This article has been contributed by Daisy Luther. Visit The Organic Prepper and check out Daisy’s book The Pantry Primer: How To Build A One Year Food Supply In Three Months.
A while back, I wrote an article called “30 Signs That You’re One of Those Crazy Preppers.” Lots of readers got into the spirit of things, since it was pretty darned relatable. We all know these are actually signs of sanity, but we’re used to being misunderstood by the unprepared and sometimes it’s fun to have a good laugh about their misconceptions of what we actually do.
Then Ebola happened, here on American soil, and a lot more people jumped on board the preparedness bandwagon. To welcome the newbies, here are 45 MORE signs that you might have crossed over to the “prepped side.” (Many of these came straight from the readers!)
Many of these will be things that non-preppers just can’t understand, but they’ll probably give you a warm glow. Feel the prepper solidarity!
- You spend your days off digging an underground bunker in your backyard.
- You have more than a thousand cheapo lighters that you purchased in bulk, stashed away in the back of your linen closet. Oh…and you don’t even smoke.
- You eat a lot of ‘survival food’ now, so there is no ‘system shock’ when you are forced to eat only the items you have stocked (or that you GROW – hint hint).
- You stock alcohol in mass quantities so you can stay drunk after the SHTF.
- You stock alcohol in mass quantities – and you don’t even drink. (Barter, baby!)
- You know what? Forget stocking alcohol. You have your own still
. You’ll make alcohol.
- You have enough salt to create another Dead Sea.
- You have a forest’s worth of firewood cut, stacked, and seasoned.
- You purchased 50 of these
already for stocking stuffers for your friends/family/workmates/neighbor/random stranger.
- Speaking of Christmas, you gave Conflicted to everyone last year.
- When your friends ask about your favorite authors, instead of Hemmingway, Tolkien, or Kerouac, you get a blank stare when you tell them it’s John ‘Lofty’ Wiseman
.
- You know exactly how many Mountain House buckets
it takes to make a base for a single bed.
- You don’t stock up on milk. You get an actual cow.
- Your family doesn’t dare take something from the food stockpile without marking it off the list.
- Your kids know how to don a gas mask in 30 seconds.
- It’s not laser tag
or paintball
…it’s tactical training.
- Everyone in your survival group carries the same firearm so that ammo is standardized.
- You have non-electric versions of appliances like wheat grinders
, washing machines
, and coffee makers
.
- You yell at the TV every time a commercial for Doomsday Preppers comes on. Oh. Wait. You don’t have a TV. But if you did, you’d yell, because you know how positively ridiculous and unrealistic that show is.
- Your family is no longer surprised when you announce, “Hey, we’re going to learn how to make (insert anything here)!”
- You have more how-to books stored on hard-drives than most public libraries have on the bookshelves.
- Your children have a plan to bug out from school.
- Alternatively, you homeschool and bugging out is part of the curriculum.
- You have more than three ways to cook dinner if the power goes out: a woodstove, a barbecue, a sun oven
, a fire-pit, and/or a volcano stove
.
- First Blood
and Red Dawn
are basic training films for your family.
- You have long since accepted the idea that if you’re not on someone’s list, you’re probably not doing it right.
- Your 7 year old knows Morse Code.
- You’re secretly disappointed when the electricity comes back on after only a few minutes.
- You know more ways to make a homemade knife than the entire population of your local prison combined.
- You don’t just rotate food, you rotate ammo.
- You know the distance from your door to your front gate is precisely 207 yards.
- Moving to a new house is no longer “moving”, but “strategic relocation
“.
- You have mapped out at least 3 different routes by car and 2 different routes on foot to get to your bug-out location.
- You know the difference between “Tyvek
” and “Tychem
” suits, and in which instance they should be used.
- Ditto the finer points of N-95
vs. N-100
masks.
- You watch The Walking Dead
- Speaking of fire, you can start one in at least 3 different ways, and you always carry a lighter, a fresnel lens
, and a magnesium firestarter
.
- You have two (or more) of everything important, well, because “one is none.”
- You have a decoy food supply.
- Your kids think it’s a fun game to see who can find the most potential weapons in a room.
- Even your dog has a bug out bag
– which she carries herself.
- You have elected NOT to purchase greater armament, because you plan on upgrading with your future assailant’s weaponry.
- Your EDC includes a knife, firearm w/extra mag, flashlight, mylar blanket, Chapstick, and an ounce of silver — and that’s just for when you’re walking the dog.
- The trunk of your car has enough supplies to carry you through an entire week during a major blizzard.
- One criterion for your new winter coat is that it fits over your body armor.
Can you relate? What are some other signs you might be a “crazy prepper”?
Please feel free to share any information from this article in part or in full, giving credit to the author and including a link to The Organic Prepper and the following bio.
Daisy Luther is the author of The Pantry Primer: How to Build a One Year Food Supply in Three Months. Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at [email protected]
There’s more cash in the house than there is in the bank.
#45 – we cant have body armour here in Aussie. All the others resonate to one degree or another though! 🙂
Aussie
All of the above fit us Aussie. The armour is new this week but completes the list. Hope all is well down under.
Hi MadDog,
Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Thanks.
I’ve got to admit, that list DID give me a warm glow, and made me smile. 🙂
I represent every damned one of those “signs”…
My personal fav: “Your 7 year old knows Morse Code” 🙂
Yup, my favorite is “You’re secretly disappointed when the electricity comes back on after a few minutes”
#46. Wherever you go you automatically make a mental note of exits and lines of drift
GR
media.wix.com/ugd/9c5255_471f8dae56a045e3994a26dda29c6609.pdf
Wow, I am surprisingly shocked. But I doubt they will be adhered to.
“Har Nof” (where four rabbis of genocidal Judaism were killed Nov 18, 2014) was built upon the ruins of ethnically cleansed Palestinian village, Deir Yassin where 107 Palestinian men, women and children were massacred by ‘Jews’
JQP,
Wife and I wondered about these “rabbis” that were killed when we heard about it yesterday. Wondered how God viewed them and their death. I thought to myself, “I wonder what JQP knows of this and hoped you’d come along to post something.
We turned on the news just to see what the propaganda fools on tv would spread about it. Found it funny how they sell the video of supposed Palestinians dancing and handing out cookies as a fact that they were celebrating the death of the Rabbis. Maybe they were, but I look back now at all those videos suspiciously, expecially when no one is interviewed, ever since I seen a video used for such purposes turn out to be fake propaganda and actually the celebrating and dancing in the streets wasn’t even related to that propaganda event at that time.
LOL the only time I know the electric is out is when my neighbors tell me. I live off grid.
thumbs up on that!! http://survivalism-life.com/
Prepper tip…
101 “Oddball Items” To Stock Before TSHTF
1. Shoe and boot laces – yes, you could use leather laces but why not stock some?
2. Fence posts – entirely too handy not just for fencing but for gardening
3. Barbed wire and chicken wire fencing
4. Cloth diapers – handy for so many things other than the obvious
5. Manual egg/batter beaters – whisks work, but the old-fashioned egg beater is hard to beat
6. Hoyle’s rule book for card games – lots and lots of entertainment in one simple book
7. Dice and dice games rulebooks – as above
8. Goggles – safety ones
9. A way to figure calendars into the future
10. Solar powered fencing – even if you don’t have livestock now, you may have it later. And it can be used as a “first line of defense” or used for parts for other uses
11. Canes – there will come a time when they are needed. Adjustable ones are better
12. Plant pots for starting seedlings. You’ll want various sizes
13. Metal rulers – because they last much longer. Different sizes
14. Rain gauge – for keeping track of rainfall
15. Barometer and something that tells you how to use it to get an idea of the weather
16. Candle molds and a double boiler for melting wax
17. Diaper pins – handy not only for the obvious but for securing lots of things
18. Kits to fix garden hoses – because you can stock 10 hoses but what happens when they break?
19. Cheesecloth – useful not just for cheese for all sorts of canning needs
20. Pea shellers, corn huskers, apple peelers and corers, etc. – all those “yankee tools” that our grandparents had but we no longer use.
21. Mimeograph machine and supplies – IF you can find one.
22. Chalk and blackboards. Blackboard paint isn’t a bad idea either
23. Goo remover aka Goo Gone
24. Eyeglass repair kits – they make handy little ones
25. Canoe – if you live near water or an inflatable raft if you’re not that close. If you get a canoe/raft, consider getting the big Duluth packs that outfitters use – they are waterproof (sorta) and good for packing
26. Oars/paddles – even if you don’t have one of the above, they can be handy for improvised rafts
27. Tire chains – if you live where it snows…
28. Swim goggles – not so much for recreational swimming, but for any time you might need to go into the water for whatever reason
29. Life preservers – if you need them, you need them
30. Reflectors and reflective tape
31. Pregnancy kits – I never see this on prepping lists, but it seems so basic… you want to know if you are so you can make sure to eat right, etc.
32. Neck and ankle braces
33. Canning funnel and jar lifter – often listed, but cannot have enough of these, in metal
34. Pack saddle for horses/mules
35. Liquid Smoke flavoring – my spouse swears by this stuff for nice flavoring
36. Powdered lemon and lime juice – an excellent way to store Vitamin C
37. Songbooks and simple instruments – for entertainment
38. Powdered buttermilk – useful for cooking
39. ClearJel canning starch – for canning pie fillings
40. Pet veterinary supplies – basic wound care is a must
41. Bottle corks of various sizes – for when you lose that bottle lid
42. Room thermometers
43. Bags/cloth to use to bag flowers for seed pollination
44. Clothesline and wooden clothespins
45. Clothes baskets that are actual baskets – they last longer and can be repaired
46. An inflatable kiddie pool – thousands of uses (okay, maybe I exaggerate, but useful nevertheless)
47. Lighter flints for refillable lighters
48. Fountain pens, inkwells and powdered ink – those Bic pens you stockpiled will run out eventually
49. UV window film – to help keep houses cool
50. Mailboxes – metal for all sorts of caches and other storage uses
51. Small paintbrushes – handy for many many things besides just painting
52. Pet carriers – one for each pet
53. Canvas shopping bags – handy for so many things
54. Posthole digger, manual – but try to get all your fencing done before … these things SUCK to use
55. Stovetop waffle makers
56. Wind vane
57. Spare glass bottles of various sizes
58. Mop wringer
59. Manual juicers – glass or metal will hold up better than the cheap plastic ones
60. Measuring cups – metal with engraved markings. Painted on markings will disappear with time
61. Measuring spoons – metal with engraved markings. The commonly used plastic ones with painted on markings will break and fade
62. Jar openers – the type that lets you get leverage on the lid
63. Stovetop popcorn popper – ‘cuz if the SHTF and the grid goes down, so does the microwave popcorn you have in the pantry
64. Leather punch and knife
65. Disposable ear plugs
66. Mechanical pencils and spare pencil lead – see above about pens. Pencil lead takes up a lot less space than traditional pencils
67. Folding cloth camping chairs – entirely too useful and easy to store
68. Microscope and slides
69. Old time photographic equipment – could be a new business!
70. Manual typewriter
71. Paper cutter
72. Manual hair clippers – human and animal
73. Steam juicers – stovetop variety
74. Slingshot and ammo
75. Hard hats
76. Sewing measuring tapes
77. Velcro
78. Sewing patterns – better to have them now … especially easy to sew shirts/pants/coats/outerwear
79. Window insulation foam – for keeping warm
80. Disguised safes – the “fake book” kinds
81. Nicorette gum and quit smoking supplies
82. Tomato powder – another good way to store Vitamin C
83. Citric acid, pectin, alum and Pickle Crisp for canning
84. Straight or safety razor for male shaving
85. Rennet tablets for cheese-making
86. Veterinary wrap – useful for not just animals, but people too
87. Autoclave or something that functions like one
88. Dental mirror
89. Walkers and toilet risers for the elderly and don’t forget bedpans
90. Carry yokes – the old fashioned water carrying yokes
91. CLR cleaner – or other lime/deposit/etc. remover
92. Locks – combination, keyed, and other types as needed
93. Moth balls, cedar balls, and smelling salts
94. China markers/grease pencils – these are great for marking containers with what is in them
95. Safety vests
96. Fly paper – stores decently and is really handy. Researching a way to make this stuff is also probably a good idea
97. Foam camping pads for under sleeping bags
98. Winter scarves, gloves, mittens – its easy to forget these when it’s not winter
99. Wind up clocks – how else are you going to keep time if the grid goes down?
100. Tow straps for vehicles
101. Black and brown paint – useful for camouflage, hiding things, and making makeshift showers plus a myriad of other uses.
Survival Life
Direct link…
http://survivallife.com/2013/08/16/101-oddball-items-to-stock-before-tshtf/
awesome list KY Mom
GR
#98,, Shoe crampons for ice traction wouldn’t hurt either for walking during the wild U.S. winter seasons. Ice can cripple one’s plans quick.
Off topic but I just had to share this.
New cry for Ferguson:
“pants up, don’t loot”
I was in a chat room watching the live march feeds after the shooting took place when that saying was first can to life. I remember it well.We were trying to come up with other chants for the protesters.I don’t remember his handle but remember the conversation. We had a winner at that point.
Off topic….Senator Bitch MccCONell lobbied hard today to defeat the NSA overhaul bill to reign them in. fucking pile of shit.
XL pipeline was defeated in a Senate Vote today. Thats Good actually! Bring that dity sand oil from Canada through our sensitive land so they can sell it to China, and all it is is profit for Big Oil Co’s. China and Canada just made a Pac to sell oil using the Chinese yuan and Canada dollar and bypassing the US Petro dollar.
There is enough oil & gas for everyone. Sell it if you have it. New developments out of Germany for synthetic fuel combines a process for water and carbon dioxide.
There is an energy revolution happening folks as we write these lines. Get yours!!! Love you too Daisy!!! 🙂
This is about the energy independence of North America. It won’t be long and American’s will need that oil. Very short-sighted in my opinion. The Canadians will build a pipeline through BC into the Pacific and sell to the Chinese regardless, like it or not. Wouldn’t it be better for the long-term strategy of the United States to have this oil on tap at any given time? And no, I do not believe in anthropogenically caused global warming. Note the eccentricity and precession of the earth as it moves around the sun, as described by Milankovitch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milankovitch_cycles
Over at Communist news network they are trying to decide what the officer should be charged with,
I call BULLSHIT!
SELF DEFENSE FROM A BIG DUMB THUG!
Ferguson MO Powder Keg is a BIG Set up to Install Martial Law. They had delayed this Grand Jury Decision so they can get all their Troops in Place. There is Video of 125 DHS Vehicles hiding in a parking garage 15 miles away. Banning overhead aircraft and installing a NO-Fly zone for News Choppers to documents this. Obama meeting with Riot Protesters telling them to stay the Course. Rev Sharpton ginning up the Rioters to look more locations that have nothing to do with this Shooting. How does protesting or attacking Anheiser Bush? Sounds more like a Monetary Shake down that Sharpton and Jesse Jackson Tactics. Gun Sales up in Ferguson by 300%, Rioters claiming they are going to shoot cops, and burn the town down. The Town is 70% Blacks and the Police Force is 95% White. The City of Ferguson Police Dept says they have more Warrants for Arrest than they have Residents. The Cops do harassing shake down traffic stops to fleece the population to fill their coffers. Dead Man Michaael Browns Parents went to Geneva to appeal to the UN for Help. Lots of Good Videos out there on YTube. Here are a few.
*DHS Vehicles Spotted by Navy Vet:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhraoUC_pks&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The Navy Vet was fired from his job for posting these photos on his Facebook and the DHS Pulled the $150K contract from the hotel.
*Go to Minute 18 of this Video- No Fly Zone over Ferguson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu771g1Pl9U&feature=youtube_gdata_player
*This Guy is Funny;Obama tells Sharpton to Stay the Course in Ferguson – SET UP- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOvhSu70R7s&feature=youtube_gdata_player
*Protesters Release a list of Targets-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn9pF2dQcJQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
*State of Emergency Declared In Ferguson! National Guard Troops Activated ‘Just In Case’- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95lBInR2rQ8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
RT Gives a good News Article: “Ferguson on the edge: RT America special on eve of grand jury ruling” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35Zlhd2aWPA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
How much you want to bet theres a blackout of phone and internet traffic out of anywhere that has flare ups?
IMHO, if this blows up to a major major event, it will not be from the protestors or even rioters. But from professionals brought in to create and hide a flase flag event in the chaos from a bunch of no body amateur punks on the streets.
@BJ
Thats what has been running through my mind as well,
Have that nagging “let no crisis go to waste” thing stuck back there and see all the chatter, MOST of these people have no idea they are just pawns in some bigger picture,
The truth as to who or what causes anything is only speculation at best when the MsM holds a line with the “official story”
Kula,
That is one reason why I cannot and will not see the state as the good guy here.
There are no good guys in this Ferguson fight.
Daisy, I love you 🙂
When your MD asks how you gt the hernia; you cannot tell him it was from moving you silver collection.
When you start wondering if you ammo stash requires a bunker.
When your friend, the Chief of police, asks you for ammo during the shortage.
When you have more than one concealed carry permit.
When asked how man guns you have, you ask Belt Fed or all of them? (ATF please note: ALL my stuff is legal)
When you count up the number of guns you have, and cannot remember.
When you are standing around with a bunch of guys doing nothing and someone asks: Does anyone here know what the threads on an old 1919 flash hider were? And you say No, but I have one in cosmoline, will that help?
You might be a prepper.
I sheriffs deputy asked me a while back if I owned a gun. All I said was I have lots of guns.
@ rdu : You might not be able to legally own body armour but when the SHTF who is going to care? If you can’t get it you can go Clint Eastwood style and make it out of steel plates. Where their is a will, their is a way. Good luck to you and yours.
@ fish and mud.. correct. Buy a tactical vest and have a interior chest pocket sewn in. Buy some 1/4 inch AR steel plate and slide it into the pouch. It is only illegal in AUS if the plate is in. You can put plates in area’s of your choice including the back.
How high in number for the plate do you have to go to stop .308…isn’t it the max?
@BJ Level 3 will stop 308 NATO. Nothing more
Take the weapon outside and shot the plate. If it goes through, go thicker. If you can afford it and get ahold of it, you might want to try stainless steal plate. I think you can go thinner and accomplish the same thing. You will need or have access to a plasma cutter. You can’t cut stainless with a regular torch.
Thanks guys
i’m with you on that one. i’m not a believer in gold and silver, they’ll take that if you have enough; but i am in cash and lead.
and true story from today:
went to the post office to mail some packages and the transmission line to process debit/credit cards was down; so they could only take cash.
a woman in front of me did not have $2.19 in cash to pay for her postage. $2.19 !
i had 3 times more than that in the change jar in my car !
if things ever do really go south in the usa, there’s going to be looting like you have never seen and a lot of people are going to be dead in 5 days from starvation.
I buy groceries and supplies with cash only. You should see the looks when I do that. I recently payed my bill at the checkout and the cashier didn’t have the right change. He had to wait for the manager to get it. Holy mackerel, the people behind me went nuts because they were inconvenienced. One fella said this is too slow. I said “Sir, I don’t use credit cards. I’m not the one that isn’t prepared for the transaction.” On another note, for those that use credit cards, there is a high cost for supposed convenience.
Old Nam Vet, most of my personal transactions are done in cash, especially when I buy prep supplies. On occasion I get those same crazy looks but I don’t give a damn. I’ve never had a credit card and refuse to get one. I refuse to sacrifice anything to pay the minimum amount on a credit card bill every month. Being debt-free is an awesome feeling. Plus, I can get more prep supplies at one time than I normally could otherwise. They can take their credit and shove it.
RB. You would have a CC if you qualified for one. LoL. You do sound convincing though.
WWTI, I’ve had a checking account forever and my income level was the right amount of money to qualify. The people I was dealing with were just total pricks. This was back in the late 90s and the economy was still pretty good then. Back then I was willing to bite that bullet but no one would let me get near it. Nowadays I refuse to fill out a credit application for anything. They can take their credit and shove it. if I can’t get something for cash, then I don’t need it. people are 15 years TOO LATE to let me use credit now. Lost interest in it.
I agree, Cash is King
RG. You are better off with No Credit Cards. Many People have No control of their spending habits, and carry debt of $10,000 or more. And if they miss a payment the interest rises on future purchases. Banks can also ruin your credit too, if you have a $7500 Card and they decide to cut off the card off like WaMu Did to me, when they went bankrupt, that reflected on the Credit Borrowing power on my credit and reduced my credit score. Also if you have a card like $10,000 and you pay the debt off they can cut the borrowing in half or to $1000 just because they don’t want the risk, it can also hurt your credit rating. Banks are a Scam, and so is the Credit Rating service, especially if you have Outstanding Medical Bills that can’t be paid they destroy your credit. Its a Rat Race, so Be Happy RB, it may be a blessing to be debt free right now. They may open up debtors prisons.
Hello BH;
It’s great to pay with cash but I never carry a balance on credit cards and there is no charge for a 30 day plus float on the money. The right cards also have pretty good air miles. If they quit taking plastic I will throw them out or pick locks with them.
Skeptic, try to get out of debt as fast as you can. As long as I can use cash or my debit card to get something, I’m in good shape. These people who have the power to approve and reject credit applications can reject anyone’s application they choose and not face any consequences. They are way too selective about who they do business with. So be it. it’s not killing me to live without credit.
Never use your “Debit Card” to make any purchases ever. PERIOD!! If your Debit Card is hacked they can wipe out your entire bank balance of your money. ONLY Use your Debit Card to Take Money out of an ATM Machine. Only use Credit Cards for purchases especially online. If your Credit Card is hacked they steal MC and Visa’s Money and you have Zero liability and they just send you a new credit card.
NEVER NEVER use a “Debit Card” at a Restaurant. The Skippy thief Waiter or Waitress takes your Debit Card into the back room for 5 mins, to run the transaction, and photos both the front and the back of the card with the 3 digit codes, then goes shopping online when they get home and wipes out your bank account. And the Bank is not responsible to credit your debit card back if they don’t feel like it, unlike the protections of a credit card.
Yeah if the Grid totally collapses, banks are out billions in debt. They will be going after peoples homes more than unsecured credit lines. One big KEY is Never put your assets in the same bank as your Debt. If you have a mortgage, never carry credit cards from the same bank. If you default on your cards they will attach the debt on your house. Same with a car they can transfer the Credit Card debt to the Car and suck out your equity. Read the fine print on loans. Also if you do your banking with direct deposit with your income, do not have a credit card at the same bank as they will take your income to pay off the card debt. Keep your debts separate, from your equity and assets in different banks. Forget banks and go to a local credit union.
If you can’t pay your full CC amount due at the end of the month you shouldn’t have one. I haven’t paid a penny in charges in 40 or so years. Nothing like using their money for up to 30 days.
Get This: Here is a new scam in Florida. I just paid off my vehicle, and asked my lending institution to send me back my paper title. They said Florida now keeps titles in electronic form. I called the DMV, and they said well you can come down and pay $10 for a Paper title. I said Yes, and they said, “or we can keep it on file for you.” Huh?? I said Well what happens if the Grid totally collapses, how can I prove I own the vehicle. She went silent on the other line. Then she comes back and says well if you lose the title, you will have to pay $85 to get a duplicate. Like WTF. So $10 to get a paper title but $85 to get a duplicate? Like WTF Scam are they puling here.
Here is the Potential scam. The State wants to keep everybody’s Car titles so if for some reason you fail to pay your taxes, they can hold your car title hostage or collateral, or if someone fails to pay child support or use it as a debt instrument to deny you the ability to transfer your property to someone else free and clear, or to another state. I am not going to let any Police State hold my Vehicle Title for “Electronic Safe Keeping- “wink wink”. I want the damn Paper Title of ownership in my hand for my own protection not theirs. Pay Attention Folks, Lots of Scams out there. What if I died, the State will retain my vehicle, if I did not have a set will or life estate upon my death. It is another form of possible asset forfeiture to the state. SCAM Written all over this.
exactly Wink, they are giving you an interest free loan for 30 days. I’ll take that any day of the week.
GR
I just got $13 LED flashlights(waterproof) for $4 from Amazon, free shipping or I don’t buy!!
Yep–used a CC, 0% interest for over a year; doesn’t matter, since I ALWAYS pay in full upon receiving statement.
SO, I am USING them, they are NOT using me!!
It’s called necessity–there are great deals at times and why use a check and make the transaction longer when I can get that item in 3/4 days using CC.
lena,
Utlimately the government can steal anything we own, including the clothes on one’s back. Having silver and gold is way to preserve one’s personal wealth against a devaluing dollar.
There is no doubt in my mind that it’s a matter of when things go south in the US. It will take a lot longer than five days though, to die from starvation. One can go five weeks without food, and although one will get weak and lose some weight, one won’t necessarily die from it.
Scout and Lena, Soon after SHTF, everybody is going to be able to fit back into their skinny clothes again. Save that highschool outfit and old blue Jeans. LoL. I had a kidney stone a few yrs back and couldn’t eat anything for a week. Lost like 15+ Lbs. Weight will drop fast when there is no food.
Hey, I want to protest the phrase “Going South” as something bad happened or will happen. Lets start useing the term “Going North” or “Gone North”. After all ” up Yonder” is where most lberals live who have and still attack the South at every turn.
By the way I’m well prepared for when 5SHTF AND everything Goes North!
Mark, when SHTF people will go South or freeze their asses off staying up North. lol We’ll just shoot them as they try to cross the state line when coming or going South. lol
Gas $2.65 Central FL. Going down. Stock up….
$2.61 Arizona, last week. 🙂
$2.43 in myrtle beach last week.
$2.96/97 for regular here in PA.
$2.53 in south carolina
$2.55 in southern NJ
Still $5.88 here in the AK bush. Won’t change until the next fuel barge and then it will probably go up in price.
3.25 in new york
We will see less than $2 / Gal in 2015. Massive Glut right now of oil sitting in barges all over the world. Look for $60 / Barrel soon which is now less than $75. I see $30 / Barrel next year. Good for American consumers and businesses. Airlines still screwing everybody over as prices keep climbing,especially with baggage fees. I refuse to be molested by the TSA and fly anymore unless absolutely necessary. Hard to pack a concealed carry on a plane these days. lol My Auto is still my castle and I’ll take my chances on the road.
Anyone still accepting tyranny and highway (no pun intended) at the airposrts deserves what they get.
Forgot to add the word *robbery* after highway.
@ Lena : I have said all along that half of the population will be dead in 30 days. I also believe that the store shelves will be empty the first day.
As far as gold and silver goes : no gold and only a little silver. I got down one time and had to sell my silver. I found out then that it is only worth what the next guy is willing to pay for it. I got less than spot but I was almost starving. From now on it is tangibles all the way. Beans, rice, TP, brass and lead is what I collect now. I have made a very intense list, and when I complete my list, I cant think of anything else I would need.
A lot of people will be dead from trying to loot
Lena, you can’t die from starvation in 5 days. Five days without food is called a short fast.
.
What are some other signs you might be a “crazy prepper”?
Another sign is being a regular reader of Mac Slavo’s SHTFplan’s blog and debating folks like Helot, BJ, and Whowouldathunkit, etc….
😉
darn Skippy…
Good one Daisy.
Your family is tired of Christmas presents that are updates to a survival bag they keep in the car.
BigB
If I had my wish, we’d all be on the same page, then be helpful to one another.
Nope, you never want everyone to be on the same page. If that page is wrong, then everyone’s toast. Let them go there own way and respect the others way, then help everyone that turns out to not be correct when the day comes. Any way is better than none. Differences are good. Anyone that is sure they are right and everyone else is wrong is almost certainly wrong.
Thanks for giving me something to think about today paranoid.
FreeSlave, AMEN to that one. I LOVE to jump on trolls. Yeah, I’m a crazy prepper and PROUD of it. Come on trolls to papa braveheart…..
Heh, heh. 😉
FreeSlave, BTW, SOME trolls do reveal themselves, like the ones you mentioned.
You caught me, and here I thought you were just a unbalanced mentally weak idiot.
BJ, I’m not unbalanced or weak, but I will take you up on that offer of trying to be helpful to one another. I have offered certain prep tips to people many times here.
Oh don’t waste your time on trolls like helot and me.
How long have you been checking out this site FS?
I think I’ve been here starting Summer 2014. I enjoy Mac’s posts, I learn a lot, and I enjoy the interaction. There was one poster who I really enjoyed because s/he knew so much about earthquakes: Be Informed or BI.
Free Slave. At least you can take it. Part of prepping is physical but also mental strength to debate, convincen prove and be stable to look, sound and appear to be a leader. Being a crybaby or whining or playing a victim or running off, only makes a person look weak and useless.
Thanks WWTI. Definitely praise.
FreeSlave you must have one of those Oak Bonsai Trees in your yard, Cause where else could you pick three such low hanging nuts.
NGIC, my favorite idiot. Don’t forget you came from the same kind of tree.
…and the money in the house is real gold and silver not debt notes.
# 46 You have a separate refrigerator designated for your seed storage.
There is more cash in your wallet than in your house or bank combined. LoL
A wise man is a prepared man. NOT my words. Gods.
And being prepared is a good feeling…
Amen Eppe
Yes it is eppe.
I’m sure everyone has heard about the 6 feet of snow they got just south of Buffalo, and all the people stuck on the interstate. How many of those people had the right stuff in their cars? I’m guessing maybe 3 or 4.
I could thrive for nearly two weeks with what is in my truck.
GR
Wanna hear a story?
Take a little stroll…
About a guy named ‘eppe’
A four year shtfplan ‘troll’
Been prepping for years,
Got past all the fears,
Got tired of the same,
Told jokes without a name.
Till some came by,
Tried poking a stick in his eye,
Still I don’t care,
I wonder how they will fare?
Eppe, that’s another good one. Keep them coming.
Every time I go to the store
I observe the idiots galore
in theyre own world with glassy eyes
blocking the isles with theyre fat assed thighs
buying ding dongs, twinkies and chips
muttering some bullshit from theyre worn out lips
stumbling through life without a clue
never to learn the useful or new
buying some magazines full of trash
using some card instead of cash
then can’t figure out why it won’t work
as I mutter to myself “you fat stupid jerk”
then comes my turn to pay for my shit
and the cashier is a drooling 16 year old twit
I hand him some cash and to no suprise
I see the back of his head when I look in his eyes
he fumbles about trying to make change
and asks for the manager to make the exchange
then on my way out of the store
people come in the exit galore
after fighting my way through I get to the car
throw my shit in and hit the black tar
then deal with the same morons all the way home
and this is geniuses great shopping poem 🙂
Genius, excellent poem, conveys the truth out there…
Genius, that’s one of the best poems I’ve ever read anywhere. You really live up to your handle. Great post.
HA HA thanks eppe and Brave. I hate shopping and so does my wife. I think I will write a poem about a whitehouse cristmas 😉
Eppe, since we are all prepared we are all WISE.
Your day of Joy has arrived….You have put the final touches on your lastest invention of ” Carry Your EDC with 3 extra magazines System ” in the ” SHOWER !!! ”
You share it with all your SHTFPLAN friends….and within 24 hours you are 12,437 orders behind !!!
Then someone post…” Hell …that’s and Old Idea !!! ” I have been carrying mine in the shower for years !!! Now, that’s some preppers !!!
Let’s see, I’ve had a “bathroom gun” since I graduated from the police academy in 1976. Never showered with it then, because it wasn’t polymer framed. Got a polymer frame now, but, I was taught to use both hands to wash with. So, the EDC stays on the counter just outside the shower. I’ve got some four-legged burglar biters in addition to an excellent alarm system, excellent hardened exterior doors and windows, so, there is time to get to the EDC, IF, the bad guys/girls make it past the other preps.(which I highly doubt they will)
God has many good words, to bad our country no longer listens.
The good ones do
Or I should say the good people listen. Countries have been corrupted
Our “elected” politicians sure don’t “listen” to God, they gave up on God a long time ago, when they prostituted themselves for their own personal power. We need mandatory Federal Term Limits with NO “lifetime” retirement and medical benefits, that the rest of us, are not entitled to.(because we elected them)
If God was prepared he’d have his own money and stop begging for yours every week.
FOOL !!!!
Lol, for a guy who doesn’t believe in God you sure do treat him like a real person. Its not so much that you don’t believe in Him. He just ticks you off 🙂
It must be funny talking to nobody who doesn’t talk back. Kind of like a kids imaginary space friend he plays with for amusement. Begging and asking for things that never happens. May as well have a pet rock.
God does reply if you know how to listen. He told me to move to Idaho for instance and start building a really big boat. Just kidding about the boat, but we do call our farm “The Ark.”
WOW! I’m going to save that one! Expect to see it plastered all over the Interweb.
First off, it’s not yours, it’s His. Secondly, He doesn’t beg, the false prophets beg. He expects the tithes to be given freely. But you wouldn’t understand.
So you are saying God wrote the Bible or who decided that Tithing Rule? Oh my, you have a lot of info to sort out there eh?
Fleecing of the Sheep;…
Fleecing of the Sheep;…
We will go rejoicing;…..
Fleecing of the Sheep!!!
If money is the root of all evil, and you say that the money belongs to the ‘Him’ …does that make this god person you speak of ‘evil’ ?
Also, tithing comes to us by way of the Norse and Anglo-Saxon traditions, *not* from any middle eastern religion. Originally known as the frith borh (frankpledge), it was a way to maintain law and order. Comes from the words ten and thing (teothung)…Ten households of men over 12 who pledged to their lords (as non-land owners, they would have been like his serfs). Since they did not own land, the serfs were required to pledge to a lord. If that serf committed a crime, the entire 10 households in the frith borh would have been punished.
Your middle eastern religion has many Anglo-Saxon and Norse components to it. Fascinating. Even calling someone whom you serve ‘lord’ isn’t middle eastern, but European in origin. My question is: How did this middle eastern god come to expect tithing when that was part of another cultural tradition? Did he like the euro-way and went that route, or was this simply a cultural appropriation made by those who conquered my ancestors and forced them to convert or face death? Much like Easter and Christmas were adopted by Christianity while having pagan origins. Also interesting is that these Abrahamic religions are generally intolerant and violent to those who believe differently. Jews, Muslims and Christians all worship the same god of Abraham and all seek to destroy any non believers (goyim, heathens, or infidels). They are really not very different in practice even though they claim to hate each other. ‘By their fruits’, we know them to be the same.
Refer to this page or Wiki for more info on frith borh:
northoltgrange(dot)wordpress(dot)com/2010/08/28/a-thousand-years-of-running-northolt-oath-lords-courts-and-constables/
Money is not the root of all evil, the LOVE of money (i.e. greed) is the root of all evil. The Jews have it wrong, they are still waiting for the Messiah Who has already come and try to win God’s favor with works instead of accepting salvation by God’s grace alone. The Muslims have it wrong, they believe Allah has no son and their religion is of a deceitful and violent nature that abuses women and has no respect for life. The Catholics have it wrong, they mixed Christianity with paganism, tried to keep the word of God hidden from the people through the dark ages and committed heinous crimes in the name of God. The Crusades may not have happened if the people had access to the word of God and many could not read. AS for tithing, God does ask for ten percent. The tithe was instituted by God to the Israelites to take care of the priestly tribe of Levi, who did not have their own land, but instead were supposed to take care of the Temple and the spiritual needs of the people. God uses the tithe today to feed our pastors and care for our churches. It is true that many of our pastors do fleece the people who trust them when they are supposed to take what they need and use the rest to care for the congregation, the poor, and the sick. God will judge them for their actions and it will not be pretty. As for calling Jesus ‘LORD’, I don’t care how the habit came about. Maybe when Christianity reached Europe we took up the habit then. As far as I know, ‘Adonai” is the Hebrew word for ‘lord’, so maybe we did it then. It is fitting, however, because as Christians, the Earth is NOT our home, Heaven is. True Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism, making Judaism no longer acceptable to God. Islam is a demonic religion entirely, with an old Arab tribal god singled out by a mentally ill ‘prophet’ who had some visitations by a fallen angel. Even sadder is the ‘Christianity’ that we see today, which is so off course from God’s plan and increasingly less different from the secular society around them, essentially becoming heathens themselves. God did command entire cities of men, women and children to die in ancient Canaan, most people don’t understand the history of those ancient peoples. Those whole societies killed off were people so evil they would lay a live baby on the arms of an iron idol heated cherry red for selfish desires. They were also probably carriers of human/fallen angel hybrid bloodlines, which if true, they weren’t totally human anyway and there is some evidence to suggest this since races of Giants roamed the land. Research the Nephilim. http://www.genesis6giants.com is a great place to start. God intended for ancient Israel to be a light to the nations for the purpose of regathering ALL of humanity back to himself. The ancient Israelites were not to kill off the Goyim, but lead them back to God. Knowing Israel would fail, God already had a plan in mind. Jesus. Real Christians are not supposed to hate anyone. In fact, the Bible teaches us to do good to those who do us evil and to forgive our enemies. Yes, we oppose the practices of vile things like homosexuality and abortion, but we don’t hate those who do them. Our goal is to bring them back to God, not destroy them. Real Christianity and Islam are worlds apart, and Islam hates everyone, including their own. That is why Jihadists will not hesitate to murder even their own children to further the ‘will of Allah’ of killing and subduing the infidel. I do agree on one point you make: Easter and Christmas are very pagan holidays with roots stretching back to the tower of Babel. It sickens me to know that the people of my faith carry out traditions symbolic of the pagan child sacrifice, sex/fertility, and idol worship rituals. In fact, Christmas was not celebrated here in America until the 1850s for that reason.
” Christmas was not celebrated here in America until the 1850s for that reason.”
Yes it was not a legal holiday until June 24, 1870. Up until then it wasn’t celebrated….the Puritans had it right. There is nothing Godly about christmas what so ever….othyer than it is probably close to the time of Holy coneption.
We can thank Charles Dickens and his idiotic book from 1843 called “A Christmas Carol” for the Satanic christmas brainwashing. He brought it to America in 1867 and packed theatres with people to see it….and that was it.
LOVE IT!!!
You save all your old newspapers,cans,string,rubber bands,repair your clothes and shoes and reuse tv dinner plates.
Jim in Va. Note to myself. Don’t forget the can openers. Not the electric ones, but the church keys, those little p-38s that hook on your key chain, and the two handled manual can openers.
And matches along with the lighters.
When I turn on my computer, the first site I go to is this one.
Thanx, Mac. For all you do to keep things interesting with this site.
Not to mention all of you fine people out there in Prepper land who comment on this site.
Again, thanx.
All eyes, preppers. The sh*t storm is coming.
Speaking of old newspapers, does anyone else shred them and other papers to make into bricks for the fireplace or fire pit?
I started a last year, it’s amazing how long a couple of bricks will burn for.
GR
What do you use to compress them?
BJ,
I started with this one from Lehmans, it works pretty good. I found another one at a flea market that is better but it has no markings as to who makes it.
ht tp://non-electric.lehmans.com/search#p=R&w=paper%2520b&url=http%3a%2f%2fnon-electric.lehmans.com%2fsearch%3fw%3dpaper%2520brick%2520maker%26ts%3dajax&rk=1&uid=200429146&ts=rac&rt=racsug&asug=paper b?apelog=yes
The kids like to get involved too since it can be messy and my boys love to make a mess.
GR
@GR,
I had no idea they made such a thing. Back in 2007 when we lived in Lowell, MI and heated with a wood stove, we bought some compressed logs made of sawdust. They worked great. I move a lot now for work and never get lucky enough to rent a place with a wood stove in it. Stinks because the kids would love to get involved as well….my boy AND all the girls love to get dirty 🙂
#28 is the best!
I so relate to that. Last time the power went out it was wahoo, grab the bug out bags, flashlights and torches were on within seconds, HAM radio was on 12V battery bank with the turn of a switch… then the power came back on.
Major sadface.
Yep have about 200 lighters now. Enough dryer lint to knit a sweater. And just zeroed in the laser light on the new fire breather.
Thats same here, was wishing the hurricaine would smack us square for some practice!
Kula, You don’t want a Hurricane. We had 4 in one Month back in 2004 here in FL. Evacuated twice due to storm surge threats, boarded up for 3 weeks 145+ mph winds. Very stressful. Every weekend was another Hurricane. Lost so much yard vegitation. Blew all the leaves off the trees.
WWTI, I was in Miami from 1975-1982. Wen through a couple of hurricanes. They ain’t nothing nice.
Yep RB – hurricanes are a 145 MPH SHTF kind of stress. Then possible looting afterwards. At least we get a week ahead notice to monitor its path before it hits to get last minute preps and move all the lawn furniture and objects inside.
Unlike a sudden No Knock Warrant by DHS picking up your Guns. Watch for that in Ferguson, I’m betting that will happen, once the random shooting starts.
Never have been through a hurricane, never have wanted to. Been through some righteous earthquakes and the 1992 Rodney King Loot-Scoot-N-Shoot-Spring Festival though….had to work that one.
WWTI, if DHS or anyone else tries that stupidity, I hope the gun owners put up resistance to it and make the feds back off.
RB, TPSnod, Kula, Ditto on all of that.. Stay Vigilant.
#101 yeast and sugar. Make some booze and sit on the porch and watch the show. Popcorn will be nice too. Playing some old black sabbath in your rocking chair with the AK next to you. Make sure to have some goldfish crackers and federal ammo too 😉
good on ya friend
You collect empty soda cans to build a solar room heater.
You go “cruising” the neighborhoods checking for trash o
n the curbside.One persons trash,is someones treasure.
I save em all! Sadine cans, Soup cans, PLastic juice containers of all sizes and shapes. Milk jugs too. Thems fer shootin!
Run scenerios through your mind while outside working on the place, what would I do if?
#6 , will make me the barter king come shtf .
But of course i will hafta learn how to build one first
and aquire all the stuff, as i have no current ability, as a matter of fact.
WOOOOHOOOOO !
I already had that thought about barter. I have all the material.
You think of your town-provided recycle bin as ‘raw material storage’
Mine usually has fire-starting material and at least one item for potable water storage.
You come to realize that your stash of chocolate has now become more valuable than your PMs…
OPSEc. You never, EVER, discuss you Chocolate stash.
I’m watching YOU! And more importantly I’m watching your CHOCOLATE,
Hate to break it to you…
http://essentialstuff.org/index.php/2013/02/10/Cat/hersheys-uses-gmo-ingredients-in-their-chocolate-products/
I got some serious Cacao from South America.
http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Powder-America-Non-GMO-Gluten-Free/dp/B00EUEYM4C/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1416366687&sr=8-9&keywords=cacao
Candy making should be a winner in the SHTF.
I have some other candy making supplies as well.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_2?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A2231406011%2Ck%3Acandy+making&keywords=candy+making&ie=UTF8&qid=1416366801&rnid=2941120011
Keep Prepping!
I ate all my Y2K stash of chocolate. They say there’s a chocolate shortage imminent, so I’ve got to stock up even more. Plain Hershey bars last at least 15 years, or less if you keep eating them. Hershey cocoa is a good long-lasting prep for future chocolate goodies.
Archivist, I knew there was something missing from my latest prep shopping list.
“Deep down we all want a zombie apocalypse.” Wife’s bumper sticker.
The friendly neighborhood squirres have no idea they are part of my future emergency back up food chain menue.
🙂
Why are those funny?
/sarc
On a technical note, everything after the product number on the Amazon links can be safely removed. The extra digits are used as tracking codes. For example:
w w w.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E63WRTY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00E63WRTY&linkCode=as2&tag=prepping0a-20&linkId=TCLS6PL2I77ZG2QJ
can be shortened to just
w w w.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E63WRTY
Thanks for the tip.
Not sure if this is a sign of being a Prepper or just a nutcase but I try to recount my lose .22 LR in 5 ammo cans and inspect them one by one for corrosion.
Yeah that might just be OCD.
OCD for sure if you try to clean off the corrosion with sandpaper and keep the round!
Townsaver: Have you talked to my wife? lol
.22 LR is so scarce in Nevada I wouldn’t fault you if that was the case. I refuse to pay more than $25.00 for a brick of decent rounds.
Eventually people will saturate and it will become available for reasonable market prices. Till that happens… it is cheaper to shoot 12 GA. Literally.
I’m beginning to think that day will never come. 🙁
GR
Why do you have 5 ammo cans of unboxed 22?
He probably likes to run his hands through them like a miser would do with gold coins. I’m bloody rich!
I did do that with a 550 round box one time. It was very comforting.
Kind of like Scrooge McDuck and his swimming pool full of gold coins….
Maybe they are reloads lol 😛
Archivist: Indeed you gave a perfect explanation.
Para, I opened around 50 boxes of 550 rounds , dumped it in the ammo cans, added silica gel packets and that was around 7 years ago.
Ditto
You make your own clothes~all of them. You own a treadle sewing machine and know how to use it. Stock lots of bolts of denim. You make your night gowns out of old sheets from yard sales. Save buttons and zippers from old or garage sale clothes. Use any scraps to braid rugs.
I save buttons from old clothes going into the rag bucket.
Me too. I’ve got a sewing machine that works on 12V and I love it. If you can change a fan belt and handle a screwdriver, you can turn almost ANY sewing machine into a treadle type.
That’s a good Prep Six, (Sewing Machine) and a monetary skill post SHTF.
Got the treadle machine, and neighbor has one also.
I picked up this sewing machine for $25 new, nice little machine.
http://www.amazon.com/Michley-LSS-202-Electrical-Scissors-42-Piece/dp/B00365E43U/ref=sr_1_9?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1416367246&sr=1-9&keywords=sewing+machine
I don’t think it take a lot of power and plan to use solar to recharge my cool portable battery pack.
http://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-802-1500-XPower-Portable-Powerpack/dp/B00005RHQQ/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1416367450&sr=8-14&keywords=portable+battery+power
I can not believe it is 530.00, I got it for almost half that 4 years ago, must be in demand. A good investment I guess.
Scout, A better deal is…
2- 208ah deep cycle batteries, 79 bux at costco
1- 100 watt solar panel, 130 bux on ebay
1- 30 amp charge controller, 15 bux on ebay
1- 1500 watt inverter, 140 bux on ebay
total of 445 bux!
Now you have 4 times the power storage, a solar panel to charge them, the same 1500 watts of AC power. Oh ya wiring will be around 20 bux so 465 total. Add a dolly and box if ya want. I have NEVER seen any portable power system that was not at least 3 times the price it was worth FYI.
The amazon ad says it will power a normal size refrigerator, microwave, etc. Thats true FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES LOL. 51ah isn’t enough to power anything significant. Say your fridge used 150 watts.. thats (150 divided by 120 volts = 1.25 amps) So 1.25 amps X 11 (the average conversion from ac to dc amps in an inverter) = 13.7 amps of DC power. Minus the start up surge of the compressor 13.7X3=41.1 amp motor start surge and your looking at draining the little 51ah battery to the point the inverter will do a low voltage shutdown in no time. Most inverters have a shutdown voltage of around 11.5 volts (about 80% discharged). To make matters worse it’s an AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery which is VERY easily damaged by such deep discharges, permanantly. I see the item is discontinued and for good reason. Xantrex is famous for defective crap. Return it if you can and get a lot better system with your money, I would hate to see you try and use it in an emergency. I have done solar professionally and as a side job and I know what Im talking about. I wish you the best…
Genius;
I forgot that you were the solar power expert. A few questions re solar since I am looking at that for my next major purchase.
I thought AGM batteries were the way to go for solar panels.
Are panels sold prewired with connections or would I have to attach some type of connectors?
Are the wiring connections all standard? Meaning that any wire I buy will fit any panel, controller, etc.
My electrical experience is limited to changing light switches and receptacles.
Thanks in advance
GR
Ghost, The only reason to use AGM batteries is because you will be keeping them inside in an unvented area (think fumes) or because they will be in a remote place where you cannot get to once in a while to top off the water and clean them. AGM batteries are a lot more expensive and a lot less forgiving than flooded lead acid batteries. At a 50% discharge rate an AGM batt has almost half the life of a flooded battery. So it depends on where you are keeping them as to your need for them. Many people have a vented box inside with a small fan that blows the fumes outside and use flooded batteries.
As far as connectors go most panels in the last 6 years or so have MC-4 type connectors. You can buy them cheap on ebay, they are easy to install.. just strip about half an inch of your wire, insert it in the metal pin, crimp it, snap the pin into the connector till you feel it click. Do not connect the panels under load!
I reccomend you use #10 UL 7203 rated PV wire for all outdoor or exposed wiring (it’s also code). It can be hard to find but ebay has a lot of it cheap.
VERY IMPORTANT! Make sure you use the correct sizes of STRANDED wire in all DC circuits! NEVER use romex or other solid wire. DC wire sizing charts are available online or at most online dealers sites. AC and DC are completely different animals and DC wire loss is huge so be sure to do it right the first time and you won’t regret it! Hope this helps 🙂
Genius,
Thanks for the info, very helpful. Especially the part about the stranded wire! Did not know that.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
GR
Scout,
A sewing machine is a useful item to have.
Here are links for some FREE basic clothing patterns for to download and print. Patterns can be copied on to old newspapers.
Click on the patterns link at
thepreparedhomemaker dot BlogSpot dot com
Children’s Pillowcase dress pattern – simple and cute.
www dot everythingsewing dot net
(I have tried to enter the direct link – won’t let me. I will try again below.)
Despite repeated attempts, the links won’t load.
Apparently, the internet sees family clothing patterns as DANGEROUS information that should NOT shared with anyone.
It was that off-the-shoulder child’s dress on “Everything Sewing.”
LOL! 🙂
Thanks Genius.
I have 2 250 watt Canadian Solar Panels, 4 qty 4 VMAX 6V AGM 12V / 24V Battery pkg 225ah 6 volts ea high capacity golf cart solar commercial golfcart maintenance free 6Volt battery new pure 24 volt sinewave inverter, fuses, wiring, etc. just haven’t set it up yet.
Thanks KY Mom!
Cool, will send it to the good half.
She’s really old fashioned thank God.
Makes soap, crochets, can make clothing.
Picked up a ton of yarn for 2.00 at a yard sale.
Also got a LOT of free bolts of various cloth.
Not me, not me. I ain’t prepping for shit. I am going to stand in the middle of the street, naked, with my fully automatic AK47 and yell “COME AND GETZ SUM”.
Then I will start stocking up on preps.
You do that in Wyo during the winter and even if you win your new nickname will be stumpy.
Dependin on what town they might just think es playin hard ta get!
Or The Capon.
When the news predicts some disaster, I always pray this is the big one. I am sure when it hits I will wish it hadn’t, but man am I ready to be the hereafter’s travel agency.
I can’t wait to get some payback on the people who have ruined this country with their hedonistic attitudes.
You’ve been asking God, in your prayers, if you should buy a Mini-14 or not?
You’ll never have enough 9mm/.223/.308/ or 12 ga ammo.
An Old friend of mine stated the other day that he was concerned about how he would move his 400 LBS of ammo….without a blink I said ” Is that all you have ? ” A second later I thought ” Damn….I have been prepping for a while !!! “
Yah if you weigh your stuff in lbs. you have just started. That’s why there is no such thing as a Bug out Bag. Just a get home bag. A Bug out Semi, yes.
and that you just blew your OPSEC
SMH
(This didn’t show up the first time that I posted it)
You’ve been asking God in your prayers if you should buy a Mini-14 or not?
You’ll never have enough 9mm/.223/.308/12ga ammo
you have barrels of water in your basement
You water proofed your basement so it would…. ” HOLD WATER !!! “
Prepper version of an indoor swimming pool… 🙂
Seriously anybody who puts a kiddy pool in the basement and fills it full of water is an idiot, and will have massive Mold Spores growing through out your house, rendering it unlivable if it kills you first. Humidity kills. Don’t be Stoopid, Keep all water Preps in sealed “Closed Containers.”
You think of clothing as emergency shelter.
You don’t pay anymore than between 50 cents to a dollar for shirts and pants, jeans and 50 cents for nearly new high grade boxer shorts, and 25 cents for thick socks barely worn. All from thrift stores, size 14 shoes harder to find cheap. Also already seperated recycled dumpster newspaper food coupons save plenty. I’m so cheap I fill my pockets when eating out, always wear baggy pants with large cargo pockets.
Taco Bell hot sauce can make anything edible. Even Taco Bell food.
If you believe that, you might as well stockpile old telephone books for food, They keep and taste about the same
I’ll take horsemeat and sawdust over phone books any day!
If I was sure it was horse meat that would be ok
Besides horse meat, you have thought about canibalism. Look up the battle of Stallengrad. Soldiers even ate the enemy to get through the winter. It was either that or die.
I would eat horsemeat over pork ANYDAY! At work the other day there were some small dumpsters with some pig farms label on them. They were for food scraps that were collected by the farm to feed the pigs. I opened one up and about puked it was so nasty! greasy stinking sludge with what looked like vomit. I told some other guys to look in it and when they did I said “thats what you eat every time you eat pork!” They just walked away without words lol… Horses eat basically the same thing as cattle and are leaner. Hmm eat a grass and hay fed animal OR an animal made up of the most disgusting shit on earth! But I suppose if you seasoned a turd just right it would taste good too huh?
mmmmmmm bacon
try organic bacon from your local farmer friend. Especially one that does a nitrite free preserving method. We’ve been to the farm (of now friends) where we get our bacon and seen how their animals live. We used to buy raw, unpasteurized, organic milk from grass fed jersey cows (certified A2 jersey cows) until we bought a cow from them and now milk our own.
If you know the farmer you are buying from, and sometimes split stuff with them, you will never eat crap like that. When you’re buying half a pig and half a cow, and the farmer is feeding the other half to their family, you know it’s good.
Or bibles.
My cousin drives a truck. Sometimes picks up a load from the place that makes the Taco Bell ‘meats”. If you like rodents fur and all, then you should be ok.
Nopitty, My Cuz lives in Memphis and stores his preps at my place in North Georgia. Now you tell me who is the Idiot.
NGAIdiotCuz – Yeah and when you open his boxes of preps and soon discover its nothing but condoms. Bend over Cuz. lol Who’s the idiot? He’s got plans for you Cuz!! lol
WWTI, NGIC is NOT related to me at all. he’s just an idiot who likes to play around a lot. He’s not a troll so that’s why I tolerate him.
If thats whats in those boxes, we’re gonna blow’em up like ballons and have a birthday party for Cuz. We Love You Man! But quit trying to disown us.
I have collected a bit of small condiments as well, why throw em away? Don’t forget – SPICES.
I saw somewhere that a DJ last month advised people to save up condiment packets and give them out to trick-or-treaters instead of candy.
We have a separate drawer in the pantry with dividers just for condiment packets.
I keep old coffee cream canisters, refill them with salt, pepper, honey, coffee cream, and hand sanitizer packetts. Every fast food place I visit grab a hand full. Napkins too!
Chick-Fil-A gives out free packets of SueBee honey for free on request. Nice single size packets of expensive honey (if you’re not a bee keeper. I’m thinking great for barter.
Or to make MEAD 🙂
Sue Bee honey is only 2 % real honey. You can’t make mead out of that.
Top it all off mead will give you a hang over like no hang over you ever had. Too much sugar!
BigB
B, ya fake honey is no good. I have made mead several times and ya it is sweet but I have never had any bad hangover from it. I drank some that was aged about 1.5 years and it wasnt quite as sweet but very good. I don’t add sulphite to kill the yeast so it keeps working for a long time and carbonates it also. Gotta be careful though and not seal the jug too soon, I had one explode in the cabinet and damn what a mess! My best suggestion is to fill the jug after it ferments and you rack it into another jug to about 2 inches from the top and put an airlock on it and let it age. I made some wine a while back out of welches white grape juice and sugar (1 gallon of juice mixed with 3 pounds of sugar) and it is suprisingly good 🙂 Dry and not sweet just how I like it. I found a source for concentrated elderberry juice that Im going to try next. I made some once from frozen elderberries and sweetened it a little after fermentation and damn that was the best wine I ever had!
I got ideas just reading the post – does that make me a crazy prepper because I think some of the ideas are actually worthy?
If you are HERE,
You are most likely one of us crazy preppers!
I thought all of the ideas were worthy.
Crazy preppers are in denial. It’s a disease called survival.
I keep a notebook beside my computer when I read this site.
You buy StaBil by the case.
You have TWO farm tanks, one for diesel, one for gas.
Your reloading supplies could restock Cabela’s in a pinch.
Your PM stash is 1100 lbs. of old lead X-ray shielding.
Your most valuable book is an 1898 encyclopedia of technology.
Replace sta-bil with pri-g and your spot on 🙂
PRI-G is a triumph of marketing over common sense. Like Gold Bond powder – same stuff, but heavily marketed.
Tip: arrange your EDC in the same pockets every day. You might, for example, lose valuable seconds rifling through your pockets to find the pepper spray if you are attacked by a dog.
PEPPER SPRAY? Here in Wyo we are getting Mexican bears they like pepper spray. Nobody over 8 years old carries pepper spray.
Shut the fuck up you retard pepper spray is proven to repel bears much less humans.
Unfortunately, your sense of humor is the same size as your brain, your IQ, and your Dick. (Hint) low single digits.
Settle down Paranoid Skitso. Everybody has an opinion. He may be the Guy your daughter falls in love with.
Or the boy his son falls in love with lol …
wasp spray works good
This is a really good suggestion and everyone should consider making it a habit. I can verify that I have everything in seconds with a subtle pat down that wouldn’t look like more than my leg itched and I made sure I had my wallet.
The idea that I could ever put my knife or flashlight other than where they belong is preposterous. It’s like trying to imagine putting my car keys in the left pocket instead of front right. Never going to happen.
Sounds OCD I know but I never misplace anything or lose any of my EDC.
Talking about stocking stuffers, I just purchased 3 2014 limited Uncle Henry Knife sets from Sportsman Guide for 20 a piece. It comes with 3 nice pocket knifes and a tin case. I could care less about them being limited. It actually made them cheaper. Check them out. They also have Old Timer and Buck sets as well.
You may call me crazy, but I do go Black Friday shopping at places like Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Tractor Supply looking for gear. I am not brave or crazy enough to go to Wal-mart or Target. However, I will shop their after Holiday sales to pick some stuff up. As far as just using cash, I keep some on hand but I use a card for everything usually. I do not feel comfortable carrying around a large sum of cash on me. I can drop my wallet and run if need be and call my bank and credit card companies to close my accounts. If you have cash, its gone. If a SHTF event happened such as a EMP attack, all of my dept probaly will be erased. Anyway, I like using my BP points to buy 20 gallons of gas for a total of $2.20.
One thing not listed, I keep my locker at work full of things such as batteries, gloves, dust masks, etc. They are full work but if something should happen ,I at least know where a small supply of goodies are.
@ EastTenn : Bass Pro had 22’s last year ( black friday )at yesterdays prices. Don’t worry about your debt, they have that backed up 20 ways to Sunday. It would take more than an EMP to get rid of that.
On BP gas : The best. I use it in all small engines and the RV. Let it sit a year and still cranks right up.
As far as buying with a credit card, I don’t care anymore. They already know what you have anyways, and I’m already on their list. When they decide to collect everybodys stuff, they are not going to fire up the computer and see what you have. They are going door to door, coming in, and taking everything. I know, I know, That will be their intentions anyways.
Fishandmud, if they come to my door, they better have body bags for THEMSELVES. all they’ll get from me is “lead nutrients”.
@ renegade braveheart : I plan on staying as long as I can, but by the time they come a knocking, I hope I’m not there. If I am there, I agree with you. We will give them all the lead they can handle. As far as the body bags go, I hope to get them all, so I will have to dispose of the bodies and their gear. I don’t dig. Just throw them in the burn pit.
Fishandmud, I hope for the best, but I’m not holding my breath on any of this.
Your right, so whats the point of caring anymore?
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/nasa-admits-that-winters-are-going-to-get-colder-much-colder_112014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfcZY3ZDJDQ
Weather has always gone in cycles…nothing new,always has always will.
AE
Did you check out those Neos river trekkers? I have a pair, wear them right over my boots, are real good, light, come off and on easy so can hang them off your pack to dry, work good walking in tall grass too as gatiers, just gotta get used to the big feet, but the treads on them are deep so good grip and they tighten down snug.
Dang its 44 deg in Central West FL right now. But back in the 80’s by this weekend. Have the windows open during the day. My house retains heat I won’t even have to run the furnace till maybe late Dec. My electric bill goes down to about $60 in the winter. Cheap livin here.
Have 5 ways to cook food. Back up is wood rocket stove.
@ WWTI : I thought you were a little further down on the east coast. I am in west central Fla. It is 42 here. We are on the freeze line tonight. I am crossing my fingers we don’t get it. Since we went to gas and insulated the attic $100 – $120 elec bill in the winter. It used to be $400 in the winter and we still froze our butts off. Now it is nice and toasty. Stay warm.
Fish, Yep we are probably neighbors. My ceiling attic space is packed with insulation. It really helps on energy consumption. I like the fresh air and rarely turn on the AC in the summer. Have a nice big tree shading the house most of the day. That helps a lot too.
Lol, froze your butts off? If it’s 25 and not windy here people talk about the warm front that came through. It was -1 and really windy the other night and our 11yo girl took out the trash wearing her pajama bottoms, muck boots, and a tank top. I laughed because my wife didn’t yell at her to wear a jacket (or a shirt with sleeves even).
In the south she would make the kids wear jackets anytime it dropped below 50.
Amazing what you can get used to.
colder than a well diggers ass up here
-10 WC yesterday morning with a static temp of around 16
bring on the dam snow already…ahho..is here!
I love how this type of weather settles in a lot of people, so I can be out here ALONE!
EOTS
-10 is pretty chilly. We are in the mid 20s here in NJ, I’m looking forward to the snow.
GR
we were -1 static and -20 with wc. I swear they miscalculate because -1 with no wind is warmer than +10 and windy.
COMMENTARY: Ebola virus transmission via contact and aerosol — a new paradigm
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2014/11/commentary-ebola-virus-transmission-contact-and-aerosol-new-paradigm
once again CDC is behind the curve
institutionalized incompetence ???
You all forgot a simple thing
A sling bow
See you tube
sling bow
save your ammo.
Maybe Gods Creation had it right from the beginning??
SS, I got me a slingblade and sum biskits an gravy 😛
Is that like a cycle from the mid evil days or is or is it some sort of kung fu thing ?
SS, watch the movie slingblade and you will see lol. Gotta love Billy Bob Thornton!
they are also called a Kizer blade. We commonly call it a idiot stick.
Your new sofa ia made of sacks of wheat with a blanker over them. You open the closet door and without thinking dodge falling sacks of beans. You go into your garden and encounter two peace corp workers, You mow the grass abound the barn and find your pick up you thought was stolen.
I’m good Daisy..
Manos and I wonder why you don’t answer our e mails anymore??
possee
Thanks ever so much Daisy and other posters for bringing a smile to my face after the idiots in the District of Corruption failed to pass the Keystone XL bill. And yes, we’ve two barrels of water in the basement… LOL…
Of course, you ain’t NOTHIN’ until you’ve seen these folks:
http://www.missilebases.com/
#___. I have just started heating my home office this year, because up to now the computers and rows of external hard drives were enough to keep it warm. Also, the walls are insulated well, and there’s so much stuff in the room that there’s not that much air to be heated. All the stuff is a heat sink, I guess.
#___. I learned how to distill alcohol in high school biology class in the 10th grade. We used raisins. Anything with sugar or starch can be used to make alcohol.
#___. I have close to a dozen musical instruments, such as guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, but I’m only trained in playing one of them. I also have over 100 years of sheet music and music books. And I do have training materials for all those musical instruments.
a piano and a flute too . . . lol. My kids can play them and my wife sings in the choir at church and plays handbells. Alas all I can play is cds and mp3s.
#___. When I trim shrubs in the yard, I strip the leaves and cut the wood into small pieces to be dried for rocket stove fuel.
🙂
This is too hilarious and USEABLE …
Dammit I am one of them arent I!
Maybe we need to start a 12 step program,,,,
My name is WhoWuddaThunkIt and I’m a Prepper Alcoholic. Every time I think about Prepping I get Drunk. ha!
I told the wife I needed a ammo bunker!
comical answers aside…I didn’t see ANY mention of water storage or water filtration on that list. Hmmm…
Yes, a lot of people will slowly starve, but a lot more will die of thirst or dysentery first.
#___. You have several 55 gallon drums of pre filtered water in your storage location.
#___. You have enough calcium hypochlorite to sanitize the water supply of a small city.
#___. You bring your Life Straw or Sawyer mini with you even when shopping for new preps. Hey you have to drink, right?
You refer to your home as “the compound.”
There’s more silver in the gun safe than rifles and your cases of ammo are stored outside, since there’s no room.
Gulp, I actually DO have a couple big fresnel lenses and my scrounger has a stack…
You are worried about the floor taking the weight under your ammo stash, and its in the basement.
awesome 🙂
You list your “Prepping Stock Pile” in your Living Trust for your Offspring. The Atty gives you a funny look…
Your ammo is on pallets and has to be moved by forklift
Your PM stash was lowered in the ground by a truck mounted crane.
You rented a backhoe for 4 weeks to dig your underground bunker.
Your bug out place is larger than your house you live in.
You drive a pre-69 vehicle only because its EMP proof.
You have a dedicated bedroom for toilet paper.
The foundation of your house is cracking from the wieght.
The local store is always out of canning jars because you buy them all.
#21 is Archivist.
I’m not sure how many books I have on disk. I’m still sorting and eliminating duplicate files, as I have obtained files from multiple sources. I am also scanning the books on my shelves for portability.
I plan to get a tablet or e-reader that can read micro SD cards so that I can carry an entire library with me. I will convert all the digital books in my collection to PDF to eliminate the need for multiple devices or softwares. Calibre is a free e-book management program that can read and convert most e-book formats.
I’m also printing some choice information on small pages that will fit in a zip-up dayplanner. I got a nice leather one a while back that was on sale because the calendar pages were almost out of date. It looks a little bit like a zip-up Bible.
I just checked, and I have less than a million files to go through.
I mustbe doing something wrong because this is another post I don’t conform to…I only found 1 this time that I actually do.
Number 19…”Doomsday Preppers….because you know how positively ridiculous and unrealistic that show is.”
Hey, I couldn’t disagree more. I like that show. There are so many hidden gems in each episode. Sure, to the Sheeple it may seem silly, but to the trained eye, man, there are some great ideas in there. One just has to look closely.
Cellar Spider, I agree for the most part. This last season was lacking, but the first couple of seasons, almost every episod had a great tip if you were paying attention. They usually did not elaborate on them, just a few second clips with a wealth of info.
#_____. When you go on vacation with hubby you bring your EDC and birth bag and birth kit, cuz you want to have the tools of your trade handy if you can’t get back home!
@Daisy: Great article as usual….looks like I still have much to do! Sure hope the folks in Buffalo NY were prepared! Lots of people stranded in their cars/trucks in the past 24 hrs. Just heard that 500 tons of snow has been removed and hauled away(as they have no place to put it?? Wow!
On another note, DH has now been in surgery for approx 4 hrs. should soon get info. from the doc. will keep you all up to date when I hear…..keep those prayers comin….thanx and take care, CC.
Canada Canuk,
Keeping you and your husband in my prayers.
Please keep us updated.
Take care!
KY Mom
This whole article is just a list full of Amazon.com affiliate links. Come on.
Your a prepper when your floor joist start sagging from the weight of the ammo they carry.
OFF TOPIC
I am forced to admit that Bill Crosby raped me. He also raped my Wife, our kids, our grandkids, our two dogs, and our Parrot. (I hear old Bill is worth million’$)
Talk about a cheap skate that I am, I collected at least 250 free item coupons with no purchase required from Harbor Freight. One free item per day, the place is a block away from me. I been going since May, Got over 35 of each item so far to sell at flea markets, 1x 25 tape measures, volt meters, 6 piece screwdriver sets, small tarps, headlamps, both 9 and 26 led flashlights, AA and AAA heavy duty 24 pack batteries and other things in smaller quantities. I’ll have to sell them cheap because who knows how many already got theirs. I dug all of the free coupons out of newspapers in a recycle bin. Yeah, the store got tired of seeing me.
(Don’t know why my posts are not showing up?)
you might be a prepper if: ( Jeff Foxworthy)
you know that Anti -Gun and anti -Hunting agendas both depend on LIES
I think I like the comments better than the articles sometimes! Picked up 4 used kerosene heaters for $60. 50 gallons of Kero stored with K100. I’ll be warm for awhile using them in cahoots with my woodstove. Also help out a neighbor or two if need be.
Amen brother.
Or you keep real books on medicinal herb ect
Or you have a bull with your heifer right now hoping for a calf next year
What are we prepping for? We failed to save our country and our civilization for our grand kids. If we survive long enough, we can watch our grand kids killed off or rounded up for who knows what. Rise up. If you don’t die fighting, you can’t get into Valhalla!
Prophet Unfortunately There is a lot of wisdom & truth in your statement.
Report: Obama to Sign Executive Amnesty Friday in Las Vegas
The Weekly Standard
Direct link…
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/report-obama-sign-executive-amnesty-friday-vegas_819591.html
You are a crazy prepper if:
#46 Your dog barks “Sheepledog”, “Sheepledog” to the neighbors dog for not prepping.
BUCKLE UP.
Friday:
1. Ferguson grand jury decision very possible, if not likely. Schools very close to letting out for Thanksgiving vacation, if not actually finished on Friday until Dec. 1st.
2. Soetoro now expected to announce amnesty for 5 million fellow illegal aliens during trip to Sin City — how appropriate.
3. Putin possibly invading eastern Ukraine. Troops and equipment positioned since his diss’ing at G20 conference.
All Kiev government financial support and services to eastern Ukraine being terminated in days or couple of weeks at most.
4. Another horde of illegal alien invaders expected to begin pouring across our southern border as temps decrease.
5. Thousands of summertime illegal aliens, including adults, being released into our population at 95% rate from temporary holding facilities in southwest U.S., INSTEAD of being deported as was the original DHS lie to justify putting them up in federal facilities.
Goosey times ahead.
The single biggest mitigating factor among these would be the media’s refusal to broadcast Ferguson/St. Louis rioting. Take away the attention and you take much of the wind out of their sails.
Don’t buy into the excuse for not impeaching. There IS no excuse.
we will see whos crazy when shtf lol http://survivalism-life.com/
Any chance the big verdict will be announced in time to provide a riot which will distract people from Obola’s amnesty speech? Is that the plan?
All the toilet paper in the attic is extra insulation.
Hello, this is my first time posting here. I hope this “leave a reply” area is the appropriate section for me to leave a comment. I am a single mother of a 15 year-old son and I’ve been prepping for about a year. I think I’ve done amazingly well all things considered. We have 4 go bags total, 2 regular-sized backpacks and two shoulder bags. Hopefully I’ll be able to afford 2 90 Liter internal frame backpacks soon so everything can be in two bags.
Unfortunately I have some items that won’t fit in the bags, like my Mr. Heater Little Buddy indoor/in tent propane heater and of course the 20 or so propane bottles. Also a simple portable toilet consisting of a seat and a folding metal frame with which garbage bags or hazmat bags can be used.
Speaking of the portable toilet, it is one thing I never see on prepper lists, and it seems like such a simple but worthwhile addition because I think maintaining some sense of comfort and dignity when expelling bodily waste – whether one is using the portable toilet indoors in their bathroom or outdoors on the go – can be helpful overall for morale.
Of course I never feel like I have enough food and water. I am on a limited income otherwise I’d have years’ worth of food and water stocked. Currently, for home use – so far I have about 25 crates of 24-pack Ice Mountain water bottles plus at least 10 gallons of the same brand of water in other-sized containers. I also have a few different methods of water purification, including those tablets, Lifestraws, and my favorite being the high quality Seychelle brand filtered hand-held water containers with 2 replacement filters. Between the high-calorie Mainstay food bars, freeze-dried food buckets and canned goods I think I have enough food to last for at least 2 months. I also have a new Smith & Wesson 1000 fps pellet rifle for shooting squirrels if hunger should ever require that. But…I need shooting lessons…
I really don’t think I’ve missed packing anything that’s totally essential, though. I’ve remembered to pack a garden full of heirloom seeds, a booklet about edible wild plants, a booklet about what plants to plant when and which plants grow best next to each other, I have a hand crank/solar radio, a lot of vitamin C in various forms, Colloidal silver, a variety of viral infection prevention measures including masks, goggles, disposable medical gloves, the medical grade hand sanitizer Hibiclens, a pair of half-mask respirators with replaceable filters, some Tyvek suits, and much, much more.
Unfortunately I rent an apartment…so I can’t do all of the things preppers do who own homes and land. Nor do I own a car. And my worst deficit is that I…lack a firearm and have never used one before. This is because I grew up with parents (I’m an only child) who hate guns to this day – devout democrats who still support Obama O.o and who have Masters degrees and Ph.d’s. The type of people who think preppers are crazy because “the Red Cross will take care of everyone if something bad happens”. I also haven’t been able to afford to buy myself a good quality hand gun and the Wal-mart here only sells rifles. But like I said I do have the good quality pellet gun for hunting small animals, as well as pepper spray and a new, good quality knife.
Unfortunately I’ve had to hide my prepping from my parents (yes, even at my age) because they’re very controlling and just them recently seeing how much water I have stored led to a very unpleasant discussion in which my mother, in a very anxious, worried, even angry manner, asked me if I am one of those crazy “doomsday preppers”.
I do realize I have so many laughable 🙁 shortcomings in my prepping compared to all of you who have bunkers built in your backyards and who have made literal fortresses of your homes. Likewise I don’t have a skill/Trade – but what I DO have is an uncanny ability to calmly and in an intensely focused manner survive situations involving extreme violence.
A few different times in my life I was faced with situations that probably would have killed most women – once I was dragged into a dark alley from an empty urban/ghetto street with a knife held to my neck – once I was car-jacked and held prisoner during winter for three days in an apartment with no heat or running water where I was constantly guarded and threatened with being prostituted or killed, and another situation in which a temporary and crazed roommate suddenly grabbed a metal pipe and held it over my head, ready to strike me.
In each of these instances, most women would have screamed and tried to flee. But somehow instinctively, without my having read any books or taken any classes in surviving such situations, I knew exactly how to act, what sort of energy and body language to project, whether or not to make eye contact, what to say or not say, what sort of voice to use, and how to listen to God (when I was held prisoner specifically) whom I knew would tell me when the exact right moment was that I should attempt to make my escape. The key for me was staying perfectly still, like a lake without ripples, like a Zen master in meditation, exuding an aura of untouchability, almost a holiness, being remote and yet fearlessly present, my spine straight and tall, my chin held high, my eyes a blend of compassion and the Feral, like saying “What troubles you my child?” at the same time as I am saying, “Come any closer and I’ll kill you.”
On two of the occasions – the one with the knife and the one with the metal pipe I remember that I said, calmly yet confidently, while practicing the above, “You don’t want to kill me.” In both instances the men looked at me in horror like they’d seen a ghost. The guy with the knife even dropped his weapon and ran away from me. WTF? I don’t know why he did that. I don’t know what power it is in me that scared both of those guys so badly. But I do know that whatever it is, it is powerful, and I feel like it could help keep my people safe during enemy encounters.
I have used a similar way of being for 25 years when attempting to soothe my adult autistic son who is prone to violent outbursts. I always know exactly how to bring him back to a peaceful state – in a matter of seconds.
So a woman’s intuition can be a powerful weapon all on its own and should never be taken for granted or discounted. I’m sure the other women here will know what I’m talking about.
By the way, my adult autistic son lives in a group home 4 hours south of me. I faithfully visit him once a month and I love him with all of my heart. But I have accepted that with his moderate to profound disability, he probably wouldn’t be able to survive/function in a SHTF and post-SHTF world. So I have prepped for just my 15 year-old son and I. I guess that probably sounds cold and cruel. But it is a reality I have to accept.
Anyway, I am sorry for the length of this reply. I guess I wanted to give you all a picture of who I am. I have shortcomings and liabilities but I also have great wisdom and unbeatable strength. In any type of emergency, my mind automatically switches into calm, fearless, confident survival mode. I’m self-taught I guess you could say.
In any case, I understand that preppers, prepper groups, survivalists, etc., are as a rule reluctant to accept newcomers into their groups, but hopefully you can all see that I’m a good person and that I come equipped with my own supplies and that after Christmas I’ll be back to spending about $200 a month on procuring more.
As for bartering I read that bicycle tire patches are another good item to have since most people will probably not have cars that function post-SHTF. I also read that tampons have at least a dozen practical uses in a survival situation. I need to buy some for that purpose.
At this point I already have everything needed to cook and serve food outdoors, even a coffee percolator. This said, I am seriously seeking a group to accept me and my son. I live in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, an hour northeast of Green Bay on the peninsula. If there are any prepper/survival groups in the region who would consider allowing my son and I to join them, I would be so very grateful.
Email me at [email protected] or stop by my Facebook page if you would consider accepting me. I’m going to read every awesome comment on this page and thank you to the author for this excellent article and thank you all so much!!!
~ Hillary
You are off to a great start. Keep it up.
While I encourage you to continue reading here, and other sites as well of course, I would like you to look up “OPSEC” and carry on.
You seem very nice, and if all that you say is true I’m proud of you and wish you the best. If you keep posting without opsec you will freak out most posters on this or any useful site. Please consider that monsters can troll any site.
Hilary,
Not sure if you will see this post since there are several new articles already posted, but anyway, Welcome to SHTFplan feel free to ask any questions. Most of the people here are very helpful and eager to provide info and guidance.
I agree with Rebel in Idaho, be very careful about putting yourself out there to people you do not know.
Good luck and look forward to your future posts.
GR