We’ve been talking a lot about hot to survive in case of a blackout caused by the blizzard, how to keep your house warm and your stockpile safe, but about water?
Together with the shelter and food, it’s one of the 3 most important things in a survival plan, so let’s take a closer look at what you can do about it!
1. Design Your Water Storage Plan
“Just like you create a food storage plan to build your survival food supplies, you also need to build a water storage plan to ensure that you have enough water for your needs.
The issues are surprising similar to those for food:
“When your mouth is bone dry and your body is dehydrated, you don’t want to wait around for water to go through the purification process. You want a drink right now. Besides, if you’re on the move, you might not have time to make a water filter from scratch or wait for a solar still to do its thing. And water that hasn’t been purified is a very serious risk. So how can you get clean drinking water in a hurry?
Here are the 8 fastest ways to purify water, starting with the slowest of the 8”
3. Is Tap Water Safe To Drink? Filtering Out The Misconceptions
“There is one chemical that can be thanked entirely for life on Earth; Water. Without water, every life form on this planet would shrivel up and die a very thirsty death.
Humans consume water in extremely large quantities and at an exceptionally rapid rate. And the most convenient way to go about quenching thirst is by turning on the tap and pouring yourself a glass. But is your tap water safe to drink? Should it be trusted?
This thirst has forced us to develop clever and necessary methods for distributing water. We’ve accomplished this monumental task via a vast array of pipelines and plumbing. We’ve also devised ingenious ways to recycle our gray water to mitigate unnecessary losses.”
4. All-New AquaPod Emergency Water Kit and Filter + Giveaway
“A couple of years ago, when I first learned about the AquaPod Emergency Water Kit, I jumped on the bandwagon and tested one for myself. At the time, I was thrilled by the reasonable cost and my own ability to assemble the kit myself, without the need for any male-type brawn.
As I explained then, an AquaPod Emergency Water Kit is a heavy duty bathtub liner that is filled with water in advance of an upcoming hurricane, storm, or weather system. The kit includes a bathtub liner that is filled with water, some fittings, and a pump for siphoning the water out of the tub.”
“Boiling-WaterWater purification is important whether you’re planning a family camping trip or your municipal water supply to your house has been tainted.
Understanding how to properly and safely purify drinking water is an essential life skill. Tainted drinking water can carry bacteria and microorganisms that can make you suffer terribly. Some of these contaminants cause diarrhea and vomiting, which will only serve to dehydrate you. Here are some tips to keep in mind when purifying water.”
This article has been written by Brenda E. Walsh for Survivopedia.
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In TN, we have two seasons – summer and winter and they usually alternate between days in the same week. A couple of weeks ago we had 13 inches of snow on top of an inch or two of ice, and a few days ago we were up to nearly 70 and now they are giving temps for next week in the low 20’s and more snow.
Before we get started with this weeks post I’d like to thank and give a shout out to Rhonda S, Lars M, George E, Victoria S, Tonya V, and Bill D for their generous contributions to the site and their show of support for what we do here.
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Editor’s Note: This post is another entry in the Prepper Writing Contest from Gayle Cz. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today. Picture this in your Mind… You are a child, your family has […]
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Driving distances to and from jobs have increased as companies moved to suburbs or further into rural areas. Daily commutes of 25, 30, or 40 miles each way are becoming typical. This presents a very serious problem if you should be at work and an event occurs that would necessitate you having to leave your vehicle behind and face a long walk home. It becomes more problematic if for some reason you have to avoid masses of rioters, martial law, or medical quarantine. An EMP, pandemic, or even an intense weather...
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Blizzard can be annoying when you want to go out or attend to any number of matters. But seems like snow storms still have something to say, if you take a look at the weather forecast for the Midwest.
If the power goes out during a blizzard it can also be very dangerous. Even if you have an alternative power system such as solar panels or windmills, the odds are very high they will not work in these conditions.
Here are some things you can do to obtain water, heat up food, preserve refrigerated foods, and manage other needs without electricity.
1. Candle Heaters
Candle heaters are very simple devices that make use of three clay pots, a bolt, some metal washers and a fireproof stand. Add 1 to 4 tea lights or votive candles to begin generating heat. You can purchase premade “Kandle Heaters” or make your own.
Make sure that the ceramic flower pots are not glazed, and that you choose zinc free bolts and washers. Candle heaters can easily be assembled in under 10 minutes and will begin heating up a room in a matter of moments. Since the outer pot will get fairly hot, you can do the following:
Warm up foods such as canned soup or anything that has not been frozen
If the outermost pot is large enough, you can warm up a cup of water.
If you are going to use the candle heater as a cooker, make sure that you use a ceramic saucer on top. You will also need to make sure that the heater base will not collapse under the added weight. Also be sure that the saucer is resting on 3 or 4 supports that will keep it in place, as the center bolt can cause the saucer to disbalance.
Before using a candle heater, check that the clay pots are as dry as possible since any moisture will impede heat flow. To achieve this, put the clay pots in a conventional oven and let them heat up until they dry out. It is best to do this as close to the time when you will use the candle heater so that moisture does not build back up in the walls of the pots.
2. Rocket Stoves
All different kinds of rocket stoves rely on a small inner chamber that optimizes burning of flammable materials and an outer shell that radiates heat. The smallest and simplest rocket stoves can be made from tin cans, while larger and more complex ones might include chimneys and space for a cooking oven.
If you have not built a suitable rocket stove, you can still use the tin can version in a blizzard. Here are some basic instructions for building a tin can rocket stove:
You can also find a lot of resources online, about building more complex stoves.
From a DIY perspective, never forget that “fins” or thin strips of metal diffuse heat more efficiently than a solid shape. If you have an extra can, or even some tinfoil, you can make fins and then fit them around the can to see if they will improve heat disbursement.
Regardless of the rocket stove design that you choose, it can accommodate paper logs, wood, coal, and just about anything else that will burn. Just remember that you will have to remove the ashes on a regular basis.
Small tin can rocket stoves reach a higher temperature than candle heaters, so they can be used to boil water and fry foods more easily. They can also be used for heating up a room, however all of these actions will also generate a lot more smoke than you would get from candles. Therefore, your activities will be limited by your ability to vent the smoke out and get fresh air in.
Some ways to get around this problem include:
Make a large enough stove, or outer shell so that you can create a fully functional chimney or vent. You can also look for ways to create a portable chimney or vent system to use in blizzard or crisis situations where you cannot keep a permanent chimney in place. Be sure that you know how to build the chimney safely, and also set the stove pipe up so that it does not create unintended fires or other hazards.
Use the rocket stove outdoors and in a safe location where it will not set anything flammable on fire. Next, build a water pipe system that will be used to run cold water out to the stove where it can be heated up, and then pumped back in to heat up the house when the water is hot. You will need to insulate the pipes so that as much heat comes into the house as possible, and also make sure that the pumps do not require electricity to operate. This may involve figuring out how to make gravity powered pumps and motors that will work in this situation.
3. Cinder Block Stoves
Overall, cinder blocks stoves are often considered in the same category as rocket stoves. They are very easy to build, and can be expanded into multiple burners or large enough sizes to accommodate just about any task. You can also add an inner metal chamber so that you get the benefits of a rocket stove in this design.
As with other stoves, cinder block variants require adequate ventilation for safe usage. Because of their size, cinder block stoves lend themselves better outdoor use and providing more heat than other designs. Here are some things you can do with basic cine
4. Conventional Propane Stoves
If you are looking for a solution that doesn’t require any building or prep work, propane stoves may be your best option in a blizzard. These stoves are safe, easy to manage, and can be used to cook just about any kind of food.
As with other stoves, you will still need adequate ventilation, as the fumes from these stoves can be as deadly as from any other fire. Even if a stove is rated for indoor use, do not assume that a room with winterized windows and/or doors will let enough air in to keep you safe.
Unlike other stove types, you will need propane cylinders to run these stoves. You should have enough propane on hand to cook for at least 4 weeks. Depending on where you live, a power outage caused by a blizzard may only last a few hours, while in other areas, the outage may last for weeks on end.
5. Kerosene Stoves
When it comes to heating up a room without using electricity, few methods can rival a kerosene heater. As long as you have plenty of ventilation, you will also be safe from the fumes. You can rely on this type of heater to provide a warm place in the room as well as a place where you can cook and heat up water. Overall, you will also find that kerosene is a good bit cheaper than propane.
If you have never used a kerosene stove before, make sure that you start off with a properly mounted wick. You may also have to trim the wick back a bit so that it is as even as possible. When the wick is at the right height and even, the stove will not produce any visible smoke and very little smell.
However, it will still be making fumes that include carbon monoxide. If you see smoke or smell a lot of kerosene, do the following:
Look down from the top grates of the stove so that you can see the top of the burner. The flames should be evenly disbursed all the way around without any breaks. You should be able to see the center metal portion of the burner. If the flames are obstructing the view, then they are too high. Lower the wick to bring them back under control.
If some of the wick is lit, but other parts aren’t, then shut the stove down and open up the cage. Look carefully at the wick to see if it is even all the way around. In some cases, you can get away with opening up the burner (after it cools) and pulling the wick to make it even. In other cases, you may have to trim the wick to make it even. Always refer to the owner’s manual to find out how to carry out these operations for your specific heater.
If the wick is even but the flame is too low or not all the way around, you can turn the wick up a little bit to see if that helps.
6. Compost Pile Heaters
If you have ever created a viable compost pile, then you also know it generates a good bit of heat. As long as the pile is sheltered and has plenty of materials to transform, you should get enough heat from the core of the pile to heat up water and your home. Just keep pipes filled with water in the core of the pile. As with other water heat systems, you will also need gravity powered pump motors or some other mechanism to keep the water moving into your home.
Unlike many other systems, this is one of the few that will enable you to continue getting hot water from the tap as long as you have the system set up to cut into the hot water line.
Even though compost pile heaters take a bit more work than others they have many advantages that will make them work well in a blizzard:
You will never need to worry about toxic fumes in the home
If they have been providing heat and hot water in colder temperatures already, they will also work perfectly in a blizzard
You will always have plenty of compost to fertilize container gardens as well as outdoor ones.
7. Paper Logs and Burning Wood
If you have a wood stove with a working chimney, most of your heating and cooking problems during a blizzard will already be solved. Even if you do not have enough wood on hand, you can roll up newspapers and other types of scrap paper to make paper logs.
Without a proper fireplace, you are best served by building wood fires outdoors. At least you will be able to cook and heat up water. If you have a dedicated firepit or plan to build one, install copper tubes or other pipes that can be used to generate hot water.
Some places in Canada and other areas are looking to outlaw wood stoves, and similar laws might also make their way to where you live or have your homestead. Attend all board meetings and get involved in local governance matters.
Always take action to investigate the financial dealings of politicians and make any financial bias known to your neighbors, the media, and to others through social networking.
If you do not take part and speak out at the most basic level of local government, the power vested in you as a citizen will become more eroded than it already is. Never forget that government is what you make of it. When you do not fully investigate those who enact laws on your behalf, they will do what is best for them and their cronies instead of you.
8. Keeping Foods Cold or Frozen
During a blizzard, many people are surprised to find that food in the freezer will defrost, and items in the refrigerator will go bad. In most cases, if you do not open the door of the freezer or refrigerator, it will only hold a viable temperature for 24 – 48 hours.
Before that window closes, you must have some kind of alternative refrigeration method on hand. Here are some ways that you can keep foods cold:
Take advantage of the snow already on the ground. You can build an ice chest by piling up snowballs or simply dig into the snow to create a storage area. Just remember to put a flag or pole near the cache so that you know where to find it again.
To preserve eggs, cheese, and other items that don’t do well when frozen, you can put them outdoors in thermal chests, or in an unheated garage or shed. Watch temperatures carefully so that the foods do not become frozen or too warm.
Use a zeer pot indoors for items that need a narrower cooling temperature band.
Fill an ice chest with ice and salt. This system will freeze items and also keep them frozen with ease.
9. Passive Heating Methods
When you live in a tiny apartment or some other constrained location, it may not be possible to have a kerosene heater or many of the other devices mentioned in this article. If you can only keep an alcohol burner and a candle heater, then you may still need to use passive heating methods to stay warm. Here are some things that may help:
Bundle up in thin layers of clothing. You can start off with 2 or 3 layers of synthetic material (avoid cotton) and then bundle fleece, sweaters and coats on top of that.
Seal off all doors and windows with plastic and duct tape. If you do not have window frames with plastic already made, then just staple and tape the plastic over the windows. If you must, use layers of garbage bags to seal the windows. You can also use newspapers in door frames to keep the cold out.
If you have a camping tent, put that in the middle of a room to create a smaller area to heat up. Use camping blankets to cover yourself up and keep as much body heat in as possible. Plastic shopping bags will also help insulate you. Put them outside your socks and inside your shoes to help keep your feet warm. Just be aware that moisture will build up inside the plastic, so you will need to air your feet out every few hours to avoid problems.
If other people are with you, or animals, huddle together to preserve as much body heat as possible.
Use candle heaters or alcohol heaters to generate hot water. If you put a tent up in the middle of a room, you can bring that hot water into the tent to disburse heat. You can also heat up fire safe bricks or stones and bring them into the tent area to radiate heat in a safe manner. As a word of caution, to not simply assume that any stone on the ground can be heated up safely. Even if they do not tend to accumulate water, they may have chemicals in them that will emit toxic fumes upon being heated up. You are better served by purchasing bricks and stones that are certified safe to use for this purpose rather than wind up dead from the fumes. Alternatively, you may also be able to find survival courses that will teach you how to choose and prepare stones for this purpose. If you do take these courses, also remember that adding water to produce steam is a whole other area of expertise. Do not use these methods unless you are confident of your skills and know enough about the rocks you are dealing with.
10. Staying Safe in a Sealed Room or Area
Once the power goes out and temperatures begin to drop, it is very easy to panic and forget some of the most basic safety rules.
In this case, many people wind up dead or with permanent brain damage because they forgot about adequate ventilation. Whenever you have fire, there must be a way for smoke to escape and fresh air to get in. If your windows are all tightly bottled up and every draft sealed off, then you will have a very hard time using any kind of fire indoors.
When it comes to staying safe during a blizzard, also remember that fires can get out of control when you don’t watch them. You should always keep firefighting equipment on hand and learn how to use it. Even something as attractive and safe as a candle heater can generate sparks or start an unintended blaze.
There is no substitute for practicing with any device that you may use to generate heat during a blizzard. It is also equally important to make sure that fires are attended at all times and you have adequate detection systems on hand and functioning in order to detect smoke and carbon monoxide. In this case, if you have decided to close off certain room, then make sure that the room you choose to operate a fire based heater has a detector in an area where it can actually pick up on the fumes before they render you unconscious or otherwise unable to get out of the situation.
When the power goes out during a blizzard you are bound to feel distressed. Aside from the fact that the heating system probably won’t work, you may also be unable to cook, get water, prepare food, or tend to other matters. No matter whether the commercial power grid goes down or your alternative power system goes offline, there are still ways to meet basic needs without electricity.
While these methods may take a bit of time to assemble, or take a bit of work to use, they will still get you through the blizzard. As you work with these systems during the relatively short time that a blizzard is ongoing, it will also give you some ideas about how these systems will work in a larger scale power outage.
Remember that as bad as this situation may be, you can still use the scenario to improve your survival skills and determine which kinds of equipment and skills should be further cultivated.
This article has been written by Carmela Tyrell for Survivopedia.
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Editor’s Note: This post is another entry in the Prepper Writing Contest from Mike Turner. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today. What is the Grey Man Theory? There are many different ideas, rules […]
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ISIS; same-sex marriages; terrorism; the porous southern border; the Syrian refugee crisis; the presidential primaries; with so much going on, it’s hard to keep track of it all. One problem seems to cover up another, with each bigger than the last. But this doesn’t mean that the old problems have gone away, merely that the news has moved on to cover other things.
Underneath all this hubbub of crisis we still have an economy that is on the rocks. Regardless of what lies Obama tries to bring forth, the country has not recovered from the 2008/2009 bursting of the housing bubble and we are still in recession.
Unemployment is over 10 percent, perhaps as high as 14 percent, not the 5.5% that Obama is bragging about. If unemployment had really dropped as much as he claims, then why is the labor force participation rate still on the decline?
Our nation’s economy is no better off than it was seven years ago and might actually be worse off. It’s gotten hard to tell, with the true figures becoming buried underneath the hype.
Yet, businesses are still moving offshore, taking their jobs and their profits with them; major retailers are closing stores on a regular basis and more and more jobs are being outsourced to foreigners, rather than being worked by Americans.
It is clear that the labor part of the economy is not doing well. It has not improved under Obama and in fact is getting worse. Not only are there too many people out of work, but there are too many who are underemployed, working part-time jobs, when they should be working full-time jobs. We can thank Obamacare for that.
Obama’s answer to this? Import more foreign labor to take the jobs away from blacks, those in poverty, high school and college students, the very people who are the worst hit by current unemployment.
Then there’s inflation, which is also being reported incorrectly. Currently, we are actually in a slight deflationary period, with prices dropping, or at least… that’s what the government is reporting. But if that’s the case, then why are energy costs, housing and food going up?
It’s all about what figures you choose to use. Our current inflation rates are ignoring those things that are on the rise and paying attention to those that are staying stable or dropping. That makes Obama look good and that’s the name of the game for this administration. It doesn’t matter what’s really happening, as long as he keeps looking good.
But the big issue is and has always been our national debt. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s still climbing at an alarming rate. Obama tries to make it sound like it’s on the decline, citing how he has reduced excessive spending; but once again, it’s all about the figures you use.
In this case, he’s saying that his budget for this year is increasing the national debt less than it has any time in his tenure. So, the budget is still too high, but not as much too high as it was his first year in office.
Okay, so Where Does this Leave Us All?
First of all, we need to realize that a financial collapse is not a singular event, but rather a process. The housing collapse in 2008/2009 didn’t happen in a day, but rather started off slowly, as people’s balloon payments on their mortgages became due.
The event gained steam and grew until it was a nationwide issue. Likewise, the financial crashes in Argentina, Greece and Cypress weren’t events that happened overnight, but came on gradually.
Even the Great Depression didn’t happen overnight, although it almost appears that it did. Black Tuesday didn’t appear out of nowhere, but there was a growing financial problem which culminated in the crash of the stock market. Then, the Great Depression began.
Our stock market has been propped up way too long by quantitative easing. Now that it has been stopped, we are starting to see some uneasiness in the stock market once again. We’ve had a couple of times lately when the Dow Jones Industrial Average has taken serious hits, dropping several hundred points in a day. This is merely a sign of the winds that are coming to blow the house of cards down.
Another indicator is that the price of gold and silver has dropped. Considering the rest of the economy, this shouldn’t have happened. When the value of the dollar goes down, the value of gold and silver rise; that’s about as sure as the rising and setting of the sun.
Yet, even though the dollar has been greatly devalued by quantitative easing, the value of gold and silver are down. Any time in the past, when the value of the dollar has been down and gold and silver have dropped, we were at the brink of financial disaster.
It seems that every week someone new is predicting a crash of the economy. I say that we’re already sliding into it. Our unemployment rate and inflation rate are both going up, strong indicators that we are nearing the edge of the precipice. The only real question is what will be the trigger to set it off.
You see, the stock market is mostly about psychology. Everything is about trying to outguess others. While it is supposed to be based on the value of the companies, stock trading has become more focused on trends that are created by the investors, not changes in value created by the companies.
Being based upon psychology, any number of things can affect it, even if they have nothing to do with the value of the companies whose stocks are being sold. Rumors of a war in Zimbabwe could cause certain stocks to drop in value, not because those companies actually use any raw materials from Zimbabwe, but because investors wonder if they do. That wonder is enough to cause them to sell, just to play it safe, thereby dropping the value of that stock.
Currently, the stock market is being affected by the shaky economy in China. The Chinese government, being a communist government, is still trying to drive their economy, rather than just letting it run. For some reason, they just can’t keep their fingers out of it. While they have had exceptional growth over the last 20 years, that is slowing, so the government is trying to get their fingers in there and make it grow again. They need that growth to finance various projects that they have going.
The scary part is that the value of the stock market ends up affecting every other aspect of our economy. The banks where we have our money deposited invest in the stock market, making their financial solvency depend on how the stock market is doing. Since banks don’t actually have enough money on hand to cover their depositors’ accounts, a loss in the stock market could easily cause a run on the banks, leading to a real panic when the banks don’t have enough cash to pass out.
So, How Can You Protect Yourself?
More than anything, we need to divest ourselves from the country’s financial system. That’s not fully possible, but we need to do what we can. I say it’s not fully possible, simply because we need banks to help us turn our paychecks into money, whether paper or electronic, so that we can then use that money to buy the things we need. But that doesn’t mean that we need to keep any more money in those banks than the absolute minimum.
There is no reason whatsoever to keep money in a savings account today. Interest rates are so low, that keeping money in a savings account or in a certificate of deposit is a guaranteed way of losing money. Oh, you’ll earn interest, but that interest won’t keep up with how prices are rising.
Keep some cash on hand, so that you have something to use in case of emergency. Even if the dollar loses all value, some people will still accept it, at least for a while. Cash on hand gives you flexibility, especially in the midst of a crisis. If you can, a couple of thousand dollars in cash is a great buffer against pending emergencies.
Even though gold and silver prices have been dropping over the last year, they are still the best investment around. Not only that, but with the current low prices, it’s a great time to buy. The value of that gold and silver will skyrocket when the financial collapse comes, allowing you to cash in and take advantage of the economic situation to buy property and other valuables at a discount.
The other excellent investment right now is food. Yes, simple food is a great investment opportunity. Not only will you need it during the collapse, but it has one of the highest inflation rates today. The average inflation for food is currently eight percent. That means that if you buy $1,000 worth of food today, in five years, it will be worth 47% more than that. That’s a pretty good investment.
You won’t even need to cash in on the food to make the profit. All you have to do is eat it, and recoup the money you would otherwise spend on food. For that $1,000 investment, you’ll have $1,470. There aren’t too many things that can give you that much of a return on your money today.
This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.
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A long time ago, a very smart Chinese philosopher said “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. And when it comes to prepping and building your preparedness plan, stores and supplies is not only true but it’s the most practical approach.
This is true when talking about budget and also prevent getting overwhelmed. There’s a lot of information out there, (not all of it good but that’s a different issue) and many preppers try to do too much too fast; it’s very easy to get overwhelmed.
On the money side, it can also get very expensive very fast. In one of our weekly chats in our private Facebook group (The Bugout Network) we had very good suggestions and a great discussion on the topic of prepping on a budget, a lot of which seems very relevant for this post. I’ll share a few of those in a separate post.
The approach I like to recommend when it comes to prepping, is the gradual progress and manageable increments. Don’t get overwhelmed any progress is better than no progress. This may seem simple but with the information overload from our day to day, is not easy. Here it is in a nutshell
1 . Evaluate where you are – Take a close look at your current situation, your family, your location, your budget, the biggest threats to your area, etc. Make a list of the top 5 areas where you want/need to improve. Then prioritize them in order of importance, then pick the top 3 and really focus on getting those addressed.
2. Develop a strategy – Based on what your areas for improvement or your weaknesses are you need to determine if you want to address one at a time or all three in parallel. This will vary based on the severity and your budget. If there’s one that more critical than others, like your 72 hour supplies, or medical supplies, start there. If all three are equally important, and budget is an issue, then work on the more economic options first. From there, make a list of activities on how you plan to address each area of improvement. Is it buying supplies, fixing stuff around the house, taking a class? Whatever it may be make a list and no matter what they are FOCUS on those. I’ve seen more people throw in the towel and quit or never get started, because of lack of focus than lack of resources.
3. Set a budget – Set a monthly budget of however much you can afford. Even if its $10 or $20 a month there are a lot of things you can get on the cheap. You can change dollar amount you put into this but start with something every month and be disciplined about it. If you’re over your monthly budget and don’t need it immediately, get that extra item the following month. This will save you from spending too much on a whim. This monthly budgeting is the same approach many people take when it comes to savings account. If you set it aside every month you’ll slightly adjust your lifestyle so you can live every month without the extra funds and it will build your supplies over time.
4. Re-evaluate, rinse and repeat – Once you have improved on the previous areas, in maybe in 6 to 12 months, re-evaluate where you are and repeat the process. Keep the same areas or add new ones.
I know this may be simple and intuitive but it’s probably one of the things I’ve found helps people the most. Making a plan and focusing on it is the entire game. Yes you can change the plan but only when it serves your objective. Feel free to comment below or drop me a like on Facebook
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Dennis Diaz is the Chief Editor of Survival Ready Blog. He is passionate about learning and teaching survival and preparedness strategies. He is the author of the "The 12 Month Prepper & Survivalist Playbook" & Co-creator of many resources offered at Survival Ready Blog and The Bugout Network. He doesn't consider himself an expert, but a facilitator and he works hard to provide a platform to those with valuable expertise to share their knowledge with as many people as possible.
He enjoys helping others prepare themselves for multiple dangerous scenarios, by coaching them on how develop their own customized survival & preparedness plans and develop their survival skills. He promotes the core concept of making preparedness and survival knowledge part of their daily lives.
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It is fair to say that as a rural town dweller, or someone that lives on a farm or in an off grid setting, you already have an expanded set of survival skills. On the other hand, no matter how much you think you may be isolated from problems caused by social collapse, you may be surprised at just how many situations can go wrong and lead to a loss of life or wellness.
Here are ten problems that you may not even give much thought to now that may lead to severe problems after a crisis occurs.
1. Lack of Key Supplements for Livestock
Modern farming methods often make it possible to feed livestock any number of things that might have been out of the question in the past. For example, today, many farmers think that it is safe to feed alfalfa to cattle because they also include a supplement in the feed.
Without this particular supplement, cattle and other sensitive animals will suffer from stomach bloat and die. No matter how much of these supplements you stockpile, eventually you will run out of them. Therefore, it is very important to know:
Natural nutritional needs of all livestock in your care
Exactly why you are giving various supplements to livestock.
Make it a point to see if you can replace these supplements with something you can make on your own or find out how to eliminate them altogether
Adjust farming methods so that you no longer need antibiotics or other chemicals that may no longer be available after a crisis hits. Not only will your animals be healthier, you will also enjoy better health because your body won’t be absorbing all those chemicals and toxins through animal based meat, milk, and eggs.
2. Insufficient Genetic Material for Plant and Animal Based Sources of Food
If you do some research, you will find that may animal based industries are already having problems with lack of sufficient genetic variation. For example pedigree dogs and thoroughbred horses are rapidly becoming a point of scandal and derision because of the serious genetic defects that lead to disease and early death.
Now consider a situation where you have just one bull and 5 or 6 milk cows, and that the cows are from all different blood lines. Even though the bull may be different from them, within just a few generations the animals produced will be sicker and weaker.
No matter whether you are raising chickens, cattle, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, horses, or other animals, make sure that you have enough genetic variation in both the males and females. While one gender may not be as valuable as the other in terms of producing meat or eggs, the genetic variance is truly far more important than the inconvenience of keeping a few extra animals for the sake of genetic diversity.
This is also very important to consider when growing plants for food. Always use heirloom seeds, and try to get them from as many different places as possible. As long as the species and strain are the same, you can keep the plants strong and genetically viable from one generation to the next. The last thing you will want to do is be ten, or even twenty years into a survival scenario only to realize that major staple plants are less robust or becoming weaker despite proper care of the water and soil.
Needless to say, you should also store away triple, or even quadruple the number of seeds that you plan to use during an active crisis scenario. At the very least, if genetic viability proves to be a problem, you will still have some to start over with, and then look for resources in other locations. This may include studying wild plants in the local area and cultivating them on a larger scale if needed.
3. Inadvertent Hybridization of Key Food and Medicine Bearing Organisms
If you currently use hybrid seeds because they offer more disease resistant plants or other benefits, you may not be thinking about the long term consequences of hybridization. Unfortunately, a hybrid is defined as a cross between two species that are close enough to produce viable offspring, however the offspring usually cannot produce a viable next generation.
For example, if you have two fields of heirloom corn or plant two strains close together, hybridization will occur. From there, the next year’s crop may grow, however, the seeds for the third year may not even sprout let alone produce a mature plant.
When growing plants, be very careful about where you plant different strains as well as which pollinators can create hybrids without your knowing. This includes bees which can carry pollen for miles as well as the wind itself which can transmit pollen from one field to another. If at all possible, only grow one strain of a plant per year. It is also very important to be aware of:
Wild plants from a related species that might provide pollen
Plants grown by other survivors in the area that may be of a different, but related strain
4. Loss of Soil Fertility
Together with soil erosion, loss of soil fertility is a huge problem and apt to get worse in a survival situation. Unfortunately, many farmers today rely on a range of fertilizers to enhance the soil.
While this may produce edible plants, the lack of micronutrients is showing up in poor health and increased risk for disease for consumers. Since you will be using the same soil over and over again to grow foods, this problem may cause serious health problems sooner than expected.
Take the time now to know how the soil on you farm differs from undisturbed land nearby. Make sure that you know how it differs in key nutrients that you expect to absorb from the foods. If you find lacking nutrients, then look for ways to naturally recondition the soil in order to restore those nutrients. Some options may include:
Expand the types of plants used on composting to include wild plants and leaves from surrounding areas
Find ways to add animal bones and other parts in order to create a natural fertilizer. For example, eggshells are an excellent soil conditioner that you can get from chickens being raised on the farm
Research safe ways to compost human excrement. It should be noted that there is a good bit of controversy on this matter as human feces and urine carry diseases that have left your body. While animal excrement can also be very dangerous to your health, at least the pathogens are not already established and accustomed to the human immune system, and therefore readily able to evade it.
5. Loss of Key Species Due to Overhunting or Overfishing
Many people think that as long as they live in a country setting, all they will have to do is go out into the woods and shoot a deer or some other animal for food. Aside from the fact that larger populations of people will easily cause animal depletion, there are some other problems with this idea:
Overhunting and over fishing can also occur when injured animals get away. Not only is the meat from them lost, the hunter will more than likely go out and shoot at one or more animals until they catch one. If the person in question is not a very good hunter, this means dozens of animals may be knocked out of the gene pool and also made unavailable to people that need the food from these animals. As the gene pool of target species becomes less diverse, illness and fewer offspring will result. Just take a look at the changes in deer spot patterns and white deer that signal pending collapse of a herd.
Unknown stresses from social collapse may impact vital species. Consider a situation where you are in a rural area that is surrounded by mines or factories. Even though they may appear far enough away to prevent damage to the land in your area, they can still pose a hazard during a collapse. In particular, waste from factories and mines can be carried for hundreds of miles down a river, or seep into the air and soil via other means. Once these toxins get into the deer, rabbits, and other animals of interest, these animals will die off and leave you with very few, if any to hunt.
In order to mitigate these problems, you must always be aware of how many animals are being taken from the land for food as well as make sure you know how many got away and were never found. It is very important to keep security patrols going through hunt areas so that you can stop strangers and prevent them from interfering with the wild herds you depend on.
You should also have longer ranging scouts take periodic trips to factories, rivers, and other water features that may impact your local area. At the very least, if you know that a mine or factory has released a dangerous toxin, you may just have enough time to drive animal herds to another area where they can continue to live and reproduce.
6. Loss of Key Habitats
No matter whether you chop down trees to provide wood for fires or use a nearby pond for potable water and irrigating crops, your activities will change the land around you. This, in turn, can lead to the loss of forests and other key habitats that you depend on for raw survival materials.
As rural families expand or more people find their way out of the cities, this problem will get even worse. You have only to look at the mess of an inner city to see what becomes of areas that were once as filled with trees and other natural landmarks.
As with protecting wild animals used for food, you must also protect the trees and other natural resources that you rely on. Do your best to patrol areas where loggers or scavengers may be looking to cut trees and take them away.
Make sure that you know who is coming into the local area and how to keep them away from valuable land so that it is not destroyed. While you may be inclined to share some of your resources, remember that you can never truly own a tree or the land it grows on. Be careful with these resources so that they will be available to future generations.
Since clearing land is unavoidable, you must replace what was taken. For example, if you cleared some land for farming, look for abandoned areas nearby that no longer have trees or other plants. You can always take tree seeds or even hand started seedlings and plant them in these areas.
If the soil in these areas is toxic or has many contaminants, you can try growing carrots, certain mushrooms, and conifers to clean the soil as quickly as possible. Once the soil is cleared of heavy metals and other contaminants, then you can plant maple trees or other forest bearing trees that will be of use to you.
7. Inadequate Sewage and Sanitation Systems
If you currently have a septic tank and leach field, then you may not realize just how easily your sewage system can become useless in a crisis situation. Among other things, if you don’t have a pump system to clean out the tank, then backing up toilets, sinks, and tubs, can easily force you out of your home. Some things you can do to avoid these problems include:
Keep a good supply of sludge destroying organisms on hand. These can eat way materials that do not go out into the leach lines and buy you at least a few years before the next cleaning is required.
Know how to make slit trenches and other short term sanitation options
Do some research on composting toilets and how best to use the materials from it.
8. Lack of Common Vaccines
As with people trying to survive in a city setting, you will also be faced with a lack of vital vaccines. This includes those used to fight off tetanus and diphtheria. Sadly, many people today are misinformed about vaccines and believe that all of them are bad.
While many vaccines use Thimerisol as a preservative (which contains Mercury), that does not mean every single person that gets the shots will be poisoned or rendered permanently disabled. In fact, thousands of people (including members of the military) take dozens of vaccines at a time without many long term problems. On the other hand, if you contract tetanus, it will kill you despite access to the best modern medicine.
It is very important to make sure that tetanus, diphtheria and other critical vaccinations are kept up to date. Aside from that, if you are part of a survival community, or have a survival doctor as a friend, ask them to store away these vital vaccines for long term needs.
Even though these vaccines supplies will run out one day, they can still be very important. In addition, you can also do some research on how Jonas Salk and other early vaccine developers created their products. Some of those methods may be within reach of local doctors that may be able to use them in a time of need.
9. Lack of Fuel for Farm Equipment or Other Vehicles
As a prepper, you are sure to be very aware of the problems associated with loss of gasoline and diesel supplies. On the other hand, if you have been putting off converting your farm equipment to run on natural gas or biodiesel, then you may not be as ready as you thought you were.
It is also very important to note that biodiesel and natural gas options aren’t completely free of problems. This includes creating long lasting and viable storage solutions as well as making sure that you have enough plant matter to make fuel. If you have been following the ethanol saga, then you may already know that the loss of arable farm land for the sake of making fuel can be a huge problem.
Aside from expanding the range of fuels that your farm equipment can use, it is very important to have alternative farm equipment on hand. This includes plows and other equipment that you can pull on your own or use a horse, donkey, or oxen to pull them.
Even if you never use these tools, they may still be of use to future generations that may not be able to produce farm equipment to replace machines that wear out or break down.
Here are some other things you can do to manage the lack of fuel problem as well as some others that are likely to come up over time:
Consider building either a hydroponics or aeroponics farming system. You can usually grow a good bit of food in a very small space without the need for complex farm equipment. Since water and air based growing systems require very little soil, you can also have peace of mind knowing that you won’t have to worry about soil depletion. If you choose to use fish as the source of nutrition in the hydroponics system, then you can also use them for food once they become large enough to eat.
Look for ways to reduce plantings only plants that will be needed for making new seeds. Instead of allowing so many plants to reach full size, you can get a good bit of benefit from consuming micro plants. Not only will this make it easier to grow food indoors, you will also have access to more nutrients in a limited space.
Today, the vast majority of preppers tend to see forests, farms, and small towns as the ultimate bug out location. If you are already in this type of setting, then you may also feel that there is no place else to go.
Unfortunately, if you do not have a viable bug out plan, then you may be at a bigger disadvantage than expected. No matter whether you need to navigate to another rural area, or to a smaller city that has little damage from a large scale crisis, you will have a lot of problems without a well designed bug out plan.
Here are some things that you should at least have on hand in case you need to leave your bug in location:
A bug out bag that includes a complete navigation kit
Maps and other materials that can help you get from one place to another as quickly and safely as possible
Some means of transport other than a motor vehicle and a cart for carrying your bug out supplies.
A radio and means of communication so that you can always know what is going on in the area you are about to enter. From military patrols to roving bands of thieves, you are best served by knowing where the highest risks are so that you can skirt around these areas instead of going through them.
Before a crisis hits, it is very important to have reliable sources of information. This goes well beyond how to carry out certain tasks or manage any given project. Rather, you will need real-time information from people in areas you intend to enter. This includes information on the nature of the crisis in the area, how badly it is damaged, and what the biggest threats are.
If you need to build a weapon or change your travel plans, it is best to have up to date information that will help you make the best decisions. Invariably, there is nothing like trusted contacts in the location to tell you what is really going on.
There is no question that many people see a return to nature or homestead farming as the ultimate form of prepping. On the other hand, a nuclear bomb in the right place, a hurricane, tornado, or even an earthquake can make all your hard work go to waste.
These are just a few reasons why you need to consider more than basic survival when planning for rural area bugging in. At the very least, if you consider the ten points listed in this article, you will have a chance to avoid them, and also use them as a basis for looking into other parts of your bug in plan that might need some additional work.
This article has been written by Carmela Tyrell for Survivopedia.
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Editor’s Note: This article has been generously contributed by Patricia Evans. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter the prepper writing contest today. With unpredictable natural disasters, do you wonder if your condo is […]
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According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there are sixty-one active commercial nuclear plants spread across the United States. A question on the minds of many is what would happen to those plants if the nation experienced a widespread, long-lasting power outage? Let me start by saying that there is a quite a bit of misinformation on the web about this subject, so my advice is to be careful about what you choose to believe.
Many of you may know that I have a background in science and engineering (Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering), so I believed that if I could...
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White House rallies public, private efforts to prepare for devastating earthquakes: California has a 99.7 percent chance of a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake in the next 30 years, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Pacific Northwest has a 10 percent chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone under the Pacific Ocean.
The Really Big One: An earthquake will destroy a sizable portion of the coastal Northwest. The question is when.
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NEW! 31 "Extra" Bug Out Bag Items that Could Save Your Butt - Dan's Depot Emergency Pack - Part 2
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Tending a fire can take a lot of work. You need sleep! This is one way you can build a fire that will last all night so you can get some good shuteye without adding new wood every hour. There are several different ways to do this, but the key is to using round logs and not split wood.
1-You need to start by lining up logs side by side across the bottom of your fire pit or wherever you are building your fire. Start with 5 medium logs across the bottom. Then, place another 5 medium logs in perpendicular across the top. On top of that layer, layer another 3 to 4 logs lengthwise. You are basically creating a fire pyramid. Add dirt in between the space between logs
2-On top of the top layer, add some smaller branches. These can go both ways to form a bit of a weave-like construction. 3-Build a tinder bundle on top of your small branches.
4-Make a fire teepee over your tinder bundle. 5-Light your tinder on fire and feed it as necessary until the first layer of smaller branches is burning. The next layer of logs will slowly start to smolder and burn.
You won't get massive flames, but you will get a long lasting, hot fire. Depending on the height of your fire pyramid and the size of the logs, your fire can burn up to 24 hours.
Below you’ll see a full video from one of my personal favorite survival trainers Robert Allen.
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We’ve been talking a lot about hot to survive in case of a blackout caused by the blizzard, how to keep your house warm and your stockpile safe, but about water?
“Just like you create a food storage plan to build your survival food supplies, you also need to build a water storage plan to ensure that you have enough water for your needs.
“When your mouth is bone dry and your body is dehydrated, you don’t want to wait around for water to go through the purification process. You want a drink right now. Besides, if you’re on the move, you might not have time to make a water filter from scratch or wait for a solar still to do its thing. And water that hasn’t been purified is a very serious risk. So how can you get clean drinking water in a hurry?
“There is one chemical that can be thanked entirely for life on Earth; Water. Without water, every life form on this planet would shrivel up and die a very thirsty death.
“A couple of years ago, when I first learned about the AquaPod Emergency Water Kit, I jumped on the bandwagon and tested one for myself. At the time, I was thrilled by the reasonable cost and my own ability to assemble the kit myself, without the need for any male-type brawn.
“Boiling-WaterWater purification is important whether you’re planning a family camping trip or your municipal water supply to your house has been tainted.
