BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

**Beezer** · 11-17-2022, 09:06 AM

Wow, love that fire pit!

**Airbornesapper07** · 11-18-2022, 03:44 AM

Home gardening basics: How to keep composting during the winter

Thursday, November 17, 2022 by: Zoey Sky
420VIEWS

(Natural News) Some gardeners may think that it’s not worth it to keep composting as winter comes around, but maintaining your composting efforts even during the cold months is key if you want fertile soil and healthy crops the next year. (h/t to OldWorldGardenFarms.com)
Don’t let the cold deter you from composting. Once you figure out what you need to do, it’s easier to keep your compost pile going late into the winter months.
You can also take the time to save and store additional ingredients to improve next spring’s compost pile.
You can never have enough compost. By keeping your composting efforts going throughout winter, your plants and soil will be healthier next year. (Related: Home gardening tips: A beginner’s guide to composting.)
Winter composting tips

Follow the simple tips below to keep your compost pile going during winter.
How to keep a compost pile working longer

First, don’t give up on your compost pile too early in winter. As organic matter decomposes, it naturally generates heat. And this is key to keeping your compost pile active even after the thermometer begins to drop below freezing as cold weather starts.
You can also keep your compost pile warm by adding a layer of extra insulation on top. This helps keep heat in.
Place a 12- to 18-inch blanket of straw or shredded grass clippings on top of your compost pile. Doing this can help prevent the pile from freezing over by several weeks or even months.
To improve this layer of insulation, cover the insulating layer of straw with a heavy-duty black tarp. The plastic tarp will protect your winter compost from snow, ice and rain.

The tarp will also keep the moisture in the pile from drying out too quickly.
A black tarp is ideal because black absorbs heat. And whatever winter rays the sun provides, the black tarp will help heat up the pile underneath more.
You should also make sure that the pile is large enough to retain heat for as long as possible.
A compost pile should be at least three feet in length and three feet in width to generate enough heat for decomposition. A small pile won’t be able to hold enough heat to keep it from freezing, even on slightly cold nights.
Choose the best winter location for your compost pile

The winter location of your compost pile is also key to its success. During winter, sunlight is crucial to generating enough heat for a compost pile, even if it’s filtered sunlight on a cloudy day.
Unless your compost pile is in bins, it can be difficult to move around during winter. This is why it’s important to select the best spot if you’re planning to keep a compost pile going in winter.
If you have a compost bin, locate the front of the bin and make it face a southern-facing location. This is one of the best ways to help heat the pile naturally during winter.
Feed and turn your pile properly

To keep a pile going as long as possible, you need to feed it and turn it. Without new materials to heat up the pile, it will quickly slow down its heating capacity.
Prevent this by adding as many fresh vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and eggshells as possible.
If you have chickens or rabbits, you can also add their “hot” manure. These things are considered “greens” in a compost pile and will help increase heat and decomposition.
Make sure you chop up kitchen scraps as finely as possible. The smaller the compost pieces, the faster they will decompose and generate heat.
You can also add bread, crackers or pasta to compost.
Don’t add dairy, meat, seafood, oil, grease and lard to your compost.
During summer, most gardeners will just throw their scraps on top of the pile. But in winter, you should dig additional scraps into the middle of the pile. This gives the fresh green material a better chance to heat up. Digging also adds oxygen to the core, which is crucial for your compost pile’s success.
Digging fresh materials in throughout winter also protects the pile from wild animals looking for food. After digging, put the insulation layer and tarp back in place.
Lastly, turn the pile often. Turning the pile several times every week and continuing to add kitchen scraps adds both oxygen and fuel to the mix.
If you don’t feed and turn your compost pile regularly in the winter, it will freeze much faster from the outside in. The cold materials at the edge of the pile won’t get enough heat to compete with the cold air temperature.
But if you regularly turn the pile and add scraps to the middle, you help keep the heat distributed for as long as possible.
Despite your best efforts, even the most closely-guarded pile will eventually freeze as the weather gets colder and this is normal.
If this happens to your pile, don’t stop your composting efforts. While the pile is frozen, you can continue to save compost materials through the coldest part of the winter months.
When the weather is warm again, you can use up all the materials you saved during winter. Store the material in five-gallon buckets with sealed lids while waiting for warm weather.
Save compost pile materials like coffee grounds and eggshells. Store both the coffee grounds and eggshells in large freezer bags in your freezer, then add to them as you save up more of the materials.
Crush or pulverize the eggshells before adding them to save space in the bag. The freezer will keep both materials from molding.
When spring comes around, add the eggshells and coffee grounds to your compost pile with the rest of the materials in the buckets.
Keep adding to your compost pile during winter so you can boost garden soil quality and grow strong, healthy plants in spring.
Visit HomeGardeningNews.com for more tips on how to maintain a thriving home garden.
Watch the video below to find out why you need coffee grounds in your garden.

This video is from the Frozen In Time channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:

Home gardening basics: How to remove worms from your compost pile.
Home gardening basics: Why you should start making DIY fertilizer for your garden.
Home gardening tips: How to grow flowers and vegetables in bucket planters.
Sources include:
OldWorldGardenFarms.com
CreativeVegetableGardener.com
Brighteon.com

Home gardening basics: How to keep composting during the winter – NaturalNews.com

**Airbornesapper07** · 11-18-2022, 03:49 AM

Winter survival: Ways to stay warm when the power goes out

Thursday, November 17, 2022 by: Zoey Sky
730VIEWS

(Natural News) If you were unprepared during the Texas power crisis of 2021, learn from your mistakes and start prepping today. Don’t wait until the next disaster before you get more food and water for your stockpile.
If you’re worried about a winter power outage in your area, learn how to effectively stay warm without power so you can keep your family safe and comfortable after disaster strikes. (h/t to TheSurvivalMom.com)
Here are different ways to stay warm in winter during a power outage:
Stay warm using low-tech equipment

Try some of these options if you need to stay warm during a winter power outage:
Set up a tent in a room that is connected to a bathroom and spend time or sleep inside the tent.
If you don’t own a tent, drape blankets over a large table in a makeshift tent for the whole family.
Make a “Buddy burner” to light up a room and provide a small amount of heat for several people.
A DIY Buddy burner can also be used to heat food indoors during a power outage.
To make a Buddy Burner, you will need:

Corrugated cardboard
A box cutter or sharp knife
An empty and clean tuna can (or cat food can)
Old crayons or broken candles
An empty and clean soup can

Steps:

Peel the paper off the old crayons or break the candles into small chunks.
Take a small pot, fill it with several inches of water and heat it on the stove.
Place the wax from the crayons or candles into the soup can. Fill it only halfway or so.
Place the can with the wax into the hot water in the pot and keep the burner low. Let the water simmer so you have a makeshift double boiler. The water will heat and melt the wax, while the can prevents the wax from spilling into the water.
Ask someone to stir the melting wax with a twig from outside.
Use the box cutter or knife to carefully cut the corrugated cardboard into strips. Make sure the width of the strips is only slightly less than the depth of the tuna can. The cardboard should also be cut across the corrugation. This means along the long sides of each strip you should see through the small “tubes” of paper to the other side.
Place the cardboard in the tuna can and wrap the strips along the inner walls. Wear a glove to protect your hands because the inside rim of the can may be sharp.
Keep adding strips of cardboard, and keep going around in smaller circles until you fill the entire can with cardboard. You’ll see nothing but a spiral of small holes if you look down into the can when it is filled.
The wax should be completely melted by now. Use an oven mitt because the can may be hot and carefully pour the melted wax into the tuna can. Fill all of the little holes in the cardboard. If you run out of wax before the tuna can is full, melt some more.
When you’re done, set the Buddy burner aside to let the wax cool and harden.

To use the Buddy burner, light a match and use it to light the wax. Soon, you’ll have a good flame rising up from the burner.
If you’re going to cook using the Buddy burner, don’t place your soup pot directly on the burner because this will smother the flame and get melted wax all over the bottom of the pot.
Instead, get a couple of small bricks or a few large rocks and bring them inside. Place the bricks on either side of the burner or put the rocks in a triangle around it so you have a steady place to rest the pot and suspend it above the flame.
The Buddy burner will burn long enough to let you make a pot of soup or boil water.
Extinguish the flame after you’re done cooking by taking a square of aluminum foil and crimping it down over the top of the burner. You could also place a pot lid over the burner.
Leave doors and windows open so the fumes can escape to the outside and not accumulate inside your home.
Keep hand and feet warmers inside jacket pockets, gloves or shoes.
Use an indoor-safe portable stove to prepare small meals. Serving your family hot food can help boost morale.
If you have a fireplace, maintain a good-sized fire throughout the whole day. If you can’t use the fireplace, close the damper tightly to block cold air from entering your home. You should also invest in a carbon monoxide (CO) detector with battery backup to protect your family from CO poisoning.
Make an alcohol stove from an Altoids tin or other metal tin box to keep your hands warm.
Wrap yourself in one or more blankets.
To stay warm if you have to move about, wrap fleece blankets around your waist or under your arms and secure them with safety pins. You can also use a blanket scarf or a shawl instead, but don’t overload to the point where you excessively sweat because that will pull heat away from your body.
If you have a gas range, boil water and pour it into a hot water bottle. Hold the bottle to stay warm. If you have small children, wrap the bottle in a towel so they don’t burn themselves.
Make an apple box stove to cook food and stay warm without electricity.
When it’s time for bed, sleep in the warmest sleeping bag you own.
Put bricks or large rocks in your fireplace and heat them. Once the rocks are warm, remove them using tongs. Wrap the warm rocks in blankets to warm beds and yourself. (Related: Prepper tips and tricks: How to stay warm in winter using cayenne peppers.)
Stay warm by wearing weather-appropriate clothing

These options are best if you have access to plenty of blankets and winter clothing.
Wear fleece-lined pants or fleece-lined tights. Fleece is a great material that will help you stay warm without electricity.
Wear wool socks and a wool cap the day whole day.
Wear layers of clothes, including long underwear.
Wear socks and shoes indoors and don’t stand or rest your feet on a bare floor with tiles, concrete or other materials that conduct cold. Either wear socks or place your bare feet on a rug. This helps minimize conductive cooling. If you have bare floors and not enough rugs, put blankets or towels on the floor in areas where people usually walk and spend a lot of time.
Before winter hits, shop for cold-weather clothing in second-hand clothing stores. You can also purchase cold-weather clothing from outdoor or sporting goods stores and online stores.
How to stay warm without using electricity

Here are more tips for staying warm when the power goes out:
Cover uninsulated hardwood or vinyl floors with throw rugs or blankets. The estimated heat loss through floors is at least about 10 percent.
Hang heavy blankets over windows and exterior doors. Don’t forget to hang blankets over glass sliding doors.
Spend most of the day and night inside the warmest room in your house. Close off the warm room to the rest of the house.
Cover all windows with bubble wrap as an insulator.
Block drafts under doors by cutting the legs off of a pair of old tights and stuffing socks into it. Lay the stuffed tights at the base of doors where you feel cold air coming through. Alternatively, you can buy door draft stoppers.
Prevent pipes from freezing and bursting by wrapping vulnerable pipes with a heating cable.
Since heat rises, it’s best to spend most of your time upstairs in a well-insulated room.
Invest in an indoor safe radiant propane heater that has an oxygen depletion sensor and accidental tip-over safety shut-off. Your home should also have a propane and a CO detector.
Stay warm by changing locations

If you have to bug out, here are some tips that will help you stay warm as you change locations:
Stay in your car with the heater on. Keep in mind that this is a short-term solution. You should only do this while your car is parked in a well-ventilated garage or in an otherwise open area. Use this time to also charge your phones and electronics.
If things are bad, check with your town or city to see if there are any public warming sites in the area.
Other ways to stay warm without power

Here are other ways to stay warm after the power goes out:
Carry babies and toddlers in a sling or other baby carrier and help them stay warm using your body heat.
If you are well enough, stay warm by exercising. Make sure your exercise routine is vigorous enough to increase body heat, but not to the point where it makes you sweat too much, which is counterproductive when it is very cold.
Use your Buddy burner or any off-grid cooking method to make a cup of hot tea, soup or stew. The warm beverage will help warm you from within.
If you have pets like cats or dogs, make sure they also have winter clothes on and cuddle with them to stay warm.
Before disaster strikes this winter, prepare your survival stockpile and make sure your family can stay warm even without electricity.
Watch the video below to learn how to make a block rocket stove.

This video is from the wallytron101 channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:

Emergency preparedness: How to survive a power outage.
Prepper must-haves: What to stock up on before a summer or winter power outage.
LIGHTS OUT: 20 Things you need to do during a power outage.
Sources include:
TheSurvivalMom.com 1
TheSurvivalMom.com 2
Brighteon.com

Winter survival: Ways to stay warm when the power goes out – NaturalNews.com