Play the game....

[Adam_MA]

Ok, here's how it will work:

I'm going to put a scenario below, I don't care where you live, it applies to you and your home/family. In detail, ONLY with what you actually have available come up with a plan. I will change the details and situations as we go forward, so be ready to update your response.

If the answers do not follow the situation, or if you start to mess around, I will delete your post, and hit you with a -2.

Are you ready to play??
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February 2010. Barak Osama is in office, with reverend wrong sitting at his right hand. He decided to give another 700 billion to failing corporations. The troops are of course still over in the sand pit, and they will be there for a while now, because not a single in-power person in the world as even a sliver of respect for the Antichrist. In fact, the past month has been the bloodiest month in Iraq because Obama has enacted his "never shoot until ordered to shoot" directive. The directive says that under no circumstances at all, will any soldier fire at another human being unless ordered to by his commanding officer, even if being fired at.

The stock market has been down consistently for weeks. In fact, today the closing bell rang while the market was closed due to the 2200 point decline circuit breaker being tripped at 2:10PM. Analyst are already predicting that tomorrow, the market will only be open for a matter of minutes throughout the entire day before the 2PM time hits, and the breaker shuts it down for the day again.

Several isolated terrorist attacks have taken place in the US over the past 3 weeks. They have effectively shut down the majority of trucking in the US. Panic buying has already begun. The news shows footage of lines out the door, and down the street at the local supermarket. People in the middle and end of the line are being sent away, as there is not enough food in the stores, they will be empty by the time they get in.

Gasoline is over $5/gal, and is getting hard to find.

As you get in from an exhausting day, you turn on the news to hear of massive mobs of people, in the city. The unemployment system has become bankrupt, and the weekly checks did not come again this week. They are desperate, hungry, and willing to kill for what you have. They are starting to leave the city (the one closest to you) and are heading in your direction. Because you were too stressed on the way home, you didn't listen to the news, you were relaxing by cranking up your favorite John Tesh album (homo) and now you're behind the curve. The news shows gridlock everywhere getting away. Your tank is on E, no gas stations near your location have any gas, and you know you have to stick it out, and survive in place.

Lay out your plan for getting your home ready, and what supplies you have that you will put to use, and how you will divide your resources (mental and physical) to get what you need done. What will be your priority's, and what can wait. Again, only supplies and resources you have on hand.

Good luck, and watch this thread for changes.

 

[wolf223]

i hope i got this right.

Food:

I have enough for little man I to last about two weeks under normal circumstances.

I supposed I can stretch it out to three, maybe four if I only eat once a day and feed him twice a day.

Water:

Endless supply - assuming the faucets work

otherwise, we would be ass'd out with 20 bottles of water

Resources:

*Firearms: I suppose I can go looting, but I wouldn't do that unless my son's life depended on it.

*Firearms again: of course, all the handguns and magazines would be loaded, i'd probably be in some type of Mall Ninja set up with my shoulder holster and OWB holster's on at all times. spare mags inside all my magazine carriers too!

*Firearms again: the .22 Rifle would be a BUG / long range (up to 100 yards) "heat shots" only if a mob was approching

*Hygene stuff & supplies: we have enough of everything else to last a few months, soap, toothpase, toilet paper, cleaning supllies - sanitation is KEY!

*other stuff / survival: we have plenty of blankets and snivel gear to survive as well.


that's it (i think).

-side note: I'd probably siphon some gasoline from all the Brand-Spanking NEW SUV's at the two car dealers within a 1 / 2 mile. 1 or 2 gallons would get me enough to bail if stuff got really bad (i think).

 

[Adam_MA]

Not bad...

Are you in a house or apartment? Do you have anything on hand, and any plans to fortify your location? What about security/watch. It's just you and your little man, how do you plan to keep watch? You gotta sleep right?

 

[wolf223]

Not bad...

Are you in a house or apartment? Do you have anything on hand, and any plans to fortify your location? What about security/watch. It's just you and your little man, how do you plan to keep watch? You gotta sleep right?

it's an apartment / town house complex.

2nd floor for me.

can't really fortify unforunatley... all they need to get in this building is break through two glass entry doors, i'd probably barricade one of the exits (living room) in my apartment and i'd keep watch...

maybe hange a bells on the doors or something. more than likely, i would just be little man and i, or I'd enlist the help of the other tennats would be a good route too...

 

[Adam_MA]

Not bad, you've obviously thought about this before. I would suggest 2 main things, more food, and more WAY more water stored and on hand. Both not a hard thing to do, and can be bought in small amounts, and stored relatively discreetly.

 

[wolf223]

Not bad, you've obviously thought about this before. I would suggest 2 main things, more food, and more WAY more water stored and on hand. Both not a hard thing to do, and can be bought in small amounts, and stored relatively discreetly.

never a thought in my mind....

part of it was living upstate New York (real snow) that would cripple activities! you know, the gas stations and super markets having lines out the ying yang, or just plain ol' NOT wanting to go out in 3 ft. of snow & counting.

the other part is being too busy to go food shopping and doing laundry every single week. so i usually do this stuff mid-week over two days... i like to relax on the weekends w/o having to run more than 1 or 2 errands.. mostly veg & window shop

 

[Rockrivr1]

Is it bad that I've already thought about this scenario? I live in a very small townhouse community surrounded by woods. I live in one of the middle units with 6 units in total at the end of the street. Behind our building is about 15 feet of back yard and then a steep decline into a retention area. The retention area goes all the way around the house toward one end of the townshouses that's facing the woods. On the side of the townhouses on the street side there is a deep water retention area. In front of the house is the driveway that leads up to a hill. Probably a distance of 40-50ft in front of the house. In a way, my complex can be defended as people coming in have to either climb up a from a retention area, over a small hill or from the narrow street side.

Here's my plan.

Security:

First thing I would do is go door to door and muster out the neighbors. There are some older folks along with a few families in thier mid thirties and fourties. I explain the situation to them and arm and mobilize them, with a little firearms training, as much as possible. (Yes, my plan involves giving these folks weapons from my cache. No way I can hold off hordes by myself) We will need to take 3 cars and block street access from the hill to the water retention area. I would set up a watch rotation, which would include someone up on the roof to keep watch for anyone approaching and people keeping watch out the windows on each end of the townhouse building. I have a set of Midland radios and I know one of my neighbors have a set as well. We'll use these to communicate and coordinate as necessary. I also have a Gen 1 Nightvision monocular that would be issued to the roof coverage during the overnight.

Food :

I have a small stash of MREs and bottled water. Enough for the wife and I to eat and drink for about a month. Obviously not enough for the whole complex. I'd have everyone pool what food they had in their cabinets and assign a couple of the elderly folks to be in charge of getting meals ready. There is a fairly big river right next to our complex that we can fish if needed and there is a bunch of game to hunt in the woods if needed to help augment our food supply.

Since we are in the woods, I'd need to set up work parties to collect firewood as I'm going to assume that since there's anarchy, the gass may be out. Plus the wood will be used for light at night as well as cooking. Water is provided by the town, so that may be out as well. Luckily the water retention area usually has water in it that we can use. Either by boiling it or using the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter I have to get clean water. Using the filter will be tedious, but it can filter over 40,000 gallons of water. Plus we'll need keep a LOT of water in the houses to put out fires in case someone decides to try and burn us out.

Yes, I know this plan takes a lot on faith with my nieghbors. But I think when faced with a scenario you've indicated, we can pull together to defend what we have. I think that some of the people will pick up the firearms knowledge pretty quick, so we'd need to plan with easy to remember commands over the Midlands so that everyone knows how to react when needed.

Ok, I did admit right up front that I've already thought about this a bunch. My wife thinks I can be paranoid about stuff like this. Hummmm, maybe.

 

[wolf223]

I live in one of the middle units with 6 units in total at the end of the street. Behind our building is about 15 feet of back yard and then a ....

just like me,

i'm on a busy street though.. but very similar set up.

i'm thinking about my neighbors now, hmmmm, one is anti-social, one is obviously racist, two are older guys in their 50's who literally are never around... then me and the cool guy accross the hall.

in my situation, i'd probably stick to myself - maybe the two families in the town house adjacent would be cool, since we all have little ones..

but anyway, i'm going to stock more ramen noodles and water from now on.


one note to possibly think about (OP & posters)

landmarks: schools, hospitals, police, fire

evacuation points or centers: schools, public buildings, gyms ect...

food sources: supermarkets, vegetation, livestock (i'm reaching w / the livestock suggestion)

*if you were running low, would you consider congregating into a school packed with people? backed-up toilets, poor sanitation (i.e. Katrina)

*would you even bother going to a hospital? supermarket? or non-profit agency to scrounge for food and water? or would you prefer to "tough" it out?

some of you live in more rural areas, me? i'm in the burbs...

**way off topic** but what about entertainment? i guess little man and i can draw on the walls after we go through all his books, games and get tired of playing with all his toys.

note to self: i need to pick up a small alternatly powered portable radio...

 

[FhvnLT4A]

Ok my plan starts with ensuring that my deadbolts are bolted, that the windows are down and locked, and then toss a few sheet rock screws through the window sills. Second would be to get the wife stationed in my livingroom near the kitchen. this position covers both the front and back door, and 75 % of the windows in my house. I would give her both handguns from the bedroom locker, and tell her to shoot anyone trying to get through the windows. Then I would go down stairs, break out the OH SHIT KIT ( yes i have one) and bring it upstairs.. it has the emergency radio... candles, flashlights and 12 MREs in it. Second trip would be to get the guns and ammo upstairs. THen, I would start fortifying my position with wood over the windows... 2x4s sheet rock screwed into the inside ( the screws and drill are on the first floor). I would make sure that one water fire extinguisher was at the pivot point in the livingroom/ kitchen, and the other was in the bedroom hallways. Next, Id fill the tub and all sinks with water.

This plan should allow me at least a week of defendable space, while remaining flexible enough to still utilize most of my one story, 850 square feet of living space. One person would be at the bunker pivot point in the LR, while the other could be anywhere in the house doing whatever.

After that, I would ensure that I tried to lead as normal a life as possible, while maintaining a heightened awareness of our neighborhood, and try napping during the day, while my wife stood guard, and then switching roles at night.. she sleeps while I would remain up watching.

 

[wolf223]

...OH SHIT KIT.....

you should trademark that - you were a boy scout, weren't you?

-good stuff man!

 

[FhvnLT4A]

Yup, and I HATE being unprepared in the face of an emergency.. )

As an aside.. the Oh SHit KIT, hereunto be known as the OSK... is a 33 gallon plastic tub like you get at wally world.. This would float in the case of a flood in the basement, can be dragged very easily, and slides over snow and terrain in the event I have to move out. The sides have a lip edge arround em that you can bungee things onto the top.. IE my 7 person tent thats right next to it, along with the Ammo Boxes that contain the 556 and the other one with the 9mm, 45 and 30 cal.

 

[doobie]

Food. I have enough to last me until I can grow or hunt for animals.
Heat. I have enough firewood.
Ammo. I have enough to defend my food and firewood and any other NES yokel who tries to invade my newly formed sovereign nation.

I'm going to keep myself in for a while and work my land.

What else do I need? A girlfriend to help pass the time and make some evil spawns.

 

[FhvnLT4A]

Doob, theyre not evil spawns, theyre ammo bearers!!

 

[Twigg]

For where I will be;

Food; My family could last three months with what's on hand right now, will have that bumped to a full years supply by the time of the scenario. I'd have a trap line out for everything from squirrels to deer (Hey its a survival - game laws go out the window.) How I trap them I'm not gonna say as if done improperly could endanger humans.

Water, as long as the municipal supply is ok we're all set, then its down to the lake a mile away and the water filters come out.

Infrastructure; Organize community for firewood details, water storage, and food locating / bartering / shopping parties, set up first aid station within community.

Security; Organize trusted neighbors to run roving patrol of community. Not so sure about handing out firearms. pretty sure they'll have their own (Rural NH) Have extra comm gear for patrol. Set up HAM shack for news / mutual aid with other communities

Power; next home will have back up battery bank with inverter and multi source recharging capabilites, photovoltatic panels, wind turbine and small generator. Pellet stove & several pallets of pellets.

Every one in family goes armed. Other defensive items (If indeed I had them such as supressors, night vision and body armor) would not be disclosed to those whom have no need to know.

Reinforcements; Certain NES members bringing beans, bullets and band-aids welcomed.

Franky speaking, after seeing what happened in N.O. after the hurricaines I'm not getting on a bus to ANYWHERE the .gov tells me to go and my family is in agreement on this.

There will be resistance.

 

[doobie]

Doob, theyre not evil spawns, theyre ammo bearers!!

Yeah? Slinging lead first? I'm not going to take my chances, get your arse on the ground and put your hands on your head and I'll check you out before you can enter.

 

[pernox]

I've thought about this, too. Though writing it down will make me see some flaws, I'm sure.

The setting is my house, a three-family that I own and reside in. My betrothed, our daughter, and myself live in the large unit. I rent the other two for a good deal to my mother and cousin, so any "bug in" plan includes them, of course. The house is a large two story with full attic and unfinished full basement, dirt floor. I have a quarter acre or so to my name, a quarter-ish of which is currently garden area. I'm in the city, for whatever that term is worth when applied to Pittsfield.

First consideration: Water. Humans can live without food for weeks - water? Days. Water currently is at a two-week supply. I have enough containers to bump that up to a two month supply of potable water on immediate notice. By 2010, I'd like to have enough water for the house to drink, cook, and retain a degree of sanitation for four months.

Second consideration: Food. Sitting at a month's supply, and adding steadily. We're also starting to incorporate variety, such as fruits, different sorts of vegetables, and sugary items. Longer-term, I garden, and am learning more about it at all times. Unfortunately, I don't have enough land right now that I could be completely self-sufficient without a great deal of work. Fortunately, this scenario gives me until 2010, at which point I'll likely have nearly four months of good food on hand.

Third consideration: Firepower. I'm sorely lacking here. Not enough ammo for an extended hunker-down. Working on it. In the event, my little one plinks bad guys with the .22, wifey gets the Sig, Mum gets the 12ga, and Big Daddy's rockin' the AK. Unfortunately, as stated, ammo is at a premium right now. I'd like to have enough to need a storage permit, and am working on it! Thankfully, the only untrained party is the little one, and if Santa's nice this year, that situation will be rectified by the time of this scenario.

Fourth consideration: Sanitation and medical. We keep a buffer of "bug in" supplies in the course of normal shopping. Extra TP, female products, toothpaste/brushes, rubbing alcohol, bleach, first aid, and trash bags. We also have several five gallon buckets about that can be lined with trash bags or sealed tightly with their gasket-ringed covers for waste and trash.

As for the actual layout, we have an "emergency plan" drawn up in the event of something impending. This was formulated during one of the tornado warnings we had this summer, as I realized we hadn't gotten together on a plan for what to do in the event of a tornado since acquiring our new place in '06. Everyone gathers in the basement, and each person has a particular list of things to carry. Everyone knows their place once located in the basement, and what they are to do with the supplies/items they've brought down. (items such as family photos and important papers are included.)

This could easily be made to work in a scenario as described above, and I think that's just what we'd do - hunker down in the basement. The windows would be excellent for watching out, and there are only two entrances to the basement - located right next to each other. One from outside, and a stairway from one of the kitchens. In this scenario, defending this area would be a simple task, while still maintaining a watch around the perimeter of the property through the basement windows. The basement is advantageous in this way. Nobody gets in but through two doors, or crawling on their belly through a tiny window opening. Good luck, marauding peasants!

Another advantage to being in the basement is its steady temperature. Even on the coldest winter days, the temperature rarely drops much below freezing in the center of the basement - the earth is a good source of stable temperature. Moisture would be an issue, but a thoroughly survivable one. One of the items I always keep handy is a large roll of plastic sheeting. One of our first actions would be to spread this out on the dirt floor of the basement to keep the moisture down.

Hope I didn't miss the point too much here.

 

[pernox]

Oh, right. So, the stuff that posting this made me realize I need to take care of...

1) Moving more supplies to the basement where they'll be used.
2) Beefing up the toiletries.
3) I really want to pour concrete in the basement now.

Definitely appreciate further suggestions/insight!

 

[matt]

OK... I'll play...

I'm home with my wife and 7yo daughter... We're well armed, good stock of ammo. Large dog to help with security/warning. We're off the beaten path so it's unlikely they'll come up to our house, but we'll be careful anyhow.

Food, were good for 2 weeks no problem. More than that we could have trouble.

We do have a nearly full tank of oil (checked it last night), so we'll have heat so long as we have electricity. We have the generator we can run if needed (run it in the garage with exhaust out the window so as not to announce it's presence. We'll only heat the upstairs to conserve. (side note: I've been considering some form of battery storage with an inverter to make the most of the generator.)

So, now we are fed (for the moment) and have heat for the moment (note to self: see if generator can be converted to run flex fuel). There's 15 gallons of gas at the house for the generator and to add to the car (truck stays home due to gas mileage).

Cooking: use the propane stove/oven in the RV if needed, grill.

Water: I'd fill my tub with water (in my new water storage bag from MrTwigg's buy )

Day two/three (assuming I had to spend time keeping the house heated): next priority is establishing a supply chain for food. DAMMIT! why didn't we stock up... We're realizing this isn't going to pass quickly...

Time to go forage for food. What do we have for cash on had since the CC's aren't going to work likely... hmmm... between Wife and I we have... $87.

This is going to get ugly... I'm not sure I want to play this game anymore...

 

[wolf223]

Time to go forage for food. What do we have for cash on had since the CC's aren't going to work likely... hmmm... between Wife and I we have... $87.

This is going to get ugly... I'm not sure I want to play this game anymore...

between little man and I we have about $30 cash. $25 of it is his coin bank!

i use my debit card or discorver for the cash back rewards... so i guess we bee ass'd out on that too!

 

[Rockrivr1]

Time to go forage for food. What do we have for cash on had since the CC's aren't going to work likely... hmmm... between Wife and I we have... $87.

This is going to get ugly... I'm not sure I want to play this game anymore...

I never have cash. The wife and I have been talking about getting a couple hundred dollars worth of small bills and putting them into the safe. If things really go bad though, paper dollars are probably going to be useless. Precious metals will turn into the primary currency. I'm thinking anyway. I do have a bunch of silver half dollars I've been collecting since I was a kid. Guess they'd be put to use if this ever happened.

 

[matt]

I think the preciousl metals thing wouldn't come into play until many months of this have passed. It will take a long time before people are willing to believe the money they've used thier whole life is worthless. They simply won't understand the value of gold/silver. They'll have no way to measure the value...

 

[Twigg]

They'll have no way to measure the value...

There's the nail on the head on this issue. Convincing someone your hand full of silver coins will cover the cost of a shopping cart full of groceries (If rationing hasen't been enacted) is going to be the big issue.

I feel coins with a higher numismatic value will be worth only what their silver content is worth. There might be a problem convincing the cashier at the supermarket that nice shiny uncirculated 1945 Mercury Dime you paid twelve bucks + shipping for is worth two chickens and a sack of potatos.

Setting aside a number of small bills could be a good idea.

If the economy gets as bad as predictions indicate this could be no game.

 

[Domenic]

Sure, i'll play...

I'm new to the board but i like to look around...

for me, I've always been a worrier. My wife and I, we are newlyweds, fortunately have an agreement to put aside some food and water every month as part of our budget. We live in a 2 floor townhome, the front entrance opens to the street via a wooden porch, the back entrance goes to a hallway that is a common area. The only lower floor window is about 14 feet above ground. Its kind of a second/third floor place, and all thats downstairs is the one room.

In the scenario provided i'd probably first barricade the front door with the downstairs couch. Due to the steps near the door and the very strong railing they would really have a hard time getting in that door. very hard time. The hallway door i'd probably barricade with the upstairs couch or a bookshelf. These could both be rotated out of the wayto egress if needed but firmly seal the doors. The window would be the liability but it would REALLY require someone to get a ladder to get in. If that were the case the could access the downstairs but only with difficulty. In reality i would close that room off entirely and barricade THAT door with another piece of furniture. It would be hard for someone to get in anyhow since climbing a ladder would leave them open to me pouring boiling oil on them from my window above (or small arms fire, if you will).

Supplies wise i keep 4x 5gal aquatainers in the house at all times. If municipal water was out we'd start there. Our apartment overlooks a river, would be very easy to take my camping water pump down there and get some water up into the aquatainers. This assumes municipal water was no good or not running (very unlikely in reality). For heat... its cold but we have a TON of sleeping bags and blankets. We also have a gas stove. If the gas was on but the power was out we'd at least have heat in our living room (it gets like a furnace in here most of the time as it is...). We normally have a ton of toiletries on hand... TP, cleaners, soap, etc. Again, we buy in bulk and often buy when we DONT need it, so there is always extra.

We also have enough catfood and litter to keep the kitties alive for months, mostly because i hate carrying the stuff in the supermarket so i buy in bulk. Hey, we take our pets seriously

Foodies... about a month supply of MRE's if we're cautious, 2 weeks at worst. We could stretch it longer in a prolonged emergency.

For safety, my wife just completed a firearm safety class, she's learning how to shoot and at close range accuracy isnt a real necessity. We have her S&W 9mm compact with about 200 rounds of ammo (50 self defense rounds and 150 target rounds). I'm teaching her how to use the Mini14 now since we have like 1200 rounds of .223 which also works in my M4. Additionally w have a mossberg 590DA1 with about 40 or so rounds of buckshot; and my targe rifle (Remmington 700PSS) with about 50 rounds of .308. My pistols (a glock and a S&W) are both in .40 and there is like... give or take 200 rounds of that.

Its enough to hunt with if needed, though its winter time and i wouldnt venture the north shore has much in the name of wildlife... nor have i ever hunted. Fishing may be a better option.

The apartment complex i'm in is actually sparsely populated, my building has about 16 units, only half are filled; and the neighbouring building has 68 units, maybe 3/4 full. Dont know many of the neighbours, wouldnt rely on them really. I hope they are somewhat prepared as many are yuppies with kids.

Other than that, i have battery powered (and crank powered) radios, we'd just brave the unrest like a new england winter. Lots of praying.

 

[wolf223]

We also have enough catfood and litter to keep the kitties alive for months, mostly because i hate carrying the stuff in the supermarket so i buy in bulk. Hey, we take our pets seriously

my 2 would die of hunger if this happened before Friday or saturday as I only have 1/2 bag of cat food food left.

litter, about 2 months worth, I buy the crystal type...

 

[Domenic]

my 2 would die of hunger if this happened before Friday or saturday as I only have 1/2 bag of cat food food left.

litter, about 2 months worth, I buy the crystal type...

they'd be eating some of my food then.

those cats have been with me for so many years now.

and no... i'd never consider eating them no matter how bad it gets...

 

[BillK]

Domenic,
I am sorry to say if the SHTF really bad and you were under the stressful pains of starvation.. "Cat on a stick" would be an option I am sure you would not overlook. I know the love of a pet is strong, but when the cards are down, you must do what it takes.

 

[Tater]

I am in my mid thirties and own a 4 family home on a pond. I would hit the garage and gas up the dirtbike and car with the gas from the six five gallon gas cans I keep on hand in the garage. (I rotate them whenever I fill the mower or snowblower.) motorcycle would be brought into my appartment and used as a last resort get away transportation. My three tennants are all my age and avid shooters. I would have all tennants fortify all windows on the street and basement floors and fill all sinks and bathtubs with water. All of us would meet in the top floor apartment that has roof access and a perfect view from 360 degrees. myself and the three other gentlemen my age will rotate in shifts keeping watch along with one of my tenant's two step sons who are ages 17 and 12. I will of course invite the single two single young ladies from next door as well to ensure their safetey. all of my fishing supplies as well as my ice auger and tilts are in the attic in case the lake is frozen over and the snow mobile is fully gassed up as it sits now. With a mixture of shotguns and 30-06 and 22 longrifles and assorted handguns I would keep watch over my property. If need be communication would be through hand held radios that I have and one of my tennants has a pair as well. I have enough food for a month and am able to fish in the back yard and cross the street and get to open woods for miles to hunt. This would be done in groups of two with one man standing guard while the other is procuring food.

 

[n1zfg]

Ammo. I have enough to defend my food and firewood and any other NES yokel who tries to invade my newly formed sovereign nation.

Don't worry man, I'll just be passing through.
Your place really is between mine and my brother-in-law's.

 

[matt]

hello?

Do we get a second step in the story? This is a usefull exercise. unless the next step is "things all return to normal". I'm not sure where I'd really go from here, but I'd be interested in the thoughtfull responses of others.

A nationwide emergency like this on the order of one to two months could be quite tragic... and a "recovery" on that time scale would almost certaintly involve massive gov't take overs of banks and major industries...

 

[P-14]

I don't have time to post my response to this scenario yet, but you're all forgetting the hot water tank. I have 55-gallons of water in the house all the time in the tank. Turn off the power/gas and drain the tank as I need it. Add a few drops of bleach to each gallon if I need to after a day of no other water.

The Red Cross says you need 1 gallon of water per person per day - not including wash water.