Last minute tips for parents when the SHTF

Meadow,
Thanks for participating, and especially for MacGuyvering and thinking about this issue. Well done.

The main-most issues with diapers are three fold:
1) Not just babies use diapers, but many elderly people and special-need children. In a collapse, many people will be living with you as you'll have aging parents coming to stay, relatives, friends, etc.

When elderly people are relocated, it becomes obvious that they've been dealing with issues that you're not aware of. When an elderly person moves out of their normal environment, then their routine is disrupted, and a result can be incontinence. It's common.

Not only that, but the transitional membranes that makes up the bladder weakens as people age. It's a stretchy form of cellular tissue, and like a ballon that gets stretched too often with strain or age, it weakens.

This often happens to healthy women upon exercise and strain. You might be as young as your 20's and notice it. If you're carrying a lot of firewood or a backpack, and female or elderly, then you might notice minute (or more) amounts of leakage. This will surprise a lot of you.

2)How to sanitize in the absence of lots of hot water, washing machine agitation, dryers, etc? Get a diaper pail now. You can make one in a bucket, but a pail is larger normally. Get some pool shock, not bleach. Bleach goes bad after a set period of time. Pool shock is condensed and made upon demand. Let the diaper material (flannel in this case) plus diaper pants (the covering) if you have them, then sanitie BOTH as a pre-wash.

3)While mostly the issue is urinary, it could be fecal. Stress causes changes in bowel movements. You must carefully treat all fecal matter for diapering because there's a great potential for anaerobic bacterial infections which are DEADLY in a collapse. We're not just worried about diaper rash. This means a lot of soap and hot-water, and the latter takes a lot of time. This means a rocket-stove for certain to save firewood and time, plus a large kettle to make boiling water quickly.

Expect things like accidental bedwetting by older children from nervousness and FEAR. Very unusual violence could be happening.

Note: on the flipside, there's a high potential for constipation and greatly reduced urine output from dehydration and lack of proteins.
1) Constipation is probably the most common thing I've seen in children and adults while camping. It's messy to use the bathroom when not using toilets. This means most people will go less often, and could result in impactions and simply poor health or a lot of discomfort on long hikes.

2)Less drinking water means concentrated urine. Higher chances of bladder infections. Less protein means reduces amines for the body to scavange to transform into ammonia, so reduced output.

Here is another thread on basic essentials (heat/light/sanitation).

Thread: When the lights go out

Thanks Alexander!

Common medical complaints in a survival situation: menstrual cramping

Menstrual cramps are caused because of the cyclical shedding of the uterine lining. The body must build up a blood supply to this tissue, so naturally for recycling it closes off this blood supply later since the tissue is being shed. This is called vasoconstriction. Then compounds are released which cause uterine contractions. Everyone knows to have midol, but if you didn't, the active ingredients are comprised of a pain reliever, caffeine to potentate it and to help people void and reduce bloating (fluid retention), and an antihistamine.

Licorice root tea is very fine for menstrual cramps and provides pain relief. It's not hard to grow and has many uses, but use caution with people with heart issues.
[link to www.gardenguides.com]

Valerian is a very good perennial to grow. The roots provide both pain relief and calmness since it causes sedation. “Taking the edge off” is a very helpful herbal property for many things like nervousness. [It does smell bad growing in the garden, and it attracts mice and rats. Since you might need to feed your pets anyway, grow it far from the garden, then trap them.]

Ginger can easily be grown from ginger root remnants and reduces the prostaglins that cause pain in menstrual cramping. So does raspberry leaf tea. It would be wisdom to plant raspberries. Buy some tea for now.

Many many herbs are diuretics, probably most. Black tea stores well and cheaply provide caffeine and diuresis.

See previous postings on stinging nettles made into a tea used as an antihistamine. It's naturally a diuretic. It's one of the best herbs to learn to forage for.
[link to www.naturalnews.com]

I don't know you, but since all women in a household will eventually menstruate at the same time (very interesting phenomena, isn't it?), then knowing how to help them every month is a skill that any shaman with a lick of sense will learn. They'll be grateful, and you'll be a hero.

Growing Valerian for calmness

[link to www.motherearthliving.com]

[link to hermionesgarden.blogspot.com]

Remember, don't grow it directly in your main garden, but create a patch on the periphery of you land for this specific purpose. Then trap any mice or rats it attracts as pet food. You don't have to MacGuyver it, use routine store-bought traps, but bucket traps (see previous postings) will catch WAY MORE.

Helpful healing exercises: Kegel exercises

All people can benefit from learning Kegel exercises. When urinating, stop and start your voiding, and this action strengthens the bladder muscles that make up the pelvic floor. The health benefits are numerous, but chiefly:
1) it tones the penis and increases the strength of an erection and temporarily increases girth
2) it reduces premature ejaculation, helpful for reducing pregnancies when combined with doing the basal temperature/rhythm/vaginal mucus method of birth control
3) it reduces incontinence
4) the action tones the vaginal walls and vastly increases sexual pleasure

You can do the exercise any time you're sitting by concentrating on that muscle and deliberating tensing and relaxing it.

People are very embarrassed about these issues, and as a shaman you want to be sensitive and supportive. Be relaxed and matter-of-fact. The exercises will seem strange to some, but makes sex very enjoyable, and who doesn't want to improve this wonderful part of the abundant life?

The instability created by returning veterans who can't find employment

At one time, many of our nations created things and provided services. In time, many nations decided to enter into Free Trade agreements. This fostered economic investment in nations with lower development, and in time, many industries relocated to these countries. That transferal of jobs resulted in a transformation of many Western nations. The loss of the product producing jobs was countered by a rise in service industry jobs...for a time. Since many corporations were purchased by large corporations that had invested in the relocation of product-producing jobs, it was relatively simple to also create service industry jobs in these new places. Western nations saw a loss of both kinds of jobs and higher unemployment and instability.

For a large amount of time, many nations have invested in military spending. Now with such high deficit spending, and since defense spending truly produces no income on its own, military cutbacks are inevitable. Investment in defense has always been at the forefront of technology, but without a transferal to civilian use, it has no value as an income producing industry.

In history, the only way defense spending generated wealth was by sacking cities and taking their wealth. Or the rebuilding of their infrastructure post-war was a means of creating stability and generating the sale of products (from the winners) towards that rebuilding effort. The fear was a loss of leadership coupled with a loss of infrastructure would lead to chaos and revolution.

Where will all these returning veterans work with a hammered global economy, and a push for decreasing government spending, and an increase in corporate and business taxes, and an increase in healthcare costs driving a reduction in worker's hours or even a lesser need for workers at all?

Historically, returning veterans without work or an ability to purchase property and begin agriculture, became very problematic for the stability of their nations. Today many returning veterans re-enter the workforce instead. Remember that many who entered military service don't do it as a career, but as a means of getting education and experience for future employment. They sublimated their desire for income by military service, promises of a future, and patriotism. It's certain to create conflict, don't you think?

We already have 46 million in the US on food assistance and other government benefits. Many have had multiple extensions, and now that the elections are over, and benefits are being allowed to lapse. This also will cause instability, and even homelessness. It also will push many to seek employment actively, and put more strain on the job market with employers unlikely to hire folks due to taxes and the health care programs, and many workers competing for the same jobs.

You might not realize it, but many retirees are working and collecting their Social Security benefits plus their pensions. Why? The rate of inflation has diminished the value of these fixed benefits. Those checks don't go as far and purchase smaller amounts of the same things. Likewise many people have lost wealth as a result of a drop in value of their variable investments in the stock market and mutual funds. Since retirees hold major portions of that wealth and lost wealth, many have gone back to work, and younger people are also competing with retirees.

In many cases, traditional youth jobs in the service industry are being done by retirees. In addition 50% of college graduates are working in service jobs and underemployed (not full-time) and not in their area of expertise. Many of these workers are seeing a cut-back in their hours due to Obamacare.

There are major unemployment and underemployment pressures now, and the returning veterans may be the straw that broke the camels back.
[link to www.presstv.ir]

Farmers' and Inheritance Taxes

Many folks don't realize it, but laws have changed for farmers and their families. They're rich on paper since they own large tracts of land, but we all know that most farmers don't make much money. In fact recently they're lost quite a bit of money due to the drought. It's hard enough to hang on since it's such a gamble with weather and competition from other countries, but now we really screwing around with any chance that a farmer upon their death could pass along the farm to their families.

Fewer and fewer young people desire this kind of life because it's so difficult and demanding, and yet we pull this stunt to ruin the chances of the few that remain? It's nonsensical.

Since corporations are not likely to sell their farm property since it's appreciating, and corporate farms make up the bulk of farming in the USA, then really you're actually accelerating the transfer from private farming to corporate farming.

It doesn't bode well for food security whatsoever, and destroys wealth.
[link to usatoday30.usatoday.com]

Identification

Identification of any species is quite difficult. Lots of people make errors and attempt to consume a species or use it for medicine, and that is very unwise without a mentor. Even still, experts make mistakes, sometimes deadly ones.

I'm not trying to discourage you. Far from it, but I know a couple that were on vacation, and one got a small burn on themselves, perhaps as a result of a curling iron. The man found what he thought was aloe, and she applied it, and ended up getting a very bad chemical burn from whatever fluids it exuded in its stem. Very imprudent.

It takes lots and lots of research to verify and reverify, and compare pictures with standard grow lengths, and climate and known occurance in a area, and microscopic analysis, and blah, blah, blah. Be careful.

For people homeschooling, explore your land and see what you can find that naturally grows there, but first begin purchasing seeds and transplants and then study them well for use on the table,for medicinals, and for educating yourself and your children.

Plants change in appearance based upon maturity, amount of light, moisture, pH, season, etc. Learning what they look like in all seasons is the goal.

If you find a species, take pictures and bring specimens to an expert. You don't just look at one aspect of the plant, but often certain plants have distinquishing features that maybe you didn't notice, or that are unclear in one book. Look at several.

Here's one online source, but I encourage you to be an active researcher. If you know what a species is, then still make your children look it up, that is if the intention is not merely to learn but to KNOW it.
[link to www.first-nature.com]

There's lots of scientific indentification sites. Go find them now...

Why I think far more people will die in a collapse in the first few weeks

When I was young, I saw a documentary about fire troopers. They're the brave souls who rush into a forest that's on fire to help control it. They sure can't put it out. I'd never thought of that before. It made sense. There's so much fuel, oxygen, and lots of sparks, how could they hope to haul enough chemicals and water to extinguish it?

So how did they do it? They deliberately burned a zone in front of the fire's direction. The fire must seek new unburnt fuel to continue. It can't go back, 1)unless it burns roots underground and travels that way, or 2)jumps across a zone like an extinguished match will reignite when above a fire. This deliberately burned area is called a firebreak.
[link to farm6.staticflickr.com]
It doesn't always work, but it works a lot of the time.

Over here, we're talking about urban areas and the need for supply chains to provide food to cities, and supplies to purify water, and supplies to run the utilities or transportation.
Thread: Human survivability with supply chain disruptions and its effect on populations

Now earlier this week, I posted an image of population density and discussing why I felt that the Northeast was particularly in a rough spot for bugging out.
[link to mapcollection.files.wordpress.com]

I want you think about why these areas are so dangerous when the SHTF and moving toward collapse. As people began to realize that the government cannot move fast enough to source water, food, fuel, and generators plus soldiers and technicians to an affected area, then people will either bug in or bug out. The ones who bug in are either a)preppers or b)hardy souls who are trying their best or c)sociopaths hoping to loot enough. The ones who leave (bugging out) are either a)preppers who feel it's hopeless b) refugees c)sociopaths looking for survival and hoping to live off of fleeing people.

Either way, as people leave they can only take enough food, water, supplies, and themselves to perceived safe zones. At some point, they'll run out of some supply, most likely fuel first. Or they might get stuck in the world's worse mass traffic jam. Of course the people ahead of them have also taken their stuff. It's a domino effect for the people in the back. Whoever is in the front of the line, might make it.

Those who stayed will see a lot of brief violence as non-preppers seek loot and survive for a time. I imagine that smart mayors and critical infrastructure folks who are trying to maintain order will commandeer supplies and pay through promissory notes to merchants. This means a lot of things which are very valuable will be taken and unable to be looted. It's the logical thing to do.

Think of supplies as fuel as a metaphor. If the supplies are taken like a fire trooper creates a firebreak, then the fire will burn out. Sociopaths who intend to loot will find less and less, and unless skilled unable to source more. They'll die of dehydration and starvation, not to mention illness and violence. Truthfully the lack of water and fluids will kill most.

Those who bugged out will also be unable to source supplies and that fire (coming from the Horde of refugees) will burn out.

I truthfully think that if you have even a month or two of supplies, that if you can consume them and not have them taken, that most of the unorganized refugees and sociopaths will perish during that period.

That's not enough however, and this is why I've been putting up tips. There are lots of supplies around us, but with current population levels, the areas are not adequate enough...based upon the carrying capacity. Those who bug-in may survive longer than 2 months if they have even more supplies, skills, and seed. As the sixth month mark comes around, very few refugees and sociopaths will still be alive...only the hardest toughest ones, and hence extremely dangerous.

Why I don't believe gangs can loot enough to survive

Let's say a gang goes house to house robbing from each apartment owner. They're liable to knock down doors with home-made battering rams (similar to SWAT teams), and merely brandish arms, for to shoot means possible death on both sides and loss of ammunition. Easy pickins' to steal; risky to shoot at close quarters and penetration.

As they accumulate wealth (an abundance of supplies in this case) and valuables, then they'll get loaded down by them. They have to either a)hole up in one of the other apartments, or b)have a wheelman and a vehicle in the form of a truck to haul their loot back to a headquarters.

The former means it's probably not any more defensible than the other apartments, it's just that they have more weapons. This means at some point, when they sleep or are high (both very likely), others will see their wealth and steal from them, because they concentrated all of it in one location.

The latter means transporting it down to the vehicle, at which point it'll probably be stolen as it's being moved to the street, or else as it accumulates at their headquarters, then it's all concentrated at that place....a lot of wealth. Now unless they know strategy and have a bunker with machine guns, it'll be taken, either from any police or soldiers left standing, or another gang since they have the loot they need.

In that case, a large portion of them will be annihilated by the other on either side and huge amounts of ammunition will be used, but tear gas and flash bang grenades are more likely since both sides wish to not waste ammunition. It may be easier to simple burn them out, for there's no rules anymore. It's a loss of supplies, but removing the threat is probably better. It's that or a siege just like medieval times, and this means manning it 24/7.

All of that is contingent upon enough firearms, ammunition, affiliated gang members, a working vehicle, and fuel sources. That's a tall order.

Most won't know how to source water other than stealing it. Even if they have a great location up high such that they can maintain lookouts, then they'll have sewage issues, won't they?They'll be forced to leave. Even at ground level, that will become a major issue, and people will get sick quick, just like they have in the history of warfare in conflict zones.

Highly organized crime families are a different breed altogether. They could survive since they have power structure, connections, more arms, supplies, but they don't have survival skills. They will run into the same issues of clean water and sanitation. In both cases of organized crime or gangs, there's liable to be a coup d'etat to knock out the current boss. Maybe a series of them as conditions deteriorate.

Actually, I think a lot of gang members will run, for they'll see the handwriting on the wall, and they'll either think a) start my own thing b) get the heck out of Dodge.

The only way I can see sociopaths making it, will be if they locate and seize supplies early from a warehouse or series or warehouses. These are most likely to be commandeered by local governments and law enforcement/soldiers, aren't they?

Is there something I'm not seeing?

If you'd like to see what a collapse is like, and the aftermath with martial law imposed, read:

[link to www.cgsc.edu]

It's a long 280+ document on Hurrican Katrina's military response.

In Winter, your attic can be your temporary root cellar

Some foods (root crops like potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, etc) plus cold loving crops like cabbage) store extremely well in a root cellar. By definition a root cellar is an underground structure that maintains a constant temperature of 55 degrees F or thereabouts due to the temperature of the Earth. The problem is you have to excavate it, and that's not possible for most folks right now either for time or city codes or whatever.

A lot of people have attics and these can get quite cold in Winter. Too cold without something to insulate these foods, for it can be as cold as 2-3 degrees F higher than the outside temperature. This does mean though that one could store some food items up there. It's not a bad place as long as you watch the temperature closely.

Some people have unfinished attics. Of course there are rafters, but no horizontal flooring. In a pinch, a sheet of plywood can be rapidly screwed down, and as long as you're careful about weight distribution, you can store quite a bit up there.

Oxygen is the enemy of freshness. It allows foods to go stale. It's why burying root crops in sand works.
Thread: THE HOW TOO THREAD FOR SAND STORAGE OF VEGTABLES AND OTHER THINGS. FOOD TO LAST ALL YEAR...!
If course you can vacuum seal things too. Or you put them in buckets throw in an activated hand warmer (they work by oxidation) and they'll use up the oxygen in your bucket.

It's only temporary, but might help some folks. Here's someone using an unheated attic in this way:
[link to www.suntimes.com]

The link below gives temperature ranges for the most common items you could store, and so you'd have to insulate some to achieve best preservation through refrigeration for your items.
[link to extension.missouri.edu]

Preparedness is self-directed

Having been caught in a ban recently, I think I'm done. I hope this topic has been helpful to anyone who likes to prepare. I think on average, it took me two hours of every day to create postings that would be genuinely helpful in any disaster, or merely to live life to the fullest by practical skill use. It was my contribution to GLP as a way of paying back mentors and kindness that others showed to me.

Real preparedness is self-directed, isn't it? Don't expect to read something and then by absorption gain knowledge to aid yourself when the SHTF. Instead of reading my posts, and using me as a crutch, or as an idea generator, stop learning and start thinking, experimenting, researching your own ideas.

Become a cook not watch cooks on television. Exercise, don't watch athletes perform sports on TV. Grow a garden, don't buy everything at the grocery store. It's pretty simple.

All people suspect that a disaster can happen to them based upon a loss of resources. Those kinds of doom will happen to you in your lifetime. I guarantee it. Having prepared for them YOURSELF will make a more fully actualized human being.

Hard work and sweat makes muscles, increases dendrites in the brain to realize connections, and brings joy. Only you can do it.

Thanks for all the great info. Much appreciated.

Two quick things:

If you can't put in a well for some reason, there's a good chance you can put in a dew collector (fog fence). It's a little known method of collecting water from the air based upon dew point.
See: Thread: If the drought persists and you must find water, make a dew collector

I posted this in another topic. It's a study of supply chain disruptions in the event of an economic collapse of the EURO. I was surprised that someone else was thinking along the same lines as myself. They also believe such an event would spread disruptions globally.
See:
[link to www.feasta.org]
I urge you to read that report carefully, for any supply chain disruptions will probably be the cause of the initial chaos.

Sad to hear you want to go, AGAIN. Everyone needs to hear your message....repeated over and over.
I have followed from the beginning.

I'm tired of being banned. I understand banning someone for breaking rules. Since no one has ever bothered to answer my polite requests to unban me, not explain the rules in a single stickied spot, then I'm at a loss as to why I've been banned five times over the course of a year and a half.

I'm guessing that I post too much and most of those long posts are here.

The reality is too many people read and don't follow through. I've met tons of would-be preppers who have books on topics as an insurance policy, but then can't show me a common herb in the field. That worries me. The idea is to facilitate learning, not reading....

Read and broaden your horizons

Since many people are cutting expenses, I thought I'd pass along a tip. Many public libraries now feature a way that you can temporarily read an ebook from your Kindle or computer by having a state website to download a pdf through Overdrive. You should definitely check that out as it may be the best means of educating yourself in this economy. It saves you the gas to drive to the library, plus the overdue fees.

[link to www.overdrive.com]

Please read:
One Second After by William Forstchen
excerpts:
[link to books.google.com]


A World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunster
excerpts:
[link to books.google.com]


Both books will broaden your horizons. They lay out plausible scenarios. If you read them, I guarantee it will change how you think and prepare.

Another book that can be freely read is:

A Will To Survive
[link to awilltosurvive.blogspot.com]

It is impossible to read that ebook without imagining how you yourself would deal with those issues.

Staying calm when all around you seem to be losing it

We're approaching a seasonally rough period with Christmas right around the corner, as well as the hyped Mayan 2012 business, Nibiru, etc. You need to be taking good care of yourselves, doing something that energizes but also relaxes you. A lot of people may end up needing your help in the days to come; hopefully not, but it's within the realm of possibility.

Find things that center you. Everyone needs something greater than themselves. It might be a cause or spirituality. Do what works best for you.

Find some quiet time to reflect as well as finish up your planning. Try to wake up 30 minutes early as witness a sunrise, or pay special attention to a sunset. Light some candles to make family time more special. Do things that build you up.

If we have some event, particularly at Christmas and with the Winter, then a lot of people will be especially stressed out. They'll react in a wild manner. You on the other hand will be calm and respond appropriately. Clear headed people are needed most during an emergency when everyone else is running around like chickens who just had their heads cut off.

Don't be infected by their bizarre reactions.

If you do have to respond with strength, don't waste a lot of time trying to convince people, but be decisive. Actions speak louder than words. Imagine what they need, and respond to that need, not to what they are saying.

We are a tribal people at heart, who have altered our natural inclinations of building warm fire with firewood we chopped and raising animals and crops, and become shadows of what we could be. It causes an existential crisis in humanity, and when stressed, that warrior spirit exerts itself for dominance. Be a soldier instead: trained, disciplined, calm, focused.

If the SHTF, and you still had some sweetner, you probably could make sassafras mead in small amounts. Sassafras grows all over the USA and the roots are easy to get too.
[link to books.google.com]

Go easy on it, because too much of any herb can be harmful. Creoles commonly drank Sassafras Mead. Quaffing an occasional glass is not going to hurt you.

It might be an excellent trade item.

Reports of people maxing out their credit cards

I haven't heard of this happening ...yet, but it's something to expect to happen. Most people don't prepare whatsoever. You've probably been in a grocery store as news hits of an approaching storm, and seen a lot of people begin to act strangely. Some people don't have adequate funds to purchase what they need, so they use the float period on a credit card to purchase emergency items.

If you begin to witness this happening this Christmas season, or hear reports of it from friends or the Internet, then it's a sign. It has more validity if it's happening by reasonable people, particularly if in a critical infrastructure role.

In an emergency, some people in leadership will have a "better safe than sorry" attitude. What could happen is a major tells his staff to "stock up on food or water", or a leader in a utility company, or a hospital administrator says something to staff members. If you see those folks stocking up, then you should carefully think of your supplies, think of deficits in your preparedness, and then buy what you need.

Minimize things that you want versus need. Especially limit perishable or impulsive items.

Remain calm. A lot of people will overeact. Others will notice and a frenzy will overtake more. Then that will get noticed. Already there are reports in Russia and China. The media loves this kind of human interest story as filler. It will happen in Western countries too.

Everyone loves to be suddenly respected for prepping. I urge you to be calm and careful about detailing what you have stored up. Be low-key.

Most probably all of this is hype. Use this time wisely instead by learning skills and checking and rechecking stock. Finish up seed purchases. Check your canning supplies. Think of any gardening equipment that would save you money like inexpensive drip irrigation. Think how you would collect rainwater. Don't waste money.

The more people panic, the more people tense up who have prepared. Find some way to chill out and take the operating tempo down. It's like that scene in Aliens where Ripley is speeding away the Armored Personnel Carrier to save everyone and is grinding down the transmission.

Remain calm and stay frosty.

Making Ginger Beer

Ginger is one of those very simple to create beverages. It will be something that people will desire as a trade item.



To replace the lime juice, you could use an infusion of sumac berries that are strained to create a citrus note. Sumac can be found in most places since it's a plant that grows to take over a meadow and begin the transformation back to a forest.

Ginger can be regrown from an existing ginger root. See previous postings.

You can gather wild yeasts by allowing it to ferment on it's own, but you could also use raisins (see previous posts).

Isn't the Jamaican lady sweet in the video?

A different take on the Horde arriving in an economic collapse


Here's a video from southernprepper1. I've watched some of his work, and admired one so much that I included it here. He doesn't think that most people will flee an urban area and head to the country. He believes that they'll think that the government will take care of them.

I think what he has to say is reasonable, and including other's beliefs gives you more to think about. I'd hoped for people to challenge my beliefs more here.

He does think that the refugees who do leave the urban area that encounter the first rural towns will begin stripping resources and so other rural towns will create obstacles to their path by blocking roads into their towns. That's difficult to do, for unless it's a bridge, and there's no other way in (which almost always is not possible), then I think their need will help them find a way. [yet a true creator is necessity, which is the mother of our invention. Plato]

Most people will follow an interstate, and there's lots of farms which are on either side of interstates. This makes it relatively easy to veer from their path on an interstate, beg for food or a place to sleep in the farmer's environment, or simply squat (which is the most likely outcome). Squatting means NOT asking permission, for if you ask for permission, you might get and mostly will get denied. Since most farmers have shotguns, then I think there will be incidents. If you have 50 people squatting, and one family with shotguns, then most farmers will fire a warning shot, but most squatters will probably continue to challenge them. It's an ugly business, isn't it?

I encourage you to watch his videos. One minor note that's not a criticism. While it's common for people to talk about a Horde, he uses the anachronistic term “Golden Horde”. That's an old term for the enormous number of Asians in the world, a term that was used prior to Asian people being immigrants into various Western countries. I don't think he knows what it means here.

Help others prep now

If you Ladies and Gentlemen learned anything useful, then now would be a good time to mentor some people using the tips you learned and passing along your own carefully researched thoughts.

There's a lot of bad information on prepping. People assume things and "wing it". This is a very bad idea. When you're packing up food into canning jars or packing water for long term storage, then you should ensure that it is SAFE. You don't store it and "think" it will be okay. You follow directions.

There's practically an urban legend that it's safe to use fruit juice and milk jugs to refill water. I bet I've answered that question at least a hundred times. You never want to use milk jugs and really don't want to use fruit juice. Both will coat the jugs and will be very difficult to clean sufficiently, and that water will sit in there, and most likely create a nasty bacteria culture. Should someone drink it while immune depressed, then I can almost guarentee that they'll get sick. Dyssentery is no fun, under ideal circumstances.

[link to faculty.deanza.edu]

Please teach people TODAY how to drain their water tank and check for sediment. You want to make sure your family has that 40-50 gallons of water in case of emergency.
[link to www.diynetwork.com]

The knowledge you now know, is a good trade item. I'm hoping that you'll use those skills to help reestablish order in your tribe, but you know that you'll most likely need those neighbors to help you grow food, repel invaders, put out fires, watch your kids, educate children, lift tree trunks, help with building the well and cistern, etc.

We can't change everyone's minds. A lot of people will do what they think is fine and dandy. ARGH! However you might very well help the ones who are your friends and extended family.

+1 on SouthernPrepper. He puts out some great videos. If u want an indication of what's coming down the pike subscribe to him.....

A surprising meal that you might not have imagined

I've discussed bread in a post-collapse world. Wheat is the most common prep supply. It's recommended by the Latter Day Saints (Mormons), as well as many other prepper groups. I've also discussed things like baking bread by collecting yeast from the air, as well as my personal preference of making pita bread. The latter is far more practical to cook. I also have mention hardtack since it's historically been used as a long lasting but awfully chewy bread. That bread is good for when you have stew or soup, and you can pour it over the hardtack and let it absorb the contents. And we've discussed panfortte, a precursor to modern day fruitcakes. It was eaten by the medieval crusaders since it lasted long and provided a mixed group of nutrients from nuts and dried fruit and preserved by rum or some other ethanol mix.

A bread though that you'll be eating, maybe once a day, is a crepe. I bet you never expected that. A crepe is a very good way to blend your acorn, corn, cattail pollen, clover or pine cambium flour, among all of the various kinds. Why? First, no doubt you'll be wanting to whip up something quick from time to time. Since it's a flatbread, there's no need to wait for it to rise or to mold it into something that you can easily cook. It's made deliberately thin, and that means it's easy to make several, and even eat them later at lunch or dinner. Sure, you'll be using honey or maple or corn syrup for a treat, but often the crepe can soak up the grease from animal fat, and so nothing is wasted. The crepe will be used to gather up that last little morsel on your plate. They also make a decent sandwich or a rollup.

In an ideal world you have some milk powder or powdered eggs to make something heartier. Still, it's remarkably easy to make a thin batter. Sometimes cutting the blended flours this way tastes better than trying to actually make them into a bread. It's a way to use up little dabs of this or that.

In a recent WND poll, people were surveyed as to the potential effects of an EMP weapon. In the short minutes of the interview, most people concluded the dearth of their preparedness, that most would die even in two months, and that over half of them would be willing to kill to protect their family from attack.
[link to www.wnd.com]

Do you see any issues with their response?

Are you like those people: ill-prepared, rational enough to reach a proper assessment, willing to kill?

It's a very volatile mix, isn't it?

The healthy response to reflection is preparedness. It's gathering resources as a means of cushioning the fall of any disaster. It's about having or learning skills to make your life easier. It's having all of that, then only if absolutely necessary being willing to defend your family and domicile.

It's madness not to prepare. While an EMP attack seems remote, it's actually possible given that form of attack protects the infrastructure and natural resources in that form of warfare. A solar flare in history has knocked electronics. It could happen again.

What's far more likely is a bad storm that knocks out electricity in Wintertime. If you've ever seen a bad ice storm, the weight of the ice causes trees and power lines to tumble. If it's sustained over many days, then it's very possible for one to cripple a zone. No power in Winter could result in extreme exposure from a prolong loss of heat, an ability to cook, a loss of controlled refrigeration, an inability to wash, a loss of lighting, etc. Imagine the difficulties of a massive ice storm on the supply chain that brings in food and drugs, not to mention reduces the effectiveness of ambulances, fire departments, police, utility crews, etc.

If you think that it's possible, and you know you don't have supplies, WHY ARE YOU NOT PREPARED?

Why Gold is a bad idea for barter, but a decent idea for preserving wealth

Some of you have invested in physical gold coins. It's a good idea to preserve wealth in a time of uncertainty. Because the value of gold will rise a lot at first leading up to a collapse and in its immediate aftermath, it's also a good reason to have some gold.

In a barter situation after a collapse, it's not very practical. Since a single gold coin might be worth a fortune, it would take a lot of trades to equal the value of a single gold coin. Probably. If you're starving and dehydrated, wouldn't you trade it away cheaply? Probably. Most smart gold investors have both gold and supplies. There's a scene in Time of the Wolf, a French film, and people are trading away their jewelry for clean water, and it's definitely not an equitable trade.

For barter, you want a new “currency”. Some people think for the first decade of a collapse that paper dollars will still be exchanged. They're not easy to counterfeit, so they'll be practical as all currency is, and so useful. Personally I think .22 ammunition will be very useful as will matches. Both don't take up much space, and will be in high demand. Salt is also a useful barter item, but must be packaged versus matches.

Very few other things can be so light, portable, and practical. You want to think in terms of easy to trade items desired by most people. Having some cigarettes is difficult for preppers to store long term in air tight containers. Unless you smoke regularly, I wouldn't store too much of this. If doom were right around the bend, then having some would be useful. Tobacco seed has previously been discussed, as has marijuana by another poster.

Making lime

Today, we purchase lime to sweeten the pH of our soil (make it more basic)to arund 7.0 . We also might need it to accelerate the digestion of composting manure. Post-collapse, we won't have those methods.

If one has a abundance of shells, say river mussel shells or seashells from an ocean proximity (like clam shells), then you can use the method in the link to liberate the calcium carbonate from them. Otherwise follow the simple instructions to liberate that from heated limestone.

In all likelyhood, this would practically result annually doing this with seasoned firewood, based upon deciding upon need versus using up a valuable resource of lumber, and deciding upon that need versus say growing Shitake mushrooms on that lumber, or making wood planks for construction, or the heat generated, blah blah blad.

Post-collapse, this is a very organized community activity since you want the process to be efficient and to share the workload. This means a lot of planning to determine the best time and not take away from other activities and being able to feed the workers and having the lime ready for use for sanitation and soil application in the Spring.
[link to digital.library.okstate.edu]

Since lime is a component of cement, and you'll need that for repairwork, all communities will have to carefully discover sources of limestone, and then transport it. That's extremely difficult, requires horses and probably oxen, wagons, feed for those animals, you get the idea.