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But you might still survive!

So the phone lines are dead, neighbours don't come by anymore, unable to access google since for some reason the monitor doesn't turn on. Might have something to do with the fact that there is no electricity.
Let's say you might have even been aware of this apocalypse happening, maybe you even thought about getting supplies, but for some reason you decided it's more comfortable to stay near the TV finishing the 6th season of Grey's anatomy. You never know when a vague description of an open heart surgery might come in handy, right? This here is a little guide supposed to help you if really decided - Grey's anatomy > Getting supplies.


You are at home and relocating is out of the question, slow down and take a deep breath. Start with the basics - securing the premises.
You are in an apartment building? Great - get an idea of your surroundings - go to the door and look out the peephole or listen for sounds. In case of a lot of screaming and screeching I'd advise you to not open the door, otherwise look around and try to see if there are any visible openings to the building that could compromise your safety, start from securing those openings first.
If you happen to live higher up than the actual ground floor, building yourself in has to be done with a little more care. In case you need to open the door quick you can't sit there unravelling through the thousands of dominoes you stacked as a barricade. If you have a steel door - congratulations - you are one step closer to getting to secure other parts of the home, otherwise try reinforcing it by hammering some boards to the door itself and securing it with some padlocks or generic slide locks. In any compromising situation you want to be able to get out as fast as possible. Might even be you need to let someone in who might be essential to your little tea party.
For hammering you can use anything that that has a solid metal, stone or ceramic piece to it - like a pan, a rock, the bottom of a bottle. You can get nails out of walls and furniture, use sharpened table knives to create a shelf beddings, mattress springs can be twisted and hammered into double-forked nails, even some shoes have nails in them.
In a house? Lock the door and build in front of it as fast as possible. You want there to be only one entrance on the main floor, I'd advise you to use a smaller window which you can build a contraption in front of with handy tools. Even if there is less room for you to get out, it automatically means there is less room for them to get in. If you happen to have rooms with big windows, might be it would be less problematic to close the whole room off rather than starting to build in front of the windows. Remember, you are currently in a hurry, bigger things that can be put off can always be done later.


Once you have managed to secure your fort, it is prime time to check for liquids. If there still is running water, fill all cups and pots you have lying around. Fill the bathtub if you have one. Might be that the waterlines will be cut soon. Renew your water every day for as long as there still is a possibility to do that. For storing liquids you can even use cloth and rugs, trashcans, emptied out light bulbs, plastic bags etc.
No running water? I do hope you have at least something to drink for the next two-three days - you can even use small amounts of cooking oil or chew on stems and leaves of unpoisonous house plants.


Hopefully you are in your fortress surrounded by several items filled with water. Since you aren't in a hurry to actually start eating/drinking/looting, you should poke around the walls and blockades you've built. Secure, secure, secure!
One thing I have noticed around my home is that the walls inside the house are puncturable with a mighty punch or three. Build yourself a panic room inside your bug in location. Something that wouldn't be breachable once you lock yourself in there. That room would also be used for sleeping since that is our weakest most fragile state. Don't forget to furnish it with the necessities and relocate the water and food in there. Last thing you want is to be locked in your panic room with all the food and water on the other side of the wall. Acquire a bucket for the 1's & 2's and toilet paper/anything that resembles it.


Poke around your cabinets and cupboards. Pile all edible items to have an overview of how bad your situation is. The order of consumption should be sorted by the expiring date. You want your eggs, milk and breads consumed before your tinned goods. Flours and dry foods are great in the long run, try to hang on to those for as long as possible.
If you don't have a way of cooking your foods as there is no electricity and you probably do not have a propane cooker just laying around, do not eat foods that need to be cooked raw. It's better to avoid problems like salmonella or food poisoning than have a full stomach. If you happen to have raw meats, cure* them with handy things.


Congratulations, you have covered the basics, you have now secured the premises and probably made a mental note of what handy you have lying around. Time to pack a bag or a pouch of necessities which should be with you at all times. Pliers, a knife, bandages, a torch, some snacks ( you never know how long it might take you ), a bottle of liquids, a weapon of some sorts to fight off any danger you might or might not get into.
The best places for looting are the spots that are the furthest/most difficult to access, places that wouldn't seem like the first and most obvious choice for anyone else. Legitimate grocery shopping spots should be avoided at any cost, smartest would be going through abandoned homes. You don't want to bump into others in times of need. Raiders are mean and want to survive just as bad as you.
Before leaving your base camp, draw out some maps, you have to know where you are going and all the possible ways to get there and back. Take time to study your surroundings and to try to make sure the path ahead is clear. Do not try to be a hero, if you happen to run into some eerie situations where you could save someone's life, take a breather and calculate. Is the risk worth it? Is it even plausible? Is there a chance that the plan you have might backfire? The risk is almost never worth it if your life will be on the line.


You have successfully managed to make your way to a location you rated as probable to have sources necessary for you. First thing - make sure that no one has followed you and that you will be able to exit as easily as enter. Before looting, browse the premises and make sure you are in there alone. Close/lock the doors and windows and keep your calm. If you have enough time to get back to your bug in location just it slow and scout carefully. In case it is already too late, could you spend the night there? Can you make sure you will be safe staying there?
In case you will be returning to your location the same day, do not spend time on eating. I know you might be hungry and even though it's a good idea to slow down to look around, it does not mean you should elongate the time you spend in the looting location.
Packing stuff to go should be revised with care and attention. You can only take with you as much as you can carry. Do not think about which of these items appeal to you most, think of what would come in handy. What would you be able to benefit off the longest? Dry foods, bottles with liquids, medical supplies. Going through everything carefully will assure that you are not missing some essential things, might be you come across water purification tablets, portable cookers, weapons etc. Don't forget to take with you things that you can build or garden with.


While scouting outside keep your eye out for locations, might be possible that at one point you will come across a place which is better to stay at. Maybe one with brick or concrete walls, less windows, annealed doors. Keep an eye out for bug in locations that have land near them, if you will be staying at a place for a longer time, would be a good idea to start growing your own food before you run out of other options.
When you seem to be nearing a party of people, rather keep your distance and observe at first. Do you need to make contact? Might be that the people would rather take your things or use you as manpower. Might be that they would rather shoot any stranger than have to deal with raiders/zombies/infected.
If you do decide to join them, make vocal contact first to make sure if they will allow you to come closer, keep your hands held high and move in slow. Congratulations, it's probable that they have better tips than me and you're in the clear for now.




*Curing meats:


Brine cure
Take hot water and salt in a 32 to 1 ratio - about 2 cups of salt in 4 gallons of water. Fill your barrel about half way with this brine, add a bit of vinegar.
Take your cuts of meat cut in no more than 15-lb. pieces and place them in your brine barrel, lid it and let them soak for 6 days. Remove the meat from the brine and hang it in cloth sacks in a cool dry place. This recipe should keep the meat for about 4 to 6 weeks if done properly.

Dry Salt Cure
Take about 6 lbs of salt, sweeten it up with about 2 lbs. of granulated sugar, add 2 to 3 oz. of saltpeter, and mix well. Pack this mixture on your meat just after butchering and place in a large box barrel or sack in a cool place. Cure for 2 days per pound of meat and repeat the rub of salt mixture every 7 days during the cure. Be sure to hold the meat between 35 and 40 degrees to maintain freshness. If you have freezing weather for a few days, add that many days to the curing time.

Smoking
Build a hardwood fire out of woods such as apple or oak and open the vent to let moisture escape the first day. Monitor the temperature, keeping it at around 85 degrees fahrenheit, and shut the vent the second day of curing. Let the meat cure 2 to 3 days like this, hang it in a cool dry place or refrigerate if you don't want to further "age" the meat. Use meat cured this way in about 6 months.


If you happen to live near an ocean or the sea:
the water can be used for cooking or getting salt through evaporation.
The colder the water is year round, the less you will have to worry about bacteria and contamination. Leave it settle in a larger cask for a day or two. Filter the water from one basin to another and surely boil before using:
1)Cooking - remember that the average seawater salinity is around 3.5%. So a litre of water has around 35 grams (5 teaspoons) of salt in it. Dilute it with fresh water according to the salinity you wish for and cook.
2)Forming salt crystals - after filtering and boiling leave it in a large shallow basins. Make sure that the area they are left in is well aired and dry. If you live in a sunny area that hasn't got a lot of rain, leave the basins in direct sunlight.
3)Washing - dishes or clothes, rinse with fresh water.