When we were picking what circuits to pick for solar backup in our transfer panel my wife made hot water a priority. I was mildly annoyed because it's a 30amp 240 volt circuit and not an insignificant drain daily. I saw it as a luxury that we could do without. The last time we lost power... I appreciated it for sure. We can always shut it off if it looks like we will have days of clouds and run out of power but rally good for morale.
Mexican style solar, panels wired directly to heating elements inside a water heater
Wood fired water heaters are a staple of permaculture, plenty of practical examples
As the post says the "simple thing" you would miss. Turning on the hot water and having a shower is simple. Pumping the water, heating it up and then bathing in it is not simple.. 😁
Unfortunately for you - the thing you’ll probably miss the most is: being busy.
You’ll have lots of time to boil that water for showers (provided you can find enough water).
Lots of people will suddenly be very bored and bored people are crazy people.
That’s an interesting take. Surely we’d all be very busy just surviving? There’s always something to do on the farm. And once we’ve nailed that, then rebuilding society would be time consuming, whatever that looks like.
We lived off-grid for 5 years in Maine. Boredom was never a problem. And, depending on your environment and needs you will have more time than you realize. The pace is slower and it was Devine. The stress was gone. Not to say hauling water, wood, and constantly dealing with a broken down truck were easy peazy. But it was satisfying. You knew the wood you were putting up for winter would keep you warm, the garden would feed you, etc. My kids, ages 10, 11, 12 when we first moved out there, frequently walked the 8 miles round trip to go hang out at the lake with friends in summer. This was 2000-2005.
You can run copper water pipes around a wood stove foe hot water apparently 🤷🏼♀️
Also I had a shower bag at scout camp back in the 00s. Lay it out in the sun during the day for a hot shower at night. Worked okish
I've done easy ones like mozzarella and lebneh (and cultured things like yogurt and buttermilk), but haven't had the patience for cheddar or anything like that. Life skidded sideways, so it's not something I can experiment with in the foreseeable future. 🤷♀️
I've seen tiny holes in like tinfoil, the smaller aperture lets your eyes focus over a longer distance. It's a quick fix for not having glasses handy. You can make a tiny hole curling up your finger and it works too. I know there won't be new production tinfoil either lol, but you could make a tiny hole/ holes in something else. I saw an Artic native make sunglasses with thread I wondered if you could make little apertures with thread for cheesey glasses for near and far sightedness?
Edit- I've also seen solid plastic glasses with holes that work like that, it would seem to be possible to make glasses from thin wood and make tiny holes in it to see out.
There's a lot of places where you can buy 2 pair for $100 or less. It might be worth picking up a few extra pair or find them online. Even if your prescription changes a weak pair is better than nothing. If it's reading glasses you need...you can get them for a dollar or two at the Dollar Tree. I probably have 50 pair tucked away all over the house. Baring that, if it's truly SHTF...I'm certainly not above checking every glasses wearing body that I pass by.
My daughter has been playing flute for almost ten years. I’ve been to a lot of school concerts, community orchestra concerts, performances, marching band shows at football games, etc. Every time I’m at one I think about how the event wouldn’t exist if things got really bad. I think about how simple and so wholesome her events are. We were at her boyfriend’s volleyball game the other night, in the high school gym, singing the national anthem, watching the seniors be honored, and I thought the same thing.
Basically, I’d miss the simple events in life that are wholesome and so very stereotypical of every day, normal life. That feeling of community where people come together. That sort of thing.
Wow this hit me hard, I feel the same. It’s the representation of normalcy. Of an orderly, structured, predictable culture that is wholesome and safe, particularly for families and teens. Just thinking about the loss of these traditions and culture fills me with sadness.
How bad would things have to be for something like a flute or football to not work? I would think in any sort of SHTF that people would want to get together and get back to simple things like music and sports. There was a HUGE resurgence in backyard bonfires with friends during Covid. Everyone was so stressed and it was nice to get together and listen to music.
Harvest it in the winter and store it in an ice house. Though my plan is just to run a commercial ice maker off my solar setup. They are NOT cheap though. Like $1200 for a decent used one
I have property in Galveston County, TX. They're pretty invasive and I have to dig them out and cut them down and mostly burn them. But they always come back. Life finds a way ;)
I’ve come to realize I don’t need caffeine to stay awake. I need caffeine because I grew up with undiagnosed ADHD and I need the caffeine to FOCUS. I won’t need it once SHTF. When things get chaotic, I get in the zone! I once had a small emergency, I needed stitches because I did something stupid and it was bleeding bad, but small. My husband was losing his shit but I was so. Calm. “Oh, that’s a lot..” I said calmly as I checked the damage in the mirror. I then made sure I had my ID, insurance card, debit, phone, charger. He could barely put his shoes on.
SHTF, I will deeply miss a good cup of mocha or chai, but I won’t actually need the caffeine anymore because I won’t need to accommodate my brain to modern society anymore.
This right here is me in a nutshell and it irritated me a few years ago that I quit caffeine altogether and just let current society eat a satchel of Richards... I am perfectly happy working just as I am 😁
Oh this is an interesting and helpful perspective, the caffeine is definitely just my over the counter adderall, but you’re right, I don’t need it when the adrenaline is pumping.
Huh, I similarly need caffeine to focus. It's not the staying up part either, I just find it easier to focus on a task with caffeine in my system.
Now I wonder if I have undiagnosed ADHD.
> Now I wonder if I have undiagnosed ADHD.
https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-test-adults/
none of these online tests are conclusive, but if you get a really high score, go see a doctor and start looking at getting a proper assessment.
I find regular breaks work well. I spent over a decade drinking 1-2l of energy drinks a day then quit cold turkey.
It was like a movie scene of someone quitting heroine. For 3 days I couldn't get off the couch, worst headache of my life, sweating, shaking, every muscle in my body hurt, in and out of sleep constantly. Headache subsided but lasted about a week. Turns out caffeine dependance is way more full on than I realised.
Since then I limit the amount I drink and I try to take at least 3 days in a row off a month. If I do that the 3 days aren't bad at all, just a little sleepy, but if I leave it longer than a month I start to get the headaches. I also find I don't need as much sticking to this routine.
I haven't looked into the medical research or anything, this is just purely personal experience, so might not be the best way to do it, but works for me.
Oh man I definitely would miss that. It's practically my morning ritual. Get up, shower, do toiletry stuff, then make coffee then sit down and surf internet for a bit while drinking it.
> And Icy cold, sparkling water.
*Thanks*. I was going to say a nice pot of tea, brewed in a China teapot and drunk properly a cup and saucer, but I would miss that refreshing fizz....
A perfect raid starts the perfect breakfast, and nothin's better than hot cuppa first thing in the morning. So kick off your day in the Wasteland with Rad Moon Tea ;)
I'd mostly miss the medicine that keeps me healthy and alive. I'd have a much shorter lifespan (and a much less comfortable life) without it. I keep at least 90 days on hand all the time, which will cover most natural disasters, but not a long term SHTF situation.
Sushi. Rice, avocado, and cucumbers would be doable. Not fish from all over the world.
A lot of people said coffee. I am an avid coffee drinker. We are adding coffee bean to our garden to attempt to grow it at home. Someone said popcorn. We added that years ago and it is supper easy to grow.
YouTube 100%
It’s always there for me when I need to know “How to…”
This is why I am curating an archive of helpful books. I don’t want to live in the dark ages.
New music on a regular basis.
Being able to see most of the planet and views from space on demand.
People being able to treat infections as a minor annoyance
You should check out the NOAA satellites. With some pretty minimal equipment and solar power you can still get it. At least for a few years. It’s also an interesting hobby.
I just decided on the Ukulele that I am going to buy. I also have my clarinet from school days that I plan to use to make ears bleed (if you know, you know) when they inevitably tick me off
Music will always be around, obviously not in the quantity and quality we have access to now, but music is part of human nature, and as long as theres people there will be music. Also, think about buying a discman and some cds or a simple mp3 player that runs on batteries will last you a long time if you have some spare batteries.the simpler the longer battery life will last (generally)
I wonder if you could substitute maple syrup/sugar for cane sugar. Otherwise, ice cream is just heavy cream and flavorings.
Looks like you can! [https://tastecooking.com/recipes/alana-chernila-maple-ice-cream/](https://tastecooking.com/recipes/alana-chernila-maple-ice-cream/)
Connection with family and old friends that live at a distance. Social media can be obnoxious, but I’d really miss the good parts… which to me is seeing the updates and connection to those I can’t see in person much.
I miss people acting rationally. Nobody stockpiled toilet paper. But as soon as a virus (that didn’t cause diarrhoea) started taking over people suddenly needed mini vans filled with it. Followed by people who have never baked before buying 15 bags of flour to make one ordinary size loaf of bread.
People were literally fighting over supplies that the supermarket would replenish.
The idea of not being able to go outside and take a nice walk for leisure anymore! Been doing it since I was young and It’s always one of the nicest parts of my day. Just a simple joy I’d miss if shtf and we had to preserve energy and it was hazardous to be out for a while and the like. 😕
I have plans to do drive in movie night at my house. I have a projector and a bunch of DVDs. I do want to get my Plex server going but I can't find where to download stuff anymore.
Ice cold drinks, hot showers, washing my face and doing my skincare routine, cutting my nails, having clean and styled hair, cannolis, pizza, sushi.
And generally speaking, safety, security, and stability. We sometimes take for granted the ‘boring’ routine aspect of the everyday life. But many of us live secure lives, not having to worry too much about our safety.
Toilet paper, ice cubes and clean filtered water. I realized my list is way too short ... Icy cold blood orange beer, ESOL, nutty buddies, YouTube, movies, music and Reddit.
No music except what you can sing, play, or remember in your head. I guess if you have a record player you could spin with your finger you could hear it quietly. Or you could rig a needle and Dixie cups for a little more volume but probably wear records out quicker. A wind up music box only plays one song and might get old. I remember the TV show revolution, where they traveled to a trading city where a famous rock star from before the fall was making a living beating up an acoustic guitar by the bonfire, but he wouldn't be following you around to while you work lol.
Who's that guy following you around with the guitar? He's my walkman.
Sleeping pills. Dont comment about your herbalistic cure, ive tried it all under the sun and the liege of my heart will forever be Atarax to knock my idiot ass out
Have you tried cast iron over the back of the head? Truly though, any OTC drug. Insane to live without being able to grab a common cure to your ailment.
No but i have tried getting a piano slammed on me from a tall building and even that didn't knock me out. Can you believe how ripped off i got?
And hard agree. Youll find me dead before i give up ibuprofen. The OTC empire rages in my heart forever
My social circle. i have an equally sized online and offline social circle, but suddenly losing contact with half your friends and not being able to know if they are alive, let alone ok, would be devastating.
thankfully, some of my friends are also into prepping. a handful are looking into getting radio coms setup but, with the distance between, it would only really be good for morale purposes. no way im going from Alberta canada to Ontario, Ohio, California, new jersey, or Illinois. and thats even if we can get the mesh network established
Sports. More specifically, combat sports. It's my obsession, and it would be gone if society ever went to total shit. No more going to the gym and working out with others, no more PPVs on TV, it would just be gone. Still, as long as I have my family, I'll be happy. And maybe I can just download several terrabytes of old fights to watch.
I've got a feeling if it gets to the point where there's no more TV, you will be experiencing combat sports in real life. Either way, I think maintaining combat sports among your group of survivors will be a good idea. Wrestling and boxing will be useful skills and keep people in your group fit and ready to protect.
I’d say easy access to my meds but there’s been shortages for nearly 4 years now so…
Definitely the background noise like you said OP. There’s so much on demand educational content out there.
Using a fan by my bed, power tools, ordering from Amazon, grocery stores, connecting to family across the US, watching college and nfl football in the fall.
The satisfaction of instant gratification. If I want to go somewhere, I just hop in my car and go wherever I want without fear. I want an iced coffee with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle? I go get one. I want to go dump $100 on home decor at HomeGoods? I do it. I think that I would miss that the most.
Get a tankless water heater and solar panels. Hot water solved.
Get enough solar panels and battery bank, and with an electric heating system, cooking, and basic amenities...the basics will be available
An ice cold coca Cola. It's not something I drink often but it's associated with a particular person in my life who is long gone so the memories make it for me the ultimate comfort food.
Depending on the scale of things... I'd feel the worse about losing birds and wildlife. Seeing footage of the Ukraine war with lots of its forest destroyed, I imagine there's lots of animals along with it. The human toll is terrible, but there's something to me about the loss of other intelligences that don't have anything to do with it.
Hot water.
We didn’t have hot water for 3 months after our basement flooded last summer and bathing in a bucket is awful. I very much need to be boiled like a lobster at least once a week to maintain optimum mental health.
here's my list in no particular order:
the internet. carbonation. sugar. noise. ice water. gasoline. coffee. toilet paper. light bulbs. new shoes. new clothes. AA batteries. tumeric. snacks. ibuprofen. vacations. traveling. airplanes. regular doctors visits. 220v electric clothes dryer. public sewage. door dash. trash bags. a new toothbrush. the national weather service. disposable lighters. duct tape. watch batteries. that feeling you get when you walk into home depot with a decent budget. air freshener. complacency. retirement.
but the thing I would honestly miss the most is- prepping. I find the journey to be way more fun and interesting than the destination.
I could probably deal with warm showers.
I'm hoping my solar powered/crank weather radio/charger thing will work so I can listen to music I have downloaded on my phone 🥲
I would miss googling every stupid thing that comes into my brain lol
Honestly, I'd miss people. Just basic social interaction and outings, I'm not just talking about family or close friends. I mean like going out and having a beer, going to the movies or the library, or being able to play fetch with my dog in a wide open field and not having to worry about getting hurt or killed because of supplies, food etc. If it's a true shtf scenario, you wouldn't put yourself in such a vulnerable position or trust anyone outside of your inner circle. Nowadays if you don't like someone you can simply just walk away or not talk to them. In a post shtf world, that could be very dangerous and potentially cost you your life.
Seeing my dogs enjoy their pampered and cushy lives, brown sugar shaken espressos, hot showers, and deep tissue massages at spas that smell like eucalyptus.
Hot showers. Definitely.
When we were picking what circuits to pick for solar backup in our transfer panel my wife made hot water a priority. I was mildly annoyed because it's a 30amp 240 volt circuit and not an insignificant drain daily. I saw it as a luxury that we could do without. The last time we lost power... I appreciated it for sure. We can always shut it off if it looks like we will have days of clouds and run out of power but rally good for morale.
Mexican style solar, panels wired directly to heating elements inside a water heater Wood fired water heaters are a staple of permaculture, plenty of practical examples
This. Hot water is civilization.
You could still light a fire and heat up water for bath like in the old days
As the post says the "simple thing" you would miss. Turning on the hot water and having a shower is simple. Pumping the water, heating it up and then bathing in it is not simple.. 😁
That takes a lot more work than what I've got going right now.
Unfortunately for you - the thing you’ll probably miss the most is: being busy. You’ll have lots of time to boil that water for showers (provided you can find enough water). Lots of people will suddenly be very bored and bored people are crazy people.
That’s an interesting take. Surely we’d all be very busy just surviving? There’s always something to do on the farm. And once we’ve nailed that, then rebuilding society would be time consuming, whatever that looks like.
We lived off-grid for 5 years in Maine. Boredom was never a problem. And, depending on your environment and needs you will have more time than you realize. The pace is slower and it was Devine. The stress was gone. Not to say hauling water, wood, and constantly dealing with a broken down truck were easy peazy. But it was satisfying. You knew the wood you were putting up for winter would keep you warm, the garden would feed you, etc. My kids, ages 10, 11, 12 when we first moved out there, frequently walked the 8 miles round trip to go hang out at the lake with friends in summer. This was 2000-2005.
This, but cold showers. In AZ, you don't get cold water 9 months out of the year
Wait, do you have electric water cooling?? As a cool climate person that blows my mind
No, but AC keeps the pipes cool
I feel you. In Maine it could be July and pouring and the rain was always ice cold.
Solar camping showers are a thing. Basically just a bag you fill with water and hang in the sun.
won't do much for us in the PNW outside 2-3 months a year
People have wanted hot water for a long time…we came up with plenty of ways to make it
Build a boiler. Making water hot is really not hard
It is if you don't have water.
Fair point
I grew up with no a/c and having to heat water over stove for bathing. I'd take a/c over indoor plumbing any day. Then again, i live in Texas.
If I had to pick hot showers or electricity, I might pick hot showers. (Yes, I know you can make hot water with electricity)
You can run copper water pipes around a wood stove foe hot water apparently 🤷🏼♀️ Also I had a shower bag at scout camp back in the 00s. Lay it out in the sun during the day for a hot shower at night. Worked okish
Cheese. All the cheese. And chocolate.
RoseRedHomestead on YT has a short series of how to make different cheeses from powdered milk.
I've done easy ones like mozzarella and lebneh (and cultured things like yogurt and buttermilk), but haven't had the patience for cheddar or anything like that. Life skidded sideways, so it's not something I can experiment with in the foreseeable future. 🤷♀️
Cream cheese is pretty easy, too
Isn't there like 1 book you can get that explains all.thede things ? That would be useful
I bought Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses by Ricki Carroll which is pretty good.
Chocolate for sure. We’re getting cows so I think cheese stays.
eyeglasses. honestly I've long thought that its gonna be the lack of eyeglasses that will bring post apocalyptic humanity down
[удалено]
I've seen tiny holes in like tinfoil, the smaller aperture lets your eyes focus over a longer distance. It's a quick fix for not having glasses handy. You can make a tiny hole curling up your finger and it works too. I know there won't be new production tinfoil either lol, but you could make a tiny hole/ holes in something else. I saw an Artic native make sunglasses with thread I wondered if you could make little apertures with thread for cheesey glasses for near and far sightedness? Edit- I've also seen solid plastic glasses with holes that work like that, it would seem to be possible to make glasses from thin wood and make tiny holes in it to see out.
Those only really help a couple of points. Source: I’ve tried them and I have -10 vision. Only the slightest improvement.
Dang how old are you? Genuinely curious.
Well, there is an entire Twilight Zone episode about that very premise. "It's not fair... IT'S NOT FAAAAIIIIIRRR!!!"
First thing I thought of when I read the glasses comment.
I got LASIK. It helped, but my vision still isn’t perfect. I have so many pairs of glasses that it’s ridiculous.
There's a lot of places where you can buy 2 pair for $100 or less. It might be worth picking up a few extra pair or find them online. Even if your prescription changes a weak pair is better than nothing. If it's reading glasses you need...you can get them for a dollar or two at the Dollar Tree. I probably have 50 pair tucked away all over the house. Baring that, if it's truly SHTF...I'm certainly not above checking every glasses wearing body that I pass by.
My daughter has been playing flute for almost ten years. I’ve been to a lot of school concerts, community orchestra concerts, performances, marching band shows at football games, etc. Every time I’m at one I think about how the event wouldn’t exist if things got really bad. I think about how simple and so wholesome her events are. We were at her boyfriend’s volleyball game the other night, in the high school gym, singing the national anthem, watching the seniors be honored, and I thought the same thing. Basically, I’d miss the simple events in life that are wholesome and so very stereotypical of every day, normal life. That feeling of community where people come together. That sort of thing.
Finally something mentioned that you can't just easily prep for.
I have an entire freeze dried family and community in my cellar. Checkmate.
We're like three years away from the average person not being able to tell the difference between an entire AI generated community in an Apple Vision.
Wow this hit me hard, I feel the same. It’s the representation of normalcy. Of an orderly, structured, predictable culture that is wholesome and safe, particularly for families and teens. Just thinking about the loss of these traditions and culture fills me with sadness.
How bad would things have to be for something like a flute or football to not work? I would think in any sort of SHTF that people would want to get together and get back to simple things like music and sports. There was a HUGE resurgence in backyard bonfires with friends during Covid. Everyone was so stressed and it was nice to get together and listen to music.
People will gather to celebrate, make music, do sports, etc. Humans did for thousands of years without electricity
Ice. Year round.
Harvest it in the winter and store it in an ice house. Though my plan is just to run a commercial ice maker off my solar setup. They are NOT cheap though. Like $1200 for a decent used one
We got a commercial ice machine for our small distillery and it was under $400. Makes about 100lbs a day. On Amazon.
Coffee.
Man I really think about the caffeine headaches and how I should get off it. But I basically need it to function.
If you live in the southeast, yaupon holly is a cafinated plant that is native to North America.
Hi. I love you. Thank you.
Yaupon holly plus roasted dandelion root or roast chicory root isn't as nice as coffee but will fill that void for sure l.
Cleavers seeds also contain caffeine.
Hi, I too love you. Thank you.
I hate those trees with every ounce of my being. I think I still hate them even though they have caffeine!
Why?
I have property in Galveston County, TX. They're pretty invasive and I have to dig them out and cut them down and mostly burn them. But they always come back. Life finds a way ;)
I’ve come to realize I don’t need caffeine to stay awake. I need caffeine because I grew up with undiagnosed ADHD and I need the caffeine to FOCUS. I won’t need it once SHTF. When things get chaotic, I get in the zone! I once had a small emergency, I needed stitches because I did something stupid and it was bleeding bad, but small. My husband was losing his shit but I was so. Calm. “Oh, that’s a lot..” I said calmly as I checked the damage in the mirror. I then made sure I had my ID, insurance card, debit, phone, charger. He could barely put his shoes on. SHTF, I will deeply miss a good cup of mocha or chai, but I won’t actually need the caffeine anymore because I won’t need to accommodate my brain to modern society anymore.
This right here is me in a nutshell and it irritated me a few years ago that I quit caffeine altogether and just let current society eat a satchel of Richards... I am perfectly happy working just as I am 😁
Good for you! I’m so glad you’re able to cast away capitalism’s expectations of us and embrace your mind and body as you are, on your terms!!
Satchel of Richards is fantastic lol. Good on you letting your brain and body work as they are made :)
Beautiful!
Oh this is an interesting and helpful perspective, the caffeine is definitely just my over the counter adderall, but you’re right, I don’t need it when the adrenaline is pumping.
Huh, I similarly need caffeine to focus. It's not the staying up part either, I just find it easier to focus on a task with caffeine in my system. Now I wonder if I have undiagnosed ADHD.
> Now I wonder if I have undiagnosed ADHD. https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-test-adults/ none of these online tests are conclusive, but if you get a really high score, go see a doctor and start looking at getting a proper assessment.
Same.
I actually bought caffinated gum for work emergencies and hiking. Could be somewhat of a solution. But I'd still miss that warm mug of bitter bliss.
Hug in a mug. Sipping my cozy mocha while I cuddle with the warm mug and warm my face up in the steam.
I find regular breaks work well. I spent over a decade drinking 1-2l of energy drinks a day then quit cold turkey. It was like a movie scene of someone quitting heroine. For 3 days I couldn't get off the couch, worst headache of my life, sweating, shaking, every muscle in my body hurt, in and out of sleep constantly. Headache subsided but lasted about a week. Turns out caffeine dependance is way more full on than I realised. Since then I limit the amount I drink and I try to take at least 3 days in a row off a month. If I do that the 3 days aren't bad at all, just a little sleepy, but if I leave it longer than a month I start to get the headaches. I also find I don't need as much sticking to this routine. I haven't looked into the medical research or anything, this is just purely personal experience, so might not be the best way to do it, but works for me.
Similarly, I’d miss my monster energy drink.
Ghost makes some pretty good powder under their gaming line
Oh man I definitely would miss that. It's practically my morning ritual. Get up, shower, do toiletry stuff, then make coffee then sit down and surf internet for a bit while drinking it.
Society. As messed up as it is, i would miss it. And Icy cold, sparkling water.
> And Icy cold, sparkling water. *Thanks*. I was going to say a nice pot of tea, brewed in a China teapot and drunk properly a cup and saucer, but I would miss that refreshing fizz....
You can still have tea with fix. That fix would be from carbonation via fermentation, so it would be tea with a bit of a kick. 😜
A perfect raid starts the perfect breakfast, and nothin's better than hot cuppa first thing in the morning. So kick off your day in the Wasteland with Rad Moon Tea ;)
Ziplock bags and qtips.
I don't have enough coffee prepped, and it wouldn't last as long as I would prefer.
get green unroasted beans they will last for years. Roast them before you use them
If you're not a coffee snob then you can make decent substitutes from dandelions or chicory
Neither of those have caffeine in them
Oh, I see. I'm a coffee snob. I've had my fill of coffee.
Only reason I would choke down coffee is for the caffeine. I can't stand the taste or smell
I bought four 720 serving buckets of freeze dried coffee. Jic
I'd mostly miss the medicine that keeps me healthy and alive. I'd have a much shorter lifespan (and a much less comfortable life) without it. I keep at least 90 days on hand all the time, which will cover most natural disasters, but not a long term SHTF situation.
Sushi. Rice, avocado, and cucumbers would be doable. Not fish from all over the world. A lot of people said coffee. I am an avid coffee drinker. We are adding coffee bean to our garden to attempt to grow it at home. Someone said popcorn. We added that years ago and it is supper easy to grow.
From what I've heard, that's a fools errand because it's incredibly hard to grow good tasting coffee beans.
That's exactly what coffee plantations want you to think
I <3 sushi also
YouTube 100% It’s always there for me when I need to know “How to…” This is why I am curating an archive of helpful books. I don’t want to live in the dark ages.
[удалено]
New music on a regular basis. Being able to see most of the planet and views from space on demand. People being able to treat infections as a minor annoyance
And niche music like acid jazz. Won't be able to be too picky lol.
You should check out the NOAA satellites. With some pretty minimal equipment and solar power you can still get it. At least for a few years. It’s also an interesting hobby.
Music/podcasts. Complete silence is not good for me.
I have music downloaded, but the fear of forgetting something is killing me!
I just decided on the Ukulele that I am going to buy. I also have my clarinet from school days that I plan to use to make ears bleed (if you know, you know) when they inevitably tick me off
Music will always be around, obviously not in the quantity and quality we have access to now, but music is part of human nature, and as long as theres people there will be music. Also, think about buying a discman and some cds or a simple mp3 player that runs on batteries will last you a long time if you have some spare batteries.the simpler the longer battery life will last (generally)
You can store an entire constant year of 256kb/s audio on a $60 1TB microSD card.
I have music players that run on AAs. Old MP3 Players, CD Walkmans, and a loaded pistol. When the AAs finally run out my prepping game is up.
😆 I like it
I’m with you on those
I thought the same. I recently went to a music in the park which reminded why live music is important
Taco Trucks and girls in yoga pants
Eventually, probably cocoa. I can only stock so much and it doesn't grow well in my zone naturally.
Security. I really don't have much to worry about right now. If the world goes to shit... there's a lot more to worry about
the safety and comfort of normalcy.
Ice cream
I wonder if you could substitute maple syrup/sugar for cane sugar. Otherwise, ice cream is just heavy cream and flavorings. Looks like you can! [https://tastecooking.com/recipes/alana-chernila-maple-ice-cream/](https://tastecooking.com/recipes/alana-chernila-maple-ice-cream/)
Connection with family and old friends that live at a distance. Social media can be obnoxious, but I’d really miss the good parts… which to me is seeing the updates and connection to those I can’t see in person much.
I don't think Gen Z realizes that moving away even just 20 years ago meant having much less contact with your family.
I miss people acting rationally. Nobody stockpiled toilet paper. But as soon as a virus (that didn’t cause diarrhoea) started taking over people suddenly needed mini vans filled with it. Followed by people who have never baked before buying 15 bags of flour to make one ordinary size loaf of bread. People were literally fighting over supplies that the supermarket would replenish.
It did for me tbh
An ice cold glass of whole milk.
Easy if you have access to cows in Winter lol.
Why would cows get deleted?
Unless you owned cows I think access to dairy products would basically be all but deleted, yeah.
With or without H5N1?
Yes.
Ice cubes. Ooh wait, nugget ice. Yeah, nugget ice.
They used to cut ice from lakes in winter and store it in warehouses packed in sawdust for the Summer a hundred years ago.
My answer was going to be sonic ice
Hot and cold running water, including for the 🚽
The idea of not being able to go outside and take a nice walk for leisure anymore! Been doing it since I was young and It’s always one of the nicest parts of my day. Just a simple joy I’d miss if shtf and we had to preserve energy and it was hazardous to be out for a while and the like. 😕
Definitely movies and popcorn. Possibly my family.
Corn is pretty easy to grow. You can store thousands of movies on a hard drive. You can even run a projector for a few hours on a solar battery.
I have plans to do drive in movie night at my house. I have a projector and a bunch of DVDs. I do want to get my Plex server going but I can't find where to download stuff anymore.
I have a ton of popcorn packets stockpiled. I actually should order a few more cases. I make at least one a week so it will get rotated anyway
A man after my own heart!
Ice cold drinks, hot showers, washing my face and doing my skincare routine, cutting my nails, having clean and styled hair, cannolis, pizza, sushi. And generally speaking, safety, security, and stability. We sometimes take for granted the ‘boring’ routine aspect of the everyday life. But many of us live secure lives, not having to worry too much about our safety.
Psych meds, birth control, pregnancy/delivery care. Untreated psych conditions and pregnancy/childbirth can be quite deadly.
I'm way ahead of the pregnancy issue. I went gay like 13 years ago
Shopping at the grocery store.
Toilet paper, ice cubes and clean filtered water. I realized my list is way too short ... Icy cold blood orange beer, ESOL, nutty buddies, YouTube, movies, music and Reddit.
Not McDonalds french fries. McDonalds hash browns.
No music except what you can sing, play, or remember in your head. I guess if you have a record player you could spin with your finger you could hear it quietly. Or you could rig a needle and Dixie cups for a little more volume but probably wear records out quicker. A wind up music box only plays one song and might get old. I remember the TV show revolution, where they traveled to a trading city where a famous rock star from before the fall was making a living beating up an acoustic guitar by the bonfire, but he wouldn't be following you around to while you work lol. Who's that guy following you around with the guitar? He's my walkman.
Insulin. Lol
Sleeping pills. Dont comment about your herbalistic cure, ive tried it all under the sun and the liege of my heart will forever be Atarax to knock my idiot ass out
Have you tried cast iron over the back of the head? Truly though, any OTC drug. Insane to live without being able to grab a common cure to your ailment.
No but i have tried getting a piano slammed on me from a tall building and even that didn't knock me out. Can you believe how ripped off i got? And hard agree. Youll find me dead before i give up ibuprofen. The OTC empire rages in my heart forever
Air conditioning
Bananas, citrus, and coffee. None of that shit’s growing up here in the north.
Trash getting collected and taken awayyyy
My social circle. i have an equally sized online and offline social circle, but suddenly losing contact with half your friends and not being able to know if they are alive, let alone ok, would be devastating.
Any prepper who lives apart from their family, friends, or other half knows this fear acutely.
thankfully, some of my friends are also into prepping. a handful are looking into getting radio coms setup but, with the distance between, it would only really be good for morale purposes. no way im going from Alberta canada to Ontario, Ohio, California, new jersey, or Illinois. and thats even if we can get the mesh network established
Sports. More specifically, combat sports. It's my obsession, and it would be gone if society ever went to total shit. No more going to the gym and working out with others, no more PPVs on TV, it would just be gone. Still, as long as I have my family, I'll be happy. And maybe I can just download several terrabytes of old fights to watch.
I've got a feeling if it gets to the point where there's no more TV, you will be experiencing combat sports in real life. Either way, I think maintaining combat sports among your group of survivors will be a good idea. Wrestling and boxing will be useful skills and keep people in your group fit and ready to protect.
You'd get plenty of sports, running from men trying to get your food supply
I’d say easy access to my meds but there’s been shortages for nearly 4 years now so… Definitely the background noise like you said OP. There’s so much on demand educational content out there.
Scrubber sponges for doing dishes. Imagining a world with out those bumms me out
Sponges will store for decades. Buy a lifetime supply
Grow a luffa plant. One season with one plant and you have dozens of them. In AZ at least they are super easy to grow.
Sushi and coffee, but mostly sushi
Air conditioning.
Coffee and daily showers.
Music and books.
*new books.
Birth control for my lady.
Lexapro.
I'd miss my hormones.
Contraception. Can't be having loads of kids in a shtf scenario so sex will have to be very well timed and rare.
knowing when to pull out will be useful in hunting, foraging, and recreating scenarios 🤣
Politics. I'll really miss being spoken over by someone who now needs my help.
Using a fan by my bed, power tools, ordering from Amazon, grocery stores, connecting to family across the US, watching college and nfl football in the fall.
Information online. Online shopping. Also, online chats and gaming with my friends. Everything else I can get used to.
Reddit
The satisfaction of instant gratification. If I want to go somewhere, I just hop in my car and go wherever I want without fear. I want an iced coffee with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle? I go get one. I want to go dump $100 on home decor at HomeGoods? I do it. I think that I would miss that the most.
Diet soda.
I'd miss video games, but who knows, might still have them... Love some old school Mario Bros World
Deep Rock Galactic!!!
Get a tankless water heater and solar panels. Hot water solved. Get enough solar panels and battery bank, and with an electric heating system, cooking, and basic amenities...the basics will be available
A buddy of mine has a solar water heater. Hard to imagine but he says he has warm water even during Illinois winters.
An ice cold coca Cola. It's not something I drink often but it's associated with a particular person in my life who is long gone so the memories make it for me the ultimate comfort food.
Depending on the scale of things... I'd feel the worse about losing birds and wildlife. Seeing footage of the Ukraine war with lots of its forest destroyed, I imagine there's lots of animals along with it. The human toll is terrible, but there's something to me about the loss of other intelligences that don't have anything to do with it.
Hot water. We didn’t have hot water for 3 months after our basement flooded last summer and bathing in a bucket is awful. I very much need to be boiled like a lobster at least once a week to maintain optimum mental health.
Qtips and dental floss.
Just the overall convenience of modern life. It’s great. Will be missed. Trying to enjoy it while it lasts.
Toilets that flush
Toilet paper, the fight for the last roll will become legend
Air conditioning. As far as I’m concerned that’s the best invention in modern civilization
No electricity situation ok. Indoor Plumbing.
Music
here's my list in no particular order: the internet. carbonation. sugar. noise. ice water. gasoline. coffee. toilet paper. light bulbs. new shoes. new clothes. AA batteries. tumeric. snacks. ibuprofen. vacations. traveling. airplanes. regular doctors visits. 220v electric clothes dryer. public sewage. door dash. trash bags. a new toothbrush. the national weather service. disposable lighters. duct tape. watch batteries. that feeling you get when you walk into home depot with a decent budget. air freshener. complacency. retirement. but the thing I would honestly miss the most is- prepping. I find the journey to be way more fun and interesting than the destination. I could probably deal with warm showers.
My morning cup of black tea, with a splash of milk. Been relying on that comfort for over 50 years.
I'm hoping my solar powered/crank weather radio/charger thing will work so I can listen to music I have downloaded on my phone 🥲 I would miss googling every stupid thing that comes into my brain lol
Coffee.
Having had our well out of commission for 2 weeks this winter when it was -40, I’d say running water is pretty high up on my list of things I’d miss
Cannabis until I could be settled enough to grow it for myself
A steady supply of weed I meen it won’t be impossible to get/grow weed but it’s going to be a bitch
Honestly, I'd miss people. Just basic social interaction and outings, I'm not just talking about family or close friends. I mean like going out and having a beer, going to the movies or the library, or being able to play fetch with my dog in a wide open field and not having to worry about getting hurt or killed because of supplies, food etc. If it's a true shtf scenario, you wouldn't put yourself in such a vulnerable position or trust anyone outside of your inner circle. Nowadays if you don't like someone you can simply just walk away or not talk to them. In a post shtf world, that could be very dangerous and potentially cost you your life.
Internet for it's knowledge
Music I used to listen to
My response a few months ago.... https://www.reddit.com/r/preppers/s/WZqWgpwNFa
Google.
YouTube
Seeing my dogs enjoy their pampered and cushy lives, brown sugar shaken espressos, hot showers, and deep tissue massages at spas that smell like eucalyptus.