Flash Signal Mirror http://www.amazon.com/Rescue-Signal-Adv ... B000WXX0I4
Printable View
Flash Signal Mirror http://www.amazon.com/Rescue-Signal-Adv ... B000WXX0I4
AfroPrepper's March Food Preps
Friday, April 1, 2011
AfroPrepper's March Food Preps. Good video on some good deals.
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http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Creating a Home Evacuation Plan - Part 2
We've talked about the importance of creating a physical map of your home and making sure that each member of your family understands how your plan will work.
The next step in creating an effective home evacuation plan is to practice your plan on a regular basis. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, "children as young as three years old can follow a fire escape plan they have practiced often. Yet, many families don't have detailed escape plans, and those that do usually don't practice them."
Some important steps to include while practicing your home evacuation plan are:
* Involve everyone. It is important for everyone in the family to learn how to escape. You may even want to teach your children how to escape out of windows in case the door is unavailable to exit. A good fire escape ladder is essential if your exit is through a second story window. http://beprepared.com/product.asp?pn=ML ... sid=ppblog
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Fire Escape Ladder
* Consider arranging the furniture in each room to make it easier to escape. A dresser or nightstand placed under a window could make escaping out of a basement much easier.
* Place your 72-hour kits strategically near an exit so they are easy to grab in a hurry. When you practice, assign certain family members to be in charge of grabbing emergency kits. http://beprepared.com/category.asp_Q_c_E_121&sid=ppblog
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3-Day Emergency Kit
* Practice turning off utilities (gas valves, water, etc.). A gas wrench is a useful tool to make sure you have on hand. http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_ ... sid=ppblog Caution: Don't really turn off the gas when practicing. If you do, the gas company will have to come out and turn it on again.
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Practice other life-saving habits such as always leaving a pair of shoes, gloves and a flashlight or lightstick at each person's bedside.
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Leather Gloves
* Practice with time in mind. Try running through your disaster plan at least 4 times each year and adjust your plan according to the changing ages of family members.
In part three, we will be talking about a few more tips to keep in mind as you are creating your home evacuation plan.
Click here for part one of the Creating a Home Evacuation Plan series. http://preparednesspantry.blogspot.com/ ... art-1.html
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Can I Use Bleach To Purify My Water?
At The Ready Store, we often get this question. Many believe that household bleach is good for purifying water. Here is the best answer we can provide.
Household bleach is not manufactured with human consumption in mind. The chemicals are much higher than what would be considered safe for human consumption. Having said that, if you dont have anything else, using bleach may be better than nothing.
Its not recommended to use straight Bleach to purify your stored water. It would be much better to purchase a water treatment that won’t harm you when consuming. The water treatment we carry would purify the stored water up to 5 years so you dont need to worry about changing it out or over contaminating the water with bleach.
Whenever you use a product in a different way than it was intended you put yourself at risk. We dont recommend using household bleach to purify your water. Its important that you try to keep your family as safe as possible. Using household bleach would be a last resort effort. But that is contrary to the idea of being prepared! If you are preparing for the worst, you might as well get the real thing and not use dangerous alternatives.
http://www.thereadystore.com/uncategori ... ify-water/
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
Alternate Transportation
4 comments
Today's post over on Notes from the bunker, Biking Season Approaches, reminded me that I've been meaning to say something about bicycles here for awhile. This article makes some good points about the utility of bicycles in a post-SHTF scenario, and I covered them briefly in Bug Out: The Complete Plan for Escaping a Catastrophic Disaster Before It's Too Late. http://www.amazon.com/Bug-Out-Complete- ... ive=392969 My current book project, Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters: Build and Outfit Your Life-Saving Escape, http://www.amazon.com/Bug-Out-Vehicles- ... ive=392969 will have an entire chapter devoted to using bicycles as bug-out vehicles, including how to set them up for the purpose and how to get the engine (your body) fit for the task.
Whether you ever need to actually use a bicycle to bug-out or not, riding one is a good idea for many reasons, $4.00 per gallon or higher gas being one, as that post points out. Another excellent reason is for the physical fitness, which you need no matter what your survival plans are. I read this just as I got in from a two and a half-hour ride today. I've been trying to put in at least three good rides per week to make up for all the time I'm having to spend at the keyboard working on these book projects. In my last post, I mentioned an overnight trip on my KLR 650 dual-sport motorcycle. Here is a photo taken just today of my other favorite two-wheeled transportation during a break in today's ride.
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This one is a Schwinn Voyager that I purchased new in 1994, along with a full set of front and rear Cannondale panniers. This was one of the last quality Schwinn touring bikes sold here when they were still making them with high-quality lugged Chro-Moly steel frames and decent components. The Voyager was specifically designed for loaded touring, with relaxed geometry, a triple chain ring for a wide range of gearing, and brazed-on eyelets for front and rear racks and three water bottle cages. Despite its age, this bicycle has been utterly reliable for many thousands of miles and has the right blend of comfort and speed to make long, unloaded training rides enjoyable as well. Schwinn no longer makes a bike like this, but if I had to replace it today, viable touring options with similar build quality would be the Trek 520, Surly Long Haul Trucker, or perhaps the REI Novara Safari.
A touring bike like this can really eat up the miles day after day, as long as you are in decent shape to ride it. While many other types of bicycles, including mountain bikes can be set up for touring or for bug-out vehicles, I prefer the road touring designs as they make it easier to maintain a decent average speed, especially in hilly or mountainous terrain. Most touring bikes can be fitted with wider, semi-knobby tires for use on gravel or other rough surfaces. The extra-strong, but flexible Chro-Moly frame absorbs shocks from bumps well, and holds up to carrying heavy loads. I'll post another photo of this one with the luggage attached next time I load it up. It will easily carry as much or more as you could carry in the largest backpack, yet do so at a speed that allows one to travel 40 to 100 or more miles per day, depending on terrain, fitness, weather, etc.
For a good overview on some things to consider when choosing a bicycle, here's an article that covers the basics of the many different types, as well as some points on frame construction materials: Bicycle Recommendation Short List http://www.nordicgroup.us/bikerec/
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Survivalist GOP Congressman: You Should Probably Avoid Cities
4.01.2011
Mother Jones: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/03/sur ... -all-costs
Mother Jones: "Maryland GOP Rep. Roscoe Bartlett is a child of the Great Depression, Nancy Pelosi's date to this year's State of the Union, and a member of the House Tea Party Caucus. As Alexander Carpenter points out, he's also something of a survivalist:
In a series of clips from a documentary called Urban Danger available on YouTube and 3AngelsTUBE, Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD)...shares his fear of impending threats to America and advocates that people move out of urban areas...
In the context of his surmising about the threat of living in urban areas, Bartlett states in the video that there are two strains of smallpox, one is the U.S. and one in the 'Soviet Union'.
You can watch the documentary online here. Urban Danger's official site takes pains to note that the film is not 'survivalist,' but rather a guide to 'finding practical solutions to problems we face today.'
Those problems, however, are dire: One speaker warns that American cities are about to experience something 'a lot worse than what happened in New Orleans,' suggesting that the situation could be Biblical in nature; the congressman, for his part, floats the possibility of of biological warfare, alleging that terrorists may have already obtained the aforementioned Soviet smallpox. 'A storm is coming, relentless in its fury,' the narrator explains. 'Are we prepared to fight it?'..."
Video: Urban Danger Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGE1omIa ... r_embedded
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Satellite Dish Solar Cooker Demonstration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U220eTxH ... r_embedded
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The Frugal Dad
9 Ways to Prepare for Food Inflation
Posted on January 18, 2011 by Jason (Frugal Dad)
53 comments
If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you’ve no doubt discovered that the price of most foods has increased significantly. There’s plenty of blame to go around: increased commodity prices due to increased demand, increased oil prices, devaluation of our dollar, and on and on.
Whatever the reason, increased food prices are putting a major dent in our household budget. Since we can’t do much about the prices, we have to look for other ways to reduce (or at least keep even) our overall food expense.
Food is a unique budget category in that normally when you are struggling with less income and/or increased costs, the natural inclination is to turn to cheaper alternatives. Unfortunately, as many people are discovering, when it comes to food this means an unhealthy diet.
Think of the cheapest foods at your local grocer – they are likely cheap pastas and boxed processed foods (Ramen noodles, mac and cheese, packages of potato flakes sold as “instant mashed potatoes,” etc). While these foods will do in a pinch, they aren’t exactly healthy staples to build the basis of a clean diet.
Nine Ways to Reduce Your Grocery Budget
1. Plan to shop every two weeks. Make room in your pantry (and your budget) to shop for enough food to last two weeks. The more often you see the inside of a store, the more likely you will give into temptation and deviate from your list.
2. Buy in-season produce. The simple laws of supply and demand tell us that things that are plentiful should be a little cheaper. Of course, the opposite is true if a particular produce item is not plentiful in your area, because it has to be shipped in from another part of the country (or world), and those increased costs to transport are passed along to you, the consumer.
3. Eat less. This one seems obvious, but to someone like me raised on three squares (big squares) a day, the idea of skipping a meal or two seems foreign. However, here lately I’ve been trying to eat only when hungry, not when the clock says 8:00, 12:00 and 6:00.
4. Grow your own vegetables. The last couple years we’ve experimented with square foot gardening. This year, we plan to expand on the idea and grow a variety of vegetables in garden boxes in our backyard. We also planted fruit trees last fall that will hopefully yield fresh fruits in the years to come.
5. Compare unit costs, not product packaging and creative pricing. Remember bigger isn’t always cheaper, and neither are the 10/$10 deals. I recently stocked up on a few items included in a 10/$10 sale and the next week the store returned the item to their normal price…$0.88.
6. Consider swapping beans or eggs for meats when looking for a protein source. Like any good carnivore, I like to build a meal around a good meat. Unfortunately, this can get expensive. Here lately, we’ve been enjoying eating “breakfast” for dinner – with scrambled eggs as the main course. Beans also provide a nice source of protein and can augment a smaller amount of meat in dishes like tacos and chili to bulk up the recipe with out increasing the cost per meal.
7. Avoid the “junk food” aisle. Nothing good comes from this aisle. Soft drinks, chips, snack cakes, and cookies are simply empty calories. And they are expensive when you consider you can’t plan a meal around them. Your waistline won’t miss this aisle, either. Now, this is an area where I need to take my own advice!
8. Eat leftovers. One of the most effective ways to lower your cost per meal is to simply stretch your prepared foods across more meals. In fact, I have found that meals like spaghetti, soups, and meatloaf actually taste better the next night.
9. Freeze the extras. If you are short on freezer space, consider a second freezer to stock up on meats and vegetables when on sale, or to freeze leftovers of your favorite meals. My wife makes a huge batch of soup and freezes the portions we don’t eat the first two days for later consumption. Weeks later, on a particularly hectic day, we’ll toss the frozen soup in a crock pot to thoroughly reheat and enjoy an easy meal.
These tips probably make sense in any environment, but are particularly important in the face of rising food costs, high unemployment and a time of high economic uncertainty. I highly recommend taking the time now to streamline your food budget and use some of the savings to build a pantry of stockpiled food.
Best case scenario, your pantry will provide cheaper food than is currently available in the store. Worst case scenario, your pantry will provide food if there isn’t any in the store. It’s my hope that we never face the latter scenario, but I’d rather be prepared just in case.
How are you dealing with increased food costs?
This entry was posted in Food and tagged budget, Food, groceries, inflation by Jason (Frugal Dad). Bookmark the permalink.
http://frugaldad.com/2011/01/18/prep...ood-inflation/
The Daily Reckoning
Surviving a Societal Breakdown
By Bill Bonner
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03/16/11 Baltimore, Maryland – “…little electricity or gasoline…” reports an eyewitness from The Washington Post, visiting Sendai, Japan. “Nearly all restaurants and shops are closed…roads blocked…supplies depleted…the devastation is catastrophic.”
“Fuel almost non-existent…survivors will spend a fourth night in near freezing temperatures without food or water…”
We were elaborating on the benefits of having a family stronghold…a retreat…a bolthole somewhere. When the going gets tough, you need a tough place to go to.
Oh yes…dear reader…the world is a dangerous place. Just so far this year, we’ve seen two big blow-ups – one in the Arab countries…the other in Japan.
Neither was expected. What’s next?
Obviously, we don’t know. If it’s a big, nasty surprise, we hope we’re not here in Bethesda, Maryland, when it comes.
Why? Because the supermarkets would be cleaned out in minutes…the gas stations would run dry…and we’d be trapped in a hostile environment. We’re only here temporarily, while our youngest son finishes high school nearby. We have no family. Few friends. And none of the deep roots you need to survive a prolonged period of crisis and breakdown. Here, we are just anonymous passers-by… We would have to depend on the kindness of strangers and the competence of government officials.
What do you need to survive a disaster? First, you need access to water. As we’ve seen in Japan, even the most developed and sophisticated infrastructure in the world can collapse when it is struck by an earthquake and a tsunami. Public water pipes break. It can take weeks or months to replace them – assuming the government and local utilities are still functioning.
That’s why it’s a good idea to have your own private source of water – a spring, a well, a small, clean stream. Failing that, you should have enough water stocked up to last at least a couple weeks.
Then, you need to worry about food. How long could you live on what is in your refrigerator? We could make it for about 24 hours. Then, it would be slim pickings. And what if the supermarket were closed? What if the 7-11 were stripped bare? What if trucks couldn’t make deliveries?
Well, surely the president would call out the National Guard. Yes, if everything is working as it should…and the National Guard doesn’t have more important things to worry about.
Just as a precaution, you should maintain a stock of canned goods and dried food. Enough to last two weeks is the minimum. A month is better. Then, rotate your stock – don’t leave it untouched for so long it goes bad.
Having an inventory of basic foodstuffs and water is essential. It will keep you calm. You won’t be in desperate straits. It will give you time to carefully assess the situation and choose your best option.
Option?
Well, yes. What if the breakdown stays broken down for months? War…hyperinflation…a full collapse of the financial or political system – the crisis could take many months to run its course. In the meantime, supply and distribution systems may be severely or completely interrupted. You need a strategy.
And that’s where the family stronghold comes into play. First, you must be able to get there. When we were confronted with the Y2K crisis more than a decade ago, we lived in Paris. Maybe the French bureaucrats would be able to maintain order…and maybe they wouldn’t. We just kept our tank full of gas, just in case. It only took one tank of gas to get out to our country house. We figured we’d wait for the desperate mobs to leave the streets. Then we’d drive out of the city and make our way to the country. Once there, we had food stockpiled in the pantry and firewood ricked up to the eves in the barn. There were cattle on-the-hoof in the fields and chickens in the henhouse.
Your stronghold should be a place where you can live almost indefinitely – on local resources. It doesn’t mean you have to have everything you need on your own property. But you have what it takes to trade with your friends and neighbors to get what you need. You may have to barter for a cow…or vegetables…with the local farmers, for example. You may have to improvise with tools and machinery. You will almost certainly get your hands dirty. And you should keep on hand some small gold and silver coins. They could be useful.
Of course, your standard of living will surely go down – at least in money terms.
But some people actually yearn for simpler, more “authentic” lives. Some find genuine satisfaction in small community life, with heavy emphasis on self-sufficiency and survival skills. As for us, we’re never happier than when we’re cutting firewood or planting a garden. Keep your laptops and your hard drives. Give us a wrench and a hammer! Dining “al fresco” on “dinde aux groseilles” at a fancy restaurant is fine…but we’re just as happy eating a turkey sandwich outside in the yard.
A breakdown in complex civilization? Bring it on! Well, maybe not…
Regards,
Bill Bonner
http://dailyreckoning.com/surviving-...tal-breakdown/
http://www.alternet.org/food/150428/...es?page=entire
Growing A Backyard Organic Garden Is Good For Your Health
April 4, 2011 by Peggy Layton
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One of the best ways to get organic fruits and vegetables is to grow your own backyard garden. It becomes a very personal and sometimes even a spiritual experience.
One of the best ways to stay healthy year round is to eat in the season there of. This simply means that when certain foods are in season, you eat as much of them as you can and preserve the excess by canning, dehydrating and freezing.
Have you ever noticed that you crave seasonal fruits and vegetables? That is because our bodies need the nutrients that we get from the different foods that are grown in those seasons.
If you don’t grow a garden you can shop the local farmers markets and purchase the most organic foods you can find. This is the best way to avoid sprays, chemicals, pesticides, additives and preservatives and you will be able to save money on your food bill each month. Locally grown produce is better for you because it hasn’t been picked while still green and shipped thousands of miles to get to your local supermarket.
Even if you live in the city you can take advantage of the farmers markets and other organic produce when it is in season. Most farmers sell off their abundant harvest at bulk rates. You can bottle or put up the excess food. This will ensure that you will have seasonal foods rear round. This is much more nutritious and it will keep you out of the grocery store and help you avoid impulse buying.
During and after World War II, the concept of the Victory Garden was introduced to the nation. Individual backyard gardeners and farmers produced the same amount of food as did the entire commercial farming industry. It was a great success, and every family that participated felt a sense of accomplishment by doing it.
The economic crisis of 2011 is demanding the return of the backyard gardens as a way to ensure that each and every family is self-sufficient in hard economic times. Saving your own seeds from your personal harvest is a way to lower your cost of living. Eating the food that you have grown is the best nutrition that you can get. (Source: Heirloom-organics.com, Victory Gardens of WW II)
Getting Started Growing A Gardenhttp://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...eeds_image.jpgChoose The Best Garden Seeds
- First you prepare a plot of flat ground that gets full sun during the day. Figure out how much growing space you have. Turn the soil over with a shovel and add compost or other organic material. Till it with a hand or motorized tiller to mix it up. Rake it to level it out.
- Plan out the garden plots and plant accordingly. A garden planned in advance will save you a lot of headaches in the future. Lettuce can be grown in tight quarters, but tomatoes need to be spaced about 2 feet apart. Growing and spacing requirements are provided on seed packets, in catalogs, and on nursery tags.
- You can grow vegetables in containers or in pots on a patio or porch. Lettuce is a great pot plant. Certain varieties of tomatoes will grow well in a hanging basket. Plants that climb and have vines, such as cucumbers and pole beans, can be trained up a metal fence, chain link or a trellis to take up less room.
- Grow the vegetables you enjoy eating. Some examples of vegetables to plant are beans, peas, tomatoes, sweet corn, onions, carrots, broccoli, potatoes, zucchini squash, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, spinach, melons and strawberries.
- If you are a beginner, you can purchase books on growing vegetables and gardening. Don’t be afraid to try growing something.
- Herbs such as parsley, thyme, basil, chives and oregano, and any other herbs you like to cook with, can be planted between flower beds.
- There are two planting seasons. Cool weather, as in the spring, and hot weather, as in the summer and early fall. The most common cool season crops include beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach and turnips. Warm season crops include beans, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, peppers, pumpkins, zucchini and other squash and tomatoes.
- Starting your own seedlings in the spring and transplanting them in the summer is the least expensive way to get plants. However, you can purchase seedlings that are already started at any nursery.
- If you are going to purchase plants from a nursery, then these are the best ones to get: eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. These plants tend to do better when started in a greenhouse and transplanted in the garden later.
- The following seeds are best started right in the ground. Beans, beets, carrots, chard, corn, cucumbers, lettuce, melons, peas, pumpkins, zucchini and other squash and turnips.
- Squash and cucumbers are two of the ones that you can plant as either seeds or seedlings. I have had better results with them by planting the seeds right in the ground. It seems that the plants go into shock and take as long to grow as the seeds do.
- Seed packets do have a shelf life. Look for the seeds that have been packed for the current year.
- Purchase seedlings when your soil is ready to plant. Keep them watered and don’t let them sit around for more than a few days. Buy healthy-looking seedlings. They should stand up straight and be stocky, with green and not yellow leaves or any bug damage.
Non-hybrid seeds: The best seeds to purchase are the Heirloom open-pollinated type or non-hybrid.Saving seeds is only possible with open-pollinated seeds. These seeds are also calledHeritage seeds. These are the best kind of seeds to buy. You can save the seeds fromyear to year and dry them out, then plant them the next season and they will grow theexact same fruit, vegetable, or grain. Open-pollinated varieties display certain horticulturaltraits, such as: fruit color, leaf shape, flower color, etc. This means they are stable within the variety and seeds saved from these plants will be the same as the parent plant in subsequent plantings. The variety will not be cross-pollinated with any other plants of species.
Hybrid seeds: These seeds have been genetically modified to only produce one crop that is true to form.The following generations of plants cannot be counted on to produce the same variety.The hybrid is definitely cross-pollinated with another similar species that might havea different trait. The offspring will be genetically different than the parent plant. Thescientists that cross-pollinate these plants are trying to come up with a better, more hardyplant, however the seeds can only be used once and that could possibly create a shortage of seeds. If you save the seed and plant them the next season, you might get somestrange fruit that you don’t recognize. Most seeds purchased from a nursery or store is the hybrid type. If you are stocking up on these seeds, you will need to purchase them every year.
The Advantages Of Stockpiling Non-Hybrid Garden Seeds
Better Nutrition: Seed varieties are being bred for many reasons, but typically for disease and pest resistance, their look, transportability and other commercial reasons. Nutritional content is not one of the reasons, but profit is. When you grow open pollinated (non-hybrid) varieties you are growing original strains with much higher nutritional content than varieties that have been bred for color, storability, portability, etc. Growing your own garden ensures that the food you produce is much more nutritious than commercially-grown produce. When food is grown in Mexico or other countries, we do not have any control over how it is grown, what chemicals are used, what fertilizers and minerals are—or are not—in the soil. We also cannot control whether or how much radiation is used to kill the bacteria. The food
is picked before it has ripened and it is shipped hundreds, even thousands of miles before we purchase it. The plants are sprayed to keep them from ripening too fast in transit, then sprayed again to get them to ripen. Have you ever noticed that the vegetables in the grocery store taste blander rather than rich in flavor like their home grown cousins?
Variety: We can participate in saving many original varieties of seeds. Once the food supplyhas been genetically altered to the point that there are no more original strains ofvegetables left, we will be at the mercy of the genetically altered seed companieslike Monsanto. This won’t happen with non-hybrid seeds because we can save many varieties of our own seeds from year to year and we will be in control ofthese seeds.
Self-sufficiency: In hard times, recessions and depressions, FOOD IS SECURITY. You willbe able to take care of your family and even friends if you have the skills to grow food.You will have better health because you will be ensured the highest nutrition available. You can save foods like potatoes, carrots, onions, apples and squash in a cool, dry garage and they will keep all winter as long as it doesn’t freeze.
Shortages of food: If food supplies are challenged and the food cannot be trucked for thousands of miles, home gardening is a way to ensure that your family will have the food to sustain them in a crisis. It can also be looked at as food insurance. The economic crisis facing the United States and the world right now is causing the price of fresh produce to go up. When an economic downturn drives inflation up, the cost of real goods, like groceries, skyrockets. It becomes unmanageable very quickly, with items like a loaf of bread costing 10 times more than normal. It sounds unbelievable but this has actually happened many times throughout history. I have heard a prediction for years that when times get tough and our economy fails, it will take a wheelbarrow full of money to buy one loaf of bread.
Trade or barter: For a self-sufficient person to be truly prepared he must have plenty of non-hybrid seeds available for personal use, storage and bartering. Seeds are an excellent alternative investment to paper money, as well as gold and silver. You can’t eat money or precious metals, which means food is the best investment. Growing your own food is a skill that is invaluable. Organic open-pollinated seeds must be in the hands of the organic backyard farmers. There is a huge movement sweeping the country right now. The small organic farmers are banding together to collect, save, sell or trade their seeds. It is called seed exchange. This movement is preserving the hundreds of heirloom seeds so they are not genetically altered or cross pollinated and lost.
http://plimages.blob.core.windows.ne...oodStorage.jpgPeggy Layton is the author of seven books on the subject of food storage and preparedness. She and her husband grow a backyard garden every year and live off the land during the growing season.
Peggy bottles and dehydrates excess produce. Peggy and her husband keep winter vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, squash, onions and apples in a root cellar that they built. During the winter, when produce is less plentiful, they grow food in their year-round growing dome greenhouse, and they gather fresh eggs daily from their chickens. Provident living is a way of life in their home.
To purchase a variety of heirloom garden seeds that can be grown from year-to-year with seeds that can be saved, go to my website, www.peggylayton.com, and click on the “Garden Seeds Non-Hybrid” link on the left sidebar.
I have been testing out emergency food storage meals that have a 15-year shelf life. These meals are packaged in Mylar® pouches, serve four people and are ready to just add water and cook. I find them delicious, convenient, and easy. For more information or to order go to www.peggylayton.efoodsglobal.com.
–Peggy Layton
http://www.personalliberty.com/survi...r-your-health/
Best Practices For Long Term Food Storage
Tess Pennington
Ready Nutrition
April 201
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Archaic food caches have been found all over the world. The fact that our ancestors planned for the unexpected gives us a clear picture into their unpredictable lifestyle. Foods such as nuts, extra tools and foraging tools were put away for a time when they were needed the most (Source). Of course, the lifetimes of these preps were contingent upon proper storage methods.
These days, we know much more about proper techniques for food packaging. With the proper storage tools a person can store many different types of foods indefinitely. Learning how to store food is cost effective, simple to understand and is a life saver if an emergency arises.
Many preppers like to choose a multi-barrier system to store their food. This barrier system is for long term purposes, and will keep natural elements such as sunlight, moisture and air out of the container when sealed.
Storing Food in Containers
Any food that you plan to store indefinitely, should be stored in food grade containers. These containers will not transfer any non-food chemicals into the food, nor are their any chemicals within the container that are hazardous to humans. Typically a food grade container has a #2 by the recycle symbol or the acronymn ”HDPE” stamp on the bottom (HPDE stands for “high density polyethylene”). Before any food is to be stored, clean the containers with soapy water, rinse and dry thoroughly. 5 gallon plastic containers are the most popular amongst those who store bulk quantities of food.
Additionally, make sure that the lid you purchase for your container is air tight and spill proof. Lids with gaskets and gamma lids are great lids as they do not require a lid opener. They are typically a little more expensive compared to the traditional bucket lid. However, they are easier to open and close, and are worth every penny!
Food Liner
Research has shown that over time, slow amounts of oxygen seep through the walls of plastic containers. Consequently, over time natural elements, and even insects can find a way inside the container. To add additional protection, adding a food liner, such as Mylar bags will ensure that there are multiple barriers for the food to be protected in. Investing in the thickest grade of Mylar would be a good investment for your food storage endeavors. Simply because if properly cared for, mylar bags can last up to 20 years! Additionally, the thicker grade Mylar makes a big difference in the taste of food. The greatest part of investing in these food liners is that because they are so durable they can be reused over and over again.
For those who are investing in a shorter term food supply, many simply pour the food contents into mylar bags, add an oxygen absorber and properly seal the bag closed. This will keep a short term food supply fresh over a given period of time.
Oxygen Absorber Packets and Dessicant Packets
Using oxygen absorbers greatly prolongs the shelf life of stored food. Because it absorbs the oxygen from the container, it inhibits the growth of aerobic pathogens and molds. Oxygen absorbers begin working the moment they are exposed to oxygen. Therefore, it is best to work as efficiently as possible. Oxygen absorbers come in different sizes, so pay attention to the size needed for the container. Typically, 2,000 cc’s of oxygen absorbers should be added in one 5 gallon bucket. Oxygen absorbers are not edible, not toxic and does not effect the smell and taste of the product.
Desiccant packets moderate the moisture level when placed in a food container. They do not absorb the moisture. Please note that desiccant is not edible. If the packet somehow breaks open and spills onto the stored food, the entire contents of the container must be thrown away. There are certain food items that desiccant should not be added to. Specifically, flour, sugar and salt. These items need a certain amount of moisture to stay activated, and if desiccant is added to it, they will turn into a hard brick.
*Bonus*
To prevent bug infestations, use diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth are the fossilized remains of diatoms. They are organic and are safe to use on food. Use 1 cup to each 25 pounds of food.
The Sealing Process
Where Do I Purchase These Products?
- Place the Mylar bag into the 5 gallon container.
- Add your oxygen absorbers or desiccant to the bottom of the bag to ensure all sections of the container are protected. Also, remember you will be adding an absorber at the top of the Mylar bag as well.
- Begin pouring contents into the Mylar bag.
- When you have poured the contents into the Mylar bag and have hit the middle section of the being filled, shake the Mylar bag from time to time to make sure the food gets into the crevices of the bag.
- Continue adding food to the mylar bag until you hit your desired amount. I usually stop 3/4 to the top.
- Next, begin folding the Mylar down in order to get trapped air to escape out the gap.
- Once the air is out, begin sealing the Mylar. A person can use a heat clamp or they can seal their Mylar bags with a simple at home iron put on the highest setting. If the home iron method is used, make sure you have a hard surface such as a cutting board or book to iron on and slowly go over the Mylar bag. Note: this method must be done gently and slowly or the Mylar will be damaged. Seal straight across the Mylar bag in a straight line. Leave the last 2-3 inches unsealed in order to push the last remaining air out of the bag.
- Once the trapped air has been pushed out, seal the last 2-3 inches.
- Push the sealed Mylar bag into the container. Optional: Add another oxygen absorber on top of the sealed Mylar bag. Place the lid on the container and make sure the lid is on completely.
- Store in a dark storage area, where temperatures, moisture levels and sunlight do not fluctuate.
Food is an investment into your future and your family’s livelihood. Therefore, you must do all that you can to protect that investment for the long term. Using the multi-barrier system will ensure that the food is stored in optimal conditions and that the contents inside are protected for the long term.
- The Ready Store – For smaller scale purchases
- Amazon - For smaller scale purchases
- Ropak – For large quantity purchases
- Sorbent Systems – For large quantity purchases
- Call around to different restaurants around your area and see if they have any food grade containers with lids that you can have. Typically, restaurants are happy to give these away as they have no need for these containers after they are used. This could save you a lot of money investing in food grade containers.
Related Reading:
- Week 19 of 52: Food Storage Tools
- Get Prepped Newsletter: September 9, 2011
- Meet Your Emergency Food’s Worst Enemies
- Food Storage Demystified
- Fox News Demonstration: Long Term Food Storage Basics – How to Pack Rice, Wheat, Beans and Dry Goods
http://readynutrition.com/resources/...rage_03042011/
Personal Preparedness Kit for Kids
We all know that emergencies occur when we least expect them – especially when children are concerned. Teaching them to be prepared for unforeseen events starts at home. And, like school, you have to start with the basics. Putting a few basic emergency items in your child’s book bag will help your child be the most prepared kid in school. And, knowing that your child has his or her basic needs met will calm your concerns while they are away.
Studies have shown, that a child is less fearful of unforeseen circumstances when they know they can handle the situation on their own. Having the right tools at their disposal will significantly reduce their stress levels, while at the same time, give them a bit of comfort during a stressful event. Consequently, your child’s self confidence will increase because he feels entrusted by you with these emergency items.
As long as I have had this blog, I have advocated that each person should have a personal preparedness kit that they carry around with them. I firmly believe children should be taught this as well. Most of these small preparedness items can fit conveniently into a pencil bag, or a small sized bag with a zipper. These items were approved through the school nurse at my children’s school. Before packing up these basic emergency items, check with your child’s principal, school nurse or teacher.
Items May Include:
[ ] Bandages
[ ] First aid ointment
[ ] Chapstick
[ ] Whistle/compass combination
[ ] Pen/tablet
[ ] Light stick or wind up flashlight
[ ] Emergency blanket
[ ] Sanitary bags
[ ] Hand wipes
[ ] Emergency rain poncho
[ ] Energy bar or snack
[ ] Water bottle
Subscribed to our newsletter and get the latest tips for preparing your children for emergencies. http://readynutrition.com/resources/get ... sletter-2/
Published by Tess Pennington on March 31st, 2011
http://readynutrition.com/resources/per ... _31032011/
Viking Preparedness
Wilderness Survival, Family Preparedness, Security
http://vikingpreparedness.blogspot.com/
Seed Savers Exchange - Trade, Swap & Sell Seeds for FREE!
http://www.heirloomseedswap.com/
Welcome to HeirloomSeedSwap.com the FREE Seed Exchange for Seed Savers Worldwide. This site is brought to you free of charge, so everybody can afford to share their seeds. We encourage you to trade your seeds, offer them for free, or you can even offer your seeds for sale. These ads are free and we hope to keep them that way. Help us get the word out. Let Everybody know they can swap their seeds here free. And, if you are interested in learning everything about saving seeds you need to read Seed to Seed cover to cover. If you are creative and want to learn how to develop your own vegetable variety, you need a copy of Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties. Who knows, you may develop a variety everybody just has to have and you can name it after your dog, "Fido." Now lets get to SAVING & SHARING our seeds.
Foods In Your Kitchen That Fight Pain
http://www.ivillage.com/natural-pain-re ... 4-06-2011|
Cure a toothache with cloves
Got a toothache and can’t get to the dentist? Gently chewing on a clove can ease tooth pain and gum inflammation for two hours straight, say UCLA researchers. Experts point to a natural compound in cloves called eugenol, a powerful, natural anesthetic. Bonus: Sprinkling a ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves on meals daily may also protect your ticker. Scientists say this simple action helps stabilize blood sugar, plus dampen production of artery-clogging cholesterol in as little as three weeks.
Heal heartburn with cider vinegar
Sip 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with 8 ounces of water before every meal, and experts say you could shut down painful bouts of heartburn in as little as 24 hours. “Cider vinegar is rich in malic and tartaric acids, powerful digestive aids that speed the breakdown of fats and proteins so your stomach can empty quickly, before food washes up into the esophagus, triggering heartburn pain,â€
Freeze Dried Food Distributor: Six Month Wait Time Amid Extreme Shortages
Author: Mac Slavo- April 5th, 2011
43 Comments
If there was ever a sentiment indicator for economic uncertainty and fear, this would be it.
As of April 2011, major distributors of freeze dried food, namely the Mountain House brand, are indicating that shoppers should expect delays of nearly six months on any orders placed today:
***CURRENT INVENTORY UPDATE AS OF 04/05/11*** All Mountain House & Nitro-Pak food storage #10 cans are in EXTREMELY HIGH DEMAND due to national & world current economic uncertainty and inflation fears. With this increase in demand, our food order processing times have greatly increased also. As Mountain House’s leading distributor, we are receiving HUGE shipments WEEKLY to fill our customer orders, but demand exceeds the available supply. Most Mountain House dealers have been been cut off & receive no food, period. Supplies are VERY SCARCE. Like Disneyland, the line is long but still slowly moving. Please be patient. This is a line you do not want to get out of!Other large distributors we contacted indicated similar shipping delays, with many simply marking their freeze dried food inventory as completely “out of stock.”
…
All canned food orders and units may take up to 160 days to ship. Thank you for your business!
Source: Nitro-Pak
Mountain House has advised they are expanding their production facilities, but this upgrade will not be completed until the third of fourth quarter of 2011.
When we first covered the shortages of freeze dried food in December of 2010, a spokesperson for Mountain House, the largest freeze dried food manufacturer in the world, indicated that they were estimating the shortage to abate by February or March of 2011. In February, we received an update from Mountain House, which further pushed out the availability date to the Summer of 2011, and feedback from the largest freeze dried food distributors indicated shipping delays of 30 – 60 days. This most recent alert suggests that while freeze dried food manufacturers are working round the clock, demand for emergency supplies continues to sky rocket at an unmanageable pace.
Economic uncertainty, fear of inflation, government policies, natural disasters and the mysteries surrounding the 2012 doomsday date have been cited as the primary reasons for the parabolic spike in demand over the course of the last six months.
Because there will likely be no relief for any of those fears in the near future, we suggest to our readers that demand will continue to increase well into 2012, and question whether the new facilities being built for freeze dried food production will be enough to offset demand. As more people come to the realization that things may not be exactly as they seem, further demand will likely flood the market going forward.
Due to the uncertainty in the freeze dried food market, those concerned with acquiring quality, long-term food storage should consider and act on other options.
As we’ve suggested previously, dehydrated foods and MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) are one option that remains available at major emergency food distributors. The other options would be to self-stock and package dry goods, like the 11 Emergency Food items that can last a lifetime, including wheat, rice and beans. Most have a shelf life of 20 – 30 years and provide a well balanced, nutritious diet in the event of an emergency, widespread disaster or protracted crisis.
http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-pr...tages_04052011
Maple Syrup May Be A Healthy Sugar Alternative
April 5, 2011 by Personal Liberty News Desk
http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liv..._13573_300.jpgPure maple syrup contains double the amount of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds than food scientists previously thought, according to researchers at the University of Rhode Island.
Furthermore, they found that the sweet condiment contains phenolics that are beneficial in the management of type 2 diabetes, a discovery that the authors noted came as a stroke of irony.
"I can guarantee you that few, if any, other natural sweeteners have this antioxidant cocktail of beneficial compounds. It has some of the beneficial compounds that are found in berries, some that are found in tea and some that are found in flaxseed," said lead researcher Navindra Seeram.
Foods with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties have been shown to reduce the risk of several illnesses, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders.
A compound dubbed Quebecol — named for the maple-growing province in Canada — was among the new discoveries. Authors noted that the compound is a byproduct of the sap-boiling process required to make maple syrup.
The researchers said the discovery should not prompt anyone to consume mass quantities of the product, but rather it is meant to inform them that the sweetener is a healthier alternative to high fructose corn syrup-based products.
http://www.personalliberty.com/news/...ive-800476704/
now thats pretty cool... thanks for posting and sharing with us allQuote:
Originally Posted by working4change
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Fox News Demonstration: Long Term Food Storage Basics: How to Pack Rice, Wheat, Beans and Dry Goods
Video: Long Term Food Storage Basics - How to Pack Rice, Wheat, Beans and Dry Goods
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZAMjmgo ... r_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZAMjmgobjQ&feature=player_embedded
Fox News Report on Inflation, Higher Prices and Emergency Preparedness.
Tess demonstrates some best practices and a multi-barrier process for packaging food for short and long term storage in mylar bags (or large food grade buckets) with oxygen absorbers, a vacuum seal, and a heat seal. With proper storage techniques the shelf life of your food preps can exceed 20 years for most dry goods like rice, wheat, sugar, beans, oats, wheat and pasta.
Published by Tess Pennington on April 4th, 2011
You're welcome. Just a small contribution to all your valuable info on this thread. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7
Effective Weight Loss Plan Includes Three Square Meals, Plenty Of Protein
http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liv...004096_300.jpg
April 6, 2011
by Personal Liberty News Desk
While some modern weight loss experts recommend eating small, more frequent meals as a strategy to drop pounds, a recent study has shown that reducing body mass may be as simple as following your mother's advice.
Purdue University scientists found that eating three well-balanced, high-protein meals per day helped a group of overweight or obese males feel satiated while losing weight.
Moreover, the researchers found that the three-meal plan was easier to follow than a diet consisting of six daily meals due to busy work schedules. For both plans, the participants consumed about 2,400 calories per day, a 750-calorie decrease on average.
"The larger meals led to reductions in appetite and people felt full. We want to emphasize, though, that these three larger meals were restricted in calories and reflected appropriate portion sizes to be effective in weight loss," said lead author Heather J. Leidy.
The team also tested the effects of protein on a diet by advising half of the participants to eat normal levels of protein — about 14 percent of total calories — and the remaining individuals to consume high-protein diets, which amounted to 25 percent of daily energy intake. Authors noted that participants in the latter group reported
http://www.personalliberty.com/news/eff ... 800477579/
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Dehydrated Baby Food: Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Squash
By Angela, on January 7th, 2011
Last week I had some leftover pumpkin from making a pumpkin roll and just happened to have sweet potatoes left over from Christmas dinner at the same time, so I pulled some frozen “squash” out of the freezer (why I labeled it with only “squash” and not the variety, I do not know) and let it thaw for a big ol’ batch of dehydrated baby food. I used the same general method as when I did the carrots–cook the food, puree it, spread it on the dehydrator like fruit leather and dry until crispy, then put the crispy stuff in the blender until it was powdered.
Sweet Potatoes
The sweet potatoes were already cooked from the dinner–they had been baked in foil like a baked potato and then the peels were taken off after the baking so didn’t have any butter/spices/etc already in them. Just plain ol’ baked sweet potato. I had to add water to them in the blender to make it thin enough to pour. You might think by adding water you’re increasing your dehydrating time, and that may be true, however, you want to be able to spread your pureed food fairly thin and even on the dehydrator trays so it will dry into crispy chips more quickly and not take forever and turn out thick and hard like a rock which just makes more work for your blender when you’re trying to powder it. So go ahead and add some water to get your food to a spreadable consistency if you need to.
These dried up really nicely. I’ll be wanting to do some more sweet potatoes in the next few months as I only got a little bit out of our leftovers.
Sweet potato powder. This could also be used in baking mixes if you want biscuits or bread or something with some sweet potato in it.
I’ll probably just feed the baby with it.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5757.JPG sweet potato powder
Pumpkin
The pumpkin was canned pumpkin left over from making a pumpkin roll. There was a little less than a cup of it to start with, so I pureed it with a bit of water and spread it out on the dehydrator trays. Because I was only putting one swath of plastic wrap down the middle of the tray, it took almost two trays to spread it all out. I’ll have to check the label on the canned pumpkin to see if it’s baby safe before I feed it to the baby. This may go into a bread mix instead. If you were to cook and dry your own pie pumpkin, you’d know for sure that it was only pumpkin.
It dried fairly well–took a while to get crispy. It seems like the food gets leathery pretty quick, and then takes a long time to crisp up. All powdered up it came out to just under 1/3 cup. So I’d guesstimate approx 1/3 cup pumpkin powder for each cup of pumpkin in your recipe. You’ll need to add a bit of extra liquid in your recipe for it. Or just rehydrate it and use it that way.
Squash
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5758.JPG pumpkin powder
Some of the squash I added water to and some I didn’t because of the consistency of it when it thawed from the freezer. Some of it dried really nicely and some came out really hard. I think that had to do with the fact that my plastic wrap didn’t stay in place on a couple of the trays, so instead of breaking apart as it dried, it all squished up into one chunk of squash in the center of the tray–kind of like those shrinky-dinks that you draw on and put in the oven and they come out as a smaller, thicker version of the original. That made it take those couple of trays another “overnight” in the dehydrator to get crispy after everything else was already done. Guess I’ll be taping my plastic wrap down in the future. After blending it into powder, I’ve got a nice little bag of nearly instant dehydrated squash baby food. Sweet. I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve still got squash from this year that needs done (that’s the good thing about winter squash, they’ll keep a few months before needing cooked and eaten) so we’ll get some more from that.
This method obviously works for starchy veggies. I still need to try some kind of green veggie like beans or something and fruit also. It’s just that they’re not in season right now, so another time we’ll get to those.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5759.JPG squash powder
Super sweet addition to the baby 72 hour kit–just make sure you’ve got enough water or a filter for water or pump for breast milk to re-constitute them.
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/de...umpkin-squash/
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Make Your Own Homemade Marshmallows
By Angela, on January 5th, 2011
Homemade marshmallows are so super easy and taste so much better than store marshmallows, you’ll want to be making them all the time. Well, at least your husband might want you to be making them all the time. They use very few ingredients, most of which are shelf stable. Okay, I’m ready to get started, how about you?
First, gather your ingredients. You’ll need:
Granulated sugar
Eggs
Gelatin (plain, not Jell-O flavored stuff. Usually found near the Jell-O in the store under brand name Knox)
Water
I know that last one is hard to get a hold of sometimes. ;)
To get started, put 2 cups of sugar in a pot with 3/4 cups cold water and stir it up. Get some little helpers if you can.
Put it on the stove and heat over medium to medium high heat to “soft ball stage” (approx 234 to 240 degrees according to my cookbook). It will take a bit to get to that stage. I don’t use a thermometer, I just check the syrup by dropping a little bit into cold water and pulling it out to check if it forms a soft ball. Kind of like this video, but I usually catch it at the earlier part of soft ball when the ball flattens as soon as it is formed. Have a helper stir it if you want. If not, it will still cook to soft ball stage without any trouble without stirring.
Meanwhile, get 2 eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Your mom showed you how to do this, right? If not, here’s a youtube video with some groovy music to show you how to separate egg whites. We just want two egg whites. Put them in your mixer and beat them until they are “stiffly beaten”. They don’t look like much to start with, but they expand quite a bit with the beating.
You’ll know they’re stiffly beaten when they form stiff peaks or hold their shape when you pull the beater out.
Take those egg whites out of your mixer and set them aside for later, then rinse off your mixer bowl and beater–you’ll be using them again.
Check on your sugar syrup mixture. Got that soft ball yet? You can check it anytime while the egg whites are beating also if you want. You should still have time to mix up the third part of the marshmallow magic. It’s easy. Put 2 TB gelatin (the one time I measured, this came out to be 3 packets) in a little bowl with 1/2 cup cold water. In the picture above, my helpers are putting the gelatin in the bowl and I haven’t rinsed the egg whites off the beater yet.
Let it sit and gel up while you take care of the syrup. It doesn’t need a lot of time, you’ll see it sets up pretty quickly, but there is also no problem if you do the gelatin step earlier if you want and let it sit longer–won’t hurt anything.
Once your syrup is at soft ball stage, pour it in your mixer bowl.
Then add the softened gelatin and mix on med-high to high speed for about 5 minutes.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5706.JPGAfter 5 minutes, it looks a bit like marshmallow creme.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5708.JPG
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5709.JPG
Now add your stiffly beaten egg whites and beat the whole mixture another 5-7 minutes.
At the end of that beating, it’s not as runny as it was before the egg whites.
Now you’ll need a pan. I put this batch in a 9×13 greased glass pan. You can use whatever pan works for you, but if it’s not smooth or greased well, the marshmallows are going to stick. However, you don’t want it over-greased because that’s just gross on your marshmallows. I use cooking spray, but you could probably butter it as well.
Pour/scoop the marshmallow mixture into the pan and spread it around evenly.
Well, as evenly as you can. It’s pretty sticky stuff.
Then put plastic wrap or a pan cover on it, set it aside and let it cool.
While they’re cooling, you can get some marshmallow coatings ready. We like to roll ours in crushed graham cracker crumbs, coconut flakes, or nut crumbs. Run the nuts through the food processor for a bit to get smaller pieces–we usually use pecans, but walnuts or almonds or whatever nut you love would probably be fine also. You may find something else you love to coat your marshmallows with. Like dip them in chocolate. They’re just really sticky if they’re left plain.
When it’s all done cooling, it’s time for the good part. Eating it! Oh wait, you’ll have to cut them first. You don’t want to eat the whole pan at once. To cut the marshmallows I get a cup of hot water and a NON-serrated knife. A little paring knife works great. The serrated knives just tend to stick more. Dip your knife in your hot water and cut a little section. Dip again, cut a bit more. We usually go about an inch square or a bit smaller.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5720.JPGRepeat until you’ve cut as many as you’ll eat in the next day or so. You can cut them all if you want, just make sure you’ve got a nice airtight container to keep them in. We kind of like ours freshly coated in the fun coatings, so we’ll just cut what we’re going to eat and then cut the rest as we want them.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5719.JPG
The graham crackers are my favorite.
The kids like either graham crackers or the coconut. The coconut doesn’t stick too well, so just do your best.
Dad likes the nuts the best. He has some kind of radar for when the marshmallows are being cut.
Arrange them on a plate and take a picture if you’re fast enough. I had to tell everyone I wanted a picture so they’d quit eating them as soon as they were rolled!
Really, that’s not that hard, right? I’ve never tried roasting them over a campfire or putting them in hot cocoa. They’d probably do fine, but we just eat them straight. Enjoy!
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/ma...-marshmallows/
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The Kids Emergency Boredom Buster Can
By Angela, on March 23rd, 2011
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Here’s a fun idea for the non-foods section of your food storage. Suppose your emergency lasts longer than you expected. You’re stuck in your house without electricity or quarantined for whatever reason. What are you going to do for entertainment? Storing entertainment is not high on the preparedness list, but can be a lifesaver especially if there are children around. A few years ago we put together emergency boredom buster cans for the kids. We had the cans sealed at an emergency preparedness fair, but you could rent the can sealer from an LDS dry pack cannery and seal your can at home. Or put your boredom buster supplies in a clean paint can, mylar pouch, small bucket, or just a box.
The concept is pretty simple–it’s “surprise” supplies in a can to keep the kids (or yourself) busy/preoccupied. I honestly don’t remember everything I put in the cans. You want something that will take up some time and be a good distraction from the emergency situation. Maybe a model or equipment for some skill they could learn.
Here are some things I do remember putting in the cans:
Puzzles (in a baggie with the picture from the box)
Yarn, crochet hook, simple crochet directions
Non-hardening clay
Small printed word puzzles, mazes, coloring pages
Colored pencils and hand sharpener
Small frisbee
Some hard candies
Card games
I’m sure I put more in–I guess we’ll all be surprised if/when we ever open them! When deciding what to put in your cans, consider your children and their likes/dislikes/abilities. Also think a couple of years ahead. I put crochet stuff in the can for my littlest one and she was probably only 3 at the time. Remember some things won’t “keep” well–like crayons or regular play-dough or batteries.
Because we packed these at an emergency prep fair, they were adding the mini can openers to the bottom of the can. You sure wouldn’t have to go to that trouble, but do make sure you’ve got a manual can opener on hand so you can get it open!
Once you have it packed, put it away in the long term food storage. It’s pretty easy to stash it in the back of the food storage room and forget about it (just like those 10 year old peaches on the back of the shelf at grandma’s). This is not a high priority preparedness item, but just being able to pull out something new will be a huge morale boost and/or distraction for the little ones.
What else could you put in a boredom buster can?
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/th...om-buster-can/
http://beprepared.com/images/art/header_logo.gif
Canned Bacon
http://beprepared.com/images/250/FS-B050.jpg
Have delicious bacon with these easy to store cans. We've taste tested it and loved it!
Heat pasteurized in a sealed can
100% USDA Bacon, Packed in the U.S.
No refrigeration before opening
2-year manufacturer shelf life guarantee. Up to a 10-year shelf life
Compact & lightweight (only 4.5" high, 3" wide & weighs only 9oz)
Approximately 50 slices per can
Great for emergency storage and camping or backpacking
http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_ ... ed%20Bacon
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All Around Preparedness
How Prepared Are You? http://www.mediafire.com/file/k27cgb6n6 ... You.pdf
New to Precious Metals? http://www.mediafire.com/?hi5pqf4m2s897za
Safe Plastics for Storage http://www.mediafire.com/?vbvponwso3p89cc
Survival Manuals http://www.mediafire.com/?iplyyy7jia37bb3
Using Pool Shock as a Water Purifier http://www.mediafire.com/?iplyyy7jia37bb3
Emergency Preparedness
Costco TEOTWAWKI Shopping Guide http://www.mediafire.com/?5l01tdn7b6fr7wu
Emergency Exits http://www.mediafire.com/file/ikm7jt911 ... 0Exits.pdf
Handy No-Cook Foods http://www.mediafire.com/file/fyifosbhw ... 0Foods.pdf
Prep your Vehicle for an Emergency http://www.mediafire.com/?e8kf3rt59qf8448
Survival Moms on the Go http://www.mediafire.com/file/pb0qcadkd ... he_Go1.pdf
Vehicle Emergency Kit Check-List http://www.mediafire.com/?lo1aggsqqxlzlft
Vehicle Emergency Kit 2 http://www.mediafire.com/?0w37aunzdd3f8lw
Family
Tylenol & Advil dosages for kids http://www.mediafire.com/file/mwcca4r5m ... 20kids.pdf
Wilderness Survival Kit for Every Kid http://www.mediafire.com/file/2e6ax4uzc ... ry_Kid.pdf
Food Storage
Dehydrated Dinners Step by step instructions http://www.mediafire.com/?7a1092xehjpbp1t
Nutritional Value of Beans chart http://www.mediafire.com/?layrawgalad2rwo
Reconstituting Dehydrated Foods http://www.mediafire.com/?9z0amiiz5fz950g
WEBINAR: Top Ten Foods class outline http://www.mediafire.com/?ojbwpd3g374v3j4
Wheat Storage Worksheet http://www.mediafire.com/?c0866c8jxzng68d
Survival Manuals
LDS Preparedness Manual http://www.mediafire.com/?zrn88m9dck1xzdo
The U.S. Air Force Survival Training manual http://www.mediafire.com/?yc16dnagd52vfrg
Where There is No Dentist http://www.mediafire.com/?drtgawkm9wxo1bb
Where There is No Doctor http://www.mediafire.com/?68c9sq41shui49a
http://thesurvivalmom.com/resources/dow ... resources/
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Starting Seeds
By Angela, on March 28th, 2011
Well, its finally time to start planting around here. We are about 8 weeks out from our last frost, so cold crops like peas can go in the ground outside and the plants I'm starting from seed to transplant later can be started inside. It's windy today, so I did the inside plants first. I'm using a Jiffy style planter system with the peat pellets. I don't know if this is the best way to start seedlings or not, but it has worked well for me the last two years, plus it's a pretty inexpensive system and easy to find at your local chinamart or home improvement center, so I'm using it again. Here's how it works.
First pour warm water over the peat pellets. The instructions say about 1/8 cup for each pellet, but just pour some water in there a bit at a time until they are all soaked up.
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Jiffy made their container so it holds the pellets pretty tight. I guess this is so they don't slide around on the store display rack, but it's kind of obnoxious when the pellets are trying to expand since a bunch of them got stuck in their slot and couldn't expand properly. I ended up pulling each pellet out and squishing it a bit then putting it back in.
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When they're all expanded, they'll be dark brown and about 1 -1 1/2 high.
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Now it looks like you could just drop a seed in the middle hole of each pellet, but I like to use the whole dirt surface, so I peel the mesh off the top. You'll need to tear it a bit to spread it out. Not as pretty, but more usable space on each pellet.
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I planted onions, peppers, ground cherry tomatoes, and a bunch of herbs. Serious lot of herbs. I like to pack my onions in nice and tight. When they're ready to transplant, I just pull them apart carefully and re-plant them bare root into the garden. This way I get more onions from fewer pellets.
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Plants like peppers, tomatoes, and most of the herbs I put 2-3 seeds in each pellet. The theory is that if they both sprout you choose the stronger plant and transplant that one to your garden. The problem with the theory is that most times both plants will live just fine and I hate to waste a perfectly good plant, so I plant my seeds toward the sides of the peat pellet away from each other so they'll separate easier when it's transplanting time. Tuck them into the dirt with your toothpick and they're ready to grow.
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When you're planting a number of different varieties of plants, you'll need some way to keep track of what you've planted where. I like toothpicks and sharpies. Flat toothpicks work best. Regular markers tend to bleed during the watering process and the colors sometimes become difficult to distinguish. Color code your seedlings by coloring different colors and patterns on the toothpicks and inserting the toothpicks in the peat pellets.
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This method needs a “key” so you’ll remember what each color/pattern toothpick means. Put it somewhere safe–you don’t want to lose it and not know what you have planted anymore.
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Once the pellets are all planted, put the lid back on the tray and put it somewhere warm. Somewhere it says to put them in a dark warm place like on your water heater until they sprout, but I’ve found that my south facing window sill works fine. And that way I don’t forget them and have them dry out and die.
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The herb seeds were fun. This is my first year planting a variety of herbs and I was pretty surprised at the size of some of the seeds.
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And yes, that says a minimum of 800 seeds in the pack. Really, you could get together with a friend and share herb seeds. Nobody needs 800 Yarrow plants. Well, maybe somebody does, but I don’t know anyone.
And I probably put two or three hundred of these Indian Tobacco Lobelia seeds on each peat pellet just because I couldn’t possibly grab one at a time. We’ll see how they grow–I’ll probably have to thin them out after they sprout, but no worries–there’s still lots of seeds for re-planting next year if these don’t work right. Seriously, it just looks like uniformly sized dust particles in a baggie.
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I’m wanting to pick up some large containers and grow most of the herbs in containers this year. It’s not that we have a shortage of dirt around here, it’s just that it’s possible we’ll be moving mid season and I’d like to take some of my work with me if we do.
How are your garden plans coming?
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/starting-seeds/
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Saving Seeds: Cucumber
By Angela, on February 7th, 2011
Saving cucumber seeds is a bit more tricky than saving radish seeds. So how do you save seeds from a cucumber? First, start with a non-hybrid cucumber plant. You can get non-hybrid seeds at a number of places–I do my shopping online, and a couple of my favorites are Hometown Seeds and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Or you can search for “heirloom seeds” or “non-hybrid seeds” and you’ll get plenty of other results. Hybrid plants will give you all kinds of random results when you plant their seeds–not all the kind you thought you planted. Remember Mendel’s peas? You want non-hybrids if you’re going to go through the hassle of saving seeds.
Bitterness in cucumbers is related to genetics, so if you’ve got a plant giving you more bitter tasting cucumbers, that’s not the one you want to save seeds from. I know this is tricky, especially if your cucumber plants are all intertwined, but taste a cucumber as you pick it, and if it’s good, trace that plant to another cucumber and put a ribbon or some other marker on the stem to remember that is the one you’ll be saving for seed.
You can’t eat a cucumber and get seeds from it. At the eating stage, the seeds aren’t matured enough. So you let the cucumber you’re saving seeds from get big and kind of soft. After you pick it, you can leave it on your counter for a few more days (or weeks depending on your location). Don’t let it go moldy, but it will continue to ripen for a bit after picking.
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When it’s nice and big and softish, cut it open gently so you aren’t cutting seeds, and scoop the seeds out into a bowl. I guess at this point, you could eat the rest of the cucumber if you’re that hungry. We gave ours to the chickens.
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Each of the seeds are encased in a gel sack that needs to be removed, and the recommended process for gel sack removal is fermenting. When your seeds are in the bowl, add some water (about as much water as you have seeds). A deep bowl will work better than a shallow one–I don’t think I got enough water in here for the separation to be obvious, but it still worked. If you put too much water in, the fermenting process will be slowed or won’t work at all.
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Then let the seed/water mixture sit on your counter for 2-3 days and get gross. Mine actually developed a bit of mold on the top–it may have gone a day too long, but I was waiting to see the gel sacks separate, and like I said, I don’t think I had enough water in the bowl to make the separation obvious enough, so I let it go until I was sure it was done.
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When the sacks have separated from the seeds, the sacks will be floating and the seeds will sink to the bottom of your bowl. Skim and pour the gel stuff off the seeds and rinse the seeds off.
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When the seeds are separated, they’ll be all clean and shiny and just the seed with no gross slimy stuff on them. Now lay them on a paper plate or something and let them dry for a week or so. They’re done when they snap in half instead of flexing when you try to bend them.
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Now you’ve saved seeds from a cucumber! That wasn’t too hard, right? Bag them up and label them and keep them in a cool, dry place. Then plant some next spring and see how they grow!
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/sa...eeds-cucumber/
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Saving Seeds: Squash
By Angela, on February 25th, 2011
Saving squash seeds is pretty simple. The pictures I’m using are from a winter squash called Long Island Cheese. For summer squash, you want to let the squash get big and over-ripe like we did with the cucumber so the seeds can mature before trying to save the seeds. The squash will be long past the tender, eatable stage. Winter squash are eaten at the big mature stage, so their seeds are already ready to save. Seeds will continue to draw reserves from the squash after it is fully mature, so it’s okay and even good to wait a month or so (into late fall or even winter time) to extract your seeds from the harvested squash.
Saving seeds starts in the spring. You want to start by growing a non-hybrid plant. Now you want to keep your squash seeds pure. There are a couple of methods to keep your squash seeds from cross pollinating each other. The first and most tedious way is to hand pollinate your plants. You’ll need to be able to recognize the male and female flowers as well as know when they will open. I didn’t hand pollinate or take pictures of it, but someone else did and there is a fantastic pictorial guide on hand-pollinating squash here.
The second way to keep your squash from cross pollinating each other is to only plant one variety of squash for each of the four primary squash genus. The genus are cucurbita maxima, cucurbita mixta, cucurbita moschata, and cucurbita pepo. Each genus of squash will cross pollinate within its own genus, but they won’t cross with another genus. So a squash that is c. maxima won’t cross with a squash that is c. pepo. This gives you four different varieties of squash that can safely be planted in the same garden without having to hand pollinate the plants.
If you’re not sure what genus your squash seed is, check this list at Wikipedia. Some good seed companies (like Baker Creek Seeds) will list the genus in the seed description.
Once you’ve decided what squash to plant, let them grow and produce mature squash. When your squash is mature, carefully cut it open to expose the seeds.
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Remove the seeds with your hands or a scoop of some kind so you don’t damage them and separate them from the stringy stuff as best you can. Put the seeds in a colander and wash some of the slime off them.
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Now lay them out to dry. I put mine on a paper plate and set them on the counter. We live in a dry climate. If you live in a humid climate, this may not work for you. Maybe put them in a room where you’re running your air conditioner and it’s not so humid? I’m open to suggestions from any of y’all in the humid states to get your seeds dry.
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Let them dry until they snap when they are bent. It took about a week here. Now you can store them in a ziplock or paper sack or whatever and plant them next spring. Because you didn’t let them cross pollinate, you’ll get the same kind of squash from the seeds you plant as the squash you harvested the seeds from. The seeds should be good up to 5 years stored in a cool dry place. Once you get past the pollinating stage, squash are one of the easier plants to save seed from. Happy planting!
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/saving-seeds-squash/
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Saving Seeds: Radish
By Angela, on January 21st, 2011
If you have an heirloom garden going with non-hybrid seeds, usually the point of going through the extra trouble of getting the non-hybrid varieties is so that you can save seed from your plants to plant again the following spring. Right? Saving seeds is not always as easy as it sounds, with some plants being easier to save seeds from than others. Today I’ll show you how to save radish seeds–they’re one of the easier seeds to grow and save.
First, plant some radishes. If you like to eat radishes, plant a few extra just for seed. If you’re like me and only your husband eats radishes, you can probably just plant radishes like normal and surely there will be extra that get too big that you can claim for your seed plants. ;) The radishes that are going to produce seed are not going to be edible, so keep that in mind.
To let your radishes produce seed, simply don’t pull them out of the ground. Let them get big and ugly and then they’ll sprout a seed head that actually goes up pretty high and spreads a bit. It’s not a little radish plat anymore. Of course I didn’t take a picture of them on the plant, but I did have a few radish seed pods sneak into a picture I took of lettuce going to seed.
The radish pods are circled in red.
Next, let them dry on the plant. You’ll want to use early radishes for your seed so they have plenty of time to mature. The first year I tried this I used a later radish and the seeds didn’t mature enough to be viable the next spring. When the seed pods are dry, pull them off the plant. If you want, you can pick the whole plant before they’re all dry and hang it in a shed or someplace to let the pods finish drying (like if you’re going to get a long rainy spell at the end of your garden season or if your freeze is coming a little sooner than you expected). You’ll have better success just letting them dry while the plant is in the dirt. Now the pods look like this:
You can store them for however long you want in the pods–they’re nice and dry in there, they just take up more space than necessary and you can’t actually plant them until you get the seeds out of the pods, so eventually (like in the middle of January when there’s not much else going on) you’ll want to get the seeds out of the pods.
To save the seeds, just break open the radish seed pods. The tiny radish seeds are inside the pods.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...0/IMG_5773.JPGSome of them are harder than others, you might end up getting out your nut cracker or using a blunt object to kind of crack the pods open to save your fingers!
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Save your seeds in a cool, dry place and label the packaging so you remember which year you harvested them. If you’re interested in saving seeds, I fully recommend Suzanne Ashworth’s book Seed to Seedhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=a...1&a=1882424581 that covers techniques for saving seeds from most all the edible plants you’d want to save seeds from–many I’ve never even heard of! And, if you’re planning on saving seeds in a survival situation, it’s a really good idea to start now so you’ll be comfortable and competent at it if the time comes when saving seeds is the only way to get next year’s garden.
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/saving-seeds-radish/
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Cookies in the Sun Oven
By Angela, on November 4th, 2009
I’ve borrowed a Sun Oven from a sweet friend, and since it’s been sunny, I’ve been out experimenting with it a bit. I got it out Monday, intending to cook some bread in it since I was baking bread anyway, but it had never been out of the box, and the instructions say to let it heat up and then cool down and wash the interior before baking in it (you know, to burn off the “new” fumes), so that’s how Monday’s baking went–all the bread just went in the regular oven.
Tuesday was nice and sunny, so I busted the sun oven back out to bake some cookies. Here it is all set up in my yard:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...00/sunoven.jpgAfter 20 or so minutes, it had heated up to about 310 degrees. Really. All you skeptics out there that think it would take two hours to heat up a solar oven, it really did heat up in 20 minutes. Here’s the thermometer:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...icture+002.jpgAnd just for good measure, here’s a photo of the back of the sun oven with the height adjustment leg to enable you to aim it right at the sun. EASY.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...icture+004.jpgI made my husband’s favorite oatmeal cookies and put a pan of them in the oven. The cooking chamber isn’t extremely large. I used a smallish pan instead of my regular cookie sheets.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...icture+005.jpgThis cookie recipe is 350 for 10 minutes, so I checked at 10 minutes and the cookies weren’t quite done (of course, since the heat level was lower than 350).
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...icture+006.jpgHere’s how we looked at 15 minutes. Done. Actually a little overdone–they were a bit dry. Not burned, just a bit dry. I pulled the second batch out a little sooner with better results.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...icture+007.jpgThat’s steam coming out the top of the door when I opened it. Yep, it gets that hot in the oven.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l-C99gGCBh...icture+008.jpgThe cookies were delicious, and cooking in the sun oven was easy. I’m definitely sold. I’ll be trying something else this week before I have to give the oven back. :)
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/co...-the-sun-oven/
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Kids Prep Minute: Code Words
By Angela, on February 10th, 2010
Here’s a quick one to think about with your kids. If mom was unavailable to come get you and she had to send someone you didn’t know to pick you up from school/ball practice/whatever, how would you know they were safe to go with? Well, they’ll know the secret code word (or phrase) of course. When we were growing up, we made up a crazy secret code phrase. It is hilarious and nobody could come up with it if they weren’t told it, but it would be hard to forget once you heard it. Perfect. Never had to use it. I know you’re dying to know what it was, but I can’t give it away here because it’s a SECRET code word! Come up with some phrase that your kids and you can remember in an emergency situation. Then if anyone comes up to your kids and says their mom needs help and they are supposed to get in that person’s car right now, they’ll know to run the other way if they don’t hear the code word.
Another place a code word could be used is in an event that requires kids going straight to a safe room in the house or dropping and hiding where they are. Then if it is an intruder at the door, he won’t know what you’re yelling “BLUE PICKLES” for, but the kids will get the message and do what they need to do.
This code word could also be something you could “text” to your kids if they have cell phones. The key is that the code word enacts a plan that you have already made.
Think up times when your family might need to communicate something without letting the whole world know what you mean (think “Alas, Babylonhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=a...1&a=B004HB1CZ0“), or might need a “password” for security reasons. Come up with some good memorable code words for your family, and by all means, don’t tell me what they are! ;)
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/ki...te-code-words/
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Baking Bread in a Solar Oven in the Utah Winter
By Angela, on January 24th, 2011
Solar ovens have a very good reputation for cooking things on hot, sunny days, but what if it’s not a hot day? Have you ever wondered how well a solar oven cooks in the winter? Me too. So I’ve spent a few days with the Global Sun Oven in the Utah winter. I’m kind of disappointed I missed the spell when high temperatures were in the teens early in January, but it was only in the low 30′s while I was baking January 15-20, so I wasn’t too far off of super-cold. And I’m in America, so all the temperatures in this article are Fahrenheit.
One thing about cooking in the winter is that you have fewer hours of available daylight to do the cooking. The best hours to use the solar oven are between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, so you need to plan your cooking accordingly. Which, of course, I didn’t the day I was making bread for the family. I was planning on putting a loaf or two into the solar oven that day, and the rest in the regular oven, but I didn’t get the bread started early enough, so by the time it was risen in the pans it was 1:30 and I had an appointment at 2:00 I had to be at, so I didn’t want to chance putting a loaf in the solar oven and not being able to monitor whether it would cook all the way that day–especially with the temperatures dropping. As it was, I had to leave someone else in charge of taking the bread out of the regular oven.
So I tried again on some cinnamon swirl bread since I had a bunch of regular bread already made up. This time I got started earlier. I set the solar oven up when the bread was doing its first rise so it could pre-heat. I got the bread in the oven around 11:00 am–it was 30 degrees outside, clear and sunny, and the Sun Oven was 355 degrees. Perfect.
As soon as the bread started to cook, it sweated and caused some condensation on the glass of the oven. This is normal, since in order for the oven to retain its heat it is not vented. This condensation caused the temperature of the oven to drop since it was blocking some of the sun rays entering the cooking chamber, but the temperature stabilized at just over 300 degrees.
So instead of baking the bread for the usual 40 minutes at 350, I left it in for 1 hour at degrees from 355 to 305. At the end of the hour, I tested it with my meat thermometer to make sure it was cooked all the way through. Bread needs to register 175 degrees or higher to be “done”, which mine was, so I took it out and set it on the cooling rack in the house.
Bread cooked in the Sun Oven doesn’t brown like it does in the oven, so this is blond cinnamon swirl bread. It cooked up fine, moist and chewy. In fact, one whole loaf disappeared shortly after the kids got home from school. Nice. I hid the other loaf so sweet husband and I can have some!
So now you know it works. You can bake bread in a solar oven in the winter time. In fact, you could cook about anything in your solar oven in the winter as long as the day has some sunshine. Just keep that 10:00-2:00 window in mind and you’ll do fine. If you’re needing a solar oven, the Global Sun Oven is the one I use and sell, just shoot me an email and I’ll get you pricing on it.
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/ba...e-utah-winter/
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What Can We Learn?
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By Angela, on March 14th, 2011
I’m sure you’ve all been following the devastation in Japan the last few days. The earthquake, ensuing tsunami, evacuations, and nuclear power plant problems are beyond the average disaster. So what can be learned from this super disaster?
Here are a few things I’ve thought of–feel free to add your own in the comments.
1. Some situations you can’t prepare for–like the total sudden destruction of your home as in these pictures: (before/after). Any of those homes could have had a year’s worth of food in them and it wouldn’t help anybody now. Earthquakes come suddenly, Tsunamis usually with very little warning if any. There is not always time to get out or protect yourself or your family. But if you do have a bit of warning, you need to be ready to move out–fast!
2. #1 does not mean preparing is useless! If you happened to be away from home when something like that occurred, some emergency supplies in your car or office would be more than a little helpful in the days following the disaster. Note the people two days later in Japan needing clean water, food, etc. OR if you have important documents, etc. ready to grab at a moment’s notice, you’d save yourself a lot of trouble during recovery time.
3. The time to prepare for an earthquake is before it happens. Look around and see what things could cause damage in your home and get them secured. Don’t hang pictures above the beds in your home that could come off the wall and injure or kill. Take some precautionary measures in your home so it will be safer in the event of a disaster.
4. Take stock of your surroundings–natural and man-made. Do you live on or near a fault line? Near the ocean? On the edge of a river? Down stream from a dam? What are your most likely natural disasters? Then what man-made structures could cause a problem in an emergency? Do you live near nuclear plants, oil refineries, other places that could cause health and safety concerns if they are damaged or compromised? Or places like power plants that might be a potential terror target? Look around, assess your own situation, and act so that your family is as safe as you can make them.
5. Sometimes you get lucky. Like this guy.
6. Help is coming, but slowly. No way are the hardest hit areas going to see relief any time soon. Resources are stretched pretty thin in a major disaster like this one. 72 hour kits are misleading–it could take a week or likely longer for outside help to get to some areas. It usually does.
7. Disease is also coming. Although the cold weather is not great for those left homeless, it might help keep disease down from the bodies long enough to get some of them cleaned up and taken care of. I’m no medical expert here, just a thought I had. Sanitation is huge at this stage to keep the survivors healthy. Clean water will be a big factor here also. We’ll see over the next few weeks how this plays out–hopefully they’ll be able to keep health issues under control.
What I don’t want is to watch all the news coverage in shock and come away no better prepared in our own families. And so I ask, what can we learn? What is one more thing you or I could do to be better prepared? What observations have you made?
http://foodstorageandsurvival.com/what-can-we-learn/