Odds ‘n Sods:

China ‘seals off’ town after man dies of bubonic plague -and- Chinese Officials Seal Off ‘Plague’ City, Puzzling US Experts – T.P.

This seems like a drastic response to a single death; even U.S. experts are puzzled at the action. Are they not releasing all the information?

o o o

A Military Approach To Survival Security – JFJ

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This one left me scratching my head. They truly must be holophobic. I also wonder if the manager understands how truly little his life matters to the owner. Store Posts ‘No Guns’ Sign after Armed Customer Saves Manager being Stabbed – J.W.

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SurvivalBlog reader K.L. sent in this list of “Slow Sand Filter Plans”. If you are concerned about long-term water purification, you may want to look at these:

o o o

FTMDaily had an excellent podcast about Mainstream Media: The Illusion of Choice. The information is in the first 15 minutes.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable …” H.L. Mencken

Notes for Wednesday – July 23, 2014

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.

Have You Started Getting Ready for Hard Times?, by L.S.

When Paul Revere’s alarm, “The Redcoats are coming!”, was sounded through the countryside centuries ago, it was made to people who were prepared to meet a challenge. Whether the coming challenge in our present day is one of economics or something else, will you be prepared to respond when the alarm is sounded? Here are some ideas you should consider as you get started in your preparations for whatever hard times might await:

Food

Will you have enough food? Go down to Costco and buy a 50-lb bag of rice. It’s inexpensive, stores well, and can go a long way. Canned goods and pastas have shelve lives, so rotate them out as you use them. There are a lot of canned food options, so plan wisely. I recommend tuna, chicken, salmon, beef, vegetables, soups, olives, beans, and fruits, at the minimum.

Oatmeal is good. Other grains, like barley, might be explored. Also, look into buying jarred preserves (jams, fruits, and pickled items), MRE’s, bags of beans (pinto, lima, kidney, soy, and so forth). The more options you have, the better off you will be. Salt and spices, sugar, honey, peanut butter, mixed nuts, jerkey (turkey, beef, and other meats), certain candies, dehydrated foods, and protein powder can be stored for quite a while. When the Redcoats come, refrigerators will probably not work (with no electricity available), so use the perishables first, before they spoil.

Also don’t forget about planning for your pets. Make sure to stock up on extra pet food and pet snacks.

Cooking

How will you cook? Wood burning stoves are good options but not available to everyone. Your BBQ can be an option for heating foods but will send out delicious aromas to people around you that may be starving. Food warmers and camping stoves can be also be purchased at the Army surplus store, and MRE’s also have food warmers in them. I recommend conserving your cooking resources for when you need them and finding ways of cooking in-doors. (Carbon monoxide can kill you, so make sure you don’t use cooking options indoors that produce carbon monoxide.)

Food Storage

How will you store your food? Food attracts rodents. Plastic tubs can help defend against them, but they are not rodent proof. Rodents will chew through plastic tubs to get to food. Set traps for them nearby the storage locations. A locked metal cabinet can also help keep them out.

Growing Food

Do you have a place to grow food? You will need water, seeds, soil, fertilizer, protection, time/attention, and sun to do this. Take away one of those items and you may as well not attempt it. Resources will be in high demand and growing vegetables where others can see could generate problems for yourself. I don’t want to discourage you from this option. Just know that there is effort, resource use, and risk involved. You should also consider canning or dehydrating the foods, if you grow them. This will make them go farther and prevent spoilage. You will have to get the supplies and information for these options, if you decide to use them.

Water

Where will you get usable water? This is the most important resource, in my opinion. It will be difficult for most people to obtain. So, as a survivalist, you will most likely have to think outside of the box in this area.

When an emergency strikes, power outages may cause a situation in which your water faucets in your house may not work. That may mean having to go out to find a source of water. Things like ponds, pools, streams, and rain water might be your source of water. Will these be guarded by someone? Will you have to contend with the community for this resource? Will they have bacteria, like Giardia, that can kill you?

I recommend that you go down and get supplies for decontaminating and filtering water. They have emergency drinking water germicidal tablets and water purification filters that you can pick up at the local army surplus store or can order online. These will give you drinking water options that may not be available to others.

Also, you should have a supply of bottled water, as well as 5-gallon water containers for storage. I recommend one 5-gallon container per person in your household. These will need to be refilled during long emergency scenarios, so figure out a plan ahead of time.

Boiling water will also kill things living in the water, but you will need fuel and a place to boil the water to do this. Alternatively, you could just use the germicidal pills I mentioned earlier.

First Aid and General Health

Have you been into the dentist lately? You don’t want to be in an emergency situation with a life threatening dental problem or simple medical procedure that could have been fixed from a simple doctor or dentist visit. Get the simple things done today, because tomorrow may be too late.

Also, get a first aid kit. It should contain: alcohol, wipes, bandages/bandaids, pain killers, sewing needle and a strong thread, matches, mouthwash, soap, Q-tips, gauze, vitamins, first aid information, Sudafed, aloe vera/burn ointment, elastic wrap, heat/cold pads, scissors, tweezers, anti-itch cream, anti-fungal cream, Neosporin, and baking soda. (Baking soda can nullify the effects of poisons from bee stings, be used for teeth brushing, is good for skin cancers when used with coconut oil, and has other uses.)

Bartering

What will you do if the money in your pocket isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on? You may find yourself in a situation where you have to get something that you don’t have. Bartering is one way to get these items.

Here’s a list of things to barter: tools, precious metals (gold, silver, and platinum), skills, food, water, drinking alcohol, first aid, gardening seeds, medicine, and other commodities that are needed by the other party. What do you have that people will trade for in an emergency? Will you be able to protect it, if you let people know you have it? Consider your barter partners wisely and carefully. Your family’s lives could depend on it.

Protection, Hunting, and Fishing

The list below is a good starter list for supplies you should probably have as a bare minimum for protection and/or when hunting/fishing:

  • Shotgun
  • Rifle
  • Pistol
  • BB Gun (This probably sounds silly, but this will probably put more food on the table than the others.)
  • Compound Bow
  • Fishing pole with fishing line
  • Fishing tackle (This is up to you. Hooks, sinkers, and tacklebox are the bare minimum.)
  • Powerbait (or you can dig for worms).
  • Ammo.
  • A good guard/hunting dog.

Information/Books

Where are you going to get information? Books on topics like survival, fishing, hunting, gardening, medical, cooking, et cetera will become nice resources, if the Internet fails. These items will probably have barter value as well. Most libraries have a book store in them. You can pick up many of these books for under a dollar right now. You can also get them at estate and garage sales for next to nothing.

Heat

Have you considered how you will get heat? For those who live in areas with extreme cold, you should think about how you will heat your home, in an emergency, when fuels like natural gas are not available. Wood burning stoves, non-electric heaters, and solar and wind energy to supply electricity are all options that should be considered. “Winter is coming!” (This is a George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones reference, for those that didn’t catch it.)

Transportation

Transportation may be limited. People may try to take what you have, if you travel. You will also need fuel, if you are traveling via a car, motorcycle, or other motorized vehicle. Your vehicle should be serviced regularly, so that it will get you to where you want to go. Motorcycles provide means for going where others can’t, but they are limited in how much they can carry. Bikes can get you places faster than walking. (Make sure you have spare tubes or a repair kit if you go long distances.)

Hygiene

Other items to consider: bleach, deodorant, toothpaste, extra tooth brushes, lotion, shampoo, hydrogen peroxide, apple cider vinegar (good for sore throats and colds but be careful to use in moderation so you don’t make your throat raw), oregano oil (I use this on cold sores and skin ailments), razors, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer. (Hand sanitizer can clean you if a shower is not available. I used this for two months when I had no income and couldn’t pay the water bill.)

Household Necessities

Around the house you will want: batteries, flashlight, hand- or solar-powered emergency radio, firewood, blankets, warm clothes, shoes, jacket, tools, rope, zip ties, duct tape, glue (super-glue for sealing wounds and Gorilla glue for all purposes), compass, multi-tool, hunting knife, burn barrel for trash, magnifying glass, generator, solar panels and wind power, CB radio, paper plates, plastic utensils, sleeping bags, gas mask, rubber gloves, cooking oil/shortening, extra propane containers that are filled and ready for your barbecue, and candles.

Books and Games

You should also think about how boring life may become in an emergency situation. Little things like board games, card games, novels, bible, et cetera may keep you from losing hope. Losing hope is the biggest killer in a survival situation. Keep your head and spirits up, if not for yourself, then for those around you.

Church Preparedness Planning

If you currently go to church, make sure that they are planning ahead for a crisis. We could have a future scenario where U.S. citizens will be starving, and the church will be one of the only options for helping them (outside of the governmental options). Does your church have grain storages, canned foods, water supplies, medical supplies, et cetera? If you check on this now and get them to adopt an emergency plan, then this could end up helping or saving you and your family later on. It could also help hundreds of others. The church should have money that they can use. They may as well use it before the dollar is debased. Besides, it’s what Jesus would do.

Finally, you may not have the Internet, power, or gasoline when stuff hits the fan. Don’t put off for tomorrow that which should be done today.

Letter Re: Cottage/Local Manufacturing After SHTF

I am a former dressmaker, with considerable experience in making clothing, and I appreciated the article on doing this for barter.

However, there are problems. The first is fabric. Presumably the sensuously idyllic pleasures of going to the fabric shops in the garment district of New York City will no longer be an option. Too charred.

Apart from that, while there are a few scattered fabric stores here and there, they are steadily going out of business, as fewer and fewer people sew. For the most part, assuming you can get there and assuming they are intact, they carry mostly low quality, trashy fabric that will not endure the conditions of TEOTWAWKI, barring a bit of denim and some quilting cottons. Real wool? Forget it.

However, the biggest problem is that in most scenarios, there will be a major loss of population. One result will be massive supplies of millions of items of no-longer needed clothing, as well as many other household items.

Once these run out, yes, homemade barter items will be an excellent idea.

I say this unhappily, as making clothes is a skill set that I would have to offer a community. Perhaps mending and alterations will do.

If you really want to do this, I would advise beginning to collect durable fabrics now: sturdy denims, warm woolens, and firmly woven cottons for warm weather. Ebay has a pretty good selection. If you look patiently, you will be able to find fabric in bulk at good prices. Sturdy cotton sheets are also a fabric source; get them on sale.

The idea of buying strong card stock for patterns is excellent. When I worked for a couturier designer in Manhattan, that is what was used for durable patterns. It has to be both sturdy and not damaged by heat (in case you need to iron out creases).

Based on Ferfal’s writings about what happened during the collapse in Argentina, you may also want to buy some laces, silks, and other luxury fabrics. He said people soon became desperate for small, affordable luxuries to offset the stress of constant deprivation.

Also, you may want to collect a few wedding dresses, preferably with lace-up backs to accommodate various sizes. When artificial birth control is no longer available, sexual mores will change very quickly. Under primitive conditions, single mothers and their babies have a lousy life expectancy. I saw it once and will never get it out of my mind.

Even during TEOTWAWKI, girls will still want to look beautiful when they get married. – JW from NY

Economics and Investing:

A trend to working fewer hours and low wage labor: Is America looking at becoming a low wage nation in a race to the bottom? 1 out of 4 people working are in jobs paying $10 an hour or less.

o o o

The Economy Is Deteriorating Fast – RBS

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Items from Mr. Econocobas:

Price of Beef and Bacon Reach All-Time High

High Gasoline Prices Push Up U.S. Consumer Prices- Or How About Just All The Money Printing??

New College Grads Hit By Slow Wage Growth: Fed Study

Odds ‘n Sods:

One more reason I refuse to watch TV. Video: Sarah Palin Drives Stake Through Heart of ‘True Blood’ Producers . – P.M.

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A restaurant with a silly name but some plain sense. Another Restaurant with a “Guns Welcome” Sign at the Entrance. – J.W.

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SilencerCo Announces First Commercially Available Shotgun Suppressor. – B.B.

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20 Examples of What Liberalism REALLY Is. – J.C.

And the strange thing is that we keep letting them define the conversation and getting away with this garbage.

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Subscribe Left’s Latest Lunacy: “You Want More Than 10 Rounds to Kill US Soldiers” – T.P.

Are these the same soldiers that the Left claims are too unstable to own guns when they return from combat?

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

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

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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.