Preparedness Principles – Part 2, by Old Bobbert

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

Bobbert’s Principle #5 – Principles are never my personal possession

I try daily to practice the principles regularly promoted on Sundays as being the right way to conduct my life, and as to how I should treat others, and what to teach my family, But I am also fully aware that these fundamental principles are not owned by any belief system.

We can confidently look to any, and every, good and worthy example for enlightenment and information. Additionally, as preppers / leaders, we must never forget that “Being Wrong Does Not Make Them Bad“ and that “Being Right Does Not Make Us Good.” It’s a principle to consider when you are ready to condemn the opposition.

Yes, I have tried to put my personal experiences into our dire topic of finding and adopting principles, in the sincere hope that you might be more likely to develop your personal principles, and be better able to survive the highly-probable financial and societal collapse. A collapse that very soon may well be generated by a failure of the global fiat currency financial systems, and then will surely be quickly followed by the cascading failures of power, communications, food distribution, travel infrastructure, fire protection, and police systems. Historically, all of them have fallen in the past!

Towards this enablement effort, I am simply documenting for you what we have already done in our home for ourselves, our family, friends, and our small 600-resident rural community. I do a free monthly prepper article for our newsletter. What you are reading here is simply Bobbert talking with you about us, and about what we have done for ourselves.

As an experienced and principled prepper family, we highly value the basic concept of “Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.”

 

A Prepper Video Training Library

I have created a computer folder titled Prepper Training Videos. These are the types of groups I have chosen to download. I did buy an inexpensive 4TB external hard drive for prepper videos and data items. Your video group choices should reflect your current concerns and knowledge / ability levels, as does ours. Your choices will be guided by your principles and family / group experiences and needs.

  1. Your small town / group security
  2. Decide in advance – When & why to kill”
  3. 2021 Financials / Do It Now
  4. Success after The Collapse
  5. Grid Down Communications Plus
  6. Guerilla Warfare Principles & Tactics
  7. Used Correctly – Herbs Are Medicined 
  8. Preppers Proven Principles of Leadership
  9. Preppers Reacting To Civil Disturbances 

Continue reading“Preparedness Principles – Part 2, by Old Bobbert”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.

Honour widows that are widows indeed.

But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” – 1 Timothy 5:1-8 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — March 13, 2021

March 13th is the birthday of the astronomer Percival Lowell, in 1855. His flawed “Canals of Mars” theories persisted from 1895 to 1909.

—

I trust that SurvivalBlog readers in the Rockies and the Dakotas are ready for the approaching late-winter snowstorm. Hunker down, stoke your wood stoves, and be prepared to shovel out! I’ve heard that Casper, Wyoming and Denver, Colorado are both expecting up to 2 feet of snow. And some places may receive up to 3 feet!

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Preparedness Principles – Part 1, by Old Bobbert

In this two-part essay, I will relate some Profoundly Productive Proper Preparedness Principles:  “Protection From Failure.“ Part 1 is general, while Part 2 is quite specific and has lots of links.

Disclaimer:  The contents of this article are offered only as educational information freely available to the general public. There is no intent to promote or enable any type of illegal, immoral, insurgent, destructive, dangerous activities, communications, or conduct. I find it distasteful that living in these times that I feel obliged to post such a disclaimer.

—
Introduction

“Principles.”  It’s not just another dull word. No, it is an important word.

Let’s begin with the known historical aspects concerning principles. First, the very concept that you and I should be prepared for difficulty and emergency is a long-proven principle. Secondly, preparedness itself is a principled activity. Thirdly, A prepper is necessarily a principled person. And as a contrary point, hoarding has nothing to do with preparedness and violates many principles. And that ends the theoretical lessons for today.

As young people, we were usually taught that we needed sound principles by some older person who then smiled and offered an edible treat. It was usually a caring person who wanted to help us to mature into a very perfect loving caring brilliant duplication of one of our grandparents.

It may have been a parent, a teacher, or a pastor who usually had no idea that we did not then know what the word meant – or when it might be important – or when we might need a principle – or why we might need to have one – or who could we get one from. None of these questions were ever truly explained – or demonstrated – or made available to us in advance of an event or decision point in our futures.

Q: So how do I know about what did not happen in most of our lives so many years ( experiences ) ago?

A: I am simply saying to you that this is my story about me.

Q: So why am I offering this information to you at this time? A time when you might feel that it’s too late to learn new rules – new concepts – new ways of governing – a new way to move on with our lives in a totally new world of surviving a collapse of the financial system(s). An ugly new world of the absence of easy transfer of goods and information, of the deadly silence of the sudden loss of the universal ease of communications, and especially the cold absence of civility and generosity to others. We are moving into a new world, a new life, a new experience. It will be a cruel new world where we will need proven principles to enable us to overcome the evils that will surround us and the unprincipled people who will not value us as being worthy of our very lives.

A:  That is a long question with a short answer. The answer is very simple and proven by both history and our everyday experiences. Preppers need to know, believe, practice, and promote the following “Prime Rule of Survival” – It is my foremost principle on which I pattern my life:

“If we do not take care of each other, then no one will be taken care of.”

We have started to cover the why of my efforts help others, Now we can move on to the meat of this essay. Can you tell that I love words? And use words? And teach words? I have learned that words, when carefully selected and then transmitted in a useable manner, can often enable others to be empowered to improve the lives of family, friends, and strangers. Words can occasionally convert an enemy into an ally. Possibly even a new and trustworthy friend. Now is the time to address the vital aspects of the basic concept of “Principles”. We will look at these particulars in a simplistic form:Continue reading“Preparedness Principles – Part 1, by Old Bobbert”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in the Odds ‘n Sods Column, and in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

I’m still traveling and don’t have much to report, for prepping progress.  But I did but a few bargain military surplus items to add to our stockpile at the Rawles Ranch.

A Reminder:  I presently have Elk Creek Company‘s shopping cart system shut down, for my travel during the month of March. I plan to reactivate it starting on March 31st, 2021. (Mark your calendar.) Worst case is that the Senate version of the dreaded H.R. 8 will pass. Yes, “Universal Background Checks” for post-1898 guns could become Federal Law  — with the law taking effect in 180 days — sometime around October of 2021. I can foresee this as a Sea Change event. One long-tern unintended consequence of this law is that it could cause the value of pre-1899 guns to double or triple. That is because they will be the only cartridge guns that will still be available to be bought and sold without a background check and Federal paperwork.

Lily has some missives on life in Mud Season for you. But first… So that you can see what Mud Season looks like in our region, don’t miss the latest vlog from our friends with the Good Simple Living family: It All Starts With This First Step — Building Our DIY Debt-Free Home In The Mountains.  (You can start at around the 2:26 mark, to see beaucoup mud.) We recommend subscribing to their YouTube channel. They’ve quickly rocketed to 220,000 subscribers!

Now, over to Lily…

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.

A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.

He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.

Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.

There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.

The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.

The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.

Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.

Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.

A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.

Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.

The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.” – Proverbs 13 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 12, 2021

Today is the birthday of science fiction author Harry Harrison, who is best known for his Deathworld trilogy. (He was born in 1920 and died in 2012.)

On March 12, 1850 the first US $20 gold piece was issued.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Re-Purposing Small Containers, by The Novice

The squeeze tube was invented by artist John Goffe Rand in 1841. It was originally designed to contain and dispense paint. By 1889, Johnson and Johnson began selling toothpaste in tubes. When I lived in Norway during the 1990s, I enjoyed dispensing cod caviar onto crackers from squeeze tubes. Squeeze tubes provide a convenient container/dispenser for substances that might otherwise be messy to use.

One day recently as I was brushing my teeth, I was thinking that many toothpaste tubes are now plastic, whereas formerly they were usually made of metal. As I thought about this, I began to wonder if an empty plastic squeeze tube could be cut open, cleaned out, refilled, resealed, and reused. I decided to give it a try.

The First Test

My first granddaughter was recently born in another state. My wife and I went to visit my daughter and her family in order to welcome and celebrate the new arrival. While we were there, I used up a travel-sized tube of Colgate toothpaste. I decided that this small tube would work well for my first experiment. With a small tube, a smaller quantity of the contents would be wasted if the experiment failed. So I saved the empty tube rather than throwing it away.

After I returned home, I removed the cap from the tube, and cut off the bottom with a pair of scissors. I then opened up the tube and rinsed it thoroughly in warm water until the residual traces of toothpaste were washed away. I thoroughly rinsed the cap as well, and then left the tube and cap on a towel on the bathroom counter to dry. This process left the room smelling “minty fresh.” I decided that petroleum jelly would be the best material to transfer to the tube in this first experiment. My favorite tinder, with the possible exception of birch bark, is a cotton ball dabbed with petroleum jelly. A squeeze tube is a very convenient container for carrying and dispensing that material. On February 4, 2021, SurvivalBlog published an article in which I described preparing a reusable squeeze tube to dispense petroleum jelly. Now I would be seeing if I could re-purpose a disposable tube for the same task.

With that in mind, I took the dried tube and cap to the barn. There I lighted my Norwegian “Storm Kitchen” alcohol stove and put a pot of snow on the stove to melt. Then I put the cap on the tube, and secured the cap in the vise on my workbench with the open bottom of the tube uppermost.Continue reading“Re-Purposing Small Containers, by The Novice”

Letter Re: 2021 Winter Storm Lessons Learned

Dear Editor:
Regarding the 2021 Winter Storm Lessons Learned article, I have a few recommendations:

I keep a 1800W variable speed inverter generator around to charge phones, run the internet and routers, power a computer, run a television and keep the refrigerator or freezer going.  It is quiet, doesn’t disturb the neighbors, and sips gasoline, especially with the variable speed.  It is small and light enough I can bring it into the house to keep it warmer for easier starting.

For the car and the generator I keep a can of ether in the shed.  Most cars today do a great job atomizing fuel in the cold but I can remember shooting ether into my cars with carburetors when the temperatures dipped below zero back in the 80’s.  I still periodically use it to start generators with fuel issues.  It has some risks and some OEMs don’t want owners to use ether, but if I need it I’ll accept the risk.

For longer-term outages, say a solar flare or attack on the electric grid, I keep solar panels and a charge controller in the basement.  This can charge the battery from my pop-up camper and the batteries in my car jump starters.  I keep a couple pure sine wave inverters in my EMP trash can.

For the toilet I have a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat mounted to it, store-bought.  I could try to use it as a composting toilet with my sawdust, but I also keep a box of wastebasket liners, 10 gallon size, 500 for around $15 at a warehouse club.  The bags are thin, not sure how large the leak risk is, but the bags can be used to control the smell.  It would create quite a bit of waste but seems viable for at least a week.

I wish I had a solution for the heat.  My mom had natural gas and I’ve thought about how to keep her warm if the power and gas failed in a storm.  She’s not tech savvy and I never found an easy to implement solution.  Blankets and sleeping bags was it.  My main heat is a ground based heat pump that needs large quantities of power.  For backup I have a propane furnace under the heat pump coils.  The furnace probably needs more surge power than the 1800W would produce but I have larger generators too.  I also have a pellet stove in the basement that could be powered off the 1800W generator that will add enough heat to the house to keep it in the 50s.  I’ve had to do this when my furnace failed.  A garage wall has enough pellets to last for 60 days.  I’ve done quality checks on the pellets and haven’t seen deterioration in 5 years of no rotation.   If OPSEC is important I plan to build a fort either above my bed or in a carpeted room.  I save old blankets and sleeping bags in the attic to act as the insulation for the fort.  Humans give off around 100W of heat per day which would have a warming effect on a small space, though not like a furnace. – Greg

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the effect of pending Federal legislation on gun prices. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Mark Lundeen: Gold is Now Very Oversold

o  o  o

Gold price can’t catch a break as oil hits nearly 3-year high; all focus on bonds – analysts

Economy & Finance:

At Econimica: The Narrative of Inflation Amid Depopulation

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: Warren Buffett: “Retirees face a bleak future”

o  o  o

Senate Passes $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Package; Here Are The Differences From House Version

o  o  o

Freddie Mac: Mortgage Rates Hit Three Percent

o  o  o

Rates activity surges as bond yields rise sharply

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 11, 2021

Trapper and survivalist Claude Lafayette Dallas, Jr. was born March 11, 1950. The subject of several books and movies, Dallas had a “colorful” life. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of two game wardens, in Idaho. He served 22 years of a 30-year sentence before being released in 2005. He reportedly now lives in the wilds of Alaska.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 93 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical 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,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 93 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

To Freeze-Dry or Not Freeze-Dry, by J.A.

Our family began our self-sufficiency journey approximately 15 to 20 years ago at an LDS Home Storage Center location and we did not have a focused plan (Yes JW,R I should have thoroughly reviewed the list of lists, my bad!). In hindsight, we would not have gone as heavy as we did in wheat berries, beans and rice. However, that is water under the bridge at this point as we slowly work our way through the original purchases (wheat berry meatloaf anyone?). Since that time, our food storage has greatly diversified and if you have priced out certain freeze-dried items lately, you realize the prices can be quite high.

If we take a slight detour back to 2014, I remember reading a multi-part article on SurvivalBlog.com which was a review for the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer. He followed up with a retrospective review, in 2017. It was after reading Mr. Latimer’s article that I began to consider the purchase of one of these units. Several times during the years since the publishing of his article, I would vacillate on the concept of purchasing one of the units. It took me quite a while to pull the trigger on one, and in retrospect, we should have done it years ago. Last year, when we decided to put down our hard-earned Federal Reserve Notes and purchase the medium-sized freeze dryer unit from Harvest Right, we made a pinky swear that if we were to make this investment, we would use the machine on a regular basis and not just use it once in a blue moon. The intent of this article is not to update the review done by the previous author, but rather, to help others in the decision-making process by illustrating the potential return on investment associated with this appliance.

In full disclosure to the reading audience, at the time of writing this, our experience is limited with the dryer. We have had the dryer for two- and one-half months, and so far, only 16 batches have been completed but we feel we are getting our money’s worth from the machine thus far. Below I will provide two examples of the foods we have processed and then make the comparison of commercial procurement versus doing it yourself. The two examples that will be presented are biased towards higher dollar commercially available products and we have processed other foods (examples being yogurt, dill pickle chips, leftovers, etc.) that would still be decent savings, but likely not as drastic.

The first cost comparison will be freeze-drying cheese, specifically mozzarella. A few of the parameters/assumptions used for this comparison are as follows:
• We are using mylar bags to package versus #10 cans as we made the decision to not yet invest in a can sealer.
• The cost of electricity is based on what others have said their running costs were on average. At first blush, this assumed cost seems reasonable based on the average run time of 24 to 30 hours.
• The purchase cost per #10 can was determined by performing an Internet search and if the item happened to be on sale at the time, that was the price used in the spreadsheet.
• The cheese was purchased already shredded from our local restaurant supply store.Continue reading“To Freeze-Dry or Not Freeze-Dry, by J.A.”

Letter Re: Constructing a DIY Composting Toilet

Dear Editor:
In regards to “Constructing a DIY Composting Toilet”:
That urine could be a valuable commodity for those that might need to improvise their own black powder one day. I respectfully submit this website link, which explains one way the Old Confederacy manufactured nitre (saltpetre.)

A chemist named Jonathan Harrelson in 1863 figured out how to create more potassium nitrate or nitre by extracting it from urine. The men were all away fighting. But women could collect their urine out of bedpans and pour it into a huge truck pulled by a horse around town and they would make potassium nitrate out of it. A request as placed in the Selma Alabama newspaper and apparently it worked.

So various people on both sides wrote limericks about the phenomenon.

From the Confederates: “An appeal to Jonathan Harrelson”

John Harrelson, John Harrelson, you are a wretched creature,
You’ve added to this war a new and awful feature,
You’d have us think while every man is bound to be a fighter,
The ladies, bless their pretty dears, should save their p** for nitre,

John Harrelson, John Harrelson, where did you get this notion,
To send your barrel around the town to gather up this lotion,
We thought the girls had work enough in making shirts and kissing,
But you have put the pretty dears to patriotic pissing,

John Harrelson, John Harrelson, do pray invent a neater
And somewhat less immodest mode of making your saltpeter,
For “tis an awful idea, John, gunpowdery and cranky,
That when a lady lifts her skirt, she’s killing off a Yankee.

(There are a few more lines I have omitted out of respect for the ladies.)

Regards, – Wagstaff