Practical City Survival Guide – Part 1 of a Series

Over the years, we have seen many great survival guides posted here on ATS, but how many of us are guilty of racing to download the PDF’s without even the slightest clue what most of them contain?

I have multiple survival guides, and as I look though the guides I think to myself 50% of this information doesn’t apply to me, so what does, and how do I empower myself with what applies to my situation?

Most of us live in the city, and if things went downhill we wouldn’t survive for very long wandering about the city, nor the country. Many people will boast how they can survive, in nature and on very little, but I would wager that most people would find themselves scared, whining and hungry within 2 days, if the SHTF.

It takes great knowledge, adaptive skills, wit, and nerves of steel, to start to live off of the land, then add chaos into the mix and that leaves a select few, that would be able to live up to the challenge. The key to survival is making do with what is currently available to us, and developing a small community network.

Do I personally think things are going to go downhill into complete chaos? I hope not, but good self-sufficiency habits are good to have and practice regularly, whether times are good or bad. Let’s avoid a SHTF moment, because then we have to scramble to learn, this is an area where I think procrastination is not a good idea.

The Practical City Survival Guide will be a work in progress, new parts will be added every month or so, and ATS members are encouraged to add to the Guide.

This Practical City Survival Guide – Part 1, is an ATS exclusive and can be found nowhere else. The guide encompasses logic, reason, using materials that are all around us, and basic practical survival skills which we can start developing right now, at home. The guide can be refined and tuned to our special needs, it contains the basics, and the author suggests to only add a few skills every month or so, then it can become part of a daily routine.

This guide series will contain things I have personally and other ATS members use or practice daily, so this is not a bunch of links that have not been tested. This author suggests that we empower ourselves, and learn some basics skills, then our chances for survival, and the ability to educate our neighbors will lend a high degree of self sufficiency.

The Basics

First and for most what are the most important things we need?

1) Food and water – We won’t be able to do much without these two things
2) Shelter – Well if you live in the city problem solved shelter is everywhere.
3) Readily available material resources and acquired skills.
4) Knowing there is safety in numbers, or a well organized community working together.

Food, Water and Storage

So where to begin, well making a list is essential, back in the day many pioneers, and survivalists had at least 6 months of foods put away to feed their families, some even more, but today we rely on the “Matrix” to fulfill our daily food needs. Most people have about a week's supply of food, and some even less.

So let’s take a look at what we can store in bulk and will not spoil, in bulk.

1) Rice – is very good to have because it is cheap and a 50lb bag costs very little, but let’s go a bit further here and do some simple math.
2) Dried Beans – Very important since these are almost a complete food source, they range in prices and nutritional value, but can be stored in bulk for years.

The average person needs between 1500 and 2500 calories a day to maintain health.
So let’s say a single person needs 1500 calories a day times 365 days = 547,500 calories total
Rice = approximately 1656 calories per pound rice / yearly need = 330 pounds of rice per year
Bean’s = approximately 649 calories per pound beans / yearly need = 850 pounds of beans per year
So if you stock up that is about (6) 50 pound bags of rice and about (17) 50 pound bags of beans.
That’s allot of beans and rice! These are numbers that can be cut by 50%, but then we are at bare minimum caloric intake.

Other food Ideas – approximate usage for one year.
• Wheat - 330 lbs.
• Rice - 100 lbs.
• Beans, Peas, Lentils, 50 lbs. each
• Honey or Sugar - 100 lbs.
• Salt - 4 lbs.
• Dried Milk - 30 lbs.
• Peanut Butter - 50 lbs.
• Dried Fruit
• Canned food, or dried
• Oatmeal - 100 lbs.
• Dried herbs and seasonings
• Canned Sardines, tuna, salmon
• Molasses 2 Gallons – very cheap and essential for minerals
• Dried and cured meats 100 pounds

Where do we store all this stuff?

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Hmmm well just depends on where we live, but containers are free and available almost everywhere.
The best place to start looking is restaurants, since they will discard 5, 3, 1 gallon plastic containers, almost daily. The next place if we have lots of room, would be a car wash, if we ask the owners they may give them up for free, if we are even more fortunate to live in an industrial area, then the sky is the limit.





Here is someone that has a well organized storage room.



Just make sure containers are not from some hazardous source. Plastic containers and bags have multiple uses in survival and practical lifestyles, so get familiar with their many uses and maybe come up with new ideas too.
Also we have to be realistic how many people have the room to store hundreds of pounds of dried goods, so make do and store at least a couple of months worth for each person.

I have actually seen people living in small apartments or flats, and with not much room, but they store food under their bed. How this is done is by building a loft type bed and making storage drawers underneath, now I know this may be a bit awkward, but if we have empty space not being utilized in living areas this is one way of maximizing space.



For those of us that have a bit of extra money maybe some premade shelves, look at this interesting video on YouTube.




Storage of Water

Storage of water is not that hard or a task, we just need to make certain that we separate the non-potable water from the potable, meaning drinking from the washing or impure water.

Back to the large plastic drums that we obtained for free, because now we actually have the ability to store rain water, or recycle water the is used for washing. Have separate barrels for separate uses.

Gutters and downspouts are our friends, yes those downspouts can yield quite a bit of fresh water when it's warm outside and even on sunny days when it's cold outside.

And if you can afford it a water filter, might be a good tool to add to your survival list.




Homemade Water Filter for about $3 US




A more elaborate and expensive water filter, but still cheap to make.



Shelter

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This is a simple one.

Well the point of this guide is to make do with what is currently available and not run around looking for a new place to live, unless the area is not safe to live, then that is a whole different survival guide.

So we are in our homes, maybe the power is gone, no gas, no light, no water. Depending on our area and climates will need different things, but the basics are the same.

The most powerful place we can be is in our homes, if conditions and circumstances allow this, Why? because we are familiar with our surroundings, neighbors, and climate changes.

I am going to end part 1 of this series to listen to suggestions from other ATS members, and get feedback; these guides are not an absolute and can be fine tuned for particular needs, so methods will vary from person to person, and region to region.

Part 2 will contain some very interesting homegrown and self-made applications; I have personally used and believe in. In the series we will also talk more in-depth look at 2, 3, 4 of "the most important items needed to survive", from the beginning of this post

Looking forward to everyone’s input.

Peace out.

RT

S&F! Great work OP - bookmarking this one. Thank you from a city dweller!!!

great thread. This makes more sense to me than a lot of other ones i've found. I'm just getting into the thought process of preparing and this will help me out a lot. i especially like the vid about the food storage in the buckets. I will probably do that for sure.

*PREPARATION IS KEY*

I don't think that can be said or reiterated enough.

A food dehydrator and vacuum-sealer will allow you to prepare, store and save a variety of foodstuffs and the like.

No matter if it be a mere temporary power outage for a few days or a week, or a more of a 'worse case' scenario of months-long need for sustenance and survival. You can easily have on hand a month's worth of food for two ... that would readily fit into a decent size backpack.

I sent a bubble pack envelope to both JacKatMtn and semperfortis yesterday with two snack-size ziplocs inside that would easily fit in your back pocket. We'll likely do an 'All Things Survival' show on this topic alone.

One contained the raw/fresh equivalent of 1 pound 'eye of round' lean beef made into jerky, and the other the raw/fresh equivalent of one apple, one banana and a decent size bunch of seedless white grapes.

The caloric and nutrient content would be somewhere in the near 2,000 calorie mark, and them being absolutely fresh, with no additives, preservatives, anti-mold agents or whatever leaves the nutrient content about as high as you could possibly wish for ... rather tasty, too.

High in protein and carbs, low-fat, with plenty of fiber and various essential nutrients, etc.

Even just stored in ziplocs they would easily have a storage/shelf life of a month or better ... and if vacuum-sealed then your talking years.

Vacuum-packing them would also significantly reduce the required storage space, as well.

Again, preparation is key.

Make friends with local farmers, or join a local fresh food co-op and learn to can food, there are websites and blogs to learn from, or perhaps a good excuse to visit your grandmom for a weekend and learn from her. It's a great way to supplement the staples suggested in the opening post.

Lowes:

Excellent post. It doesn't pertain to me much but great non the less.
Everything you said is right on the money and city people should take note.

Also I wanted to let you all know, Wal-mart sells 5 gallon buckets & lids for something like $2.98.

You can also get new never used steel gallon paint cans from paint stores. They make excellent containers.

I store my salt & sugar in those 5 gallon water jugs that go on the water coolers. They have the small neck and opening so pouring is a lot easier than a 5 gallon bucket.

Flour, Sugar, corn meal and other such items can be put into 1 gallon zip lock bags and then put in a bucket. When you need to use it you can just pull one bag at a time out.

Remember to stock some salt. It's very important for your body to function correctly and in a long term it might
be hard to find unless you live near a salt mine or in Utah. It's cheap, easy to store and lasts forever.
Besides when you have to catch and eat those rats in the basement salt will make it yummier.

Great thread, I look forward to more, flagged and subscribed.
The plastic buckets work great, orschlens farm and home(if you have one close) sells the food grade ones for 2.50 for the bucket and lid. I began using them a year ago or so, they are also easy to stack in the back of the closet, one atop the other to the ceiling, out of sight, but not out of mind.
Thanks again

reply to post by Realtruth


S & F real.

I'm in the country, a very small rural town, which as you point out requires a totally different approach to survival and offers more long-term resources for surviving a SHTF scenario.

Glad to see someone looking out for our urban friends.

Thank you. I am one of the fortunate ones since I have a producing farm in Michigan, but also live in the city. People in rural areas are a close knit group and know one another, but in the city most people hardly even know or even care to know their neighbors.

It all comes down to people being able to work together if something happens, but from what I know about people in general, the majority of us want to help and be constructive, instead of the opposite.

I consider everyone here on ATS my friends, even if I do not agree with them on particular issue doesn't mean that I would not help them out, if they were in need.

People in the USA and aboard should remember one thing and that is "Farmers are the backbone of our society" they work harder than anyone I know and deserve the highest pay, but today this is not the case.

Support your local farmers, farmers markets and or maybe join a farmer Co-op, in your area.

Originally posted by mydarkpassenger
reply to post by Realtruth

 

I'm in the country, a very small rural town, which as you point out requires a totally different approach to survival and offers more long-term resources for surviving a SHTF scenario.

Glad to see someone looking out for our urban friends.

[

I'm a frequent visitor and joined ATS because of this topic.

I really like this thread. A great amount of information is sure to come out of here. I suggest that as you adopt some of the practices here, you also follow up with supplemental knowledge. We all live in different areas with different resources. Making the best of your situation is dependent upon your ability to utilize your immediate environment.

My first piece of advice for anyone storing rice and other grains; do not be alarmed if you see weevils. These are tiny bugs that can sometimes be packaged during processing. They are harmless, and may very well be delicious. If you prefer to not consume them, you can eradicate them by freezing rice for a few days before storing it in an airtight container. Or you can just deal with them once you are ready to prepare the rice. They will float in water and can be skimmed off the top so that you don't serve them to someone who may be in a state of emotional distress. The simple fact that you are in a situation that requires you to tap into your emergency stores warrants not adding unnecessary stress.

Well laid out presentation and very practical ...

I always struggle with survival guides in general ... While yours is clearly more practical and thought out (I really liked the homemade water filter by the way) then others I have seen. I always wonder why survival guides don't really deal with how to survive after whatever event has occurred that would necessitate having to have all these skills put into practice. It is one thing to prepare to survive an event which would require a years worth of food. But, it is a totally different set of circumstances when you have starving neighbors who see you have prepared and are plotting to kill you to take what you have. Or, how do you evade the zombies (those who did not prepare) for the first 4 to 6 weeks while the weak die off from no water or food. How to deal with dead bodies (why does no one recommend stockpiling lye?) ... I mean think of Katrina and what if there was no help. How do you deal with that madness? Those are just as practical and often times more important then learning how to put things on shelves. I am not trying to detract from you work. It is awesome ... but, I can imagine the cities or larger towns becoming war zones as desperate and dying people look for supplies ... and, it is always possible to move to another more safe area ...but, you will have to evade until safety and will have to leave behind the majority of the supplies ... learning how to make these items mobile and pre-staging supplies in other areas along an escape route may be beneficial to explore.

For example, how do you stockpile antibiotics? (Hint, either get a doctor who understands survival preps and will help you out with a scrip or explore using animal antibiotics which are the same pill just expired for human use .. but, you should explore that subject as a number of resources on the internet are suggesting I am not a doctor and am not trying to pass along medical advise .. I just know what I have done to prepare for medical emergencies and ongoing treatments.

But, I do like what you have put together ... nice work.

Welcome to ATS formally!

I wish everyone could see my already well outlined itinerary for the future City Survival Guide series, but I have to leave some of the information to surprise, because we all like that kind of stuff.

What I can tell all of you is that these applications will work both in the City, and the Rural areas, since I actually live in both, I have the understanding of both worlds.

The talented and well informed people here on ATS never cease to amaze me, so additional input to these series will be really interesting.

And the little bugs in the rice, just think of them as extra protein we didn't bargain on. Otherwise, like you said sift away and enjoy.

Originally posted by blackandblue
I'm a frequent visitor and joined ATS because of this topic.

I suggest that as you adopt some of the practices here, you also follow up with supplemental knowledge.

My first piece of advice for anyone storing rice and other grains; do not be alarmed if you see weevils. These are tiny bugs that can sometimes be packaged during processing.

This thread reminds me of something my grandmother used to always say:

*Grow what you can and then can what you grow

Gardens and canning fruits/vegetables would be a great skill to learn/have and for those in the cities, there are tons of options. Community gardens, rooftop/balcony gardens, co-ops, farmers markets, etc. are all good places to start. An important reason for doing this now, is to work through the learning process of successful gardening, before one finds oneself in the position of having to do it in a longer term survival situation.

Thank you.

I will also touch on the subject of dealing with the so called "zombies" as you say, lol. People are scared, they need direction, so if you have the knowledge you will be able to lead these so called zombies. Remember the only thing they are looking for is food, water, and direction.

A well organized community group, armed with survival techniques can teach thousands of ignorant zombies to transition and be in the know.

I will also cover some basic how to, on what I call preventative home medicine, but I will have to clear all of that information with the the owners and legal here at ATS first, since we are not Doctors, nor do we prescribed any type of treatments.

The key here at ATS and motto is to "Deny Ignorance", instead of creating it.

Originally posted by atlantalan
Well laid out presentation and very practical ...

Or, how do you evade the zombies (those who did not prepare) for the first 4 to 6 weeks while the weak die off from no water or food. How to deal with dead bodies (why does no one recommend stockpiling lye?) ... I mean think of Katrina and what if there was no help. How do you deal with that madness? Those are just as practical and often times more important then learning how to put things on shelves

For example, how do you stockpile antibiotics?

Very informative thread. Only thing I would add is that I would not recommend using storage containers that once house chemicals. IE: Car wash buckets, as suggested. This may be handy but can make someone very sick. Even if they are washed out very well, residue will still remain.

This is a common no-no in the foodservice industry.

Originally posted by sheepslayer247
Very informative thread. Only thing I would add is that I would not recommend using storage containers that once house chemicals. IE: Car wash buckets, as suggested. This may be handy but can make someone very sick. Even if they are washed out very well, residue will still remain.

This is a common no-no in the foodservice industry.

This is a very good point and duly noted. The ones I have are well washed with a pressure washer and only used for recycled water, and storing grains for planting next season.

I once used a laundry detergent bucket that have lemon scent in it, for storing long term rice and sugar, hence I ended up with nasty tasting rice and sugar.

Another great place to get huge food grade storage barrels is from large soft drink companies like Coke, Pepsi, etc....

Food chain restaurants are a great source for storage bins for free, remember just ask them.

My last run I ended up with 40 five gallon buckets, lids and 20 great olive containers with lids too.

Originally posted by Realtruth

Most of us live in the city, and if things went downhill we wouldn’t survive for very long wandering about the city, nor the country. Many people will boast how they can survive, in nature and on very little, but I would wager that most people would find themselves scared, whining and hungry within 2 days, if the SHTF.

It takes great knowledge, adaptive skills, wit, and nerves of steel, to start to live off of the land, then add chaos into the mix and that leaves a select few, that would be able to live up to the challenge. The key to survival is making do with what is currently available to us, and developing a small community network.

I can do it. I know I can because we do it all the time for fun. It's called Camping. This little tutorial is nice for some folks who have no clue, it's a good place to start but I encourage people to test themselves. For years we have gone into the woods with next to nothing and survived for a week making our own shelter and living off the land. 95 % of survival is mental. If you prepare yourself for the worst and prove to yourself you can do it by doing it before the SHTF, you will be able to do it when you need to.

Most times we come out of the woods bringing more food and supplies home than we had when went in. People who hunt and fish all their lives know this can be done - it's the folks with no experience living off the land that have trouble. They panic, they forget instruction. If I had to survive in the city as opposed to the woods I'd be in heaven. In the city you can test yourself by cutting off all your electricity and water for a week at a time. Do this at least twice a year. This summer is coming up.. that's a good time to test yourself. When you've gotten comfortable doing this try doing it in the woods. The best thing about these exercises is you will learn from your mistakes each time you try them. When the SHTF you can be, will be ready.

How can we survive the onslaught of looters and roving gangs? Sorry if I overlook this I just read too fast

food for thought..pun somewhere

canned chili, cooked, high in protein, has garlic, tomato, seasonings, carbs, beans..
doesn't require water of energy to cook. these are 2 key things which are precious in survival.

canned fruit like pineapple (cheap) and vit C loaded.. no scurvy

bottles of tabasco makes anything edible

that was awesome post thanks for the great tips.