Bugging out

[Imsayingnothing]

I'm hoping that I'll never be in a situation where I ever have to do this, however we never know what's around the corner.

I have a few questions and I am interested to know others thoughts and ideas around bugging out.

The first question really is have you picked a location? I used to have several different relatives that if anything happened I could go to but due to changes in everyone's lives it seems everyone of these now has in their mind that they will come to me! I'm really struggling now to think of a new location where we can go if we needed to leave. Again it's always a last and worst case scenario but I now feel like I need to revisit this area of preps and see what I can do to organise it.

Also I can put a bag together for myself and carry it no problem but I have 5 children and I'm wondering how on earth I can manage to fit in enough for all of us and still be able to carry it!

I have watched a lot of videos of preppers and what they pack and carry etc, however none of them seem to cover packing for children and other family members.

Any advice, ideas and personal experience about bugging out is greatly greatly appreciated.

I have not considered bugging out unless caught out on a car journey: inner city and all that. My flat is the warmest place to live and has the most food. Cooking would have to be outdoors though. ex's house is rented and draughty. mums and sils are both single skin/uninsulated brick and leak heat. only one of us can walk further than a mile so we are limited to the innercity.

However, if one were to consider it...children can carry their own things depending on age. So a small rucksack with say a life straw, gloves, hat, scarf, small snack? a jumper? a carrier bag to sit on or an emergency foil blanket? Kids could in theory carry the bulky but light weight stuff.

do they carry a bag to and from school regularly? if not, they should start so that it is second nature and not a sudden onerous chore. perhaps on days out and walks where they carry their own picnic?

Do you go camping? one way to teach skills, perhaps enroll in forest school.

teach them skills too. how to keep safe, who to ask for help, when to ask for help. how to hide when necessary (terrorism) when not tohide: house fire.

I have concluded that unless absolutely necessary, I would always bug in. At most I might decamp us all to relatives a couple of miles away. At very worst, I have camping stuff but I would imagine going as far as possible by car - hence keeping the car petrol tank never less than half full. I would imagine sleeping in the car. To be honest, if things were so bad that we had to leave our home and were unable to use the car we would tramp and camp. But that would be a pretty desperate situation. Better to be prepared for a loss of utilities to the house but staying in the house: heat, water supply, cooking are all pretty sorted.

Yes I agree with both of you about staying home. I mean on this board at least I imagine most folk would be much better bugging in seeing as most people on here are pretty well prepared for lots of scenarios.

I've been seeing more and more people saying yes for the next 6 months or so, at least in the UK we should be ok to bug in but after that be prepared especially if in a city. For those in America I guess they are pretty touch and go in lots of places just now.

It has just given me this feeling that yes stay at home where possible but I started thinking to myself what if it's not possible. Then I realised that all the previous options we had seem to have all had a lot of life problems in the past few years and actually the people who we might be able to go to previously are now more in the position where they think of us as their bug out location!

I think I'd also try to leave with the car if possible because we could carry more stuff and also we could sleep in it if we needed to.

I get my older two children to carry most of their own now, but my youngest two are too small really to carry stuff. It will be more likely I'll be carrying a bag and at some point also have to carry one of them because of tired legs. I've been taking them for hilly walks to get them used to walking more.

I just find there are lots of prepping sites and channels which cover mostly a single person leaving home to bug out but not very many that cover families with children.

Also have you changed your everyday carry to incorporate more stuff since this year?

Hi - I think that US preppers are more about bugging out than we are. It's a bigger space. Whereas it's pretty hard to find actual wilderness in the UK that is remotely habitable - moorland near me ain't, for example. Go a couple of hours here in the car and you will bump into a settled community that may not accept incomers too readily in a crisis situation.
My EDC hasn't really changed although there's more space given to an extra brunch bar or similar in case I get stranded.

Planned for loss of electric and heating by having lots of furmels and sleeping bags plus hot water bottles no problem with cooking as have bottled gas. I think If the situation got to bugging out things have detariated to a point were I'd be more likely to board up windows and doors and try to ride it out while doing my best to protect my family

Thanks for the replies @bellinisurge and @Ladybookreader and everyone else. Yes I have thought about boarding up windows etc if it gets too bad.

I am trying to work out how much stuff to put in a bag. There's always a big danger of going overboard with these things and ending up unable to lift it, nevermind carry it for any length of time!

Kids bags: hats,gloves,scarves,waterproofs small light torch, snacks eg couscous, noodles, plastic mug
Adult bag: small lightweight stove, fire starting kit
Tarp, paracord groundsheet waterproofs smallest kids stuff.

Personally,I don't think one could carry all one needs for an adult and five small children.

@BlackeyedSusan thank you for ideas. I will hopefully get a chance to make some lists and make up some bags for them this weekend at some point. I know what you mean, little people have a lot of stuff!

Not wanting to wish their lives away but it's certainly looking easier for those with older children.

Anyway I'll do my best with what we've got and see how I get on.

What is the age range, roughly? A baby and a toddler to 8ish makes a big difference, compared to say 4-12 year olds.

@BlackeyedSusan my youngest just turned 3, next one just turned 4 then I've got 7 year old 8 year old and a 14 year old.

However my 7 year old and 14 year old both have special needs so I have to factor that in too.

I think because I don't have a set destination in my head of where exactly to go I'm struggling with what and how much to pack. I don't know if I should pack just a days worth of stuff or two or three or more days worth if you see what I mean.

Do any of you have a good portable water filter you'd recommend? And also when packing sanitary wear are you packing disposable sanitary wear or reusable?

If you are in the UK, where do you think you would go?

That you have a chance of finding shelter, clean water, and food?

I agree with what you imply @PigletJohn . Bugging out should be an action of absolute last resort. At most - a family member who would welcome you in another part of the country that you can readily get to.

the best thing seems to be stay put, or drive to wherever you need to be. staying put is going to be infinitely better than trying to get five young/sn kids anywhere anytime quick. Certainly pack the car with things you might need, like waterproofs, warm clothes, sun hats, sunscreen. snacks, drinks and a hospital bag for each child.have a relatives house to decamp to if necessary.

staying put means you are hiding amongst lots of other people staying put. Make your house look unappealing.

I had one of those moments of reading the stuff pinterest chucks up about how to hide your stash if houses are getting searched... which worried me for a while. I have calmed myself with the strategy of making the house look like it has already been searched... quickest way would be to confiscate someones phone, tell them I had hidden it and piss them off so they search the house... I have a sn child whoi is exceptionally good at making the house look recently burgled. it is a constant battle to stop it looking like it has just been turned over.

ie the likelihood of getting the house searched is quite small, compared to my temporary anxiety which I have cured with a plan... not that I expect to put plan into effect.

it is fun thinking about bugging out but the practicalities are quite large.

I guess there is always the alley way at the back of exs, that is impenatrable due to the shit (some of it literal) that has been chucked over. (i added some antiburglar bramble clipping deterents as ex is the last house accessible through the alley way as next door blocked it with half a tree, and someone has dumped an old bike there. and looking down it there is junk all the way along. )

haivng said that, you need thick boots and thick trousers to go out of exes back door as there are brambles growing all around it and by all the windows.