29 Essential Tips for the New Prepper: “Start Small. Develop Your Skills. Create a Plan”

by | Mar 25, 2016 | Aftermath, Conspiracy Fact and Theory, Emergency Preparedness | 287 comments

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    Whether you are just starting out with prepping and are figuring out what to focus on first, or whether you are a veteran prepper tracing over your plans for potential flaws, you can always make improvements.

    These videos can help you cover the essentials, boil down to the most important factors and start actually putting your preps into action.

    Don’t wait until the trouble starts, because it will already be too late.

    How would you survive if the food supplies stall out, the economy and digital grid crashes, or para-government forces unleash a round-up plan?

    Have you made your family as secure as they can be with stored goods, equipment and a fool proof bug out plan for continuity of life off the grid?

    There are some good answers on where to start and how to account for just about everything, but the point is that you must start somewhere.

    For beginners, the best tip may be to start small and build up from there as you learn what you’re doing:

    10 Tips for New Preppers: Supplies, Survival food and Emergency Essentials

    Survival Know How explains his Top 10 Tips For New Preppers:

    1. Start small. There is no need to prepare for the zombie Apocalypse if you don’t have enough supplies to last you 3 days without power.
    2. Start with Food and Water. To often new preppers want to focus on guns, knives and ammo. It may not be as glamorous but your first preps should be food and water.
    3. Develop your skills. Prepping is not just about what you buy but is also about developing your skill set and expanding your knowledge.
    4. Build a prepper community. Talk about prepping to your friends, co-workers and family.
    5. Tailor your preps to your geographical location. If you live up north you need to focus on keeping warm in the winter, if you live down south you need to focus on staying cool in the summer.
    6. Develop a plan B. AKA a Bug Out Bag. Bugging in should always be your plan A. Only Bug Out if you absolutely need to.
    7. Practice with your preps. Having preps is not enough, you need to be proficient with them and know how to use them when shit hits the fan.
    8. Use List to stay organised. Create prepper supplies list, emergency food list and anything else. This will help you stay organized and buy everything you need.
    9. Get into shape. When the shit hits the fan and you are forced to fend for your self you want to be in the best shape possible.
    10. Learn First Aid. Skills in first aid will literally save your and your family life.

    Even if you have everything you need to survive at home, there are many bad situations that could force you to leave your home and seek survival somewhere else – if you can make it.

    Here are some important factors to consider when planning to bug out. What will the roads and highways look like during disaster? Likely they won’t be easy to travel on, and could be downright dangerous. Foreknowledge of the back roads and other alternative means of travel are essential if you are in a serious situation.

    Setting up cache sites along your bug out route could also be vital to your survival plan, particularly if your travel plans hit a snag.

    Bugging Out: What to Know Before You Go! 19 Tips for Preppers for SHTF Escape Planning! 🙂

    The Healthy Prepper explains her 19 Tips for Preppers for SHTF Escape Planning:

    1. Know your routes.
    2. Have multiple forms of travel. (car, bike, foot, zodiac etc.)
    3. Preload car with bug out bag
    4. Bury caches along routs.
    5. Know your final destination.
    6. Lay low and blend in.
    7. Choose off roads, back roads etc.
    8. Sleep in a different location than you cook your food or build a fire.
    9. Have back up fuel on the car.
    10. Keep bug out vehicle maintained and full of gas.
    11. Know when it is time to go.
    12.Learn to use maps, compass, star navigation
    13. Expect to get lost forced off route.
    14.Avoid ridge lines and tops of hills.
    15. Have alternative bug out locations in mind if the first one does not pan out.
    16. Practice you bug out plan with your family.
    17. Know where water, food, fuel can be found along your bug out routes.
    18. Be prepared for interactions with others.
    19. Be prepared someone may have already pillaged for bug out location or has already set up camp there.

    Realistically, you may not be able to cover all of these points, and may find some of them to be contradictions with your real world situation. Regardless, you must prepare for all eventualities.

    The point is to consider the best information you can, match it up with the realities of your area, your home, your financial situation and the reliability of the people around you (or lack thereof).

    Plan ahead, and avoid becoming paralyzed by fear and inaction if and when the SHTF.

    Read More:

    The Prepper’s Blueprint: The Complete Guide on Where to Start and What to Do

    5 Mistakes Every New Prepper Makes

    12 Bad Strategies That Will Get Preppers Killed

    Report: Feds Take Down Preppers Accused of Stockpiling Guns and Ammunition: “Federal Conspiracy Charges”

    URGENT ON GOLD… as in URGENT

    It Took 22 Years to Get to This Point

    Gold has been the right asset with which to save your funds in this millennium that began 23 years ago.

    Free Exclusive Report
    The inevitable Breakout – The two w’s

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      287 Comments

      1. Bob’s Red Mill sells some of the highest quality non GMO food. They can be found on the Internet at Bobs Red Mill.com, leave out the spaces of course. I ordered two 25 pound bags for $95, includes$20 shipping. I got Red Lentils and organic steal cut oats. I have a store that sells water for 25cents a gallon that filters it three times and you pour your own. Of course I have water filters of my own, but this saves time and effort.

        If you haven’t seen TTAC the truth about Cancer on you tube, check it out. There are two episodes available now. In April there will be more. But this free series is only up for a short time and then you have to buy the DVDS.

        • Exactly. Quality non GMO food in quantity is the best investment you can make with your food dollars. Way better than buying canned garbage. The freeze dried stuff is ok for fall back, but shouldn’t be your main stock if the SHTF….

          Don’t waste money on junk.

          • Bugging out basically means you may abandon 80% of your preps unless you got a semi truck to carry it all. Realistically with one pack on your back, a pair of walking sticks, hydration, filter, knife guns, papers..You are prolonging your survival until you reach a more permanent or safer destination. Go practice “Stealth Camping.” Lots of good vids on ytube. Get stealthy with a lean 2 off a country road in a cluster of bushes. Where ever you can find cover, then learn to Shut the hell up. Voices can be heard for hundreds of yards away.. Don’t attract, but camp stealthy and be on guard low to the ground. Packs a dozen sand bags and a small shovel. Build a fort.. Your cover that may help stop bullets. Maybe set up an early signal warning trip wire. If anybody comes within 50 yards of your secret camp. You will be stumbling across many unprepared zombies, so me careful nobody is following you, to kill you to take your bag of cool stuff, they don’t have.

            BTW/ Those who would rather die clutching their house full of preps in the cities, and fail to leave the Cities in time, greed will kill you.

            And after living Out in the Country for a while, the Folks out here shoot guns daily, and are not afraid to use them. And Absolutely do NOT Want you Unprepared Dumb City Folks migrating to our property and squatting. Trespassers will be shot.. Shoot Shovel and shut up. There are discussions from locals about blockading bridged from the Free Shit Army of Hungry Hoard Walkers in a mass crisis. Know your choke points, and where to stop migrations, out of the cities.. Put up official looking signs that say Free Food and Water at the Local Police Station downtown. They will be so over whelmed by crowds they won’t mess with you as you slip out of town on your BIKE and Bike Trailer. Get to know back roads and get a really detailed County Road Maps with all the back roads and trails, and routes to your BOL or destination.

            ~WWTI…

            • WWTI

              On the subject of Bugging out. Age and Physical Mobility will be a major factor unless you flee from a massive, no other way out, problem. Fire Storm?
              Myself, I am staying put and defend till the end. I have put plenty of thought into the 30,60 and 90 day time intervals and what unconditioned and unprepared people will do.
              Another area I have researched is the introduction of countermeasures/warning devices, for those willing to take the chance to run up on me.
              It can be as easy as turning on your sprinklers to distract and nothing like being wet in cooler temperatures. Make them move from cover.
              Guess everyone will have to pick what type of warfare they wish to fight.

            • Fail to leave the cities due to “greed?” How, pray tell, do you know what peoples’ motivations are? Truth is, Fernando Aguirre, of Surviving Argentina, says the cities are SAFER in a Argentinian style meltdown, given that rural types are isolated and easily picked off. Truth is, where, exactly, am I to go? Get on the road and drive to until my gas runs out in the middle of nowhere? Spend a million bucks and buy some expensive bug out property? (I do have a BOL, but not developed yet as I wish). Am I supposed to abandon an elderly mother and mentally handicapped brother? I found your post very unsettling and presumptuous. I do have intermediate plans outside of my BOL in Nova Scotia – we all should – but there are a variety of possible scenarios, and even if you choose a given scenario (say, EMP) probably every city will be have variation, people will have made different levels of preparation, defense, opsec, etc etc. It’s not a one size fits all. And once you the road you ARE a refugee IF and until you get to your BOL… which MAY have already been taken over, or had its supplies stolen… or you may have to defend from overwhelming odds from a mass number of gang members who find you. And finally, part of the reason I would remain as long as I could is to help a number of homes our church runs for the mentally retarded. Preparedness, self sufficiency, etc. is important, but survivalism at the expense of one’s essential humanity is not part of MY equation, as we are ALL going to die, period.

              Now, maybe I have misread your post. If so, I apologize. But on the face of it, to call someone remaining for the reasons outlined as “greedy” is a grossly unfair statement.

              I’m really glad for people that don’t need to work, can live where their BOL is, or have money to do full BOL including, I suppose, their own personal Learjet to get there. But for the rest of us, we have to make comprises with what resources we have, what family and job obligations we have, what threats we see looming on the horizon, etc.

              • Test,good for you and others who due to helping others cannot perhaps hit the road/trail/woods/brush.Tis helping others (2&4 footed)one of the main reasons I prepare to best of ability/try and get folks on board prepping now.I go the survival just for survival and no other reason see no point in,well,surviving.

                That said,in your situation I hope the homes set up to aid others at least have some basic food/water issues covered.I can see going around to help them and defend em if necc. but adding in trying to get em the basics,eh,asking a bit much.

                I being single am open to the bunker in/hit the road,will see what the fates drop on me in ways of tests/others that will decide me fate.

              • I think that the author was addressing those individuals that would remain in the city ONLY because they won’t let go of their preps and run for their lives. MANY people–probably not a few here, will be like yourself, living on a budget, caring for family that can’t just run off into hills when trouble strikes. Canadians don’t seem to have the same propensity for violence many on the States do, and for this reason, remaining in place may make more sense for you, than someone living in Detroit or Chicago…

              • You are the kind of person i would very willingly help in a SHTF scenario. If you will not abandon those who need and love you, then you are MY kind of SHTF person. Wish I had your email. I have a dog sanctuary and also will NOT abandon those who rely upon me. And let’s face it……I could not travel with my crew. Until recently we had 29 dogs, 1 cat, and 3 birds. We have since lost some to age…..but still have 26 dogs and now 14 small birds.
                I would rather die WITH those I love deeply. I would never allow them to fend for themselves while I try to save my butt.

                • Why are you so sure you ‘can’t travel with your crew?’ I’ve moved my mother from one state to another, more than once, with at least 25 cats in a trailer. She has at least that many now, and a few dogs, so if TSHTF, I’ll just bring her up to my own land, for I already live in the least populated county in my state. She may not be willing to come – she’s a moonbat liberal and doesn’t always see sense – so I’ll just sling her over my shoulder and take some muscle with me to get the cats loaded up. 🙂 You no doubt already understand that you can do this much; I just came in to stop you from worrying and being sad about it. Worrying saps your energy and you must avoid discouragement like the deadly toxin it is – for I really really want to see good people like you make it through. Thoughts are real forces. That’s not just a turn of phrase; it is a fact.

                  Without those we love, what would we be ‘saving’ anyway? Your best option is to secure some networks for you and yours, other people like you. Are you doing this online, someplace where you can actually get in touch with each other? I know we’re all properly paranoid these days, even of each other here but you just have to ask yourself: what are you most afraid of? Learning to get along with new people is something most people who grew up in a decent home learnt in childhood – with their own unruly siblings, in some cases. It’s harder now because people in general seem to have so much worse manners than they used to have but it can be managed for a good cause.

                  Locally, you might want to find out how many of those attending meetings of say, Animal Defense League, ASPCA, local no-kill shelters, even PETA and ALF, have the same pressing concerns that you do. You’ll know how to recognize the type you want. You’re not alone with your problem; that’s the most important thing to bear in mind. There’s something of which I often remind myself, and it may be only horseshit but I prefer to believe it so I stick to it: you are never given a burden in this life that you’re not up to the job of carrying. That’s not to say you always have to carry it by yourself; to the contrary, if you must have help, you’ll find it, maybe in the very last place you might have been looking. Just keep your eyes open and be ready to take advantage of an opportunity when the universe sends you one. None of us is as powerless in emergency situations as we tend to think we are.

              • You may need to leave the weak and elderly behind, along with pets. Or you can stay, and die along side, with them. These may be the choices you may need to make. Fleeing the cities early will save you. Tell the live-in, mother-in-law old hag to watch the pets as you have to go to the store. Little does she know your Bug Out Bags are already packed in the car and you are hitting the highway.

                ~WWTI…

                • The worst kind of prepare is one that has no moral values. Leonard and Gabe are the type of people most would prefer to “have their back”, not a self centered, heartless POS.

                  • Dave in Idaho
                    ditto.

                • You are an ass, of the worst kind.
                  I would die with my loved ones, readily, before ever helping the likes of you.
                  You represent everything evil in this nation.

                  • Gabe
                    Ditto.
                    but it is better to see the true colors than have them pretend.

            • There is some dumb city people, but there are dumber people that just told the world that they have years of preps stored in their country homes. Looks like the best place to bug out to is the country, a pickup truck loaded with flaming bales of straw aimed at the farm house should soften up that target. Easy pickings.

              • 2 wolverine….That would get someone a 168g headache around here. I don’t know where you got the idea farmers are easy targets….most are meaner than a rattler from decades of hard labor.

              • Well, you simply donot know rural people. The driver of that flaming truck would have brain splatter all over the inside of said burning truck before said truckgot close enough to do any harm.
                Rural folk have no issue what-so-ever shooting rabid animals in the head!!!!!!!!!!!!

            • Anytime that you ‘feel’ or suspect you are being followed, immediately (using a compass), “CIRCLE BACK” and come up from behind them …then take it from there.

              • That should work great , if you weren’t being followed..lol

                • I have done it.

              • Equorial
                a wounded black bear circled around on my dad when I was a young girl. Almost got him too. Good trick. For no reason my dad turned around and shot the bear. Dropped 6 feet from him. We aren’t the only sneaky ones.

            • I agree that Bugging Out is a last option; only if there is no other way to stay alive. I would rather put my time and resources into two or three stocked sites than to develop elaborate preps for a long, hazardous trek.

              Some of those checklist items are unintentionally amusing. It’s hard enough to convince a friend or relative to stockpile food and water; try persuading them to do this other stuff!

              “Know your destination” — I guarantee that 99% of people bugging out in a crisis will be fleeing blindly and have no secure destination.

              “Know your routes” / “Learn to use maps” — Good luck convincing anyone to do this; I’m the only person I know who still carries a box of maps in the car; everyone else is utterly dependent on a GPS system.

              “Bury caches” — even for serious preppers, this can be next to impossible. Try digging into the ground in my State and you’ll quickly find that it’s pretty much a solid mass of rocks and tree roots. You can’t dig down more than a half inch without a backhoe and I’m not exaggerating.

              Plus, this isn’t 1941 with Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan casually camping out at the nearest handy location in “Meet John Doe”. Abandoned homesteads and fields that were only accessible by rutted back roads when I was young, are now occupied house lots and residential development complexes. There’s a lot less open land, a lot more people (and traffic), and a lot more eyes watching everything that goes on.

              What kind of life-or-death crisis would send people fleeing with nothing more than what they can carry, yet still allow them to travel freely in motor vehicles? Advice about pre-loading cars and carrying extra fuel sounds reasonable on paper, but unless you have a three-hour head start on the rest of the entire human race, you are likely to find yourself trapped within an endless line of gridlocked traffic; complete with stalled vehicles, hysterical people, and no workable Plan B. Even if you had bicycles in your vehicle, as soon as you started unloading them to ride away, you would be swarmed by literally hundreds of panic-stricken people that immediately recognize that you have an invaluable item that they want for themselves.

              In a real-life crisis — one bad enough to warrant a total and irrevocable Bug-Out — most folks would only survive if they acted instantly and had a very short distance to cover. If you have to round up your family, convince them that This Is It, cram half a ton of supplies into your SUV, and head for The Ole Fishin Hole that’s two hundred miles away, you’re probably not going to make it.

              Even for preppers, bugging out in real life would be very dangerous and difficult. For anyone else, it would be just one more of the many ways that death will come.

          • Twinkies are not junk food !!! Twinkies are survival food, likely to outlast the shelf life of a Big Mac !!! Times will be tough in SHTF. Twinkies are HAPPY FOOD !!! Buy a box. Eat s-l-o-w-l-y. And have chocolate candy bars. 🙂

            Seriously, when the real SHTF happens, no one is going anywhere. Be there to get there, so find your strategic location now, where you want to be when SHTF and move there when you can even if you must adjust your life and lifestyle.

            While I still believe that there is lots of time before REAL SHTF, understanding that economic recession / depression is NOT SHTF, there are Seven Primary Rules for SHTF REAL ESTATE AND SHTF SURVIVAL:

            1,) Elevation, elevation, elevation;
            2.) Water nearby, (spring, creek, small lake or reservoir)
            3.) Away from all three coasts and the Great Lakes.
            4.) Access to game, fish, and fuel.
            5.) Solar/Wind power, solar generator, solar e bike ($500- 1,000 if you can), solar oven. Rechargeable batteries w/charger among your preps, w/ solar lanterns.
            6.) Both power and hand tools.
            7.) Guns and ammo.

            Be there to get there. I cannot stress this enough. !!!

            • DK , Your right about the twinkies , i keep some cans of chocolate pudding , comfort food is important.
              People need these things to remind them life goes on , eating MRE’s is depressing . Just my opinion .

              • Buncha bags of M&Ms will make somebody smile if things are really bad,
                I dont think anyone will turn their nose up at ANY food of ANY sort if theres nothing on the shelves.

                • bags of m & m’s would not last long enough to see teoftawki at my house. no will power. I’d love to store sweets, but can’t leave them alone. Any ideas?

                  • Janie – try vacuum sealing them in jars, with O2 packs if you have them, putting the filled jars back into the box they came in and mixing them in with other canned goods or other preps so they are out of sight. Then forget they are there and don’t tell the rest of the family of their existence. Remember, out of sight – out of mind. Just don’t store them where they might get hot in the summer. I have some candy stored this way. Some of it is 5 or 6 years old. We tested one of the oldest jars and it was just as fresh tasting as the day it was sealed.

                    • Janie,perhaps the stores of basics so if time permits to make sweets/comfort food.I would say if not actually fighting for yourself/others times might benefit from the fun of creating and eating said goodies,just a little pick me up and not just ready to go which will tempt you.Little bouts of happiness will go a long way towards keeping ones spirits up,for me,that would be a nice hot solar shower bag and bar of soap.

                  • Jane: Cravings for sweets (and fats) is related to diet. Understand that sugar feeds certain bacteria and fungi within the body that will, eventually, cause cancer.

                    These cravings will go away with a complete diet of fruits and veggies (beans, broccoli) supplemented by a one a day vitamin and mineral; and certain very beneficial spices: garlic, ginger, turmeric, milk thistle, LOTS of vitamin C, D3 and pomegranate.

                    Walking is the BEST exercise. SWimming a close second. The body needs exercise every day to expedite your metabolism and flush your system of toxins that would otherwise build up, clog the body, and generate disease. What the body cannot assimilate and excrete it stores as fat.

                    Fat craves sugar. 🙁

                    • That’s all well and good, Durangokidd. But sometimes you just gotta have chocolate! It is well known that chocolate is a mood booster, and in stressful times, that piece of chocolate will do a far more to lift your spirits than that stalk of broccoli. It doesn’t hurt to have some chocolate, or other sweets, put away for the coming bad times.

                      I’ve tried diets like you described and after a couple months, they became very boring to me and I lost interest. I find I do better when nothing is excluded, and everything is done in moderation. When I start excluding food groups of any kind, I start feeling deprived. That deprivation leads to craving. Craving leads to excess. So I stay with moderation.

                  • Stockpile food staples instead of prepared foods. Rather than candy etc., have supplies of unsweetened baker’s chocolate; sugar (or other sweetener of choice); flour; powdered milk; powdered eggs; and while fats/oils don’t store well over time, hopefully you will have some on hand as part of your ordinary pantry fare.

                    With ‘component’ supplies like this, all you need is a heat source to make cookies and brownies. Some “no-bake” cookie recipes are pretty good also.

                    • KV: that is the way I think now. But I cook from scratch on a daily basis.

                • Candies for the kids in us AND the ‘real’ kids.

            • Little known historical fact:

              Fully intact Twinkies, with absolutely NO deterioration in nutritional value*, have been found in both mummies in the Pyramids, as well as Neanderthal grave sites.

              *That’s because, of course, there is no nutritional value to start with. And the Neanderthals are those leftists that still think socialism actually works.

            • A bag of Cheetos will last almost indefinitely.

              The perfect survival food.

              • Smokey: You are a better man than I am. I cannot eat styrofoam !!! 🙂

              • What about Frito corn chips? Les Stroud used one corn chip to start a fire! Not joking, either!

            • “When discussing the shelf life of Twinkies, the limiting factor is the life of the shelf.”

              I have read many recipes for Twinkies and articles describing the ingredients, but none of them match what I was told when I was in the business of selling such things. I was told that the cream filling for Twinkies was nothing but lard, sugar, and flavoring with a lot of air whipped into it. The filling in Oreos was also lard and sugar, but now they use a vegetable substitute for the lard.

              Lard is usually kept at room temperature for extended periods of time, so I can see how Twinkies could exist substantially unchanged for a long time.

              Regular Hershey bars will last for a decade or more. I ate the last of my Y2K stash just a few years ago. Because of temperature changes, some of the butterfat had come to the surface of the bars, but they were still good, and I’m still alive after eating a pound or more of them.

              I still have some Millennium edition M&Ms stored as an experiment. I will open some at the 20-year mark to see if they’re edible. If we’re still here in 4 years, I’ll let you know my results.

            • Why stay away from the great lakes?

              • Two potential scenarios: 1) The New Madrid fault has many secondary faults, generating a host of possible problems. 2) The geology is such that the rocks multiply the effect of a quake there and over a wider area. 3) The Bible (Prophets) states that the Earth will wobble “to and fro like a drunkard”.

                When this occurs I expect the Great Lakes to slosh around like a giant bathtub. Lake Michigan is 600 feet deep; Lake Superior is deeper I believe. I wouldn’t want to live along the shore, as I once did.

                Cadillac Michigan might be the exception. Bring your skies. 🙂

          • Food from the riverboat Bertrand, wrecked in ***1865***

            The cargo found on the excavated Bertrand…include(d): dried and salted beef, mutton and pork; oysters; pepper sauce; strawberries, peaches and peanuts; mustard from France; many bottles of whiskey including bourbon; brandy and brandied cherries; and medicine bottles… In 1974, samples of canned food from the wreck, including brandied peaches, oysters, plum tomatoes, honey, and mixed vegetable, were tested by the National Food Processors Association. Although their appearance, smell and vitamin content had deteriorated, there was no trace of microbial growth and the food was determined to be still safe to eat, per Blumenthal, Dale (September 1990). “The Canning Process; Old Preservation Technique Goes Modern”. FDA Consumer.

            Not that I would want to test preps that had stored that long, but just an interesting note for you. Google this for more information.

            • In the interests of Scientific Knowledge,
              I’ll help test the bourbon.

          • Happy Easter to all here.

        • Thank you you B from CA!

          • 1) think basic needs, think survival.
            2) don’t assume your bug out location is where you’ll go/stay. Be prepared to go mobile.
            3) stash essentials in different locations just in case.
            4) stay quiet, be smart. Stay away from people/ crowds
            5) if you must be around others, blend in. Hide in plain sight
            6) only carry what you need
            7) DONT PANIC. It will get you clipped.

        • Thanks, B. Looking at TTAC now.

        • I continue to be VERY glad that I have my bug out property in Nova Scotia. And yes, Americans CAN buy property, no problem, which also gets your money out of the view, largely, of sue-happy money grubbers. Added benefit: very fertile land, lots of water, as it’s on the Gulf Stream, not super cold in the winter, prices are NOT in a bubble like much of the rest of Canada. Halifax is big enough to have everything, including two universities and an international airport, but not too big (maybe 1/2 million), and there are NO large cities nearby. Google the Muslim population – it’s near zero, and I’m sure Halifax – which is not where you would live anyway – is not a destination in a SHTF situation. The Canadian dollar? About 70-75 cents to the USD. Your money goes a long way. If you look at a map of an EMP strike over the central part of the US, which would be most likely, Nova Scotia is completely outside the radius of what would likely be affected.

          Personally, I have land in Cape Breton, near St. Peters, four hours outside of Halifax, near St Peters – beautiful land, near the ocean but on Bras d’Or Lake which is where the US Yacht Assn. (I think that is the title, I’m not a boater)has a headquaters (i.e., if there is no SHTF, it’s STILL a really beautiful place to live – in fact Travel and Leisure Magazine listed Cape Breton as THE top island destination in N. America http://dcba-info.com/frontpage/cape-breton-island-listed-as-1-island-destination-in-continental-us-and-canada-by-2011-travel-leisure-readers-survey/

          Just throwing this out for people’s consideration. May not be a solution for most of you, but it may be for some. If so, I hope this helped. I used a company called Dignam, that has been around for 100 years, and sells rural Canadian land all over. I felt I got a reasonable deal.

          • Test,sounds nice but about 2 decades ago was along with some others banned from returning to canada permanently!A long story for another time but involves fighting with montreal and even a couple of mounties in said city!I believe that may have been me first time put on a real”list”!

          • Test..I don’t mean to be negative, but you had better have a damn good plan on getting there, and a back up plan too. Traveling through hostile territory can take 6 hours per mile depending on terrain….based on hunting on foot. The old saying…be there to get there is so very true. Others here that are hours away from their BOL, will have a very tough time. This all depends on the type of disaster, such as bridges blocked etc. If you cannot cross a bridge, then you are on foot. Others posted on physical conditioning, which is very important. If you don’t hike a few times a month for MILES, you will not be able to carry anything. If you have a back pack, lots of people may want whats inside.

            • You may need to leave the weak and elderly behind, along with pets. Or you can stay, and die along side, with them. These may be the choices you may need to make. Fleeing the cities early will save you. Tell the live-in, mother-in-law old hag to watch the pets as you have to go to the store. Little does she know your Bug Out Bags are already packed in the car and you are hitting the highway.

              ~WWTI…

          • Nova Scotia sounds great in the summer months but I would be dead from freezing in short order come winter. Or cabin fever by winter’s end.
            I’ve heard about the legendary mosquitoes and biting flies up there in summer. If true that would add a few challenges.
            I’ll take the tropics right here. We have less mosquitoes here than we did in Oregon. No biting flies, no poisonous snakes..although reportedly a 5 ft. boa was seen a couple hundred clicks form our location..hmm. Zoo escapees..
            Happy Easter all.

            • Happy Easter to you, too! Canada is *not* one big monolithic ice chest. The lower mainland of BC and Vancouver Island at the lower elevations get almost no snow. Toronto weather is roughly equal to that of Chicago. Halifax has an average January high of right around freezing. In Vancouver, on the other side of the country, we never even had screens on windows in the old days, that’s how few mosquitoes. And the reality is, there is no poor weather, only poor clothing. People hate winter because they under-dress for it. Cabin fever? Learn to cross country ski, snow shoe, ice skate! And versus the heat, when it is hot, there is only so much you can take off; when cold, you can always put on warmer clothes. Death by hypothermia is extremely rare, unless you are drunk, on drugs or extremely stupid. Poisonous stakes are almost non-existent in Canada.

              In terms of access, yes, a large percentage of BOLs will have problems getting to in SHTF. Advantage of Nova Scotia is boat access from anywhere on the east coast. Not too many Bloods or Crips on the high seas. And you don’t have to drive into or near places that will go up in flames like St. Louis, Atlanta, Chicago, etc. if you drive – after Boston, isn’t much population-wise the rest of the way. And as noted, other than Manitoba, it’s the only part of the country that hasn’t seen a housing bubble.

              And not melt down? Cape Breton is incredibly beautifu, Travel and Leisure Mag calling it the top island destination in N. America.

              I realize this probably isn’t for everyone, but just my suggestion, which may – or may not – be an option for others.

              Now one other option, just for your reference: Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, the largest freshwater island in the world, also is pretty cheap, and access is limited to one bridge and one ferry. However, it does get much colder there. I also know of people who live on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan. These might be solutions for those who can work remote, are retired, etc. You also get isolated – I lived on an island off Vancouver Island, and it IS very quiet. I.e., if there is no problem, and you have moved there, you might find some of these places quite isolated and, well… boring. There are a LOT of variables for each of us, all with a multiplicity of needs. I just submit my ideas for your reading pleasure. Maybe it will help a few people.

              • “when it is hot, there is only so much you can take off; when cold, you can always put on warmer clothes.”

                This made me laugh…. I’ve heard this plenty of times, and the people who say it are virtually all the same: big beefy guys who throw off enough body heat for two dray horses and a mule. I’ve worked with folks like this; 15 degrees above zero and they have on a sweatshirt, thin denim jacket, no hat or gloves — because, for them, it isn’t cold. Meanwhile I have so many layers on that I’m spherical in shape, and despite the best insulated gloves that I can find, my fingers are so frozen that they feel like they are on fire.

                I’m a skinny guy with mediocre circulation and no matter how much I wear in the winter, my core is often cold and my fingers and toes are numb/hurting — to the point where the skin cracks down to raw flesh. The line that “you can always add clothes” is BS promulgated by people like the hayburners described above, who seem puzzled –even disbelieving– that everyone in the world isn’t just like them.

                A crucial part of survival under all circumstances is to be very aware of your own needs and limitations; don’t placidly buy into someone else’s assurances that “you can always add clothes” or some other one-size-fits-all generalization that might put you in peril because it does not apply very well to you personally.

                I must say that N.S. sounds pretty darn attractive with a winter average of 32F. I’m next door in Maine, where it can go to 40 below zero and last year we had almost 100 inches of snow. An average January high of 32F sounds like the tropics to me…!

        • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjSh_esW9W4

          STATISTICS FROM DATING SITES:

          NOBODY WANTS BLACK WOMEN OR ASIAN MEN

          WHITE AMERICAN WOMEN WERE THE SECOND LEAST POPULAR WOMEN

          ASIAN WOMEN AND WHITE MEN ARE THE MOST DESIRED

        • B from CA ,you appear to be a sane,responsible, and intelligent person..How is it that you are free and on the loose in california ?

      2. Good Article, but I see only one problem with it.

        TIME

        For anybody new to prepping, and the way things are unfolding in the World at this very moment. Time is not on their side – most will need to cram like tomorrow is a final exam and they are not fully prepared for it.

        Unfortunately, that takes a lot money to get up to par. One thing for somebody to be financially set and can pull it off but … most are not.

        As is, preparing and doing something is better than nothing at all. Knowledge is what I find to be the strong suit for prepping – from basic survival skills to foraging. Learning and practicing skills will further someone … tangible necessities will come into play for those getting a late start. How much a person can afford and time to do so is another thing.

        • Time is the protocol by which God catalogs Eternity. Lots of time left til SHTF. Just don’t waste the time God gives you.

          An economic downturn is not SHTF unless you have a half a dozen kids to feed !!! 🙁

        • You don’t know the time and neither do I. Yes, we should certainly be aggressive in preparedness, but truth is, I heard these same stories right before Y2K… and read of people who sold everything and move to their BOL in 1999. Then there’s the famed survivalist Mel Tappan, a former banker who had money and moved to his BOL in Oregon to survive the coming melt down… in ****1980***. He died at his BOL as he had a heart attack and wasn’t near help. Google Tappan and learn some more.

          Don’t get me wrong. People should prepare and be self sufficient. There WILL be more crises, some moderate, and one day one will be a true civilization ending one. Be aggressive in preparing, but don’t panic and think tomorrow will be the end. It may be, but more than likely it won’t; rather, just be as aggressive as your time and money allows, and be CONSISTENT.

          • i always tell people don’t get too far from a hospital.

      3. I was in a hurry 18 years ago……Never know the Time left.

        • I hopping over to your house ….just kidding …I could resist ..Ha

        • A little over 10 years now for me since I started prepping, but I didn’t feel like I was running out of time then. Just knew that something isn’t right in this world and I should do something about it.

          18 years ago is a lot different then what we are dealing with now, in terms of this Global Fiasco. I wish we were stuck back in time 18 years ago. Much happier time then it is now.

          Hopefully I am wrong about the lack of TIME.
          Seems to be a lot of evidence growing that is pointing to the other direction though.

        • Right along with you.. at least 18 years… and still searching for that perfect prep combo… rice and beans…

          • I had to throw away rice a few months ago because it went rancid. Unless someone eats rice every single day or you store it in oxygen-free packs, it is not worth buying a large amount.

            Rancid rice is disgusting.

            • Brown?
              White stores forever

              • I just cooked a rice cooker full of white rice that had been in cupboard of our secondary home for 2 years. Just fine. Wonder ho long it takes to go bad.

                • I just used one from 06

                • About 4 years.

              • Nope, It was white rice. 25 pound bag.

                • Hows the humidity in your pantry?
                  Nothing is fool proof, things can and will happen to food stores,
                  Even with our best efforts sometimes we fail. But guess thats why its best to have backup plans or extras, for myself, living on an island is enough of a concern that i make sure i have some redundency to my plans.
                  A recent for example,
                  Had a can o spam that the date was still good, had a small dent in the lip, popped it open and it was BAD, then opened another that was about 2 years out of date and it was fine,,,,
                  Shit happens

                  • Kula, where I live it is probably average humidity. I didn’t store the rice to last forever, I just bought it and put it into a plastic bin, inside the bag it came in, and stored it in smaller plastic containers. Maybe some folks would have eaten it, I am picky. I didn’t like the smell so pitched it. My favorite rice is either Basmati rice or Jasmine rice. I just bought a 5-lb bag of Jasmine rice that should last me a year, maybe longer.

                    I had also purchased some Velveeta a few years ago and took that out recently, as well. Had to throw it away. I bought the stuff because it can store without refrigeration but the package leaked and had spots on the outside. I haven’t actually eaten Velveeta in many years but bought some a few years ago. I will not buy more, again.

                    As far as chocolate, MREs have peanut and regular M&Ms. The pure chocolate M&Ms taste fine. The peanut M&Ms taste bad to me. I have eaten them but the taste is off. If you get chocolate, buy chocolate without nuts in it.

                    I have honey from the same time I bought the Velveeta and the honey is still good and in perfect condition. It hasn’t crystallized and the container looks like I bought it yesterday.

                    I agree, Kula, shit happens.

              • K – white doesn’t store forever. We have 25 pounds of rice that has gone rancid. It was less than 5 years old. Going to see if it can be saved somehow before just dumping it in the compost pile. We didn’t have O2 packets in it because we were using it. Guess we didn’t use it fast enough.

                • Nub: exactly. I didn’t store my rice properly. I am guessing packing rice with O2 absorbers or in vacuum bags would have been adequate. Don’t buy more than you can use. I didn’t use 25 pounds of rice in 4 to 5 years. I like rice but I don’t prepare it daily. Only store what you like and what you use on a regular basis.

                  I think if I were going to store rice I would probably buy Minute Rice or Benjamin rice that is parboiled and quick to prepare. I would store it in vacuum bags. Same for instant potatoes. Why store this kind of food? As a back up. It is quick and easy to prepare with boiled water. The key, as I noted above, is to store in vacuum-sealed bags or it will go rancid.

                  • Philo – I have another 25 lbs of rice that is still good so I am going to vacuum seal that in jars with O2 packs, rather than keep it in the 5-gallon buckets it was originally stored in. I found that rice will prick the bags enough to cause it to loose its vacuum seal. That’s why I’m going with jars. My son was diagnosed as pre-diabetic last year so our consumption of white rice has slowed drastically. If it becomes necessary, I’ll use the rice as barter.

                    • Nub: that sounds smart. There are better alternatives than white rice. The key to Minute Rice or the Benjamin (forget the exact name of that item, sorry) rice is that it is easy to prepare with minimal cooking equipment. I am thinking you could pre-package rice from a big bag into 1-pound bags that would be perfect for barter or for quick cooking in an emergency situation.

                    • Pint or 1/2 pint sized jars with canning lids and rings, alongwith an oxygen absorber wouldbethe way to go. It doesn’t take many meals to use up a really small jar of white rice. If people store rice in any larger size jar they are asking for problems. Better to go small. You can get the oxygen absorbers for cheap at places that sell them. Canning lids and rings are not very expensive and can be sealed really tight by hand.
                      I have one of those small 1 quart pressure cooker pots that cook rice or beans very rapidly. Actually, it cooks everything rapidly. If fuel is an issue, as it will befor most people, then buying one of those pressure cooker small cooking kettles is a wise investment indeed.

                  • Thanks for the suggestion.

                    • Gabe – when I cook rice, I usually cook a lot at one time. That’s why I was thinking about quarts. I use oxygen absorbers all the time and usually get mine from a Mormon supply website. In the years before I retired, I acquired quite a few cases of canning jars. So many that I lined the walls in my dining room with them until they were needed. Glad now I did that. In late summer or early fall, some stores near me sell their canning supplies at really low clearance prices so I stock up on lids then. As for cooking it, my kitchen stove is a propane-powered, off-the-grid type. If the propane runs out, I’ve got a solar oven. No sun, no problem. I’ve got a set-up available for cooking over an open fire. In fact, in an SHTF event, I’ll probably use the alternative cooking methods rather that my stove. I’ll save the propane for when I can’t cook outside.

                • I freeze first, let acclimate, then store in 5 gal buckets lined with mylar bag and O2 absorbers and dessi packs, and seal it, lasts good, pleasant hill grain says it will last 25+

              • Aye, aye.

                KOKUHO ROSE white rice keeps a LONG time in food grade 5 gal bucket with gamma lid.

            • Philosopher:

              Put brown rice in the refrigerator and keeps fresh for six months. I use it regularly; organic. I buy white rice and put in the freezer to kill any bug eggs that get into rice. Then keep it as back up for an emergency or for desert as in rice pudding. Be well.

              • For people obsessed with storing rice the best advice I have is to store it with oxygen absorbers in food-safe buckets in sealed bags or to portion and seal in vacuum bags.

                I don’t have enough freezer space to store rice.

                Anyhow, live and learn.

                • “Storage Conditions. The best temperature to store grains, including rice, is 40°F or below; however, rice stored at a constant 70° F with oxygen absorbers will store well for up to 10 years. In cooler storage areas rice sealed in oxygen-free containers can be stored for up to 30 years. A BYU study sampling polished rice and parboiled rice stored from 1 to 30 years found that both types of rice will keep their nutrients and flavor up to 30 years.”

                  We have rice stored in sealed glass containers/jars/jugs, and have had good success without oxygen absorbers. However; we use only white rice, because brown has oil, which will go rancid.
                  The oldest we tried, was stored in glass containers, in a sealed steel drum, in an out-building. After five years, it was still good. I have never heard of dry rice going bad unless moisture had gotten to it, or bugs.

                  The dried pintos seemed to turn darker, and required more cooking time, but still tasted fine.

                  • Passing
                    When I cook older beans, I soak them in water overnight first. Change the water to remove saponins (natural soap, can upset stomach). Use this water on your garden. I bring them to a good boil then wrap up to hold the heat in. They will cook by dinner. Put back on stove, add salt and other goodies, and simmer until perfect. Uses very little energy. We used to cook them at the beach by burying in sand. Soil would do as well. I am considering a sand box outside my kitchen door. Cover when not in use.
                    Op sec… beans need hours to cook, and buried beans do not smell up the neighborhood. I have used a pressure cooker, but not as tasty as a slow cook… and loses nutrients. Pressure cooking is why canned food is lower in nutrition.

                    • Rebecca, this is EXCELLENT information, and why I come to this site. How, exactly, do you wrap the beans?

                    • Test,
                      If I had deeper soil, I would drape aluminum foil or something over the top to keep dirt out, and bury every time. I grew up eating them in the backwoods of Oregon. They are delicious cooked slowly. Since I am on rocky hillside, I bring the beans to a boil, wrap well in a bath towel, then wrap that up in my old featherbed lined with a mylar blanket. It keeps the beans hot longer, eespecially if they are old and very dry… or Honey Locust beans or Tepary beans, that take much longer to cook. If you don’t have mylar it works anyway. I just got mylar this year and love it.

                      During my homestead practice month in January, I put mylar under my bedsheet, and kept warm.hot down to 45 degrees. Sounds like crinoline, but instant warmth. Gave me the idea to add it to my bean pot cooking. I bought 12 mylar blankets but now want more.

                      You can buy a fancy passive thermal pot like a thermos jug on steroids for $200 or so but I will just add a covered sandbox seat outside my door after I get my cabin
                      built and open it to bury my cook pots for soups and beans. Keep dirty cats out.

                      My parents cooked like this on the beach in the 50s. It meant dinner was cooking and mom could play on the beach with us kids instead of slaving over a fire. We also hauled driftwood back to my dad to cut up to take home for our wood stove for winter. Survival is a skillset! A buried pot is opsec and less wood to cut and burn.

                • Philosopher:

                  You don’t STORE rice in the freezer (unless you want to), just leave it for a couple of days until the rice bug eggs are dead.

                • Its not about being obsessed with storing rice,
                  Personally i grew up eating rice, sushi and all things rice related, ie mochi and rice candy, rice balls,
                  Many people the world over live on rice, and many live on white rice contrary to what all the healthfood peeps say,
                  A meal of rice is far far preferred to an empty stomach

            • Something “rather odd” must have happened to yur rice supply, or I’m old and losing it. Brown, Wild nor white rice can go rancid as it is dryer than a “popcorn fart.” What’s above it that may be dribbling upon it? (Or perhaps it was ‘on sale’ for a reason)?
              I have nothing about rice going rancid “on the shelf.”

              • Okay then, THANK a HEP passinInTheWind. Our rice supply is now safely “jarred”, sealed, stomped, smothered, preserved.

              • Or high humidity,
                Just left in the bag in a pantry it could go bad, especially brown, more likely get buggy, but packed properly stores like most other whole grains, IOW forever

                • someone here (cookin’ Mom?, Ky Mom?) posted a way to preserve brown rice (think it was brown)..heat in oven on flat tray, I forget the temp. (175*?) for 20 minutes, let cool, then put in canning jars.
                  I did this a few months ago and am storing them in a darkened closet.

                  I would not eat white rice if you gave it to me. I’d rather eat grass. No vitamins, minerals, close to zero. Pure starch and you may as well eat glue. And store up insulin.

                  • As they say,
                    “Different strokes for different folks”

                    • Kulafarmer
                      I like rice with my stir fry and other stuff. As for empty calories, better empty than gmo or full of toxins. Humans need, on average, 2500 calories per day. Room for rice and other bulk calories. Rice that provides bulk calories and stores for years is a bargain for sure.
                      I told a coworker who would “rather die”… okay, then! I respect your decision.
                      Wheat berries last years too.

                  • I’m with Kula guy.
                    Mix in some Jasmin with the short grain sticky
                    rice. Billions of people live on rice.
                    Stores for years, and tastes good.
                    Stay away from uncles Ben’s or Minute rice.

                    • Cant eat that stuff, just awful, (quick rice products)
                      Local style,
                      White rice
                      Macaroni potato salad
                      Teriyaki
                      Grinds!

              • Brown rice will go rancid due to the oils in the rice kernel.

          • @ the Truth…Those of us that are “Obsessed” with storing rice and beans, know the nutritional value of it and the fact that they can be stored for decades without problems. Wheat, until ground into flour also stores for decades. This is experience speaking, not failed half ass prepping.

            • Bingo!
              The other thing hood about rice, you can cook it and is ok at room temp for a couple days, if TSHTF it most likely wont sit and wont get wasted.

              • Kulafarmer
                and my personal favorite… rice today, stir-fried rice tomorrow! Yum.

          • Depending upon your palate, a nice way to make rice and beans less monotonous is to occasionally prepare the beans with several envelopes of the Taco Bell taco spices in Walmart. It’s cheap, should keep forever if kept dry, and will pep up the flavor of almost anything.

            • Hey Leonard,

              New Orleans Parish prison used to add hot dogs
              and a Tobasco like sauce to rice and beans.
              Tasted really good.
              Don’t ask how I know this.
              I also know Spam works just as good
              as hot dogs.

        • Dave in Idaho
          No wonder youare so far ahead of me! I hope I get 18 years… wishful thinking.
          But I considered my options and my number one suggestion is get out of the cities now. Yes,, now. Make it happen.

          • Im behind you (no sexist pun intended) in gardening, but wise enough to go on your site and learn. In a few months or less, I will send you a few pics of my raised beds I copied from you….

            • Dave in Idaho
              I look forward to your photos. I’m most excited about adding herbals to my plant knowledge. Not posting yet, but when I am more knowledgeable I will. What I notice is that my herbal teas are probably already supporting my health, I rarely need a doctor. Food is Medicine. I especially like the scientific research that verifies the active ingredients.
              Sometimes I watch YouTube Engineer775. I am trying to pick up the other end.

              • It seems to me that downloading as many helpful things onto an ipod would be helpful…….small….hold a lot of info…..smaller charging requirements for the solar panels, yet these could be a wealth of information in the future.
                I have used my “bonus points” from credit cards to obtain a great stash of cast iron items for cooking amd baking, La Creset stock pots and tea pots for cooking etc. have also used points to obtain at least 50 books related to all manner of gardening, herbal stuff, etc.
                Yah, I inow that using my card leaves a trail, but I literally have thousands of dollars in extremely good quality books and cooking items that I otherwise would have had to pay for.
                Just want to also say that every prepper should have calcium bentonite clay……..listen to the shows on The Power Hour with Joyce Riley and Perry A……invaluable info. Regarding how to use the clay. I got a book from Perry A. Now, I am going to but a ton of clay…..at wholesale…..for the dogs and us so that we caneliminate toxins throughout the rest of our lives, but especially when TSHTF. People say that they have totally cleared up those nasty MRSA infections with the clay, when no antibiotic worked!!!!!!!

            • Dave where I live in Wyoming ain’t bad, but that Northwest Montana and Northern Idaho Has truly got to be God’s country. And that drive up to Creston BC from Eastgate has to be one of the most scenic drives on earth. Trekker Out.

              • Mountain Trekker
                You must be in North Wyoming. I’m in Rock Springs. Nothing pretty here. Well, a couple women here and there, but mostly bleah. No water, unless you want to filter that nasty creek. The Green River is 12 miles away and the Flaming Gorge is 15. I have water totes but there’s an aftertaste from the food grade guargum that was in them. Waiting on my ceramic carbon filter to see if I can make it taste better.

                • David I’m right in the heart of grizzly country. You don’t have a brother named Russell by any chance? Trekker Out.

                  • No Trekker, I’m the only one of my particular blood line here. I get asked all the time about Norman and Charles too.

                    • David after I asked that question I remebered that the David Gillespie I knew lived in Virginia, and was originally from Missourah.

              • @ MT…I can’t bring my gun into Canada, so I stay out. The Canadians shop in Bonners Ferry a lot. If you went to Eastport by way of HWY 2 from Montana, then to 95, you were real close to one of my houses.

                • Dave that is the route I took to Eastport many years ago, when I went in they asked if I had any guns and I said No, but I actually had three handguns as well as a wife an four crumb crunchers so they didn’t give me to much scrutiny. But I have spent a lot of time in Western Montana in the olden days. I even looked at buying a camp ground on the Kootenia River near Troy and some motels in and around Libby. But that was not to be. Trekker Out.

          • Yes, get out now.
            All those tall “sound barrier walls are not really there for the purpose of blocking sound. Those walls will keep you locked inside “the BOWL” when TSHTF. You will not be leaving the city unless you are lucky enough to bolt out of there before the police can get to the exits to lock them down.
            I think that if I was tied to a city due to a job, I would be certain to live in an outlying suburb and try to work in the suburb. Stay outside the area of the tall “sound barrier” walls.
            I live in a small rural community now and am glad for that. I think that the people here will be very particular about who they allow off the freeway or even the smaller trunk tar roads. We could survive, as a community, if everyone keeps their head.

        • As I used to say to myself, it’s better to be seventeen years early than to be one day late.

          • Words of wisdom,
            The folks high on their normalcy bias may get to find out why.

      4. There are many here who are better preppers than me, that being said.Learning to grow your own food can be done cheaply.Large bags of beans or rice are still fairly cheap.Large bags of flour.canned goods are a good cheap way to get started.Most important when bottled water is on sale buy 2 cases, every time

        • Don’t forget that when you buy the beans that are dry, don’t pack all of them in an oxy absorbing environment as they will sprout and either give you more beans or a good vegetable via the sprouts themselves….. (if you store you beans in and oxygen depraved environment they will “die” and few, if any, will sprout) Just a heads-up.

          • I have soup beans that are several years old. I have never, ever had any of my beans sprout.

            • They are talking about using them to grow more beans, most grains and beans can be planted to grow more.

        • you know you have to be careful with storing flour for long periods of time they will get weavals in it so you need to rotate it out every so often. but you are so correct .knowledge is the key to survival.and growing your own vegetables is a good start and knowing how to store them.

          • I was told it would last a year in freezer, but you are correct.

        • It is also very important to have many, many mylar bags of “sprouts” seeds. I have found large triple mylar bags of sprouting seed for all manner of salad green sprouts. This is so important for assisting us in staying healthy when TSHTF……sprouting beans and otner salad greens is a fantastic way to get the enzymes and vitamins and other nutrients needed by our body. I literally bought boxes/cases of these sprouting seeds when they were half priced……last year. They are packed away in my entry closet which is a bery cool space…..”typically 65 degrees temp or less.

      5. Even getting a week’s worth of food put away before things go bad is better than nothing. Don’t feel discouraged. Just start. You’ll be happy that you have what you have when things do go bad. If you’re able to get up to a month’s worth that’s at least a month’s worth you didn’t have before.

        • ^^ THIS

          Just get started. Start with food and water, water first.

          Something is always better than nothing. Do not get frozen into inaction. Make a start. The rest will flow automatically depending on your seriousness of commitment.

          For years I had just a 3 day cache, and was satisfied. As the world continues to spiral down into the abyss, I saw the need for much more. I built over time. Now I am comfortable again.

          Wish the comment section was what it used to be. Rarely visit anymore.

          • The only constant in life is change. Oh well. Get over it.

            • Philospher

              Please don’t do that. I am asking respectfully. This used to be the number one visited site on the web for prepping. Then a few people came in that did not want to do anything but argue all the time. Whether it was about Religion, Politics, Jews, Women, ect.

              I think that is what was meant by the comment. I often wonder if there were government plants.

              Not being disrespectful just trying to explain.

              I enjoyed finding out about your martial arts and background. Also the similarities of our service. I am working days so have to get up at 3. I will check back tomorrow. Hope you are having a great day.

              • MiV: don’t do what? Speak my mind? As for martial arts and my martial arts instructor, it was horrible. I ddin’t want to learn how to poke out someone’s eyes or how to crush someone’s larynx or that it only takes 12 pounds of pressure to crush a man’s larynx with my palm, or elbow and that man will never speak again! It was horrific for me to have to wake up and be trained to face evil. I didn’t want to learn that I could crush someone’s eardrums with my palms. But when it comes to life or death I plan on surviving. My teacher also taught me that the best fight is no fight. That if I get to the point where I am involved in hand-To-hand combat that I have already lost the fight in the eyes of my old teacher. The hardest part of my martial arts training was the mental aspect. My final lesson was the Death lesson. I don’t speak to my teacher at the present time. Sometimes martial arts can go to far. I think my teacher went too far. Am I trained? Yes. Am I happy about that training? No. I am not. It haunts me. It taught me to think in a very cruel and mean and horrific way and it taught me to not trust people, to not feel safe. I regret learning some of the things that my martial arts teacher taught me.

                Sorry, we all like how things used to be. I am not a sentimentalist. Save that sappy shit for your kids and grandkids. I am a realist. Life is fricken hard core and you either learn to deal with it your do what most of the population is doing in the USSA and shove your face into your phone or computer and ignore everything and everyone. That is complete bullshit. Life is hard. Deal with it. I am sick and tired of panty-waisted fricken cry bullies that think they know the best way for me to live my fucking life.

                • Philosopher

                  What was meant was that the person was trying to put in a post that was helpful to people. His statement about the post being better did not have to be criticized. It hurts the site and keeps many from posting. Many are not a strong willed as you. They fear or are bothered to the point that they decide not to post even on the computer. I know it is silly but some just don’t enjoy debating.

                  Regarding martial arts you and I have a different experience. I started it for most of the reasons you mentioned. I hat that fact too and hope to never use it. Having a son with cerebral palsy makes it hard for me to get away from some situations because he is in a wheel chair. All martial arts should teach to avoid conflict in every way.
                  Martial Arts ended up being way more than just learning to hurt others. It became like a sport to me against others in the classes. It became something that was special between me and my other son who is currently in the military. We made passed the advanced Krav Maga test together. There were no others trying that day. That was special for me. It also taught me that I could do things I did not think possible. I worked out even after classes. I became able to keep up with the 20 somethings. I did not think I could do that again at my age. Then I went into other forms. Some more internal than external. It is good to know how to heal as well. The internal is valuable in rough times. Martial Arts had nothing to do with trust I have in people. Unfortunately or fortunately I quit trusting most people long ago. It is just the way the world is. It is also getting much worse.

                  Yes life is hard. If you believe in Jesus it is the only Hell you will ever know. That is a quote from a family member. I have had several times when I thought I would lose my son with cp. To me that would be the hardest thing a person would ever have to deal with. So yes at times life does suck. There are times you are blessed and other times that are rough. That is just the way it is and all of us must deal with it.

                  • Nice post, Mike

                • There is a big difference in “speaking your mind” and being rude and hostile toward someone who hasn’t attacked you first. Try being nice and helpful, you may make a friend.

                  • DII: you have made it very clear you don’t like me or give a shit what I say so whatever.

                    • I do give a shit what you say. I happen to agree with 70-80% of your posts. Its the way you talk down to people I can live without. You are getting better though, and I will continue to read and use some of your useful ideas…whether you like it ..or not. keep posting. Dave

              • Of course the FEDS had plants here……to disrupt and discourage people. Those trolls should not be allowed to prevent people from sharing. NEVER, EVER respond to a troll. Just kindly tell them you know they are a troll and that they will not be successful here.
                Then, resume the original conversatiom with whomever.
                Remember, if the trolls chase people away…THEY WIN.
                NEVER, EVER LET A TROLL MANIPULATE YOU…….NEVER!

            • Philo, why do you have to show your ass so much? Who pissed in your cheerios to make you the small, tiny powerless gnome you are? Towns aver has a valid point. Ever since you started your bullshit sniping in the past few months quality posters with great info to impart have fallen way off. Mac let’s it happen so he obviously does not care what happens in shtf world. You occasionally have a minor thing to add. However, your sniping bullshit negates anything you have to say of even marginal value. Your bullshit is not amusing nor helpful. You have obviously alienated everyone in your real life and now feel compelled to do it in the virtual world. How is that working out for you, pussbag? Fuck asking respectfully for you to shut the fuck up. You don’t give any respect, therefore you don’t deserve any. Mike is a much better man than me.

              • SE. Weird how the comment section goes from one extreme to the other over time cycles.
                Seen it happen too many times here.
                I have always said that the comments reflect the mass mood of the posters.
                MiV is a good man, we talk.
                There are many great posters here.
                Some communicate thru email, others phone.
                But always look at this place where random posters vent thier feelings…

                Do miss BI.

                • I miss BI too. Part of the problem with this site anymore is that Mac has gone down the Fear Porn rabbit hole with the articles he posts. He gets truly great discussion most of the time when he posts real prepping articles. The fear porn stuff has gotten derivative and boring. This site sucks anymore compared to other actual prepping sites. It had gotten better after he banned Philo for a while. Then she slid back to her true self. And Mac is still posting mainly garbage – no news or political perspective we can’t get somewhere else and no real prepper info……

                  • SE. This site has changed from a prepper site to a current events site.
                    But that is okay.
                    Hence why I ask newbies to research the archives.
                    Then I get gigged for that.
                    Best advice one could give here.

                    Be well all…

                  • Ya know SE why not go back an re-read what happened? Someone said that I must be working for the FBI and was a plant. (Ya, right). And then they said I deserved shit that happened. What was I supposed to do? Just roll over and take it? Look at fricken Europe right now. People are not allowed to speak their minds or express their opinion. What, you don’t like my opinions or my thoughts? Guess what, fella, too fucking bad. I don’t care. And the only “pass bag” here, in my opinion, is you. So fuck off asshole.

                    • Philo, I did read it and you are still an ignorant, mental pussbag troll. You seriously need to be medicated. You are one squirrel shit nuts waste of skin.

                  • SE: Thanks for expressing your point of view. Fuck off moron.

                    • Geez……can we all just disagree without the EXTREME nastiness???
                      I like disagreement, BUT, come on folks………
                      How the hell can we ever expect to help each other if we “bitch slap” each otner?
                      Agree to disagree……..stop the bitch slapping, ok?

          • Paralysis by analysis.

          • Definitely,,
            And excellent point!
            I used to be the same way, maybe more than just three days, but still nothing of consequence.
            Then we had a tsunami warning, ran to the gas station to top off,
            What i saw,
            Changed me forever.
            Now i prep, way better than the alternative,

        • If you do nothing more than put away a three-day water supply you are ahead of 87% of the Non-Preppers Of America (They are easy to spot in a shtf scenario as they are the ones pounding down doors, called forced entry, to take YOUR supplies. (And we dare call ourselves civilized)?

          • Here’s one that should get the keyboards humming. I found yesterday in our freezer an elk roast that I took in 2011. It’s boneless and tonight I will cut steaks and they will be fine. This has happened before. It is merely double wrapped in good freezer paper Read any cookbook and they will tell you that game meat should be discarded after a maximum of 6 months to one year.
            We kill a fair amount of our own meat and I respect the animals that make the sacrifice for that end. I’ve been smoking meats and sausages for almost 30 years and still need to refer to notes to get the job done. Properly prepared food has a shelf life far longer than most would expect. If I don’t post again after today, I guess you can disregard this post.

            • That last bit was pretty funny, have cooked up vennison straps or roasts that were not exactly current, always seemed fine to me, but then again that balsamic and herb reduction covers shoe leather

            • 10/4 on the elk roast.

              Had some from a back country Montana hunt a few years ago, that got pushed down under some other garden stuff…like squash chunks. Just like you, skeptic, it was properly prepared and double wrapped in freezer paper.

              Elk is so lean anyways, it doesn’t have the high marbling fat of most beef, but wild game fat will go rancid after close to a year or so, if air gets to it, also.

              We wrap our larger cuts, like roasts, in plastic wrap first, to squeeze out all excess air, and then wrap tightly in freezer paper. For longer storage, if one can’t use vacuum sealing, another layer of protection around the freezer paper is HD aluminum foil. Maybe a little overkill, but will keep out freezer burn, which btw, will not make you sick if eaten.

              • A frost proof freezer heats itself regularly to dissipate frost. This heats the meat and everything else, limiting shelf life.
                A freezer that develops frost is the best way to store foods for over 6 months.
                Otherwise, while the food stored frost free won’t kill you, some foods do not like it, fish for example.

      6. I was just looking into animal feed like oats and corn. I did some rea search on if it’s safe for human consumption. It can be in some cases just gotta be careful of pesticides added and bugs being I it like weevils. It is recommended to buy from a trusted supplier and get it when it is harvested less chances of problems. Not a bad idea really you can feed your animals and yourself if need be. Just get a grinder to seperate the roughage. Probable real healthy diet too lots of fiber. Get bags of rice another cheap staple. Bags of flour to make bread. Salt and spices to make stuff taste better. Driving in my rig I’m higher up off the ground and can see into places other motorist can’t and I spotted a propane tank in the woods on the side of the highway was going too fast to stop and was busy anyway. Gonna go back and get it. Will trade it in for a fresh rhino tank save $ on buying the bottle about $30 in the home store. In the end it will cost me $20 add that to the fuel stash.

        • Asshat
          avoid corn
          85% of corn in the US is grown with Atrazine, an endocrine disrupter. I’m growing my own this year, hope it works out, this isn’t corn country!

      7. Jeasus just left Chicago

        • No your wrong. The father son & holy ghost took the last train for the coast on the day that the music died.

          • Old Guy… I would hazard a guess that not many on here old enough to recall that song…then again those of us old enough probably suffer from CRS (cant remember shit)
            …on the bright side I did here a cute little song making reference too “dibs” on the radio yesterday and I thought that expression was long gone…

            • Or the other disease called CRAFT.

              Can’t remember a forking thing…

        • Not sure who “Jeasus” is, but Jesus, the Lord of Creation sees corrupt Chicago no different from corrupt Rome or Babylon… or Hitler’s Third Reich of 1,000 years.

          All are in dust. Jesus still is alive, and in alive of billions of followers. Or, as Napoleon stated after he finally had time to think after being exiled to St. Helena, and he called Count Montholon to his side and asked him, “Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?” The count declined to respond. Napoleon countered:

          “Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. . . . I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man. . . . I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me . . . but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.”

          Maybe you’ll have some time to think, like Napoleon did, this Easter Sunday. I hope so.

          • Test

            Good post.

            Happy Easter to all.

      8. Beans and rice are easy to store everyone should have a lot. Most of the skills needed should already be had. Fitness and health along with proper dental care will take you far. Proper Higene habits. Avoiding bacteria and filth. I feel if you can keep healthy stay clean and fit you can do anything else you will need to make it. A good vehicle properly maintained is a must I can’t live without my vehicle. If your car starting is crossing your fingers get another or fix it right no gaf shit. A car payment is worth it if you need a reliable car. Don’t buy the loaded model if you cannot afford it. Biggest waste of $ is 4wd in most cases. It snows balls deep up here in the northeast and I don’t have it and have never found myself in a situation wishing I did. A van or pickup truck is the best vehicle for obvious reasons.

        • Most excellent advice here!

        • Asshat
          My first long term food s the orange item was 50 pounds of beans and 50 pounds of rice. Took several years to eat it all! But if the food system breaks down like in Greece, I can’t imagine better for a newby.

        • Up here, a 4wd is money well spent. chains are a must, and lockers are a labor saving luxury. Unless you plan on only traveling on paved, plowed roads…until they stop plowing.

          • In Washington state, all I owned was 4WD, I lived way in on a on a private road that was never plowed and at the end my driveway was a 10% grade.
            Where I live now if you want to hunt or get to a decent camping place you need a 4WD always. You can’t even get from my shop to my house with out 4WD after a week of rain and it rains a lot here.
            Lesson: city people can probably live without 4WD. But in a prepper situation 4WD truck, van or SUV WITH a manual transmission is the only way to go.

        • You are absolutely correct. Being a long term holistic health care provider I can say with absolute certainty that tnere are a few things you can do that will dramatically help you survive.
          1. Good hygeine is a MUST. Humanity saw the tprayes of sisease plummet once it was realized tnat soap and water, aka bathing regularly and very frequent hand washing were of paramount importance in preventing the spread of illness. I have soooooooo much soap, in so many varieties, stocked up I could keep a huge family clean for years. I have bar soaps of all kinds, dish soaps of high density, laundry soaps liquid and powder, soaps for bathing and hygeine that are of such purity that you can eat them.
          Since I will NOT be able to bug out, I have to plan to bug in, albeit a rural community.
          2. Dental hygeine is of equal importance. Have enough floss to last 10 years. Have many extra toothbrushes too. We must have 100 tubes of toothpaste.
          3. Also…..we have a huge stash of nano silver, liquid for ingestion or mouthcleansing, hel for injuries, and a nanosilver burn gel also. Bag balm and Vetericyn spray are a must also…..can het at the local farm supply. Vetericyn is magical for all booboos. Bag balm will draw so strong it will pull your tractor across the yard……great stuff for abrasions with imbedded gravel……
          Also, vetericyn males an eye gel also. The animal products are the same as the human vetericyn products…….just MUCH less expensive.
          Hygeine, hygeine, hygeine.
          I would also suggest a good calcium bentonite clay……

          • Pardon the typos….
            .hel = gel
            Het=get
            Male=make

      9. #1 item fire arm ammo even just a cheap used single shot shotgun for 75 bucks and a used ugly 22 rifle cheap under 100 then you have a means of defense and obtaining food remember that a pistol is the means to get to your rifle so don’t worry too much about a pistol but if you must and low money get a used highpoint for 100 bucks cus it’s better than nothing

        • And can goods like wholesome meal single course beef stew, chicken dumplings, beef lo Mein. Hearty soups peanut butter, oatmeal,

          • First 30 days most important

        • I just got a savage model 12 Lrp 260 with a vortex viper 6.5x20x50 to go along with my savage BA 338 lapua with nightforce 5x25x50 and model 10 precision 308 with vortex viper 4x16x50. Remember snipers rule the battlefield and all open spaces. I can cover a one mile circle around my farm with extreme prejudice if it comes to that. Something for preppers to think about is a rifle capable of 1/10 to .25 moa for extreme distance.

          • 300 WM, Norma brass, CCI primer, 72g 210g Berger VLD hunting/match JHP
            308Win, Lapua Brass, CCI primer, 42g N140, 175g SMK

      10. There’s hope for tomorrow, if you wake up today
        GWB

        • to me there just seams like there are fare to many people out there walking around with blinders on. saying the the government will save us.those people are going to have a rude awakening when shit really does hit the fan. there is going to be a were not .lot of people dying.because they were not prepared for the worst. you have got to make your life your own and stop depending on someone or something else to save you.

      11. For anybody thinking of doing some fencing now is the time to be getting your ducks in a row or post should I say. Because it’s down time on the farm right now and the ground is soft, I will be expanding my pastures, my goal is to go grass fed and ween out of the crops. I was taught to cut fence post when they are going into bud and that would be right now for me. I will be cutting Hickory and white oak which will be doing two things for me clearing some tree lines for Sun and getting the post for Free my favorite. Black Locus would be best but I’m going for the easiest right now just to get it done.

        • That’s right on cutting the posts now …before they ‘take up water’ in copious amounts (what little water they have in them will dry nicely, and the posts will long outlive all of us. Of course, cedar will never do you wrong _all that oil and stuff.

      12. The machine strengthens while the people stock up for what’s next. No free speech to be heard or seen beyond the ongoing flow of treason. This takedown just seems too easy.

        • Speaking of the machine, i ran across an article on the daily beast, about cruzzer’s “supposed” affairs, and I had to laugh as i read this line.

          Please excuse me for being off topic, but i thought it was good for a laugh or two…..

          “Trump has repeatedly praised Pecker and tweeted several times in 2013 ……”

          Thumbs up for “Pecker”! Don’t say that out loud at a lesbo convention.

      13. If anyone can read this and still say everything is just fine, you don’t deserve freedom.

        Saul Alinsky died about 43 years ago, but his writings influenced those in political control of our nation today…….
        Hillary Clinton wrote her college thesis on his writings and Obama writes about Alinsky in his books.

        Died: June 12, 1972 Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
        Education: University of Chicago
        Spouse: Irene Alinsky
        Books: Rules for Radicals, Reveille for Radicals

        Anyone out there think that this stuff isn’t happening today in the U.S.? All 8 rules are currently in play…….
        How to create a social state by Saul Alinsky:

        There are eight levels of control that must be obtained before you are able to create a social state.

        The first is the most important.

        1) Healthcare –

        Control healthcare, and you control the people.

        2) Poverty –

        Increase the Poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.

        3) Debt –

        Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.

        4) Gun Control–

        Remove the ability to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state.

        5) Welfare –

        Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income)

        6) Education –

        Take control of what people read and listen to – take control of what children learn in school.

        7) Religion –

        Remove the belief in the God from the Government and schools.

        8) Class Warfare –

        Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor.

        This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take (Tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor.

        Does any of this sound like what is happening to the United States?

        Alinsky merely simplified Vladimir Lenin’s original scheme for world conquest by communism, under Russian rule.

        Stalin described his converts as, “Useful Idiots.”

        The Useful Idiots have destroyed every nation in which they have seized power and control.

        It is presently happening at an alarming rate in the U.S.

        • Yup,,,, peeps are in for a rude awakening

        • Excellent post. My fascist profs made me read the vile, evil, disgusting Alinsky Rules for Radical while I was at university, thinking they would make a radical.

          Well, they succeeded… only not the type of radical they had hoped, but a “radical” that believes in liberty, freedom and against everything the fascist left stands for.

          And, while I don’t wish any evil on anyone, one wonders if he is standing with that Lucifer right now he dedicated his book to.

          What a vile, evil man he was

      14. 30. Don’t go into debt to buy supplies.
        31. Pay cash whenever possible.
        32. Keep your mouth shut about your supplies/prepping.

      15. One thing that is rarely mentioned is a good exercise program. I am not saying I am in great shape. I was until about 18 months ago. I tore up my knee doing what I love. I am 5’10 and had gotten down to 182 pounds.
        40 pounds later here I am. I am slowly getting back to martial arts and losing a few pounds. I know I need to lose more than just a few. I know it is hard. I am going to do it though because I owe it to my wife and son’s.
        It also makes a big difference when you like the person you see in the mirror.
        In prepping find what you like. If it is a stationary bike in front of the tv then great. Walking, splitting wood, yard work, just something. If the shtf then you will need to be in some sort of shape for manual labor. There are many who talk about how many preps they have, the guns they have, ect.
        They are 300 pounds. In that case what will happen if everything does go down.

        • I live in one of those remote valleys that is seeing an influx of folks seeking the prepper lifestyle.

          Sad fact is most of these people are in terrible physical shape.

          Everything about living a self-sufficient lifestyle takes a body in decent health.

          Seems like most preppers think buying ‘stuff’ is prepping, were in reality its much more.

          • Im in boundary county…a lot use a quad to hunt with.

          • @ Note from Idaho…..Your post should win the post of the year award. Very few will comment on it because it hits too close to home.

        • Sound advice,,,
          Im 5’10 and bounce between 180-190 can really feel the strain when im at the higher side, pretty fortunate that i need to move to make my living,,,
          Know people who talk big but are 60, 70, 80# overweight, are huffing and puffing just getting to their couch, they are screwed if things go awry…

          • Kula

            I understand the feeling. The extra weight also drains energy. You need more sleep. I get tired quicker. I am slowly getting it back though. It takes hard work and pain. Oh the pain. Peanut Butter Cups were delicious after knee surgery. Now it is time for me to pay for them.

            • At my most recent doctor visit, the doctor remarked that I had lost two pounds since the last visit. I didn’t tell him that I’d had an upset stomach both of the previous two days, so of course I was a little lighter.

            • Its real hard to stay motivated with all the crap going on these days, is why i am diving headlong and going all in on getting outfitted for my crafty artsy fartsy stuff (leatherworking, bladecraft, wood) its a good diversion from the reality and true enormity of our world and the mess there in.
              Keeping somewhat fit is real tough, for me a bit more so because i like to cook and bake, makes it even worse. Just got to keep moving, try and keep motivated and try not to stew on the state of things, lately the interwebnet has become aversion therapy, everything on it is so screwed up it makes you not want to look at any of it, been rainy though so get sucked back in,
              Happy Easter

      16. Was just looking at army fm for survival and to deal with parasites take 2 tablespoons of kerosene yep you read that right. A second dose may needed after 24 to 48 hrs. It also said you can eat a cigarette they don’t like the nicotine. Funny I would never thought to ingest kerosene. Mike in va I say fitness all the time. You don’t have to mr America but if you can’t bend down to tie your shoe or walk a flight of stairs your out of shape. Diet and cardio you gotta get your heart rate up and get the blood pumping don’t over do it at first. Start out easy and crank up the intensity a little at a time. Check with your doctor before you start let him check you out. You don’t wanna have a heart attack. If it goes down your ability to do physical labor will be your most valuable prep. Most Americans are soft and unaccustomed to hard work and the gov helps people be lazy by providing free shit. My thinking if it’s easy it’s not good for me.

        • The Army’s primary concern is completing the mission. The chronic health of any individual soldier is utterly irrelevant. I would suggest a safer parasite remedy such as consuming large amounts of garlic.

          • Black walnut for parasites. Try googling “parasites black walnut” to research

            • Food grade diatmatious earth should work, yep I spelled it wrong

              • its also great for getting rid of all kinds of bugs such as roaches and other household pests.it gets on them and they can’t breath.and it won’t hurt your pets or kids if ingested.

        • Asshat

          You make another good point. It is like the elevator or the stairs. How many people always take the stairs.
          One other thing I thought of. I hope most don’t take this the wrong way. I grew up in the country and we cut wood. We pick up hay. There are many in construction and other manual labor jobs. I think people in the country are more used to manual labor than people in the city. It is just the nature of things.

          • What’s really funny is that so many people drive around the parking lot at the gym looking for a space close to the door.

      17. Foxfire books are a must have. They are full of everything from food storage to making ax handles to campfire stories and more.

      18. First $100 for a newbie :

        1.) Visit thrift shop on sales day for sturdy work shoes or boots. Put one pair in the vehicle for walking home, along with a good knife, even a kitchen knife.
        2.) Clothing suitable for laboring out of doors on a daily basis, same source.
        3.) Any money left over, canned food or staples such as rice or beans.

        Next $100 :

        1.) Get a concealed pistol license, whether you have the pistol or not. When you get one, start carrying daily.

        Next $100 :

        1.) More food for storage. Don’t get food you don’t eat now.

        By the time you’ve spent $300 on first preps, gotten good boots and clothes, and a bit of foot put by, you’ll have seen a lot of information about other stuff to do and things to get, but this will get you started.

        Think getting home from a remote location, self-defense, food to eat, and working out of doors, to start with.

        • smokey,

          I have a different opinion about the concealed carry permit.

          The only reason i would even consider, ever, having a concealed carry permit, is if I were in a business that caused me to be in public, in areas that may not be so friendly, or that I may be routinely searched.

          Obtaining a permit of any kind gets a person and their information into a data base. “When” SHTF, and people are scrambling, those with CCW permits will be the first ones searched and harassed by LE, at check/choke points, because of those data bases, I believe.
          I think open carry should be looked at as a right, and people exercising that right, should not be treated as bad people.

          That martial law scenario, is when everything has gone whacky weasel, and rational thinking is out the door. With the way things are looking, we will have another idiot as Commander-n-Thief, and law abiding citizens/patriots, will be considered as the enemy. That day will come.

          People should consider the ccw permit option very carefully, and think …..”what if?”.

          • In all “all out” scenario such as may occur, I seriously doubt you’d find ONE cop on the street. They’ll be taking care of their families just as we’d best do.

          • @ Paasin…..What if you get caught without one….felony in a lot of states and you lose you right to own a gun. As far as the list goes, if you bought a gun at a store….you’re on it.

            • If you bought it from anyone who has an FFL your on the list,

              • These “lists”make a good argument for building your own from scratch/80% what have you,is at moment still even legal though really do not care about laws that interfere with ones freedom.

                I would like to add as always do not by any means limit your weaponry to firearms,there is a lot of good stuff one can buy/make to defend ones self/further the pursuit of freedom.

                • Im starting to get the knife and edged tool bug,
                  Getting material together to build a long propane forge, want to make it big enough that i could heat a 40″ blade and then some, or block it off and just use on burner and do smaller stuff. Am going to try and get all the hardware together so i have a decent stock of blade steel, plus going to start looking and scrounging big wide leaf springs etc, My conventional forge is going to be like a Whitlock, we dont have coal so going to just make do with a trough style wood fired forge, already made the steel parts, now am going to set my fire brick in it, waiting on some Kaowool to go under the bricks. Ordered a Kalamazoo 2×72, just waiting on that, got all the motors and pulleys etc together and am anxious as a kid on Christmas for that to show up,
                  I especially want to fool around with hawks, figure they are good candidates for donor steel from truck springs, am partial to steel shanked tools, so have been fooling around doing some heating and banging and some welding and grinding, the purists will scoff at me arch welding plasma cut and ground hawk heads on steel shanks but hey, whatever i wack with them wont know the difference that i didnt spend hours on a forge to make them, they most likely be more concerned with the missing pieces the be missing after i get done.

                  • Kula,sounds like a good and fun plan.I have a huge(2′)foot powered grinding wheel and a buddy has a anvil with enuff weight to hold the titanic at anchor(assuming you bring her up).We also have the bug but have many different things going on though with my short term unemployment choice am considering adding forge making to the list,and yes,getting orphaned truck springs as starting stock.

                    • Warchild, I’ve been busy as hell and haven’t visited the site in weeks. You had mentioned before that we’re in the same area. If you’re out of work, I might be able to help. Mac has my permission to give you my email address if you need my help.

                    • I’m in SE Mass. but on road every day. I’m East of RI. I recall you saying you’re north. I’m up that way at least twice a week. I hope Mac will give you my email. If not, we’ll figure something else out. Also, since you’re unemployed, you’ve gotta let me buy.

                  • Hi Kula!
                    Glad to see the bug has bitten you… I also use an arc welder for making hardy tools and such…

                    Coil springs will be more consistently hardenable w/quenching… leaf springs are inconsistent… but mostly usable. I like old rusty tool steel, axles, and coils for knifes.
                    Wood/charcoal forge will work as a SHTF plan(propane may disappear), so I would at least get proficient with it, be prepared w/lots of piled wood, you will use as much as 20-30lbs per day.
                    The trick is always in the quench.

                    In times to come, those who know how to work iron, may become very popular again.

                    • Overwatch,how goes it?I voluntarily gave up job,this one was temp as they are moving to a area not local were I can crash with friends/family when work slow in the northlands(home).They were very nice people/paid decent,just in such a rush on stuff would not give me time to give the power equipment the love/care it needed and thus was producing less and I was getting very frustrated and worked 21 one days with one off.I wanted to kick someone in the ass and said,why not me,kicked meself out to their dismay but they will be better off without me before I got truly frustrated!I have a bad habit of not thinking things thru,coulda said gonna quit unless I get some time off/a chance to fix/maintain some of the power tools,but nope,not only burned the bridge but blew it up!As for me last long term gig,still have not figured out whether I was fired/quit.No hard feelings on either,they gave me work/helped me pay bills/get some cool stuff and in return got some good effort for me,wish both outfits well.

                      I have for 2 years with all been thru wanted some time off,that said,while I am in Mass. lets do breakfast/dinner what have you.I am near R.I. border and,well,lets face it,as a unemployed bum travel a bit really no issue!

                    • I have always been interested in working steel, the solid fuel forge is where its at for me, the propane is mostly to try longer blades but read an interesting piece that put all the numbers etc in perspective, specificly how they are overrated. Interesting trade

            • Dave

              I have a friend who owns a small hunting and fishing store. The store has the record of your purchase. The government requires the store to keep the paper work. In order to know what I bought they have to get the paperwork from the store. In the case of my friend he told me not to worry. Fires happen all the time.

            • I will cross that bridge when i get there, but until then I will keep laying my “legal” firearms, right on the console or seat in plain view.

              if I plan on walking down the streets of Dodge City, USSAG, then I do as usual, and open carry.

              Having a paper trail for purchasing a firearm is way different than being “registered” as a CCW permit holder. The firearm got lost on a canoe trip, but the CCW permit stays forever.

              I have my $50.00 souvenir certificate, for the CCW’s class, but that is as far as it goes, after I had time to think seriously about it.

              I am 60, going on 85, so old school thinking is in my blood.
              It has served me very well over the past couple decades, and if the Lord so wills, it will still be serving me well when the other 95% has given up or been locked down.

          • Yeah, I don’t like the idea of permits for a civil right either, but until SHTF happens and open carry without a permit is acceptable, a CPL will save you from a major felony. You can get pulled over next Tuesday and if a cop sees your pistol you are in serious trouble.

            We need to choose our battles carefully, the cost of a CPL is nothing compared to the cost of not having one when you need it, just like not having the firearm when you need it, failure can be a very major problem to your future.

            As far as being concerned about Gov’t databases, well, just visiting this site could be all the probable cause an anti-gun Gov’t would need, so a CPL is not going to be an issue. When CPL holders are having guns confiscated, it’s already well beyond time to deal with such a situation, not time to think ‘Boy, I’m glad I never got the CPL’, because you’re next anyway.

            A $100 permit vs. a $10,000 attorney fee is a no-brainer.

            • The 10 k attorney fee is for dumbasses. If you live in, or visit in, an area where you feel it is likely you will need to “conceal carry” then by all means get a permit, instead of taking the gamble.

              I am not against people giving up some of their “God given rights” to carry as they see fit. But my life is not that much in jeopardy that I need to be put on another phucking gov list, just to satisfy some bullshit con game of bowing to the establishment and gun grabbers.

              For people already registered, and argue it if you like, but in fact it is “gun registration”, even if you don’t own one; it is hard to face facts that you may have been too quick to jump on the ….”I can legally carry under my coat”, train. That so-called legal carry certificate comes with a hidden burden that may, or may not, play out at some point.

              With an anti-gun pos potus, like billery as commander-n-thief, it may be used against you, and more than likely will.

              Just sayin’. Sometimes the cold hard facts are tough to face…especially after the fact, so I say…people need to think it through before jumping on that train, and look at both sides of the argument like mine and the one you have there Mr. smokey.

              • I read about a family (about a yr ago) traveling from their home state to another state where handguns are illegal, in order to attend a wedding. The man had a CCP and the cops pulled him over, and KNEW about the CCP, and proceeded to empty the car out on the roadside, opened all luggage and tore throught it and frisked every member of the family, even separating them demanding the gun. The guy, knowing the situation before leaving home, made the trip without a gun, and so wasn’t arrested. Had he brought the gun on the trip, the cops would have found it, and he’d likely STILL be in prison in that state. It would appear that once you get a CCP, any cop running your plate will know about it. Better not to get one, I think…

                • thats why I like my company owned vehicle ,, it doesnt track me when the plate is run

            • …You can get pulled over next Tuesday and if a cop sees your pistol you are in serious trouble…

              When I got my CCW permit, I was told that if I ever got pulled over, I was to shut off the engine, remove the keys and lay them on the dash, keep my hand in full view, and the first words I was to say were “I am a CCW permit holder and I am armed (or unarmed). Do you wish to secure my weapon?” Well, I got pulled over last summer. I followed those instructions to the letter. I did not have to produce any documents or my gun, just answered a few questions (do I have insurance, whose car is it, where am I going, etc) and received only a warning. I was doing about 75 in a 55 zone!

      19. For those new to prepping….its step by step. Start with food and water. Work up to security and first aid. Next,skills. Try buying books,looking at videos, taking online classes or going to classes for first aid, skills, hunting, etc. As far as food and water, try stocking up for 24 hrs, then 72 hrs, then a week, and so on. I agree, don’t go in debt over prepping but you can be frugal with your spending. Look at thrift shops, garage sales, antique stores, bulk buying, etc. Knowledge is invaluable. Good look in your preps!!!

      20. I have seen a fair amount of folks just getting started,as article states,always push the food/water first along with even basic med stuff,would suck to die from a simple infected finger or some such nonsense.I then work on the defense/reuse of what they already have ect.

        Yes,folks entering game late but the more the merrier.Hell,didn’t seriously consider beyond small natural disaster prepping till about 6 years ago.I was lucky in that a lot I do like hunting/camping/making things ect. put me in a good starting position.

        I will as always be honest and say,probably not long for the collapse.I am not a member of say a local NPT what have you and will see things going on that just piss me off to the point will say fuck it and go down fighting said evil,whatever the odds.I am not suicidal but cannot see living not doing such a thing/action.I have given it a lot of thought and am comfortable with this decision.I have no kids/wife ect. to watch out for but could see the norns with their twisted sense of humour sticking me with orphans,dammit!Hence,why I have longer term food supplies ect.

        Oh,and this is a perfect article to use my favorite phrase for new folks prepping,”The smalls add up!”Yes,I know you have heard it ad naseum are saying fuck you Warchild!Have a good weekend all,decided to quit me job and find meself with a lot of time on me hands,gonna go thru some gear today and make sure all squared up.

        • Congrats on the freedom!
          The smalls really do add up

      21. Equorial your absolutely right about cops staying with their family. It will be up to us to decide when the cops will not be out. They would never inform the public of this cause this would give criminals the green light. Gov emergency management agency info needs to be carefully understood. I believe they will try to down play the situation and tell us they have everything under control. They most certainly won’t tell us that shit is out of control and we need to look out for ourselves. we all know they have no problem lying to us on a daily basis through media networks. The ema is another gov bureaucracy for continuation of gov. They will do what they got to do to protect public officials. It’s not about me and you. We are on our own. don’t believe what gov says ever especially during a crisis that is affecting you and your family.

      22. More not in the leftist lamestream media news today – Belgian nuke plant guard murdered, badge stolen. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-26/dirty-bomb-fears-rise-after-belgian-nuclear-guard-murdered-access-badge-stolen The concern here is a dirty bomb, which, to be honest, would might well kill more due to the panic than its effects is just the tip of the iceberg. Notes Zerohedge:

        The fears at the nuclear power plants are of “an accident in which someone explodes a bomb inside the plant,” said Sébastien Berg, the spokesman for Belgium’s federal agency for nuclear control. “The other danger is that they fly something into the plant from outside.” That could stop the cooling process of the used fuel…Others are far more disconcerting. In 2012, two employees at the nuclear plant in Doel quit to join jihadists in Syria, and eventually transferred their allegiances to the Islamic State. Both men fought in a brigade that included dozens of Belgians, including Abdelhamid Abaaoud, considered the on-the-ground leader of the Paris attacks.

        Concerned? A few action items you can do:

        a.) Go to http://www.ki4u.com and get some potassium iodide pills. These are EXTREMELY cheap, last forever, and are good for any radiological emergencies, such as a Fukishima, 3 Mile Island, etc.

        b.) On this site are two products, one called RadSticker, a postage stamp size sticker you can carry that will show your exposure, if you ever are in a dirty bomb (or worse) event. http://www.ki4u.com/products1.php ; their NukeAlert product, more expensive, will chirp to show you how much radiation you are being exposed to. Very simple operation

        c.) Check out Doctors for Disaster Preparedness, led by Dr. Jane Orient. http://www.ddponline.org Dr. Orient has been doing this for decades, and is very knowledgeable on the topic.

        d.) For reference -it’s FREE, and in f-r-e-e – download Cresson Kearney’s classic book on radiological preparedness, Nuclear War Survival Skills, multiple sites, http://www.nuclearwarsurvivalskills.com or https://www.nukepills.com/nuclear-war-survival-skills-pdf-download/ or http://www.ki4u.com/nwss.pdf Low probability you would need this book? Presumably so. But cost for this is ZILCH, as in NADA. My copy has sat on my shelf for many years… where I hope it does for many, many more years!

        • This have Government Propaganda all over it, as in.

          Telegraphing the next false flag.
          Grooming the public in advance so they won’t be completely overly surprised if a Nuclear Facility was to be attacked.

          Government will blame whatever country/organization that they feel deemed to be the most threat at the time.

          North Korea – China – Iran – Russia – Syria – ISIS – Bugs Bunny

          • FTW,Bugs Bunny,really?

            I would say much more likely that Marvin the Martian and his Q-37explosive space modulator would be a much more likely subject of responsibility for said terrorist attack.

            • Warchild –

              LOL … yes – Marvin The Martian is a better fit to describe an evil entity. Though the Bugs Bunny analogy is a tad bit ridiculous to compare to the others.

              That is just my way of saying –

              “the whole situation of the War On Terror is ridiculous, and why isn’t any other country stopping the fabricated madness?”

              Also – I added the bugs bunny part to see if anybody noticed the “thing” that does not belong to the group…

              Congratulations – you were paying attention to detail!

          • Propaganda or not, my only intent was, for SHTFers, to provide some information for ANY radiological event, real or false flag. At least you have actionable, and CHEAP, solutions if you think this is a possible issue

      23. Preps dont need to be high dollar dry foods.
        In fact most of that dry stuff is too expensive for most folks, me included,
        But grains, beans, and basic canned goods go a long ways,
        ANYTHING can happen. A few cases of canned goods and buckets of dry goods like grains etc could make all the difference in a common SHTF event, and the list of things that can and do happen is long!
        Water purification is one of the most important items in your preps, others have said this too but it cant be stressed enough. More people get sick after a disaster because of drinking unsanitary water,
        Hygene products are huge huge items too, next on the list to water purification IMHO.
        More disease is spread in third world countries because of poor sanitary practice.
        Happy easter all

        • @Kula:

          Agreed !!!!

          Everything you said about basic foodstuffs….AND…..spices.

          Spices will take the bland out of basic.

          Chinese five spice, cumin, garlic, sun dried tomato, etc.

          Food or appetite fatigue is a bummer, but easy peasy to handle.

          Be safe…..BA.

          • The biggest thing to remember with regard to spices is to not neglect them when you go to store them, they need the oxy absorbers and desi packs just like other stuff, i have been basic on my spice rack, salt/pepper/tabasco/soy sauce,,, i need to work on that
            Like you said it will take the bland out,
            Good thing to remember with regards to seeds as well is to have herb seeds for seasoning, and hot peppers (for those who like hot anyway)

        • Kula and All,

          I have been enjoying reading all the practical posts you and most others have been writing. I have grown up eating rice and consider it to be my main source of calories for me and my family. I enjoy the flavor of newly harvested rice but I know many who prefer older rice that has lost most of the moisture. I have never heard of white rice going rancid, but, I have had brown rice develop a rancid flavor. The quality of ‘rancid’ is associated with oil or fat. Correct me if I am wrong. Mealy worms can populate in rice. I am not sure what mass producers do to control it but I remember seeing lots of little moths where we use to store the unhusked rice. Once the rice was husked/milled, it was generally consumed soon after. Older stored milled rice usually had mealy worms but the rice was still good to eat. There is an Insectarium in downtown New Orleans where you can eat crickets and mealy worms. They claim it is a good source of protein!

          Happy Easter to you and all who celebrate this special day! Here in southern Louisiana we all head off for a great ‘crawfish boil’ with family and friends after Mass/church.

          Louisiana Eagle

          • Happy Easter LAEagle,
            I hear them mealy worms taste sorta like rice,,,,
            Just gotta make it up like Spanish rice, some chilis, onions and el pato and yer good to go!

            • Add a little bit of cat meat…..authentic mexican restaurant food.

              • Dave,I though that was chinesefood!

                • Wait until you get a fortune cookie that reads…

                  That was not chicken…

                • I was from Stockton Ca….its mexican food.

      24. If you’re planning on “bugging out” the skills you’ll need fall far more into the category of dealing with hoards of others doing the same than in the category of bushcraft skills.

        Dealing with other people in a manner that doesn’t invite getting yourself killed is going to be the one skill that will surpass all others for most people.

      25. First reply, longtime reader, re: getting off extra body weight. I’m a 70 y/o healthy lady who battled being overweight all her life. Now it melts off simply by following 2 easy steps. Eliminated ALL wheat products, read labels (that includes modified food starch) and eating only 2 things at a meal, on a salad (7 inch) plate, and NO seconds-refills. Been doing this for 6 or so months and now I need to take 4+ inches off my clothing. I decided if people get their stomachs stapled to eat less, why not practice some self-control and accomplish the same. Oh yeah, no artificial sweeteners, either.

        • Welcome duckspond jo.

          ….stay the course…BA.

      26. Thanks Mac!!!!

        We need an article like this every now and then, just to keep us on track.

        I read about 75% of the remarks on this sight. Boy there are a lot of very smart people here. That is why I stay, and the Trolls go away.

        Thanks everyone!!!!!

        Happy Easter to you and yours!!! Just remember this is the most important day to all of us Christians.

        Sgt.

        • Sarge and other Easter celebrators,have a good holiday with your friends/family and faith.I will say that most Christian holidays correlate with older religious beliefs holidays,seems done to allow the romans to get more to convert to Christianity by making it more likeable/acceptable to us pagan types,this holiday correlation runs thru the veins of many religions for eons.

          Thus,I will wonder about the origins and truths and to me seems the truth keeps getting brought back thruout the centuries thru different means,tis humanity that tries to know it all and say theirs is the only true belief,something man made/written religion seems to do repeatedly.

          Thus,whatever your beliefs their is a kernel that runs thru them all that ties us all together,what it exactly is cannot say for sure but have faith in it,no one can yet prove otherwise,till then tis faith.

          • On that note, i would like to send a shout out to all my Christian brothers and sisters here at SHTF, for a peaceful and gracious Passover time.

            For it is the High Sabbath of the year, and not an “Ishtar” celebration, as the commercialized crap that is mostly celebrated.

            Just remember the reason for the season, and be thankful for the saving Grace that is available to all, because of that life,death, and resurrection. . It only takes a little “leap of faith” to reach up and grab a handful of that precious grace to start a new life and life eternal.

            We are all sinners, and all will be, until we die the flesh death, but it doesn’t mean we can’t put our souls into a position of grace and forgiveness. Amen.

            • Amen PWTW

            • War and Passin
              You have a great holiday. And thanks for the great come backs. This is one of the reasons I stay here on this site. You guys give me faith that when TSHTF we will make it thru.

              Sgt.

              • War, Passin, Kula, Sgt.,

                Happy Easter to you too. He is the reason for the season. We sure did enjoy the crawfish boil. 7 sacks were consumed with all the trimmings. I wish you could have been there. It was truly nature’s bounty discovered by our Indian and Cajun forefathers and passed on through the generations. Now, raising crawfish has become an industry but when I was young we use to go out and catch them in our traps.

            • PITW: Yes. Sadly too many live a life filled with self-righteousness and consider everyone but themselves to be a sinner. I was born a sinner and I will die a sinner. Am I a good Christian? Probably not. Have I accepted the Lord into my heart and been baptized? Yes. Many many years ago.

              Anyhow take care. I am out of here. The haters have done their work this weekend and succeeded in driving me off. Bye and take care.

              • Hi Phil… hey, I’m still hear and reading your stuff. 🙂

              • Praise be to Jesus!

          • Good, honest post, WD. Thank you. If I my respectfully add my observations to your post, it seems to me you are making a category mistake relative to Christian celebration – at least Christmas, which probably DID derive from Roman Saturnalia, or similar. Easter, in stark contrast, is totally different, predicated on Passover. Talking apples and oranges here.

            Certainly, there ARE basic truths, as CS Lewis wrote. that are true in all cultures at all times (e.g., what culture promotes as positive good that a man murder another man to steal his wife? And if you ever found one, it would be a culture that very soon did not exist). So, in some respects, there is a unity among belief systems. But, there are other areas that not only are intrinsically different, but can*never* be harmonized, ever. Does God contain both good and evil, as the monistic religions think (Hinduism), or is he implacably opposed to evil, though allowing it in His permissive will (e.g., an Eastern religion advocate could technically be able to watch a baby being murdered, and say that is neither good nor evil, it is only “maya” (illusion) and “samsara” the wheel of suffering – and the baby brought it on himself in a previous life. Christianity would say that murder was *intrinsically* evil in stark contrast. Buddhism? Buddha was agnostic, and Buddhism is more a psychology that says, in the fourfold noble truths, that desire causes suffering, so one needs to eliminate desire. Christianity would say that desires, in the proper context, is God given, and granted by God for man’s joy. Do you see where I am going? You cannot, WD, conflate the various belief systems without denying what they actually say.

            And yes, I have read the Qu’ran twice (it IS full of violence, the Upanishad, the Bhagavad Gita, Lao Tzu’s Tao de Ching, Native American religious thought… heck, I have even read the Hamavall – the Viking “theology” with Odin, Thor, Freya, Loki etc. Here is the point WD, an an important one: ****You absolutely CANNOT harmonize what these sacred books are saying without denying what is found in them. The Bible says Jesus died for our sins, and that God is one, but triune (e.g., think of time – it is one, but has past, present and future; similarly, space. It is one, yet has height, width and depth. More importantly, God could be love prior to creation, as there was love within the Godhead between the persons of the Trinity before creation. The Trinity is clearly taught all over the Bible, even if the term is never used (exactly HOW else would you explain Jesus saying “the Father and I are one” (Greek word is “hen,” meaning one essence. How else could you explain Luke 5 – see https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+5%3A17-26&version=ESV other than the concept of the Trinity?)

            But here is the thing, WD. All other religions – ALL of them – are based on man’s works, and YOUR attempt to reach God. Even the religion of Communism. Christianity is the ONLY religion that is based on God reaching down to us, stating that we simply cannot do it in our own power. That, mon ami, is the difference.

            Finally, Jesus rose from the dead to prove it. Ah, but you say, that is a hoary old tale. Well, let me ask you this: Simon Greenleaf, professor of law at Harvard in the 1800s, and credited as one of the leading lights who gave us the American legal system of evidence, was Jewish. One day, one of his students had the temerity to ask if Dr. Greenleaf had actually investigated the evidence for the resurrection, or was just rejecting it out of his Jewish heritage. He admitted the former, and decided to investigate further. Recall, this is the man who ***was a prime contributor to what is considered valid evidence in American courts!!!***** The result of his investigation? A book called the The Testimony of the Evangelists, Examined by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice – and his conversion to the Christian faith. A more recent book on the same topic is by former atheist lawyer (JD from Yale) The Case For Christ, now Christian apologist.

            My point is this: If there is a God, it must be the greatest thing ever (duh). If the Christian claim is false, and you examine it, you have wasted a little time, but can now shut people up more easily, and you can safely ignore its claim about Heaven, and yes, Hell (eternal separation from God). But if it is true, you have the best good news you could ever imagine. The point is, Christianity has what is called in logic a “point of falsification” – viz, that it is not something that can never be proved true, one way or the other, but rather that God actually truly entered space and time, and you can verify this.

            I only ask you to use the natural intelligence you demonstrate in your posts, and have a true interest in seeing if, in fact, this God does exist, that (as Swiss American theologian/philosopher said) He is There, and He is Not Silent.

            It is a great quest. If there IS a God, and you seek Him, in his Word actually promises to answer that seeking. It is a great adventure, THE greatest adventure ever. Why refrain from embracing the quest?

            • Test,eh,many other religions besides Christians have celebrated this time of year,both in rebirth and resurrection.I will go with me beliefs as you shall with yours as it should be.I will say one heck of a thought out/considered reply though.I would engage more but this is really not the site for long theologian discussion(nor should it be),that said,be well.

      27. The places to begin prepping are 1.) your car breaking down and 2.) a storm knocking out power for a few hours. First, they are two of the most common emergencies you would need to be prepared for. Second, they are small enough that you can do a thorough job of preparing for them. Third, you can actually do dry runs and see how well your preparations work out. Fourth, even though they are small, they get you in the habit of thinking about the future and preparing for it, so you can move on to bigger and worse things.

      28. Got a genny to use when power goes out. It’s rare it happens got plenty of gas and if I run out of gas got some propane to run it. Seen a redneck way to hook it up to propane using a drill and some jb weld. What the hell I only payed a couple hundred for it. No big loss. I could just order the piece to replace the one I alter. Really I got so many ideas they will be put to use when the time comes. My truck is 11 yrs old I will just nigger rig it if I need to keep it running. I’ve gaffed shit and got much more use out of it. That’s how you do it son.

        • Asshat;
          I’ve got a slow turning diesel generator and enough fuel to run it for a year. In that time I will find a source of oil to fuel it. Before anyone says, THE ZOMBIES WILL HEAR IT!!!!!, I don’t live in town! People can live in caves if they want but it should be a last resort. If you can afford it and can figure out a way to do so, keep the lights on.

          • @ Skeptic…Where did you buy your genset? I have been looking for a 650 rpm diesel genset that is not made in India.

      29. Daypack, steel water bottle, more water, bic, zippo, fixed blade, cap, gloves, bandanas, headlamp, multitool, long sleeved shirt, folding camp saw, walking stick, clothes layers/good WP boots/noncotton pants, sunglasses, TP, cash, snacks, water straw, space blanket…
        Walk every day.

      30. OK,enuff of the hard core,time for some laughs.I saw this at knuckledragging(thanks ken) and this is hilarious! ht tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCSWbTv3hng ,you know the drill,delete space from http to get live and avoid the dreaded moderation game!This guys videos are a riot and take on the BS in our culture,enjoy!

      31. Trump Aide Spills Beans on Heidi Cruz!

        “She is a Bush operative; she worked for the architect of NAFTA, which has killed millions of jobs in this country;

        she was a member on the Council on Foreign Relations who — in Sen. Cruz’s own words, called a nest of snakes that seeks to undermine national sovereignty;

        and she’s been working for Goldman Sachs, the same global bank that Ted Cruz left off of his financial disclosure,” Pierson said.

        “Her entire career has been spent working against everything Ted Cruz says that he stands for,” she added.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGDc-uqCtaE

        • KY Mom
          I have known these things for a while, have mentioned them many times here. I am glad Trump is getting the word out. Those who have been deaf may listen.

        • KYM, you always write good stuff, so I will listen. Question: if this is so, why is Cruz called “the most hated man in the senate” (by the RINOs)? Why does he call for a gold standard, which is the stake thru the heart of the banksters? Why are the corrupt PTB doing **anything** in their power not to have him elected (until it became apparent there was no one else?) Why have his actions, votes and decisions as a politician mirrored the conservative stances he articulates? I guess it all could be an elaborate ruse, but the first point above argues against that.

          I am not *against* Trump; however, I don’t think he is the best candidate. The Founding Fathers (and even up through guys like Noah Webster) were extremely explicit in stating that leaders must be of exemplary character. Trump telling us how big his genitalia is, his multiple wives, tweeting that Heidi Cruz was “ugly”, his bankruptcies (thanks, we already have a bankrupt country) where he was bailed out, his flirtations with the Clintons and other liberal causes historically, his latent misogyny and this same nutty “mania” that we saw with the “Yes we can/Yes we have no bananas” Obama chanters leaves me non-plussed about Trump.

          KYM, we now have 5, and really only four options. “Free Ice Cream for Everyone” Bernie, the truly vile and evil Hilary – who will kill anything that is left of the republic, and is the most evil candidate ever to run, perhaps, then Kasich, who seems more and more like a useless RINO, and then Cruz and Trump. IMHO – and I may be wrong – I think there is a better chance of keeping what little we have of our freedoms under Cruz than Trump. However, I am NOT going to badmouth Trump, and will vote for him if the candidate. Truth is, neither of these men is ideal, but not to vote will put Hilary is. Such is the limits of politics.

          I think, for the first time ever, I cannot agree with what you posted; however, eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, so we (I) need to examine what you wrote, as Paul said of the Bereans, to see if these things are so.

          • Build the wall tall, Trump. Deport all invaders and there are millions of ’em.

            Support small business’ that will build stuff that our traitors have moved to mexico, china, etc. Allow them to make a profit so they can pay decent wages. Strangle the epa and bureaucrats that write rules that prohibit manufacturing.

            Stop anchor babies from becoming citizens.

            Send Cruz and Rubio back to communist cuba. Send obammie with ’em.

        • Addendum, KYM: This presentation is from a paid spokesperson of the Trump campaign. The other side of the story is? I did not find the speaker’s argument convincing.

          • TEST,

            I have a lot of questions about Heidi Cruz’s employment and associations.

            There is an old saying here.

            You can’t play in the coal bin and expect to come out clean.

      32. If you can’t carry it, most likely you will have to leave it.plan on having to run, jump,climb and hide. There are to many large groups that already know what areas they are taking over. If your within 200 miles of a major city,plan on moving. Any farther plan on lots of company.

      33. Hey Sarge, that why I am called the Agency ass clown super moderator.. in order for them get accepted on the boards is to talk bad about the communist cabal.. and of they post the stuff that we are poating then they are helping our cause so they have to leave and keep coming and they have lost and we have gained strength on the ground in this. information. War.

        Regards,

        HCKS

        Agency ass clown super moderator.

        • HCKS
          Have a Great Easter. Keep up the good work!
          Sgt.

        • Where you need to gain strength is English comprehension. Learn how to read and write the English language when you’re trying to communicate with people who speak English. You’ll find they might actually be able to understand your posts, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Still, it can’t hurt to try because you definitely need help in basic reading and writing skills. God knows how you ever got through high school or even grammar school with your level of skill, much less be able to coherently fill out a job application.

      34. No matter how they want to paint the picture, only one color needs to be used in the terrorist attacks around the world. MUSLIN!!!!

        Enough is enough!

      35. Whatever happened to Ron ahren last I knew he went down to stand with the bundys and called everyone cowards for doing nothing about the evil shit stain criminal monsters. He hasn’t been back on the plan since. Hmmmm. I liked his rantings they always seemed to be posted at the right time. Hahaha.

        • I miss his comments too. And for all you bootlicking, ass sucking, yellow, key board commando’s….He was colorful in his comments. I still use his “bootlicking” verse occasionally.

      36. I never thought that I would come to a site like this and be mocked, called names, be accused of working for the FBI along with others things I shall not recount here. I thought folks here would be pretty friendly, open minded, tolerant, helpful. This site has been a big a wake up call for me. There are plenty of folks on this site that have made it clear that they only care about themselves and could give a shit less about anyone else, especially anyone that disagrees with them. This site has made it crystal clear, for me, that you never know what someone thinks and to be very careful about who to trust and who to invite to a prepping location.

        • Philo,and I quote”This site has made it crystal clear, for me, that you never know what someone thinks and to be very careful about who to trust and who to invite to a prepping location.”

          I would say if you got nothing else from this site it still has done you a huge favor right there!

        • Philosopher

          I am going to agree with WD. This is a good lesson to learn about other people. That does not mean that they are bad people. Only they see life different than you do and it might rub you the wrong way. These are the good times. Imagine when you really get stressed out and times are bad.

          So let’s say you know a good person and he could be a good prepper. He does have a few things to bring to the table. BUT! At times he could be contradictive to order within your social group.

          Do you consider him a negative or a positive.
          How much would you put up with his antics or how much will the rest of your prepper group for that matter.

          To add I do not leave myself outside of this equation. ;0)

        • Philosopher,

          I am sorry you have mocked and harassed in comments. That is so rude and unnecessary.

          I thought the purpose of the comments was to share information, not to attack other posters. That said, I do appreciate your posts.

          Take care! Have a great day!

          Sincerely,
          KY Mom

          P.S. I have learned a lot and do appreciate all who share prepping and other information.

        • I never believed you to be a FBI agent. I actually have about the same political beliefs as you, which are the very opposite from another poster I converse with. The difference is that we don’t throw insults back and forth. I think you should reconsider leaving and try to just comment on prep facts. I had a whole lot of comments with BI here about the 3 buildings “falling” down on 9/11. He believed it was from the planes/fire. I don’t. We never got personal on our discussion….By the way he is still wrong.

        • Philo, folks here are pretty friendly until you show your ass, call them names, and just generally disrespect people you don’t agree with. Show some respect and you might get some. Oh….and drop the whiney little bitch routine. It rings WAY false. You have done nothing but be a disrespectful asshole the whole time you have been here. If you go, you won’t be missed.

      37. Okay you technical guys, help!
        I just looked at billionsinchange site and saw a stationary bicycle that you ride one hour and it runs a simple house for 24 hours. I want one! Is this something too hard to put together? He isn’t in production, he sent 25 to India for testing. I remember seeing an African guy set up a less fancy version to power a TV for his village, but it did not have battery storage. Could this be done with standard components?
        I think it is amazing.

      38. Rebbeca,be cautious,not saying can’t work as a lot of alt energy was suppressed(can show a good example)but keep in mind while plenty of food available a hours ride not bad,will burn calories in a your own supplies though if things go bad,also,takes a hour,so,do careful research.

        I would believe perhaps a one/two panel system with some storage a easier way to go and the tech getting better almost daily along with prices much more reasonable especially if just a few items used/say a radio(hand crank option there)a well for short term daily use/perhaps a small freezer,what have you.Let Genius and a few other alt folks hit this up.

        Hit the lowtech website and builditsolar along with mother earth,good sites with homemade/reasonable alt solutions up to including whole house systems,good luck.

        • OMG! nothing has been suppressed, Alternative energy does not work well yet. There is nothing available suppressed or not suppressed that can even come close to the energy output of coal and oil. Technology has come a long way in cleaning these fuels and the energy output is still way ahead of anything else

          • Jimb,me uncle in the 70’s bought some solar panels,kept his place lit for him and family.They were not available earlier(that design)due to the fact BP bought the patent and rights to em.BP when they didn’t develop/market em was taken to court,they could not argue successfully they didn’t have the funds to make em and dropped the rights to em,just one of many examples,so yes,it has been suppressed.

            Even if not as efficient say as examples you bring up rather a array of options that keep me powered and off the grid/matrix,first step there is deciding what you really need and not just want.

            • War child
              I worked in government policy section of ARCO and ARCO was huge into buying up and suppressing alternate energy patents. BP bought Atlantic Richfield. .. and inherited pots of alternate energy patents. Since the US allowed nonpublication, these never saw the light of day. New international rules require publication… unless US only. They still buy and bury.

        • Thanks Warchild
          One thing I liked about it is that I believe it is a mechanical system more durable than electronics. The calories burned could be an issue, especially if I lost my garden a couple years in a row. If I were bugged out, none of it would matter.
          My preference would be a mechanical system on a creek. 24/7 power! Unless I sell my property, that is not going to happen 🙁

          • You can purchase small hydro power units for creeks.

            • Yes, but “reconfiguring” that creek so that you can take advantage of Hydro-Power is a BIG-ass job. We have one, and she works well (except when there has been a deluge …then it all goes underwater). A bicycle wheel with ‘paddles’ welded on every six inches will ‘spin’ the wheel, turning the chain which turns the generator/alternator as fast as possible thereby charging the batteries you have hooked into it. With us, we can grab wind (when it blows), the creek never stops, got an artesian-well, got oodles of elevation …and a recently discovered half-decent cave (and no shortage of guano (sp?)). gawd…

            • Dave in idaho..
              wish I could. I have no creeks. If I sold this property, I would look for land farther from cities and with a creek. Water and power both.

          • you can also invest in some solar panels that would possibly be another solution. then you would not have burn calories.or maybe a generator that is ran on bio fuel.or something like that

            • Hi Shelly
              Know thyself.
              I not only would not be able to keep that stuff running, I would just turn my back on it. My electric bill is law, it isn’t economically feasible even with the system in place. Mechanical, maybe, might keep it running.
              I am better off just going 1800s. Underground shelter for survival warmth, wouldn’t even have to cut cords of wood every year. Just checked out a treadle sewing machine. I knit. I can sew by hand, make quilts. Spinning wheel and loom. The only modcon I would really miss is a freezer. Still, canning and lacto-fermentation… root cellar. Dehydration is easy. Sun dried tomatoes are heavenly. Raisins, yum.

      39. There has to be a sale on Easter candy somewhere.

        • Slingshot
          Yep… I am off to buy my annual chocolate easter bunny today.

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