Monthly Archives: October 2011

What I Did This Week To Prep 10/7/11

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There’s some irony that the biggest thing I do to prep these days is write a prepper blog –  and it takes a lot more time than I would have thought. But the focus and direction it provides in my life are invaluable (I keep telling myself that, over and over…)

My son, Ryan, & our new rain barrel

The rain barrel project was successful this time. Originally I had bought an inline all-in-one downspout adapter; it didn’t end up being what I wanted (or one I thought would last). So Ryan and I made another trip to the hardware store. Combining PVC pipe, downspout elbows, and a couple more hours of effort, we now have two functioning 55 gallon rain barrels. Just in time for the rainy Washington fall (and winter and spring).

I have a prepper friend, Rick, who is a HVAC/R technician. Earlier this summer he helped me develop and build a backup battery bank (more in a future post). This week I was able to repay the favor by teaching him first aid. We looked at, and discussed, his first aid kit (FAK) and mine. Then we did some ‘how to control bleeding’ hands-on training – you can’t learn first aid from just talking. It’s nice having a like-minded friend with a different skill set, who is both willing to teach and learn.

Rick also showed me a bacon grease candle. Simple concept, filtered animal fats to make tallow have long been used for making candles. My daughter, Brynn, and I tried it ourselves with a used tuna can. It worked, but needs a bit more enhancement. We also tried making an olive oil lamp, but so far that hasn’t been successful.

A friend gave us a used bread maker this week. I had recently heard Bread From Gasoline by Steve Harris, and thought it was an interesting concept I’d like to learn more about. I also plan to learn to make bread from scratch. Bread is great to use with SWYE preps; and in a tough time freshly baked bread makes almost everything a little bit better.

What did you do?

(Monday: When Others Are In The Dark)

(10/2/11)

No, You Can’t Take It

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five basic needs: 1) food, 2) water, 3) shelter, 4) SECURITY, and 5) energy

Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime.

There’s a story of a prepper moving into his new home. As he’s unpacking all of his preps and food storage in his garage the nosey neighbor wanders over, looks at all stuff and ‘jokingly’ says, “If the shit ever hits the fan, I know who I need to come and kill.” The prepper looks at the neighbor and says, “That’s too bad. Before you said that, I would have shared with you if you were in need.”

Now that we’re starting to build our preps, what do we need to do to keep them secure? It’s a tough, but real question. There are people out there who’s shit hits the fan (SHTF) scenario is to take others’ stuff by force (“I don’t need to store food, I just store ammo”). To share, or not, is a personal choice; however, the decision is one you should be allowed to make, not forced into.

Our neighbors and those around us know that we’re preppers. They see into our garages; they hear us discuss our projects and stores. Some in the prepper community express concern about others ‘knowing too much’; but I believe, with the appropriate caution, we should share our knowledge and set an example, and build community around us.

“When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.” Lack of water kills us in a few days; lack of security can kill us in seconds.

Security involves many technical skills: personal defense, weapons, firearms, and first aid. Almost all require some degree of initial training, and then continuing education to maintain proficiency. It encompasses a lot of things viewed as the ‘Cool Guy’ exciting stuff. Many of us, myself included, enjoy training in personal defense, shooting guns, or learning to treat a trauma wound. But these skills become very serious when lives depend on them.

Being aware of your environment and actions is also a big part of security. Know who’s around, have escape routes in mind, look for potential weapons. Do what you can to avoid dangerous places and situations. Frank Sharpe Jr., of Fortress Defense, teaches “We don’t go to stupid places, with stupid people, and do stupid things.”

In addition to the practical skills, there are the moral aspects. While most would agree with defending yourself, and others around you, what about defending your ‘stuff’? Where is the line, how much of your preps (‘stuff’) can you lose before that loss threatens your life?

The Second Amendment affirms our right to “keep and bear Arms.” Firearms ownership in the prepper community is overwhelmingly approved of and encouraged. I believe firearms should be a part of your preps. But everyone must decide what is appropriate for them. If you do choose to use firearms, ensure you have the proper training in safe use and handling.

Whether you choose to use firearms or not, I also highly recommend carrying pepper spray on a daily basis. It’s a non-lethal option that is easy to carry, requires no special training, it’s inexpensive, and very effective.

And finally, first aid training–to keep us secure if/when someone gets hurt– is a topic near and dear to me. After working as a paramedic for almost 10 years I appreciate what can, and can’t, be done.

Firearms, other weapons, and first aid will be the topics of future posts. At this point I simply want to raise awareness. As we strive for self-reliance we know that systems fail–especially in disasters. It is up to us to protect our five basic needs, our homes, and our families.

(Friday: What I Did This Week To Prep)

Location, Location, Location

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five basic needs: 1) food, 2) water, 3) SHELTER, 4) security, and 5) energy

Shelter, Shelter, Shelter.

All locations are not created equal; big city, suburbs, small town, rural area. Where do you live? Your location will determine what type of disasters you are more likely to encounter, what services will be available in the aftermath, and the potential risks to your family and home during that emergency. A disaster that is catastrophic in one setting, may have very little effect in another.

Example: An apartment in a large city vs. a house in a rural community when an 8.5 earthquake strikes. City: gas, water, and electric lines break, fires start, water pressure drops, buildings partially collapse, debris falls, power is out, traffic gridlocks, the dense population panics. Rural: things fall off shelves, maybe the power goes out and you have to use your generator for a few days.

Some disasters, like the earthquake or a terrorist attack, give us no notice and all we can do is work to recover afterward. But others, like a hurricane, pandemic, or flooding give us time and the opportunity to make an informed decision.

<cue Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash>

The decision: Bug in or bug out (stay or go)? If you bug in, what are your contingency plans to compensate for potential lost services: food, water, security, energy? If you choose to bug out (or have to), where are you going? What do you take if you leave? What do you leave if you, um, leave? What route are you going to take to get to your bug out location (BOL)? You also need to consider the ‘leave right now’ disaster where there are only minutes to evacuate, like a fire, or a gas leak.

With so many factors affecting this decision, how do you decide to stay or go? You analyze the situation, think about your plan, and ultimately decide: Am I most likely better off if I stay, or better off if I go?

If you choose to go, having a pre-determined plan is invaluable. Once the disaster starts, people may be scared, disoriented, separated, or hurt; it may be dark and/or cold (don’t ‘these things’ alway happen at night?), if we have a plan, we all at least know where to start. A written evacuation plan needs to include: 1) a ‘short list’ of what to grab quickly before you leave your home, 2) multiple routes to get out of your area and to your BOL(s), and 3) an extensive list of contact information for people and businesses in your life.

‘I don’t have anywhere to go,’ you say. If that’s truly the case, then you stay. But a temporary BOL may be as simple as a motel in a ‘safer’ area. Determine that area, one with several motels; make a list of their numbers in your evacuation plan. If you decide to leave, call early and get reservations. Motels frequently have generators and their own disaster plan in place.

Or, talk with a friend or family member; don’t just ask if you can go to their home, but agree to be each other’s BOL if necessary. Create a plan together. If you live in the city and they are rural consider pre-staging items in their home. But, if you’re city, why would they evacuate to you? A local emergency and they just need somewhere to stay a night or two.

We plan for the most likely disruptions first: personal injury, fire, local emergency, local weather. The catastrophic ones: major natural disaster, pandemics, terrorist attacks; if they come, will still require similar plans and preps. Developing an evacuation plan costs no money, only time – take that time now when things are calm (relatively speaking) so you can be ready when things aren’t.

(Wednesday: No, You Can’t Take It)