PowerSwitch

I'm sure this has been discussed before in some format or other. I can remember a list of what was valuable during the siege of Sarajevo, but Brighton post-peak-oil is not the same as Sarajevo besieged by Serbs twenty years earlier.

I have cash in the bank which is just going to devalue as prices go up. What should I be buying now and putting in storage for the hard times?

Shoes, towels, lighters...anyone got a list?

What I'm really interested in is smaller stuff which doesn't degrade over time and is likely to become much more expensive in real terms.

Three to six months' worth of food.
Hand tools that you can use.
Farmland.
Candles, paraffin, lamps, a solar system.
A self-defense course.
Paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin, co-drydamol.

featherstick wrote:a solar system.

Might have trouble finding enough space for one of those...

UndercoverElephant wrote:

featherstick wrote:a solar system.

Might have trouble finding enough space for one of those...

Not if you put it in the same black hole as your bank funds.

Depends really, I think Adam2 probably posted a list.
A quick search turns up several

Mostly high quality capital goods in my view.

You can buy a spade from Tesco for about £8,
10 of those arent going to last as long as a proper high quality £80 spade though.

But of course, that still leaves the problem of storing a complete farming kit.

Here is an old thread on stocking up, started by myself but with numerous additions and suggestions by others.
http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/forum/vie ... +shortages

Under present circumstances I would give a relatively high priority to clothing, blankets, and linens.
Cotton although in theory a natural renewable rescource is in practice grown with a lot of FF derived agrochemicals and irrigation water.
Synthetic fibres are normally oil derived.

Whilst a sudden crash is entirely possible, I consider a slow slide into the great deppresion to be more likely.
In the 1930s deppression there was no actual shortage of shoes, food, clothes, blankets, etc. shops were well stocked. Yet many went cold, hungry, or unshod for want of money to purchase these items.
Those who had stocked up in better times were glad that they had done so. It could happen again.

Ex hotel bedlinen and towels and bathrobes can be purchased very cheaply indeed at present.
Government surplus wool blankets are already in short supply, esp the better all wool ones.
NOS all wool blankets turn up on fleabay from time time, department stores are already charging £100 or more for a wool blanket.
Duvets are now more popular than blankets, and are fine whilst times are normal, but arguably less suitable for the long emergency.

Hand tools and hardware are worth stocking up on.

You cant have too much long life food or too many candles, or too much parafin.

Yeah, I would bet on clothing and shoes, as well as most of the other stuff mentioned in the thread, but yeah, blankets deffo!

Adam2, that certainly is a comprehensive list (on the older post). I feel under-prepped now...

I've been thinking about water purification lately. We have two water butts, but the water inside quickly gets dirty and smells bad. I cleaned them both out recently. Bird droppings from the roof, as well as wind-borne dirt and leaves flow down the drain pipe into the water butts and then the sun shines on the water butts, leading to a breeding ground for nasties.

I've been thinking of how to make a multi-stage filtration system for the water coming down from the roof. Something like a fine sieve, followed by a 100 micron filter, then a 1 micron filter, though that may impede the flow rate too much in heavy rain. Has anyone any ideas for this?

Then, how to prevent the water in the butt from getting nasty. Could I add a little pure, unscented, non-thickened bleach?

Then, once I draw out some water from the butt, how to purify it. I have some water purification tabs, and have read that boiling is very effective, too. The article below says that boiling in a pressure cooker (I have one) will be even better, as the water will go quite a bit higher than 100 degrees C, and therefore kill botulism too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_w ... rification

Are Steripen ultra-violet purifiers a good idea? Pricey, but then again, water is vital for survival...

http://www.catch22products.co.uk/HealthWater.htm

Jon

I do think this needs repeating from the older post.

bobthebaker wrote:THe upshot is that the age of the "professional specialist" (one trick pony?)so lauded in this complex society of ours is coming to an end. The age of the amateur (a word so often said with contempt/disdain/patronisingly) multitasker is beginning and I for one am all for it. I know one or two people who are very good at their jobs/careers but absolutely hopeless at say, putting a fuse in a plug. Those of us ahead of the game will ultimately be more useful and respected in our communities and will be able to barter more successfully for goods and services.

Chlorine tablets are one of the simplest ways to make water potable.
They only work with water that is already fairly clean.

Water that has settled in a water butt should be fine if chlorinated since most of the dirt should have settled out.

During a rainstorm, water straight from the roof should be ok to drink after the first few minutes since most of the dirt and debris has been washed away after the first few minutes.

A coarse strainer on the inlet to the water butt is desirable, any fine filter is liable to blockage.

When a water butt or tank is to be filled with rain from a roof, it is desireable to divert to waste the first run off from the roof.
This will take with it much of the dirt, dust and bird droppings, the following water will be cleaner and possibly fit for drinking without treatment.

Chlorine tablets are very cheap if purchased in bulk
http://evaq8.co.uk/Water-Purification-T ... blets.html
But remember that even 1,000 tablets is only a years worth for one person !

But specialists have been the order of the day since well before we started living in settled camps.

Ten thousand years ago, we had specialised villages, and even regions, that mind flint and traded it for food.

DominicJ wrote:But specialists have been the order of the day since well before we started living in settled camps.

Even if that were true (and I think it is a bit misleading), then you are talking about different sorts of specialists. A lot of people who currently earn a decent wage aren't going to be much use in the coming years. We all know what sort of people I'm talking about. Motoring journalists, for example.

DominicJ wrote:But specialists have been the order of the day since well before we started living in settled camps.

Ten thousand years ago, we had specialised villages, and even regions, that mind flint and traded it for food.

Do you mean like farmers specialise in producing food?
Two farmers made a pretty good job of building my house.

In a simpler and lower energy future there are bound to be specialists and experts in different jobs.
It would however be reasonable to assume that many of todays trades will be much simplified, and that therefore one person will undertake many related trades.

ENGINEER, who would know the basics of most of the following, electrical work, plumbing, drainage, gas fitting, building brewing plant, building stills, wind and water turbines, grain mills, motor mechanic, blacksmithing, tool making.

DOCTOR, Including dentistry and vets work, and nursing, and related matters, might well be combined with teaching.

MAGISTRATE, probably also including police officer, tax collector, lawyer, executioner, prison warder.

BUILDER, Building and repair of almost any basic structure, including carpentry, tree felling, roofing, etc.

FARMER, would have to be much more of an all rounder than many of todays specialist industrial farmers.

TRANSPORT OPERATOR, Will transport people, animals and goods by basic EV, horse and cart, bicycle, or motor vehicle as available.

As an example, I cant see a small town in poor and lower energy future supporting a doctor, and a vet, and a dentist, and a nurse and a pharmacist.