Let’s see, in the last week or so I have:
– Cycled both of my generators and run several tools / appliances off of them.
– Eaten food from my storage at least 3 times per week.
– Sharpened my Ax with a file and split wood.
– Fired up my propane heaters and used them while outside.
– Started fires with my newest toy, the Soto pocket torch.
– Used my flashlights, lanterns and other light sources.
I could go on and on but the point is this: If you buy a bunch of crap and it sits in the basement or closet collecting dust you are only setting yourself up for failure. If you wait until something happens to pull the packing tape off of a box and read the instructions, you might be behind the power curve. As much as humanly possible break out your preps and put them through their paces. It doesn’t have to be all at once but rather a consistent and steady methodology which really never ends.
Just a tip which I’d like to pass along. No matter how good you think you are or how much stuff you think you have, skills can deteriorate and unanticipated circumstances can arise at the WORST possible time. Imagine a scenario which involves you grinding up some of that winter wheat you bought (in #10 cans) in order for your family to consume it, but you’ve never used the grinder nor do you know what to do with the end product. Not…optimal.
7 comments
Skip to comment form
PJ
For your information and those who visit this site on a regular bases. We had an event which required us to stop the bleeding on a very serious wound. We stock a number of “stop bleeding” products including Celox. This bleeding was so profuse that there was no time to go to the first aid kit but my wife (who is also an ICU nurse) had heard that cayenne pepper would stop the bleeding immediately. It worked miracles; the bleeding stopped in seconds, not minutes, and the cayenne pepper soaked up the blood in way that is simply amazing. Does it sting? Yes, but the sensation of stinging only lasts for a few seconds.
Further research has shown that cayenne pepper has been used on gun shot wounds to the abdomen with (get this: NO SIDE EFFECT) and so effectively that the victim never lost conscience or had any serious loss of blood. The victim had cayenne packed into the entry and exit wounds and pressure applied to both wounds. The doctors were amazed at the loss of blood.
The trick is to apply the cayenne and a little pressure to the wound then relax, it will do the job very quickly.
You don’t need any “special” or expensive cayenne pepper other then what you can purchase at your local grocery store. It is cheap and it works.
Correction: “The doctors were amazed at the loss of blood” should read: “The doctors were amazed at the LACK of blood loss.”
I have transitioned over time. When I started prepping, I rarely used my expendable preps because I was of the mindset that I was so far behind that I would never catch up. Once I realized (as I progressed) that it might be a good idea to start rotating things, I took a pretty significant hit in the pocket book. Biggest areas: food, batteries, water, and to a small extent fuel.
As my preps have evolved, I have found that canned goods work best and need to be something that you would normally eat or can be easily incorporated into something that you would normally eat. Freeze dried meals and MREs are great if you happen to be bugging out but if your primary plan is to bug in I would personally limit the supply that I have on hand.
Batteries are tricky but do not have to be. Try to standardize battery sizes. If the remotes in your house use AAA batteries, you might want to invest in flashlights that use AAA batteries – that way you are at least rotating through your stock of batteries on a regular to semi-regular basis. Try to stay away from the things that require specialty batteries whenever practical.
Water is kinda self-explanatory but you get into issues when you go bulk. With a rain catchment system in place now, I just use the oldest water to water the garden and animals. Still water eventually will go bad, especially bottled water.
Depending on the size of you fuel storage it can be complicated but if you are still using fuel cans, just use gas in lawnmowers or vehicles and fill the can back up the next time you fuel the vehicle. The biggest thing is keeping track of the date the fuel is.
As far as skills, learn as many as you can but if you do not use them your ability will degrade over time. Probably one of the most humorous preps to me is someone buying seed and never potted a plant much less planted a garden. If it is in your plans, you have got to be able to do it when it counts and not learn on the fly.
Hey-all, As you could guess from my previous post I’m a fairly new prepper yet an old hand at basic life. JP and The Maj make a great point here, “use it or lose it”, it does no good to fill a trash can with stuff that has gone bad, or dumping gas that’s turned to varnish. The model of finish using one item (food, TP, fuel, cleaning products ECT…) of normal household use and replacing it with two or three seems to be working very well and a little easier on the pocket book, kinda fun figuring ways to store them for longer term shelf life though. Let’s not forget “first in first out”, remember rotate your TP when you use it, hehehehe. Sorry about that, a little nut-case humor there. And remember if a tool does not work, than it’s just another hammer, God knows a non-working generator is a hell of a big hammer to swing.
Like JP, I did a few maintenance tuning over the past week or so, one I would greatly recommend and suggest is taking all of your firearms to the range, fire and sight every one and giving them a good cleaning for the next 6 months of sitting around not being fired. Always practice with your carry firearm once a month, and clean it. And get that tune-up on the old truck, Bugging out is great idea unless you only make it 2 miles.
Also this may sound crazy, but the weather is turning (27° here tonight with snow), time to do another trial weekend of “bugging out” to the back yard to test your current EDC, GHB, BOB, EOTWAWKI stash and the like. You might even involve one of your buddy’s to fake an injured victim event, to see how everyone will react.
Great tip on the cayenne pepper Muleskinner, I have seen this done with good success on some rather larger cuts. Always figured the old timers were nuts as hell until I became one of those “old timers” HAHAHA
The Maj, makes a good case for turning your “stash” Why is it we always take for granted there will always be fresh??whatever?? to replace what we currently have in place, when the flashlight goes dim just run to Radio Shack to get fresh batteries right? Talk about a complacent world we have become accustom to. BTW, that “use it or lose” it also works for the skills as The Maj suggest.
Ok that’s it for my two-cents worth. I’m just surprised at how easy it really is to become more aware and prepared for what may or may not come our way. It’s amazing how all those little baby steps we start with add up so quickly. But dang it, ya have to start moving to get somewhere.
Regarding rotation of batteries, I decided to get a solar charger. In fact, I have a small folding charger in my go bag, and a larger charger for my house. Each has a AA/AAA battery charging cradle and USB slot for cell phones.
We have lots of AA/AAA rechargeable batteries around the house in things like flashlights, game controllers, and remotes. We have about 10 or so “extras” charging in a basic AC charger.
On a summer day, the larger solar charger can fully charge 4 AA batteries in about 7 hours of partly sunny weather. I have not tried it in the winter, nor have I tried the smaller folding charger. Seems like I need to get motivated to actually get experience using the gear more.
Either way, the chargers seem like a good way to keep at least a few devices (cell phones, radio, flashlights…) with a sustainable way to keep them charged.
We use ours and are constantly rotating them. That is for our food preps. For some of our other items, we use them to keep in practice and keep training.
I tend to rotate through things as well. I agree with PJ about practicing skills, as well. A refresher now and then can do wonders for maintaining your abilities and, more importantly, help you maintain your confidence that shuld you ever need them, your abilities are still tuned up.