This will be a short one, folks, as I have 5 hours of teaching and 3 hours of traveling to do today. Which brings me to my point.
There seems to be a mythical view of how I get prepared… as if I spend every waking moment doing so. And as a result I perhaps have more time than others.
Photo c/o blogs.zdnet.com
Well, let’s be clear. I have a JOB, just like all of the rest of you. My JOB involves teaching, writing, researching, and communicating. I easily work (more…)
[caption id="attachment_2540" align="alignright" width="181" caption="Diatomaceous Earth photo c/o shadowridgedonkeys.com"]
[/caption] So what’s in my buckets of wheat? Diatomaceous earth! Don’t worry. You don’t have to pronounce it. Just USE it. What is diatomaceous earth? Well, it’s a HECK of a lot better than oxygen absorbers. It doesn’t suffocate wheat and it easily takes care of the weevil eggs that are inherent in all wheat. (The better the quality of wheat though, the less you have.) Oh, and it’s good for you too!
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A true disaster brings with it much death and destruction. Whether the disaster is an earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, or a long-term power outage, preparedness is not about standing up to the impact of such an event. After all, you will die or you won’t. There’s not much you can do against the forces of Mother Nature or a nuclear warhead right in your midst. But what we must prepare against and CAN prepare for is what is called the “Secondary Kill.”
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If you’re in Las Vegas, NV; Henderson, NV; Gilbert, AZ; Southeast Gilbert, AZ; or Mesa, AZ you should feel pretty darn special cause you’re getting a product that isn’t available anywhere else. Costco now has 2 special 6-packs of the Morning Moo’s/Blue Chip foods that they are selling. In one 6 pack they have “breakfast items” and in another 6-pack they have “dinner items.” The 6-packs contain 6 #10 cans. Some of these items are SO dang good I can’t believe they are freeze dried!
Preparedness is a full-time job for me. I live it, breathe it, and think about it constantly. Obviously I teach and write about it regularly as well. I used a Saturday this weekend to learn about how I can be better prepared. Then I spent some more “spare” time reading a novel that illustrates other possibilities I may not be prepared for yet. Why? Because I believe that preparedness is about honor.
[caption id="attachment_2326" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="US Military in Iraq, February 2008. Photo by Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images"]
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Many people would label those who strive to be better prepared as paranoid lunatics. And yet they would not think of calling our honorable men and women who serve in the military, who are on night watch with AR-15s in hand right now, “paranoid.”
How long will your wheat last? What’s the best way to store it? How do I keep insects out of it? What do I do when it smells like the can?
Today I was doing a training which involved going over the shelf life of various foods. One woman in attendance incorrectly stated to the entire class that “wheat goes bad easily because it has oil in it, and so it goes rancid if you’re not careful.”
As you may already know, the use of coupons is mandatory for my personal preparedness of food and medical supplies. I have truly obtained a bounty of free or dirt cheap goods over the last 6 months that has nearly doubled my original supplies. As a result, it’s really freed up money for items such as solar ovens, fuel, pressure cookers, butane stoves, foam, etc. When I share this information in passing (read: Outside of the confines of my 3 hour Coupon Training Boot Camp) I frequently get a lot of negative comments with a touch of whining such as “coupons are only for junk”; “I can’t find coupons on items I use”; “It’s not worth the time and effort it takes” or “I shop at Costco instead.”
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“I’ll start getting better prepared once I get out of debt.” This statement makes me cringe, frankly. It’s a myth—a deceptive rationale—for SO many reasons.
For starters there’s the misconception that being out of debt has “everything” to do with being better prepared. And yet there are countless aspects to preparedness that don’t require ANY money for success. Instead, they require an appropriate amount of willingness, a constant quest for knowledge, and a positive attitude. You can’t buy any of those things with money. In fact, I can’t think of a single time
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Interesting. I have a new find that I want to share with you all. The funny thing is that I’ve had this item in my preparedness supplies for some time. But I admit, I had no idea what it was capable of doing. I had it in there simply as a “just in case” item as opposed to a SUPER multi-purpose item. It is *drum roll*… Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE).
As you may have heard, Preparedness Pro will be presenting live webinars soon. However, we thought it would be great to get some feedback from you all as to what time of the day, part of the week etc would Read more…