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A day in the life of SHTF.

19K views 125 replies 57 participants last post by  Hazeleyes 
#1 ·
How do you see your life after the SHTF? Pick any day out of 100 days. It can be a good day or it can be a bad day. Tell us how you think that day is going to go.

2 weeks after the SHTF:

I wake up and listen to the quiet. There is nothing different about this morning. I live in the boonies, it's always quiet in the morning.

But this is a special morning. I am going to a friends house and bring home some of their mini goats. They'll go in my small pasture. My friend has to decrease her heard.

No one is really sure how this economic collapse is going to work out. But we're still alive, have food and electricity for now.

I've talked with several of my neighbors. They all seem to be pretty well stocked up.

I do worry about the older couple up the road from me. They are going to need some help around their place. I told them I would talk with the Father and see if there was anyone that could help them out.

The banks have closed down all over the country. Thank God I have been taking my money out and converting most of it to silver over the past couple of years. I'll be able to barter with it in a year or 2. Right now people are not interested in sliver/gold. They are more worried about food, water and keeping warm.

For breakfast I will have a slice of bread and hummus made with pureed pinto beans, yogurt and herbs.

It's September and I feel a chill in the air. Better get going and pick up those goats after I feed the dogs, cats and chickens.

I don't have much gas stored up. Never had $ to go into that kind of storage. I'll have to ask the station owner if his gas supply is still coming in steadly.

So, I'm back with the goats. They are running around the pasture. They look a little lost, I know how they feel. I'm a little lost too.

Watered the garden. Hope the electricity stays on for the next month so I can get the garden produce canned up. Sure would help this winter.

Lunch is a salad made from fresh produce. That reminds me I have to rinse the sprouts again. They sure to add flavor to my sandwiches a couple days a week.

Took a couple of 5-gallon buckets up the mountain and filled it with elder berries. Used the pruning sheers to cut the bunches down from the trees. Plan on making elder berry wine out of it. That will be good to sip on this winter and to use for bartering. But I know a lot of people are going to do the same thing. We'll see how it goes. Boy this trip took almost 3 hours. I'm getting old.

Put the berries in the kitchen. I'll take care of them tomorrow.

Well gotta get out and check the goats and see if they have settled down. Yep, they're doing well. Good to see they are still here and didn't find a hole in the fence to escape through. Next February the 2 does I got will drop thier kids and I'll have a little milk and cheese. Hope I'm here when it happens.

My friend told me that a couple down her road killed themselves. Sure was depressing news to hear. I remember back in 2008/09 when there was a lot of that going around after the stock market/housing bubble blew. Hope we don't get too much of that around here. It's going to be hard enough getting this valley through the winter as it is.

I've been alone since my husband died last spring. My daughter and her family are heading this way at the end of the month. They have nothing keeping them in the city. Not after they lost their home and jobs and were sitting on unemployment. Now with the government broke, no telling how long unemployment is going to last or social security checks. Life is sure going to go to pot.

Well, I'm gona wash this sink of dishes, see whats on the news and head off to bed. Morning comes yearly around here.

A friend is going to drop of some wood rounds tomorrow. I'll start splitting them. Gotta split oak while it's wet.
 
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#3 ·
three month after the event.. it happen in the middle of summer the whole world went to heck in a hand basket ..

it 6am and it wet and raining and cold with the winds blowing outside and it going to be a cold day along with the winter time snows and rains are less than a month away and the temp drops down into the 20s and 30s at night time and i starting to think some of the socalled writers of the gloom and doom where right about one thing .. the world is totaly messed up right .for paper money is worthless.. thank god i had the foresight to put away barter items and silver and gold coins for barter as it need in the long run ..gas is at $.15.oo dollars a gallon when you can get it ..most folks have a backyard garden that they had put in dureing the summer months along with useing a bicycle to get around .food supplies are basic bought in as they can get the fuel for store delivery ..the banks have shut down and the whole area has basically gone back to basics with takeing care of the area and not worrying about what is going on outside of the area. a lot of barter for items need ..weds is tradeing day at the local drive in with you paying a small barter item or a can of food item to trade there it goes to the security force there to oversees the tradeing to keep it honset and above broad with the locals ..no police or fire dept for there is no money for sevices also a lot of the back country areas are on there own ..there have been reports of roveing bands of raiders here and there ..so far they have not been in the area..most of the local police and sheriffs dept are now working for room and board with them beening part of the local guard force spead out over the area and stay in contact by cb radio .. .

it 6.30 am i get up go to the bathroom along with washing my face and hands after going to bathroom ..get dressed and i fix a breakfast of oatmeal with raisin mixed into the oatmeal with a cup of hot tea ..then after the eating clean up the dish and start the household basic chores -x-make the bed -x-clean the bathroom -x-check the diff items in the house as they are need to be checked after that as part of the daily household chores..


then once a week do the following items for the cabin on sat morning ..
pump in water into tanks
pump out the waste tanks
start a load of laundry that needs to be done
make sure the batties is charged along with the battie cable is plug in and the switch is in the on prostion for chargeing of the batties

then sat afternoon is the local shooting matchs..

then sunday morning is sleep late and have a late breakfast and do a couple of loads of laundry in the afternoon

after that get ready for the day make sure the weapons are loaded and ready to go and put on the under the shirt body armour along with finish getting dressed for the cold weather along with the weapons are put onto the belt and pick up the rifle and go topside to check out the areas of the fence line and solar and wind system are good working order and not beened mess with dureing the night ..

8 am to 12.pm go over to my partner in crime to see what the plan of the day is and see where i can help here and there along with makeing sure the area that needs to work is worked or if the rain is really comeing down take care of things around the cabin

lunch is a basic sandwich with a small cup of soup with a glass of sweet tea

after lunch is doing a little reading or work on a project that needs to done that can be done indoors out of the weather or get a little pratice with my air rifle

then around 5.pm it has gotten dark for it the start of late fall and start the lock down of the place for the night ..i lower the cabin front door system and lock it down into the prostion for secureing as it need with setting the alarm system to protect the cabin entance and tell me if someone is messing with the front door system ..

take a shower and shave and clean up and put the dirty cloths into the basket in the bathroom and start supper and pick out a couple of movie and tv series to watch that night

eat supper and clean up the supper dishs along with the small lunch dishs and pots and pans then sit down and watch the movie and tv show picked out for the night or do some reading ..

it now about 10pm get ready for bed and then lights out and do it all over again the next day ..sunday is my really ownly day i will take off and be a lazy bum day on ..
 
#5 ·
Day 100
It's a hot summer morning in my suburban neighborhood . I'm up at 4am . I get ready to go to the pond to collect some water and try my luck at fishing . While getting dressed I notice the weight I've lost . As I strap on my revolver I think about the multiple gunshots I heard in the distance during the night . I have a cup of tea , eat a small can of corned beaf hash for breakfast and feed the dog her ration of food . Food stocks are getting dangerously low . Before heading to the pond , I take a look at the garden and check the snares I set out the night before . No luck , all snares are empty but the garden is doing well .
I grab my fishing pole , some worms and a 5gal. bucket for water . I hop on my bicycle and head out .
As I ride to the pond I take notice of the once well kept little homes . Trash is in the streets and yards . Some of the houses appear to be abandoned . A couple of houses have doors wide open and some of the houshold items are in the yard . I'm thinking , they could have been ransacked .
I catch a couple of small bass and some crappies , collect the water and get ready to head home . Before I get my stuff together I hear the sound of a vehicle . It's been awhile since I've seen any cars on the road . I keep low , stay hidden and take a look . It's an suv with tinted windows so I can't tell who or how many are in it . It has a few dents in it and what looks like bullet holes . It's driving very slow . I watch to see where it's going . Lucky for me it turns down a street and heads away from my house . I head home in a hurry . On the way home I notice one of the neighbors peering out his window . As soon as he notices I've seen him , he ducks out of sight . Some of the neighbors have sort of banded together but most are keeping a very low profile , keeping to themselves and staying out of sight . For the most part , I can't tell who's still hear , how they're doing or even if they are still alive . I'm sure some have left the area .
At home , I start cleaning the fish , think about fortifying my home better and get ready for another hard day in the life of post shtf .
 
#7 ·
7 Days after the SHTF;

You wake up from those sweet dreams of idyllic living choking and coughing. All thoughts of how you imagined it would be have vanished. Smoke is everywhere.

A raging wildfire fed by the wind and the recent hot, dry weather has swept across the area. Started by one or more of the countless "one man army" Rambo wanna-bees that grabbed their BoBs and headed for the hills.

You can hear your terrorized animals. You run to wake the rest of the family. You get them out of the house and turn back to watch your home being engulfed in flames.

The animals are farther away from the brush and they're safe for the moment, scared but safe. But what does it matter now?

You and your family are all in a state of shock. All the preps, the hippie utopia.....gone.

Standing there, in only the clothes you had on while sleeping, you look down the road and through patches of smoke, you see the remnants of your neighbors that have now joined the ranks of countless refugees moving slowly toward you.

Enter, Day 1 of your personal SHTF situation. Now what?
 
#8 ·
I think people are romancing the idea of this. Reality is its going to be hundreds of thousands of people dieing... Starving getting raped and looted.

My day would be get the family out of here to the Family Farm and go back with my father in law to pack up all the rest i couldn't get before. Then set bust the Gas lines in the house and let it fill.
 
#9 ·
It's late. The kidlets & hubby are asleep. I sit here looking through my food & supply inventory pages wondering how I'm going to make it stretch now that the in-laws have to be included - 2 more mouths to feed. The grocery store doesn't have much these days. That huge building is practically empty...they've taken to closing off the back half of the store to save electricity...and to give the illusion of "plenty". Wondering how long it'll be before we have to feed the brother in law's family - another 5 mouths.

I talked to my folks this morning...they live 150 miles away and refuse to budge from their home. I know they haven't built up any kind of long-term pantry. Well, the family down the road, while not blood relation, is as close as any family could be to my folks. I just hope they still feel that way.

We've made a few trips down to the land. There's so much that needs to be done before we can even think about moving. Hubby has poo-poo'd my idea of a straw bale house...even though the materials to get it done would be a lot easier to get. At least we've managed to get a root cellar of sorts done. Now we can move some of our supplies with each trip.

I'm so tired...mentally. It seems I have to think for everybody - their minds never came to this point. I suppose I better get to bed. Tomorrow is a mandatory water cut-off day and I'll have to ride herd on the family to remember or we'll get ticketed.
 
#10 ·
Oww! Blinding flash of pain in the base of my neck. Crap! Fell asleep again. Now I have a crick in my neck as well as being groggy. Well, its almost daylight anyway. The morning breeze should help clear out some of the smell. I shoulda shot that fat slob when he was farther away from the house. Man, he stinks still and its been two weeks since we cleaned up. Hot Texas sun will do that to ya. I need to check the back of the house. "Ah, good morning, Love. Sleep well?" "Thats good" Oh, I set out another can of HEET for you. I remembered you said the last can was almost empty" "Yeah, its almost done. I am ready to glue on the foil now, then we can try it out" "Well, it should cook faster than the alcohol, the directions said it would get up to 650 degrees in full sun." "Well, how much cooking do you do at night anyway? Anymore." I need to get the rest of the hand tools out of the shop and over here where I can watch em. "Sure, oatmeals fine." Lord, I need a Chiropracter...Ha, I need a lot of things. Theres David, so they are still OK. "No, the shelf will have to wait. The committee meets today and thats gonna take most of the day. You know how they love to talk" "No way! Touch my hammer and I'll tickle you til ya pee" "I love you too" "If you pour off whats in that container, I'll take if with me and refill it with the others." Um, good oatmeal. "No, I dont work any harder than you do, so quit fussin, Mother Hen. The bike has gears and I use them. I'm just glad we dont live in San Francisco...can you imagine totin water up Lombard Street?" "Ha, Ha, Ha" "Too true" Shotgun, pistol, ammo bag, lunch, notebook. Got it all. "OK, I'll be back as soon as I can. You stay safe, dear." Oops, get the container. "Bye again." Sure glad I built that trailer, it would suck tryin to carry all them cans without it. Wish I had gotten that big seat, tho, this damn racin stick is too hard on my old butt....

"Hey, Don. Quiet nite?" "Yeah, they were saying its been taperin off pretty fast. Wont be much longer the cities will be empty." "Not yet, thats what we're gonna talk about today. They run out of concrete for the generator base cause that deal with the Porters fell through." "No doubt." Yeah, I wont complain about runnin water. These cans get heavier every trip." "Well you go get some sleep. And hey, we really appreciate what you young men are doin." "Yeah, but still...Ive done my share of guard posts back in the day and I know how it wears on ya after a while." "Ok, later amigo." ....

Well, may as well fill up the cans while we wait. Damn guy will be late for his own funeral. I wonder, if this water were steam, would it be lighter to haul? Naw, cause there would be the same weight of steam as there was of water, it just occupies a larger space. Hot air rises, so does steam...Hmm, maybe we could make a giant percolator, that way we wouldnt need the generator and pumps. Thats funny, I'll hafta pitch that if things get uptight again. "Hey, its about time you got here." "Crap, you havent been on time for anything but a meal since Ive known you." "Let me chain these down and I'll be right in."....

"Lucy, I'm home." "I catch you kissin Ricky and you both gonna be runnin for Cuba." Smells good. "Whatcha got cookin?" "Ahh, I'm glad we got those packets. I got the idea off the forums. Dont smell like chili and rice, but it sure smells good. Let me wash up and I'm ready to eat."....

"I'm gonna lay down now. Wake me when you come to bed." "Love you too"
 
#13 ·
Worst case scenario: You're absolutely right! I see this all the time here; people have this delusional fantasy that they're going to be hold up in their farms or BOL's living off their preps and gardens & livestock while the dang ole sheeple people lumber down the way, heads hanging low, taking note of their "No Trespassing" signs and wishing they had been better prepared and hadn't voted for Obammy.:taped:

Imagine a piece of candy, unwrapped and lying on the grass, as a million ants circle around it...

Anything above ground will be a mark and an opportunity. I don't care how many SKS rifles you own.

In reality, you'll probably wake up to the sounds of chaos, screams of those being raped or murdered, people fighting and killing one another, and the smells of fire, fear and death all around you.:eek:
 
#20 ·
lol...when I think about this my thoughts always go there-

Honestly, I don't worry about food, water or even making ice (LOL), I think about security and defending my home against large groups of well armed people. Anyone who thinks differently has never seen how desperate people can get.

In the final analysis, I know I could never stop a large group of 10-20-50 people who are determined to raid me and my small group. I can't prep enough, I can't plan enough, I can't buy enough ammo and guns to hold them off forever. I can only hope and pray I don't get into that situation!
 
#15 ·
9 months PSHTF:

Stores are running low. Don't think I can cut our rations again-- the kids complain about being hungry all the time now. God it hurts me to hear them. All those times I told them they had to wait... If I could go back, I'd shell out for a few more bags of chips and enjoy the good times more. They're going to be complaining more soon. If we're lucky enough to be able to complain.

Don't think about it.

Garden's got to make this year. Whatever it takes. Good thing I decided not to be all militant about the organic thing. We're gonna need that Sevin.

Raiding hasn't been too bad lately. Guess the gas has run out, or they've all starved. That's something to be thankful for. I guess.

So many are gone. Might be better if we'd died fighting. Have it over with.

Don't think that way.

God it hurts me to look at them kids. What am I gonna do when I can't feed 'em any more??? It's getting close. If the garden doesn't make...

I wonder what's the easiest way to have done with it.

Don't think that way.
 
#17 ·
Guess it depends on what shtf IS.
No matter what, it's not going to be good. Best case for humans would be a slow decline where just the economy crashes. Worst case for humans, an EMP type of event.

The gangs will be out pillaging and raping, looting and burning etc...
Hopefully, you can defend what you have, stay hidden and make it through.
 
#18 ·
Whatever happens, it's going to be different for you than it is for me. Events almost never happen uniformly, across the board. Florida gets hammered by a hurricane, while Montana has the best fall in decades. Detroit decays while Dallas booms. Some stocks rise while some fall. Collapse won't be any different. Some places will go down hard and fast, others will linger on, and a few will even prosper. In my experience of disasters, the thing in shortest supply is good, hard, reliable information. Most of those few that think they know whats happening will be basing their assessments on flawed inputs. The rest of us probably won't even know there is a problem until after it's rolled over us. And we are the preppers, the great unwashed may never know.

In general, any such tales as these are just fiction. Made up from experience, expectations and imagination. While not to be taken seriously, they are still valuable just for the different points of view which can trigger a useful but entirely unexpected chain of thought.
 
#19 ·
Can I add a few thoughts without fictionalizing it?

In 1990's Sarajevo which was, admittedly, a limited but prolonged seige of a modern city, there was no electricity for months at a time after the first weeks of fighting. No lights, no hot water from the tank, and no canning on electric stoves. For a great read, see Zlata's Diary, a story of what it was really like.

It probably won't be the elderly who are in trouble as they often stock up better than most; I figure it'll be the druggies. They live ten to a house, unmarried mothers (with drug-affected infants) and their ex-con boyfriends, cupboards and refrigerators bare on a daily basis. These are the conscienceless among us and won't blink an eye while killing you to take what you have.

Most winemaking recipes recommend Campden tablets to kill/inhibit wild yeast and tons of sugar to encourage fermentation. I know the ancients made wine with just a jug and river water; I suspect that they had many more failures than successes, tho, and so will we. We've had grape wine fail even with modern sterilization and airlocks, and my attempt at fermentation pickling (a huge crock) was a total bust and waste of half my cuke harvest a couple years ago. All I'm saying is that these techniques we take for granted are just not that easy even in the best of times.

The Northwest Coast Indians harvested enough to feed their families and stock up for winter by spending all day on the shore during fish runs NETTING or harpooning fish, then smoke-drying them in huge batches. Not one would have wasted time putting a single pole line in the water.

If the dollar is truly dead and the masses are running amok, phone company workers won't be at their posts even to maintain automated systems, imo. I don't even dream that we'll be able to contact family and friends, or get news or information from more than a few miles away in a true shtf scenario, nor will there be any effective police or military presence.
 
#25 ·
It'll be power grabs and the like. People will try to bring order to it for their own personal gain. They'll attempt to take your stuff to redistribute it to others, etc. to appease those people and get them to help do the same to even more people.

I disagree. Street thugs where I live aren't a threat. Neither are many of the ones in Cleveland. Once you start getting to areas with a larger gang presence, like NYC, Baltimore, Philly, Atlanta, LA, Phoenix, etc. the gangs are so large that theres bound to be someone with some common sense. Some of these guys may even be ex-military. A large proportion of the biker gangs are ex-military...
 
#28 ·
Hey Guys, glad to see some great posts here.

Sure the big cities are going to be a bfm, but my neck of the woods (and I mean woods) will be away from that action for a couple months or more. I have time to get the family up here.

Many groups in our valley have made plans to protect the valley from outsiders. I know this sounds imature, but what do a bunch of old farts do while they drink coffee in the morning. Heck! They talk about the goverment and how it is all going to heck.

It does us all good to read and get riled up about each post, and make posts of our own to explain what we feel will happen in our area.

I think there is a lot of good information here. I know that I will be checking out youtube further. Keep on writing and make us take notice to your point of view. You might save me and mine.
 
#34 ·
Day 100 continued ;
I cook up the fish I caught this morning . Because of the increasing brownouts and blackouts , I can't depend on my refridgerator to keep things frozen . All the fish and game I catch has to be cooked and eaten the same day . I'm going to try to build a smoke house when I can scrounge enough lumber .
I sit down to have my meal of fish stew , give the dog her share and turn on the radio . In the 4th week , Obama declared martial law , suspended elections and took over the airwaves . The government run news is mostly propaganda and misinformation but it's all there is and it's interesting to listen to.
Because food stocks are running low . I'll have to venture out soon to see what I can scrounge . It will be very dangerous to say the least .
As I'm making plans on where to go and what to do , there is a knock at the door . I cautiously answer the door with my revolver in my hand . It's 2 of the neighbors . 1 is holding a double barrel shotgun and the other has an old bolt action 22 . They say they want me to attend a meeting with a group of other people from the neighborhood .
I grab my 12ga. and head to the meeting . As I'm walking to the meeting with my dog , I see 2 huge collumns of smoke . One off to the north and the other in the n.e. . The fires will most likely burn for days since the sevearly depleated fire dept is allready overwhelmed .
As I walk into the meeting I'm greeted by a guy with an AR slung on his shoulder . I was glad to see someone who had some firepower . There were about 20 adults ranging in age from 18 to 70something and about a dozen children .

I'm getting tired of typing [I'm a 1 finger typer] and trying to make my little story intersesting . Maybe I'll continue later .
 
#37 ·
4 weeks after:

Still have electricity! Boy glad of that. Just finished up canning the last of the meat in the freezer. I'm going to turn it off and use it to store what was canned.

Still no sight of the kids. I am really getting worried.

My daughter called to let me now that she is packed and will be headed out within the hour. She picked a route that doesn't use the highway system.

The violence in the town where she lives is starting to hit. She was lucky it didn't hit right off the bat.

Some of her neighbors have packed and headed out. She has taken longer, because her sister-in-law had to pack and get out of Oakland, Ca.

Can't tell your kids anything about prepping, especially when they know you're crazy. Boy this has been a big shock for her.

Our valley has lost 7 people in the past month. 3 from natural causes and 4 from suicide. It is getting crazy.

The churches have set up food kitchens through out the valley. The main source of food came in the first week after the collapse, but now, no one is giving out food. People have really tightened their belts.

My neighbors had a meeting and made some vital decissions.

Almost everyone has a garden going, and can handle the care of it for now. But several women and a few men have started collecting canning jars and getting the canning equipment ready to put into action. We will set up out-door kitchens and work as a team to get things done up.

There are 3 guys that will take up the chore of deer/bear hunting. They're scouting out the areas to be used. A team has been picked for skinning and drying some of the meat that has been killed.

I have donated an old '52 freezer to be turned into a smoker. It's down at a neighbors house right now. Sitting on a knoll as a group of teenagers have been given the task of digging the smoke trench (15'). I already have an area planned for prunnings off of all my fruit trees for the smoker.

I listen to the radio at night. The news is not good. Violence has escilated in the larger cities.

Our 2 grocery stores have shut down. They have not recieved any deliveries in the past ten days. The store managers have boarded up the stores and placed guards around them. The food that remains inside has been confiscated by the city council. They have been doling it out to the different churches.

There is an inventory of food sources from the larger holdings throughout the valley. The city council wants to know who, where and what kind of food is available. There is a lot of resistance from the county folks. Everything they own is tied up on their land.

The smaller holdings, like myself, have not been tallied yet. Our neighborhood is talking about what action we will be able to take to preserve what food stocks we do have.

Every morning I start my day with a plee to God for help and guidence. Every evening I end it with a thank you to God for helping me get through another day.
 
#39 ·
Oh God, I'm going to get in trouble for this, but here goes anyway...

Day 70

From the cramped confines of my M1A2 Abrams tank, I peer into the remote IR monitor and use the joystick to pan the camera and scan the remains of the smoking town for additional targets. The heat inside my vehicle is stifling, and beads of sweat cover my face and neck. Without taking my eyes from the monitor, I move my hand to the air conditioning knob and crank it higher. Almost immediately, a cool gust of air flows through the cabin. Next to me, I hear the small magazine cutout photo of Obama flutter against the steel hull. Then, I spot it.

"There," I say. "The church. They'll be inside the church. Comrade! Load us with standard high explosive!"

"Si, senor!" comes the reply from the gunner's station.

"FIRE!" I scream, and before I'm even finished, the whole tank jolts from the recoil of the main gun discharging, the noise greatly muffled by the tank's heavy armor. On the screen in front of me, the building instantly transforms into a swirling cloud of mist. After a few seconds, I can see more solid chunks of debris falling from the sky, dark in contrast to the cloud. As the dust begins settling, I grab the microphone hanging from the peg in front of me and say:

"Attention, attention! I hereby place you all under arrest under the authority of the antiterrorist provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 6660. You will surrender all firearms and then line up and load yourselves into the trucks for transportation to the Boise FEMA camp for detention and rehabilitation. Comply at once!"

I lean back in my chair for a moment and exhale deeply, wishing for a cigarette. Sure, I think to myself, it's kind of a crazy job, but at least I've still got one in this economy.
 
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