Posted on 02/21/2012 10:04:08 PM PST by Kartographer
Having time means you can make better decisions.
Some of my friends roll their eyes when I speak of preparing, others take it very seriously and have started actively stocking up.
This presents some very unpleasant thoughts. While I would have no problem killing a stranger trying to steal or hurt our group, I might hesitate if that person is someone I know.
Stay safe folks.
>> how to make lye and render animal fat to make soap <<
Execellent skills to have. Would you please point me toward when I can find this info.
Thanks in advance.
Enter “readers digest books” into Amazons search engine.
They have several really good books on “how to” and “do it yourself”
There isn’t a prep that I would not otherwise use. It isn’t wasted money; in fact, it has saved me money, lots of it. I have learned to buy things on sale, in bulk, or to change what I buy for the better. When trying to buy more than usual economizing comes into play and that has taught me how to save money and buy better products.
In any tornado/ hurricane alley, if you don't have a tornado/ hurricane proof shelter, you are again a fool.
This is a SHORT term emergency. Some stored water & food, sure. Prudent.
I was talking about a collapse of society. Yes, “I” would be looking out for MY family FIRST. I would not be capable of providing for the general public. How long would your stored food last if you gave it away to everyone else? We are talking “survival” here, not camping.
Your neighbors would become like zombies trying to kill you for what you have. A stark reality. Stick your heads in the sand if you want to. Feel comfortable because you have a few thousand in the bank and a bunch of canned goods in the basement. You would be better off stocking up on guns & ammo. Then you could obtain whatever you need from day one, and keep it. Again, we are talking “SURVIVAL” during a complete break down of society. Can't happen here? Sarajevo?
Rwanda, Somalia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, on & on.
Half measures will be less than useless.
Clearly you have made up your mind and aren’t going to change it, so would it be logical or useful to anyone to debate you? Clearly you have already label people who prep as being fools any further debate with you would only be heated, ugly and unproductive.
I will add this your type scare me more than the ‘zombies’ they will just want preppers’ stuff, where as you will want their ‘stuff’ as well as punishing them for being right. Nothing as dangerous as a zelot proven wrong by those he considers ‘fools’.
The smart way to prepare is to consider what events have happened in the past in your area and choose accordingly.
Within my lifetime here we’ve had one surprise blizzard, a couple ice storms that took out power lines and blocked roads for a time, tornadoes with similar effects since they didn’t hit the actual home but hit other parts of the county instead, even a hurricane once plowing far enough inland to cause some chaos.
If you want to prepare, prepare for what’s likely to happen. If the power’s likely to go out, make sure you have edible food and a means of cooking if required. If it’s cold, have spare blankets and handwarmers, perhaps a heater and fuel for it. If flooding frequently threatens the local water supply, draw water as you see this starting to shape up, have jugs of water on hand.
I love guns as much as the next country gal but if the rain started up tonight and flooded the treatment plant (which is entirely plausible), I couldn’t drink ammo. The chances of someone coming to the door trying to aggressively take your kettles of water are ludicrously slim locally, so where does it make more sense to put those dollars, into an arsenal or a case of Deer Park?
I learned how to make lye by accident - I put too much potash on my potato plants and it killed them so I dug up what potatoes I could and my arms turned bright red and burned. I put vinegar on them to neutralize the alkaline.
As far as how to find that info - just Bing it - step by step - homemade lye, rendering fat, soap making. A lot of info that is most helpful is from Mother Earth News - :) - those hippies in the 1970’s that went back to earth have perfected some great ideas.
It is all fun - my neighbors however, think I am a bit strange.....
Most prepping is just common sense and it is an advantage whether something happens or doesn't. Having a supply of food and fuel with the means to protect it has been part of life up until recently. "Just in time" works for businesses (usually!) but can cause problems in the home.
Speaking of storing water quickly, I came across this one and thought it was pretty cool. For $20 you get a heavy duty bag that goes in your bathtub, plus a siphon pump. With two tubs I could store an extra 200 gallons of fresh water in a few minutes.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/CAMP205-1.html
Yes, Mother Earth had good stuff but as liberals will, they ate themselves up and if you want skills and info go to Backwoods Home Magazine (make sure it has home in it.) then get the "whole shebang" all past issues in books year by year and a subscription.
THE biggest plus is they are right leaning/liberatarian instead of leftists like Mother Earth. I'm reading year 5 now, that is during the Clinton years and the editors point of view is heart warming.
So invest your money with the right leaning mag Backwoods Home Magazine. They also have gun experts (gasp) who write columns. Learn from those who have DONE it, not just read about it.
Another resource is the Foxfire books. You can buy them thru BWH or see if your library has any.
Tho in bad times you will want copies in your library.
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