General Misc. Suggestions

[Readymom]

Originally posted by (Urdar-Norway) - Fluwiki
http://www.fluwikie2.com/pmwiki.php?n=Forum.ApartmentPreppers

Water: for apartments there is not a very smart thing to store water now.. A pandemic is not a kind of “of switch”, any problems with infrastrukture will not happen at once. But what you will need are containers, (preferably collapsbe ones) to fill up if there is a pandemic. you will have “plenty” of time.. And get a Doulton cermaic filter (only the filter for saving space, the bucket system you easaly make if TSHTF) will give you the possiblity to filter any water for drinking, so that will mean that a lack of clorinatuin of the tap water will be no problem). This plan saves you a lot of space. And when there is a real pan happening you will not be bothered by using by rooms that is filled up with water since you will have more important things to worry about. After all this may take time, and you are also suposed to live a ordinary life in your flats, right now,.

Food: go for dry beans rice and pasta in bags. Canned and cardboxed food takes much space. Rotate food, and put all of it in small square plastic tight storage system, 3–4 months of basic proteins and carbos etc will only take a small cabinet or drawer for one person. The rest of the food is for variation, quick preparation and good life.

Cooking: Get a small camping stove for mulifuel, and buy 2 gallons of lampoil( kerosene/parafine), its safe storage when kept away from strong heath. And is the less place konsuming fuel for heath and kooking. Plan to kook in thermos. Those two gallons will keep you warm for months. And the thermos also prevent food smell that will tease your hungry neighboors.

Light: Get a heavy big Maglite, its good for any emergency, and is effective tool for blinding and hitting people.
If you have a car, when time for SIP bring your fully charged carbattery (please get two of them, so you may use the car just in case) into the flat, and use for LED bulbs that will last for months on the charged battery. As long as the battery is not charging you may place it anywere in the flat. If you charge it with a charger, some small ventilation is needed during charge)

Plan to use a few standard extension cords (the ones you use on the high voltage system right now) (but in when in use as emergency light, keep those two complety separated by marking them with some color and a note.) You will only use this sytem for testing and in case of black out.

Use two or more ordinary lamps with E27sockets. Get theese LED Bulbs that is for 12v system (like a car battery), just screw them in the lamps when its time. E27-W24–12V Low Voltage LED bulb [[ http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi- bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=MR16 | shop window, order this one:E27-W24–12V Low Voltage LED bulb, ]]

get one extension cord and cut the wire on the male side. Strip the plastic and put on some large crocdile clips ore just twin the copper around the poles of the battery. The polarity dont matter for the LEDS but other apparatus for 12 V will need corect polarity, so if you plan to use such (like a celphone charger for car use etc, you will conect it strait to the battery with a sigaret lighter female plug, with red+ wire on red+ pole. In the extension cord system is complicated to know witch polarity is witch...

The lamps with LED bulbs may now be conected to this extension cord using ordianary spread cords etc, and may be used to put light in more than one room. (maybe covering the windows with some black plastic sacks will be wise, if you are the only one with lights.....) If this sound complicated ask a friend with some knowhov to fix it ready. But its very easy to fix, and is hard to mess up. The Bulbs are litle expensive but will last forewer.

So that should cover all the basic needs.? Done this way your flat will not be like a private shopping mall, and full of stash :) And LED light is the safest thing, if you use candels there is allway the risk, with LEDS you may fall aslepp with good faith.