Preparedness Blog
Training, education, and organization for home defense, personal protection, and emergency preparedness.
Review – Ozark Trail Collapsible Coffee Drip
I got mine at Walmart. I have also seen it at Amazon. About a year ago we switched to pour over coffee. Over the year I’ve discovered that it doesn’t need to be as fancy as we started out with. We used to purchase the expensive matching filters. And while they are easier for beginners, the cheap regular filters work just as well once you’ve got the hang of it. Some brands are a tad shorter than others which can be irritating. Either way I prefer the unbleached 10cup filters. (Stainless cone filter available here) When we have access to plenty of electricity we get whole beans and put them through a burr grinder before each cup. When off grid, solar power is a premium so we take grounds with us. Either way we’ve been happy with pretty much any Kona blends and recommend Lock’n Load Java when you want more oomph. In civilization we have a Zojirushi (love them!). At camp we boil water in a simple camp kettle. Both are readily available on Amazon. Previously we’ve used this kettle’s percolator set-up to make our coffee. But then we have to clean it out and start over any time anyone wants tea or soup or anything else. So we decided to bring our pour over cone with us. Naturally it’s porcelain. You know, perfect for the wilderness! However it’s been totally worth it. Having that kettle always only be water makes more of a difference for a family of 6 than I even realized it would. Mom and Dad can make coffee, daughter can make soup, her brothers...
1 TIP That Can Help Protect You And Your Belongings From Criminals
1 TIP That Can Help Protect You And Your Belongings From Criminals Put your car keys beside your bed at night. Tell everyone, your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across. Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. It’s a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. Change the remote batteries regularly for the best range. Weak batteries can’t transmit the signal as far. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won’t stick around. After a few seconds, all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won’t want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. This would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where...
The Enemies of Food Storage
The Enemies of Food StorageA little preface… I read an article on this subject just recently and cannot remember the source but I believe the author had a bit more info than I remember or already had in my noggin. If you come across it, give it a read. In a SHTF situation, no one should be surprised when the grocery stores are cleaned out in a day or two and shortly after your amenities such as refrigerators and freezers will cease to be of use without proper planning. That’s why having extensive knowledge of food storage and preparation are vitally important. For the past few years, I have been expanding my knowledge of preparedness, but now, with the rapid escalation of food prices, I have taken a renewed interest in food and food storage. Food and food storage are two areas in which I am learning the most. What I can tell you is, I had a time in my life where I was out of work for a year. The first six months from a surgery and then 4 days after I was cleared to go back to work, I was in a car accident. Our storage food and supplies put food on our table at a time when I was physically unable to. What are the six enemies of food storage? Temperature Oxygen Moisture Light Pests Time Each of these factors are intertwined in such a way that there is a domino effect with each factor acting upon each other and ultimately ruining your stored items in a cumulative fashion. Here’s how it breaks down. Temperature-...
The Rules….
The Rules#1 Heat kills. #2 Water is our best friend and worst enemy. #3 Just because it was expensive doesn’t mean it won’t break. #4 Imitation is NOT the highest form of flattery. #5 Nothing is Idiot Proof! #6 If it ain’t broke, don’t try… Too often. Yeah, I screwed up. Shhh! Don’t tell anyone! You’ll ruin my DISreputation! I am here to help you avoid some mistakes. I can’t save you from all of them. I do hope I can save you time and money by learning from my mistakes. Rule # 1 Heat kills Your gear has a usable temperature range. Food spoils faster at higher temperatures. Band aids get slimy in a summer car trunk. Medications lose their potency when toasted. We all know the car gets hot in the sun. If you keep your bag in the trunk, you’ll have to rotate your perishables and adhesive items more frequently. If you keep it in the closet with the electric water heater… yeah, it’s not much better. Rule #2 Water is our best friend and worst enemy Mold sucks. Period. Keep your gear away from moisture. I lost an entire travel trailer to mold. A winter storm came through and destroyed thousands of trees in our area. We had a medium sized branch fall on our Get Out Of Dodge trailer. I didn’t notice the quarter sized hole in the roof until spring. It looked like a science experiment in there. Rule # 3 Just because it was expensive doesn’t mean it won’t break I’m a hard use kinda guy. I treat most things really well....
Review – Cast Iron Scrubber
Now that the website is working again, I can post the reviews from our friends In Arizona! They are camping for an extended period and we had the opportunity to send them some gear to test for us. Stainless Steel Chainmail Cast Iron Scrubber(7×7 size with a hanging ring) I love cooking with our cast iron set. And detest cleaning it after certain meals. After a couple weeks out here I realized it was affecting what we eat. We were eating way more junk food than normal simply because less clean-up was involved. When we have a big sink with hot running water and a washer in the next room I love using the regular heavy duty dish sponges with a scrubbie side. They get thoroughly rinsed after each use and rotated out daily. I have a ventilated basket just for kitchen cloths and scrubbies. The moment they get too gunked up (such as after cleaning a casserole dish or a pot from spaghetti sauce) into the wash-bin they go. Easy peasy. But at camp that gunky scrubbie is the bane of my existence. First, water is a premium so I can’t rinse them out as well. Second, food traces bring unwanted pests – and in certain places can even be dangerous. So all our rinse water must be accounted for carefully. Any wet scrubbies and cloths must be dried before being put in a laundry bag or they’ll get super smelly before laundry day. Which then makes it harder to get the entire load clean at a DIY laundromat. I just can’t afford to throw away a scrubbie...
