Everyday Prepping for Beginners

Preparing for Disasters – Big or Little – Now and Future

By Barbara Henderson

Copyright

Thou shat not steal

Owner – Barbara Henderson

Contact Barbara for permission to use part of this book.

This book is dedicated to:

The Most High God of creation

The Christian pioneers who struggled to build a strong independent nation

My husband and family

To those readers who have a vision of a future where

self-reliance is normal

Those who want a better life than the government can give them

Contents

1.  What is Prepping and Why Should I Become a Prepper?              4

2.  Who Are You REALLY?              8

Self-Discipline              14

Self-Reliance              16

3.  THE FIRST BEST PREPPER TOOL              18

4.  Prepping Categories              21

5.  Day to Day Prepping              22

6.  Surviving the Storm              26

7.  Leave Your Home Temporarily Disasters              30

8.  Lose Your Home in a Disaster              33

9.  Stuck in Your Home During a Disaster              35

10.  Your Home without Electricity for a prolonged period of time              38

11.  No Home and No Place to Go              40

12.  Guns, knives, and other weapons              42

13.  Camping Basics – the perfect way to have a good time and prep for extended time away from your real home              44

14.  A TRUE Story of Farm Life – My Grandparents              48

15.  Barter and Trade              54

Appendix 1 – recipes              57

Appendix 2 – how to……              80

Appendix 3 -              85

Appendix 4 – A Working Home Pantry Combination Storage System              93

Stuff Not Covered Elsewhere (or so important I cover it twice)              99

Disasters Make People Grumpy and Crazy so BE CAREFUL!              100

1.  What is Prepping and Why Should I Become a Prepper?

Preppers are people who spend a lot of time and sometimes money preparing for an unknown disaster or problem. 

This disaster or problem will occur at an unknown time.

The duration is unknown.

The seriousness of the event is unknown.

Truthfully, ‘preppers’ have been around since the dawn of time. 

Farmers grew food in the summer and stored enough to eat until the next year’s harvest. 

Merchants bought supplies when available.

Doctors got their traditional medicines when it was time to harvest them.

People saved money ‘for a rainy day’.

Preppers are really just people who take being prepared seriously.  They want to be prepared for next event whether it is a meal, a fun activity, or something unexpected.  They want to be prepared for normal events and unexpected events.  Most people have a little bit of prepper in them even if it is just a game plan on how to avoid a difficult or obnoxious co-worker or neighbor.  Most people take it a little farther than that and make an effort to at least schedule and plan some immediate things to make them go more smoothly.

Today when you hear about a prepper it is likely referring to someone who is trying to be prepared for something big that is out of the ordinary.  This could be a flood, fire, storm, economic collapse, job loss, or anything all the way up to anarchy.  In this book I want to start with the basics.  Prepping should start by making your daily life go more smoothly and efficiently.  In prepping for today and tomorrow you can begin to get a handle on pepping for big events.  Prepping for each day is something that everyone should do.  Prepping for the next week in advance is the start of prepping for longer times and bigger events.  Being as prepared as possible is a good way to live your life. 

Preppers want to be ‘self-reliant’ instead of ‘government-reliant’.

It is fully true that the government is also prepping. 

They have ‘stuff’ stockpiled so they can rush in and help people who have had their lives disrupted by a disaster.  Take for example the devastating hurricane named Katrina that hit states in the Southern United States a few years ago.  First the hurricane hit and then disaster number two hit.  The levees broke and flooded the area. The government stepped up to the plate and made things even worse.  Well, you may not believe that, but you at least have to admit that disaster relief was slow in arriving. 

Baptist churches have disaster relief teams who usually beat the government to the victims of most disasters.

The people who are two steps ahead of the game are those who have prepared as best they can in advance.  Even if they do wind up using government assistance, they have had a more comfortable existence than those who have nothing but time while they wait on the FEMA teams to arrive. 

Everyone has a little bit of prepper in them.

For instance, it is common for most people to prepare for the next day the night before.  People lay out clothes they will put on in the morning. At least they set the alarm clock! A common Monday morning for a working family would include proper clothes for the day set out the night before, coffee available to make, something handy for breakfast, and something to make a reasonable lunch for anyone who needs a lunch that day. 

Whatever the morning schedule for anyone, chances are very good that at least most of the time some effort has gone into preparing things ahead of time that will make the morning go as smoothly and quickly as possible.

The same goes for meals throughout the week, clothes, shopping, worship, recreation, and rest have a planned schedule.

Most people have back up plans for at least some situations.

For instance, there is usually someone on call in case a child cannot be picked up at daycare or school on time.

Even a tiny savings account is an attempt to be prepared for the unknown such as needing a new tire or something equally necessary but expensive for a small budget.

Extra food in the pantry is prepping for bad weather or a way of buying that new tire without spending that tiny savings account.

Prepping just takes it a step farther.  It goes into the unusual and unexpected.

The purpose of prepping is to make any event that takes a person or family out of their routine and/or comfort zone more comfortable and less disrupting.

For instance, recently there was a wildfire in an area of my state.  In fact, there have been wildfires all over the country this year.  Many people had to leave their homes.  Some people left their home for the last time because their home burned to ground while they were gone.  This was definitely not their fault.  They definitely had no control over this event.  It still happened and their lives were definitely disrupted.

Let’s consider the people who evacuated, spent three nights away from home, and then returned home.  They had three days of uncertainty and inconvenience.  They had no choice in the matter, but IF they had done some basic preparations they were much better off than people who hadn’t done anything at all to prepare. 

Then, consider the people whose homes were lost in the fire.  They are definitely in a different category regarding their future.  Those who made some general preparations for such a disaster are better off than those who made no preparation.

You cannot honestly be fully prepared for an unknown event that will hit you at an unknown time.  However, there are a number of things you can do in order to be better prepared for whatever happens.

I suppose I became a prepper when I was about ten years old. I began to carry a ladies handbag.  I was a child with an extreme case of near-sightedness.  Every night I put my glasses in my cheap little handbag, and I slept with the handbag right by my bed.  I was terrified of being without my glasses because that would put me in the category of ‘severely vision impaired’.  It was bad – I couldn’t even read the big E on the eye chart.  I progressed to keeping some cash in the handbag.  Next came makeup, a hair brush, and a hanky.  Then as I got older I needed over the counter pain medicine, allergy medicine, eye drops, band-aids for ‘just in case’, and things like that.  Eventually I had to make a decision regarding just how big my handbag was going to be allowed to get.  Honestly, the happiest time of my life was when my kids were little and I carried a diaper bag.  You can get a weeks worth of ‘stuff’ in a nice diaper bag.  I mean if I could fit a change of clothes for two kids in there, why not put in a clean shirt for me in case one of those angels barfed on me?  When my youngest was six I had to get back to reality and start carrying a smaller handbag.  Now I still tend to go with a much larger bag than I really need for daily stuff, but I can’t help it.  You never know when I will need something that doesn’t actually fit into normal fashionable ladies handbag.  I still throw all my change in the bottom of the handbag.  When it starts weighing more than a one year old child I dump out the change, have my husband count it, and then we spend it on something.  Or, if we need money for something we will count my change out while I can still lift the handbag with one arm.  (Ladies, if you are still thinking that a handbag is a fashion statement you may need to do a reality check.)

Prepping is nothing more than making a thoughtful attempt to be prepared for the unexpected and unknown.  There is a story regarding the Pilgrims who came to the shores of North America on that tiny ship called the Mayflower.  For some reason one of the men put in a very large jack.  I am sure he was some fellow like my husband and a lot of other men who love their tools.  His wife probably had to leave something at home so he could fit in this jack.  Eventually a beam that was crucial to the structure of the ship began to break.  The jack was put under the beam, cranked into place, and held the beam securely for the remainder of the voyage.  Providentially they were prepared for an unexpected problem at a place where no help was available.  I would like to encourage you to spend some of your time, energy, and even money making preparations for events that are not clearly on the horizon.

Before you rush out to buy ‘things’ like a giant jack, there are some things you should consider to begin with.  The first thing is to set down with yourself alone and consider who you are exactly and what options you would have in if your life took an expected turn.  You need to determine ‘Who you REALLY are’.

2. Who Are You REALLY?

(The Beginning of Preparedness)

1.        Self Definition

2.       Self Discipline

3.       Self Reliance

Self Definition

These are interesting times in which we are living.  It appears that all the foundations of civilization and righteous living are crumbling into dust.  It appears that the foundations are being destroyed, and that we have no recourse but to crumble with the foundations, or accept the new age of Collectivism as the only path of salvation for both the earth and mankind.  For the individualists among us, that is not an acceptable future.  Death is better than a civilization where man is exalted as god and every man does what is right in how own eyes. 

Before we throw in the towel we need to take a second look at the situation.  We better see what the Bible has to say about it.  Two verses that have great relevance to us today are these:

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.    Psalm 11:3-4

The first verse asks a question. 

The second verse answers it.

The writer is posing a hypothetical situation.  He asks, ‘If the foundations are destroyed, then what can the righteous do?”

Then the writer answers his own question. He says, ‘God is still the King sitting on His throne.  He sees what is going on.  He sees the trying times that are facing the children of men.’

God is still on His throne. We will never see the foundations of HIS righteousness destroyed.  We are to look beyond the things of this world and see by faith that the God is still in charge.  Though, it may appear quite different, the truth is that God is still in charge.

The book of Esther tells us a fascinating story of the providence of God working in a seemingly Godless society.  It has fascinated both historians and Bible scholars alike that the name of God is not even mentioned in the book, but the hand of God is clearly evident in the salvation of His people. 

Christians, we are God’s children.  We are grafted into the tree of Abraham through our faith in Jesus Christ.  We did not replace the Jews.  The promises to the Jews are still specific to them.  However, we are children of God.  He is with us.  He has a plan for us.  He will help us.

As we face the trying times ahead, it is important that we begin by standing on the firm foundation that cannot be destroyed.

There are three things each individual needs to consider and determine in order to navigate the path ahead in a way that provides them with joy and a measure of security that is not available any other way. 

•              Self-definition

•              Self-discipline

•              Self-reliance

These things are the beginning of ‘preparedness’. To prepare for a good future, you must first be sure you are building upon a solid foundation, one that cannot be destroyed by any earthly principality. It is time to take a journey into your own heart and mind to be sure your foundations are solid, and that your boundaries are firmly set.  From that vantage point, you will be much better able to prepare for the future whatever it may bring.

Self-Definition

People may ask who you are, and you may be able to give them an answer.  You can tell them your name, your family, your place of employment, worship, and residence.  But, if you as yourself the same question, what would your answer be?  Do you have a self-definition that goes with you day and night?  Who are you really?

Self-definition is the way you think of yourself.  Most people think of themselves as honest, fair minded, and probably a bit above average in intelligence and appearance. However, this does not answer the question, ‘Who are you really?’

Self-definition begins by answering some questions about yourself.  You have to answer truthfully.  You don’t have to write the list down and publish it in the newspaper.  However, most people will figure out who you really are if they are around you very much.  If you define yourself to yourself very clearly, it will make your life much easier. 

         Here are some key questions that need to be answered.

Christian or not – practicing Christian or marginal – how serious do you take your faith?

Male of female?

Married or single? – that is just what you are – one is not better than the other - ask the Apostle Paul

Parent or childless? (no better or worse – just part of who you are.)

Profession/calling?

Hearts desire? (what you would do if money were not an issue)

Nationality or ethnic origin?

These things are pretty straight forward.   They shouldn’t be hard to answer.  They do give a strong indication of how you will probably act in most situations. 

If you are a Christian, don’t be a lukewarm Christian.

If you are single act like it – some things are made for marriage only.

If you are married, act like it.  Faithfulness, compassion, and loving-kindness are proper behavior.

Do you have children?  Then parenting should be foremost in your thoughts.

What is your profession?  Do you do it with all you might?

What do you actually love to do?

What is your nationality or ethnic origin?  It doesn’t make you any better or worse; it is just part of who you are.  God divides people into saved or lost, Jew or Gentile, and free or bond.  That’s it.  Your ethnic origin or nationality may allow you to spread the Gospel to a certain set of people.  It could be important in that way.

What Value do you place on your Christian faith? 

High value?

Medium value?

Low value?

If you don’t really act like a Christian, then the answer there should be ‘low value’.

It is easy to say that you really value your Christian faith.  It is another matter entirely too actually live like you place a high value on your faith in Jesus Christ.

The real value you place on your faith in Christ will determine what goals you set, how you go about reaching them, and whether you reach your set goals or not.

What are your goals in life?

Goals in life:

Please God

Think like a Christian

Talk like a Christian

Act like a Christian

You may set a thousand other goals.  You may set them every year and call them New Year’s Resolutions.  However, these goals should always be set within the boundaries set by your self-definition.  Live within the boundaries set by your self-definition.  Your daily needs can be met while living within the boundaries set by your own definition of who you are.

The self-definition of man might go like this;

I am a:

Christian

Man

Married

Father

Parent

Carpenter

Who puts a high value on his Christian faith

And

Who starts each day with the goal of:

Thinking like a Christian

Talking like a Christian

And

Acting like a Christian.

Having a clear self-definition gives you a solid foundation for making decisions.

Determine to stay within the boundaries that are automatically set by your own self-definition.  

If you don’t have a solid self-definition, you are much more susceptible to fears and worries that come with events in the world. 

Knowing who you are will be a big help in avoiding defining yourself by material possessions or so-called success.  Actually, a strong sense of who you are helps you avoid defining yourself as someone ‘special’ because of your car, house, job, or public image.  Those things may fluctuate with time, but your core values, who you really are, will not change.  It will only grow stronger. 

Those defining themselves by material possessions are going to have a difficult time.  That new vehicle is only new until the first payment is made.  The newest house on the block is only new until a few years have passed or until a newer house is built.  In just a few years, economic obsolescence sets in most neighborhoods.  Homes in rural areas fare better, but they still get old and out of date.   If someone defines themselves by their home, then it will help them if they are a little on the delusional side.  When the home gets older and dingier, they won’t notice it so much.

Those defining themselves by their public image are also doomed to eventual despair.  That young movie star is just a few years from being a somewhat wrinkled has been. 

Ultimately, your self-definition is going to be what points you in the direction you will go when it is time to make a decision.  In a changing world, it is important to understand how fleeting the things of this world really are. 

Someone who has a clear self-definition isn’t nearly as easily rattled by the events going on in their personal life, their country, and even in the entire world.  The world has a history of always changing.  Economic prosperity may change for better or worse.  Feast may change to famine.  A government of the people, by the people, and for the people may fade away in front of your very eyes. 

The Christian who clearly defines him/herself within Biblical guidelines, and acts according to those values, understands something very crucial.  God does not change. The world may change, but the principles by which they live life will not change.  In a world that is changing faster than we can comprehend, we have an anchor that holds.. 

Did the Christian lose his job?  He can still get up in the morning and say,

‘Today I will think Biblically, speak Biblically, and my actions will be within Biblical guidelines.  That has not changed.  The God I serve has not changed.  What He wants me to do has not changed,’

Is the Christian mother a new widow or divorcee with 2 little children to raise?  She can still get up with the knowledge that God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient.  That has not changed.  She can still know she is the same person who thinks Biblically, speaks Biblically and sets her mind to act within the guidelines of acceptable Biblical behavior.

What about the elderly widow lady?  After nearly sixty years of marriage, she is alone in a house.  The silence is deafening.  Her world is limited by her own frail health and economic situation.  All she can do a lot of the time is sit in a chair.  She is still able to make her own coffee and scrambled eggs, but who knows how much longer that will go on?  She can take comfort knowing that the person she is inside has not changed.  What she is able to do has changed.  Who she does things with has changed.  But, she is still the same person inside.  She still loves God and keeps the commandments.  The events surrounding her have not changed who she really is and who she really loves.

What are you facing today?

Is it:

Financial ruin? 

Severe health problems?

Loss of loved ones? 

Transition from one job to another one – or to no job at all? 

Turmoil in your family? 

Turmoil in your church? 

Fear of terrorists attacks?

Sorrow at the decline of your country?

Loss of safety and freedoms?

The transition of economic, social, and political foundations.

All of these things can be overwhelming.  And it seems that many times troubles don’t come alone.  They bring reinforcements.  You get whacked from every direction at the same time. 

If you are a Christian, there are certain things that cannot be shaken.

God is still Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.

Who you are as a Christian is the same.  You can probably improve how you show the world who you are, but who you are is still the same.

You can still define yourself as someone who loves God and keeps the commandments.  You can still avoid the sin of despairing at your circumstances because God is still the same.  Your position as His child is still the same.  Your future is still secure in Jesus Christ.

Defining who you are and setting your mind to live within the boundaries set by being a practicing Christian limits your choices in bad behavior.  It opens doors to your behavior in many circumstances.  You are not limited by the whims of society and political correctness.  You are only limited by the boundaries of good Christian behavior. 

So, I ask you again.  ‘Who are you?’  Really – who are you?

You fill in the blanks.

Self-Discipline

In talking about self-discipline the first thing we need to do is to define what it is not.  Self-discipline is NOT punishing yourself for mistakes, sins, errors, stupid actions, or anything else.  It is not about beating yourself on the back while crawling on your knees two miles to kiss the foot of some holy statue.  It is about setting your heart and mind to do the right things in all circumstances.

Discipline in general is a way to keep someone ‘in harness’, or pulling in the right direction.  Discipline keeps kids from errors that will cause them harm. 

Self-discipline is what will keep you inside the boundaries by which you define yourself. 

First comes self-definition.

Second comes self-discipline.

Self-discipline is doing what you know to be right.

It is also what you know is the best way to stay out of trouble, and have a good measure of contentment and success.

Self-discipline – doing what you know is right whether you feel like it or not.

Self-restraint – not doing what you may have an impulse to do because you know it is not right.  Not stepping outside your own self-definition on a whim is self-discipline.

Personal Self-discipline remembers:

I am a child of God.  My actions should first please Him.

I have heard the preaching of God’s word.  I know what is right.

I have priorities.  These are based on importance according to God’s word.

I must stay mentally alert because the devil walks around like a roaring lion ready to devour me.

I must turn away from any indulgence that produces sin my life. 

I must feed my spirit daily on the Word of God.  That is my ‘spiritual vitamin shot’.

I must keep my imagination under control.

I must ignore social moral codes (or lack of) and stick with morality as defined in the Bible.

Personal self-discipline doesn’t excuse you from public discipline if necessary.  It should help you avoid the need for pubic discipline.  For instance, if you exercise self-discipline and do not speed in your automobile, then you will avoid a speeding ticket.  You will also avoid the public discipline that goes with a citation for speeding.

And, here’s a big hint.  Avoid putting yourself in a position where you know temptation will get the better of you.  That means don’t buy a hot-rod Ford if you know you can’t keep your foot off the accelerator.  It means a lot of other things as well.  Self-discipline is careful.  It practices the things taught in the children’s Sunday School song ‘Oh Be Careful Little Eyes’.  It says be careful little eyes what you see, little ears what you hear, little mouth what you say, little feet where you go, little heart what you love, and probably ten more simple verses.  It is such a simple little song, but it takes giant sized self-discipline to actually do the things the song teaches. 

It seems obvious that the first part of self-discipline, the most important part, is self-discipline of the mind.  In the mind rages the epic battle for your thoughts.  ‘As a man thinketh, so is he.’ (Proverbs 23:7 paraphrase)

It is actually quite evident that how a person thinks controls what they do.  Yet, only the wise take it seriously. 

Wise people understand that:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

The Lord God Almighty is pure Truth.

Freedom cannot be found in lies, so the truth is very important.

Thinking based on non-truths leads to decisions that build on unstable ground. 

The disciplined mind is a discerning mind.  It is not easily fooled by the fads of the day or the material possessions that seem so necessary in the society today.

The discipline/discerning mind knows that:

Peace at any price is not really peace.

Material gain at any price costs more than it is worth.

The disciplined mind:

Faces the day resolutely

Is not double minded

Does its duty regardless of personal feelings 

Develops the ability to put their shoulder to the plow and never look back.

Is displayed in one’s character.

Is able to stand against a mighty tide of public opinion and peer pressure.

Self-Reliance

First there is self-definition.  That defines who you are at the center of your being.  It is your core values that define who you really are.

Then there is you self-discipline.  This is evidence of your self-definition.  If you claim one set of values, but act in a manner contrary to your self-definition, then you have not really been honest with yourself regarding what your core values actually are.

Put together your self-definition and your self-discipline and you have the framework for your self-reliance. 

Now, somewhere in setting your self-definition, and your self-discipline, you probably have had a good dose of humility.  You learned that you just can’t do it on your own.  You have to have God’s help.  You know that even the boring everyday things require God’s help to get done.  In fact, the more boring and mundane a task, the more help you may need to get it done.  You have learned somewhere that your ability to be self-reliant depends entirely on the Holy Spirit.  So when we consider ‘self-reliance’ we are considering self-reliance that begins with faith that God is with you and that God will help you.  The firm foundation of self-reliance is of course God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  You want to be self-reliant as in not waiting on the government to step in put you on a monthly bottle feeding that will never allow you to be self-reliant again.

Within the boundaries of self-reliance on the Judeo/Christian God of the Bible, there are things that must be done physically. The self-reliant person is willing to figure out a way to do what needs to be done. 

The self-reliant person is:

curious,

alert,

thinks outside the box in which peer pressure wants to imprison him/her,

willing to adapt to new and changing situations, and

willing to learn new things.

Remember the three things of ‘self’:

Self-definition

Self-discipline

Self-reliance.

To these three things you add experience.

Experience is not a factor for determining truth and right.

I mean experience as in how something works and how to get things done.  The only way to get experience is to live life and do things within the boundaries you have set for yourself. 

Never think you have learned it all. 

Stay curious and willing to learn and change within the boundaries you have set for your life.

These things can open the door to a better present and better future.

3.  THE FIRST BEST PREPPER TOOL

He was definitely a stranger in a strange land.  He was God on earth in the body of Jesus Christ.

He was locked into a specific body, time, and place.  He could have set Himself free, but He chose to stay and carry out His plan, His duty, and to be obedient to God His Father.

In this strange land, He lived in a nation occupied by Rome.  The government was hostile to Him and to all His people.

His adversary was the devil himself.

It was the devil who attacked Him in the wilderness.

At His disposal were legions of angels, not to mention His own power, a power so great it spoke the world into existence.

Jesus had prepared Himself for that day.  His weapon of choice was the Word of God. 

Now it obviously was not fair that Jesus was tempted at all. 

He was prayerful.

He was humble.

He was obedient.

He was not in a place of obvious temptation.  He was in the desert.

He heart and mind were steadfastly set on doing His duty.

He was actually utterly and continually perfect.

You could say Christ had His eye on the prize, His nose to the grindstone, His jaw set like a rock, or that He was single-mindedly doing what He was supposed to be doing.  All this is true.  He was doing everything right, but yet He faced temptation from the most dreadful of adversaries.  He faced the devil himself.

Jesus faced the devil with the same weapon that you and I have.  Jesus faced the devil with the written word of God.  That’s it.  To the devil’s temptations Christ replied by quoting what had been written down by men moved by the Spirit of God. 

What has been written down for us in the Bible is always for our good.

It is written to teach us.

It is written to comfort us.

It is written for our defense.

It is written to people of all ages and sizes.

It is written to people of all economic stations.

It is written to people of all nations.

It is written to people of all social standings.

It is written to all skin colors.

It is written to people who are weak and to people who are strong.

It is written to people of all beliefs.  (It is written to convert those heading down the path to destruction as well as those who have already believed.)

It is written to tell us the truth.

It is written for our defense.  (I know that I already said that – but it really needs repeating.)

Seeing as this was the weapon of choice for Jesus Christ against such a powerful adversary, it is silly for Christians to choose any other weapon when facing such a foe.  Now if you are being charged by a grizzly bear and happen to have a 306 rifle in your hands, it is very likely that the rifle should be your weapon of choice.  There is a call for common sense here.  If you are being charged by a grizzly bear it would be a good idea to cry, ‘God help me!’ while you are aiming.  But, go ahead and shoot.

Unfortunately, it might be easier to face a charging bear than to face the more subtle things that you face every day. 

As a man, Jesus had nothing with which to face His foe. 

He didn’t have an earthly army, servants, personal possessions, political friends, friends in high society, or a computer on which to begin a petition to limit the devil’s power and influence. 

I was taught growing up, and have found it to be true, that you really only own one thing.  That is your attitude.  Your attitude is what you make of it.  It can be good or bad.  The more you know the word of God and the more you practice it, the better your attitude will be.  The more you know scripture, the easier it will be to quote scripture when you are tempted. Often temptation is faced by a conversation with yourself!  It is a mental battle. You will not face the devil face to face.  It will be more of a battle for your thoughts.  The first practice you will get at quoting scripture will be to the evil or rebellious thoughts in your own mind.

In past chapters we have covered:

Self-definition

Self-discipline

Self- reliance

Knowing who you are is essential in preparing for the future.

Preparing physically for potential difficulties, disasters, hard time, and even persecution is a very good thing.  You don’t want to be trapped in your home wishing you had bottled water, toilet paper, and a Twinkie.  You also don’t want to be wishing you had more than a rock and pocket knife to take down that rabbit that occasionally passes under the bushes near your driveway.  A nice fat rabbit would make a meal for a hungry family

So, do be prepared materially as much as is possible and reasonable.  It isn’t a good idea to actually go hungry today in order to have food for a potential disaster in the future.  You can cut back on your how much you spend on groceries today in order to spend a little on a food stash for the future.  (I personally think putting in a fish pond in your basement is a little extreme – given the possibility of growing mold as well as fish.  But do what you think is best.) 

However, no matter what the future brings, there will be a lot of ‘down time’.

You will be alone, waiting, trying to rest, trying to get a moments peace, trying to figure out how to ‘tweek your plan’, wondering how to better prepare for the future, or possibly even sitting in prison for exercising your faith.  That is the battle for which you must prepare.  Because Jesus Christ Himself used the word of God to answer temptation, we can be sure that is the best way to fight temptations ourselves.

Probably the most dangerous and destructive temptation the individual faces is doubt.

The best way to fight doubt is through knowing and quoting scripture.  I know I already said this, but everyone needs to have some scriptures memorized so they can quote them to themselves.  The second best thing to do is learn Hymns based on scripture. 

Are you doubting the power of knowing God’s word?  Psalm 149:6 says, ‘May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,’

The praise of God IS a double-edged sword.  It was a powerful sword that cut through the chains of Paul and Silas when they were beaten half to death and then chained in the deepest darkest dungeon of the ogre’s jail.  I don’t think they were singing Amazing Grace because it hadn’t been written yet.  They were probably singing Psalms or some of the prayers of the Old Testament.  (Read Acts, Chapter 16.)  They couldn’t have sung what they didn’t know. 

Preparing for the future is difficult because no one knows exactly what the future will be specifically.  We should all use common sense and do the best we can with our current situations.  This varies person to person and family to family.  At best, try to have a few weeks food on hand. 

The thing everyone will face is a mental assault from the devil and his followers.  Actually, you are probably facing that right now regardless of how good your life may be at the moment.

The leading weapons used against you will be worry and doubt. 

The weapon with which we can defeat these terrible foes is the same weapon that Jesus used.  Use the scripture.

Use it to encourage yourself.

Use it to encourage and teach others.

Just like any soldier going into battle, you need to be very familiar with your weapons.  You need to know what is in the Bible. 

4.  Prepping Categories

‘Prepping’ is just being prepared for the immediate future and generally prepared for possible events in the unknown future.

Consider:

Day to day prepping – being better prepared for each day automatically puts you in the prepper category.  It is a good place to be.  Take day to day prepping seriously.

Prepping for Disaster awareness – what is most likely to happen in your area – impending disasters – when to take action

Prepping for Disaster readiness - planning and preparation for the family

Prepping for Disaster relief assistance - for your family and potentially others.  You want to be ready to help your immediate family, extended family, and neighbors, and even strangers.  It will never be your job to save the planet, or the town, or the neighborhood.  It may be that you will have opportunities to help those in need starting with your very own family.  Helping others is a way to step out of the role of victim.  Helping others will also help you.

Prepping for Disaster relief – personally learning things that will be helpful in a disaster.  Get some training on how to help in a disaster.  You don’t need to get a job as a first responder.  You need common sense.  If you see someone in need of help you may be able to safely render aid without jeopardizing yourself or a family member.  Everyone should know basic first aid.

Prepping for Disaster relief response – how you will respond immediately to disaster - what you can do personally and what you can expect from area assistance.  This is very important.  People automatically think ‘help is on the way’.  But in a disaster help moves like a snail.  By the time it gets to you, you may already have put the roof back on your house yourself!  Get a realistic idea of what help you can reasonably expect and in what time frame.  If millions of people are without electricity, then you will not likely be on the ‘restore power first’ list.  Hope for soon, but expect later.  If you are in a smaller neighborhood that is suddenly cut off from the rest of town through flooding or road debris then roads leading up to the neighborhood will have to be cleared before they even get to you.  Disaster relief agencies may finally come up with the clothing or food you need, but you may be very uncomfortable before they do. 

Prepping for Disaster hysteria – in a disaster people are totally out of their comfort zone.  This may bring out the best in most people, but it will definitely bring out the very worst in others.  Two days without electricity and running water and some people are ready to punch you in the face for no reason.  Others will take the opportunity to steal and vandalize.  This is sad, but it is a fact.  You must take extra precaution to keep your family safe, avoid conflict when possible, and be prepared to defend yourself and your family.

Prepping for Christian outreach – if you are a practicing Christian you may find opportunities to reach people who are otherwise unreachable.  Simple acts of kindness are good ways to start.  If you keep gospel tracts on hand, then pass them out with a few bites of food if you have the opportunity. Just keep your eyes open for a chance to reach out to someone.  Don’t be pushy.  Don’t offer a person who is wet and hungry a gospel tract in place of dry clothing, and food.

Prepping you Church for disaster response – talk to your church now about what they would do in an area disaster.  If you find your home and family safe the church may have need of your help in helping families who have not been so lucky.  If you are the family in need you will know where to go to get immediate help.

5.  Day to Day Prepping

Let’s start with prepping right where you are now.

Prepping is not all about something that might or might not happen at some fuzzy day in the future.  Prepping begins with doing simple things that will make the life you are currently living go along more smoothly.  Everyone wants to be prepared for a normal day.  Even a pleasant uneventful day requires some planning to make it go as smoothly as possible.

Honestly, while prepping for disaster is more being prepared for when something out of the ordinary occurs, prepping for day to day events is simply setting a working routine and sticking with it when events are following their usual pattern. 

Let’s take a look at your daily routine and see if you might find a few ways to adjust it to be a little more efficient.  Even that may require getting out of your current comfort zone.  For instance, my husband has a job with a work schedule that can vary about an hour and half from the time he starts work to the time he gets off work.  The invariable is that he has to work a set number of hours.  So, while it is definitely out of his comfort zone he gets up in time to get to work at the earliest possible time.  That means he gets up at 3:15 every work day, and he is out of the house by 4am.  The good thing about this is that he saves about 50% on driving time by leaving so early.  He also gets off an hour earlier, and that saves him at least 30 minutes on the time spent driving home.  He saves around 75 to 90 minutes driving time on an average day by leaving the house so early.  So, it is worth it to get up earlier to save that driving time.  He spends that extra time sitting on the couch having me wait on him hand and foot, so naturally he is pretty pleased with his decision to get up earlier than he has to.  Honestly, I am very happy to have him home an hour earlier in the evening.  I don’t mind handing him his supper on a silver platter.  Well, it might be on a paper plate, but he really doesn’t care.

Prepping for weekly meals is always a good idea.  It isn’t hard once you get into doing it.  You may have to do some shopping when you are really too tired to do it, but it will definitely be worth it later.  If you are prepared for meals several days in advance you are already prepared for three days of down time in case of an emergency.

I usually prepare for meals by grocery shopping and planning at least 4 night-time meals in advance.  Simple meals require simple menus.  For 4 meals you need 4 entrees, a couple of veggies, bread, and desserts. Here is a sample menu:

1. Kosher hot dogs – which are more likely to have better meat – and no meat-by products – whatever those are!

Buns

Chips – there are reasonably healthy alternatives to potato chips

Tea

Coco-puffs for a sweet snack.

This is a good menu if you have to go shopping that day. It can be prepared in ten minutes when you get home, so that ‘too tired to cook’ syndrome doesn’t kick in.  Or an alternative is to buy home bake pizza on the day you grocery shop.  There are frozen pizza’s that are really good, and even gluten free is available in many grocery stores.  Frozen pizza counts as one of the meals you planned for the next 4 days.

2.  Chicken – fling it in the crock pot before you leave for the day

Put some taters and onions in with it – they may be mushy when you get home but at least they will be ready to eat.

Left over hot dog buns toasted

Captain Crunch works pretty well as a dessert – or some nice sliced Fuji Apples can’t be beat for that sweet tooth.

3.  Tacos

Appropriate amount of hamburger – depending on how many people you are feeding

Taco shells

Cheese

Salsa or picante

Extra chips if you want them.

OR

Super nachos

Just cook the same thing and put it on chips instead of taco shells

Frozen pie or ice-cream or candy or fruit again

4.  Breakfast for supper –

Ham, bacon, or sausage

Eggs

Hash-browns optional

Or sandwiches with ham or bacon

Chips optional

Skip dessert an eat popcorn for a snack.

Other easy meals include canned chili used for frijito pie or just eaten in a bowl with crackers.  There are some very healthy and tasty brands of canned chili available now.  Don’t laugh until you have tried some of the better ones;  salad as a meal with the left over bacon or ham on top; grilled cheese sandwiches;  hot roast beef or turkey sandwiches using deli meat and ready made gravy; tuna sandwiches – make the tuna as fancy or plain as you and your family like.  If you boil eggs for the tuna the eggs will be good to go with a chef salad any time in the next couple of day;  homemade chili – the ‘fling it in the pan’ kind that you cook in 30 minutes or less; and any big meal that you can scale down to take just  a few minutes to prepare.

Another really good way to work meals is to double batch everything that your family will eat as a leftover.  For instance a nice Sunday oven roast is easily turned into a good stew for Tuesday. Or if there is enough roast it can be turned into chopped bar-b-que sandwiches with just a little effort. Chili on Monday becomes super nachos or frijito pie on Wednesday. 

These menus can be as healthy or unhealthy as the ingredients you use.  These are menu ideas that you can plan in advance, shop for quickly, prepare quickly, and have a meal ready to eat in a very short time. 

I suggest leaving the breakfast meat(s) for later in the week because they keep longer in the refrigerator.  That way if an event changes your schedule and you aren’t able to cook one night, you just order pizza, and move your schedule forward one day.  Ham or bacon is not going to ruin when left in the refrigerator a few extra days.

This works.  Preparing for the meals in advance is prepping for the future.  Also, I know you really don’t have to have dessert with every meal.  I am just throwing out some possibilities on how to make it easy on yourself. 

Breakfast works the same way.  You need to have it set up for the week before the week starts.  Most people don’t have time to make a really neat breakfast every day.  I suggest something like lunchmeat and cheese roll ups.  You get a piece of sliced ham, slap a slice of cheese on it, and roll it up like a burrito.  This is nutritious.  It also works well for lunch.  Vary the lunch meat and cheese for variety.  If you are into juicing then breakfast is the time to send everyone out with a glass of fresh juice full of enzymes and other good stuff.  Juice the green stuff and add a sweet apple or pear to make it taste better.  If you can get juice down for breakfast, then the lunchmeat roll ups work really well for lunch.  Everyone needs to eat something healthy.  You need a game plan to make that happen. 

My personal opinion is that is far better to have something to eat at regular time than to eat fancier meals on an odd schedule. 

Prep for a smoother week by getting clothes lined up for the week in advance.  It isn’t that hard.  There may be a trick to having clothes clean and dry depending on your laundry situation.  If you are blessed with an in home washer and dryer it is there for a reason.  Keep it running.  If you have a lot of laundry you need to have a load of clothes in the washer or dryer as often as necessary.  A routine is required.  Put a load on to wash immediately after coming home from work or when you get up in the morning.  Wash in cold water so as not to interrupt anyone’s shower schedule. Get the morning load of laundry in the dryer before you leave the house. Make sure everyone either has a clean outfit in the dryer, in the closet, or laid out in the bedroom before they lay down at night.  That includes socks, underwear, and jackets as may be needed.  If you are the adult in charge of a child’s clothes, then it is your responsibility to see that something is there to wear when it is time to get dressed.  There is a time of course when family members are responsible for their own clothes.  Make an effort to remind them, but if they don’t comply then the consequences belong toothem.  A simple statement is ‘there’s the dirty clothes hamper – pick the least smelly and wrinkled outfit you can find.’ The flip side of that coin is that you don’t complain about what they are wearing.  They need to stay within the guidelines you set for modesty and neatness.  Encourage them to get their clothes ready for the next day or days well in advance.  That is all you can do.  Family should help each obviously.  Almost any age family member can help to some extent with keeping a good supply of clothes clean and ready to wear. 

So, we have covered prepping for daily food and clothes.  A recap is:

Figure out what everyone is wearing several days in advance.

Lay out the clothes the night before, and don’t even think about changing what anyone is wearing unless they are totally capable and willing to take care of their own clothes. 

Plan meals at least 4 days at a time.

Make them easy.

Stick to the plan.

This is prepping.  If you have any form of order in your life at this point in time, you are ALREADY a prepper.  Pat yourself on the back.

Currently people think of preppers as people who are getting ready to live in a bunker while the rest of the world starves and burns.  In reality preppers are just people like you and me.  We just want our lives to run more smoothly today.  We want to be as well prepared for the future as possible.  We want to enjoy our lives right now.

6.  Surviving the Storm

In October of 2012 a dreadful storm hit the eastern United States.  It lasted several days and caused more damage than can be counted.  After the storm most people found themselves with at least some minor damage that had to be dealt with.  Others had a lot of damage.  Many had power outages that lasted for weeks.  Some lost their homes entirely.  Some lost their lives.    

What you want to do in the time preceding a storm is prepare for safety above all else.  This is basic prepping for the future, and everyone needs to be prepared!  Your immediate goal is to do all that you can to make sure you and your family survive the storm without injury. Managing to survive comfortably during a storm is a bonus.  The storm will end, and you want to be alive to help clean up the mess! 

Weigh your options before a storm actually arrives.  Carefully observe the normal storms or potential disasters in your area in your daily life, whether they are earthquakes and tusnamies, rain storms, hurricanes, snow storms, ice storms, or even dust or sand storms.  What happens when you face a small storm?  Is there something that bothers you in your home, you work place, your normal transportation route, or anything else?  Is it something that would pose a big problem in a storm that is worse than usual?  Consider how this would affect you and your family.  Consider how you would manage if a storm or some other disaster prevented you from going through your day in the normal routine. If there is a possibility of an evacuation of your area then at least make mental preparations for how you would handle that. You need to have plan A, B, and C in place. You probably need plan D, E, and F if you have children who are scattered around at different schools or daycare.  If work schedules or work locations vary then alternate plans may be required to coordinate with that.

Evacuation routes from your home may also work to get to your home if the roads you normally use are closed.  Take an alternative route to or from town occasionally simply to become familiar with the roads. 

Assemble everything you might need during a storm.  You need to have flashlights handy.  Food and water should be easily assessable.  Coats, jackets, rain gear, and extra clothing should be where you can get to them easily.  If you have to evacuate your home take what you can with you easily and quickly.  Be ready to evacuate if necessary, but don’t go out into the storm unless it is absolutely necessary.  Have your mind made up in advance about what you are going to do in certain circumstances. 

Obviously you will want your doors and windows closed.  You also want drapes and curtains closed.  A curtain or drape wouldn’t prevent that tree limb or actual tree from flying through your window but it could help contain flying glass.  If there are large trees in your yard or area you need to be aware that one of them might wind up falling on your house! (Remember to trim those trees long before a storm is on the way.) Take a look at the house; decide where the tree would hit if it blew over; and avoid that area of the house. Some people nail plywood over windows and doors before a storm.  That is usually extreme and expensive.  If you are going to have to ride out a bad storm that is an option.

Identify the room in your home that you common sense tells you will be the safest and set up to stay in that area most of the time.  Keep in mind that you are not moving into cramped quarters permanently.  You are just riding out a storm. 

Stay alert during the storm.  If it is a storm of unprecedented magnitude such as the one mentioned already then you really don’t know what is going to happen.  In all likelihood nothing to horrible will happen, but that doesn’t change the fact that really horrible things do happen during a storm.  Levees break causing flooding in areas that were previously considered safe from flooding.  Torrential rains can cause flash flooding in areas where flooding has never been recorded.  A log jam on a river can cause flooding upstream when it has never happened before. Mud slides are even possible. You want to be aware of what is happening to the best of your ability.  For instance if a levee is predicted to break then you want to make an effort to leave the area.  If roads are predicted to flood that would leave you trapped in your home you want to consider how safe you will be in your home.  If you are simply going to be trapped in your home until the flooding goes down then it is likely that your best plan will be to simply stay in your home and wait it out.  At some point you will need to trust the news and weather reports if they tell you that your home is going to flood.  If that is the case then you will need to leave the area while the roads are passable.

Families and friends should be able to band together in times like this.  I would caution that those who do not use alcohol will not be able to stay with those who do use alcohol.  Cigarettes are another problem.  I personally grew up with a dad who was a heavy smoker.  Most of our friends had at least one family member who smoked.  No one in my family smokes now, and it is just wonderful.  Now smokers often go outside to smoke.  I would rather deal with a smoker than a drinker under any circumstances.  Still, before you set up a family rendezvous during a storm or other disaster actual family compatibility needs to be considered.

Prior to the storm take the time to fill your gas tank.  If you happen to have an extra five gallon gas can fill that up as well.

Do you have a way to hear or watch weather reports and warnings if the electricity is off?  I admit that we count on the car radio.  We have tried those hand crank radios, but we haven’t found one that actually works well. 

By the way, if water is over a road when you are driving then you probably don’t want to try to drive through the water.  In years past I watched my parents and grandparents go through flooded roads.  If they were familiar with the road then they could make a judgment regarding how deep the water was, but they could not tell if the water had caused a hole in the road.  I remember watching my granddad take a big walking stick and wade through water poking all around with the stick.  Then my dad drove through the water when granddad motioned that it was safe.  I have no idea why we just didn’t sit there and wait until the water went down.  The point is that if for some reason you feel like you MUST cross a flooded section of road someone needs to walk it first – which could be incredibly dangerous in its self.  That was in a flooded section of a dirt country road.  It was not over a bridge submerged by a raging river.

Trees are wonderful for shade, beauty, and even good air quality.  However in a storm they can be blown right over on your house!  Keeping your trees trimmed prior to storms will make that less likely.  It is probably not a good idea to rush out to trip your oak trees just before a storm unless you have time to properly dispose of the branches you trim.  If you leave them laying in the yard they might just be the debris that is blown right through your windows! Low growing bushes or trees on the perimeter of your property can even be a wind break in some cases.  They are not going to stop a tornado, but they could stop some of the flying debris.  

Part of surviving a storm or disaster is to survive immediately after the event.  There are a lot of unusual dangers that follow.  For instance, there may be downed power lines that are actually live.  You could get electrocuted if you assume they are not live.

Gas lines may be ruptured causing leaks.  If you smell a rupture gas line then leave the area and notify 911 as soon as possible.  There is an additional danger of fires.  Obviously don’t smoke and don’t be bashful about telling someone else not to light up!

Flooding usually manages to mix with raw sewage at some point.  There is disease in the sludge left by a flood.  Be cautious with clean up! 

Be cautious when entering a building that has been flooded.  If you don’t have to go in then don’t go in.  It may not be structurally sound.  There may be gas leaks.

Flooding not only drives people from their homes, it drives wild animals from their homes as well.  If you live in an area with poison snakes, watch out for them after a flood.  Just like you, they are out of their comfort zone.  They are hungry. They will bite.

Don’t assume you have a safe water supply just because water comes out when you turn on the faucet.  It is safe for flushing the commode, but until you hear otherwise be sure to exercise caution with all water that is used for drinking, cooking, and hand washing.  You can use water you stored in advance.  You can boil water.  You can use a variety of water purifiers.  The most economical is simply a few drops of Clorox bleach per gallon of water.  It tastes horrible, but it is better than getting typhoid or some other dreadful and potentially fatal disease.  Recommended amounts of bleach per gallon vary.

Take disaster planning seriously.  Put the most effort into planning for disaster types that are most likely to hit your area.  If you live in the center of Kansas, USA it is not likely that you need to spend much time or money making plans for what to do if a tsunami hits your area.  If you live in Nome, Alaska then you probably won’t want to spend much time working on a tornado storm shelter.

You can take disaster preparation seriously without letting it consume your life.  I have known people who were so terrified of a tornado that the basically spent the entire tornado season with an emergency weather radio in their hands.  They cut their sleep time by at least half so they could spend more time worrying about a tornado.  That is no way to live.  I have to admit that a loud clap of thunder right over the house is pretty nerve-wracking!  When we lived in ‘tornado alley’ we were very respectful of storms.  Only once did we think a tornado might be coming to our home.  We were prepared to go to the center of the house which was the place that was structurally strongest in our home.  We were careful not to terrify our kids because we didn’t want them to grow up being one of those people who so terrified of storms they really can’t function. 

So, use common sense.  Strike a balance between terror of the next unexpected event in your future and being reasonably prepared.

7.  Leave Your Home Temporarily Disasters

Oh no!  There is a wild fire near your house.  OR There is a chemical spill on the freeway near your house.  OR a gas line blew up three houses down and the neighborhood gas lines are considered seriously dangerous until further notice.  OR there is a maniac holed up next door and the SWAT team is evacuating all the surrounding homes. OR – you fill in the blanks.  There is honestly potential for something to happen that would put you out of your home for a short amount of time with no consequences after a week or so. 

Are you prepared?

How do you get prepared?

If you are in a good position you might just be able to go to the home of a family member or friend and stay there a few days. 

You should take this very seriously in advance.  If there is close family in the general area you still need to talk to them about a potential emergency situation where homes might need to be shared in an emergency.  This is more than just talking.  It is setting up a definite plan in case of an emergency.  It may be that while one relative cannot take anyone into their home because of size or neighborhood restrictions, you may still be able to take them into your home.  Everyone needs to understand that in case of an emergency temporarily moving in with a relative or close friend for a few days is the plan.  It really could happen.  So, if someone is uncomfortable with that possibility becoming a reality they need to speak up in the planning stage.  Don’t wait until someone shows up on your doorstep to decide you really can’t stand having them in your home for a few days.  And you sure don’t want to show up on someone else’s door step and find out they were just kidding when they said you could stay there for a few days in an emergency. 

If your church has potential to allow people to stay there in an emergency, that needs to be set up in advance.  Many churches with space would allow faithful church families to spend a few days there.  Some even have plans for taking in general community members in a dire emergency.  Check out your options in advance.

In a situation like this other than the bare necessities for living the most important thing is for everyone to focus on getting through the situation as safely and cheerfully as possible.

Of course if you have a Portuguese Water Spaniel and a Saint Bernard it is going to be a little more difficult.  You have to figure out what to do with or for your pets in such a situation.

Scenario one – let’s assume you are going to an easily accessible safe place.  

This still falls into two catagories.

Category one is you get to take things from your home.

Category two is that you are out of your home and are not allowed back in until’ it is safe to return home’ – whatever that means.

There are several things you would need to grab in an emergency.  A hint is that it wouldn’t be you new espresso machine unless you planned to set up a stand and sell drinks until the disaster was over.

The first thing would be to make sure you have your hands on any child or ill family member who is in the house. 

Grab any prescription medicine and your ‘jump and run’ bag. 

If you have time grab a change of clothes.

Leave the house.

Assemble the entire family as soon as possible just to make sure you are all safe and following the plan for a temporary home evacuation. 

Thank God that you are only inconvenienced for a limited amount of time.

An unpleasant twist on this type of scenario is that you are not home in the first place, and you will not be allowed back into your home for several days.  This means the main part of your plan is still in effect, but you will not have the luxury of getting a few things out of your home.

In such a situation it would be very helpful to have a few things in your vehicle and the vehicle of each family member.  It doesn’t have to be elaborate.  A list of phone numbers for things your pharmacy would at least give you access to getting any prescription medicine filled. Phone numbers are pretty easily available now, so that isn’t as important as it used to be.  If you are good at keeping your cell phone right with you you will probably have all the phone numbers you actually need already in the phone.  Even if cell service is down the your phone numbers will be available as long as your phone is charged. On second thought, a written list of phone numbers would be a really good idea. 

A list of items that are really necessary for you on a day to day basis would be good.  That way you won’t be in Walgreens picking up a prescription but forgetting infant formula and Excedrin migraine.  I know it seems like you would remember all those things.  However, you will be knocked out of your comfort zone, and it is amazing what you can forget when you are suddenly out of your routine.  Emergency cash is good.  If you can possibly put back even $50 in small bills you will be a step ahead of the game. 

A money belt is a good way for some people to stash cash because it isn’t readily available for impulse buys.  For instance, I do my very best to keep $100 in my husband’s possession at all times.  His job is 40 miles from home, and he has to travel on a very congested traffic artery.  Recently he actually spent his emergency money on a WWII Japanese bayonet because it would look so good on the end of the Japanese rifle his father brought home from Japan in 1946.  There is cash hidden in his car now vacuum sealed in plastic.  He has to call me to find out where it is.  

It is possible to have a back-pack full of necessary things that you carry in and out of your home each time you go in and out, but that is a little extreme.  However there a few things that can be done fairly easily that will help in a disaster as well as provide potential help on a daily basis.  For instance my husband carries a lunch box every day.  He doesn’t carry his lunch, but he does carry some ice and Dr. Pepper.  The top has a zipper for sandwiches and food items.  Instead I have it stuffed full of medicine and first aid items.  He seldom uses it, but you never know when it will come in handy.  I stuff bottled water and Gator Aid under the passenger seat.  He has been stuck in traffic for three and four hours.  I don’t want him to dehydrate!  If your car stays immaculately clean then you will probably have to put things like this in appropriate size packs and boxes and store them neatly in the trunk.  Go ahead and do it.  Be careful not to spend and a fortune on the storage containers or you won’t have any money left to spend on the actual things you need.  I do stuff things under the seats, but I don’t put anything under the driver’s seat because it might roll out toward the front if the driver hits the brakes hard.  Actually, I usually tie the water and gator aid in used grocery bags.  That keeps them from rolling around, but I still don’t put anything under the driver’s seat.

God willing you will soon be back in your own home and your normal routine will be back in place.  Always remember to use any routine break as a learning experience.  Ask yourself questions like, ‘What was the worst thing that happened and how can I make it better next time?’  And, ‘What was the thing that went the smoothest and how can I build on that in case something like this happens again?

Remember to thank God for His wonderful goodness.

8.  Lose Your Home in a Disaster

It could be much worse than shut out of your home for a few days.  You could lose your home altogether.  This would be a hard blow financially and emotionally.  Your comfort zone would be gone for anytime in the near future.  If it ever happens to you, I am truly sorry.  And, a lot of people would be truly sorry and try to be helpful.  Make up your mind in advance to accept any help that doesn’t have strings attached.  An aside here is that if you personally are attempting to help someone who has lost their home in a disaster you want to be very careful to only give things that are totally functional and useful.  A person or family who has just lost their home does not need a nice shirt that ‘just needs half its buttons sewn on’, an expensive pair of jeans in the right size that just happens to need a new zipper, a basket full of mis-matched socks, or a nice casserole that has been sitting in your freezer for three years.  It is AMAZING what useless things people will give to someone who is in need.  Friends of mine lost their home in a fire a number of years ago.  They were not home and lost EVERYTHING in the house.  In addition to the clean-up from the fire, they also had at least a dump truck full of garbage that people had given them in the name of ‘helping’ that they had to deal with.  Possibly one of the worst things people did was send broken toys to two children who had just lost every toy they had.  I don’t mean people need only new items or only expensive things.  Do your best to give useful items in good condition.  

But, what do you do if your home is lost? 

Take it one second at a time.

If you are still alive God will take you through it.

The first thing to do is make sure your family is safe.  If you have pets, they are second on the list. 

You need to come up with a place to stay for at least the first night.  Hopefully you have a place pre-arranged for such a time.  And if you don’t some family or friend will hopefully come forward with an offer that will at least give you some breathing room.

You need to contact your insurance company.  They will have the information they need to get started if you lost everything in the disaster.

If you are in the middle of a large scale disaster then it is likely that help will show up in the form of church groups, local help, and even FEMA.  Don’t hesitate to accept offered help.  I personally would do everything possible to avoid a FEMA camp – or shelter area.  If you must accept such help make a solemn promise to yourself that you will make the stay as temporary as possible.  Don’t wait on them.  Look for other options yourself.  Which brings up another possibility.

If you have lost a home in one area due to a large disaster the question would be, ‘do you still have a means of support?’  If you are retired then you still have your retirement income unless it was tied up in some sort of rental property that was also destroyed.  If you find yourself homeless and jobless you will want to determine if you will actually be able to stay in the area or if you might have a better future in a different area.  Possibilities might include a place nearer to family, nearer to jobs, nearer to a good church, or nearer to a place you just happen to like/love.  What really matters is staying true to who you really are.  Don’t do anything that goes against your core values.  Leave the door open for anything else. 

If you are staying in the same area you may want to consider a relocation to an area that may be at least slightly safer.  Things to consider might be getting a home above the dam on a lake or on ground that is higher than the river levee in the area.  If mud slides are a real problem you may not want a home on top of a hill that primarily consists of clay without many trees.  Obviously a home on a flood plain is more likely to flood.  You may have a lovely river view, but is it really worth it?  You don’t want a home on the floor of a canyon.  You may not want beach front property anymore.  A hint is that if the homes are built on stilts it may not be an area in which you can avoid flooding.  Make your life as simple as possible.  There will be enough problems that arise in spite of taking every precaution. 

9.  Stuck in Your Home During a Disaster

Well, it rained really hard.  You clung to God’s promise to never flood the entire world again.  You prayed He wasn’t going to flood your home.  The rains caused flooding in places that had never flooded before.  Water came within three feet of your front door, but thankfully it didn’t actually get into your home. 

So what do you do while you are stuck at home?  Chances are very good that you will not be able to use this down time to catch up on things you need to do around the house.  Everything runs on electricity and you may not have any!  It is hard to read those good books by candle light or even the light of propane lantern.  The silence is deafening.  There are probably howling winds from some sort of storm. 

A Personal Experience during an ice storm

A few years back we lived in area where ice storms were fairly common.  They would hit hard and usually knock out power lines for a few days.  The roads could become totally impassable.  So, when a storm warning was issued a lot of people took it very seriously and went straight to the grocery store.  The grocery stores were always full of an assortment of people ranging from the very elderly who had been frightened out of their home by the threat of being stuck in their home to the very young and rash who were terrified of running out of beer.  This was evident by the shopping carts. Yes, I am telling you the truth.  There would be people with two buggies loaded up with beer and one box of baby diapers.  They would buy cigarettes as they went through the check-out line.  The elderly would have a lot of pharmacy items and a few cans of something.  Other people used the shotgun approach and just grabbed something off every shelf.  Smart people got someone in line with an empty buggy when they first went in the store.  Then the rest of the people in the shopping party ran to different parts of the store and grabbed specific items on a list.  A short list of items to purchase for an impending disaster is a good thing to have in your car. While you are shopping don’t hesitate to grab something that you see that wasn’t on your list if you know you will need it.  Hopefully you will have already set up a working pantry at home that will help you avoid that mad rush to the grocery store just before a storm hits.

The comforting thing about the ice storms was that we could make a pretty sound prediction regarding how long the inconvenience was going to last.  The weather would tell us when the storm would pass over, when the roads would thaw, and then we could guess how long the power companies would take to get everything back on track.  The record for us was two weeks without electricity.  That was AWFUL but we did manage.  It was certainly easier because of the many things we did have on hand in our home.

In this case we were the family member with a wood heater, so other family members came to our house to stay a few days.  Other people came in with enough stuff to feed an army for a month.  They were prepared also.  It was still bad because there were no lights, no TV, no video games, no nothing.  We had a few books to listen to on CD – and we had to sit in the car to do that.  I guess we could have been better prepared in that area.  We needed more batteries for stuff that uses batteries.  We got weather reports from the car radio. 

A potential way to prepare for a ‘no electricity’ disaster is to just turn off the lights for a few hours and see what you can figure out. Pretend the roads are impassible and you can’t get out of the driveway.  Also, the pizza delivery guy cannot get to your house.  If you use something that runs on batteries then you need a good supply of batteries.  If you have one of those generators that hooks up to your electric box then check and see if it actually starts.  If it starts that will be nice providing you have enough fuel to run it for at least a few hours.  If you actually have a power generator for electrical outages, then you may have to use it selectively instead of continually.

Do you have a way to cook or just make coffee and warm up canned spaghetti?  Try out that camp stove, gas grill, or light some charcoal.  If you have a fire pit in the back yard you might even build a small fire and see what you can do there without too much trouble.  (More to come later on how to cook on an open fire or using a dutch-oven.)

Clean clothes can be a problem.  If something comes up like a prediction of weather that might throw the electricity out for a while start doing laundry and dishes immediately.  The last thing you need to begin a no electricity day (or week) is a sink full of dishes and a stack of dirty laundry.  That reminds me that a nice stash of paper plates, plastic forks, and things like that is a good idea for anytime.  You can use them on days you just don’t feel like cleaning.  Open a can of chili and eat off paper plates. Never be afraid to use some of the things you have stored for a disaster even if the disaster just happens to be ‘I don’t feel like doing anything today’.

Something to understand well in advance is that a few hours, days, or even weeks without electricity ranges from a minor inconvenience to a monumental inconvenience.  In most instances it is not going to be more than that.  To spend the money required to set up back up power is a very big expense.  Even the cheapest power generator will cost you nearly $1000 plus the fuel to operate it.  Fuel may or may not be available for purchase.  You have to either have fuel on hand or have a way to travel to purchase fuel. 

There are various solar power generators on the market that range from supposed to run one light bulb up to making a large home free from the power grid.  During storm there probably won’t be a lot of sunshine to generate power.  These systems are expensive and cost a lot to operate once they are in place. 

For me personally a back up power plan is just not in the budget.  If you have a family member in construction they may have or have access to a portable power source.  These cost thousands of dollars, but they are generally reliable.  Of course then you also have to have someone who actually knows how to hook up a generator safely. 

The bottom line is probably going to be that when the electricity goes down you will just have to manage as efficiently and cheerfully as possible.  Personally I am probably one of the biggest cry-babies around when the power goes down.  I just try to get through it safely, and that is probably going to be all you can do as well.  It isn’t the end of the world.  And, in the world in which we live today, it is not going to be permanent.  It may feel like permanent, but it really isn’t.

By the way, power may be back on in stores, shopping malls, and restaurants long before it is restored to you home.  Don’t be bashful about charging cell phones, kindles and even your lap top while you slowly sip down that drink at the local coffee house.  Remember which places are kind and helpful to you during times like that and patronize them later.  If they are rude to you then don’t use them later.  That said, do remember to be polite.  They are probably a lot of other people in the same situation who will need to charge up their electronics. 

10.  Your Home without Electricity for a prolonged period of time

Well it stinks, but occasionally the electricity can be off for a prolonged amount of time.  During this time there is a dreadful possibility that you will also be without running water.  If you are on city water that is not contaminated by flooding or something worse you are lucky!

Without electricity you do have to set up a way to warm water for bathing, cleaning, and cooking.  It depends largely on how many people are involved.  Regardless there are some things you need to do.

Refrigerator items – unfortunately they will spoil in a just a day or two without electricity.  Frozen items will thaw and ultimately ruin.  So, start by eating anything that is going to ruin.  If you have meat in the refrigerator eat what you like the best first.  If you have meat or other items in the freezer you can save that a few days longer because it is frozen to begin with.  Cook the best first in case you don’t get power back before it has time to spoil.  My personal rule of thumbs is that meat is good in the refrigerator for 3 solid days.  Of course that is when the power is on and the refrigerator actually refrigerates stuff.  In this case just eat as much as you can as fast as you can.  Make you dog or the neighbor’s dog happy.  Don’t wait until you think it is spoiled to feed it to the dog unless you are trying to poison the dog.  You just have to realize from the beginning that it is highly likely that everything in your refrigerator or freezer is going to be spoiled before you get power back.  UNLESS it is subzero temperatures outdoors.  In that case, don’t hesitate to store frozen foods outdoors.

Home heating – you need a way to heat at least part of your house.  If you have a wood heater or gas heater then you are a step ahead of a lot of people.  There are small propane heaters that are safe for indoor use. One is called a ‘Buddy Heater’.  We have one and it works pretty well. If at all possible you need to have some sort of heater on hand along with appropriate fuel.  Don’t try to heat your entire house.  Just heat the space you need for a short time.  If necessary you can even arrange to sleep in the heated area.  Do exercise extreme caution with an unusual heat source especially if you have small children.  By the way, kids are pretty adaptable.  Just put more coats on them and don’t let them hear you complain.  They will follow your lead.  Older kids may be more likely to complain, but don’t set the tone by complaining yourself.  If you must complain go in a closet, stuff your mouth with a sock, and then gripe and complain.  When you feel better go back to the family area with some sort of cheerful look pasted on your face.

Do try to look as normal as possible.  You can heat water for washing hands, faces, and even bathing and hair washing.  You can’t use a curling iron without electricity, but can comb hair, brush teeth, gargle for fresh breath, and shave.  You can put on clean clothes as long as you have clean clothes.  There are public laundries if you have to use them but they are expensive.  I would try wearing clothes two days instead of one day to begin with.  Chances are you aren’t sweating a lot so your clothes will probably be fine for more than one day. 

Home cooling – as far as I know you can forget it.  If you need air conditioning you won’t have it.  You won’t even have a fan.  (In this case you will sweat and you probably cannot wear your clothes 2 days without smelling like you haven’t changed your clothes lately.)  You also won’t have a fan.  If this is the case try to find a shade tree in your yard and sit there and cry like a baby until the electricity comes back on.  That is what I do.  Seriously, there isn’t any way that I know of to cope with heat and humidity short of air conditioning.  Well, there is one other way.  Go the lake or the creek and camp out until the electricity comes back on.  That isn’t always possible of course.  You can do your best to cool down at bed time by taking a cool bath or even soaking your feet in cool water.  Wet hair at bedtime may give you pneumonia before morning but it will help you sleep cooler.

Now, if you don’t have water you have an entirely new set of problems.  That is why you need to store at least twenty gallons of water as a minimum.  It is covered in the camping section, but you can get very clean with just one gallon of water if you pour it in a very tiny trickle. 

Hopefully you will be able to get water from outside sources if you don’t have it at home, but you will still have to be very saving with what you use, so keep that in mind.  By the way, it takes about a gallon of water to flush the commode one time.  If you don’t have plenty of water on hand you probably will have to make an executive decision on how often you actually have to flush.  Be sure to save dishwater and bathwater to use as flushing water.  Fill the back of the commode with water and flush as usual; or dump a gallon of water in the toilet bowl really fast. 

11.  No Home and No Place to Go

Well, it is a really bad scenario.  You lost your home and there isn’t an immediate place to go. 

The first thought is the first thought in every situation.  Get the family together.  If you are a single person with no family in the area you may have a church family or group of friends that have agreed to band together in a chaotic situation.  You will need to get together with them as soon as possible.

Second thought is probably shelter.  If you have a car – do you still have your car?  Keep in mind that this is a temporary situation, but a car does provide shelter.  If the heat isn’t too bad you can even lock the doors and have a safely enclosed area.  If you have a family sleeping in the car is not possible except for sitting up.  That is awful, but it is possible for a day or two.  Hopefully it won’t come to that, but it if does don’t sleep under a tree in the rain when you could get in your car and shut the door.  Do not run the engine while you plan to sleep.  There is extreme danger of carbon monoxide poisoning if you do that. 

There are some basic things you need to keep in your car even you keep the cleanest neatest car on the block.

Aside from a few basic mechanic tools you need to have some water and a blanket(s).  That would allow you to stay hydrated and avoid freezing.

A small emergency pack for your car should include things like a first aid kit including band-aids, antibiotic slave, disinfectant wipes, and whatever you might personally use for minor first aid needs.  You can make your own kit or buy a kit at a reasonable price. 

MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) are good to have even if you don’t exactly like them.  Unless you eat a lot there is probably more than you will eat in one meal package.  We take them camping and on day picnics.  It is just too easy.  A good place to buy them in my area is at a gun and knife show.  You can get a case of twelve for around $50.  If you have gluten allergies they can still work if you share with others in the family.  When we open a couple I get what is gluten free and the others the rest. If you are a celiac this will not work for you.  MRE’s for celiacs are available but they are more expensive.  If you have severe wheat/gluten allergies you already know that it is more expensive.  My son puts together his own MRE’s for his nephew who has allergies.  He even has refried beans.  He puts all sorts of things together including bottled water and then uses his food saver to seal it up in a bag.  We don’t have an easy heater for these, but they do provide something for our little one who has wheat allergies if everyone else is eating food out of a bag.  If you put canned goods in your car be sure to put in a can opener.  You can actually cut a can open with a pocket knife, but that is pretty dangerous.  Check your safety kit before you actually try that.  You may need to have a needle and thread in the kit in case you cut yourself so badly opening the can that you need stitches.  Seriously, you have to be extra careful because medical help may not be readily available during times of disaster. 

Speaking of a pocket knife you really need to have one in the car with your emergency kit.  Things like nail clippers, a comb, a package of wet-wipes, travel tooth brush and tooth paste, liquid soap, and other things you normally use for personal hygiene.  You can also put in a change of clothes for yourself and your family.  For this I would use older clothes that aren’t normally worn, but still useful in a pinch.  If you have growing children you would have to make an effort to keep something in the pack they could actually wear.  This really does not have to be a large pack.  But it does need to be there just in case you ever actually need it.

If you have absolutely no place to go in one area, then it is a good idea to leave that area if you possibly can and go to an area where you will have a place to stay.  When Hurricane Katrina hit the coastal southern United States there were people who had absolutely no place to go to escape the storm, and no place to be for some time after the storm.  The government even sent people to other areas of the country.  It would be better to decide on your own to go somewhere that is at least familiar to you in some way.  The government is a machine.  It has lost its respect for the individual.  By the way, if it looks like the area in which you live will be hit hard by something like a storm and broken levees then it would be a good idea to consider evacuating the area before you face the brunt of the storm or get trapped.

If you have a home that is structurally sound after something like a storm or earthquake it would probably be better to stay in the home at least long enough to think the situation over more carefully.  Setting up a tent in your own yard is a possibility.

12.  Guns, knives, and other weapons

Self-defense is legal and moral.  It is something for which you do need to be prepared. 

I suggest

1.  a pellet gun aka BB-gun.  Get a nice one.  You can use it shoot rats, squirrels, birds, and even rabbits.  I know it isn’t exactly what Rambo uses in the movies, but you can get one fairly cheap, and the ammo is affordable.  Get it and target practice until you can actually hit a tin can.  If you can afford some sort of reusable moving target for not too much money that would be even better.  Watch sporting goods stores for sales.

2.  A 22 pistol long barrel and/or a 22 rifle is really good.  You can do the same thing you can do with a pellet gun but you can probably do more damage.  A 22 magnum is what you want.  Ammo is readily available.

3.  A 30-30 is a world class weapon.  People like myself can take the kick from a 30-30 whereas a 30-06 is just too much.  Ammo is readily available.

4.  A 30-06 or 308 is probably the highest caliber you would want unless you get into some sort of specialty shooting as a hobby.

5.  A 9mm pistol is another good weapon.  Ammo is affordable and available.

Gun Safety – The basics are to always treat a gun like it is loaded!  Never under any circumstances point a gun at anyone unless you are defending yourself or your family.  Never under any circumstances consume alcohol or any sort of drug when you have a gun in your possession.  Do not be around anyone who drinks or uses drugs and has a gun.  Be ware of prescription medication.  If you are not supposed to drive an automobile when taking a medication then it is not safe to handle firearms while taking that medication.

If you are not familiar with guns I strongly suggest some gun safety courses and instructions on shooting. 

Personally, I am a terrible shot. I can’t hit anything unless I have a laser sight on the gun.  I am not especially fond of shooting, so practicing enough to hit something is not high on my list of things to do.  I don’t hunt although some family members do hunt.  If you decide to take up hunting gun safety is an equally important issue.  Under every single circumstance you must know exactly at what you are shooting before an actual shot is fired.  Do not accept anyone in your hunting party who is not a gun safety nut.  Do not accept anyone in your party who wants to bring alcohol or any mind altering substance into the hunting camp.  If you should accidentally find yourself in a hunting situation where people are not practicing gun safety then leave immediately.  If you find yourself in a hunting area that is very crowded then it is best to leave that area and go somewhere else. 

I actually love guns.  I fully support the right of every citizen to have own guns for self defense, hunting, and just the simple pleasure of shooting.  A lot of guys I know love their ‘pow-pows’.  They present far less of a safety hazard to themselves and the public than those who drink or use drugs. 

My husband used to be an avid turkey hunter.  He didn’t go in for all the hype, cammo, and a lot of baloney that calls for a lot of money to be spent in order to hunt turkey.  Jerry just learned to use a gobble box and putter.  He had good success.  However he gave up hunting turkey on the day that he called up a turkey hunter who almost shot him!

An aside here is some good information for anyone who wants to become a turkey hunter.  You will NEVER be able to sneak up on a wild turkey. You must make the turkey come to you!  Jerry never imagined there could be a turkey hunter so ignorant that he would try to go the turkey instead of calling the turkey to him.  That is another reason to avoid being so over dressed in camouflage clothing that you are undetectable.  You want to be very apparent to other hunters that you are not an animal, a bird, or a tree they might want to use for target practice.

13.  Camping Basics – the perfect way to have a good time and prep for extended time away from your real home

Is there anyone reading this who hasn’t at least been to a picnic in the park or someone’s back yard?  If it was a pleasant day with nice weather, good company, good food, and a comfortable place to sit then it is likely that the day was too short.  You probably would have liked the picnic to last a little longer.  Happy picnic days are probably one way camping got started.  Another way was probably people wanted to get away from home for a few days and couldn’t afford a vacation that included a hotel and restaurant meals. Then there were hunters and fishermen who wanted to spend the night in the woods so they could get an early start looking for that elusive trophy. At any rate camping is something that is both fun and a skill. 

To have a good experience camping requires considerable planning in advance.  Getting your camping supplies and skills fine-tuned really gives you a head start on living outside the walls of your own home.  It is true that camping is a choice with a definite beginning and end.  Actually living in a camp situation for an unknown period of time would be a harder on the nerves than a simple camping trip, but it would much easier if you had some idea of how to camp.  A good time to learn to camp is definitely before you have to.

A major point of camping is to enjoy some time away from home without spending a lot of money while living in a manner that is reasonably comfortable and safe.  Just like living anywhere else the first things you think of are food and shelter.

Your shelter for camping can be anything from your car to a tent to tarp tied to a tree.  We have even tied a large tarp to a tree and stretched it out far enough that we could park at least part of the car under the tarp.  That was when I had a bed in the back of the Suburban.  It was really nice to open the door in the morning and be under a shelter.  I had a chair there and a piece of cardboard so I could sit in the chair and put my shoes on.  Inside a vehicle is pretty cramped for sleeping, but we managed a full bed in the Suburban.  A vehicle is also bear and cougar proof, so that makes it extra nice.

An actual camper is nice, but they are expensive and you have to park them somewhere.  We would like to have a small one, but we haven’t ever actually had one.  It would be nice in that you could keep all your cooking supplies and bedding in the camper instead of stored somewhere in your house or garage.

A tent is great.  They have floors so snakes can’t get in.  They have screens that keep out most bugs.  I wish I could say they are entirely rain proof but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.  If you are camping where you might get rained on I suggest a tarp tied over the top of you tent.  If you do that in the first place it will make the rest of the trip less stressful.  Ropes and Bungee cords are what you need to for stretching tarps.

To set up a tent the first thing you need to do is pick the place.  Obviously you want a place that is as safe as possible.  That means you look around to determine where the water is and the lay of the land.  You don’t want to get caught in a flood! A place that has mountains or hills on three sides is a likely place for a flash flood.  It may be once a hundred years but a flash flood can hit – well in a flash – and you will not only lose your camping supplies and vehicle  -  you and your family might drown!  A recent example of that is Camp Albert Pike, Arkansas.  It was a public campground that has been there for years.  It has flooded many times.  Campers have lost their camping equipment.  Cabins built on the creek bank have washed away.  However that particular year the water came up so fast that people simply could not get out in time.  Children were ripped from the arms of their parents.  People ran into the concrete bathroom thinking it would be safe only to find themselves trapped inside as the rising water would not allow the door to be opened.  They drowned!  The river is really only a small creek by most standards.  The campground is situated in the middle of a horseshoe shaped mountain.  The runoff from any rain is always worse in an area like that.  When an extra heavy rain hits the flooding is going to be even worse.  That is what happened on that day.  My husband Jerry had built a cabin on the river there many years ago.  It still belonged to his family.  It had survived several floods, but that flood was the final flood.  The cabin washed away.  Thankfully none of the family was there at that time.  But many people were not nearly so blessed.  They experienced a nightmare that will never be forgotten even if their family survived. 

I don’t want to discourage anyone from camping.  I do want to encourage everyone to carefully consider the area in which they plan to camp.  If you are going to an established campground do a little research and see if it has ever flooded and what circumstances may have been in play at that time.  If it is not an established campground then it is especially important that you make careful observations yourself.  Is flooding a possibility?  Take it seriously!

Also, if you find a lovely meadow where you are free to set up a tent that also happens to be covered in fresh bear poop then you would probably not want to set up your tent there either! 

While a tent placed on the edge of river is pleasant there are a couple of draw backs.  First the noise.  I know, you probably like the sound of a stream.  The problem is that it makes conversation more difficult, especially if there are people in the group who simply don’t hear well with a lot of back ground noise. 

A lake front can be nice providing it isn’t a marshy spot where mosquitos will be a real problem. Even if you remembered the insect repellant it won’t be enough to stop the problem if you are in a mosquito nesting area!  And, who is in the group that might fall in the creek or lake and drown?  If there are small children in the group it is going to be a more peaceful camping trip if you aren’t constantly fighting to keep them out of the water.  I personally love to camp right on the lake whenever possible, but even I can’t stand mosquitoes trying to eat me alive.  Availability of lake side campsite, rocky shore to avoid mosquitos, and safety of small children are just some of the thing you need to consider when thinking of setting up camp by the lake. 

Another thing to consider when setting up camp is that you most likely won’t get everything you want in a campsite.  The main success or failure of the trip will be the attitudes of the people involved.  If someone wants to camp lakeside but winds up with a dry camp somewhere they shouldn’t let it ruin their trip.  Camping puts everyone in a different place doing different things.  The goal is to enjoy the time and learn a little that will make the next trip easier and more fun.

Pick your campsite carefully within the boundaries of what is actually possible.  Remember that it is only one trip.  Make the best of where you do camp.  A good attitude will go a long way toward making up for the imperfections of the wilderness.

Thankfully instead of flooding a more likely scenario would be water running under the tent during a rain which will eventually make it through the floor and you will be wet!  There are several things you can do to avoid that.

First, pick the highest and most level place available as a tent site.  It probably won’t be entirely level because nature isn’t level!  You just have to do the best you can.  Make up your mind to enjoy yourself in advance, and don’t spend time complaining about what you really can’t help. If you can afford an air mattress that will make sleeping better providing you remember to get an air pump to actually blow up the mattress!  A roll up foam pad made especially for camping will also help.

There is no way I can tell you exactly ‘how’ to set up your tent.  It came with instructions.  Follow them.  Also, most tents today have poles that are connected with an elastic rope, so they are much easier to set up than tents from years ago. 

Once you have chosen your camping site and tent site the first thing you do is set up the tent and put down the beds.  Great!  You have just made a home in the wilderness.

Keep in mind that the wilderness is very unpredictable!  There are dangers that are not the same dangers you face at home.  The dangers you face daily are more familiar to you, but they are still danger.  You won’t escape danger anywhere, but a considerable amount of caution will make any situation better.  That goes double for any unfamiliar situation.  Don’t go into the wilderness thinking you are visiting the pristine ‘Garden of Eden’ where the wolf and the lamb eat grass.  This is not the case.  You are going into a danger zone.  Wild animals are WILD.  Even that cute little chipmunk will bit a whole clear through your finger if you happen to try to pick him up!  If you feed the birds they are going to hang around camp and drop ‘presents’ on all your stuff.  I admit to going a little nutty with the camera when a wild creature happens to come near me.  If you have someone like that in your group do not hesitate to drag them into a safe zone or scare the animal away on purpose.

NEXT is food.  You need a kitchen!  It is very important to understand that your tent is not a cook-shack.  There are some very expensive canvas tents that are made to have a wood stove.  You probably don’t have one of those.  If you do have one I can’t begin to caution you enough about how flammable they actually are and how cautious you must be with fire! 

First to thing to consider is exactly what you have to have to cook the food you have. If you are blessed with some sort of portable table you are in good shape.  Set the table up and put set your camp stove on the table.  That’s it!  Unless of course you don’t have a camp stove.

Regardless of your exact cooking arrangements, it is really good to have some sort of table even it is just a couple of boards nailed to a tree stump.  If at all possible a tarp stretched above the table is really a good idea.  HOWEVER, tarps are flammable, so you have to be cautious with your cooking.  You can cook full meals on a camp stove without any more worry than you have cooking on a stove at home.  You have to be careful with everyday cooking as well.

If the weather and the area you are in allows it, you will want a fire-pit for a campfire and possibly for cooking.  This spot needs to be chosen away from trees and grass.  Dig a pit.  Line it with large rocks if possible.  If you are camping in a campground they will already have a designated fire pit.  That is a real help.  Under no circumstances would you want to build a fire outside the fire pit no matter how inconvenient and poorly designed it may seem.  Just work with it.  If you are on your own in setting up the fire pit, exercise extreme caution.  You don’t want to set anyone on fire, and you don’t want to set the woods on fire.  The campfire is one of the best parts of a camping trip.  You want to make it safe, useful, and enjoyable at the same time. 

Camp safety requires that you store your food in containers that will help discourage wild animals from thinking you have brought them a picnic lunch.  The less wild animals you attract the less likely it will be that you personally wind up being mistaken as lunch for a bear or cougar.  Put your food back in your car before you leave the camp or before you go to sleep at night.  Absolutely do not put your food in your tent. The old fashioned way is to sort of hang the food up in a tree which in theory keeps most animals out of it.  When I grew up in Alaska there were still tiny cabins sitting on stilts here and there in the wilderness.  We called them a ‘cache’ or ‘stash’.  That is where trappers and miners would store food and other items.  That really would never be necessary in today’s world unless something very catastrophic happened.  Also, at that time it was the wilderness.  Stealing was not really a big problem, and they could count on their stuff still being there when they passed that way again unless a grizzly bear had decided to tear the cabin off its stilts.  A cache might be large enough to sleep in when they passed that way.

I have heard of a game being played currently where people cache food or supplies buried in the ground.  They use a GPS to mark the spot.  I think people hunt for them and are supposed to replace anything they take out.  I have actually seen one that seemed to have had only beer in it.  A bear had apparently smelled the beer, dug up the cache, eat/drank the beer, and left a dreadful mess all over a lovely meadow.  So, I would say a ground cache may not be any safer from bears than a cache in tree or on a cabin on poles.

14.  A TRUE Story of Farm Life – My Grandparents

People often think of a primitive life as a much simpler life.  In some ways it is obviously simpler, but in other ways the complexities of primitive farm living seem to require a constant attention to detail that is not often seen in modern living.  We have distractions everywhere we look.  We kill a few minutes doing something not necessary without any consequences.  The problem with doing that for the primitive farm family is it may well mean they don’t have anything to eat when they get hungry!  A self-sustaining farm is really not something that can be done by the scatter-brained personality type.  Self-definition and self-discipline are definitely necessary to live a self-reliant farm life.  Just hearing about self-sufficient farming was enough to convince me that I didn’t ever want to live that way unless forced to by circumstances beyond anything I care to imagine. 

However, I do want to point out that even though they were very poor my grandparents and other hardworking people in the community had the blessings of God’s presence and help.  They enjoyed their lives, and they raised self-reliant families.  Education was extremely important to them because they understood that an illiterate person is much more easily fooled by false teachings whether from the church or in the government.  It was important to each of them to manage without any sort of assistance from the government.  In those days they called it ‘make it’.  That meant that the goal was to ‘make it’ from harvest to harvest or pay-day to pay-day without having to get help from anyone else.  It is true that families were willing to help extended family and even strangers who might pass by.  However, it was equally true that to ask for help from extended family probably meant they would have to do without something in order to help you!  Generosity among families at that time was true generosity indeed. 

Primitive farm families were/are an excellent example of prepping.  It is hard work without any forgiveness for lapses in any area.  Don’t glamorize it.  Don’t rule it out as a possibility if circumstances required it.

Here is a little bit about my grandparents and how they lived.

My Grandma, Gramps, and Life on the Farm:

My grandparents were farm people.  My mom and her brother and sister were raised on a farm.  They had no electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing.

Grandma taught school in a one room schoolhouse.  She lived with the parents of her students, each family for a set amount of time.  She lived with the family of my Gramps as she taught his younger siblings in school.  We always teased Grandma about living with Gramps before they were married, but she actually lived with his family.  She did admit they sat on the cellar steps a few times after they were engaged, but it didn’t do much good as Gramps’ sisters sat there with them.

Living on the farm was hard.  There was practically no money coming into the little community in which they lived.  That meant that everything that they had was basically produced on the farm with the exception of their clothing, which was purchased when absolutely necessary.  I know for a fact that Gramps used to cut new soles for his shoes, and attach them to the shoes with bailing wire.  Still, they were a family with a reasonable level of satisfaction and experienced joy in living within a loving family.

They lived in a log house that Gramps built.  He cut the logs for the house.  He took lumber to the mill and had it cut on the halves for the lumber for the floor.  They split wood shingles for the roof.  They explained to me many times how you do it – but I totally don’t remember.  If we ever have to do that I sure hope my husband is around to do.  He actually listened to Gramps tell us how to do it.  The nails were mostly used nails that Gramps salvaged somewhere. 

My mom has said many times that they while they were poor in many ways, they fared much better than many other families who were in the same situation.  They did it by hard work and planning ahead.  Many other families worked hard, but did not seem able to plan ahead.  Here are some of the things they did.

Canning: 

Grandma said that she counted the days and meals from harvest to harvest.  She planned how many times a week she would cook what, and tried to manage having food on hand for that.  For instance, if she wanted to cook soup 3 times a week, she would try to put up at least 150 quarts of mixed vegetables that would be needed to cook the soup.  Other vegetables were canned in pints or quarts, depending on what was available.  Corn was a favorite and easily grown.  There was no real recipe.  She said they just had to basically cook up a vegetable soup with whatever had done well in the garden that year.  If they had meat to go in the soup, or to serve separately from the soup, then that was great.  If they didn’t have meat, they still had soup for the meal.

Fruit was something else that was canned.  Apples and peaches were the most common as that is what they grew most easily on the farm.  Peaches had to be canned.  Some apples were slow to rot and more easily stored.  Blackberries were needed for stomach ailments.  I think Grandma said they tried for at least a total of 150 quarts of fruit.

Drying food:  They didn’t’ have a good way to dry food.  It was put out on sheets of tin, and someone was supposed to watch it constantly to keep the flies off, the animals away, and move it undercover immediately in case of rain.

Potatoes:  Potatoes were stored in the barn in layers of hay.  They tried to keep the potatoes from touching each other so that if one potato rotted, it would not touch and spoil other potatoes.  Apples were stored the same way.  A deep layer of hay was put on top in order to keep the potatoes or apples from freezing.

Beans:  beans were left on the vine until they were dry – or as close as possible.

Meat:  the old timers like my grandparents did not can meat.  They were sure it would not really keep well.  I know some people today do can meat, most notably fish, but I am sure that they old farm families like my grandparents did not.

Meat was preserved by smoking.  Hogs were butchered when the weather was cold.  Then Gramps soaked it in some sort of brine, and hung it in the smoke house.  He smoked the meat steadily to begin with.  Then, he only kept a smoke going on the days the weather was little warm.  The smoke was to keep the meat from spoiling.  Mom said that the later in the year, the more smoke flavor in the meat.  As warm weather approached, the family tried to eat up all the meat left in the smoke house.

Chickens were the main source of fresh meat.  Hens were saved for laying eggs, and roosters were eaten when available.

Butchering a beef was difficult because it provided such a large amount of meat and there was no refrigeration.  Families usually formed a co-op for beef.  People in the co-op would provide a beef at an interval.  The meat was divided up among the families, with each family getting the beef they had given to the family who butchering the beef the last time they had butchered a beef.  For instance, if you gave your neighbor a loin and ribs when you butchered your beef, they would give you the same thing when they butchered their beef.

Lard – or fat:  today we are totally hung up on healthy fat, and low fat, and different types of oil for cooking.  The primitive farm families were just intent on keeping a supply of lard for cooking.  Honestly, they did not fry everything in hog fat.  Hog fat was the cooking oil they used mostly, but it was not that easy to come by.  First, they had to kill the hogs.  Then they had to render the fat.  Gross!  That means they cooked the fat until it melted!  Then they had to can the fat to use throughout the year.  So, having fat to even grease a skillet required that they put up enough quarts of fat to last a year.  The fat was sort of on an as needed basis.  If they used it to fry a skillet of potatoes today, then they might not have any next month.  Or, if the potatoes were having a bad year and rotting early, they would probably use more fat to begin with early in the year.  Also, some fat was gained when they fried the bacon from the smokehouse.  Grandma said that if you were running out of fat before it was time to butcher hogs again that you had to grease a dishtowel.  Then you used the dishtowel to grease your skillet for cooking the cornbread.

Corn:  Gramps grew a lot of corn.  It was used to feed the animals in the winter, and ground into corn meal at the mill.  They ate cornbread at almost every meal.  Soup and cornbread made up many good meals.  They normally cooked their big meal at lunch.  Supper was left over cornbread and milk – as long as they cow was giving milk.

Cows:  they had cows and never had goats.  I don’t really know why.  Butter comes from cows and cheese comes from goats.  I suppose the bottom line was they really did not have the time, energy, or resources to manage both.  Predators were another consideration.  Mostly cows are far less likely to be taken down by a predator than a goat, and easier to keep in a fence.

Chickens:  the source of eggs, and fresh meat.

Dogs and cats:  pets are expensive.  A big dog is like another mouth to feed.  There was no place to go buy a sack of pet food.  Cornbread was the main food for the family dog.  For a farm family, an expensive and generous food for a dog was to be given a fresh egg and spoonful of bacon fat.  That was to keep the animal healthy and his coat looking good.  Cats mostly lived in the barn or under the house.  They were supposed to catch rats and mice, and were given some milk when it was available.

Illness:  there wasn’t a doctor anywhere nearby.  There was no money for a doctor if there had been one nearby.  God just blessed them repeatedly that no one died from an illness.  Their best option was to stay healthy.  One year when my mom was small, she developed an allergy to corn.  This was a disaster because cornbread made up the majority of their diet.  Eventually they sold enough of their chickens, and bought a 50 pound sack of flour.  Grandma made mom a biscuit at mealtime, and the rest of them ate cornbread.  Today, we do have information regarding the uses of many plants, trees, and herbs.  I believe that could be very helpful in very hard times

Did I mention they had little to no money?  Once year they had had a bad year for farming.  They were concerned for how they would even eat during the winter.  Gramps took my grandmother and their children home to her parents.  He went wild hog hunting, which was dreadfully dangerous.  Wild hogs will eat people if given the chance.  Anyway, he managed to survive, capture a good number of hogs, sell them, and return to my grandmother wearing new clothes he had bought in town.  Then he took the family out for a new outfit as well.  (Wild hog hunting has become the new sport for hunters as wild hogs are growing in number.  People in general do not seriously what a dangerous animal a large hog really is.  Simple farm hogs are also dangerous.  Don’t take it lightly if you ever have anything to do with hogs in general and especially wild hogs.)

Children and people died young in that era.  One of their friends lost a child.  As time went by the friends lamented that they could not even remember what their dear child had looked like.  Gramps managed to come up with money to have a photograph made of their three children.  I have a copy of the photograph somewhere.  Three children, dressed nicely, and looking sort of worried about having their photograph taken.  To this day if mom sees the photograph, she tells us that what looks like a tear in her stockings is a flaw in the photograph, as she was wearing brand new stockings.  That was a very big deal to a little farm girl.

Education:  farm families for the very most part were intent on getting their children a proper education that would enable them to function in society and even prosper.  Grandma said that in the one room school house she taught everything through algebra and beginning geometry.  Every child learned, and learned well according to Grandma.  Her method was to divide the children into about 4 age groups, and give the same lesson to all children, with much less required of the younger children.  By the time they reached the upper grades they had heard the lessons so many times they could have almost given the lessons themselves.  Grandma said it worked quite well because learning was required of the children by both the parents and the teacher.  The poor kids had no place to hide! 

Gramps was one of those kids who had to drop out of school himself to help the family. He was able to read and write well and continued to read on his own. (true story)  When he was thirteen, he was out logging by himself.  He was trying to help the family survive.  A tree fell on him and trapped him. He managed somehow to hook the mules to the logs to pull the log off his legs which were both broken.  Then he had the mules drag him all the way home.  He spent the next year in bed and had a limp the rest of his life – although not really noticeable most of the time until he was older.  He could read and write quite well, he just did not finish his formal education.  That is something to remember in itself.  Education is possible even without the formal schooling.  Gramps had an interest in botany, and used to drive mom nuts explaining to her the names of different plants and trees.  She later developed the same interest herself.  Grandma always said that if she had gone on to college she would have studied botany as well. 

By the way, Grandma did attend ‘teaching school’ which lasted six weeks.  She said she already knew how to teach school, as she had attended school herself.  She knew everything was going to be taught in school, and the methods which teachers used.  What she got from teaching school was additional counseling from local preachers to determine if she was called to teach, and some Bible learning they thought to be essential foundations of proper teaching methods.

I am sorry to say that my grandparents did not take their children to church regularly.  However, mom is very thankful for one very important thing.  They were taught that Bible was absolutely true without error, and the final authority on every subject.  This made it much easier for her to be saved when she and dad heard the plan of salvation at a little Baptist church.  If my grandparents could come back and do one thing differently they would make church a priority.

The story of my grandparents’ life on the farm is not unique.  That is the way farm families lived.  Prior to having jars for canning, life was even more difficult for the farm families.  By the way, Grandma said that of course you saved your canning jars.  You also saved the lids to reuse only if you had to.  New lids were a top priority, but not always possible.  Can you imagine that?

Farm families worked very hard in the spring and fall.  The crops were ‘laid by’ in the summer, and that gave a breathing spell for recreation like fishing.  Wood cutting was a year round chore, as wood was used to cook all the time, and necessary for heat throughout the winter.  A lot of ‘spare time’ was spent dragging up wood for kindling.  The fall was also time for berry picking.  I cannot imagine picking enough blackberries to can 50 quarts of berries, but they did it.  Gramps and Grandma called it a picnic when they went out after berries.  I think mom knew it was really a work release program.  They were released from the daily grind of picking crops and canning and storing food to go out after berries instead.  It was all related to putting up enough food to make it another year.

No one knows what the future holds for any of us.  We may continue in a level of prosperity that has been peculiar to this country and this generation throughout all history.  God has blessed  and protected America beyond what we can really comprehend.  If the economy should collapse to the point that we find ourselves back on a primitive farm, then I doubt we will have it as good as my grandparents had it.  The government is far too intrusive now.  It is possible that those who try to grow food and prepare for a full year until the next harvest will have their food stores confiscated for the common good and redistributed among the population who sit around with their hands out.

I read years ago that in Russia food was confiscated from certain areas to create a famine.  Those who didn’t go along with the Communist theology were systematically starved to death.  ‘Enemies of the State’ and ‘anti-revolutionaries’ were purged through whatever means available.  Starving people was just an easy way to get rid of them. 

Can you imagine a state of economic collapse today?  My grandparents did not face lawlessness in the general population.  The vast majority of people had a very firm grasp of right and wrong, and a fear of God.  If they didn’t fear God, they did fear the long arm of the law.  In addition to growing food, future farm families could very conceivably have to not only protect their food from government confiscation, but from lawless gangs and thugs totally lacking any moral core values. 

However, our God is able to protect us and even keep us alive in famine.  We should be as prepared as possible given the circumstances in which we now live.  It is a good thing to at least know a little bit about how an old fashioned farm worked.  I hope you enjoyed hearing about Grandma and Gramps.  I hope you found some useful information in how they lived.  The main thought I get every time I consider their lifestyle is, ‘Oh my!  That sounds REALLY hard!  I hope I never have to live like that….

Oh, one more thing, wash day….. there was not a local laundry mat to say the least.  All the stories I have heard about wash day are all awful!  Mostly there were just stories about how hard it was to wash and then dry the clothes in all sorts of weather.  One particularly hard story is this.  Ladies had gotten together to do the laundry.  Water was being heated at several fires.  My grandmother and her little friend were playing near the fire.  Grandma’s little friend was an only child who was wearing a new outfit made of stiff cotton.  Her dress hem caught fire, and the child burned to death.  My great grandfather actually caught the child, but was unable to tear the heavy cloth to get the clothes off, or hold her down to smother the fire.  It was a terrible tragedy.  The end result of that was that my great grandfather and great grandmother put their three little girls in overalls.  Little girls were far more likely to burn to death in that era because of open fire and their long dresses.  And, that is the story of how the women in my family gave up dresses for pants. 

15.  Barter and Trade

It is so easy to go the store and find the things we need and want.  Unfortunately the expense of everything is rising faster than most incomes!  Trading and bartering for items you need or want is something that is potentially helpful and possible.  It takes planning.  It requires stepping outside you normal routine or comfort zone.

Honestly, I am not an expert at trading or bartering.  My main success at barter was the beginning of MidniteSun Siberians.  I paid about half price for a Siberian cat.  The rest of the cost was made of up of two paintings I did of cats.  I love painting.  I would love to make a living at it, but that hasn’t happened so far.  However, it is something I enjoy doing.  Later I traded two large paintings for another cat.  I want a Norfolk Terrier male and female so if anyone wants to trade paintings for that please drop me an email! (I’m serious.)

I don’t think barter or trade is something you can just jump into as a way of life.  Some people are natural traders.  They would probably even swap shoes with a stranger on a bus if they could talk the stranger into it.  They just live to trade.  They like to trade for something, get the better end of the trade, and sell or trade their item for something even bigger and better.  That isn’t really what I am talking about here, although I am not putting down people who do that. That just isn’t what I am talking about here.  I am talking about people in your sphere of family, friends, and acquaintances forming simple alliances to help each other out.  Advertising real services for trade or barter is also something that would be good providing you actually have to do it.

A very simple start could be telling a close friend or neighbor something like, ‘I will mow your grass twice while you are on vacation using your mower if you will mow my grass twice while I am on vacation  using my mower.’  That way no one would have to transport their mower to a different location.

Families with young children can swap baby sitting occasionally.

My husband the mechanic could do a brake job on someone’s car for something in return.

The baker in the group could do some fancy cooking in exchange for an equal amount of time spent cleaning her house or yard.  Quilters and other crafters have something to trade.  Mostly people will want useful items like a quilt instead of decorative items, but you never know.  Whatever you have or whatever you do might be just what someone else wants.

If you are strong enough you could do home remodeling site clean up in exchange for things discarded in the remodeling project.  Tear down property that is scheduled to be demolished for the material salvaged.  You would only want to do something like that if you have a specific use for the material you salvage.  On something like that you would want to be very specific regarding what you are getting, how long you have to get it, and how much of the project clean-up will actually be your responsibility.  For this to actually work you would need considerable experience in remodeling.  That way you would be able to better estimate the amount of work you are offering for the material you would be getting.  This points out that you really can’t offer to do something unless you have the skill to do it. 

Are you a web designer?  That is a service that can be bartered.  Again, you must be very specific regarding what you are offering and what you expect in return. 

Remember that if bartering or trading just isn’t working for you, or isn’t in your comfort zone, money is always good.  A small side business is a cushion against job loss.  A business run from your computer is also something that has potential to move with you from one area to another area without loss of business.  Once you have a side business established you have a better platform for bartering.  If you are a web designer as a sideline business you have something to barter with any business that needs a web page.  Let’s say you need a new couch and there is a private furniture company in your area that has a lousy web page.  Or maybe there is someone advertising a barely used couch.  Be bold and reach out with a proposal for trade and see what happens.  Before I managed to set up the trade for my cat I received a number of rejections.  Believe me, the people who ignored me and never responded to my inquiry were far preferable to the ones who told me ‘NO!’  But finally I got a positive answer.  I only got one positive reply, but I did get one.  She offered half off if I gave her two small paintings.  I was able to agree to that.  I would have preferred totally free, but it just didn’t work out.  Something to keep in mind is that the work I did in getting the two paintings ready to go was a lot of work.  Expense was also involved.  Painting is not a cheap hobby.  I did specify that she would get the paintings un-framed, which saved considerable money for me.

Just figure out something you need or would like to have.  Decide what you have to offer in trade.  Send some emails to prospective traders.  Post your service on places like craigslist.com.  Post on local bulletin boards.

Don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t work immediately or even soon.  Just keep it in mind.  Something will turn up at the right time and you will be pleasantly surprised. 

Trading work for work is different in that you may be working with the same people on a repeat basis.  That is good if they are reliable.  As time goes by you would figure out who is trustworthy to do what they say they will do.  A top priority for any trader or barterer would be to ALWAYS do exactly what you promise to do.  If someone is not faithful to fulfill their end of a bargain then you simply don’t want to work with them again. 

I think as you are building up a barter and trade group of allies you would also be extending your network of possible help in times of crisis or disaster. 

If you have a specific skill, no matter how odd or rare, or something as simple baby sitting or house cleaning you could advertise on craigslist for free and see what someone offers you as a trade.  Or if you have a specific need ask someone to give you what you need in return for what your services.  This allows you to get something fairly and honestly without using money.  This isn’t for the purpose of tax evasion!  This is to make life simpler while living within your budget. 

By the way, a simple skill like house cleaning or window washing may be thought of as easy, but it is definitely real work.  That is why people would prefer to pay someone to do it!  If they can barter for the work then both of you will be twice as happy.  No one spends money and both parties get what they want. 

Unless you really get hooked on bartering this isn’t supposed to be a full time job or a time consuming hobby.  It is supposed to be something that makes your life easier.  Take it in stride.  If something is very important to you then keep trying to find a solution that involves no money or a lot less money. 

Appendix 1 – recipes

I am a ‘fling it in the pan’ cook.  That means food gets into the pan, it cooks, it goes on a plate, and we eat.  It usually tastes good, and it usually takes a minimum of time.  I also tend to cook with one pan, and definitely no more than two.  That makes for easier clean up.  In doing this I am ‘prepping’ for evening that allows me to start relaxing a couple of hours before bed time.

1.  Salmon Croquette

2.  Fried Pork Loin Slabs

3.  Shepherds Pie

4.  Oven Roasted Drumsticks

5.  Pan Fried Potatoes

6.  Oven Roasted Beef Briskit

7.  Cheese Toast

1.  Salmon Croquette

This is a recipe for Salmon Croquette - if you like words that are hard to spell

OR

Salmon Patties - sort of like hamburger patties but made with salmon

OR

Fish Cakes if you are a fling it in the pan sort of cook.

No matter what you call it – it is the same recipe.

I start with 2 large cans of Salmon (14 oz)

When buying your salmon get the best you can afford.  It does make a difference.  I have found that the red salmon currently makes by far the best fish cakes.  I use Bumble Bee or Chicken of the Sea - which is basically what is available in the stores here.  I get the one that is cheapest.  (I could say 'the one that costs less - but I think 'cheapest' is just a much better word for people like me who want to get the best tasting meal for the least amount of money.)  Anyway - start with two cans of some sort of salmon.

Open the cans and dump them into a bowl.  I usually drain off about 20% of the juice just because I don't want to have the mixture so runny that it turns into salmon pancakes.

I add 3 eggs.  You can go with just two if you want too.

I add 4 heaping tablespoons of oat flour (that's the big spoon) to that. (Use wheat flour if that is what you have - it won't make any difference)

A tad of salt for the eggs and flour. 

Pepper to taste.

You can add a few other things like a tablespoon of dried parsley flakes if you happen to have some on hand. 

Or use some sort of your favorite seafood seasoning instead of salt.

Heat your skillet to medium hot. 

Put enough coconut oil in the skillet to cover the bottom about 1/8 deep. (I always use coconut oil for medium hot frying.  Peanut oil, or olive oil, or whatever you have will work fine.) Put your salmon mixture in the skillet by heaped up tablespoons.  Sort of flatten them down with the spoon to about the thickness that you like your hamburger patties.

Fry then until they are brown on one side.  Flip them over and cook until they are done.  I cook about 5 or 6 minutes per side.  You want to be sure they are done in the middle because you want the eggs fully cooked. 

Some people deep fry them, and that makes them cook a lot faster.  Of course that adds a lot more calories.

We eat them with wild rice or quinoa, and usually sweet potatoes.  Cornbread is good with them as well.

You can also make the patties the size of a normal hamburger patty and serve them on a bun with chips.  That makes a really easy meal.

I usually cook enough rice or quinoa for two meals.  If it is quinoa, that usually means stuffed peppers the next day.  If it is rice, that usually means something like baked chicken with rice stuffing, or some sort of quiche with rice mashed into a crust and pre-baked.  Either way, I have a start to the next day's meal.

You can serve it with tartar sauce or ketchup or whatever you normally have with fish.

This is a really good way to add fish to your diet without much trouble, and without breaking the bank. 

Think out of the box here for a minute about what to do with any left-overs you have.  How about ‘Eat them for breakfast?’  Once you learn to eat left-over pizza for breakfast anything goes.  Or use them for sandwiches for lunch.  It will work.  It will be nutritious.  It will really taste good!

2.  Boneless Pork Loin – Sliced and Fried

One boneless pork loin

about 2 pounds is what I used  - but adjust that to the size of your family or the number of people you are feeding

flour (I used oat flour)

salt

pepper

cooking oil  (I use peanut oil)

First, you go to the store, and you buy meat that looks good at the best price you can find.  Then you take it home and figure out how to cook it.

Of course you can roast a pork roast, or a pork loin, or even a flounder if you want to.  Sometimes though roasted meat just doesn't sound good.  If you have been on one of those low fat diets you may be wanting something fried.  If you have that craving more than a couple of days, you better go ahead and eat something fried, or you may find you self with a glass of Penzoil on ice.....but that is a different story for a different book.

Anyway, a pork roast or a pork loin will fry up nicely.  Take the meat and slice it about 3/4 of inch thick.  If you are really energetic you can give the meat a few whacks with a meat tenderizer hammer.  You can do it before or after you add the spices and flour. 

Salt and pepper to taste.  I like to sprinkle on some seasoning salt if I have it.  Currently I have a couple of jars of seasoning salt from Cabela's.  One is for wild game - but it tastes good on anything.  The other one is general seasoning salt - and it also tastes good on anything.  It looks pretty nice on pork because it has some colorful items in it, and pork being light meat, the seasoning shows up nicely.  It makes it look like you spent a lot of time getting your spices together when all you really did was just open the jar and shake a little on the meat,

Then lightly flour the meat.  Don't over do because you are not deep frying, and you don't want the flour to soak up too much oil.  I used to always use wheat flour, but since our youngest grandson is allergic to wheat now, I have branched out.  I have found that oat flour browns up nicely and works for a lot of stuff.  So, that is what I used for this.  But of course wheat flour will work fine.  If you have time lay the meat out single layer and let it sit for 20 minutes to even a few hours.  Technically you can get the meat ready to fry one evening and refrigerate it until the next day.  This seems to set the flour and you get a better crust if you do that.  If you don’t have time for that don’t worry about it.

I use peanut oil for frying because it seems like that oil doesn’t smoke if I let it get a little hotter than I meant to.  It doesn't seem to soak into the meat quite a much as other oils do.

Pour a scant half inch of oil in the skillet.  I use a very large cast iron skillet for just about everything.  Iron skillets heat very evenly, and give your arm muscles a work out every time you actually lift one.  Heat the oil to medium heat or maybe just a tad hotter.. Stand back so you won't get burned by grease if it splashes, and carefully put the sliced, seasoned, floured pork into the skillet. You can use tongs to hold the meat so you can stand back even further.  Watch the edges of the meat.  It will probably take about 5 minutes until you can see the edges beginning to brown.  Turn the meat with a spatula.  I use a metal spatula because that works better to get any meat loose that sticks to the bottom of the pan   It is usually around ten minutes per skillet.  Take the meat up as it is done.  Put more meat into the skillet, and keep on cooking until all the meat is fried.  This is pan fried, not deep fried, so the calories are not as bad, and the crust is not as thick. 

Now, if you happen to like gravy, there will some nice brown crust left in the pan.  It will make very good gravy.  The way I make gravy is like this.  I use half milk and half water when I have milk.  If I don’t have milk I use all water.  I put the liquid in a jar with about ¼ to ½ cup flour to approximately 1 quart of liquid.  Add a dash of salt and good shake or two of black pepper.  I put a lid on the jar and shake it until the lumps are all gone.  Then I pour it into the skillet and stir like mad until it is mixed with everything left in the skillet from cooking the meat.  Cook it over medium heat until it is as thick as you like it.  Then pour it up in a bowl or measuring cup.  A measuring cup is great because it is easier to pour on food and you don’t have to use a big spoon.  Then fill your skillet with water and let it soak while you eat.  It will clean up very easily.

Mashed potatoes goes very well with this meal of course, and if there is gravy, then it is really good on bread.

Pork loin slices fry up nice and round like a hamburger patty or a chicken fried steak.  The pan fried pork works great in a hamburger bun served with a bag of chips or an apple.  This makes a great breakfast the next morning or a nice lunch sandwich.

Basically, this is a very tasty meal with not a lot of effort involved.  It has potential to cover more than one meal, so that makes it even better.         

Shepherds Pie

This is a good meal to make the day after you make a meal with mashed potatoes because you need the left-over mashed potatoes to go on top of this meal.

1 ½ to 2 pounds pounds of very lean ground beef

1 can corn

1 can green peas

3 cups mashed potatoes (approximately)

tad of butter

salt

pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

dried basil

Parmesan cheese

Shepherds pie is really a meal in the middle of 3 meals at our house.

First I cook a meal that has mashed potatoes as a side dish - being certain to cook enough potatoes to go on the Shepherd's Pies the next day.

When I cook the Shepherds Pie, I cook enough hamburger meat for a meal of spaghetti or chili the next day.

Here is the way to cook the Shepherds Pie

Brown approximately 1 1/2 pounds of the best hamburger that you can afford.  If you use very lean, you won't have to drain off the fat. I use 1 1/2 pounds of hamburger meat for the Shepherds Pie.  If you are cooking extra meat for chili or spaghetti the next day, then you need to double that amount.  When it is done, just refrigerate about half of the meat for the meal the next day. 

I start by browning about 1 teaspoon of butter in the skillet.  I add my salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and dried basil to the butter as it browns. There is no set amount of spices.  You just add about what you normally add.  If you are new at cooking, use about half a teaspoon of salt and several shakes of everything else.  If you don't have all the spices, just leave them out.  Salt is really the only thing that is hard to leave out. I personally like the smell of butter browning.  If you don't have time - skip that step and just fling the hamburger in the skillet and start it frying.  Add the spices and salt while it is cooking.

When the meat is done, move it over to an oven safe pan.  The pan I used is about 9 inches square and 4 inches deep.  You just want an oven safe pan that everything will fit into.

Add one more teaspoon of butter to the skillet in which you fried the meat.  As it is browning, open and drain your corn and peas and stir into browned butter.  That adds a nice taste and very few calories to the entire dish.  However, if you don't want the added butter, or if you don't want to take the time to brown the vegetables, just drain them well and put them on top of the hamburger meat.  Then spread your potatoes on top of the peas and corn.   Try to get the potatoes spread out to the edge of the pan to help hold in moisture.

I sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the potatoes - but that is optional.  It smells nice baking, and gives a nice brown to the top of the potatoes.

Put in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour - depending on how brown you want the top of the potatoes and how soon everyone is going to expect supper on the table.  Everything in the meal is already cooked so it really just needs to be warm all the way through.  I like it to cook about an hour just so all the flavors have time to sort of blend together.

While the meal is cooking, you have an hour or so to do something else.  If you are able to goof off  that is great, but you can also get another chore or two done if you feel that you must.              

4.  Oven Drumsticks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

ten to twelve drumsticks - with our without skins

salt

pepper

garlic powder

paprika

Spray skillet with cooking spray.

Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder over chicken.

Paprika is optional. It adds a bright color to the chicken, and is reported to be very high in vitamin c. I like how it looks, and tastes, so I use it.

Arrange drumsticks in the skillet, cover with lid, and put in oven.

Bake for approximately one hour.

I sometimes set the oven at 325 if I want them to cook a little slower. You can also fling an appropriate number of foil covered potatoes in the oven to bake along with the chicken if that sounds good. They may take a little longer to cook than the chicken. If they are not done when the chicken is done, Remove the chicken from the oven and turn it up to about 425 degrees. To check to see if the potatoes are done you can either fork them; or, (using a pot holder) squeeze the potatoe from both ends and see if the middle seems soft.

This is the main dish for a meal.

It is also good to take to any sort of potluck.

It is an affordable and tasty.

I serve it with rice, or quinoa, or potatoes, or potato salad, or a green leafy salad. It really depends on what is on hand at the time.

The bright color of yellow corn or green peas looks nice with chicken cooked this way.

I try to get the chicken on sale and freeze it in portions that will make a meal for the family. It works nicely with chicken thighs as well as drumsticks. I usually leave the skin on. I am careful to drain off any fat that is the bottom of the skillet. You can skin the meat first if you like. The chicken is more likely to cook a little on the dry side without the skin, but then the seasoning is right on the meat. It is good either way.

A good variable on this is to salt and pepper the chicken to your taste;  then roll it in flour or corn flakes, place in a pan without a lid, and bake at 350 until done.  This tastes more like fried chicken.  Preparation time is short.  It really seems like an entirely different meal although it is still chicken legs.  Baked potatoes and salad or coleslaw are good with this.  It works the same with chicken thighs.  I like dark meat, but you could slice chicken breast and cook it the same way.                 

5.  Pan Fried Potatoes

I love fried potatoes. I personally prefer them to be fried in bacon grease, but that isn’t the way I actually fry them. What you want to look for in good fried potatoes is nice crisp brown potatoes, but no potatoes that are not cooked tender. All the potatoes won’t be brown, but they should all be tender.

Start with about six potatoes. You can peel them, or not. I try to buy potatoes that are very clean to begin with, and that have thin skins. I prefer red potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes because the skins are thinner. I don’t peel them unless the skins are hard.

I use an iron skillet. An iron skillet that is used regularly is pretty close to non-stick.  Food will stick, but it is easily cleaned up and a much better for your health than the usual non-stick cookware sold all over the world.

First, spray the skillet with no stick cooking spray. Heat it fairly hot. Then add your oil.

I use about ¼ to ½ cup of coconut oil. You can use olive oil if you prefer. Peanut oil works nicely also. Sprinkle salt on the potatoes about like you would on your French fries.

The tricky part is that you want to brown the potatoes without them sticking. If they start sticking, then all the brown winds up stuck to the bottom of the skillet and you just get mushy potatoes.

Fry on medium heat. If you are using coconut oil remember that it cannot get too hot. If you are using olive oil or peanut oil, you can fry them a little faster, but you will have to watch them more carefully. Do not turn them over until they are nice and brown on the bottom. I always use a metal spatula for turning the potatoes and peeking to see if they are brown enough to turn. A metal spatula is best to get loose any errant potatoes that may decide to stick to the pan. You will have to turn them several times before they are done. You can leave them unattended briefly, but you do have to watch them fairly closely.

If your potatoes start to stick, you can add a little more oil.

I like to fry them without a lid because I like the brown ones to be crisp. However, if someone in your family needs them to be softer, then you can put a lid on them when they are as brown as you like. They will soften up fairly quickly. If you leave the lid on the skillet all the time, the potatoes will be more likely to stick.

Sometimes my mom will fry a few slices of bacon, chop them up finely and add that to the potatoes.

If you think, ‘Oh my – fried potatoes are to fattening for me.’ consider the last time you had French fries when you were eating out somewhere. Pan fried potatoes are much less fattening that that. Also, coconut oil is supposed to be good for you. If you are curious, you can read about it at this web site. http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html

Enjoying life does include enjoying at least some of your food.

Have a lovely day and eat well.

6.    Oven Roasted Beef Brisket  

Cooking a beef brisket is super easy. You just basically fling it in the pan, stick it in the oven, and go about your daily chores, or nap, or whatever it is that you want to do or have to do. Check on it every couple of hours to see how it is coming along to make sure it isn't cooking to dry.

Here is the way I do it. First I heat my big iron skillet on top of the stove. I spray a little cooking spray in the skillet, or melt about a teaspoon of coconut oil. I sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder in the skillet. When it is hot, I put the brisket in the skillet fat side down and brown the fat. Then I flip it over, add a little more salt and pepper to the top, and give it a few minutes to start cooking. I do this to speed up the cooking and because I like the fat on top to have an extra brown to it. If you don't have time to do that, just put it in the pan and stick it in the oven.

I cook mine at approximately 250 degrees for six to 8 hours. If you want it to cook faster, you can give it an hour at 350 degrees, and then turn it down to 250 to finish cooking. The meat is done when it reaches the temperature that you call 'done'. However, brisket needs to cook a long time to really be tender. If I don't have time to cook a brisket most of the day, I will find something that can be cooked in a shorter amount of time.

We likepotato salad, corn, and bread with brisket.

We warm left-overst and have it with bar-b-que sauce on yet another day.

Remember, if you are planning to use the meat you cook for more than one meal, do not put it all on the table for one meal. Also, only reheat the protion you are using for the next meal. And, if you are not going to use the meat within three days, then you really need to freeze it.

So, cook up a beef brisket; eat a meal; and freeze the rest for a variety of easy meals that can be prepared in a very short amount of time.   Be sure to write on the freezer package what is in the package and when you put it in the freezer.  If you don’t use it within a reasonable amount of time make your dog happy and feed it to him.

7.  Cheese Toast

It was a series of eating events that led to cheese toast for supper. It was my night to be lazy. We were supposed to have store bought chicken pot pie for supper, and that particular brand happens to be very good chicken pot pie. They are not as good as my homemade pot pies, but they are good. So, this is what happened. Someone in the house ate chicken pot pie for lunch every day that week, so when I went to the freezer to get out pot pies, there were no pot pies. A few questions to key people in the house, a couple of phone calls to someone at work, and the mystery was solved.

It was sort of a dilemma because we had promised the grandkids that we were staying home that evening and watching movies. It is also a given that we eat at approximately the same time every evening because every single family member tends to get grumpy if they don’t eat on time. There wasn’t anything I could thaw up to cook. So, it was a case of finding something that was available immediately. I looked around the kitchen and there it was, a loaf of bread that was still in date, but not as fresh as I prefer it to be.

I looked in the refrigerator for something to go on the bread, and the only thing that was really there was cheese. I cannot imagine who might like a cheese only sandwich on stale bread. So, cheese toast was the obvious option.

The good news is that cheese toast is actually very tasty, relatively healthy, and super easy.

You need bread and cheese and an oven with a broiler setting.

Bread means any bread that you have on hand, or your favorite bread,.

Cheese means any cheese that you have on hand, or whatever cheese you like.

Put the bread in the oven set on broil and toast the top of the bread. It only takes a couple of minutes – so don’t get distracted by anything. If you are working with the last part of a loaf of bread you don’t have the option to burn the first batch.

When the bread is as brown as you like it, remove the pan from the over, flip the bread over, put your sliced cheese on top of the bread, and put it back in the oven.

Watch it closely. When the cheese melts, it is done. Take it out of the oven and eat it while it is hot. If you want something more than just cheese toast, open a can of soup.

If you happen to have ham, toast ham on a slice of bread. When the bread is toasted slap the two slices together and you have a great sandwich.

Don’t confuse cheese toast with a grilled cheese sandwich. That is an entirely different meal.

A grilled cheese is made in the skillet.  You put sliced cheese between two slices of bread, butter the outside of each bread slice, and brown it on both sides in a medium hot skillet.  Melt a little extra butter in the skillet to prevent sticking.  If this were served in the a restaurant it might be called a Panini.  You can put a slice of ham in with the cheese if you happen to have it and want it. 

Ultimately just cheese toast was a filling meal. Everyone was satisfied, and we had a very nice evening at home just like we planned.                              

8.  Boneless Beef Ribs

This is one of the most versatile meals you can cook. It is great served as a roast like meal, or for bbq sandwiches. I actually prefer this type of beef to almost any other cut of beef. It seems to consistently cook up more tender and flavorful than any other cut.

If you haven't tried it before, you are missing a treat.

Ingredients - 2 or 3 pounds of boneless beef ribs per meal.

Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste.

Cook in iron skillet (with the lid on) on stove or in oven.

This is a fatty meat.  You want the fat to melt instead of boil, so if it seems to be cooking out too much water than you need to either take the lid off or move it slightly to one side so the excess water can cook out.

If you cook on the stove top - cook very slowly for several hours until falling apart tender.

If you cook in the oven, cook at 275 or 300 degrees until tender. It will take several hours either way.

Normally you don’t need to add any water because they just seem to cook out enough juice.

Either oven or stove top, you can cook hotter to begin with just to get the meat warm and starting to cook. Then lower the heat so it will cook slowly.

This is a great meal to cook with two or more meals in mind. So, if you want a very easy meal or two in the freezer, buy around 5 to 8 pounds depending on how many people you feed at each meal.

Meal number one is just like a normal roast, but the meat is quite a bit more tender and I think tastier.

To go with the day one meal, you can add potatoes to the meat when it is about half done, or make instant potatoes or whatever you have on hand and your family will eat.

When you serve the meal, just put out whatever amount provides a good serving for everyone eating. It is great with rolls and any vegetalbe. If you put it all on the table at once, people will tend to overeat and you won't have any leftovers to freeze for later.

Take the rest of the meat and pull it apart for bar-b-que. It is easier to thaw up later if it is already pulled apart. If you prefer sliced, then you need to cool it so it will slice more easily. Divide the juice in the pan among the number of meals you are freezing.

This is similar to brisket, but the fat seems to taste different and I personally like it better.

When you don't have time to cook or just need a break from cooking, thaw up the meat and serve with your favorite bar-b-q sauce, buns, and chips.

I like the meat in bigger and thicker chunks. Sometimes is only available thin sliced. If I can only get the thin sliced, I find it cooks nice, but it takes less time. It is easier to make a skillet meal with meat and potatoes than if it is thick. If I am trying to cook enough for more than one meal, I have to have the thick.

I like to give options to the individual when a meal is served, like eating it as a sandwich or a plate meal. The problem with cooking is that the cook often can't even decide what he or she wants to eat for supper, and they sure can't second guess what every family member is going to want for supper that night. So, the more options with a meal, the more likely everyone is to find the meal filling and satisfying.

Happy eating.                   

9.  Bacon Fried Quinoa

Bacon Fried Quinoa with Extra Bacon

1 ½ cups of cooked quinoa – give or take a cup or so.  Quinoa is a wonderfully nutritious food that resembles rice.  If you don’t have quinoa or don’t like quinoa use rice.

6 to 50 slices of bacon – depending on what you have on hand. (I am kidding about that much bacon. If this is the main dish, than whatever amount of bacon your family will eat. If this is not the main dish, then you don't really need any extra bacon. 4 to 6 slices will do nicely.)

2 - 4 eggs, depending on how well you like eggs

First, cut up about 4 to 6 slices of bacon and brown cook them fairly crisp in the skillet. Fling in few green onions if you have them on hand. If you like the flavor of canned green chiles or a favorite picante sauce, then adding a little of that is good as well. You can add extras to the bacon while it is cooking, or add it at the end when you put everything back into the skillet. If you are adding a raw veggie, you better put it in with the bacon so it can cook.

When they are done, remove from skillet and cook the rest of the bacon to however crisp you happen to like it. Remove the bacon from the skillet. Reserve enough bacon grease to grease the clean skillet if you want to and drain the rest onto you pan of dog food. (Dogs love bacon grease.) If you don’t save a little bacon grease, then you will have to use something else like coconut oil or olive oil when you fry the quinoa.

While the bacon is frying, crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them slightly with a fork.

If your skillet is bad to stick, you need to either clean the skillet or get another skillet that is already clean. That sort of depends on who is doing the dishes that night.

Heat your greased skillet to fairly hot and add your cooked quinoa. (I used a cup and a half for this recipe, but you can add more or less, depending on how much you have or how many people are going to be eating the finished dish.) Flip the quinoa around in the skillet until is thoroughly hot and starting to brown. Stir in your bacon crisps. Then drizzle your eggs into the skillet. If you are trying to disguise the eggs for kids that don’t really like eggs, then drizzle them in in very small drizzles. If your family likes eggs, then drizzle them in thick drizzles. Or, just dump them in and stir until they are done.

Put in a plate and surround with the extra bacon.

Now, here are some variations.

First, I like to add green peas to my fried quinoa, but there were no peas in the pantry, and somehow I didn’t think the garbanzo beans would really add much to the dish. If you like peas, or peas and carrots, they look nice in the dish and taste good as well. If you don’t like them, or your family won’t eat them, then don’t waste your money trying to make the dish look better. A few shredded fresh carrots are good to add, and they look pretty as well. I have heard the eye eats before the stomach, but that is only true when are not really hungry and take time to look at the food before you eat it. If a bunch of hungry people sit down at the table at the same time, you have to get your food as fast as good manners will allow, and worry about how it looks later.

This dish was made as a fill in for a meal of leftovers. I could have made more and made a meal of it.

Actually, we had tacos last night, so this will be a filler in case there isn’t enough taco meat to make everyone happy. It makes a nice burrito all by itself. Any bacon fried quinoa leftovers would make someone a nice lunch the next day.

Consider what your family likes and what your budget and time allows. Adapt the dish to suit you. There is a rumor that bacon is not the most nutritious meat available, but I don’t think that has ever been proven.

In the interests of good health, I did not add any salt to this meal, as the quinoa was cooked in chicken stock - so it was already salted. The bacon is salted, and I estimated that would be enough salt.

If you were here, I would invite you to stay for supper.                                   

10.  Oven Roasted Ox Tails

I would have never heard of ox tail soup if my grandmother hadn’t made the soup. I never heard of it being cooked by anyone else. My husband loved it, but I never bothered to fix ox tail anything for a couple of reasons. First, why should I bother when gramma would do? Second, it just sounds a little on the icky side. And third, as it turned out, ox tails are usually more expensive than I care to pay.

But, years have gone by and gramma isn’t around to cook them anymore. They taste so good that I got over the ‘icky’ part. And I still can’t really afford them, but Jerry loves them, so I fix them occasionally.

Here is the fling it in the pan recipe for ox tails, along with a few variations to the recipe.

First, you need 2 to 4 pounds of ox tails. I had 3 pounds for this pan. They seem to be a little thicker than I usually buy, but that is what was available. Anyway, here is the way I cooked this batch of ox tails.

First I sprayed the skillet with cooking spray. Then I heated it pretty hot and sprinkled my salt, pepper, and garlic powder in the bottom of the pan. Then I browned the ox tails. I took them out of the skillet and sliced an onion in the bottom of the pan. You can do your onions two ways. If you want the onion to pretty much dissolve into the juice that cooks out of the meat, then just leave it in the bottom of the pan, and put your meat back in on top of that. Or, you can brown the onion and take it out of the pan. Put the meat back in and put the onion on top of the meat. It gives the dish a different look when it is done, but it pretty much tastes the same.

Next, I put the lid on the skillet and put the meat in the oven at 275 degrees for about 4 hours. Ox tails take a long time to cook to really tender. I added potatoes, and cooked for another couple of hours. It is basically done long when the potatoes and meat are tender. For this batch, I put a few stalks of celery in right at the start because I happened to have celery in the refrigerator. The celery adds a bit of flavor, but it isn’t necessary for the dish to taste really good. You can add carrots if you like them. Or, you can just cook the ox tails all by themselves without any vegetables. They are good with any side dishes, breads, or salads.

Ox tails make a great soup also. You just put them in water or beef broth or both, and boil them. Add a few potatoes, carrots, green beans, or whatever you like to put in soup. If you haven’t tried them before, I think the oven roasted recipe is the best way to start. That will give you a better idea of exactly how the meat tastes. If you have leftovers, which is very doubtful, then you can make soup out of that.

Remember, any recipe is just one cooks idea of how something can be cooked. They probably cook the same dish about ten different ways. Adjust any recipe to suit yourself and your family.

11.  Chicken and Dumplings

start with a big pan

add 1 quart chicken broth

1 ½ quarts water

raw chicken – I used about 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs

salt and pepper to taste

bring to boil, and turn down to simmer for about an hour.

(act like you are slaving in the kitchen for this hour, or get another chore done, or just flop on the couch and take it easy.

In about 45 minutes you can get your apples ready to fry if you are going to make fried apples. (See previous blog post for recipe.) If you are just having chicken and dumplings, give yourself another ten minutes. Turn the heat up on the stove to make the chicken soup boil. Then put two or three cups of Bisquick or self rising flour, or some equivalent in a bowl and add milk to make dough sort of similar to biscuits. If you like dumplings 3 cups is a good amount, and if you REALLY like dumplings it might even take four cups. (Or, if you are trying to make a little soup go a long way, then more dumplings will be a good idea.) Then drop by good sized teaspoons into the boiling chicken soup. When all the dumplings are in the pan, turn down heat and simmer for about ten or twenty more minutes. Be careful or it will scorch and you will have to start all over.

This is a very easy meal.

Here are some variations on the dumplings.

You can use a can or two of chicken if you don’t have raw chicken on hand. This is where your pantry food will come in handy. If you have a rotisserie chicken from the store, eat half for one meal on Monday and use the rest to make dumplings on Wednesday. You do have to be careful to get all the bones before you add the dumplings. Or, just boil the chicken in chicken stock, and call it chicken soup. Fling in an onion and potato or rice or quinoa if you want a thicker soup. (You can also make a chicken pot pie with half a leftover baked chicken. It is really a cheap meal and quite tasty.)

Now, I know that chicken and dumplings is a really old fashioned dish and practically no one ever eats that anymore. However, dumplings do make a tasty and nutritious meal with very little fuss. They were popular years ago for farm families because chicken was much more readily available than any other meat. Another reason is that in the event that an entire chicken was not eaten, they had to do something with the leftovers. They boiled all the leftover chicken ,with the bones and all, to get all the food value. Then they added the dumplings, and ‘poof’. They had another meal. (Think ‘cartilage repair’ or ‘stop arthritis pain) when boiling bones. Here is a link to a good article on boiling bones. http://www.chiropractic-help.com/Chicken-bones.html )

If you use chicken broth and canned chicken, the ingredients to make this meal can be easily stored in a pantry for a long time. This is a good meal to try out on your family now and see how they like it. If it isn’t a winner the first time, then try it with a slight variation and see if they like it.

Making meals out of stored food just requires a little bit of creativity on the part of the cook.

Recently I was making soup out of a left over roast. When we have a roast, I always freeze the leftovers right after the meal to make soup on Friday nights. Anyway, this time I started with a quart of beef broth. I put it in the iron skillet, and then added a can of tomato paste. I heated that, added some basil, and let it simmer a while because the tomato is supposed to get a little more iron out of the skillet that way. I heard, but can’t prove of course, that cast iron cooking is a good way to help avoid anemia. My entire family seems prone to anemia, so I use iron cookware for almost everything. Anyway, it smelled so good that I had myself a cup. It was quite tasty, and would pass for tomato soup for just about anyone who isn’t addicted to soup out of a can. Besides being tasty, it was gluten free, and free of preservatives or flavor enhancers like MSG. A lot of people could make a meal out of something like that, especially if there were a few crackers to go with it.  As always beef ‘Better than Bouillon’ is really tasty instead of canned beef stock.

The time to start using food out of your food storage pantry is right now. Of course you need to replace the food you use, but the more you cook with the stored food, the more you know what food to store. If you find you have something stored that no one will eat, what is the point?

12.  Fried Apples

Let’s pretend that…..

You are not in the middle of a disaster…

You don’t need to eat out of a pantry of stored food…

You feel really good….

But…

you just want to have an easy meal that tastes good and is relatively cheap.

Here is an idea.

Fried Apples (The desert recipe is first because I love dessert before and after a meal. I am thinking of starting a ‘dessert first’ club – or maybe just a group on facebook.)

6-8 medium apples sliced and cored but not peeled

½ to 1 stick of butter or some sort of cooking oil

cinnamon to taste

sugar – to taste

Heat skillet and butter

add apples and fry on medium heat until tender

I add the cinnamon while frying because it makes the house smell good

When apples are tender add sugar – probably around a scant ½ cup – but however you like it.

Cook just until sugar is melted

Hide a bowl for yourself later. Then share the rest evenly with the family.

It is good served as just fried apples, or served over plain cake, or over ice cream, or ice cream and cake.

I used fresh apples, but you can also use frozen apples. My mom used to put up bags of apples in the freezer before the black bears broke down all the apple trees. She would fry them by the gallon when she had company. The apples in the photo were Braubern apples. They were on sale for fifty cents a pound at the grocery store. I may go back tomorrow and get some for the freezer. My favorite apple is Fuji, but any apple will work. If you have an apple tree, that is great!

This recipe is for an easy dessert.

13.  Stuffed Peppers

Well, before you know it, everyone is hungry, or they will be hungry, and you are blessed with food to put on the table.  However, you do have to get the food ready to eat.

A simple recipe is stuffed bell peppers.  I am going to give you the way I do them, but you should always think of ways you might personalize the recipe and make it a bit more suited to you own tastes and your family.

1 ½ to 2 pounds of hamburger.  Buy the best hamburger that you can afford and don’t worry about.  If you are really trying to go with grass fed beef or organic, but are finding the price too high, get the amount you can afford.  Just plan to add more quinoa or rice to the meat.  Keep in mind that that is a just an approximation.  If you have more family and less hamburger, then you will need to add more ‘stuff’ to the stretch it to fill everyone’s stomach.

1 cup cooked quinoa or rice.  Quinoa (pronounced keenwah) is my choice when available because it is supposed to have a very good balance of vitamins,, minerals, and amino acids.  Plus, I just happen to like it better than rice.  I usually cook 1 cup of quinoa, which gives me about 1 ½ cups leftover to make fried quinoa the next meal.

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce.  You can also use tomato paste or tomato puree.

5 or 6 large bell peppers

First, put the meat in the skillet to brown.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add a bit of garlic powder and basil if you happen to like the flavor they add.

Cut your green peppers in half longwise.  Cut out the stem. Next cook the peppers to semi soft. I put them in plastic in the microwave and cook them for around 7 minutes. They will be very hot, so try to let them cool long enough to be sure you won’t scald yourself when you take them up.

Put one cup of quinoa in two cups of water or chicken  stock and boil until tender – about fifteen minutes.  Really, just bring it to a boil and then lower temperature to just simmer. 

In the mean time cook your hamburger on medium heat until done.  Salt and pepper to taste.

When the meat is done, add your jar of spaghetti sauce, cover the pan, lower the temperature and simmer for at least fifteen minutes.  If your quinoa is done, put in about one cup of that and see how it looks.  You can add up to the entire amount you just cooked if you need to feed more people..  If you need to feed fewer people, add less of cooked quinoa or rice.  Serve the rest as a side dish.

Arrange your peppers in an oven safe pan with a lid.  Fit them as tightly together as possible. Fill each pepper about ¾ full.  If you have left over meat, go back and distribute it evenly in the peppers so each one is about the same level of full. 

Put the lid on your skillet and put in the oven.  Cook for approximately 45 minutes. 

Then remove the lid, put parmesan cheese on each pepper to taste – or according to how much cheese is left in the jar.  I like it really think when I have plenty of cheese.  Put the lid back on the pan and cook about fifteen more minutes.  Take into account if some family members like a lot of parmesan cheese or if others don’t like any at all.  Shake on cheese accordingly.  Also, it may be that most of your family prefers cheddar cheese or mozzarella.  Go for it.  You aren’t trying to make the cover of a cooking magazine.  You are trying to please your own tummy and as many family members as possible at the same time.

Remove from oven and get ready to eat.   Because the quinoa or rice and meat are in the dish, you don’t need a lot to go with this meal.  If you have salad, that is great.  Or, just open a can of your favorite vegetable.  Or, just eat more stuffed peppers.

Garlic bread is good with it also.

Stuffed peppers are really a personal taste dish.  We like the spaghetti sauce flavor. 

Some people only use tomato paste or tomato sauce.

Some people don’t use any sauce at all.

It depends on what you personally have on hand.

Do you have an abundance of eggs?

Cool your meat entirely and stir in a few eggs before putting the meat in the peppers.  This gives a firmer set on your meat.  You really don’t have to change anything else in the dish.

Or, do you have just a few bell peppers? 

Slice peppers in rings or long slices.  Layer the pan with meat, peppers, meat, peppers until everything is in the pan.  Bake it as usual.  This works really well if you have put a few raw eggs in the mix.  It bakes up firmer and can be sliced like pie to take it out of the pan and serve it.

Remember, you are not attempting to be labeled as a gourmet cook.  You are trying to put something that tastes good and that is affordable on the table in a reasonable time.  Most people would rather eat something at a reasonable time than something very fancy after they have been hungry for an extra hour or two.  This can be prepared the previous day and just popped into the skillet and oven when you get home, or about an hour before you are ready to eat.

Remember, your body was not made just to eat or just as a fancy rack on which to hang clothes.  If you want more time for everything else you have to do and that you want to do, then getting something nutritious and affordable that your family will actually eat on the table in a short amount of time is very important.  It is also important that you get it on the table at a reasonable hour and with as little effort as possible.  Remember, with just a little practice and effort, you can become a ‘fling it in the pan cook’.  Your life will be simpler, and your family will be happier.

Appendix 2 – how to……

1.  Build a fire

How to Build a fire

(By Ray Robinson – my son in law – used with his permission)

Campfire 101 by Ray Robinson

Camping is a wonderful activity to share and enjoy with your family. With camping there are many traditions. One of these is the campfire. A campfire can easily become the center of any family camping trip. It becomes the focal and gathering point for the family to sit around and share stories, ideas, and reminisce about the past. Gathering around the campfire is a great opportunity for communication with your family away from the hustle and bustle of everyday demands.

A campfire also provides many benefits beyond a meeting place. It is a source of warmth on cool days and nights. The need for this will depend on where you decide to camp. It provides a means of cooking. Whether you use pots and pans or a Dutch oven, there is something special about cooking your meals out doors. Finally, a campfire is a source of light as the day gives way to night. Darkness, of course, is something that everyone deals with when camping in the great outdoors.

This article is not an attempt to convince anyone that what is mentioned is the best choice; the components mentioned are only what this author has found to be beneficial or necessary for making sure a campfire can be quickly, easily and successfully started.

When planning a camping trip where you expect to have a campfire, there are three different categories of items that you need to consider taking when going planning for your adventure. In order to build a campfire you need to have a method to provide a flame, material to ignite and start the campfire, and finally material to keep it fueled.

Providing a flame….

Although it is quite possible to start a fire using some very old, traditional methods such as rubbing sticks together or striking two rocks together, in modern times, there are many inexpensive, easily attainable ways of creating flames. The two most basic methods that I would recommend are matches or a lighter.

Matches are very cheap and can be found at any kind of store. When camping, any match will work from the cardboard book matches to stick matches that range from a inch in length to the foot long fire place matches. As long as you have the match and the surface to strike it against, anybody can create a flame.

There are some things to consider that might lead you to buy specialty matches. Depending on the climate that you are camping in you may want to consider waterproof matches. These matches are usually incased in a thin layer of wax that protect the wood stem and the match head from moisture. Another kind of match to consider is the ‘strike anywhere’ match. These matches are made to be struck against just about any surface and ignite a flame. This is good to have if you have a knack for losing the box that your matches may come in. No matter where you camp you should be able to find a surface that these will strike a flame against.

Lighters are also an affordable and easy to find mechanism for creating a flame. From the 99 cent 4-pack of Bic lighters that can be picked up a most stores to the slightly more expensive butane fueled lighters, an individual has a wide choice depending on their preference. Although any lighter will do, it has been this author’s experience that a butane base lighter provide as hotter flame that tends to light a fire quicker. However, the cheap, throw away, plastic lighters will work just fine.

You need kindling….

Once you have determined how you will create the initial flame to start your campfire, the next item you need to consider is kindling. Kindling is defined as “material that can be readily ignited, used in starting a fire.” A better explanation is that it is material that starts to burn very quickly and allows the flame to spread.

When determining what to use as kindling, keep in mind that you want something that 1) you can have a good amount of or 2) something that will ignite quickly and burn long enough for the campfire to really start burning well. If you have something that burns quickly, you will need to provide a constant supply of the material until the slower burning material that is the base fuel for the fire starts burning. However there are now alternatives that ignite quickly and burn slowly that are good alternatives for kindling.

Materials that you may have around your house that fall in the first category of quickly igniting and burning are simple materials such as paper, cardboard, and any small strips of wood. One example of wood that this author has used for kindling is paint stirring sticks. Newspaper is a good example of something that most people have that could be easily carried as a kindling source. If you use this material be sure of two things: 1) that the material doesn’t contain anything that may be toxic when it burns, such as tape or paint on it and 2) that you have plenty of it as this material tends to burn faster then the time it takes for the base fuel you use to start burning.

A good alternative to the materials described above is finding or making a category of kindling known as solid fire starters. Solid fire starters are normally made of natural material, but constructed in a way that allows them to ignite quickly but burn slowly. With a few good fire starters you have an opportunity to create a base flame for your campfire that will provide enough flame and heat for your base fuel to start.

Although there are many, many options for fire starters on the market, this author has experience with two inexpensive brands and types that have proven successful. One is Wade Quick-Fire Fire Starters. These ignite quickly and burn very slowly. The one disadvantage to these is that each starter is wrapped in clear plastic that you burn along with the starter. Although the plastic is small, depending on your personal beliefs you may not wish to use these.

The other fire starter that works well from experience is made by Rutland. The product is named Safe Lite Fire Start Squares. These are constructed from compressed wood and other flammable material and are one inch squares that ignite quickly and burn for up to 10 minutes. The heat put off by these small squares allows for most base fuel for you campfire to begin burning before they are exhausted. The author highly recommends this fire starter.

Don’t forget the fuel….

The final component for any good campfire is fuel, which in reality is wood. There are many different kinds of woods in the world and each of them has their own qualities when it comes to burning. No attempt to explore the different woods and their properties will be made here, but keep in mind that some burn faster and some burn slower. The kind of wood that you may have access too will depend on the region you live in. Depending on where you are camping, you may be able to purchase wood near or in the camping area, but the author recommends gathering and preparing you own wood and taking it with you. Purchasing your fire wood at the camping area tends to be slightly expensive when trying to have enough for even one evening of camping.

Preparation of your wood for burning is important for a good and successful campfire. One thing to do is split the wood before burning. By splitting the wood, the internal areas of the wood are exposed and tend to be drier and burn easier then the exposed bark of the tree. Another important thing to do with your wood is keep it dry. Wet wood does not burn. If you are keeping wood in your camp site and the environment is wet, be sure to have something to cover the wood such as a tarp.

Campfires are a great tradition when it comes to camping. They provide a great addition for any family camping trip and you should consider having one as part of your own camping adventure. In conclusion, the author doesn’t claim that the information provided is the best information out there, but from experience, the basics presented here are things to consider for a successful and enjoyable campfire.

2. How to Cook on a Wood Fire

Cooking on a wood fire has been done since Adam and Eve got kicked out of the Garden.  Pioneers did it.  My mama can do.  How hard can it be?  The answer to that question is really not ‘how hard can it be?’, but ‘How good do you want your food to taste?’  There is a rumor that ‘everything tastes better outdoors’, but I personally find that to only be true when the food is actually better!

So, the first thing about cooking on an open fire is that you have build the fire!  We covered that in the previous article.  Here is how you actually cook on the fire.

First, you need hot coals from your fire.  That requires that your fire needs to burn down a while, or burn long enough to make hot coals. 

While the fire is burning you have time to put together a small ring of rocks around 6 to ten inches tall.  Your cast iron skillet should fit securely on about ¾ of the ring.  Leave about ¼ of the ring open to add additional coals as needed.

When you have sufficient coals to fill in the ring of rocks you are ready to start cooking.  You actually cook just like at home except you are not standing up straight.  One of those short 3 legged camp stools is really good for this.  You regulate the heat by adding or removing coals from under the skillet.  It takes a little time to get make it work correctly, but it can be done with a little practice.  Good coals are the key to even heat.  Even heat makes cooking easy.  A smallish camp shovel or even the ash shovel from your fireplace or wood heater at home will be good for adding hot coals to your cooking fire.

COFFEE – you need a percolator, or you can simply boil the coffee.  You need to put a very solid rock edge on your main fire pit.  This is where the coffee pot sits.  When you are really wanting coffee you have to take the time to sit there and make sure a fire stays under the coffee pot.  If you are boiling coffee you can do it in any pan that you happen to have.  I personally don’t drink coffee, but I know that it is really necessary for some people.  It isn’t going to taste like Starbucks, but it will do the job.  If you actually have to boil the coffee a nice tea strainer is good when you pour it in the cup.  Otherwise you just let it sit for few minutes and grounds will all settle to the bottom of your cup.  What?  You say this doesn’t sound very good to you?  I have seen people desperately in need of a coffee fix, and this stuff goes down pretty well with them.   They strain the coffee through their teeth and spit the grounds out like they were chewing tobacco.  For us non-coffee drinkers it can be pretty gross, but it does improve the temperament of the coffee drinkers enough to be worth it for the rest of us.

TEA – just boil water – how easy is that?  It is like coffee in that you will need a tea strainer if you don’t have tea bags. 

The business of keeping good coals is not as hard as it may seem.  You should have a nice deep fire pit well ringed with rocks.  Ashes pile up in the fire pit.  When you are finished with your fire you simply rake the hottest coals to one side of the pit and cover them with ashes.  A foot of ashes isn’t too much but six inches will probably work.  You ignore the fire until you need more coals.  Then you rake away the ashes and your coals will still be ready to use hours later.  They should even give you a good start on a fire the next morning. 

DUTCH OVENS

A Dutch Oven is a regular cast iron skillet that has short legs on the bottom and lip around the lid on the top.  You sit the oven on a bed of coals, and you pile coals on the lid.  The lip is on the lid so you won’t disturb the coals when you pick up the lid to check on the food.  You can basically cook anything in a Dutch-Oven that you can cook in a regular oven.  It just requires some practice to get the temperature right.  Food cooks from both the top and the bottom.  You usually burn everything the first few times you try it, so it is a good idea to practice when you have a box of cereal to eat just in case the stew you planned on is burnt to a cinder.  My mom used to make cornbread in a Dutch-Oven when we were camping.  I am not a big fan or cornbread, but it was wonderful cooked like that.  Food from a Dutch-Oven smells wonderful when you first open the lid, unless of course it is burned.  In that case it smells like all burned food – AWFUL. 

There are many books on cooking in a Dutch-Oven available.  Most of them give instruction on cooking with store bought charcoal briquettes.  Some suggest that a specific brand is better than another brand.  In the last few years I have laughed every time the local sporting goods store has a Dutch-Oven cooking demo.  The food is generally awful.  Or, it was something you could have heated with a can of Sterno!  My opinion is that to successfully cook in a Dutch-Oven requires coals from your own fire.  Besides, if you were in a position where you needed to cook in a Dutch-Oven for an extended period of time the chances are that you would not have a bag of charcoal every time you wanted to cook a meal. 

To use a Dutch-Oven you dig a hole about eight inches deep and a six to ten inches wider than your oven.  Fill it half full with hot coals. Set the oven on top of the coals.  Fill in around the edges with more coals.  Put the lid on the oven and add coals to the top of the oven.  That makes for a really hot beginner oven.  This will make a hot oven for baking bread.  To cook a stew or a chunk of meat you leave it longer.  What happens is the meal cooks very hot to begin with and then as the coals cook it gradually cooks slower.  This is obviously something is only learned by hands on experience.  However, if you are cooking outdoor for any length of time you will really want to give this a try.  Outdoor cooking is a possibility in an area when the electricity is off for a lengthy amount of time.  The weather may simply be too hot to cook indoors even if you have a gas stove.

Another option of course during hot weather or times spent away from home is canned fish for sandwiches. 

ROASTING MEAT OVER AN OPEN FIRE

Sometimes you put your meat on a stick, stick it out over the fire, and cook it until you think it is done.  If this is a hot dog it is probably already cooked so you just have to get it as warm as you want it.  What you need to consider is that the type of wood can give the meat a different flavor.  Mainly any wood is good except evergreens.  Evergreens may give the food sort of a bitter taste.  I would prefer bitter to raw.  I suppose it is sort of like using different types of wood chips to give a different flavor to meat cooked on the grill.  If we are cooking on sticks we usually just try to avoid evergreen wood. 

Appendix 3 - Practicing For a Disaster

Disaster is coming.  There is no question about it.

However, there are many questions about the disaster(s).

When will it come?

What will it be?

How long will recovery take?

Is full recovery even possible?

What other hardships will be brought about by the disaster?

And blah, blah, blah.  The only element of any given disaster that we can know in advance is that disaster is coming.  While you can’t be specifically prepared for a specific future disaster, you can be generally prepared for whatever comes.

For most of my readers it is a given that the first thing one must do to be prepared is to become a Christian.  That prepares you for eternity.  It also gives you a bright future that only Christians can hold onto in times of trouble and darkness.  The second thing to do is follow the instructions in Psalm 37 – the entire chapter.  In other words, just work daily to get it right with God, and He will direct your path and care for you in whatever disaster may cross your path at any given moment.

However, there are also a number of hands on things you can do today in order to better prepare for a disaster of any kind, and to increase the likelihood of safety and comfort for you and your family. 

You can start preparing for a disaster by ‘practicing for disaster’.  I am not talking about anything big or major.  Just start small. 

When a disaster occurs, your routine is disrupted.  Why not disrupt your routine yourself?  

Here’s a good way to begin.  Let’s say you go to the grocery store once a week for major grocery shopping and then 2 or 3 more times a week to pick up perishables, or stuff you forgot on your major shopping day, or just something your tummy tells you that must have.  A way to disrupt your routine is to take an extra day, or even two days, that you don’t go to the store on days that you normally would.  Then you have to come up with a way to do without the things you would buy on those days.  In many disasters you would not be able to go the store.  You would have to make do with what you have.  Even if you have faith that the government will step in and provide what you need, they won’t get the help you need to you in record time.  In fact, you might be dead of starvation or exposure to the elements by the time the government even acknowledges there has been a disaster and that people are in need.   Just a little practicing with ‘making do with what is on hand’ can provide you with invaluable experience in a real disaster. 

I think one of the best ways to prepare for a disaster is to practice doing without temporarily and making do before you have to.  It can even be fun.  And, keep in mind that you can step back into your routine any time, so that takes the stress out of the situation.

Then, there are things you can consider doing at home even though you don’t have to at the moment.  Try heating water on the stove for cooking and bathing.  Or, heat water on the gas grill if you are pretending you don’t have electricity.  Or purchase a one or two burner camp stove just ‘in case’.  Then practice using it.  If you are in a hot climate, it is nice to just cook outside sometimes to keep from heating up the house. 

I actually once heard a lady telling anyone who would listen that she literally scalded her head trying to wash her hair during a time when the electricity was out for two weeks.  She just boiled the water and then dumped it on her head.  Thankfully, the emergency room at the hospital was open, so she got treatment for the burn immediately.  I know this is a silly sounding question, but have you ever had to heat water for bathing and hair washing?  Nothing makes you feel more normal than getting a shower and clean clothes.  Learning to do that with as little water as possible now might be very important to you later.  (And this is not a ‘conserve water’ article – it is all about learning things now that will help you later.)

If you are attempting to cook on an open fire or even on a small camp stove I highly recommend starting with something straight of a can like chili, spaghetti, beef stew, or anything that would make a meal just by heating it up.  That is probably exactly what you would do if you were stuck at home a few days without utilities.  You would do the easiest things possible while you waited for ‘normal to return’.  That would give you more time to worry and gripe about how things are going.  Seriously, if you see something as a short term change of routine make it easy on yourself. 

If you have to leave your home for a disaster, there may be some pretty difficult days ahead.  The government may try to get you to go to a shelter.  Yuk!  There will be tons of people you don’t know.  Most of them will be whiney-hineys.   Some of them will probably be perverts, thieves, ax murderers, and escaped convicts.  There will definitely be a lot of people with ideas on what is and is not acceptable behavior that are totally different than your own idea of acceptable. Think now about how you would handle that situation.  You may not want to actually ‘practice’ this one, but you do need to think it over in advance. 

To me and my family, the first thing to consider is how NOT to get stuck in the governments idea of a helpful place – like a FEMA compound.  You want to think in advance about your options.  If fuel for your vehicle is available and roads are open, then you have the option to drive out of the area, or at least to an area that is less impacted.  That means a car trip with as much of your stuff that you will need as possible stuffed in the car along with all the people who live with you.  If you have given some thought to such a trip, then you will be a step ahead of the rest.  You might just beat the traffic jam caused by those who are thinking about driving away, but taking longer to get their stuff in the car.

If you are blessed with extended family somewhere out of the area, their home is a possible first place to go.  Talk it over with them in advance.  It could be that they might be the ones running from a disaster and will be coming to your home first.

Camping out is a short term option.  That is only if you can’t stay in your own home, and just need a place to stay until the flood waters go down, or the radiation levels drop, or the chemical spill dissipates, or something like that.  There could even be a time when the number of friends and relatives so overwhelm a host family that some people must camp in the front yard.  We used to live near a family who had a yearly reunion in their yard.  They were educated people who lived in a nice home in a nice neighborhood.  But, every summer their acreage looked like a refugee camp.  Family came from all over and just set up tents in the yard.  They set them up right in the front yard too.  People were all over the place for close to a week.  (The neighborhood smelled different that week because all the men were cooking ribs on the grill every day.  I guess they had a cooking contest or something.)  Then, they all went home.  Now, no one wants to camp in their aunt’s front yard, but sometimes it might work out to be the best solution to a bad situation.  It can be a safe place that can be set up to be relatively comfortable.

That brings us to the next thing you can do now in order to prepare for the future.  You can learn to camp out.  I know, if you don’t already know how to camp out you just don’t want to camp out.  Honestly, I would have probably never learned to camp out if my parents hadn’t dragged me camping as a kid.  I tried to be cheerful about it, but I really preferred sleeping in my own bed even when I was little.  I don’t care for camp fire smoke in my eyes.  I don’t care to roast the side of my body next to the fire, and freeze the side of my body away from the fire.  I still don’t like marshmallows or hotdogs on a stick.  The first thing I had to learn about camping was to be a good sport about doing something as a family that didn’t really cost a lot of money, and that most of the family enjoyed.  In a disaster, being a good sport instead of a complainer will make you one of the most popular people around. 

When camping out, people sometimes sleep in their cars, but they often buy a tent.  You need things like sleeping bags or blankets to keep warm.  Camping out is a good way to get acquainted with ways of providing food and shelter outside the four walls of your home.  If you are a beginner camper, start small.  Day trips are good – especially if you limit yourself to just taking things that you have on hand in the way of food and shelter.  If it were a real disaster, then you would not be able to run out to the sporting goods store and the grocery store before you left home.  Venture into spending the night in the great outdoors after a couple of successful day trips.

I also don’t care to fish.  I learned to fish because dad thought it was everyone’s duty to fish for food for supper.  I also learned to clean fish and even fry fish.  Thankfully, my mom did most of the cooking when we were camping.  I started camp cooking when I got married.  Just remember the rule – the first person to complain about your cooking has to cook the next meal.  The second rule is practice makes everything better.  It is really all about learning to get and keep consistent heat under your skillet if you have to cook on a camp fire.  If you are blessed with a camp stove, then you will be as good a cook as you are in your own kitchen.

Most people need a cup of coffee or tea to get their day going.  We have already covered boiling coffee but you will need something to boil it in.  One of your stew pots or sauce pans or will work just fine.  However, I suggest an enamel camp coffee pot.  You can use it to heat water for other things.  It is a really useful item when you are camping out, or just dealing with a few days without electricity and cooking on your gas grill burner or propane camp stove.  Starbucks will not be in your vocabulary during a real disaster.  You just have to make do with what you have.  If you need that morning cup of coffee, then you will learn to drink the boiled coffee in about two days.  My parents used to drink it by the gallon when we were camping.  It didn’t hurt them.  They were odd to begin with, so you can’t blame it on the coffee.  .

Prepare your pets for disaster.  Make at least part of their diet something that you eat yourself, and would likely have on hand during a disaster.  If you have a problem with feeding your dog or cat table scraps, then read the label on the pet food.  I think ‘meat by products’ means guts and bones.  I don’t think some left over mashed potatoes and gravy is going to hurt my dog.  My cat is a little more difficult to feed.  The point is that no matter what brand of pet food you use, it likely will not be readily available during a disaster.  You may not be able to get it for days, or even months.  If you pet eats at least partially what you eat, then you are going to get your pets through the crisis better than changing their diets in the middle of changing everything else in their routine.

Another thing to consider is what needs you consider the most important, and even any phobias that you have.

I have a real phobia about being trapped somewhere without my glasses or my Bible.  I have Bibles stashed everywhere.  I only have one Thompson Chain Reference which I would hope to have with me if at all possible.  However, I have cheap Bibles in quite a few places.   Reading glasses are everywhere.  I practically buy them by the case, and stash them in various places – cars, trucks, tool boxes, glove compartments, overnight bags, suitcases, and in kitchen supplies.  If you have something you think you can’t do without, try to have more than one, and keep them in places where they would be easy to grab.  I need my own pillow, too; but I do acknowledge that I might not have that if we ever have to leave the house in a hurry.  I need an asthma inhaler about once a year for what is always an undetermined reason.  I have those stashed here and there also.  Nothing is worse than not being able to breathe!

I know you have probably already set up things like a first aid kit, a grab and go bag, and prescription medicine – or at least a way to fill the prescription and things like that.  What I want to do with this book is to encourage you to just think about things that would make an interrupted life more comfortable and familiar.  I definitely don’t usually care for change.  I certainly don’t like change for the sake of change unless is something very minor like adding extra pepper to my French fries first instead of adding the salt first.  Some kind of disaster that throws you out of your routine definitely will not be pleasant.  But, in the midst of the change and uncertainty, any little thing that you are able to do that is somewhat in the realm of normal will be a comfort to you and your family.  I can’t imagine that anyone would ever be ready to give up their home and live in a tent.  But, if they are already comfortable with camping, living in a tent a little longer than a camping trip will be more easily done than for someone who has never spent a night in a tent.   Building a camp fire when evacuated from your home will be more easily done if you already know how to do it.  The middle of a disaster and emotional trauma is not a good time to learn anything.  Learning to cook and eat what you cook on a camp stove or campfire will be easier during a time when it is your idea to do it. 

Then there is self defense.  Get a gun.  Learn to shoot.   Do it now.  Don’t wait until you need a gun to get one.  Get a common gun that has ammo readily available.  I shoot guns.  My family has had generations of hunters and hand gun enthusiasts.  There has never been an accidental shooting.  No one has ever had to shoot an intruder.  Years ago my husband and I had a business in a dangerous neighborhood.  We had some threatening customers.  I was afraid to be there by myself, but occasionally I had to be there by myself.  I started carrying a gun into the business in the morning and carrying it out in the evening.  I made no attempt to conceal the gun as I went in and out of the business.  I wanted people to know I had a gun.  I also got a dog that was somewhat frightening to many people and took her to work with me every day.  We just made it clear that we had means of self-defense.  I honestly believe that that was a strong deterrent to the thugs and hoodlums in the area.  I never had to use a weapon, but I made it clear that I had one to use. 

If I had a choice in a disaster in choosing two helpful people to go through it with me, I would chose my husband Jerry and my mom.  Jerry and mom are both really good at seeing what needs to be done, seeing what supplies are available to get it done, and coming up with a way to get something accomplished that works.  It may not be the text-book case of how to do something, but they will wind up with something that is workable and helpful.  That is the type attitude that everyone should have during a displacement disaster or a disaster where normal services and good are unavailable.  It takes a willing attitude.  Everyone needs to find something to do and do it as best they can for their own good.  Forget that kindergarten attitude that is afraid of doing more than your share.  Where my husband works he and the people in his department do the clean-up chores each day without any set pattern.  They just do what they see that needs to be done when they have time.  The other department micro-manages everything.  They have lists of who takes out the trash when, who sweeps the floor, who does this, and who does that.  They fuss continually and their work area is always a mess.  They keep going to Jerry and asking why his work area stays so clean.  They want his method of delegating jobs to co-workers and his method of making sure everyone does what they are supposed to do.  He keeps telling them the same thing.  ‘It don’t matter.’ (Jerry’s grammar ain’t that good.)   ‘Just do what needs to be done and let the slackers face themselves at the end of the day.  If you do the best you can do, then you have had a good day.’

The lesson here is simple.  Anytime, disaster or normal day, just do what needs to be done if you are able.  Forget what anyone does or doesn’t do.  Forget whose turn it is to do a job.  Just do what you can do yourself.

In a disaster, there are no textbook cases of how to handle the situations that arise.  You just have to do the best you can do.  You cannot sit around and wait on the cavalry to arrive.  Furthermore, being able to do some things that help you to better cope with the situation puts you more in charge of the situation than just sitting around waiting to be rescued by the government. Government rescue is dubious at best.  I read one story about a well known disaster relief organization assisting those displaced by Hurricane Sandy (Oct. 2012).  The people needed clothes, blankets, and food.  They got a small cup of coffee and a donut. 

It is good to practice some things now so they won’t be so difficult and even frightening when/if you actually have to do them.  Practice a few times or at least go over as a family things like:

Set up a family meeting place.  Unless there is absolutely no possible way, get your family together to begin with.

2.  If you must leave the area, then you should have already made some choices about where you will go and what to take with you.

3.  Be realistic.  Remember that your plan is just a general plan based on generalities.  You will have to adapt the plan to suit the situation best.

Remember that your normal life, or your routine is pretty much up in smoke for the duration of the disaster, whatever it may be.

Your job is to set up a new normal, or a new routine as quickly as possible. 

The situation will likely change, and you will have to change with it. 

The more effort you have made to learn to do and be familiar with things that are normally out of your comfort zone, the better you will adjust to the new and changing situations. 

Do your best to be a good sport about the situation. 

No one is really responsible for most disasters.  Things like fires, floods, storms, hurricanes, and the like just happen; so don’t take your frustration out on anyone. 

By now you have already come to the conclusion that any sort of disaster will put you out of your comfort zone and normal routine for an indefinite amount of time.  Set your mind right now that you are going to make an effort to learn to do anything that might be helpful during a disaster before the disaster actually happens.  Learn how to do as much as possible during the disaster.  If you wait for someone who knows how or is willing to do something, it likely will not get done.

Anything you learn in one disaster may be very useful when the next disaster comes along. 

Anything you learn while practicing for a disaster will make getting through a disaster easier.  

It is always good to be continually learning something new just to avoid boredom.  Bible study is a great activity.  Everyone needs to set some time aside for that.  In addition to that many other things could be helpful in your future.

Learn how to hammer a nail into a board. 

Learn how to set up a tent. 

Learn how to call a duck or turkey. 

Learn how to paint a picture. 

Honestly, you never know what unusual skill will come in handy someday.  Your skills may not be necessary to your personal survival except as a something to barter for something someone else has that you need. (I could take a paragraph here to tell you how I bartered my way into a cat which was the beginning of MidniteSun Siberians but that is covered in the chapter on barter.)

Computer skills and repair are good skills. 

Gardening is a skill that requires a lot of work and time, but has obvious benefits.

Growing herbs and spices is something to learn if you have space to do it.  You could be very popular on the day that you have freshly dug Echinacea root and neighbors don’t have penicillin.  You would be even more popular on the day you personally need a herbal antibiotic.  You could even get some certifications in naturopathy. 

Or you could learn gun-smithing.

If you already have guns and like to target practice you need to learn to re-load your own ammo.

There is something that interests you outside your normal routine.

What is it?  What would you be doing if you didn’t have to do anything?  (sitting in front of the TV is not a good option for a lot of spare time.)

Figure out what you would like to do and make an effort to get to do it part of the time at least providing it is within the boundaries you have set by your self-definition. 

If you have a family you really need to try to do something in which everyone can participate at least part of the time.  For instance if you have small children bicycling fifteen hours every weekend is probably not something you want to get into right now.  It might be the right time to learn to camp out.

Is it possible to raise a few chickens in your back yard?  Even some very nice neighborhoods allow a few hens as pets.  If you get a few nice laying hens you would have eggs most of the time.  Most backyard chicken farmers put their chickens in a portable pen and move it around so the chickens can scratch and eat stuff they scratch up.  This provides eggs with a yolk that is very yellow and tastes much better than most store bought eggs.  If you are wondering about that, you should locate a free range source of eggs and buy them.  It may only take one dozen for you to realize what a real egg is supposed to taste like.  This is an interesting hobby.  You can grow chickens specifically for meat as well, but that is more work.  You can even get a goat and milk it if you are really farm inclined.  Doing this in the city would give you an idea of if you really want to move to the country and take up farm life.  A good way to check for an interest in small livestock for yourself and the family in simply visit the livestock at a good local or state fair.  Hens used strictly as laying hens make odd but sweet pets.  A hen that has been hand raised will eat out of your hand and loves attention.  They don’t take the place of a dog or cat, but they are very sweet and interesting critters.

Another possibility in preparing for an unknown and drastic change in your future is to volunteer to help in a disaster that occurs somewhere else!  I absolutely do not mean that you should go into a disaster area just to gawk at the damage.  However, opportunities to help people are often available.  In helping others you will see first-hand the needs of people who have had their lives severely disrupted because of a storm, a fire, a flood, or earthquake just to name a few.  This will give you insight into how you might personally be better prepared if something hit you personally.

Appendix 4 – A Working Home Pantry Combination Storage System

Storing food for the future needs is smart.  It is even smarter to store food and items for the future that you will actually need and use cheerfully and willingly.  For instance you might actually use that fifty pound sack of unsalted pinto beans in a prolonged food shortage.  In such a situation you would probably be very thankful to have food to eat.  On the other hand, you might have stored food that would have at least prolonged the day that you had to start eating that bag of beans.

When you begin setting up a working pantry it is a good idea to start with the things that you are already eating.  A lot of things that are easily stored may be good for you, affordable, and easy to prepare.  Unfortunately they just aren’t on your list of things that you and your family normally eat. Now is the time to consider the question, ‘Am I willing to change what we are eating now in order to make life simpler now and in the future?’  It is very possible that fresh meat and vegetables will simply not be readily available at some time in the future.  It is better to have made a partial adjustment at least to eating meals from foods that have a long shelf life. 

It is a good thing to begin introducing some of these items into you meals prepared at home when you are not in an emergency situation.  Let’s say you cook supper five nights a week for a set number of people.  One night a week you could try a meal that is made up entirely of canned items or items set up for long term storage.  If you can work it up to two meals a week that would be great.  Mixes that require water as the only ingredient can be used for breakfasts.  Dry cereal is good as a snack.  Everyone has to go through trial and error in figuring out what will work.  Even if you are a single person trying to set up a pantry for one, you still need to figure out what is going to work.  Remember that if you like something before a disaster hits you will still like it after a disaster hits.  If you hate something when times are good you will also hate it when times are bad.  That means enduring a storm or earthquake of epic proportions will not suddenly give you a love of rhubarb if hate it in the first place.

Short list

Water

Toilet paper

Meals straight out of a can

Peanut butter, jam or jelly, and crackers (or almond butter – sesame butter – anything to spread on a cracker)

Can opener

Hand can opener  (I know – can opener is on the list twice – so that means it is very important.)

Spoons/forks and plates

Four pans – one for heating water – one for cooking food – one for washing hands – one for washing dishes

Dish soap

Towels or paper towels

Blankets or sleeping bags

Something for shelter – you house may do if you are able to stay at home – your car may have to do if you don’t have time for anything else – a tent is good – tarps are good to make a temporary shelter.

Excedrin – because this will definitely bring on the aches and pains – or whatever pain reliever you use.

Reading material – Thompson Chain Study Bible, classic books, books you like to re-read occasionally

Sewing kit

Magnifying glass

Reading glasses if you or a family member uses them

Cigarette lighter – more than one – maybe a dozen

Matches

Candles

Batteries

Battery re-charger if you have any rechargeable batteries with a car charger

Cell phone car charger

Food storage

First on the list of things to store is food.  That’s normal.

Here is how you start.

You buy MORE of what you already use.  In today’s world we all eat a lot of canned food.  Unfortunately canned meat is that readily available.  You can easily and affordably get canned fish, chicken, and turkey.  Other canned meat is available like canned ham.  But, things we eat mostly like hamburger, t-bone steak, pork chops, and fresh breakfast sausage just don’t come in cans.  Well, actually there is a selection of canned meat available, but it is not found in most grocery stores.  And it is not nearly as affordable as the usual canned meat you find at Wal-Mart.  Yes is available but it is more difficult to fit into a working pantry because of the cost. 

By the way, I want to be very clear that I am NOT advocating avoiding meat.  I love fresh meat.  There is a saying among meat lovers that ‘vegetarian’ is an ancient word meaning ‘bad hunter’.  However, it is a fact that fresh meat could become hard to get and hard to store safely at some point in the future.  Adjusting to less fresh meat now could make your life easier both now and in the future.  When you make a meal using canned meat as the main ingredient you don’t have to worry about either defrosting the meat or buying it fresh.  You just pop open the can and start cooking.

To begin with there is no use in storing something that you categorically will not eat.  If there is something that you will eat occasionally that could be easily stored it is a good idea to try to put that into a meal that you eat more often.

Let’s start with canned fish.  The most well known fish is undoubtedly tuna fish.  It comes in several size cans and varieties.  Can you eat it?  Will your family eat it?  The most common way it is served is as a sandwich.  Stir in a little mayo and slap it on bread.  Or if you don’t have bread it is served with saltine crackers.  Or it can be eaten plain on lettuce if you have it.  Tuna works.  Can you stand it once a week?  It is one of the easiest meals you can put together.  It is fairly healthy and filling as well.  Tuna is definitely a good thing to have in your pantry providing you and your family will actually eat it!

Canned salmon is another thing that works well if you like pan fried fish cakes.  You call it croquet or patties or whatever.  The recipe is the same. The taste is the same.  I guess if you are going for variety – you could call it salmon croquet for one meal, fish cakes for the next meal, and salmon patties for the next meal.  Wow!  Three entirely different meals from the same recipe.

Would you and your family be willing to eat salmon once a week?  How about every two weeks.  If you find that a simple main course for a meal, then salmon is definitely something you would want to have in your pantry.

Canned chicken and turkey do work for the same recipes.  They actually do taste a little different, so there is some variety in having both in your pantry.

Canned clams make a really tasty and simple clam chowder if you have additional ingredients on hand.  You can use your fancy recipe; OR you can open a can of potato soup and stir in the clams; OR you can use the powdered potato soup you have on hand.  Most of those potato soup powders only require water and stove to heat them on.  A can of oysters instead of clams would make me happy, but it wouldn’t make anyone else in the family happy.  You could even eat the soup plain and let everyone eat their own can of clams or oysters.  Come up with something that works before you have to.

Food Items

Canned meat

Tuna

Salmon

Chicken

Turkey

Ham

Clams – IF you like them

Oysters – If you like them

Sardines – IF you will actually eat them – remember you may want to gut some of them before you eat them because it is the entire little fish in the can

Anchovies – of course you like those

There are recipes for canning things like bacon and pork if you are bold enough to give it a try.  Canning meat is something to approach with extreme caution. If you have the time and inclination to do that then you better go ahead and give it a try.

A lot of canned meat has more salt than you might prefer in a meal.  One thing you can do is leave most of the salt off the rest of the meal.  It sort of evens out.

Start reading the ingredients.  Something that costs a little more may or may not be worth it.

Canned Chili is a good example.  Just read the ingredients.  You can get wheat free/gluten free that is actually very healthy and tasty.  This works great as a meal by itself, or served with cornbread, or made into nachos, or for tacos.  Try thinking out of the box when you think of canned chili.  Chile without beans really gives you more options. 

Canned tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato sauce, flavored tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce are all good to have on hand providing you actually use them.  If you like the spaghetti sauce in a jar that is good for just about anything that calls for tomatoes, and you have the added help of a re-usable jar.  Most of the time that jar just goes in the recycle bin, but there might come a time when it would be useful for lots of things.  A jar with a lid can be used for nails, 22 bullets, water storage, dry food like beans, and even for canning jars.  If you are using saved jars for canning do you best to get new lids for the jars.  Sometimes that might not be possible, but if you use old lids you are risking a bad seal at the lid which would of course allow the food to spoil. 

Better than Bouillon is a category all by itself.

I use beef and chicken because that is what Costco sells. It makes a delicious clear liquid stock for any recipe that calls for some sort of broth.  It also makes a wonderful hot drink that is sort of filling.  It has a very long shelf life. If you haven’t tried it you need to get a couple of jars and give it a try.  It is MUCH cheaper than buying chicken or beef stock in those cartons.  It adds a lot of flavor to what might be an otherwise bland meal.

Dry food Items

Powdered or canned milk if you use milk in any form.  Try using it instead of milk in a carton at least part of the time.  My mom used to use a lot of powdered milk when I was growing up.  She would always mix it up the night before and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.  It honestly did taste much better that way. 

Powdered soup mixes – potato is my favorite because it is a base for a lot of meals.

Pancake mix – IF you ever eat pancakes

Bisquick or equivalent – IF you ever use it

Try to start using things that only need water. Some mixes call for water or milk.  If you have milk use it.  On the other hand water adds no calories and often the taste is really close to the same.

Canned Goods

What will you actually eat?

Corn - creamed or whole kernel?  This is great with the dried potato soup mix to make a satisfying corn chowder.

Green beans

Green peas

Asparagus – great for the kidneys but a little pricy if no one will actually eat it.

Canned beans – a lot of variety there

Chili – with or without beans

Tomatoes

Tomatoes make up another food group

The question is what sort of tomatoes do you use and how often?

Get a lot of whatever you use.

Spaghetti sauce is wonderful for a lot of recipes.  My parents were stuck in a road wash out in Canada quite a few years back. They had beans to cook and coffee to boil.  They fed about 20 people every day until the Canadian government showed up with food and equipment to get the road fixed.  Mom said someone had spaghetti sauce – which they added to the beans.  It was an entirely different meal than plain beans. 

Picante sauce – it can a lot of pizazz to a bland meal.   

Spices for cooking

Salt – everyone needs salt.  Store a lot more than you normally use.  It could work as an item you trade, or you might wind up using it to preserve meat.

What other spices do you use?

Pepper

Garlic powder

Vanilla extract

Cinnamon

Coco powder

This is a very personal list.  The only real definite item is salt.  We use sea salt that I put in a salt grinder.  I try to keep several pounds on hand.

We also use a lot of cinnamon because I seem to have a cinnamon addiction.

Cocoa is on the spice list because you can do a lot with a teaspoon of cocoa.  If you are really a chocolate addict then you really do need to figure out what equals a 3 months supply of cocoa for you and be sure that is on hand.  If you are unable to purchase items for a prolonged period of time you may actually need double your 3 months supply of chocolate.

Grains

Wheat – as flour or as whole grain that you buy ready to grind in your grain grinder.

Honest, there is no reason to go out and buy a grain grinder and 100 pounds of wheat berries if you aren’t going to start using it now.  Baking bread is a lot of work unless you have a Zojirushi bread machine.  Seriously, a good bread machine is worth a lot to a busy cook.  You can put the ingredients in the machine, set the timer, leave the house, and come home hours later to fresh bread.

There are a lot of grains from which bread can be made, many are gluten free.  Sorghum and buckwheat are two that I find work pretty well in the usual bread recipe.  The problem is they do make a heavier bread that requires some getting used to.  These grains are very nutritious and are a good addition to any diet.  The time to start incorporating them into your diet or your family’s diet is right now while you time to experiment and see what your family will accept as edible!

Drinks

What do you drink personally?

What do family members drink?

If you drink a particular brand of coffee or tea try to work up to at least a 3 months supply.  Store it in order with the newer items being placed at the back of the shelf so you are always using the oldest items. 

Soft drinks are a lot harder.  You may be able to stock up a few months worth, but stocking up more than that likely won’t work well. 

Powdered sports drinks?  Do you drink them now?  Chances are you wouldn’t suddenly love them if don’t use them already.

Don’t stock stuff you never use no matter how wonderful the price.  If it is a really good survival food like dry beans you may want to make an effort to learn to eat it at least in small quantities.  The possible exception is something you believe would have value to trade or barter.

Things EVERYONE Needs to Stock

Obviously everyone needs to stock food but exactly what they stock varies according to personal taste.  On the other hand there are things that everyone needs to have on hand.  I think shooting for an eventual three months supply is doable goal.

Personal items like

Toilet paper

Soap – for hands, laundry, dishes

Shampoo and other hair related items

Deodorant – no ones to smell the rest of the family in a situation where bathing might not be as easy as stepping in the shower and turning on the faucet.

Your personal food addiction – whatever it may be (chocolate, dried apples, cranberry juice)

(Our pastor’s wife puts together a box of ‘stuff’ to send to a missionary family serving in a remote area of Africa.  What they invariable as for is a particular brand of coffee and several types of candy.  One missionary I know asks for canned corned beef.  Whatever comfort foods are important to you and members of your family try to have a stash on hand.)

Stuff Not Covered Elsewhere (or so important I cover it twice)

Keep in mind that while you hopefully won’t have to leave your home it could happen.  It could also happen that while you able to stay on your own property your actual house may be so damaged that it isn’t really an immediate option for actual living.  In that case if you can set up an emergency home in your own yard you are way ahead of the game.  You will be there to protect whatever is salvageable from your home and personal possessions.  You will also be in a familiar area.  It could happen that you are actually trapped in a particular area due to road damage. 

Stuff to build a quick shelter:

Tarps

Bungee cords – assorted lengths

Rope – hundreds of feet!

Ratchet straps

Duct tape

Hammer

Assorted nails

(These things could be used to cover a damaged roof in the immediate aftermath of a disaster)

Shovel for trenching around shelter, digging a fire pit, digging a toilet (yes you still have to use the bathroom during a disaster.  I did know someone who started drinking Pepto-Bismol two days before a camping trip in the hopes of avoiding having to really use the bathroom in the woods, but it never really worked out.  She just wound up constipated.)

If you have a tent set that up instead of building a shelter.  Or set up the tent for sleeping and build a shelter for cooking.  That would be really nice. 

If you find yourself living in temporary shelters it would be a good idea to look around for boards to make a floor.  Keeping in mind that this is a temporary situation you still want to be as comfortable as possible.  Wooden pallets used for shipping may be available to tear apart and make some sort of floor.  Yurts or platforms for tents are the latest in camp-grounds.  They are nothing more than a temporary shelter set up on a solid floor.  They help stay dry. 

Stuff you definitely need

Hunting knife – fixed blade

Pocket knife – large folding blade

Sharpening stone or kit for you knives

Flash light(s) – if you can come up with a solar powered flash-light that would be great

Fire starters like matches, lighters, and things like Wade’s fire starters if at all possible.

Compass

Sleeping bags and/or blankets

Insect repellant if you are in an area where bugs are a problem (most places)

Shoe laces – buy them on sale and store them

Stuff that would be nice

Camp chairs or stools

Air mattress or foam padding

Pillows – it is hard to live without a pillow but rolled up jeans can work until you can get a pillow

Hand-warmers – not to expensive and really helpful when it is cold.  I personally put them in my pocket or safety pin one just inside the back waistband of my jeans or the collar of my shirt.  That applies heat directly to neck or lower back which is where I get the most pain the quickest if I am cold. If I put it next to my skin I will get a burn so you need to be careful until you learn what works for you.

Clothing

Boots

Rain gear

Gloves

Hat

Coat

Changes of clothing as allowed for by time and space.

Supplies

Food – the easiest things from your pantry

Cooking pans and utensils

Can opener

Something to eat on and something to eat with

Something to cook with or on

All this ‘stuff’ needs to be a place that is readily accessible.  That means stored in the attic over the garage is not a good place.  I know all this stuff takes up a lot of space so just do the best you can to put it where you can get to it as easily as is possible.  Putting everything together is a good idea.  No one can make the best plan for you.  All

Disasters Make People Grumpy and Crazy so BE CAREFUL!

As you go through a normal day there are probably people you avoid whenever possible because they are grumpy, difficult, unstable, or even possibly plain crazy!

What you need to keep in mind is that everyone is more of what they are during times when they are thrown out of their comfort zone.  That means the person who is grumpy on a good day is going to be really grumpy on a bad day.  The person who is difficult to deal with on a good day is going to be very difficult to deal with on a bad day.  If you have an idea that someone has potential to be dangerous that person is even more likely to be dangerous when they are thrown out of their routine.  Someone who is mentally unstable is going to have an extra hard time during disasters that change their routine.  This is not to insult anyone or to make light of any problems that people are facing.  However, it is a definite fact that difficult personality traits are magnified during a difficult times.

There are at least two important things you need to keep in mind when you are considering this.

First of all, you personally need to honestly analyze your own strengths and weaknesses.  You will be ‘tried’ during any time that catapults you personally out of your comfort zone into the unknown.  It is going to be hard on you personally.  Make up your mind in advance that you are going to deal with whatever comes in a manner that will not cause you regrets later! 

Second, it is going to be hard on your family, friends, church friends, co-workers, city workers, public servants, and every single human being going through the same things you are going through.  Some people will be rise to the occasion and some people will sink to new lows!  This is going to happen to you personally and to those with whom you will have contact.  You must mentally prepare for this.  This will either reinforce your self-definition, self-discipline, and self-reliance, or it will cause you to question who you really are.

Be prepared mentally to deal with difficult people in all areas!  Be prepared to deal with your own anxieties, stress and frustration.  Keep in mind that each day is simply one more day in your life.  You will look back and be satisfied with what you did or you will be ashamed.  It is the same with any day.  If you are honest, there are probably some very good days in you past that you don’t look back on that fondly because you behaved badly for some reason or other. There are other days that were bad days; yet you can look back on some of those days with thankfulness that you did what was right under trying and difficult circumstances. 

Going through a storm or fire earthquake will be the same.  Either you will be pleased with your actions, or you will be ashamed.  If the length of time from the onset of the disaster to a full return to normal is long, then chances are you will have done things with which you are quite satisfied, and you will have done other things you would like to have a chance to re-do. 

Whatever happens, do your best to make sure you have more things of which you are proud than ashamed.  Especially remember that the people who are most important to you are the ones to whom you owe your best behavior.  That means that you don’t throw a tantrum inside your house at the rest of your family, and then go outside and give a pep-talk to the neighborhood. 

In the aftermath of hurricane Sandy it was reported on the news that people actually when out to throw eggs at the power company employees when they arrived to work on area power lines.  They were angry that their power lines had not been repaired first, so they delayed repairs even further by their actions.  The power company employees left the area and refused to return without police protection.  This sounds crazy, but it actually happened!

Unstable people who are totally out of their comfort zones are going to be even more unstable.  Add to that hunger, cold, general discomfort, loss of structure, loss of security, and you have a recipe for real danger. If you have just gone through some sort of natural disaster there will probably be property damage in the area even if your own home is structurally sound.  There may be trees down, power lines down, contaminated water, unsafe structures, unstable roadways, and a host of other potential dangers.  These all have to be dealt with in a safe manner.  However, in the middle of dealing with all this, you must stay alert regarding the behavior of others.  This is not to look for reasons to criticize others.  It is to simply be cautious regarding the safety of you, your family, and those who look to you for leadership.  By the way, if you seem to have a plan on getting through the rough times immediately following a disaster, you will be a leader to some extent.

In addition to those who lead a life that at least has a form of ‘normal’ before a disaster, you may have to deal with some who live by no rules even before a disaster hits.  These are the thieves and people of violence scattered throughout society today.  Self-defense may be necessary at some point.  One of the best reasons to be very aware of those around you is that gives you at least the possibility of avoiding a greater danger.  If you find yourself around someone who seems to out of control, or near the breaking point, then leave the area. 

Prepping is both mental and physical.

Mentally, you have to have an unshakable foundation on which you live.  If the physical world in which you live is shaken drastically you step back onto the firm foundation of who you are and what you are doing with your life (self-definition, self-discipline, and self-reliance).  Then you need to accept that things have been thrown out of kilter for an unknown amount of time.  Your duty to yourself and those who count on you is to make the best of what is happening at the moment.

This begins with attitude!

Preparing physically, or materially, is to have things on hand that will help you through the tough times whenever they hit.  The more helpful things you have on hand the better off you will be!  Just be careful not to discount the importance of mental and spiritual preparation.

Keep in mind that your world view shows all the time.  You can’t hide your true self.  In times of crisis your world view really shows.  Your actions in times of stress of any kind, whether a disaster or something else, your personal strengths and weaknesses will be on display for all the world to see.  They will also be on display for you look at a little closer if you are bold enough to do it. 

Table of Contents

Copyright

Dedication

1. What is Prepping and Why Should I Become a Prepper?

2. Who Are You REALLY?

Self-Discipline

Self-Reliance

3. THE FIRST BEST PREPPER TOOL

4. Prepping Categories

5. Day to Day Prepping

6. Surviving the Storm

7. Leave Your Home Temporarily Disasters

8. Lose Your Home in a Disaster

9. Stuck in Your Home During a Disaster

10. Your Home without Electricity for a prolonged period of time

11. No Home and No Place to Go

12. Guns, knives, and other weapons

13. Camping Basics – the perfect way to have a good time and prep for extended time away from your real home

14. A TRUE Story of Farm Life – My Grandparents

15. Barter and Trade

Appendix 1 – recipes

Appendix 2 - How to Cook on a Wood Fire

Appendix 3 - Practicing For a Disaster

Appendix 4 – A Working Home Pantry Combination Storage System

Stuff Not Covered Elsewhere (or so important I cover it twice)

Disasters Make People Grumpy and Crazy so BE CAREFUL!