I think this year will be the year of shortages. I don't know exactly which vector it will come through, but it could be vaccine mandates leading to labor shortages, deaths of vaccinated or unvaccinated people, or a cyber attack. I do believe one of those things is coming. You can see in my previous post where I ask if people are ready for the breakdown of society and follow up replies, I did not state that shortages were here for good. I simply said there is still time. I think that window will close this year. Make sure you have the ability to survive outside the system for a period of time. I would suggest up to 18 months, but 6 months could be sufficient depending on what happens.
I think previous shortages were engineered or were temporary supply chain adjustment events. I think this year will be the first year of actual shortages - when there is not enough to go around. When people realize there are shortages, there will be runs on things. This will lead to unrest, destruction of goods by people who didn't prepare and also destruction and theft blamed on those people, but done by malevolent dark hierarchy participants. This is required to bring in the desperation required to establish a new world order. There will probably be more shortages in Europe and the UK than in the US and the most in places like Australia.
We will have shortages of goods made overseas, especially in Taiwan and China. Lots of our fruits and vegetables come from overseas.
Make sure you have your basics covered:
Food, Water, Warmth, Clothing, hygeine and medicinal supplies.
If you have a need for electronics or other goods which are very cheap now and can be found even though they are not made domestically, those would be the next things to get ahold of.
You can survive on a lot less than I assume you do right now. You do not need to shower every day, You don't need to wash your clothes every time you wear them. You don't have to go to the doctor whenever you get sick. You can survive on less food if you keep yourself busy. You can't short yourself on water or sleep and you will probably need a lot of clothes.
Shortages
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harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
Re: Shortages
WATER
I'm starting with water because it is the easiest. It will probably be intact long after other things are hard to come by.
You should have, at a minimum:
1. a high quality water filter with enough reloads for a few thousand gallons
2. Knowledge of a location of nearby water
3. If you are in a water-scarce community, you should have water storage of at least 15 gallons per person
1. It's hard to argue against a Berkey. ksl.com sells Berkeys. However, what I would do is create your own out of metal pots or buckets. Just drill holes for the Berkey filters and use them in the cheaper setup. It look like someone already did this: https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/65934811 so you don't even have to. There are also UV lights or you could save bleach and coffee filters (you have to strain the water before you bleach it). Some survival stores sell other filters that I would not want to rely on, but would accept if I had no other options. What I would not do is buy a camping water filter and consider that good. They are good for a few hundred gallons at most.
2. A source of water like the Jordan "River" *snickers* will be low and contaminated very quickly in a situation where people are relying on it. However, if you know about it, you might be able to beat the rush. If you don't know about water sources, your purifier will be useless. This is easy to do. You can probably do it entirely online while you listen to a podcast or whatever people do on the internet.
3. What is a water scarce community? Everywhere west of Kansas City and East of the Sierra Nevada. If you have a lake or river very nearby that vastly exceeds your local populations ability to use it, then you are an exception. 15 gallons is my minimum because that probably will get one person through a month if they are doing moderate activity or if it's the winter and if they only use it for eating and drinking purposes. Fifty-five gallon drums are probably the best for this for a larger family, but you can use 2 liter bottles. 8 drops of bleach will purify a 2 liter bottle and it will stay good indefinitely. I have verified this with 1990s 2 liter bottles. I can't speak to newer bottles. The water was just as good as the day it was put in there and did not taste like bleach or plastic. Anyway, when you're in need, you wouldn't care if it did.
Basic Shopping List:
4 x Berkey knock-off filters - $130
Bucket Berkey knock-off - $50
3 x 5 gallon water jugs* - $75
Total: $255
*I prefer not to buy things on amazon and I think you could find these cheaper. If you were only going to buy 3, they would not need to be rigid. For example, you can get 30 2 liters of soda and dump them out for $30.
You don't have to buy exactly what I put in here and you probably can come up with something better for yourself, but that solution should work if you don't have anything.
I'm starting with water because it is the easiest. It will probably be intact long after other things are hard to come by.
You should have, at a minimum:
1. a high quality water filter with enough reloads for a few thousand gallons
2. Knowledge of a location of nearby water
3. If you are in a water-scarce community, you should have water storage of at least 15 gallons per person
1. It's hard to argue against a Berkey. ksl.com sells Berkeys. However, what I would do is create your own out of metal pots or buckets. Just drill holes for the Berkey filters and use them in the cheaper setup. It look like someone already did this: https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/65934811 so you don't even have to. There are also UV lights or you could save bleach and coffee filters (you have to strain the water before you bleach it). Some survival stores sell other filters that I would not want to rely on, but would accept if I had no other options. What I would not do is buy a camping water filter and consider that good. They are good for a few hundred gallons at most.
2. A source of water like the Jordan "River" *snickers* will be low and contaminated very quickly in a situation where people are relying on it. However, if you know about it, you might be able to beat the rush. If you don't know about water sources, your purifier will be useless. This is easy to do. You can probably do it entirely online while you listen to a podcast or whatever people do on the internet.
3. What is a water scarce community? Everywhere west of Kansas City and East of the Sierra Nevada. If you have a lake or river very nearby that vastly exceeds your local populations ability to use it, then you are an exception. 15 gallons is my minimum because that probably will get one person through a month if they are doing moderate activity or if it's the winter and if they only use it for eating and drinking purposes. Fifty-five gallon drums are probably the best for this for a larger family, but you can use 2 liter bottles. 8 drops of bleach will purify a 2 liter bottle and it will stay good indefinitely. I have verified this with 1990s 2 liter bottles. I can't speak to newer bottles. The water was just as good as the day it was put in there and did not taste like bleach or plastic. Anyway, when you're in need, you wouldn't care if it did.
Basic Shopping List:
4 x Berkey knock-off filters - $130
Bucket Berkey knock-off - $50
3 x 5 gallon water jugs* - $75
Total: $255
*I prefer not to buy things on amazon and I think you could find these cheaper. If you were only going to buy 3, they would not need to be rigid. For example, you can get 30 2 liters of soda and dump them out for $30.
You don't have to buy exactly what I put in here and you probably can come up with something better for yourself, but that solution should work if you don't have anything.
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TheDuke
- Level 34 Illuminated
- Posts: 5911
- Location: Eastern Sodom Suburbs
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Momma J
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 1507
Re: Shortages
I watched a video some years ago about making a water filer using 6' of 6" pvc filled with pool filter sand and felt on the bottom. Others commented that they also added a layer of charcoal.
We had a mini neighborhood class where we made zeer pots (terracotta pot fridge). Not as good as an actual fridge, but I was able to get mine down to 48 degrees when it was 94 outside.
We had a mini neighborhood class where we made zeer pots (terracotta pot fridge). Not as good as an actual fridge, but I was able to get mine down to 48 degrees when it was 94 outside.
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Momma J
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 1507
Re: Shortages
I think bullets will have a very high trade value.
I see that a number of stores have ammo available online but the prices are not great with the big box stores.
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TheDuke
- Level 34 Illuminated
- Posts: 5911
- Location: Eastern Sodom Suburbs
Re: Shortages
I searched for ammo for my new gun. 380 ACP, very tiny. It took me many searches to find the bullets in stock and the standard price box at $13 was $40 at cheapest, plus shipping. There is none at any store. In fact, when I picked up my pistol at Cabelas/BassPro, the manage made the comment. "previously they tried to control gun sales and everyone complained, now they control the ammo, and no one even realizes it, they are very smart,"
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harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
Re: Shortages
It's still available. I don't know what you mean by a box - I assume 50 rds. - but you can get it for ~50c/round.TheDuke wrote: ↑January 13th, 2022, 10:20 am I searched for ammo for my new gun. 380 ACP, very tiny. It took me many searches to find the bullets in stock and the standard price box at $13 was $40 at cheapest, plus shipping. There is none at any store. In fact, when I picked up my pistol at Cabelas/BassPro, the manage made the comment. "previously they tried to control gun sales and everyone complained, now they control the ammo, and no one even realizes it, they are very smart,"
https://utahgunexchange.com/?s=380&sa=search&scat=94
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Momma J
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 1507
Re: Shortages
I do not use food delivery services often because I like to personally choose what I purchase. My husband cannot shop and I am working a crazy schedule so I thought I would give it a go. It is a rough procedure right now due to unavailable products.
No Orange Juice. They want to know if they can substitute with lemonade. (Ummm... NO!)
No Russet Potatoes. They want to know if Golden or Red would be ok
No Red Onions. Will yellow be ok?
No Ham unless I want lunch meat
They do not have the oatmeal that my husband likes
Need to substitute my cheese choice. They have regular cheddar but no sharp.
No Heavy Cream
The only bacon that they have is 14.99 for 24oz.
No Yeast
No Bananas. Do I want plantains?
Ugh... We will not starve, but things are not the same by far
No Orange Juice. They want to know if they can substitute with lemonade. (Ummm... NO!)
No Russet Potatoes. They want to know if Golden or Red would be ok
No Red Onions. Will yellow be ok?
No Ham unless I want lunch meat
They do not have the oatmeal that my husband likes
Need to substitute my cheese choice. They have regular cheddar but no sharp.
No Heavy Cream
The only bacon that they have is 14.99 for 24oz.
No Yeast
No Bananas. Do I want plantains?
Ugh... We will not starve, but things are not the same by far
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harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
Re: Shortages
Same. We tried it for the first time with similar results.Momma J wrote: ↑January 13th, 2022, 12:09 pm I do not use food delivery services often because I like to personally choose what I purchase. My husband cannot shop and I am working a crazy schedule so I thought I would give it a go. It is a rough procedure right now due to unavailable products.
No Orange Juice. They want to know if they can substitute with lemonade. (Ummm... NO!)
No Russet Potatoes. They want to know if Golden or Red would be ok
No Red Onions. Will yellow be ok?
No Ham unless I want lunch meat
They do not have the oatmeal that my husband likes
Need to substitute my cheese choice. They have regular cheddar but no sharp.
No Heavy Cream
The only bacon that they have is 14.99 for 24oz.
No Yeast
No Bananas. Do I want plantains?
Ugh... We will not starve, but things are not the same by far
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JohnnyL
- Level 34 Illuminated
- Posts: 9911
Re: Shortages
Wow, we are blessed and lucky here--it' s pretty normal. Big soup cans for $.99, most everything stocked, etc. I guess I better shut up about prices and get to buying, lol.
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harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
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HVDC
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2600
Re: Shortages
Went to one of the larger food chain stores today.
There were short on bread items.
There was plenty available.
But not some of the specialty healthier ones.
Those shelves were empty.
The rest of the store was fine.
Lots of media talk about cases, testing and vaxxing.
But actual mask wearing compliance is still low.
Some people seem to be worried though.
I can feel it.
Sir H
There were short on bread items.
There was plenty available.
But not some of the specialty healthier ones.
Those shelves were empty.
The rest of the store was fine.
Lots of media talk about cases, testing and vaxxing.
But actual mask wearing compliance is still low.
Some people seem to be worried though.
I can feel it.
Sir H
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JohnnyL
- Level 34 Illuminated
- Posts: 9911
Re: Shortages
Good question, lol. Yes--but the people aren't very bright...
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harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
Re: Shortages
I figured that was the case, but now that you have confirmed it, I don't know what to make of it. It was the same in Maryland when I was there for a while last year.
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farmerchick
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2155
Re: Shortages
Ya your in the utopia where they can't be found on the shelf...lol....all these d@#n liberals all around us..you'd think there would be plenty of ammo.....but no it's just the opposite....we searched Bonney lake, federal way Olympia Puyallup today looking for ammo and got very little......cabellas had nothing good......it's amazing how little inventory of ammo is here in western washington.....
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farmerchick
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2155
Re: Shortages
I am buying a new wood stove...mine is shot....it will be April or may before I get it. I ordered roofing for my house remodel. It will be here in two weeks......plywood at home depot is down to 38.00 dollars here and in stock. We buy the roofing from a wholesaler who told us they can't keep any in stock..it's in and bought up....they can't keep up with demand...and it's January here in the pnw where it rains like crazy this time of year...there is a building boom going on and you have to plan everything out in advance or your project will get hung up.....my project won't start until better weather and it would be better to have them roof top deliver the shingles when we are ready to start but then every other joker will be starting their projects then too...lol....we have been able to get most everything we need right now....that's the good news...
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LostCreekAcres
- captain of 100
- Posts: 341
Re: Shortages
Along these lines... I received an email this morning from some site I subscribed to. Here is what they said: New price lists for the Home Storage Centers have been posted online. https://providentliving.churchofjesusch ... p?lang=eng
Cocoa Mix has been added back to the list.
Of the 21 items now available, 5 went down in price but 15 went up in price and more than half of those rose in price significantly.
Sugar went up 53% so I would look for sugar in your grocery store and find a way to keep it dry.
White beans went up 37%.
Rice went up 43%.
Red wheat went up 45% and white wheat 80% but there was less increase in the prices of the wheat in 25 lb. bags.
On the other hand, if you need dried apple slices, they went down in price by 17%.
Cocoa Mix has been added back to the list.
Of the 21 items now available, 5 went down in price but 15 went up in price and more than half of those rose in price significantly.
Sugar went up 53% so I would look for sugar in your grocery store and find a way to keep it dry.
White beans went up 37%.
Rice went up 43%.
Red wheat went up 45% and white wheat 80% but there was less increase in the prices of the wheat in 25 lb. bags.
On the other hand, if you need dried apple slices, they went down in price by 17%.
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harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
Re: Shortages
CLOTHING
Modern clothing is not in short supply and will probably be available for a while, even in a collapse. T-shirts, slacks, shorts and jeans can form the base of your clothing supply. Even if there are supply shortages of those items, most women and middle-aged men have closets with rack after rack of clothes. They will probably trade you for them.
That's not to say these items will be unlimited. You will need to protect them by being careful, wearing overclothes or only wearing them when they won't get damaged. Imagine you're walking along in the woods and you walk by a blackberry bush. It can put holes all the way up and down a shirt. Or you are putting up panels and your shirt catches a sharp corner. That shirt is going to be unusable pretty quick. You could mend it using saved fabric or scraps of other clothes, but that is time consuming and once mended, clothes do not always retain their strength. I would do that as an additional strategy in the rare case they get damaged rather than as a primary strategy. I would advise having a durable work shirt or cavas jacket for situations where you might rip your shirt and canvas work pants. You'll rip some of your t-shirts from time to time anyway, but you can mend them if it becomes a problem.
Any items that require skilled humans or factories to assemble are very vulnerable to shortages as those facilities mostly exist overseas. Coats are likely to suffer a shortage before the collapse is even started. We are already seeing shortages of shoes. Gloves, belts and other non-standard or non-fabric clothing is more likely to suffer in an economic collapse. Underwear and socks will probably become difficult to obtain very soon after any international issues. However, underwear, socks and belts are easy to make and will probably return in decent supply a year or so into the collapse.
Clothing has a few goals:
1. Keep you warm
2. Keep the sun off of you
3. Keep bugs off of you
4. Keep allergens off of you
5. Protect yourself from sharp objects
Cold
I have learned that gloves, a hat and a scarf work better than a coat in cold weather. A scarf can be a piece of fabric, a shirt that you put around your neck, or many other things. This is especially vital while sleeping, but that is another post. You want waterproof or thinsulate gloves if you expect snow or water. Otherwise, you can use cloth gloves. Do not use leather gloves to stay warm as it will not work. Even lined leather gloves don't help much if they do not have an appropriate lining. I have played disc golf in short sleeves in 20-30 degree weather with gloves and a scarf and been warm. I have had a coat on and been cold when it was 40 degrees. I have slept in a sleeping bag rated for 0 degrees and been extremely cold, but in the same temperature I have slept in a 30 degree sleeping bag with a scarf and was hot.
If you are not used to working outside, you can adapt to temperatures of about 40 degrees while working in short sleeves and pants. It is easier to adapt when you don't have a climate controlled dwelling. In places like the South, you can probably get away with minimal cold weather clothing, although you will need water proof clothing.
Sun
Bad sunburns are terrible and you should make sure you won't get them long term as you'll have to work outside under the sun. You will likely adapt to the sun if you stay outside for long periods of time. I used to burn all the time as a kid, but I have gotten maybe 1 or 2 noticeable sunburns in my adult life. You can use sunscreen, but I don't think you adapt very quickly if you do and it's bad for you anyway. It's better than trying to survive while sunburned, though. The best thing is to wear head and neck protection, like a hat (or sunscreen) and long pants until you adapt. As your arms get sun, your entire body will get better at being in the sun. If you don't get in the sun often now, you may need to wear a long sleeve shirt for part of the day as well.
Bugs
If you live in the mountain west, this is not really a concern for you. Mosquitos don't like Sulphur, so if you eat a lot of asparagus or drink sulphur spring water, they will avoid you. If you live in the East, you want to avoid ticks, mosquitos, chiggers and snakes. You will want to wear pants, even in the summer if you are in the woods or longer grass. I would just wear pants all the time I'm outside, to be honest. It seems hot at first but the Amish do it and I have done it. Long boots also help keep bugs away. You can tuck your pants into your socks if you find the pants are not enough. Do tick checks nightly to see if you picked anything up. Although if you do what I just suggested, you usually won't.
Allergens
If you're going to walk through the woods, wear pants.
Sharp Objects
If you're going to work with tools fences, chickens, wood or other things that can rip you up, wear leather gloves. Getting a giant gash in the hand sets you back so much when you're trying to do manual labor. If it's winter and it's really cold, then you're in a bind because if you wear plastic lined gloves, they will get destroyed by tools. Even cloth gloves might and they are not warm if wet. Wool gloves could potentially be a solution but I would expect them to get destroyed also. What I wear are Thinsulate gloves. They stay warm in wet and cold conditions and do not get destroyed by tools easily. Working with sharp objects in the winter just kind of sucks.
When it's not cold, you want to wear leather gloves. I love sheep leather gloves because you are still able to feel through them and do tasks that require feeling with them. They are not as durable as cow leather so it's a trade-off. I would get some high-quality work gloves that are preferably leather.
On to protecting your legs. This suggestion is going to sound familiar: wear pants. If you can't tell, I always wear pants and never wear shorts. I used to always wear shorts and never wear pants, but farm work and the outdoors changed my ways.
Last is shoes. Your feet can get tough enough to deal with most surfaces, but if you step into 160 degree sand, on 200 degree asphalt or if you have to walk through an area with sharp rocks or thorns, you will soon learn that shoes are valuable in the collapse. If you live in Utah, you pretty much have to wear shoes everywhere in nature. If you live in the East, you should probably wear shoes in the woods, in months when bugs are present and when working with animals.
I would get a good hiking boot because it can handle anything. If you want a great hiking boot, get a wildland firefighter boot. They are the highest quality, most durable boots available. They're the kind of boot that will make walking to Missouri enjoyable. However, you might just want to get cheap boots. I hardly ever wear boots because they are too inconvenient to take on and off when your hands are full. And if I'm going to go through water, I generally don't wear my nice stuff. Something that slips on and is water proof is better. Enter muck boots. If you don't know what a muck boot is, it's a rubber boot that is almost knee high. These are amazing if you live in the rural East, but if you live in the rural East you probably already know that. In Utah, water is not something you usually have to consider so I probably would not get muck boots.
When you don't have power and you're busy with survival tasks, cleaning floors is going to be very time consuming and you want have the ability to repair floors which are quickly damaged by dirt and grime. However, you won't want to spend the time to unlace your shoes when you come in and relace them when you go out of the house. If there is a life hack in my survival preps anywhere, this is it. Buy yourself a $6 pair of plastic clogs from Wal Mart. It is important not to get flip flops because they fall off. Leather Sandals don't stand up to water and are more inconvenient when you're holding stuff. I have built a house, hiked, run and lived my life in a $6 pair of clogs from wal-mart. They lasted through hundreds of miles, many projects and a year of time and I don't remember them once falling off my feet. In modern conditions, you can wear them in the snow. You can do that for short periods in primitive conditions as well, but you will want snow or muck boots in those conditions. Muck boots are also pretty easy to get on and off with your hands full, but they are easily made useless by wearing them into the woods and getting a puncture. You will not want to wear clogs where you have a high probability of getting ticks like in the woods during warm months out East. That's about the only time I break out my shoes or hiking boots. When I lived in Utah, I also used them for snow.
Repair
You are going to want to maintain your clothing as best as you can. I bet the pioneers and their generation spent a substantial amount of time mending clothes, but right now it's so cheap to stock up. I would suggest getting enough pairs of socks and underwear that you do not have to spend time repairing them. Your time will be better spent doing other things. Once you get a year or two into the collapse, basic clothing will come back into supply so you won't need that many to get through. The finer twined clothing will not last long, but even cheap t-shirts will usually last a month or more without protective overclothing and without being super careful.
You will want a needle and thread to patch your base items, but I also would not spend a lot of time repairing these. They should be easy enough to come by and will come back into supply in a few years. Durable pants, overalls and any work shirts will need to be repaired with a strong thread. I'm not an expert at clothing repair but my wife is and a lot of people know how to do it. That is a skill that I think you will be able to find and trade for easily. If not, I have personally repaired clothing in my life. It didn't look great, but it worked. You might make mistakes, but if you have a needle and some thread on hand, you ought to be able to re-repair and get by in a worst case.
Shoe repair is something I don't have a lot of experience with. Shoe goo works to put soles back on, but I find soles splitting is my most common way to lose a shoes and I don't know how to solve that.
Laundry
If you do not clean your clothes and get rid of the grime and dirt, they will wear thin and get holes much faster. You can make your own laundry soap out of Zote Soap, borax, and washing soda. You could also just save laundry soap or even dish soap to clean your clothes, but it will take more and do less. You will want a wash tub and a laundry plunger. You can use a real tub as a wash tub, but a metal trash can or anything deeper with straight up sides works better. You do not need a wash board, but if you want to get one, it could come in handy for tough stains. I'll add more information about laundry soap later as that's the domain of my significant other.
As for drying, this will vary greatly based on where you live. If you live in the desert, you can just figure this out after the collapse. California and the plains are probably the same. If you live in the South, everything I'm suggested are the essentials. You will lose clothes to mold if you don't wring your clothes and you will not be able to wash for several rainy days in a row if you don't have an indoor laundry line. At a minimum, I would get paracord and clothes pins for laundry lines. Get some eyelet hooks for your indoor and outdoor laundry lines. A great place for an indoor laundry line is a large porch. It is usually not windy during a rain storm, only at the beginning and end. That means the rain usually won't blow far onto a porch. Otherwise, you are going to have to have your laundry line indoors. If you have a wood stove, you can use a drying rack by your stove, but the capacity of a rack is much less than a line. It wouldn't hurt to build an outside laundry line now if you have property. The other thing that I would get is a wringer. In addition to saving time, it will save you pain and will mean that when you're done, you're still able to do other chores.
SHOPPING LIST
(Items in red are items I believe are most at risk of shortages, Items in blue are dependent on your region)
ESSENTIALS
Clogs or Muck boots - $11 https://www.walmart.com/ip/JEFFRICO-Men ... hbdg=L1400 (don't get the fur-lined option)
Hiking boots $80- https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005 (check the sales at the store, you can get boots half price)
2 pairs of work pants - $60 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... anvas-pant
1 work shirts - $20 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005
a pair of work gloves - $15 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... 4999999--1
underwear - $50 I'm sure you can source these at this price
12 pairs socks - $39 https://www.saksoff5th.com/product/timb ... 04274.html
LAUNDRY
Zote Soap - TBD
Borax - TBD
Washing Soda - TBD
Oxyclean - TBD
Wringer - $269 https://www.lehmans.com/product/lehmans ... d-wringer/ (For the humid states. You could also use a stick to wring but you will rue the day you were born.)
Plunger - $30 https://www.lehmans.com/product/rapid-laundry-washer/ (if you don't have space, you could definitely make due without this)
Eyelets - $20 https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... eyes/58467 (for an outdoor line, you'll want heavy duty)
Paracord - $24 https://www.paracordplanet.com/paracord-550-white/ (site is just an example)
REPAIR
sewing kit - $10 - Needle and durable thread for repairing canvas - links coming
COLD CLIMATE
Coat - $90 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005 (This is an example, but I have to see a coat to know. )
Snow boots - $15 (hiking boots could double as snow boots, especially if you waterproof them)
Wool socks - $20 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005
Scarf - $0 (if it comes to that, you have something you can use as a scarf)
gloves - $20 https://poshmark.com/listing/Thinsulate ... c966e1df02 (I'm not 100% sure these are the same as my gloves)
Sweat pants and sweatshirt - $30 (available anywhere)
water proof (snow) pants - $10 at every DI or goodwill in cold places
TOTAL: $335 - $789 (but you probably already own most of this stuff) + TBD Laundry Soap Prices
Modern clothing is not in short supply and will probably be available for a while, even in a collapse. T-shirts, slacks, shorts and jeans can form the base of your clothing supply. Even if there are supply shortages of those items, most women and middle-aged men have closets with rack after rack of clothes. They will probably trade you for them.
That's not to say these items will be unlimited. You will need to protect them by being careful, wearing overclothes or only wearing them when they won't get damaged. Imagine you're walking along in the woods and you walk by a blackberry bush. It can put holes all the way up and down a shirt. Or you are putting up panels and your shirt catches a sharp corner. That shirt is going to be unusable pretty quick. You could mend it using saved fabric or scraps of other clothes, but that is time consuming and once mended, clothes do not always retain their strength. I would do that as an additional strategy in the rare case they get damaged rather than as a primary strategy. I would advise having a durable work shirt or cavas jacket for situations where you might rip your shirt and canvas work pants. You'll rip some of your t-shirts from time to time anyway, but you can mend them if it becomes a problem.
Any items that require skilled humans or factories to assemble are very vulnerable to shortages as those facilities mostly exist overseas. Coats are likely to suffer a shortage before the collapse is even started. We are already seeing shortages of shoes. Gloves, belts and other non-standard or non-fabric clothing is more likely to suffer in an economic collapse. Underwear and socks will probably become difficult to obtain very soon after any international issues. However, underwear, socks and belts are easy to make and will probably return in decent supply a year or so into the collapse.
Clothing has a few goals:
1. Keep you warm
2. Keep the sun off of you
3. Keep bugs off of you
4. Keep allergens off of you
5. Protect yourself from sharp objects
Cold
I have learned that gloves, a hat and a scarf work better than a coat in cold weather. A scarf can be a piece of fabric, a shirt that you put around your neck, or many other things. This is especially vital while sleeping, but that is another post. You want waterproof or thinsulate gloves if you expect snow or water. Otherwise, you can use cloth gloves. Do not use leather gloves to stay warm as it will not work. Even lined leather gloves don't help much if they do not have an appropriate lining. I have played disc golf in short sleeves in 20-30 degree weather with gloves and a scarf and been warm. I have had a coat on and been cold when it was 40 degrees. I have slept in a sleeping bag rated for 0 degrees and been extremely cold, but in the same temperature I have slept in a 30 degree sleeping bag with a scarf and was hot.
If you are not used to working outside, you can adapt to temperatures of about 40 degrees while working in short sleeves and pants. It is easier to adapt when you don't have a climate controlled dwelling. In places like the South, you can probably get away with minimal cold weather clothing, although you will need water proof clothing.
Sun
Bad sunburns are terrible and you should make sure you won't get them long term as you'll have to work outside under the sun. You will likely adapt to the sun if you stay outside for long periods of time. I used to burn all the time as a kid, but I have gotten maybe 1 or 2 noticeable sunburns in my adult life. You can use sunscreen, but I don't think you adapt very quickly if you do and it's bad for you anyway. It's better than trying to survive while sunburned, though. The best thing is to wear head and neck protection, like a hat (or sunscreen) and long pants until you adapt. As your arms get sun, your entire body will get better at being in the sun. If you don't get in the sun often now, you may need to wear a long sleeve shirt for part of the day as well.
Bugs
If you live in the mountain west, this is not really a concern for you. Mosquitos don't like Sulphur, so if you eat a lot of asparagus or drink sulphur spring water, they will avoid you. If you live in the East, you want to avoid ticks, mosquitos, chiggers and snakes. You will want to wear pants, even in the summer if you are in the woods or longer grass. I would just wear pants all the time I'm outside, to be honest. It seems hot at first but the Amish do it and I have done it. Long boots also help keep bugs away. You can tuck your pants into your socks if you find the pants are not enough. Do tick checks nightly to see if you picked anything up. Although if you do what I just suggested, you usually won't.
Allergens
If you're going to walk through the woods, wear pants.
Sharp Objects
If you're going to work with tools fences, chickens, wood or other things that can rip you up, wear leather gloves. Getting a giant gash in the hand sets you back so much when you're trying to do manual labor. If it's winter and it's really cold, then you're in a bind because if you wear plastic lined gloves, they will get destroyed by tools. Even cloth gloves might and they are not warm if wet. Wool gloves could potentially be a solution but I would expect them to get destroyed also. What I wear are Thinsulate gloves. They stay warm in wet and cold conditions and do not get destroyed by tools easily. Working with sharp objects in the winter just kind of sucks.
When it's not cold, you want to wear leather gloves. I love sheep leather gloves because you are still able to feel through them and do tasks that require feeling with them. They are not as durable as cow leather so it's a trade-off. I would get some high-quality work gloves that are preferably leather.
On to protecting your legs. This suggestion is going to sound familiar: wear pants. If you can't tell, I always wear pants and never wear shorts. I used to always wear shorts and never wear pants, but farm work and the outdoors changed my ways.
Last is shoes. Your feet can get tough enough to deal with most surfaces, but if you step into 160 degree sand, on 200 degree asphalt or if you have to walk through an area with sharp rocks or thorns, you will soon learn that shoes are valuable in the collapse. If you live in Utah, you pretty much have to wear shoes everywhere in nature. If you live in the East, you should probably wear shoes in the woods, in months when bugs are present and when working with animals.
I would get a good hiking boot because it can handle anything. If you want a great hiking boot, get a wildland firefighter boot. They are the highest quality, most durable boots available. They're the kind of boot that will make walking to Missouri enjoyable. However, you might just want to get cheap boots. I hardly ever wear boots because they are too inconvenient to take on and off when your hands are full. And if I'm going to go through water, I generally don't wear my nice stuff. Something that slips on and is water proof is better. Enter muck boots. If you don't know what a muck boot is, it's a rubber boot that is almost knee high. These are amazing if you live in the rural East, but if you live in the rural East you probably already know that. In Utah, water is not something you usually have to consider so I probably would not get muck boots.
When you don't have power and you're busy with survival tasks, cleaning floors is going to be very time consuming and you want have the ability to repair floors which are quickly damaged by dirt and grime. However, you won't want to spend the time to unlace your shoes when you come in and relace them when you go out of the house. If there is a life hack in my survival preps anywhere, this is it. Buy yourself a $6 pair of plastic clogs from Wal Mart. It is important not to get flip flops because they fall off. Leather Sandals don't stand up to water and are more inconvenient when you're holding stuff. I have built a house, hiked, run and lived my life in a $6 pair of clogs from wal-mart. They lasted through hundreds of miles, many projects and a year of time and I don't remember them once falling off my feet. In modern conditions, you can wear them in the snow. You can do that for short periods in primitive conditions as well, but you will want snow or muck boots in those conditions. Muck boots are also pretty easy to get on and off with your hands full, but they are easily made useless by wearing them into the woods and getting a puncture. You will not want to wear clogs where you have a high probability of getting ticks like in the woods during warm months out East. That's about the only time I break out my shoes or hiking boots. When I lived in Utah, I also used them for snow.
Repair
You are going to want to maintain your clothing as best as you can. I bet the pioneers and their generation spent a substantial amount of time mending clothes, but right now it's so cheap to stock up. I would suggest getting enough pairs of socks and underwear that you do not have to spend time repairing them. Your time will be better spent doing other things. Once you get a year or two into the collapse, basic clothing will come back into supply so you won't need that many to get through. The finer twined clothing will not last long, but even cheap t-shirts will usually last a month or more without protective overclothing and without being super careful.
You will want a needle and thread to patch your base items, but I also would not spend a lot of time repairing these. They should be easy enough to come by and will come back into supply in a few years. Durable pants, overalls and any work shirts will need to be repaired with a strong thread. I'm not an expert at clothing repair but my wife is and a lot of people know how to do it. That is a skill that I think you will be able to find and trade for easily. If not, I have personally repaired clothing in my life. It didn't look great, but it worked. You might make mistakes, but if you have a needle and some thread on hand, you ought to be able to re-repair and get by in a worst case.
Shoe repair is something I don't have a lot of experience with. Shoe goo works to put soles back on, but I find soles splitting is my most common way to lose a shoes and I don't know how to solve that.
Laundry
If you do not clean your clothes and get rid of the grime and dirt, they will wear thin and get holes much faster. You can make your own laundry soap out of Zote Soap, borax, and washing soda. You could also just save laundry soap or even dish soap to clean your clothes, but it will take more and do less. You will want a wash tub and a laundry plunger. You can use a real tub as a wash tub, but a metal trash can or anything deeper with straight up sides works better. You do not need a wash board, but if you want to get one, it could come in handy for tough stains. I'll add more information about laundry soap later as that's the domain of my significant other.
As for drying, this will vary greatly based on where you live. If you live in the desert, you can just figure this out after the collapse. California and the plains are probably the same. If you live in the South, everything I'm suggested are the essentials. You will lose clothes to mold if you don't wring your clothes and you will not be able to wash for several rainy days in a row if you don't have an indoor laundry line. At a minimum, I would get paracord and clothes pins for laundry lines. Get some eyelet hooks for your indoor and outdoor laundry lines. A great place for an indoor laundry line is a large porch. It is usually not windy during a rain storm, only at the beginning and end. That means the rain usually won't blow far onto a porch. Otherwise, you are going to have to have your laundry line indoors. If you have a wood stove, you can use a drying rack by your stove, but the capacity of a rack is much less than a line. It wouldn't hurt to build an outside laundry line now if you have property. The other thing that I would get is a wringer. In addition to saving time, it will save you pain and will mean that when you're done, you're still able to do other chores.
SHOPPING LIST
(Items in red are items I believe are most at risk of shortages, Items in blue are dependent on your region)
ESSENTIALS
Clogs or Muck boots - $11 https://www.walmart.com/ip/JEFFRICO-Men ... hbdg=L1400 (don't get the fur-lined option)
Hiking boots $80- https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005 (check the sales at the store, you can get boots half price)
2 pairs of work pants - $60 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... anvas-pant
1 work shirts - $20 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005
a pair of work gloves - $15 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... 4999999--1
underwear - $50 I'm sure you can source these at this price
12 pairs socks - $39 https://www.saksoff5th.com/product/timb ... 04274.html
LAUNDRY
Zote Soap - TBD
Borax - TBD
Washing Soda - TBD
Oxyclean - TBD
Wringer - $269 https://www.lehmans.com/product/lehmans ... d-wringer/ (For the humid states. You could also use a stick to wring but you will rue the day you were born.)
Plunger - $30 https://www.lehmans.com/product/rapid-laundry-washer/ (if you don't have space, you could definitely make due without this)
Eyelets - $20 https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... eyes/58467 (for an outdoor line, you'll want heavy duty)
Paracord - $24 https://www.paracordplanet.com/paracord-550-white/ (site is just an example)
REPAIR
sewing kit - $10 - Needle and durable thread for repairing canvas - links coming
COLD CLIMATE
Coat - $90 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005 (This is an example, but I have to see a coat to know. )
Snow boots - $15 (hiking boots could double as snow boots, especially if you waterproof them)
Wool socks - $20 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005
Scarf - $0 (if it comes to that, you have something you can use as a scarf)
gloves - $20 https://poshmark.com/listing/Thinsulate ... c966e1df02 (I'm not 100% sure these are the same as my gloves)
Sweat pants and sweatshirt - $30 (available anywhere)
water proof (snow) pants - $10 at every DI or goodwill in cold places
TOTAL: $335 - $789 (but you probably already own most of this stuff) + TBD Laundry Soap Prices
-
Pazooka
- Level 34 Illuminated
- Posts: 5224
- Location: FEMA District 8
Re: Shortages
It’s getting real. Everywhere I’ve shopped has been out of Pantene hairspray for the past month. WTC am I supposed to do now?
-
HVDC
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2600
Re: Shortages
I thanked you earlier, but I wanted to say that if you wrote this.harakim wrote: ↑January 26th, 2022, 7:53 pm CLOTHING
Modern clothing is not in short supply and will probably be available for a while, even in a collapse. T-shirts, slacks, shorts and jeans can form the base of your clothing supply. Even if there are supply shortages of those items, most women and middle-aged men have closets with rack after rack of clothes. They will probably trade you for them.
That's not to say these items will be unlimited. You will need to protect them by being careful, wearing overclothes or only wearing them when they won't get damaged. Imagine you're walking along in the woods and you walk by a blackberry bush. It can put holes all the way up and down a shirt. Or you are putting up panels and your shirt catches a sharp corner. That shirt is going to be unusable pretty quick. You could mend it using saved fabric or scraps of other clothes, but that is time consuming and once mended, clothes do not always retain their strength. I would do that as an additional strategy in the rare case they get damaged rather than as a primary strategy. I would advise having a durable work shirt or cavas jacket for situations where you might rip your shirt and canvas work pants. You'll rip some of your t-shirts from time to time anyway, but you can mend them if it becomes a problem.
Any items that require skilled humans or factories to assemble are very vulnerable to shortages as those facilities mostly exist overseas. Coats are likely to suffer a shortage before the collapse is even started. We are already seeing shortages of shoes. Gloves, belts and other non-standard or non-fabric clothing is more likely to suffer in an economic collapse. Underwear and socks will probably become difficult to obtain very soon after any international issues. However, underwear, socks and belts are easy to make and will probably return in decent supply a year or so into the collapse.
Clothing has a few goals:
1. Keep you warm
2. Keep the sun off of you
3. Keep bugs off of you
4. Keep allergens off of you
5. Protect yourself from sharp objects
Cold
I have learned that gloves, a hat and a scarf work better than a coat in cold weather. A scarf can be a piece of fabric, a shirt that you put around your neck, or many other things. This is especially vital while sleeping, but that is another post. You want waterproof or thinsulate gloves if you expect snow or water. Otherwise, you can use cloth gloves. Do not use leather gloves to stay warm as it will not work. Even lined leather gloves don't help much if they do not have an appropriate lining. I have played disc golf in short sleeves in 20-30 degree weather with gloves and a scarf and been warm. I have had a coat on and been cold when it was 40 degrees. I have slept in a sleeping bag rated for 0 degrees and been extremely cold, but in the same temperature I have slept in a 30 degree sleeping bag with a scarf and was hot.
If you are not used to working outside, you can adapt to temperatures of about 40 degrees while working in short sleeves and pants. It is easier to adapt when you don't have a climate controlled dwelling. In places like the South, you can probably get away with minimal cold weather clothing, although you will need water proof clothing.
Sun
Bad sunburns are terrible and you should make sure you won't get them long term as you'll have to work outside under the sun. You will likely adapt to the sun if you stay outside for long periods of time. I used to burn all the time as a kid, but I have gotten maybe 1 or 2 noticeable sunburns in my adult life. You can use sunscreen, but I don't think you adapt very quickly if you do and it's bad for you anyway. It's better than trying to survive while sunburned, though. The best thing is to wear head and neck protection, like a hat (or sunscreen) and long pants until you adapt. As your arms get sun, your entire body will get better at being in the sun. If you don't get in the sun often now, you may need to wear a long sleeve shirt for part of the day as well.
Bugs
If you live in the mountain west, this is not really a concern for you. Mosquitos don't like Sulphur, so if you eat a lot of asparagus or drink sulphur spring water, they will avoid you. If you live in the East, you want to avoid ticks, mosquitos, chiggers and snakes. You will want to wear pants, even in the summer if you are in the woods or longer grass. I would just wear pants all the time I'm outside, to be honest. It seems hot at first but the Amish do it and I have done it. Long boots also help keep bugs away. You can tuck your pants into your socks if you find the pants are not enough. Do tick checks nightly to see if you picked anything up. Although if you do what I just suggested, you usually won't.
Allergens
If you're going to walk through the woods, wear pants.
Sharp Objects
If you're going to work with tools fences, chickens, wood or other things that can rip you up, wear leather gloves. Getting a giant gash in the hand sets you back so much when you're trying to do manual labor. If it's winter and it's really cold, then you're in a bind because if you wear plastic lined gloves, they will get destroyed by tools. Even cloth gloves might and they are not warm if wet. Wool gloves could potentially be a solution but I would expect them to get destroyed also. What I wear are Thinsulate gloves. They stay warm in wet and cold conditions and do not get destroyed by tools easily. Working with sharp objects in the winter just kind of sucks.
When it's not cold, you want to wear leather gloves. I love sheep leather gloves because you are still able to feel through them and do tasks that require feeling with them. They are not as durable as cow leather so it's a trade-off. I would get some high-quality work gloves that are preferably leather.
On to protecting your legs. This suggestion is going to sound familiar: wear pants. If you can't tell, I always wear pants and never wear shorts. I used to always wear shorts and never wear pants, but farm work and the outdoors changed my ways.
Last is shoes. Your feet can get tough enough to deal with most surfaces, but if you step into 160 degree sand, on 200 degree asphalt or if you have to walk through an area with sharp rocks or thorns, you will soon learn that shoes are valuable in the collapse. If you live in Utah, you pretty much have to wear shoes everywhere in nature. If you live in the East, you should probably wear shoes in the woods, in months when bugs are present and when working with animals.
I would get a good hiking boot because it can handle anything. If you want a great hiking boot, get a wildland firefighter boot. They are the highest quality, most durable boots available. They're the kind of boot that will make walking to Missouri enjoyable. However, you might just want to get cheap boots. I hardly ever wear boots because they are too inconvenient to take on and off when your hands are full. And if I'm going to go through water, I generally don't wear my nice stuff. Something that slips on and is water proof is better. Enter muck boots. If you don't know what a muck boot is, it's a rubber boot that is almost knee high. These are amazing if you live in the rural East, but if you live in the rural East you probably already know that. In Utah, water is not something you usually have to consider so I probably would not get muck boots.
When you don't have power and you're busy with survival tasks, cleaning floors is going to be very time consuming and you want have the ability to repair floors which are quickly damaged by dirt and grime. However, you won't want to spend the time to unlace your shoes when you come in and relace them when you go out of the house. If there is a life hack in my survival preps anywhere, this is it. Buy yourself a $6 pair of plastic clogs from Wal Mart. It is important not to get flip flops because they fall off. Leather Sandals don't stand up to water and are more inconvenient when you're holding stuff. I have built a house, hiked, run and lived my life in a $6 pair of clogs from wal-mart. They lasted through hundreds of miles, many projects and a year of time and I don't remember them once falling off my feet. In modern conditions, you can wear them in the snow. You can do that for short periods in primitive conditions as well, but you will want snow or muck boots in those conditions. Muck boots are also pretty easy to get on and off with your hands full, but they are easily made useless by wearing them into the woods and getting a puncture. You will not want to wear clogs where you have a high probability of getting ticks like in the woods during warm months out East. That's about the only time I break out my shoes or hiking boots. When I lived in Utah, I also used them for snow.
Repair
You are going to want to maintain your clothing as best as you can. I bet the pioneers and their generation spent a substantial amount of time mending clothes, but right now it's so cheap to stock up. I would suggest getting enough pairs of socks and underwear that you do not have to spend time repairing them. Your time will be better spent doing other things. Once you get a year or two into the collapse, basic clothing will come back into supply so you won't need that many to get through. The finer twined clothing will not last long, but even cheap t-shirts will usually last a month or more without protective overclothing and without being super careful.
You will want a needle and thread to patch your base items, but I also would not spend a lot of time repairing these. They should be easy enough to come by and will come back into supply in a few years. Durable pants, overalls and any work shirts will need to be repaired with a strong thread. I'm not an expert at clothing repair but my wife is and a lot of people know how to do it. That is a skill that I think you will be able to find and trade for easily. If not, I have personally repaired clothing in my life. It didn't look great, but it worked. You might make mistakes, but if you have a needle and some thread on hand, you ought to be able to re-repair and get by in a worst case.
Shoe repair is something I don't have a lot of experience with. Shoe goo works to put soles back on, but I find soles splitting is my most common way to lose a shoes and I don't know how to solve that.
Laundry
If you do not clean your clothes and get rid of the grime and dirt, they will wear thin and get holes much faster. You can make your own laundry soap out of Zote Soap, borax, and washing soda. You could also just save laundry soap or even dish soap to clean your clothes, but it will take more and do less. You will want a wash tub and a laundry plunger. You can use a real tub as a wash tub, but a metal trash can or anything deeper with straight up sides works better. You do not need a wash board, but if you want to get one, it could come in handy for tough stains. I'll add more information about laundry soap later as that's the domain of my significant other.
As for drying, this will vary greatly based on where you live. If you live in the desert, you can just figure this out after the collapse. California and the plains are probably the same. If you live in the South, everything I'm suggested are the essentials. You will lose clothes to mold if you don't wring your clothes and you will not be able to wash for several rainy days in a row if you don't have an indoor laundry line. At a minimum, I would get paracord and clothes pins for laundry lines. Get some eyelet hooks for your indoor and outdoor laundry lines. A great place for an indoor laundry line is a large porch. It is usually not windy during a rain storm, only at the beginning and end. That means the rain usually won't blow far onto a porch. Otherwise, you are going to have to have your laundry line indoors. If you have a wood stove, you can use a drying rack by your stove, but the capacity of a rack is much less than a line. It wouldn't hurt to build an outside laundry line now if you have property. The other thing that I would get is a wringer. In addition to saving time, it will save you pain and will mean that when you're done, you're still able to do other chores.
SHOPPING LIST
(Items in red are items I believe are most at risk of shortages, Items in blue are dependent on your region)
ESSENTIALS
Clogs or Muck boots - $11 https://www.walmart.com/ip/JEFFRICO-Men ... hbdg=L1400 (don't get the fur-lined option)
Hiking boots $80- https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005 (check the sales at the store, you can get boots half price)
2 pairs of work pants - $60 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... anvas-pant
1 work shirts - $20 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005
a pair of work gloves - $15 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... 4999999--1
underwear - $50 I'm sure you can source these at this price
12 pairs socks - $39 https://www.saksoff5th.com/product/timb ... 04274.html
LAUNDRY
Zote Soap - TBD
Borax - TBD
Washing Soda - TBD
Oxyclean - TBD
Wringer - $269 https://www.lehmans.com/product/lehmans ... d-wringer/ (For the humid states. You could also use a stick to wring but you will rue the day you were born.)
Plunger - $30 https://www.lehmans.com/product/rapid-laundry-washer/ (if you don't have space, you could definitely make due without this)
Eyelets - $20 https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... eyes/58467 (for an outdoor line, you'll want heavy duty)
Paracord - $24 https://www.paracordplanet.com/paracord-550-white/ (site is just an example)
REPAIR
sewing kit - $10 - Needle and durable thread for repairing canvas - links coming
COLD CLIMATE
Coat - $90 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005 (This is an example, but I have to see a coat to know. )
Snow boots - $15 (hiking boots could double as snow boots, especially if you waterproof them)
Wool socks - $20 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005
Scarf - $0 (if it comes to that, you have something you can use as a scarf)
gloves - $20 https://poshmark.com/listing/Thinsulate ... c966e1df02 (I'm not 100% sure these are the same as my gloves)
Sweat pants and sweatshirt - $30 (available anywhere)
water proof (snow) pants - $10 at every DI or goodwill in cold places
TOTAL: $335 - $789 (but you probably already own most of this stuff) + TBD Laundry Soap Prices
Good Job!
Comprehensive and informative.
Sir H
-
harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
Re: Shortages
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I'm in the middle of another move so I wasn't able to get the laundry soap recipe, but I will. You could find it online I'm sure. I will keep adding more of these over time.HVDC wrote: ↑February 1st, 2022, 3:31 pmI thanked you earlier, but I wanted to say that if you wrote this.harakim wrote: ↑January 26th, 2022, 7:53 pm CLOTHING
Modern clothing is not in short supply and will probably be available for a while, even in a collapse. T-shirts, slacks, shorts and jeans can form the base of your clothing supply. Even if there are supply shortages of those items, most women and middle-aged men have closets with rack after rack of clothes. They will probably trade you for them.
That's not to say these items will be unlimited. You will need to protect them by being careful, wearing overclothes or only wearing them when they won't get damaged. Imagine you're walking along in the woods and you walk by a blackberry bush. It can put holes all the way up and down a shirt. Or you are putting up panels and your shirt catches a sharp corner. That shirt is going to be unusable pretty quick. You could mend it using saved fabric or scraps of other clothes, but that is time consuming and once mended, clothes do not always retain their strength. I would do that as an additional strategy in the rare case they get damaged rather than as a primary strategy. I would advise having a durable work shirt or cavas jacket for situations where you might rip your shirt and canvas work pants. You'll rip some of your t-shirts from time to time anyway, but you can mend them if it becomes a problem.
Any items that require skilled humans or factories to assemble are very vulnerable to shortages as those facilities mostly exist overseas. Coats are likely to suffer a shortage before the collapse is even started. We are already seeing shortages of shoes. Gloves, belts and other non-standard or non-fabric clothing is more likely to suffer in an economic collapse. Underwear and socks will probably become difficult to obtain very soon after any international issues. However, underwear, socks and belts are easy to make and will probably return in decent supply a year or so into the collapse.
Clothing has a few goals:
1. Keep you warm
2. Keep the sun off of you
3. Keep bugs off of you
4. Keep allergens off of you
5. Protect yourself from sharp objects
Cold
I have learned that gloves, a hat and a scarf work better than a coat in cold weather. A scarf can be a piece of fabric, a shirt that you put around your neck, or many other things. This is especially vital while sleeping, but that is another post. You want waterproof or thinsulate gloves if you expect snow or water. Otherwise, you can use cloth gloves. Do not use leather gloves to stay warm as it will not work. Even lined leather gloves don't help much if they do not have an appropriate lining. I have played disc golf in short sleeves in 20-30 degree weather with gloves and a scarf and been warm. I have had a coat on and been cold when it was 40 degrees. I have slept in a sleeping bag rated for 0 degrees and been extremely cold, but in the same temperature I have slept in a 30 degree sleeping bag with a scarf and was hot.
If you are not used to working outside, you can adapt to temperatures of about 40 degrees while working in short sleeves and pants. It is easier to adapt when you don't have a climate controlled dwelling. In places like the South, you can probably get away with minimal cold weather clothing, although you will need water proof clothing.
Sun
Bad sunburns are terrible and you should make sure you won't get them long term as you'll have to work outside under the sun. You will likely adapt to the sun if you stay outside for long periods of time. I used to burn all the time as a kid, but I have gotten maybe 1 or 2 noticeable sunburns in my adult life. You can use sunscreen, but I don't think you adapt very quickly if you do and it's bad for you anyway. It's better than trying to survive while sunburned, though. The best thing is to wear head and neck protection, like a hat (or sunscreen) and long pants until you adapt. As your arms get sun, your entire body will get better at being in the sun. If you don't get in the sun often now, you may need to wear a long sleeve shirt for part of the day as well.
Bugs
If you live in the mountain west, this is not really a concern for you. Mosquitos don't like Sulphur, so if you eat a lot of asparagus or drink sulphur spring water, they will avoid you. If you live in the East, you want to avoid ticks, mosquitos, chiggers and snakes. You will want to wear pants, even in the summer if you are in the woods or longer grass. I would just wear pants all the time I'm outside, to be honest. It seems hot at first but the Amish do it and I have done it. Long boots also help keep bugs away. You can tuck your pants into your socks if you find the pants are not enough. Do tick checks nightly to see if you picked anything up. Although if you do what I just suggested, you usually won't.
Allergens
If you're going to walk through the woods, wear pants.
Sharp Objects
If you're going to work with tools fences, chickens, wood or other things that can rip you up, wear leather gloves. Getting a giant gash in the hand sets you back so much when you're trying to do manual labor. If it's winter and it's really cold, then you're in a bind because if you wear plastic lined gloves, they will get destroyed by tools. Even cloth gloves might and they are not warm if wet. Wool gloves could potentially be a solution but I would expect them to get destroyed also. What I wear are Thinsulate gloves. They stay warm in wet and cold conditions and do not get destroyed by tools easily. Working with sharp objects in the winter just kind of sucks.
When it's not cold, you want to wear leather gloves. I love sheep leather gloves because you are still able to feel through them and do tasks that require feeling with them. They are not as durable as cow leather so it's a trade-off. I would get some high-quality work gloves that are preferably leather.
On to protecting your legs. This suggestion is going to sound familiar: wear pants. If you can't tell, I always wear pants and never wear shorts. I used to always wear shorts and never wear pants, but farm work and the outdoors changed my ways.
Last is shoes. Your feet can get tough enough to deal with most surfaces, but if you step into 160 degree sand, on 200 degree asphalt or if you have to walk through an area with sharp rocks or thorns, you will soon learn that shoes are valuable in the collapse. If you live in Utah, you pretty much have to wear shoes everywhere in nature. If you live in the East, you should probably wear shoes in the woods, in months when bugs are present and when working with animals.
I would get a good hiking boot because it can handle anything. If you want a great hiking boot, get a wildland firefighter boot. They are the highest quality, most durable boots available. They're the kind of boot that will make walking to Missouri enjoyable. However, you might just want to get cheap boots. I hardly ever wear boots because they are too inconvenient to take on and off when your hands are full. And if I'm going to go through water, I generally don't wear my nice stuff. Something that slips on and is water proof is better. Enter muck boots. If you don't know what a muck boot is, it's a rubber boot that is almost knee high. These are amazing if you live in the rural East, but if you live in the rural East you probably already know that. In Utah, water is not something you usually have to consider so I probably would not get muck boots.
When you don't have power and you're busy with survival tasks, cleaning floors is going to be very time consuming and you want have the ability to repair floors which are quickly damaged by dirt and grime. However, you won't want to spend the time to unlace your shoes when you come in and relace them when you go out of the house. If there is a life hack in my survival preps anywhere, this is it. Buy yourself a $6 pair of plastic clogs from Wal Mart. It is important not to get flip flops because they fall off. Leather Sandals don't stand up to water and are more inconvenient when you're holding stuff. I have built a house, hiked, run and lived my life in a $6 pair of clogs from wal-mart. They lasted through hundreds of miles, many projects and a year of time and I don't remember them once falling off my feet. In modern conditions, you can wear them in the snow. You can do that for short periods in primitive conditions as well, but you will want snow or muck boots in those conditions. Muck boots are also pretty easy to get on and off with your hands full, but they are easily made useless by wearing them into the woods and getting a puncture. You will not want to wear clogs where you have a high probability of getting ticks like in the woods during warm months out East. That's about the only time I break out my shoes or hiking boots. When I lived in Utah, I also used them for snow.
Repair
You are going to want to maintain your clothing as best as you can. I bet the pioneers and their generation spent a substantial amount of time mending clothes, but right now it's so cheap to stock up. I would suggest getting enough pairs of socks and underwear that you do not have to spend time repairing them. Your time will be better spent doing other things. Once you get a year or two into the collapse, basic clothing will come back into supply so you won't need that many to get through. The finer twined clothing will not last long, but even cheap t-shirts will usually last a month or more without protective overclothing and without being super careful.
You will want a needle and thread to patch your base items, but I also would not spend a lot of time repairing these. They should be easy enough to come by and will come back into supply in a few years. Durable pants, overalls and any work shirts will need to be repaired with a strong thread. I'm not an expert at clothing repair but my wife is and a lot of people know how to do it. That is a skill that I think you will be able to find and trade for easily. If not, I have personally repaired clothing in my life. It didn't look great, but it worked. You might make mistakes, but if you have a needle and some thread on hand, you ought to be able to re-repair and get by in a worst case.
Shoe repair is something I don't have a lot of experience with. Shoe goo works to put soles back on, but I find soles splitting is my most common way to lose a shoes and I don't know how to solve that.
Laundry
If you do not clean your clothes and get rid of the grime and dirt, they will wear thin and get holes much faster. You can make your own laundry soap out of Zote Soap, borax, and washing soda. You could also just save laundry soap or even dish soap to clean your clothes, but it will take more and do less. You will want a wash tub and a laundry plunger. You can use a real tub as a wash tub, but a metal trash can or anything deeper with straight up sides works better. You do not need a wash board, but if you want to get one, it could come in handy for tough stains. I'll add more information about laundry soap later as that's the domain of my significant other.
As for drying, this will vary greatly based on where you live. If you live in the desert, you can just figure this out after the collapse. California and the plains are probably the same. If you live in the South, everything I'm suggested are the essentials. You will lose clothes to mold if you don't wring your clothes and you will not be able to wash for several rainy days in a row if you don't have an indoor laundry line. At a minimum, I would get paracord and clothes pins for laundry lines. Get some eyelet hooks for your indoor and outdoor laundry lines. A great place for an indoor laundry line is a large porch. It is usually not windy during a rain storm, only at the beginning and end. That means the rain usually won't blow far onto a porch. Otherwise, you are going to have to have your laundry line indoors. If you have a wood stove, you can use a drying rack by your stove, but the capacity of a rack is much less than a line. It wouldn't hurt to build an outside laundry line now if you have property. The other thing that I would get is a wringer. In addition to saving time, it will save you pain and will mean that when you're done, you're still able to do other chores.
SHOPPING LIST
(Items in red are items I believe are most at risk of shortages, Items in blue are dependent on your region)
ESSENTIALS
Clogs or Muck boots - $11 https://www.walmart.com/ip/JEFFRICO-Men ... hbdg=L1400 (don't get the fur-lined option)
Hiking boots $80- https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005 (check the sales at the store, you can get boots half price)
2 pairs of work pants - $60 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... anvas-pant
1 work shirts - $20 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005
a pair of work gloves - $15 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... 4999999--1
underwear - $50 I'm sure you can source these at this price
12 pairs socks - $39 https://www.saksoff5th.com/product/timb ... 04274.html
LAUNDRY
Zote Soap - TBD
Borax - TBD
Washing Soda - TBD
Oxyclean - TBD
Wringer - $269 https://www.lehmans.com/product/lehmans ... d-wringer/ (For the humid states. You could also use a stick to wring but you will rue the day you were born.)
Plunger - $30 https://www.lehmans.com/product/rapid-laundry-washer/ (if you don't have space, you could definitely make due without this)
Eyelets - $20 https://www.acehardware.com/departments ... eyes/58467 (for an outdoor line, you'll want heavy duty)
Paracord - $24 https://www.paracordplanet.com/paracord-550-white/ (site is just an example)
REPAIR
sewing kit - $10 - Needle and durable thread for repairing canvas - links coming
COLD CLIMATE
Coat - $90 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005 (This is an example, but I have to see a coat to know. )
Snow boots - $15 (hiking boots could double as snow boots, especially if you waterproof them)
Wool socks - $20 https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produ ... _vc=-10005
Scarf - $0 (if it comes to that, you have something you can use as a scarf)
gloves - $20 https://poshmark.com/listing/Thinsulate ... c966e1df02 (I'm not 100% sure these are the same as my gloves)
Sweat pants and sweatshirt - $30 (available anywhere)
water proof (snow) pants - $10 at every DI or goodwill in cold places
TOTAL: $335 - $789 (but you probably already own most of this stuff) + TBD Laundry Soap Prices
Good Job!
Comprehensive and informative.
Sir H
-
harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
Re: Shortages
SELF DEFENSE
This is a much simpler topic than the others to be basically prepared in, although you'd have a hard time getting prepared now if you are not already.
Overview
Your basic self defense will fall into team-based longer range engagements from within a defensive perimeter and short range surprise engagements. For longer range, you're going to want an AR-15. This rifle is so common that spare parts and accessories will be available indefinitely. It also fires the ubiquitous 5.56x45 ammunition.
For shorter range, you can use a handgun, preferably chambered in 9mm. However, concealability is also important so a 380 would be an okay choice as well. The important thing is that you would need it on your person for it to be useful. Another item that will work well is a tazer. If you buy a tazer, you need to test it by firing into the air in a safe direction. It is very loud and frightening and just brandishing it and making it spark can be enough to frighten someone away. However, you will want the element of surprise if you have to deploy it against a person. Pepper spray or mace can work but there is the risk that you hurt yourself as well.
Lastly, you should have some kind of hand to hand combat skill if possible. A short women's self defense course would be adequate. Any grappling sport or even being able to throw a single punch will be 10x better than nothing.
Training
It is ideal to train with the firearm you will be using. However, ammunition is hard to come by and expensive. You will need other options.
Professional shooters dry fire 80-90% of their shots. You can train with dry fire tools like Mantis X and/or LaserHIT. These will get you a lot of practice shots
without costing any money.
If you want to train against a target at distance, you can save a lot of money by using a BB gun. A BB gun that fires at 650 fps will drop in 5 times less distance than your AR-15. If you get a target that is 1/5 the size (2" or 2.5") then it is equivalent difficulty to firing your AR-15 at 5 times the distance. So for practice equivalent to 50 yards with an AR-15, now you only need to practice at 10 yards, for example. Additionally, it's so quiet you could practice at night and you need far less distance so you might be able to practice in a suburban backyard. BBs are cheap and still available and will probably not become unattainable long-term since they are very low tech.
Dry fire and BB guns are great, but they do not simulate recoil. It's always a good idea to train with the rifle you will use and go into depth with round malfunction drills, etc. However, with ammunition being as hard to come by as it is, you will probably need to save most of the ammunition you're able to scrounge up. Unless you can only find 30 rounds or less, I would put 20 rounds down your rifle so you can sight it and get used to the recoil, feel and sound of the rifle. The first time you fire a rifle, you should be with an experienced shooter or trainer. It is worth taking a hunter's safety or firearm safety course if you do not have a friend who can train you in the basics.
NOTE: Most engagements happen within 150 yards, and almost none outside 300 yards. Whatever range you get comfortable with, I would avoid engaging people outside that range. You should be comfortable out to at least 150 yards (with a BB gun, that's 30 yards on a 2-2.5" target) If you have shot a target at 150 yards, if you are attacked and have to engage, you will be able to tell yourself you have done it before. If you have not, you will have nothing to fall back on when your nerves go out. If you're in that kind of situation, just remember you have the skill level that you have so you're going to get the result you get. Worrying is not going to help you.
Obstacles
You will want to make it more time-consuming and difficult for someone to attack you. You can use false floors or outdoor pit traps, or you can place noise making device or trip wires around your residence. You can use concertina or barbed wire to make barriers that take time to traverse. The more in advance you are aware an attack is coming, the better chance you can execute a plan.
As far as I can tell, nobody trains properly for being attacked while running down stairs, so that makes an ideal place to engage an attacker. If you can engage them from behind stairs they are going to run down, it will be a huge advantage for you compared to almost any other terrain advantage.
Shopping List
BB Gun - $50 https://www.amazon.com/Red-Ryder-Daisy- ... B08NHTHHXD
4000 BBs - $12 https://www.amazon.com/Daisy-980040-446 ... B00419C1IA
BB Gun target - $26 https://www.amazon.com/Hiram-Pellet-Res ... B0749JZQBV
AR-15 - $1000 https://utahgunexchange.com/?s=ar-15&sa=search&scat=0
1000 rds 5.56x45 - $1000 https://utahgunexchange.com/ads/5-56-fe ... 93-1k-550/
Tazer - $25 https://amazon.com
TOTAL: $2113
(You could get a better deal)
Other items you might be really glad you purchased include:
Night vision binoculars
Lightweight body armor
A 9mm handgun and ammunition
Sandbags
This is a much simpler topic than the others to be basically prepared in, although you'd have a hard time getting prepared now if you are not already.
Overview
Your basic self defense will fall into team-based longer range engagements from within a defensive perimeter and short range surprise engagements. For longer range, you're going to want an AR-15. This rifle is so common that spare parts and accessories will be available indefinitely. It also fires the ubiquitous 5.56x45 ammunition.
For shorter range, you can use a handgun, preferably chambered in 9mm. However, concealability is also important so a 380 would be an okay choice as well. The important thing is that you would need it on your person for it to be useful. Another item that will work well is a tazer. If you buy a tazer, you need to test it by firing into the air in a safe direction. It is very loud and frightening and just brandishing it and making it spark can be enough to frighten someone away. However, you will want the element of surprise if you have to deploy it against a person. Pepper spray or mace can work but there is the risk that you hurt yourself as well.
Lastly, you should have some kind of hand to hand combat skill if possible. A short women's self defense course would be adequate. Any grappling sport or even being able to throw a single punch will be 10x better than nothing.
Training
It is ideal to train with the firearm you will be using. However, ammunition is hard to come by and expensive. You will need other options.
Professional shooters dry fire 80-90% of their shots. You can train with dry fire tools like Mantis X and/or LaserHIT. These will get you a lot of practice shots
without costing any money.
If you want to train against a target at distance, you can save a lot of money by using a BB gun. A BB gun that fires at 650 fps will drop in 5 times less distance than your AR-15. If you get a target that is 1/5 the size (2" or 2.5") then it is equivalent difficulty to firing your AR-15 at 5 times the distance. So for practice equivalent to 50 yards with an AR-15, now you only need to practice at 10 yards, for example. Additionally, it's so quiet you could practice at night and you need far less distance so you might be able to practice in a suburban backyard. BBs are cheap and still available and will probably not become unattainable long-term since they are very low tech.
Dry fire and BB guns are great, but they do not simulate recoil. It's always a good idea to train with the rifle you will use and go into depth with round malfunction drills, etc. However, with ammunition being as hard to come by as it is, you will probably need to save most of the ammunition you're able to scrounge up. Unless you can only find 30 rounds or less, I would put 20 rounds down your rifle so you can sight it and get used to the recoil, feel and sound of the rifle. The first time you fire a rifle, you should be with an experienced shooter or trainer. It is worth taking a hunter's safety or firearm safety course if you do not have a friend who can train you in the basics.
NOTE: Most engagements happen within 150 yards, and almost none outside 300 yards. Whatever range you get comfortable with, I would avoid engaging people outside that range. You should be comfortable out to at least 150 yards (with a BB gun, that's 30 yards on a 2-2.5" target) If you have shot a target at 150 yards, if you are attacked and have to engage, you will be able to tell yourself you have done it before. If you have not, you will have nothing to fall back on when your nerves go out. If you're in that kind of situation, just remember you have the skill level that you have so you're going to get the result you get. Worrying is not going to help you.
Obstacles
You will want to make it more time-consuming and difficult for someone to attack you. You can use false floors or outdoor pit traps, or you can place noise making device or trip wires around your residence. You can use concertina or barbed wire to make barriers that take time to traverse. The more in advance you are aware an attack is coming, the better chance you can execute a plan.
As far as I can tell, nobody trains properly for being attacked while running down stairs, so that makes an ideal place to engage an attacker. If you can engage them from behind stairs they are going to run down, it will be a huge advantage for you compared to almost any other terrain advantage.
Shopping List
BB Gun - $50 https://www.amazon.com/Red-Ryder-Daisy- ... B08NHTHHXD
4000 BBs - $12 https://www.amazon.com/Daisy-980040-446 ... B00419C1IA
BB Gun target - $26 https://www.amazon.com/Hiram-Pellet-Res ... B0749JZQBV
AR-15 - $1000 https://utahgunexchange.com/?s=ar-15&sa=search&scat=0
1000 rds 5.56x45 - $1000 https://utahgunexchange.com/ads/5-56-fe ... 93-1k-550/
Tazer - $25 https://amazon.com
TOTAL: $2113
(You could get a better deal)
Other items you might be really glad you purchased include:
Night vision binoculars
Lightweight body armor
A 9mm handgun and ammunition
Sandbags
-
Momma J
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 1507
Re: Shortages
Thank you for the great advice. A mental funny (because I am not great at multi-tasking this morning)
I often practice drawing my handgun in different scenarios. After cleaning, while it is still empty, I practice shooting from random areas in the house because I live in an area of high rate of home invasions. Working on muscle memory
I asked myself.... What about women who are not short?A short women's self defense course
I often practice drawing my handgun in different scenarios. After cleaning, while it is still empty, I practice shooting from random areas in the house because I live in an area of high rate of home invasions. Working on muscle memory
-
harakim
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 2819
- Location: Salt Lake Megalopolis
Re: Shortages
Sorry, I don't have practical advice for tall women, but I hope they figure it out themselves.Momma J wrote: ↑March 10th, 2022, 10:26 am Thank you for the great advice. A mental funny (because I am not great at multi-tasking this morning)
I asked myself.... What about women who are not short?A short women's self defense course
I often practice drawing my handgun in different scenarios. After cleaning, while it is still empty, I practice shooting from random areas in the house because I live in an area of high rate of home invasions. Working on muscle memory
If you're in such a bad area, why wouldn't you move?
-
Momma J
- captain of 1,000
- Posts: 1507
Re: Shortages
My employment is in the city. There is no safe area in Houston anymore. Some areas are worse than others, but all neighborhoods are targeted.harakim wrote: ↑March 11th, 2022, 2:52 amSorry, I don't have practical advice for tall women, but I hope they figure it out themselves.Momma J wrote: ↑March 10th, 2022, 10:26 am Thank you for the great advice. A mental funny (because I am not great at multi-tasking this morning)
I asked myself.... What about women who are not short?A short women's self defense course
I often practice drawing my handgun in different scenarios. After cleaning, while it is still empty, I practice shooting from random areas in the house because I live in an area of high rate of home invasions. Working on muscle memory
If you're in such a bad area, why wouldn't you move?
We bought a very humble abode in the country (150+ miles from Houston) on a few acres and are working diligently to make it our home. We have already established a good rapport with families in the area. We have planted fruit and nut trees and are beginning a decent garden.
Until we are able to move out there full time, we are practicing situational awareness at all times in the city. It is unsafe to even go to a store by yourself. Many businesses are hiring armed security but they cannot be everywhere.
While heading to my car at 5 in the morning I startled a thief rummaging through my neighbor's truck. He fired at me and hopped over a fence out of the neighborhood. .... I live in a relatively "safe" neighborhood (by Houston standards). Yet, three homes on my block were hit with home invasions in a period of two months. I believe they bypassed us because of the Rottweiler. I had a guy trying to kick in boards on our privacy fence with my Rottweiler grabbing his leg through the hole. He still kept trying to get in. The Sheriff's dept was out quick and told me next time to shoot. The guy was high and oblivious to the damage to his leg.
If people in the city want to know what it will be like when things go south????? Just take my meager examples of wanton crime and amplify them.
Last edited by Momma J on March 11th, 2022, 6:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
