You now have five years to get ready what do you do?

   This is another scenario that is no more and no less likely than the 2 day scenario. The system will collapse is a mathematical certainty, how fast or slow it happens is just a guess. I’m sure we will get no “Grand Announcement” that the economic collapse has begun as the PTBs don’t want a panic or bank runs.
   Anyhoo, you have 5 years to get ready and you can do whatever your bank account will allow. It could be buying PM’s and moving to Hong Kong,  buy an island or even a missile silo! Remember the longer it takes to happen usually means a longer recovery as well so plan accordingly. Start thinking long term and don’t think you will have cheap power to much of anything with, transportation will take a huge hit and unless you have a natural gas well and all of the stuff that goes with production. Muscle power will be king. Small solar,wind,steam and hydro power will be your energy sources at best.
    I have been doing all my planning 1 year at a time and then I break that down into need to have and want to have lists. This system has worked great for me as I’ve managed to get almost all of both lists filled last year. By waiting to get those want to have items I was able to keep checking prices and found several of them at half the cost I had anticipated. For example I wanted a reloding kit and I figured it would cost about $150.00. Then Lee had a sale on a reloading kit for $81.00 so I jumped on that sale. Most solar ovens I found cost over $300.00 and though I put in my order a few days ago I found one for $168.00 including shipping. As you can see having those two different list put me in mindset of being able to save almost $200.00 on my original projected cost and made getting some wants do able.
     So on to the Five year plan and what you want and need in five years. You have to know exactly what you have today and keep going on the smaller goals, and incoperate it into your long range plan. Most importantly how you will budget your limited resources between short and long term goals. I’m doing more tweaking the items I have already on hand and taking items that are shor term and extending them out for the long term.

MY Five year goals

1. Produce at least enough solar energy to run my Shop (Freezer, extra fridge and lights)
2. Insulate the shop
3. Replace my roof with metal roofing
4. Install storm shutters on the windows.

Think about your five year plans. You may not accomplish them but you are moving towards the goal and as you budget for them you will have those assets on hand for emergencies! 
    

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Just puttering today

   Froze about 7 pounds of cheddar and Mont. jack cheese for my Mac & Cheese. I like it better with a mix of cheese and the jack seems to keep the cheddar from breaking and getting oily. Three dozen eggs I got via barter have been oiled and stored. One thing about being in the Army and going to the field to train you find out what you miss after a few days and I always missed having real eggs and butter for breakfast. So having butter eggs is a big thing for me.
    I  watched a great series on youtube last night. All together ist’s long but it breaks it down in small batches. http://thegreatesttruthnevertold.com/  Stop by and check it out!
Last but not least I’ll be bottling the Amber Lager and trying a new recipe for my wheat beer. The beer lady is also ordering hops rhizomes you can plant. I’m looking at 3 varieties I’d like to grow and this is a perfect area for growing hops.

Feeling powerless? You must do something to get some control

    I’ve changed a lot in the last few years and this disease has been a blessing in disguise. I’m not noble or special. I’ve whined about it and I would have preferred to learn in slightly less dramatic fashion without me getting smashed down to bedrock, but I doubt I would have learned. I’ve never been much for asking why me? The answer always seems to be. Why not you?  Remember the only actions you can control are your own.
   I did a post on the IPad shopping list that’s for folks that have some money but seem to think that you have to go all freeze-dried, MRE and special survival food to prepare an you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get started. You local store is full of survival food all you need to do is learn how to cook it!  Almost any processed food you can buy should get at least 2 years of shelf life.

1. White rice 1 pound equals just over 8 servings
2. Beans 1 pound equals about 12 servings

Both of those items can be bought nearly every where. Even if you have to pay $1.00-$2.00 per pound for a bag. 5 pounds of each will give you over 40 servings and costs  $20.00 at most. That’s your start for 2 meals a day.

1. Pasta 1 pound equals 4-6 servings
2. Pasta sauce I like the Hunt’s sauces and 1 big can equals 4-6 servings

Same rule as above but now you are starting to add a little variety. As you can see if you get 5 of each you have just add another 30 servings.

1. Eggs: Did you know eggs can last 6-9 months if coated in Mineral oil and stored in a cool dark area? I’ve tested up to 6 months and the eggs were great though the yolk broke easily. Buy up an extra dozen eggs when they are on sale. 16 oz. of mineral oil can be had at a pharmacy or Walgreen’s and it is a great multi-tasker as well.
2. Oatmeal or grits 1 pound equals 6 servings 

   These are example foods and all items I like to eat. This can be a start on your Bug out Bag. Add some coffee filters and a small bottle of bleach you can have safe drinking water. If you going to a fast food joint grab some extra packets of salt, pepper, sugar, creamer, ketchup, mustard or hot sauce and those to your BOB. As you can see this is a more expensive route to go. But if you have to walk and carry your food you get a few extra items at a time and it won’t be to difficult to handle and this will give you stuff for breakfast lunch and dinner and depending on how many family members you have you got a great start on your 3-14 day food list.  You never know what will make the difference in an emergency! I do know if you give up before you even try you will fail. The first thing you must do is tell yourself you will survive! Everything you do after that is just getting tools to make that statement happen

Getting ready for the "Five day Stored Water only" test Part II

    I’m been a little concerned about how I’m going to have warm water for washing hands and to bathing. Back in my field days in the Army I had a thermos that I would fill with hot water at night . Using a Coleman 1 burner propane stove, I was able to warm up the tent before going to bed and I’d have nice warm water for washing up in the morning. Now with my CIDP I’m very sensitve to cold water and getting cramps in my hands is something I want to avoid so I tested my Thermos 1 gallon water jug.
    This is one of those jugs that most folks put ice water and cold drinks for camping and  picnicing.  I wondered how well it do with hot water.  I primed the jug with  boiling water and let it sit for 30 minutes. Pour out water (I used it for dishes) then refilled with boiling water again and let it sit overnight. I then measured the temprature the next day and after 16 hours it measured 102 degrees F.  I was amazed on how long it retained heat.
   This is perfect for washing hands and taking a spit bath and the water is ready first thing in the morning with no waiting to heat up water. I can fill this jug once or twice a day depending on how much water I have stored, and have warm water all day long.
    So now I’m looking for 1 of those big 3-5 gallon jugs you see at construction sites for my modified hot water tank. This will work great along with the solar oven because I can have energy  free hot water and it will give me practice on how I will handle hot water during the EMP test.

What would you go shopping for if you had 2 days notice of SHTF?

    Assume you have a deep mole or spy and they told you all hell is going to break loose. What would you get with the cash on hand you have today? You have 2 days before the rest of the public finds out that bad things are coming. What do you buy and do you have cash on hand to buy it? You have one day to get your purchases. It’s not payday and you have no cash on hand for gas, food or water. Well it sucks to be you. If you are not ready you and your family will suffer and probably die.
     I’m not trying to be flippant I’m trying to show you your choices. Yes you can buy an IPAD or an XBox for $300-$400.00 + and play games. They are kind of cool toys but unless you are a CEO not really needed. You don’t need Sat. TV or cable. Nice to have but you won’t die without it. Now let’s say I’m spending your money and you can afford a couple of  Iphones or Ipads an Xbox or Sony playstation and a couple of movies and games. Let me see… I won’t buy most of those items I will save at least $100.00- $500.00 for each item. That’s not counting the monthly costs of the dataplan. Please tell me again you can’t save money.
The Ipad Budget for preparing  $500.00

1.  Flour 50 pounds $ 18.00
2. Sugar 25 Pounds $25.00
3. Saf yeast 2 pounds $7.00
4. Salt 4 pounds $4.00
5. Beans 50 pounds $70.00
6. Rice 50 pounds $20.00
7. Oils 2 gallon $20.00
8. Canned veggies 2 cases $40.00
9. Canned fruit 2 casses $40.00
10. Water 55 gallons $60.00 That’s a barrel filled with tap water or bottled water
11. Powdered milk 2 big boxes $36.00
12. Pasta 10 pounds $10.00
13. Pasta sauce in a can 24 cans  $24.00
14. Coffee 3, 34 oz cans $25.00
15. Dry drink mixes i.e Tang, Koolaid 4 jars $22.00 
16. Canned meats tuna, salmon chicken or spam $30.00
17. $50.00 leftover for the stuff you like be it crackers, or meats or peanut butter, Spices, herbs, garden seeds or popcorn. 

This is a some what limited diet but it can be done a little bit at a time and it will keep you alive and healthy.
You have already missed the the cheapest food by a year. But it’s never to late to get started the most important thing is to have a plan, a budget and get started.

Doing things the hard way, or stuff that kept me out of "Good Schools"!

      I was thinking today about how I’m doing this water test the hard way in my house rather than simply using my RV.  I will be using the RV for my Bugout test so what’s the difference?

1. I know I can live in my RV for at least a week easy. I’ve done it camping and I’m finally getting it comfortable and having it work for me.
2. While it’s only a five day test I’m having to think about how I will handle waste and replenishing water for the long term. The RV waste tanks last about a week. Then what?……
3. I drain the RV for the winter so the water lines don’t freeze. So for about 4 months the RV is empty and can’t be counted on for running water. I don’t even want to think about a waste tank freezing then cracking.

The RV is my backup to whatever I can cobble together at home. If I assume that the water problem is local I can use the RV to transport waste to a location where the RV Dump works! If it a Solar EMP and I can’t move the RV I’ll need a different solution but, the RV gives me a little time to experiment.
   
     That dogone girl Kellene is not giving an inch on a real/true EMP test. I tried to fudge a bit saying my 1976 RV is electronically safe from an EMP or my generators ares safely stashed in faraday cages. I  do have radios and batteries stashed in a farady cage an I’ll give myself that but nothing else.
If I’m right I have additional resource to use for a real world scenario. If  Kellene is right I may not have resources I was counting on. Always best to count on equipment to fail! That way if you are wrong all the surprises are happy ones.

I love watching PTBs heads explode! SOPA and PIPA

    How dare we folks on the internet defy our betters with all these stunts, blackouts and withholding information for the public! I know I do my best to support artists that do stuff I like from PC game designers to singers. I usually buy the complete Album CD of singers I like rather than just a song for download. Sure I demo games, but if I like it I buy the game so they keep producing games I like to play. You want a good distro model look at Steam and how they free folks to mod and adapt games. An new form of entertainment called machinima has grown up around folks making movies and Mods to games. It’s in my self interest to support the artists I like! It’s not in my interest to support the dreck that comes out of Hollywood so I don’t. I don’t download movies unless they are advertised as free or have a donate button. I buy movies and TV shows I like on DVD and via my collection I figure I’ve spent at least $5 grand since the introduction of VHS. So don’t tell me I don’t support the artists. What I don’t support is the moguls who want to go back to buggy whips and try to censor me because they don’t want to move with the times.
    So if I have a movie night and invite friends over to watch a DVD or have a BBQ with music playing I will be sending you a portion of the proceeds. As I don’t charge folks to listen to my radio nor watch a movie on my TV. So your proceeds of $ 0.00 total costs, comes to $0. Since I’m not hip, artistic or edgy.  I’m guessing my selections will be something endured by my friends and never be popular. Nor a money making proposition for you.