This weekly column is a collection of short snippets: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.
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SurvivalBlog reader Celeste wrote:
“I’ve read several recent articles on hand washing clothes. All use bar soap as a base and agitate the clothing. As a long-time [wool] spinner and dyer, I use Orvus (sodium lauryl sulfate) as a base. It is found in most feed and seed stores and at Tractor Supply. It is a pure surfactant with no fats or oils like soap. One tub is super concentrated and by mixing just a bit with water, goes a long way. You can add soda ash, and/or Borax for whites and really dirty clothes.
We were without power for 10 days after Hurricane Michael and we ran the generator for a bit in the morning to pump water. I would put the previous day’s clothes in a kitty litter bucket of cold soapy water and just let it soak till late afternoon, occasionally swishing my hand to stir around the clothes and liquid.
Soaking for a couple of hours allows the surfactant to loosen up dirt and dissolve oils. I rub clothes with a bar of Lava [brand soap] on stubborn spots. My favorite method is to just soak over time and rinse. I think it is easier on the clothes and much easier on me. You can use Orvus as a base for any liquid soap too.
I love reading SurvivalBlog and pick up lots of useful information. Thank you for hosting it.”
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Some great news for Canadian gun onwers! Alberta Takes Back Constitutional Jurisdiction Effective January 1st, 2023. JWR’s Comment: I hope that the other western provinces follow suit.
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Greg sent us this follow-up to Tom Christianson’s “Jeep Cap” review article:
“I researched the NSN. This NSN was set up in 1975. The original specification was Mil-C-16472. Mil-C-16472 was cancelled and replaced by Commercial Item Description (CID) A-A-50369. A cap per the CID is made of wool, one size fits all. The color shall be Blue Shade 3346. Its made for the Navy.
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Reader D.S.V. spotted this: National Strategy to Develop Distributed Ledger Technology for Digital ID Tucked into 2023 Defense Budget.
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Radio Hosts Exit After Soros Buys Hispanic Stations. JWR’s Comment: In the war of words, sadly, the globalist statist-socialist billionaires are winning.
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Stanford University adds ‘American’ to its list of ‘harmful language’. JWR Adds This Parody Comment: “And in related news, American University of Washington D.C., founded in 1893, is changing its name to Offensively Patriarchal University.”
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Some troubling news on the misuse of Artificial Intelligence: With ChatGPT, Education May Never Be The Same. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)
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D.R.L. wrote:
“I’m a fan of Patriots and its sequel novels, as I listen to them again on audiobooks. I am a knifemaker and foster parent of three young ones, so there is no time to sit and actually read! I can’t help but wonder what your thoughts are as far as how things are going now in our country compared to the main events of the books. I’m guessing there are basic steps involved in any major collapse, such as money collapse, gun confiscation, etc, so any writer could get lucky, but the more I listen and pay attention to details, your books were pretty darned accurate! I’ve actually purchased copies to give to my friends and my older kids, and I tell them that although they were written before the “current situation” began, there’s just too much information that I believe is very useful for current times as far as getting ideas of what to expect coming up, and ways to prepare, to miss out on. At any rate, I also figured it may brighten your day to know that something you wrote actually helped give me a more hopeful outlook on things and some great tips on preparing and getting the wife to let me spend money on various projects like goat houses, chicken coops, and gardening supplies! So thank you for all that, and for the great info in the blog. I read it in whatever free time I can find!”
JWR Replies: I’ve never claimed to be a prophet. In my novels, I simply extrapolated on some then-current events, and surmised their logical consequences and conclusions. I wrote the first draft of what became Patriots in the winter of 1990-1991. At that time, I was alarmed by the accumulation of a $3 trillion national debt. It is now $32+ trillion and still growing uncontrollably, with compounding interest. So there is no escaping the inevitable implosion of the U.S. Dollar. With that in mind, I consider it wise to continue to stock up, train up, and team up. May God bless you and your fellow SurvivalBlog readers.
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Amish Farmer, Sentenced To Prison For Processing His Own Meat, Wins Freedom For Christmas.
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Reader A.R. wrote:
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Twitter Files Part 7: FBI Paid Twitter More than $3 Million to Do Its Dirty Work.
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Andy D. wrote:
“Just a quick snippet here to say I’ve never found a better blog on prepping than the SurvivalBlog. Your archives have got SO MUCH detail on just about anything I type into the SEARCH box. [It is] like having a pre-disaster research library on my laptop. I’ve just dropped a check in the mail for $72, since I skipped a year on the Ten Cent [Challenge] thing. I’m also, first time, going to get a blog archive stick USB, once it can be ordered, since that may someday save my family’s bacon, and I can get to it even without grid power or a working internet. (We’ve got three laptop PCs here at home and car chargers for all of them so they will run off [12-volt] DC power.) I hope other blog readers do the same. I mean do BOTH the Ten Cent [Challenge] and get yourselves an archive stick. Have a great 2023!!!”
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H.L. spotted this: Senate Passes 12 Gun Controls.
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SaraSue sent this snippet:
“Just when you think it can’t get any more difficult, an arctic blast comes in and freezes The South. I live in Tennessee and on the first night of the storm, temperatures dropped from 50 degrees to -1 with a wind chill factor of -20 and howling winds. The houses down here aren’t built for this. I, like many friends, raced around insulating wells, covering up particularly drafty windows with extra blankets, storing water, bringing in firewood, getting the animals extra bedding and food, etc. I had raced to Costco to buy foods that could be eaten without cooking (stuff for sandwiches, muffins, etc). I had not set up the large generator. It was still in it’s box and no gas in the cans. It was on the very long To Do list. Fortunately, my son-in-law volunteered to put it together and drive to town to fill the gas tanks before the storm rolled in. We have not lost electricity despite a rolling blackout warning from the Tennessee Valley Authority. We’ve conserved water and haven’t run out yet, and the only pipes that froze are in the laundry room due to exterior wall pipes. I carried bucket after bucket of boiling hot water out to the animals’ water troughs to break up the ice so they could drink. I kept a large fire burning in the fireplace to reduce some reliance on the HVAC. I had just purchased a lot of paper plates, and paper towels for clean up, since we’re conserving water. It’s beginning to warm up now – the worst is over. We received a couple of inches of snow and indeed have a white Christmas!”
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Tesla ‘full self-driving’ mode blamed for eight-car pile-up on San Francisco bridge.
Please Send Us Your Snippets!
Please send your snippet items for potential posting to JWR. or AVL. You can do so either via e-mail or via our Contact form.