My personal opinion...After 6 months of SHTF, it will no longer matter to most. They will be missing. The rest will be relatively secure for long term.

VERY few folks prep for natural winter...

Winter Is Coming In The Northern Hemisphere. My .02 is that should the SHTF in winter, the duration will be of less initial personal importance than the severity of accompanying natural events.

The Ebola thing promises to quickly eliminate all 'services' such as electricity and other utilities we are used to, as workers stay home to provide/protect their own.

Fuel of all types will assuredly become at least as scarce as food, and quickly. Liquid fuels, sans propane, offers little long term storage capability. Recall the rule of threes.. 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food are as certain to produce death as perhaps 3 unprotected hours in severe cold.

For those in rural settings, a wood stove offers some respite as well as long term viability.

For those in urban areas, a good supply of gelled fuel such as the little cans of buffet warmers can be a great aid, and can provide a means to eat warm food and boil water. They emit little to no noxious fumes, they can be safely used indoors, they are cheap, and they are available at many wholesale stores in case lots. They store forever. But, they only burn for about 2 hours. Therefore, store lots of them.

Matt 24:20-21
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (KJV)

: Since my asthma makes it hard to shop, I always have about 6
: months worth of non-perishables on hand (to go with the
: perishables I get from doortodoororganics.com). I also save
: my food-grade containers.

: Maybe it's time to start buying canned versions of the
: perishables and filling up the containers with water.

: If the ebola sh!t hits the fan, I don't think it will be
: gradual. I think it will be abrupt as people decide to
: shelter in place to protect themselves.

: REMEMBER, ON A *GOOD* DAY YOUR SUPERMARKET HAS A 3-DAY SUPPLY
: OF FOOD (MAX).

: ON A PANIC DAY, WHO KNOWS.

: [On next week's To-Do List: make sure that both my car and my
: furnace are fully serviced.]