Practical Prepping Protocol even if Poor

Our heat is gone now, temporarily, thank Goodness - just had two days of it as a foretaste.

Love a clean shower - I like my shower and tub scrubbed with cleanser like Comet and such brands. Smelling a lot of bleach - ugh. Did you have the window open, I hope?

You do well, thanks. Yes, it is the walls of repeat text that bother me because I know people who enter a thread all interested in the subject, then start seeing so much repeated text that they get bored and leave without ever seeing what they came for.

If anyone here doesn't know how, please ask - no shame in not knowing - I didn't know either, til I learned.

No windows but turned on the exhaust fan. That helped a little. Kinda eager for the days where you bathed in a washtub or the creek.

I carry a quality sharp lock blade everywhere. One guy I know, big dude into martial arts and is fast. He carries a tactical hatchet when he is out. He made a holster for the head and the handle goes down inside his pant leg. His coat or untucked shirt conceals it.

Glad you had the fan, at least.

I remember the days of bathing in a tin tub near the wood heat. Remember them very well, in fact. I was raised by my grandparents. I was never near a creek even anywhere near warm enough to bathe in, or even wade in. They don't run that warm here - the water is all snowmelt, even though it had come quite a distance by the time it reached my former home.

Wow! He would certainly be arrested for that, wouldn't he?

You know, I am really sorry these are the days that you are wise to carry a knife. Life shouldn't be this way. Because it is, I am glad you are carrying self-protection. Just wish you didn't have to.

A lovely person on GLP had been kindly tutoring me in self-protection - where not to go, how not to go, etc, for which I am grateful while resenting it is needful!

You guys just reminded me of something I had been meaning to post. For you city dwellers, although it might be wise in the country too, keep a couple of large knives stashed around your house. There may be a time where, for whatever reason, you don't have your gun. Just got out of the shower, carrying something, whatever the case may be, have one in each room. A baseball bat possibly too. Of course, if you have children, you should think twice about where you put them. Take a look around each room. What would you grab? If you pose the question, the mind will have a ready answer if needed.

This is an amazing idea! I'd never thought of it! You are such a good mentor in such matters! And I just happen to have some extra knives in the kitchen that are sharp - don't have any like a person would carry, but I could surely do some damage with these!

Thank you, remarkable LookingInward! Will do!

You're welcome.

SA. Situational Awareness.

Been busy here. Our oldest daughter returned from Japan on Wednesday. She had been there 4+ years, with her husband who is a Marine. He finally got orders to transfer to Virginia and will be leaving for there in a couple of weeks.

Daughter flew into LAX with their two dogs and my wife drove down to pick her up. So good to have her back stateside. Wife and daughter will be leaving next week to head to Alabama to pick up daughter's stuff from storage and then to Virginia.

I'll be staying here to hold down the fort and take care of the garden, dogs and chickens.

SA. Situational Awareness. My neighbor grows pot. He has been getting the ground ready for this year's crop. Yesterday, he actually had a small excavator over there digging holes. Lots of sketchy people helping. SA.

Dogs did fine. I hadn't seen daughter or the dogs in over 4 years. Enjoying the time now.

Pot is legal to grow here for personal or medicinal use. However, there is a limit on how much can be grown. Neighbor regularly exceeds that, as he grows for profit (which is not legal). I honestly don't care, but don't like the type pf people it attracts. SA is paramount.

Really glad you are having this time with daughter and dogs. Hope weather cooperates for anything you want to do, including eating outside.

I also would not care for the traffic such draws. I dislike it being next to you, as well. Do they see your home from that place? So easy to be told "You don't have enough money for what I'm selling." "Okay, be right back." Head over to your house for something to trade and back to seller to purchase with your item.

Just sorry it is there.

Who most needs an upgrade? I have already spent the points to upgrade someone and would love to have somebody stick their hand in the air for this one, instead of my choosing again.

Yes, the time is good.

Just over my back fence. I don't need anything they have. I am always packing when outside this time of year.

I didn't mean they would trade you for something- I meant they would steal something from your place to take back to trade for their high.

Glad you have heat with you all the time. Just not liking the sound of it, any more than I would be thrilled about druggies moving into my near neighborhood.Fortunately, we are all pretty stable people around here. Not likely to happen.

You are amazing and your green demonstrates my thesis. Find someone who will knock our socks off! Or entertain us. I'm good with any eventuality.

It is a blessing to have family members where you can reach out and thump their ear when they're being... less cerebral. It's also a blessing to have them spread out across a continent.

As far as controversial crops. It ain't illegal here to grow that wacky weed. And I, as a conservative libertarian, don't really care what you do on your own property. If that's your only trick in this pony show though, I stand aside.

LOL You are absolutely huggable!

edit: So I did it, invited - now we'll see if he chooses to arrive!

Last Edited by Pooka on 05/12/2019 07:14 PM

Pooka, like I said earlier, sometimes people inherit goats and want them GONE...

[link to houston.craigslist.org (secure)]

$25/goat. If you have a backyard, a freezer, and can slaughter them yourself, that is enough meat to keep you in BBQ for a couple of years.

If you don't want to eat them immediately, just put them in the backyard and feed them hay.

I feed mine trash trees like Chinese Tallow. It is a nuisance around here. Goats come running when they hear my chainsaw.

BTW, goat is like venison. Lean, healthy meat.

I also see free chickens about once every two weeks. You can tie their legs together and put them in a box if you don't have a big pet carrier.

My neighbor says that his father, who had 8 kids, would buy old chickens that had stopped laying from the big farm nearby for $.25 each. He said they would slaughter and freeze 100 at a time. They ate chicken almost every day.

Another BTW, just bury the guts, bones, and hide in a hole and plant a tree on top. No odor and works great.

As for serving, I have a meat grinder and find ground goat or venison to be very versatile in burritos, spaghetti, etc. I freeze bags of it for quick meals.

Welcome back, Darth!! Missed you!

If I had the least bit of space or managing, I would do all the above in a heart beat! Problem is, I have no access to be able to dig in the ground - it's all been covered with black plastic and gravel, and the little space I have is covered with plants and trees, mostly fruit-producing, but all must, unfortunately, be in containers. Hope others here can take your great advice. Man, if only I still lived in the country- I'd be on that like white on rice!

Great Thead Pooka.

Just thought I would leave this here:-

Would you say , should a disaster hit you are :-

Not prepared

10-30%

30%-50%

50-80%

80-!00%

Just curious as to how prepared individuals believe they are and if not what do they think they are short on.

Last Edited by PINKORCHID- In the Light on 05/12/2019 07:30 PM

LowKey Cyberpunk, I do believe you've forgotten your mailbox again, you naughty thing!

PinkOrchid - super to see you here - hope you can hang with us!! You know the old saying - Hang together or assuredly we will hang separately, and all that. LOL

Individually how prepared? Hmm I don't know how long I can last on what I have - a month easy. A couple months? Three? I don't really know. And that's dependent on sheltering in place. If I had to leave, due to locale - depends on how much I could toss into my vehicle, and how fast it is necessary to do so. As to per centage - 80% at a guess.

I don't know about others here - whether they are willing to say.

People of The Thread, PinkOrchid has been here like forever, and I believe to be a trustworthy person, not datamining.

PinkOrchid, how well prepped are you?

Last Edited by Pooka on 05/12/2019 07:36 PM

Mentally as well as can be expected , rational logical thinker , chose an island for community solidarity and to limit issues from mainland breakdown and disease spread and for sustainability.

I have a minimal amount of supplies , perhaps a month.

On the percentage scale I would say 30-50%.

I'm not in a volcanic area , nor subject to flooding.
The only thing I need to be concerned about would be a huge tidal wave , or an invasion force.

How prepped?

I'd estimate about 80%. There is always more to do.

If that dam lets go, that number could change. I'd wish I had a boat, LOL.

I'm at about 50 ft. elevation, right next to the Pacific, with a fault line expected to blow any time now. If not that, if, for example, an asteroid visited the Pacific, a tsunami would have me and my girls [dogs] in a heartbeat, because there is NO PLACE anywhere nearby to go high enough to escape. Being ill and disabled [oh poor me LOL] I don't see a long survival after SHTF or TEOTWAKI. Thus - I'll add to preps as I can, but not anxiously.

Glad you have found your safe space! Well done! Why so few preps, however? You must not have great access to goods in the best of times - shopping requires a little travel?

Crunch, we need to get you a boat! Or a barge? Something large that floats. How we gonna do this? Gotta do it!

C'mon gang - ideas for Crunch's boat, to get him and his out of the wet way of broken dams!!!!!

Old oil drums welder together carefully , wooden crates layer across the top surface, used prefab walls and roof.

Just need a decent outboard and a rudder with steering.

Ya just need to float.

Last Edited by PINKORCHID- In the Light on 05/12/2019 08:00 PM

Old oil drums welder together carefully , wooden crates layer across the top surface, used prefab walls and roof.

Just need a decent outboard and a rudder with steering.

Ya just need to float.


Whoaaa!!!! All that is well within Crunch's wheelhouse - he does everything and more! Crunch, how about that? Got access to the barrels?