Burning Coal in a Cookstove, by S.G. in New Hampshire

1

While remodeling our kitchen several years ago we purchased an antique coal/wood kitchen stove.  This stove was a replacement for a wood-only cook stove that had seen better days. With the economy crumbling and living in New Hampshire where winters can be long and harsh we thought it would be a good idea to have an alternative to our all-electric kitchen.  Power outages are relatively common here as well. Several years ago we lost our power for 8 days due to an ice storm.

We have lived in our current home for 33 years. It is a log home several miles outside of a small city of approximately 25,000 people.  For the most part we have burned wood and home heating oil for heat.  My only previous experience with coal came 35 plus years ago when we lived in town in an 80 plus year old cape with little insulation.  My father-in-law was an experienced coal-burner and set us up with a small coal stove in the cellar. 

Our original cook stove was given to us by a friend who found it in the barn of a house he had purchased.  The stove was in sad shape, but the price was right; free, just take it away.  After having it sandblasted and reassembled it sat in our kitchen for 30 years.  We only used it when the power went out or when the temperature got below zero for a couple of days.  Other than that, it was only lit on Christmas and Thanksgiving when I would cook a turkey or prime rib in the oven as a special treat. 

Our original plan during the kitchen remodeling was to get the old stove restored.  After searching on-line I contacted a father and son team in southern New England and brought the stove to them for an inspection.  It was in worse shape than we suspected, so a replacement was in order.  Replacing the stove opened up options we would have not had if we had stuck with the old stove.  I had not given coal any thought for many years.  When we walked into the stove shop they had a coal fired base heater running…it was fantastic! 

After wandering around the stove “junk yard” for several hours we settled on a coal/wood burning model from the 1920s.  This “new” stove had several options our old stove did not; a warming oven and a compartment under the oven for storing pots and pans.  It was also narrower in length than our original which helped the overall design of the new kitchen. 

We got the stove up and running during January of 2010.  There is a “learning curve” required to burning coal.  After getting the hang of it, you can light your fire in October and shut the stove down in April if you want.  I shut ours down every couple of weeks so I can clean out the fire box, ash pit, and the area around the stove so the ashes don’t build up. Ash build-up around the oven makes the heat transfer to the oven less efficient. Unlike wood that burns up rather quickly, coal will burn constantly as long as you are available to shake down the grates and restock the fire box several times a day.  I have also found that the coal burns at a more consistent temperature without the “highs and lows” you get with wood. 

The first season I purchased my coal locally through the last remaining coal dealer in the region as well as one of the local hardware stores that happened to have a supply.  I chose to buy bagged coal for convenience and ease of handling it.  Even at 61 years old I can handle the bags without much trouble.

Depending on your area coal may or may not be readily available in bulk. Bulk deliveries require a specially designed truck capable of lifting the bed and dumping the coal through a chute into a bin, usually located in the cellar.  In most areas bagged coal should be fairly easy to find.  Coal is available in several sizes.  Our stove uses “nut” coal; others may require “pea” or “stove” coal.  Some experimentation may be in order to find the optimal combination for your stove.  For me bags are easier, no coal bin, less mess and unlike cordwood, it can be stored just about anywhere.  Bags are either 40 or 50 pounds each depending on the supplier.

This year I got together with three other people and arranged for a tractor-trailer delivery of bags from Pennsylvania.  The truckload consisted of 22.5 tons of coal in bags on 18 pallets.  I borrowed a skid steer with forks from a friend to unload the truck.  You could unload it with a tractor or by hand. But I would plan on getting some younger, strong backs to help. In the end I kept 10 tons for myself.  The savings by buying in bulk was almost $170 per ton over purchasing the coal locally!  The cost per ton, delivered, was $270.  10 tons will last several years heating my house and shop which also has a coal fired boiler. 

According to a chart I picked up at the local plumbing and heating supply store coal at $270 per ton has the equivalent BTUs of oil at around $1.70 per gallon, propane at $1.10 per gallon, wood pellets at $190 per ton and [hardwood] cordwood at $200 per cord. 

I recently filled my oil tank with #2 fuel oil at $3.499 per gallon. Last week I bought propane for our gas cook top at $3.53 per gallon  Earlier this fall I bought some cordwood as well; 16” lengths were $180.00 per cord and 10” lengths (for the cook stove in the early fall and late spring) was $200.00 delivered.  Makes the coal look like a pretty good value to me considering how much easier it is to deal with.  Keep in mind, the closer you live to the source of the coal the cheaper it will be, we had about $1100.00 in transportation costs with our 22.5 ton load and it was still a “deal”.

Once I start the stove in the kitchen in the fall we do the vast majority of our cooking on and in it for the rest of the season.  In fact it’s rare for us to start the electric oven or our propane cook top in the winter.  Once you master the “art” of burning coal there is very little work involved. 

When I get up in the morning I open the damper on the smoke pipe and open the air intake under the grates.  This causes the fire to burn hotter.  While I am waiting for the fire to pick up I put my percolator and water for my oatmeal on the cook top.  After a half hour or so I toss on a shovel or two of fresh coal.  It takes a few minutes for the new coal to take off.  When it is going good I shake down the grates letting the ashes fall into the ash pan in the bottom of the stove. If we are not going to cook anything until supper time or the outside temperature is moderate I will shut the pipe damper and leave the air intake about 1/4” open.  On our stove this equates to about a 200°-250° oven, just right to keep the kitchen area warm during the day.  Every couple of days I empty the ash pan out back.  That’s it.  (Be aware that every stove is a little different; every chimney draws a little different so you need to adjust you technique to your situation.)

When I get home at 5:00 p.m. I repeat the process from the morning and normally cook supper on the cook top or in the oven as I feed/shake down the fire.  I repeat the process at bedtime.  Typically I put between 25-30 pounds of coal through the stove daily. 

Like just about everything in this life there are pluses and minuses to burning coal. Nothing is as easy as walking over to the wall and turning up the thermostat on your oil or gas fired furnace…but we’re talking about alternatives here.

Coal is not for everyone.  If you are considering an alternative to your oil/electric/gas heat, give coal a look.  In my opinion there are several distinct advantages to coal.  The BTU content of coal is superior to most other fuels per dollar spent, it is more convenient to store than wood, either in bulk or bags, it will not rot like wood (it’s already millions of years old) so you can buy years ahead and store it without fear of losing you investment.  It takes up much less space than the equivalent amount of wood or pellets.  As I get older I find it is easier to deal with a bucket or two of coal than the amount of cord wood that it takes to provide the same amount of heat.  From a safety standpoint coal does not produce creosote, so chimney fires are unlikely. Stoves designed to burn coal will also burn wood; wood stoves can not burn coal without the proper grates. 

On the negative side:  Coal is harder to obtain than wood, and unlike wood you can not mine it yourself [unless you are very fortunate to have a surface coal seam on your land].  Burning coal is dusty no matter what the hard-core proponents tell you.  You will be vacuuming and dusting more often. I have not heard of a use for the ashes other than as fill, and as a traction compound under your tires if you get stuck in snow or on ice. If anyone else has any other uses for the ashes I’d like to hear about it.

A side note that might matter in a SHTF situation is that coal burns without any visible smoke.  Looking at my chimney you can see heat “waves”, but no smoke.  Coal does have a distinct odor but in my experience wood smoke is more of a problem from an OPSEC perspective.  My closest neighbor is 1/8th mile away; I know when he has his wood stove running, I have been at his house and there is no indication that anything is burning at my location.  Being able to cook and heat in a grid-down situation without attracting attention could be a real asset.  Another advantage to coal when/if the SHTF is the ability to store large quantities out of sight.  It can be left outside, in a cellar, or even buried to be dug up years later…try that with cordwood. It also never goes bad…try that with fuel oil, kerosene or gasoline. 

If you are planning for a SHTF or a grid-down scenario I would look for an older stove that was designed/built in the late 1800s to early 1900s when coal burning was prevalent.  These stoves were state of the art at the time, burn relatively cleanly, are simple to operate, and require no electricity to run. Vintage (and new) cook stoves are available with options including warming ovens, cabinet models with storage underneath the oven,  left or right side fire boxes, fire box extenders for burning longer pieces of wood, water tanks, and water heating coils.  Many times the original users of these stoves also got their domestic hot water from them as well.  There are also coal fired stoves used for heating only, these can be used in a living area or in the cellar to provide heat throughout the living space. I am also experimenting with a small coal boiler that I have attached to my oil fired boiler for our radiant heat and domestic hot water.  I will report back as I make progress on that project as well.

Letter Re: Lists of Practical Skills

JWR –
I cannot thank you enough for all you do. Thanks to your “List of Lists” and articles I am well on my way…. above the 80% so to speak. 

As everyone is, I am limited by finances. So while I pursue the items I need I also wanted to pursue skills. That is the most important anyway. So I was searching the site for a list of practical skills. Skills many times can be practiced without money or with existing gear. 

Is there a list of skills on the site? And if not, then what articles would you say to start with? 

Thanks again for everything. – Ben J.

JWR Replies: In general, I recommend that you take a look at the SurvivalBlog articles and letters that I’ve indexed in the “Traditional Skills” category.
Also see these SurvivalBlog pieces in the archives:

Letter Re: Nationwide EAS Test Failure

Mr Rawles:
I had to send along the link to the news article about the failure of the nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) with the observation that I would have bet this wasn’t going to work.
 
I say that as a retired Air Force avionics technician whose job was maintaining and flying as a crew member on the EC-135A, C, G, H, and L model Airborne Command Post Aircraft.  As well as in an advisory capacity for five years when the job was passed over to the Navy E6B in 1998.  Even on our best days with everyone doing the absolute best they could we would have to work around something.  That was with multiple communication options.
 
I knew the odds of everything being interoperable were going to be slim to none, and I wasn’t disappointed.
 
Keep up the great work your site has really been a “go to” for me and my friends. Respectfully, – Bill T.

Economics and Investing:

Josh flagged this: 100% Chance of Crisis, Worse Than 2008: Jim Rogers

M.C. highlighted this headline: The Fall of the Eurozone? Merkel Calls for “New Europe”

C.D.V. alerted us to this: Alabama County Votes for Biggest Muni Bankruptcy on Record ($3.14 billion!)

M.E.W. sent this piece by “Recovering Venture Capitalist” Bill Freeza: Will Western Civilization Rediscover The Moral Foundations Of Sound Money?

Items from The Economatrix:

These Five Charts Clearly Show Just How Major — And Depressing — The Current Unemployment Situation Really Is

Employers Post Most Job Openings in Three Years

Retirement Crisis Closes in On Baby Boomers

Progress in Italy, Greece on Debt Sends Stocks Up

Odds ‘n Sods:

I was recently chided by a fellow blogger, for encouraging people to relocate to a lightly-populated region in the western United States. He mischaracterized my retreat locale recommendations by referring to me as “…some novelist living in Idaho who has completely discounted every state east of the Mississippi as unfit for survival.”  For the record, I have never called the eastern states “unfit for survival”, but I have concluded that one’s statistical chances of surviving a grid-down collapse will be better in regions where the population density is low. I did not include any eastern states in my rankings of 19 states merits (and demerits) for retreat locales. In essence: More people means more problems, in a disaster. Parenthetically, that gent’s post included several maps. Perhaps he should have included this map: Distance To McDonald’s A McDistance Map Of The Contiguous U.S. (Thanks to Roman for that link.)  And here is a graphic that compliments it nicely: satellite imagery showing the lights of the United States at night.  FWIW, the population density of the county where the Rawles Ranch is located is around five people per square mile. I feel relatively safe here, where “Street crime” is unheard of. (Our biggest worry is bears and wolves killing our livestock, not any two-legged predators.) My advice remains: If you can, go west!

   o o o

Congressman Ron Paul really tried to help out Governor Rick Perry at the recent candidates’ debate, but the poor man was so flustered that he was beyond help. I hope that he does better that that if he ever gets into a crucial “Tell him yes on one and no on two”-type decision situations.

   o o o

Recession reshapes life in USA. The article begins: “The dismal economy is having a profound effect on the American way of life, from delaying marriage and divorce to reducing car ownership and private school enrollment, according to new Census data.” (Thanks to G.G. for the link.)

   o o o

T. J. mentioned this essay: The Truth about Violence–Three Principles of Self-Defense

   o o o

F.G. sent this: Elderly couple’s large gun collection targeted in violent home invasion. Think OPSEC!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“But fame is theirs – and future days
On pillar’ d brass shall tell their praise;
Shall tell – when cold neglect is dead –
“These for their country fought and bled.” – Philip Freneau

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 37 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) 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, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 37 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Staple Foods Storage By The Numbers, by Paul B.

Staple Foods Storage By The Numbers, by Paul B.

The most basic survival task that every person can do is to begin an emergency food pantry or stockpile or whatever term one wishes to use.  The problem I have always had is in not knowing the quantities of staple foods to store.  I know there are food storage calculators on-line that will give total amounts for various items but they don’t explain how to use those items on a day-to-day basis.  Part of the reason why this is all so problematic for me is that I never really knew that much about nutrition and what individuals need on a daily basis to survive.  You can’t really begin storing food until you know what you need.  So, I began researching nutrition to establish a baseline upon which I could build my food storage plan and to know how much food I would need for any given period of time. 

In my research I discovered that the recommended intake of calories for adults is 2,000 calories daily based on moderate exercise.  I would imagine that if the SHTF then all of us will be doing more than moderate exercise.  There will be firewood to be gathered, the activities of bugging out, extreme stress, getting one’s survival location squared away, home defense, and a host of other activities that will require more calories.  So, to account for this I’m going to set the daily calorie need at 3,000 which is 50% above normal.  Further research has shown me that the generally accepted daily caloric breakdown is as follows:

Fat: 20 – 35 % of total calories (average 30 %)
Protein: 10 – 35 % (average 15 %)
Carbohydrates: 45 – 65 % (average 55 %)

The body also needs water and micronutrients like vitamins and trace minerals.  I’m not going to focus on the micronutrients because they are very easy to obtain.  All one needs is a good multivitamin and then store as many as necessary based on the recommended daily dosage.  There are also many good articles that discuss water storage so I’ll skip that as well.  If we look at the caloric breakdown then 3000 calories each day yields the following:

Protein:

3000 x 0.15 = 450 calories
450 / 4 cal per gram = 112.5 grams

Carbs:

3000 x 0.55 = 1650 calories
1650 cal / 4 cal per gram = 412.5 grams

Fat:

3000 x 0.30 = 900 calories
900 cal / 9 cal per gram = 100 grams

Let’s consider protein for a moment and look at two foods typically stored by survivalists.  I collected the following data from Self magazine’s useful web page: NutritionData.Self.com:

Beef Jerky

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Amounts per 1 piece, large (20g)

Calorie Information
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                            
Calories                                                                  82.0 (343 kJ)          
From Carbohydrate                                                  9.4 (39.4 kJ)
From Fat                                                               46.1 (193 kJ)
From Protein                                                         26.6 (111 kJ)
From Alcohol                                                           0.0 (0.0 kJ)

Carbohydrates
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                                
Total Carbohydrate                                                  2.2 g                       
Dietary Fiber                                                              0.4 g                       
Starch                                                                          ~
Sugars                                                                        1.8%

Fats & Fatty Acids
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                               
Total Fat                                                                   5.1 g                                   
Saturated Fat                                                            2.2 g                                   
Monounsaturated Fat                                               2.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat                                                 0.2 g

Protein & Amino Acids
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                               
Protein                                                                     6.6 g                            

Allow me to point out that there is a considerable amount of math in this article and in some instances numbers are rounded for convenience, so if there seems to be an error then it may be due to rounding.   This is also just a demonstration.  If anyone actually follows this model then they will surely make all of their own calculations to ensure accuracy.  If you convert the jerky data to ounces (28g/oz) then an ounce of beef jerky has about 9.3 grams of protein or about 12.5 % of the daily requirement.  Thus if you were going to rely on beef jerky for your daily requirement for protein then you would need 12 ounces (112.5 / 9.3) prepped and stored for each adult in your survival community for every day of planned survival.  How much would two people need for six months? 

12 oz x 2 people x 180 days = 4320 oz or 270 lbs (16 oz/lb) or 122.7 kg (2.2 lb/kg)

For purposes of calculations that I’m going to make later I’m going to break down the beef jerky data into 1 ounce increments for all three nutrient categories.

1 oz of Beef Jerky:

Protein:  9.2 g ~ 8% daily requirement
Carbohydrates: 3 g ~ 0.7% daily requirement
Fat: 7.1 g ~ 7% daily requirement

Now, let’s look at different protein source.

Kidney Beans:

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Amounts per 1 cup (184 g)

Calorie Information
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                            
Calories                                                                     607 (2541 kJ)          
From Carbohydrate                                                  448 (39.4 kJ)
From Fat                                                                     3.9 (193 kJ)
From Protein                                                            156 (111 kJ)
From Alcohol                                                              0.0 (0.0 kJ)

Carbohydrates
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                                
Total Carbohydrate                                                   110 g                       
Dietary Fiber                                                              45.8 g                       
Starch                                                                             ~
Sugars                                                                       

Fats & Fatty Acids
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                               
Total Fat                                                                   0.5 g                                   
Saturated Fat                                                            0.1 g                                   
Monounsaturated Fat                                               0.0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat                                                0.3 g

Protein & Amino Acids
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                               
Protein                                                                   44.8 g                           

If you convert to ounces this serving size would be about 6.5 ounces of beans and provides about 40 % (44.8/112.5 x 100) of your daily protein requirement.  It would take 16.25 ounces of red kidney beans to get the daily requirement of protein.  Two people would need 365.5 lbs or 166.1 kg of kidney beans stored to get enough protein for 180 days of survival.  Again, let’s break kidney beans down into 1 ounce increments.

1 oz Kidney Beans:

Protein:             6.8 g ~ 6%
Carbohydrates: 17 g ~ 4%
Fat:                <1 g ~ 0%

So, one might think that beef jerky is the better choice since you need less of it each day, however a closer examination of the bean information shows that it is also a significant source of carbohydrates as well.  If one were consuming 16 ounces of beans each day then one would be getting 275 grams of total carbs which is about 67 % of the daily requirement.  So, if one relied on kidney beans for protein rather than beef jerky then they would need to store 67 % less carbohydrate based foods.  Considering the cost of beans over beef and with the additional carbohydrates, beans look like the better survival food. 

Unfortunately, with everything gained there is something lost.  The other dietary component that is necessary for survival is fat.  I’m going to keep things simple and not get into saturated vs. unsaturated fats or which is better.  This is survival not Weight Watchers.  Look again at the beef jerky information and you will see that it has a significant fat content.  Twelve ounces would contain 85.6 grams of total fat which would be 85.6 % of the daily requirement.  The beans have practically no fat which means that you would need an additional dietary component to get the needed fat. 

Let’s look at another darling of the preparedness community – peanut butter.

Peanut Butter – Smooth Style with Salt

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Amounts per 1 cup (258 g)

Calorie Information
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                            
Calories                                                                  1517 (6351 kJ)
From Carbohydrate                                                  204 (854 kJ)
From Fat                                                                1088 (4555 kJ)
From Protein                                                            225 (942 kJ)
From Alcohol                                                            0.0 (0.0 kJ)

Carbohydrates
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                                
Total Carbohydrate                                                  51.6 g                       
Dietary Fiber                                                              15.5 g                       
Starch                                                                         12.4 g
Sugars                                                                        23.8 %

Fats & Fatty Acids
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                               
Total Fat                                                                  130 g                                   
Saturated Fat                                                            27.1 g                                   
Monounsaturated Fat                                               63.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat                                                32.5 g

Protein & Amino Acids
Amounts Per Selected Serving                                               
Protein                                                                    64.7 g      

This serving size is 9.2 ounces (258 g/28 g per oz).  Breaking this down into 1 ounce increments yields the following:

1 oz Peanut Butter:

Protein:             7 g ~ 6%
Carbohydrates: 5.6 g ~ 1.5 %
Fat:                   14.4 g ~ 14 %

I would have expected peanut butter to have more carbs and 9.2 ounces is not a small portion.  That’s over half of a 16 ounce jar!  Speaking of 16 ounce jars, let’s look at peanut butter in terms of 8 ounce half jar servings.  This would be a convenient bench mark for storage.  Two people would need one jar per day.

Percent Daily Requirement:

Protein:             48 %
Carbohydrates: 10.1 %
Fat:                    113 %

If you wanted to look at it more loosely you could consider 8 ounces of peanut butter as being roughly 50/10/100.  Those are nice round numbers on which the rest of your daily requirement could be based.  It makes for a very convenient starting point that could be reduced as needed to accommodate other food components.

Let’s keep going with this and start with our peanut butter foundation and add kidney beans for additional protein and carbs.  The additional 50 % protein requirement would be about 56 grams.  A review of the bean information shows that 56 grams of protein would be a little more than the 1 cup serving size.  At this point the exact math isn’t important so I’m going to say 7 ounces.  This would also give an additional 120 grams of carbs or 30 % of the daily requirement.  So, with just one half jar of peanut butter and 7 ounces of kidney beans you would have 100 % of your total protein requirement, 100% of your fat requirement, and 40% of you carbohydrate requirement.

Now, let’s look at something a little more complicated like bread.  I bake a lot of bread and my basic recipe is 2 cups flour, 2 Tbsp honey, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 0.5 tsp salt, and yeast.  For the sake of space I won’t list all of the separate nutrition charts but simply give the totals. 

                                    Flour (2 cup)           Honey (2 Tbsp)  Olive Oil (2 Tbsp)

Protein:                          32.8 g                    0 g                      0 g
Carbohydrates:             198.8 g                   17.4 g                 0 g
Fat:                                     4.6 g                  0 g                      28 g

 

This recipe yields two good size loaves so the percent totals per loaf would be as follows:

Protein:             16.4 g ~ 15 %
Carbohydrates: 108.1 g ~ 25 %
Fat:                    17.3 g ~ 17 %

Here is where some adjusting can come into play.  When we first did our totals for peanut butter the fat content was 113% of the daily requirement for each 8 ounces and I simply rounded this off for convenience, but that additional 13% is significant especially when pairing peanut butter with other fat sources.  Since the bread also has a significant fat content it would be advantageous to adjust the amount of peanut butter consumed rather than going so far over on fat.  If we went with one loaf of bread and a half jar of peanut butter the total fat intake would be 130% of the daily requirement therefore the amount of peanut butter needed could be reduced to 6 ounces.  Here are the total percentages for a loaf of bread and 6 ounces of peanut butter.

                                   Peanut Butter                     Bread                      Total
Protein                       38 %                                   15 %                       53 %
Carbohydrates            9 %                                    25 %                        34 %
Fat                              85 %                                  17 %                      102 %

Even with these two components we still need half of our protein requirement and two thirds of our carbs.  If we add 8 ounces of kidney beans then our totals are as follows:
                                   
                                   PB (6 oz)           B (1 loaf)              KB (8 oz)             Total
Protein                       38 %                  15 %                      48 %                     101 %
Carbohydrates            9 %                    25 %                      32 %                      66 %
Fat                               85 %                 17 %                      0 %                       102 %

We’re still short on carbs so I’ll add some additional honey.  Rather than use ounces I’m going to use tablespoons.  The problem with our measuring system is that there is a difference between a weighed ounce and a fluid ounce.  These two values cannot be interchanged so going with a fluid measurement is better for something like honey.  Allow me to make my one man pitch for America to convert to the metric system.  Having used it on my job I can say that it is so much easier than trying to remember cups and pints and all of our other archaic units.  The original nutrition data for honey was for a 1 cup serving so this can be easily converted to tablespoons by dividing by 16. 

1 Tbsp. Honey:

Protein:                  0 g ~ 0 %
Carbohydrates: 17.4 g ~ 4 %
Fat:                      0 g ~ 0 %

If we add 9 tablespoons to our equation then our final total is as follows:

                              PB (6 oz)          B (1 loaf)      KB (8 oz)   H (9 Tbsp)    Total
Protein                  38 %                 15 %              48 %           0 %               101 %
Carbohydrates       9 %                   25 %              32 %          36 %              102 %
Fat                         85 %                 17 %                0 %           0 %                102 %

All of the three components are met and it is clear exactly how much food is needed.  Remember, this is a daily plan.  What is outlined is all of the food needed for one entire day.  You could eat it all at once or portion it out through the day, but this is all that is needed along with a vitamin and water.

It might seem odd that I have not mentioned fruits or vegetables.  I was surprised to discover that fruits and vegetables are mainly sources of the micronutrients and in some cases carbohydrates.  Since micronutrients would be available from our multivitamin then fruits and vegetables would not be needed except for one other important thing.  They are a source of dietary fiber which is necessary for regularity and helps prevent colon cancer.  The last thing anyone wants is a bad case of constipation while trying to keep the family safe from the bad guys.  In my research I learned that the daily requirement for fiber at our survival calorie load is 40 grams.  Again, dietary fiber is available from fresh or preserved fruits and vegetables or one could simply include a commercial fiber product like Metamucil into their food storage plans.  Before we get too far afield on fiber we should go back again and look at our current food information and see that the original bean data lists 45.8 grams of dietary fiber and the peanut butter has 15.5 grams.  I didn’t list the nutritional information but our bread recipe would also supply 3.3 grams of fiber per loaf.  Doing the calculations for 1 ounce and 1 loaf increments yields the following:

                 1 oz Peanut Butter         1 Loaf Bread            1 oz Kidney Beans
Fiber         1.6 g ~ 4 %                    3.3 g ~ 8 %               7 g ~ 17.5 %

Our new total is as follows:

                               PB (6 oz)      Bread (1 loaf)   KB (8 oz)    H (9 Tbsp)   Total
Protein                   38 %             15 %                  48 %            0 %              101 %
Carbohydrates        9 %               25 %                  32 %           36 %            102 %
Fat                          85 %             17 %                   0 %               0 %            102 %
Fiber                       32 %             8 %                    140 %           0 %            180 %

So, with this daily survival diet one will be very regular, but additional fiber is a healthy bonus.  Regardless, it’s just a rough first draft.  It might be possible to reduce the honey content and substitute in something else and make other adjustments as necessary.  I’m going to call this Survival Daily Meal Plan #1.

Items per Person per Day:

6 oz. Peanut Butter
2 Cups Flour (274 g ~ 10 oz)
11 Tbsp. Honey  (165 ml ~ 5.5 fl oz)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil (30 ml ~ 1 fl oz)
8 oz Kidney Beans (224 g)
0.5 tsp. Iodized Salt (2.4 g)
Bread Yeast or Starter

What would be required for two adults using this one daily plan for a six month survival period?

Peanut Butter: 6 oz x 2 people x 180 days = 2160 oz or 135 16 oz jars.
Flour:  10 oz x 2 x 180 = 3600 oz or 225 lbs (102.2 kg)
Honey:  5.5 fl oz x 2 x 180 = 1980 fl oz or 15.4 gal (59.4 L)
Olive Oil: 1 fl oz x 2 x 180 = 360 fl oz or 2.8 gal (10.8 L)
Kidney Beans: 8 oz x 2 x 180 = 2880 oz or 180 lbs (81.8 kg)
Salt: 2.4 g x 2 x 180 = 864 g or 31 oz or about 2 lbs
Yeast or Starter

Let’s try another one that I’ll call Survival Daily Meal Plan # 2.  This time I’ll substitute 6 ounces of beef jerky for the beans and see what happens.  I’m also going to drop the additional honey and try a different substitution later.

                                    PB (6 oz)            B (1 loaf)          Jerky (6 oz)            Total
Protein                       38 %                    15 %                  48 %                      101 %
Carbohydrates            9 %                      25 %                   4 %                        38 %
Fat                             85 %                     17 %                  42 %                      140 %
Fiber                          32 %                     8 %                     0 %                        40 %

Our totals are way off which shows that trying to start a plan with two foods rich in protein and fat leads to overages and doesn’t allow many substitutions.  Clearly what we are seeing is that foods need to be complimentary with higher fats and proteins paired with higher carbs and fiber.  So, let’s continue with our second meal plan and substitute the jerky for the peanut butter.

                                    Jerky (6 oz)            B (1 loaf)              Total
Protein                       48 %                        15 %                        63 %
Carbohydrates             4 %                         25 %                        29 %
Fat                               42 %                        17 %                        59 %
Fiber                            0 %                         8 %                          8 %

We need some carbs so how about another survival food – brown rice.  Here are the 1 ounce totals:

1 oz. Uncooked Brown Rice

Protein: 2.2 g ~ 2%
Carbohydrates: 21.6 g ~ 5.2 %
Fat: 1 g ~ 1 %
Fiber: 1g ~ 2.5 %

Now, the easiest thing to do would be to try and make up the remaining carbs with rice so lets do that and see what happens.

                               Jerky (6 oz)            B (1 loaf)              BR (14 oz)                Total
Protein                   48 %                      15 %                        27 %                        90 %
Carbohydrates        4 %                        25 %                        73 %                      102 %
Fat                          42 %                      17 %                        14 %                        75 %
Fiber                       0 %                        8 %                         35 %                        43 %

That’s not bad, but I’m going to add one more ounce of jerky to get the protein total just a little higher.

                               Jerky (7 oz)           B (1 loaf)              BR (14 oz)               Total
Protein                   56 %                     15 %                      27 %                         98 %
Carbohydrates         5 %                      25 %                     73 %                        103 %
Fat                          49 %                     17 %                      14 %                        82 %
Fiber                       0 %                        8 %                      35 %                        43 %

At this point we could add some olive oil for additional fat and a commercial fiber product, but let’s try a different route.  One thing that we don’t have in either of our meal plans is a dairy component for calcium so since we need more fiber and fat, a high fiber cereal with reconstituted dry whole milk would fit the bill.  Here are the totals for 1 ounce of dry whole milk and a 30 gram serving of Kellogg’s Bran Buds:

                                   Milk                                    Cereal
Protein                       7.5 g ~ 6.4 %                        2.1 g ~ 2 %
Carbohydrates            11 g ~ 2.5 %                        24 g ~ 6 %
Fat                              7.5 g ~ 7.5 %                        0 g ~ 0 %
Fiber                           0 g ~ 0 %                             13 g ~ 33 %

Here is where things get a little tricky.  You can’t just drizzle dry milk on a piece of bread like you can with honey or olive oil.  To be palatable you need to use the recommended amount which is 4.5 ounces in water, so I’m going to put 4.5 ounces of dry whole milk and a serving of Bran Buds into our chart.

               BJ (7 oz)    B (1 loaf)  BR (14 oz)    DWM (4.5 oz)    BB (30 g)    Total
Protein   56 %           15 %         27 %              30 %                   2 %              130 %
Carbs     5 %              25 %        73 %               11 %                   6 %              120 %
Fat         49 %            17 %        14 %              34 %                    0 %              114 %
Fiber      0 %               8 %          35 %               0 %                    33 %            76 %

Clearly some adjustments need to be made so I’m going to double the cereal component for plenty of fiber and take away one ounce of the jerky and four ounces of the rice.

                 BJ (6 oz)   B (1 loaf)   BR (10 oz)      DWM (4.5 oz)  BB (60 g)   Total
Protein     48 %        15 %            20 %               30 %                  4 %             117 %
Carbs        4 %          25 %            50 %              11 %                   12 %           102 %
Fat           42 %         17 %            10 %              34 %                   0 %             103 %
Fiber        0 %            8 %             25 %                0 %                   66 %           99 %

That’s not bad.  Some additional protein is not a problem.

Items Per Person Per Day:

6 oz. Beef Jerky (168 g)
2 Cups Flour (274 g ~ 10 oz)
2 Tbsp Honey  (30 ml ~ 1 fl oz)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil (30 ml ~ 1 fl oz)
10 oz Brown Rice (280 g)
60 g Bran Buds (~ 2 oz)
4.5 oz Dry Whole Milk (128 g)
Yeast or Starter

2 Person Totals for six months:

Beef Jerky:  6 oz. x 2 x 180 = 2160 oz or 135 lbs (61 kg)
Flour:  10 oz x 2 x 180 = 3600 oz or 225 lbs (102.2 kg)
Honey:  1 fl oz x 2 x 180 = 360 fl oz or 2.8 gal (10.8 L)
Olive Oil: 1 fl oz x 2 x 180 = 360 fl oz or 2.8 gal (10.8 L)
Brown Rice: 10 oz x 2 x 180 = 3600 oz or 225 lbs (102.2 kg)
Bran Buds Cereal: 2 oz x 2 x 180 = 720 oz or 40 18 oz. boxes
Dry Whole Milk: 4.5 oz x 2 x 180 = 1620 oz or 101 lbs (46 kg)
Yeast or Starter

Now that I have some other foods to work with I think I’ll go back and revisit the first meal plan and see if I can adjust it slightly with rice instead of beans.

                           PB (6 oz)   Bread (1 loaf)    BR (10 oz)   H (9 Tbsp)   Total
Protein               38 %          15 %                   20 %             0 %              73 %
Carbohydrates    9 %           25 %                   50 %            36 %             120 %
Fat                      85 %          17 %                   10 %            0 %               112 %
Fiber                   32 %          8 %                     25 %            0 %                65 %

This time I’m going to lower the peanut butter by one ounce, remove the honey, and bring back some kidney beans.

                           PB (5 oz)   Bread (1 loaf)   BR (10 oz)    KB (6 oz)   Total
Protein               30 %          15 %                  20 %             36 %           101 %
Carbohydrates   8 %             25 %                  50 %             24 %           107 %
Fat                      70 %          17 %                  10 %               0 %              97 %
Fiber                  20%             8 %                   25 %              105 %        158 %

Well, it didn’t improve much but at least there isn’t so much honey involved. 

If I were going to plan for survival based on these two meals then I would alternate them daily as the dairy portion adds necessary calcium for bone health.  Doing this yields the following totals for two people for six months.

Flour:  10 oz. x 2 x 180 = 3600 oz. or 225 lbs. (102.2 kg)
Honey:  1 fl. oz x 2 x 180 = 360 fl. oz or 2.8 gal. (10.8 L)
Olive Oil: 1 fl. oz x 2 x 180 = 360 fl. oz or 2.8 gal. (10.8 L)
Peanut Butter: 5 oz x 2 x 90 = 900 oz or 56 16 oz jars
Beef Jerky: 6oz x 2 x 90 = 1080 oz or 67.5 lbs (30.7 kg)
Kidney Beans: 6 oz x 2 x 90 = 1080 oz or 67.5 lbs (30.7 kg)
Brown Rice:  10 oz x 2 x 180 = 3600 oz or 225 lbs (102.2 kg)
Bran Buds Cereal: 2 oz. x 2 x 90 = 360 oz. or 20 18 oz. boxes
Dry Whole Milk: 4.5 oz. x 2 x 90 = 810 oz. or 51 lbs (23 kg)
Yeast or Starter

Now I know exact quantities of staple foods I need and how to use it.  This is only scratching the surface of food storage possibilities.  Any number of meals could be created using any survival foods.  The key is to use the daily dietary requirements to determine exactly how much food is needed.  Also, all of the calculations made have been for adults.  Divide by 2 when considering small children.  This is also just for temporary survival.  If the crisis lasted indefinitely then one would obviously have to transition to subsistence agriculture or find more food. 

The final recommendation that I would make is to follow the 50% rule.  I don’t know if this has been put forth by anyone in SurvivalBlog before, but I have to think that surely it has turned up somewhere.  The 50% rule mandates that if you have stored enough food for six months then at three months, when 50% of your supplies are exhausted, reduce your caloric intake by 50%.  This will extend your stockpile by an additional three months.  After another three months if things show no sign of improvement then reduce by 50% again.  If you started with 3,000 calories a day then you would be down to 750.  Yes, you would get hungry, lose weight, and probably experience light- headedness upon exertion, but you would survive an additional three months.  Remember, just because you have prepared for a certain number of months does not mean that the crisis will conveniently end when you need it to.  Following the 50 % rule will double the length of time your food reserves will last.

Letter Re: An Accountant Sums Up The Greek Debt Quandary

Jim, et al:
 I recently read an enlightening ABC Australia news article: Greek Crisis – Migrants getting the blame.  Surprise surprise – the social experiment of open borders and monetary union is not working so well in Greece !
 
Greece has a population of 11million apparently and there are 1 million illegal immigrants and free loaders. Combine this with a retirement age of 45 there is little wonder the country is in the poo. 
 
Being an accountant, I did a few quick calculations.  Assuming that the population was spread evenly to an average death age of 80 (which it is not) I calculate that there are possibly a maximum of 4,125,000 in the working age from 16 to 45.  Now half of these are disabled, or women who may get married and raise a family so that halves the pool to 2,062,500.  Then probably one-third of these are public servants/bureaucrats so that reduces the pool by another third to 1,375,000 of productive workers who pay taxes and produce goods and services that the rest of the economy needs.  This means that a maximum of 12.5% of the population is supporting the rest. Oh and I forgot unemployment – say if there is 20% unemployment that drops the pool down to 1,100,000. – Which is surprise, surprise 10%!  What a weight the Greek Atlas has to hold: 10% of the population supporting the other 90% on their shoulders!
 
And the best the bureaucrats and bankers can do is pile yet more and more debt on the shoulders of the 10% just to pay the interest of the billions of dollars in loans that already exist.  I think that we can safely conclude that Greece is stuffed (that is technical economic terminology used in Australia!)
 
Yours Sincerely, – W.J. in Oz

Letter Re: A Suburban Ghillie Suit Test

I debated about writing this, but in spirit of sharing with your readers the recent usage of a Ghillie suit in a real world situation, with very surprising results.
This event occurred as a what to use for the neighborhood halloween, trick or treat crowd, and it was quite a crowd.   We live in a fairly large suburban subdivision on the outskirts of Phoenix. My wife and I have as much fun as the kids who are almost always with parents or a group of adults. My problem was what to “dress up as”, the wife has her ghost outfit, and mine was a an idea to try out  Ghillie suits, to determine just how effective it might be in a “real world” situation.  I am 6 feet tall and weigh about 200 lbs.  I tried both a forest multicolor, and a snow pattern which is white with black highlights.
 
The crowds, start about 4:30 in the afternoon, it still fairly light, and continued till about 8:30. Our light gray stucco home is on a corner lot, with a couple of 20 foot tall palm treess that have trunks about 2 feet in diameter with large green palm branches hanging down to about six feet off the ground. These palms are in the front yard about 5 feet out from the front of the home. We have two, two-car dark brown garage doors separated in the middle by the dark brown recessed front door that has about a 5 foot wide inset alcove.  (I want to give you an idea of the layout.) There are two large streetlights, one on the corner by the palms, and the second across the street about 30 further down from this one they utilize the softer yellow sodium type bulbs that provide a less intense light output. 
 
I positioned myself against the stucco wall by the front door, or against the palm trees throughout the evening.  I expected nothing, but was blown away by the results. My wife positioned herself with the treats on a chair in front of the garage door, where she stood out like a headlight. I was about 10 feet away standing as still as I could.  from the very first both the children and adults concentrated on the ghost in the chair or came to ring the front door bell.  During the fading light period I was noticed with little interest or the person(s) trying to ascertain who or what I was from as close as three feet to as far away as perhaps about 20 feet.  If I jumped out the effect was total with most of the adults and almost all the kids.  My wife would ask them afterwards what they thought I was or what I was.  The comments by most of the adults men and women was “Wow, we did not even see him.”   One of my neighbors, who is a former Marine and combat veteran told his wife after she had jumped about two feet in the air, “That’s a Ghillie suit, hon.” By the way he was on the sidewalk about 20 feet away and did not figure out what I was until after I moved.   I changed from the snow colored Ghillie, to the multi color green one at dark.   The comments by the neighbors were we were the hit of the evening, and I was asked where they could get one. I am amazed at the ability to evade the attention of people even during a heightened [attentiveness] event like Trick-or-Treating where the person’s heightened focus is able to be fooled by becoming a part of a tree trunk or a by leaning up against a house [like shrubbery].
 
I have over my career over 40 years in several fields tried homemade, and store bought Ghillie suits, there are a lot on the market, I am not marketing or endorsing products here, just letting you know this one worked and I had a lot of fun besides.  These suits were purchased on line, they are about $70 and are made in China under the name of Red Rock outdoor gear.  This is a XL/2XL and is a five-piece suit with a gun cover, it has a stuff sack which works very well.  I would rate the suit very high on the buy list, and during a time of need it I think its a smart purchase item. My only modification was to buy a pair of suspenders to hold up the pants as the drawstring does get it done. As far as negatives the suit will wear and maybe tear if you are trying to crawl or move through brush, and so forth, but as a stationary usage items or in open country it should work. 
 
Bottom line this was a perfect opportunity to test out a survival item with out ‘standing out’ as a oddball with the locals.  Of course OPSEC and common sense always rule. 
 
God bless or Godspeed in your survival preparations. – John in Arizona

Economics and Investing:

Rick Moran: ‘We are looking straight into the face of a Great Depression’

G.G. sent this news from England: Number of men aged 25-34 living with their parents rockets to 18.6 per cent, the highest level since 1960

At The Daily Bell: Der Spiegel: ‘Consensus Is Growing’ for ECB and IMF Takeover of Euro-Crisis. (And who will provide the support for the IMF? Most likely us–American taxpayers.)

Jason Hommel: The Dollar is Done – Deal with It

Barclays Says Italy Is Finished: “Mathematically Beyond Point Of No Return” (Thanks to John R. for the link.))

Items from The Economatrix:

Gold Up 1% as Europe Debt Worries Linger

Morgan Stanley Says Europe’s Pandora’s Box Has Been Opened

Gold Market Update

Berlusconi Promises to Resign Amid Italy Debt Woes

Oil Soars But Motorists Needn’t Worry Yet

Odds ‘n Sods:

Jeff M. sent us the link to this article with a nifty accompanying video about re-purposed missile silos: Condo at the End of the World.

   o o o

I heard that Freeze Dry Guy has acquired the entire U. S. Government contract overrun of Long Range Patrol / Cold Weather Ration entrees for 2011. Don’t miss out on this extraordinary deal!

   o o o

Brad S. suggested this great video: Unconventional Warfare Strategies – Negotiation Skills 101

   o o o

J.B.G. sent this: Thieves leave deputies riding on the rims

   o o o

The mainstreaming of prepping continues, as evidenced by this web page developed by the great State of Texas. (Thanks to Steve McC. for the link.)

Note from JWR:

Thanks for all the letters and e-mails about my latest book “Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse”. I’m glad to hear that so many of you enjoyed reading it. I would greatly appreciate some brief reviews on the Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble web sites. Just a paragraph or two would be great, thanks!

—

Today we present another entry for Round 37 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) 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, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 37 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Surviving TEOTWAWKI With Style, By Susan H.

If I am to survive TEOTWAWKI, then I intend to live in a style to which I’ve become accustomed.  That is, I intend to continue enjoying music, sweets, wine, cups of hot tea in the winter, stories, plays, and humor.  I plan to keep my pets around.  I hope to do so with the full participation of my family, however it evolves over time.

I began working on maintaining this style almost 20 years ago, when we moved to a hobby farm in one of those “fly-over” states that has good soil and low population.  The farm is capable of providing the basics.  It is highly unlikely I will have to evacuate this area.  The farm has a well with potable water, in addition to multiple natural springs, and we have enough buildings to shelter equipment, family, and livestock.

When we bought this place, it was a small, row-cropped mess, with massive erosion problems.  We had scores of weeds and very little wildlife.  Of the weeds we had, few were edible, even by the standards of Euell Gibbons (as described in his classic book Stalking The Wild Asparagus.)  Although we had cattails, have you ever tried eating them?  They may sustain life, but the bulbs are by no means great cuisine by my standards.  I can’t speak personally to their use as a substitute for flour, though that may taste better than the bulbs. 

Each year I’ve worked to prevent erosion, improve the soil (with compost), and increase both plant and wildlife diversity.  After 20 years, my efforts have improved the arability of the land, decreased the erosion, and greatly diversified wildlife (especially reptiles, amphibians, and birds).

I began by planting an orchard big enough to feed my family, several other families, and roaming wildlife.  This orchard has peach, pear, apple, and plum trees.  I also planted a number of grapevines and berry bushes.  And, of course, our vegetable garden is full of heirloom varieties from which we save seed from season to season.  (I obtained the heirloom seeds, berry plants, grapevines, and orchard saplings through membership with Seed Savers Exchange, based in Decorah, Iowa.)

Then I researched wild foods native to the area (or escaped from human plantings and spread wild through the area) that taste better than cattails.  Based on that research, I collected seeds, rootings, and/or saplings (with permission from neighbors, if appropriate) and planted them on our land.  Among the wild foods I now have producing food are wild grapes, raspberries, wild plums, black walnuts, asparagus, and ground cherries.  Best of all, birds, squirrels, and other animals help spread these wild foods even more widely than I planted them.  I sometimes come upon non-poisonous wild foods, such as morel mushrooms in the spring, when I’m really lucky.  I have yet to figure out how to reproduce these where and when I want them to appear, but I’m grateful when they do show up.

All of the food varieties I grow are disease resistant, so I don’t have to use any chemicals on them.  I compost any plant trimmings, leaves, and food waste as fertilizer.  The resulting produce provides nutritious food.  But just getting enough to eat is not my idea of style.  That’s just staying alive. Style involves other things, such as sweets for my sweet tooth and wine with my dinner, and a lovely cup of hot tea in the winter.  For my sweet tooth, I have fruits, berries, and maple sugar.  Any of the fruits can be made into wine (as can the dandelions (the yellow flower only) that grow rampant). 

At the same time, I planted some 2 foot high sugar maple saplings—lots of them.  Like all types of maple trees, sugar maples can be used to produce maple sugar (the sugar maple sap is just higher in natural sugar content).  Now, 20 years later, some spiles (whittled from non-poisonous tree shoots), a bit and brace to bore holes in the trees, buckets to collect sap, and a fire of deadwood with a kettle over it are ready to reduce sap during the spring run.  (If you try this, be aware that you get only about 1 part syrup from 40 parts sap.  You should also know that this must be an outdoor operation, as the moisture resulting from reducing the sap to syrup will strip your wallpaper faster than any commercial product on the market!)  So now I have a natural sweetener for my natural sweet tooth.  And every year the trees send forth “helicopter”-like seeds that produce more sugar maples.

As for the hot tea I crave in the winter, I collect and dry raspberry leaves during the spring, just as the flowers begin to bud out.  I am careful not to strip any cane of all its leaves, but instead take a few from each plant.  I dry the leaves thoroughly (currently using an electric dehydrator, but the back window of a car sitting in the sun works quickly, too).  Then, when winter comes, I place 3 dehydrated leaves in 8 ounces of boiling water and let it steep for 5 to ten minutes.  I currently collect rose hips to make tea as well, but roses are rather fussy plants that sometimes require fungal control.  I don’t count on the rose hips to survive “the end of the world.”

One additional consideration is that the food, wine, tea, and sugar I produce can serve as a good basis for barter with neighbors.  Since you never know what you might need in the future, it seems optimal to have items to barter to fulfill those needs.

I also started my homeschooled children playing instruments from the age of five on.  We play all kinds of music and I collect books of music and lyrics of all types.  None of our instruments require power (other than lung and tongue, or finger power) to play, and together we can raise a joyful noise.  Some of the instruments are quite portable (such as the trumpet, flute, and harmonica), while others are stuck in place (my grand piano).  So another part of my style will continue uninterrupted—music whenever and however I want to play it or listen to it.  ([The famous polar explorer] Shackleton knew this when equipping his expedition to the Arctic, so I paid heed to his advice.)

As another part of homeschooling, I encouraged my kids (and myself) to memorize poetry, plays, and stories.  We spent long hours writing poetry, plays, and stories.  In addition to our original works, I built up an extensive library of useful non-fiction, and enjoyable fiction.  So the part of me that absolutely loves to relax with a good story can continue to do so—whether that story is oral, printed, or composed on the spot.

My whole family also practices creative arts for enjoyment.  One daughter knits and draws.  One paints, weaves, and embroiders.  I sew and dabble in a little bit of everything.  These arts can be useful (those cattails I don’t like to eat can be woven into nice rush-type seats for chairs), but they can also define the difference between enjoyment and drudgery in day-to-day life.  And while none of us has done significant pottery making, our piece of land even has a “red clay spot” (as identified on USDA soil survey maps).  This clay could potentially be used to produce pottery.

Now, this part may seem too girlish, but I like a place that doesn’t smell too awful.  Earlier settlers considered this when building the old farmhouse we live in.  So, while I’ve got a 5-gallon bucket, fitted with a toilet seat and kitty litter for the short survival times (such as tornado weather), I also have small lilac groves just to the northwest and just to the southeast of the house.  These are ideal settings for any future outhouses (the northwest to be used in warm weather, when winds prevail from the south and east, and the southeast to be used in cold weather, when winds prevail from the north and west).

Even my pets (a very important component of my lifestyle) have a place at the end of the world.  One dog, well over 100 pounds, is built perfectly as a draft animal.  He is already trained to harness and is learning to pull loads of deadwood from the pastures.  (We have frequent wind and ice storms, so dead wood is a seemingly endless commodity on our place.  I use handsaws to cut it up.)

Another dog, a mere 30-pounder, patrols the border of our land continuously.  Nothing gets past his attention.  And quite recently, he realized I’m starting to suffer some hearing loss.  He decided (all on his own) to be my “hearing ear” dog and alerts me to visitors, mail delivery, and the game animals (deer, geese, turkeys, pheasants, and rabbits) that pass through our place.  Our cats work to keep down the rodent population in our buildings and the garden.  And my hens provide eggs…until they provide stew meat.
As for other protein sources, we have a lot of available wildlife.  We have bow and arrows for hunting, and traps for smaller prey (up to the size of groundhogs).

Lastly, I’ve worked hard to instill a sense of humor and play into my children.  We try to find the humor in everything that happens to us (even if we need some distance before we can do so).  Then we re-tell the story, enact the story as a play, or otherwise make the humor stay alive.  For without humor, what’s the point of going on?