Active New Top (30 days) Compact Card News for the week of 2024-01-29 The Prepared Support - February 3, 2024 Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news. Read More 1 3 News “Level 2” First Aid Kit Noah Prepares - January 31, 2024 The Prepared has articles of small first aid kits and at-home supplies, but I’ve been refreshing/restocking my in-between category recently. A larger first aid kit that I take with me on trips or to gatherings of large people (usually with outdoor activity). This would also of course be a useful thing to grab in a bug-out scenario, and helps to prioritize what I grab (The alternative being filling a bag from a closet or cupboard trying to grab what’s important. I am curious if others have similar kits and how they think about them/prioritize their contents. I think of mine as a complement to my everyday carry kit, which has trauma first aid supplies (thus my level 2 kit does not). I also have a completely separate dental kit, so I don’t have any dental supplies in my level 2, which am debating whether to change, as I don’t bring the dental kit with me when I want the level 2. I made a Kit for this kit if y’all are interested. Sorted By Category (recommended): Sorted By Area of My Bag: I appreciate feedback on my kit and would love to know if y’all have <span style=”font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, ‘Open Sans’, ‘Helvetica Neue’, sans-serif;”>similar kits.</span> Read More 2 1 Storing preps Claire - January 29, 2024 I know it’s not recommend to store water directly on cement floors. Can you put cardboard down first? Or thick plastic (like a tarp or construction trash bags)? And does the same apply for food in food grade buckets (food is in Mylar bags in the buckets)? Should the bucket not be stored on cement floors? Thanks! Read More 2 3 Hello from illinois Bart - January 29, 2024 Greetings all, Just found this site, very pleased to join up. 52 yo married man, from Central Illinois. I’ve been getting ready, in earnest, for the last 6 years. Looking forward to meeting folks, and learning things. Thanks so much. Bart Read More 3 15 News for the week of 2024-01-22 The Prepared Support - January 28, 2024 Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news. Read More 1 4 News Netflix movie “Leave the World Behind” Winston Smith - January 19, 2024 Does anyone have comments about the movie “Leave the World Behind”? I liked it, but….. It will make many people think about how our lives can change in the blink of an eye. Read More 1 4 Vehicle Emergency Kit Bigwig - January 19, 2024 Lately I’ve been working on my vehicle emergency kit. I went to pick up my son from an event and ended up helping someone with a flat tire. They had no flashlights and were trying to use their phone lights. Their jack handle broke, so I ended up using the jack from my truck. I had a headlamp and gloves along with an extra flashlight which made the job easier. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the tire off of the vehicle even after removing the lug nuts, so they just parked it and came back later. I started thinking about what I would have liked to have. One is a 4-way lug wrench. I thought I had one but it was in my daughter’s car. BTW, I looked for the lug nut size in the owner’s manual and it was no where to be found, only the BOLT size. I couldn’t find it on the vehicle’s lug nut wrench either. And if you do get one, make sure and try it on your vehicle. The older ones are SAE and a lot of the newer ones are metric, so they may not fit. I had a few items in some Plano storage trunks, but now they are full. I also have a backpack from my CERT days that is now better stocked. Read More 2 2 News for the week of 2024-01-15 The Prepared Support - January 18, 2024 Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news. Read More 1 3 News What is the best place to buy mylar bags? ChickenPrepper - January 14, 2024 What’s a good place to get Mylar bags from? Just off Amazon, or do you all have a go to place for these things? Amazon reveals hundreds of possible vendors, most made overseas. If I’m to commit to some bags o’ rice for long term, I’d like to ensure I get decent stuff. Thanks! Read More 9 9 AdviceGear Check your spare tire! Bigwig - January 10, 2024 My daughter was over for a visit. We were checking her vehicle fluids and I asked if she has ever checked her spare tire. She didn’t know where it was. I showed her where it is and we took it out to check the tire pressure. The max PSI is 60. The air gauge read 11. She filled it up using the DC powered pump that she has in her kit. It must have taken about 10 minutes but it felt like a lot longer. Check your spare tire! Read More 3 12 Prepping Holiday Gifts Alicia - January 7, 2024 I aim to get the same gift for everyone on my list which makes my shopping simple (as long as I can come up with it!). This year’s item is headlamps. We had a power outage for a few hours just last week when I had a house full of family visiting so it will be clear how useful it is. There are many price points and options for kids as well. I also made some Triage strips for myself and a CERT buddy (like these). Are you giving anything prep-related for the holidays? Read More 1 5 Gear News for the week of 2023-12-31 The Prepared Support - January 6, 2024 Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news. Read More 2 7 News Gun cleaning and spare part kits included in bug out bags xyz - January 5, 2024 I’ve read a lot of articles about what goes into a bug out bag, and invariably the list includes some sort of firearm — but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone include a cleaning kit or spare parts in their list for said firearm. Seems to me that if you’re staking your life on a firearm you’d want it kept operational, which means clean and having common spare parts (e.g., pins, springs, etc) on hand. Everyone is worried about weight, so what is the minimum? Personally, I carry the old style surplus M4 pouch with the 3-piece rod and attachments for my rifle and pistol, along with some patches, brushes, and a small bottle of CLP. I’ve never been a fan of bore snakes, and I’ve heard that the military is not a fan of the Otis flexible cleaning rod. Spare parts include trigger springs, take down/pivot pins, etc. What else? Read More 1 9 Games that teach survival skills Eric - January 4, 2024 What games have you found that teach survival skills in a fun way? I’ll include some of my favorites as comments and encourage others to do the same. Read More 19 51 ScenariosSkills Food preservation – it makes sense from a survival standpoint Alisa Felix - January 1, 2024 While watching old episodes of Little House on the Prairie (great series if you haven’t seen it before!), something caught my eye that I never had really put too much thought into before. I saw that their sod house out back had baskets of apples and potatoes that just sit there and look to be fine all winter long, yet I struggle to keep apples and potatoes in my house for more than 2-3 weeks without them going bad. Granted this is a TV show, and those apples are probably fake, but it got me thinking about food preservation lately. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but our ancestors would plant in the spring, grow all summer, harvest in the fall, and then preserve the food in the winter. From a survival perspective, this makes sense. You work hardest during the spring and fall when temperatures are moderate, when it is hot you mostly just let your plants sit there, and then when it is too cold to even go outside you sit inside and work on food preservation. This formula is set up for maximum calorie preservation. You can even go so far of thinking about the fire and heat produced from the canning and other preservation methods blends well with the need to keep the house warm during the winter. I just thought it was a beautiful balance that we may not realize today with tropical fruit shipped in from all over the world every month of the year. I feel like food preservation is kind of a lost art for many, and most (myself included) were just taught that putting things in the fridge will make them last longer, and putting them in the freezer will make them last even longer. I no longer want to be apart of that crowd though. Call me a rebel, a food preservation rebel! I want to learn how to preserve food without refrigeration like millions before us knew how to do before the invention of the refrigerator. And sure, even on Little House on the Prairie it shows Ma putting some milk in a cold box, and they have the town ice house, but still they knew how to preserve things. So, smart people of these forums, teach me about food preservation. What kinds are out there? I’m aware of dehydrating and canning, but please teach me about it. What can I preserve using different methods, what gear is involved, how long do things last with each method, etc… I wanted to get my feet wet in this field, and so I went out and bought a dehydrator. In the comments below, I am going to tell my story of making some homemade beef jerky and some dried blueberries. I want this thread to be mostly teaching me about food preservation, but still wanted to share one of my successes! Read More 21 61 AdviceSkills News for the week 2023-12-18 The Prepared Support - December 27, 2023 Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news. Read More 2 3 News for the Week 2023-12-25 The Prepared Support - December 26, 2023 Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news. Read More 1 1 News How to develop realistic scenarios to prep for? Nice_badger - December 18, 2023 The approach of this site ist generally to focus on broad categories of emergencies, not highly specific scenarios. This is generally sound, I beleive. However: One broad scenario is bugging out. What a good bug out bag looks like is highly dependent on the reason *why* you bug out. As Eric Bunny pointed out in the thread on wildfires, a vehicle bug out can turn into a bug out on foot quickly. In this specific situation a fairly light bob is crucial, a level 1 bob will be better than a level 3! This is just an example to show that there is value to think through the possible *whys* of bugging in and out and tweak ones preps accordingly: Develop a plan to work from, obtain specific gear and skills for that. How do you think through possible scenarios? The only approach that comes to my mind is listing possible scenarios (urgent trip to the hospital, house fire, in my specific location: unexploded WW2 ordnance, pandemic, brown out or other grid down event …), guesstimate the likelyhood and possible effect and then decide how to prep, or tweak ones preps. An other angel that is, IMO, harder to think through logically is broad tendencies that will affect our lives and make some disasters more likely or severe: Climate change => More extreme weather events & heat waves, worse quality of public services including health So what do you do to think through scenarios? How do you avoid traps like biases (you can probably deduce something about me, from that crime and terror don’t feature big on my list …)? Read More 2 10 Scenarios News for the Week 2023-12-11 The Prepared Support - December 16, 2023 Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news. Read More 1 3 News Antibiotics banned? Old Guy - December 15, 2023 For those who put these away in your preps, here are some emails I have recently received from my “fish” site. The first one said there would be a shortage of fish antibiotics as they would be unable to get new items from their supplier. Then got an email saying Midland Vet has stopped manufacturing fish antibiotics. Midland I think is the one who makes the Aqua brand. In the news (Dec 14th), the FDA is going after 9 suppliers of fish antibiotics who must stop manufacturing or face legal action. So the way I see and understand this, there will be no more manufactured for fish, birds etc that can be sold OTC. You may want to stock up a bit if you need these for your sick fish. Read More 1 0 Personal first aid kits for families Bma - December 13, 2023 Hi, new here. Trying to put together go bags for my family. Thoughts on specific items to put into first aid kits for kids bags. Would prefer to do this so everyone has one in the event we were to get sperated. Kids are 10-14. Also, ideas on how not to spend a fortune doing this. Read More 9 15 Advice News for the week of 2024-12-04 The Prepared Support - December 10, 2023 Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news. Read More 1 2 News suture-free wound closure kit karlaW - December 7, 2023 As a family doc, I’d recommend having your home first aid kit well-stocked. It comes in handy for dealing with minor injuries or unexpected situations, especially with active boys around. Consider tossing in some suture-free emergency wound closure devices. They’re a gamechanger – no stitching required, super simple to use. Perfect for kids who aren’t big fans of needles! Read More 1 3 Prepping Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals 2021 Gideon ParkerStaff - December 7, 2023 This forum thread is going to be updated throughout the next week with various Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other holiday deals related to prepping. Keep checking back often and share this list with others to get the best deals on your preps. Add whatever deals you find in the comments below! Olight – Up to 50% off plus freebies. The more you spend the better the freebie.Dates: 11/24-11/29 Valley Food Storage – 10% off with code BFCM10. (our review of best food buckets) Emergency Essentials – various items (our review of best food buckets) Readywise – Up to 50% off select products (our review of best food buckets) Thrive Food Storage – 15-30% off select items with code BLACKFRIDAY. (our review of best food buckets) myfoodstorage.com – 30% off sitewide until 11/28. (our review of best food buckets) Harvestright – $300 off home freeze dryer. Silence Co – Buy one get one free suppressors Jackery solar generators – $36-$405 off. Dates: 11/26-11/29 (our review of a Jackery solar generator) Solo Stoves – Buy one get one free camp stoves Klymit – 30% off site wide until 11/29. (they have sleeping pads, bags, pillows, blankets, lights, and more) Darn Tough Socks – 25% off with code HIKETOUGH Dates: Now-11/30 (our review of best socks) Smartwool socks – Buy 3 get 1 free Dates: Now-12/5 (our review of best socks) Stego Socks – 25% off Dates: Now-11/29 (our review of best socks) Mymedic.com – 25% OFF Sitewide & Up to 80% OFF Doorbusters + FREE SuperSkin Assorted 12 Pack & Neck Buff with any purchase over $100. Survival Frog – Various deals Traeger – Free ultimate accessory bundle ($165 value) with purchase of select grills. 32 Degrees clothing – 70-80% off Cyber Monday Toshiba 1TB external hard drive – $50 + $10 off with promo code BFFRDY45 (our article on Digital security and privacy 101) PowerBlock Personal Trainer Adjustable Dumbbell Set – 42% off. Usually $500 down to $290 (our guide on Physical fitness for preppers) Self Reliance Outfitters – 20% off store wide and free tri-fold cookbook with every order Smartwool liner gloves – Price dropped from $24 to $18 Renogy Solar – 15-20% off sitewide. Dates: 11/22-11/30 Kidde Plug-In Carbon Monoxide Detector w/ Battery Backup – Price dropped from $30 to $13 Gigaparts.com (radio and other cool gadets) – various holiday deals Sportsmans Warehouse – Various deals on ammo, socks, fishing gear, clothing, camping, and more Ecoflow solar generators – Save up to $700 WALMART: 18,000 BTU Big Buddy Propane Heater – $109. ($223 on Amazon, so that’s a great deal) (our review best portable space heater) Instant Pot 8 Quart – $59 Dates: 11/22-11/28 (Good for cooking those beans in your food storage) HOME DEPOT: Milwaukee M18 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit (7-Tool) – Price dropped 44% from $900 to $499. AMAZON: Up to 25% off Kidde fire safety products Up to 15% off APEC under counter water purification systems 45% off Energizer LED headlamps (our review of best headlamps) Up to 15% off 3M powered air respirator systems Up to 22% off Streamlight products Up to 26% off Sentry safe products Up to 15% off 3M and Peltor hearing protection Up to 51% off Crimson Trace and LaserLyte sights Eveready 360 LED camping lantern 4 pack – 20% off. Price dropped from $35 to $28 KN95 Face Mask 25 Pack – Price dropped from $30 to $16 Coleman Dome 4 person Tent – 25% off. Price dropped from $200 to $150 (our review on Best survival tents) 2 pack of 160W LED adjustable garage lights – 35% off. Price dropped from $65 to $42 Samodra bidet attachment – 35% off. Price dropped from $40 to $26 (our review of bidets when there is no toilet paper) LifeStraw Personal Water Filter 2 pack – 42% off. Price dropped from $40 to $23 LifeStraw Personal Water Filter 1 pack – 57% off. Price dropped from $30 to $13 Trailbuddy collapsible hiking poles – 33% off. Price dropped from $40 to $27 Luci inflatable solar light – 44% off. Price dropped from $25 to $14 215 piece first aid kit + 43 piece mini first aid kit – 18% off. Price dropped from $40 to $33. (Great gift for a neighbor or relative for Christmas to help them be more prepared) REI: Garmin inReach Mini satellite messenger – Price dropped from $350 to $300 ENO DoubleNest Hammock – 25% off. Price dropped from $70 to $52 IN PERSON TRAINING: Sigma III Survival School in Missouri, is having a 35% off and one kid comes for free sale on their courses. July 2022 Pathfinder Gathering in McArthur, Ohio – 25% off. Price dropped from $100 to $75. Children under 13 are free. Read More 12 4 Non-toxic stuff Chris Cox - December 1, 2023 Hello all! I’m in the process of looking for front seat and trunk organizers for my vehicle. As a reader of Shanna Swan’s Countdown (I found it here first!) I’m looking for non-PVC stuff that won’t off-gas in a hot vehicle in summer, and make me sick in the long term. Of course, nylon does this, but I understand that PVC is much worse. Lo and behold, it doesn’t seem that I can find any of these nylon car organizers that aren’t PVC lined. For that matter, basically all potential BOBs seem to have PVC lining, too. So here it is: can you find anything nylon/tactical/MOLLE/Lord-knows-what that *doesn’t* have PVC? Inquiring minds want to know! 😐 Read More 1 9 < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 … 59 60 61 Next > Recently Active News for the Week 2025-4-14 - 4 days agoNews for the Week 2025-4-7 - 2 weeks agoNews for the Week 2025-3-31 - 3 weeks agoNews for the Week 2025-3-24 - 4 weeks agoNews for the Week 2025-3-17 - 1 month ago RULES This forum is heavily moderated to keep things valuable to as many people as possible. Full community policies are here. The basics: 1. Be nice to each other. 2. Stay focused on prepping. 3. Avoid politics, religion, and other arguments. 4. No unfounded conspiracies, fake news, etc. 5. Debate ideas, not people. FILTER Show all Advice Gear Meta News Scenarios Skills

News for the week of 2024-01-29

The Prepared Support - February 3, 2024

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

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News

“Level 2” First Aid Kit

Noah Prepares - January 31, 2024

The Prepared has articles of small first aid kits and at-home supplies, but I’ve been refreshing/restocking my in-between category recently. A larger first aid kit that I take with me on trips or to gatherings of large people (usually with outdoor activity).

This would also of course be a useful thing to grab in a bug-out scenario, and helps to prioritize what I grab (The alternative being filling a bag from a closet or cupboard trying to grab what’s important.

I am curious if others have similar kits and how they think about them/prioritize their contents.

I think of mine as a complement to my everyday carry kit, which has trauma first aid supplies (thus my level 2 kit does not).

I also have a completely separate dental kit, so I don’t have any dental supplies in my level 2, which am debating whether to change, as I don’t bring the dental kit with me when I want the level 2.

I made a Kit for this kit if y’all are interested.

Sorted By Category (recommended):

Sorted By Area of My Bag:

I appreciate feedback on my kit and would love to know if y’all have <span style=”font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ‘Segoe UI’, Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, ‘Open Sans’, ‘Helvetica Neue’, sans-serif;”>similar kits.</span>

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1

Storing preps

Claire - January 29, 2024

I know it’s not recommend to store water directly on cement floors. Can you put cardboard down first? Or thick plastic (like a tarp or construction trash bags)?

And does the same apply for food in food grade buckets (food is in Mylar bags in the buckets)? Should the bucket not be stored on cement floors? 

Thanks!

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Hello from illinois

Bart - January 29, 2024

Greetings all,

Just found this site, very pleased to join up. 52 yo married man, from Central Illinois. I’ve been getting ready, in earnest, for the last 6 years. Looking forward to meeting folks, and learning things. Thanks so much.

Bart

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News for the week of 2024-01-22

The Prepared Support - January 28, 2024

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

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1

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News

Netflix movie “Leave the World Behind”

Winston Smith - January 19, 2024

Does anyone have comments about the movie “Leave the World Behind”?  I liked it, but…..

It will make many people think about how our lives can change in the blink of an eye.

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Vehicle Emergency Kit

Bigwig - January 19, 2024

Lately I’ve been working on my vehicle emergency kit.  I went to pick up my son from an event and ended up helping someone with a flat tire.  They had no flashlights and were trying to use their phone lights.  Their jack handle broke, so I ended up using the jack from my truck.  I had a headlamp and gloves along with an extra flashlight which made the job easier.   Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the tire off of the vehicle even after removing the lug nuts, so they just parked it and came back later.

I started thinking about what I would have liked to have.  One is a 4-way lug wrench.  I thought I had one but it was in my daughter’s car.  BTW, I looked for the lug nut size in the owner’s manual and it was no where to be found, only the BOLT size.  I couldn’t find it on the vehicle’s lug nut wrench either.  And if you do get one, make sure and try it on your vehicle.  The older ones are SAE and a lot of the newer ones are metric, so they may not fit.

I had a few items in some Plano storage trunks, but now they are full.  I also have a backpack from my CERT days that is now better stocked.

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News for the week of 2024-01-15

The Prepared Support - January 18, 2024

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

Read More

1

3

News

What is the best place to buy mylar bags?

ChickenPrepper - January 14, 2024

What’s a good place to get Mylar bags from? Just off Amazon, or do you all have a go to place for these things? Amazon reveals hundreds of possible vendors, most made overseas. If I’m to commit to some bags o’ rice for long term, I’d like to ensure I get decent stuff. Thanks!

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AdviceGear

Check your spare tire!

Bigwig - January 10, 2024

My daughter was over for a visit.  We were checking her vehicle fluids and I asked if she has ever checked her spare tire.  She didn’t know where it was.  I showed her where it is and we took it out to check the tire pressure.  The max PSI is 60.  The air gauge read 11.  She filled it up using the DC powered pump that she has in her kit.  It must have taken about 10 minutes but it felt like a lot longer. 

Check your spare tire!

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12

Prepping Holiday Gifts

Alicia - January 7, 2024

I aim to get the same gift for everyone on my list which makes my shopping simple (as long as I can come up with it!). This year’s item is headlamps.  We had a power outage for a few hours just last week when I had a house full of family visiting so it will be clear how useful it is.  There are many price points and options for kids as well. 

I also made some Triage strips for myself and a CERT buddy (like these).  

Are you giving anything prep-related for the holidays?  

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Gear

News for the week of 2023-12-31

The Prepared Support - January 6, 2024

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

Read More

2

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News

Gun cleaning and spare part kits included in bug out bags

xyz - January 5, 2024

I’ve read a lot of articles about what goes into a bug out bag, and invariably the list includes some sort of firearm — but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone include a cleaning kit or spare parts in their list for said firearm.  Seems to me that if you’re staking your life on a firearm you’d want it kept operational, which means clean and having common spare parts (e.g., pins, springs, etc) on hand.

Everyone is worried about weight, so what is the minimum?  Personally, I carry the old style surplus M4 pouch with the 3-piece rod and attachments for my rifle and pistol, along with some patches, brushes, and a small bottle of CLP.  I’ve never been a fan of bore snakes, and I’ve heard that the military is not a fan of the Otis flexible cleaning rod.  Spare parts include trigger springs, take down/pivot pins, etc.

What else?

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9

Games that teach survival skills

Eric - January 4, 2024

What games have you found that teach survival skills in a fun way? I’ll include some of my favorites as comments and encourage others to do the same.

Read More

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ScenariosSkills

Food preservation – it makes sense from a survival standpoint

Alisa Felix - January 1, 2024

While watching old episodes of Little House on the Prairie (great series if you haven’t seen it before!), something caught my eye that I never had really put too much thought into before. I saw that their sod house out back had baskets of apples and potatoes that just sit there and look to be fine all winter long, yet I struggle to keep apples and potatoes in my house for more than 2-3 weeks without them going bad. Granted this is a TV show, and those apples are probably fake, but it got me thinking about food preservation lately.

Correct me if I’m wrong here, but our ancestors would plant in the spring, grow all summer, harvest in the fall, and then preserve the food in the winter. From a survival perspective, this makes sense. You work hardest during the spring and fall when temperatures are moderate, when it is hot you mostly just let your plants sit there, and then when it is too cold to even go outside you sit inside and work on food preservation. This formula is set up for maximum calorie preservation. You can even go so far of thinking about the fire and heat produced from the canning and other preservation methods blends well with the need to keep the house warm during the winter. I just thought it was a beautiful balance that we may not realize today with tropical fruit shipped in from all over the world every month of the year.

I feel like food preservation is kind of a lost art for many, and most (myself included) were just taught that putting things in the fridge will make them last longer, and putting them in the freezer will make them last even longer. I no longer want to be apart of that crowd though. Call me a rebel, a food preservation rebel! I want to learn how to preserve food without refrigeration like millions before us knew how to do before the invention of the refrigerator. And sure, even on Little House on the Prairie it shows Ma putting some milk in a cold box, and they have the town ice house, but still they knew how to preserve things.

So, smart people of these forums, teach me about food preservation. What kinds are out there? I’m aware of dehydrating and canning, but please teach me about it. What can I preserve using different methods, what gear is involved, how long do things last with each method, etc…

I wanted to get my feet wet in this field, and so I went out and bought a dehydrator. In the comments below, I am going to tell my story of making some homemade beef jerky and some dried blueberries. I want this thread to be mostly teaching me about food preservation, but still wanted to share one of my successes! 

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AdviceSkills

News for the week 2023-12-18

The Prepared Support - December 27, 2023

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

Read More

2

3

News for the Week 2023-12-25

The Prepared Support - December 26, 2023

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

Read More

1

1

News

How to develop realistic scenarios to prep for?

Nice_badger - December 18, 2023

The approach of this site ist generally to focus on broad categories of emergencies, not highly specific scenarios. This is generally sound, I beleive. However: One broad scenario is bugging out. What a good bug out bag looks like is highly dependent on the reason *why* you bug out. As Eric Bunny pointed out in the thread on wildfires, a vehicle bug out can turn into a bug out on foot quickly. In this specific situation a fairly light bob is crucial, a level 1 bob will be better than a level 3!

This is just an example to show that there is value to think through the possible *whys* of bugging in and out and tweak ones preps accordingly: Develop a plan to work from, obtain specific gear and skills for that. How do you think through possible scenarios?

The only approach that comes to my mind is listing possible scenarios (urgent trip to the hospital, house fire, in my specific location: unexploded WW2 ordnance, pandemic, brown out or other grid down event …), guesstimate the likelyhood and possible effect and then decide how to prep, or tweak ones preps. 

An other angel that is, IMO, harder to think through logically is broad tendencies that will affect our lives and make some disasters more likely or severe: Climate change => More extreme weather events  & heat waves, worse quality of public services including health 

So what do you do to think through scenarios? How do you avoid traps like biases (you can probably deduce something about me, from that crime and terror don’t feature big on my list …)?

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Scenarios

News for the Week 2023-12-11

The Prepared Support - December 16, 2023

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

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News

Antibiotics banned?

Old Guy - December 15, 2023

For those who put these away in your preps, here are some emails I have recently received from my “fish” site.  The first one said there would be a shortage of fish antibiotics as they would be unable to get new items from their supplier.

Then got an email saying Midland Vet has stopped manufacturing fish antibiotics.  Midland I think is the one who makes the Aqua brand.

In the news (Dec 14th), the FDA is going after 9 suppliers of fish antibiotics who must stop manufacturing or face legal action.

So the way I see and understand this, there will be no more manufactured for fish, birds etc that can be sold OTC. You may want to stock up a bit if you need these for your sick fish.

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Personal first aid kits for families

Bma - December 13, 2023

Hi, new here. Trying to put together go bags for my family. Thoughts on specific items to put into first aid kits for kids bags. Would prefer to do this so everyone has one in the event we were to get sperated. Kids are 10-14. Also, ideas on how not to spend a fortune doing this.

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Advice

News for the week of 2024-12-04

The Prepared Support - December 10, 2023

Make a top-level comment for a new story/topic. Discussions about the topic should be in the replies to the top-level comment. That way things stay organized and every main comment as you scroll down is a different piece of news.

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News

suture-free wound closure kit

karlaW - December 7, 2023

As a family doc, I’d recommend having your home first aid kit well-stocked. It comes in handy for dealing with minor injuries or unexpected situations, especially with active boys around. Consider tossing in some suture-free emergency wound closure devices. They’re a gamechanger – no stitching required, super simple to use. Perfect for kids who aren’t big fans of needles!

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Prepping Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals 2021

Gideon ParkerStaff - December 7, 2023

This forum thread is going to be updated throughout the next week with various Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other holiday deals related to prepping. Keep checking back often and share this list with others to get the best deals on your preps. Add whatever deals you find in the comments below!

Olight – Up to 50% off plus freebies. The more you spend the better the freebie.Dates: 11/24-11/29

Valley Food Storage – 10% off with code BFCM10. (our review of best food buckets)

Emergency Essentials – various items (our review of best food buckets)

Readywise – Up to 50% off select products (our review of best food buckets)

Thrive Food Storage – 15-30% off select items with code BLACKFRIDAY. (our review of best food buckets)

myfoodstorage.com – 30% off sitewide until 11/28. (our review of best food buckets)

Harvestright – $300 off home freeze dryer.

Silence Co – Buy one get one free suppressors

Jackery solar generators – $36-$405 off. Dates: 11/26-11/29 (our review of a Jackery solar generator)

Solo Stoves – Buy one get one free camp stoves

Klymit – 30% off site wide until 11/29. (they have sleeping pads, bags, pillows, blankets, lights, and more)

Darn Tough Socks – 25% off with code HIKETOUGH Dates: Now-11/30 (our review of best socks)

Smartwool socks – Buy 3 get 1 free Dates: Now-12/5 (our review of best socks)

Stego Socks – 25% off Dates: Now-11/29 (our review of best socks)

Mymedic.com – 25% OFF Sitewide & Up to 80% OFF Doorbusters + FREE SuperSkin Assorted 12 Pack & Neck Buff with any purchase over $100.

Survival Frog – Various deals

Traeger – Free ultimate accessory bundle ($165 value) with purchase of select grills.

 32 Degrees clothing – 70-80% off Cyber Monday

Toshiba 1TB external hard drive – $50 + $10 off with promo code BFFRDY45 (our article on Digital security and privacy 101)

PowerBlock Personal Trainer Adjustable Dumbbell Set – 42% off. Usually $500 down to $290 (our guide on Physical fitness for preppers)

Self Reliance Outfitters – 20% off store wide and free tri-fold cookbook with every order

Smartwool liner gloves – Price dropped from $24 to $18

Renogy Solar – 15-20% off sitewide. Dates: 11/22-11/30

Kidde Plug-In Carbon Monoxide Detector w/ Battery Backup – Price dropped from $30 to $13

Gigaparts.com (radio and other cool gadets) – various holiday deals

Sportsmans Warehouse – Various deals on ammo, socks, fishing gear, clothing, camping, and more

Ecoflow solar generators – Save up to $700

WALMART:

18,000 BTU Big Buddy Propane Heater – $109. ($223 on Amazon, so that’s a great deal) (our review best portable space heater)

Instant Pot 8 Quart – $59 Dates: 11/22-11/28 (Good for cooking those beans in your food storage)

HOME DEPOT:

Milwaukee M18 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Combo Kit (7-Tool) – Price dropped 44% from $900 to $499.

AMAZON:

Up to 25% off Kidde fire safety products 

Up to 15% off APEC under counter water purification systems

45% off Energizer LED headlamps (our review of best headlamps)

Up to 15% off 3M powered air respirator systems

Up to 22% off Streamlight products

Up to 26% off Sentry safe products

Up to 15% off 3M and Peltor hearing protection

Up to 51% off Crimson Trace and LaserLyte sights

Eveready 360 LED camping lantern 4 pack – 20% off. Price dropped from $35 to $28

KN95 Face Mask 25 Pack – Price dropped from $30 to $16

Coleman Dome 4 person Tent – 25% off. Price dropped from $200 to $150 (our review on Best survival tents)

2 pack of 160W LED adjustable garage lights – 35% off. Price dropped from $65 to $42

Samodra bidet attachment – 35% off. Price dropped from $40 to $26 (our review of bidets when there is no toilet paper)

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter 2 pack – 42% off. Price dropped from $40 to $23

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter 1 pack – 57% off. Price dropped from $30 to $13

Trailbuddy collapsible hiking poles – 33% off. Price dropped from $40 to $27

Luci inflatable solar light – 44% off. Price dropped from $25 to $14

215 piece first aid kit + 43 piece mini first aid kit – 18% off. Price dropped from $40 to $33. (Great gift for a neighbor or relative for Christmas to help them be more prepared)

REI:

Garmin inReach Mini satellite messenger – Price dropped from $350 to $300

ENO DoubleNest Hammock – 25% off. Price dropped from $70 to $52

IN PERSON TRAINING:

Sigma III Survival School in Missouri, is having a 35% off and one kid comes for free sale on their courses.

July 2022 Pathfinder Gathering in McArthur, Ohio – 25% off. Price dropped from $100 to $75. Children under 13 are free.

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Non-toxic stuff

Chris Cox - December 1, 2023

Hello all!

I’m in the process of looking for front seat and trunk organizers for my vehicle. As a reader of Shanna Swan’s Countdown (I found it here first!) I’m looking for non-PVC stuff that won’t off-gas in a hot vehicle in summer, and make me sick in the long term. Of course, nylon does this, but I understand that PVC is much worse.

Lo and behold, it doesn’t seem that I can find any of these nylon car organizers that aren’t PVC lined. For that matter, basically all potential BOBs seem to have PVC lining, too. 

So here it is: can you find anything nylon/tactical/MOLLE/Lord-knows-what that *doesn’t* have PVC? Inquiring minds want to know! 😐

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