Most everyone uses laundry detergent and if we’ve kept a record of the cost, at the end of the year we would be surprised at the expense for that one…
Spending time in the great outdoors is one of life’s greatest, purest, and most accessible pleasures. Part of the fun is that anything can happen when you’re roughing it in…
Getting started with gear is another one of those overwhelming and potentially expensive challenges for the the beginning prepper. Today I would like to suggest a starter list of 15 items that can be purchased, in total, for $350 or less. Don’t have $350 to spare. No worries. Purchase one item a week or one item a month. Along the way you will find other items and soon you will have a nice kit, ready to go when the big one strikes or the flood waters hit.
Crank-Up Radio: This model from Kaito Electronics will set you back about $50. It comes with all the features that you need in an emergency situation such as a multi-band AM/FM and shortwave radio, 7 NOAA weather channels, a five LED adjustable reading lamp, and a multi-function LED flashlight that can be used in both both a normal bright color mode and red color for emergency use. All of these features can be operated indefinitely without external power using a hand crank. There is a solar panel that charges the built-in batteries or you can use AA batteries or you can plug the radio into a USB device.
Other options? The Etón American Red Cross Self-Powered Radio with Flashlight, Solar Power and Cell Phone Charger for about $34.
We all know what a bug out bag is: “A portable kit that contains the items one would require to survive for seventy-two hours when evacuating from a disaster.” You will hear such a kit referred to by many other names, including “72 hour kit:, “go bag” or G.O.O.D (get out of dodge)bag. The exact term you use in not really all that important since the whole goal is to have basic essentials for survival readily available should disaster strike.
A couple of days ago I wrote about the myriad of things that could happen to put you and your family in a bug out situation (see “A list for those that think it will never happen to them”). Some, such as a earthquake or tsunami, are natural disasters and other, such as a nuclear melt-down or civil disobedience, are man made. The common thread with all of these disasters is the need to mobilize quickly and to have everything you need ready – really ready – with no scrambling around or afterthought.
So imagine this. You are on a road trip and you vehicle stops. It is early evening and starting to get dark but you are pretty handy around cars so you open the hood, move a few hoses and wires around, the try to get things going again. You are alone and there is little if any traffic on the deserted road. As much as you try, the engine is deader than a doornail and you are stuck. It is now dark and there you are in the middle of nowhere.
Darn, you forgot to charge your cell phone battery so you can’t call. And man oh man, it is starting to get cold. You are hungry and your are thirsty.
Editor’s Note: This is a special contribution from longtime BDS reader Donna. Since it’s flu season, we resurfaced this one! Making real homemade bone broth is a fantastic way to…
I have never met a potato I did not like. Seriously. There was period during the 80s that I refer to as my potato years. I shunned meats of any kind and pretty much subsisted for weeks at a time on baked potatoes, asiago cheese, and apples. That, plus my morning latte, was it. I would go weeks and weeks subsisting in a diet of potatoes.
Somewhere along the line, I gave up such foolishness and started eating a bit more normally. Well, maybe not normally but certainly with a lot more in the way of variety and protein foods.
I wrote about my teensy weensy garden in Getting Prepared Week 6: Planning the food garden. Back then, I promised a progress report but to tell the truth, there just isn’t any progress to report yet. My seedlings are scrawny and barely alive. Too cold and not enough light would be my guess. I am going to start anew when the weather dries out a bit and yes, I am going to have to purchase some starts.
But in the meantime, I bought a couple of small seed potatoes (40 cents worth to be exact – the clerk thought I was nuts, only two?) and set my sights on growing a few taters in a tub.
Part of great cooking is using herbs to accentuate flavors in meats, pasta, vegetables, and soups. Many home chefs have a garden filled with a variety of fresh herbs that…
Looking to find the best deals on survival gear and supplies? You have come to the right place! This page tracks the best ongoing promos and sales to take advantage…
In your search for an electric grain mill, you inevitably see two front runners: the medium-priced, quick, and powerful WonderMill Electric Grain Mill and the Nutrimill Classic Grain Mill. Both…
VPN Overview VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network,” and while different VPN services have different features, they drastically increase your anonymity and, perhaps more importantly, security while you use the…
Charcoal making is a simple process, however during each step there are protocols to be followed or that beautiful charcoal will either burn down to ashes or it will be…
If you have the skill to make bread at home you’ll reap benefits in cost, taste, and health. But, for most preppers the key benefit is having access to this…
An unexpected night out in the wilderness might be rare, but it’s still something you should be prepared for. Fortunately, there are a lot of inexpensive options out there that…
In the past, home wind turbines were limited. Now there seems to be a ton of them out there which can make finding the best one a bit overwhelming. Let’s…
People who live in an earthquake zone know that an earthquake will happen eventually. For them, it is just a question of how bad, and how much it will affect them personally. For that reason, if you live near a fault line, you better be prepared for the inevitable shaker because it is going to happen. But it does not stop there, In this article learn that earthquakes can happen anywhere.
Learn the strategies and skills you need to survive an earthquake!
Wind power works best in areas with steady directional winds. You see the most use of wind turbines in flatter landscapes with few obstructions such as large open rangeland, coastlines,…