Tsk, tsk. As usual I’m behind in noticing that one of my print articles has gone online. This time it’s “Preparedness Basics” from the current (June 2013) issue of S.W.A.T. magazine.
I’ve been doing a series of preparedness-related articles for them. And they’ve been doing some other excellent preparedness articles covering everything from canning meat to vehicle survival kits. Although cool! guns! cool! gear! smart! tactics! is still their focus, I love they way they’re returning to their survivalist roots.
My current article is a checklist of fundamental preparedness needs. Take the challenge and see how ready you are.
If I’d have known this one was going to go online, I’d have made it more interactive. But what the heck. Check marks. It’s the old-fashioned way.
Just an idea… I’ve saved all the bleach and laundry soap bottles for quite a while. I rinse them, then add clean water. The bleach bottle water can be used to cook or drink, and the soap bottle water can be used to wash or flush the toilet.
I’ve got too many filled now, so I’ve started giving them to family and friends.
The soap water doesn’t need to be rotated, but I’ve got the date written on the drinking ones and refill them once a year.
Great article Claire! Like the format of the checklist. I’ll be sharing it with family and friends. Mama Liberty, your comment is right on. I’ve been scrounging bleach bottles, but avoiding the other bottles. Well marked, they will store the equivalent of gray water. Now I’m moving up to a reasonable goal.
“Spring is a good time to re-think preparedness…. right now we’ve probably got a break”
Back in the olden days, when it used to rain around these parts, spring was the scariest season around here- with tornadoes bearing down us every night. In recent years this hasn’t been an issue.
Survival, Weapons and Tacos?
“…Would your family end up in some crowded, freezing, wretched tent city surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards (as thousands of victims of Superstorm Sandy did)…”
Shheoot, I didn’t know about that one. I’ve seen nothing of it, no photos, no whining, no nothing. It’s as if it never happened.
And the answer is, probably yes maybe. [AAHH!]
“Churches in Brooklyn were still offering the only hot meals some locals could get. ” ???
That’s just low income jobless people, right? Like the ones on the bad end of town?
Also, Kent McManigal: you’re right, the chem… I mean, tornado prevention program is working like a charm:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/05/09/mystery-aircraft-frightens-quincy-residents/
One last thought: 25 Cent tacos, south of the border, fantastic and delightful. WHY did I ever leave? “… and we have renewed energy…” Whoa! Who’s this, “we”?
“…a pre-planned bug-out location..”
Ha. Lifestyles of the rich and famous?
W.F.D.
“…walk to a pre-chosen local safe location…”
HaHaHa. W.F.D.
“___I have a generator and fuel for it. ___ I know how to use it and I test it at least once a year..”
W.F.D.
Test it? As in, do this after mowing the lawn? Oh boy.
“___I have at least $1,000 in readily available cash…”
Fuu, you didn’t spend all yours when gold was $1900 per oz.?
Or unload it all at the local gun show?
Or misappropriate it for the car, er I mean B.O.V. repair?
Or buy some really nice shoes with it? A $1,000 of shoes is a nice thing to have. Even IF only one pair is made for hiking. No?
Is it ok, if the $1,000 is only $900? And tomorrow only $800? A fund is soo tempting to take from.
Hope that didn’t come across as mean or anything, just thinking out loud in an insomnia kind of way. And I guess that was more than one extra thought, I over analyze things perhaps.
Do nickles count?
Oh shoot,… and wHAt about the chickens!?!
I don’t have any, but I wish I did.
Of those who do, I wonder what plans they have?
[Seriously, not kidding, even though it seems that way. Well, maybe just a little.]
Someday, over the stupid rainbow…
IAM,
I started keeping chickens last year, get about a dozen eggs a day. I don’t breed or harvest birds yet, but am ready to do so if the need arises. Even went as far as figuring out how many eggs I need to hatch how often to have 3 chicken dinners a week in TWA (the world after).
In the aftermath of Sandy, C was bringing extra eggs to her urban dwelling, non-prepped co-workers. 8 days after the storm, one woman blessed her for the first and only fresh food her family had had in a week.
Plus, watching them run around is way more entertaining than anything on tv