Practical Prepping Protocol even if Poor

Lighter fluid as a barter prep.

One guy who survived the currency collapse in argentina wrote that something that helped him out alot was bartering lighter fluid.

He had a can of it & people would give him a can of tuna (or equivelant) if he would fill their zippo lighter with fluid (which is a very small amount).

About a year ago I picked up 2 cans (charcoal lighter fluid) and left them in my garage for safe keeping.

A terrific idea!!!!

Has anyone here read the threads I listed? If so, I would like to hear your comments and if not, why not? After all, what are we here for, if not to have the news handed to us so we know what we are looking for?

I genuinely have concerns about right now, and the very, very near future, by putting together everything I am reading plus everything I already know - nothing is looking good at the moment except the few preps I have put togther, and the wonderful ideas that keep coming up here.

Perhaps if I pose it to you this way - we are doing really wonderful things in this thread, and have been joined by great people who know amazing things to share! So what if tomorrow we can no longer access GLP? What did we leave unsaid? What did we leave unread? If you knew GLP would last less than one more week, because we are entering dark times, what would you do today? What do you want to know today? Do you want to know what's coming at you? Read the headlines. What do you want share? Do it! Anything you want to say? Say it!

But first, read the threads.

Were the "buyers" using lighters for cigarets, or cooking and heating? If cigarets, where were they acquiring them?

Lighter fluid is cheap - or used to be anyway. Great idea.

Were the "buyers" using lighters for cigarets, or cooking and heating?

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I would guess for camp fires mostly...Argentina was a currency collapse which brought about a collapse of society.

I have lighters, matches, magnifying glasses, ferro rods, charcloth, cotton...you name it. (yes, even a zippo lighter).

Fire wont escape me when the SHTF!

Has anyone here read the threads I listed? If so, I would like to hear your comments

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I've browsed a few of them...I think we can rest as easy as possible...I don't see anything too alarming yet.

Sure, it's possible the SHTF in the next 10 seconds...but unlikely.

I'm not trying to belittle your concerns...hey, I can always be wrong.

If there was tension near the strait of hormuz my hair would be standing on end...but right now I just don't see any immediate danger that we don't see on a daily basis.

Jumping back to finding peace & calm...I always go back to the basics.

Shelter
Water
Fire
Food

As long as I have those 4 met...I have my needs covered.

Everything else is a "want" not a "need".

That works for me almost as good as singing!

Last Edited by Mental Case on 02/07/2019 12:08 AM

Then I am very happy for you that you have a sufficiency of each of those things.

I don't have enough of anything - and not sure how that's going to work out, unless we have to get into our vehicle and go. In that case, I have too much.

Are you in a place you can stay and shelter there? Or will you need to move on due to gangs and such?

Interesting that you see nothing alarming - while I see the mark almost on top of the red line. Perhaps you only "browsed" as you said and didn't actually read to get the point? Or maybe these are not great concerns to you.

Our "immediate need" of the Iron Dome is incredibly large. That you see nothing of immediate danger blows me away.

The rest are equally "interesting" as in having to do with plans which are coming together by the government. Of course they don't draw us pictures or spell it out - that's why we are on GLP - so that we actually know what is going on.

Lighter fluid can be used in a Zippo hand warmer which would be worth its weight in gold in a cold climate. And more reliable than the disposable units.

Oh, my word, what a wonderful idea!! I have not seen one of those in years, but surely they could be found somewhere - and the disposable variety are very short-lived.

In that vein, I must applaud the toe-warmers, made similarly to the hand warmers, and perhps by the same company. I have a medical issue cold feet and lower legs. Discovered the toe warmers a couple years ago and fell in love with the comfort. Had to be outside in below freezing for a few hours. The pain was agonizing. Application of toe warms to my socks and all was immediately well. Can't recall how long the warmth lasted, but perhaps not longer than the handwarmers.

To which I will add - ThermaCare heat patches and other brands last eight to twelve hours, depending on brand. One of those applied just below the breastbone will warm the entire body very quickly. Just a word to the wise.

Back to the Zippo handwarmer - this is a marvelous idea - and worth looking for in all the right places.

Thank you, good AC, for the reminder!

Few people are aware that every American man and woman (and child?) has the right under law to raise 1/10th acre of tobacco for "personal consumption". That is over 4000 square feet, a large garden area which translates into a lot of smokes.

Same for wine and beer. Each person can brew/ferment up to 200 gallons per year for "personal consumption". BTW, 200 gallons of beer is a six pack per day. I used to brew ale that was 9% alcohol. That means less brewing for more fun.

In the case of tobacco, that is absolute gold for barter if SHTF. Before SHTF, you can sell mature tobacco plants as potted plants.

As for acreage and gallons, who is going to count?

A good long term prep is simply white sugar in food grade barrels. It lasts forever even in a hot garage. You can sell it to people for food or make booze/motor fuel out of it via fermentation/distilling.

My helper had jury duty last month and finally caught a trial on Thursday and Friday. Both days he came here afterward to help me for a few minutes and to tell me all about the trial.

So Monday morning he gets up, and he is very ill. Throat like swallowing glass, weak, sick. Yes indeedy - some lovely person either in the trial jury or before that, in the jury pool, brought a gift with them, which he then unknowingly brought to me. Throat culture revealed strep. Of course he did not come to work that day.

I nearly died of rheumatic fever as a child, due to strep throat and don't dare have another as it left me with a little cardiac damage and streptococcus germs head right for the damaged area.

So this morning I wake up and think Hmmm - what's this then? I've just sort of watched all day, and tonight I am thinking hmmm no, not good.

I think helper brought me an unintended gift. I want to hope not, but by tomorrow morning I'll know for sure, as if I didn't know tonight.

This means a trip to the doctor for more antibiotics, and feeling really bad for a while. It will affect the lupus and be a general problem. Pray we don't have to go in winter, nor with strep throat, right?

Darth, really great to "see" you! I absolutely believe tobacco would be about the best possible barter item - the addicts will be all over that! Wish it would grow here, but it likes heat. Didn't know we have a legal right to grow it - that's really interesting!

Make motor oil out of sugar? That's so odd a concept! Whoa!
Someone had mentioned before that sugar would be a great prep, but I don't remember getting a reason. Doesn't seem like that many people would be desperate for sweets, and that's coming from a sweet junkie. Hadn't thought about making alcohol out of it - that would certainly be highly desirable for many, though I would hate to have anyone within twenty miles of me making and drinking booze - knowing how stable their behavior is under the influence! LOL

What fascinated me in your post is that tobacco plants could be sold as house plants. I am suddenly wondering if I could grow these inside [if time allows, of course, before . . .]. That would be remarkable. While we are still using money, I could sell a lot of those, I think! In fact, I am sure of it - just have to be able to grow them into small house plants here in the wrong climate.

Darth, your posts, like Mental's, are always an amazing delight, full of important information! Thank you!!

Did you have a look at my post of threads I found disturbing today? What did you think about any or all of them?

One of my kids was drinking amoxicillin by the gallon for strep throat when she was a toddler.

I started giving her tea with Xylitol in it. Xylitol is a synthetic alcohol/sugar molecule that tastes just like sucrose.

However, when the bacteria in your throat eat the Xylitol...they die. It is only harmful to humans if you eat too much. More than a few spoons per day will start to play hell with your gut bacteria.

I had gingivitis and put Xylitol in my coffee for years without a problem. Kills mouth bacteria too.

They carry it at many health food stores.

Good luck.

WOW!! Never heard of this for infections! I know dogs will die a very bad death after eating just a little xylitol. I will have to see about this - thank you very much! And I'm really glad it works so well for your toddler and for you!\Thank you!

Pooka, not motor oil. Motor FUEL. Most gasoline engines can be converted to run on ethanol. Brazil does this all the time because sugar is cheap there.

If SHTF, I can see small engines mounted on bicycles running on alcohol. You could also run mini-tractors on it.

It also has great value as a barter item.

You can find out how to make moonshine from sugar on the web. Of course, that is illegal, and therefore I have no personal experience doing such a dastardly thing!

My product was great. My Father and I polished it off quick.

Damn, I miss Pop! Had some great times.

BTW, forgot to go check out your other threads. Will do so ASAP.

Sorry for confusing oil and fuel - I know someone here at the beach that makes those motorized bicycles for people - they are still using gas, I believe, but I know if that fellow had access to sugar at the right time, he'd be making fuel in a hurry!

I'm so glad you and your Dad did not make moonshine - I know you would not do such a naughty thing! And if ever you accidentally did, you would destroy it immediately, one way or the other.

Sorry Pop is no longer with you - the pain goes on a long time, or forever. Hope you have a son for whom you can be the same kind of Pop.

Sugar isn't all that expensive, now, and it would be easy to store some, if only I knew just a little more about what the immediate future holds. No point in buying it if I have to leave here.

I got mine at Walmart. Haven't used it yet but living in an apartment I'm glad I have it.

Zippo handwarmers can still be purchased new?????? Are they as well-made as the old ones?

Found the Zippo lighters and handwarmers on eBay, both new and used. Interesting!

Remember in another post I mentioned using ThermaCare to warm the whole body? Happened onto "BodyWarmers" on eBay - they are even less expensive than ThermaCare types. Glad to see a product proving my theory - warm you all over!!

Good morning all!

How are your days going so far? Anything exciting?

Looking forward to posts from everyone.

Thread: Pre-planned EMP Event Against US and Societal Collapse (2019) (12m VIDEO)

Now threads like this grab my attention big time!

Thread: Wells Fargo Down everywhere

WF down everywhere.
Another guy claims none of his credit cards are working.
Another on page 7 says AT&T lines are down in atlanta area.

Last Edited by Mental Case on 02/07/2019 03:27 PM

Are you in a place you can stay and shelter there? Or will you need to move on due to gangs and such?

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You just never know.

My house is my shelter...but it wouldn't be difficult for somebody to set it on fire & then I'm screwed.

I'm close to minneapolis, so it's not a great location for the SHTF.

Then again, with alot of like-minded neighbors...we could set up a neighborhood watch if necessary (strength in numbers).

It will be important to be able to roll with the flow...the tough part will be to RECOGNIZE the flow...should I stay or should I leave(?)

Interesting that you see nothing alarming - while I see the mark almost on top of the red line. Perhaps you only "browsed" as you said and didn't actually read to get the point? Or maybe these are not great concerns to you.

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Say like a nuclear war...Ofcourse I find it concerning, but it's so massive I just don't spend much time worrying about it.

Being as close to minneapolis as I am...I'll be vaporized if it happens...so...nuttin' I can really do.

Now banks or grocery stores closing...there is something I can do about that.

I can prep & have cash on hand & a full tank of gas. I don't have thousands on hand or food for 3 months...but what I have will keep me until either the crisis blows over or I need to formulate a new game plan.

Last Edited by Mental Case on 02/07/2019 03:54 PM

Yes, indeed!

One thing I can't get many people to wrap their arms around is "doing without".

On a rare occasion I've been able to get my brothers to talk about prepping...but they're talking about solar pannels when I'm talking about living without electricity.

They're talking about having 10's of thousands of cash onhand while I'm talking about not buying anything.

It's pointless because they are not going to have 10's of thousands of cash on hand, or get solar pannels...the conversation just becomes a waste of time.

I "try" to talk about cast iron cookware so they can cook over a campfire...but they don't want to hear that.

They can't comprhend doing without...I find that one of the most important things in my prepping list.

Pooka, we had a big storm over the last 2 days, so that might be messing with my ability to post.
I want to try a short response to something you said about owning land being 'not even a dream.' Most people who think that are wrong. They just don't know how to look for what they want and far too many don't want to do the mental work of learning and searching.

That's how real estate brokers get rich: lazy people, but then they're going to push what they want to sell instead of what you want to buy. It is always worth trying, no matter who tells you otherwise. One could start with finding all the 'for sale by owner' ads in ones chosen area - and that's so obvious a lot of people don't think to start there.:)