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HomePosts Tagged "Survival" (Page 3)

I personally shop online for almost anything I can for a couple of reasons. First is the incredible ability to research and check prices. I can read or watch video reviews for any products I am considering before making a final decision. Secondly, I hate going to the mall or just about any other shopping center type of place with a passion – I would just about rather take a kick to the head than go to the mall during Christmas, but even the rest of the year shopping online is just my preferred option. I was looking around for more prepper and survival gear the other day and often readers ask for gear recommendations so I wanted to give you this list of the best-selling prepper items but with a twist. I want to also give you my opinions on why this list is wrong when taken from the standpoint of what people should be focusing on. I will show the best sellers and give alternate items you should have if you don’t already.

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

The LifeStraw is a great idea and Water is the highest priority, all things being equal, you should focus on when preparing for any kind of unforeseen emergency. But I think the LifeStraw itself has some limitations and drawbacks that would make me choose another option for water filtration.

For starters, the LifeStraw is really meant for only one person. If you have a couple of people to provide clean water for, this isn’t ideal. Next, you must stick your face down in the water for this to work. Not only does this require you to get up close and personal with your water source but it also prevents you from being able to fully stay aware of your surroundings. Yes, you can fill a container up with water and stick the LifeStraw in that, but why? Additionally, can’t take any water with you for later because the LifeStraw only works when you have a water source to stick the straw into. Lastly, the LifeStraw only filters up to 1000 liters before it is no longer safe.

For me, there are a couple of other options. For just about the same price, size/weight footprint, the Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System is far superior. It filters 100, 000 gallons, comes with it’s own bag that you can fill to quench your thirst, then refill for the road and still has all the microorganism filtering benefits. To me, these are the most minimal and basic water filters you can get, but it’s probably better to expand to a slightly larger capacity system.

The best solution in my opinion is a gravity fed water filtration system. Why? Unlike manual pump filters like the Katadyn Hiker or the MSR Miniworks (which I own and like), gravity fed filtration systems have no moving parts to break. Also, you can just let the water filter do its job while you move on to other issues like setting up camp or observing your surroundings. I am a HUGE fan of the GravityWorks by Platypus, but they are much more expensive. They taste far better than any type of Iodine water filter system like the Polar Pure, last far longer too, can easily support multiple people and I don’t have to worry about those little glass bottles breaking on me.

Mountain House Freeze Dried Food

The next 3 items on the list of best-selling prepper gear are food so I will combine them. Mountain House is listed as the best seller and I certainly have recommended their products as a great camping or backpacking option that also work great as a preparedness option. They only require hot water and you have a meal. Now, is this the best prepper food you should get if you are trying to stock up food for emergencies?

Maybe.

Mountain House or any one of the many other manufacturers of quality freeze-dried food out there fill a need and as part of a larger food self-sufficiency strategy I think they fill a great role. If you have nothing else but Mountain House, you will still be able to feed your family with decent tasting food that requires nothing more than a fire or stove to heat the water. You can even eat out of the bag. However, I recommend a little more diversity.

Your pantry should be filled with a larger portion of foods you already eat and let the Freeze-Dried food supplement that should you need to. You probably wouldn’t want to break out some Mountain House Lasagna with Meat Sauce if your friends were coming over for dinner, but after a snow storm knocks your power out for a week, this stuff is awesome. Your own family’s needs and preferences will dictate what you store but for tips on how to get started, check out my article on 30 days of food storage for ideas on how to get a jump-start.

Emergency Disposable Rain Ponchos

No offense to the good-looking group pictured here, but preppers shouldn’t be buying these cheap bags expecting protection.

Number three on the list of the best-selling prepper gear is Emergency Rain Ponchos? Seriously? Granted, this is from Amazon.com but these are glorified trash bags meant to give you some protection if you are out at a theme park let’s say and an unexpected downpour threatens to ruin the fun. No self-respecting prepper should have to resort to this because if you can’t find out what the weather is going to be and plan accordingly, you have bigger things to worry about most likely.

Instead of a disposable trash bag, if you are looking for some prepper gear that isn’t a rain jacket, consider a legitimate poncho instead. These are more expensive, but the construction is vastly better and you can use these to provide shelter if you combine them with a little paracord. Usually they come in camouflage colors but you do have options if you are trying not to look tactical. You can even combine them with a poncho liner to have a great cold weather system that can keep you dry and warm.

Gerber Bear Grylls Fire Starter

Number 4 is a means to start a fire and magnesium fire starters are a great grid-down item to have. There are many other brands out there and while I haven’t personally tested the Gerber line, I have been very happy with the craftsmanship and quality of other items like their multi-tools that I own. The Bear Grylls Fire Starter is just branded merchandise but it should do the job admirably.

Now I own several fire starters like this but you know what I own more of? Disposable lighters. They are cheap (you can get a pack of 10 for the price of one fire starter) and easier to use. Yes, they won’t last anywhere near as long as a fire starter, but if I needed to get a fire going quickly, I would much rather start my tinder off with a quick flick of my Bic and then move on.

Survival Shack Emergency Survival Shelter Tent

Keep the rain off you? Maybe? Sun? Yep. Will it keep you warm in cold climates?

Number 5 on Amazon’s list of best-selling prepper gear is essentially a big piece of Mylar with some rope. It is cheap, lightweight and compact, but when it comes to staying warm, I don’t see how this big open tent is going to help you.

In the right environment, creating a survival shelter is a free option but that assumes a lot of things. First that you have materials you can make a shelter with. Debris shelters are all the rage on YouTube for preppers and survivalists, but what if you don’t have any trees, limbs lying around or millions of leaves to cover it with?

A better option may be a survival bivvy. Advanced Medical Kits sells an Emergency Bivvy that will keep two people warm. First, it’s enclosed so you don’t have air blowing through it and wiping away any heat convection your body was making – think survival sleeping bag. It doesn’t require trees to string a rope and you get the added benefit of body heat from your buddy – assuming you are with someone. It is a little more expensive and does take up a little more room, but seems like it would be more effective at keeping you protected from the elements.

Is Best Selling Gear really the Best for You?

There are many other items on the list of best sellers and I just scratched the surface. I think in some cases; the things people buy are often out of convenience and cost savings but those two factors alone could leave you just as unprepared as if you didn’t purchase any prepper gear. Before making any prepper gear purchases, use the internet and conduct research. Take a look at what your survival priorities for the place you are or where you are going. Read articles – there are thousands out there on just about any subject related to prepping you can think of. Watch videos on YouTube and make your own mind up on what makes sense. But don’t stop there.

Actually try out the gear you just purchased. Use it to collect water and drink from it. Take that freeze-dried food out with you and make a meal. Try spending a night in that shelter or working in the rain in that poncho – start a fire. You will learn more from your own experience than anything you can read on a prepper blog and it will give you the knowledge you need to make your own, better, decisions on survival gear that works best for you.

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I personally shop online for almost anything I can for a couple of reasons. First is the incredible ability to research and check prices. I can read or watch video

It is the final backup plan for a lot of us in the case of a disaster. A generous supply of cold hard cash to buy our way out of trouble, pick up as many last-minute supplies as possible or to acquire resources that are unavailable to anyone with a credit card in a world where the electricity is out and the internet is down. We frequently talk about having cash for emergencies, but how much cash should you have if the grid goes down? What will you be able to purchase with your doomsday supply and how long would it last in the first place?

One of our readers made a recommendation the other day to have between $500 and $1000 in cash for your bug out bag and at the time it prompted me to consider again if this amount makes sense. In my personal preparedness plans I have a supply of cash but I am always trying to figure out if what I have is enough or too much. Will it even matter when TEOTWAWKI comes and how can I best use the cash I have to survive?

Why do you need to have cash on hand?

You want to know the time when you will need cash the most? It will be when you can’t get to it. How many of you right now have no cash at all in your wallets or purses? I used to be the same way. I never had cash and relied on the ready availability of cash machines or most often the ability to pay for virtually everything with a debit card. How convenient is it to never have to make change or worry if you have enough cash when with the swipe of a card your bank account funds are at your disposal. This is a great technological advance, but the problem is that this requires two things to be functioning. First, the card readers and ATM machines require electricity. If the electricity is out, neither of these two machines works. The second thing is a network connection. If the network is down, even with electricity the transaction won’t work and you can’t pay for goods or get cash from your bank.

 

In a disaster, one of the first casualties is electricity. This doesn’t have to be due to some cosmic solar flare that has rendered the grid useless, it could be as destructive and common as a fire, flood, earthquake, tornado or winter storm. It could also be from simple vandalism or perhaps terrorism. A major fiber optic cable was cut in Arizona leaving businesses without the ability to accept payments. When the electricity is out, you aren’t going to be able to access your cash via the normal means so having a supply on hand is going to be a huge advantage for you in the right circumstances.

Even if there is no natural disaster, you are still at the mercy of your bank. What if your bank closes or there is a bank holiday declared because of some economic crisis. In any of these situations, if you are dependent on access to money that is controlled by either technology or physical limitations like a bank office it is wise to have a backup plan should either of those two conditions prevent you from getting cash.

What is cash good for in a crisis?

I think there are two levels to consider when it comes to keeping cash on hand. There is the bug out scenario mentioned above where you would have some “walking around money” to take care of relatively minor needs like food, a hotel or gas. The second is for a longer or more widespread unavailability of funds. Let’s say the economy tanks and the price of everything skyrockets but stores are still open for business. Your bank is one of the casualties, but you had a few thousand dollars of cash stored away that you could use to purchase food, gas and necessary preparedness items for your family. In this scenario, the government is still backing the fiat currency and vendors are still accepting it as a form of payment. For this scenario having a few thousand dollars makes sense.

 

 

But what if we have an extreme event where the currency is devalued and is essentially worthless? Your thousands of dollars might only buy you a loaf of bread. Don’t believe it can happen? It did to the Weimar Republic after WWI so it can happen again. That isn’t to say it will, but you should balance how much money you have squirreled away under your mattress with supplies you can purchase now that will last and keep you alive during that same event. My goal is to make sure I have the basics I need to survive at home for several months to a year without needing to spend any cash. This way, if the money is worthless, I still have what my family needs to survive.

If we have a regional disaster where you can bug out to a safer location, your cash should serve you well. Of course if you are in a safer location, assuming electricity was working your access to bank funds should still be working. If this is truly the end of the world as we know it, how long will that cash you have be worth anything?

It is surprisingly simple to disrupt all credit and debit transactions. Do you have cash instead?

How much cash do you need?

So the million dollar question is how much cash should you have if the grid goes down? I always try to plan for the worst case scenario. My rationale is that if I am prepared for the end of the world as we know it, I should be just as prepared for any lesser disaster or crisis I may be faced with. The way I see it is if we do have a disaster, you aren’t going to be using that cash most likely to pay your mortgage, student loans, rent, or your credit card bills. Cash will go to life saving supplies and this will need to be used in the earliest hours of any crisis before all of the goods are gone or the cash is worthless. Once people realize for example that the government has been temporarily destroyed, they aren’t going to want to take your $500 for a tank of gas. They are going to want guns, food or bullets.

Hiding cash is easy with these fake containers, just don’t forget where you put it.

I also don’t see you using your cash to buy passage to another country, but that’s just me. I know there is a historical precedent for that, but I am not planning on that being something I realistically attempt with my family. I am also not planning on bribing any officials with cash either. My cash is for last-minute necessities and then it is back into the hopefully safe confines of my home to plan the next steps. For that I have only a couple of thousand dollars in cash stored away. I figure if I need more than that I didn’t plan well. Also, I would rather spend my money on supplies like long-term storable food and equipment than having a large horde of cash. With that amount, I figure I can make one last run if needed or be able to weather any short-term emergency when I can’t access cash.

What is the best place to hide cash in your home?

I wrote a post few days ago titled, How to hide your money where the bankers won’t find it that had lots of good ideas for reasonably safe places you could store cash. As I said in that article, you do have risks involved with keeping cash in your house, but I think you have just the same, if not worse risks relying on banks to keep your money safe and give it back when you want it. There are a million places to hide cash, but you can get tricky and buy a fake shaving cream safe to store several hundred dollars in there. Just be careful you don’t throw that away. There are other options like wall clocks with a hidden compartment inside that might be less prone to getting tossed in the trash. Your imagination is really all that is needed for a good hiding place, but I would caution you that you don’t store cash in too many places or you could forget where you hid it. This happened to me when I had hidden some cash behind an item that I ended up giving to my daughter because I thought I didn’t need it anymore. Imagine my surprise when she came into the living room and said, “Dad, I found an envelope with a lot of money in it”. I gave her a twenty for a reward…

What about you? How much cash do you think you need to have on hand and what do you plan on spending it on if the grid goes down?

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It is the final backup plan for a lot of us in the case of a disaster. A generous supply of cold hard cash to buy our way out of

Disasters and emergency situations are a part of our lives. You may not plan on getting lost in the wilderness while heading out on adventure plans, but it can happen to any of us. You may lose your way or get in an accident and end up in the wilderness.

Now, it is all about how you respond to such a situation that plays a significant role in your survival. With the right skills and knowledge, your chances of surviving the emergency situation will be high. Having a positive attitude will greatly increase your chances of finding solutions to problems that can occur in a survival situation. The key is to put your knowledge to use and create your master plan for survival in the wilderness.

While it is nice to have all the tools, food and water along with you, you may lose your basic survival kit and would have to survive the emergency situation with nothing except the tools in our head. No matter how scared and alone you may feel, optimism makes a big difference and impacts your ability to handle the survival situation.

This article is about all the skills you need to learn and remember that can help save your life in any wilderness survival situation. Having a working knowledge of these skills will improve your ability to survive in the wilderness drastically. You may not have any equipment with you, but with the right knowledge of the below-mentioned skill you will still do fine.

This survival guide ensures that you are physically and mentally prepared to face any situation without any tools with you and help yourself at all times. Learning these skills can help you make it through most dangerous survival situations and bring you back home safely.

There are a number of skills but the seven survival skills mentioned below are the most basic ones that you should be mastering first because these are the skills that will help keep you safe for a longer time until you are rescued.

Making Fire

It is important to keep the wind direction and the surrounding area in mind when trying to start a fire.

The first survival skill you must know is how to make a fire. Knowing how to build a fire that burns through the night is crucial. Fire provides you heat, light and smoke keeps you warm and comforts you during the night. You can use it to cook food, purify water, as a signal for help, as a source of light, to see in the dark, make tools and also for keeping critters away. It also creates a sense of security and safety.

When traveling in the wilderness, it is always better to carry a few fire-starting tools like lighter, matches, firesteel, etc.  You could also light a fire with the help of eyeglasses, water bottles, and cell phone batteries. In case you do not have any of these available then fire by friction is the most effective technique that you can use.

There are various other methods of starting a fire with a bow drill, flint, and steel, fire plow, fire saw, hand drill, etc., depending on what resources you find around you. It is important to keep the wind direction and the surrounding area in mind when trying to start a fire. Make the fire away from hanging branches, stumps, logs, dry grass, and leaves as it could turn out to be dangerous.

Finding and Purifying Water

Finding water will be mostly dependent on the surroundings you are in.

The next most important priority is water. Finding and purifying water is of primary concern in a wilderness survival situation. The best sources for drinking water in a wilderness are springs, headwater streams, and morning dew. You can find water by following the sound of a flowing river or grazing animals.

Finding water will be mostly dependent on the surroundings you are in. Large plastic bags can draw water from tree leaves; you can tap a tree to get some water. Dew on the grass is another brilliant source of water; you can collect water by running a piece of cloth through the grass. In the desert area, you can find water by digging up a dry creek bed. Stagnant water is not suitable for drinking even if you boil it.

Once you have found water, purifying it is another task. You can purify water by either boiling or filter it.

If you have a fire then boiling is the best way to purify water. Even if you don’t have a container to put water in, you can heat up some rocks, drop them into the water and let it boil for 2-3 minutes.

For filtering, allow the water to stand till the mud settles to the bottom and then you can use any cloth to strain out remaining silt.

Building Shelter

You can collect materials that could be put together as a rough shelter to help you get through until help reaches you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are going to need a shelter at some point until you are rescued. You should at least carry a tarp in your kit, if not a tent. A tarp could be a lifesaver when stuffed with leaves or grass as a barrier from the wind, snow or rain. In case you lose your bag, you can build your shelter as long as you can collect materials that could be put together as a rough shelter to help you get through until help reaches you.

Being able to build a shelter is vital in a wilderness survival situation. You need to consider the location before planning to build a shelter. A good survival shelter must block all the outside elements and protect you from the ground, freezing temperatures, heat, winds that insulate cold or heat, snow, driving sleet and rains.

There are various kinds of natural shelters to consider such as caves, hollow stumps, and logs. You can also build shelters such as a debris hut, lean-to, scout pit, snow shelter, etc., The type of shelter depends on the supplies available to you. The debris hut is the most practical and easiest to construct in almost any environment.

Finding Food

If you do not have any food with you, you will have to find something to eat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food might not top the survival essentials list, but it is equally important as you will start to lose strength if you do not eat for a long time.  It is wise to keep a small container of olive oil as it is packed with a huge amount of calories and can be used for other things as well. But if you do not have any food with you, you will have to find something to eat. Fishes, small animals, plants, and berries are some options that you can look for in the wilderness.

Most of the natural environments are filled with all these and various other foods. If you are around a lake or a river, fishing could be the best option in any survival situation. Hunting small animals with snare traps could also be considered if placed at the right spot.

Plants are another natural and best options that can satisfy your hunger during survival. But it is very important to identify any plant you plan to consume. Do not eat unless you are not sure about the plant as many plants can be poisonous. The best and readily available options are acorns from Oak tree, nut and inner bark from Pine tree, stalk, root and tuber from the Cattail of the grass.

Paracord Use and Paracord Knots

There are extensive uses of this survival tool like building shelter, making fire bow, snares, fishing lines, and stringer, securing an animal, building raft, ladder, etc.

Paracord is a very important survival tool that should always be kept handy. It is made of nylon, and it gives incredible strength and durability that can accomplish a variety of tasks. It is made in a braided form and can hold up to 550 pounds of weight. It is quick drying and resistant to rotting.

Paracord could be used in almost any wilderness survival situation. Paracord can be used intact, or the inner strands of it can also be separated and used for any work. There are extensive uses of this survival tool like building shelter, making fire bow, snares, fishing lines, and stringer, securing an animal, building raft, ladder, etc.

There are some cool Paracord projects that you can try yourself.

Paracord also has many uses in first aid and can be used as a signaling tool as well. All these abilities make paracord a powerful weapon.

Paracord Knot tying is another essential skill in survival techniques. It is a fast & easy way to make a quick safety harness. There is a kind of knot for every survival situation. There are numerous ways of tying paracord knots but taut-line hitch, figure eight knot, square knot, clove hitch and bowline are the most important and widely used paracord knots in any survival situation.

Self Defense

Self-defense is another very important skill in any wilderness survival situations. It is always recommended to carry a few tools or some weapon with you like a knife or pocket saw or any other sharp object that you can protect yourself with. If you do not have any of these, then you can probably make a weapon with the resources and materials available to you. You can find many potential weapons in the wilderness.

Self-defense weapons could be anything like a sharpened stick, branch, or a club or bow and arrow or an axe or simply a piece of rock. You can make a war club or an axe by using a sharp rock and a branch of the tree. All these could be a defensive weapon even in the most untrained hands in survival situations.

If you are at risk from any animal, do not panic or run away from it. It is better to face the animal and get away from it slowly. Throw anything that you can find at it. In case the animal attacks you, try to block its mouth with your non-dominant hand and smash its snout or directly hit it in the eye. Once the animal is temporarily disabled, run to find something that you can hide in. Arm yourself with any sharpened object that you can attack the animal with.

Learn to Communicate

Survival is your priority, but you also need to be rescued. One of the skills required in any survival situation to be rescued is to communicate. Communication is the key, and proper signaling plays an important role. Signaling is drawing attention. The rescuer must be able to recognize your signals and so you need to know effective communication skills.

Considering some wilderness places might not have cell coverage, you can use the following ways to communicate.

  • Construct unnatural objects that do not sync with the surrounding area and are easily noticeable. Use colors, materials, and shapes that can draw the rescuer’s attention.
  • A mirror can be used to reflect during the day. Aluminum foil, watches, silver parts on credit cards or anything shiny can also be used.
  • At night flares, torch and flashlights work best.
  • You can build a signal fire at a certain height in an open space and keep it ready to be lit instantly as you notice any plane or a helicopter.
  • A wave is considered as a signal to not land. Instead, form your arms in a “Y” shape indicating that you need help.
  • Wave your arms or a t-shirt attached to a branch of a tree vigorously; your movement will be noticeable.
  • Radio is surest and fastest way of communication. Learn how to operate and be familiar with the radios in your unit.
  • Whistles are another sure communicating tool that can be heard from far away. Always try to carry a whistle with you or learn how to whistle.
  • If you’re moving, it is better to leave some things behind as a signal at prominent clearings.

By maintaining a positive attitude and with the help of the above survival techniques you can not only successfully survive any wilderness situation but also you can get yourself out safely. For any situation Prepare, Adapt and overcome is the key to succeeding.

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Disasters and emergency situations are a part of our lives. You may not plan on getting lost in the wilderness while heading out on adventure plans, but it can happen

 

Take a second and think if there is anyone you know who has loads of supplies packed in their home. Now ask yourself if that person has the knowledge and skill level to employ that equipment in critical times. What about you? Do you have the know-how when the going gets rough?

Maybe you’re just getting started with prepping and have an extremely tight budget. Your community and family are going to need capable people who can execute vital tasks when times are hard and lives are on the line. Don’t sell yourself short if your finances prevent you from acquiring massive amounts of equipment for any number of disasters. Think about the people on the other side of the coin who have lots of gear, but not lots of training on how to use it. Aristotle’s said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” and pulling together as a community can pull you through any difficult circumstances.

Take a stroll through any prepper website and you’ll see that a ton emphasis is placed on gear and gadgets. I’m here to tell you that skills beat gadgets any day of the week and twice on Sundays! Knowledge weighs nothing and you always have it on you. People often try to buy their way out of a problem, but skills are built through habit and time. Today we’re going to focus on 6 basic skills that every prepper needs: Shooting, Medical, Survival, Communication, Gardening, and Leadership.

Shooting

A rifle with a sling in the hands of trained marksman can devastate and enemy force or consistently provide meat for the pot.

When things fall apart, it’s handy to know how to handle a weapon. Not just for self-defense purposes, but also for hunting. Even if you only have a .22 rifle, you can become deadly with it. Fancy scopes, match-grade barrels, suppressors and bi-pods are not required. A rifle with a sling in the hands of trained marksman can devastate and enemy force or consistently provide meat for the pot. You need to learn how to shoot – it can literally save your life!
Project Appleseed is a non-profit nationwide community of volunteers that teaches traditional rifle marksmanship that will “transform you from a person with a rifle into a principled and skilled Rifleman.” They offer inexpensive weekend shoots in nearly every state.

Medical

Medical emergencies don’t wait for the end of the world. They happen every day to thousands of people in your community. Trained First Responders can mean the difference between life and death. It’s likely that everyone will have to deal with some sort of medical or traumatic situation so it’s probably not a bad idea to learn how to deal with medical emergencies before they occur.

There are many counties/cities in every state that need volunteer firefighters. Since almost 80% of their calls are medical related, there are departments that will pay for your Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)- Basic Certification Course in return for your volunteer service to their department. This is an outstanding way to learn a crucial skill (for free) and get involved in your community. During my time as an EMT, I’ve seen first-hand the varied and extreme reactions of people’s response to stress while also developing the muscle memory to stay calm and provide emergency care to the sick and injured.

Survival

Whether you’re bugging out during a crisis or simply lost in the woods, survival skills are foundational to maintaining life. There are a lot of great resources on this topic that are free. Check out your local library for books or DVDs on survival. YouTube can also provide a lot of information regarding water purification, shelter building, fire-craft, signaling, navigation and snaring. There are a wide variety of techniques in the survival community so focus your search on practical skills and less on the primitive living techniques that can take years to master like fire by friction, tanning hides, flint-knapping, etc.

Communication

It’s a good idea to learn how to use radios now before you need them.For communities to effectively work together during catastrophes, they have to be able to communicate. In today’s society, we’ve become complacent with luxuries like the internet and cell phones that are highly vulnerable to failure when things go south.

In times of need, HAM radio operators stand in the gap to provide lifesaving information. This allows communities to prepare for incoming threats, make informed decisions, adjust provisions for crisis duration or work in concert with nearby communities. You can learn the basics of HAM radio with this free course.  Also, it’s less than $40 to get your license and using a simple handheld radio you can be talking to other operators in your community in no time!

Gardening/Canning

A garden is simply a prepping must-have to live off-grid.

You’ve probably heard the saying that “Growing your own food is like printing your own money” and in hard times this has never been truer. Imagine your delight eating fresh tomatoes or strawberries after two weeks of freeze-dried food. Or opening a jar of raspberry jam in the middle of winter that you canned earlier that summer. Gardening and canning are skills that can be learned with a minimum amount of startup costs. If you have no idea where to start, check out your local county extension or city. They likely offer free workshops on these subjects and some even provide supplies to take home! Don’t worry if you don’t have a lot of space. A simple window sill herb garden can teach you the learning curve that comes with gardening. The beauty of gardening is that even if crisis never comes, you’ll still enjoy the fruits of your labor. Ha…you see what I did there?!

Leadership

Working together is a key factor to surviving disasters and leadership is a fundamental role in making that happen. Your community is a lot like a tribe and it needs leaders at the local level. Good leadership comes from being informed and understanding what people need in hard times. One part of leadership is understanding what planning and execution is taking place at the city, state and national level. FEMA has tons of free online courses so you can work together and relay community challenges using the local chain of command. Here is a snapshot of some of the courses they offer:

  • Understanding the Incident Command System
  • Emergency Planning
  • Decision Making and Problem Solving
  • Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters
  • Natural Disaster Mitigation

Check out their site to learn more:

There are also free courses on personal emergency preparedness offered by your city or county. A quick Internet search should point you in the right direction.

Sometimes the hardest part with most things in life is getting started. The good news is that you don’t need a fortune to start building your skillset. The danger here is not acting on this information; you have to apply it! Like Derek Sivers says, “If information were the answer we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs”. Now you know how to get started and move towards your goal. This can actually be a lot of fun. Invite a friend along with you and learn something new together. You might even find a new hobby!

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  Take a second and think if there is anyone you know who has loads of supplies packed in their home. Now ask yourself if that person has the knowledge and

I recall reading somewhere that we don’t actually measure life in hours, minutes, seconds or years, but rather in a coffee spoon. I have to agree with this one – if I did that right, I would say that my age would be around two cargo containers filled to the brim with coffee.

Anyway, today’s topic won’t revolve around coffee, per se, but the coffee ground. Yup that icky stuff that usually ends clogging the kitchen sink has many uses. So, without prolonging your agony too much, here are 9 ingenious ways to reuse coffee grounds.

Pots and pans detail

The only thing worse than burning your food is having to scrape that pot or pan afterward. It’s frustrating because no matter how hard you scrub, that scorch mark will still cling to your cookware. When everything else fails, use coffee grounds. Even though that stuff’s been drenched in hot water, it’s still quite abrasive – good news for you, bad news for whatever dirt’s left on the pot. I personally prefer giving the skillets a through coffee grounds scrub every now and then. That’s the reason why I keep a box of that stuff next to the kitchen sink.

Creating awesome marinades

Cooking’s great because it allows you to experiment with various ingredients combos. Take marinades, for instance. Each marinade consists of 5 basic ingredients: oil, salt, pepper, water, and spice mix. However, this doesn’t have to stop us from trying other things. Some use scented oils, veggie mix, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and whatnots. I personally prefer to use coffee ground. Apart from the fact that it makes the meat literally melt in your mouth (try this the next time you’ll be cooking pulled pork) it also gives it a smoky, earth-like aroma and aftertaste. Not to mention the fact that it’s a great way to recycle coffee ground which in 99.9 percent of cases would end up in the trash.

Giving plants a run for their money

Many people have asked me what type of chemical I use around the garden. Well, I don’t use that stuff because I don’t want to end up with supermarket tomatoes. I usually make my own compost from coffee grounds, wilted veggies, and dung. Plants simply love it. Sure, you need to wear a hazard mask to walk around the compost pile, but nothing beat a tasty and nutritious veggie dinner.

No more ice-skating

If you’re having trouble figuring out a way to remove the ice from your driveway with destroying the driveway in the process, try with coffee grounds. That stuff provides great traction while melting the ice.

Getting rid of dead skin and acne

Acne’s always an issue, regardless if you’re 14 or 44. Don’t waste your money on expensive skin creams when there’s a cheaper alternative – using fresh coffee grounds. After grounds cool down, stick them inside a food processor and give them a couple of spins. Use this fine powder to scrub your face and other parts of the body.

No more ants in the pants (or food basket)

Summer’s just around the bend, and we all know what this means – quite family picnics, hiking, and drives. If you don’t want to see any ants or other pests crawling all over your food, sprinkle some coffee grounds the picnic area. They hate them. Apparently, according to researchers, caffeine, the very same substance that gives us a kick in the morning, disrupts their central nervous systems, making the critters feel mightily uncomfortable.

Getting rid of nasty fridge smells

I know that no one’s in the mood to take everything out of the fridge and scrub that thing clean at the end of the week. Obviously, if you postpone this for too long, you’re going to end with a smelly fridge. Now, if you’re not a clean freak, you may be able to get rid of fouls smells from the fridge by putting some coffee ground on a plate or small bowl. Place it inside the fridge, and that’s it. You can also use the same stuff as an air freshener. FIY, coffee grounds are very effective at removing tobacco smell from the room.

Grow your own shrooms

No, not those kinds of mushrooms, because they’re illegal. I was thinking more on the lines of champignons, the same shrooms you find in every supermarket. It’s super easy to do it. Take a plastic bucket and fill it with some earth. Add a handful of compost and mix with a trowel or hands. At your local supermarket, take a look around the gardening section for shroom seeds. They’re very cheap (around $1 per package). Empty the pack’s content in the bucket, water, and place in a dark room with a loss of moisture. I personally keep my bucket shrooms in the basement. After a couple of weeks, you’ll be able to harvest and use them for cooking your favorite meals.

Keeping mold away from your linen closet

Nothing beats opening your closet and taking a whiff of those freshly-ironed bedsheets. Well, you wouldn’t feel that way if your nose was to be assaulted by a rancid smell. That’s the trouble with keeping linen for far too long under lock and key – they tend to smell of mold. However, there’s a quick to prevent that from happening, and it doesn’t involve washing, ironing or buying pricey closet fresheners.

Fill a small satchel with coffee grounds and place it between the bedsheets. The coffee grounds will remove any mold from the closet and make your linen smell as if they were just taken out of the washing machine. You can also do the same for your wardrobe and drawers where you keep stuff like underwear and socks. These coffee ground sacks will also keep moths and other critters away from your clothes.

Well, that’s about it on how to reuse coffee grounds around the house. What’s your take on this? Hit the comments section and let me know.

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Yup that icky stuff that usually ends clogging the kitchen sink has many uses.

The various types of emergency foods that are available, coupled with the commercial hype surrounding them, can understandably lead the prepper to make less than optimal decisions with regard to the types and amounts of emergency foods to acquire. In this article I will briefly recap the most common types of emergency food and describe how each would fit in to a practical survival strategy.

The common types of emergency food stores include:

  • Canned Foods – Canned foods consist of fruits, vegetables and meats that have been prepared for long-term storage in jars and cans. Canned foods can be prepared at home and are available at virtually any grocery store. Depending on the type of food, they can either be ‘dry-pack canned’ or ‘wet-pack canned’. (Wet-pack canning involves immersing the food in hot water – sometimes in a pressure cooker – prior to vacuum-sealing.) Dried beans and dried white rice are the dry-pack canned foods most commonly stored by preppers and survivalists because they have an extremely long shelf life (up to 25 years!) and provide a good supply of proteins and carbohydrates.

  • mre

    MRE’s are a common choice for Emergency Food.

    Dehydrated Foods – Dehydrated foods have been processed in a food dehydrator to remove much of their moisture. This inhibits the growth of microorganisms that cause the food to spoil.

  • Freeze-dried Foods – Freeze-dried foods have been processed in a commercial freeze-drier in such a way that virtually all water has been removed (much more than is removed by a dehydrator). This process results in food that is lightweight and which has a very long shelf life.
  • Cured Meats – Cured meats have been treated with chemicals (usually nitrates) in such a way as to inhibit the growth of microbes and extend the unrefrigerated shelf life of meats.
  • Smoked Meats – Smoked meats have been exposed to the heat and smoke such that the increase in temperature dehydrates the meat (which inhibits microbial growth) while the smoke deposits an anti-microbial chemical layer over the meat.
  • Meals Ready-to-Eat – Originally developed for the military, MREs are portable, long-shelf-life food packets that contain complete meals. MREs can quickly be prepared and consumed. Often these packets include built-in food heaters and provide complete meals.

ISSUES RELATED TO NUTRITION

In general, all of the above forms of preserved foods provide good nutritional value. While the heating associated with some canning processes can degrade some water-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, C, thiamine and riboflavin, they still serve as a good source of these and other nutrients. While nutritional value is preserved in the above types of foods, the nitrates used to cure meats have been shown to be carcinogenic in larger quantities. Salt and sugar may be added to canned foods to improve taste, which can also affect the nutrition offered by such foods (be sure to check the labels of any canned foods for references to sugar and salt!).

MREs provide good calories and some nutrition, but also contain a large quantity of sodium, which has been show to have adverse health effects when consumed excessively (MREs are designed to simply “get the soldier across the battlefield”).

SHELF LIFE OF DIFFERENT EMERGENCY FOOD TYPES

The shelf lives described here assume the foods are kept at room temperature of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Canned fruits and vegetables typically have a shelf life of between 2 and 5 years. There is much anecdotal evidence of canned meats being eaten (and having good flavor and nutrition) after being stored for as long as 10 years. Some dry-canned foods such as dried beans and dried white rice can have a shelf life that exceeds 25 years.

Dehydrated fruits and vegetables typically have a shelf life of up to one year, while dehydrated meats have a shelf life of only about one month.

Freeze-dried foods have a shelf life that ranges between 5 and 25 years, depending on how well it is packaged (plastic food pouches have a shorter shelf life, while cans have a a much longer shelf life).

Smoked meats have an unrefrigerated shelf life of only a few weeks.

Cured meats have an unrefrigerated shelf life that ranges from a few weeks to as long as a year, depending on the type of meat and how it was cured.

Canned foods offer offer the most nutrition at the least cost. The other forms of food have the advantage of lighter weight and/or longer shelf life, but at significantly greater cost.

Smoked meats have an unrefrigerated shelf life of only a few weeks.

NOTE: While the storage of cured and smoked meats is of limited value in the time leading up to disaster; the ability, equipment and supplies required to smoke and cure meats will certainly be valuable skills to have in the aftermath if refrigeration systems are unavailable.

Modern MREs have a shelf life of between 3 to 4 years when stored at room temperature, however that shelf life can decrease rapidly when stored at higher temperatures (in a desert environment the shelf-life for a MRE may be as short as one month!). Also, when purchasing MREs you should be certain of their date of manufacture – otherwise you won’t get the benefit of the full shelf life.

DETERMINING YOUR OWN EMERGENCY FOOD NEEDS

A good way to begin to understand the types of emergency food supplies you will need is to consider how you will most probably be traveling during and after a major disaster. If you expect to be sheltering-in-place then the bulk of your emergency food supplies should consist of canned foods, as canned foods offer a very good shelf life and provide a lower cost per meal than other forms of emergency food. Even though canned foods are heavier than other types of emergency food, if you are sheltering-in-place then portability becomes a less important consideration than cost.

If you expect to be traveling on foot for an extended period, then the weight of your food will be a major consideration. In these circumstances you should plan on having freeze-dried food available, as freeze dried foods have an extremely long shelf life and are extremely light.

If you expect to be traveling by vehicle then weight is less of an issue and the ability to “eat while on the move” becomes important. MREs are an excellent choice for these circumstances because they can typically be unpackaged, heated and eaten without the need to interrupt travel. Also, because they utilize a chemical reaction to generate heat, the preparation of MREs does not produce smoke that might attract undesired attention.

When considering these factors you should not only be anticipating your travel needs when bugging out, but also potential future needs to travel overland for trade, barter and defense. Of course no one has a crystal ball to be able to predict these needs with certainty; however you should at least be able to develop a reasonable estimate. Additionally, you should build into your estimates the expected duration of the disaster, which should ideally be the amount of time required for you to become self-sufficient.

A quick way to estimate your emergency food needs is to answer the following questions:

  • How many people are in my group?
  • What duration disaster (in days) am I planning for or how long do I anticipate before achieving self-sufficiency?
  • If bugging out to another location, how many days of travel will be required?
  • In the aftermath of disaster, what percentage of total group members’ time will be spent on extended trips away?
  • What percentage of meals will utilize basic dry-canned foods such as beans and rice?

The answers to these questions can help you to estimate your own emergency food needs. If MREs are used exclusively for travel, for example, then the total number of MREs needed for travel is simply the product of number of group members, number of days of travel and number of meals per day. You may then increase this number so as to plan to use MREs for a percentage of post-disaster travel when concealment and speed are a top consideration.

Amounts of freeze-dried meals can be estimated as the product of average number of people traveling, the number of days of travel and the number of meals per day (while there will be some double coverage of travel by MREs and freeze-dried food, it’s never a bad idea to have some extra food on hand).

The balance between dry-packed “beans and rice” type meals and canned foods will be much more subjective, however by thinking in terms of the percentage of beans-and-rice meals vs. other meals, and of course considering the number of people you are planning to feed and the expected duration of the disaster, you will be able to identify the types and quantities of these bulk emergency foods that will meet your preparedness needs.

NOTE: Even before disaster strikes you should normally be consuming and replenishing your supply of canned disaster food so that you do not find yourself with a cupboard filled with expired canned food when disaster does strike!

 

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The various types of emergency foods that are available, coupled with the commercial hype surrounding them, can understandably lead the prepper to make less than optimal decisions with regard to

Yesterday I began a new series called, Back to Basics. People every day can simply look at events happening anywhere in the world and understand how taking some simple steps to ensure you can handle minor emergencies, isn’t crazy. Prepping to a certain level makes sense for everyone, regardless of where you live.

This series was designed to go back to the basics of prepping, obviously. Today I wanted to share tips for how to stockpile food for emergencies that anyone can use. I will focus on preppers who are just starting out, but I think some ideas in the topics below could be useful to anyone looking to ensure their family has food and does not go hungry. This article will also have dozens of links to other content on the subject for additional reading.

 

I believe there are 5 main components to survival that everyone needs to consider. They are simply Water, Food, Shelter, Security and Hygiene. Yesterday we talked about the need for water and how you can easily store water for emergencies that render your traditional methods of obtaining water impossible. Water is more important to life than food or at least you can live longer without food than you can water, but they are both important.

Why do you need to stockpile food for emergencies?

If you are new to prepping, you may have something that triggered your awareness of the subject. Preppers have many reasons for doing what they do and no two preppers are alike. Some are preparing for the end of the world, but most see situations in our daily lives that give a perfect reason to stock up supplies. You have only to look at the recent winter storm that affected large swaths of the Eastern Seaboard to have a perfect example of why you don’t want to be left without a means to feed your family.

emptystoreshelves

Greeks are finding food, medicine and fuel in short supply.

It seems almost cliché at this point, but invariably it always happens when a winter storm is forecast. Everyone rushes out to the store and certain food supplies are wiped out. Images of empty shelves are shown on practically every newscast and eventually prepper websites. Food shortages during simple storms are common if not expected. We don’t really even blink anymore because we are so used to this practice of waiting until the last-minute and then hitting the local grocery store on the way home from work to grab some basic necessities or comfort food.

Related – Build yourself the only unlimited water source you’ll ever need

If you can’t live for more than 3 days without going to the store, it’s time to reevaluate your family’s readiness. The statistic we hear most of the time is that the average home has only 3 days’ worth of food in it. If this is true, where would you be on day three if you had not been able to make it to the grocery store before the storm? What if instead of a snow storm, a virus outbreak had occurred and everyone was told to stay indoors to prevent infection? Each of us should have more food on hand that our families and friends will eat than is absolutely necessary to prevent surprises from leaving you hungry.

How much food do you need to store?

In the example above I used a virus outbreak as the condition that would prevent you from getting to the store. There are others though and weather could certainly be one of them. Some storms where I live have left roads impassable for upwards of a week. Could we walk to the store? Sure, but what if the stores having already been cleared of just about all of the food were closed? What if power outages prevented them from conducting any transactions? These are things you should consider.

Prepping is not something I ever consider you can accomplish. By that I mean, you are never going to be fully prepared. You may be much better prepared than some or all of the people around you, but you will never be 100% self-sufficient. Prepping should be done incrementally even if you have more money than you know what to do with because as you start to stock up food you learn lessons.

Related – The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us

A good rule of thumb for me is to start small when you are beginning to stockpile food for emergencies. You don’t need a year of freeze-dried foods to start with. Try just having a week or two of extra groceries that your family already eats. This is accomplished without any exotic storage needs usually or 5 gallon buckets of grains you have to figure out how to prepare.

Premium Fresh MREs Meal with Heaters

My wife purchases the groceries and I started out by giving her extra money to simply buy more food. I did this in the beginning because she is a much better shopper than I am and will always save more money than me. This worked great because she was easily able to fill our pantry and had plenty of meals planned to last us well over 30 days. Sure, at the end of that 30 days of food we would be getting into more exotic cans of mushrooms and soups that are better left as part of a recipe as opposed to your entire meal, but we wouldn’t starve.

What are the best types of food to stockpile?

Once we had a month worth of food and water stored up, I started looking at other options. I think each person should have a layered approach to food storage. This gives you flexibility and more importantly variety that as you go out to 6 months or 1 year or 2 will be important. My own personal goal is 2 years’ worth of food stockpiled for my family but that isn’t made up of only food from our grocery store. That can certainly be done though with a very good rotation plan.

Related – 4 Important Forgotten Skills used by our Ancestors that can help you in any crisis

Food storage should ideally cover the following:

Short Term Food Storage – The best and simplest foods are like I said above, what your family eats every day. One thing to consider is that the bulk of this food should be non-perishable in case you lose power. Canned foods are great as well as pastas, drink mixes and staples. These usually last at least a year.

Medium Term Food Storage – For the 5 – 10 year range MRE’s are a great option although they are heavier and their convenience comes at a higher price. I have several boxes of these and I like MRE’s because they are self-contained and don’t really need any water. Freeze dried camping foods like Mountain House are another great option to just add hot water to. Rice and beans make great additions to this category because you don’t really have to do anything crazy to store them as long as they are kept cool and dry.

Long Term Food Storage – When you start to look at foods that will keep for many years you get into stored grains like Hard Red Winter Wheat that you store in sealed 5 gallon buckets. Freeze dried food from any one of many suppliers out there keep for 20 years usually and are individually wrapped Mylar packets. They require water to re-hydrate but the taste can be surprisingly good. Make sure you have seasonings though….

Renewable Food Storage – This is when you have to get your inner farmer working. Renewable foods are an intensive garden, small livestock like chickens or rabbits and the occasional wild game caught either through hunting or snares. In the worst disasters, your food will run out so having a plan for that ahead of time will help you prepare.

vegetables

For a well-rounded plan, growing your own food will give you the most flexibility.

How do you plan for your food eventually running out?

I have a mix of the food storage options above. We eat on our grocery store items every day, but I also have MRE’s and a pretty large amount of freeze-dried foods stored. We also have the grains I mentioned and the all-important grain mill to grind them into flour. Several hundred pounds of rice and beans round out the equation.

Stockpiling food is only the start. We have a garden and small flock of chickens. The stored food is just to get us through the worst of the disaster. Hopefully before our food runs out whatever disaster has happened will be mitigated and life will have returned to some sense of normality. If not, we have a huge leg up that will allow us to further harvest our garden to put away food like the pioneers had to do. It is an approach that gives us some sense of security and prepares us to come out on the other side still alive.

What is your plan to stockpile food for emergencies?

On a different note, here’s some other self-sufficiency and preparedness solutions recommended for you:

The Lost Ways (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)
Survival MD (Knowledge to survive any medical crisis situation)
Backyard Liberty (Liberal’s hidden agenda: more than just your guns…)
Alive After the Fall (Build yourself the only unlimited water source you’ll ever need)
The Lost ways II (4 Important Forgotten Skills used by our Ancestors that can help you in any crisis)
The Patriot Privacy Kit (Secure your privacy in just 10 simple steps)

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If you can’t live for more than 3 days without going to the store, it’s time to reevaluate your family’s readiness. The statistic we hear most of the time is

As the proud owner of two small cats, I can admit that sometimes I just can’t keep up with their potty habits. Sometimes they’re worse than kids; spreading those silica pebbles all over the bathroom or bringing them to bed when it’s nap time. Anyway, in buying so many sacks of cat litter, a thought occurred to me – what if I can use this stuff for other purposes than, well, kitty litter?

Of course, this sort of thing called for some extra time spent online searching for non-cat uses of kitty litter. Well, after a very though peer review (cats were pleased with the results of my searches), I pieced together this small list of ways to repurpose kitty litter.

Yes, I know that most of you have heard that cat litter can be used to defog car windows or to gain extra traction during the winter, but there are other ways to use this stuff.

Now, without further ado, here are some ingenious ways to use kitty potty pebbles during an SHTF situation.

  1. Dump some of that stuff in a portable emergency potty

Since kitty litter is made to draw out moisture, it makes for an excellent smell and liquid buster for your portable toilet. The idea of having to go number two in a bucket or whatever may be unnerving, but you won’t have much choice during an emergency.

Want to hear one more reason why you should add kitty litter to your portable toilet? Because you won’t have the time or disposition to empty it after each use. So, do yourself a favor and put some of this stuff inside your mobile potty before nature takes its course.

  1. Making your driveway slip-free

You know how people end up in the ER when the frost sets in? Slipping on the driveways after getting out of the car. You can either use regular rock salt to deal with the ice, but that stuff eats through concrete like acid, or you can opt for an environmental- and driveway-friendly solution which is kitty litter.

Sure, it won’t do much about the ice, but at least you’ll have enough traction to stay upright until you get inside the house. You should also sprinkle some kitty litter under your doormat – yup, that thing can also become very slippery during the winter.

  1. Putting the kibosh on them moles

Prepper loves veggies, mole loves veggies, but prepper does not like a mole – that’s how it is; a true Shakespearian forbidden love affair which ends in the above-mentioned person finding all kinds of non-soil-friendly ways to get rid of the blind Romeo.

 

Anyway, if you don’t want to end up poisoning the ground, sprinkle a little bit of cat litter around your plants. For some reason, moles abhor cat litter and will stay away from your garden. From where I stand, it’s a win-win situation: no one gets hurt, the soil remains healthy, and plants will grow unhindered.

  1. Nips grease fires in the bud

Whether you’re cooking outside or inside, grease fires are a very real and very scary possibility. Even worse is that you can’t do shit with water. Now, if you forget to check your fire extinguisher, leave it where it is. Grab a handful of kitty litter and toss it over the fire.

Since the silica pebbles are designed to draw out moisture from, well, anything, they’ll blanch that grease spot faster than you can say “preparedness.”  You should also consider keeping a small bag of kitty litter in your BBQ’s firebox if you’re planning on cooking grease-laden foods.

  1. No more rancid smells around the house

Kitty litter is great at reducing foul smells around the house. If there’s a stink in the fridge, put some of this stuff on a small plate and place it inside the fridge.

Now, if the kitty litter doesn’t help with the bad smell, try this trick – in a small bowl, combine one tablespoon of diatomaceous earth, one tablespoon of fine rock salt, and one tablespoon of baking soda. You can also add a splash of apple cider vinegar if you like. Stick the bowl in the fridge, and I guarantee you that by morning, the inside will smell as if the fridge just came out the production line.

  1. No more rodents lurking around your food pantry

Before I got around to redoing the pantry where I keep my emergency food and water stockpile, rats and mice were a big issue. Sometimes I had to throw entire packs of trail mix or whatever because they were literally covered in rat bites and feces. Plugging every hole that you can find is indeed a good fix, but a costly one.

After doing a little bit of research, I’ve discovered that moles aren’t the only pests that detest the sight and smell of cat litter. Apparently, even rats and mice flee in terror at the sight of these pebbles (probably because they know that a cat may be hanging around).

Anyway, doesn’t matter if you own a cat or not, should you find yourself up to the neck in rodents, scatter some kitty litter around the area where you saw bites or feces. They won’t trouble you any longer after this.

  1. Plant care

Since I’ve always like fooling around the garden, knowing how much moisture plants need was kind of an issue for me. There was this one time I ended drowning my wife’s cabbage patch because I used the power hose to water them. If you’re just like me when it comes to gardening, you can use kitty litter to balance the water levels.

Since this stuff absorbs extra moisture, you need not worry about giving too much water to plant – it will draw out the exact amount it needs. The rest will be absorbed by the kitty litter (would be best to use silica pebbles, because they have a higher absorption rate).

That’s it for my 7 funky and fun ways to use kitty litter in an SHTF situation. What are your thoughts? Hit the comment section and let me know.

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As the proud owner of two small cats, I can admit that sometimes I just can’t keep up with their potty habits. Sometimes they’re worse than kids; spreading those silica

Where would we be today without mouthwash? Probably brushing our teeth several times per day in order to get rid of all those food pieces. Wouldn’t call it a marvel a technology, but mouthwash does have its uses and, some of them, go way beyond oral hygiene.

And because I was thinking the other day about reasons to stockpile even more mouthwash than usual, I ended up burning the midnight oil to see what that stuff’s good for apart from, well, using it to wash your mouth. Of course, I won’t bother you with tall tales about guys using mouthwash and mumbo-jumbo to summon otherworldly beings, but I did discover some very interesting facts about this stuff.

Did you know that there was a time when FDA was seriously considering blackballing mouthwash on account of a freak study that linked this substance to oral cancer? Of course, it was later proven that the study was a bogus and that the only severe reaction mouthwash can cause is the so-called black tongue – basically, the tongue grows tired of shedding dead skin cells which end up sitting there, is not pretty.

The black color is the result of a chemical reaction between an oxidizer commonly found in mouthwash and the dead skin cells. No reason for alarm, as it is not life-threating (just use a brush with soft bristles to scrape your tongue or chew some gum).

Anyway, back to the topic du jour – mouthwash in survival. As many common household items, mouthwash can also be used during an SHTF situation. Here are my choices in alternative uses of mouthwash.

Antiseptic

Let’s start by stating the obvious – since mouthwash was designed to kill bacteria responsible for tooth decay and bad breath, it’s safe to assume that it has strong antibacterial properties. If you don’t have anything else on hand, you can always pour a bit of mouthwash on small scrapes and nicks. Word of caution though – this stuff’s going to sting like hell.

Have you ever tried to disinfect a minor wound with medicinal alcohol? It stings even worse than that. Don’t forget to wash with clean water and flush the area with a saline solution – mouthwash contains other substances that really don’t belong inside the wound.

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Washy-washy the toothbrush

As I’ve said countless of times, oral hygiene’s very important, no matter how shitty the situation is. If you ever find yourself stranded in the field, it may be possible to sterilize your toothbrush with a little bit of mouthwash. In fact, it’s quite advisable to do so before putting that thing in your mouth, especially if you’ve been on the road all day.

If you want to make sure that toothbrush’s germ-free, I would advise soaking it in mouthwash – grab a zip-lock bag or small airtight container, put the toothbrush inside, pour a little mouthwash, seal, and stir.

No more stinky feet

Yeah, I know that this not qualify as an SHTF situation, but try sleeping in a closed tent after a day of walking, hiking, running or whatever. In case you don’t have any soap nearby, just drizzle some mouthwash on those mutton chops, rinse with water, and dry yourself with a towel. Yes, you’ll have less mouthwash, but at least you’ll get a good night’s sleep.

Itchiness and Accidental Poisoning

There’s nothing more thrilling than the feeling of tiptoeing through poison ivy or nettles. Don’t fret, don’t whine, and, most importantly, stop scratching. Put a bit of mouthwash on the sting, and you’ll be up on your feet in no time. Just be sure you use an alcohol-based solution – the other kind won’t be of any use to you in this situation.

Ensuring that your cooking stuff is germ-free

One thing hikers and backpackers fail to observe are keeping their food utensils clean. Yes, I know no one will be in the mood for washing plates and cutlery after a hearty meal, but this would mean extending an invitation to all kind of nasty germs.

Now, if you don’t have anything on hand to sterilize your plates, and that includes clean water, you can always use a bit of mouthwash. Shake the bottle for some foam – it will be easier to remove grease and anything sticking to the plate.

Makes body stink go away

Because no good deed should go unpunished, the result of pushing your body beyond its limits is a nasty smell. From where I stand, there are two options – either you wait until you find a source of water to take a bath or do something before the smell curls your toes.

If you have nothing else in your B.O.B, use a tiny amount of mouthwash to wash those stinky body parts. Works great for the armpits, chest, and legs, but I wouldn’t try it elsewhere.

No hand sanitizer? Not a problem.

Hygiene’s important but it becomes vital in a shit hits the fan situation. Apart from the fact that most of the environments you’ll be traversing are riddled with all manner of germs that would like nothing more than to take a bit out of you, your hands will be in permanent contact with icky stuff. I don’t know if your B.O.B contains soap or not, but it should at least have a small bottle of hand sanitizer.

In the event you run out of the stuff, use some mouthwash to sterilize your hands. Might not be as powerful as a regular hand sanitizer, but at least your hands are clean enough to handle food or tend a wound. I don’t judge.

And so, we come to the end of yet another entertaining piece of how everyday items can save our lives in a potentially life-threatening situation. Mouthwash is indeed a good thing to have around the home, regardless if you’re a hygiene freak or not. Just to be safe, you should throw in a couple of small mouthwash bottles in your B.O.B. Missed anything? Drop a line or two in the comment section and let me know.

Other self-sufficiency and preparedness solutions recommended for you:

The Lost Ways (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)

Survival MD (Knowledge to survive any medical crisis situation)

Backyard Liberty (Liberal’s hidden agenda: more than just your guns…)

Alive After the Fall (Build yourself the only unlimited water source you’ll ever need)

The Lost ways II (4 Important Forgotten Skills used by our Ancestors that can help you in any crisis)

The Patriot Privacy Kit (Secure your privacy in just 10 simple steps)

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Where would we be today without mouthwash? Probably brushing our teeth several times per day in order to get rid of all those food pieces. Wouldn’t call it a marvel

In a previous article, I might have mentioned something about cowboys and bandanas. Apart from the fact that they looked awfully cool and would help them conceal their faces during a bank robbery, those wild rags, as they were called, had more uses beyond fashion or crime. And since bandanas will never go out of fashion, I’ve decided to do this little follow-up to show you how this painted rag can save your can in a shit hits the fan situation. So, without further ado, here are 17 survival uses of a bandana.

Water collection

Water’s essential in field survival. Still, if you get lost or anything, you won’t be able to rely on your emergency water supply. If there are no streams or rivers nearby, it’s possible to use your bandana to soak up water. Tie to your ankles and walk through tall grass during the wee hours of the morning to collect dew. Tree holes usually harbor a small amount of water. Get that bandana in there and soak as much water as possible. It may sound disgusting, but you can also squeeze some water from that rag after a long day’s walk (yup, drinking your own perspiration).

Crafting a simple pouch

Don’t have any pockets left to carry out your gear? No problem! You can whip up a simple pouch which can be attached to your belt or backpack. Just place your items in the center of the pouch, bring all folds into the middle, and tie it with a piece of dental floss or whatever cordage you have available.

Head protection

It’s obvious that a bandana cannot replace a safety help, but you can also use these thingies to keep your head dry when it’s raining, or the sun’s up in the sky.

Makeshift bandage

In case you’ve lost your med kit or had to use that gauze as tinder, you can use your bandana to bandage a wound.  If you have to deal with a large arterial bleeder, you may also use that wild rag as a tourniquet.

Setting up the table

Sorry if there are no roses nor lit candles – all I can offer you is a bandana used as a tablecloth.

Getting your keister clean

Well, you know that they say – when shit hits the fan, there’s nothing more to do than wipe your behind and move on. In case you run out of TP or paper tissue, take out your bandana and improvise. Just be sure to wash it before using it as a headcover or tablecloth.

Marking a trail

If you feel like you’re walking in circles, get the bandana out of your bug out bag and place on the ground right where the trail starts. Keep going. If you still see the bandana, it means you have to change your approach.

Repair broken backpacks

One of the most frustrating things that can happen in the field is a broken backpack strap. If you don’t have a sewing kit in your B.O.B, just use your bandana to replace that strap.

Starting a fire

No need to tear your clothes for tinder if you have nothing left in your box. Just place the bandana on the ground and set it on fire using your method of choice.

Using it as a mask

If you need to cross an area filled with dust or debris of any kind, you can always wrap the bandana around your head. Don’t forget to soak it in water to increase its filtration efficiency.

More grip on tools

Knees are weak? Hands are sweaty and cannot get a decent grip on the tools you’re using? Wrap the bandana around your hand and give it another go.

Instant sleeping bag warmer

What’s the purpose of including an electric blanket in your bug out bag if there’s no electricity around for miles? Still, you’ve got to do something about getting some warmth inside your sleeping bag. Making an indoor fire is the obvious approach, but not the only one. Before making a fire, wall your pit with whatever rock you find. When it’s sack time, take a couple of hot rocks, place them inside the bandana, tie the pouch with some rope or string, and place under the sleeping bag.

Making ice packs

Bruises? Fever? Headaches? Use an icepack. Get your bandana out of your B.O.B, put a couple of ice shards inside, wrap, and profit.

Gas Cap

In case something happens to your gas cap, don’t run around the city with that intake exposed. Until you reach the next auto shop, you can stuff a bandana inside to protect the gas pipes. You can do the same for gas canisters if you’ve lost the metal cap.

Diapers

As a father of two, I’ve always had to make supply runs to the store for diapers. You know you’re in deep shit when two boxes per day are not enough. In case the local store runs out of diapers, or there’s no one else around the house to take care of your kid while you’re away, use your bandana as a diaper.

Naptime cover

Do you know what I hate most about having to nap during the day? The sunlight is getting in my eyes. Ever since my kids came along, I was forced to rethink my napping habit. Well, long story short, if you’re in the situation, you can sleep like a boss even during the day by using that bandana as an eye cover. Try it yourself! It works like a charm.

Picnic protection

Too many insects around the campsite? Well, if you don’t have any repellant on hand, cover the food basket with your bandana to prevent those pesky termites from making away with your food.

This about covers it for my funky ways of using a bandana in a shit hits the fan situation. What’s your take on this? Hit the comments section and let me know.

Other self-sufficiency and preparedness solutions recommended for you:

The Lost Ways (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)

Survival MD (Knowledge to survive any medical crisis situation)

Backyard Liberty (Liberal’s hidden agenda: more than just your guns…)

Alive After the Fall (Build yourself the only unlimited water source you’ll ever need)

The Lost ways II (4 Important Forgotten Skills used by our Ancestors that can help you in any crisis)

The Patriot Privacy Kit (Secure your privacy in just 10 simple steps)

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In a previous article, I might have mentioned something about cowboys and bandanas. Apart from the fact that they looked awfully cool and would help them conceal their faces during

I know for a fact that no man has ever seen coconut oil being used for other stuff than scrubs, facial masks, and the occasional fancy dinner with an Asian twist. If I had been called to write an article a couple of years ago, I would have dismissed the task, arguing that I and beauty just don’t mix (keep thinking why my wife picked me in the first place; lost wager, I gather).

Anyway, since I turned to prep, I discovered that coconut oil could be used for tons of other stuff. And no, it’s no unmanly to go and stock up on this stuff.

Need more convincing? No problem there. Here are 13 ways to use coconut oil in those situations when your ass is on the line.

First-aid

Because coconut oil’s packed with nutrients and more good stuff, it can successfully be used to treat all sorts of medical emergencies. For instance, when applied to a limb with edema, it will reduce inflammation and enhance tissue regenerations. In its watered-down form, coconut oil can be used to deal with yeast infections and common viruses.

Moreover, since study has shown that oil extracted from coconut shell has a strong anti-protozoa effect, it can be employed to treat giardia, a parasite known to lurk in untreated waters. Fever? No problem. Just use a coconut oil extract, and you’re good to go. The same substance’s good against viral infections and various skin conditions produced by bacteria.

Get rid of that beard

Sure, there’s nothing manlier than a beard, but, man, that thing itches like Hell. Well, if you decide on getting rid of that beard and have no shaving cream on hand, you can always use a bit of coconut oil. Yes, yes, I know that it sounds like I’m giving you beauty advice or something, but the truth of the matter is that this stuff’s way better than regular cream.

Apart from the fact that it moisturizes your face, it makes the blade slide across your face like it was an Olympic skater. Best of all, you won’t cut yourself.

No more stuffy nose from allergies

Feel like your nose just doubled in size on account of your allergy? No problem. Take a big bowl, pour hot water, and add some coconut oil. Put a towel over your head and inhale. After a couple of minutes, you’ll feel like a newborn.

Foot care

Sore feet? Blisters? Wash the area thoroughly and apply a thin layer of coconut oil.

Repel nasty smells

If you ever run out of deodorant, you can always use a little bit of coco oil. Rub a little bit under your armpits, and you’re good to go. Since it has a great anti-microbial effect, it will effectively kill all bacteria that produce that foul smell. Just don’t coconut oil instead of showers.

Give those gums a good massage

Commercial toothpaste can easily be replaced with a homemade concoction made of equal parts coconut oil and baking soda. Might not taste that good, but at least it gets the job done.

For when the tummy starts growling

I really don’t care that much about carrying veggie oil or butter during hiking. Still, as the beast has to be fed, a stove-cooked meal would be just the thing to put the twinkle back in those peepers. So, if you don’t want to burden yourself with oil or a loaf of butter, grab a small can of coconut oil. Yes, I know exactly how it sounds, but coco oil is an excellent substitute for the regular variety.

Get the juices going

Ever felt like you’re about to fall off your feet but you can’t because you still have tons of shit to do? Well, you can now rest easily because I have just the thing you need to replenish that lost energy: coconut oil. Take a teaspoon of this stuff on an empty stomach, and you’ll have enough juju to move mountains (don’t know about splitting the sea in half, though).

For when Nature doesn’t come calling

Constipation’s perhaps the nastiest thing that could happen to you. Sure, there is other bad stuff out there, but believe me, there’s nothing worse than feeling that you’re more stuffed than a pinata. So, in order to get rid of constipation, just take two teaspoons of coconut oil. Since it’s packed with fibers, it will help your tummy eliminate that nasty stuff in no time.

Use as lubricant

No, not that kind of lubricant, but hey I’m not judging. If you have to deal with bolts that won’t budge or with stuck machine parts, just use a little bit of coconut oil. Of course, this is pricier compared to WD40 or Vaseline but helps if you don’t have anything else.

Waterproofing hiking gear

Thinking about wasting some more money on expensive waterproofing solutions? You may not need to. If you have a box of coconut oil lying around the house, use a little bit to waterproof your boots and coats. Works wonders on hiking boots, by the way.

Clean your eating utensils

Water’s a precious resource, no matter if you’re in the woods or the big city. So, if you’re in a situation where you have to use clean water for other purposes, know that you can use coconut oil to clean your eating utensils. And yes, it’s way better than water and dish detergent.

No more rust!

Think that vinegar’s the only thing that knows how to deal with rust? Then you haven’t seen coconut oil in action. Now, if you have stuff covered in rust, rub a little bit of coconut oil and let it sit for an hour or so. After that, rinse with plenty of water, dry with a paper towel, and you’re good to go.

Well, that about covers my favorite bushcraft uses of coconut oil. What’s your take on this? Don’t be a stranger and hit the comments section.

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I know for a fact that no man has ever seen coconut oil being used for other stuff than scrubs, facial masks, and the occasional fancy dinner with an Asian

I have so much coffee in my system that each time I go to the doctor for tests, the nurse asks me if I have any blood left to give. Indeed, I could write novels about my lifelong relationship with coffee, but today I’m going stick to a topic which is more on the lines of prepping and SHTF – how to use coffee filters in a survival-type situation. Let me just grab a quick cup of Joe before I tell you about the most ingenious ways to repurpose those lovely paper filters. Yes, I know I shouldn’t drink that much coffee, but I can’t help myself. So, what were we talking about? Oh, yes – coffee filters.

Without further ado, here are 15 creative ways to make use of plain filters during a shit hits the fan situation.

To wipe your bum

You need to go number two but have no TP left in that fancy bug out bag of yours? No problem! Grab a handful of coffee filters and let nature take its course.

To dine like a hopeless ‘romantic.’

Each time I go hiking, I always forget to bring my portable eating set. Well, there’s nothing wrong in eating with your hands, but what about plates? Grab a coffee filter, cut it along the edge with a pair of scissors or survival knife, and voila, you have a disposable plate.

Keeping your glasses clean

There’s nothing worse than fogged or dirty glasses. Yes, I know that you know where all the things are and that you don’t need to clean those specs, but, hey, we live in a world of conventions. If you lost your cleaning rag or have nothing else on hand, just use a coffee filter to give them glasses a good wipe.

Making an ice-pack

If you need to apply ice to something, grab some from the freezer, place in a couple of coffee filters and tie around the neck using your cordage of choice.

Improv Band-Aid

No more Band-Aids in your first-aid kit? Grab a coffee filter from the kitchen or backpack and place it on the wound. Keep that pressure steady to stop the bleeding.

Improv funnel

If you have to transfer liquids from one bottle to another, take a coffee filter, and snip the tip. Place over the opening and pour the liquid.

Water filtration

Water filtration tables may be cheap, but those things are worth their weight in gold during a shit hits the fan situation. If you ever run out of purification tablets, stack a couple of coffee filters, and use them to sort of strain the water.

Remove persistent stain from clothes

A quick and headache-free way of removing nasty stain from clothes would be to apply some baking soda or hydrogen peroxide and to scrub clean with a small piece of the coffee filter.

Use them as food wrappers

In the wilderness, there is no corner store to buy food wrappers such as plastic or aluminum foil. If you haven’t got any of those in your bug out bag, put your food inside coffee filters and tie them using a piece of dental floss.

Improv feeding bowl for pet

The trouble with food bowls is that you have to search far and wide to find high-quality items. In my experience, ceramic bowls are the best – resilient, cheap, and the pet’s food won’t have a metallic taste to it as in the case of aluminum. In the meantime, you can use coffee filters to feed your pets. Just stack a couple of them, fill them with wet or dry food and keep hitting those pet shop for better feeding bowls.

No more poison ivy itching

If you tiptoe through the wrong vegetation, you may end up with some nasty poison ivy rashes. There’s no need to hit the drug store for this one. Run a hot bath. Meanwhile, get some coffee filters and stack them. Fill them with dry oatmeal and tie with string or dental floss. Toss this satchel in the bathtub and get in. After a couple of minutes, you won’t feel any kind of itches. You’re welcome!

Freshen up your linen closet

If there’s too much stink in the linen closet or wardrobe, you can make an air freshener using a couple of stacked coffee filters and some dried-up lavender flowers. Place the flowers inside, make a knot, and toss inside the closet\wardrobe. You can also make a similar satchel for your car or living room. If you cannot stand the smell of lavender, grab one of those potpourri mixes from the supermarket and replace.

Keep your toolbox neat and tidy

It usually takes me at least a couple of hours to fix stuff around the house. Well, most of this time is spent searching for the right screws or nails, which end up at the bottom of my toolbox. To keep that bag of tools organized, place smaller items like nails, screws, pins or bolts inside coffee filters. You can either use a small piece of dental floss to tie each satchel or some duct tape.

Keeping those nasty insects away from your food

Yes, I know this is the third time I’m complaining about insects on my food, but I just can’t help myself. If you’re having trouble keeping those nasty buggers away from your yum-yums, take a coffee filter, cut it along the edge, and use it to cover your food. By the way, in case you lose the wine cork, you can stick a couple of coffee filters inside the bottle.

Drying your hair and body

Towels are a must-have for every B.O.B, but sometimes they’re more useful for other stuff than drying your body. If you want to take a quick shower but have nothing to dry yourself with, use a couple of coffee filters.

That’s it for my article on ways to use coffee filters in an SHTF situation. What’s your take on this? Hit the comments section and let me know.

Before you go, you may also like:

This is more than just about your guns…
How to survive any medical crisis situation with ease
10 Easy Steps to Secure your privacy
Secret Military Solution For Power Independence
DIY Unlimited water source
Why a food reserve is way better than the Federal Reserve
Lost Skills of our Ancestors that still work today

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So, what were we talking about? Oh, yes – coffee filters.Without further ado, here are 15 creative ways to make use of plain filters during a shit hits the fan