Ten Simple Steps Toward Self-Sufficiency

Original Article

from Backdoor Survival by The Survival Woman

In a utopian world, we would be 100% self-sufficient.  We would have enough food, enough water, enough power, and enough fuel, and perhaps most important, enough money to live a well-rounded, healthy and comfortable life.  We would have to work hard, yes, but at the end of the day we would have the satisfaction of  being able to take care of ourselves without selling out to greedsters or taking a handout from the government.
Alas, everywhere you look there are roadblocks to achieving this state.  Not the least of these roadblocks is our dependency on transportation systems and the power infrastructure to deliver goods and energy products to our homes and homesteads.  And then there are the entitlements such as social security and Medicare for the older members of our population and disability and Medicaid for the disabled and the sick.  Over the years, these systems have been set up – for better or for worse – to create dependencies rather than self-sufficiency’s.  (And by the way, the names may be different but these dependencies exist in all Western countries, not just the United States.)
Luckily, though, self-sufficiency is not an all or nothing proposition.  At one end of the spectrum is a total, off grid, agrarian lifestyle and at the other is a moderately self-sufficient lifestyle where steps are taken to move toward 10% or 20% self sufficiency.  Not a lot.  But something.
Today I will share some easy steps you can take to to start moving toward that 10 or 20% percent mark.  These are steps that do not require a farm, do not require acreage and do not require a lot of money to begin with.  They are practical steps that you can start with and that you can select from and embrace as you needs and desire for independence change and grow over time.
Some are easy and others take a bit of skill and practice.  Some can be done for little or no cost and others will require in investment in time, labor, money or all three.  The good news is that there are lots of choices and the journey toward self sufficiency does not have to be done is a day, a month, a year or even a decade.
10 Baby Steps Toward a Self Sufficient Lifestyle
1.  Grow a vegetable garden
This is a great first step to take toward taking care of yourself and some of your food needs.  There are some books to help you such as The Edible Garden, All New Square Foot Gardening, The Backyard Homestead and Seed to Seed.  You can also get tons of help from seed suppliers, Master Gardeners and friendly neighbors that will be glad to give you some regionally appropriate advice.
Growing a vegetable garden is also fun.
2.  Build a compost pile
Something many gardeners do not think about is that to be successful, they are going to need fertilizer for their crops.  Instead of creating a dependency on the garden center and chemical fertilizers (which also cost money), create your own fertilizer from food scraps and yard waste.  The end result will be a nutrient rich fertilizer that is not only free, but a form of “black gold” for your garden vegetables.
3.  Grow fruit trees and berries
Imagine growing hundreds of pounds of fruit each year literally for free and for very little work?  This can be done if you take the time, by asking around, to seek out native fruit trees that are natural to your area.  Once established, these trees will not require fertilizer or water (but if you want to feed them some of that compost, they will love it).
4.  Learn to preserve your bounty
Canning, freezing, drying and smoking are some of the ways your can preserve your bounty so that you will have it to feed your family during the off-season.  It does take time, yes, but the results in terms of food-saving costs are worth it.  As with gardening, once you get the hang of it, preserving your food can be fun as well.
5.  Start an emergency fund
It is a fact of life that emergencies happen.  I know people who have the means (and high paying jobs) that still live paycheck to paycheck.  These are the people that scramble when their automobile needs major repairs or a family member gets sick and incurs a large medical bill.  Start an emergency fund and pay yourself each week.  Whether you put $5 or $50 a week into the fund, put something in the fund, even if it means you each beans and rice two nights a week so that you have the money to do so.
And by the way, beans and rice, well prepared, is delicious!
6.  Learn to barter
Bartering your skills or excess goods is an easy way to become less dependent on others.  Need help?  Go back and read 40 Items to Barter in a Post-Collapse World and get yourself a copy of the book “Bartering With Desperate People”.
7.  Make your own cleaning supplies
This is one of my favorites.  All of my own cleaning supplies are the DIY type.  Get yourself some vinegar, baking soda, castile soap, alcohol, pine cleaner and possibly some borax and you will have this covered.  Not only will this bring out the inner chemist in you, but imagine paying 50 cents for a bottle of effective and planet-friendly household cleaner instead of $3.00 or more.  A bit outdated (with an update coming), the article “So what is in your cleaning bucket?” will give you some ideas to get started.
8.  Bake your own bread
This is also one of those fun things that will not only save you money, but will provide you delicious and wholesome results.  A loaf of homemade bread will cost you 50 cents versus upwards of $4.00 or more at the supermarket.  Plus, the basic ingredients of flour, year, salt and water are all things you can pronounce and spell.  No chemicals, no preservatives.  See Baking bread and why you should do it and just for kicks The Secret Art of Making Pizza At Home.
9.  Be your own handyman and fix-it yourself
Simple plumbing and electrical repairs can easily be learned (or bartered – see above).  Painting, deck building and other handyman activities will save you a ton of money and give you the satisfaction of knowing that you can, indeed, do it yourself.
10.  Become self-entertaining
Learn to play cards, work crosswords, or become an expert at Scrabble.  Learn to dance or play the harmonica.  Volunteer as an actor or singer at your local community the theater.  The point here is to become self-entertaining which means being able to relax and enjoy yourself without the computer, the television, the DVD player or other amusements that rely on electronic gizmos.  You just might find that you don’t need that boob-tube after all.
The Final Word
My own experience tells me that there is a special inner peace that comes from being self-sufficient.  I experienced that myself last year when our power went out for an extended period.  Others that I talk to also tell me that they too find great joy in the simple things in life that do not rely on excessive consumerism.
Taking baby steps toward self sufficiency while doing thing that you enjoy will help you get closer to and independent lifestyle more quickly than you can imagine.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye

Check out these related articles . . .

• 15 Ways to Conserve Household Water Now
• Getting Prepared Month 10: Practice Going Off Grid
• Oh No! What Now? Tips for Taking Charge After a Disaster

Audio Podcast: Episode-983- Donald Green on Prepping Your Children for School Emergencies

Original Article

from The Survival Podcast by Modern Survival

Donald Green is the founder of IfItHitsTheFan.com and has been a prepper since he was in high school in the early 80s.  He has run his blog, If It Hits The Fan, for over three years. He is also a … Continue reading →

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Original audio source (epi-00983-donald-green-on-school-disaster-prep.mp3)

Food Storage: Packing pails for long term storage

Original Article

from CANADIAN PREPPERS NETWORK by anitapreciouspearl

As I've written many times before - I am a firm believer in food storage.  It's an insurance policy that covers one of life's most basic necessities - our daily food.

There have been many times in the past where we have had more-month-than-money and having food storage made life much easier.  It also allows for a quick meal when company comes unexpectedly or a helping hand when a friend is in need.

We have close friends who are going through a traumatic situation right now.  It has effected 

their finances and one of the biggest issues was money for food.  Even a small amount of food storage would have amounted to one less thing to worry about in the midst of crisis.

I see food storage as a multi-faceted or layered system.

I've written about having a large pantry - just extra of what you normally eat in the way of canned or boxed food right in your kitchen cupboards.  That's layer one.  

In my mind the next step or layer two is to  begin purchasing items on sale and keeping a supply of those items that exceeds what would fit into your kitchen cupboards by developing a secondary pantry - in our house it's called "Mom's Grocery Store".  These stores include store bought products, frozen items and all the items I have been canning over the year.  Most shelf stable items have a 1 to 3 year best-before date and include things like peanut butter, canned soup and cereal. These are items that need to be rotated regularly and be things you eat on a regular basis.  Grocery stores have a FIFO system - it stands for First In - First Out.  In other words you need to put the new items at the back of the shelf and eat the older ones first.  More on that in a later post!

The third layer is long term storage.  There are some items that if properly packaged (and some not even properly packaged) have incredibly long storage lives.

Indefinite Storage Life Items:

Salt

Raw Honey

White Sugar

30 Year Items:

Hard Grains (Whole)

Corn

Flax Seeds

Kamut kernels

Millet

Wheat kernels

Spelt kernels

Oats (whole or rolled)

Rice

Beans and Lentils

and many more with differing storage life spans!

Maybe the first question is WHY you would want to store food for 30+ years.  This goes back to food insurance.  Any item you store should be something you already eat on a regular basis or something that should be introduced to your diet because you KNOW it's good for you.  If you can't eat wheat because you are allergic to gluten you will need to store something else of course and that's why lists of what to store are not always helpful - it will depend on your families needs.  

By preparing to store some of these foods you can essentially pack them and forget about them for a long time - kind of like the insurance policy on the house that you don't think about until you need it.  It could be used next year or 20 years from now with next to no nutrition lost.

The next question is HOW to store these items long term.  I took advantage of a great sale on rice and red lentils this summer and bought several bags of each so I could store them away for  the long term.  Rice and lentils will store for a very long time on the shelf or in your kitchen cupboard so this method just extends the life span by protecting it from three things.  Bugs, Oxygen and Moisture.

If you've ever had pantry moths - OH MY - you will know that some food items come from the store with bugs included. You don't actually see the bugs because they are more likely eggs at the point of purchase and flourish into armies of creepy crawlies in your cupboards.  To prevent or rather circumvent the bugs life - freeze everything.  This is a good idea for small bags of dried goods that you use on a daily basis too.  Freeze for three days and allow to come to room temperature before continuing.  

The next step is to accumulate some food grade buckets.  There are many articles written on which buckets are food grade and why this is important. I am using Home Depot buckets in the pictures above and there is some controversy about the food graded-ness (my word!) of the buckets so I wouldn't store food straight in the bucket.  Recycled buckets from a restaurant or bakery are usually a safe bet and sometimes you can get them for free.  The buckets main purpose is to protect the mylar bag from puncture and keep the product dry.  The pail on it's own is not enough to prevent oxygen from slowly degrading the food so a pail liner made of mylar is required.  The mylar bag used for this purpose is a thicker version of the mylar that those shiny birthday balloons are made of.  The most commonly available thickness is 5 mil.  They come in different sizes - a 5 gallon size that fits a 5 gallon pail is the most common but smaller sizes are available too which allows you to store multiple items in one bucket while keeping them separate.

The mylar bags are available from several online sources such as Briden Solutions.

While filling the pail shake the bucket or bang it gently on the floor to make sure all the nooks and crannies get filled.  Lentils don't bother me but some grains like wheat are dusty and aggravate my allergies so be sure to do it in a well ventilated place and if you are especially sensitive you might consider wearing a mask or at least taking an allergy pill before you begin!

Once the pail is filled close to the top - leave some room for the rest of the bag to fill the pail - you need to add oxygen absorbers.  These are also available online from the Briden Solutions. A 5 gallon pail generally requires approximately 1000cc. Something like rice has less air space while pasta would obviously have more so more O2 absorbers are needed. They are sold in different cc's but 500cc is common - so 2 per bucket or three if you're like me and want a little extra insurance.  I also use the shop vac to suck out as much air in the bag as I can before I close it up.  I forgot to take a picture of that step.

I usually do several pails at one time so I fill them all with the grains or beans or lentils and iron them  (using a board to press the iron against) most of the way shut - leaving a 4 inch gap.  Once all the buckets are at that point I go back and add oxygen absorbers as quickly as I can - this is where my kids come in handy.  The O2 absorbers begin to work as soon as you have them out of the package so you want them to be in the mylar bag and sealed up quickly as possible - in about 20 minutes.  If you have extra absorbers and aren't going to use them all at once place them in a canning jar with a tight fitting lid or in a small mylar bag that has been sealed in the same manner as the large bags.  This will stop the absorbers from absorbing more oxygen than is in the jar.   A friend gave me a great idea - using a hair straightener to seal the pails.  I haven't been able to find one at a thrift store yet but it's on my list!

When I'm finished sealing the bags I let them sit for a day before I put the lids on the buckets just to be sure the O2 absorbers have pulled a good vacuum.  Don't forget to label the pails - before you close them up - or you may end up with mystery buckets that you'll have to open to figure out what's in them - ask me how I know :)  The great thing about mylar is you can carefully cut the sealed portion and reseal if necessary.

Now you just need a place to store them. An area with a fairly stable temperature like a basement or spare bedroom is ideal.  Keeping them in a garage or other outdoor area where the pails are exposed to high heat in the summer and then cold in the winter is not as good and will result in the contents not lasting the maximum amount of time and degrading the nutrient content.  The pails should also NOT be stored on a concrete floor where they could wick up moisture - even through the plastic pail.  Care should also be taken NOT to store them near chemicals that could eventually filter through the pail and compromise the air quality possibly (over a very long period of time) crossing the mylar barrier.  Those are pretty common sense tips - I wouldn't store my cereal beside a gasoline can either!

Although food stored this way will last for a very long time it is far better to store foods that you use and eat on a regular basis.  Have some of these grains or beans in your pantry so you don't have to open the pails for your every day meal plans.  If you're going to store wheat then use wheat in your every day cooking and baking.  Learn to bake bread from scratch so if/when you DO need to use it you won't have the added stress of trying to figure out what to do with it. 

This is just one way to add to your families personal food insurance.  What have you done to prep today?

Survival Healthcare: 5 Things You Can Do Now to Promote Medical Self-Care

Original Article

from Backdoor Survival by The Survival Woman

Something not frequently addressed within the survival and prepping world is the importance of good health and medical self-care.  What I am referring to is the importance of having the physical and mental wellness capacity to give you the stamina to to withstand adverse conditions, perhaps with minimal shelter, minimal water, minimal food stores, and minimal health care facilities.

Think about it.  As much as we prep and do our best to store a years worth of food and supplies, how much attention do we actually pay to taking care of ourselves and staying informed of medical issues and topics?  For most of us, I can pretty much guarantee that food and supplies come first, closely followed by bullets and band-aids.

In a very worst case scenario, would you have the stamina and health to leave the comforts of your home with only the clothes on your back, a bug-out-bag and whatever else you could physically carry?  Answer honestly – are you healthy enough to do that?

I ask these questions today not to chide you to lose ten pounds or to take on a rigorous exercise routine.  Instead I ask them so that you will think about your own health in terms of those things you can do now to become accomplished at medical self-care so that you will stay healthy and stay fit even when professional medical care is not readily available.

But first . . .
What the heck is medical self-care?
Medical self-care is defined as those things that individuals do to deal with minor illness and injuries at home, including preventing, detecting, and treating sickness and disease.  Nothing weird, nothing “out there”.  Instead, medical self-care refers to making an attempt to initially take hold of and treat minor healthcare issues yourself.

Or, put another way, simply asking yourself if you need to see a health care provider or weather you can you apply a home treatment instead.  Medical self-care can be as simple as taking an over-the-counter medication for a headache or securing a sprained ankle with an ace bandage.
The important thing is that medical self-care means you are an active participant in your own health.  And for that, you need to take a proactive stance and take control over your own well-being.

5 Rules of Medical Self Care that will Help Insure Survival in Adverse Conditions
1.  Listen to your body since you know yourself best.  When you do not feel well, take care of yourself.

Since the beginning of time, humans have suffered from mild illnesses and simply taken it easy until the illness passed.  These days, however, with computers, the internet, cell phones and other gizmos, a lot of sick time is spent in the digital world instead getting real rest.  If you are going to be your optimal self, when feeling unwell, take the time to slow down for a few hours or a day, and give yourself time to heal.

2.  Stay abreast of common first aid procedures and utilize readily available resources to stay knowledgeable of viable solutions to everyday medical maladies.

These days, with the resources available, much day to day doctoring can be done at home.  Things like taking one’s vital signs and blood pressure or testing one’s urine are easily and safely accomplished at home.  Learning to do these things now without reliance on a health professional will allow to take control of your own wellness no matter what happens in our society.

3.  Understand that being healthy and being well means more than simply being disease free.

The spread between wellness and illness is large with a lot of room in between.  Prevention means focusing on good health  while you are still on the wellness side of the spectrum rather than waiting to act only when disease or disability occurs.

4.  The goal of any health care system should be to help people stay healthy by giving them the tools that they need to take care of themselves.  You need to make that happen yourself.

To a large extent, individual practitioners still feel this way but for one reason or another, have had to subrogate those feelings as part of their alliance with large group practices.  These larger practices – many of which are huge conglomerates – have allegiance to big pharma and wall street interests.  This means that patient care comes secondary to making money.
The solution?  Individuals need to take more responsibility themselves through knowledge and through healthy lifestyle choices.  And when we do need medical care, we need to seek out healthcare workers who put our own needs first, above and beyond those of their employer or the greedsters who only care about money and huge year-end bonuses.

5.  Genetics and environmental conditions aside, we all have a degree of control over our health and wellness.  Eat a healthy diet and embrace an active lifestyle.

The human body has incredible healing powers if given half a chance to fix itself.  In order to restore itself, however, we need to treat the body with respect by feeding it a healthy diet and giving it regular exercise.  In addition, from a mental and spiritual  point of view, we need to provide ourselves with a meaningful and strategic life.

Remember this: practicing medical self care is one more way of taking control of your life.

The Final Word
It is somewhat of a travesty to think of our health as something that can abused over time knowing that a doctor at some point down the road with fix us up just like a mechanic will tune up the engine in our aging automobile.  Doesn’t it make more sense to simply perform preventative maintenance on on ongoing basis?
A few good print resources to put you on the road to successful medical self care are The Doom and Bloom Survival Medicine Handbook, Where There Is No Doctor, and the Physicians’ Desk Reference. Where there is no Doctor can also be downloaded for free from the Hesperian Foundation.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye

Check this out . . .

• Honey for the Survival Pantry
• Putting a Priority on Health and Medical Preparedness
• Nine Healing Herbs You Can Grow Yourself in a Healing Garden
• Common Terms Used in the Quest for Herbal Remedies

Prepping is Ageless

Original Article

from Ready Nutrition by Tess Pennington

A question from a reader prompted me to write about this subject. So often we forget that other age groups besides the 25-45 age range are preppers. One reader posed this question:

“What are we older folks on very limited incomes to do? We can’t afford to go whole-hog on our preps, nor are we able – physically or financially – to have a bug-out location or to outfit our homes with elaborate security-enhancing systems. All I am able to do is add to my stash of food and water a little bit at a time: a few extra cans of food here, a few rolls of toilet paper there, one or two freeze-dried meals and gallons of water a month are about all I can afford. Please help with your advice on the most imperative preps to make now, and then what to add as I can manage it. Thanks so much for your outstanding and inspiring website.”

Firstly, I want applaud this reader for their wherewithal to do what it takes to prepare as much as their finances can allow. We all know how hard it is to make ends meet, and I do not believe that anyone can purchase all preparedness items at once – it’s just too much of an investment at once. Stockpiling food and items for your basic survival needs a little at a time is the first step to getting prepared and the best way stay within your financial budget. I want to encourage this reader to continue on stockpiling a little at a time. Trust me, you will have more than the average, unprepared citizen if you stay on the preparedness course. As for suggesting any further preps, it is difficult to do as I do not know how long you are planning on preparing and what items you have. If you haven’t already purchased these items, consider investing in the following:

• A good water purification system
• Good seasonal clothing
• A good pair of shoes with good tread
• Long-term food sources, such as easy to grow seeds and edible perennials
• Jars and items for canning

I also wanted to mention that you can view the 52-Weeks to Preparedness series to view in-depth prep lists, preparedness advice on a number of different disaster situations.
The “greatest generation” is now at an age where their bodies have weakened and they may not be able to do as much as they are used to. As we age, one of the things we face is that our body just isn’t what it used to be. We may have sustained injuries or wear and tear, we may have a health condition, weakened joints, or we may have simply slowed down. This certainly doesn’t mean that the senior prepper is a burden, or that they shouldn’t even bother prepping. It just means that they need to prep differently.
Joints may ache, knees may creak, and backs may not be as strong as they once were, but by identifying your limitations now, you can take steps to make accommodations for them that will make life much more tolerable in the event of a disaster.  Levers and pulleys, wheelbarrows and dolley carts are just a few examples of tools that can make life much easier – remember – work smarter, not harder.
So how can we get older generations or even those with special needs to take special precautions to be better prepared and ready for emergencies? The first step is to be aware of the special circumstances that can affect a senior prepper.
Some seniors have chronic health conditions with special requirements. Medication should be stockpiled for things like high blood pressure, heart conditions, cholesterol issues, or diabetes, to name a few conditions. As well, food supplies should be purchased with dietary limitations in mind. You would not want to rely on high carbohydrate pasta meals for a diabetic or on high sodium MREs for someone with high blood pressure.
A senior prepper, despite potential physical limitations, is far more of an asset to any group than a detriment. People who have lived through the depression know more than a thing or two about stretching food. Our aging population is the key that unlocks the secret knowledge of yesterday that has been all but lost. A woman who learned to sew on a treadle machine, for example, will be the only one in the know if the power goes out long-term. A man who grew up farming without diesel tractors will have the knowledge of how to get those old pieces of non-motorized equipment up and running. The senior prepper comes from a generation who repaired rather than replaced.
If you happen to be a senior citizen who is preparing for the worst, begin now to align yourself with a group – consider reaching out to co-workers, congregation members and extended family. Keep in mind that younger preppers may have the strong back to get things done but you have the knowledge to teach them how to do it!

Related Reading:

• Prepping with Physical Limitations
• The Rantings of a Prepper
• What if You Are a Prepper
• SHTF Planning Gets You Ready for Life’s Unexpected Emergencies
• Preppers on Vacation