is going to be key.

We have the first option, from the options below: (click the pictures to go to item link)

 

To avoid bacteria build up in a cistern I highly recommend these:(click the pictures to go to item link)

To be sure you are consuming properly filtered water here are some great options for survival situations and for everyday in your home:(click the pictures to go to item link)




With the recent chemical attacks happening all over the U.S., it's really important to have at least one chemical mask. Air filtration systems for your house are also very important. We have 3 air doctors in our home. One large one in the living area, one small one in our son's room and a middle sized one in our room. All three listed below:(click the pictures to go to item link)





The next most important item to have is food - MREs are great because they have a great shelf life, so you get your money's worth. We went with the company NuManna, but with the increase in prices I will share some other options as well. I understand these may seem pricey, so I would suggest budgeting and space out the purchases. We did that and now have over 5 years of food for the 3 of us. (click the pictures to go to item link)



Communication of some sort is critical depending on if the grid goes down, so an AM/FM radio is great to have. Long range walkie talkies are also key tools of the trade if you need to separate and of course HAM radios as well. Here are some great options: (click the pictures to go to item link)




Depending on the climate, if and when the grids go down it'a important to have power back up and some sort of small cooling and heating elements. I mean, have you ever been in a power outage with over 100 degree weather for over 6 hours? It is a recipe to make anyone go mad. So I will share with you some generator options and some small heating and cooling options. We have one of the larger goal zero generator, two of their panel packages, and their home system that allows us to power 4 circuits in different parts of our home with the generator in the case of an outage. This is our way of getting solar with our HOA: (click the pictures to go to item link)



Our Goal Zero set up: (click the pictures to go to item link)


The cool thing about our goal zero  set up, is that it can be attached to certain circuits in different parts of your home and power certain areas of your home when the power is out (I might add we had to have an electrician come out to install this). We have some of the most important outlets connected, like our fridge and deep freezer. I believe our master bedroom too, which will be our staging area to regulate the temperature. For example in the case the grid goes down in the heat of summer, we will keep our master bedroom closed off and temperature regulated. Having this system has been a life saver when the power has gone out, which seems to happen all the time here in California especially during the hot summer. I will also add we have the generator and our solar panels both in faraday bags, these here: (click the pictures to go to item link)



Gas generators are very noisy - you don't want to draw too much attention to your home, so I would highly suggest going with a solar generator and protect it in a faraday from solar flares or EMP's. These generators can be awesome additions for camping and off the grid practice. Even if you have solar panels on your home, having a solar generator as a back up would be very smart. In the case of a major solar flare or an EMP the home solar panels would then become worthless, as they were directly exposed to the worst of the solar flare/EMP.

It's much easier to get warm when the power is out in the cold, but it is not so easy to cool down if not prepared. Many of these options are battery powered and are also great for camping: (click the pictures to go to item link)




This air conditioner is the one we have; it also doubles as a heater and is very energy efficient. It has it's own battery and can also be connected to power or a generator: (click the pictures to go to item link)



As for other heating options, there are a ton of energy-efficient heating options. 
Propane and Solar Ovens, stocking up on propane would be a great idea as well: (click the pictures to go to item link)



Lighting: (click the pictures to go to item link)



Bug out bags: (click the pictures to go to item link)



Some other great items to consider having on hand are:
-Medical Supplies(Koban, gauze, bandaids, alchohol, hydrogen peroxide etc)
-Weapons(Pepper spray, baton, guns, ammo, machete, bow and arrows etc)
-Toiletries-(Toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, feminine hygiene products)
-Animal food (always have a couple months worth on hand)
-Extra batteries (be sure to store in a faraday bag)
-Extra propane tanks
-Canned foods
I would recommend stocking up on anything and everything that can be used for bartering.

I hope this list was helpful and will continue adding to it as certain things come up. If there is anything you think I should add, please let me know in the comments.

Much love, 
Jessica