Last minute tips for parents when the SHTF

How to season firewood faster: the Holzhausen

When I was a young lad, I would pour over the words of Mother Earth News to discover ways to live more in harmony with the Earth. It was absolutely fascinating, but it likely would bore a lot of you, for you think, "Aww I'm a 21st Century person. I don't need that old crap."

In a collapse, you'll be say, "Crap. I wish I wrote those things down that HopeisEssential said was fascinating..."

European cultures didn't stack wood like we do. They built a holzhausen instead. It makes the wood dry out faster but not too fast. The less moisture, the better the burn, but rapid drying leads to a layer of dry seasoned wood with a wetter interior.



Folks who make these like both the beauty and the utility of them. Many will proudly take pictures of them.

Some worry about how dry they will be and how well they will season, so I have included this video too.


Be careful. If one made a minimal holzhausen two layers in diamater (the smallest you can make) and stacked, then if you ever lit that, it would make a fierce fire of such intensity you have never seen.

Another tip about the holzhausen

A Holzhausen will attract mice of course. It is sturdy and they will feel safe within it. But that means it will also attract any snake that because of instinct knows that mice will be present and hence a meal. You're likely to find a red tail hawk or an owl outside, and they will also help keep the mouse population down.

Those gaps will cause some spiders to use that as a habitat. That means that wasps will come by to eat the spiders.

As such, it serves as a microniche for many creatures, a curse for a tenderfoot who built it too close to the house. A blessing for the prepper who might end up with an extra meal of snake because he/she knows to look for a nice fattened up snake who laid out in the sun to warm, but then got cold due to the changing weather and is sluggish (they are cold blooded).

This is a curse to the nonthinking tenderfoot who gardens for they think all wasps are bad, all spiders are bad. It is a blessing to the prepper gardener who knows that a spider will eat a ton of insects so he/she doesn't have to use much pesticide. Then not worry about the spiders because the wasps will get them.

We live in a balance, a wonderful connection with Nature. It is only when were are unaware and disconnected from Nature that we fail to see the magnificence of all of the relationships.

A spiritually inclined person seeing that on a daily basis, can't help but be aware of God. Even if not, then how rich will your life and your family's lives be from seeing the glory of an owl or a red tailed hawk or a ratsnake or a chipmunk? To the tenderfoot these are pests. To a prepper they are our brothers and sisters.

Here is a very preliminary observation by someone who has found a national nurse triage hotline that they are taking bids for to use in case of a pandemic.

The federal government often does things like this in anticipation of a pandemic, but then might not act on it, or modify how they act on it, or lots of other things.

It's wise to monitor this to see how it goes and not to panic react.

If you ever talk to an expert, they are scared shitless that one of these will be bad like the Great Pandemic we had in WW1. It's important not to freak out but to be good critical thinkers and be extremely vigiliant in looking for data. That likely would come from photos, videos, commentary from nurses in ER rooms. They talk to each other on forums about issues like this.

If there was an issue, then hospitals and medical centers would have a big run on supplies to gear up, shortages would be reported, and some folks would start buying them up for families.

There also would be larger than normal inventories for things like coal for utility plants or water treatment chemicals. Large purchases of supplies for soldiers.

Health employees would be reminded of any medical center policies, public health officers would start making more rounds, morticians would be contacted, etc.

Stay observant but don't panic yet.

An earlier and similar post made discussing the gear up of sterilized blankets and medical supplies. Many people picked that up.



I would bookmark that youtube channel and check it as the situation develops.

Some helpful tips I once wrote on discerning a pandemic. You might wish to read this:
Thread: If there was a pandemic coming, how would we know?

Staying calm and observant is the most important thing you can do to prepare.

If there are issues, the isolation is your best bet, even within a home.

At first pandemics are not air bourne, but by contact of germs on shared spaces like bathrooms and kitchens, and later the virus adapts and is spread by not only coughing but also persistently in the air from being around a sick person.

That means that you need food and water and not to go to public places to get supplies. That's a primary vector for spreading contagion.

Please have at least two months (but three or more is better).

In a pandemic, there are waves, usually three as the virus/bacteria changes and adapts. The first places to expect an outbreak are prisons and colleges and military academies and military outposts.

That's bad all around for various reasons and I'll leave you to consider why.

In an emergency, a lot of college students trying to get back home could really spread disease easily and without meaning to. Likewise soldiers could be deployed to help and spread disease too.

Something I wrote last year as bullet points if you get the flu. Sorry for repeating it, but it was located elsewhere, and as far as I know, the best comprehensive yet concise tips on dealing with flu symptoms.

Note, if they do create the National Nurse Hotline to get medical advice for flu, then I would be willing to be that only a very tiny portion of helpful advice is dispensed given lack of resources and so many calling.

As such, it might be helpful to print this out. Then in case you need it, it's all right there for you to refer to.

I really do care and I'm trying to help you, both save money and to be safe, and not to preach doom at all.

1. Don't take cough suppressants. You need to expel the mucus. You need an expectorant. Use a cough suppressant at night to get sleep. Avoid menthol, or minimally use it. Menthol while thinning mucus ALSO INCREASES MUCUS PRODUCTION. It's counter-productive. It can clear the sinuses briefly then do a nasal rinse and stop using the menthol. If you wish to do that, try some chinese mustard since it contains horseradish and that also clears the sinuses and doesn't cause more mucus.
2. Use an inhaler and an extender to relax the smooth muscle of the respiratory tract. You are coughing because the mucus is building up to trap the pathogen. See point #1
3. Still do a nasal rinse as above to wash away the infection. If you have a wound, then you clean it first, right?
4. If a patient can't cough up mucus, then do percusive therapy. See my sig or do a GLP search. You tap the shoulders, back, or chest and this mechanically loosens the mucus plug. Then they can cough it up.
5. Don't swallow mucus. Expel it. Swallowed mucus traps food particles and bacteria and believe it or not, mucus then often rises again along the respiratory tract and throat and is reinserted into your nose. You're making yourself sicker. You could get a secondary bacterial infection.
6. If your fever is less that 102 and your mucus is clear, you have a virus. There are few medicines. Tamiflu only shortens the symptom length. If there are shortages, they will limit prescibing it anyway.
7. If your fever is 102+ and your mucus is dark yellow or green, then it contains dying white blood cells. That's what colors mucus. You have a bacterial infection. Get antibiotics.
8. If not feverish, then take warm baths, not showers to increase lymph flow. Often people can go into shock when they get too chilled.
9. Massage the sinuses to push infected material out. Don't give overall massage as it could push the infection towards the heart and organs. A clogged sinus can easily get a bacterial infection and now you have two problems.
10. If vomiting and/or diarrhea (gasteroenteritis), then you need oral rehydrating solution (ORS)to stay hydrated. See my sig on instructions. Many people get sicker because of this.
11. If you are vomiting or have diarrhea is could be Norovirus. Usually that is a LOT of these two. It's usually both. You especially need ORS. Expect the whole family to get it as it is highly contagious.
12. If you have vomiting and respiratory illness, chances are that if your mucus is yellow or green you have a specific bacterial infection called Staph aureus. You need antibiotics. Most "flu" (respiratory illness) doesn't have vomiting.
12a. If someone gets dehydrated, their blood pressure could drop. Raise their legs above their head. They could go into shock. Keep them warm. Prevention is way easier than dealing with this.
13. Take your temperature regularly. Write it down. In fact write down your symptoms. You need to clearly and concisely communicate exactly your symptoms so you get the right medicine.
14. If sick and there are people around, segregate yourself as much as possible and use a mask when outside the room to minimize THEM getting sick. The last thing you need is everyone sick at once.
15. If a young person (typically) has coughing in which they hack and cough and then must suck in air and make a distinctive sound (pertusis or whooping cough) then you need to go right away to the doc for treatment.
16. If a young child or baby can't or won't blow their nose, use a snotsucker. You need to get that out of there, or they will definitely get sicker.
17. If a baby gets sick with clear mucus and wheezes, then most likely they have RSV (viral). You can gently tap and do percussive therapy to dislodge the mucus. Ask if you can do breathing treatments at home. Watch them like a hawk. They can get very weak, can't rouse them, won't eat so fussy, etc. Seek treatment.
18. Don't eat dairy or cut it way back if not a baby on formula. Milk helps create mucus and that is the last thing you want.Milk is largely digested in the intestines so avoided with gasteroenteritis like Norovirus.
19. If nothing will bring up mucus, and it's clear, and you have a dry hacking cough, then you especially need a vaporizer. There are special teas and cough syrup for this. Find one with slippery elm as that sooths the best. Liquorice root too. Both ingredients if you find one. Youcan't use liquorice root is you are on heart medication. Breathe Easy tea and Throat Coat tea are both found in most grocery or drug stores and are great.
20. You can't get strong if you don't eat. Find something you can eat. If you're having trouble keeping food down then eat very small portions.
21. If you have bad diarrhea, most of the time you want to expel it. If it's ridiculous, then use loperimide (Imodium). The generic is far cheaper and the same. It relaxes the spasm.
22.If you have an ear ache, you could easily stumble and fall. Don't let people with ear aches drive or walk around without help. It's very painful. They lose their balance because that sense is developed inside the ear. Falls usually happen when they shower.
23. It's very common for someone to have atypical pneumonia and be misdiagnosed. They most often have clear mucus and a hacking cough. All patients with this have chills and clammy skin and fever. Body aches. People think you don't have pneumonia, but then a chest Xray shows it. Eye pain which is unusual. Shortness of breath when climbing stairs.
23b. Atypical Pneumonia as above but you could have bloody mucus if Legionella is present but that's usually older people.The elderly are often confused. Diarhea not vomiting.

I hope this helps. It's the main points. Do only the part based upon the symptoms. Wouldn't it be smart to print this and refer to it, and so help diagnose when someone gets sick?

If you have a respiratory illness and then your neck hurts, you have the worst headache of your life, eye pain, sensitiveity to light, then seek treatment. It might be viral or bacterial meningitis. You can't treat that at home.

Be loving and faithful like a guard dog, and your constancy might break through


The sweetness and persistence of this dog speaks for itself.

We don't nag people about prepping. We don't argue with them. We accept them, their limitations, their fear, their reticence to accept compassion.

A lot of people think it's a dog-eat-dog world, but I can tell you that most of the time, preppers will go out of their way to help others at a personal cost to themselves. They will act unselfishly.

Most preppers are not crazed suvivalists. They are normal folks trying to live simply, faithfully, lovingly, just as their ancestors did.

Win people over with kindness and patience. Don't return reject with rejection or belittling.

Don't lose heart, tap into the Source of Life, into God, and run the good race.

21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40: 21-31

"You flinched. The gunshot holds no fear" Man on Fire

Pieta is the swimmer in that scene. She is fast but untrained and afraid of the sound of the gunshot.

We are all like Pieta. There are things we do not know. There are things we are afraid of. The unknown seems compeling and dark and can defeat us.

Why was she able to swim faster? Because one person trained her, then the people who worked for her family, cheered her on.

She was the same person before. The only difference was someone cared.

We lend others our strength. We need strength but we cannot make ourselves stronger.

Jesus is the Source of Love. He is our strength. If we love Him, then we lend strength to others, and so by leaning on Jesus, and in the sharing of strength, we become strong.

It is a mystery. It doesn't make sense. But then in the end, it makes all the sense in the world.

This is the abundant life.

A tiny tip about the Holzhausen

I neglected to mention why you place the side wedges every so often within the otherwise regularly stacked firewood. It should be obvious, but some people might not have thought it out.

You want the pile to slowly curve over, in the same manner as an igloo. Otherwise you'll end up with a cylinger and not dome over the middle of your Holzhausen.

Place a layer of sideways wedges, that then angles successive layers on top of them. Does that make better sense now? When it curves slightly then this will lead to the center becoming at the end, a ceiling.

For that to happen, notice that when building it, you also stack some wood within the Holzhausen's spokes forming the radius. You could just make each radius exactly two split firewood planks thick end-to-end, but that would make a very small Holzhausen.

Don't have children yet but this is worth checking out later... Thanks

and re-bump!

This is still one of the best threads I've ever read anywhere, and it took me six months to find it again. It deserves a BUMP and OP deserves a commendation. Seriously, great stuff.

one of the best threads ever

I predicted WW3 due to Syria two years ago.

The banks are imploding.

Europe faces a wave of so-called Syrian refugees, mostly Muslims.

Who's not ready?

"“If Arab forces entered the Syrian war they could spark a new world war,” Medvedev warned on Thursday. “Ground offensives usually lead to wars becoming permanent.” Here’s what else he told Handelsblatt: “The Americans and our Arabic partners must think hard about this: do they want a permanent war?” “Do they really think they would win such a war very quickly? That’s impossible, especially in the Arabic world. There everyone is fighting against everyone… everything is far more complicated. It could take years or decades.” “Why is that necessary? All sides must be forced to the negotiating table instead of sparking a new world war.” READ

This is your last chance to stock up however you may.

Muslims in the Middle East are crucifying, beheading, and enslaving Christians.

[link to www.youtube.com (secure)]

The worst possible scenario is an EMP attack in winter. North Korea deployed a space based platform of unknown ability at the time of the Super Bowl.

Given the drought in California, millions would die bugging out.

Given the winter weather, millions would die fleeing the Atlantic Seaboard.

With the earliest gardening beginning March 15, then it's eight weeks for even very calorie supplementation.

Winter hunting would be abysmal. Trapping near nonexistent. The few animals will be starving (deer) or minimally active (squirrels). They might certainly be ill. Check their livers before consuming them.

Dehydration would harm the preponderance of bugging out city dwellers. They would have no skills and would turn to crime.

While oil is cheap now, it would be seized for critical infrastructure.

Smart bugging in folks should harvest maple syrup.

[link to www.wired.com]
"“North Korea has launched a …” is a sentence that rarely ends well, and is usually punctuated by the sound of wind being sucked through teeth. This week the hermit kingdom’s National Aerospace Development Administration (that’s right, NADA) set off international alarm bells by sending a satellite—the Kwangmyongsong-4—into orbit."

[link to www.foxnews.com]

The U.S. temporarily deployed an additional Patriot missile battery in South Korea late Friday in response to North Korea’s nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch, ahead of talks next week to set up an even more sophisticated missile defense system.

There was no immediate word from the Pentagon on the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile system, something that China and Russia wouldn’t view favorably.

The extra Patriot missile battery deployment follows South Korea’s decision to shut down a shared factory park that had been the rival Koreas’ last major symbol of cooperation, but that Seoul said had been used by North Korea to fund its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea responded to the closure by deporting South Korean citizens, seizing South Korean assets and vowing to militarize the park.

The U.S. military command in South Korea said Saturday that an air defense battery from Ft. Bliss, Texas has been conducting ballistic missile training using the Patriot system at Osan Air Base near Seoul. Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, said "exercises like this ensure we are always ready to defend against an attack from North Korea."

"North Korea's continued development of ballistic missiles against the expressed will of the international community requires the alliance to maintain effective and ready ballistic missile defenses," he said in a statement.

South Korean media have long speculated that the two countries are working on a THAAD deployment in South Korea, but it took the North's rocket launch last Sunday, which outsiders see as a test of banned ballistic missile technology, for the allies to formally announce they will begin the missile defense talks.

Beijing and Moscow are sensitive to the possibility of THAAD in South Korea; critics say the system could help U.S. radar spot missiles in other countries.

China's state media quickly made the country's displeasure known, while Russia also expressed worries about the deployment. North Korea has previously warned of a nuclear war in the region and threatened to bolster its armed forces if the THAAD deployment occurs.

Sanders is gaining momentum. Hilary could be indited.

Obama cannot risk either being in charge during WW3. Trump/Cruz might scare Russia/China/Iran but probably won't happen due to a brokered convention midst WW3.

If you're Russia/China/Iran, what do you think is better in terms of crippling the US?

Syria will touch off the spark as it's the only way out for this economic crisis. The fake oil production ramp-up, could on its own crash the world markets.

[link to www.youtube.com (secure)]
Troop activity

Things to do to prepare if you think an emergency is imminent.

1. Meticulously clean your washing machine. In an emergency it can safely hold a large volume of water.
2. Have $500 in small denominations to use for a last minute run or for bribes.
3. Top off the gas tank every night. Ensure your vehicle's in ready to go mode.
4. Polar fleece and emergency mylar blankets make for good lightweight insulation.
5. Check all bugout bags.
6. Ensure you have beans/rice/oil plus vitamins.
7. Twice a day apply a standard moistened tea bag(not herbal) to your feet. It will toughen the outer layers to prevent blisters. Cornstarch reduces chaffing when walking long distances
8. Ensure everyone has snow pants, gloves, and hats.
9. Check the tent. Check the leather cap inside Coleman stoves and lubricate/replace as needed. Check lantern mantles.
10. Check your supply of parafin oil for indoor lanterns.
11. Have your topographical maps in map covers and with your compass.
12. Have caffeine tablets, naproxen, loperamide in your first aid kit. Expect flu due to exposure. Mucinex works well. Have Echinacea.
13. A bottle of fish antibiotics may be an excellent bribe.

More last minute things to do if an emergency is imminent
1. Clean your guns?
2. Check the location of all your ammunition plus caches. What needs to be topped off?
3. Get a windshield reflector cover. Take out the inserts from your hiking boots. Use the inserts to cut another insert from the cover. Put the original insert back in the boot plus the new one. Now the heat from your feet will keep your feet warm.
4. Do your boots need waterproofing?
5. How much wear do they have? People walking the Appalachian Trail go through many pairs.
6. If ice is predicted, cover your windshields with scrap cardboard, so if necessary you can leave quickly without scraping the windshield.
7. Your antifreeze mix is correct, right?
8. Do you have several tarps and rope to tie things on the car roof? Those will help do double duty for other tasks.
9. Fill prescriptions.
10. If fleeing to another location, coordinate with them to bring deficits in their supplies.
11. Are your tires treads good enough for a long trip?
12. Door breaches can be reduced by barring them. The most likely scenario is a truck raming a window region. Create obstacles if bugging in.
13. Review fire safety as folks are not used to open flames. Example: unmonitored liquid and wax candles.
14. Matches? Firestarters?

Even more last minute items to check if an emergency is imminent.
1. Sharpen all blades.
2. If bugging in, seal windows with shrink film kits to retain heat.
3. Plan parent's extraction to your locale if bugging in.
4. If woodpile is low, order a load. Check LP gas tank.
5. Plan for emergency canning of frozen meat. Get extra reusable lids/jars.
6. Dehydrate frozen veggies.
7. Emergency gasoline storage?
8. Acquire pool shock as chlorine trade item
9. Salt
10. Batteries
11. Inspect all hunting/trapping/fishing gear.
12. Triple check yeast, baking powder, honey, and sugar inventory. Low carbs=low energy and weariness.
13. Coffee/tea
14. Check sewing supplies. Get extra needles.

Good to see you back, Op.

Yet more last minute items to check if an emergency is imminent.
1. Go through all food supplies. Evaluate deficits. Use up short dated items.
2. Check for expired medicines. Anticipate shortfalls. What first aid items are needed?
3. Sanitary items.
4. Evaluate raw sewage issues. Place black plastic to warm up soil for digging.
5. Clean and fill large water reservoirs. Rotate water supply.
6. Perform equipment check and test redundant spares test.
7. Prepare final run grocery list.
8. Reiterate communications security with children.
9. Quiet neighborhood communications face-to-face. Evaluate team member readiness and advise.
10. Check smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.