Last Minute Survival Primer...

I don't know either but thought I would start with a starter solar cooker just to test it out. We have a propane bbq and 3 tanks but come on, how long is that really going to last if things turn terrible. I'm in Cali so sun is not a problem.

The Survivalist seeks to be out of the way of the revolution and the ravenging hoards. The last thing the Survivalist wants is to get into a fight. Binoculars and spotting scopes are important to help you avoid detection and evade any fighting.

Too many people think "surviving" and Survival are the same thing. The Survivalist is trying to eliminate dumb luck from his necessities. By careful planning his/her family will be where others aren't or can't be; and they are prepared to do for themselves in all areas. They are also able and ready to help their neighbors.

The Survivalist possesses weapons and ammunition in sufficient quantities, but these are not his/her main focus. Food, energy, gear, clothing, supplies, tools and raw materials are more day-to-day critical to the Survivalist IF they have chosen their location carefully.

You want to be out of the line of fire, whether that means gunfire, forest fire, or arson set fires etc. There are such places, but very few homes in the country are so located.

Solar cooker a good idea. Maybe get some stainless sheet steel at a junkyard, from a junked restaurant steam table etc and some aircraft snips and make your own?

The 5gal propane tanks are great. Instead of using your patio cooker, consider getting a 2 burner propane campstove and a adapter hose to use your 5gal cyls instead of the tiny ones. The campstove will be much more efficient and make your fuel last a lot longer. Probably going to be doing less grilling. If you remove the lava stones and burner pipe, you might have a decent outdoor cooker to use with any tree limbs or firewood.

You might also think about using a couple of hd black garden hoses as a makeshift hotwater source. Betcha they get 125F or more in the sun all day. With a spray nozzle you could get a couple showers for the family each day if you time them before the water gets scalding hot. Easy to rig an outdoor shower. Better than nothing if you have water & pressure but maybe no hotwater heater? Who Knows?

Can also rig a solar collector on the roof and pre-heat your hotwater.

Lots of stuff you can do.

Best of luck!

Used to be lots of discussion in The Hoodlums forum about pocket sized, Altoid tin contained, survival kits.

What do you keep in your pocket or in your car if you had to get by with what you had on you?

I would be dead if tshtf in my car. I have like, a balance bar and a 16 oz of water. I would't last a weekend. at home I would last 3 months

I have maybe 100 gal. of water in various containers, glass or plastic bottles, in my basement that I made for Y2K over 8 years ago, 10 drops of bleach per gal. of city water.
Do you think they're OK to drink?

about 5 years is pushing water IMHO for taste and possible contamination

water is still running so really no biggie to just clean them all out put new water in add the water purification process to the tap water re seal re store and peace of mind again

gravity fed water purification systems from katydyn and other places are nice to have in addition too

Might want to assemble a few items to carry in your vehicle.

A couple of road flares might save you from a collision, and they are superb firestarters so you get dual utility from carrying them. Not going into all the things you might want for your car/truck, but a couple gallon ziploc bags of stuff stored in a bookbag/backpack could be a great comfort.

Need a FIRE KIT: Throw away lighters, couple books of matches or Strike Anywhere 'ches in a water tight container. You can buy fire-starters in Wally/Target's camping section, or buy a fireplace log and saw it into pieces. This stuff is just kerosene soaked sawdust etc, but it lights under any conditions. You can also make your own, maybe carry a plastic flask containing 40% kero, 40% veg oil, and 20% gasoline. Not too volatile, lights safely once poured onto or soaked into wood or tinder.

A gallon of water is easy to carry in your trunk or cargo area. Maybe you find a cheap wool blanket at a resale shop, and get an 8x10 tarp (or several)_ at the discounters. Toss in some rope or nylong cord and you have shelter. If you car won't run, tarps can turn it into a place to shelter or store gear.

An ice chest makes a decent storage box in your trunk, plus it has other uses. Foods like canned ham, spam, chicken, and sandwich meats, dinty-moor stews, canned veges, and freeze-dried camp meals (Wally/Target) give you something to work with.

Depending on where you live/where you're traveling and what gear you already own; once you begin thinking about what your needs are you can alter your take-alongs.

A spare 5 gals of fuel might make all the difference. Maybe you carry a gun from time to time. Spare ammo in the turnk?

Outerwear like boots and raingear, warm jackets could be a lifesaver. How many people set out in cold weather relying entirely on their vehicle heater? Gloves can be critical if you expect to work on your car or gather materials etc.

If you carry a set of snowchains, real chain type/not cables, you can go just about anywhere. Chains work great in the mud or snow, just have to drive slow. All sorts of gear you can carry, but what will you use?

Maybe begin assembling a kit now? Add things like binoculars, compass and variety of maps, fire kit, food, water, some clothing etc. Keep a blanket or tarps/tent in your vehicle, maybe a portable radio, maybe a CB radio?

Anyway, not a bad idea to carry gear especially if you travel in Wintry conditions or out past the suburbs.

@ The Patriot Mind :

Thanks, and of course you're right.

ND

best advice I've seen in a long time...

my plan EXACTLY...

I made a solar cooker with a wire & cloth fold-up reflective windshield sun screen, an oven bag, and a black-painted mess kit.

It works great in full sunlight. The food gets heated to about 350F, so hot that I have to let it cool down before I can eat it.

And it folds up tightly so I can easily pack it into my rucksack without problems.

I knocked out a sinus infection easily with alicin. Alicin is a concentrate of the active antimicrobial agent in garlic. I took 2 pills 3X a day for ten days though I was feeling fine in about 2-3 days. It's available on ebay and various locations on the net.

Just an observation about what is coming down-I suspect that a shortage of resources will lead to a race wars. If you live in an area where your seriously out numbered you may want to start thinking about where might be friendlier. People quickly become irrational. Immagine if you lived in a black area as a white guy and shot a black burgler durring hard times-I'd be willing to bet the situation would be amplified a thousand times over and racist sentaments would escalate like gas on a fire. Contrary to popular belief few people are all that racially tolerent, and what ever illusions that we have would quickly break down in the reality of a life and death struggle for survival. If you do have to shoot someone it would be wise to get rid of the body as discretely as possible. A human body would need to be burried at least 4-5 feet deep to keep the decomposition smell to a minimum. It's also advisable as a general practice not to take prisoners or hostages for obvious reasons.

As an adendum it's entirely possible that Uncle Screw You will instigate racial tensions as a ploy to weaken the population for take over. I believe that intelligent cooperation and understanding is generally speaking the best option. Do not stand for betrayal. This quality is running rampant amongst the population now, cast out from your midst those who would betray you, or who are to emotionally weak to be of use (not talking about kids here-some guys are panty wasted and won't fire at the enemy if under attack)-shootem or castem out, if you do the latter they may well still betray you to a group who would want what you have-maybe even get you ambushed. Don't tolerate cowards in your midst!

Learn how to build rocket stove and five brick stoves-tutorials on ebay. They are amazing stoves. When hunting locate the acorn trees-this is an important natural food source for deer and squirrel. Learn to garden! Several layers of news paper weighted down with wood chips will do wonders to keep the weeds and or grass down after you till or spade the ground (learned this the hard way). It's not too late to get a roll of commercial ground cover if you intend to till. Cooperation equates to survival strife ends life. Look on ebay for weed covering. Bought a three thousand square ft. roll for less than I got a several hundred sq. ft. roll at Lowes Hdwr. Some seeds will grow right out of the bag-a lot of popcorns and beans etc. Find out what foods are grown in your area and what nutrients they like also what pests to look out for and what you can do about it. You can get a head start growing by making a mini greenhouse. Dog food is cheap and in a real emergency you can eat it or give it to the acceptable traveler if need be.

Don't forget, of course, crank lantern/radio (should there be anything being broadcast), at least two, plenty of candles and duct tape.

If you have animals, canned food for them as well. My cats have a diet of dry food, but I keep about two large bags on hand and rotate them when I buy more to keep them fresh, but although I don't like feeding them canned, I will as I won't have to worry about it going bad.

Also, I have all my canned veggies, fruit and meats organized, so when I shop, I take from the front, put that in my pantry and add what I buy to the back. I knows canned food will last for several years, but I do it anyway.

If you hunt, you can also can meat. This year we have canned alot of deer as opposed to freezing it. Cook it in the pressure cooker for about 90 mins first.

My next door neighbor and I think alike so we have a plan and there are some things she stocks more of and other that I stock. And since she lives closer to where my kids go to school and it is quicker for her to get them from there from where we live than it is for me from work, she has permission to pick them up. You may want to work something out with a neighbor who is like minded as well. A smoker for cooking meat is good too.

Funny, my boyfriend has been making fun of my "Armageddon stash" for a good while, now I keep finding things added to it! LOL!

Don't forget, of course, crank lantern/radio (should there be anything being broadcast), at least two, plenty of candles and duct tape.

If you have animals, canned food for them as well. My cats have a diet of dry food, but I keep about two large bags on hand and rotate them when I buy more to keep them fresh, but although I don't like feeding them canned, I will as I won't have to worry about it going bad.

Also, I have all my canned veggies, fruit and meats organized, so when I shop, I take from the front, put that in my pantry and add what I buy to the back. I knows canned food will last for several years, but I do it anyway.

If you hunt, you can also can meat. This year we have canned alot of deer as opposed to freezing it. Cook it in the pressure cooker for about 90 mins first.

My next door neighbor and I think alike so we have a plan and there are some things she stocks more of and other that I stock. And since she lives closer to where my kids go to school and it is quicker for her to get them from there from where we live than it is for me from work, she has permission to pick them up. You may want to work something out with a neighbor who is like minded as well. A smoker for cooking meat is good too.

Funny, my boyfriend has been making fun of my "Armageddon stash" for a good while, now I keep finding things added to it! LOL!

Unless you are already self-sufficient and knowing in fabricating your existence from your surroundings, Survival comes down to having the gear and supplies to maintain until you do develop those abilities.

Stuff/gear/supplies/provisions. The basics and being able to keep your focus and sanity as the world you functioned in falls apart.

Got money? Better to have gear and supplies, but you don't have to go on a shopping spree of financial ruin to get what you need. Unless you are rich as Midas you really can benefit from knowing where to acquire goods, tools, etc.

Resale shops and Pawnbrokers are some of your best places to buy basic stuff. If you've never done the Goodwill/Salvation Army/PurpleHeart rumage sale thing, you have been missing out. It is shoppers heaven! More fun in one place, for less money than anywhere you've ever been. Likely, you wash/have laundered even those brand new shirts you buy from Nordstroms or Brooks Brothers? Well, shirts from Goodwill that cost $4.50 will look just like that one that cost you $100 at the mall. Starting to get the idea?

At the Pawnshop, tools are cheap, they sell guns, fishing, camping gear, jewelry, maybe precious metals; anything of value that someone might buy, the pawnshop will loan money on. These days most people pawning their stuff aren't redeeming it. By law, pawn items can't be marked up beyond loan plus interest lost, and this means you can save. You can also haggle over price, and a 25-30% below tag offer is where you should start.

The resale shops have tons of stuff you can use/need. Much is almost like new, some is plain worn out. Be discerning and examine your finds carefully/completely before paying. Great place to buy camping gear, jackets, boots, blue jeans, wool/flannel shirts, rain gear, cooking gear, electronics etc. Take time and a go through all the racks that interest you. Checkout all the shops you can find. Some will have more outdoor stuff, some will have more suits and fancy clothing. It takes some effort to find deals, but they are there.

With pawnshops, if you are looking for specific items, call around. Guns are big ticket items, they have lots to sell. The pawnshop makes its money collecting interest, they need to sell the shit people don't redeem. You got to know what you are buying, be able to judge if the customer put the screwjob to the broker by pawning off some broken shit. Some shops sell new merchandise, esp guns, so they are also retail dealers. Not as many deals from those sort of places. When buying, ask for a further discount if you pay in cash.

Conserve and stretch your money, try resaling and pawning, you will be amazed at some of the deals you find. You also have to know a deal when you find it. Some resales are really pricey these days. Only by shopping all the resales will you learn who sells what for the best prices.

Good to see your being helpful brother, but i have a question, why do you swear so much? Do you think as an example its a good one? Or do you allow your children to do the same to you and others? These are serious questions with lots of scripture and the Holy Spirit listening bro, you are not the only one with a personal relationship with YAH/God.
Please don't take this as an attack its not, its a reprimand in brotherly love in Him.
And just to cover in Him, i will not respond to filth or unrighteous anger, but i will pray, now, Father, i know my faults and failings, and many other things beside,and i know You as well(thank You for Your Grace and Love), and am Glad You YAHshua are my Lord and God and Savior are/am/is my Redeemer, and i and all the brethren(male and female) walk with You day by day, so let my zealous brother know how much You love Him, amen.

I've been buying the propane adaptors for coleman stoves...

they work great and you can still use gasoline or naptha if you run out of propane...

way safe and they are about 20 bucks at Wally World...

Food:

If you can keep canned goods from freezing, they will remain edible a longtime. Notice, I didn't say "stay nutritious" a longtime. They won't do that, but even old canned goods will make a meal, and if you are taking vitamin supplements and maybe sprouting to get some quality food value, you will be okay.

In a shit hits fan scenario, anxieties and concerns you've never had to deal with will tax your physical well-being. Food is how you keep these stresses from impacting you negatively. Organic whole grains have long, 10+ yr storage lives and retain nutrition. Organic canned goods, if affordable, are also preferred. Yet, how much $$$ do you have access to and for how many people are you buying?? All relative.

Basic canned meats offer a lot of versatility. You can take a can of spam, add cans of green beans and kidney or black beans and make a campfire stew if living outdoors. Pretty easy to cook from scratch if you have a fully-functional kitchen. A plain-jane propane cookstove and 200gals of propane will see you through many months. Consider using the 25gal bottles if you have a moose of a guy around to manhandle the cylinders. Very easy to rig a pressure regulator and run some 1/2" or 3/8" copper tubing to your stove, drill a hole in a wall, or in the floor and you are set.

Wheat stores for hundreds of years if kept cool and dry and packed away from vermin & insects. We use 5gal buckets w/gasket lids from Sherwin Williams & other paint vendors. Almost all are okay for food storage, but ask. Pretty sure it is the #2 rated buckets that aren't safe. Never saw one of these, anywhere. If you can find Organic Hard Red Winter Wheat in bulk sacks of 25 or 50lbs, buy it. You will need a milling machine. Corona is decent hand mill, CountryLiving Mill is supposed to be great. We have an electric mill and it will process 15lbs of wheatberries in 25min. If cooking for 3 or more, you prolly want electric.

You can store Wheatberries, Oats, Brown Rice, beans, corn, and any grain or legume in bulk for years. Cool, dry place, out of the sun. We waited until we had lots of bulk stuff to can in buckets and bought a couple bricks of Dry Ice/CO2 carbon dioxide; about $5 at your grocers.

Clean out the bucket with vinegar or mild bleach solution and towel out to be sure bucket is dry, then add 1/3 of your grain to each bucket. You can get about 35lbs of grain in a 5gal bucket, so you'll need 3 buckets for every 100lbs of grain. For oats, figure 25lbs because they are bulky and light. Anyway, plan your bucket-filling to occur Promptly after you come home with your CO2. Unless you have some -150F or better freezer, you can't store CO2, so plan to use it right away.

Fill every bucket to 1/3 full. Then crush the CO2 brick by wrapping it in a towel or paper bag, and pound it into chips with a hammer etc. Take about 6 chips, the size of your thumbnail and sprinkle into each bucket. Then fill to 2/3 full and do another layer of chips. Fill bucket almost full, add another layer of chips and then place lid over bucket and wait 30 mins for the CO2 chips to vaporize and permeate the grain, then hammer down the gasket lids.

Probably need about 200lbs of wheatberries, 100lbs of Brown Rice (Lundberg Short-Grain Brown rice), 50lbs of corn and oats, about 100-150lbs of beans and legumes, plus 10lb of seasalt for basic wholegrain cooking for a family of 4.

Alfalfa and Mung bean seed will be great for sprouting. Honey and maple syrup are quality sweeteners. Plain sugar stores well. A 25lb sack will fit in a 5gal bucket and needs no preservative. Maybe you find 5lb bags on sale and buy 10 to have some for trade?

If you can't install a propane cookstove, A dual-burner campstove from Coleman or Century will work fine. Get a bulk-tank (5gal bbq tank size) adapter and hose so you can use the big tanks and save money. Outdoor BBQ grill is okay for using with wood/charcoal, but the propane grill is inefficient. Unless you have a ranch and raise slaughter animals, not likely you will be barbecuing lots of meat anyway. For pot/pan cooking in survival conditions, the propane campstove with 3-4 five gallon propane tanks is a great blessing.

my latest focus has been sprouting seeds... Whole Foods has a great selection of sprouting seeds...

I buy several pounds of each variety every time I go in there...

sprouts are nutritious and easy to make...

next year I plan to plant a whole bunch of mung beans to get a jump on raising my own...

BTW not much longer until first frost here in CenTex, so if you want to get your Garlic in the garden, you only have a few more weeks...

enigma

Enigma is talking about a propane adapter that replaces the fuel tank on the gasoline stove models. Most likely you can find one at an independent hardware store. (Ever been to the ACE hdw in Wimberley, Enigma? Pretty decent store. King's is too.)

Justin/FLC asks, "why curse"? Fuck and Shit are just vernacular of the time. I am still witnessing. Not much witness or even Christian discussion from you here in the past couple of years. Shit happens, huh? Things are pretty fucked-up, all over the world. You still in Asia?

I do curse the false prophets and lying anti-Christ scum, from time to time. God Damn them all to hell; and yes I mean that shit...

Oh well, when the shit is in the fan, you'll have nothing more than what you have. That goes for your Relationship With God, or without as well. You either have Knowledge of Christ's Return put on your heart or you don't. Those who don't, many are looking for "signs". They never could Trust God Fully, so they didn't give their lives to HIM. This is most Christians. This is why Jesus said they would suffer the deception in the last days.

Pretty hard for me to see any Born-Again not Knowing what is coming down, and not having been Given Witness and moved out of the line of fire by The Father already. Still, some may derive value from my experiences, so I post them.

Maybe Enigma would post up what is in the Refugee Kits he's assembled? We are saving clothes, shoes etc for those God will Give Witness to help, but don't have "kits" made up, yet.

I probably mentioned Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson Kearny before. Great info there, which your tax dollars paid for. free downloads on the web, google it up; or try ki4u.com.

Food is likely the biggest concern, plus water you can drink or cook with. Kurt Saxon wrote the definitive books for survivalists. His website kurtsaxon.com is pretty interesting and maybe you can get his "cooking in the Aladdin thermos" lowdown there? Saw a new larger 2qt Aladdin at WallyWorld the other day. Lots of potential if you can boil water. Ron Hood's website survival.com also has lots of good resources. Try your library also. Esther Dickey's Passport to Survival is The Book on Mormon group of 4 food storage cooking. Carla Emery's Book of Country Living is another. Probably The Best book for alternative medicine/herbalism and homeopathic overview is Prescription For Nutritional Healing by James & Phyllis Balch. I would also endorse a couple of basic cookbooks, like Betty Crocker or Joy Of Cooking so you can find a recipe for whatever food you can turn up.

Sewing and repair/maintenance of clothing and gear are Essential. Probably can't have too many sewing notions and glue, patch kits, etc.

Kearny's book details how a family could leave the city, if nuclear war seemed imminent, and within 1 days time, dig a blast proof shelter and make it living-suited for several weeks.

If you have a vehicle and ability to transport enough gear to some remote site in a park or BLM/Natl Forest land, your vehicle can serve as the basis for shelter. Tarps rigged from the roof and tents around give you pretty decent shelter. You can remove seats to gain chairs/couches and have lockable storage.

Survival means looking at your assets and seeing that an automobile that won't run anymore can still serve as a storage locker, or to provide a new motor for a generator that broke down, or whatever...

Bicycles are certainly a great option for transportation. Great way to carry a load. Put it on the bike, not your back. The NVA transported tons of materiel into S. VN by mounting it on bikes, which then were pushed down forest trails. With a bit of imagination, a mountainbike could carry 200lbs of your gear and still give you transport when you unpack at your destination.

yes I have... Spent a lot of time in Wimberly... I setup the original wireless network and exchange server at the Wimberly school district...

the refugee kits are centered around two basic functions...

shelter and food preparation for lots of folks.

so they include lots of tarps, ropes, stakes and mosquito nets for sleeping.

the kitchen aspect is lots of large cooking containers and plates and utensils...

the idea is, that most folks would show up with personal items... clothes, sleeping gear etc, but may not have the ability to carry a large full boat kitchen, soaps, wash tubs, and tarps to keep everyone dry.

so we have lots of large boxes, all packed with supplies to create a tent city/kitchen...

I've got not issues, with myself being able to survive... but what good would come of being ALONE>? so my refugee kits are stuff FOR OTHERS, and if I need to BO or setup some support stuff for friends and family, and there is not enough room in the houses, we can use a refugee kit for the overflow...

I've also assembled a few charity kits for folks that may have prepared, but because of circumstances beyoned their control, have lost everything...

we all need extra hands to watch our back while we sleep....

Staying warm & dry leaves you functioning to worry about finding water and food. If you get hypothermic you won't be good for anything and will promptly die unless you can get warmed very quickly.

Those cheap tarps are a real value. Rig them over a rope for a heavy duty tube-tent or tie them out fan like for a wind/sun break. They will not last but about 12mos in direct steady sunlight, though. For longterm use, the canvas tarps are heavier, but better. I bought about 6 8x10 canvas tarps years ago at Academy for about $12 ea. Another great place to buy them might be Northern Tool Co or Tractor Sales. Your local Farm Co-Op likely sells heavy-duty tarps for truck bed covers and likely field us for hay storage.

If a guy didn't have a sleeping bag, he could make one pretty decent with a couple of wool or polyester blankets (Vellux would be nice), and an 8x6 foot tarp. Fold your blankets and using about 12 diaper pins pin the blankets at the feet and along the side to approximate a sleeping bag. Then, place the blanket-bag on the laid-out tarp and fold the tarp over. If you are a Big Guy, maybe you need to use the 8' section for extra girth. No matter, what you want is a water-resistant shell to keep your blankets in and keep them dry. Yes, water vapor your body produces is a factor, but there are lots of ways to use a tarp besides sleeping in it.

The tarp, to function as a blanket-roll shell, needs to have a number of grommets so you can lace it at the bottom and sides with nylon or para cord. If you have a tent, you can fill the tarp with straw or dried grass/leaves and have a decent matress. Remember, that insulation between you and a cold surface is more than half the battle to staying warm at night. If you sleep with socks and a knit cap, and maybe longunderwear, fleece, or sweats you will be even warmer.

If you rig a tarp over your tent or as a tent, remember also to rig it to give you as much drip edge around the perimeter as possible. Two feet would not be too much. You want your tent to sit on a well drained site, not down in a hollow where water will migrate and possibly collect like a pool. Building up your sleeping area gives you further insulation and keeps you dry.

Staying dry and warm keeps you from chattering/shivering and then hypothermic shock, which will kill you, as well as numb your brain functions and prevent your taking effective action. Having spent half a day in a frozen swamp, waist deep in icy water, I know about the value of wool socks and Polypropylene underwear. Don't find out the hard way that you need The Best Tools to counter the unforseen.

Last minute stuff you probably can find at Wally or your hardware store:

Variety of sewing needles and polyester thread, especially "craft" needles and HD carpet needles. Also a good thimble and a grommet kit with anvil, snap kit with anvil, couple rolls of dental floss for HD sewing and leather repair.

Small and medium length bastard or mill files. 24T & 32T hacksaw blades, single sided razor blades in 5pk pkg with scraper, spare blades for boxcutter, retracting blade utility knife.

Everyone can use a Nicholson BowHack saw. This is a 12" bowsaw type frame that takes short swedish saw blades and hacksaw blades. lots of uses and about $12. A 30" bowsaw and medium axe also will do a lot of work. Cheap hatchet also for splitting firewood kindling.

Plumbers candle, plastic pipe universal glue,
Mantle for your Gas lantern. Wicks or mantles for your kerosene lantern/lamps.

Extra wick for kerosene heater.

Pri Gas/Diesel for restoration of old fuels.
Sta-Bil to preserve gasoline in cans/gas tanks.

Battery charging solar panel to keep auto battery charged.
Good battery charger and 1500+ Watt inverter.
Variety of extension cords and power strips if running on inverter or genset.

Cheap fluorescent screw in lightbulbs and spare 48" shop bulbs.

.22LR ammunition and a pistol/rifle.
Pistol w/4" barrel is probably most versatile.

Good HD Chef's knife or bowie knife 10" long.
Sharpenig kit w/variety of stones or diamondhones.

Cold chisel and mechanics hammer. With hacksaw and files you can fabricate/salvage a lot of stuff.

Shoe Goop, crazy glue, J-B Weld, all the glue and fasteners you can get. Look for fastener glue in caulking gun tubes for best value. You do have some Silicon and caulk don't you? How about faucet repair kit for your household fixtures and also hose repair kit for garden hose? Got a pressure nozzle and way to adapt your hose to household water in case of fire?

GOT A CHEMICAL FIRE EXTINGUISHER? LG BAG/BOX OF BAKING SODA? Can throw the soda on the fire and extinguish it.

Northern Tool used to sell a propane fixture that would allow a 5gal bbq tank to refill the small coleman and bernzomatic lantern/stove bottles.

I own one of these and they work. Not like they fully recharge the tiny bottles full, but easy to get them 1/2 way full again.

Might also try refilling the old valve bottles from a larger tank. Get a double pigtail fixture hose and use gravity flow to fill the small bottle. Probably best to weigh the bottle and not overfill, but no reason not to use the older cylinders if you can refill them yourself.

RE: Storing Seeds

Lester, I don't have the opportunity to read this entire thread right now, but I certainly will do so later this evening.

That being said, I have a question regarding the storage of vegetable seeds. There are several hybrid varieties that grow very well in our parts. I would like to purchase bulk of these (in addition to heirloom), but I am concerned about the proper storage to maintain viable seeds.

Do you mind providing specific suggestions on proper storage?

And what is the estimated storage time frame if properly stored: one season, two, four, etc?

I'm sorry if this has been already addressed here, but I do appreciate your input. Or anyone else's for that matter. I just need some experienced instruction. ;)

Many thanks.

.

Lester, where is the best most likely place to die in a nuclear bombblast? I want to move there double quick. Help me die in spectacular fashion.

Lots of excellent info on this thread, Lester and all...thank you. I just wanted to add for any with growing children, go ahead and buy some clothes for them in larger sizes because they will need them. Same for shoes. The used children's clothes stores are an excellent place to find some basics for a very reasonable price, as are Goodwill and other thrift shops. Don't forget a warm coat and jacket in a larger size for the next winter. Even once you get a full round of things for all the seasons in the next-up sizes, if you can, do another round of basics at an even bigger size. Going ahead and doing so would not be a bad idea. Kids are always going to keep outgrowing things.