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by LinuxBender 441 days ago
Food: If you can afford it freeze dried foods last 25+ years (much longer if stored right). They maintain 97+% of their flavor and nutritional value. They can also be bartered with neighbors. Dehydrated foods are also an option, not quite as good as freeze-dried and then finally canned and foods with long shelf life like the ones you describe. Work on getting super healthy and fit now to reduce the impact of eating less than healthy foods in a crisis. There are also videos that show how the Amish prepare and preserve foods though I would avoid most of their unhealthy food selections.

Water: Numerous 5-gallon BPA free containers with water (5 are easier to carry) and a small amount of peroxide to keep anything from growing in it. Read up on water treatment as there are several options and one must get measurements right or the water will be unsafe to drink in a year. Avoid streams and filters. They do not work as advertised and getting diarrhea will deplete you of water. Those are absolutely last resort. Filtering rain water if the system is set up to do a first-flush of bird poop is a little safer but still requires chemical treatment. Research how deep the water table is at your location. If shallow enough you may be able to make your own DIY hand-pumped solution. That will also need basic filtration to remove large minerals and dirt.

Heat: Wood stove and a lot of seasoned wood can last a long time. One can usually find more wood. Propane services, deliveries, trucks will not be available. Use it while you can but then consider the multiple uses of a wood stove. If your country bans wood stoves then just don't tell them you have one. If you have time to build it, you can make an insulated green-house with large black containers of water essentially heat batteries that can store heat from the sun using water. Some people use clay-filled boxes that face the sun with tubing in them. You can use filters and vents with solar powered low speed fans to peel some of that heat off the green-house for your home. Compost can also produce heat.

Communication: Weather band emergency radios today are multipurpose. Some have very large batteries and solar that can charge themselves and your phone assuming cell sites are still working. A combination of FRS (UHF) and CB radio (HF) are great if your neighbors have them. FRS radios are cheap and easy to charge with solar. Many models of FRS radios also have built in weather-bands. Get a set of 12 or 24 of them so you can share with neighbors and have spare units. Coordinate channels and CTSS codes for different purposes in your neighborhood.

For DIY solar solutions check out Will Prowse [1]. He has an account on HN but no idea if he still comes here.

[1] - https://www.youtube.com/c/WillProwse/videos