The Editors’ Preps for the Week

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To be prepared for a crisis, every prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We also welcome you to share your planned activities for increasing personal preparedness in the coming week. (Leave a Comment with your project details.) Let’s keep busy and be ready!

JWR

This week has been a lovely, and quite interesting week here in the northern half of the American Redoubt.

In the Garden

We are harvesting some Strawberries, Red Raspberries, Mesculin Lettuce, and Walking Onion bulbs. While weeding near one of my volunteer potatoes, I uncovered a two inch diameter  Red Potato. This is good news, because we are now just about out of last year’s stored potatoes. This means I can start harvesting the new crop, as we need them. I always harvest the volunteer potatoes first, since they’re scattered all around the garden. These almost always get an earlier start from the specifically planted potato patch.

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The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods – a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”.  Air-conditioning without electricity is the name of the game.

Recycled Air-Conditioning

Reader G.P. sent in this article on how villagers in Daulatdia, Bangladesh are using recycled plastic bottles to cool their huts by as much as 10 degrees without using electricity and all the while providing fresh air in the home. The process works similar to how you can feel the difference in air temperature when you blow on your hand with an open mouth verses pursed lips. It’s an idea to consider when you live in an area that really needs air-conditioning.

Venezuela

A Mad Max scenario unfolded in Venezuela as bikers chased down a semi-truck with molotave cocktails to steal its payload of sugar. As an aside, You also get a good view of the condition of the 4 lane highway and its man-eating potholes. Bernie Sanders socialism at its prime. Thanks to reader W.W. for the link.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day

“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,  Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.  Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:  and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.” – Numbers 25:10-13 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday – July 14, 2017

July 14th is the birthday of Colonel Einar A. Malmstrom. He was born in 1907 and died August 21, 1954 near Great Falls, Montana, in the crash of a T-33 jet. He was a decorated Air Force pilot, a Luft Stalag POW survivor, and test pilot. Malmstrom AFB was one of the settings for JWR’s novel Founders. (The base was named in his honor.)

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Just a quick reminder on the comments section of the blog. We encourage our readers to share their thoughts on the articles and join in the conversation, but please keep the comments on-topic and if you disagree with the author, make sure you are not personally attacking the person. We want to keep these comments useful to everyone. Disagreements and corrections are fine, but ad hominem attacks are not. If you have any questions, please refer to the Discussion Guidelines.

If you have a question or comment that is off-topic, please send it to us via our contact form or email. If it is intended for public consumption, we’ll probably use it as a Letter to the Editor. – HJL

Planning For Success During And After The SHTF- Part 2, by Old Bobbert

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Yesterday, we looked at the rules of planning for success during and after the SHTF and began examining the component of a good plan and the changes that might be required after SHTF. We already covered the areas of finances and food and began looking at the topic of medical. We will continue on to examine the area of medical and other topics today.

Medical (continued)

  1. Pre-incident acquisition of emergency and bartering medications and water purification tablets is very important. It is legal, and simple, to use any of the Internet search engines to determine and evaluate various pharmaceutical distribution sites located in other countries, especially India, marketing meds manufactured there and globally. Many are readily available. All Day Chemist is my regular favorite. They do have a constant $15 shipping charge, regardless of the size of the order. As an example of the cost savings, they offer my albuteral inhaler for COPD, brand-named VENTORLIN, to me for only $4.53 USD plus shipping. The shipping box is marked as “personal medication and not for resale”. It travels to me through both U.S. customs and the USPS without being opened for inspection. Even with shipping, on an order for 10 puffers, the cost to me is only $6.03 per item. That is still far below our regular local cost, with insurance! And my puffer is manufactured in Australia
  2. Remember that it is very good to have a “large“ supply of bandaging materials. These items, and many other medical supply items, are available at much lower costs from online veterinarian supply firms. Again, I have a favorite. Their prices are competitive, and the service is excellent. Of course, there are many good sources nationwide. Do your homework and find one you trust the most.
  3. Create a printout of the usage, dosage, and warnings for each and every one of the meds in your supply. Before you hand over the meds, read out loud to that person every word in your printout! The group medic should be the responsible person to teach about safe use of medications and about emergency procedures.

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Letter Re: Using Cloth Diapers in TEOTWAWKI

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Hugh,

This will not apply to most of your readers, but my wife and I are using cloth diapers for our newborn son. At $5 a piece they pay for themselves quickly and will be useful when items are hard to obtain during uncertain times. Thanks for the blog, and attached is a link for the diapers. – R.T.

HJL’s Comment: There are many advantages to cloth diapers. There are also many disadvantages. On our first child, we used cloth diapers (the standard white cotton with a separate plastic overpant). The point was to “go natural”, I think. However, I still remember swishing out the diapers in the toilet and the ammonia smell of the diaper pail to this day! For the second child, it was disposables all the way. It was good to know that we could use cloth if we needed to though.

In a TEOTWAWKI situation cloth will probably be the diaper that is used. But a word of warning for new prospective parents is in order. Just like anything else that has a significant “ick” factor to it, you need a procedure in place to deal with it. As a side note, the cloth diapers themselves have come a long way. No longer do you have to worry about impaling your baby with the diaper pins (or stepping on them in the middle of the night while you are half asleep trying to tend to your baby.)

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on The Dollar Decline.  (See the Forex section, below.)

Precious Metals:

First off,  here is a headline at GoldSeek: Gold and Silver Market Morning: July 13 2017 – Gold and silver are rebounding!

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Next, Steve St. Angelo opines: GOLD & SILVER MARKET: Four Interesting Developments

Commodities:

Reader L.B. sent us a link to this at Zero Hedge: BofA Stunned By Drop In Gasoline Demand: “Where Is Driving Season?”

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Planning For Success During And After The SHTF- Part 1, by Old Bobbert

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Success requires a plan, and that is true if you want to have success during and after the SHTF. You can have a great deal of knowledge and ideas but not have organized and applied any of this. Remember, only applied knowledge is power, and this is especially true of financial power.

Plan For Reality As It Exists Today

Success without an action plan is dumb luck in action. So, get your plan well documented! Your plan should be, must be, based on your specific reality– reality as it exists today and never based on some pipe dream. You can’t plan on your dream of locally finding a fully-equipped FEMA storage point unguarded and complete with instructions, how-to videos, and weapons with tons of ammo that you know how to use and maintain. It just ain’t gonna happen that way, no how, not ever, and not for anybody anywhere. It just won’t happen. I say again, it will not happen.

Your reality action plan will be limited to those points and items that you have thought about, discussed with other preppers, and gotten ready for, and with all of these indivisible parts finalized in advance of necessity.

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Letter: Storing the Right Seeds for Your Climate Zone

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Hugh,

I wish that seed storage recommendations touched on what agricultural climate zone they are best used. Seeds that work in Idaho might not do so well in Georgia. – R.V.

HJL’s Reply: SurvivalBlog has long been a proponent of gardening now rather than waiting until TEOTWAWKI. This is a prime example of why this is important. You might live in an area where you can stick any ol’ seed into the ground and not care for it. But my guess is that you don’t. Gardening is difficult and you have to learn what works in your area and what doesn’t. Climate zones can be tricky, and that makes seed selection crucial. I highly recommend that anyone starting out read our extensive collection of gardening articles for more information.

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods – a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. Take a look at the article featuring the .22LR in actual combat!

Safe Water

SurvivalBlog reader G.P. sent in the link to this interesting product: Eco poly Glu. It is a small water purification system that uses a flocculant. This causes colloids and other suspended particles in the water to aggregate and settle out. Combined with a small amount of chlorine, you can get workable water from muddy water fairly easily. According to Business Insider, it is made from fermented soybeans.

Concrete

Living next to a volcano isn’t all bad. Reader P.S. sent in this article showing how Ancient Rome’s concrete actually got stronger by interacting with seawater. Contrast this to modern concrete made from Portland cement that weakens with such contact. The strength and longevity apparently has something to do with the volcanic ash that was used to create the concrete though the process is not fully understood yet.

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The Editors’ Quote of the Day

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“We in this country have a rather unique heritage written into the basic documents of our government. We as Americans hold that we receive our fundamental rights…from God, not government. And it is the purpose of government to protect God-given rights.” – Congressman Lawrence P. McDonald (1935-1983)

Basic Handgun Marksmanship Skills- Part 2, by Mark Bunch

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In “Part One of Basic Handgun Marksmanship Skills”, we looked at some firearms 101 and gave instructions for a test to determine if you are right eye dominant or left eye dominant. We also went over bone support and stance as well as safety procedures and basic rules to prevent accidental shootings. Today, we will dig into the basics of handgun selection, ammunitions, and becoming proficient in the use of your handgun. I will also share my recommendation for how to train under pressure. This is a means to prepare for the stressful situation of a self defense scenario.

Choosing a Handgun

For many people, choosing a handgun is confusing. I always ask people who are interested in buying a handgun for the first time, what they are interested in using it for. Most people I encounter in my gun store tell me that they are looking for a gun for concealed carry purposes. They are typically interested in something in the .380 class or slim single stack 9mm or .40. I always make sure to explain what they are getting. They are then not surprised the first time they pull the trigger on that compact concealed carry gun. The smaller the gun, the larger the felt recoil is going to be. As a general rule, accuracy is not going to be spectacular either. Although for typical ranges that you would be in need of defending yourself, these small guns are more than acceptable.

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