Odds ‘n Sods:

Texas imposes rolling blackouts as mercury drops. (A tip of the hat to Sue C. for the link.)

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DocLiberty and Yishai both recommended this gem: The Real Life Civilization-Building Kit. “For two years, a group of engineers has been working on the Global Village Construction Set, a collection of 40 DIY machines that can build a small, modern civilization anywhere with sun, soil, and water. Sounds like hard work.”

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Kevin W. suggested this CNN piece: A scene of violent chaos in Cairo. Kevin’s comment: “What lesson can be learned by preppers? Violence and brutality do not require guns. Gun control does not control people’s behavior. If goons want to wreak havoc, then they do.

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The folks at CampingSurvival.com just created a special 8% off coupon for their best-selling colloidal silver product. If you use the coupon code, “rawles”, then your price is just $11.91 each. This offer is good until 2/18/2011 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other coupon, promotion of freebie.

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Reader “Home’s Cool Mom” found this article interesting:  Joe Bastardi Predicts Colder Weather in Three of the Next Five Winters. Her comment: “If this is true, and the climate is beginning a colder phase, perhaps this should be factored into seed/plant/tree purchases for the garden and orchard. Growing seasons may be shortened and varieties for cooler zones than at present may need to be selected.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Saturday was indescribable. Nothing that I write can describe the utter state of lawlessness that prevailed. Every Egyptian prison was attacked by organized groups trying to free the prisoners inside. In the case of the prisons holding regular criminals this was done by their families and friends. In the case of the prisons with the political prisoners this was done by the Islamists. Bulldozers were used in those attacks and the weapons available from the looting of police stations were available. Nearly all the prisons fell. The prison forces simply could not deal with such an onslaught and no reinforcements were available. Nearly every terrorist held in the Egyptian prisons from those that bombed the Alexandria Church less than a month ago to the Murderer of Anwar El Sadat was freed, the later reportedly being arrested again tonight.   On the streets of Cairo it was the scene of a jungle. With no law enforcement in town and the army at a loss at how to deal with it, it was the golden opportunity for everyone. In a city that is surrounded with slums, thousands of thieves fell on their neighboring richer districts. People were robbed in broad daylight, houses were invaded, and stores looted and burned. Egypt had suddenly fallen back to the State of Nature. Panicking, people started grabbing whatever weapon they could find and forming groups to protect their houses. As the day progressed the street defense committees became more organized. Every building had its men standing in front of it with everything they could find from personal guns, knives to sticks. Women started preparing Molotov bombs using alcohol bottles. Street committees started coordinating themselves. Every major crossroad had now groups of citizens stopping all passing cars checking their ID cards and searching the cars for weapons. Machine guns were in high demand and were sold in the streets.” – Sam Tadros, January 2, 2011, as quoted by The American Thinker. 

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 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 $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP FPD 2-3/4″ OO buckshot ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $240 value), 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.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 33 ends on March 31st, 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.

Buy It Wholesale–Free Food Now and Free Food Later, by P.O.

I wanted to share with my fellow preppers a way to rapidly increase your food storage. Yes, it’s legal and for real!  I have no sales pitch and nothing to gain out of this, I’ve been doing this for almost a year now and the results have been just amazing.
         
My wife and I started a Farmer’s Market in our community almost three years ago.  The following “system” I have developed since then has come from our experiences there as well as my almost 20 years in restaurant management.  It can easily work for you with minimal effort.  Please stick with me because I’ll run the numbers for you off of actual prices in my area and you’ll be shocked and amazed at how much all of us are getting charged by our local supermarkets!  Even if you don’t have the time or inclination to do this, read on, as there is some very valuable information that could save you big money on your preps! 
        
If your family is like ours we don’t have a lot of money left over after paying the bills. Times are tough.  So if you could find a way to put a little cash in your pocket, eat fresh fruits and veggies for free, and be able to can or dehydrate them for free, then wouldn’t you?  Even if you and a few friends pitch in and buy produce in bulk and split it evenly amongst yourselves you can dramatically reduce your current food costs as well as your future food prep costs.  You can then use that saved money for other prep areas like medical supplies, ammo, and guns etc.
        
I call what we do a Local Food Co-op because it’s not really a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  Basically I buy an assortment of produce (fruits and veggies mainly) by the case or bushel and sell boxes (or bags) of assorted produce for either $10 (small family) or $20 (large family) with plenty left over for our family to eat for free and we have our dehydrator going 24/7 kicking out dehydrated food free for future use.  Now let me clarify a few things before I get into the “nuts and bolts” of this operation.
        
First, the people that buy produce from me get it for far less money than they can get it from Wal-Mart (or any other supermarket in our area ) and it’s almost always better quality or at least the same quality.
        
Second, it doesn’t take too much time at all to run.  You’ll need to spend a little more time up front getting all the needed information but after that less than five hours a week should be all you’ll need to devote to your food independence.  I spend an hour and a half once a week going to buy the produce. ( An hour of that is the round trip to buy it and about a half hour to purchase everything needed.)  I might spend another hour and a half dividing out the produce into orders for the customers and then getting them to the customers.  (Most of my customers are either friends, family, neighbors, or coworkers.)  Is it worth it to you to spend three hours a week so you and your family can eat all the fresh fruits and veggies they want for free all week long and all the produce you can dehydrate and can for future use for free? 
      
Third, you don’t need to be an expert to set this up and run it for yourself and lastly, you don’t need dozens and dozens of customers to do this. I started with just 10.  People will come looking for you when word gets around about how good a deal they can get.  Most people are in utter disbelief about how much produce they get for the money when they get their first order!  A few have even tried to give me more money than what I  charge.  Now on to the meat and potatoes…

      
First we’ll run some numbers.  I’m using the actual prices I’m paying right now (12/2/10) for this example:

      
This is roughly based on a weeks worth of produce for a family.  Let’s say you get 10 larger size families wanting “in” at a $20 share a week. So week 1 goes like this:

10 families at $20 =                              $200

That $200 you take and go buy:

100 lbs of potatoes for                             $40
25 lbs (case) of tomatoes for                   $12
bushel (30 lbs+) of green beans for         $19
bushel (40 lbs+) of oranges for               $20
bushel of cucumbers (40 lbs+)for           $10
a bushel (25 lbs) of bell peppers for        $14
bushel (40 lbs+) of red delicious apples  $20
case (25 lbs) of yellow squash for           $12
case (12 lbs) of zucchini for                    $12
50 lbs of onions for                                  $20
                                                               ______   
Total money spent:                                  $179                                                                

You go and divide up the produce and each family gets:

5 lbs of potatoes
2 lbs of tomatoes (that’s around 6)
2 lbs of green beans ( that’s almost a half a plastic grocery bag full!)
3 lbs of oranges (about 5-6 oranges)
3 lbs of cukes ( about 4 or 5)
2 lbs of bell peppers (5 to 6)
3 lbs of apples (5 to 6)
2 lbs of squash (6 to 8)
1 lb of zucchini (3 to 5)
3 lbs of onions (5 to 7)
That’s 26 pounds of food for $20! Can you walk into any one store and come out with all that for $20?

Now here’s what you and your family get out of the deal:

$21 cash (offsets the gas and wear and tear on your vehicle to get produce)
50 lbs of potatoes
5 lbs of tomatoes
10 lbs oranges
10 lbs cukes
5 lbs bell peppers
10 lbs apples
5 lbs squash
2 lbs zucchini
20 lbs of onions

That’s $21 cash and 117 lbs of produce for three hours worth of work!
You could sell off two more shares for another $40 in your pocket and still have a bunch of produce to eat all week and plenty more to can and dehydrate for future use.  You could also give more of the produce to your customers that is entirely up to you. That’s free food now and free food later!
       
About the only up front investment is you’re going to need a scale to weight the produce.  I got mine from the kitchen department at Target for around $20.00 and it’s weights up to 11 or 12 pounds before the scale tops out.  I also bought a bigger cheap plastic bowl to put on the scale to weight out bulkier items like green beans or potatoes for another couple of dollars.  Just remember to “zero” out the scale when you put it to use or your weights will be off.  It wouldn’t hurt to have a heavier duty scale to weigh your bulk cases just to make sure you got what you paid for.  I just use our bathroom scale and set the cases on that. It works great and I didn’t have to go out and buy one. [JWR Adds: In many jurisdictions, scales must be state-certified as “legal for trade.”]
      
So, obviously, you have to figure out where to get your bulk produce from and there are several ways to do that.  I would start by opening up the phone book or do a web search for produce companies for your local area or biggest city by you.  Ask them to fax or email you a copy of their latest produce price list.  Some update them daily, some weekly.  Get on their e-mail/fax list so you get updated pricing.  Get pricing from several produce companies if possible.  The price lists also include the case count (how many of something come per case or case weight.
      
Also be sure and sign up for their newsletter if they offer one.  It will tell you about shortages (huge price increases) due to weather etc. as well as price swings due to being in between growing seasons.  For instance, as summer winds up, tomatoes wind down in most areas of the country leaving about a four week span until Florida’s winter crop comes online.  Prices can spike from $12 a case to well over $20 and I’ve seen over $40 last year when Florida had a freeze that wiped out a bunch of tomatoes.  This is useful information as you can stock up on some produce that has a longer shelf life or brace your customers for temporary outages or reductions in their usual amounts of that specific item.
   
You should also check with your local farmers.  Most are willing (and want) to sell directly to you during their growing season.  It can never hurt to build a relationship with your local farmers.  In a SHTF scenario they may be your only option to source food if you can’t grow it yourself.
     
BIG TIP ALERT :  Another place to get bulk produce is from Restaurant Depot if there is one in your area.  It’s free to join you just have to show proof you have a business. (Any business!)  They generally want to see your business license as proof but are pretty lenient usually.  Even if you don’t have a business bring a friend or coworker who does as they gave me four cards with my business name on them.  Meaning anyone with a card can shop. (Hint, hint!)  They have unbelievable prices on a wide variety of produce as well as bulk foodstuffs such as spices, bouillon base, instant potatoes and hash browns, #10 cans of everything, bulk dried fruit, etc.  And if that’s not enough they also carry 20-to-100 lb bags of wheat, assorted flours, assorted rice, assorted beans, split green peas, lentils, corn meal, sugar, et cetera.  They also beat Sam’s Club on most prices also including lunch meats, chicken, and beef etc.  This place is a Preppers dream!
      
Once you get the price lists you now know the bulk pricing your typical restaurant would pay.  Next get a few weeks worth of newspaper ads from your local supermarkets.  That, combined with going to the grocery stores will tell you what the average consumer pays for produce.        

Do the math from the bulk price list from the produce companies to get a bulk to retail comparison.  For example… bulk price on a 50 lb box of potatoes might be $20.00 and a 5 lb bag from the supermarket might cost you $4.00.  So $20 / 50 lb = 40 cents per pound x 5 lbs is $2.00. Or pay the $4.00 at the supermarket.  Just bring a pocket calculator with you when you go and you’ll know before you buy it if you can make money on it (or at least break even) before you purchase.  When you get to know your pricing it ensures you won’t be paying retail prices on bulk purchases.
      
Now you might run the numbers and find just buying from you local produce companies will work.  You may even be able to get them to deliver!  But, there is usually an even better way.
      
Every decent size city usually has a “downtown” area where all the produce comes in by train or ship. ( Which is also usually where your produce companies are located)  Usually there is a downtown open air market or Farmer’s Market (or combination of both like in my city)  What happens there is the public can buy wholesale from the Farmers themselves or from the market.  These are where the real deals are, folks.  The same 50 lb bag ‘o potatoes you bought for $20 from a produce company can probably be had for $12-15 there.  Most places like this are open 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  They are open real early in the morning too, so you can beat the rush hour traffic by going either before or after.  They also seem to have a lot of the seasonal produce a week or so ahead of them appearing in your supermarkets.
      
The people there are usually pretty helpful and will answer questions about how many per case or pounds per case etc.  Just ask!   You can also open up and inspect the cases or boxes too.  You might need to buy the $14 case one week because the older $8 case looks a little too close to the end of it’s “shelf life”, while the next week the $8 case might be perfect.
      
The produce quality is usually better there also if you take the time to look around and comparison shop.  You’ll also have a choice of different sizes.  A 25 lb case of tomatoes can have 25 tomatoes in or it could have over 50.  (Far more than 50 if you get Roma or cherry tomatoes)
      
A few other items of note:  Pay attention to how many of an item come in a case or bushel.  Items like tomatoes, squash, zucchini are sold in different sizes or grades.  If you buy the largest size of tomatoes for instance there might only be enough to give every customer one where if you bought medium size case they might be able to get 3 or 4 even though the weight and cost could be the same.  When possible try to notice where your each of your produce items come from.  People would much rather buy local or regional than from some scary sounding city in a third world country.  People will ask and the more you know about your produce the happier you can make your customers. 

It is important to note that rules, regulations, and requirements imposed by various government agencies vary from location to location so I can’t even begin to cover that here.  But suffice it to say that a group of friends or co-workers buying wholesale and dividing it up amongst yourselves is viewed differently than if you have so many customers you have a warehouse with a retail shop up front and full-on marketing and advertising.  If you feel you need to know more on this by all means please consult your local government, lawyers, accountants, and experts in general.
      
I’ve been in the restaurant management business for almost 20 years and I can get produce far cheaper than the major international restaurant chain I currently work for with over 1,500 locations in 31 different countries, and now you can too.
      
WORDS TO THE WISE: Produce in this country and around the world is not nearly as abundant as you might think or are led to believe!  I have seen several severe shortages over my almost two decades in the restaurant business and they are happening more and more frequently.  I’m aware of on more than one occasion several national restaurant chains temporarily (meaning weeks or months at a time) not selling certain items because of shortages–caused by a multitude of reasons–here in the United States.  The restaurant chains stop selling it for reasons such as:

1.  They flat out can’t procure enough to supply their restaurants. 
2.  The quality of product they get is just too substandard to sell to their customers.
3.  Because of the shortage it becomes too cost prohibitive and would kill profitability.  
4.  They stop selling it so you can still buy it at the supermarket.  They fear the public’s reaction to food shortages will be to quit eating out and stock up and stay home.
        
So be warned: Get it while it’s still abundant and you still can afford it and can or dehydrate it for your future security.  I’m going to start including rice and various dried beans and put it in with my customers orders.  I plan on telling them to store it in 2 liter soda or juice bottles for their emergency food supply and buy a dehydrator with the money they are saving and get busy.   The U.S. government is now suggesting a minimum of a “few weeks” supply of food now.  They used to say three days was sufficient.  I wonder what’s changed all that?  Wouldn’t you feel a bit safer if you knew your neighbors and local community had emergency food you provided for below market cost?  If they have enough food to get though an emergency you won’t have to worry about sharing.  Tricking them into recycling/reusing the soda and juice bottles for storage would be an added bonus too!
      
I have found it helps retain customers if you switch up or rotate the types of produce from time to time.  Also throw in some different recipes or ways to cook or prepare some of the produce.  You’d be surprised how many people have no idea what to do with a sweet potato or that kids who hate green beans generally love them with Asian salad dressing on them.  (That is if you can get them to try the green beans in the first place!)
      
That’s pretty much it.  You find people who want to pay less for better produce.  Find out where to get the best bulk prices then you buy it, divide it up, and hand it out to your customers.  A couple hours a week tops for free produce and a little food security. You gotta love it!  I hope you have found this article helpful and informative. It has made a huge difference to my family of seven as it has helped greatly cut our food bill, sped up our emergency food preparations, and we now eat healthier than we ever have in the past.

Even if it’s not for you, then help a brother or sister out and pass it along because if you’d just take a minute to think about it, you probably know someone who could use this system.

The Psychology of TEOTWAWKI, by J.P.C.

Many are preparing with physical items for “The End”. This aspect is extremely important, but what good will it do you if you are mentally weak? In survival situations research has shown that on average the mental willingness to live equals roughly 50% of your survival chance. This is based upon the individual, whether already mentally weak or strong, the type of situation, and the duration of the situation that the individual is in. Some people are very wise, strong, prepared, or a combination of all, but will not make it passed the initial phase of a catastrophe due to their lack of adaptation, psychologically.

Many cancer patients make it through to remission mainly through mental will. Much like a body that has exercised principally in cardio for five years will do fine in a 5K run, a mental willingness has proven the same in mild to serious situations. I would like to discuss some situations and tips to prepare you psychologically, not just for yourselves and family, but for others that you may encounter.

The Mayo Clinic says that the effects of stress on the body include:

  •      Headache
  •      Back pain
  •      Chest pain
  •      Heart disease
  •      Heart palpitations
  •      High blood pressure
  •      Decreased immunity
  •      Stomach upset
  •      Sleep problems

Effects on thoughts and feelings are:

  •      Anxiety
  •      Restlessness
  •      Worrying
  •      Irritability
  •      Depression
  •      Sadness
  •      Anger
  •      Feeling insecure
  •      Lack of focus
  •      Burnout
  •      Forgetfulness

 

Effects on behavior are:

  •      Overeating
  •      Undereating
  •      Angry outbursts
  •      Drug or alcohol abuse
  •      Increased smoking
  •      Social withdrawal
  •      Crying spells
  •      Relationship conflicts

If these are symptoms during normal times, you could imagine what they would multiply to during a SHTF scenario. What would the effects be if you have to kill another human being? If hearing a random gunshot in your neighborhood gives you chills now, what about a battery of bombs being lobbed your way? It’s hard not to give to orphaned children right now, what about when you are on a tight food supply and there are three kids outside your house starving and begging for food, looking like they are starving to death?

Taking care of yourself and others:
If you are someone that has never been in harm’s way, may I suggest that you do so? I am not saying to do something potentially fatal, but do something that will give you a rush, an adrenaline high. This means different things for different folks. If you’re someone who enjoys hiking, whitewater rafting, or hunting grizzlies, try something that will push your limit whether it is writing an article or skydiving.  Get out of your comfort zone to feel what that rush is. If you are a homebody that prefers a good book to taking a walk in the park, go hiking. Try giving a speech in front of a crowd. Push the limits that you are comfortable with.

One item that I would highly recommend is what is commonly known as a “Ride-A-Long”. You can ride a shift with police, paramedic/EMS, or with the fire department. Try and do it in an area that has high traffic. The things that you will see will forever change you and help to toughen you for the future. Another issue that many of us face and are unable to cope with is the fact that someone we love will die shortly after the SHTF. Is your spouse on insulin? Are your parents on high blood pressure meds? Is one of you children epileptic? You need to face the fact now, not that they will die, but that they can die in a TEOTWAWKI situation. How are you going to take care of them in their final days? How are you going to provide security with them in your care?

If you are currently overweight, have a curable condition, or have an addiction, then now is the time to take care of these issues. If some kind of tragedy occurs after the SHTF and it was due to something you could have take care of before, you will be overcome with grief. Perhaps your small child is being attacked by either beast or man and you could not quite get there in time because of your physical health (being obese, no endurance due to lack of physical activity, a bum knee because you’ve put off surgery, etc.) guilt will surely overwhelm you. In an already dangerous situation, adverse effects could take place to self-punish. This does no one any good. For those of you that are already in the acceptance stage of future catastrophes, what about those you love? If you already have a plan set up and an elderly person will be staying with you, have they faced the fact that they may not last long? Have you and your members? Looking at the obvious, an eighty-four year old female who quite possibly could be on medications, will not last long. Medications run out and if she has to “run for it”, death could quickly be upon her.

The Basics:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory of psychology often presented in a triangle for visual understanding. At the top we have “self-actualization”. This includes creativity, being factual, understanding of one’s self, and realization. At this stage it is said that you understand what you were meant to do and that you do it. The next stage down is “esteem”. This is where one searches for the need to be an individual. Uniqueness, self-respect, and confidence are key attributes. The next stage is “needs of love and to belong”. Here is where things are broken down a little simpler. One searches out relationships through family and friends. They understand the importance of giving and receiving love. After this stage is “safety and security”.

One understands that there are real dangers in the world. This security is provided by one’s self and others. This security is not just against physical harm, but also against modern ideals such as losing a job or home, losing a loved one, or losing in one’s health. At the bottom of the pyramid is “physiological needs”. This is where the most basic instincts of all living beings stem from. The needs of food, water, shelter, and procreation are found. After looking at this pyramid, you could see how quickly humanity will decline. At the bottom of the pyramid is also the bottom of the barrel. People who were not very far up on the chain to begin with will quickly dissolve into murderers, rapist, drug abusers, alcoholics, and possibly even cannibals.

For some, the lack of morals that they’ve always had, the law helped to keep them in check. Once the law is gone and no one to take them away, their true inner selves will be exposed and they will search and destroy at will. Others will not be able to handle the notion that they will never be able to watch television again, or surf the Internet. No more fast food and easy living. No more one night stands and endless parties. Drugs and alcohol will depress these stresses and wind up turning them into mindless junkies. Your CEO may find himself looking at his girlfriend with a hungry eye because his maid hasn’t brought groceries in three weeks. He’s never cooked himself anything, but he completely understands the pangs of hunger.

Someone from your local place of worship may have had a complete mental breakdown. They’re confused, hungry, and dirty. They never truly had faith in what they practiced to believe, and now they are mentally incapacitated. Your own spouse, parent, child, or sibling could quickly reach the bottom of this barrel. When the facts that your family is well prepared with stocks of food, water, medicines, and a strong shelter cannot penetrate the mind of someone entangled in the beliefs of modern society, what do you do? When they have become so dependent on modern society that the fact that they have to make their own food and can’t cruise down Main Street any more sends them suicidal, or even homicidal, how will you react?

The Others:
Not everyone will break down and become evil. That neighbor down the street that you thought you couldn’t stand may turn out to be your best ally. He may be a war veteran, mentally hardened, but soft in the heart. He has food, shelter and security. Your spouse, who may have been weak before, may surprise you by pulling themselves out of the psychological muck and begin to take charge. Your computer loving, cell phone texting, television-watching kid could be the one to accept that there has been a large change and help to keep the family together and sane.

In survival situations of small scales, most people tend to unite. Even for the few that don’t pitch in, the others help them out. In larger scale situations, people generally tend to separate. You have the people who expect to be taken care of or that can’t take care of themselves, and the other group of people who realize the extent of the disaster and are barely able to take care of themselves and their families. If the situation is dire and last long enough, there will be confrontations between the two groups. In these situations, it will be important to find others of like minds not only for physical needs, but also for emotional. Try to find others who aren’t just prepared like you, but have the same morals, religious beliefs, political ideals, and values that you have. Remember that crazy Uncle Joe? You can stand him for the holidays, but that’s about it. Now imagine him living with you all day every day for years to come in a TEOTWAWKI scene. Hopefully you understand.

Being the Shrink:
It would be beneficial to have someone in your group or family who is experienced in counseling, psychology, or psychiatry. They don’t have to possess a degree, but preferably someone who has taken some classes and is understanding of the theories. This person could even be you. Why not take the initiative upon yourself to be this person. When a situation arises, you can help calm and support someone who has just lost a loved one or who has realized that the world is going to be a very different place. When someone realizes that they are going to expire, you can be there for them. When fights and quarrels break out amongst family, friends, or party members, you can help to restore the peace. Many times, when you finally have an outburst, the ones that you have consoled will then turn to console you. As a person who has studied these areas, you will be able to keep track of members’ mental health. Just as preventive medicine is good for medical health, the same applies to mental health. Should you notice that someone’s attitude has changed, find out the reason why and counteract it before it turns into a problem.

Psychology is a large, growing, and ever-changing field of medicine. This is why I have given you tips and reasons versus actual plans of action for different scenarios. Psychology also is not so clear cut. Some people who you may think would break down, may not. Lots of people that strongly believe in their religions will suffer to the end without resorting to their animal instincts. Their empathy for a greater good will prevail. No one can truly know what is going on inside the mind of someone else, but you can help by doing what you can. Although some people don’t truly know what is going on inside of their own minds. 

Two Letters Re: First Aid Kits Are Not Enough

Sir,
I very much appreciated reading the recent article about an adventure in wound care during a blizzard. It was chilling! Hope your wife has made a complete recovery! In my many defensive firearms classes with John Farnam, he has held forth the many virtues of the Israeli Battle Dressing (IBD) and its fantastic ability to control hemorrhaging. Had your wife severed an artery, the IBD may have been to only thing that would have saved her, at least would have been the best solution. The IBD has the ability to quickly apply a lot of preferential pressure on a wound and maintain it without further attention from the caregiver or the patient. Additional pressure is available by using the closure bar as a windlass to crank down even harder over the wound.

It is available in four inch and six inch pad sizes, and features a six foot long ace bandage securely attached to it. It also features a pressure bar that is used to focus direct pressure onto the wound as the Ace bandage is wrapped around the whole affair. The price, if you shop around, is about $6 each. I recommend that each family buy 50 of them. Have a half dozen in each vehicle you own. A half dozen in each kit. Can be used especially well on head wounds, chest, abdominal, and on extremities! If it bleeds through, apply another one on top! Do not remove the original.

That article, I hope, will jolt many out of their complacency and get them to realize that the vast majority of first aid kits out there are useless snivel kits. One needs a really serious trauma kit to fair well in any serious circumstance as you found yourself in!

Interestingly, during my five day stay in a hospital for open heart valve surgery, I spent my free time teaching staff and doctors how to use the IBD. They had never seen one! It was all new to them. Imagine, a really sore and hurting patient with tubes, wires, etc all over him wrapping the arms and heads of the nurses and surgeons who were caring for him. For a while, it took my mind off my own problems. Most cops have never seen one. I find no end of willing students who want to know about this truly amazing bandage.

You do a lot of good on your site and post a lot of useful information not available anywhere else. Even is some of it is not the best information (can’t think of anything that falls in that category), it gets people thinking! God Bless You. Best Regards, – Paul S.

 

Dear JWR:
I have been wondering why the writer kept changing bandages.  Particularly with a clean cut, as with a knife vs. a jagged vessel tear, most bleeding will stop within 10 minutes.  However, you should apply pressure for those ten minutes as measured by the clock, and not by how much time you think has passed.  Every time you remove the bandage to “check” the wound, you remove part of the clot.  Always add to your dressing, rather than change it (acutely) for this reason.  The dressing should be removed slowly and carefully for the same reason.  There is no rush to remove the dressing unless you are prepared to definitively clean and close the wound or some hours have passed and you want to minimize infection by gentle cleaning and replacing the dressing with something more sterile.

Once a clean or sterile dressing or sanitary napkin has been applied on the wound (to reduce infection), you may use towels over them if necessary for additional absorption and to maintain a dry outer surface for applying pressure.

Exceptions to the general rule about clotting may occur if someone has a coagulation disorder, whether inherent (liver disease, blood disorders) or secondary to medication (aspirin, warfarin, calcium channel blockers in high doses).

I can think of only about four times in the last 40 years as a lifeguard, firefighter, paramedic, and physician that I have faced uncontrollable bleeding.  Twice from severe liver disease (sick livers don’t make the proteins necessary for clotting), and twice from disseminated intravascular coagulation (before a strategy became widely known to address it).  I have had others bleed out, but those were from massive trauma causing quick death, generally secondary to internal bleeding that would have required immediate trauma surgery to address.

Regards, – K.N.

Letter Re: Post-TEOTWAWKI and Off-the-Grid Entertainment

Dear James,  

Thank you for the excellent work you do for those that listen and hear your guidance.  I’ve been an avid reader for many years and moved my family from urban Michigan to a full-time retreat property in the woods of North Idaho largely on recommendations here on SurvivalBlog.   Reed’s article on pastimes really should include the card game of cribbage. Any game, like chess, which has survived pretty much intact for many hundreds of years must have something good doing for it!  

Adding cribbage is as simple as investing in a quality board and taking a few minutes to learn the rules.  In a pinch, you can make one from a flat piece of wood, a drill and some spent matches as pegs. Many also use paper to score with, although a physical board makes it much easier to keep track.   The benefits of cribbage are many-fold. A few of them are: 

• The balance of luck and strategy allows absolute beginners to win some games, even against experienced players, unlike chess. 
• The scoring system also involves a significant amount of mental arithmetic, helping youngsters and older players alike. 
• The game itself can be played with 2, 3, 4 or rarely more players.
• A game only takes fifteen minutes or so, allowing a quick game.
• The game is open to, and suitable for, deeper analysis making it fun for the more calculating players.
• The game can be won by either player pretty much until the end, making it a good mood-lightener.
• It takes up little space, and no critical parts that can be lost.
• Cribbage is especially popular in Canada, the Northwest and mid-West regions of the US, and its overall popularity makes it a good ice-breaker, especially in hard times.

I would like to offer 20% off my cribbage boards for your readers.  (Use the discount code “TEOTWAWKI”). –  David, The Cribbage Guy

Economics and Investing:

Forecaster predicts the next crisis

Bob Chapman: A Nation Exclusively Run For Corporate Interests. (Thanks to John R. for the link.)

G.G. sent this: Egypt and the growing problem of global inflation.

John also mentioned a guest post over at Zero Hedge: The Road to Madness Is Paved With $100 Bills

Your Cheat Sheet to the 11 Countries Which Could Follow Egypt’s Lead

Huge Winter Storm Threatens Wheat, Cattle

Items from The Economatrix:

Nine Signs that the Price of Oil is About to Soar Beyond $100 a Barrel  

Less Than a 3% Drop in Asset Values Could Wipe Out Wall Street 

Are Gold and Silver Still a Buy?  Absolutely — Here’s Why

Odds ‘n Sods:

Michael H. sent a link to some useful New Madrid Seismic Zone graphics.

   o o o

Norman in England sent: 10 Things That The Egypt Riots Can Teach Us About What Happens When Society Breaks Down

   o o o

Tim R. suggested this photo essay: Protest spreads in the Middle East

   o o o

J.B.G. sent this: Bill would require all South Dakota citizens to buy a gun. It appears the legislator’s intent is to illustrate that the government can’t force anyone to buy any product–even health insurance.

   o o o

Tamara K. (of the View From The Porch blog) had some comments on the chaos in Egypt: It’s getting positively Rawlesian over there… (Thanks, Slick, but I thought that “Rawlesian” referred to the solutions, rather than the problems. Oh well, Malthus got branded the same way…)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Equo ne credite, Teucri. Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.” (“Don’t trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts.”) – Laocoön, as quoted by Virgil, The Aeneid

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest — Round 32 Winners

We’ve completed the judging for Round 32 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest!

First prize goes to J.E. for: Preparing for the Aftermath–Lessons from the 1930s, which was posted on December 24, 2010. J.E. will receive: 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 $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP FPD 2-3/4″ OO buckshot ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $240 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second prize goes to Frank J., for TEOTWAWKI Home Dentistry, which was posted on January 27, 2011. Frank will receive: A.) 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 $400, B.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and C.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third prize goes to C.J. in Montana for Returning to My Retreat After a Three Year Absence: Lessons Learned, which was posted on January 17, 2011. C.J. will receive: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Runner-up prizes go to eight writers:

Each of these writers will receive a $30 Amazon.com gift certificate.

Note to all prize winners: Please let me know your e-mail addresses for the Amazon gift certificates. (Those will be sent via e-mail.) I’ll also need both the USPS and UPS addreses for the top thre prize winners.

A New Prize!

We are pleased to announce that an additional prize will now be included as part of the Second Prize package for the upcoming rounds (starting with Round 33) of the writing contest: a Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value. These are being kindly donated by the manufacturer, Next Level Training. We have one of these SIRTs here at the ranch, and it gets a lot of use. It is an excellent way to develop speed and accuracy with absolute safety. Not only does it save on ammo, but it helps keep you at a high level of training, even during inclement weather. It has also provided us a way to practice “force on force” training for our family. (That was something that I had never felt comfortable with, using “triple confirmed” unloaded functional guns.)

Today we begin Round 33 of the contest. Round 33 ends on March 31st. Here is the first entry:

Building a Dry and Warm Temporary Shelter With No Tools, by Richard B.

Building a Dry and Warm Temporary Shelter With No Tools, by Richard B.

If you ever find yourself in the wilderness without any hope of finding rescue in a day or more, you don’t have any camping equipment, fire starting tools  and no way of knitting a 0 degree sleeping bag before nightfall, you may need to build a shelter.  The only other alternative in cold weather is to sleep during the day and stay awake all night with a fire or continually move to stay warm.  In this type of situation, you may be there for multiple days, and it may rain sometime during your time in the woods.  You need to stay warm and dry and get rest to survive.

Non fire shelters are built and used all the time but mainly by squirrels and mice etc….  The Indians knew this and they observed what works in nature and replicated the construction of these shelters.  They do work for humans but there are some specific steps, methods and rules to follow to make the shelter warm, dry, and wind proof.  

The basic design is an elongated “A” frame with a ridge pole that you sleep under.   Ribs (endoskeleton) are rested on either side of the ridge pole to form a slanting stick cave.  Leaves are piled on top of the ridge poles as siding for water shedding and insulation.   Additional branches are laid on top of the leaves (exoskeleton) to hold the leaves in place. A hatch is made to close the entrance enclosing you in a cocoon of leaves.  Now for the details 

1. Making a rake
When making this type of shelter you will need the ability to gather a large quantity of leaves.  Squatting down and sweeping leaves with your hands is brutal labor and will burn more calories than if you were standing up raking.  This type of shelter can take 8 hours or more to build when done correctly but that is if you have a rake to assist you and you move fast.  Finding a natural branch formation of a rake, well, don’t count on it.  So you either have to know how to make cordage or how to use what you have with you.  There is not enough room in this article to instruct on making cordage so we will suggest, for sake of time, to use shoe laces, belts and any other material you may have.   A simple branch with a Y about 4 feet in length is a starting point.  Find a second Y branch that is smaller in all dimensions and lash its Y in between the longer branch’s Y using laces and a cross beam for stability.  You will end up with a rake that has 4 end points which is much better than using your hands or feet as you will work faster and not burn as much energy.  A tarp, jacket  or some piece of material would be nice to rake leaves onto and transport them to your shelter.  But if none are available, making a travois from sticks may be the only option you have.  These tools may take a few hours to build but invest the time in making them as it will absolutely save you time overall. 

2. Find a location. 
Do not build a shelter in a low area or you may find yourself in a small stream at 2am watching your bedding and shelter flow downhill.  Not a good time to realize you are sleeping in a wash.  Think about water flow and spot the areas you will be above the flow zones.  If you are building your shelter next to a hill, you need all the leaves to be left untouched on that hill above your shelter as that keeps water from hitting dirt and flowing right down to your shelter, possibly in a mud slide.

The location should have a tree that has a Y formation approximately 2 – 3 feet from the ground. This will be used to hold one end of the ridge pole off of the ground.  If no such tree is available you will have to make an “A” frame out of lashing two (3 to 4 feet in length) sticks to your 9 foot (or more, but not less) ridge pole.   A side view of the completed structure will be the same form as a man doing a push up at the apex of his thrust.

3 Measure and adjust.
Laying on your side under the ridge pole, the underside of the ridge pole should not be any further away from your shoulder than 7 – 9 inches (approximately the distance from your thumb to your pinky with your fingers stretched out widely.)  This maximum distance allows your body heat to be captured and help warm the cavity or cocoon area of your shelter, but also allows you to move without moving the shelters skeleton.  More on this later.   If it is too tall, either break the two legs of the structure to lower it and keep the legs at an approximate 60 degree angle, or find other legs or another tree.  This angle is important for water shedding.

4.  Create the rib cage.
Procure sticks to lean up against the ridge pole adhering to the 60 degree angle.  Make sure the ribs do not extend beyond the top of the ridge pole.  This too is important in water shedding as it will create a V (looking down the length of the ridge pole) shaped tub to hold water as well as provide an extruding stick to transport rain directly inside. Use as many poles as you can to form the ribs, the more the better but economy of time is also important.  Keep in mind you will need more of these sticks to rest on top of the structure after you have applied the leaf covering.  If you make the opening small, just large enough for you to shimmy your way in, you will have less area to seal with leaves once you are inside. 

5.  Apply the leaf siding.
You will find instructions and videos on YouTube to make this type of shelter but I have yet to find one that speaks about the proper method for laying the leaf piles against the Rib Cage.  Raking a pile of leaves for your shelter results in leaves oriented in many different ways.  As the siding of a house is layered flat against the wall overlapped by the siding above, the leaves have to be layered flat against each other.  Take both of your hands and swat the pile of leaves 20 or more times with your fingers outstretched and palms down like you are playing a bongo drum.  This patting will force the majority of the leaves to lay parallel to the earth.  This is important as when they are laid against the rib cage at 60 degrees, any rain will hit the surface leaf, roll down ward and onto the leaf beneath it and continue on its way to the ground.  Therefore, it is extremely important to make your leaf siding 2 feet thick at a minimum or else the water may reach the inner layer of leafs before it reaches the ground.  Do not skimp on the 2 feet thickness even if you feel it won’t rain as this depth also provides an insulation layer that uses your body heat to warm the cocoon.  If the cavity is too big, if you do not lay down enough leaves to sleep on, if the depth of siding is not 2 feet, you will have marginal results by either getting wet, the air in the cocoon is only a few degrees above the outside air or the ground sucks out your body warmth.

Once the leaves are oriented, put one arm under the pile and your other arm on top of the pile directly over you other arm.  Pinch the pile together between your two arms, lift and carry to your shelter.  Start at the bottom and gently lay the siding pile against your shelter.  Cautiously remove your arm from beneath the pile attempting not  to disturb the leaf siding keep the leaves oriented broadside to broadside. 

Repeat this process all the way around the shelter except for the opening.   Once one level is complete around the bottom, apply a second layer above the first layer and against the rib cage working your way to the ridge pole.   Continue this process all the way around until the entire shelter is covered with leaves.  At the ridge pole, over lay the siding piles from one side so that they extend above and beyond the other side’s top siding pile.  This will send any rain striking the top of the shelter down one side of the shelter and not allow it to fall into the cocoon as easily.  Once the entire shelter is covered with this layer of siding piles, start over and apply a second layer.  This should give you the two feet of leaves if the piles you lift are thick.  Repeat this exact same process until you have layers that reach the two feet level.  Any more than two feet is a bonus but by the time you have two feet of leaves you will be ready to be done with the process.

This is by far the most time consuming activity in creating this shelter and can take 5 hours or more if this is built correctly.  It is also the most critical step, the part where cutting corners leads to failure and the part that you will be tempted to skip on. Do not skimp on the two feet of leaf siding and do not short cut on orienting the leaves.  

6. Fill the cavity.
When ground is cold and comes in contact with your body or cloths, it will draw the warmth away from you and drops your body temperature.  Leaves will insulate you from this effect but only if you have a thick enough layer between you and the ground and the leaves are dry.  To accomplish this, find the driest leaves you can and fill the inside of the cocoon to the top.  Stuff extra leaves just inside the entry hole that you can use to stuff into the opening once you are inside.

Filling to the top provides two requisite features and one feature that is nice to have.  One: It gives you the insulating layer between you and the ground when you crawl in and work the leaves underneath you.  Two: It also lifts you up closer to the top which is where your body heat will rise to and be caught by the two feet of leaf siding.  Three: Finally. it provides a softer surface to sleep on.  Comfort is not required but any comfort in this situation is greatly appreciated and can make a large difference in attitude the following morning. 

7. Cover the shelter with branches.
The leaves are there to protect you from the wind, rain and cold.  But the leaves are easily removed by wind so a second layer of ribs (or sticks) must be used to hold them in place.  I have had wind blow at my shelter in varying speeds but the air inside these shelters does not move because of the two foot thick walls.   Lay the exoskeleton on top of the leaves the same way the endoskeleton (inner rib cage) was built.  This holds the leaves down.

8. Make the hatch.
If your rake will cover the opening, you will have no need to make a hatch as you can use that.  If you have to make one then you can use your rake as a starting point but do so only after the leaves have been gathered.  The goal is a flat grouping of sticks that you can pile leaves upon after they have been oriented and will not allow the leaves to fall through the gaps in the sticks.  If you can lift it off the ground and the leaves do not fall through, you have a good hatch.  The purpose of the hatch is to seal the opening after crawling in.  You accomplish this by reaching out and pulling the hatch up bringing the leaves with it to seal up the entrance.   You may have to stuff leaves in any gaps once inside to seal it completely.

9.  Using the shelter
Before entering the shelter use the bathroom and avoid drinking liquids that will make you want urinate in the night.  If you have any water or any supplies you may need during the night, put them in the shelter before entering.  You do not want to go in and out of this shelter as it smashes down the leaves.
Enter the cocoon feet first.  Lift your legs to attempt getting them as high up on top of the leaf pile as possible.  Wiggle your way in trying to keep on top of the leaves and use as little movement as possible as this smashes the leaves down and removes the insulting air layers.  Once inside, pull the hatch to seal up the opening.  Use the extra leaves you pushed inside to seal up the opening with as thick a layer of leaves as possible. 

If your leaf siding is thick enough and your bed of leaves is also, your body should generate enough warmth to keep you at a temperature that will not allow your body to enter hypothermia.  If it was built well enough it may even be a temperature that allows you to sleep all night without discomfort.  

A few words of warning and advice. 
This shelter is a fireless shelter for obvious reasons.  Do not attempt to bring coals or any type of exposed flame into the shelter.  Although you can escape easily enough by kicking up and rolling out of it,  you don’t want a fire to burn your shelter and possibly the area you are living in.

If you leave this shelter for even one night, remove all of the leaves from the inside carefully.  Smack the sides of the shelter and look for any signs that some rodent or reptile has taken over your abandoned shelter.  Nothing like crawling in and finding you have a roommate at 2 in the morning. 

If you are practicing this in national forest, you cannot leave a structure made of natural material standing once you abandon it.  That is illegal.

Finally, this shelter is to be made when you can find an abundant supply of dry leaves.  Not all the leaves have to be dry for the siding but it is imperative that the leaves used inside that you will be laying on are dry and that no moisture from the leaf siding is dripping moisture into the cocoon.  If leaves like this cannot be found or it is raining when you are building this shelter, you must make a different type of shelter that will incorporate a fire.  The shelter described in this article is not that type of shelter.

If you are starting this type of shelter later in the day (after 1p.m.), It may be a better idea of gathering up as much food as you can for the next day and make any preparations for the night and then get as many hours of sleep that you can because you will have to stay up and move all night.  You will not have time to finish this type of shelter and you will skip steps and build a bad shelter.  You will then be exhausted from trying to get it built and you will have a miserable night, exhausted and cold. 

If you are making this shelter in the late spring through early fall,  keep in mind that you will be sleeping in the insects world.  Chiggers, fleas etc.. are a pest and cause a level of frustration in your survival situation that can be demoralizing and push you to giving up.  Eucalyptus, Sassafras, Pawpaw trees provide natural insect repellents in their leaves, just to mention a few.  You can lay them or mix them in with your bedding, lay down a layer before putting in your bedding, crush them and stuff them in your socks and any other way you can use them as a barrier between you and the insect world.  Research and practice identifying these and the many other trees that have this ability.

Post-TEOTWAWKI and Off-the-Grid Entertainment, by Reed C.

As a newcomer to the “prepper” lifestyle, I’ve been devouring the wonderful information I can find on SurvivalBlog.   These articles have prompted some deep and serious thinking from both me and my wife.  But one day, as I was reading about food handling and storage and how to survive after the crunch, I began to consider what it would be like to spend many long months locked up in a safe-house somewhere with two young children.  I remembered the Diary of Anne Frank, and how much they suffered from boredom while locked up in the attic of their safe house…and I suddenly realized that we may have overlooked a very important part of post-collapse survival: entertainment and pass-times.   Yes, I know there will be a lot of work to be done that will keep survivors very busy during most of the day.  But think back to the early settlers; after a very long day mending fences, caring for livestock, or plowing fields, the family retired to their homes and engaged in down-home entertainment.  And periodically, neighbors came by and they enjoyed some wholesome fun.    One amusing thought occurred to me as I thought this through:  In a post-TEOTWAWKI world, much of what I do today for “entertainment” would no longer be for fun, but for survival:  hunting, fishing, gardening, camping.  So obviously, those topics are not included.  I guess we have that to look forward to!  In a post-TEOTWAWKI world, husbands won’t have to beg for permission to go fishing or hunting!   This led me to do some research into the kinds of entertainment that would work off-grid.  Forget your X-box, forget NetFlix.  We’ve now entered a realm of entertainment that, in some parts of the  country, has been forgotten.   Board games and other indoor games can be both educational and simply entertaining.  They can be enjoyed silently, or as part of a raucous party.  They are cheap, can be found used in consignment shops for pennies, and really help pass the time on rainy or snowy days.  My personal favorite is Chess, as it can be enjoyed as a beginner or, if you want to improve, literally offers a lifetime of learning and improvement, and has been proven to be one of the finest games for actually improving thought and intelligence.  Even if you don’t play chess today, get books such as Guide to Teaching Chess, Chess for Children, Chess Tactics for Children, Chess Workbook, on chess openings.  This one game alone will give you years of learning and enjoyment with one simple game.  Also, it would be helpful to get a few extra pieces just in case they get lost or broken.  Suggested games include:  

1.      Chess 
2.      Checkers
3.      Backgammon
4.      Monopoly
5.      Sorry
6.      Uno
7.      Charades
8.      Pool (billiards)
9.      Ping Pong
10.   Darts
11.   Cards (don’t forget the chips)
12.   Any others you enjoy  

I personally am not a fan of puzzles (I guess Chess is my puzzle), but just about everyone else I know enjoys puzzles of some sort. 

Here are a few puzzles to look for:
1.       Easy child-friendly puzzles
2.       Hard multi-thousand piece jigsaw puzzles
3.       Cross word puzzle books
4.       Sudoku books and games
5.       Rubik’s Cube
6.       Any others you enjoy  

My family watches very little television and instead engages in various arts & crafts activities.  There are many kinds of art that could be enjoyed, but I’ve left out sculpting and other similar ones because storing clay for long periods of time is difficult, it’s bulky and expensive, and ultimately you’ll burn through that kind of material quickly. 

Here are just a few art supplies:
1.       Wood crafting/whittling tools
2.       Knitting supplies
3.       Sewing supplies
4.       Quilting supplies
5.       Paints
6.       Art Paper
7.       Crayons, coloring pencils
8.       Origami Paper  (With instruction book)

 

Educational supplies:
1.       Old fashioned bound-copy Encyclopedias
2.       Dictionaries/Thesaurus
3.       Writing materials
4.       Manual type-writer and extra ribbons, ink
5.       Math flash cards (addition, subtraction, division, multiplication)
6.       Math exercise books
7.       Geometry and Algebra text books
8.       History books
9.       Geography books
10.   Anatomy & Medical books
11.   Farm/animal husbandry books  

 

One of the most important things I realized I’d not heard or read mention of, is Music.  I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I had to live the rest of my life in a post-TEOTWAWKI world without any music.  Since I already play many instruments, I plan to have a stash of them at my retreat, and books to teach the young’ns how to play and pass on the skills.  The instruments I list below would give you enough to literally have a small band.  Believe it or not, places like Musiciansfriend.com often have many of these instruments for less than $100.  I bought a fantastic Mandolin for about $100.  I’ve seen fiddles by the same makers for around that.  The point being, you don’t have to spend $800 or more per instrument.  Also, search on Craigslist, you’ll find steals there.  I got my daughter a $600 flute for $80.  (Note I don’t put a Piano in there because they are just too darn cumbersome, but if you have the space at your retreat, that’s the best instrument to learn music on…but they require tuning):

1.       Fiddle
2.       Guitar
3.       Banjo
4.       Mandolin
5.       Harmonica
6.       Melodica
7.       Accordion
8.       Flute, penny whistle, or recorder
9.       Acoustic bass or hollow-body bass
10.   Hand drums (bongos, Irish “Bodhran”, congas, tambourine, maracas, etc)
11.   Introductory books for each instrument teaching note-reading, scales, and basic theory
12.   More advanced music for reading
13.   Tuning forks (assuming an off the grid lifestyle, this solution requires no batteries)  

Let’s not forget all those fun, traditional outside games and of course, the supplies necessary to enjoy them for years without being able to run down to a market and buy items:

1.       Flag Football
2.       Baseball/softball
3.       Basketball (anyone going to have a court at their retreat?)
4.       Volleyball
5.       Badminton
6.       Dodge ball
7.       Soccer
8.       Kick ball
9.       Archery (obviously fun for kids and great training for survival)  

Before I conclude, there is one more area that I should cover.  One thing I learned years ago as a camp counselor was that there will be rainy, cold and miserable days when the children might be bored with their usual games, or those games have broken or worn out, and it will be important to give them something to do.  Make sure you have a great book on games that do not require supplies.  I highly recommend this book: 175 Best Camp Games   On Wikipedia, I also found another list of traditional games people used to play and you might want to compile a list like this one for those rainy days.  

JWR Adds: Here at the Rawles Ranch, we have stocked up on enough home-schooling books for a full-blown total isolation Blast From the Past-style education to college level for all of our children. We have found that library book sales are the best place to find reference books, encyclopedias, and all the classics, sometimes for incredibly low prices.

Letter Re: Earthships: Sustainable Living for TEOTWAWKI

Dear James Rawles,     
We have lived in a Earthship for 12 years.  It is an excellent way of life and very fulfilling to be able to build your own house.  But living in the the dry desert southwest does not provide enough [captured rain or snow-melt] water to grow enough food to survive.  We need a well to provide water.  It is run by solar panels and a jack pump.  But in the summer monsoons or with the winter clouds we have to use a generator, for both pumping water and enough power to run the house. In times of really expensive gasoline or lack of gas we will be in trouble.  

In the winter it is true that it doesn’t freeze inside but living in a house colder that 65-68 is uncomfortable. A wood stove is an excellent idea when the weather outside is -20. With all the windows, the heat escapes at night.  Learning to live in more extreme temperatures help, wearing sweaters, more blankets at night et cetera, but the extremes in the summer are more difficult.  Fans are okay, air conditioners are prohibitive in their electric usage, so wet tee-shirts and spending as much time outdoors is the answer.  

It is true we don’t have a regular electric bill or water bill, but when we do it is a doosey.  (Calling the well driller to haul the guts out of the well or buying heavy batteries, when needed.) And when the septic system fills up you either dig it out yourself or call a professional.  

If you keep all your amenities including your big screen television, electric clothes dryer, electric freezer then the cost of your solar system will be astronomical.  Learning to be conservative with your electric usage is necessary.  

The design with all the windows is wonderful for all the passive solar heat collecting, but does make it a high safety risk in security.  We live beyond the boonies so that isn’t a concern for our chosen level of preparedness.  

I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, just realistic. We have no mortgage and that has made it possible to make lots of other preparations.   We love our house and our lifestyle, but like any house it has its limitations and upkeep. Thanks, – Craftyam

Two Letters Re: First Aid Kits Are Not Enough

James,  
The letter “First Aid Kits Are not Enough” is a great example of the need for all of us to lay in a large supply of real first aid equipment! The place I would recommend everyone start is the Israeli Battle Dressing (known as the “Emergency Bandage” here in the U.S., and as “IBDs” in military and police circles). They generally go for $5-6 on the net, and can be had cheaper in quantity. I know I can’t go to any drug store and secure first aid materials that will do what it does for $5!   IBDs are manufactured and distributed by PerSys Medical of Texas, and they have a free “how to apply” video on their site, which is available directly from them as a CD-ROM, all for free.   There are many other bandages like it on the market, (CinchTight, etc.), and all I’ve tried will work. But, I find the IBD to be the best over-all design and easiest to apply, so that’s what me and mine have standardized to. However, the point here is that while Red Cross First Aid is a wonderful program, and 4×4 gauze pads have their place, those things are only a basic foundation when it comes to serious wound treatment. Learning the proper application of a military grade trauma dressing should be a high priority for every member of the family! We should own large amounts of such dressings and carrying them with us at all times! (I carry six in my vehicle and one in my coat.)   Here is an article about the Tucson, Arizona, mass shooting, describing why. – Bill from Ohio

 

Sir:
I have very extensive medical and first aid kits. Among the items I have stored are alcohol, betadine, iodine, witch hazel, and hydrogen peroxide. I kept the various liquids in the manufacturer’s original plastic bottles. I then stored the bottles in the gasketed, air tight, water and crush proof, green metal cans with which we are all so familiar. The cans have been stored in the house, at a fairly constant moderate temperature.   Apparently hydrogen peroxide is much more volatile than I realized. I recently checked my supplies and found that the peroxide in nearly every bottle had eaten its way thru the plastic and leaked into the can. In one case the peroxide had then eaten right through the metal can itself. I’ve had no problem with any of the other liquids.   A friend of mine has had the same problem with the peroxide he had in his b.o.b., after less than a year of storage. He also had kept the bag and contents in his house.   For now on we will both be keeping our hydrogen peroxide in containers separate from all other supplies. And we will be checking it much more often for bottle integrity. – Jim in Ohio