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Other Uses For Vinegar, Baking Soda, WD40, Coca Cola, Fabric Softener Sheets And Paper Towels

February 15, 2016

Other Uses For Vinegar, Baking Soda, WD40, Coca Cola, Fabric Softener Sheets And Paper Towels

Vinegar

When it comes to grocery store products, vinegar is liquid gold. People have been using it for ages – and not just for cooking and preserving foods. Vinegar’s versatility is virtually unmatched; there are literally hundreds of potential applications. Aside from its primary applications, here is just a small sample of all the other things vinegar can be used for:

1. Disinfect wood cutting boards.
2. Soothe a sore throat; use 1 tsp of vinegar per glass of water, then gargle.
3. Fight dandruff; after shampooing, rinse hair with vinegar and 2 cups of warm water.
4. Remove warts; apply daily a 50/50 solution of cider vinegar and glycerin until they’re gone.
5. Cure an upset stomach; drink 2 tsp apple cider vinegar in one cup of water.
6. Polish chrome.
7. Keep boiled eggs from cracking; add 2 tbsp to water before boiling.
8. Clean deposits from fish tanks.
9. Remove urine stains from carpet. (Heh. Hopefully, it’s animal urine!)
10. Keep fleas off dogs; add a little vinegar to the dog’s drinking water.
11. Keep car windows from frosting up; use a solution of 3 oz. vinegar to 1 oz. water.
12. Clean dentures; soak overnight in vinegar and then brush.
13. Get rid of lint in clothes; add 0.5 cup vinegar to rinse cycle.
14. Remove grease from suede.
15. Kill grass on sidewalks and driveways.
16. Make wool blankets softer; add 2 cups distilled vinegar to rinse cycle.
17. Remove skunk odor from a dog; rub fur with full strength vinegar and rinse.
18. Freshen wilted vegetables; soak them in 1 tbsp vinegar and a cup of water.
19. Dissolve mineral deposits in drip coffee makers.
20. Deodorize drains; pour a cup down the drain once a week, let sit for 30 minutes, then rinse.
21. Use as a replacement for a lemon; 0.25 tsp vinegar substitutes for 1 tsp of lemon juice.
22. Make rice fluffier; add 1 tsp of vinegar to water when it boils.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Vehicular Survival Basics And Tools That Will Keep You Alive When Disaster Strikes And You’re On The Road And Away From Home

February 12, 2016

Vehicular Survival Basics And Tools That Will Keep You Alive When Disaster Strikes And You’re On The Road And Away From Home

The world we live in today is unstable.  We face the possibility of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, viral outbreaks, power outages, water shortages, the list goes on and on.  Hurricane Katrina showed proved that the government cannot protect everyone in the aftermath of a large-scale disaster.  This was a wake-up call for many that in order to survive you must take your fate into your own hands.  Regardless of personal feelings about what may be coming or ending, it is growing more and more important to maintain a basic level of readiness for whatever may disrupt life and interrupt the ability to acquire a supply of water, food, and shelter.

Whether you are a hard-core, end of the world “prepper” or just take the Boy Scout motto seriously, there is no shortage of good information on prepping for disaster.  If you plan to “bug out” or “bug in” or just learn what items are best to carry every day, you can find numerous resources and opinions on what gear to buy and what skills are necessary, but one area that often fails to get enough attention in preparedness discussions is preparing and maintaining your vehicle for emergencies.

When disaster strikes, whatever the disaster may be, you might be lucky enough to already be in your safe zone, your “bug-in” site.  But what if you’re not?  What if you’re caught out and need to get home?  Many people focus on what makes up a good EDC or a bug out bag, but your vehicle is capable of handling so much more!

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

How To Put Together Your Own Bug Out Bag Perimeter Alarm Kit… Or How To Sleep Better At Night When The “Zombies” Are On The Move.

February 1, 2016

How To Put Together Your Own Bug Out Bag Perimeter Alarm Kit… Or How To Sleep Better At Night When The “Zombies” Are On The Move.

In my bug out bag, or my get home bag, since I keep it in my vehicle at all times, I keep a little perimeter alarm kit. The whole kit is relatively small, lightweight and fits in a MOLLE mag pouch. I feel this kit is necessary should the SHTF. I figure that if this happens, I might have to be able to get home all by myself, over a long distance, possibly on foot.

Well, what if I have to spend the night who knows where? Maybe in an abandoned building. Or in a makeshift campsite in a clump of trees. Or maybe an old tractor-trailer. And if I have to sleep, I wouldn’t want to wake up with who knows standing over me or all my stuff gone. My trusty firearm won’t do me any good if I’m sleeping. So I put together a little perimeter alarm kit with the following features in mind.

  1. To be able to put up an alarm around a campsite.
  2. To be able to alarm doors and windows in a building.
  3. To be able to lock or secure doors in a building. This includes single doors, double doors, and doors that swing outward.
  4. To be able to black out windows preventing people from seeing in.
    The following is what I keep in my kit.
  5. door/window alarms. You can get them on eBay, home centers or Dollar General. I got mine at Dollar General, by Bell & Howell, 7 for 10 bucks.
  6. homemade alarm bases. These are just 3 ½ X 3 ½ pieces of ¾ in plywood.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Let’s Get Physical: Owning Physical Gold & Silver

January 31, 2016

Let’s Get Physical: Owning Physical Gold & Silver

When owning physical gold & silver there are a few general concepts to understand:

  1. Don’t tell the world! (2 or 3 is enough)
  2. You aren’t planning on using them in regular retail businesses in normal times.
  3. The best thing that can happen to them is you leave them to your heirs (you never needed them).
  4. They preserve wealth over time (they are not intended to “make money”).
  5. They are low cost insurance for emergency money in unusual times and against inflation.
  6. You don’t have to buy them all at once (add to them as funds are available & needs change).
  7. You should also store cash (5’s; 10’s & 20’s) for use as needed for emergencies or the unexpected. Goal should be 3 months expenses or @ $2,000.
  8. Start with small denominations (change not needed & more transactions).
  9. Having a reasonable supply of things you normally use is a great addition to this plan.

What to own:

  1. Pre 1965 US dimes, quarters & half dollars (they are 90% silver & usually the lowest premium over spot silver price). Ultimate goal is $500 to $1,000 face value.
  2. One ounce silver coins (issued by a government) and one ounce silver rounds or bars (issued by private mints & companies (usually less premium than coins). Watch the premium as it varies from time to time (I personally won’t pay very much extra for American Eagles over other governments coins). Ultimate goal is 1,000 to 2,000 ounces.
  3. Gold coins (government minted as the premium is less than for silver & less likely to be counterfeit than lesser known brands). Start with 1/10th and ¼ ounce coins for the first 5 to 10 ounces and then add the half & one ounce coins. Ultimate goal is 10 to 20 ounces.
  4. Ten ounce and larger bars are good for major holdings, but are harder to store & use in daily transactions. Items of this size normally should not be stored at home (theft & insurance problems).

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Tips From A Survivalist On Saving Seeds

January 4, 2016

Tips From A Survivalist On Saving Seeds

There are no guarantees in this world we live in today. We can’t rest assured that the grocery store will always be there or that its shelves will always be stocked full of food. We can’t count on our local home supply store having rows and rows of different seed packets to choose from if we were to ever need to grow our own food. We need to face the reality that things may “go south”, and if they do, we’ll only be able to count on ourselves, and the skills and knowledge we have acquired, in order to survive.

In this, my first guest blog for TheSurvivalistBlog.net, I’d like to share with you a few tips on how to store your own seeds. These are tricks I’ve picked up from my mother and grandmother, other survivalist and organic gardeners I know or have known in my lifetime, or just simply by me learning the hard way and adapting my methods.

Well, to start with, I just need to say it, don’t use genetically modified seeds in your garden; use heirloom seeds. Humans have survived and flourished for thousands of years planting heirloom seeds, and why we decided to start messing with seeds 40 or 50 years ago is beyond me. If we are ever thrown into a world where we need to grow our own food to survive, trust me, you want plants that are grown naturally and contain the most nutrients. Hybrid seeds, and the plants they produce, have been shown to contain much less nutrition than organically grown plants, and often, they require much more maintenance to grow successfully.

In addition, hybrid seeds can’t be saved. The majority of them turn out to be duds, and when new plant life should be growing in your garden, you’ll be faced with a less than 20% growth rate. Yeah, you may survive that first year, but when year 2 comes along, you’ll be starving.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Using Seasonal Disasters To Assess Preparedness

January 1, 2016

Using Seasonal Disasters To Assess Preparedness

I live in a smaller suburb of a medium sized mid-western town. We have had floods, tornadoes, and most recently, an ice storm. I am not going to spend a bunch of time here about floods and flooding. Bottom line gets out of the flood plain, have a sump pump, and have a backup battery powered sump pump.

A big tornado rampaged through the area in 2013 and woke me out of a semi-daze I had settled in since I had returned from overseas. I had seen the warlords and other corrupt officials, and how they treated ‘normal’ folk when they had no means to protect themselves or their loved ones. In addition, I remember thinking to myself back then, “When I get home, I’ve got a lot more to do to get my situation right – aside from inventorying my weapons and ammunition.”

Well, I did not. Moreover, the tornado scared the hell out of me. It missed our house, but the damage it caused on the periphery of the touch down zone left us without power for about a week, give or take some browning out. It scared the hell out of me, because that promise I had made to myself and my family on that dusty hill over yonder had been broken.

So what did I have to do almost immediately?

Get a generator. (M.D. recommends the Honda EU2000I 2000 Watt Super Quiet Inverter Generator)

Fast forward to this winter, which has been relatively mild. Enter the freezing rain. For those of you that do not have to deal with freezing rain, thank the lord. One thing everyone takes for granted with ice is that it is HEAVY. Normally stout hardwood trees fall over, roots and all.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Stretching Your Resources In Uncertain Times

December 23, 2015

Stretching Your Resources In Uncertain Times

money public domainWith the cost of everything going up and the future uncertain, stretching your resources and re-purposing items becomes more of a necessity. I am always looking for new ways to get the “max for the minimum.”

Some recent posts here reminded me of some of these things.  My grandparents and parents were a young family when the great depression hit. What kinds of things did they do to make ends meet when things were expensive or scarce?

Unfortunately, many of them who went through this period in time are no longer with us. However, I remember a few things they did or heard of them doing, that now, looking back, were obviously brought about by the times they lived in. Even after times improved somewhat, some still stuck to certain ways of doing things. Old habits are hard to break.

Hunting and gardening were basically a given back then. Most everyone outside the city limits did one or both of this along with bartering services for goods. A little carpentry or plumbing work for a couple of chickens.

I remember my grandfather mixing his old used motor oil with a little bit of kerosene and spraying the underside and inner fender wells of his pick up truck just before winter. He claimed it helped protect the truck from incurring rust damage over the winter months. Getting more serviceable years out of the truck.

I am sure environmentalists would have a cow over this nowadays, but it was a way of taking something that didn’t appear to have any usefulness left ,and yet, finding one more use for it. The county used to spray old used oil to keep the dust down on dirt roads during the spring and summer months. Don’t see that happening anymore.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Federal Reserve Is Engineering The Economic Collapse: Peter Schiff

December 15, 2015

The Federal Reserve Is Engineering The Economic Collapse: Peter Schiff

It’s Time To Seriously Prepare For The Economic Collapse

December 3, 2015

It’s Time To Seriously Prepare For The Economic Collapse

Ted Koppel It’s Not A Matter Of If But When The Power Goes Out…

November 28, 2015

Ted Koppel It’s Not A Matter Of If But When The Power Goes Out…

Cold Weather Clothing A Prepper’s Guide To Staying Warm In Harsh Conditions

November 25, 2015

Cold Weather Clothing A Prepper’s Guide To Staying Warm In Harsh Conditions

Threats of the Cold:

Every year people die during the cold and storms of winter because of lack of preparation. Motorists get stuck in blizzards and succumb to the cold when their fuel runs out and old people freeze when their furnace stops working during a power outage. These kinds of deaths will be much more prevalent if war and/or an EMP strike brings down the national power grid for a time (a few months if we’re lucky, a year if the establishment doesn’t get their act together).

For survival situations, you have to consider if your main or backup heating systems are going to operate when the utilities are down. Stored fuels like oil, propane and coal are fine while they last, but these furnaces require some electricity to control and run the fan.  Renewable resources like wood are limited as well for those who don’t live near a dense, wooded forest. Fortunately, most wood stoves don’t need any electricity.  But ultimately, everyone ought to be prepared to survive without external heat.

A Better Way to Stay Warm:

To survive in the cold focus on keeping your body warm—not the space around you. Modern long underwear is thin and comfortable and will keep you warm down to 40 or 50 degrees depending on your activity and other outer layers. Even cotton works if kept dry, but when it gets wet it loses loft and keeps the water close to your skin drawing out heat and making you clammy and cold (this is why survivalists say “cotton kills”). Long wool underwear is still the best of nature’s fabric—especially if you’re moving a lot and perspiring. Wool retains some loft and the new Merino blends aren’t itchy and are machine washable as well.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Learn To Fix It – Tips For Keeping Things Running Now And After The Collapse

November 12, 2015

Learn To Fix It – Tips For Keeping Things Running Now And After The Collapse

Being able to repair things is a useful skill to have – believe me, when you’ve knocked your iron off the ironing board repeatedly, it’s awful handy to know how to fix it. Tackling simple mechanical objects like an iron or (my recently fixed) Foodsaver vacuum machine can be intimidating, but with certain exceptions, you can do it.

First off, find out everything you can about your non-functioning device. Find the manual (you did keep the manual, yes? Got it at a garage sale? Time to Google!), check the manufacturer’s website, check sites that have manuals for sale if absolutely necessary. You might find that instructions for your device aren’t readily available. Fear not; much of what is inside an appliance is just air, and there is no magic dust, just mechanical and electrical/electronic parts.

The safety nag: never, never work on anything while it’s plugged in if the cover is off or there is the possibility of getting shocked. Electricity is your friend, but it also has a nasty sense of humor and loves to zap you. Keep water out of electrical devices when you clean as well. In a pinch, if you have to, a barely damp Q-tip, moistened with rubbing alcohol helps dig out crud and gunk.

Never force things to fit; having to press hard or use a screwdriver to move a latch to get something to fit isn’t forcing, trying to get things to go where they don’t fit or belong with the potential to break is. Take care if you are using any tools that have sharp edges; you can cut yourself with a screwdriver, so work away from yourself, not toward your body. You do not want to be driving your husband through a 25 MPH residential district at 40 MPH, panicked and looking for someplace to get his punctured hand fixed, like I did once.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

Water Storage Tips And Advice 101

October 31, 2015

Water Storage Tips And Advice 101

Today we present another article in our non-fiction writing contest –Boatswain’s Mate from Florida

Greetings to all. I would like to write about my experience with water storage over the years. First and foremost, water is hands down the most important tangible item in a survival scenario. There are countless articles written on food storage, guns, bug out this, bug in that and multiple other survival gear and items.

The fact is, without water….your dead. The human body can only survive a few days without water, but can go a few weeks without food. Sure you can “bug out” and snare game, or kill a deer for food, but how are you going to wash your hands after you dress an animal, clean your cookware or wash down that game flavored goodness that you are probably not used to? So here is a short article on water basics covering procurement, storage, filtration and usage.

Procurement – There are many ways to find water and here are a few that are available in my area. First, the well. If you don’t have one, you should look getting one. We live in FL and have a high water table so running dry is not an issue. I have an antique cast iron hand pump for dispensing with spare leather cups on hand. The second source you can use is a nearby lake, stream or river. Note, these may be contaminated even more than already when SHTF so use care when filling containers.

Also a cheap way to find water is to use a rain water containment system from your roof. You may have shingles instead of a tin roof, but with filtration, this can be turned into potable water if needed. Finally, there are multiple other places to look, too many to list in fact. There should be good water in your hot water tank for a few days.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Six Ways You Can Make More Money To Buy More Preps (Or Just Pay Off Your Bills)

October 14, 2015

Six Ways You Can Make More Money To Buy More Preps (Or Just Pay Off Your Bills)

I get thousands of emails each month (usually over 3,000 to be exact) and the one problem that I see mentioned over and over is a lack of money to prep, and while I try to keep the advice given on the blog to low-budget preps, it still takes some money to do it, after all it takes money to live, and by prepping you’re insuring that you live through and after a major disaster or social upheaval.

So to prep, even on the most basic level is  going to cost some money for gear and food supplies, even if you just put together the most basic bug out bag you’ll need a few extra dollars. But let’s face it, if all you have is a bug out bag, then you’re not really very prepared, and as I’ve said before bugging out to the woods is one of the worst survival strategies under most circumstances.

So to get extra money for preps you either have to spend less on everything else or make more. We’ve covered many ways to save money on the blog already so today we are going to look at ways to help you make more money.

Wood working – if you’re handy with tools (you need to learn if you’re not) this can be a great money-maker. Pick a several products and learn to make them well and then start selling those products. Depending on the products you sell, you might only need to put a small ad in your local paper to have customers come to you, or your could set up a local swap meets / flea markets or even sell through local or regional retail outlets.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Beginners Guide To Selecting, Stockpiling And Defending A Survival Retreat Part Two

October 6, 2015

The Beginners Guide To Selecting, Stockpiling And Defending A Survival Retreat Part Two

…read part one here…

Once you have your retreat purchased you can begin the serious work of getting it ready to receive you and your hand-picked group. Everyone needs a place to live, sleep, eat and relax. All members of your group will need a place to be alone or completely by themselves for a period of time. I learned that lesson when I took off on my forty-one foot sailboat many years ago and headed for the South Pacific. Take my word for it, everyone needs to have a place where they can be completely alone.

You must have adequate sanitary services for everyone. It should not be very close to your main retreat drinking water supply and close enough if during your rainy season or the winter snows that getting there won’t be a chore. It needs to be well ventilated for obvious reasons. There should be a kerosene lamp located in there as well or at least a candle.

I have always maintained that when you are setting up your retreat initially all buildings should be camouflaged when looking down at them from the air. Ideally, if there is time, you should build an underground structure as your main living area and as a gathering/meeting area.

They are climate controlled naturally year around, and are difficult to see from above. You always want to draw the least amount of attention on your retreat and your group. I cannot overemphasize to anyone who is a serious survivalist your retreat is the last stop and it will be your ultimate safety if and when the free trade and commerce stops around you for any reason. How bad things will get in the event of a national disaster such as an economic collapse can only be imagined, but all anyone has to do is look back on history to get a good idea.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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Olduvai IV: Courage
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