Share your knowledge & learn from experts
Because prepping and community go hand in hand
Improving your vehicle maintenance
Paul Martin - January 12, 2021 What sort of preventative maintenance do you do on your vehicle to enhance your vehicle’s readiness in case of an emergency?
https://paultmartin.com/blog/f/project-improve-your-vehicle-maintenance
US capitol protests, what can we learn?
Gideon ParkerStaff - January 12, 2021 Sure was a crazy day yesterday (1/7/21) if you saw the news, where protesters charged the US Capitol building to delay a vote.
Let’s not talk about the politics about it. But instead do a little thought experiment.
When the protesters were breaching the building and the employees had to evacuate.
Accord to this tweet, it looks like they had little go kits that they could… Read More
Emergency lighting
Ron Brown - January 12, 2021 Hi. I’m Ron Brown, author of “The Non-Electric Lighting Series” on Amazon. Emergency lighting is my area of expertise but I’m brand new to The Prepared. In this write-up, I’d like to share a few ideas on the topic of emergency lighting. I’m not here to sell anything. Or editorialize. I just want to share some ideas.
Let’s say you’re at home and the lights go out. Sure, you have a flashlight. But the batteries are dim and getting dimmer. You scrounge through the kids toys, the toothbrush, and the carving knife and find a few batteries. But they don’t fit your light. Or you need two and can only find one.
May I suggest a collection of cheap flashlights — $20 total for the whole bunch — that will run on any battery you can find. And let’s make that… Read More
My BOB really needs some work…
Gideon ParkerStaff - January 11, 2021 Oh boy… where to start?
The quick lesson of this forum post is to check your preps. And here is why I say that:
About 3 or 4 years ago I decided to make a BOB. I didn’t have much of a budget to put towards it, so I just used things that I had laying around the house and bought a few smaller items. And for the past few years I told myself “You have your BOB, you are prepared in that area and you don’t have to worry about that… Read More
Prepping new year’s resolutions
Gideon ParkerStaff - January 10, 2021 With 2020 almost over (thank goodness!), many people make new year’s resolutions of things they want to improve on and do better the next year. The most common one people usually make is losing weight and exercising more.
While this is a great tradition, and for most of the month of January people usually stick to their goals, we tend to get lax and by February or March, many have let their goals go.
I believe that accountability is a way that can help encourage and remind us to keep going. Since this is such a great community, I want to do a… Read More
Does anyone have a rain water harvest system?
Mike Hill - January 8, 2021 (random rain collection system from Google)
I’m interested in collecting rain water as a backup source, but have many questions and don’t know where to start. I’ll probably leave this source to watering my garden, but want to be able to drink, cook, and bathe with it if needed in an emergency.
Does anyone here collect rain water? Do you use your roof? How do you filter and prevent contaminates like bird droppings, insects, algae growth, and chemicals from the roof… Read More
Dedicated shelter/sleeping bag/pad for BOB — is it a must?
pnwsarahContributor - January 7, 2021 I have a pretty solid/complete BOB at this point, but there is one thing I keep putting off adding to my pack: Shelter, and the Level 2 sleeping apparatus that would go in a shelter like bags and pads. We’re outdoorsy types, so we have (lightweight, good quality) tents, pads, and sleeping bags. I don’t really want to keep backpacking/camping gear we regularly use in our BOBs prepped for an evac: The dude would object, the stuff would routinely not end up back in the BOBs after weekend adventures, and even if it did, it would be bad for our down bags to keep them bunched up in our packs.
So then I think, “Buy duplicates?” That approach has the advantage of allowing me to shop for prepping-oriented items (e.g., no inflatable sleeping pads), but honestly I think our tents and bags are fine for prepping, and we know that things like tents and tarps are “get what you pay for” items where… Read More
Just for fun: Kit pics!
pnwsarahContributor - January 6, 2021 Disclaimer: This is frivolous— but I think it could be fun, and perhaps a good conversation starter, too. 🙂
I love it when people post pictures of the contents of their BOB or EDC laid out all nicely, so I took advantage of the fact that I’m staying with my mother (who just refinished her floors, giving me a nicer-than-usual backdrop with which to work) to do a full BOB layout and take some photos of my own. I’m hoping some of you will be Covid-winter-stir-crazy enough to get excited about doing the same and post your own kit pics here. My BOB is not finished and is clearly missing some important things (no, I don’t have a tarp yet), so no pressure to have a complete perfect set of things to… Read More
FCC to start charging $35 for ham license applications
Josh CentersContributor - January 5, 2021 The FCC has approved a rule charging $35 for new ham licenses and renewals. Until now, the licenses have been free, though you typically have to pay a nominal fee to a club to take the required test. The fee hasn’t been implemented yet, so if you’ve been considering a ham license, now would be a good time to go for it. (It doesn’t take long to prepare for, and in fact, you’re better off studying and testing in as short a timeframe as possible.)
https://swling.com/blog/2020/12/fcc-adopts-a-35-license-fee-for-amateur-radio-service-applications/
Great survival crop
Winston Smith - January 5, 2021 I’ll be sowing Amaranth and Sorghum this year (Thanks “Redneck”). I planted Jerusalem Artichokes last year. They are great survival plants.
https://youtu.be/Eiy0F6HFqlA
Better gas cans
Jay ValenciaContributor - January 4, 2021 I read through the guide on storing gas but it didn’t recommend a specific type of can if you’re not going to store a large amount. I can get pretty cheap cans at the store but I know there are more heavy duty cans that are priced higher.
Are the more expensive ones worth it? Like the NATO cans for example.
Prepping organization (diary / journals / to-do / lists / etc)
10 Canadian Winters - January 4, 2021 I’m fairly new to prepping though I’ve been looking at The Prepared for a while now. There’s a lot going on and a lot of data to take in, and I’m feeling a little bit overwhelmed about how to organize all of it; how to prioritize all of it.
What are your ways to organize all your preps? So far I have some food and water, half constructed bug out bags, some car safety stuff. Not much for winter yet. Different things are stored in different parts of the house. My skills are also a little bit over the place.
Last night I thought about some sort of Prepping Journal, something similar to Gardening Journals, but specifically for prepping. I found a… Read More
Prepper closet
RedneckContributor - January 3, 2021 I’m curious if anyone else has built a dedicated prepper closet. I did so a few years ago because my wife was getting tired of my stuff being everywhere. So I cleaned out a corner of my upper barn & built a 16′ x 12′ closet. The back wall is an exterior wall & I needed one for the AC unit to keep everything cold year round. Living in north Mississippi means dealing with extreme summer heat so it is very well insulated, especially so for an interior room. Lots of junk plus extra prepper gear, such as bee hives, are stored on its roof.
What are some good preps that don’t require you to buy something?
Olly Wright - January 3, 2021 Some things I can think of are fitness, knowing how to cook, being able to do maintenance,…
Thought if I had a good list of preps that I can do for free, that I’ll have no excuse to keep prepping even when money is tight.
Worried about generator noise attracting attention
Jay ValenciaContributor - January 3, 2021 Was looking at reddit when I saw question about generator noise and wanted to get some advice and your opinion on what I should do.
I have a large whole house generator that I store in a shed, but will pull out and plug into the side of my house if the power goes off for more than a couple of hours. If there was a true disaster and the whole neighborhood goes dark for a week or more, I can see this as a security issue. I don’t want my generator to be the only noise and house the only one lit up on our entire block.
I can see people trying to come and steal it, or think that I have tons of preps(which I do), coming over and asking to charge their phones, or… Read More
Gardening books – recommendations and reviews?
C P.Contributor - January 1, 2021 This is a thread to review and recommend (or discommend) gardening and small-scale livestock books. I worked with John Ramsey on revising The Prepared’s books page (the revisions aren’t live yet), but I know that there are many more interesting books than what fit on that list. I thought it would be useful for community members to be able to recommend the books they’ve found most helpful and share about things they are reading.
To keep things organized, I suggest making each book review a separate post (even if it’s just a short paragraph), rather than listing multiple books in one… Read More
Canning yourself or buying cans from the store – I found the cheaper option
Winston Smith - December 31, 2020 I started prepping years ago. Dehydrated (freeze dried) #10 cans of food were reasonably inexpensive. Unbelievable the difference a year can make. I still buy #10 cans because today’s prices may seem cheap next year. But good deals are still available. Over the last month I’ve bought hundreds of small cans of vegetables (peas, corn, beans) for 38 cents at my Walmart. Actually both Walmarts in town have the same price. I’ve given my kids most of them. You can’t plant, grow, fertilize, and can for this price. By stocking up on these, I save time and my canning supplies for an emergency.
I took this picture 2 days… Read More
Anyone have a nicely formatted 4×6 template for printing information?
Dan - December 31, 2020 Hey all!
This is sort of an oddball question, but here goes. I have lately been very in to printing out hardcopy explanations of things around the house, and laminating them. Think “Here is the writeup for how to hook up the generator with pictures and stuff, so my wife can figure it out if I am not around” or “Here is the manual for that heater, printed out on 4×6 cards, and laminated and attached to the heater with a zip tie” or “Here’s that nice printout of the ham bands in color, laminated and stuck on my FT-991a in case I forget, or get… Read More
Nashville bombing
Dog lover - December 30, 2020 I’m sure most have heard of the Nashville Tennessee bombing early this Christmas morning. I can’t imagine any reason to ever have to resort to anything like this. The only good thing that has come out in the news from this is the RV that was loaded with the explosive had a recording playing that warned people there was a bomb going to go off. Apparently it even had an audible fifteen minute countdown when it was activated. At least this gave time for police to evacuate most in the immediate area. Could you imagine a cop banging on your door at 6am Christmas morning and telling you to evacuate immediately? It looks like there was at least one fatality but considering the size of the blast that alone is miraculous. It will only be a matter of time before the motive and persons involved are known. One thing the FBI is really good at is sifting through all the debris and finding clues. I wish… Read More
Winter storms and safety
Bob - December 29, 2020 https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/duringstorm/indoorsafety.html
Most appropriately timed; saw this article at CDC’s site.
Material actually from a speciality agency of National Center For Environmental Health.
One point in link I ask you to review. At “Conserve heat” … “Stuff towels or rags in crack under doors” … Consider modifying this by adding, for… Read More
Upcoming food shortages?
LNMOt - December 28, 2020 Wanted to get thoughts and insight on the likelihood of food shortages as a result of this massive “third wave” of COVID-19 in the United States – I mean above and beyond panic buying but impacts to food manufacturing plants and transportation. It seemed like earlier this year food shortages (empty grocery store shelves) were mostly the result of panic buying, however the meat industry was hit hard by the virus which resulted in decreased manufacturing output and plants being shut down for periods of time. I am very concerned what this country wide surge in COVID-19 cases will do to the food industry as a whole (plants closing down due to a large number of infected employees on a wide-spread scale, etc).
Just wishing everyone a merry Christmas.
Dog lover - December 26, 2020 I believe life is short, and I think celebrating it as much as we can is a good thing. Reguardless of your religion, political beliefs or ideologies I hope everyone here has a chance to be with the ones they care about and can enjoy a good meal together this holiday.
Article mentioned theprepared.com in article: Doomsday preppers stock up on luxury survival kits, emergency food supplies and million-dollar bunkers
Bigwig - December 24, 2020 This site was mentioned in the article ‘Doomsday preppers stock up on luxury survival kits, emergency food supplies and million-dollar bunkers’. The link is https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/19/what-doomsday-preppers-stock-up-on.html.
I’d like to get any opinions from the forum, especially the moderators. Some of the companies mentioned are either Johnny-come-lately with little or no track record and maybe a celebrity endorsement, offering products of questionable quality (25 year shelf life for food pouches, caloric content), or pre-made kits which we know are often filled with inferior quality products. I find it hard to believe that the customers of these product are really part of the true prepper… Read More
What’s the best starter radio for a person who doesn’t have a lot of time to devote to ham?
Jonnie PekelnyContributor - December 23, 2020 I’m aware of the pages here that talk about HAM radios. I’m actually interested in learning about them and getting into them eventually, but I don’t have the bandwidth for for any complex or expensive radio project right now. I’m just trying to rustle up a basic emergency preparedness radio that doesn’t have a big learning curve. Is there a simple (simplest) version of HAM radios or should I just stick with NOAA type radios?
Clue me in about portable solar panels, please
Jonnie PekelnyContributor - December 23, 2020 In recent months I’ve acquired two “solar generators” — the MAXOAK Bluetti 150 and the massive Goal Zero Yeti 3000X. (Hot tip: if you are in Northern California and are a PG&E medical baseline customer, meaning you use some sort of medical equipment and get a special electricity rate for that, you can actually apply to receive a free Yeti 3000X, which normally runs over $3000.)
Now I’m trying to acquire solar panels to charge these batteries. But I know almost nothing about electricity and about solar panels specifically. I have some specs from the manufacturer and some customers on Amazon (listed at bottom), but what else do I need to keep in… Read More
