Posted on 01/03/2014 2:39:13 PM PST by Kartographer
Weekly Preppers'Thread to post progress, good buys, DIY projects, advice and ideas .....
This book is written by our own fellow FReeper 'The Duke' and after review I highly recomend it as and excelent Primer for beginners as well as a good reference book for all Preppers.
Duke's goal as he states in his book is to merely save lives! I see him as a fellow watch who has bonded himself to to oath to blow the trumpet should he see the sword coming.
The book is very complete with everything from basic preparations to recomendations for forming a community government after a SHTF event.
The Duke has no axes to grind and no agenda to promote and his goal like mine is to see that as many people survive as possible, so that we can recover from any event quicker and stronger than if we had not prepared.
By being able to stand alone, we strenghten not just our own position during SHTF, but that of others as well. Every resource we provide for ourselves mean that much more of what limited resources any First Responders may have can go to those in more desperate need. Those preppared can even help by being first responders providing help in many ways.
Many are times shtf has come, but the world does not end, things merely change. As preppers its our job to make sure we have what is need to make it through those changes.
'When There is No Fema' is Kartographer recomended as a GOOD addition to anyones library.
Preppares’ PING!!
Read, practice and make friends.
We are all so screwed.
I don’t know what other people are paying for ammunition, but Walmart had a case of 1200 rounds of 9mm for $497.00. The back was facing me so I couldn’t find out more details about what brand and how many grains.
That’s it!
Where do you get the book?
Emergency Essentials has a sale on beef roast @29% off, and sausage crumbles @ 43% off when purchasing 12 cans.
Bought a new steel rack for (more) basement preps, better organized them, too.
Made a list of weak points to address this spring and summer. I've got the basics covered, now it's a matter of fine-tuning and adding capacity (more garden space, rain barrels, etc)
Working at making more local Prepper contacts - church, neighbors - and how to communicate with each other when the SHTF.
No, $32.00 is too much for a book. I’d like to know what he says about using swimming pool water, but not at that price.
115gr, fmj, fairly clean, and adequate for the price but not great (not terrible either). The good thing is that you won’t run out for a while.
“We are all so screwed.”
“We” aren’t, you are - not.
My local Walmart has been well stocked lately. I work nights and stop by there after work maybe twice a week (0830 or so). I have various calibers and my plan has always been to diversify. They limit us to 3 boxes in any one visit\day. I buy 100 packs when they are available or 250 mega packs, like I did this morning. Remington UMC 9mm 115 grain metal case 250 round pack (shoots great out of my Glock 17) $69.00. Bought 2 of those. Remington UMC .45 cal 230 grain metal case 250 round pack $109.00. The day before I bought the Winchester 100 round boxes (3) of .40 cal for $37.00. Had a nice discussion with “Cliff”, who rang me up, about news I have heard about lead-based bullits soon being replaced with more expensive to make materials. My motto is that if it’s cheap, available, and I have the funds, I’ll buy. Nothing available or cheap 1 year ago. Just saying.
An empty metal coffee can with a fat candle makes a nice little stove. Folks in the northern part of our country usually carry one of these in the trunk of the car...along with a book of matches. If you get stuck in the snow, you have some warmth.
Today I replaced the batteries in smoke alarms and gun safes, so that they will always have plenty of life (the old batteries go into flashlights rather than getting thrown away). I also updated my “Emergency List” of last minute purchases to make if it appears that things are about to turn bad.
Leading the list:
MANY gallons of cooking oil (short shelf life, so it’s always nice to have more)
Socks and underwear (again, elastic goes bad, and it’s nice to be comfy)
Toilet paper, wipes, and tissues (lots of bulk, and while I have a year’s supply, more would be nice if I had warning)
Insecticide and rat poison (shelf life, again)
Plywood and 2x4s (bulk again)
More seeds (shelf life, again)
Antibiotics (shelf life, once more)
Multivitamin supplements (shelf life)
More bleach (shelf life)
Chocolate, coffee, tea, spices (shelf life)
More soap, detergent, and cleaning supplies (bulk - to share with neighbors)
I don’t need more food for the calories or for variety, nor do I need more equipment for self-defense, water purification, cooking, hand tools, reference or entertainment books, or batteries. I am (thanks in large part to this group) pretty well prepared other than items that are bulky or that expire.
My weak areas:
- Only about a third of my neighbors are people I trust to be helpful. Some may surprise me by becoming useful, but many will not be on my side if things go badly.
- I’m 20 miles from a city of 600,000. I think that’s far enough that relatively few refugees will make it, but close enough that those who do come will be dangerous and experienced at looting.
Any thoughts? Does anyone else have a last minute list?
More bleach (shelf life)
Unfortunately, the average shelf life of liquid bleach (being stored between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit) is around 6 months. After that, bleach will lose 20% of its strength at around the year mark and then 20% each year after thatLiquid chlorine bleach is a solution made from mostly water and 3-6% Sodium Hypochlorite. The homemade variety is made from Calcium Hypochlorite which you can easily find as “pool shock” at your pool-supplier store or Walmart.
The major benefit of using Calcium Hypochlorite over Sodium Hypochlorite is shelf life. Calcium Hypochlorite (pool shock) is sold in a solid granular form and has a 10 year shelf life when stored in a cool, dark place. This will easily meet your long-term storage needs. The other benefit is the amount of available chlorine. The concentration of chlorine is much higher with Calcium Hypochlorite. For example, a small 1-pound bag of calcium hypochlorite can disinfect up to 10,000 gallons of drinking water. That’s around 5 gallons/day for one person for 5 1/2 years! Not bad for only 1 lb of granules. One needs to use calcium hypochlorite that has around 70% available chlorine.
If you’re buying pool shock, on the back of the bag it will tell you what percentage of chlorine is available. The one I use is called “Zappit 73 Pool Shock, it is pure calcium hyphochlorite that contains up to 73% available chlorine and sells for around $5 for a 1lb bag. To make the homemade chlorine bleach concentrated solution, you’ll need to do the following:
• Mix 2 level Tablespoons of Calcium Hypochlorite to 3 cups of water.8 drops of the concentrated solution per gallon of water. Just like normal household bleach!
So the 3 step process is as follows:
1. Place 8 drops of homemade chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water
2. Let stand for 30 min
3. If water is still cloudy, repeat steps until clear; otherwise it is ready to drink
It should be noted that once the homemade chlorine bleach is made it will follow the same shelf-life limitations as standard household liquid bleach. So be sure to only make amounts you will be using within that time frame (to save shelf space).
How about what I've done recently: reinforce doors and door frames. See Jamb Armor. Apply 3M security film to windows to inhibit easy break-ins or broken windows. Put small electronics (radio, LED flashlight, chargers, calculator, etc) in DIY Faraday cages (get old popcorn tins, dremel off the paint at the interface of the lid with the can, to ensure electrical continuity, put electronics in freezer bag inside the cage). This will protect against EMP.
Generally you shouldn’t drink swimming pool water but you can use it for cleaning and bathing until its too filled with algae.
Many of the chemicals used in pools contain things like copper. Which are bad for you.
I found this a while back:
http://stillgettingready.blogspot.com/2013/09/drinking-swimming-pool-water-in-case-of.html
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