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Knowing how to sew is a vital skill for preppers. We all know the basics: tear your pants after the SHTF and you can repair them if there’s no way to buy more. But, it goes beyond that!

Why This Necessary Prepper Skill Is a Must To Learn

Knowing how to sew is a vital skill for preppers. We all know the basics: tear your pants after the SHTF and you can repair them if there’s no way to buy more. But, it goes beyond that!

Let’s say you tear your pants beyond repair. Should you just throw them away? Maybe right now. But not if you are in a situation that’s requiring you to use what you have (grid down, low or no income, etc.). Not to mention, sewing can be fun and it’s a hobby for so many. I know my mom would make quilts all day if she could!

Something to consider is the ease of sewing if the power goes out. Sewing machines are nice, but won’t work well if there is no electricity. For this, get a treadle sewing machine like this one. This is a machine that is powered by the users’ foot. A foot pedal is pushed back and forth by the operator’s foot to move the needle up and down. They are not necessarily affordable or easy to find. BUT, I was able to find an article by Mother Earth News detailing how to make your own treadle sewing machine. To read that article, please click here! Alternatively, you can look for antique Singer sewing machines that can be operated off the grid when at estate sales, on Craigslist, or Etsy.

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

The Basics Of Dry Canning

May 16, 2021

The Basics Of Dry Canning

Dry canning is the storage of dry foods such as rice or beans in canning jars. This process is popular for long-term food storage in your prepper pantry.

If you are new to canning, dry canning is a great way to start not only a prepper pantry but a canning habit.

A great way to start is by using oxygen absorbers in dry canning (jars). Oxygen absorbers are made of a chemical compound, the active ingredient of which is a powdered iron oxide. While they are not edible, they are not toxic. No harmful gases are created and the oxygen does not remove the fresh smell and taste of your food.

Dry goods paired in a jar with oxygen absorbers make for an easy way to get started canning. The oxygen absorber has two purposes. It will remove oxygen so little critters don’t live in your food reserve, and it will help your food stay fresh.

Dry canning in jars does not require heat to seal the lid. The job of sealing the lid takes place with the help of the appropriate oxygen absorbers. To get started, you’ll need oxygen absorbers, canning jars with rings and lids, and food to dry can. We started dry canning with beans because we like them, they are fairly inexpensive and easy to come by at any store. Start with clean canning jars by boiling them and allowing them to dry thoroughly. Add your dry food and add the appropriate oxygen absorber inside the can and seal. The absorber does the job of sealing the can properly. You’ll hear a pop when the absorber has sealed the lid.

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Heinberg on what to do at home

May 10, 2021

Heinberg on what to do at home

Preface. A quick summary:

Best investment: insulate exterior walls, ceiling, and floors for energy savings. Other good changes were to plant a garden and fruit-and-nut orchard, and buy solar hot water heater, solar food dryer, solar cooker, chickens, energy-efficient appliances

Lessons learned: It is expensive, especially energy storage. Solar cookers work mainly in the summer.

In the future there will ll be more bikes and ebikes than cars. There needs to be much more local production of food and other goods to shorten supply chains.

Bottom line: there’s very little we can do as individuals, we can’t mine for the minerals we need, few of us can grow all of our food, despite all these investments Heinberg still heavily depends on the greater world for food, electricity, and clothes, cars and most other objects in our lives can’t be home-made. What is required to make a transition is much bigger than most people imagine.

***

Richard Heinberg. 2020. If My House Were the World: The Renewable Energy Transition Via Chickens and Solar Cookers. Resilience.org

For the past two decades, my wife Janet and I have been trying to transition our home to a post-fossil-fuel future. I say “trying,” because the experiment is incomplete and only somewhat successful. It doesn’t offer an exact model for how the rest of the world might make the shift to renewable energy; nevertheless, there’s quite a bit that we’ve learned that could be illuminating for others as they contemplate what it will take to minimize climate change by replacing coal, oil, and gas with cleaner energy sources.

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

Warning! Massive Shortages Are Coming

April 28, 2021

Warning! Massive Shortages Are Coming

“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water” – Benjamin Franklin

Out of stock, in low supply, sold out, shortages…get used to seeing the terms all over this year and next as the just-in-time manufacturing and distribution system continues to sputter. Several factors in Twenty-Twenty and Twenty-Twenty-One have caused shortages ranging from the absurd and humorous to the critical and deadly. Of course, not having chicken nuggets or ketchup packets is just a slight inconvenience; however, it will hit you a little closer to home when manufacturers can’t get the raw materials they need. Then, prices will continue to go up, and you will pay more for the products you need. When life-saving medicines are in short supply, they may not be available to you and yours when you are sick or injured. What is going on with these shortages, and will it continue? How much worse could it get?

In this blog, I will examine why shortages are occurring, many of the shortages we are currently experiencing, possible future shortages, and what you should prep and brace for to insulate yourself from the effects of short supplies.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Years ago, when you wanted a product or good, you had to place an order and wait. If it was a popular product on a store shelf, in a back warehouse, or off-site at a holding warehouse, you could receive the product in a short amount of time. If it wasn’t in stock somewhere, an order was placed with a manufacturer, and you would wait, and wait, and wait, until it was finally manufactured because enough other orders were placed to warrant that manufacturer to gather the necessary raw materials and fire up his machines. It was such a different world just a decade or two ago.

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

When the Unprepared Come to Your Door: What to Do

April 27, 2021

When the Unprepared Come to Your Door: What to Do

It is an absolute certainty that when a disaster strikes that lasts for any prolonged period, people will show up at your door if you are stocked or better positioned to survive than they are. Over the years, I have read numerous comments about what people would do. The majority of preppers take a rigid approach to what they view as potential looters. Instead of just dismissing them, they’re prepared to expel them from their property through force. Then, you have the opposite end of the spectrum where some preppers set aside small care packages or backpacks to hand out to people who would come knocking so they can be sent on their way with a little bit better chance to survive. Both approaches are problematic, and there is much in between those two extremes. A desperate enough person might try to burn you out to get to your resources, even though that could destroy the resources in the process. And a person who receives a hand-out or hand-up because of your generosity may come around again or tell others which will potentially result in a line outside your door.

In this blog, we will look at those people who would show up at your door and what you can do to both protect yourself and help them. It’s a difficult decision for sure. It is one thing to ignore a stranger or maybe even an acquaintance. It is quite another to turn away a neighbor, friend, or even a family member when your own resources are limited, well-prepared in advance, and you are staring down the barrel of a disaster that may stretch on for an indeterminable amount of time…

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

5 Reasons Why Home Freeze Dried Food is Better Than Store-Bought

April 4, 2021

5 Reasons Why Home Freeze Dried Food is Better Than Store-Bought

Freeze-dried food is an excellent addition to an emergency food supply. If properly stored, it can last up to 25 years, maintains 99% of its original nutritional quality, and is very easy to prepare in an emergency with just hot water in under 10 minutes.

You can buy freeze-dried food directly online, but making your freeze-fried food is now possible and extremely easy. Admittedly, there is a considerable upfront cost for one of these devices, but it will pay for itself in a short amount of time which we’ll discuss in just a moment.

So what advantages does home freeze-dried food have over store-bought? In this blog, we’ll look at five things you should consider before you start the process of building out a sizeable freeze-dried food inventory. I just recently did a video about building a one-year food storage setup and I’ll be adding a considerable amount of freeze-dried food to it shortly as I want food stored away that is already cooked in advance and ready if there’s a major event or emergency. I’ve also done blogs in the past that go into a much deeper dive covering the freeze-drying process, which I’ll link to in the cards above and the description section below if you want to check those out. So let’s jump in.

If you’re starting with developing your food inventory, there’s nothing wrong with picking up the typical Mountain House or other brands of freeze-dried food. I just found over time that these items we’re about to cover were selling points for me as to why investing in one of these machines made more sense in the long run. If you want to check out the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer anytime during the blog, you can check them out on my website at www.cityprepping.com/freezedryer

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

city prepping, prepping, preparations, freeze-dried food, food storage,

Marti’s Corner – 11

March 28, 2021

Marti’s Corner – 11

NOTES:

* Here is a packet of seeds like the one I mentioned last week. There are 40 different varieties of seeds. They are 100% heirloom. This means that you can save the seeds from year to year. There is a 5-year shelf life if kept in a cool, dark place. There is a 30-year shelf life if kept in the freezer. AND there are a gardening book that comes with it—16,500 Heirloom Vegetable Seeds 40 Variety Kit. The cost is $35. You cannot buy 40 seed packets for that price. But, in some of the varieties, you only get a few seeds. For example, bush beans only have 12 seeds included. Zucchini has only 8 seeds. Anyway, check it out. Even though you only have 8 zucchini plants, just 1 or 2 zucchini, let go to seed will give you dozens of seeds for future use.

* Here is another choice Spring Garden Bundle. The number of seeds is not listed but probably similar.

Picture of lots of seeds

* One last choice from Seed Armory.

* I wanted to share this video by my friend, Kris. He has been getting his family prepared for a while now, as you can see from this site. He just finished this video: How to Build 1 Year of Food Storage – Ultimate Guide – YouTube. Everything you need to know and all the “how to’s” included!

* I just found this website. Mary’s Nest: Mary’s Nest – YouTube She has videos on EVERYTHING: sourdough starters, stocking a pantry, how to preserve crisp pickles, homemade yogurt, natural remedies for colds and flu. It’s a treasure trove of information. Check it out!

LONG TERM FOCUS: Rice

Rice

If you are still unsure about packing rice, here is a YouTube video to show you how. How to Store Bulk Rice – YouTube

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

COOKING, FIRST AID, FOOD, GARDENING, MARTI’S CORNER, SKILL, city prepping, prepping, preparations, food preparations, food storage

Villagers & Pillagers: Who Will Survive the Collapse?

March 19, 2021

Villagers & Pillagers: Who Will Survive the Collapse?

The road to Slab City and Salvation Mountain. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair.

Unless you live in a state of denial you’re probably like me, troubled about the future. There’s not much left of mine, but my daughter’s generation and their children will have to survive the aftermath of fossil-fueled civilization on the ravaged, toxic planet we’ve left them. How will that look? Will democratic eco-settlements rise from the ruins, gain a foothold, and begin healing the planet? Or will tribal warlords rule the rubble?

Some folks, with the aid of renewable energy, permaculture, and other adaptive Green technologies, are already preparing for collapse by vastly improving upon the “back to the land” communes the young utopians of the Woodstock generation once created. Back then, dropping out of consumer capitalism and living on the throw-aways of American affluence wasn’t very hard. Here in northern California, the Diggers’ collective and the novice farmers of Morningstar Ranch shared whatever they could score from Goodwill, rescue from dumpsters, harvest with their limited gardening skills, or make with the aid of the Whole Earth Catalog. And, if communal life became too difficult, dropping back in was easy. No one was preparing to survive the collapse of industrial civilization. They believed automation and abundance would soon make workplace drudgery unnecessary.[1]

Today, a new generation of ecovillagers embraces the same anti-consumerist convictions. But the world has changed. Mother Earth is in critical condition. America is no longer awash in cheap energy; economic growth has flat-lined; upward mobility has gone into reverse. For now, most Americans get by with shabbier versions of daily life and cling to the hope that sooner or later progress will resume. But denial won’t stop carbon-addicted civilization from breaking down as it trashes the planet…

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

Here’s How 30 Preppers Have Adapted and What They Foresee Happening Next

March 14, 2021

Here’s How 30 Preppers Have Adapted and What They Foresee Happening Next

There’s a lot more crazy and a lot less money than usual, and as I’ve written before, the face of prepping has changed. It’s a lot more difficult (and expensive) to go out and stockpile as we did a few years ago, and the event we’ve faced has been a slow-burning SHTF event that has slowly and insidiously taken away financial security from hundreds of thousands of Americans.

I wondered how others have changed the way they prep to adapt to these times so I asked the folks in our Me-We group if they’ve changed how they prep and if so, what changes they’ve made. If you are interested in joining the group, go here, answer four questions, and be sure to change your profile picture from the Me-We basic images. We don’t care what you change them too, we’re just trying to avoid “bot” traffic from prowling through our group.

Here’s how readers have changed the way they prep.

With some of the comments, I’ve added a comment or a link in italics for more information.

Eileen:

I am working on doing even more with even less. I was laid off at the beginning of Covid. Hubby’s paycheck is down a bit. We have been watching the cost of regularly used items skyrocket, yet again. Teaching myself to grow more long term food items this year. At this point, Daisy, just not giving up feels like prepping, even if it’s just to get up tomorrow and try again.

Here’s an article on how to keep going when things feel hopeless. ~ D

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

daisy luther, the organic prepper, prepping, preparations,

How to Prepare Now for the Complete End of the World

March 11, 2021

How to Prepare Now for the Complete End of the World

OKANOGAN COUNTY, Wash. — When the finish comes, some won’t be ready in a bunker for a savior. They will stride out into the wilderness with confidence, prepared to hunt and kill a deer, tan its disguise and sleep simply in a hand-built shelter, shut by a hearth they produced from the power of their two palms on a stick.

Four hours from the Seattle airport, in a valley referred to as Methow, close to a city referred to as Twisp, Lynx Vilden was instructing individuals how to stay in the wild, like we think about Stone Age individuals did. Not so they may get higher at residing in cities, or so that they could possibly be higher opponents in Silicon Valley or Wall Street.

“I don’t want to be teaching people how to survive and then come back to civilization,” Lynx mentioned. “What if we don’t want to come back to civilization?”

Some individuals now are contemplating what it means to stay in a world that could possibly be shut down by a pandemic.

But some individuals are already residing like this. Some do it as a result of they identical to it. Some do it as a result of they assume the finish has, in reality, already begun to arrive.

A pair of occasions a 12 months, Lynx — she goes by the title professionally, although it’s not her authorized title — teaches a 10-day introduction to residing in the wilderness. When I arrived for this program, Lynx ran to me, buckskins flying, her arms cupped tightly round one thing that was smoking.

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

Marti’s Corner – 07

February 25, 2021

Marti’s Corner – 07

Marti's Corner at City Prepping Hi Everyone,
Being prepared means trying to plan for a variety of contingencies. Having no power is one of those possibilities. I’m sure that most Texans could NEVER have foreseen having no power in the middle of freezing weather. In Texas!!!! Now is a good time to ask, “What if that happened here?” My Indiana peeps are saying, “And your point is….????” California peeps—– could you stay warm? Could you cook dinner? As our hearts reach out to friends and family who are experiencing these extreme difficulties, just keep in mind that you could be next, whatever the disaster may be. THAT’S why we prepare. This woman’s wet hair froze as soon as she stepped outside | Your Morning – YouTube

NOTES:

* Garden Update. I have planted some of my broccoli seedlings and cauliflower seedlings into the ground. My other plants are just hanging out, waiting for March 1. I’ve been leaving them outside at night unless the temps are in the low 40’s, then I bring them in. They are actually okay as long as it doesn’t freeze. But I’m still babying them along.

* Facebook Page: Our Prepared Community also has a ton of information. If you click on the videos button, you will see about 25 videos covering everything from natural remedies to evacuation plans. It’s a great resource! Here is a link to the Water Sanitation Class.

LONG TERM FOCUS: Lentils

Lentils are legumes – cousins to beans. Lentils can be green, red, yellow, black or brown. They are full of nutrients with no fat and lots of fiber and protein. Lentils cook much faster than dry beans and don’t need to be soaked. To cook, just rinse and boil 3 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils. They are tender in 15-20 minutes.

SHORT TERM FOCUS

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

city prepping, food storage, marti’s corner, prepping, preparations, emergency preparations

Step-by-Step When Disaster Strikes

February 21, 2021

Step-by-Step When Disaster Strikes

Outline

Seconds Before
Seconds In the Disaster
Seconds of Action
Minutes After
Hours After

Many people will prepare for disasters, but they will seize up in crippling fear when the disaster is upon them. Every disaster survivor’s story has a few common characteristics. The person was prepared because of the signs leading up to the disaster, or they made the right decisions based on their situation when the tragedy occurred. There is no guarantee of survival in any situation, but being adequately prepared, being mentally prepared, puts the odds of survival in your favor.

In this blog, we will take a high altitude view of common disasters and the choices you need to make in the seconds, minutes, and hours after a disaster. Those decisions are going to have several factors you will need to weigh to ensure your instant safety. By the end of this video, you will have a step-by-step approach that, over time, you can internalize to keep you moving through a disaster and prevent you from succumbing to it by seizing up or paralyzing in fear.

Seconds Before

Every disaster has clear signals that proceed its arrival. A tsunami is preceded by the water receding far from shore. A tornado is preceded by a sudden barometric pressure drop and storm activity. Sometimes animals alert to the low-frequency waves before an earthquake. Even terrorist and lone-wolf attacks are often preceded by chatter, social media postings, threats, or other warning signs. When we look at historical events, we are often left wondering how our ancestors didn’t see this event or that tragedy coming. Do you think the citizens of Pompeii didn’t suspect Mount Vesuvius might one day blow?

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

5 Winter Homestead Tips To Help You Prepare

November 29, 2020

5 Winter Homestead Tips To Help You Prepare

It’s easy to decide to create a homestead, however, the ways in which we go about it can be difficult. But here are a few tips to help you as winter approaches if you want to live on a homestead or improve your self-reliance.

Even though things slow down on the homestead during winter, there is still work that needs to be done! Having some winter chores prepped will keep you ahead of the game so you can stay inside more. Below are some winter chores to keep in mind when tending to a homestead.

1.Have Backup Heat – A wood-burning stove is a great option especially if you live near a wooded area with a lot of dead trees ready to be harvested. Back up heat will come in handy if the power is knocked out and the heat is incredibly soothing. It also offers that added security of being more self-reliant.

2. Store Enough Water for Animals – You will need to take into account all of your animals when storing water. Plan at least a gallon per day per person, and dog. Cats need less but should be counted too. Make sure you plan for your ducks, chickens, goats, horses, rabbits, etc. Be sure to plan enough water storage for livestock, cooking and cleanliness, house pets, and your family’s daily consumption. Also, prepare for your worst-case water outage scenario.

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

Bringing disaster preparedness into resilience politics

November 4, 2020

Bringing disaster preparedness into resilience politics

Introduction

Most discussion of “sustainability” for the last 30 years has been about how to ensure that what we do today is not at the expense of future generations. This is supposed to be so that future generations are safe from the damage done when current generations over-exploit the planet and ruin their future.

That was the theory but the overuse of the planet’s resources happened anyway. Growth got priority and future generations will pay for the planet’s consumer class and the idiocy of its economic priesthood. Ecological footprint analysis tells us that humanity (or rather the rich part of the humanity) has been consuming natural resources as if there were 1.7 planets. This overshoot, the inappropriate growth promoted by mainstream economists may end up sending future generations into earlier graves. They have a right to be angry. Humans born now will inherit an exhausted planet with an increasing number and intensity of disasters. [1]

According to a recent UN report, damage has increased over the last 40 years:

“Between 1980 and 1999, 4,212 disasters were linked to natural hazards worldwide claiming approximately 1.19 million lives and affecting 3.25 billion people resulting in approximately US$1.63 trillion in economic losses.”

That was twenty years ago and it has got worse.

“In the period 2000 to 2019, there were 7,348 major recorded disaster events claiming 1.23 million lives, affecting 4.2 billion people (many on more than one occasion) resulting in approximately US$2.97 trillion in global economic losses. This is a sharp increase over the previous twenty years.” [2]

On current trends it will get worse again. We should not give up the campaigning against further overshoot but we now need to combine this fight with steps in communities to prepare for the disasters that are now baked in – because the growth fanatics cannot take in the dangers of rushing over planetary tipping points. We are facing climate crisis, biodiversity collapse, public health crises and economic turmoil that are already upon us.

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

SELCO: Everything Is Fluid When the SHTF – Including the Rules of Survival

October 28, 2020

SELCO: Everything Is Fluid When the SHTF – Including the Rules of Survival

In hard and weird times, everything is fluid.

I bet you have heard many times that expression, but what does it actually mean?

In essence, it means if you do not pay attention to that “fluidity” or let s say if you do not keep paying attention to the timing of everything you are gonna make mistakes, and even more, you may end up dead.

“Rules” must also be fluid.

It is especially important in light of the “teachings” that you can find in mainstream survival where the majority of “masters of survival” give you rules on how to survive, but fail to recognize that rules are there for bending, for changing, even for trashing. It’s all connected with the timing of events, particular or current situation. (Here are some pieces of advice I find particularly bad in the survival world.)

It is fluid.

So, again, if someone is giving you rules (including me), never forget that you need to take it as a starting, point, or let’s say blueprint, or foundation only, that you should refer to when times get tough. BUT you must always be keeping in mind that the situation CHANGES, so the rules might change too.

I know the prepper world today is consistent with 99 percent of “lists what to do in order to survive” and I also know people like to have clear pointers and clear instructions on what to do and how to prepare, which is OK.

The problem is that the majority of folks want someone else to do the job of figuring it out and give them the solution, while they are sitting in a chair in front of their computers.

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

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