Normal People Preparing for TEOTWAWKI – Bug Out Bag Strategy

While some people could make an argument that I’ve beaten the “bugging out” horse to death, there are more aspects that we need to discuss. Bugging out will usually occur during short-term disruptive situations (SHTF-type situations). For us, those situations were the Ferguson Riots and being hit by a tornado. When you plan for bugging out in situations like that, the plan is that you will (most likely) be returning to an intact home. Most people will have to “bug-out” in this fashion at some point in their lives. If you want just tips for making bugging out easier, I have an article from last year here.

The other way that someone may end up bugging out is during TEOTWAWKI. Packing a bug out bag for a SHTF situation is totally different than packing a Bug Out Bag for TEOTWAWKI. We need to discuss the difference between the two situations and adapt our bug out bags accordingly.

Bug Out Bag for Crud Hitting the Fan

Let me start by saying that when you pack a bug out bag NOW, you should be packing for the short-term emergency – flooding, riots, chemical spills, tornado, etc. Because it is a short-term emergency, we’re going to pack totally differently.

Our packing will still fall into the same types of categories, but how we fill out those categories will make all the difference.

So our bug out bags will have specific categories – Food, Shelter, First Aid, Hygiene, Clothing, Preparedness, Protection, and Entertainment. Clothes go directly into the bug out bag.

When I pack Bug Out Bags, everything (minus clothes) goes into zippered bags so that I can find them at a moment’s notice.

Clothes

We keep one to two changes of clothes in our grab and go bags. These go in the very bottom. If it’s fall or winter, we usually keep one pair of pants (or skirt), two shirts, a set of undergarments, a sweatshirt, and two pair of socks. If it’s spring, we usually keep two pairs of shorts (or a pair of shorts and a pair of pants), two shirts, a pair of undergarments, and two pair of socks.

We usually change out the clothes in our bug out bags when we change our clocks each year.

Food

When we’re talking about short-term difficulties, our family packs one half-size tote with 3 days worth of food for the entire family. That way we don’t have to carry it in our bags. When we bug out short-term, usually we’ll be eating fairly normally. When we had to leave because our house was damaged by a tornado, we were put up in a hotel in which we could cook food. And when we had to leave because we were in the middle of the Ferguson Riots, our friends fed us so we didn’t use the food that we had. No matter the situation, for short-term situations, having food in a tote works well for us.

Shelter

Shelter might not look like you think it will. For short-term situations, shelter could be as simple as a rain poncho. You’re not going to need much more than that for something short-term. It’s not like you’re going to be hiking through the woods. During short-term situations, you’ll be driving and staying with a friend or in a hotel. You won’t need a tent.

First Aid

Since this is just short-term, I don’t carry a TON of first-aid supplies. Mostly I carry OTC’s, bandaids, and 2×2 gauze squares, adhesive wrap (which I purchase using Amazon’s subscribe and save), and steri-strips. I do have a cool tip though. I use a “pill minder” and fill each compartment with a different OTC. In mine, I have Advil, Tylenol, Benedryl, Naproxin, circle bandaids, strip bandaids, and gloves – each in their own compartment. It’s a wonderful way to get a lot of necessary items into a little space. On top of that, we put steri-strips, 2×2 gauze squares, adhesive wrap, and superglue in a zippered baggie.

Hygiene

In the hygiene bag, we keep soap, a travel shampoo, one washcloth, a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, comb, hairbands for girls with long-hair, razor (for guys who prefer to shave in a short-term emergency), and a second pair of undergarments. If we have to bug out, having 2 sets of undergarments – one with our change of clothes and one with our hygiene items is helpful. If you end up at a hotel, sometimes they don’t have toiletries or you have to pay for them. On the other hand, if you head to a friend’s house, then they will probably have hygiene items, but perhaps not what you prefer to use. Either way, having items on hand to keep yourself and your family clean will help keep up everyone’s spirits!

Preparedness

In our preparedness bags, we keep a bunch of different items, each of which help in different ways to keep us safe. We have a small flashlight, a whistle, a compact mirror, a cigarette lighter wrapped with duct tape, a small magnifying glass, two cotton balls and a small container of petroleum jelly. So why that stuff? The flashlight should be obvious. The whistle is in case we get separated. You can hear a whistle easier than just yelling. The compact is in case you need to be found, you can use it in sunlight to signal to others. A cigarette lighter will start a fire, but it will do so faster if you use a cotton ball dipped in petroleum jelly. A magnifying glass can also start a fire. And the duct tape can be used to secure anything necessary.

Protection

This can be a whistle, mace, a tazer or the obvious – a handgun. Don’t just reach for the gun alone. Sometimes you just need to scare someone off and noise of some sort will do that. Mace is less lethal – that can be both a wonderful thing and a bad one depending on the situation.

However, If you’ve gotten a concealed carry permit, don’t hesitate to carry your firearm. But if you don’t, then it might be a good idea to get one. For those who do have protection, then carrying a couple of extra clips may be in order. Make sure that you check your state and local laws before carrying both in the same bag.

Entertainment

Whether it’s just you or you and your kids, entertainment of one form or another is in order. This may just be some apps on your phone – those do drain power – so it might be better to have a book and a deck of cards. Or perhaps a puzzle or sudoku book. For kids, you might want something on which you can play videos or DVDs.

Please don’t forget your kid’s favorite stuffed animal. When I bought a stuffed animal for my youngest son, I purchased two and put one immediately in his grab and go bag. One time his older sister had a stuffed polar bear and we were traveling on business to a neighboring state. While we were there, she lost her polar bear – it was the most devastating thing for her. Now imagine forgetting a stuffed animal when you need to leave because of an emergency. It’s going to be even more upsetting if they don’t have their stuffed animal AND something horrible is happening to them.

So how is a bug-out bag going to look different if you are bugging out during TEOTWAWKI?

Setting a TEOTWAWKI Bug Out Bag Strategy

Clothing

When you leave during TEOTWAWKI, you probably aren’t coming back. Planning your clothes in layers and season-appropriate is the only way to go. You can’t pack enough clothes for all four seasons in a TEOTWAWKI bug out bag. Go layers and go light.

Food

When packing food, you need to think two things. Other things are going to be necessary and you’re going to need space and weight for other things. You need to pack light, but you also need to eat. If you are heading to a specific place like we talked about before and you’ve left food or there is an understanding that they will feed you, then pack light on food. I like eating protein bars. I’ve read about high-calorie bars – like Datrex bars, but I’ve never tried them. For myself, I prefer Quest bars.

If you don’t have a place to go, that’s a much harder thing to deal with. Take some food with you, but in reality, if you have no place to go when you bug out, you have to have a TON more knowledge – and if you have a family, please don’t put yourself in this situation. Consistently feeding a whole family on foraging could be next to nigh impossible. Please don’t do this – have a place to go.

If you’re alone and you want to chance it, please get, read, and study-study-study this book.

In the midst of thinking of how to deal with food though, don’t forget that your family needs to drink. My personal choice for a way to filter water is a Berkey Water Bottle. It filters out viruses and bacteria in the water that you might drink, and unlike just the Lifestraw, you can fill it up and take it with you. You don’t need to stoop to water to drink. The Lifestraw bottle does not filter out viruses like the Berkey Water Bottle does, hence my choice.