Makes me think about all the food we've prepped and how to navigate emergencies/needing things from other people if we obviously look like we're eating/not starving/no significant weight loss.

I'd think that would be a rrd flag that we have resources. 5'6"ish female. What should be my calorie intake per day? And how much activity/calories burned per day?

At 3 am on Wednesday, June 24th, I couldn't sleep and decided to try to meditate in my living room. I opened the bedroom door to rain pouring from my kitchen ceiling. A pipe from my hot water heater had burst.

I live in an apartment building and this is actually the second leak this year in this apartment. The previous one was a minor (in retrospect) leak around the patio door during heavy spring rains. It was repaired with minimal impact on my daily life and there was no damage to property.

This time, there was also no personal property damage. However, the entire kitchen had to be removed.

After a shop-vac to remove the bulk of the water, maintenance set up fans and a dehumidifier. 48 hours later, we packed up everything in our kitchen and they demo'd the kitchen.

Due to the layout of the apartment, the plastic containment area they set up had to be accessed whenever we entered or exited the apartment. They didn't set up any barrier to our bedroom, bathroom, or upstairs. This left us with an uninhabitable living space from 6/26 - 7/3.

We have experienced other floods in different apartments in this complex and during the largest (winter 2024), they reimbursed us for hotel costs and insurance covered property damage.

Under new ownership, this time apartment management told us to stay at a hotel and have insurance pay for it. Turns out, it's not a covered loss. My claim presented images of extensive mold and the inadequate containment zone as evidence. Apparently mold isn't one of the insurance company's covered perils. Also, they used my pictures to note termite damage as additional reason for denying coverage.

My spouse and I took this final straw and decided to move out of this hell-hole. Luckily, we found a place that is actually quite an upgrade. But all of this means we have drained much of our savings in less than a week. $1250 for hotel, security deposit for new place + first month's rent in full, pro-rated rent on existing place, dining out more than usual, moving supplies and transport. When it rains it pours.

Earlier this year I was concerned about having money in savings accounts (even though it's in the highest yield savings accounts I can find) because rising interest rates means my money is losing value. But when I needed the money to get myself out of a tough spot, I had it. I feel incredibly grateful and lucky so much more I can't articulate. My spouse and I took a few minutes the other day - after we learned we had been approved at the new place - to focus on our gratitude and process that this might be one of the best days of our lives. After all of the stress of everything else going on, knowing we had an exit was such a relief. If this had happened even a few years prior, we would be forced to stay in this shit-hole. The hotel expenses would have been truly devastating. We aren't rich. But we have been working hard over the last several years to build our savings. Tuesday it paid off.

TLDR: Tuesday came and the prep that helped me the most was savings. Now I need to focus on building it back up.

I'm currently sitting in the middle of a wonderful heat wave. Since the air conditioner was going to be kicking hard all week, I decided to offset a bit of the added electric bill and do some real world testing by running the A/C blower off of a 6 kWh battery stack & the solar panels. I try to exercise my batteries at least every month or so, and this seemed like a good time to do it.

The good - my rough calculations put the blower using about 5-6kWh per day - I've successfully offloaded that on to solar for 6 days. I never ran out of juice and I never had to switch back over to grid power.

The not so good - solar panels really struggle when the temps are rocking the mid to upper 90's. Like 50-60% efficiency struggle. Also the blower runs a whole lot more for cool than for heat. During the winter I can get 80-90% efficiency out of the panels, 800w of solar panels is enough to keep the gas furnace going indefinitely if the weather is reasonable. In a heat wave - not so much. Sunday - Tuesday I ran the normal 800w and the batteries steadily lost ground every day. Wednesday I broke out another 400w of portable panels around mid day and they slowed the bleeding, but couldn't catch up. Thursday I switched the portables out for 400w of rigid panels starting first thing in the morning thinking surely that would take care of it - but again, nope. 1200w of panels still couldn't recover the batteries to 100%. Today I added yet another 400w - and finally was successful. The batteries topped out just before 1:00 pm this afternoon and have been running at maintaining since then.

1600w of panels never pushed more than 1000w today with clear skies and mid 90's temps. Mostly I was getting around 900w after about 9:00 am.

I also tried throwing a 100w panel outside with a smaller battery. The panel was on a picnic table with the battery underneath in the shade. That panel never topped 45w, and I eventually had to give up because the battery overheated even in the shade. The big stack lives in the basement so that wasn't an issue with them.

If your backup power plans include solar panels in an area that can get hot - factor in high temps degrading their output, and if you'd need to take the batteries outside, you may not be able to charge at all.

Please contain all off topic discussion to this weekly megathread. This is where you freak out, talk about conspiracy, talk about unrealistic crazy scenarios, asked and answered questions, etc.

Obviously both would probably be ideal.. but if you had to carry one for self defense, which would you choose?

Pepper spray would be convenient because it has some range on it, and it's deadly if it happens to be turned on you.. but I've heard of many cases of pepper spray failing to spray, not stopping an attack, or straight up exploding in your bag.

A knife would have more uses than just defense.. but I'd be worried that in a close-hand attack that the attacker could get it away from me and use it on me, which obviously would probably end way worse than getting pepper sprayed.

Also.. if you choose pepper spray then would you upgrade that to a bear spray? I heard it's stronger and might be more effective.. thoughts?

I'm doing several first year beds in this house, I've gardened a lot in the past, so I have some experience. I'm zone 6b, so we're already harvesting stuff (herbs, cukes and zucchini, my cherry tomatoes will be really soon). I'm curious what gardening is like in other parts of the country/world and how much gardening everyone else is doing!

I've searched the sub for this question and something is still unclear to me about proper propane storage. I do not have a shed or backyard, and I've been storing my 1lb propane canisters on my balcony, upright, under a tarp, etc so far. But today it's 40oC outside (104F) and it will be for many days to come, the only space that is not in sunlight is close to the apartment wall, and I worry about the tanks overheating? I'm not sure if I should move them indoors, give them an ice bath, or dump them at the eco center before an accident happens? Am I over worrying? From what I understand the pressure valves should do their job but there isn't really a way to test them, just to test for leaks? Does anyone with a science background know what is tangibly safe (as opposed to the general guidelines given with no explanation...)?

I just bought a 3L fanny pack to carry daily on the days I don't really want to carry our 12L backpack (that doubles as a diaper bag for our two year old).

Besides wallet, keys, phone.. what other absolutely essential items should I put in it? Maybe a very small first aid kit? Would love to hear your ideas.

I'm tired of carrying backpacks everywhere (:

Has anyone noticed a downtick in the generic supply availablilty at your local stores?

I've been noticing it's becoming harder to find generic items at my grocery store and options are also starting to shrink.

In a week we basically wake up 3 days with it between our pillows, 3 days with it around his neck and once a week we both wake up with it blasting the room bright due to "turbo mode" and gets put to the side table. I understand my husband's concerns but wanted to check here to understand how common it is and if there are real benefits.

I bought a spare router to put in storage a few months ago.

There was an FCC ruling I was concerned about and it was kind of dubious at the time if consumer grade router equipment would be available in the future in the US.

For some national security reasons the FCC put out some ruling that router equipment had to be manufactured in the US, however at the time no equipment met that criteria. You can look up more details if interested.

After that I took that as a que to buy backup network equipment a solid router and a few other odds and ends in case it was difficult to find. Our last one was doing fine I just wanted a solid backup so we didn't scramble.

Well Tuesday came for our router/modem ad there was a lightning strike night. It's now dead. The surge likely came through the coax cable of our Internet. I have a whole house surge protector otherwise and only the modem and the router were damaged. The computer nearby in the outlet/surge protector was fine.

So yeah. I was able to get the router out of the box without an issue to get my personal stuff back online that I keep off the Internet and only for my use. But our Internet is still out overall. Apparently whatever spectrum equipment that was struck last night is still messed up and homes around us don't have Internet either.

I'm writing this with my cell phone data right now and have no idea when the main spectrum Internet will be repaired.

We were going to switch to fiber since they recently laid down the infrastructure for that. This just pushes us to do that now. With fiber there isn't conductive coax cables for this issue to occur, and it's faster. I was putting that off just due to the 3 hour install for the line into the house.

Didn't think I would need my backup router this soon, but thankfully when they come tomorrow I can just plug in my replacement without having to scramble and research and potentially wait for shipping delays.

I recently found a box of my homemade, instant cold packs leftover from last year.

People often ask how to keep cool with AC and/or in high humidity. There's lots of ideas out there. Here's one more tool you can add to your toolbox. (Much more budget friendly than the store-bought ones!)

- RECIPE (I got it from my NOLS Wilderness First Aid instructor):

- 1 part baking soda

- 1 part citric acid

- 1 part water

• INGREDIENTS Note, I used Arm & Hammer baking soda and MB Herbals Anhydrous Citric Acid Powder food grade. This bag was advertised as fine grain. It was not. But that worked out for the best! I tried a much finer grain citric acid first. It easily turned into citric acid dust clouds and coated my kitchen. No bueno.

- Note: Only add the water when you want to activate these cold packs! More info on the way I hand these while activating the reaction further down below.

Together, these 3 ingredients create what's called an "endothermic reaction". Aka things get very cold.

I tinkered with the original recipe last year and was able to get the cold packs to last about 20 minutes each. Sadly, I lost my notes! What I do recall is that the final amount of water was 1/3 cup. So, maybe I ended up at 1/3c of each. But, I also remember I had an alternative recipe from someone else. And when I started experimenting, I started at 2 Tablespoons of each ingredient, and from there I tried different ratios to see what would get me the longest duration of cold.

- Safety notes: Citric acid can irritate the skin, eyes, lungs, etc. Im very sensitive to it. Others less so. Citricacid comes in different sized granuals. I liked the larger size because it didnt turn into clouds of fine dust andend up all over me and everything else as easily. Some people are very lax about handling and mixing because this stuff is nontoxic. But here's what I do.

- PPE for when mixing:

Wear nitril exam gloves, face mask. If you get it on you, rinse with room temperature water.

- Process: I scoop my ingredients into quart-sized, freezer ziplock-style bags. (Freezer version is thicker plastic, which I prefer.) (Not the slide-close version, but the pinch close version. I hope that makes sense!) Before sealing the bags shut, I slowly push out the air by rolling the bag, starting at the bottom. Once most of the air is out, I seal the bag.

- When Ive got as many of these made up as Im wanting, I double check the seal, then rinse off the outside of the bags.

- To ACTIVATE, I pour in the water and re-seal all but about 2 inches of the bag. You'll need to leave at least that much open or the CO2 gas this generates from the baking soda will cause the bag to baloon out and pop. The bag will get very cold to the touch.

- SAFETY NOTE: Just like when using an ice pack, dont put it directly against your skin or it could potentially cause cold damage, like frost bite. A friend of mine sewed some open-top cloth bags for me to set these in while using them. Dont forget the cold pack is open at one corner and accidentally dump it on yourself! (😂 Yes, Ive almost dont this.)

- DISPOSAL: When done with these, add more tap water into the plastic bag until it has doused the chemical reaction and ceased any further release of gasses. These are nontoxic chemicals. So I pour them down my sink drain at this point.

I usually spend a lot of time organizing and tidying what I've written before posting it. My fatigue is very high right now. Hopefully folks will forgive me for writting so messy this time.

Hi everyone! I’ve been stressed lately because I have a big move coming up and I’ll basically be starting my preps from scratch and I don’t know where to start. I feel the world has changed so much and I’m feeling so overwhelmed. Food shortages, oil prices, extreme weather events, AI, etc. I delete my apps and turn off my phone every few days just to give my mind a break.

I’m a SAHM of two kids who are not in school yet. I am an American that is currently living in a village in the Middle East (lived here for one year) and spent the past few months super stressed about the war and protecting my family. Rockets going over our house a few months ago, daily sirens and loud booms, nuclear threats and now we are getting extreme heat and minor food shortages and gas price increases. I have extensive preps in my home here and made many connections in case SHTF.

Anyway we couldn’t leave sooner because we simply didn’t have the funds or a place to stay in the US and we were not sure if it was safe. My husband is a truck driver. But now we are coming back to the US in 2 weeks and have a nice house to rent with a small plot of land. We are moving to Michigan.

I don’t want to spend a ton of money buying stuff right away but I want to feel prepared as I feel this summer and fall are going to be very hard on everyone with some unprecedented events occurring.

What would you prioritize if you were starting over with young kids in a new place? Not just “stuff” but skills and knowledge as well.

Thank you so much!!

I’m feeling a little anxious about holiday travel and being away from all my supplies between the heat and the current climate of everything. If you’re traveling this weekend, what preps are you including that you might not normally?

My biggest concern currently is probably the power grid going down because of heat or hacking, but there’s obvious 4th issues.

I have a kid who is on meds that make them heat intolerant. We are traveling to a water source so obvious water activity.

I realized half of my battery packs are built in to other devices (camping fans, weather radio) and I’m undecided if it makes sense to bring those. (Maybe the weather radio in case there’s interesting activity on the 4th?)

Where I’m going will have a generator assuming they have fuel on hand, a smoker and a grill with fuel, and a firepit with wood. I think there’s a camping stove but not sure. I have an EV so I can charge or run important things, but obviously not a whole house for a weekend or more. I’d likely focus on fridge, fans, and small things like air fryer or rice cooker. They do have some battery fans, as well as mister fans if there’s electricity.

I’m bringing: fancy water filter, cooling towels (1 per kid), cooling hat (1 per kid + 1 for me), 3 battery packs (2 only work for my phone though!), and a box of instant cooling packs. I’ll have extra medicine on hand in case the tropical storm becomes a hurricane and I can’t go back home.

What am I not thinking of? What are your concerns for the holiday?

UPDATE: HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY! The Food Storage calculator has undergone a MAJOR revamp thanks to your feedback. Here's a rundown of what the latest version (now live) offers:

• I reframed the tool from a simple calorie calculator into an Emergency Food Storage Planner.
• I added body-size adjustment for adults, seniors, pregnant, and breastfeeding household members.
• Manual calorie overrides:
  • per-person known daily need
  • whole-household known daily target
• Added a household buffer option: 0%, +10%, +15%, +20%, or +30% for waste, stress eating, picky eaters, teens (yup, these variables were much needed!), cold, hard work days, etc.
• Added planning modes:
  • deep pantry / normal meals
  • mostly ready-to-eat
  • limited cooking
  • cook-from-scratch staples
  • no power
• New: pantry style presets for starter shopping guidance:
  • budget canned food
  • bulk staples
  • no-cook
  • high-protein
  • kid-friendly
  • gluten-free
• Diet and household flags for things like gluten-free/celiac, diabetes/blood sugar concerns, low sodium, allergies, vegetarian/vegan, infant/formula needs, and elderly/medical needs.
• I added a lightweight current pantry snapshot so users can flag what they already have: canned meals, dry staples, protein foods, fats/oils, comfort foods, and special-diet foods.
• Brand new result sections for:
  • practical pantry examples
  • ready-to-eat vs cook-required split
  • cooking/fuel/water reality checks
  • nutrition gaps
  • shopping-list starter
  • known limitations
• I de-emphasized “rice equivalent” as the answer and added more normal grocery examples: canned meals, staples, proteins, fats, snacks, comfort foods, etc.
• Added better no-power guidance and cross-links to the matching water calculator.
• I also updated the PDF/print summary to include the new assumptions.

Hope this tool is helpful to some of you. Thanks again so much for all the feedback, it's so much better because of your contributions!

https://omniprepper.com/free-calorie-calc/

---
Hey everyone! A couple of weeks ago I shared my free water storage calculator here and got some really helpful responses. The feedback from this community helped shape the newer version, especially around pets, livestock, longer planning windows, and more realistic household water use. So first off, thank you for that!

I’m working through the same process now with a free emergency food storage calculator and would really appreciate another round of practical feedback.

I built this one to estimate how many calories your household would need for short or extended emergencies. It factors in:

- Household members by age band
- Adult sex
-Pregnancy and breastfeeding
-Activity level, from sheltering in place to active evacuation or cold weather
- Extra medical or special caloric needs
- Planning windows from 72 hours up to 2 years
-Estimated dry food weight, storage volume, and rice equivalent
- What you already have stored, so it gives a gap number instead of only a total target
- I also added a short methodology section because I know food planning gets messy fast. It’s not trying to be a clinical nutrition calculator; instead it uses broad emergency planning estimates, not exact height, weight, BMI, or medical diet needs. The latest update also split kids into narrower age bands instead of one giant “child” category, which was a fair criticism I got from early feedback.

Totally free, works offline once loaded, saves to PDF, and no account or signup needed:

https://omniprepper.com/free-calorie-calc/

And since so many people of you tested the water calculator last time, it’s still available online free also:

https://omniprepper.com/free-water-calc/

I’d love feedback on anything that feels iffy or plain wrong: assumptions, age/activity bands, long-duration planning, storage estimates, confusing wording, missing household situations, or anything that would make it more useful in real life.

Thanks again everybody, this community has been so receptive and awesome!

Please contain all off topic discussion to this weekly megathread. This is where you freak out, talk about conspiracy, talk about unrealistic crazy scenarios, asked and answered questions, etc.

Excellent thread from r/heat_prep on methods people in hot countries use to keep cool. Several ideas I haven't heard before.

Be sure to read the whole thread, the comments are very good and from several countries.

https://www.reddit.com/r/heat\_prep/s/aJIqpo1v6K

The beloved Black Forager has a book coming out! If you don't know her, search on various social media. She's a delight.

I have a nice thick encyclopediac plant reference but I think I also need recipes. And humor.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Happy-Snacking-Dont-Die!/Alexis-Nikole-Nelson/9781668002544

I know, I will eat white pasta if I have to, and out of scope are opinions about dietary choices, please:)

What are your tips / resources/ recommendations for keto / paleo / low carb prepping if you can't hunt for anything but poison ridden rats where you are :) (big city girl here)!

Thank you