Great, Something New to Worry About.....

            So, you live in small, rural town where everyone knows your name. The small police force solves every crime (if you call them that) and you feel it is safe to leave your door unlocked when you leave. Life is good. Why own a firearm? Why keep supplies in your home? Your community will help each other through anything, right?

            Just read an interesting article over at Survivalblog. Flash mobs started out as these “fun” little “get-togethers” of hippies with no jobs and expensive phones who did things like dance in public or create some type of “art.” Social networking allowed you to set up times and places to do your random “whatever” and stupefy the onlookers in a harmless manner.

Unfortunately they are getting dangerous. Like anything else good, stupid people pervert them until people start dying. In fact, you could argue that the “Occupiers” are nothing more than a prolonged flash mob. Looking back at the aforementioned article, nearly 20,000 members of a flash mob overran a small town of 600, destroying private property, urinating and defecating all over the place and throwing trash around. People were beating each other up and the local law enforcement was completely overwhelmed. According to the article, people had to stand on the porches with their guns to keep people away.

Now what do you think would happen when these people got hungry or thirsty or wanted to get out of the cold? Wouldn’t your place look pretty good? Twenty thousand people lay siege to a small town because of a tweet? Just for “fun?” 

Can you protect your home from "hippy zombies?”

Where Are You?

            So, where are you on your Prepper supplies? Have you got your initial 3 days of food and water yet? Emergency flashlight? Stove and fuel? How about your ammunition supplies? Cash on hand?

            Good. Now, set your sights on 14 days of supplies. Remember, you don’t have to eat like kings. Canned food for 14 days is going to take up a ton of space, so some of your food should be dehydrated in nature. Powdered milk is fine for babies and cooking, but milk of any kind that is room temperature is not real palatable. Oatmeal will last well. Powdered eggs are an acquired taste, for sure.

           

 Keep it going, my friends.

Using Your Preps in a non-Emergency

            Read an article recently on the merits of prepping, not only for the major events but for the short term personal events, too. I think it was at thesurvivalmom.com or family-survival-planning.com, but I haven’t been able to find it since. The author explains that she has been prepping for years and has to dip into her supplies, at times, for normal, everyday “survival.”

Think about it. Your stash (sometimes called “larder”) is like a bank account that you just keep adding to. In fact, since food just keeps getting more expensive, keeping food long term is almost like earning interest (except you will have to replace it). The author wrote about how she has used her large cache of supplies during times of economic hardship for her family. It goes to show you that you should be holding on to food that you and your family will actually eat and enjoy.

It’s good to use your Prepper food anyway as you rotate soon-to-be-expiring food out and fresher food in. The bulk of your preps at first will likely be canned food and packaged rice/noodles. Buy canned food like Ravioli, beef stew, hearty soups and chili. They typically have expiration dates 18 months to 2 years out. This is food you can eat any time.

So you really have no excuse. Try $5-10 extra on canned food each time you go to the grocery store. Throw in some rice and beans every now and then.

More on this later.

Short Term Emergency Economics

            I was reading some articles and book chapters recently about a post-TEOTWAWKI economy. In case you aren’t up on the jargon that means “The End Of The World As We Know It.” Now, I know I have said that this blog is not about prepping for such extremes, but there was a lot of good information that applies. Even in a small-scale emergency, a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, there will still be the need for people to get supplies. People have to eat and drink. People need to feel safe and protected.

It is most important to be able to take care of your family’s needs, but it doesn’t hurt to look at the possibility of filling the needs of others, too, whether it is for charity or financial gain. Below is a list of my top 5 items that would be good for trading in a post-TEOTWAWKI society even if it is short term.

#1. Bullets. Yeah. Of course. You betcha. Bullets, shells, cartridges, whatever you want to call them. You should have a firearm (we’ll hit this later) and you should have bullets. Guess what? Everyone else will want them, too. In fact, fear being what it is people will likely trade food or water or whatever else they can to get them. You can get brick of over 500 22LR bullets for about $20. Why not buy a brick every month? Stockpile them some place safe and secure (like a metal ammo box) and in a year, you’ll have more rounds than you can possibly use. And who DOESN’T own a .22 caliber firearm? It is probably the most popular caliber in the world. You would be rich!

#2. Salt and other condiments. Salt is essential to our continued survival. Well, it also makes bland food more palatable and can be used to preserve foods. This means even in a short term emergency situation, you need salt. But don’t downplay the necessity of other condiments such as pepper, sugar, and even hot sauce. I bought two huge bags of little salt and pepper packets. I put them in thicker Ziploc-type bags and stored them in a dry place. Assuming people already have, grow or catch food, they will “pay” to spice it up a bit after eating bland soup for a few weeks. A warning, double-bag the pepper or you will smell it forever.

#3. Heirloom Seeds. Heirloom seeds are not genetically modified. Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with genetically modified foods. We’ve been genetically modifying foods for thousands of years. The problem with modern genetically modified food plants is that many will not set viable seed. You need the seed to re-plant more plants next season. Heirloom seeds are available many places online or in stores in small packages or bulk containers. Depending on when a short term emergency happens, you may need to plant a garden or a larger garden than normal to supplement your stored food or sell/give away to others. Why not buy a few packets each month for less than $10?

#4. First Aid Supplies. A no-brainer. People need to stay healthy, especially if they are not eating well. Bandages, rubbing alcohol, athletic tape, sterile gloves, sterile needles and thread, aspirin and other pain killers, antibiotics, etc., may be in large demand. You can buy small kits for under $5 or a portable operating room for around $500. Or just buy a few items each month. You can use them yourself and rotate with fresh stock. Remember, prescription drugs should only be prescribed by a doctor and given out by a pharmacist. I have heard that pet stores sell medicine for pets that may work for humans in a pinch, but it would be illegal to buy it for this purpose.

#5. Bottled Water. It is certainly not PC, but definitely a great thing to have in a short term emergency. My personal philosophy is to have at least a case of bottled water for every person in the house. Store them out of the sun and where it is not likely to freeze. Most bottled water will last for years in a cellar-type setting. Why not buy a case of cheap water bottles every two weeks and stack them in the basement or a closet or somewhere suitable? Costco sells a flat of 36 for around $4. There are similar deals elsewhere. Even in a short term emergency, clean water is an absolute necessity for drinking, preparing food and cleaning yourself. Just rotate them out and use them as they get old. Why not get enough for the neighbors, too? Just please recycle the empties.

Bonus #6. Body Wipes. Let’s face it, after a few months of a serious emergency, everyone is going to stink. In the mean time, body wipes like the type used for cleaning babies backsides will be a godsend. You may not have much water, so these will work to keep you relatively clean. One wipe a day on your underarms, nether regions and your bum will keep you smelling better the next guy. Another for your face, hands and feet will keep you relatively fresh and, even more importantly, keep you healthier. You can buy large packs or small travel size, but keep them stored in a cool place in your home because they can dry out over time. Of course, you can just add water to rehydrate them, but they are never the same.

My Favorite Prepping Websites

            You might think it is silly to recommend other people’s blogs when I have one of my own. However, my intent with this blog has never been to become the most inclusive, one-stop shop for everything prepper related on the internet. Rather, I want a small, succinct spot for sharing some ideas for the small-scale prepper like myself. I can’t afford to buy a homestead in the country and cut myself off from society. At this point, anyway, I am not willing to do that.

            I do, though, devour many books and websites devoted to prepping and survival. I have come across some very good sites, but they can be overwhelming. Below are two of my favorites.

Survivalblog.com From the website: “The purpose of this Blog is to inform and motivate readers to take steps that will help prepare themselves and their families. Survival is not just about guns, groceries and gadgets. More importantly, it is about having friends that you can trust when times get hard, such as for:
A Dollar Crisis/Monetary Collapse (witness the current hyperinflation in Zimbabwe)
Naturally occurring plague or pandemic
Nuclear Blackmail (North Korea and China have already made public threats)
Terrorist LNG fuel sector or power grid attack
Terrorist nuclear, biological, or chemical attack
Fuel and/or food shortage crisis
Major volcanic and/or earthquake events
Nation-state nuclear, biological, or chemical attack
As well for these far less likely but potentially even more cataclysmic possibilities:
Asteroid or comet strike
Tidal Waves/Surges
Global War
Martial Law
Invasion
Science Accidents (Genetically modified crop failure, nanotechnology "gray goo", et cetera.)
Climate change “

          James Wesley, Rawles (I don’t know what the comma is for) is the “godfather” of preppers/survivalists. I tell everyone I know to read his book Patriots if they want to know why I am the way I am. There is a ton of information, but it is all good information.

Family-survival-planning.com From the website: “Even though I have been a city dweller my entire life, I was brought up by parents who knew and taught us the value of self reliance, frugal living, and how to have a do-it-yourself outlook. My Father could fix anything, build anything, and just make things work.

My growing up years were spent on a ½ acre plot of land where my parents built our house and planted apple, pear, cherry, peach and plum trees, a large raspberry patch, and a garden with a variety of vegetables. We had a large freezer which my Mother filled with home-baked bread, fruits, vegetables, and beef, bought at 1/2 of the animal when we could afford it.

Under the laundry room, via a trap door, was our cellar filled with home-canned fruit and bottles of various jams and jellies. Most of our clothing was homemade, sewn on an old treadle sewing machine.

We were poor by my parent’s standards, but I never noticed. We always had plenty to eat, clothes to wear, a variety of toys (the homemade stilts were a blast!), and lots of love. Because of this upbringing, frugal living is deeply engrained in me.”

          Joan (last name not found on site) is a grandmother who has always been a prepper. She created her website so she could disseminate information on survival geared specifically towards families and to make a little money. It is an incredible site that seems to focus most on food and sundry preparation techniques. She uses old school Mormon principals of including keeping a two year supply of food and water and charity towards your neighbors.

You owe it to yourself to visit these sites as you start your prepping. Just remember, Baby Steps.

Little Babies

            Man, am I glad I don’t have a baby in the home. A prepping nightmare! First off, there is the food. If you are nursing, you’re golden. But what if mom isn’t available? What if mom’s nutrition is very poor, affecting the quality of her milk (and her own health)?

            Well, babies are actually pretty resilient. So let’s deal with food first. You need to put some formula away. I know formula is expensive, but it is necessary, especially if your baby needs special formula for a sensitive tummy. Again, this type is even more expensive, but having an extra month supply of formula will give you piece of mind. You may want to buy a month’s worth of the single serving packets. Don’t forget the extra water!

Let’s look at an example using the packets at the link above. In the first month, they will be eating at least 2 ounces every 3 hours or so. That means a packet that makes four ounces will be good for two feedings. At 8 feedings a day, you would need four packets a day, so a 16 packet box will last 4 days. You would need about 8 boxes for a month which would run you about $100. If the baby is older, it would take more.

Of course you may go with a cheaper brand since this is just your emergency backup. Just remember, the shelf life is not great, so you want to buy an emergency stash of formula that you can use and replace. Also, for older babies consider getting some powdered or instant milk (there is a difference). You can mix a little of the powdered or instant milk in with the formula to make it last longer. The powdered or instant milk is much cheaper, but less nutritious.

That being said, you need vitamins. Vitamins are an essential part of all emergency supplies, but especially necessary for babies. Get some for your stash, but remember to rotate out the vitamins with fresh supplies often.

Disposable diapers are good, but bulky. Always keep at least an extra pack, but invest in some cloth diapers. They are lighter and fit in a backpack better. Just set aside a ziplock with some Dreft or other baby detergent in your bug-out bag. Extra powder and lotion should be bought and placed in their own ziplock bags.

Extra pacifiers should be packed along with some small toys (not rattles or other loud toys) and teething rings. Onesies, blankets, socks and clothes and anything else essential you can think of and can fit in your bug-out bag will be good. I think baby is going to get their own bag, don’t you?

How about carrying baby? If you are on the move, you need a good baby carrier. A stroller is a start, but not so good for cross country travel. A jogging stroller or backpack carrier would work best.

Fire Logs

Ok, I took a little time off from the blog to catch up on life. Now I’m back.

After watching the latest episode of Doomsday Preppers, I was struck by the use “fire bricks” by one of the featured prepper families. Using old paper to make fire “logs” or “bricks” has been around for sometime and in Europe is still very popular. The crux of it is that you take old paper, such as newspaper, shredded paper, etc., soak it a day or two. Then form into a shape, press the water out and let it dry for a while.

The simplest and cheapest way is to use cheesecloth and any recyclable paper. Shred the paper, soak it a day or so in a large bucket and form it into log shapes on cheesecloth. Wrap the cheesecloth around the “log” and twist the ends to squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Set the log, still in the cloth, in a sunny place for a few days to dry, turning every day to dry evenly. Then store in a dry place away from any flame. It will take a long time to dry since you can’t get a lot of the water out by twisting the weak and brittle cheesecloth. If done properly, you will not get a lot of smoke or ash and it should burn for one to two hours.

There are many alternatives to this method but most cost a little money. For about $25 you can get the Paper Briquette Maker which is very popular with the Europeans. It is the same method described above but uses a press to get most of the water out and form small bricks. This makes them useful sooner and makes your bricks the same size so they store easier. There is also the Original Dry Paper Logmaker. This uses a roll of newspaper with junk paper and other combustibles wrapped inside. No pressing out of water required.

            Don’t want to spend $25? OK, you can pretty easily make your own press. This Instructables Paper Log Maker is simple to make. Many of us have scrap PVC laying around. Really, all you need a small form to press the paper into with some holes in it to allow drainage.

            Where can you burn these logs? Anywhere you normally would burn logs. The more water you remove, the cleaner they burn as far as smoke and ash. A warning, though, you are still burning them! This is not “green” energy except that you are recycling. You can even use the ash in your composter. Also, be careful of colored paper and glossy paper. They may contain chemicals that are bad for you to inhale.