wildfireexpert - Member

Reply to: What habits have you developed related to prepping, and what habits do you wish you’d develop? Posted June 24, 2023

I believe the single biggest asset is a “sane prepper” mentality that helps prevent the normalcy bias (“oh, that’s not gonna happen to me/my family/my city/state/country). If something happens, sane preppers will have the priceless ability to assess and respond without panic, quickly and intelligently.

Reply to: Update: Costco has Mountain House 15 pouch set for $80 ($5.33/pouch) 4/28-5/25/23 Posted April 29, 2023

Thanks Eric, I figured it out.

Reply to: Inherited emergency food lot (advice) Posted April 28, 2023

Another suggestion, if you can utilize the deduction on your taxes, donate to food banks/homeless centers that feed large numbers of people (using current online pricing if within 30 year shelf life)

Reply to: Update: Costco has Mountain House 15 pouch set for $80 ($5.33/pouch) 4/28-5/25/23 Posted April 28, 2023

@Bill Gabriel – Dang! That’s freakin’ amazing. Good catch. Do you know how to change the post title to reflect the new lower price and the time it expires? (I don’t have a clue.)

Reply to: Games that teach survival skills Posted April 23, 2023

Very cool. Good dad, good grandpa.

Reply to: Update: Costco has Mountain House 15 pouch set for $80 ($5.33/pouch) 4/28-5/25/23 Posted April 23, 2023

This is the Way.

Reply to: News for week of 2023-03-20 Posted March 23, 2023

Thx Eric I’ve been following drug shortages 2-3 times a year. Your link + more reading shows critical upcoming shortages of Albuterol liquid used for home and hospital nebulizer use for COPD/asthma. There were only 2 manufacturers in USA and one, Akorn, just went bankrupt. What to do? Order this prescription med the first day permitted by your insurance, whether or not it is needed right now. All forms of Albuterol have a one year shelf life (more or less) unlike many other meds that have a much longer life than 2 years.

Reply to: Is it possible to fill 25 gallon propane from 250 gallon AmeriGas tank? Posted March 12, 2023

@Redneck — thanks for the video. The information exactly what was needed. The reason I did not thank you earlier is that there is some kind of glitch with theprepared . com website that requires me to make a new password every time I shut down my laptop for the evening. VERY annoying. Now I rarely post because it is a hassle.

Reply to: News for week of 2023-03-13 Posted March 12, 2023

@John Ramey Should we withdraw $9,995.00 cash from our individual banks/credit unions on Monday 3/13/2023? I personally may do just that. Re: Failure of Silicon Valley Bank. Latest info states that gov’t WILL bail out the customers for the full extent of their holdings in the bank. They will not reimburse the owners/shareholders of the bank. Initially Janet Yellen said 12 hours ago that these customers would not be reimbursed above the $250,000.00 FDIC limit. Gov’t is worried that runs on smaller banks could prove “troublesome” and begin a cascade of effects on the banking system. In California, and maybe in USA as a whole, customers are limited to $9,999.99 cash withdrawal each day without having the withdrawal reported to the IRS. The bank may report a “suspicious” customer, regardless, if the amount is $2,000.00 or more. This traces back to a law regarding money laundering. (Of course the issue is far more complex, but this is the gist as I understand it.) I have very limited knowledge of financial matters. I remember that the founder of theprepared.com was a man from Silicon Valley – @John Ramey. Mr. Ramey is undoubtedly very knowledgeable on this exact situation. If so, would Mr. Ramey or a financial expert please weigh in about this issue. The news takes great care to describe this bank failure as a unique event because the depositors were “mostly technology workers and startups …. such as Roku” and had exposure to cryptocurrency and a limited pool of wealthy depositors. “Depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, March 13. No losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer.” Just 2 days ago, I was joking with family members that the time to run for the hills is when the government soothingly states that “there is no need to worry–we’ve got this”.

Reply to: Long term storage ideas for chocolate/cocoa/Tang or Vitamin C? Posted January 30, 2023

@M.E. – thanks for heads up on freeze dried strawberries. Out of 6 family members who are VERY picky eaters during non-emergencies; strawberries are about the only fruit they would all eat. I’ll watch for sales on #10 can, freeze dried strawberries. When I did the math conversions, there are 24 adult recommended daily allowances (RDA’s) per #10 can of freeze dried strawberries. (If I can buy for $12/can, that’s about 50 cents per day per adult.) I’m also going to purchase L-ascorbic acid powder. I wasn’t able to get a definitive answer during research on shelf life, but since a teaspoon equals 6,000 times per adult RDA, it should be ok even if it loses potency over time.

Reply to: Low cost long term storage foods from Latter Day Saints/Mormon food storage centers Posted January 27, 2023

@Eric – the only problem with the dried apple slices in #10 cans good for 30 yr storage is that when you open one to “try it”, you end up eating the whole can in a week. They are crispy and delicious straight out of the can, just like “All Natural Fruit Crisps”, and rehydrate well for a pie. (The pie was gone in far less than a week.) It takes real discipline not to make an excuse to open that huge can of snacks, but since it is a huge can, the crispiness will dissipate once opened if you don’t chow down the whole can right away. Darn–you’ll have to make pies.

Reply to: Long term storage ideas for chocolate/cocoa/Tang or Vitamin C? Posted January 27, 2023

Thanks. I have a lot of Emergency Essentials powdered tomato purchased on sale a few years ago, and I have a lot of lentils/hard red wheat that can be sprouted. @Hans–I think we all may have had an over-exuberant Costco run back then. I rationalized that “it could be given to the local food center if not needed in a year”, then went nuts. Boy–was the food center excited a year later! Thx for input re chocolate chips in pantry in original bags.

Reply to: First aid expiration dates? Posted January 19, 2023

You are correct that “since prescription medications are generally still good … after expiration dates, (you) can probably assume first aid stuff is also safe/effective after expiration as well”. The reason that manufacturers say 2 years is because once the meds leave their control, the meds could be mis-treated any number of ways. Here is another article by NPR from 2017: That Drug Expiration Date May Be More Myth Than Fact

Reply to: Grid down – How to recognize it early? Posted January 18, 2023

That’s why it’s called PREpared, not AFTERpared. Have communication plans, primary and redundant meet-up places, plans to get children out of school with paperwork on file at the school etc. In 2016 I purchased a book called Security Mom: An Unclassified Guide to Protecting Our Homeland and Your Home. Although it turned out to be very different than my expectations based on the title, it is still a valuable resource on how even the “most prepared” people can still freak out. If you go to amazon and look for a review of this book by Cissy, dated July 26, 2016 you’ll see my review at the time (lengthy) and find out about the nugget of gold in the book, a memo that the author wrote the staff at her child’s preschool. That alone is worth the price of the book. At the end of the review, I tried to post a link to theprepared.com, but Amazon deleted it.

Reply to: First aid expiration dates? Posted January 18, 2023

Drug Expiration Dates – Are Expired Drugs Still Safe to Take? Tried to add in an edit in original response, but system wouldn’t let me edit.

Reply to: First aid expiration dates? Posted January 18, 2023

After extensive research over the past 10+ years, I personally feel safe letting my beloved family members take many UNOPENED OTC (over-the-counter) medications and prescription medicines 5-15 years after the FDA’s artificially imposed “best by” or “use by” or “expired by” dates. Research by a government program on 40 year old prescription meds show there is generally only a small loss of potency over time, but very little risk of harm that can occur from taking “expired” medications. There are some very important exceptions to this: Albuterol or albuterol products – do NOT use past expired-by dates. The efficacy drops off sharply and you might as well be using water for example. EPIpens – do NOT use past expired-by dates. Again, the efficacy drops off sharply. Insulin used to control blood sugar in diabetes may be susceptible to degradation after its expiration date.Oral nitroglycerin (NTG), a medication used for angina (chest pain), may lose its potency quickly once the medication bottle is opened.Vaccines, biologicals or blood products could also be subject to quick degradation once the expiration date is reached. Pills or tablets are generally ok for longer shelf life than liquid products “in solution”. Best rules for storage: 1) Write the date you purchased it on the medication. 2) Store away from sunlight, moisture, hot temperatures. (for example, in a closet in an air conditioned home. NOT in a bathroom where it gets steamy, NOT in a garage/attic etc. that is exposed to heat over 75-80 degrees F. NOT in a automatic, self-defrosting refrigerator/freezer. 3) Generally colder temps are not a problem, as long as there is no associated moist conditions. SLEP (shelf life extension program) is a government run study to determine which drugs can safely be extended when stored for emergency government use. Links to abstracts on this topic

Reply to: CERT Training Posted January 15, 2023

Hi, overcaffeinated — “Catch and release” is a common model that is used to train individuals how to cope with disaster scenarios and possibly spread that knowledge to help neighbors/family in a disaster. I trained in CERT about 14 years ago when I retired. Our particular group is VERY active with drills, etc., and has a superb network of HAM enthusiasts. Our training Captain at the Fire Station said each person trained is one less person to rescue when emergency responders are spread too thin. I participated in continuing ed and classes and drills and presentations to the general public until 2 years ago when I told my CERT group that I was quitting because my health would make me a liability instead of a resource in a disaster situation. In my extended family of 6 adults, all of us have CERT experience. In my opinion, CERT is the single greatest way to prep! San Diego County CERT

Reply to: Bye bye landlines? Now how do we connect when there’s no power? Posted October 18, 2022

Hikermor – Glad you were able to retain cell service! Jonnie Pekelny – All you can do is plan BEFORE stuff happens on where you will meet up and who the out-of-state contact will be for people to check in and report they are safe. It is really important to communicate this specific information to your friends and family, even if they are ignoring you. Hopefully in an emergency, they may remember something. One can only hope. Landlines are dinosaurs. During the 2011 Southwest Blackout (September 8, 2011, 3:38 pm) which affected parts of southern California and parts of Mexico and Arizona, people panicked and everyone tried to use cell phones and landlines at the same time. Ooops… There was zero communication between civilians, and even first responders. It was ugly.

Reply to: My experience of using a WaterBob during a personal disaster Posted October 18, 2022

Amy S. – Hi. You’d be amazed at how quickly a group of 5 people can go through 100 gallons of potable water! And yes, we also went through a lot of clean-ish water for flushing, watering animals etc. from water stored for years in rain-barrels, 5 gallon storage jugs, etc. Because I am fortunate to live in a 1st world country where everyone takes access to clean water for granted, we could probably have used any of our water sources and found it potable. My family lives in rural southern California and if anything ever impacts our municipal water supply, people are going to need water as much as they need air to breathe and it is just not available. Am I a Mama Bear for my group of 6? Yes. Water is our biggest preparedness gap. We live where rainfall is 12″ a year. If we lived in Seattle, no worries, but we don’t. Wells in my area are down to 1500+ feet and are going dry. We’ve thoroughly discussed and investigated the financial costs of a well, huge storage tanks, smaller storage tanks, etc. and nothing is viable or in our budget range. I hedge my bets with WaterBobs and other water redundancies; but we’ll never come close to having enough if the municipal water sources are impacted. Being “sane preppers”, we do the best we can with what we can afford.

Mountain House freeze dried food – Sep 2023 30% off pouches, Limited Time sale 50% off #10 cans

Inflation everywhere. Any tips?

Update: Costco has Mountain House 15 pouch set for $80 ($5.33/pouch) 4/28-5/25/23

Is it possible to fill 25 gallon propane from 250 gallon AmeriGas tank?

Long term storage ideas for chocolate/cocoa/Tang or Vitamin C?

Low cost long term storage foods from Latter Day Saints/Mormon food storage centers

Mountain House freeze dried food – Sep 2023 30% off pouches, Limited Time sale 50% off #10 cans

Inflation everywhere. Any tips?

Update: Costco has Mountain House 15 pouch set for $80 ($5.33/pouch) 4/28-5/25/23

Is it possible to fill 25 gallon propane from 250 gallon AmeriGas tank?

Long term storage ideas for chocolate/cocoa/Tang or Vitamin C?

Low cost long term storage foods from Latter Day Saints/Mormon food storage centers

My experience of using a WaterBob during a personal disaster

Canned water is $$$$$-What about seltzer, soda, flavored water for long term storage?

One woman’s 18-point survival checklist for fleeing Ukraine as Russia invades : NPR

Is Hydroblu still a viable company with good products? Amazon reviews are terrible