preparing with limited income

Yep, just what I was thinking. You might just have to force yourself to those dem beans girl.

Get a whole load of ramen noodles and powdered soups to make your own flavours :)

When you're hungry... those beans will taste just fine.

Thread: Last minute tips for parents when the SHTF

There's some erroneous information in this topic. I know people mean well. I respect people wanting to share tips, but please NEVER EVER refill milk jugs with water for drinking later. That is unless you want to get people sick. Milk jugs will contain minute traces of caesin proteins from the milk which cannot be properly removed even with bleach. As a result, the water that is stored for any length of time will serve as a incubator for bacteria. If you then drank from that milk jug water source in an emergency, you would likely get food poisoning.

As a new prepper, you should be carefully reading expert opinion. I suggest that you intentionally look at seasoned prepping resources, particularly from the Latter Day Saints sites, since preparedness is a major aspect of their spiritual beliefs. They have trained professionals in nutrition, medicine, agriculture, food preservation, etc and so why not read their expert ideas that have been carefully created and peer reviewed for accuracy?

The link above contains many important links, often from experts, so that the most common questions that folks have in prepping, can be answered with not only opinion, but more importantly will rational and practical solutions.

We all have ideas about what would work, but we all can easily give out inaccurate advice that can harm a lot of people, myself included.

When I see some advice that I think could seriously harm someone, I try to raise some awareness. Not only have preppers discovered that milk jugs are the worst ways to store water for bacteria reasons, but in addition, many preppers have discovered that the weak plastic tends to leak over time. One broken water jug can spoil some dried goods like flour when they leak. As such, it's a very bad thing to do.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the tips.

I thought of you today while reading the article at the link provided. It provides information on rice and beans as a survival combination

As a tip, be sure to have some sort of protein to add such as tuna, canned chicken or the like.

It adds flavor and some fat to make the meal more appealing.

[link to modernsurvivalblog.com]

Best,

Tesla

Thank you so much it's appreciated. I am going to be doing some shopping very soon. I think if I can at least get 30 days worth that's a good start.

Costco or Sam's Club has excellent prices for these staples. They also offer a 30 day supply of dehydrated meals for one person. The cost for the dehydrated food is basically $100. All you do is add water.

Here is a link to the company that makes the dehydrated food kits.

[link to www.augasonfarms.com]

Good Luck,

NT

As mentioned, Costco has some good deals for Emergency food- here is a link for $159.00.


[link to www.costco.com]

I am ready with a self-sufficient jungle retreat in Ecuador, but have these in the States -just in case- when I visit there.

Last Edited by Dr. Gringo-Cracker on 09/08/2013 09:40 PM

This is really grim, but it's worth mentioning. I've discussed this in detail at the Last minute tips for parents topic.

Assume the following parameters (and you know what happens when you assume anything... :)

1. Most Americans do not have any practical skills for survival.

2. Most Americans have less than two weeks of food at home and that's counting the freezer mostly. In the event of a major power disruption, most of that would be lost. It's a transition in our meals from canned goods to fresher tasting frozen food.

3. Most Americans not only cannot find potable water, but also don't know how to gather and purify it. If there was no water utilities, many would die in three days.

4. In a true collapse, then money might be valuable only for the first 48 hours. After that point, it won't be accepted for trade items i.e. gasoline, food, ammunition, camping gear, etc. Likewise, ATM cards, Food Stamp Cards, and credit cards will not be worth anything, for no retailer will know if those bills will be electronically paid in a major power outage. As such, places like supermarkets, gas stations, pharmacies, etc will all be complete chaos.

5. Because of the concerns about security, we've seen an increasing militarization of law enforcement. We've also seen huge ammunition purchases by the federal government. We've also seen huge MRE orders as well as checking on the inventory of those companies who deal with MREs.

Now add up these five points. Pause and think about them. If the average person doesn't have skills, supplies, seed, and spirituality, and they cannot rely upon government services in such an emergency to deliver them, then many people would die in the first 72 hours from dehydration from lack of water.

Human beings can live for six weeks without food under certain unusual conditions. Much of that depends upon deep cold, lying down almost in a stupor, and preexisting obesity. For the rest of us, miss three weeks of food, and our blood sugar is too low to sustain life. We'd not have enough energy to find firewood or water.

Under that kind of collapse scenario, then those with three months of food and water could outlast everyone else. That is entirely contingent upon living in a highly remote rural location and likely a newly formed community (which I call a tribe for lack of a better word).

While food supplies would vanish in the first several days of a major SHTF scenario (like an EMP attack), there would still be ways to locate food. See my Last Minute Tips topic that discusses all of that.

If you live in a heavily urban environment, such as the NE Atlantic Seaboard, or are one of the highlighted places on a map link I posted within the last week, or live West of the Mississippi in a drought region, then we could see a huge die of humanity.
...

Now what's far more practical is having a three month supply of food and water in case of a weather related disaster, loss of employment, having to support unemployed family members, etc. Then that acquired cushion would be no different then what your great-grandparents ordinarily stored in canned goods in their pantry. (With the exception of the water for many communities relied upon well water and so had a readily available source).

I live in a town with about 35K people, an hour away from the largest city in Oregon and a half hour from state capitol but I am 25 minutes away from the closest FEMA camp

Those are good points you make.

Tesla

Thanks for pointing that out....

So true. I have booze for my brother but lots of milk chocolates for me. The minute the SHTF I am breaking out the chocolate. If I am gonna die...it will be with a mouthful of Milk Chocolate.

I store both raw, instant, and canned assorted beans. You do not want to be cooking in the beginning. Just quietly open cans and do not raise attention with fires or the smells of cooking. Starving people will flock to your door.

Do you eat fast food? How many times do you throw out the extra salt, pepper, utensils, katsup, etc? Start keeping them, including the napkins. Get a 5 gallon bucket and an extra toilet seat and some plastic trash bags for a honey bucket....the napkins from those fast food extras make great TP if needed. Stock up on water. If you don't like beans buy soups....they at least have liquid and if you are short on space that will help replenish the liquid you need. Go to the dollar stores, you can find soups on sale, rice, etc. If you can't afford the pills for radiation....buy IODINE, cover finger to middle knuckle each day...that will help and buy salt with iodine. Buy Self rising flour (it already has baking powder in it). You can add a little water and oil to it and roll out tortillas, or make biscuits, etc. Get iron skillets and an iron dutch oven...you can cook over a fire with those and actually bake in them if you cover them with a lid. Clean and save aluminum foil....you can use that in a pinch for a lid or make a cup or scooping utensil with it. Try to buy extra salt, oil, flour, sugar.....buy the juice bags when they are on sale....stock up on blankets, and first aid stuff....The use by dates are recommendations on all products.....canned goods can still be good after 5 years...just make sure the can hasn't bubbled on top....meaning if you push the top of the can and it moves...then its not good. Do NOT keep bisquick or pancake mix past expiration date as they develop a fungus. Buy powerd milk, evaporated milk, etc. Hope these ideas help you to get started.

Then turn your home into a little fort. Even if it is only one strong well stocked room. Store nails, and duct tape too.

Go to a recycle place and rescue some nice Shasta 2 0r 3 liter jugs, clean them and fill them with water. lay them on the floor against a wall and start stacking.

We're from the Goobermint and we're here to help you...Not!

I'm with you, I don't drink alcohol but, I am a chocolate fiend.

If I have to take the 'fiery chariot ride to the sky", it's going to be with a mouth full of chocolate.

Tesla

This post is getting so so long! I think I did buy some radiation tablets when the Japan plant went on the fritz. I should buy some more though soon and keep it stocked.

This will seem like a dumb little tip, but I would definitely purchase extra matches for trade items. I discuss a more practical long term art of producing firemaking (chert and steel) kits for sale post-collapse. It's very difficult to make matches for the average person.

The other thing I would have is lots of extra instant milk powder and cocoa. Believe me, these will be very valuable trade items as they will seem like impossible luxuries.

Naturally if living inland, then having extra salt only makes good sense. It's so inexpensive and as long as it's in a dry environment, and you've considered how to sell it, then you'll have a trade item that will be difficult for lots of folks to make. For those who live in coastal areas, I detail a very specific method for systematically evaporating sea water in such a way that you do not need to boil it down. That's vital as that's a lot of make work when there will be too many chores to do post-collapse.

Look over at the Last minute tips topic for that.

Ahhh humans who speak my language...

Another good reason to stock the heavy duty zip lock bags. Breaking down big bags to barter or share.

Re: containers for divvying up bulk items

If you're old enough, or have heard your parents talk, then they will no doubt relate some story about relatives (like a great-grandmother) who lived through the Great Depression. They'll inevitably say, "You know...she was kind of batty and wouldn't throw away anything. She kept all her old glass containers and would always use them for storage.

We'll do that too in a collapse. Suddenly all of those glass jars with lids will be our replacement glasses for drinking from, some will be cut with a glass cutter, some will be for food storage, some will be for storing other items that need to be dry from humidity, etc.

Re: beans

Beans get very hard when stored too long. There's many topics on that. Please do yourself a favor and try lentil stew. It's tasty, it's nutritious, it can easily be altered by spices (since it's bland by itself), it rehydrates WAY EASIER than beans. Seriously it is faster by far.

When soaking beans, if you soak them longer then they begin to germinate. You want this to happen for it increases the amount of available nutrients (which is a big problem in a collapse unless you understand nutrition and wild edibles).

If you don't understand now what vitamins and minerals you need, know which meadow plants give them, then I hope you stock vitamins especially for your children.

People always think, "Oh I'll eat maple syrup and cattails and nuts from the trees." Yeah, that's all certainly possible, but so will everyone else be doing that. Read that Last Minute Tips topic for a lot of other common plants that people won't know how to harvest and they're easily identifiable.

Every person I've ever known who's been with me on a long camping trip can not believe how HUNGRY they get when physically active. Don't think in a collapse that you'll just kill a rabbit or catch a trout. Not possible. You could waste more energy looking for them and they contain low calories.

Ever wonder why all of those tribal people are so lean in the documentaries? They're experts in foraging and hunting and even they can seldom make it by foraging/hunting/trapping/fishing alone. That's why humans began cultivating crops and animals.

Beans got protein and won't break the bank.


You'll eat beans or starve...which is better?

Im surprised how little this is brought up...

Get a home that has a ground well and where you can put in a wood burning stove.

Heat and water seem to be extremely important necessities when everyone else is talking about canned beans and or storing tap water.

Imagine having endless cold water from your own well !

If the property doesnt have one and you live above ocean level, look into digging one out after you find out what underground aquifers you live over.

Re: Beans again

Humans eat any number of protein sources to get a varied diet. It's not just for flavors. Proteins are made up of amino acids. Certain ones are essential amino acids that humans need to survive. Some proteins contain other amino acids as well.

Our digestive system used complex biochemistry by creating certain chemicals within the body then unzips the protein and recombines them in stages. Certain vitamins are minerals, carbohydrates, fats, lots of water, and sunshine, allow these many metabolic processes to occur.

If one was desperate, then one could live off of a very simple diet, but not beans alone. It used to be very common for nutritional deficiencies to occur from not getting some crucial component, and this cascaded the issue by halting other metabolic processes. Think: beri-beri, scurvy, neural tube defects, cretinism, etc. Those don't happen nowadays because of our very varied diet. Heck when I was young, the only fruits we had on an occasional basis was apples, oranges, and bananas. Other fruit was too unusual and expensive to eat.

If one ate only beans, then you would begin seeing issues with hair, nails, and skin. Your body would be unable to properly undergo protein synthesis, for your metabolism reassembles those amino acids into other arrangements as needed to form those constantly forming tissues.

You would start having stomach bleeding too, because the inner lining and mucus for the acid environment of the stomach wouldn't be keeping up, and the lack of calories on a regular basis coupled with your body's normal digestive cycle would lead to ulcers on top of that lack of protein synthesis. If it continued, your hair would become brittle and break and either marasmaus (wasting away) would occur as cachexia OR you'd get distended bellies called kwashiokor which is normally seen in documentaries on world hunger.

The take away point is NOT TO GUESS but to read what survival experts say about nutrition under a collapse or a disaster. In simple terms you need to eat beans with corn or beans with rice to get the amino acids. It isn't that simple, and it's very easy to read a short 100 page ebook on preparedness then it is to scurry around cobbling information on your own.

Please take your life more seriously.

To supplement my food storage which is mainly bulk rice, beans, flour and canned goods I also started dehydrating fruits, vegies & meat. Dried foods are great for bobs because they are light but I also keep a good supply with the food preps. Also, the kids love the dried fruits - their favourites dried apples, plums & pears. Surprisingly, they also love the dried tomatoes. They easily last 6 months and much longer if you store them in a freezer.

I also dehydrate onions and garlic to use for seasoning.

I use both a solar dehydrator and an electric (for winter). If you don't have one I see them at the thrift shops often. But if you can only afford one get the solar.

I grow herbs and dry them (not in a dehydrator) by just picking several stalks, tie them together, and hang them inside the house until dry. I dry mint and berry leaves this way also to use as a tea. Berry leaves (blackberry, raspberry, loganberry, strawberry) are high in vit. C. so I not only dry them for teas but also use the green leaves for teas during their growing season.

If you are in Canada or the UK, you will know what I am talking about..
YOu can wash out your MIlk Bags, let them air dry, then place items in them and seal them back up using an iron, with a cloth over it, to prevent it from melting the plastic bag. You have your reusable bag for items at a fraction of the cost.

Please explain "Milk bags" to me.

I'm here in the U.S. and don't know what they are.

Thanks