Happy with the results? any issues with the local power grid? Any unforeseen costs? How do they handle bad weather?

Digging is all I can think of so far. Solar power for AC, sure, but a locally geoengineered solution seems more stable.

Question for you guys. My wife and I recently had a house built, premade floor plan, cookie cutter essentially and hindsight being what it is, I can't help but to be disappointed I didn't have more of a say in how it was put together. If you could start fresh from the ground up what would you have done or done different? For instance, a wood burning stove, generator switch and a fresh water reclamation system for starters. What else?

Hopefully obviously I'm talking about a brand new, never used tank that is not hooked up to the home's sewer system. Would it be a feasible way to store water underground safely? Where I live above ground water storage will freeze unless stored in a heated building, but my septic system doesn't ever freeze. So it got me wondering....

Hope everyone is doing well! I’m married with a 1 year old. Just us 3. Im wanting to get some bug out bags going, I ordered a 3 month supply of prep food from mountain house, but of course there’s 3 of us. I’m looking to get a nice guideline together on what a bug out bag should include, t if I should buy a pre made one. Along with that, any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

I'm exploring the idea of purchasing and developing approximately 50 to 100 acres in Southwest Virginia and am thinking of using this as a preparedness and recreation-focused land cooperative.

The goal would be to create a property that provides value today while also serving as a contingency location during emergencies.

Potential features include:

Natural springs and year-round water

Community gardens and food production

Hunting rights

Primitive and improved campsites

Shared infrastructure and equipment

Workshops, skill-sharing events, and community work weekends, etc.

Long-term lease opportunities for RV, cabin, or tiny-home sites

My thought is that there would be different participation levels:

1. Members who actively use the property for camping, hunting, gardening, and events

2. Members who primarily want access to a semi-developed rural retreat and maintain it as an emergency fallback option

3. Members interested in leasing a small area for personal development and long-term use

The vision is not a "doomsday compound," but rather a practical community centered around self-reliance, outdoor recreation, land stewardship, and preparedness.

I'm interested in feedback on:

Membership models

Long-term lease structures

Governance and rules

What amenities would make membership worthwhile

Would something like this interest you? If so, what would you want to see included before you would commit?

Picture:

https://imgur.com/a/Wi1JtYU

Bought this a few weeks ago. Seems after a big rain it has debris on the top. Is there another type of filter system. I should put on top of it? I’m sure there’s crap in the bottom of it. I’ve been cleaning the gutters but we have so many trees in the backyard that they get dirty pretty quick.

Also, it’s exposed to sunlight for a half of the day, will this affect the water?

I just got of the camping trip and I have two 500 ml propane-butane cans left unopened. I want to save them for the next trip but I read that it's not safe to keep em inside of the apartment. I literally dont have any other spot beside the apartment to store them. My terrace is on the sunny side and its always hot as shit on it during the day, which I would assume is not good place to store gas. I also have a gas water heater in my kitchen that uses open flame to heat water and because if it I'm kinda afraid to keep canisters inside in case of the leak. On the other side I remember that older people around me used to keep small gas canisters all the time around the kitchen and it never seemed to be the problem. Any advice would be helpful!