Posted on 01/01/2013 3:54:53 AM PST by Kartographer
It’s the Little Things That Matter: 100 Survival Items To Help Keep A Sense of Normality and Sanity After the Collapse
Bullets…check. Beans…check. Band Aids…check. The list goes on and on sometimes doesn’t it? As preppers, we all are stockpiling the items and supplies that we plan on needing if and when it hits the fans. We all need to make sure we can eat, drink, protect ourselves from the elements and defend what needs to be defended. However, today I found myself thinking of things that weren’t on my “Need in order to survive” list. Little things that we all take for granted today, but someday, we may look back and think how simple it would have been to pick up a couple of those items when they are no longer on a store shelf near you.
(Excerpt) Read more at shtfplan.com ...
Actually had woken up an hour before, couldn’t go back to sleep, so....
There are two things that need to be learned and practiced to take with you, that may be extremely useful.
The first is American Sign Language. Just knowing how to say and understand some critical words could prove invaluable if either someone loses their hearing or ability to speak, or if speaking could “get you into trouble”.
The other thing is similar but covert. It is based on psychology, that people tend to ignore what is happening below their belt line (which is why the US Army teaches soldiers that, even briefly, they should never hold a hand grenade lower than their belt, or they might forget they are holding it.)
It is a form of signalling that uses the feet. Importantly, it starts by doing something up high that tells those in the know to look down, such as tugging on your left ear lobe. Then you inconspicuously move a foot, or both feet, to send a silent message.
Most of these will be “duress” signals, since you are in a position in which you can’t or shouldn’t speak, or maybe even use ASL.
There might be great value in these, similar to using “duress” passwords to let your friends know you are being coerced.
I keep that thought in mind quite a bit these days, buying a little bit more than I used to for filling the pantry and replacing things (car, appliances, etc.) that I have the money to replace while I still can, plus a few new things like a food dryer and more gardening and canning books and tools.
Hopefully, this job will last another year or four, but who knows? It's one day at a time. So, I'm preparing like for a long, cold winter and a very late spring that is likely to be our economy and hope things get better while I prepare for the worst.
I keep talking myself out of a small generator or maybe a couple of the ultra quiet Honda or Yamaha generators. Set up for dual fuel (gas and propane), one could be very handy, even a lifesaver, or it could be something else I never use and regret spending so much on.
I took a trip back to my youth with this, but couldn't find replacement parts for my old Crossman 1400. So, I bought a Crossman/Benjamin 392 .22 cal., instead of the BB/.177 cal Model 397.
This gun has been around forever (Benjamin 392, 397 and Sheridan C9), so parts and accessories are easy to find. I am shopping for an intermount and scope and better iron sights for it. Lots of choices!
It's fairly quiet to shoot and it's kinda cool having a shooting gallery in the house to practice, especially on a rainy day like today.
Morse Code and Semaphore will also come in handy for long distances or for rescue signaling.
NICELY thought out! Pinging this.
I have most of these articles on the list. There won’t be children here so I don’t have those items for child play. I have comments about some of the items:
I see “ Small cooler that can be plugged in to solar power.” I don’t know about this and wonder if any of you have this? I will surely find one if they are made, and get one as I have no refrigeration for a long time emergency. I have a 20 watt solar panel with charger for all size batteries and it also has a female cigarette lighter plug to charge devices such as I-pads, phones and my Kindle – I’m putting books on my Kindle so I will have plenty to read if I have no power. The cooler may need more than 20 watts to work. If you have such a cooler, tell me where to find it. If I get no replies on this thread, I’ll search for it on the web.
Toilet paper: I got a $20 gift certificate for Christmas and I see $20 worth of more toilet paper in the near future.
Mountain House (or other) dehydrated ice cream: Say, what? Never heard of this – would expect some kind of freezing would be necessary and I won’t have that but I’ll check it out.
Gloves: Each of my bug out backpacks came with a pair of leather work gloves. Also got burn resistant gloves that come up to the elbow to wear when dealing with an open fire and skillets/pots. Also got a pair of gloves that looks like insulated rubber to carry hot meat like a turkey or chicken.
Fishing equipment: I’ve mentioned this before. Got Shakespeare women’s rod and reel with tackle box of lures. Rod and reel is pink so men won’t use it.
Long underwear: Years ago I did this – got silk long underwear and long sleeve top. I read silk is the best insulation for long underwear.
Candles: I didn’t make them – have enough jar candles for light at night for a year.
Spices: Very important, especially if you have gobs of dried beans. I have numerous spices so the beans won’t taste the same meal after meal. Also have Italian spices for meat sauce or other sauce with spaghetti. I got those spices in long term packing from Walton ‘cause I’ve got lots of spaghetti and wanted the spices to stay “fresh”.
Coffee: I don’t care what he says, coffee is a necessity. Have large cans of it.
Sewing kit: My mother sewed all my clothes and I learned from her, but she sent me to a summer sewing class given by Singer when I was in high school. I have two sewing boxes with every kind of thread, including upholstery thread and upholstery curved needles and the regular threads are of all colors and have plenty of various needles. I can also crochet due to my mother teaching me that as she crocheted all the time. I have a crocheted bed spread she made at night waiting for me to come home from wherever I was. I must have gone a lot of places to have a whole bedspread.
Fresh sheets and blankets: I have a zillion sheets collected through the years and almost threw them away a few months ago. Then, I thought about bandages and arm slings and holding up a wounded leg, and chest/body wraps, and I’m keeping plenty of those sheets. I’ll stick them in the back of a walk in closet and have plenty of bandages, etc., I can cut from those sheets. Always think of an emergency use for items before you throw something away.
Short wave radio receiver with rechargeable batteries: When Hussein’s government had an emergency drill, telling us our TV and radios would be shut off by him as a practice run “in case we have a country wide emergency”, I thought he just took my TV and radios away from me. I was furious. So, I bought a short wave radio receiver so I can get news from ham radio operators. Screw Hussein.
Kid pool: I have two plastic kiddie pools to put on an outside deck to capture rainwater.
Alcohol, the drinking kind: I don’t have this. I can’t decide what to get and don’t want to spend a fortune.
Hard Candy: I don’t have it but it’s not a problem to get it.
Magazines: I have numerous copies of American Rifleman from the NRA that I haven’t read. I looked through a recent one several days ago and found the new red laser made for my Ruger and it wasn’t expensive. Now, I have that. Wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t had that magazine. Other reading material is on my Kindle.
Rope: At one time, I had no rope, so I bought Paracord and that is very strong rope. Take the strands apart if you need to use it that way.
Solar shower: I use camp showers and the latest ones I got have a temperature gauge on them – put one in the sun, you can see the temp. of the water and when it’s where you want it, take a hot shower. I have camp showers to have running water at the kitchen sink, bathroom sinks, and the shower. The other bathroom has a tub, not a shower, so that is where I will put the food grade Waterbob that holds 100 gallons of good water from the tub faucet.
I know I will lose power the next time a hurricane comes through here and Ike was the last one. My preps are to make my life better when power goes away for any reason. I prep because it would be stupid not to as I know I will need these preps.
President Hussein has mega preps to keep him and his family alive. I am “more” important than he is and so are you. We paid for his preps and we pay for our own. Anyone who knocks preppers can go to the White House instead and complain they used his/her money to prep and no one needs to prepare as nothing is going to happen and he/she wants the money back.
“Where are my pants?”
You NEVER know where your pants are so New Year’s Eve is no different than any day concerning the pants. :o)
First on my list of non necessities, is cocoa powder. Maybe it is really a necessity. One of the few items that Granddaughter likes for breakfast. Plus, there are so many ways to use cocoa powder to make treats, cakes and chocolate candy.
My Christmas present for daughters was a book on how to make your own pop tarts, fried pies, etc at home using basic staples. That's my approach to many food treats-back to basics. I do a decent job baking and cooking, and avoiding the additives that are in so much of our food today.
I had a great stir fry over the holidays using some of the produce from my winter garden. Fresh carrots, green onions, from the outdoors, and green peppers grown in front of the patio doors combined with the rest. Pesticide free. No worry about E coli germs either. LOL.
Now that winter is here, I will be going through the freezer, and canning up veggies, fruits, and meats for my own “fast food” meals in less than 30 minutes, heating up the house when it is appreciated, as well as adding variety. While I usually use home canned within a year, it actually has a 3 year shelf life, so it can be part of the short term emergency stash as well.
I have been busy ordering powdered milk this week, whenever I find it priced so that it is cheaper than fresh, to use for cooking and long term storage. I ordered the accessory to vacuum pack mason jars, along with some O2 absorbers, Mylar bags, and a decent heat sealer.
I did learn something new in my reading of some food storage back to basics books. Eggs can be kept for a year, if you coat them in Mineral oil, put back in the container, and keep them in a cool area. So I am going to take a dozen eggs, coat them in Mineral Oil, and put them in the refrigerator, and eat 1 every month, just to see what happens, unless someone else has already tried it and can tell me how it turned out? Best Wishes to all. Have a great day!
Home made loco moco ought to do the trick. Just the right amount of gravy, fried eggs, and ground beef to deal with the residual alcohol.
“If we don’t have power, we’ll have to get by without a video, online game, or the internet.”
I have a battery powered portable TV (uses 8 AA batteries). If a Houston TV station has backup power, I can get it.
But yes, they work.
/johnny
The neighbor's roof....
He and his girlfriend are moving very slowly today, and talks like there was a heck of a party somewhere near here. ;)
/johnny
/johnny
Personally, I use dried eggs for cooking if I'm living on stored food.
Long term stored shell eggs are not so good for frying (the older the egg, the weaker the yolk), but make great pastries. I generally keep eggs on the counter this time of year.
Easier to keep chickens. ;)
/johnny
Hubby occasionally needed one on the job, so he had bought one many years ago, and about 8 years ago decided to upgrade to a Honda.
Shortly after, my Dad had a stroke and came to live with us. We have frequent short-term and occasional longer power outages in our state. This truly was a life saver. During an extended power outage at the hottest time of the year, we were able to run his oxygen machine, 2 room air conditioners, his TV and the refrigerators and freezer.
We had the necessities covered as well as comfort. The hospital was over-run by people who needed Oxygen, because they didn’t have enough back-up tanks at home, and no way to power the machine either.
The original purchase decision was a struggle because the need was so infrequent that he could have justed rented one on the rare occasion it was needed for the job. Having one during an emergency more than made up for it though.
We have had parties like that. Bras are usually pretty easy to return to the rightful owner. Just sayin’.
I'm somewhat colorblind, and not self consious at all, so yep. I'd use the rod and reel. Heck, I've shot a pink rifle. ;)
/johnny
I wasn't weaing one.
I don't think...... ;)
/johnny
We have lots of squirrels and rabbits running around in the yard. Still every now and then I like a good old fashioned breakfast of eggs and all the other greasy stuff like bacon, ham, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy.
I recall that my Grandparents kept eggs in one of the cooler rooms of the house year round-they seemed to last quite a long time without refrigeration. Hubby thinks that they should be refrigerated, so I humor him.
I still have a bunch of dried egg whites I am trying to use up in cooking. We got them to add protein to Dad's diet on doctor's orders.
I would like to get some dried whole eggs that would taste good as scrambled eggs. Some have suggested Ova Easy Eggs. Do you have a recommendation or observation about that?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.