Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“I beseech Christ for this one thing only, that He will enable me to endure all things courageously, and that He break me as a potter’s vessel or make me strong, as it pleases Him.” – Huldrych Zwingli

Notes for Tuesday – July 22, 2014

If you are looking for NBC equipment for children or elderly or you just need the ability to sleep while wearing yours, check out Ready Made Resources. They just received positive air pressure units that fit into a standard NATO 40mm filter.

o o o

Today we present another entry for Round 53 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Round 53 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Cottage/Local Manufacturing After SHTF, by S.T.

Post-SHTF America will see the end of the current modern centralized-style of mass manufacturing and all of the poor-quality foreign imports. However, it will also see the rise of the new, local, home-based and small-scale manufacturing of local, functional, non-electric, and reusable items that will replace all of the electric, disposable, and toxic items that are purchased and used now.

Unless you have a group that includes two doctors (a doctor cannot operate on himself), two dentists (a dentist can’t fill his own teeth), a nurse, a pharmacist, and a herbalist, as well as the teens to act as apprentices, you will need to provide some things in the future for you and your family or mutual aid group through the outside world of your homestead. Your paper dollars will be worthless as will all of your bank accounts and paper investments. It will be some time before silver and gold would become an accepted method of trade and most non-preppers will not have silver or gold or may be leery of accepting it. You and I will need a form of trade or bartering to obtain the needed items or services or to increase your future silver and gold holdings long term.

Below are some of the items that I believe will be in high demand post SHTF. With a little forethought and planning, you can decide on a single area or single item or mutable areas or items that you and your family can and will want to produce and start stocking the necessary equipment and supplies. You should also begin gaining the necessary experience to produce these items now.

For anything that requires a pattern, print out a minimum of two of the patterns on good quality card stock. When you cut out the first pattern, trace it on a blank piece of card stock. This way you always have an unused pattern with complete directions and a second pattern ready for use. For high production items, such as cloth diapers, you could easily go through 10 or 20 patterns a year, so also stock a few reams of good quality card stock or some poster board for future patterns.

This list is in no way complete but is just from my observations and experience of what I purchase and use everyday and what I see other shoppers purchase. For example, how many people do not own a single cloth dish towel but waste their money on paper towels every week at the grocery store. What is still on my wish list to complete my homestead: a hand well pump and a long-term outdoor cooking/canning/baking station and one of those lovely mean green washing machines and wringer.

It is my hope that every person who reads this will take a good look at their interests and skills and come up with a minimum of two or more different items for each family member that they could produce to provide for their family long term.

I have listed each craft by the major component needed, such as fabric or wood or metal.

Salvage

I do not have the money or space to store 300 plastic barrels to plan to run a rain water harvesting business or build hand-powered washing machines. However I do know where there is a local place they are sold, so if this was part of my post SHTF business plan, I would try and make contact after things calmed down. If, at that point there was no owner left, it can become salvage and may be available to you.

Take a good look around your town and through the local yellow pages. Make a list of potential salvage. I am NOT talking about looting the local Walmart or grocery store or pharmacy for drugs but true salvage, where there is no owner left to claim the items, and they will be destroyed or lost.

If you live in an area with heavy snow fall, any building with a flat roof could see a roof collapse within two years of an unoccupied building and everything inside would be destroyed. The building could be destroyed even sooner, if the windows were broken out and snow or water was able to penetrate the building interior. Do you want to see all of the sterile medical equipment and supplies and medicines in a vet hospital go to waste or all of the packages of salt & pepper from the local fast food restaurant lost or the warm hunting clothes rotting on the shelves? The salvage can provide you with additional materials that could not only assist your business but could be the difference between life and death in the case of medications or fire-starting materials. For me, salvage would be additional oil and bees wax and extracts to make salves and grain alcohol for herbal medications and fabric and other sewing items to make the fabric items I plan on producing.

Medicinal

  1. Medicinal Salves
  2. Grain Alcohol (used for medical disinfection and making tinctures and items such as hand sanitizer)
  3. Grow Medicinal Herbs & Plants
  4. Tooth Powder
  5. Tooth Paste

Supplies to Store:

Recipes, bees wax, home distillation unit, aloe vera gel, extracts, essential oils

Food Production

  1. Open Pollinated Seeds
  2. Composting Bins
  3. Honey and Bees Wax Production
  4. Butter Making
  5. Bread Making, using an Outdoor Adobe Oven (see “manual labor” below for the link)
  6. Salt Distillation (if you live on the coast)
  7. Sourdough Bread Starter
  8. Vinegar Production
  9. Food Preservation (canning, dehydrating, pickling, oil preservation)

Supplies to Store:

Open pollinated seeds, plastic barrels, butter churn, yeast, wheat berries, jars and lids, vinegar, oil

Sanitation

  1. Laundry Soap
  2. Lye Soap
  3. Homemade Shampoo

Supplies to Store:

Recipes, borax, washing soda, fels-naptha soap, 5-gallon buckets

Fabric

  1. Quilts
  2. Reusable Cloth Menstrual Pads
  3. Reusable Cloth Diapers
  4. Reusable Cloth Incontinence Products
  5. Reusable Cloth Face Masks
  6. Reusable Cloth Clothes Pin Bags
  7. Toilet Paper (a.k.a. 4” X 6” cloth squares with a small lidded bucket for soaking prior to washing)
  8. Clothing Repairs
  9. Clothing Re-purposing (turning a toddler button down shirt into a cloths pin bag)
  10. Dish Drying Towels
  11. Pot Holders
  12. Aprons
  13. Draft Dodgers (fabric tubes made with old towels filled with field corn to be placed at doors and windows to keep out the draft)
  14. Wonder Ovens (I would suggest adding a fabric loop after filling and before final sewing (on both the top & bottom piece) so it can be hung out to dry after washing) here is the pattern

Supplies to Store:

Sewing machine, fabric, batting, needles, thread, patterns, elastic, velcro, diaper pins. Janome manufacturers and sells brand new Treadle Sewing Machines (just install on an existing treadle base)

Yarn

  1. Afghans
  2. Scarves
  3. Mittens
  4. Hats
  5. Hair Snoods (http://babycheriestyle.blogspot.com/2011/01/retro-hair-essentials-snood-mania.html) There will not be any beauty salons post SHTF.

Supplies to Store:

Yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, patterns

Wax

  1. Candles
  2. Fire starters

Supplies to Store:

Empty glass jars, empty 28oz food cans, gulf wax, wicks, empty toilet paper tubes

Wood

  1. Outhouse. (I would design and build a 2-seater– one seat going into a 5-gallon bucket for liquids that will be diluted and used in the garden and spread around the house to repel animals, and a second seat for solids that will compost into the ground. I would make sure that the “solids” hole was a minimum of 6′ deep.)
  2. Indoor composting toilets (see above for use during cold weather). Here are links to two homemade indoor composting toilets that I like. http://sustainable-solutions.info/blog/?p=579 and http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house/composting-toilet/
  3. Solar Food Dehydrators
  4. Smoke Houses
  5. Hand Carts (suitable for carrying/holding/displaying items at trading days or at your farm stand)
  6. Clothes Pins
  7. Clothes Drying Lines (outdoor)
  8. Clothes Drying Racks (indoor)
  9. Carved Wooden Hair Combs (https://www.etsy.com/listing/97107824/women-comb-wooden-comb-wood-comb-wood?ref=market)
  10. Chicken Coops
  11. Rabbit Hutches
  12. Sewing Baskets
  13. Butter Churns
  14. Wood Shaving and Sawdust for Composting Toilets
  15. Wood Door Braces to Prevent Intrusion

Supplies to Store:

Wood lumber, nails, screws, hand saws, rope, paracord, toilet seats

Metal

  1. Fireplace Tools
  2. Wood Stoves

Supplies to Store:

Metal tubing, sheet metal, fire brick,

Glass

Oil Lamps (This is not a true DIY project. However, oil lamps I feel will be in high demand. Here is the link scroll down to P/N BR3273& 7BR3273for the burner caps and here is the link for the chimney. Use old mason jars that may have a chip on the rim and can no longer be used for canning. The wire clothes hangers can be used to add a bail or hanging handle. This site has a lot of different oil lamp type products that can be purchased. Cooking oil that has gone rancid can be used in these types of lamps.

Supplies to Store:

Burner caps, old pint-size mason jars, wicks, wire clothes hangers

Plastic

  1. Rain water harvesting system
  2. Hand-powered washing machines ( Like this or this)

Supplies to store:

Plastic barrels, metal tubing, downspout diverters

Leather Craft

  1. Shoes
  2. Moccasins
  3. Bags
  4. Gloves
  5. Hide Tanning

Supplies to store: Leather, books, patterns

Bush Craft

  1. Cordage made from wild plants, such as stinging nettles
  2. Hand Woven Baskets
  3. Local Wild Edible Plants

Supplies to store:

Books, patterns

Oil Extraction and/or Lard Making

Oil, lard, and other fats are required to maintain your health. There is lard from pigs and bears and oils from sunflowers, soybeans, and olives. Do a google search for extracting the oil crops that grow in your area or rendering lard for instructions and equipment.

Supplies to Store:

Instructions, oil press, seeds of oil producing crops

Broom Making

This is an old time craft that is being kept alive at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. Here is a link to view the brooms the students make and sell. (https://bereacollegecrafts.com/shop/broom-making)

Manual Labor

  1. Firewood Supplier
  2. Root Cellars
  3. Burn Boxes
  4. Outdoor Stoves
  5. Outdoor Adobe Ovens
  6. Knife Sharpening
  7. Laundry Service

Supplies to Store:

Saws, mauls, splitting axes, concrete blocks, rebar, knife sharpening tools, metal screening, oven racks, 15 or 20 gallon tubs or plastic barrels

Education and Library

  1. Homemade chalkboards
  2. Homemade chalk
  3. Printed Materials and Books Created During the 1800’s & 1900’s on homesteading, farming, farm tools, homemade remedies (remember that major SHTF will include no electricity or Internet). Never ever let the books leave your possession. You can charge for the use of the books and the paper to make notes and drawings.

Supplies to Store:

Plywood, chalk, chalkboard paint, instructions for making chalk, paper, instructions for making paper, instructions for making ink, instructions for making dip/quill type pens

Who knows, in 10 years, you could be running the local one-room school house.

Rodent Control

Bugs and other rodents will be a major problem, post SHTF, and will be a major health issue. Do you know how to make fly paper and other rodent control items to protect your family from contracting a disease?

Supplies to Store:

Recipes, brown paper bags, honey, sugar, borax

In closing, I would love to hear your ideas and suggestions for SHTF products that you and your family can and will produce.

Letter Re: Potential Bioterrorism Agent Found in Colorado

Hugh,

In the 19 July 2014 entry by Dr. Koelker, she brought up the potential for use of weaponized plague. Many years ago when I was in the Air Force, my tattered old shot record says I was inoculated against “Plague”. Is there currently any vaccine available that works to prevent pneumonic and/or bubonic plague? And how long is/was my ancient (1968) inoculation effective? Thank you for the excellent heads-up, Doc. BUFF Driver

Cynthia Koelker, MD Responds: In my recent article on pneumonic plague I stated that no vaccine is available, but to answer this reader’s question, let me address that further.

Per the CDC, there is no plague vaccine currently available in the United States (last updated November 2013). Although their web site does not state this explicitly, I believe they mean that there is no commercial plague vaccine available. New plague vaccines are apparently under development but not expected to be available in the near future.

Buff Driver is correct in that old vaccines did exist. I have come across records of others inoculated against plague in the 1960s. Recommendations for plague vaccine have varied through the years. Per a 1982 CDC Report, vaccination has been studied since the late 19th century, but vaccine effectiveness has been largely unknown. Per that same report vaccinated persons who are exposed to plague should be given the same prophylactic antibiotics as non-vaccinated personnel. So anyone who did receive a plague vaccine years ago is NOT considered immune and should be treated the same as someone who was never vaccinated.

Per a 2001 report on Vaccination against bubonic and pneumonic plague, the previously available killed whole cell plague vaccine was considered to offer poor protection against pneumonic disease. A live attenuated vaccine was also studied and has been considered more effective but “retains some virulence,” meaning it occasionally causes the disease it is intended to prevent. A safer sub-unit vaccine (based on the F1 and V-antigens) has been effective in animal models but has not been thoroughly tested in humans. Previous recommendations included dosages for both adult and pediatric vaccination.

I do not know for a fact that absolutely no vaccine is available. In recent years vaccination was recommended for all lab and field personnel who work with the causative agent, Yersinia pestis or hosts thereof. If I myself were doing research on live cultures of this disease or infected fleas, I certainly would hope to receive even a partially-effective vaccine; it would be crazy not to.

If a full-blown epidemic besieged America, I expect some vaccine would be liberated from researchers but doubtfully enough to treat a significant portion of the population.

Should a new vaccine be released, I will update the above information. For now, your best bet is to follow the guidelines I suggest in my recent article. – Cynthia Koelker, MD is SurvivalBlog’s Medical Editor. Bioterrorism is one of the many topics covered in her Survival Medicine Workshops, which you will find at www.armageddonmedicine.net.

News From The American Redoubt:

Police investigate officer shooting of black lab. – RBS

o o o

Related to the above: Threats pour into Coeur d’Alene for officer who fatally shot lab. – RBS

o o o

Now, federally-issued money is apparently no longer able to pay debts. City limits coin payments to $2

The justification given for the limitation is that customers would leave large amounts of coins and then walk away with their bills underpaid. They seem to be unable to carry the underpayment amount on to the next bill, or even demand that the customer count the coins.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Armed bandits demand water in dry northern India – JBG

o o o

Possible Epidemic? The Chikungunya Virus Is Starting To Spread In America. – B.B.

o o o

Living in the age of video and Internet can be problematic. Student who sought injunction to remove online video faces legal costs of over €1m. – T.P.

o o o

Notice how well the American Redoubt, mountain states, and southern states did: Happiest Americans Are (And Are Not). – H.L.

o o o

5 Things To Remember Before You Say, ‘Screw It, I’m Done With America’ – B.B.

Notes for Monday – July 21, 2014

July 21st is the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. He was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. He committed suicide in July 2, 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho, after being diagnosed with haemochromatosis, and after electroshock treatments failed to lift him from chronic alcoholic depression. We see a sad life but a great writer.

o o o

Today we present another entry for Round 53 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Instituteis donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate– a $325 retail value,
  5. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. RepackBoxis providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Round 53 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

How to Plan for Survival on a Small Budget, by N.G.

It’s no secret that being prepared takes time and money. These days, with the questionable economy, most people believe that they have to win the lottery or inherit a small fortune to begin preparing for an unforeseen disaster. Since I am married to a wife who is a full-time student and we have a small child and combined income of thirty thousand dollars per year, I also thought it was impossible to get started. However, whether it be supplies, equipment, training, or home modifications, anyone can get started just by starting on a smaller scale. The key is to minimize the things that are not necessary. All of the following methods are tools I have personally used to come up with extra cash or have used to save money. I’ve learned that the smallest budget can go a long way towards survival preparedness.

Tax Season

My personal favorite is when tax season comes along. Most people get tax money back, and then they start spending it on things they don’t really need, such as televisions, sound systems, video games, and the list goes on and on. Trust me; I used to be the same way. Now, getting five thousand dollars back is a nice amount to go towards my survival readiness. This past tax season, I was able to use the money I got back to purchase everything I needed for a couple of well-equipped bug-out bags, weapons, ammo, books, MRE’s, and I still had some money to spare. I have prepared my family for short-term survival by just using our tax money.

Pawn Shops, Auctions, and Yard Sales

Pawn shops are an excellent place to find a wide variety of items at a fraction of the original cost. I have purchased nice tool sets, fishing gear, and knives from the local pawn shops. They are also a good place to practice your haggling skills. Another good use of pawn shops is selling your unneeded and unwanted items from home. I have sold old videogame systems, DVD’s, televisions, and more to get rid of useless clutter and put extra cash in my pocket. On par with pawn shops, some specialty shops can be a doorway to extra cash. There’s a shop in my town that sells and buys used books and movies. I have sold many DVD’s and taken home hundreds of dollars from this one shop.

Auctions are a personal favorite, due to the fact that everything must go. I have bought all kinds of good stuff for next to nothing, just because I was the only one who bid on it. My best example is from one auction, where I purchased an entire bundle of gardening tools including rakes, shovels, hoes, and spades for only five dollars. Remember, you’re there to save money. Bidding can get a little intense and before you know it, you’re paying retail for a used item.

Another good way of saving and making money is yard sales. When I was younger, my mother would spend one day out of the week going to yard sales. That’s where a lot of my clothes came from as a kid. Along with clothing, you can find anything at a yard sale. I have purchased pots and pans, lanterns, and canning supplies very inexpensively on multiple occasions. One set of pots and pans were unused, still in the box, and only cost me eight dollars. I talked them down from ten dollars. Having a yard sale of your own is an easy way of putting extra money in your pocket. Teaming up with family and friends to have a large yard sale is best for attracting the most people. I have always made more money by having a multi-family sale opposed to doing it on my own.

The Internet

Internet websites, such as eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist, have always been a good way for me to save and make money. With eBay’s auction-style bidding, I have received excellent amounts of cash for electronics, books, and toddler clothing. In about a year and a half, I was able to make three thousand dollars on stuff around the house that I no longer needed. Selling on Craigslist is easy. Just be cautious of scams and shady people. Make sure you meet a buyer in a public place and never go alone. Most of the stuff I have sold through Craigslist are things my son has outgrown. Especially with Craigslist, people are not expecting new items. Think of it as an online yard sale. Amazon, along with eBay and Craigslist, are some of the biggest money savers I have found. I would say 99% of the books I buy are from Amazon. Amazon has just about anything you’re looking for, and their customer reviews are very helpful. On saving money alone, these three websites have saved me hundreds of dollars.

Scrap Metal, Cans, and Bottles

I made my first trip to the scrapyard a couple of years ago to dump off an old riding mower that had been sitting in the garage. I was surprised when I was given thirty-two dollars just for a junk mower. Since then, I have cleaned out my garage of all junk metal. Also, anytime friends or family are throwing out junk metal, I take it home and turn it in, once I have enough for a truck load. If you have any pieces of copper lying around, it’s selling at high prices right now. Instead of throwing an old stove out on the curb, take it to the scrap yard and get some extra cash.

Cans and bottles are a good way to pull in extra cash, as long as you live in a state that has can deposits. I’m always surprised when I learn that people just toss their cans and bottles into the garbage. They’re just throwing money into the garbage, because they don’t want to take ten minutes out of their day to turn them in. If you have friends or family who do this, ask them to set the cans and bottles aside in a trash bag; you’ll be happy to pick them up. My mother saves her glass bottles for me, because she doesn’t want to lug them around. That’s as good as free money.

Friends and Family

Friends and family can be very helpful in saving you money. Recently, my mother and stepfather were cleaning out their garage and throwing away perfectly good tools. I was able to sort through a random box of sockets and wrenches and create three full socket sets and one full wrench set. A few years ago, they were cleaning up their garage and gave me two disc grinders that were still in the box and had never been used. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Over the years I have learned many skills from friends and family. I started hunting with my stepfather when I was young. Because of his teaching, I can hunt, kill, and process the wild game that my area has to offer. My friends taught me everything I know about fishing and have given me the confidence in knowing I can use that skill to provide for my family. Gardening is a valuable skill that has been passed down from my grandfather to my mother and to me. These are all excellent skills to have in your toolbox of knowledge. Another skill that would be useful is welding. My stepfather is a welder by trade and would be the perfect person to teach me. Friends and family have a lot of knowledge to share. All you have to do is ask.

Live Off the Land

Living off of the land is another great way to save money. Start hunting, fishing, gardening, and canning to lower the amount of money you spend at the grocery store. At the same time you would be strengthening these skills for a time you may have to depend on them.

In my family, deer hunting is very popular. Most of my childhood, if we had steaks, roast, hamburger, sausage, and jerky, it came from a deer. If you process your own meat, it costs a whole lot less than buying it at the grocery store, especially with the currently rising prices.

Fishing is another strong staple in my family and a delicious money saver. We fished so much that we would have large, fish fry dinners for every summer holiday. We would feed 50 to 100 people every time. Eating fish two to three times per week makes our deer last longer and cuts the cost at the grocery store even more.

Gardening and canning really saves my family trips to the store. My parents have a large property in town, and we plant three large gardens every year. Tomatoes, green beans, jalapeños, potatoes, onions, and cabbage are some of the items regularly planted and utilized. Pickled tomatoes, tomato juice, spaghetti sauce, and salsa are some of the items that we can or freeze. Time spent in the garden and a little money on canning supplies will highly minimize your need for the grocery store’s produce aisle. We have also planted fruit trees that are common to our area but still have a couple of years before they start producing. Another benefit of gardening that I have noticed is that it has brought us closer as a family. That alone is worth all the money in the world.

Minimize and Rationalize

I’ve learned that on a small budget, you have to minimize your wants and rationalize your needs. Today, we are made to believe that we need so much more than we actually do. We don’t need a cabinet full of DVD’s or a 90-inch television. Most of that stuff will be useless in the event of a survival situation and could leave you unprepared. If you are serious and dedicated to survival planning, anyone can get started on the smallest of budgets.

Scot’s Product Review: Malkoff

Thanks to all of the folks who are writing me about products to review. It really helps. One common thread in several letters is to test affordable stuff, and that’s going to be a priority. Please keep the ideas coming! They really help.

Malkoff might be another word for light. It is all thanks to Gene Malkoff going out one night to protect his chickens and realizing he needed a better flashlight. The Enterprise, Alabama man tried an LED light but just wasn’t happy with it. He decided he could come up with something better. After some hard work, he produced a drop-in LED head for the ubiquitous Maglite. As soon as other folks saw it, they wanted one, and he wound up in the business of making them. As time passed, he added more heads for other lights, like the Surefire 6P and Streamlight SL20X. He then began his own line of flashlights.

In case you are wondering, there are at least three big deals about LED lights. First, they save batteries. Second, they can produce more light than the older incandescent bulbs. Third, they can be a lot sturdier. If you drop a flashlight with an incandescent bulb, the filaments often break, especially if the light is on. An LED will usually just keep on going. Also, if it matters, they aren’t as hot.

Not all LED’s are equal, though. I tried several over the years, and while I appreciated the better battery life, they usually didn’t seem to produce as good a quality of light as the trusty old incandescent ones. I was lucky indeed when a friend pointed me to Malkoff, because their heads really do a great job. I now have one in the Surefire 6P that lives in my pants pocket and another in a five D-cell Maglite that lives in the bedroom. Both have been very positive additions to my quest to see in the dark. I love my Surefire 6P. I love it so much that I’ve worn almost all of the black paint off in the 22 or so years I’ve carried it. The only problem I’ve had is how quickly it gobbled up the expensive CR123 batteries it uses. I tried another brand LED head in it, which did extend battery life, but it just didn’t work as well in the light area as the original. Enter the Malkoff. It equaled or bettered the original incandescent head to my eyes and still doubled the battery life. Even better, as the batteries died, the head still puts out light. It just kind of tapers off to dim instead of bright. A lot of times, with the original head, it would pretty much just rapidly die. They have about eleven heads that can be used on the popular Surefire 6P style lights. You get a choice of light colors (cool or warm); high, medium, and low outputs; and single or multiple output levels. I actually found it a bit daunting to choose one, but they give you a lot of information to help you pick. You also have to consider how many and what type of batteries are in your light. The 6P has normally two CR123’s for six volts. You can also opt for rechargeable batteries, which provide less voltage. Watch for the voltage information while shopping. I chose a plain old boring output head for my Surefire. Malkoff also makes some of the multiple output ones that go from dim to bright to blinding with some quick pushes on the switch. I like the idea, but the times I’ve played with this sort of light, I always seemed to be on the wrong output. It’s easier for me to just have one level to worry about. If I need it dimmer, I put a finger over the lamp to reduce it to whatever light level I need. I had wanted to buy the M61W that has the warm tint to match incandescent bulbs . It lists for $59.00. When I was shopping, however, they had some blemished M61’s at a very good price, so I went with that instead and have not been disappointed. It lists price for $55.00. The reason I wanted the warm tint head is because I think I see better with a yellowish light than the blue light we usually gets with an LED. The air here has a lot of humidity, and it is something like driving in fog when the light scatters and reflects back into your eyes. Bluish light seems worse than yellow light. The head I got was a lot yellower than the LED it replaced, and I think it is at least as good as the original incandescent. Eventually, I want to check out the warm tint head, but the price I got on this one was too good to pass. It has an excellent beam, too. There is a nice hot center that can momentarily blind anyone you hit with it, but there is also enough spill so that you can easily use it to light up a room. You can use some of the heads for the 6P in the three cell Surefire 9P. They also have two heads just for the three cell lights. They don’t extend battery life very much, but they put out a stunning amount of light. One big point about flashlights is that the reflector needs to be well designed, so that it functions properly with the light source. Many of the Malkoff reflectors are custom designed for both the LED used in the head and the particular flashlight they are designed for. This clearly optimizes the light quality you get.

The Maglite head is even more remarkable than the one for my 6P. It lists for $44.00. It easily doubled the distance at which I could see things around my house and yard. Battery life on it went from bearable to phenomenal. I often use this light to look at things out on the lake we live on, and it really cuts through the haze that comes off of the water. The Malkoff minimizes that. The Maglite heads do use the original reflector, but it has to be modified. They do offer a modified one, which I bought rather than cutting up my original. This allows me to restore the light to original specs, should the need ever arise. I have this bad feeling, though, that I won’t be able to find it should I need it, sigh. The benefit of using the original reflector is that you retain the ability to focus or spread the beam of light. I don’t think you have quite as much adjustment as with the original bulb, but it works quite well. You get far more reach with this head than with the original. The color of the light is similar to the one I bought for my Surefire, and it works quite well. My light takes five D cells, but they have heads for lights with fewer batteries as well as for C-cell Maglites. The Malkoff heads, especially the one for the Maglite, are blinding. Malkoff warns that they can cause eye damage at close range, so be careful with them. I keep them away from my nine-year-old, unless I am on hand to supervise. On the other hand, if you have an intruder, you can certainly make it hard for him to see you, just by hitting him in the eyes with it and then moving. There is a lot of information on the Malkoff site about their lamp heads and flashlights. I’ve found their information on battery life and effective light throw to be pretty accurate. I don’t have the means to properly measure actual light output, but the response when folks see them is always, “Wow, that’s bright!” Malkoff sometimes has blemished units for sale at great prices. As noted, my Surefire head is blemished, but I am puzzled to know what made it that way. They said it was a cosmetic blemish that would not affect the quality of light. I’ve had no issues with it over the two years I’ve been carrying it (and dropping it). When I have had questions, I have gotten speedy replies from Malkoff. I also liked the personal “thank you” written on both invoices I’ve received. I was especially pleased to spot this on their website: “I Love God, My Family, and My Country. It is my Belief that Traditional Family Values and Honest Work are the Pathway to Happiness.” I’m always happier when I can do business with people who openly express these values, because that sort of person usually cares enough to make a good product and stand behind it. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor, Scot Frank Erie

Recipe of the Week: Sourdough Spice Cake, by DEC

I have always loved cooking with sourdough. It is super easy to make and keep a jar of sourdough sitting on the counter, ready for use in bread, cakes, pizza dough, or anything else. My favorite recipe of all is Sourdough Spice Cake:

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sourdough
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable cooking oil (I use olive oil)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp cloves (ground)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1 cup flour, if the sourdough is thin

Directions

To sourdough, mix in sugar, oil, and eggs. Add in milk, salt, and vanilla. Add spices. Stir well, but do not beat hard. Fold in soda and baking powder. Add flour, only if sourdough is thin. Bake in 9-inch tins for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

* This also makes a very good chocolate cake by replacing spices with three squares of melted, semi-sweet baker’s chocolate.

o o o

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlogreaders? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Letter Re: So You Think Starting a Garden Will Be Easy After TEOTWAWKI

I have been meaning to post this information online and have not found a good venue for it, but reading the responses to the article So You Think Starting a Garden Will Be Easy After TEOTWAWKI inspired me to contact you for your consideration of adding this little tidbit for your blog followers.

The second letter response to the article stated that “We put dehydrated tomatoes and peppers in pint canning jars, put a tiny hole in the center of the lid, put on a Pump ‘N Seal seal, pump out the air, and place in our cool, dark, root cellar.”

I bought a Pump-N-Seal some years back from an As Seen On TV store for about $19.99. I did not like using it for the ziplock bags but loved the idea for the jars. However, the pin prick in the lid and the tape to cover the hole still bothered me. After tons of web crawling, I could not find any alternatives. Then I started using my own brain cells and deductive reasoning.

I bought two of the Mason Jar lid attachments– one wide mouth and one regular mouth– that work with the FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I thought the Pump-N-Seal hose would fit directly in the lid, but it didn’t. The lids did not come with the tubing, so I went online and bought the accessory hose from FoodSaver. I think the cost of the accessory hose was $3.00. Then, I paid $5.00 for shipping. UGH! The Pump-N-Seal hose fits perfectly in the tubing, and of course the tubing is designed for the lid attachment. Now, I am able to use my Pump-N-Seal to vacuum out the air in my canning jars! I was SO excited!!!! I have been meaning to share, but like I said, I didn’t get around to it until just now after I read that post to your blog.

This was a great alternative for me because the FoodSaver vacuum sealer is rather expensive, and I am always looking for alternatives for when the power is out. The only other thing I am planning to explore are O2 packets and desiccants for my dehydrated goods.

Food Saver Lid, Regular and Wide-Mouth

Food Saver Accessory hose

Thank you for your blog! Also, thanks to your reader who wrote the response that inspired me to finally get this information out!!!!

HJL Replies: This is a great way to save dehydrated foods and one that I use myself. In fact, there will be a future article forthcoming that takes this approach to a whole new level for the prepper. Both the Tilla Food Saver Lid attachment and the Pump-N-Seal work well together. You can use the Food Saver when you have electricity, and the Pump-N-Seal makes a nice power-free backup. It also works for things other than food. For example, oxygen is the enemy of rubber, and if you use the Tattler reusable lid system, you can also vacuum pack your extra rubber seals in mason jars to extend their life.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Manpads – They obviously work: Videos show Ukrainian surveillance plane shot down by MANPADS (and crew jump from it). – T.P.

Also, Youtube video of the Downed AN-30.

o o o

Congressman Just Confirmed the Border Patrol is Being Shot At. – D.S.

o o o

The Electrical Grid May Well Be The Next War’s Battlefield. – G.G.

o o o

Former Border Patrol agent warns what’s coming. – B.B.

o o o

A national identity scheme goes global: Estonia takes the plunge. – G.G.