What have you done recently to prepare? Please include How-To's also

Been getting more reference books (medical, survival, etc) and just finished my Solo Stove kit. The small stove, an alcohol burner and a 900ml pot with kid. All nest together and are a light kit for cooking.
 
Coyote33 said:
Anybody starting any seedlings for the garden yet?
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Started some two weeks ago, got good germination on some, 50% on others so started some additional seeds of the varieties with poor germination this past weekend. Also started some tomato seeds that are at least 20 years old, they are from my Grandfather's garden. I got them from my cousin this past fall, hoping they will germinate so that I can get a fresh batch of seeds.


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Check your first aid gear !!!!

I had completely blanked, the Boy Scouts are doing a training tonight and asked for donations. I have a kit from 2007 and all the med packs expired in 2009 [shocked]

So I ordered from Amazon a new kit and double the replacements of what I donated.
 
GM-GUY said:
Check your first aid gear !!!!

I had completely blanked, the Boy Scouts are doing a training tonight and asked for donations. I have a kit from 2007 and all the med packs expired in 2009 [shocked]

So I ordered from Amazon a new kit and double the replacements of what I donated.
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Which first aid kit did you go with? I got an Aspen Ridge first aid kit from Amazon recently, seems pretty solid for the price.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0172HASPA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01

Added some Quickclot bandages, a CAT, and some fluoride scissors and keep it in my car for emergencies and for when I'm at the range. Always looking to see what others recommend.


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First Aid Kit Outdoor 201 Camping Boating Hunting

This is replacing the old kit, this is a home/camper kit. I have a couple different Adventure Medical Kits and the Trauma Pack Kit along with tourniquet and Israeli Bandages. It all depends on where I am going and what I am doing. I brought a sizable amount when I went Caribou Hunting ~1100 miles north of Montreal (didn't need any - but the Tundra can be very isolated due to distance, time of day and weather.
 
lancecolonel said:
currently attempting to make my own corn beef, been sitting in brine for 2 days now.
http://www.learntopreserve.com/the-...rned-beef-ever-its-so-easy-an-8-year-old.html

also made homemade butter today. it came out awesome. i poured some heavy cream in an old glass jar and shook like a madwoman for about 15 minutes. after a few minutes it had the consistency of cool whip...a few minutes later it was like lumpy cream cheese...a few minutes after that it suddenly became a chunk of butter and buttermilk. i poured the contents of the jar into a fine strainer then dumped the butter chunk into a bowl of very cold water and pressed the butter with a spatula to squeeze out buttermilk and "rinse" the butter. butter went back onto a paper towel in the strainer and i squeezed out remaining water. buttermilk from the jar went into a tupperware container in the freezer til i can figure out a good use for it. no, the butter does not stick to the paper towel. it was very easy but it took time. i know people have used food processors and blenders as well but i can't speak to how long that takes.
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just an update.....that brisket i brined with the linked recipe is the best frikken brisket we ever ate. now, it was a grass-fed, organic, snob brisket but it was delicious. i plan on picking up a run-of-the-mill old neighborhood brisket from the supermarket and using the same method to determine if it was the meat or the brine method that made the difference.

updated update: this is the pink salt the recipe speaks of...
http://www.amazon.com/Hoosier-Hill-...&qid=1458324729&sr=8-3&keywords=prague+powder
 
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stocked away 20lbs of elbow noodles in mylar bags the other day.

On the First aid kit, I still have two of them from the GB on NES, 5 yrs ago
 
Getting in shape (other than round) - walking about 4 miles every morning with some moderate to high elevation changes. Once I get into it for another week, I'll start carrying a pack with weights.
 
JayMcB said:
Vacuum canned 25 pounds of rice, and 30 pounds of sugar. Also did some pasta, and tried dehydrating eggs, since the chickens are in laying overdrive right now.
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How'd they come out? I've done it before with some store bought eggs and subsequently re-hydrated them a couple days later and so far I'm still alive.
 
clampett said:
Did you use mason jars or metal cans?
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I use 1 qt mason jars and the vacuum attachment for a foodsaver. I have mason jarred foodstuffs going back to 2010 which is still viable.

Zongo said:
How'd they come out? I've done it before with some store bought eggs and subsequently re-hydrated them a couple days later and so far I'm still alive.
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You could eat them in a pinch, but I wouldn't bake with them. And it is going to take a shit-ton of even my chicken's eggs to get any measurable quantity.

The other thing done this week is to rotate out my pool shock supply for sanitizing/home made bleach/water purification.

I also rotated out 60g of gasoline in my trucks in the past 3 weeks. It was 2 1/2 years old, zero issues burned in modern fuel injected GM v-8's. It was 93 Octane to start. No noticeable performance drops either. It was treated with Pri-G
 
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Got my first bucket of long-term storage food today. (Sam's club online has the best prices I've seen) Started storing water by the gallon in well rinsed ice tea jugs. Also have 16 cases of bottled drinking water. When I go to Dollar Tree I bring home small bottles of mayo, jelly, etc. on the theory that it will get used soon enough after opening to not go bad. Same reasoning for 5 oz. cans of white meat chicken. Also bought chicken bologna in a can. Mine was dated 2 1/2 years into the future, but you have to check Also have a number of quarts of shelf-stable milk,, I'm sure it'll be good well beyond its late next year date. Dollar General has cans of pulled pork, beef crumbles, meatballs in sauce, and of course, more cans of chicken. Need to reorganize pantry and take inventory.will rotate the can goods, meats, ect. out. if the SHTF doesn't happen, I'll keep adding, keep rotating, keep buying TP and ammo, and keep reading forum. Also bought a camp stove oven and xtra propane for both camp stove and gas grill.
 
radarbob said:
Got my first bucket of long-term storage food today. (Sam's club online has the best prices I've seen) Started storing water by the gallon in well rinsed ice tea jugs. Also have 16 cases of bottled drinking water. When I go to Dollar Tree I bring home small bottles of mayo, jelly, etc. on the theory that it will get used soon enough after opening to not go bad. Same reasoning for 5 oz. cans of white meat chicken. Also bought chicken bologna in a can. Mine was dated 2 1/2 years into the future, but you have to check Also have a number of quarts of shelf-stable milk,, I'm sure it'll be good well beyond its late next year date. Dollar General has cans of pulled pork, beef crumbles, meatballs in sauce, and of course, more cans of chicken. Need to reorganize pantry and take inventory.will rotate the can goods, meats, ect. out. if the SHTF doesn't happen, I'll keep adding, keep rotating, keep buying TP and ammo, and keep reading forum. Also bought a camp stove oven and xtra propane for both camp stove and gas grill.
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Pick an item and buy as many extra cans/boxes you can afford each time you need it. Pick a time frame you want to have food for and rotate out until you get to the point where each item you pull is TWICE that time frame. Then move to overstocking the next item. I.e. if I store Tuna and want to have one year of it, I date the top of each item with a sharpie when I buy it and put it on the shelf in back using FILO stocking. So today I would write 6/16 on the top. When I get to the point that the can I pull is dated 6/14 (June 2014 purchase) I stop buying more of it and move to the next item. This doesn't mean I stop buying tuna. It means I don't overbuy it. I simply buy one can for every can I use and maintain that total number.

The reason I say twice the time frame is your food diversity is not going to include a lot of things you can't store but buy regularly. So you need to overstock the items you can store.

Use buckets and mylar for anything that can be stored 10+ years. Sugar, flour, whole grains, beans, salt, honey, pasta, white rice, etc.
 
Picked up 10 cases of Ball quart canning jars to can the beans from about 1000 linear feet of beans. Picked up 5 of the Wally World metal ammo cans the other day and packed a few with some boxed X39 ammo that I didn't have cans for. Ordered mylar bags (bucket liners) and O2 absorbers and picking up a small tank of nitrogen to bucket up more whole grains and some pasta.
Bought two first flush rain diverters for the rain catchment system.
 
clampett said:
That's a big ass garden.
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Yes, its pretty big and there's less planted than last year. We canned about 160 quarts of beans, 36 qts. of sliced pickled beets, 200+ pints of sweet relish, 65 pints of green tomato relish, and froze cherry tomatoes, shredded zucchini, beet greens, collards and sweet corn. Had to buy a second freezer to accommodate the harvest.

Actually it's 6 plots inside one fenced in area with lanes in between them. This allows me to drive a tractor or 4 wheeler and trailer throughout for tools and such and to keep a crop rotation working. Currently have 120 tomato plants, a 36 head Romaine lettuce patch, about 60 zucchini, 200 feet of beets, 200 cucumber plants, 40 pepper plants, 12 eggplant, 6 rows of corn, a dozen collards, 240 asparagus crowns(already harvested for the season) and a large patch of sun flowers nearby. We just got the first rainfall here in over a month last night, been watering with hose and pumping from a creek. I expect things to go wild in the next few days.
 
Finalygotabeltfed said:
Yes, its pretty big and there's less planted than last year. We canned about 160 quarts of beans, 36 qts. of sliced pickled beets, 200+ pints of sweet relish, 65 pints of green tomato relish, and froze cherry tomatoes, shredded zucchini, beet greens, collards and sweet corn. Had to buy a second freezer to accommodate the harvest.

Actually it's 6 plots inside one fenced in area with lanes in between them. This allows me to drive a tractor or 4 wheeler and trailer throughout for tools and such and to keep a crop rotation working. Currently have 120 tomato plants, a 36 head Romaine lettuce patch, about 60 zucchini, 200 feet of beets, 200 cucumber plants, 40 pepper plants, 12 eggplant, 6 rows of corn, a dozen collards, 240 asparagus crowns(already harvested for the season) and a large patch of sun flowers nearby. We just got the first rainfall here in over a month last night, been watering with hose and pumping from a creek. I expect things to go wild in the next few days.
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Impressive... when do you get time to go to the range?
 
Zongo said:
Impressive... when do you get time to go to the range?
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I don't go to the range, the range is five steps right out my back door. I've got 89 acres plus use of another 20 here way out in the county outskirts in farm country.

My nearest neighbor is 1200ft away and she often calls me if she hears me shooting and asks to come and shoot. All the other neighbors are 1/2 to 1 mile away. Gun shots are a common sound around here, about everyone shoots at some point in the week and nobody complains.
 
In the last few days we made and canned 32 pints of sweet cucumber relish and 36 pints and 4qts of green tomato relish.
Canned 10 quarts of diced tomatoes and 10 quarts of green beans. Also froze about 35lbs of green beans in vacuum sealed bags.

More to come as the tomatoes and cukes are still coming on heavy. Beans are about gone by but still some to be picked. Corn on the stalk ready in a few days.
 
Sounds like a great set-up! You're not in MA, are you? VT perhaps? My wife, 3 kids, and I live in MA, and they generally ignore my concerns about the future. So, it's up to me to stock up on such things as pasta, rice, Spam (which I'm pretty sure will last until the sun burns out), fuel for the gas camping stoves, wood for the fireplace, ammo and whatnot. I'm thinking about getting a portable steel stove that we can use for more efficient heat than the fireplace.
 
ridleyman said:
Sounds like a great set-up! You're not in MA, are you? VT perhaps? My wife, 3 kids, and I live in MA, and they generally ignore my concerns about the future. So, it's up to me to stock up on such things as pasta, rice, Spam (which I'm pretty sure will last until the sun burns out), fuel for the gas camping stoves, wood for the fireplace, ammo and whatnot. I'm thinking about getting a portable steel stove that we can use for more efficient heat than the fireplace.
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In Kentucky.

Don't just think about it, do it! Anything would be more efficient than a fireplace.

Some spices and bullion cubes would go a long way to making a plain bowl of rice more palatable.

Also, sugar, iodized table salt, coarse pickling salt, wheat berries, whole oats, lentils, pinto beans, pearled barley and a manual grinder to make flour.
 
ridleyman said:
Sounds like a great set-up! You're not in MA, are you? VT perhaps? My wife, 3 kids, and I live in MA, and they generally ignore my concerns about the future. So, it's up to me to stock up on such things as pasta, rice, Spam (which I'm pretty sure will last until the sun burns out), fuel for the gas camping stoves, wood for the fireplace, ammo and whatnot. I'm thinking about getting a portable steel stove that we can use for more efficient heat than the fireplace.
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If you are just starting, subscribe to this thread. There are some good deals that come along.

https://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/166966-Survival-Deals

The last deal posted was a weeks worth of freeze dried food for $18 with an order max of 4. 2 week packs fit nicely in a homer bucket with a condiment pack making an easy emergency grab and go food kit to keep by the back door.
 
I have been getting all my tools that need to be rehandled/hafted out and squared away. Dozen hammers of various types, mauls, ax, shovels and rakes. Way more than I need but I figure I have them and may as well get them usable. Also just got some scythe blades trued and ground. Been wanting to play with one for a while and finally pulled the trigger. Definite learning curve on using one.
 
Bought steak on 'manager's special', cut into thin strips and made into jerky. I made about 6 pounds in 2 batches (filled my dehydrator twice)

The preparation part of this is it is sealed in long term (plastic or glass mason jars) and dated. I am going to test it's viability as a long term storage protein by trying 1 package every 2 months once a year passes. I already know my jerky will keep a year sealed in airtight plastic because some was left in a backpack in my basement. I'm also going to start to convert to jerky and store 5-6# of beef or turkey every month. The challenge will be keeping my kids from eating it. Used Alton Brown's basic jerky recipe, but added about 3 tablespoons of Ketchup (to tenderize) and also some Tabasco, just because I like it. Sometimes also use Sriracha instead.

Protein will be the foodsource in tightest supply if something goes sideways. Prepare accordingly.
 
After canning a bunch of chicken breast, we decided to rotate some of the rice that we keep for long term storage.

Busted into the 2012 buckets and pulled out the sealed mylar bags of rice to be used for the next few months. Then reused the buckets and packed them up with fresh rice with new mylar bags and oxygen absorbers.

We also went through our grab and go 72 hour bin and rotated out the food items with fresher items and also replaced all of the gallon jugs of water that we have on hand, which we try to do annually.
 
I set my prescription up for auto refill each month and ships to my house.

it's my gout meds so I'm not going to die if I miss a day or two, and frankly because I'm lazy I often do miss days. but the point is, I still get a 30 day supply sent every 30 days and since I probably only take them every other day (with no ill effect) I'm building reserves. won't last forever but better than ever running out.

rotate your stock diligently. meds to expire.
 
Prepare? For the future? I'm having trouble "keeping up"! I am still behind on my lawn mowing, garden weeding, car washing, and general upkeep of cars, equipment and the house itself. On top of that, I need to get some exercise ("upkeep of myself"). Plus, gotta get the kids back to school and coaching soccer. Oh, and need to work on the firewood pile. First I need to cut down the trees.

Prepare? Ha ha ha ha. Maybe after the new year.


P.S.
September is National Preparedness Month

Get the National Preparedness Month Social Media Toolkit, logo, & promote tips online!
 
I am bringing most of my MRE stock Moose hunting in October so I bought genuine Military MREs through Amazon from AmmoCanMan. Both A&B boxes of 12, made in Sep & Nov of 2014 with inspect dates of 2017. Very happy and the temp/humid indicator is good.
 

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