Basic Survival Necessities, by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.

The Basic Minimum Necessities for Survival During Hard Times
Copyright © November 1, 2008 and February 14, 2009 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.

There are three possibilities during a serious hard times tragedy event:
1. You could die.
2. You could try to survive at your current home or apartment.
3. You could try to survive after abandoning your home or apartment.

A wise person will realize that staying at home and abandoning your home both have advantages and disadvantages depending on the circumstances. If either alternative is completely ignored then the only other alternative may be death. To maximize your chances for long-term survival you will need to carefully evaluate your current residence in relationship to the actual event you are trying to survive.

For example, if a fire was headed your way and you knew there was a 99.99% chance your home was going to burn to the ground, then staying in your home would not be the best choice for someone who wanted to survive.

On the other hand, if a winter blizzard was coming your way and the weather forecast was for three-feet of snow that would be on the ground for at least six weeks, then a decision to abandon your home would not be the best choice.

Therefore neither staying at home nor abandoning your home would always be the best choice in every possible scenario. A person who wishes to maximize his or her chances for long-term survival should be able to quickly and effectively execute either option depending on the actual circumstances at the time the decision needed to be made.

With that in mind, the following list of items would be extremely useful for long-term survival for almost any type of hard times event. The items listed below would be needed whether or not you choose to stay at home or leave.

The following items should be purchased prior to the onset of a hard times tragedy event. They should be carefully packed into cartons (or plastic totes) and then set aside for future use during an emergency. The storage area should be located where you could quickly transfer all the following items into your escape vehicle if it became necessary to quickly evacuate your home.

The following list is based on the assumption that you currently have a roof over your head, and that you already own the necessary items for routine daily survival, such as clothes, towels, and cook pots. If you do not own these simple items then you will obviously need to add them to the following list.

Minimum Quantities for a Hard Times Event
The following list is based on the minimum needs for a "hard times event." The quantities are therefore less than what a person might consume during "normal times." If money and storage space are not an issue for you, then you could easily increase all the following quantities to whatever level you feel comfortable with. However, if either money or storage space are limited, then the following suggestions may help you to better utilize whatever funds and space you do have available so you would have some of the necessities in each major category.

For example, during a hard times event it would be sad if you had enough food to last three-years but you had no toothpaste. Therefore the following list is based on a "balance" in each category. After you have acquired the minimum quantities in each area, then you could continue to add to your inventory and purchase additional items as you see fit.

Safe Air - (Total Cost = $6 for One Person.)

Cost	Item Description	Application
$6	Several Breathing Masks	Useful during an epidemic, or if the air is full of ash or dust or other small particles.

Either a doctor's or painter's face mask will do.

If you don't have a face filter mask then you can make your own by securing a cloth or bandana around your mouth and nose and then carefully breathing through it.

Safe Water - (Total Cost = $245 for an Entire Family.)

Cost	Item Description	Application
$30	Three Heavy Duty Tarps (9'x12') (10 Mil)	Direct safe rainwater into large clean plastic tote containers.
$10	300 Yards Nylon or Poly Twine (150# Test)	Use to secure tarps in a sloped V-shape towards the above plastic totes.
$205	One Katadyn Pocket Water Filter	Filter tiny radioactive particles out of water after a nuclear explosion.

Clean empty two-liter soda bottles with screw-on caps may be used for water storage. You will need 50 clean empty soda bottles per person in order to store a 30-day supply of emergency drinking water per person.

The Katadyn Pocket Water Filter may be purchased online from any one of the following suppliers:
http://www.basegear.com/katadynpocket.html
http://www.survivalequipment.net/katadyn_pocket.html
http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-8013618-Pocket-Water-Microfilter/dp/B0007U00YE

Additional information about safe drinking water is at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/wwater.htm

Food - (Total Cost = $1,128 for One Person. Add $800 for each additional person.)

Cost	Item Description	Application
$800	Six-Month Food Supply for One Person	One-year would be better. Three-years would be optimal.
$30	Assortment of Heirloom Vegetable Seeds	Replenish your vegetables in the long-term.
70	Shovel, Hoe, Rake, Pick, Axe	Strong fiberglass handles. Plant garden seeds and harvest vegetables.
$23	Book: Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Gardening	Basic gardening instructions.
$15	Book: Preserving the Harvest	How to save your summer food for winter consumption.
$150	Steel Pan Traps and Conibear Traps	Replenish meat supplies in the long-term.
$40	Professional Snares and 14 Gauge Steel Wire	Replenish meat supplies in the long-term.

The above books may be purchased from any internet book store such as amazon.com.

Your emergency food supply must have a reasonable variety of different food items. If you only have a limited number of different food items to eat then appetite fatigue will result in your starvation even though you have food. Your mind and your body will simply reject the thought of eating the same food again and again and again. If you doubt the truth of this statement then conduct a simple test. Pick your favorite four food items that you enjoy eating more than anything else and then only eat those four food items for one-month. Before one-week has passed you will be repulsed at the thought of eating those foods again. Try it and see if you can force yourself to only eat those four foods for an entire month.

Appetite fatigue does not occur when there is no food available. For example, long-term war prisoners in a POW camp will generally eat almost anything. Each day they do not have the option to eat or not eat. On many days they get nothing to eat. When they do get fed there is never enough food to satisfy their hunger and therefore they will eat almost anything at any time and be grateful for whatever it happens to be.

Appetite fatigue occurs when you have food to eat and you have the choice to eat or not eat. This is one of the reasons old people in a retirement home usually lose weight and their health. The cafeteria serves the same basic bland food over and over again.

Therefore you should have some reasonable variety in your emergency food supplies. A recommended one-year emergency food supply that contains 60 different food items is at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/hfood1yr.htm

If you do not have extensive previous gardening experience then you should seriously consider the purchase of a three-year supply of food for each member of your family.

If you live in an area where there are white oak acorns, or kudzu, or poke sallet, then you should learn how to prepare each of those items for human consumption. Just click on the name of the wild food item to learn more about that particular item.

If you are an experienced gardener or rancher then you should have a supply of heirloom vegetable seeds so you can replenish the vegetables in your six-month food supply after they are gone. Some basic gardening advice is at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/indexgar.htm

If you live near an area where their are wild squirrels, rabbits, opossums, armadillos, or other wild game animals then you could replenish your meat supplies using commercial quality traps and snares.

Information on how to use snares and traps is at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/wsnares.htm

Professional quality snares may be purchased online from any of the following suppliers:
http://www.fntpost.com/Categories/Trapping/Snares+Slides+and+Supplies/Snares+Snare+Extension+Cables/Snare+Shop+Snares/
http://www.nwtrappers.com/catalog/products.asp?cat=119

Conibear traps (Size 110, 220, and 330) may be purchased online from:
http://www.fntpost.com/Categories/Trapping/Traps/Body+Grip+Traps+(Including+Conibear)/Oneida+Victor+Conibear+Traps/
http://www.guardianpestcontrol.com/conibear_trap.htm
http://www.nwtrappers.com/catalog/products.asp?cat=165

Duke pan traps (size #1.5 and size #2) may be purchased online from:
http://www.fntpost.com/Categories/Trapping/Traps/Coil+Spring+Traps/Duke+Coil+Spring+Traps/
http://www.nwtrappers.com/catalog/products.asp?cat=171

Some wild game recipes are at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/rgame.htm

Cooking - (Total Cost = $22 for an Entire Family.)

Cost	Item Description	Application
$4	4,000 Paper Matches	One box = 1,000 matches (50 match books x 20 matches/book).
$8	8 Butane Lighters	At least two different brands of lighters.
$10	Dish Soap	Keep dishes clean to avoid health problems.

Resist the temptation to only buy matches or butane lighters. Some very good reasons for buying both are at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/wthree.htm

Personal Hygiene - (Total Cost = $100 for One Person.)

Cost	Item Description	Application
$40	72 Double Rolls Toilet Tissue	Three-year supply for one person.
$30	42 Bars of Bath Soap	Three-year supply for one person.
$15	6 Eight-oz. Tubes of Tooth Paste	Three-year supply for one person.
$6	3 Good Toothbrushes	Three-year supply for one person.
$9	36 Disposable Razors	Three-year supply for one person.

The above quantities are for one person. You would need to increase those quantities based on the number of people in your family.

Double Roll Toilet Tissue

Toilet Tissue: A comparison of three different brands of toilet tissue is at the following page on my web site:
Toilet Tissue Comparison.

Dental Hygiene: Your dentist probably recommends replacing your toothbrush every six-months. During normal times this is a good idea. However, during hard times the life of a toothbrush could be extended to one-year. Once again this is a personal decision you should make for yourself.

Razors: Occasionally you will see the old fashioned "straight razor" recommended as a better investment than disposable razors. If you wish you may purchase one. However, I have purchased and tried three different types of new straight razors during the past two years and I have been extremely disappointed with all of them. You may conduct these tests yourself if you wish or you could save yourself some time and money and simply buy a few dozen disposable razors instead.

During hard times there are very, very few jobs. Competition for those jobs is extraordinary. The hiring decision is sometimes made on first impressions. A person who is clean, with clean combed hair, clean shaven, clean breath, and wearing clean clothes will have a superior chance of being selected for any job that is available. In addition that person should have a positive attitude, good manners, good posture, and not use offensive words or gestures.

Personal Protection and Hunting - (Total Cost = $2,150 for One Family.)

Cost	Item Description
$465	Glock Model 22 Pistol (.40 caliber S&W) with 2 magazines.
$320	1,000 rounds .40-caliber 180-grain hollow point ammunition.
$30	Pistol holster with a spare magazine compartment.
$600	AK-47 semi-auto rifle, scope mount, scope, four magazines.
$250	1,000 rounds 7.62x39 ammunition.
$280	22LR semi-auto Ruger Model 10/22 Rifle, see-through scope mounts, scope, four magazines.
$140	5,000 rounds 22LR ammunition.
$40	Buck Model 119 Hunting Knife.
$25	Folding Pocket Knife.

If you already own a handgun, a centerfire rifle, and either a 22LR pistol or rifle then I suggest that you be content with what you already have and not invest any money in new firearms. However, I would suggest that you purchase a least 1000 rounds of ammunition for your handgun, and 1000 rounds for your rifle, and 5000 rounds of 22LR ammunition.

Miscellaneous - (Total Cost = $214 for One Family.)

Cost	Item Description	Application
$6	Hand Sewing Needles and Thread	Required to keep your clothes repaired during a long-term tragedy event.
$20	Laundry Detergent	Periodically wash your clothes for health reasons.
$4	240 Band Aids	4 Boxes. To hold cuts closed and prevent infection.
$14	Merck Manual of Medical Information	Basic health care reference manual.
$100	AM/FM/Shortwave Battery Operated Radio	Stay informed about local, national, and world events.
$15	6 Extra AA Rechargeable Batteries	Extra Rechargeable Batteries for Radio and Flashlight.
$25	One Quality L.E.D. Flashlight with 2 AA Batteries	Emergency light at night. Same battery size as above.
$30	Oral Antibiotic Capsules	Either 100 Amoxicillin or 60 Erythromycin.

Additional information about an AM/FM/Shortwave Battery Operated Radio is at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/hradiog.htm

The following is not medical advice nor is it a medical recommendation nor is it an endorsement for the following company.
The following is simply one source where you can purchase pet antibiotics online for a reasonable price.
100 Amoxicillin 500 mg Capsules can be purchased online at: http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p/2456-Fish-Mox-Forte-500mg.aspx
60 Erythromycin 250 mg Capsules can be purchased online at: http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p/2454-Fish-Mycin.aspx
A complete list of antibiotics is available at: http://www.revivalanimal.com/store/p/5922-Fish-and-Bird-Antibiotics.aspx

The following is one source where you can purchase a variety of medications for a reasonable price from India:
https://www.alldaychemist.com/

Note: The above list includes bath soap, dish soap, and laundry soap. If money and space are limited then you could simply purchase ordinary white Ivory bar soap without any extra ingredients and use it for everything. Just use a knife or a cheese grater to shave some soap off a bar of white Ivory soap and then put those shavings into some boiling water. The resulting soapy liquid may then be used as dish soap or laundry soap or hair shampoo.

It is also possible to make soap and those instructions are at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/wsoap.htm
I suggest you print a hard copy of those soap making instructions for future reference purposes.

Although it is possible to make soap from rainwater, campfire ashes, and animal fat this would not be my first choice as the best use for animal fat during a hard times tragedy event. During hard times my personal opinion is that the best use for animal fat would be to make pemmican. Instructions for making pemmican are at the following link: http://www.grandpappy.info/rpemmica.htm

Two Possible Storage Areas Inside Your Home
If you decide to purchase some or all the above basic survival necessities then you will need to store those items inside your home or apartment. If you are like most of us you will not be able to buy and store enough food to feed your family and all your close relatives. And there will simply be no way you could possibly feed all your friends and neighbors. Therefore, you will need to keep you emergency supplies a secret from everyone except your spouse. Neither you nor your spouse should tell anyone about your emergency reserves, and that includes even your own children. Children will talk to other children and it won't be long before everyone knows about your supplies.

The following two storage areas are places that almost everyone should have available in a home or in a rented apartment.

Your Bedroom Closet:
Put a regular front door lock on your bedroom closet door. This would be a normal key operated lock that you might put on the front door to a home. It is relatively easy to install with just a Phillips four-slotted head screwdriver. Remove the existing closet door knob that is held in place with two screws and then remove the side latch two screws and the existing door knob will come out of the door. Then replace it with the same size front door lock in the reverse order. Install the side latch with two screws and then install the door lock with the key hole facing into the bedroom. This can be done for an investment of about $20 to $30 depending on the lock. The new door lock does not need to be burglar proof - it just needs to be a simple key operated lock. (Note: Save the old closet door knob so you can replace it in the closet door when you move.)

Transfer most of whatever you currently have in your bedroom closet to another place.

Then carefully stack your food on the floor of the closet all the way to the ceiling of the closet. If necessary, you can remove the closet shelf to make room for your food.

Then put a copy of your "Last Will and Testament" and copies of whatever "Insurance Papers" you may have inside the closet with your food. Also put a few family pictures in the closet. Then lock the closet door.

Neighbor questions? If anyone asks you why you have a locked closet in your bedroom, then tell them the truth. Begin by saying that you don't have anything valuable in the closet. Tell them you do not have a bank safe deposit box and therefore you keep your "Will" and "Insurance Papers" and other very personal papers (such as family photographs) in the closet and you don't want a thief or anyone else to be able to easily get to them without breaking down the door. Then immediately change the subject and start talking about something else. If the person asks again about the locked closet simply repeat your original comment and then add, "That's all I want to say about my personal papers. I don't have any cash or other valuable items in that closet. The only stuff in that closet are my personal possessions and I don't want to lose them or be forced to replace them. Now let's talk about something else." And if someone asks to look inside your closet then politely say that you put a lock on the closet to prevent curious people from going through your personal possessions and you don't intend to make an exception for anyone.

The lock on your bedroom closet door will not keep a determined thief out of your closet. He or she will simply pry the door open or break the door down. The purpose of the locked closet door is to prevent curious people from accidentally seeing your emergency food supplies and other hard times survival items. If you can keep your emergency survival items a "secret" then you will have a much better chance of surviving a hard times tragedy event.

The "Bottom Foundation Mattress" of Your Bed:
(Note: The following idea may or may not be original but as of November 1, 2008 I have never personally seen it discussed anywhere on the internet or in any type of book.)

Most bedroom beds have two components:
1. The upper soft mattress you sleep on, and
2. The lower foundation that supports the upper mattress.

The lower foundation contains mostly empty space. The foundation is basically just a frame that elevates the top mattress to a comfortable height so you can more easily get on and off the upper mattress. In the old days the lower unit was a "box spring" that contained springs similar to the upper mattress. However, with the improvement in the quality of the upper mattresses, the lower unit was gradually changed to a supporting foundation instead of the traditional box spring.

Begin by removing the pillows and sheets from your top mattress. Then slide the top mattress off the bed and stand the mattress on its side against the wall of the room.

If the foundation mattress is properly installed on your bed, then the upper side of the foundation probably has a very nice piece of fabric stretched tightly over a solid piece of fiberboard or plywood, and it will probably be sewn to the edges of the foundation all the way around the top. Now lift the foundation up off the bed frame and stand the foundation on its side so it is leaning against the upper mattress against the wall.

If you examine the bottom side of the foundation you will probably see a very thin piece of fabric that is simply stapled to the outside edges of the bed. If you carefully remove two or three staples and look inside the foundation you will see that it is almost completely hollow inside. There is usually a center wood support piece that extends from the top to the bottom of the foundation. And there is a very narrow thin shelf that usually goes all the way around the inside of the bed.

Think about what you are going to do next and only remove enough of the staples to gain access to the inside of the foundation at critical spots around the outside edge of the foundation. Be careful and try to avoid tearing the fabric so that it will not look like it has been tampered with when you are finished. If the current piece of fabric is in really bad shape then simply replace it with a new piece of off-white fabric from a sewing supply shop or WalMart. (Note: Depending on how much work you intend to do, it may be easier to carefully remove all the staples and the piece of fabric. When you are finished you can replace the original piece of fabric to the foundation with some ordinary off-white thumb tacks.)

Measure the clearance inside the foundation from side to side just above the narrow shelf on each side. Then place several supports from one side of the foundation to the other side on top of the narrow inside ledge of the foundation. The supports could be 1/2-inch thick lumber that is 3 to 12 inches wide and the exact length of the inside clearance inside the foundation. Of it could be anything else that will adequately support some weight. If you have a hammer and some nails or screws then you could improve the strength of the side-to-side supports by installing a wood support from the inside top to the inside bottom in the very center of the foundation. Then you could insert two, three, or four sheets of plywood about 12-inches wide onto the narrow side shelves and the new center support. Or you could use several pieces of 1/2-inch thick lumber between 3 to 12 inches wide and of the correct length. Your objective is to create a secret storage area inside your foundation that will support some weight and not gradually bend under that weight and eventually collapse onto the floor.

After you have modified your mattress foundation then return the foundation to its correct position on top of its original bed frame support.

With the foundation now back in its original position on the bed frame, you can begin inserting your relatively expensive survival items inside your lower foundation. For example, you could store most of your firearms out-of-sight inside the foundation. Do not store loaded firearms inside your foundation. Place each firearm inside a large plastic bag and secure the top of the bag with an ordinary twist tie or some tape. You could also carefully store your ammunition by placing it as close as possible to the outside narrow ledge inside the foundation so the original thin shelf supports most of the weight of each box of ammunition. Place each box of ammunition inside a ziplock freezer bag and securely close the bag before you put the ammunition inside your bed foundation.

This would also be a reasonable place to store any small relatively expensive items, such as your Katadyn Pocket Water Filter, and your Solar-Power Hand-Crank World-Band Radio and extra rechargeable AA batteries.

Now carefully re-secure the original thin piece of fabric to the bottom of your foundation using some ordinary off-white thumb tacks so you can easily and quickly remove them at some future date. Make sure the thin fabric is stretched relatively tight from side to side and that it does not hang down where it might attract unnecessary attention.

Locking Fire-Proof Document Box

Fireproof Document Box: This last suggestion is optional. Burglars almost always look under a bed, and between the top mattress and the foundation. Therefore put something under the bed on the floor for the burglar to find. For example, purchase a locking fireproof "document" storage box (picture on right) at WalMart or an office supply store for about $20. Do not invest very much money in this box. It should be small enough so it can easily slide between your bed foundation and the floor. The dimensions of the box are not critical but a locking metal box about 4" by 6" by 12" should be fine. Measure the clearance below your bed frame before you buy the box. Then make some photocopies of some official papers, such as your auto insurance policy, and any other items that look important but which do not contain any information that could be used against you if it were stolen. Then put about $30 in cash, consisting of five $5 bills and five $1 bills inside an ordinary paper envelope and write on the outside of the envelope "Emergency Cash." Then close the envelope but do not seal it. If the envelope is not sealed and someone else finds it, and it does not contain as much cash as expected, then the person will simply think that you have been "dipping" into your emergency cash as you needed it. Put the cash envelope on top of the "photocopies" of your important looking papers and then lock the box. Then slide the locked box under the end of your bed onto the floor so it can be seen and retrieved when a burglar bends down, lifts your bedspread, and looks under your bed. The burglar will see your important looking fire-proof box and since it is locked he (or she) will grab it and take it with him when he leaves. More than likely he will be in a hurry and he will not try to force the locked box open while he is inside your home. If the box is a convenient size to carry, then he will simply take it with him. And when he breaks into it later he will find a little cash for his troubles and some papers that are worthless to him and which he will immediately discard in order to quickly get rid of any incriminating evidence of his crime. But you will have succeeded in distracting the burglar from doing a more thorough search and finding the items of true value you have hidden inside your bed foundation.

Revision History

Revised February 14, 2009 - Added an explanation of the difference between "hard times" and "normal times" near the beginning of the article, and added additional details under the Personal Hygiene Category.

November 1, 2008 - Created this new web page.

Click on www.grandpappy.info/indexhar.htm for more Hard Times Survival Tips.

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Send e-mail to RobertWayneAtkins@grandpappy.info