Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Letter Re: Gaining Situational Awareness and Old-Time Knowledge

Jim, Situational Awareness has a number of definitions, from the rather complex to the “simple”. They include: The process of recognizing a threat at an early stage and taking measures to avoid it. (Being observant of one’s surroundings and dangerous situations is more an attitude or mindset than it is a hard skill.) The ability to maintain a constant, clear mental picture of relevant information and the tactical situation including friendly and threat situations as well as terrain. Knowing what is going on so you can figure out what to do. What you need to know not to be surprised. …


Letter Re: Getting the Right Training and Preparing Methodically

Dear Mr. Rawles, I wanted to thank you for what you are doing and your work. I think that the reality is that you are saving a lot of people’s lives in addition to helping people to continue to be “in” the world but less and less “of” the world. I have been able, in turn, to pass along to other people a lot of things that I have learned from you and your readers, and I hope help them to focus and remain calm in their preparations. (I have also pointed them all to your web site). Now three …


Letter Re: Denominating in Time Versus Dollars

James, Today I picked up 200 pounds of pearled barley from my local health food store that had ordered it for me. As I loaded it into my living room so I could mylar seal it, I flashed on what it would have represented in terms of time (man hours) in an earlier age. To get that 200 pounds of barley, I would have had to: 1) Have land 2) Have seed 3) Till, irrigate and plant the land 4) Protect the crop from birds and thieves 5) Harvest, thresh and transport the grain The number of man hours required …


Two Letters Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Jim, For starters I would like to say that Jim you are dead-on with your Delta Junction recommendation. I live near Delta. And it is some of the finest farm land in the world. everything grows amazing here. Some of the information in the previous letters is wrong and I would like to clarify them . The growing season may be a little shorter in days of light, but in total hours of light it is much longer than other places. It gets light here in May and gets dark at night again in late August. Some vegetables will grow …


Letter Re: Canned Food Storage Rack Alternatives

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Hello Mr. Rawles, There’s a better product than the Cansolidator [that Michael Z. Williamson reviewed], but very few people know about it. It’s made by a local company in Idaho Falls, Idaho. I use to live near there, and visited their store several times. The store is Pharaoh’s Storehouse. The reasons that the Pharaoh’s Storehouse products are better than Cansolidators: Made of metal, not plastic! No wasted airspace between the cans, like Cansolidator, so you can store a lot more food in a very small space. Made in America [JWR Adds: But FYI, so is the Cansolidator] Their wall units …


Product Review: Shelf Reliance Cansolidator, by Michael Z. Williamson

The following are my experiences with a product called a Cansolidator. My order for two Cansolidators was filled very promptly, and they arrived within the week. These racks are a common concept for people storing canned goods in bulk. This is a first in, first out (FIFO) rack. New cans go in the top, old cans dispense out the bottom. The Cansolidator is modular, made of a very sturdy and flexible plastic, and the rails are numbered to make it easy to set consistent widths. Each unit contains four top and four bottom rails, and five vertical rails/spacers. You can …


Letter Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Mr. Rawles, Although being an avid reader, this is the first time I have written your site. The letters posted on your site today respecting Alaska as a retreat locale raised a few possible issues in my mind. First of all, let me say that Alaska is my favorite place in the world, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. However, as a retreat locale, one may want to think twice unless the situation forces their location there. Also, it is important to remember that the conditions and terrain in Alaska are very wide ranging, depending where you are. …


Bloom Where You’re Planted, by Gertrude

I write this to encourage everyone to begin preparing right now, whatever your financial situation and physical location in life. We are one of the many families that don’t live in a sparsely populated western state and don’t have a retreat that is fully stocked, off-grid and off-the beaten path. But we are very aware of the precarious situation that our country is in and we are trying as best we can to be prepared. Doing a little bit consistently every day will add up very quickly and you will be better prepared every day as you go along. Doing …


Update to Survival Gardening: Growing Food During a Second Great Depression, by H.I.C.

While re-reading my recent post concerning survival gardening, I realized that I have completely forgotten to point out some important info. While living through a crisis you are going to need to eat more calories than normal [to provide adequate nutrition with the extra exertion, stress, and physical labor], perhaps twice as much. I am planning on 4,000 calories per day. Fresh fruit and vegetables are important as a source of vitamins, however most green veggies do not contain enough calories to keep you going. During a crisis you are going to need several sources of protein, oils, and starch. …


Letter Re: Lessons from the January Ice Storm

Jim: The Ice Storm that just plastered Kentucky brought some reminders of just how bad things can get and how being prepared – in advance – is critical. Within a few hours, everything became coated with a half-inch to an inch of ice: roads, cars, trees, power lines – everything. Throughout the night, we heard crashes as our neighbor’s trees lost massive limbs. We knew it was only a matter of time before trees limbs (which are not properly trimmed back by our utility company in an attempt to cut costs) collapsed on power lines and caused widespread outages. In …


Two Letters Re: More Predictions for 2009, by Roger Wiegand

Good Morning, Jim! This is a response to “More Predictions for 2009”: We can’t make other peoples’ choices for them, but we can be affected by them. We are our brothers’ keepers, but not their masters. Governments will always do what they always do. You need to be concerned with your “mini government” – your own household. Wherein the adults are the governing body and are also constituents (along with any dependents). I choose to focus on what I can control and not toil and spin about the stuff I can’t control. My predictions for 2009? – My wife and …


Letter Re: Do-It-Yourself FIFO Canned Food Storage Bins–Made From Cardboard

Sir; I thought that your readers would be interested in this link to a blog where this woman’s grandfather engineered plans to make canned food storage bins out of cardboard! She says they are going on 13 years of use. She has the free PDF of plans for them on her site .I’m having my husband make me a few of these! Thanks for all that you do! – A. in Texas


Letter Re: Military Surplus Watertight Containers for G.O.O.D. Vehicle Boxes

Dear Jim: I’m a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber with an idea that may help folks with their storage items. I was out the the shed looking for my box ‘o bullets to catch up on some reloading and came across an empty 81mm rocket box. Sprayed it off with the hose and let it dry and started thinking that it looks like the same height of a #10 can, I tried it and it was. So since I dislike storing survival items in cardboard, not sturdy enough or water proof, started loading it up and lo and behold the Mountain …


Lessons from Peru on Third World Living, by Tantalum Tom

I hope this can be useful to people who want a perspective into the Third World way of life. I recently had the chance to interview two people from Peru. One is a man who grew up in the Andes with no electricity, dirt floors, etc. who worked his way to becoming a geography and history teacher. The other is a former Peruvian Special Forces soldier of 15 years. My mother in law’s input is also dispersed throughout this article. Although I have little respect for modern reporters, I found out how difficult it can be to interview someone. When …


Letter Re: Feedback on FoodSaver Vacuum Packing Systems

Mr. Rawles, My wife and I have been regularly using [the V2830 Foodsaver that was purchased during the recently-ended sale], and we love it! I thought you might want some feedback that could be valuable to your readers. We have #10 cans of freeze dried food (as I’m sure many of your readers do). The disadvantage to opening a can to eat some is that once you open it, the clock starts ticking on how long it will stay fresh. Our solution? We use wide mouth mason jars, pour the #10 can’s contents into the jars, and use the V2830 …