I once worked with a woman who only
gave her dogs bottled water to drink. When asked if she could drive a vehicle
with a manual transmission, she replied, “Oh no! I’d rather walk!” Seriously?
There was no pioneer spirit there! In post SHTF, people like this may find it
difficult surviving, much less finding bottled water for their dog. Preparing
for emergencies or post SHTF can be overwhelming and expensive, but there are
many ways to prep on a budget.
Two years ago when a derecho (Editors
note: a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm) came through our
area, the power went out for several days. With temperatures hovering in the
mid to upper 90’s, we pulled out the generator and headed for the basement,
where it was cool. We were lucky to be able to get gasoline, as only one gas
station among many in our community had electricity, and neighboring towns had
none. Grocery stores were closed. Even though people said that the power company
would have it up and running in no time, a slight edge of fear and panic
hovered in the back of their minds. You could see it in their eyes. So many
people lost the contents of their freezers and refrigerators. We had no
functioning microwaves to cook the thawed foods! No internet! No TV! Cell phone
use was limited to conserve battery life! Think about it. An all-electric,
temperature-controlled environment can kill you! I vowed to my husband, then
and there, that I would learn to manage our home without electricity. The power
was only out for a couple of days, but I imagined it going out for an extended
period of time.
So after the electricity was
restored, I began my research. I started canning vegetables, chicken and beef
broth, venison, chicken, apples, and jams and jellies to keep from relying on
the freezer. There are great recipes on the Internet for canning. If the power
should go out, what little there is in the freezer can be cooked on a gas cook
stove in the kitchen, a gas grill outside, a fire
pit, or a rocket stove made with cinder blocks. The Internet has great recipes
and project instructions.
We have a well and septic, so when
the power goes out the water stops. We can run the generator long enough to
fill gallon jugs for drinking and fill the tub full of water. From there, we
dip out the water for the toilet and hygiene. We have gathered five 55-gallon
barrels and hope to collect rainwater in them soon. It will be good for
laundry, hygiene, and watering our small garden, but the rainwater will need to
be strained/filtered and boiled for drinking. Rainwater from a shingle roof
should never be consumed. A large 20-gallon tub for wash water and an
inexpensive toilet plunger work well for doing laundry. Use only the amount of
water needed for your load of laundry. Cut three or four holes in the plunger the
size of a quarter and use it as an agitator. Have a second tub for rinse water.
Purchase a wringer mop bucket to press
out the water from your clothes, and hang them on the clothesline to dry in the
summer and a clothes rack indoors in the winter. (Editor’s Note: If you
purchase one of these mop buckets, the commercial mops work very well in home
use, but you will generally find it easier if you cut off about a foot from the
mop handle. It’s amazing how many low hanging light fixtures are in the way of
of a full length mop handle.) It’s all very affordable! Use the wash and rinse
water to clean your floors and/or your porch, or use it to flush the toilet.
Make sure your laundry detergent has no phosphates, which could potentially
pollute your ground and ground water. A solar shower pack is great
for taking showers. The water gets so hot sometimes you may need to let it cool
before you can use it. That’s all well and good for summer use, but what about
winter? By accident, I discovered a neat little trick for that.
A couple years ago, I let my
Weimaraner dog out to do her business. She came back smelling awful! She had rolled
in a fresh cow pie from the neighbor’s farm, and it was too cold to shoot her
with a water hose outside for a bath. I took a two-gallon watering can and
filled it with warm water then gave her a shower. This worked great! I then
expanded that idea to weekend trail rides, where 250+ horses and riders came
together for trail rides, but there was little or no running water for showers.
This was the ideal shower. The downside is that it takes two people to use this
method, as two gallons of water are difficult to hold over your head to give
yourself a shower. If we are frugal in our efforts, at least two adults can
shower with one watering can. I use this method on my grandkids every time they
stay at my house. It conserves water, and they think it is great fun to have a
“camp shower”. What better way to prepare for post SHTF then to implement small
things into everyday life.
The research continued. There are
some amazing ideas out there! My research showed that you can bring in your solar landscape lights to
light up your room at night. When that derecho hit, I tested that idea and
brought one inside, which my husband thought was ridiculous. However, when I
placed the light in our bedroom, he woke up in the middle of the night and
declared that the light was too bright to sleep by, so we moved it into the
dining room. To this day we keep one in the dining room and one in the bathroom
every night for as long as the sun charges them up. Place them in a CLEAR
flower vase, which is designed to support top-heavy things. Since solar
landscape lights shine their light downward, a green vase is too dark and will
prevent good lighting. Place the clear flower vase on a square mirror tile to reflect
the light. These mirrors are found in the housewares section in many box stores
and are used for table decorations. In the winter months when there is little
sunlight, the oil lamps get their exercise, but the idea is to conserve the
fossil fuels needed to operate them. I tell everyone about this small solar
lighting, even people I meet at the store. They realize it is a good idea. The
more people who know the better!
Constantly ask yourself, “If the
power goes out, how will I manage my household?” I purchased several books on
self-sustaining topics and off-grid survival to have on hand. I learned to make
soap. If you’re using quality oils, it isn’t as inexpensive as many people
think, but I started doing this to eliminate the many chemicals in store-bought
products. However, if the power is out, many needed items are not available at
the store. To my surprise, I realized that I now have a new skill to share with
others in times of need. I have found, and tested, recipes for
deodorant, toothpaste, moisturizing face cream, lip balm, body lotion bars,
hairspray, laundry detergent, all-purpose cleaner, and drain cleaner. Some
recipes failed…miserably. So, I would find another one and then tweak it. Other
recipes worked and are very effective in their tasks, and I still use them
today. Many of these are cheap, cheap, cheap!
One of my favorite recipes is an
all-purpose cleaner. I have tweaked this recipe to eliminate unnecessary fluff
to get down to the real cleaning power of the spray. Start with 1½ cups of
water that has been heated, which helps the ingredients blend better. Add 2
tablespoons white vinegar, 1 teaspoon Borax, and ¼ cup liquid Castile soap with
tea tree oil. (Lavender works great, too.) Stir gently and pour into a recycled
spray bottle with a funnel. Cap once it has cooled. This is a very effective
cleaner on most surfaces, but because of the Borax it does not do windows. Dr. Bronner’s liquid Castile soap
costs around $12 for a 32 ounce bottle, which equates to 38 cents per ounce.
Using four ounces at a time, plus the remaining ingredients, this cleaner cost
around $1.60 per batch. To clean windows, you need 2 cups of water with ¼ cup
vinegar. Add ½ teaspoon liquid Castile soap for really dirty windows. Pour this
mixture into a spray bottle and clean away!
Stock up on the affordable
ingredients to make these products, and they will be available to you when
stores have lost their power and/or their shelves are empty. In addition to the
savings, you get a healthier product. The chemicals in the store-bought
versions of many products can make people sick, if not now, then maybe later as
they are stored up in your system.
What happens if I get the flu or
sprain my ankle? In a post-SHTF world, is there a doctor available? It’s time
for more research! I am no EMT or student of medicine, but I found excellent
information on homeopathic remedies. So, I planted an herbal healing garden. A
careful study of herbs should be done before drinking teas. Some herbs are very
difficult to find. But with the help of friends and local greenhouse nurseries,
I was able to locate a couple of herbs that tried their best to elude me. I
purchased books to show me how to recognize many local medicinal herbs that
simply look like weeds. Every year we try killing dandelions with chemicals for
a more appealing lawn. Who would have thought that dandelion roots and leaves
are so nutritious? A bit more research even turned up a recipe for dandelion
wine, which is a very good bartering item!
I am not one to shop on the
Internet. I don’t like putting my credit card number out there to purchase
these things. I did, however, purchase mylar bags on the Internet,
because I could not find them locally. Storing dried beans, rice, powdered
milk, sugar, and salt can be lifesavers in times of need, and properly stored
these will last many years. There is a lot of information on the Internet. You
will discover how long dried foods can be stored and where they should be
stored. For example; raw, natural honey has an unlimited shelf life. It just
doesn’t go bad. If it crystalizes, place the jar of honey into a pot of
warm/hot water and the honey will return to its original state. Honey is
nutritious and can also be used medicinally.
Both my husband and I work regular
jobs, and both are about an hour’s drive from home in different directions. We
both have bug out bags, so in case we are stranded their contents will at least
get us home. They are nothing fancy, but a little preparedness will go a long
way. I got a list of things for our bags in my research. Consider what you may
need if you had to walk 50 miles home. Do you really need that big $100
wilderness knife or will a more affordable one do?
Many people you read about obviously
have lots of money for underground bunkers and buckets upon buckets of survival
food, but what about those who don’t have that kind of money or have nowhere
else to “bug out” to? They shouldn’t be left out of the loop! There are so many
things you can do on a limited budget that will help you prepare. Eat out less
and at home more. Learn to cook meals that do not require a microwave. Buy an
extra bag of both dried beans and rice plus a couple extra cans of food each
week, and set them aside. Grow what food you can. Even a small garden produces
good food with care. Check out those hygiene and cleaning recipes on the
Internet and start making your own. Save money and be healthier to boot. However,
we cannot learn it all. We will need to rely on others who can do what
we cannot. It is a good idea to talk to your friends and neighbors on the
subject. We have a couple of neighbors who are onboard with neighborhood
security and prepping for emergencies. One neighbor keeps bees. I buy honey
from him, and he gives me the honeycomb. He also grows beautiful tomatoes that
I buy inexpensively and can in mason jars. Another neighbor keeps chickens, and
I get organic eggs from her. Consider bartering with the skills that you have.
I render beeswax to make candles and to add to some of the skin care recipes.
When I make soap, I give samples to the neighbors each time I get a new recipe.
Test the waters. Spend a weekend
with the power shut off to your house. I mean spend an entire weekend without
electricity, not just an overnight on Friday and then off to the Pancake House
on Saturday morning. For now, maybe run your generator to keep the refrigerator
and freezer running but nothing else. You will get a full picture of what it
will take in a post-SHTF world. What will you learn about your own
preparedness? What do you need? You will discover countless things that you
overlooked. Start making a list of your shortcomings and your strong points.
Get together with your neighbors. What skills do you have that they need and
vice versa?
Today so many people are focused on
what Brittney Spears is wearing and the latest cell phone technology. We need
to change that focus. Bring your pioneer spirit forward. Start with research on
the Internet. The greatest thing about the Internet is its educational
advantages. Get it while you can. When the power goes out, it is too late to
look up instructions and recipes on the Internet for a self-sustaining
lifestyle. Buy and/or borrow some books. Talk to friends and neighbors. It
doesn’t take a huge budget to implement simple changes. Make those simple
changes your new habits. The time to act and prepare is now.
From the Survival Blog
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