Most drivers spend years on the road without ever thinking about what they would do if their car caught fire. That is exactly the problem. A vehicle fire can go from small flame to total loss in under two minutes, and by the time emergency services arrive, the window to intervene has already closed. A […]
The post Car Fire Extinguisher: What You Need and Why It Belongs in Every Vehicle appeared first on Ask a Prepper.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Everyone knows the importance of water in a survival situation. You can only survive without it for three days, but you’ll feel severely dehydrated after just one.
This is why water needs to be one of your biggest priorities. You should stock up on two gallons per day per person, but you should also know how to find and collect water.
Why? Because disasters happen when you least expect, and you could be away from home when the next one strikes. Or worse, your home—along with your water supply—could be destroyed.
In case either of these things happens, you need to know how to collect water. Here, then, are 13 ways to collect water during a disaster.
The first way of finding water is obvious. Simply walk downhill (or toward clusters of bushes and/or trees) until you find a natural source of water in a lake, stream, river, or pond. If you can't find one, try digging a hole about a foot deep. If the soil is moist enough, the hole should fill with a bit of groundwater. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?
Unfortunately, there’s also no guarantee you'll find water this way, which is why you should know about some other methods…
Stretch out a tarp and tie it between four trees. If you can't find four trees near each other, dig a wide and shallow hole in the ground, then lay the tarp over it and hold it in place with a heavy object over each corner.
When the rain falls, it will collect in the middle of the tarp. Pour the water from a tarp to a bucket when it starts to get heavy, then set the tarp back up to collect more rainwater. Repeat this process until it stops raining or you have plenty of water.
Better yet, modify your house's gutters to direct rainwater into barrels with a rain catchment system.
Most city parks have fountains, ponds, or streams. Collect as much water as you can but don't drink it yet. Most park water has chemicals and pesticides in it, meaning it’s not safe to drink yet. To remove chemicals from water, it's not enough to simply boil it or use a standard water filter. You'll need a high-quality water purification system.
Check out this article for a few suggestions.
Water heaters are capable of storing anywhere from thirty to a hundred gallons. Unlike water from city parks, the water in heaters is safe to drink because it has already been treated. The first step you will want to do is plug all the sinks and bathtubs and then run the water until they fill up or until the water quits running. Then you can get into the pipes in the walls and collect the water in there.
It’s going to require a lot of work to break through the walls and access the pipes, but if you’re really thirsty it will be worth the effort. This article explains how to drain a water heater.
Yes, if worst comes to worst, you can always access the water in a toilet, at least in the tank. Unless your dog is with you, you probably won't want the water in the bowl of the toilet for obvious reasons.
Most toilets hold anywhere from one and a half up to six gallons of water, so that’s too much water to pass up. You should absolutely boil and filter any water you collect from a toilet before you even think of drinking it.
Most of the water in the tank should be safe to drink (at least according to the CDC), unless someone recently pushed contaminated water back into the tank with a plunger. No one’s saying that it isn’t gross to think about, but if you want to stay alive and have no other water, it might be necessary.
Grocery stores and restaurants are goldmines for water. Check walk-in coolers and freezers for ice, which you can melt down and drink. Ice machines in restaurants and hotels are another great source. You'll also find water in unexpected places like the steam trays on buffet lines, the coffee and tea urns behind the counter, and even the pipes running to commercial ice makers.
Don't overlook canned goods either. Canned fruits, vegetables, and soups all contain liquid that can help keep you hydrated in a pinch. It's not a long-term solution, but it could buy you enough time to find a better source.
Scavenge office buildings and businesses for water dispensers, vending machines, and refrigerators. If you're lucky, you'll also find soda, coffee, tea, chips, pretzels, crackers, and so on.
But don't stop there. Office buildings are full of overlooked water sources if you know where to look. Break rooms almost always have a coffee maker, and there's usually water left in the reservoir. Same goes for any hot water dispensers used for tea. Check the employee refrigerators for water bottles, sports drinks, or anything else people left behind when they evacuated.
Larger office buildings often have their own water storage systems, including rooftop tanks that gravity-feed water down through the building. If the municipal supply has been cut, these tanks may still be holding thousands of gallons. Head to the top floor and work your way up to the roof to check.
Don't forget the HVAC system either. Commercial air conditioning units produce condensate water as a byproduct of cooling the air. In a large office building, this can add up to several gallons a day. Look for the drip pans beneath air handler units, usually found in mechanical rooms or ceiling access panels. The water won't be pretty, but it's usable after filtering and boiling.
Fire stations are often overlooked as a water source, but they can be one of the best. Most fire stations have large water storage tanks on site, and the building itself will have the same water heaters and pipes as any other structure. If the station has been abandoned, use the same methods described earlier to drain the pipes and water heater.
As for fire hydrants, opening one without the right wrench is difficult, but not impossible. A hydrant wrench (also called a pentagonal wrench or hydrant key) is all you need, and they're cheap enough to keep in your bug-out bag. Even after the municipal water supply fails, hydrants connected to elevated storage tanks or pressurized loops may still have residual water in them.
The solar still is a classic survival method for collecting water. You’ll need a bucket, some rocks, green leaves, and a plastic sheet such as a tarp or a shower curtain.
Dig a hole about two feet wide and one foot deep, then set your bucket in the middle of the hole and surround it with the green leaves. Spread the tarp over the bucket and secure it with rocks on all four corners. Set a smaller rock in the middle of the tarp so that it weighs down over the bucket.
Over the course of the day, water will drip down into the bucket, and you should have around 150ml of water by the end of a twelve hour time period. Watch the video below for more details.
Another classic water collection method is the transpiration bag. Although this method yields less water than a solar still, it's also less work. All you need is a clear plastic bag and some cordage. Tie the bag around a branch that has lots of green leaves.
Throughout the day, moisture and water will collect in the bag. You can also set a small rock in the bag so that the water collects in one place. NOTE: Make sure the tree you use is not poisonous. The video below describes the method in more detail.
In the morning when it’s still moist outside, tie a clean rag around one or both of your feet and walk through an area of green grass where the dew has yet to evaporate. Each rag will become soaked with water which you can then squeeze into a bowl.
Repeat this process until the dew evaporates or you have plenty of water.
This one sounds unusual, but it works, and in the right conditions it can produce a surprising amount of water. Fog collection is the process of stringing up a mesh screen or net between two posts and letting fog droplets collect on the surface, then drip down into a container below.
Almost any mesh material will work in a pinch, from window screen to shade cloth to even a clean piece of cheesecloth. The finer the mesh, the more water you'll collect. Set it up perpendicular to the wind direction for best results. This method won't do you much good in dry desert air, but if you're in a coastal area, a mountainous region, or anywhere that sees heavy morning fog, it can yield a little bit of clean water.
You May Also Like:
The post 13 Sources of Water When the Grid Goes Down appeared first on Urban Survival Site.
This cream puff recipe has been in our family forever, literally. When my four daughters were young, they would sell these door-to-door when they weren’t selling loaves made from my French Bread Recipe. Of course, nowadays, I would never have them go door-to-door selling anything. Boy, has life changed. It’s sad, but that’s how it is. This recipe would be great for taking an inexpensive dessert to a party or serving a treat for Sunday dinner.
I looked online for a recipe that looked familiar but felt way too hard to make. I knew I had to find the recipe I had used for years. Oh, the joys of moving and trying to set up in a different kitchen!
We are in our new home now. So, I started looking for MY Cream Puffs Recipe, then I remembered that before my mom died, my sisters and I set up a blog on Blogspot. Hooray, I found MY recipe!
I don’t always have whipping cream in the refrigerator, but if by chance I have some and feel like making a treat, these are so easy to make and fill with a dollop of it. It’s comforting when you have all the ingredients to make delicious recipes. You’ve worked all day to make these unique desserts, but thank goodness you didn’t! LOL! You can also fill them with your favorite Instant pudding mix. If you make your custard, that would be delicious as well.
This cream puff recipe makes the puff crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. You fill them with your favorite custard, whipped cream, or instant pudding. They are so good!
Butter adds richness and flavor to the choux dough while also helping to create a tender, crisp shell. It is melted directly into the boiling water at the start, ensuring it is evenly distributed throughout the dough before the flour is added.
Flour provides the structure of the cream puff shell. When stirred into the boiling mixture of butter and water, the starch in the flour gelatinizes, forming a sturdy paste that traps steam produced during baking and holds its shape.
Eggs are what make choux pastry unique. Beaten one at a time, they add moisture and richness and, most importantly, act as a leavening agent. The proteins in the eggs set during baking, giving the puffs their firm, hollow structure.
Whipping Cream is the soul of the cream puff filling. When beaten, the fat molecules in the cream trap air and expand into a light, billowy texture. Its natural richness makes it the perfect contrast to the crisp, delicate shell.
Powdered Sugar sweetens the whipped cream filling without the graininess that regular sugar would introduce. Because it is so finely milled, it dissolves instantly into the cream, creating a beautiful, snowy dusting on top of the finished puffs.
Water acts as the steam engine of choux pastry. When heated in the oven, the water in the dough turns to steam and puffs the shells up from the inside, creating that signature hollow center that holds the cream filling.
Gather together all the ingredients, so you’re ready to start. I try to make sure my ingredients are as fresh as possible so I can be proud of the result.
Preheat the oven to (400°F) = (204°C)degrees. Place the water and butter in the pan and heat them to a boil.
Add the flour and stir over low heat for 1 minute or until it forms a ball.
This is what a “ball” form looks like.
Remove from the heat and beat in the eggs all at once, ensuring the mixture is smooth. I placed all the cracked eggs in the 4-cup measuring cup and dumped them into the saucepan.
Drop dough by scant 1/4-cupfuls, about 2-3 inches apart, on an ungreased cookie sheet. You can also use parchment paper, as I did in the picture.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until puffed up and golden. Let them cool.
Cut off the tops and, if necessary, pull out a little of the insides, then fill them with whipped cream or pudding using a spoon (or use a piping bag and squeeze the mixture in to fill). Dust with confectioner’s sugar and refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy.
After baking them, I wrap them in a paper towel and store them (without the filling) on the counter. You don’t want to put them in an airtight container, or they will become soggy.
You can store them in the refrigerator, lightly covered with plastic wrap, for 1-2 days. But remember, fresh is always best.
Next time, try lowering the temperature to (375°F) = (190°C). Another reason could be that they were not cooked long enough.
The only difference between the two is their shape and the fillings and toppings you might use. The baked product is pretty much the same. Eclairs are long, rectangular shapes filled with custard and topped with chocolate icing. The cream puffs are round and filled with whipped cream.
Please let me know if you try making my Cream Puffs Recipe. I would love to hear from you! I’ve always had a sweet tooth, so these little gems are perfect for satisfying that urge. Life is good when you know how to cook from scratch, right? May God bless this world, Linda
The post Classic Cream Puffs Recipe appeared first on Food Storage Moms.
Is there a water shortage where you live? This is something that every American family needs to know. Water is something most of us take for granted. We turn on the faucet, fill a glass, and don’t think twice. But across the United States, millions of families are discovering that clean, reliable water isn’t as guaranteed as they once thought. Whether you live in the dry Southwest, the growing Southeast, or even the wetter regions of the Northeast, water shortages are closer to home than many people realize.
This post breaks down what is happening with water in America right now, which states and cities are most affected, what is causing the crisis, and most importantly, what your family can do to help.
I just saw this on the news yesterday: KUTV 2 Water Shut Off In Emery, Utah
The numbers are striking. As of April 2026, more than half of the United States and Puerto Rico are experiencing drought conditions, and over 62 percent of the contiguous 48 states are classified as being in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. That’s not a distant forecast. That’s today.
A landmark study released in January 2025 by the U.S. Geological Survey found that nearly 30 million Americans live in areas where the available surface water supply can’t keep up with demand. This was the first comprehensive assessment to examine water supply, demand, and quality across all 48 contiguous states.
The problem isn’t just about how much water falls from the sky. It’s about crumbling pipes, aging treatment plants, population growth outpacing water infrastructure, and a warming climate that’s changing where, when, and how much rain and snow the country receives.
Life Straw Filters, Sawyer Bottle Filters, Lifestraw Bottles
Water challenges aren’t limited to the American West, though the West is certainly facing some of the most severe conditions. Here’s a look at what’s happening in key regions.
The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the American West, supplying water to seven states and about 40 million people. As of late 2025, the entire Colorado River Basin was in drought, according to data from Drought.gov. The basin lost nearly 28 million acre-feet of groundwater between 2002 and 2024, an amount roughly equal to the total storage capacity of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir.
Lake Powell, one of the two main reservoirs on the Colorado River, faced the possibility of dropping low enough to stop generating hydroelectric power entirely by late 2026. That wouldn’t just be a water problem. It would also be an energy problem for millions of households.
Arizona sits in the lower Colorado River Basin, where about 68 percent of the region’s groundwater losses have occurred. Phoenix and Tucson depend heavily on Colorado River water, and as that supply tightens, communities in the state are looking at increasingly difficult choices about growth, agriculture, and daily water use.
Utah’s reservoir levels fell at more than double the normal rate during the summer of 2025, driven by increased demand, less snowfall, and a very dry season. For families in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas, this is a reminder that the Great Salt Lake region isn’t immune to serious water stress.
Southern California remains in moderate to extreme drought despite the northern part of the state seeing better conditions in recent years. The Los Angeles metro area, home to nearly 4 million people, relies heavily on imported water from hundreds of miles away and on Colorado River water that is increasingly strained. The 2025 Palisades fire exposed just how fragile the region’s emergency water supply systems can be, and city officials are now investing in recycled water programs that won’t be fully operational until 2056.
Texas is facing a triple challenge: an ongoing drought, aging water infrastructure, and an international water dispute with Mexico over treaty-required water deliveries. The town of Mathis, Texas, with about 5,000 residents, was racing in 2025 to find alternative water sources, including deep groundwater wells and recycled wastewater, before a potential shortage became a crisis.
Jackson, Mississippi, has been struggling with a water crisis for years, made worse by aging pipes, leadership challenges, and equipment failures. In a region not traditionally associated with water scarcity, this situation is a warning to other Southern cities about the risks of deferred maintenance and underinvestment in water systems.
Richmond, Virginia, experienced a major disruption in January 2025 when a power failure knocked out its water treatment plant, triggering a boil-water advisory for 230,000 residents in the city and nearby counties. A second advisory followed in May. State health officials concluded the crisis was completely preventable with proper infrastructure investment.
Data centers are also creating new pressure in Virginia. Large tech facilities in the state can consume up to 5 million gallons of water per day, further straining groundwater supplies already affected by rising temperatures.
Even the historically water-rich Northeast saw record-low streamflow levels in 2025, with conditions so dry that New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services issued guidance urging households to immediately reduce water use. The region experienced drought conditions severe enough to trigger official state advisories.
Understanding the causes helps families and communities make better decisions. The water shortage problem in the United States comes from several overlapping factors.
Climate change is altering precipitation patterns across the country, bringing more intense droughts to some regions and more flooding to others. In the West, about 70 percent of the water supply comes from mountain snowpack. When winters are warmer and drier, as 2025-2026 has largely been, there’s less snow to melt in spring and less water flowing into rivers and reservoirs.
Aging infrastructure is another major factor. Many American cities have water pipes and treatment facilities that are decades old. When those systems fail, entire communities can lose access to safe water overnight, as Richmond discovered.
Population growth is pushing demand higher in states like Florida, Arizona, and Texas at exactly the same time that water supplies are becoming less reliable. Florida, for example, depends on groundwater for about 90 percent of its drinking water, and overuse is drawing down those underground reserves faster than they can be replenished.
Agricultural demand plays a massive role as well. Farming accounts for the largest share of freshwater use in the United States, and in drought years, the competition between farms and cities for limited water can become intense.
While the scale of the problem can feel overwhelming, everyday household choices genuinely matter. According to the EPA, the average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day, and simple changes can reduce that by at least 20 percent while saving families over $380 per year.
Here are practical steps your household can take starting today.
Turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth can save between 4 and 8 gallons of water each day. A leaking toilet can waste about 200 gallons per day, which is more than 50 unnecessary flushes. You can test for a toilet leak by adding a few drops of food coloring to the tank and checking whether the color appears in the bowl without flushing. Shorter showers and low-flow showerheads are among the fastest ways to reduce household water use.
Running the dishwasher only when it’s full can save roughly 320 gallons of water per year. A standard top-loading washing machine uses between 30 and 40 gallons per load, while a modern high-efficiency front-loader uses as little as 7 to 10 gallons per load. For large families, upgrading the washing machine is one of the highest-impact changes available.
Outdoor water use accounts for about 30 percent of the average household’s total water consumption. Watering the lawn or garden in the early morning or late evening, rather than at midday, can save up to 65 percent of the water that would otherwise evaporate. Installing a smart irrigation system can cut outdoor water use by up to 50 percent. Rain barrels are another easy, low-cost way to collect water from your roof for garden and landscape use. Some states regulate how much rainwater runoff you can capture and use. Check your local area water agencies for guidance.
Children who understand where water comes from and why it matters tend to carry those habits into adulthood. Simple activities like checking for leaks together, timing showers, and watching a rain barrel fill up can make water conservation feel like a family adventure rather than a chore. The EPA even has free coloring books and puzzles for younger kids through its WaterSense for Kids program.
The water situation in the United States is serious, but it’s also something that communities, families, and lawmakers can meaningfully address through smarter infrastructure investment, better water management policies, and everyday conservation habits.
Researchers project that if current trends continue without intervention, nearly half of the country’s freshwater basins could struggle to meet monthly demand by 2071. That is a long horizon, but the decisions made in the next few years, including where communities invest in water infrastructure, how agriculture adapts to drier conditions, and how families use water at home, will shape that outcome.
The question is no longer whether water shortages are a problem in the United States. They clearly are, affecting tens of millions of people right now. The question is what all of us are willing to do about it.
Start at home. Turn off the tap. Fix the drip. Talk to your kids about where water comes from. And pay attention to what your local water utility, city council, and state officials are doing to protect this most essential resource. Your faucet is part of a much bigger story. The good news is that every family gets to help write what happens next.
Less than 1 percent of all water on Earth is available for human use, according to the EPA. Nearly 30 million Americans live in areas where surface water supplies are limited relative to demand. As of April 2026, more than 62 percent of the contiguous United States is in drought. A single drip per second from a leaky faucet wastes more than 3,000 gallons of water per year. Families that switch to water-efficient fixtures can save over $380 annually. The Colorado River Basin lost groundwater equivalent to Lake Mead’s total storage capacity between 2002 and 2024.
75 Reasons Why You Should Store Water Now
Water isn’t just a political issue or a distant environmental concern. It’s the most fundamental resource on Earth, and right now, it’s under pressure in ways that most American families have never experienced in their lifetimes. The good news is that awareness itself is a form of action. When you understand that nearly 30 million of your fellow Americans are already living in areas where water supplies can’t keep up with demand, and that more than half the country is currently in drought, the dripping faucet in your bathroom and the sprinkler running at noon in your front yard start to look very different.
Conservation isn’t about sacrifice. It’s about paying attention. It’s about teaching your children that the water in their glass traveled a very long way to get there, and that it’s worth protecting. Communities that invest in their water infrastructure, families that build smarter habits, and kids who grow up understanding the value of water will be the ones who help turn this story around. The shortage is real. So is the solution. And it starts at home, one drop at a time. May God bless this world, Linda
Sources: U.S. Drought Monitor (Drought.gov), U.S. Geological Survey National Water Availability Assessment (January 2025), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense Program, Seven Seas Water Group, The Packer, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
The post Is There a Water Shortage Where You Live? appeared first on Food Storage Moms.
An electromagnetic pulse can arrive without warning. Whether it comes from a high-altitude nuclear detonation or a severe solar storm, the result is the same: unprotected electronics are destroyed in an instant. Radios go silent. Communication tools fail. Years of preparation become useless because the devices you depend on are fried. A faraday box is […]
The post How to Make a Faraday Box: Step-by-Step EMP Protection Guide appeared first on Ask a Prepper.