OUR WEEKLY ARTICLES FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 28th, 2020

 

WHEN THE NEWS CREWS LEAVE

            An individual posted on Facebook a while back about how people in Iowa were without power from storms the week before and how this seemed no longer “newsworthy”?  The news crews from the national media had left. The problems hadn’t. Does anyone believe that all the areas affected have their normal grid back? Maybe most have water and sanitation, and the roads are clear enough to get to stores and such that are operating, and maybe even most of the area have electrical power. But some still don’t. It may be a few days or it may be a week or so more before the basics of the grid is back. Meanwhile, people are driving long distances to bring home foods that don’t need refrigeration or a lot of cooking. Do they know what to get? How far do they have to travel to find stores not stripped of goods? Now, after the hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast, you’ll have this happen in a few days. The news reporters will move on.

            Sid the Cynic and his friends will tell you that prepping is a waste of time, effort and money since after a few days all will be back to normal. We disagree. Maybe the National Guard will be there to hand you some MRE’s and water for you to fill you gallon jugs (if you even have any), but you may still be walking, still go home to a house with no lights, and maybe not even have a working toilet.

            Those who did prep and were not in the hardest hit areas would not have to try and venture out for 72 hours or more, would have food, water, the means to cook, sanitation, emergency first aid, lighting, general security and a few dollars on hand if stores can only take cash. NO, prepping is not some 100% guarantee that all will go well after an event, but it puts the odds on your side.

            So how long should you prep for? It’s your call but as the Prepper Bee says:

            PREPPER BEE WISE: 

            PREP FOR 72 AND YOU MIGHT GET THROUGH

            BUT A WEEK MAY KEEP YOU FINE UNTIL IT ALL COMES ON LINE

            And that is usually a while after the news crews leave.

THE RAGE

In an emergency situation the location affected may have an area that was directly hit by the floodwaters, tornado, earthquake, chemical spill or terrorist act that is generally referred to as Ground Zero.

Between that area and where the grid is still up and running normally is usually an area not as hard hit, but without power, water or other aspects of the grid and cut off for a period of time from outside help. We call this the RAGE.

RAGE stands for the Relative Area of Grid Effects. If you are in this area the general rule of thumb is that you are on your own for at least the first 72 hours. That is why we start new preppers off with learning how to cover these first three days or so.

THE SEVEN SISTERS

The next step in learning to prep is to know about the most important parts of prepping. I refer to these as “The Seven Sisters”

They are Water, Food, Shelter, Medical/Sanitation, Alternate Power, Money, and Security

Each one of these will be covered in depth from the standpoint of sheltering in place (hunkering down) or having to get back home (bounce back) or to leave home for a safer place (bugging out) for at least 3 days. (This will include a step by step putting together of a basic “bug out” bag.)

WATER: How much water do you need for the minimal 3 day period?  How can you store it or carry it? How can you have water in case you have to bounce back or bug out? How can you purify water to drink?

FOOD:    How will you eat for the three days or more? How will it keep? How will you prepare it? What can be carried if you need to go?

SHELTER:   How can you prepare your place? What can you have for an emergency shelter in your bag?

MEDICAL/SANITATION: What about first aid kits and items to have in a medicine cabinet? What about cleaning hands or bathroom needs when there is no water?

ALTERNATE POWER: This is everything from candles to solar pathway lights to keeping ice in your freezer to help preserve your frozen foods longer.

MONEY: Putting aside some change, ones and fives in case only cash will be useable if ATM’s and bank systems are out, and saving money on less costly alternatives to various items.

SECURITY: Options on protecting your person and property from break in and looters using passive (unarmed) and active (armed) means.

All of these will be covered using the idea of keeping things simple, inexpensive, and proving that prepping does NOT take a lot of time, space, money or effort.

 

THE FIRST 72 HOURS:  WATER

            What does enough water for 72 hours look like?

For 2 adults, at the maximum standard of 1 gallon per day , per person, for all purposes, it’s 12 - 2 Lt soda bottles thoroughly cleaned out and refilled with tap water (through a filter if you have one).  Cost to you will be zero.    Storage space needed: The bottom of a typical closet.

Or you could get two cases of 24 .5 liter bottles to drink and use 6 2 liter bottles filled for other purposes such as cooking, cleaning, etc. Cost: $10 or less.   Or just get 4 cases for $20 or under.  Storage space needed:  The cases can slide under a bed. The advantage is that they are easier for drinking and storage, but are a pain to cook with or for cleaning, which is why some go with the mix of both.

Third is the option of 3 gallon water cooler jugs. You don’t need the cooler to use these. In some places you buy the empty jugs and fill them from your tap. Generally they are economical enough to buy pre-filled. They are also light enough to lift at about 24 lbs. to put on a kitchen or bathroom counter top. You will need a hand operated pump to use them easier but that can be gotten from Lowe’s or any number of sources on EBay for $10 or so. You can get 4 (12gal.) for all your 72 hr. needs, but a mix of small bottles, jugs and 2 Lt.’s may fit your storage space and budget better.  Storage space needed: If you are going for all 4 jugs, the bottom of an average closet will do.

A final note if you are concerned about water for toilet flushing.  Keep a pail and extra 2 liter bottles of water.  Bail out half the water in the toilet’s tank before the first flush into the pail. Flush once a day if possible.  If doable under you conditions, collect rainwater from a drainpipe to use for flushing. If the emergency event has a prior warning to it, you might be able to fill the bathtub or some storage tubs with water. This will be covered in more depth in another article covering sanitation/ toilets.

POOR RICHARD’S CORNER: BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

            You have probably heard that line on some commercial for some kitchen gadget or other do-dad on TV. But sometimes you can get a bit of prepping use from an item that was not foreseen by those who made the product or wrote the ad.

            My example here is a nice Christmas gift the kids got us. It’s a compact, countertop sized icemaker. It can sit on anyone’s kitchen counter and never draw a second look from any visitor and never be linked to prepping in anyone’s mind. Most anyone anyway, LOL!

            There are those, like us here, who look at an item and weigh if it has a “prepper” use. It this case, this icemaker has a most excellent one. If some kind of event is on the horizon, such as a storm due to hit in five days, or even a planned power outage, we could crank out Ziploc bags of ice cubes and pack them around the items in our freezer. In this way we could save at least some of our frozen foods, especially the meats. Also, when the bags melt, it would give us that much more pure drinking water to refill bottles with. We could also be “pro-active” and crank out the ice now to pack around the frozen items.

            Another aspect of this is to have a small foam cooler standing by. On the day of the storm, cold meats and other items needing refrigeration could go in the cooler along with a bag or two of the cubes, and the cooler put back into the refrigerator. You could also put a bag in each of the refrigerators drawers.

            What makes it even better is that having the ice in the bags means you only have to reach into the freezer to add ice to a drink be it summer or holiday time. We like the cubes in our OJ for Sunday brunch.

            For more advanced preppers, if you can power the icemaker for a couple of hours from the generator you may be running, you can make more ice to keep more food from going bad.

            Yes, this is what we call a “two-for”, and even better, a stealth one. It has a second use for prepping that is totally hidden from any non-prepper. Who could possibly find something evil in an ice maker?

THE PANTRY: FOOD

The second in the “seven sisters of survival” is food. Now in many cases when prepping and food are used in the same sentence, many think of some kind of “survival” food, the kind that comes dried in some form in a case, box, or tub.

Now those types can range from good to horrible (such as MRE’s LOL!) and have their place and use, we advise against them for new preppers for two reasons.

First, they are a bit costly, and second they would be something different for your digestive system to deal with just when it is upset enough. This is a time for not only the familiar but especially comfort foods. That is why we suggest the idea of “Stocking what you eat, and eating what you stock.” It this way you stick to the familiar and keep your stocks fresher.

Think about what you eat over a typical 72 hours, then expand the planning to one week.. Anything past that is up to you, and is just adding more of the same. Replace any perishable foods with canned or dried substitutes. Have some foods, such as stews, ravioli or such that you can eat without cooking, in case the situation doesn’t allow you to do so. Add energy or trail bars that you like for that boost. Remember to keep it simple when it comes to meals. Don’t plan involved dishes that require a lot of cooking. Generally keep it at “heat and eat”. Cooking in the can helps to keep clean up down.

Here are some suggestions from what we do. Keep in mind that you have to do what works for you.

This is our 4 week supply in the pantry.

(After an invasion of the field mice over the winter, we have put non-canned items in plastic containers. They don’t have to be the expensive type. The dollar store ones work well enough.)

Our can racks hold at least 4 cans of 7 different canned veggies , or well over 4 weeks supply, along with such items as canned mushrooms, sauerkraut, ravioli and extra soups. This doesn’t count our homemade pickles or pickled beets.

On the shelves are at least 4 cans each of ham, chicken, salmon, beef, pork B-B-Que, beef stew and corned beef plus 8 cans of ravioli. There are plastic containers of rice, mac and cheese, noodle and rice mixes, stuffing packs, potato mixes with extra dried potatoes and various forms of pastas, along with 4 jars of sauce. There are also cans of sauce and tomato pieces.

Also in plastic containers are cereals, powdered milk and pancake mix, oatmeal with dried apples, plus boxes of breakfast bars.

Saltines and Ritz crackers, in their plastic boxes, go with the PB & J, the tuna, sardines, and the canned luncheon meat which add to the ramen and other soups.

As we use an item, we added it to our shopping list and restock every two weeks or so. It this way we generally have a 4 week supply of regular foods on hand. We also have other storage areas that we can draw from. If we get a case of 8 cans of peas, 4 are in the pantry and 4 in deep reserve.

We also have items such as tea bags, sweetener, coffee, hot chocolate and other drink mixes on the shelves.

Keep in mind this is what we have worked up to over time. You can do the same as you wish using the “Toucan Bill” system. When you go to the store, put “Two cans on the bill” extra of one item or another. If it is doable with your budget, get a case of one item (peas, etc.) each trip.

Watch for sales. Our stores here often have a 5 for $5 pasta or a 10 for $10 can veggie sale.

And as you put it together you will find that prepping does NOT take a lot of time, effort, money or space.

 

 

SURVIVAL FOODS

            One of our newer readers, Richard Braxton, pointed out that you could get freeze dried food and MRE’s on line to help your food stocking. I agreed with him, but I promised him and the readers to point out the pros and cons of such items.

            As far as MRE’s they were just coming into use when I left the US Army. I’m one of the old C-RAT grunts and have used the old P-38 can opener more times than I can remember.  Like most “Army chow” the idea is to feed you enough to keep you going. That does not mean they taste good.  As a matter of fact, MRE’s are referred to as Meals Rejected by Everyone. LOL! One of our readers with ties to Puerto Rico said the people wouldn’t eat them. That’s kind of a big “con”

            Their “pro’s” are that they are light, very portable, need no prep and can be gotten at a moderate cost on line. I’ll add a personal note here. If you decide to get these, I suggest keeping them out of sight. Nothing screams “gun toting militia type” then any kind of “Army” looking item.

            Then there are numerous brands of various freeze dried items in various packages from various firms. I started back in the 70’s (Yes, I AM that old!!) with the Mountain House brand in my backpack. Over the years I have tried others. I haven’t found any really BAD tasting ones. Most are fairly good.

            All of them have the “pro” of being lightweight and portable. But they have the “con” of needing water to make them be eatable. You can be selective and find a mix of ones more ready to eat and ones needing water that works for you. Remember, the water will probably need to be hot if not boiled, so that means a fire and something to heat water in also.

            As you can see, they have a place in your BOB if you allow for the water and heating. But in your home or safe haven, I feel you are better off with regular, off the shelf foods. This is because item for item they are way more expensive than the regular foods and switching over to them only can cause “Tummy troubles” when you really don’t need it. If you are going to use them, gradually introduce them to your system. Be they MRE’s or freeze dried, they do have the “Pro” of taking up a small amount of storage space.

            If you have the money free, you might want to consider the larger cans of such things like powdered butter, and eggs for your pantry in your home or safe haven. I’ve toyed with the idea, but at $30 plus a can, I have to wait until we make a few dollars.

            I have come up with a combination of a freeze dried meal and other “off the shelf” non-perishable light items I make up in a pack I call a LAP (Light as possible) meal. I have these in our BOBs so if water is hard to find, we’ll have something to give us energy. I’ll cover them in another article.

            If you really want to and have the dollars to spend on them, I would recommend a two for one ratio for your home/safe haven stocks. 2 days/weeks/months or regular foods to 1 day/week/month of MRE/freeze dried. The MRE’s and other such freeze dried items should be your “last ditch” emergency reserves. In this way they can still remain in your GO Bag and BOB’s should you need to Bug OUT.

            But for the rest of us average Ann and Andy’s, I would suggest picking up a six meal sample pack many of the firms have and give it a try. If you think they are worth it to you, add them to your BOB’s, GO Bags and possibly your home/haven stocks.

            Keep in mind, our goal is for as many average Ann and Andy’s to be prepped up so we always lean towards the least costly in money, effort, space and time. This is one of the reasons we don’t have sponsors, as they would want us to tell you to buy two or four weeks of their products.

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