The EDC Song

• 02 Dec 2011
• ekim
• 2 responses

Keeping your sense of humor alive and well is an often overlooked part of preparedness. It is easy to forget mental health preparedness when we are focused on skills and equipment. One of our readers pointed out hilarious video on the Every Day Carry portion of preparedness. Check it out below.

(more…)

Tags: EDC, humor

How to survive a night without power

• 02 Dec 2011
• ekim
• 1 response

Just a quick post today. With the severe wind storms some people have found that they are not prepared for an emergency such as spending a single winter night without power. KSL posted an article this morning with some useful information on how your family can weather such an emergency.

Also, it might be a good time to refer to articles we’ve done about emergency kits, off-grid power, lighting, and heat.

Take a few minutes to read through it.

Tags: Links, preparedness, Snow, Winter

Review – Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker

• 22 Nov 2011
• ekim
• 2 responses

A few weeks ago, several of our authors met up on a Saturday to test out some stoves we were given to review. Jayce will be posting some information and pictures on those soon. The subject of this post was an unexpected surprise to me. At our meet up were the owners of Saratoga Jacks, a local company that imports and sells high quality thermal cookers.

After the break you’ll find a complete unboxing and review of the 7 liter Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker as well as an introduction to thermal cookers and why they matter to preppers.
(more…)

Tags: Food, gear, Group Buy, preps, Reviews

Emergency kits for young school age children

• 15 Nov 2011
• ekim
• 0 responses

Like most preppers my family has 72 hour kits for each member of our family. We try to keep the consumable items in them rotated, work to ensure that the spare clothes in them are seasonal and fit, etc. Since my children are too young to be in school right now, I haven’t spent too much time considering how I will handle a “get home”, “bug out” or 72 hour kit for each child once they are spending a significant amount of their day in a state run education center. I also need to consider the restrictive policies in place these days regarding what is “dangerous” per current school policies. This begs the question, as a prepper, how do you handle emergency kits for young school age children when they are away from the home?
(more…)

Tags: 72 Hour Kits, BOB, EDC, Evacuation Kits, G.O.O.D. Bags, gear, Links, preparedness

Honey in the News

• 09 Nov 2011
• ekim
• 2 responses

Local Raw Honey, image from freshstepsonline.com

There have been a few articles lately in the news regarding honey, mainly in response to a Food Safety News study that was published this week. To sum it up, the report found that most honey purchased in stores had been highly processed to the point that all the pollen had been removed. Aside from no longer supplying healthy benefits by containing pollen, removing all traces of pollen also makes it impossible to track the location of origin for honey if it turns out to be contaminated or otherwise harmful. (more…)

Tags: Community, Honey, Links, local, Raw

November 9th Emergency Broadcast System Test

• 09 Nov 2011
• ekim
• 1 response

If you are like me, you grew up occasionally hearing your TV issue a loud beep followed by “This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test.” Followed by another loud beep.

Today, Wednesday November 9th, 2011 at noon (MST) Utah time the National Emergency Alert System will be conducting a nationwide test for the first time. The Emergency Alert system system is meant to allow governments at every level to alert their citizens to events that may affect them. The hope is that the system will be usable by local cities, counties and states as well as by the federal government to issue alerts at the national level. These alerts may cover child abuduction/Amber alert notices, sever storm warnings, tornado warnings, terrorist attacks, or pretty much any conceivable notice that a government may want to advise the public of.

As interesting and useful as this system will hopefully prove to be, I think it provides another, far more important purpose. It serves as a great reminder to check on your emergency plans and gear. Take few minutes today to check your car kit and your 72 hour kits. Are they still complete? We often “borrow” gear from our readiness kits and then forget to put them back or replace consumables. Use today as a reminder that as preppers we need to stay on top of our preps. Preps are not a one-time purchase but a commitment.

For more information on the test today, visit www.fema.gov/eastest/

Tags: alerts, Community, Education, FEMA, Government, preparedness

Backyard Chickens

• 26 Sep 2011
• ekim
• 0 responses

Over the past year, I have noticed an increased interest in raising chickens arising all over the nation. Locally, KSL has published several articles recently about this phenomenon (see below) as has the Wall Street Journal (also below) and most prepper blogs. My family started keeping backyard chickens about four years ago and have had some good success. In this article we’ll summarize some of the benefits to raising chickens, what you’ll need to get started and some links to resources to help you out once you’ve got your flock.

(more…)

Tags: Food, Gardening, Links, preparedness, Preppers, preps, reference

Gold Prospecting Course in Utah Valley

• 20 Sep 2011
• ekim
• 0 responses

I was recently perusing Utah Valley University’s web site and found an interesting course on Gold Prospecting offered through the Community Continuing Education program. Given the current high price of gold and the fact that here in Utah we really don’t need to travel far to try finding it, this seems like a great course for a Utah Prepper.

Course Information

GOLD PROSPECTING FOR FUN OR PROFIT

Only 5 percent of the world’s gold has been discovered. With gold currently trading at over $1500 an ounce, panning for gold has made a real comeback. Learn new methods of panning gold that you can use 12 months of the year. Fee includes prospecting equipment you take home with you. No early registration discount. CEUs: 0.15 Hours: 1.50

At $39 this seems like a bargain for an evening of instruction on what could be a fun and profitable hobby. Here is a Link to the course. I hope to see you there!

Tags: Education, Howto, Preppers

Food Production Systems DVD Giveaway Winner Announcement

• 20 Jun 2011
• ekim
• 0 responses

We recently posted a review of the Food Production Systems For a Backyard or Small Farm DVD (see it here. As part of the review we were proud to offer a free DVD to one of our readers who commented on the review. Friday night I used Random.org to randomly select a winner from the 40 eligible (Sorry Jayce and Connor) entries.

The winner as determined by the random number generator is…
(more…)

Tags: Food, Food Storage, Gardening, Reviews

Food Production Systems DVD Review and Giveaway

• 09 Jun 2011
• ekim
• 44 responses

Can a two hour DVD turn you into a self sufficient farmer, providing all the food for your family on your postage stamp sized yard? Of course not. (If you think this is possible, let me know. I have a unique business opportunity to discuss with you :D ) However, the Food Production Systems For a Backyard or Small Farm DVD Is a wealth of information on how one family managed to do just that (on a bit of acreage) through trial and error over a decade. A full review of the DVD after the jump.
(more…)

Tags: Education, Food, Gardening, Howto, Links, preparedness, Reviews, Water

Upcoming Giveaway!

• 01 Jun 2011
• ekim
• 0 responses

Next week we’ll be posting a review of the Backyard Food Production DVD. The producers of the DVD have been kind enough to send us a copy of the DVD to reward one of our lucky readers.

We will be selecting one winner at random from those who comment on the review post that will be published next week. Complete details on how to enter to win will be included in the review post.

In the meantime, check out this DVD preview.

Tags: Education, Farming, Gardening, Media, Video

Building a 3 Month Supply using Case Lot Sales

• 31 Mar 2011
• ekim
• 1 response

Case lot image from http://tightwadmomsfrugalforum.blogspot.com

Inevitably, each year in the weeks preceding the LDS General Conference sessions in April and October grocery stores in Utah begin their Case Lot sales. In case you aren’t familiar with the term, a Case Lot sale is a sale that allows you to purchase food (and other) items at a discount from a regular grocery store. The only catch is that you need to buy them a case at a time.

This can really help build of your emergency food supply quickly. Given that there are generally 12 to 24 cans or jars in a case, this is the perfect opportunity to scratch that Food Storage To-Do off your New Year’s Resolution list. As we have touted many, many times before, there are many reasons to have at a minimum a three-month supply of food you eat on a regular basis be it financial, natural disaster or otherwise.

Lucky for you (and all of us for that matter), our friends at Prepared LDS Family have updated their Case Lot spreadsheet. As always, we are greatly appreciative of the work and effort that went into this.

In addition to the spreadsheet will help you find the best deals this Case Lot season, there is also a 3 Month Supply post. This excellent resource details out what a basic 3 month supply for one person should consist of, then lists prices for items to fill that list along with the case lot costs for both Macey’s and Smith’s.

Many of the Bulk Food Suppliers on our Resources page also offer case lot sales during this same time period.

Go over and take a look!

Tags: Food, Food Storage, Links, preps, Sales