Posted on 02/06/2015 5:42:42 PM PST by Kartographer
I haven't done a weekly Preppers Ping for a bit and I think it past time. So you guys know what we are looking for things like good preparedness supply buys, small discoveries and helpful hints which possible by themselves would make a interesting thread, but would be of interest to fellow preppers.
It is your choice you can prep or you can stand around on a bridge waiting for FEMA to bring you a bottle of water, a MRE, a warm blanket and a kiss for your boo-boo and maybe you can even get your picture as you stand there on the national news.
The world is dry tinder just awaiting the right spark.
So listen to what the bible says: A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. NIV Proverbs 22:3
Selco covers this in this article many times people just can not except that a breakdown is occurring even as they watch it happening before their eyes. Why don’t they realize it? It’s caused by a condition called ‘Normalcy Bias’ a mental state people enter when facing a disaster.
It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and its possible effects. This often results in situations where people fail to adequately prepare for a disaster, and on a larger scale, the failure of governments to include the populace in its disaster preparations. The assumption that is made in the case of the normalcy bias is that since a disaster never has occurred then it never will occur. It also results in the inability of people to cope with a disaster once it occurs. People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before. People also tend to interpret warnings in the most optimistic way possible, seizing on any ambiguities to infer a less serious situation.
A good article on ‘Normalcy Bias’ is on our own ChocChipCookies Blog The Survival Mom:
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2010/12/29/normalcy-bias/
You either prepare and stand on your own beholden to no one or you become dependent on others to provide your basic needs and become their ‘serf’. Me I don’t want to be beholden to anyone for providing what is needed for me and mine. I certainly don’t want to have to kiss some ‘gubberment’ third class bureaucratic to try and coax some help from them, I don’t want some ‘jack booted’ thug herding me in line and telling me where to stand, sit, eat or sleep. And last but not least I don’t want to be shut up in with a bunch of ‘zombies’ and have to worry about not only trying to get basic necessities but having to fight to keep what I manage to get.
Just getting started or an old hand you might find my Preparedness Manual helpful. You can download the manual at:
http://tomeaker.com/kart/Preparedness1j.pdf NOTE! THIS IS A FREE DOWNLOAD. I DO NOT MAKE ONE CENT OFF MY PREPAREDNESS MANUAL!
For those of you who haven’t started already it’s time to prepare almost past time maybe. You needed to be stocking up on food guns, ammo, basic household supplies like soap, papergoods, cleaning supplies, good sturdy clothes including extra socks, underwear and extra shoes and boots, cash (I myself have been putting up change for the past few years both for the metal content and the fact that using change places to make what purchases you can will move you down the the list of possible marks during shtf), tools, things you buy everyday start buying two and put one up.
As the LDS say “When the emergency is upon us the time for preparedness has past.”
Again I like to recomend FReeper’s ChocoChipCookie Blog The Survival Mom (Please Blog Police let this one slide!) Where you can get lots of useful information like:
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2011/11/20/8-morale-boosters-for-any-worst-case-scenario/
http://thesurvivalmom.com/2010/02/02/survival-priorities-the-rule-of-three/
And More
Also there is Ferfal’s Blog a survivor of Argentina’s first collapse:
And there is Selco’s Blog a Bosnian War survivor at:
“There is no greater disaster than to underestimate danger. Underestimation can be fatal.”
Preppers’ PING!!
I plan to shoot as many crazies as come through the door, and save the last bullet(s) for myself.
Its funny, just the other day I ordered a spare spring and trigger set for my P38, which my FIL brought back from Germany. I figured it works great 70 years later, with a few spare parts, it will last another 70.
Recently picked up one of the last desires on my shtf list.
Pool shock water purification powder from Home Depot which I read can help to clean water for drinking. A few bucks for a small bag about the size of choc chips you buy for making cookies.
S FL is loaded with water, but I figure it’s better to have it and not need it. Also have a few of those filter straws with which you could drink directly from the canal.
2 inflatable air beds. Full sized, never been used. 5 bucks each. Goodwill
Near mint Swiss army knife 7 tool. 4.00. Savers(like goodwill)
5/8” and 1/2” SS and copper HVAC coils. Over 200 ft. Brass and SS flare fittings to match. Free
Old 20x16x36” SS truck box. 50.00 off of Craigslist. Just found my upgrade for battery cabinet.
600ft Belden cable 3cond 18g with shield. Free. Will use for low voltage lighting. 12v LED bulbs and led floodlights throughout the house
Another odd thing you might want to pickup is capsules of charcoal. It’s supposed to help with diarrhea. So I put a bottle in the first aid kit. You can make your own too but this is neater.
What's "cleaning and maintenance"?
Something else you should always keep in house is a bottle of colloidal silver.
Might as well add cayenne tincture in case of heart attack. 2 drops under tongue.
I suggest spare springs for semi-auto handgun and rifle magazines. Over time the springs in magazines that are left loaded can weaken. Spare springs don’t cost much and solve the problem.
You also need to practice, practice, practice. Unfortunately, very few people actually do that. Most cannot afford today’s ultra high cost for ammo, and it takes quite a bit of time at the range even if you can afford it.
One solution is to get one of the new CO2 powered BB pistols with the same weight and slide action as the guns they are modeled after. You may even find one that matches a firearm you own.
You can practice with these almost anywhere you have 15 feet of open space. I set up mine in the garage. I also set up a back stop capable of easily stopping anything I might fire in there, and absorbent enough that the BB’s do not bounce if they hit it.
Given the economic realities of today, using the relatively new high quality BB pistols that simulate real firearms is far and away the most convenient and cost effective way to practice. It’s also fun! :)
regarding freeze-dried food preps, can FReep-preppers please share which kind they’ve tried that are acceptable (or maybe even tasty) and which ones should be avoided?
Thanks in advance.
Charcoal capsules sound like a good addition to my younger kid’s stomp bag. She just became and EMT and we got a really nice med kit, but there’s always room for a few more good items. Thanks for the tip.
As a proud own of a ‘Blugie’ AK74 I know what you mean, but I still strip a cleaner her after every date to the range. ;-)
And where do I find the Charcoal capsules?
Those who have lived their lives in preparation for all things, which means learning all they can about all they possibly can, are as prepared as it is possible to be.
Everything else called “preparedness” is a kind of paranoia, a diversions form living one’s life to the fullest.
Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Amazon...
https://www.google.com/search?q=Charcoal+capsules&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
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