Ridley "Store-and-Ignore Disaster Supply Box" - would you buy one?

[picaro]

Can't help on the 15-20 gallon size.

Bulk kitty litter from Sam's will yield 5 gallon square buckets.

[Dave Ridley]

I also need to know if any of you would buy a pressure cooker , were it included.   The price would likely run between 30 and seventy dollars depending on the cooker.
And how much interest is there in Potassium Iodide?  It's for preventing thyroid damage after a radiological incident....and thought it comes with an expiration date, research has shown it to be viable indefinitely.

[Dave Ridley]

OK:  I am ready to put together a couple disaster supply boxes for sale now.   PM me if you want one.  You won't need to pay until delivery, but you should expect it will take three weeks for me to put everything together and stand in front of you with it.   

These first boxes will be basic but will have certain advantages over the ones I produce later.   

- More customizable: I'm not even going to start putting it together until I've received some instructions from you. If you wish, you can just give me the nod and I will use my own discretion what to include.
- If you order one of these first boxes you'll have one in your hands sooner.
- The prices are probably lower now than they will be later

Here are the items I've researched, priced for best value, purchased and placed in front of me ready to put in your box.  Tell me which ones are most and least important to you, and I will weight the box accordingly.  You won't use them all, but all have high barter potential.  Remember...for this project I am only focusing on items that have an indefinite shelf life.   So these contents will not "go bad" on you if you keep them at a stable moderate temperature.   These consumables will be worth their weight in silver if scarcity ever strikes...but you can always use them as general supplies.  They are, ultimately, a small, diversified store of value.

7.62 x 39 soft point ammo (hunting rounds)  - 30 cents a round
sealed bleach tabs - $8.00 each (for treating water)
3-hour tea candles - 6 cents each
tissue paper - 70 cents per hundred
paper towells - $1.10 per hundred
plastic litre bags, see-through - not yet priced
coffee filters - price pending (can double as crude water filters)
salt - the world's ancient currency:  40 cents/lb
Honey - 3.00/lb
  (will eventually crystalize but can be reclaimed by heating)
aluminum foil -  5 cents/square foot
tear-by-hand clear tape
matches - three per penny
clear baggies - price pending
Vaseline - two bucks per 8 ounce container
Isopropyl alchohol $2.50/qt
tampons - 15 cents each, varying sizes and absorbencies available
wheat berries - $1.00/lb

[J’raxis 270145]

What are you actually asking for a complete, pre-made kit that you build to your own discretion?

I also like including the potassium iodide.

[Dave Ridley]

What are you actually asking for a complete, pre-made kit that you build to your own discretion?

I also like including the potassium iodide.

Tell you what, how about I go ahead and assemble one, then announce the cost?  You can either buy or not buy depending on whether you like the cost and the content balance.

If you don't buy it I"m sure someone else will so it's no sweat off my nose.  I could probably hand it to you on Tuesday since I"m back in town then.  maybe at taproom tuesdays, should be there.

[Riddler]

strike anywhere matches, presumably? (maybe w/ a waterproof container)
how bout a wind-up flashlight?
just a suggestion.

[Dave Ridley]

Alright, I've gone ahead and assembled one box.  It's heavy, just light enough for one average person to carry.  However I've left enough space so that you could take everything out and put it back in without much trouble.  All items are new but some had to be opened so I could store other items inside them.  Some of the absorbent items I have spread around so that they double as dessicant while in storage.   

200 rounds soft point 7.62 x 39 ammo:  $50
1 sealed bleach tab: $7.00
400 coffee filters:  $4
1 roll tp:  30 cents
1 roll of aluminum foil: $2
approx 2 lbs non iodized salt: $1
approx 2 lbs iodized salt:  $1 
400 matches $1.30
100 paper plates $2.00
approx 150 3 hr tea candles:  $9.00

80 tampons:  $12 
20 paper bowls  $2.00
2 rolls paper towells, some dispersed to absorb moisture:  $2.00
honey  10 lbs: $30
4 sponges $2
3 boxes tissue paper: $3.00
about 50 plastic bags: $1.00
plastic clear tape, rippable by hand: $3.00
8 pounds wheat berries: $8

Total: $140
Probably no more than you'd pay for these items unassembled at Shaws/Riley's.

[Dave Ridley]

with regard to wind up flashlights, is there any indication that they have an indefiniate shelf life... or do the power cells go bad eventually?

the latter has been my experience.

[Riddler]

with regard to wind up flashlights, is there any indication that they have an indefiniate shelf life... or do the power cells go bad eventually?

the latter has been my experience.

good question.
i've had one i keep in my outdoor wood boiler (behind the control panel door) for 2+ years now.
it only gets seasonal use (nov-march, nothing the rest of the year) & so far has worked fine

[Riddler]

also, sees high temps while boiler is in operation

[Dave Ridley]

arright, one box has now been spoken for...altho it's one i'm assembling now as opposed to the one above.  it will be similar but not identical.

[Luke S]

I'd like input from you guys before I get too deep into this project...

I am thinking of designing and producing a low-cost disaster kit primarily for use *after* the first week of a catastrophe.   It would also be designed so that every item had an indefinite shelf life.   Its contents would be barter-friendly consumables you could make easy use of with or without an emergency, at a better price than you would usually find them at the store 

In other words, a safe microinvestment.

Here's a list of items I might include...but mainly I am wanting to know how much interest there is in something like this.   If interest is limited , I may not do much.   However if interest is high enough, that would give me an excuse to start collecting a lot more survival friendly stuff and turning this kit, or something similar, into reality. 

Chlorine Water treatment tabs  - plus printed instructions on how to use them, even in cloudy water.
http://www.lesliespool.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=9151&iMainCat=14&iSubCat=104&iProductID=9151&tabID=3   
There is apparently debate regarding the indefinite status of this item's shelf life. 
Alum - for de-clouding water and making it easier to treat with Chlorine.  I'm uncertain regarding the indefinite status of this item's shelf life. 
Ammo - Something the Red Cross and Wal Mart kits never get around to including...fortunately it is still legal to sell without bureaucratic obstacles.  Ammunition historically becomes a currency in protracted crises. 
Candles -
Laptop Friendly Disaster Survival Library - this is a keyword searchable disaster survival document on CD; compiled by me but written by the U.S. Army and the Red Cross.
Matches - Matches became a currency in Bosnia during the 1990s conflict.  To limit fire hazard issues, I could store them in sealed glass jars?
Sterno - good for cooking indoors without electricity
kleenex - ideally, I should leave you a room full, but this will have to do.
Lamp Oil - apparently odorless mineral spirits are better.  u get them at home depot.   
honey - will crystalize eventually but can be reclaimed by _____
salt - the world's ancient currency.   Became very valuable in central Bosnia during the war. 
Wheat - plus printed instructions on how to sprout it.    This will keep you eating veggies for another week or two.   
See thru trash bags - double as low-budget greenhouse device in the sun.  Useful for all kinds of things and rarely in plentiful supply.
Baggies
Tampons - barter friendly even if you don't use them.

Ideally the biggest advantage of buying these things in this disaster kit form, might be that they are actually cheaper to own that way.  I already know how to find things really cheap around here and I'm just getting started...  but my first step would be to find the lowest possible prices on items like these.

Your thoughts?

Yes I would most certainly buy one Dave. I most certainly would.

[Dave Ridley]

Manifest for the disaster box featured on the Ridley Report, which was to be priced at $140

100 rounds 7.62 x 39 soft point ammo
100 rounds 7.62 x 39 FMJ ammo
10 emergency stick candles
2 jar candles
1 tear-by hand tape thing
~1 litre ultra-pure lamp oil
~40 tea candles stuffed into other items
400 matches
2 toothbrushes
2 safety razors

40 tampons of various types
1 pt iso alchohol
200 small coffee filters
8 oz petroleum jelly (vaseline)
honey
1 roll aluminum foil
1 space blanket
20 paper plates
~10 trash bags
~10 clear plastic baggies
~50 bandaids
2 rolls paper towells
2 pr army wool socks 
4 boxes tissue paper
100 packaged tea candles

[Dave Ridley]

Here's a list of items which I generally have available for placement in *your* box.    However there will be times when some of these are not "in stock."

If designing your own box is too complicated just provide me a couple of parameters to work with, turn me loose and I will build one for you using my best judgment...

Soft point SKS/AK ammo (7.62 x 39)
Full metal jacket SKS/AK ammo (7.62 x 39)
Chlorine bleach (the only item in the box that does not have an indefinite shelf life. To make it last indefinitely you must store it in a refrigerator).
Coffee filters
Toilet paper
Tissue paper
Aluminum foil
iodized and non-iodized salt
matches
paper plates
candles, various types and sizes
tampons
paper bowls
paper towells
honey (will eventually crystalize but does not go bad - you just heat it up to de-crystalize)
sponges
plastic baggies
garbage bags
clear plastic tape (tear-by-hand)
wheat berries (for sprouting or grinding)
instructions for water treatment and
U.S. Army pocket survival manual 21-76
swiss-type army knives (cheap knockof version in this case)
wool socks
lamp oil
toothbrushes
safety razors
iso. alchohol
petroleum jelly
space blankets
bandaids
baking soda
All place in 18 gallon rubbermaid-type plastic container

That is the current list.  Availability will vary over time.

[Coconut]

This sounds like a valuable gift for someone that would appreciate this kind of thing. I would consider getting some of my family members one.