Sarah’s View: The Disaster I See

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In high school I was introduced to a book that changed my life and provided me with a foundation to accept the concept of prepping when Trace introduced it. That book was Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Quinn was able to hit a nerve in my subconscious and explain the world, “our” culture, in such a way that – for a split second – I felt like I “got it”. Of course, as is the case with many such occurrences the feeling of “got it” was fleeting and life went on as normal. I went off to college and there, while studying Anthropology, returned to Ishmael and Quinn’s other books. I don’t know if I enjoyed my Anthropology classes more because of Daniel Quinn or if I enjoyed, and understood, his ideas because of Anthropology. Regardless, they were very complementary.

But what, exactly, does all of this have to do with disasters? or with prepping?

While the story of the boiling frog is, unfortunately, scientifically inaccurate, it still provides an excellent illustration for the concept of a slow, and therefore unnoticed, deterioration or destruction. We are the frog, simmering away in the belief that the world was meant for humans and that we are living – finally – as humans were meant to live. But, humans lived for millions of years as ‘part of the world’. Then, something changed and we started thinking that instead of being a part of the world, the world was meant for us and could – no should – be molded to our will. Quinn proposes that change was agriculture and, more specifically, putting food under lock and key, thereby allowing for larger and more concentrated populations but also introducing a cultural control mechanism in food and other resources.

Honestly, at this point, I don’t think it really matters what caused the change; what matters is to recognize the issue with this “new” mindset.

Humans live as if we are alone on this planet – utlizing resources without regard for what happens tomorrow, or in a month, or a year from now, when there is none left. As Quinn says in Ishmael, “I have amazing news for you. Man is not alone on this planet. He is part of a community, upon which he depends absolutely.” We have forgotten that we depend on everything – water, fuel, plants, animals…

And, I bring us back to prepping. As a group I believe preppers intrinsically understand how much humanity depends on the rapidly depleting resources. The disaster I see is that too few people have recognized this early enough for the world to continue as we know it.

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)

Book Review: Holding Their Own

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Holding Their Own, by ‘Joe Nobody’ was a fun survivalist/prepper, post-SHTF book to read. Written in 2011, and set in 2015, it is very timely. There are many situations, in the book, that aren’t far from things that could happen in our own very near future.

The book begins as the nation is entering it’s second Great Depression. Iran, seeing the weakness and, finally, an opportunity to crush the “infidel beast”, activates sleeper agents in the United States. They unleash a series of murderous terrorist attacks against the population and the nation’s infrastructure. The U.S. government responds by closing down highways and bridges, declaring martial law and inadvertently pushing the nation toward collapse.

Our protagonist, Bishop (named by his chess loving father), is a former Army peace-time administrative officer. After his discharge he was unable to find work as a chemical engineer and is recruited by an old friend to work for a civilian security corporation (think Blackwater). Bishop had been a competitive shooter prior to working for the company; that, and the additional security training, weapons and equipment he was issued from the company, made him exceptionally well prepared when things began to deteriorate.

As the local troubles in the Houston-area worsen Bishop, and his wife Terri, suddenly find life as they knew it seems to be gone, possibly forever. At first the couple assumes (hopes) that it’s just a short-term situation and they band together with the neighbors to keep their homes safe. But soon the severity becomes undeniable and they must make a decision: Should they stay where they are and hope for the best; report to the established military checkpoints for “temporary housing and duties”; or attempt to drive 600 miles to Bishop’s old family ranch where they use to go to get away from it all–and where he’d established his bug-out location (BOL)?

They leave, after struggling between loyalty to their neighbors and their own self-preservation instincts. They know they don’t have enough fuel, any longer, to make the trip and are planning to be able to barter or scavenge resources along the way. The book describes their trip west across Texas; doing their best to keep their heads down and keep moving; occasionally being forced to stop and do what they believe is the right thing and helping others when they are able. Early on, the book establishes that Bishop doesn’t tolerate ”personal injustice . . .[it] started in elementary school with playground bullies, and I just have always been that way. It gets me into, um, well, uncomfortable situations now and then.” Those “uncomfortable situations” almost always turn out worse for the “bullies”.

The story moves along well and is very readable. Some of the dialogue was corny, and the few attempts at sexual innuendos were almost painful. The characters were mostly cardboardish, either good guys or bad. As a former medical professional I found the medical treatments, and recovery, inaccurate. Bishop–though not invincible because he gets hurt several times–recovers way too quickly; he is always ready, despite serious injuries, to charge forward. And while I think there’s a lot to be learned from the author about equipment and tactics, very little advice should be taken from the first aid described.

But I really enjoyed it overall. Because of it I have added night vision equipment and ballistic body armor to my ‘security wants list’. It also has provided me with my favorite new quote, “I will personally tie your body into knots, dip it in salt, and eat it like a pretzel while enjoying a beer.”

It is definitely as good or better than any of the post-apocalyptic books that I’ve read. I plan to give copies to a couple of my prepper friends, and as soon as I finished reading it I ordered the sequel, Holding Their Own II: The Independents.

(Wednesday: Sarah’s View)

What We Did This Week To Prep 5/4/12

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Our greenhouse is up and running. All of the seedlings are out there enjoying the available sunshine while being shielded from the wind, elements, and most of the cold. The plants seem to be doing well. Sarah went out and transplanted the sprouts from the small starter containers into larger ones to allow them to have their own space and grow larger and stronger. It’ll be interesting to see how big the seedlings get before we put them into the ground mid-June. When it comes to gardening–including maximizing our greenhouse–we’re still learning so much; someday this will all become routine, but we’re still a long way from there.

Recently, on The Survival Podcast (TSP), Jack interviewed ‘Joe Nobody’ (TSP episode 881). Joe is a former military man with extensive security expertise. I was skeptical when I first heard about the interview thinking him to be “one of those guys”. But I was impressed with his logical reasoning and common sense approach to security, both personal and property. I bought two of his books after hearing the interview: a how-to book, Holding Your Ground – Total Defense and his first novel, Holding Their Own – A Story of Survival. I’m almost done with the novel and I’ve looked through Holding Your Ground and I’ve enjoyed and am impressed with both. While we discuss security as one of our basic needs, Joe takes it to a whole new level. Will a collapse/SHTF event happen on a level that these types of security skill-sets will be necessary? I don’t know, probably not in the way they are portrayed by Hollywood or even in Joe’s novel. But could we have a couple of weeks of chaos and local anarchy? Yes we could, and that is far more likely. While we know we need to eat, drink, have energy and be sheltered on a daily basis (and those should be our top priorities), security needs to be part of any plan you develop for your family or group. Personally I am expanding our family’s security plan, and adding equipment, based on his advice.

Sarah recently bought us Storey’s Guide to Raising Rabbits – Breeds, Care, Facilities. It will provide us with information on all things rabbits. It also has some good plans/ideas for hutches, I already have most of the needed materials in the back and now that the greenhouse is done that’s the next project. We have also found Rise and Shine Rabbitry (the link can also be found on my blogroll) to be a great resource; Rick Worden has put together extensive, usable information there and he also puts out a lot of good information on his facebook page.

What did you do?

 

 

We Still Want Coffee

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Planning Ahead To Have The Things We Want
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Each morning we get up and make a pot of coffee. We enjoy the morning ritual of drinking a cup of coffee, together or alone, to get the day started. And in the future if the world, as we know it, has ‘collapsed’ that doesn’t mean we still don’t want that morning cup.

We’ve discussed storing enough coffee to last us through most hard times. But what if the electricity is out, short or long-term, and the electric coffee grinder and the electric coffee maker don’t work? What’s the backup plan?

We have a hand coffee grinder, just like our grandparents would have had (if they had a hand coffee grinder…). With very little effort you turn the knob and grind the coffee into the attached jar. Or, of course, you could instead just store coffee that’s already ground.

Then what? We have two options to make our coffee: 1) a percolator, and 2) a french press. Both are easy and work well. With the percolator, you fill it with water, and put the ground coffee in the bin at the top. Then heat it, over your preferred heat source, until you see it “percolating” through the clear top portion. With the french press you put the ground coffee into the press, add water that you’ve previously boiled, then put the lid on and let it steep. After about five minutes, press the handle to the bottom of the pot and the coffee is ready to serve.

This backup plan, including redundancies, is just an example of ‘making a plan’ that allows you to still function–on a semi-normal level–even when the SHTF. This concept should be applied to everything you’d like to continue to be able to do: cooking meals, drinking clean water, having a warm/cool house, having available power, keeping your family safe, etc.

The key is to make a plan, put the pieces into place to be able to execute it, then PRACTICE it. Remember, we don’t get to choose our disaster, when it will be, or where we will be when it happens. But for now, we still have time to plan and prepare.

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)

DIY Indoor Grow Box

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In February, Sarah pulled out our grow box–I had made it last year–and got our seeds started. I should have written this post then, so that others could have made their own this year, but unfortunately I didn’t. A friend asked how I made it, so I figured I’d post about it now so that you can build yours for next year. It’s quick and easy.

What you need:

  • plastic Rubbermaid-type bin with lid (the under-the-bed size works well)
  • 4 – 2 x 1/4 inch bolts, with 4 nuts, and 4 – 1 1/2 inch washers
  • 4 – 18 x 1/4 inch pieces of all thread rod, with 8 nuts, and 8 large washers
  • board (plywood or shelving) approximately 24 x 12 inches (dependent on your lid size)
  • 2 aquarium light fixtures with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs

Assembly

1) On the inside of the lid, attach the board with the bolts and nuts, put the washers on the outside of the lid so the bolts won’t pull through the plastic. Line the board up in the inside center of the lid and drill a 1/4 inch hole through each corner of the board, with a matching hole through the lid. This board provides the stable surface to mount the light fixtures.

2) In each corner of the lid drill a 1/4 inch hole and put through the all thread with a nut and washer on each side of the plastic lid. The all thread will be the adjustable “legs”.

 

3) Mount the light fixtures, per the directions, to the board on the inside of the lid.

 

 

Once Completed

Plant your seeds – the container you choose doesn’t really matter, but make sure there are holes in the bottom for drainage. Place the containers in bin, adjusting the all thread so the light is close to the plants. As the plants grow larger the light can be lifted higher by adjusting the nuts on the all thread.

(I used 10 inch all thread, it was high enough when I first started but not enough when the plants grew bigger, so I cut blocks to put under each all thread leg to make them higher.)

After you’ve transplanted all of your sprouted plants, disassemble the legs and slide the entire box under the bed to neatly store until next year.

Simple and it works.

(Wednesday: We Still Want Coffee)

Momma Bear’s April Preps

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April has been an unusual prepping month for us. The unseasonably warm spring in Virginia has been joined by some dry weather (sad face as I drag the hoses around the yard). The gardening is a huge, HUGE learning curve. This month I did manage to buy four 55-gallon pickle barrels and twenty 5-gallon buckets for ridiculously great prices (though the smell was terrible!). Two of the barrels are already composting on a new rack in my back yard; next I’ll focus on a rain barrel. I woke up one morning and discovered long white cat hair in place of all the leaves on our tomato and pansy seedlings. So rather than starting over, we sucked it up and bought heirloom tomatoes from the nursery, not hybrids, so that we can harvest seeds when we are finished. We also discovered that something has been eating our beautiful little blueberry bush so we had to make a cage around that. Currently we have lettuce, radishes, cilantro, sunflowers, onions and chives all making their first appearance in the various garden spots and planters. We are very happy so far!

Food storage is always on my mind when I prep. We stored another two weeks of food supplies in mylar, after adding sprouting beans to our stores. Having lived in Asia, mung beans (long bean sprouts) are our favored sprout. I buy mine at the international food store where they are super cheap and there is a big selection. I cannot tell you how great sprouts are as a secondary fresh food source in a SHTF scenario, especially since they are grown indoors in just a jar. I also recently got a second vacuum sealer attachment for my food sealer (now I have both sizes). I learned two things this month about vacuum sealing jars, 1) The jar of my husband’s favorite pickles can be resealed with the attachment (an additional source of jars/lids for things that don’t have to be “canned”), and 2) You can vacuum seal lids by using the Ziplock brand handpump over the Foodsaver jar attachment (see photo). Although with non-canning type jars, because the lids are harder to release once sealed, it is best to poke a pinhole in the lid and seal it with electric tape, then simply pull up the tape when you want to release the seal. In this case I am using the jars for seed vaults since the jars still smell like pickles (I think it’s the lids). I also managed to pick up almost three cases of mason jars in assorted sizes for $10 at a yard sale. I treated the family to a “beans night” which they survived. I am trying to incorporate more beans into our diet and try more recipes since it is the ultimate survival food. Half of us like beans, half don’t and this night was no different food (we love rice though!). In this instance I made northern beans in the crock-pot, with leftover ham/bone from Easter, and then threw in spinach at the end so it was like a soup (but a completely balanced meal since I used so much spinach). Here is the recipe link.

Our last area of preparedness for April was our taxes and a house refinancing (we also amended a couple of years of returns as well which were caught by our new tax professional). Because it was our first year in the house we were able to claim a lot of expenses and will get a nice tax return, which in turn will go toward credit debt. Because finances are a tough area for us, we pay to use a tax service that comes with one of those “previous year audits” and insurance to reimburse us for any of their mistakes that result in us making payments to the IRS. We balance the expense of using a preparation service against the peace of mind that it was done properly. We also were able to refinance the house (after only one year), reducing both our interest rate and our monthly payment. This was a tough decision for us since we are not the most financially minded people on the planet, but we’re trying to learn.

How did your preps go this month?

(Monday: DIY Indoor Grow Box)

The City Cousin: Making A Plan

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Contributed by Shawn (aka The City Cousin)
(Shawn is writing a series of posts about prepping in an urban environment.)
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If your car’s tank is almost always near empty, or you are constantly running out of toilet paper, shampoo, milk, etc. then you are not a natural prepper! Fret not, few of us are. As with many skills and mind sets, most have to be learned. Here are some experiences that motivated me, and a system I’ve developed to become better prepared.

I was living in Seattle, in 2001, during the Nisqually earthquake (a 6.8 quake that lasted 45 long seconds). After the initial quake ended, I immediately called my parents to let them know I was okay. Then, I knew we still had electricity because the TV was  on; I checked that I had running water and then filled the bathtub; I checked my apartment and then the building for damage; I moved my truck out of the garage, under my building, and parked it where nothing would fall on it if there were more quakes. All good initial reactions to an earthquake, but how did I plan afterward to be better prepared for the next time? What had I learned? To be honest I didn’t do anything. I felt good, and rather smug, about my actions and resourcefulness after the Nisqually quake. But, I wasn’t really prepared for what COULD HAVE happened.

It wasn’t until I saw the pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, in 2005, that I recognized I have to be prepared for a big disaster and for at least the ‘FEMA suggested’ 72 hours. And, after seeing how FEMA and the military responded in New Orleans–a city that is located much closer to government resources than Seattle–I decided I needed to be personally prepared to handle things for a minimum of five to seven days before outside help will likely arrive to the city.

So my project management experience kicked in and I developed a chart to help guide a household discussion to prepare for likely perils. I again focused on my journalism questions of Who, What, Where, When, and How.

Prepare Short Term (72 hours) Medium Term (6 Months) Long Term (over 6 Months)
Who You, your immediate family, significant others. Condo/homeowners association, neighbors. Neighborhood (consider becoming an advocate for your local government.)
What Select the perils that might affect you: earthquake, flood, tornado, etc. After prioritizing the perils you want to address, prepare for the first one. Then expand to cover the remaining perils. Review what you’re preparing for, have things changed?
Where Preparing your home and/or car(s).  Consider alternative locations. Determine meeting points in case you and your family are separated. You might focus on your home first for the initial 72+ hours then on your car or alternative locations. Develop alternative location(s).
When Set a start date and end date for each Term’s goals.  Costs and preparation for longer term goals can be researched and set. More expensive items can be budgeted for and a priority list  can be developed for when to get them. Set up an annual/regular review to make sure everything is current in your preparations, i.e. check batteries, rotate food and water.
How Research! Read, take classes, use the internet.  For this section one of my favorite online resources is 72hours.org. How also plays into when depending on cost and time needed to prep. Continue learning. Stay informed. Network with others. Review new information.

This is a great exercise for a household of any size to get organized and take the first steps, or for reviewing what you’ve done, or confirming you’re on the right road with your preparations. This discussion will help everyone have input and feel involved (the “buy- in” to the project), and tasks can be assigned based on age and experience. Make lists and write down your goals; studies have shown, when we write things down we are more likely to remember and act on them. Once we have a plan in place, and we know which road we’re taking, we can get prepared.

Next month: I will discuss what I have in my apartment to prepare for the perils I have identified, some of the resources I’ve tapped, and how and where you can store things with limited space.

The City Cousin’s Bio
I come by prepping by growing up watching the example my father set; he was always prepared for whatever situation would arise. Now, as a single man living and working in Seattle, I have opted to live near downtown in a small apartment. For me this is a comfortable space; trying to be “green” it has reduced my use of resources from electricity to gas for my truck. With limited space, I have reviewed what I can reasonably be prepared for in my urban environment.

(Friday: Momma Bear’s April Preps)

The Greenhouse Is Built!

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How We Built Our Greenhouse – a DIY
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We started building the greenhouse the second week of March and I finished it yesterday – six weeks. Sure there are all the excuses and explanations: life is busy, I could only work on it a few days a week (and had to coordinate Ryan’s schedule with mine, when possible), weather was a factor, and we were learning as we were building – but it still took a long time. Now it’s done.

I found the plans we used on BuildEazy.com. I splurged and paid five dollars for the “handy pdf file, ad free”. I printed up the twelve pages of plans, bought the materials needed to get started (the first of many trips to the hardware store), and we began.

The first few steps could be built in the garage. First was the bottom frame; we built it out of pressure-treated 2x8s, 8 feet long. The plans had it built 10 foot by 8 foot – but I hadn’t noticed that before I bought the lumber. Since I only bought four 2x8x8s I went with that, ours would be 8 foot by 8 foot, we modified the plans as needed for the slightly smaller size. Other than the bottom frame we used untreated 2x4s for everything else.

We then framed both sides and built the trusses. I had never built anything that had to be framed before and it was a learning experience. The sides were easy, they were just square. The trusses were tougher, because of the way the window was built into the peak of the roof there were several angle cuts that had to be identical and match up. The 60 degree cuts were especially a hassle because the mitre saw only goes to 45 degrees; they had to be drawn then cut with a circular saw. That was all we were able to pre-build in the garage.

The project then sat for a couple of weeks waiting for a dry weekend when Ryan and I were both available. When that weekend arrived we laid out the bottom frame, put up the two side walls, then attached the trusses. The bottom and sides were pretty easy; we kept the square and level handy, and used them for each piece. The trusses were again harder, it was tough to keep them square – at that point they were only attached on each side and weren’t very stable. But, finally, the structure was outside and coming together (i.e. it sort of looked like a greenhouse).

The directions for the front and back-end walls were far less “exact”, the plans stated “This is pretty much measure, cut, and fix as you go.” We varied from the plans and only put a door on one end (the plans called for a door on both ends). Building the door frame and the door (another thing I had never done before) went slowly and was a challenge because we knew it had to be completely square, or the door wouldn’t work; there also had to be enough space, around the door, to allow for swelling of the wood in wet weather. The hinge placement was another challenge, but we did it and the door fit and closed smoothly.

(All this happened over a period of weeks because of weather and time availability.)

The roof trusses were then secured with ‘strap braces’, galvanized steel braces 2 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. They connected the opposite corners of the long section of the roof, tying in with nails each of the separate trusses. The trusses were now a lot more stable, but it had been difficult to keep the outside ones from pulling toward the center.

Next was the roof window – the most complex step of the project. This window was one of the reasons I chose this plan, I really liked the ability to be able to open a portion of the roof to release heat on sunny days. The measurements had to be very precise and much of the work was done on ladders; it was also a hassle holding up the window assembly and getting the hinges attached to the frame. But finally it was in place and would open and close smoothly (mostly).

The entire wooden framed structure was now built. We then started on the shelving. There were no directions for this in the plans, so I decided to build the shelf frames at 44 inches from the ground. Sarah, who is 62 inches, came out and saw the height and nicely mentioned that they were a little high; after some discussion I re-installed them to 32 inches – a height much easier for her (our primary plant starter) to work at.

Now the wood part was done and it needed to be covered. For this directions said, “Cover the greenhouse with a UV-resistant polythene (there are other options also).” We did some reading and also talked with the expert at the local hardware store (McLendons – we love them, very helpful and knowledgeable) about the “other options”. We found out the polythene/Visqueen-type plastic, though inexpensive, breaks down because of the sun’s UV rays and the weather and would need to be replaced each year. So, with the goal of making the greenhouse longer lasting and sustainable, we instead purchased polycarbonate plastic that lasts 20+ years. It did cost significantly more, but we felt that it was a one-time cost and a worthwhile investment which would require far less maintenance. It came in 2 foot wide sheets (with some extra for overlapping) and we bought 10 foot lengths.

When we got it home, using a friend’s truck, we first covered the long roof section. This is where we really saw that the framing wasn’t quite square, but fortunately the polycarbonate has a little flex to it and we were able to compensate. The roof was the hardest part, again, all the work had to be done on ladders and we had never used the polycarbonate before. It is relatively easy to cut with a circular saw (kind of), and smaller cuts could be done with my old trusty bandage shears.

The following week we covered both sides, the short side of the roof, and the window (that was a pain). Finally, this last weekend, I was able to get the back, front, and door done and that meant the greenhouse was completely enclosed. All that was left was to finishing the shelving. Sarah determined that a 1/4 inch wire mesh would be the best material, as it would allow water to drain and sunlight to pass through. The sunlight passing through was important because it allows containers on the ground to also get sunlight.

So it’s done. We’re pretty proud of it. I can’t help but smile every time I see it though the window or go outside. I’m really glad we have it. I’m sure the greenhouse will be a regular topic in our posts as we continue to learn, discuss our failures, and celebrate our successes.

north side
south side
east side
west side

Thanks very much to Ryan for all his hard work and time. I also appreciate Chanse helping when he could. And I want to acknowledge and thank Sarah for her technical advice, monetary budgeting, and most of all, patience. (And thanks to my father-in-law, Jay, for his DeWalt compound mitre saw.)

(Wednesday: The City Cousin)

 

What We Did This Week To Prep 4/20/12

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Sunday was sunny, one of our first really nice weekend days this year, and we were out working in the yard. Sarah built her potato box and planting potatoes in it. Ryan and Chanse worked on the greenhouse putting up some of the polycarbonate siding. I did miscellaneous, around the yard, projects; exciting stuff like turning the compost, raking out dirt, pruning the tree, weeding (aka adding greens to the compost pile), all while being available for technical assistance as needed.

Later in the week I got back to the greenhouse and almost finished putting the polycarbonate up. I’m now, finally, within two to three hours of being completely done; hopefully that’ll be Sunday, which is again supposed to be sunny and warm. The greenhouse has been a big learning experience, construction-wise; I’d hesitate before recommending the project to anyone else–because of the amount of time, energy, and money it took–but I’m glad we did it. We really look forward to putting it to use this spring and, hopefully, using it all winter also. I really do need to finish it Sunday, because I plan to write up the greenhouse project for my Monday post.

Not really prepper related, but I also transplanted a couple of rose bushes. I bought three bushes for Sarah last year, unknowingly buying the climbing variety, and had planted them way too close together. So I dug up two of them and moved them to a better location against the fence, and put up a trellis for them to be able to “climb”. While most of our gardening is focused on food production, striving for self-sufficiency, there is a place for things that are just pretty. But even the pretty things–roses, lilacs, rhododendrons, and the annual flowers we will plant–have practical value because they attract pollinators to our yard which will then, hopefully, move on to our fruit and vegetable plants.

I bought some external pockets for my GHB* hiking pack (Maxpedition Falcon II), made by S.O. Tech, that I really like. I got them through SurvivalGearBags.com, they had great customer service and fast delivery; I was impressed and will buy from them again. Like Momma Bear mentioned, when discussing packing BOBs, it’s good to put items you may need quickly in easily accessible pockets. I love the PALS webbing stystem, on the newer tactical-style packs, that allows easy and secure configuration of external add-ons. In general I love all things bags/packs, and the more cool pockets on them, the better – I’m sure there’s a point of diminishing returns, but I haven’t found it yet. In the picture you can also see the red carabiner tied to the cord leading to my FAK.

What did you do?

(Monday: The Greenhouse Is Completed)

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

Momma Bear: Getting Out of Dodge B.Y.O.B.O.B.

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Bring Your Own Bug Out Bag – How Our Family Did It
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For most preppers, the first baby step we take is to create a bug out bag (BOB). For our family, living outside of Washington DC and very close to the interstate (which is sure to be packed instantly); with the potential bug-out being done without my active-duty husband, we took this step very seriously. Although my husband likes to travel light in the field (with the military), the BOB has to encompass a plethora of unknowns; with a 72-hour usage as the goal for packing. How much water should we take and how much water purification? How much gear should we plan for sleeping rough? How much food do we want to carry? What if it’s cold? What might we need along the route? The list pretty much goes on and on. And with everything, as we practice our drills, we tweak and adjust the items in the BOBs.

But once you accumulate all that STUFF, how do you divide it up between your family members? How do you ensure that each pack is sufficient should you become separated from the rest of the family? With my husband included, we have two men in the family. But us girls… we are kind of wimpy backpackers. Our daughter may be 5’7” tall, but she only weighs 100 pounds on a good day. So we have had to keep the girls’ gear lighter, packs smaller, but still able to meet our needs. We opted not to carry sleeping bags, but instead have military poncho liners and also the foil emergency bevy sack. The heavier items, that were not quite as essential, were distributed between my husband and my son. For instance, do we need a tent on the go? Not really, but life is a heck of a lot nicer in a rainstorm when you have more than a poncho for cover. And my husband can certainly shoulder that extra weight a lot easier than one of us girls can.

Other things that we customized in our bags were the first aid kits, the food items (curse those picky eaters who refuse to eat tuna!), and the quanity of fire making materials for each family member. For instance, our daughter suffers terrible migraines so her kit has special meds in it, plus sunglasses. Our son is allergic to insect bites so he has insect repellent, Benadryl, and cortisone cream. With the meds, I broke them down into tiny little baggies and wrote the directions on the outside with sharpie marker, including how often they should take the meds. And because our kids have only recently begun practicing fire making, they both carry lots of matches, lighters, a magnesium starter, as well as a ton of lint and other light-weight combustibles.

Having a Marine for a husband has assuredly made the BOBs an easier task. Some things I had never considered, or would not have considered as a huge necessity, such as laminating our maps. In case the SHTF, we are looking to move south, away from D.C. We have maps of both Virginia and North Carolina, that we got for free at the visitor centers on the main interstate, and each of us has one in their BOB (kids included). The other thing that the military training helped with was packing the packs. The military utilizes packs with lots of pockets and my husband was positively insistent that certain things go in those easy access pockets: first aid, water, food, weapons/tools. Other things, especially stuff you have multiples of, is removed from the BOB and carried on your person: identification, weapon, fire making items, any item that you could not do without (like migraine meds). Our family utilizes three different types of packs, so when we loaded them up everyone was responsible for their own; that way everyone knows where there things are. And, of course, we regularly break them down and repack them to keep familiar with the gear.

Our household also has pets, which we have not been taking into consideration for bugging out. Unless we are driving out, the cats will pretty much be left to their own devices, but the dogs will go. It is pretty unrealistic to think that we can carry enough food and water for them too, so we are looking to put them to work for us. All of our dogs are pretty good walkers (we have Jack Russells and Weimaraners), and we are looking to train the big dogs in both pack carrying and carting. But I will post about that another time.

Like all our prepping, creating your BOB. requires good planning. Again, a good BOB is designed for 72 hours of mobile usage – getting you away from a SHTF scenario. Focus on who, what and why. Who is the bag for? What do they need? And why do they need that particular item? Last of all, practice walking with your pack and readjust your items/bag as necessary. You want to be well prepared to survive, but you don’t want to break your back because you brought the kitchen sink with you. Happy prepping!

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)