Wow, what a temperature change in TN! We’ve gone from the upper 90’s for daytime temperatures to the 70’s and upper 40’s at night. I woke up this morning with cold feet and sinus drainage that felt like it was going to choke me to death before I could get up and get it cleared.
As they say, around here “if you don’t like the weather here just stick around a few day and it will change”. Some of you might remember me mentioning my little chihuahua mix named Faith, well even though she stays in the house the weather change has been roughest on her...
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Medical preparedness is an important part of surviving a disaster scenario and, indeed, many believe that they can handle any emergency if the grid goes down. For those who are trained to stabilize and transport, that may be true for typical injuries due to trauma. The true survival medic, however, is the end of the line for medical care, not a way-station to a modern medical facility.
That means long-term care. I often encounter folks who believe that they’re medically prepared, and they are, for a disaster that means a few days or even weeks without power. There are issues...
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Weather prediction remains one of the most challenging of sciences. While one can drone on ad nauseam about things from the “European Model” vs the “American Model”, to spatial scales, Chaos theory and the atmospheric sciences of meteorology, climatology, atmospheric physics, and atmospheric chemistry, events in the Eastern Caribbean have already eclipsed that and Florida is clearly in its path, and the projected turn north could impact most of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The cover photo for this post is from Thursday, September 9th and things can change, but not that much. Irma is wider than the Florida peninsula. One must take Irma for what she is, a potentially catastrophic event. Eight (8) dead and twenty-five (25) hospitalized were reported this morning on St. Martin, and that was just the initial report. These numbers will grow.
If you have relatives or friends anywhere in Florida call them! And when you get the “I am ready” or “I’ll be fine” press them for details. How will you be fine? What supplies do you have? Do you have an escape plan because few things “move as planned” in winds over 125 mph and things that were never intended to move do. A shattered window pane creates a lot of shrapnel in high wind. Now after making landfall the winds will diminish, but will be at Tropical Storm levels (sustained winds up to 73 mph) all through Saturday and deep into Sunday and Florida, like South Texas, has a high water table and no real drainage system. Text or tweet or email them the articles referenced above.
Every prepper should monitor events closely, learn from the experiences of others, look for reliable news sources (and let me know when you find them) and from every terrible situation they see consider building a “reverse water-fall model” plan of how they should prepare for facing the same or a similar situation. While there are no hurricanes in Idaho a strong blizzard and howling Chinook winds all along the Front Range of the Rockies can be almost as dangerous.
This picture is from Florida today. The resident is limiting objects that can become missiles in a strong wind. Don’t know that I would do this in particular but I am 2,000 miles away and safe from what he and his family are facing. I can see his logic as they will be lost anyway.
I worked and lived in the Cocoa Beach Florida area for several years. While there I rented a house on the beach in Indialantic, Florida for the first 3 months while I got to know the area. It was on a spit of land that was 8′ above sea level; I had an “A1A” address. No hurricanes while I was there. When I stood on the side yard, facing the Atlantic 30 yards away, I could turn around and see the sailboats on the Banana River (Florida’s Inter-coastal Waterway) less than a quarter mile away with one causeway to the mainland 2 miles to the south and one 5 miles to the north. THAT brings home an understanding of vulnerable. I have friends in central Florida smarter than me so they will be okay, but I have a relative in the Clearwater area of Tampa Bay who is well into her 80’s. Getting voicemail yesterday was NOT reassuring. Hearing from her son-in-law just a few minutes ago that they flew her out yesterday to stay with them in California was….
Those who prep in Florida and along the Eastern Seaboard will know in a few days if it was enough, we pray it was for all.
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Water is part of the survival triad – water, food, shelter. You can only live for about three days without it and even after twenty-four hours, you start experiencing physical and cognitive decline.
Right now, it’s easy to turn on the tap and get fresh, clean water, but even without a SHTF situation, many of us are doing what we can to live off the grid. I’ve written several articles on collecting rain water and purifying water, and now I’d like to discuss how to make sure that your water is safe to drink.
Water purification is a primary skill that you need to have even if you don’t know much about other facets of survival because if you don’t have clean water, you’ll die. It’s that simple.
The EPA warns that as much as 90 percent of all of the water on the planet is contaminated in some way, so this is becoming a bigger issue for many of us who are trying to go off the grid. Even rainwater can be contaminated, and it’s best to assume that all ground water needs purified.
Even though being able to purify water during daily life and in an emergency situation is critical, you need to do it right. Improperly purified water can be just as fatal – but much more miserable – than having no water at all, so be sure not to make these mistakes.
Mistaking Water Filtering and Water Purification
There are many water filters out there; there’s a good chance that you have one in your fridge right now. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that filtered water is the same as purified water. Most water filters do exactly what they say: they filter out physical impurities such as debris, minerals, and pollutants such as insecticides. Most of them don’t purify the water, though, because illness-causing microbes are too small to be caught in the filter, nor are the filters designed to kill them.
Your water may look clean and clear and delicious, but it may also be deadly. There are only two ways to ensure that your water is pure – heat and chemicals.
Not Getting Water Hot Enough
Though pathogens start to die as the water heats, at 160 degrees F to be exact, there are many disease-causing bacteria and viruses that won’t die until the water reaches the boiling point of 212 degrees F. Keeping that in mind, you need to maintain a rolling boil for at least one minute, and three is better, especially at higher elevations.
If you’re short on water and worry about losing it to evaporation, putting a lid on the pot will help with that. Then just leave it covered until it cools.
Using Chemical Purification Incorrectly
There are a few ways that you can mess up chemical purification. First, you can use too much. This is most definitely not a case of more being better because whether you’re using iodine, sodium hypochlorite (bleach) or calcium hypochlorite (pool shock), too much of it can make you sick or even kill you.
If you’re using iodine, use 5 drops/quart for clear water and 10 drops/quart if cloudy
If you’re using bleach, use 5 drops/quart for clear water and 10 drops/quart if cloudy
If you’re using calcium hypochlorite, dilute a teaspoon of the powder in a gallon of water, then add 2/3 ounce of that to a gallon of water. A small shot glass is useful because it usually hold one ounce.
There are also a few things to keep in mind when choosing your water purification method. Liquid bleach has a shelf-life of six to twelve months, so it expires and loses its strength. Pool shock keeps forever and a one-pound bag will treat 10,000 gallons. Iodine makes the water taste weird, but if you let it sit for an hour, you can add vitamin C (Tang drink mix or something similar) to eliminate most of the bad taste after the purification period is up.
Make sure that if you’re using bleach or pool shock that the product is pure without any additional additives such as perfumes. Let the water sit for at least 30 minutes before drinking.
Cross Contamination
This one seems like it may be simple, but it’s easy to re-contaminate purified water. Make sure that you don’t use the same containers or utensils for the clean water that you used before it was purified. In other words, don’t gather the water from a stream in your water bottle, boil it, then put it back in your bottle. You just re-contaminated your water and wasted time and fuel.
If you’re purifying in your bottle, make sure to pour some of the chemical into the lid and around the threads/ mouth of the container.
Failing to Purify AND Filter
This is another reason that you need to understand that filtering and purifying are two different processes. You need to purify your water to rid it of illness-causing pathogens, but you need to purify it to remove chemical toxins such as fertilizers and insecticides.
Of course, it also removes any other debris such a sand, rocks, and minerals. It doesn’t really matter what order you do it in, but I’d recommend filtering first then purifying just because it’s cleaner and there’s less risk of cross-contamination.
Either way, strain water that has visible debris in it before you purify it or filter it. Run it through a coffee filter or a densely woven cloth such as a bandana. Just a note: chemical purification is most effective if the water is at least 60 degrees F.
Studies show that at 50 degrees, only 90 percent of Giardia cysts were inactivated after thirty minutes. Warm up the water in the sun (or after it cools a bit from purifying), or let the water sit for an hour.
Failing to purify your water can cause such diseases as cholera, E.coli, rotavirus, hepatitis, staphylococcus, cryptosporidium and Giardia. These cause everything from upset stomach and cramps to severe vomiting, diarrhea, and even death. In other words, it’s nothing to mess around with, unless you want to die a slow miserable death.
Don’t put your life at risk! You need only clear water to stay safe!
This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
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Editors Note:A guest contribution from Kate and Zac to The Prepper Journal. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly receive a $25 cash award as well as be entered into the Prepper Writing Contestwith a chance to win one of threeAmazon Gift Cards with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.
Our family just moved into a new home. It’s in a great neighborhood but is rather small in size with only two bedrooms. In addition to updating the paint and replacing windows, we’ve added an outdoor shed that will serve a number of purposes. My husband works from home, which is awesome. However, it can get a little stressful when he’s taking an important call and our precocious two-year-old is running around and screaming like a crazy person. So, we started looking for some cost-effective solutions.
Our first reason for the outdoor shed was a way to create a home office space for him to work. When we really got to thinking about it though, we realized the shed could offer so much more. In addition to building an awesome work station for my husband, we ended up adding a lofted bed, small bathroom, and kitchenette and lots of room for storage. So basically, when SHTF we’ll be jumping on the tiny home wagon.
This is how we designed our perfect prepper outdoor shed.
What are we storing?
When TEOTWAWKI hits, our plan is to hunker down. So, you better believe our hidden-in-plain-sight home office turned prepper shed is stocked full of food, medical supplies, water and ammunition.
Stockpiling too much can leave you susceptible to looters. So, we chose to store our goods in an unassuming spot – a home office shed. We built a bookcase into the wall with hidden storage and placed our canned and dry goods there. The space is cool, dry and dark and perfect for our food. We’re also storing important medical supplies and ammunition in the built-in storage space.
We are millennials so when SHTF we’re still gonna really want power. That’s why we installed solar panels on the roof of our outdoor shed. If the power grid collapses, we’ll be ready. Well…at least I’ll still be able to check my news feeds.
Many see solar energy as cost prohibitive and I did too at first. I was hesitant to believe that purchasing and installing solar panels would fit into our budget. But, in the glorious age of the internet and YouTube, we quickly realized a DIY effort is not impossible and building our own solar panels was really quite doable.
A little research, a trip to your local home center and some sweat equity is all that’s required. You’ll be on your way to harnessing the power of the sun in no time and you’ll take your self-sufficiency and disaster readiness to the next level.
We live in a hurricane prone area, so in addition to building the solar panels ourselves and therefore understanding how they work in their entirety, we’ve stocked extra supplies for repairs in the event a destructive storm comes our way.
When building our outdoor shed / home office / prepper paradise we asked ourselves: why not utilize the all-powerful sun when things take a turn for the worse? In the meantime, these solar panels are helping reduce our electric bill. It’s truly a win, win.
Hideaway Storage Unit in Roof
We were able to control every aspect of building this shed and therefore we opted to add important stealthy storage spaces that would be challenging for the average Joe to locate. For example, we built a hideaway storage unit in the roof of the shed. This is an inconspicuous spot where we can keep important documents and stash away extra cash.
Shed Security Measures
This shed is so important to us on many levels. First off, it’s my husband’s space to get his work done and provide for our family in peace and quiet (SUPER IMPORTANT). Second, it’s our family’s contingency plan for TEOTWAWKI. If disaster strikes, or we can no longer check social media every 2 minutes (which is a disaster if you ask me), our home remains a great spot for us to hunker down.
We’ll have access to food, water, medical supplies, ammunition, our important documents and power. You can’t really place a value on this. And that’s why it’s important to us that our shed remains secure.
There are a ton of ways to secure your outdoor shed and we did our fair share of research (also here) to determine the best method for us.
In addition to installing upgraded locks on our shed, we also opted for an alarm system with video surveillance that immediately notifies us if there has been a break in. We also fixed our shed to the concrete foundation. This helps to protect it against natural disaster like the tropical storms and hurricanes that tend to plague our area.
One of the final security measures we took was to reinforce the entry door with metal bars. This essentially turns the shed into a vault and would allow us to truly hunker down.
Key Cache
This leads to me to the final feature I want to highlight in our prepper paradise (okay, it’s a shed I know!). We all know about survival caches. This is a smaller version of just that. A key to the shed, a pill bottle and a decorative rock are all you need accomplish this final tip for securing your outdoor shed. Glue the rock to the pill bottle lid, slip the key in, dig a hole and voila! Hardly a chance your snoopy neighbor will be able to locate that key hidden in plain sight.
We have found that our outdoor shed has increased our quality of life in the here and now tenfold. Converting an outdoor shed into livable space and a prepper station was both cost effective and an interesting, fun and educational adventure for us.
We also feel confident that this space will continue to provide for our family, especially in this current age of extreme uncertainty. Securing our outdoor shed has given us a significant increase in peace of mind. We know that we are prepped for what lies ahead and that our goods and materials are safe. And thanks to those solar panels, I’ll be able to charge my iPhone to live tweet TEOTWAWKI.
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Problems with North Korea are nothing new. Ever since the closing days of World War II, this small country has tried to take on the world with their bravado and fiery rhetoric.
Almost 70 years ago, that broke out into the first Korean War on June 25, 1950. Now they’re scratching the surface again…
The only reason why North Korea wasn’t annihilated as a political entity and absorbed into the nation of South Korea was that China came into the war once American forces got close to the Yalu River; the boundary between North Korea and China.
Concern that American forces wouldn’t stop at the Yalu, not a love for North Korea, caused China to enter that war, pushing American and South Korean forces back past the 38th parallel and forcing an armistice.
The reason why the Chinese wanted to protect North Korea is that they see the small country as a buffer. So North Korea serves an important purpose for them, as part of their defensive perimeter.
Given that, it’s no wonder that China has stood behind North Korea, as they have tried to bully the rest of the world.
So the problems we currently have with North Korea aren’t anything new. The only new aspect of them is that North Korea is finally reaching their long-stated goal of developing nuclear tipped missiles. Recent test launches show that they have finally developed an ICBM which will reach American cities, making their threat to rain nuclear war down upon us much more real.
Living in Suicidal Denial
American media and the intelligence community have had a hard time accepting North Korea’s success in missile and nuclear technology.
Denial after denial has come forth, downplaying the success that they have had and making it seem like it will be years before Km Jong-un can be a real threat to our nation’s security.
But while this has all been going on, North Korean engineers and scientists have been working hard to fulfill their dictator’s goals.
As we’ve watched missile test after missile test, we’ve been hearing over and over again that it didn’t matter, because North Korea still had to learn how to miniaturize their warheads, so that they’d fit on the missile. But that’s been a false narrative, given to use as a placebo, so we wouldn’t worry.
You see, one thing that has been kept secret from the US population is that North Korea already has miniaturized nuclear warheads. That information was found out and reported during the Obama presidency. But since it went against Obama’s agenda, the report was buried and we were all led to believe that North Korea wasn’t as ready as their missile program made it seem they were.
This hit a whole new level last Sunday, as North Korea did another nuclear bomb test; the first since last September. While any nuclear bomb test is something worth noting, this one is attracting a lot of attention.
The reason is that according to the official North Korean state news, this was a hydrogen bomb, the first such bomb built by the North Koreans. Producing roughly ten times the explosive yield of any previous test, this one caused an earthquake measured at a 6.3 magnitude.
The epicenter of the earthquake was less than a mile from the last underground test the hermit kingdom had, increasing the credibility that this was an actual nuclear weapons test, even if it wasn’t a hydrogen bomb. Shock waves from the test were felt in both South Korea and China.
Are We Heading to Disaster?
So we need to ask the question… Is North Korea really ready to launch a nuclear-tipped missile at the United States?
The answer to that question is probably yes… and no.
From what we’ve seen of the North Korean tests, they really haven’t mastered the fine art of missile manufacturing. Their success rate still isn’t 100% or anywhere close to it. Nor do we know of if they have figured out how to protect their warheads from heat on reentry, a minor technical problem that could render their nukes ineffective.
But that’s assuming American ideas about success rates. We expect every missile we launch to work perfectly. A 98% success rate isn’t good enough.
But if Kim Jong-un is willing to roll the dice, realizing that not all his missiles will function perfectly, he could launch an attack right now. At least some of his nukes would reach their mark, or at least close enough to their mark to give him success.
Since Kim Jong-un isn’t planning on shooting his first ICBMs at the American mainland, his chances of success are probably even higher than 50%.
Recent statements he’s made indicate that he has Guam in his sights right now. Perhaps he thinks we will be impressed by his restraint in not destroying a major American city with his nukes, but rather going after a Pacific island which has been a major American military stronghold since before World War I.
So why would Pyongyang threaten Guam, rather than one of our major population centers here at home? Besides the fact that it’s a closer target, making it easier to attack; Guam is a major part of the US Military’s plans for any action in Asia. As our closest major base to North Korea, any attack we might need to make against the hermit kingdom will use Guam as a staging base. The naval base there would probably become the most important logistics hub in that effort.
Attacking Guam would also be attacking American citizens, as the people of Guam hold American passports. That’s not even including the thousands of American military personnel who are stationed there. That would be a direct attack against our military, something that’s considered an act of war in anybody’s book.
The threat of North Korea attacking Guam has supposedly reduced a little, with North Korea stating that they are going to “watch a little more of the foolish and stupid conduct of the Yankees.”
Why is that? Probably because of statements by President Trump and Secretary of Defense Mattis, both of whom have made it clear that any attack by North Korea would be met with the full force and fury of the United States military.
Who’s Cards Is China Playing?
But there’s another factor coming into play here that might be scaring Pyongyang even more than statements by Donald Trump and General Mattis, that is that China has made it clear that they won’t support North Korea in any attack they make against the USA.
This is something that President Trump has been pushing for ever since taking office. As North Korea’s major trading partner and protector, China has a major influence on the actions of the North Korean leadership. Kim Jong-un might be a dictator and might think he’s the toughest kid on the block, but when it all comes down to it; he needs the backing of China to do anything.
But obviously, we don’t want it to come down to North Korea launching a nuke at anyone. The question then becomes how to stop them?
That’s where politicians, military planners and pundits all disagree. Former President Obama tried appeasement, just as he did with Islamic terrorists.
But appeasement doesn’t work against countries which are hell-bent on destruction. There is absolutely no indication that North Korea took any more notice of Obama’s foreign policy, than to see it as an opportunity to continue their testing, without interference from the United States.
The South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, has favored a similar philosophy, wanting to open a dialog with the North, with the hope of renewing the “Sunshine Policy.” The idea behind this is to lure the North into disarmament through engaging them economically. However, those efforts have failed.
Actually, the North Korean government has been totally opposed to any sort of negotiations, preferring to use angry rhetoric and threats instead. They have taken a hard line to any South Korean or American military presence at all in the area.
Specifically, they have objected for years to joint exercises between North Korean and American military force. As far as they are concerned, American and South Korean military presence in the region is a provocation.
President Trump and his Secretary of Defense, General Mattis, have taken the opposite approach to the North Korean problem, standing strong against this adversary. While that seems to be having some effect, at least in making the North Koreans take pause, it is yet to be seen how much overall effect it will have over the long term. While it may delay action by the north, that doesn’t mean that it will succeed in bringing such action to a complete standstill.
A large number of options are on the table and being looked at by President Trump, Defense Secretary Mattis and their advisors. One of the difficulties they face is that the North Korean missiles are all mounted on mobile launchers.
So the possibility of a preemptive strike taking out all of the North Korean missiles is extremely low. Should such an attack fail, it is almost guaranteed that North Korea will make good on their threats and launch a nuke at the USA.
Where Do We Go From Here?
It is clear that the crisis with North Korea isn’t ending anytime soon, and short of another Korean War, it might never end. Continued diligence is essential, as North Korea continues to test their missiles. Any one of those could actually be more than a test, should they decide to arm one secretly.
Just a few days ago, North Korea launched three medium-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, with one of them actually overflying Japanese airspace. This has surely attracted the attention of our Japanese allies, as it was a direct threat against them. Pyongyang claims that the threat was supposed to be against Guam, rather than Japan, but if that’s true, their aim was off by a good 60 degrees or more.
It is clear that the North Korean’s aren’t going to stop their missile testing program. This could be nothing more than thumbing their collective nose at US and UN demands; but it doesn’t really matter the motivation.
Each launch teaches them more about making their missiles function properly, so that when they do finally want to launch a nuclear-tipped missile, their chances of success will be higher.
Will they launch such an attack? Nobody knows. I don’t even think they know themselves. I would say that chances are high that they eventually will. You can’t put as much effort into such a program, literally starving your population to fund it, and not have anything to show for it. They need results.
Sadly, the results they get may not be the results they want. But in this day and age aggressive action by one nation-state against another is considered unacceptable. We cannot simply turn out head and ignore it, if they actually launch a nuclear-tipped missile at American territory or the territory of any of our allies.
For the sake of protecting the world, we would be forced to act as President Trump said, raining “fire and fury” down upon them.
The sad victims of all this will be the people of North Korea, those who are blindly following their leader, cut off from the rest of the world. They are being fed nothing but a diet of lies, as their “beloved leader” twists the tail of the tiger, daring it to bite. When it does, they will be the ones to die, not the dictator who is gambling their lives like poker chips.
As the governor of Guam said, “I am glad that we have a man like Donald Trump at the helm. One who will make clear statements and who is not afraid to make the tough decisions when it comes to our enemies.”
He may soon need to make those tough decisions and I can only hope that the information that is being given him is true and accurate, so that he can make the best possible decision in the defense of our country.
What can you do is to prepare yourself for the worst, and expect for the best!
This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.
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Editors Note: A guest contribution from Tomas Zegarra to The Prepper Journal. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly receive a $25 cash award like Tomas and be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest AND have a chance to win one of threeAmazon Gift Cards with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.
Growing up, I was surrounded by civilization on all fronts, so much so in fact that even nature at times seemed artificial. A poet would lament about feeling enclosed by the skyscrapers and endless rows of homes that always seemed to be expanding. I couldn’t deny the growing feeling that I needed to get out—needed to expend my energy where there were no mountains of brick, iron, and steel everywhere I went.
I saw more vineyards, skyscrapers, and money flowing around than most people saw in their lifetime. Sure, some of my friends hunted or shot birds and small game but nothing larger than themselves. I suppose they felt a sense of pride hunting in a state with strict laws on gun handling of any sort.
Politics and opinion aside, I never felt the intense need to take up hunting but nor was I against it. It’s so easy nowadays to take something at face value and believe you know everything about it, which is what I did with hunting. I noticed my friends posting pictures of their day’s work on social media, maybe gave them a like or two, and went on with my day.
Introversion was my middle name for a majority of my teenage years, yet I longed to take up the adventures that I saw my friends embarking on—to different counties with more open land, nearby states, and far away countries.
So that’s what I did.
“Have you ever shot guns?” my college roommate asks.
“No,” I reply.
“Well let’s go try them,” he grins.
I fired my first set of guns within two weeks of arriving in a state with open pastures and ranges as large as the towns and cities I was from. Imagine that, a big city kid getting a thrill out of firearms. Of course, I was well aware of gun safety far in advance, which impressed my new friends. Funny how that works—know more about firearm safety than the gun itself.
My hunting license requires an online course. It’s pretty informative so far. I wish more people had access to this without the fee. Gun safety, best practices, etc. I think I’ve learned more about hunting in two weeks than I have heard about it from friends and family.
In this state, the bigger game is the ultimate goal—deer, elk, and pronghorn. Words such as optics, gear, scopes, rangefinders, and open season began flooding my ears. It was equivalent to an adrenaline rush—I’m suddenly exposed to many concepts I was vaguely familiar with but never considered until now.
Needless to say, hunting is a lifestyle and requires far more preparation on part of the mind and body than most people would anticipate.
When hunting season begins this fall, I’ll be going on my first hunting trip, obviously with people more experienced than me. I don’t know what I should be feeling; perhaps I’m waiting until a couple of days before an actual trip before I consider what I am about to do. Before I can even get to the hunting stage, I have to be in the right mindset. I know I’ll have to kill an animal to feed myself. There isn’t a McDonald’s or Taco Bell in mother nature’s domain.
My first backpacking experience was in the Grand Canyon for five days, so I consider myself well prepared for the state’s back country. The gear, the clothing, the workouts, it was all pretty easy in my opinion.
However, I consider myself a little unprepared for the mental game.
What is the mental game? Hunting goes far beyond than just killing an animal with a bullet or two.
I don’t anticipate I’ll feel the greatest pleasure in the world taking the life of a wild animal. If anything it will be a fleeting thought, something to take into consideration before I pull the trigger. Shielding myself from reality won’t help either.
We hunt to survive. Our ancestors hunted to survive. Before mass farming and the industrialization of food, humans hunted to survive. The industry wasn’t even introduced until around three hundred years ago out of the thousands of years humans have existed.
Kill or be killed. That sentiment isn’t so much prevalent now, but as someone who is striving to balance their introversion; I feel there are adventures and excursions, the more I experience life in the fullest sense.
I never want to say that the only thing I can do is just this one thing. I want to be able to tell people I experienced hunting, camping, hiking, and exploring the world outside the confines of my home.
There’s no telling what I’ll encounter in the wildlands. Regardless of whether I bring anything home, I think it will be important to note that I at least tried hunting. I’d always viewed hunting (even before I knew more about its specifics) as an activity that required more finesse and focus than modern media gave it credit for.
Aside from all the necessary cold weather gear, how else can I possibly prepare? I’ve compared the feeling to skydiving, something else I’ve also never done. Not that I would fear engaging in hunting or skydiving, but I feel my stomach begin to churn when I think about the encroaching day when I will embark on that adventure.
It’s not an “I’m going to vomit” type of feeling, but sheer nervousness. The hunt can go a variety of ways but chances are it will proceed as normal.
I have a feeling that my first hunting experience will be similar and different to how I envisioned it here. Regardless, I will jump at most chances to try something new, anything to either expands my views or introduces me to a new way of life.
In just these few short weeks since I’ve decided to take up hunting, I’ve come to understand piece by piece what hunting means to the avid hunter. It’s a way to connect with roots and ancestors long past. Sure, the prepping and process may be different, however the mental game has changed very little.
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Protecting Radios, Flashlights, and Other Small Devices
Perhaps the question that I’m asked most often regarding EMP Attacks is how to protect various types of electronic equipment. The answer is that it depends on what you’re trying to protect. Small items, such as radios, cell phones, LED flashlights, etc. can be stored in homemade Faraday cages. To learn how to build one using aluminum foil, check out my article How to Make Your Own Faraday Cage at Home (Quick, Easy, Effective!).
Some people prefer to build a Faraday cage using ad hoc containers, such as a...
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Aerosol cans have long been one of those items that there is simply no way to functionally repurpose. They’re pressurized and will explode if they’re heated, even if all of the aerosol is gone because there’s nowhere for the air in the can to escape to.
But several artists independently became tired of throwing so many cans in a landfill that they came up with some alternate uses. And at least a couple of us waste-wary homesteading types did, too.
But before we get started and somebody decides to flame me for suggesting going against manufacturer instructions and opening a spray can, let me say one thing. Hey y’all … watch this! Just kidding, but seriously, I feel the need to start with the warning in order to make our legal team happy. You’re doing this at your own risk.
If the manufacturer says not to open the can, then you’re doing so against the safety instructions and can suffer injuries up to and including death. If you’re a kid under the age of 18, stop reading this now because that’s a can of worms I definitely don’t want to open.
FOR REAL, OPENING AN AEROSOL CAN MAY BE DANGEROUS.
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, and you know that you’re taking responsibility for own actions after this point, let’s move on.
Brave souls that they were, they decided to be the pioneers that would find out what exactly happened when you broke the rules and punctured the cans. Fortunately, they either succeeded swimmingly or nobody is talking about those who had less-than-successful results.
Opening the Aerosol Cans
I’m a child of the late 80’s so I was coming into my teenage years right when the big news about aerosols and greenhouse gases became a thing. I admit to being an environmentalist simply because I think it’s not particularly bright to tear up the only place we have to live. So, I quit using aerosols, except when I had to.
When I did, I had a can that couldn’t be recycled and you weren’t supposed to throw them in the garbage, so what the heck did you do with them? I did what everybody else did, of course. I threw them away. Then they went and made them environmentally friendly, so people started using them again.
And recently, I read about some ways to reuse them, so now both problems are solved.
To open an aerosol can, spray it until absolutely nothing else comes out. No hissing, no liquid – nothing. Then shake it and repeat until nothing happens when you depress the button.
Now, put on safety goggles and gloves wouldn’t hurt, either. Take a regular can opener and remove the bottom from the can. You’ll know whether you emptied the can or not the moment the can opener pierces the can.
What to Do With Them?
Now, what to do with it? The big answer? Anything you want.
Here is a cool video about how to make a hidden safe out of one that you may find interesting.
Or how about making some nifty-looking lighting? You can do that simply by removing the bottom of the can and the label (the one that says not to pierce the can), then popping out the top. Paint the can whatever color you’d like then run the cord through the top of the can and attach the lightbulb.
Voila. You can either hang it from the ceiling or use it in as the light and the shade on a desk lamp.
Oddly enough, people actually make furniture out of them, though that requires at least 100 cans. And to be honest, most of them were ugly.
There was, however a desk chair and a little bench that were kind of cool, and looked like they’d actually be comfortable, too. Or at least as comfortable as any solid piece of furniture is. Here are the pictures so you can get a general idea.
Or you can turn them into other useful items like the following:
You can also use them to make little flower holders or even a pen holder. Basically, if you can get both ends off, you have a sturdy tube that you can do anything with. And since you can paint them, that really opens up the opportunities.
Oh, and lest we forget, aerosol cans often float, so that may give you some additional ideas. If you can think of any other ideas that empty aerosol cans are good for, please share them in the comments section below.
This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
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You have to love autumn. The leaves are changing, the air is cooling down, and the joy of the holiday season is right around the corner.
Fall is also a time to do your canning in preparation for winter. Now, if you live on a farm, you have to harvest what you have and can it, but if you’re an urban prepper who has to buy produce, then you have to plan a little better.
Unlike a farm garden that likely provides months, if not years, of food, urban preppers have to decide how much food will be necessary to get through the winter.
Then they have to decide how much you need to can based on how much space you have, how much money you have to spend on produce, how much time you have, and how much you want to invest in store-bought goods.
Then of course, you have to figure out what’s available.
So, let’s talk a little about what you need to do to optimize your fall canning plan.
This is the first step that you need to take before making any kind of plans at all. Are you planning on making blueberry pie filling or strawberry jam? If so, you’re out of luck if you’re planning on sourcing your produce locally. Both of those are spring and summer crops and are already done for the season.
Blueberries peak in the spring in Florida, so I can’t find them locally now. Even though strawberries grow in some places as late as November, they’re a summer fruit and peak season for them is May and June, so you may have problems finding them locally. My point is to keep an eye on the seasons for the produce that you want to can.
Prioritize
As awesome as it would be to have unlimited space to store canned goods and unlimited funds to buy the produce, that’s not the reality for most of us. So, we have to decide what you want to can and what you’re willing to buy.
I would suggest making a list of foods that you eat the most during the winter months. Spaghetti, salsa, jalapeno peppers, pickles, vegetable or vegetable beef soup. Apple pies, apple sauce, strawberry jelly. Green beans, chili. Choose what you eat the most. Then decide how often you eat them.
Say you eat spaghetti once a week and there are four people in your family. You need at least a pint, if not a quart, or sauce for each time. It’s easy to figure – do you use the whole jar of Prego when you make spaghetti? If so, you use a quart.
Now, knowing that, go through and organize the foods you eat the most and figure out how much of them you need to get you through three months, six months, and a year.
Now that you know that eat a quart of spaghetti sauce a week, that’s four a month, which means 12 quarts in 3 months, 24 quarts in 6 months, and 48 quarts in a year. Remember that this is planning to eat it every single week. If there’s a pretty decent likelihood that you’ll skip a week here and there, then dial those numbers back by a few jars.
Now do the same with each of your top foods. And don’t forget the apple pie filling. As a matter of fact, include enough to give away few jars at Christmas! J
After you know what and how much you eat, it’s time to do a space analysis. Do you have enough space to store all of that for the amount of time that you want to cover? If not, it’s time to do two things. First, pick the ones that you absolutely want to can.
Maybe you have a favorite peach crisp recipe and store-bought peaches just won’t do. Nor, for that matter, is it easy to find canned peach pie filling. You have to buy canned peaches and it’s just not the same. Maybe you can’t stand the taste of mushy store-bought green beans. Put these must-have items at the top of your list.
Now that you’ve pared down the list, you have two options. You can make enough of those favorite items to get you through till next fall, or you can pick some items off of the non-must-have list to fill in some spaces to get you through a shorter time period. This is a good plan if you’re stocking up for a set amount of time, for instance, you want to have three months of food stockpiled.
Finally, you need to go through the non-essential list and decide which items are cheaper to buy at the store. I do love home-canned green beans, but unless they’re on your must-have list, I’d buy them at the store. It’s cheaper, especially if you use coupons, and it’s more efficient for you. It leaves you time to peel all those apples or blanch the tomatoes.
That’s one of the primary skills that you need to develop as an urban prepper – the value of store-bought over home-canned. You have limited space and, unfortunately, can’t grow thirty tomato plants for $20 like a rural prepper can so you have to take cost into consideration. That’s going to vary by location; for instance, I can buy cheap citrus fruits and strawberries dirt cheap because they’re grown right here.
Most of the non-citrus tree fruits, on the other hand – peaches, apricots, apples, cherries – are crazy expensive because they don’t grow down here.
Personally, I always choose to can tomatoes and apples if I can find them in bulk (sort of) at one of my local farmers markets because tomatoes are versatile – soups, sauces, salsas – and apples are expensive.
I also can entire meals in a jar, including vegetable soup, so that all I have to do is pour it in a pan and heat it up on nights that I don’t feel like cooking. As a matter of fact, a lot of my canned goods are either ready to eat or close enough.
Source
Now that you have an idea of what you want to can and what’s in season, you need to find a source. Honestly, I found my favorite two farmers markets and my U-Pick blueberry/strawberry farm on Facebook and by Googling “farmers markets near me.” A lot of times, you can also find them under community events if you go to your town’s website.
Look around at other towns that are within driving distance. If you live in a city but more rural places are within an easy drive, search those places too. It’s a guarantee that food is going to be cheaper at rural, local farmers markets. And you may find a food co-op, too. Score!
Finally, the best source of organic, safe food is … you. Do some container gardening. You’d be surprised by how many tomatoes you can grow right on your porch or balcony, and strawberry hangers are adorable. Plus, that’s basically free food.
Urban prepping is tough – a lot tougher than being a country prepper. I know, because I’ve been both. I worked harder when I lived on the farm, but I was also in better shape and had a real sense of accomplishment every time I popped open a jar of jam or sliced up a fresh jalapeno pepper for my homemade salsa. And those fresh eggs and milk!
But, that’s not my life right now, so I, like you, do the best I can to eat healthy foods and prepare myself for emergencies given my current living arrangements. And I look at it this way – I’ve learned a ton because I’ve had to be resourceful, and even when I make it back to the country, I won’t be doing things the way I used to! Raised beds, container gardening – yeah, those tricks are going with me for sure!
Good luck with your fall canning and if you have any questions or comments, please share in the comments section below.
This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
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Editors Note:A contribution from R. Ann Parris. The Prepper Journal hopes the content of the summit recommended here lives up to her expectations, as does she! Also note this starts in just five (5) days.
Free Online Summit & Email Protections
Every year we see more and more free online summits come out. Some are excellent. Some are … not. Most have good nuggets in there somewhere.
This time around, it’s the Self Reliant School hosting one. (I am not affiliated with SRS, nor to my knowledge, with any of its staff or scheduled speakers.) They have 28 speakers on a wide variety of topics running from Sept. 10-Sept. 16.
As usual, you visit a site, http://backtobasicssummit.com/, and provide a name and an email – some tips for that later. They send you a “Welcome” email and it usually includes some goodies.
SRS’s “Back to Basics” summit is no different there. This time around the freebies you can download just for signing up are, in PDF format:
Day After Disaster (150+ page fiction piece by Sara F. Hathaway, the uncut edition from “The Changing Earth” series; somewhat unique in prepper fiction in that it takes a woman’s perspective – I’ll try to read it tomorrow night)
Easy Homemade Crackers
Oxygen-Absorber Chart
Simple Salad Dressings
The Soda Quick Start Guide
Tutorials for Homesteaders (It’s actually recipes for sauerkraut, smoking bacon & gouda cheese.)
Several include links to related or additional information within the pdfs.
Videos Released Daily
I prefer the format of this summit to some of the other types. Each day, they’ll provide access to a set of presentations. You have 21 hours to watch those videos, whenever you want. Whether you can pause and back up or skip ahead remains to be seen.
I haven’t seen many of these speakers before, but the topics and faces are largely fresh compared to some of the prepper and homesteading summits in the last few years.
Not being familiar with past presentations of the speakers, I can’t tell you how many or which ones will basically be 15-30 minute advertisements for their books and DVDs sets, etc., but even when there’s self-pumping, there’s regularly good information available, too.
Nor can I tell you how many are going to stay close to topic, which has been an issue with some of the prepper-focused summits in the past, or how much is going to end up being a re-hash of stuff we hear pretty much every summit.
Even so, it’s free. If you also have open internet access, it might be worth giving a listen.
Topics of Interest
I’m doing a quickie TPJ write-up for this instead of just posting it to my forums because some of the presentations are actually topics that I’ve seen come up here as suggestions and questions. Some of those include:
“Never Buy Garden Seeds Again – How Our Ancestors Had it Right”
“Seed Saving”
“How to Plan a Year’s Supply of Food”
“Jump Start Your Urban Farm”
“Secret Garden of Survival” (This one may be repetitive if you’ve watched others, but it’s really, really, really good if it is what he’s presented before.)
“Year Round Gardening” (Season extenders if it holds true to his DVD-book-online course)
“Starting a Homestead from Scratch”
“DIY Everything” (I suspect this may be about the DIY mindset or basic tools, because that’s a pretty broad topic; if it’s a book or DVD set, I will suspect lots of self-promotion)
Intros to mylar bag storage, preservation, & canning
Off-the-grid lifestyle challenges and perks
Syrup tapping and boiling, farm cheese, bread, & booze among other recipes
Intros to homesteading businesses, budgeting, & frugality needs
Homestead purchase & setup tips
Put Up Protections
The summit is free. Since it’s free, it will likely include not only the daily emails during the summit, but also several to “many” ad-type emails leading up to it.
They’ll be pushing not only their own sale of the presentations to watch at our leisure (wait until some of us watch to buy – we’ll stick up reviews and an overall “great” or “too much of this is out there for free somewhere to be worth THAT much money”), but probably the sale items offered by sponsors, presenters and people/things the presenters promote.
That’s part of what you get with free summits.
Happily, it’s more free than the “let me send you a free knife” that costs $10-25 to ship and comes with a lifetime of spam that will find you and all of your friends.
Too, there are ways to make these things easier to deal with.
One, set up a “drop” account.
Go with gmail if you like. It’s apparently preferred by the SRS summit’s tech people. I go with Yahoo and Hotmail for “use-and-forget” accounts. I find them faster and easier to set up, and they rarely make me jump through hoops to log in from different devices and locations.
Use an initial, nickname, location, inside joke, or favorite author instead of your actual first and last name. Something like “C Lemmingsrun”, “Four Freestuff”, “H Franklin”, or “My Prp-Ntwkg”.
Write these down somewhere, either physically or keep a little notepad sheet with a running tally of account info, along with the password or a hint to your password – which ideally does not match the password for your actual emails and other accounts.
Two, DON’T link/synch that email to the ones you open and use daily – you’ll just have to wade through stuff you want if you do.
Three, If you email yourself or somebody else from your free-stuff spam-happy email account, delete the contact information later. That way, if it ends up out in the world, you’re not sending crap to everyone you know and yourself.
Keep The Spam Temp
I do have “drop” accounts that have developed somewhat long lifespans, usually for preparedness networking or those free sites. Some of them are solely for initial contact, and if I decide you’re a keeper, you get pushed to a more permanent drop account and updated when I move on.
The biggie though, is that besides stuff like monthly site contests (grabagun, seedsnow, etc.), once a competition or freebie’s time has come and gone, I largely unsubscribe to the site(s). No more email inundation, mass “delete”, easy-peasy.
Yes, some stuff is persistent. Happily, the free email providers I use allow for me to block and-or report persistent problems (unsubscribe first, or you won’t be able to get their stuff from another run).
Then, when I feel like it, I can abandon that drop email account, without it ever having affected my business or personal email accounts or my preparedness networking accounts.
Online Summits & Drawback Mitigation
Online summits do require you to have the bandwidth available for them, which is a bummer. Locations like McD’s, Starbucks, and the public library may work with some, but most of us would only hang out for an hour or two, tops.
Even if you’re not going to “attend” you may want to go ahead and sign up. Eventually they’ll drop the price for the summit for members.
I’ll try to check back here after the first day or two to give a quickie review of “so far” and how much new and useful information is available with that buy-skip roundup later.
That way, you’ll have some feedback to help decide about buying if you just can’t watch it but wanted to.
As I said, this is a new summit and SRS is a new host for me. I don’t know if it’s going to be QA, stay on topic, be sale promotions, or be useful.
I’m not familiar with many of the speakers. I’m likely to go do more research on them to see what they’ve done in the past to help me decide which ones I’ll watch. I’m lucky enough to have a job where I can get hours of listening done, and September is still processing season, so I can pop a device open while I husk, shell, winnow, chop, sweep, wash dishes, and groom animals.
I can already tell you there are presentations I’m likely to skip. They just don’t hold interest for me at my stage. However, I’m likely to keep a notepad open for marking good tips, info to research and regulate the video times, and I usually run some commentary on the preparedness forum where I’m an admin and moderator.
Good or bad, the freebie summits usually have something for everybody, beginner or old hat. (Psst … take no single authority’s word for anything.)
With some five-minute steps ahead of time to keep from being inundated with spam and reminders, we can take advantage of those freebies and good nuggets without having to pull our hair out.
from The Prepper Journal
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Editors Note:A guest submission from BigBoyWriter, a timely review of a book that had peaked my interest after an extended stay on the Navajo Reservation in Northeastern Arizona – are these somewhat cloistered enclaves better prepared to handle a SHTF event? In this review the guest raises his own questions from his read. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly receive a $25 cash award, as well as being entered into the Prepper Writing Contest AND have a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, then enter today!
This is less of a how to or being a prepper article and more of a thought exercise and book report. In 2017, the book titled, “When the English Fall”, by David Williams was published. It is a fictional account of a Pennsylvania Amish family written in a diary format as told by an Amish man. The book received an Amazon Best Book of July 2017 award and is a compelling read for post-apocalyptic literature.
The book focuses on the life of Amish family when catastrophic events lead to chaos both for the Amish community and the “English” community outside the Amish community. Naturally as the Amish community lacks the technological burdens that most modern people face or will be hindered by in a collapse or TEOTWAWKI situation the English people turn to the Amish for help, support and knowledge. Naturally as these two communities become further entwined there is conflict and strife that emerges.
The book is dystopian in nature and does emphasize the violent natures that some men and women will exercise in such a time of crisis. There is also a faith aspect to the book. The author is a pastor and so naturally the book does discuss some aspects of the Amish faith, although it does a good job of making the struggles seem lifelike and understandable, given the chaos involved.
It is a good read for preppers as it will likely give you a different perspective on disaster situations. I do not want to give away any spoilers so I will talk in generalities but some of the issues that struck me as having never really been considered by some preppers are as follows:
How will your community seek to interact with others in a time of crisis?
What will your community do when other communities want to utilize your community’s knowledge, equipment, personnel, and resources?
How will your faith or ethics need to be changed or if not changed what will you need to do to ensure they do not change?
Are there communities or resources that you are not currently utilizing but may want to start making inroads with or getting to know now?
COMMUNITY INTERACTIONS
Most preppers already have a plan in place for your own community, whether that community be your own family, a select group of people, or perhaps it’s just people you know you will be able to rely on in an emergency, such as neighbors. Also, most preppers have at least a basic idea of how their defenses will be implemented and how they will treat intruders or interlopers. But I rarely hear preppers talk about how they will interact with other communities. Of course, there is the discussion of whether an AR or an AK will better defend against a roving band of marauders but what about how your community will interact with the next community over. The first part is whether your community will seek to interact with the others or will you stay hidden and alone.
Assuming the old adage, strength in numbers would apply, it would seem best to gather like-minded and prepared people before a crisis occurs. As experienced preppers, I assume you have already done so or are doing so currently. But what happens when the crisis comes and there are now pockets of people in the aftermath. Will you reach out to them to grow your numbers or will you seek to remain isolated?
It makes sense that you would at least establish basic communications with surrounding communities at least for trade and information but would you reach out for assistance and aid from others outside your own community? There is a certain vulnerability to letting others know your own weaknesses and limitations as they can be used against you. Yet if you were able to gather more forces, make better connections and fortify your weaknesses you could grow to be much stronger.
The second aspect of community interactions is whether you will let other communities depend on you. Will you be willing to share resources, talents, knowledge and equipment? If the neighboring community needs a doctor will you let your medical specialist leave and leave you a valuable person down if something does happen?
Naturally we all want to believe the best that if asked another community would be willing to come to our aid just as we would be willing to come to theirs. In When the English Fall, as one can guess the Amish have a great advantage over their surrounding areas since their way of life is not dependent on technology. They already live in such a way as to be able to survive without having to completely reorganize their lives to replace technological crutches. However, this leads to a conflict in just how much aid should be given.
Likewise, with most prepper communities you may be far better off than those communities around you. You should consider how much aid you will want to offer. However, at the same time by offering to assist, teach, and equip other communities you are taking on additional burdens. The optimist thinking is that by bettering the communities around you they will help you in times of need as well. The pessimist in me thinks that my resources, time and energy will be drained by assisting others and as a result my own community will suffer. That it would be better to stay in the shadows and not take the risk.
I think most people, when put into a situation where you are asked by someone else to help them survive, will have a hard time rejecting those people when your needs are being satisfied. It is something to consider so that when the time comes you already have a plan in place and know what are your limitations.
FAITH and ETHICS
It has always struck me as odd that preppers seem so sure of themselves that they will be able to face the physical aspects of survival but not much is mentioned as to the mental aspects. As the great Yogi Berra once said “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical”. Most of us know the mental side of any challenge is the hardest but when I talk with preppers they seem to think any issue they come up against will easily be handled with their Glock, 1911 or that nifty little tool they picked up last week. In any crisis, there are going to be mentally challenging aspects that should be considered beforehand. Put aside PTSD or other traumatic mental stress and I want you to consider more ethical or faith based mental issues.
For a simple example consider you are against lying and a man approaches you and asks where he may find the nearest body of clean water. Now on any given day most people would tell him to go jump in the nearby lake, but in a crisis, will you be willing to share your knowledge of the nearest clean water source with a stranger? Will you be willing to lie to ensure you continue to have fresh water to drink or take the risk and tell the stranger? Of course, this is a simple example but there will be others that do come up in a crisis situation that would likely not come up in a normal day.
Even putting aside, the issue of violence, there will likely be issues involving how you act that may hurt people. Do you give away your resources to help others or do you not and know that they may not survive? Are you willing to relax your moral compass to survive or are you going to stay rooted in your faith or beliefs and not compromise them even if it means you will get hurt?
AREAS TO IMPROVE
When I first heard about When the English Fall, my first thought was why have I not thought to improve my own knowledge and skills by reaching out to the similar local community. I know a number of the people but have never thought to seek them out before a crisis occurs to make those in-roads and get to know people. Perhaps some of you have already done so and are making in-roads but it really opened my eyes to start looking at other local communities in my area that have ideas or ways of doing things that are not technologically dependent. A lot of skills can be learned just be watching and doing an activity with an expert.
I do not think you have to go so far as to seek out your nearest Amish community, but perhaps you have a non-prepper friend that has a skill or talent that may be useful such as making good jerky, making beer, sewing, knitting, and of course many other ideas, that you could utilize in your own preparations.
In closing whether or not you decide to read When the English Fall, it may be beneficially to consider the above. Looking at disasters or crisis from outside my own ideas of what will happen, and how, has made me see some of the short falls and gaps in my own preparedness plan. Hopefully I can seal those up so I will be better prepared and, hopefully, you will as well to be prepared for what may come.
from The Prepper Journal
Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies?
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This picture is from Florida today. The resident is limiting objects that can become missiles in a strong wind. Don’t know that I would do this in particular but I am 2,000 miles away and safe from what he and his family are facing. I can see his logic as they will be lost anyway.
