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9 Things to Buy Every Time You Go to the Store
9 Things to Buy Every Time You Go to the Store
Lots of folks have mentioned that their grocery stores never fully restocked after the rush on food and supplies back at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. And with the current news stories about spiking COVID numbers, it may not be long until we’re locked down again.
Work on what’s within your control
It’s important to note that even if you are unconcerned about the virus, there are a lot of things that could be out of your control in the event of another governmental series of actions:
- Workplaces may close back down
- Supply chains may be further damaged
- The economy will take another hit
- You may not be able to go where you want
Real, or not real; dangerous or not, the end result for us is the same.
It’s just like the debate over whether a terror attack in the news is a false flag or an actual terror attack. Every time I write about surviving one of these attacks, people flock to the comments to tell everyone that it was all crisis actors, the whole thing is a hoax, or our own government did it to take away our guns.
But we’re talking about survival. If you’re there when the bullets are flying or the bombs are going off or the planes are crashing, it doesn’t matter who’s behind it. Your only goal at that point is to survive it.
With COVID, does it even matter if the numbers are accurate or not? Because the government is using it as an excuse to exercise rigid control over all of us – telling us when we can go to work, when we can visit with loved ones, keeping us away from hospitals and leaving our ailing relatives to die alone, and enforcing laws about masks and appropriate distances.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
8 Important Things To Do On The Homestead This Summer
8 Important Things To Do On The Homestead This Summer
It’s finally here! Warm, sunny days, and cold herbal tea that’s brewed in the sunshine all day. But there are a few vital tasks that homesteaders should get done this summer before the weather turns.
The warm, sunny days are upon us. While we all love to sip on cold herbal tea that’s brewed in the sunshine all day, there are a few vital tasks that homesteaders should get done this summer before the weather turns.
Where I live, we get three months of summer weather. June, July, and August. A late freeze last year around Father’s Day destroyed everything in our garden, but this year, we prepared by saving up money and constructing a greenhouse. This will expand our growing season too. If you live in a cooler climate, I cannot stress enough how much a greenhouse is necessary. Because we were caught off guard last year, this year, we’ve figured out what we need to do, and how to prepare well in advance for the cooler weather this fall.
Sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but just take it one step at a time. If you know what needs to be done, you’ll be sure to complete it. Most of these tasks aren’t difficult ones for me, because I love doing them. But if you don’t like it, it can be psychologically draining.
8 Homestead Chores To Do in Early Summer
- Maintain your Greenhouse – make sure plants are thriving and they aren’t getting too hot. Keep your vegetables and herbs free of weeds. I also weed around the pollinator flowers so they won’t be snuffed out too. This is a daily task of checking your plants to make sure they are thriving. If you find pests, it’s best to figure out how to deal with them sooner, rather than later when it’s time to harvest.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Here’s How to Become a Prepper
Here’s How to Become a Prepper
If the coronavirus has inspired you to become a prepper, you’re not alone. At long last, prepping has become mainstream due to runs on supplies, shortages, and stay-at-home orders throughout the country. More folks than ever before are seeing the wisdom of having extra food and household goods on hand. It can help you through not only disasters and pandemics, but also through personal financial problems.
But delve into most preparedness websites (including this one) and it can start to get overwhelming when you read articles about civil unrest, EMPs, and existential catastrophes. You’ll see articles about guns and outdoor survival and all sorts of things in which you have absolutely no interest.
And more than that, it’s kind of overwhelming. It can make you feel like, “Wow, I will never be able to have a bunker in Montana with 150,000 rounds of ammo. I don’t even know how to build a fire. Why even bother?”
Before we get started with the “how to’s” here are a few things you should know.
All of us started at the beginning.
It’s important to know that all of us started somewhere. We all had some event that awakened us to the need to be better prepared. (To learn how some readers were inspired to get started, go here.) We all had to learn the ins and outs, read the books, and acquire the stuff.
Most of us don’t have thousands of dollars to drop on buckets of food and secondary locations. We began by just getting a few extra things when we could.
It takes some time.
Getting well-prepared doesn’t happen overnight. Even if you have a budget that is relatively unlimited, you will find that it still takes time to figure out what you need, where to get it, and where to store it.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Staying Ahead Of The Shortages: What To Stock Up On For The Coming Year
Staying Ahead Of The Shortages: What To Stock Up On For The Coming Year
While a lot of people are concerned about food shortages, one should not forget that there are a lot of items that make life easier or at least more enjoyable that come from abroad. A lot of these items specifically come from China and India. I am going to mention a few other things that are mostly made in the USA but that may potentially be in short supply as a result of the pandemic.
Food and water are primary concerns as they should be but what about these other things. I have compiled this list of things that you may want to consider acquiring if you don’t think you have enough to get through the next 6 months to a year.
Do what you can with what financial resources and ingenuity you have. You don’t have to jump on buying everything I talk about all at once. Sometimes people get caught up thinking that they have to do it all at once and that is not true. I presented this information so you can use it over the coming months to determine your preparedness needs and plan accordingly. I think this winter is going to be a difficult one and that the sooner you start planning the better.
That being said, I cannot predict what is going to happen but I can tell you that if you put back things you know you are going to need sooner rather than later than in the worst case you are prepared and in the best case you are ahead of the game and won’t have to buy those things later and may have some extra funds to put towards things later.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
4 Things I Learned by NOT Going to the Grocery Store for a Month
4 Things I Learned by NOT Going to the Grocery Store for a Month
I just walked into my grocery store for the first time in a month, and it was surreal. First, because I was there without my two kids (ages 5 and 7), so I kept feeling like I was forgetting the most important thing. What is it? Oh yes, the most important thing is shouting:
“Do NOT climb in the freezer bin!” at exactly the right moment.
Not too soon, or they forget that you said it and climb in. Not too late, or you’re explaining muddy footprints on the frozen turkeys to disgruntled grocery employees.
Just kidding, my kids have never climbed in the freezer bin. They’ve gotten a leg up, but I always shout at the right moment. By the time we get to produce, though, I’m frazzled from the rapid oscillation of my eyeballs from list to shelf to list, and I’m not quite as on-the-ball. They have climbed in that giant box of pumpkins.
In addition to the lack of shouting, at my grocery store this week there was a cordon so people could line up to get in. There was a new “maximum occupancy 537 persons” sign on the door. There were empty spaces on some shelves, and a lot less friendliness. Other than that, it was the same old fluorescent-lit cavern I despise.
Before I get to what not going to the store taught me, I should explain why I haven’t been to the store since before my state’s stay-at-home order was issued.
1. I hate shopping, so if there’s any little excuse for not going (such as contagion or it’s a Sunday), I am so not there.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
10 Grocery Items That Disappeared Almost Immediately When an Emergency Was Declared
10 Grocery Items That Disappeared Almost Immediately When an Emergency Was Declared
Planning and preparing an emergency food pantry now will help you keep popular food items stocked and ready for the next crisis.
Large-scale events can quickly cause significant economic, social, and political disruption in its wake. Studies have shown most households are not prepared for a two-week disruption, let alone a month-long ordeal such as what we are enduring with COVID-19. As a result, the public quickly sees how vulnerable they are to an emergency. An unprecedented strain has been put on our food system as a result of the initial food grab at the beginning of the health crisis.
With grocery items flying off the shelves and a huge demand on food banks, its no wonder that vegetable and garden seeds have been in high demand because of interest in sustainable food production. We now see that when a large population is hit with a rapid, far from equilibrium event, the system itself cannot keep up with the demand. The result, at best, shows how thin the protections of society are when this type of event happens and we must learn from this.
In the wake of the COVID-19 food panic, certain food staples disappeared almost immediately; almost all of which are listed in our 25 must-have survival foods. While toilet paper seems to be the one item that is ingrained in our memories as the grocery item that initially incited the run on the grocery stores, the items listed below have been in short supply if not out of stock for weeks on end.
10 Food Items That Disappeared Almost Immediately in the COVID-19 Health Crisis
- Pasta and tomato sauce
- Yeast
- Flour
- Sugar
- Milk
- Eggs
- Butter
- Rice
- Beans
- Peanut butter
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Crazy long food lines across America reveal the total LACK of preparedness that now characterizes our just-in-time society
Crazy long food lines across America reveal the total LACK of preparedness that now characterizes our just-in-time society
(Natural News) As the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread across the United States, sickening and killing tens of thousands, other problems are just beginning, including food shortages.
As reported by The Sun, the U.S. now has more recorded COVID deaths than any other country in the world, though there are doubts even among U.S. intelligence agencies that China has been completely transparent and up-front in reporting its true number of cases and deaths.
That said, as the virus spread and governors ordered non-essential businesses closed to help contain the spread, newly out-of-work Americans, by the millions, are already beginning to suffer basic shortages of food.
The news site reports:
The shocking statistics come as the need for emergency food aid has exploded in recent weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nearly 100 per cent of food banks in the Feeding America network are serving more neighbors in need during the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet nearly 60 per cent are facing reduced inventory levels amidst rising demand,” according to a survey by Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief and food rescue organization.
Meanwhile, organizations are having difficulty replenishing their food stocks and keeping food on hand for the growing numbers of needy, many of whom line up for hours in cities like San Antonio, Texas, and elsewhere waiting for assistance.
The survey noted further that the current number of people needing food assistance has surpassed the 37 million who faced hunger in the country last year.
It added that “since establishing the COVID-19 Response Fund on March 13, Feeding America has distributed $112.4 million and over 94 million pounds to food banks throughout the network, helping provide nearly 79 million meals to neighbors facing hunger.”
If this doesn’t prove to you why aspects of “prepping” are vital, nothing will.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
A One-Month Shelf-Stable Food Menu Your Family Will Love
A One-Month Shelf-Stable Food Menu Your Family Will Love
Now that most of the country is practicing social isolation, people are turning more and more often to their pantries to make meals from shelf-stable ingredients.
Do you ever wonder what on earth you’d eat if you had to rely solely on the items in your pantry? How could you possibly make tasty meals from these items you have stashed away? Do you imagine a future filled with cans of Spaghetti-O’s and saltine crackers?
Trust me when I tell you, you can do much better than that. Here’s a menu that you can adjust to your family’s preferences.
A one-month menu of shelf-stable dinners
If you have fresh or frozen ingredients on hand, feel free to substitute them in for shelf-stable ones. If you’re a vegetarian, a lot of these meals can be converted by simply omitting the meat or replacing the meat with lentils or beans. Tweak the meals according to your family’s preferences and allergies or intolerances.
Menu: Week One
- 5-Can Chili
- Chili Pie
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Chicken Alfredo and Pasta
- Udon Noodles in Peanut Sauce
- Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
- Mexican Pizza Pie
Menu: Week Two
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Vegetable Soup
- Chicken and Dumplings
- One-Pot Beans and Rice
- Spaghetti
- Bread and Gravy
- Pantry Potato Soup
Menu: Week Three
- Goulash
- Vegetable Fried Rice
- Chicken and Dressing
- Jambalaya
- Fry Bread Tacos
- Split Pea Soup
- Pasta Primavera
Menu Week Four
- Pasta Fagioli
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Poor Man’s Stroganoff
- Baked Beans with Ham and Sweet Potatoes
- Baked Bean Chili
- Southwestern Chicken and Rice
- Corn Chowder
I like to save leftovers from dinner for the following day’s lunch. Shelf-stable breakfasts are pretty simple with things like powdered milk, dried fruit, and cereal or oatmeal. You can get all these recipes and a shopping list in my PDF book, The Stockpile Cafe, for just $5.
Below, find one of my family’s favorite shelf-stable recipes.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
And just like that; everyone stopped laughing at preppers
And just like that; everyone stopped laughing at preppers
A criticism of the failure by some people to prepare while mocking preppers…. kinds like the children’s story of the Three Little Pigs…. and the Big Bad Wolf is Covid-19…
A wise man believes; Be optimistic, but also be prepared for all possibilities…
And as we see, some of our government agencies, people in those agencies, and even some hospitals haven’t prepared…
In fact, it was only about decade back that some agencies and people were actually mocking and laughing at ‘Preppers’ who were training in disaster preparedness and laying aside a measured amount of food and supplies, including N95 masks.
Imagine the complete lack of vision and the obtuse thinking that it required to mock the same people these same agencies and people are now trying guilt-trip and shame into giving-up their masks… Does the movie ‘Idiocracy‘ come to mind?
And now, maybe worse yet… the vision-less are leading Americans; some of these same agencies and people are now the so-called ‘experts’ giving everyone else advice? How is that going to work?
Some agencies, and people are trying to shame citizens who are prepared into giving-up their preparedness supplies (N-95 masks), which they have laid away for this very day, in order to protect their families and themselves…
I think without any exaggeration whatsoever, what we’re seeing is the perfect storm of our lifetimes…
1918 Flu Pandemic
And it’s unlike any other disaster mankind has seen since the entire world was in dire straights and the grip of 1918 Flu Pandemic that killed 50 to 100-million people (Wiki)… As in prior disasters like hurricane Katrina, Sandy, etc. nobody is coming to the rescue, because every nation is in the same (or worse) deep trouble.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Martial Law in the United States: How Likely is it, and What will happen under Martial law?
Martial Law in the United States: How Likely is it, and What will happen under Martial law?
The march towards martial law is something that is often ignored by the general public, often labeled as Quackery or something belonging on conspiracy websites. But what’s happening in this country is exactly what our founders warned us about, and martial law is something they took very, very seriously.
What is martial law?
If you’re looking for a definition, then Martial Law basically means using state or national military force to enforce the will of the government on the people.
Under a declaration of martial law, Constitutional freedoms and liberties are suspended, and civilians are no longer entitled to their civil rights. It basically allows the government, or a tyrannical politician, to shred the Constitution and impose its will through military force.
History of Martial Law in the United States of America
“Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.”
Winston Churchill
In one way or another, there have always been tyrants who have used the power of government to suppress and control the public. But if we are looking for specific examples of Martial Law being used inside the United States, we don’t have to look very hard or far to find them.
Using the strictest definition of the term, we can see the roots of martial law in America take hold during the lead up to the Revolutionary war. Although there were many reasons for the war, including resistance to taxes imposed by the British parliament, the main catalyst was England’s decision to use military troops to enforce everyday law throughout the colonies.
The beginning of the end? The Civil War Ushers in a Strong Central Government through Martial Law Enforcement
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Meanwhile At A Costco In Brooklyn, The Hoarding Begins
Meanwhile At A Costco In Brooklyn, The Hoarding Begins
The same long lines that we’ve seen in China, Japan, South Korea, and across the world as people panic buy food and health supplies have started in the US.
On Saturday, the US Surgeon General urged people to “stop buying masks,” saying on Twitter that they’re not effective in preventing the general public from catching coronavirus.
Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!
They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!
http://bit.ly/37Ay6Cm Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China.cdc.gov
Despite the CDC telling everyone to calm down, alleged video of long lines pouring out of a Costco store in Brooklyn, New York, surfaced on YouTube Saturday afternoon.
This comes days after we reported Hawaiians raced to Sam’s Club and Costco to panic buy food and health supplies as virus fears surge.
And as we noted earlier today: “The great panic of 2020 is underway” as Americans are now stocking up on supplies as the next pandemic could be imminent.
Demand For “Prepper Properties” Is Soaring As More People Seek Refuge From The Nightmare That Is Coming To America
Demand For “Prepper Properties” Is Soaring As More People Seek Refuge From The Nightmare That Is Coming To America
In 2017 and 2018, most Americans were generally feeling pretty good about the future, and interest in “prepping” plummeted nationwide. But now things have changed. All of a sudden, demand for “prepper properties” is absolutely soaring, and this is driving up the prices of rural homes all over the nation. In fact, in some of the hottest areas working class families have already been completely priced out of the market. Meanwhile, luxury home prices in the heart of New York City have fallen to the lowest level in six years. Many are deeply concerned about the upcoming election, and many others are alarmed by all the other crazy stuff happening all over the world, but whatever the motivation it is undeniable that an increasing number of Americans are seeking to flee the major cities right now. There seems to be a growing consensus that our society is rapidly steamrolling toward a nightmare, and a lot of people are purchasing “prepper properties” while they still can.
I knew that conditions were shifting, but I was stunned when I saw that even Realtor.com had posted an article about this growing trend…
But today, Americans en masse are again preparing for the worst—and Communists are just about the only thing not on their list. What is? Terrorist attacks, a total economic collapse, perhaps even zombie invasions. Or maybe just a complete societal breakdown after this November’s scorched-Earth presidential election.
And Reuters just posted an article in which they discussed the fact that preppers have “boosted rural land values” in property markets all across the nation…
Whichever camp, realtors say the new dropouts are not “crackpots” and often include affluent professionals whose run for the hills has boosted rural land values and started to change their property market.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Should You Relocate To A More Resilient Area?
Should You Relocate To A More Resilient Area?
What factors to look for when considering relocating
Likely a symptom of growing social unease, we’re seeing a surge in interest amongst our readership in relocation.
Many are folks living in urban and suburban areas worried that local resources and/or rule of law will not hold up well during a serious economic crisis, civil disorder or natural disaster.
Others have watched Peak Prosperity readers successfully transition to more resilient destinations or even build their own self-sufficient homesteads.
Specifically, we’re seeing a hunger for guidance on the key factors to assess when asking:
- How resilient is my current location?
- Should I relocate?
- If so, where to? And what criteria should I prioritize in making my decision?
Several years ago, we recorded an interview with SurvivalBlog founder and former US Army intelligence officer James Wesley Rawles addressing these exact questions.
It remains one of the best discussions we know of on the topic of relocation, and it’s this week’s recommended listening for anyone wondering if a fresh start in an area with better natural and community resources might be one of the single best ways to improve their future prospects:
(Full transcript available here)
For those motivated to action by this podcast, Peak Prosperity is now offering Consultations specifically-designed to help you think through & execute on the relocation process.
Given your specific situation, does it make sense? Given your unique goals and needs, what requirements matter most when targeting communities and properties? How should you be structuring your search efforts?
As an output of the planned cohousing project he’s leading, Chris is now exceptionally knowledgeable on both the strategic and tactical realities of intentionally relocating to an area richer in resilience.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Record Low Temps Up To 50 Degrees Below Normal Threaten To Absolutely Wreck The Rest Of The Harvest Season
Record Low Temps Up To 50 Degrees Below Normal Threaten To Absolutely Wreck The Rest Of The Harvest Season
It isn’t supposed to be this cold in October. The official start of winter is still almost two months away, and yet the weather in much of the western half of the country right now resembles what we might expect in mid-January. All-time record lows for the month of October are being set in city after city, and this extremely cold air is going to push into the Midwest by the end of the week. Temperatures in the heartland will be up to 50 degrees below normal, and unfortunately about half of all corn still has not been harvested. Due to unprecedented rainfall and extreme flooding early in the year, many farmers faced extraordinary delays in getting their crops planted, and so they were hoping that good weather at the end of the season would provide time for the crops to fully mature and be harvested. Unfortunately, a nightmare scenario has materialized instead. A couple of monster snow storms have already roared through the Midwest, and now record low temperatures threaten to absolutely wreck the rest of the harvest season.
When temperatures get significantly below zero for more than a few hours, scientists tell us that it will kill standing corn…
A significant freeze (28°F or colder for a few hours) will kill the whole plant, and any frost will act to defoliate plants, resulting in diminished grain filling for the seeds, especially on the upper half of the plants.
And right now we are facing a crisis because less than half of all U.S. corn has been harvested.
In fact, according to the latest USDA Crop Progress Report just 41 percent of all U.S. corn has been harvested so far…
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Global Authorities Brace For A Worldwide Protein Shortage As “One-Quarter Of Earth’s Pigs Have Been Wiped Out”
Global Authorities Brace For A Worldwide Protein Shortage As “One-Quarter Of Earth’s Pigs Have Been Wiped Out”
African Swine Fever is killing millions upon millions of pigs all over the world, and this threatens to create a crippling global shortage of protein as we head into 2020. This epidemic began in China last year, and it is now also running wild in North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines. But this crisis is certainly not limited to Asia. According to the Washington Post, so far in 2019 there have also been outbreaks “in Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.” Overall, cases of African Swine Fever have been documented “in nearly 50 nations”, and U.S. pork producers are extremely concerned that it could start spreading here too.
African Swine Fever is extremely contagious, there is no vaccine, and there is no cure. Once it starts spreading in a certain area, there isn’t much that can be done “other than culling herds and loading carcasses into hazardous waste sites”. Literally, we are talking about an unstoppable global plague that is an existential threat to our food supply. Of course many of us don’t eat pork, but there will also be an immense strain on supplies of beef and chicken as those that eat pork are forced to turn to other alternatives. This is an exceedingly serious situation, and with each month it is just getting worse.
China is the epicenter for this crisis, and CNN is reporting that the Chinese herd has “shrunk by around 130 million” since this epidemic first began last year…
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
