VINEGAR

Heinz White Vinegar Distilled, 128 oz

$6.25 - Soap.com

     According to Wikipedia : Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid (CH₃CO₂H) and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria.

     Vinegar is a spice, a preservative, a medicine, and a cleaning product.  Do you have enough for all the uses you could have for vinegar?  

     I am listing here a very few of the uses for vinegar here. 

     I have used vinegar on a cotton pad to dab at the oily spots in the T zone on my face and to dry up an outbreak of pimples. 

     A cup of vinegar in a quart of water cleans windows, counters, and mirrors.  A cup of vinegar in a gallon of water cleans tile floors and no wax floors.

     Put a half teaspoon of baking soda down a bathroom sink drain and slowly pour full strength vinegar down after it.  The bubbling will loosen gunk and the vinegar will help to break down the fats and oils in the hand creams and makeup in that bathroom sink, also the smell is much improved, instantly.

www.amazon.com

     Clean the coffee maker with ½ cup vinegar and a pot of water running it through its cycle and rinse with a second cycle of just water.

     Vinegar is the pickling solution for cucumbers, cabbages, pickle relishes, corn relishes and meats.  Corned beef is pickled in spice and vinegar. 

     Vinegar is salad dressing (vinegar and oil), and the base to many more complicated dressings.

     Add a teaspoon of vinegar to whole milk to sour the milk for certain recipes.  My Gram’s Prince of Wales cake is made with sour milk.  When you don’t have sour milk, we sour it with the vinegar.

     Sunburn can be treated by sprinkling baking soda on the burn and laying a towel soaked in vinegar on top of it.  The bubbles will get the salt from a seaside sunburn out of the skin and the vinegar takes away the sting.

    There was no shampoo before 1900.  Vinegar rinses did the trick to rinse out the soap you may use if your hair was greasy.   In the olden days (when I was young) we would rinse our hair with vinegar to get all the soap residue out of it.  I worked an entire Little League baseball season running the burger grill.  Trust me, vinegar rinses got out the grease.

     If you are planning and prepping, do the math.  If you use one bottle of vinegar a month for all of your cleaning, science experiments and cooking, then get two for each month you think you will be without access to a grocery store.  There are hundreds of uses and a bottle only goes as far as your imagination and need!

Aisle by Aisle, Prep at the Grocery Store

      In the first aid department of the Dollar Tree you will find the first aid things you use daily and occasionally.  Often, beginner preppers stop in the first aid aisle thinking that this is all this store has to offer.  You may overlook things you have never used or places you have never looked.  An ankle brace, wrist brace, knee brace may not be something you have ever used, but if there is a need for one, you will kick yourself for not picking it up when you had the chance.  I also recommend the following; fingernail brushes in hair and makeup, glow sticks (found in the toy aisle), zippered sandwich bags, L E D flashlights, lighters, kitchen matches and the plastic covered dishes to store them in, plastic drop cloths, and socks. 

    I recommend nail brushes to keep clean and to prevent cross contamination of food or wounds.  The glow sticks are good to have when a battery powered flashlight is not available or as a trail marker at night.  Everything should be stored inside its storage container in a zippered bag in case of any leakage inside the container.  Plastic drop cloths make a quick sterile table covering then can be used for surgery or a delivery and wrap up the whole mess for disposal. There are many more items and you can shop online at www.dollartree.com.

   I went to Dollar General Store and bought some Clover Valley brand canned foods.  The quality is as good as any name brand.  While there I saw a clearance section.  I already had most of the prep items they had available, but I paid more for them at another store.  Clearance is the time to purchase the second, or back up, item. 

   How do you stalk the bargains?  There are three shops in one strip mall where I shop.  If I am going to Big Lots for a specific item, I walk down to the other two stores to see what is in stock seasonally and I make a note of it for a few weeks later at the end of the season. 

   In the summer seasonal aisle of any store, I can see a lot of new shiny colorful plastic chip bowls and dip bowls and cracker trays.  I don’t need any more of that.  The new line of sport drink bottles are out.  I make a note of those to purchase later. The end of the season list got longer when I found some canvas grill covers and some solar lights I can use in the stock up for later inventory.  I don’t know what you need for your region or your potential disaster, but if remaining calm and prepping ahead are the best ways to survive a disaster, then recon and planning will get you the best prices for the things you need.

     Every store you shop is a potential outlet for prep items.  A fabric store might draw you in for that missing button but walking the store and examining their inventory may provide you with more prep items.  Jo-Ann ETC. sells solar powered garden lights.  They have craft kits, (also available at Wal-Mart, Michael’s and Target) to build a catapult on wheels.  It is a wooden miniature but it is also a basic lesson in physics.  It will send a marble about 20 feet.  Pop! goes the marble.  I can now boast the knowledge of how to build a catapult.  Also at the craft store, the stepping stone kits teach measuring and setting cement. They also have kits for weaving, macramé and more that teach skills you can translate into survival skills.

     The grocery store sells food.  The organic section of produce provides fruits and vegetables that provide seeds less likely to have been treated with hormones.  The hardware store sells solar lighting and chargers for batteries. They also sell nuts bolts and screws to repair your broken items, so when shopping for your daily needs, keep your future needs in mind.

      I want you to look at each item on each shelf at your shopping place and automatically ask yourself if this is a dual purpose item you need now or possibly later.  There are things you need in your supply closet you may not have thought about.  I was shopping with an acquaintance not long ago who asked what do you need that for?  The answer is, “later”. I need ace bandages at a close out price because the store is changing brands.  It doesn't change the quality of the bandages.  I got six.

Good to Know, Bits and Bobs!

Today I am sharing some thoughts.  These are not subjects for a whole blog just bits and pieces and odd ideas that have crossed my mind.  

Cooking Utensils

www.chinatraderonline.com

      Bar B Que equipment is long handled for a reason.  Cooking utensils for the fireplace or campfire are long handled with non heat conductive material, like wood, often having a loop or hole from which you can hang the tool out of the fire and off the ground.  Bar B Que tools are seasonal and go on drastic reduction at the end of season so you can stock up.     

      Utensils include measuring spoons and cups as well as mixing bowls.  Everything used near a fire should be fireproof.  Setting a glass bowl on the rock that rings a fire allows the bowl to heat through the rock, but only on one side which can cause an explosion.

     Cooking ingredients that naturally store long term

      Salt, Sugar, Whole brown sugar, Cinnamon, Whole Nutmeg, Seasoned Salts, Pepper corns, Pepper,  100% Honey, Cocoa powder, Bakers Chocolate, Dried Fruits, Sun dried tomatoes, Raisins, Currants,  Pastas, Rice, Beans, Lentils, dehydrated onions, dehydrated peppers and flakes, vinegar, dehydrated soups that do not contain flour as a thickener, and tea.

Not all Bargains are...

     Grocers that claim to sell ‘bulk’ items do not always sport budget prices.  You have to do the math.  I found a #10 can of baked beans for a family picnic priced 50% higher than the equal amount in smaller cans of the same name brand. 

     Not all Wal-Mart stores are priced the same.  I have looked over a ‘super’ Wal-Mart, a small Wal-Mart in a higher scale economic area with a grocery area roughly the size of a 7-11, and a Wal-Mart neighborhood market.  These three stores form a triangle whose sides are 5 to six miles long in my area.  The highest priced grocery items are in the lowest income neighborhood, with a Winn Dixie 1.5 miles down the road!  I have compared a shampoo, aspirin, and hamburger, among ten other items and found different prices in each  

Big Lots            

     Across the country Big Lots has received a shipment of Reynolds (the aluminum foil people) vacuum storage devices.  They are hand held battery operated vacuum sealers that take the air out of reusable zip top bags with a vacuum nipple for $3.  The three dollar pack comes with three bags to get you started.  The Food Saver Company sells these bags nationwide at Wal-Mart.  Their sealing vacuums are about $17. 

Solar cooker

     Available across the country at any department store or grocer are the Rubbermaid containers that have a steam vent in the lid.  These are great for use in solar ovens. 

Hygiene and dual purpose

     Dental floss for sewing--        I prefer the waxed dental floss for sewing on the stray button or a ripped garment, it threads easier and is more water resistant.  Stored in the container purchased in, it virtually lasts forever.  

     Be sure to pack a sharp knife in your bug out bag.  I know for a fact, the dental floss cutter will rust when exposed to water.       

Books

     www.whoknewbooks .com currently offers five books for around $30 and shipping.  These are books with household hints and tips most of which I was raised on but can fill in some of the gaps in your knowledge base.  They could be useful reference books for someone whom I might call city born and mall raised!  It’s easy to go buy a cleaning chemical now but, when TSHTF you may want to know how to clean with vinegar and baking soda.  It’s just a thought.

  

     Major Surplus offers James Wesley Rawles’   “How to survive The End of the World as We Know It”, for $21.95.  Good to know, Good to have!

Canning

www.zombieapocalypsesurvivalits.com

     When the stuff hits the fan and there are no more lids to be had for your canning and preserving, paraffin wax is a reusable seal.  Stock plenty.   Melt the wax in a double boiler method.  Prep your fruits, jams and jellies, set in preserving bath and when at proper temperature pour the wax into the jars.  Allow to cool just enough to make it safe to remove jars.  Before wax is set, apply lid but do not screw to its tightest until wax is opaque.  When ready to use, remove lid, remove wax as a whole piece. Rinse and store until next use!  
     This method is what we used all my childhood life.  It is now considered obsolete and not as safe as vacuum sealing.  Use your best judgement.

A day in the Life ....

     We all have a daily schedule, a daily routine or daily obligations.  We have chores, jobs, families.  We have to go, return, get, call, do, blog or whatever you do in a day.   

     I have to work.  I am self-supporting.  I have elderly family without a car who needs doctor's visits, grocery runs and banking business to do.  Recently I have had an ill adult son with little babies so I have volunteered all my 'spare' time to helping however I can.  Then there is family who are well and need attention, too.  It's a life.  It's what I do.

     Today, I had to take my grandson, who spent the weekend at my home, to school.  I am expected to show up at nine to clean a large multi-family home. After work, I came home and packed the car with all the extra clothes left behind by the grandson and took them to his mother's home, picking him up from after school tutoring along the way.  Then there was a quick stop at the grocery store and gas station, then home where my time is mine.  In addition to the almost normal racing around, there were phone calls to mom to firm up appointments for next month, a call to set a car repair appointment, and the texts around to son's and a quick stop on Facebook to see what the in-laws and outlaws are up to today.  The second amendment is still top topical posts.  

     So, what about prepping?  

     I prep as I go.    

     I look for a new or different path to and from work rarely traveling the exact same path twice in a row.  For security exercise, so that no one sees an exact routine that they can use to 'see me coming', I change my route regularly.  I also use this time to learn the alternate routes and the types of people who either live there or use those roads regularly.    I do not make my calls while driving.  In addition to driving defensively to save my own life, I am scanning for a way out should the need arise.

use.salvationarmy.org

     At work, I talk to the homeowner's about their upcoming events so I can plan extra time if needed.  I also know them well enough to know there will be what they call waste.  They will be closet cleaning and doing what they call purging.  They mean tossing stuff in bags.  I'm telling you it means taking the bags home and sorting their cast offs.  I sort the clothes for children sending some of them to neighbors and some to charities that resell them for their support.  I give the foods to a food bank, because they actually toss things they have purchased in the last six months without care for sell by dates, they just want shelf space.  I do not allow their waste to be wasted.  

    After work, I prepare for the next day.  I sort the supplies I need to work and make sure my medicine bag and B.O.B. are in the right place and not visible to passersby.  I check the dates on the contents every month or so.  

     I maintain the car as best as I can, as it is my means of transport.

     I look around the yard as I finally get to go inside and make a note.  I do look for strangers, but, I am also looking for Shasta daisies, which in my opinion are the scourge of the southern gardener.  They may be a pleasant little flower in some opinion, to me, they are a weed. I pluck them daily while they are small before they take over. 

     I make a meal for the evening, eat and surf the web for twenty minutes at a time.  If I need more than that to surf the fazbuk I do something else for a few minutes. I have ongoing research topics and blog notes to make for future posts.  

     I watch some television, but not so that it creates a firm pattern that hurts to break or stops me from reading or studying things I set to task myself.  I don't want you to get the idea that I have it all made and life is easy.  It's a life.  This is what I do to keep my mind sharp.  I may never speak French fluently or dream in Spanish, but I make an effort to learn something today that I didn't know yesterday.  

     I make notes of tasks upcoming, seeds to plant, seedlings to transplant, people to see, food to preserve, etc.  I am prepping everyday.  Maybe I am not buying rice or canning meat everyday, but I am always prepping.

     What is a day in the Life like for you?

   

     

   


     

Seasonal Prepping

Spring---potential disasters, hardships----Snow melts becomes slush, floods after slush, inflation.  
   
Prep----Flood and snow/slush driving lessons--Take a mental refresher course online:

wsdotblog.blogspot.com/.../tips-for-slush-drivinggood-stuff.ht...– Driving in slush is a whole new ball game. Slush is not only slippery, it's grabby. It suddenly slows the car down, makes a big splash, and can...

AAA reminds holiday travelers to brush up on winter weather driving ...

post.mnsun.com/.../aaa-reminds-holiday-travelers-to-brush-up...

Dec 19, 2012 – AAA reminds holiday travelers to brush up on winter weather driving ...vehicle crashes occur on snowy, slushy or icy pavement, resulting in

for inflation----fight the urge to spend the tax refund on anything but storage food and supplies, get out of dodge goods and vehicle maintenance.  Save money by cutting daily indulgences such as $5 cups of coffee.  Learn to coupon.  Shop discount stores.  Brush up on inflation hedging tips and implement them.  Plant a garden.  Look into local food co-ops.

ModernSurvivalOnline.com » Ways to beat inflation NOW!

modernsurvivalonline.com/ways-to-beat-inflation-now

Beat Inflation --Budgeting Tips to Help You During Inflation

moneyfor20s.about.com › ... › Budgeting

Stockpiling To Beat Inflation - Coupon Flea Market

www.couponfleamarket.com/coupon-articles.aspx?artID=4

Stockpiling To Beat Inflation. While it is a tough topic and even a controversial topic to discuss, we all have to admit that we have seen grocery prices going up

Summer----inflation, heat, hurricane season, tornado season, 

Prep --------store food and supplies, continue cutting costs where you can, practice the tips you read in the spring.  beat the heat, learn how to keep healthy and comfortable, research emergency routes, practice emergency drills.  tend that garden you planted, reap what ye sew.

Hurricane Preparedness - Be Ready

www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare

Jun 5, 2012 – Disaster prevention advice on developing a family plan, creating a disaster supply kit, having a place to go, and securing a home.

library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01352/tornadosigns.htm

It is important to learn the natural signs of a tornado in case weather ... are favorable and that your should be prepared in case there is a tornado warning

What Are the Warning Signs of a Tornado? | eHow.com

www.ehow.com › Education

What Are the Warning Signs of a Tornado?. Although there are signs that typically indicate a tornado may strike your area, the University of Wisconsin Stevens

Protect yourself from Summer Heat

expertscolumn.com/content/protect-yourself-summer-heat

May 1, 2011 – Protect yourself from intense heat and stay cool during summer. Drink Plenty of Water. Hydrate yourself and do not wait to be thirsty before you

Prevent Summer's Heat-Related Illnesses

source.southuniversity.edu/prevent-summers-heatrelated-illnes

Summer is the time for fun in the sun, but it's also when we have to be careful in ...Although anyone can suffer from a heat-related illness, young children, older 

Autumn----back to school costs, (still hurricane season till November),harvest time, inflation, sudden weather changes.

Prep----shop early for discounted school clothes.  If you have no school uniform, keep clothes basic (black, blue brown) add color and 'cool' with accessories.  Trendy clothes are a total waste of money.  Twenty minutes a day, everyday should get your garden harvested and a weekend afternoon coould put up all things needing canning from the home garden. Buying bulk fruits and veg and preserving them now cuts costs.

www.dollardays.com/wholesale-office-and-school-supplies.html

Wholesale office supplies and back to school supplies - wholesale educational teacher supplies, bulk teaching supplies, bulk notebooks, cheap envelopes

10 places to find back-to-school clothes on the cheap | MNN ...

www.mnn.com › Family › Family Activities

17 hours ago – Backpacks, pens and pencils, notebooks — it all adds up. But in terms of both cost and environmental impact, the biggest line item is clothing

How to Can, Freeze, Dry and Preserve Any Fruit or Vegetable at Home

pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm

Home Canning is easy with these fully illustrated canning recipes, with tips, tricks and loads of photos. There are over 200 recipes/directions here to safely can 

www.motherearthnews.com/.../best-ways-preserve-vegetables-...

Whether canning, freezing, drying or putting in cold storage, here are the preferred methods for storing common garden produce

Winter -----cold weather, inflation, holidays are coming, 

Prep-----set a budget for holiday spending and stick to it, prepare or the cold by winterizing wardrobes, home, garden.   

How to winterize your home: A procrastinator's manual with 8 tips ...

www.bostonglobe.com/.../10/.../winterizing...home.../story.ht...

Oct 21, 2012 – These home-winterizing measures--some finished in only a few minutes--will lower your heating bills and help prevent property damage

TLC Home "5 Indoor Home Winterizing Tips"

tlc.howstuffworks.com › ... › Green Living › Cutting-edge Green

These 5 indoor home winterizing tips will help you shield your home from the cold, harsh weather. Learn 5 indoor home winterizing tips at TLC Home

www.valleymagazinepsu.com/winterizing-your-wardrobe/Share

4 days ago – As we approach the heart of winter, the temperatures drop lower – and the heat gets cranked up higher. What do you do when you're shivering 

Recipes for Homemade Holiday Gifts | RealSimple.com

www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/...holiday.../index.html

by Kristin Appenbrink - in 809 Google+ circles - More by Kristin Appenbrink

Perfect for a cocktail connoisseur, this vodka can be flavored with just about anything you like and will last for up to 2 months. Get the recipe. Get tasty, low-cos

www.hgtv.com/handmade-holidays

The holiday experts at HGTV.com share step-by-step instructions for easy-to-create Christmas decorations, handmade gifts, cards, homemade treats and gift

Over Share Much? It's a good story!

     I stopped at a yard sale on my way to work, this morning. I stopped because I saw a number of power tools in the yard and I thought, why not?  You never know.  Some people sell off useful items for ridiculously low prices when they have purchased a new one of something they already own. These were not those people.  They wanted to sell their used power tools with no batteries for the price of a new set with new batteries included.  Silly people!  

     Still, I was already out of the car so I looked around.  I bought two nearly new backpacks of very high quality for a dollar each.  These bags were not the disposable won't last through a school year book bag type.  They are sturdy, double stitched, double zipped at the top back packs meant for hikers.  They were a dollar!  

     The guy came out and tried to sell the bags as I was giving his wife the money.  People do that.  They want you to 'feel' the bargain I guess, I don't really know.  But, he told me about the extra pockets and the double zip at the top made them water proof.  He said they were hardly ever used.  She said, we hike a lot.  We have a lot of back packs.  I figured they needed me to appreciate the bags, so I said yes, they will make good bags for my grand children.  
    
     What I meant was, G.O.O.D. bags.  They are just the right size to fit a small woman or a tween-ager without needing a frame.  The earth tone green and gray made them the right color.  I don't have any use for screaming neon that puts a target on my back.  

     By the time I had admired the bags, I had gathered from the couple that they make a good second income taking their vacations together and taking newbie hikers into the Appalachian Trails for day hikes and Three day treks.  They made a second income out of their vacations!  Very cool!  They would meet a group of day hikers and take them for a 36 hour trek and teach basic wilderness skills.  These people just got the basics of how to stay on a marked trail and how to wait to be rescued if lost.  The couple would come back and trade them for hikers with more experience, often return clients for a three day hike that was actually four full days start to finish.  They got lessons in scavenging for forest food, and more detailed woodland skills.  With their two week vacations together they could take out five or six groups depending on their booking via internet connections and advertising.  

     So, why then would they be selling off their back packs I asked.  The economy and fewer hikers and they gather dust were things I heard.  I suggested they reach beyond the day hiker outlets and start touting their survival skills.  Maybe they could drum up more clients if they approached the prepper crowd.  Well, then The Husband lit up like a Christmas Tree.  In the next three to five minutes, he told me about all these TV shows like Disaster Preppers that he loved to watch.  I tried stepping backwards toward my car, but they kept talking.  There was talk of let people run out of food in the grocery store and see how they turn into animals 'cuz I gotta gun, and how they were saving their second income ( and the amount in the bank) to move to the country just in case.  

WHOA!!!! Over share much?  Seriously.  I had to stop them.  

     I said let me tell you something you really NEED to know.  One of the 'experts' who actually rates the Disaster Preppers is James Wesley Rawles.  He is a published author and I told them the names of two of his books (How to survive TEOTWAWKI, and Patriots).  I told them the name of his blog,  Survivalblog.com.  And then I told them they have two compound bows, a derringer (.22cal), MREs for two for two weeks, a cat and a 12 gauge shotgun and two hundred rounds of shells, they are gone from their home for two weeks every May, and had absolutely no sense of who they were talking to.  They didn't know me from Adam OR Eve!  

     They didn't 'catch on' to the phrase G.O.O.D (get out of dodge), they didn't know I prep.  They didn't know my criminal history (none, but they didn't know).  They didn't know or realize they had told a stranger way too much.  They were a little shaken.  They had not realized how much information they shared.  They seemed enthusiastic about prepping but had painted a target on themselves.  I hope they read survival blog and learn to "unshare" or not share at all.  I hope they survive whatever hard times come their way.  


     How much do your neighbors know about you?  How many people will knock on your door when hard times arrive, knowing you have prepared?  What do you share with strangers?

Seed Starter Containers

as seen in this blog under Seed Start

     I like to re use and repurpose as much as I can, as often as I can.  For starting seeds I have already posted pictures of my Christmas chocolate covered cherry trays.  Any Candy tray is a good seed pot for starting small seeds like tomatoes or pepper plants.  The Russell Stover Assorted candy I received as a gift lasted about two days and now the tray is repurposed for tomatoes.  

How‑to‑turn‑an‑empty‑toilet‑

paper‑roll‑into‑a‑seed‑starter.jpg

burlapanddenim.com

     Toilet paper rolls are nice for larger seeds like the beans and squash.  Hold the toilet paper roll in one hand about two inches from the end and press inward with the thumb.  This fold reaches about halfway.  Fold in the other side and turn upright.  Fill with seed starting soil to 1/2" from the top.  Plant seed, moisten it but don't soak the tube and cover with a layer of soil to the top.  Stand the rolls in a shoe box or any box about the same height as the rolls.  mist occasionally with water and watch them grow.  The rolls provide more soil for the roots to establish themselves than a candy tray could.  When ready to transplant, fill the box with water to soak the toilet paper roll and soften it, dig a hole, pull the bottom flaps open and insert the plant in the roll.   This photo will lead you to a fun cost cutting site that is one of my new favorites.

     You may also want to cut toilet paper rolls in half or thirds and set them on a cookie sheet that has seen its last day in the kitchen. Another note:  by the use of the term toilet paper roll, I also mean paper towel tube and gift wrap tube.

sturdy‑recycled‑newspaper‑pots

ehow.com

 



     I also went to www.ehow.com and cruised their garden section for some new ideas and found the instructions for this newsprint pot.  I plan on making come tomorrow.  I don't always have the toilet paper rolls in the number I need and making my own starter pots is appealing.  I also understand that these can go directly into the ground when transplanting, but like the toilet paper rolls, I will open the bottom when planting.

     What I know does not work well are the disposable drinking cups often used in kindergarten or grade school science experiments.  Some brands have a wax coating that will not degrade at the speed needed and can cause the plant's roots to form tight and then be unable to break free of the cup thus, strangling the plants.  Paper cups need to have there bottoms cut out or be torn off at transplant time if the soil isn't wet enough to slip the plant out.  You also run the risk of roots attaching to the paper and ripping as you slip them out.  At this point you are traumatizing the young plant and frustrating yourself.  
     And don't even get the die hard hippie in me started about the number of bean plants brought home in a Styrofoam cup!  The sooner the world ends and takes out the makers of Styrofoam the better!  I said, don't get me started.  Plants pretty, Styrofoam bad.  bad for plants and other living things!

mynewmindseye.blogspot.com

     If your ground is ready but Mother Nature is not and you anticipate a cold snap after transplanting seedlings, you can use those leftover Super Bowl party cups as wind breaks or mini green houses.  As a wind break, cut the bottom out of the cup and gently screw it into the ground around your plant.  Just don't let it interfere with the growth of the root system.
     This method of seed starting is only one step more difficult than any other.  Cut the plastic bottle about one quarter of the way up from the bottom.  Plant the bottom and place the top of bottle down over the planter till all chance of frost or damaging cold passes.

     

     

     
     

A Prepper's Papers

     A Prepper has papers just like anyone else.  The main difference between a prepper's papers and someone else's is a prepper has given it some thought and taken steps to reduce waste and bulk and to protect and preserve their papers. 

fireproof‑hard‑

drive‑safe.jpg

hddfiresafe.com

     The papers everyone needs start with the papers of proof of ownership, i.e. mortgage papers, auto titles, vehicle registrations,and  land lease contracts.  Also in this list should be the obvious things like licenses, even the driver's license.  Well, sure, you say but I have my license on me at all times.  I know it is illegal to have a second driver's license but it is not illegal to save the receipt with the license number on it that becomes proof of purchase.  Please include tax receipts that show your property taxes paid in full and receipts for vehicle tags. 

      The will, the living will and the document designating the surrogate who speaks for you when you cannot is on the list of prepper papers you should be able to get your hands on with one swivel of a desk chair.

Amico Waterproof Net 

Pattern File Document 

Bag w/ Zipper

by Amico

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Price: $4.53

   

Price:

$4.53

Price:

$4.53 

     You may want to keep your important papers in a small fire proof safe for easy transportation   If you are bugging in or out a fireproof safe will keep you in good stead.  If you opt out of the safe, waterproof your documents by placing them in sealed document protectors.  The document protectors featured to the left are available at Amazon.com.


     You can click on this link and go to the web site.  Here they offer safes for sale, but they show you what is in the construction of a safe, there are cut aways of the walls, photos from accidental fires and the contents of the safes after they were burned.  It is worth the look. 
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                   www.sturdysafe.com

     Before purchasing any equipment that claims fire proof or fire resistent, go to Underwriter's Laboratory's site and look for their safety rating from the famous independent testers.