What do you do on a daily/weekly basis to stay prepared? I mean the little things that could make a big difference. We have several little ways of living that hopefully keep us just a little bit better prepped, such as... We don't let vehicle gas tanks get below a half tank. For cooking, heat etc. I bought several spare LP tanks and keep them filled, if the one in use gets low, I rotate it out and get it filled. We visit the grocery store at least 2X/week so food doesn't run low. I look at it as the pantry(non-long term supplies), fridge,freezer, and "garage" fridge being full adds several weeks onto long term food stores. Potatoes and apples store well for longer periods and can be used in everyday meals/snacks.
If we lose power, I'll deal with it. During Katrina I was able to cook out of the fridge/freezer for four days. On days 3/4 I cooked up the rest of the food, put it on ice and it lasted for 3-4 more days depending on what it was. Bought a smoker and will be able to salt(use non-iodized) and smoke meat/fish to make fridge/freezer food last for an additional 2-3 weeks easy before getting into the preps.
Back to daily preps. We do laundry every day. We've been through several hurricanes while living in the Caribbean and went through Katrina. Washing clothes can turn into an ordeal. Having clean clothes in a SHTF situation is a big mental help. While living on St. Maarten we went w/o power/water for almost a month after Lenny. Sucked and one of the biggest headaches was washing clothes. We would set up three large coolers; first cooler had dirty clothes in it w/soap. Agitate by hand. Next cooler was rinse, as was third. When first cooler's water became grimy, it was dumped and second cooler became first. Trust me, keep your clothes washed if you think trouble is brewing.
If you have the space, plant a garden. Don't forget some veggies can grow well into winter, depending upon your zone. Nothing like picking food and taking it right to the table. I include this as a daily prep. b/c it is a daily issue that adds food to the table. We also like to keep cash on hand just in case. If there's no power, then there are no ATM's and credit won't fly. Just don't forget in a long term SHTF/TEOTWAWKI situation, cash won't be worth sh**. Add a rain barrel or two if you can. It's a "daily" prep you don't have to fool with often. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but I just took the mother-in-law to the airport so I'm on a natural high.
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