sailorman
Platinum Member
If anyone needs medicines regularly, Stock pile a supply . Bad to run out of death preventing meds .
Prepping
- Thread starter NS Gearhead
- Start date
- Views: 10240
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
You guys have me wondering about medicines. My girlfriend is a Nurse and we have a drawer full of stuff here, but she's a city girl just learning about the outdoors and might not be thinking of what we should have here. Is there a book that you would recommend?
Eddie
Eddie
Lloyd_E
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2003
- Messages
- 1,417
- Location
- South Shore Nova Scotia Canada
- Tractor
- 2008 Kioti DK 45 sc
" Isn't a thimble how a stovepipe is passed through a wall? A wall that's combustible..." A proper selkirk "thimble" will cost you around $350. I would hate to see you loose the house... I know it is a cost but why can't you install a stove/safe pipe and be done with it? The glycol mix can be redone anytime. My furnace tech said it should be replaced every fives years... I did mine after 15 years... didn't know. He tested it and there was zero glycol in the system. If was $600 to redo but knowing now how they did it - it could be done for much cheaper. I am surprised the plumber didn't put any in... scary ... really.
Good post...
nwltruck
Silver Member
On the first aid front, don't forget Tylenol and ibuprofen. Salt and other spices that don't spoil, Powdered milk, powdered egg. I've seen people over think it and miss the small stuff that would be more useful. Yes cheap liquor is better than most things you would think of as a bartering item.
/pine
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2009
- Messages
- 12,450
Take what nature gives you...
If there are any native wild fruit and or nut trees in your locale (likewise with berries etc...)...learn to take advantage of what you can harvest before the wildlife beats you to whatever...
Wild fruit and berry preserves and jellies etc...freeze very well...
Some nuts keep very well (years) if kept properly...
keep a log or journal of what you harvest and make note of seasons/years of min. and max. produce found... either a hard copy log/journal or something like a spreadsheet etc. will do...and can easily be converted into personal database once enough data is recorded...
...this is also a good way to save stored food expiration dates...with a simple script a PC will generate an email and or a pop up window to alert you when recorded dates are reached or a defined period of time prior...
If there are any native wild fruit and or nut trees in your locale (likewise with berries etc...)...learn to take advantage of what you can harvest before the wildlife beats you to whatever...
Wild fruit and berry preserves and jellies etc...freeze very well...
Some nuts keep very well (years) if kept properly...
keep a log or journal of what you harvest and make note of seasons/years of min. and max. produce found... either a hard copy log/journal or something like a spreadsheet etc. will do...and can easily be converted into personal database once enough data is recorded...
...this is also a good way to save stored food expiration dates...with a simple script a PC will generate an email and or a pop up window to alert you when recorded dates are reached or a defined period of time prior...
some people i know are preppers. they tried draft horses for a while. you know, what will you do when there's no more fuel? anyway, they had a water ram to supply their water. seems like if you've got the flow to use one it would be pretty useful to have.
Larry Caldwell
Elite Member
What is your terrain like? I have a 2500 gallon cistern located so the bottom of the cistern is level with the window sills in the house. It give me about 8-10 feet of head at the sinks and toilets. It's great to be able to still flush the toilets when the power goes out. If arsenic is a problem, a small ion exchange filter will provide safe drinking water.
Most people go way too big with generators. I have a 1000 watt camping generator that will run for 4.5 hours on a gallon of gas. It needs to be run every other day to keep the freezer cold. It cost me $149 at a local farm store. Small inverter generators are also very fuel efficient, but more expensive. With my setup, a 5 gallon can of gasoline will last 10 days.
Don't get weird about food. Buy what you eat, except buy more of it until you get a supply built up, then eat the old stuff while replacing it. I have lots of canned chili, fruit, tomato sauce, beans, mushrooms, pickles, hot sauce, jellies and vegetables. Quite a bit of it I canned myself, in glass, which keeps much better than stuff canned in metal.
Dried foods keep well. Pasta, beans, rice, potato flakes, dried skim milk, egg powder, oatmeal, corn meal, flour, semolina (cream of wheat), buckwheat, wheat berries, pearl barley, etc. My family is getting potato flake mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. Storing dried foods free of insects and rodents is a challenge. Don't trust plastic, a rodent can chew right through it. You can get glass gallon jars from fast food joints really cheap or free. Vacuum seal anything you want to last for a long time.
Don't forget dog food. Fido has to eat too. A couple 35 gallon metal trash cans full will last a while. For more independence, 55 gallon drums are good for both livestock and pet food.
Speaking of 55 gallon drums, check your local ice cream factory. The flavorings and syrups are shipped in food grade, teflon lined steel drums. One of the last batches I got still had 5 lbs. of solid chocolate in the bottom.
Soap. Lots of soap. Hand soap, dish soap, body soap, laundry detergent, degreasers, floor cleaner, window cleaner and ammonia.
Unfortunately, bleach has a very short shelf life, so you can't stock up. Instead, stock up on alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is cheap but poisonous. Ethyl Alcohol (ethanol) is just as good, plus you can use it to disinfect drinking water. Everclear (190 proof) is cheap. Iodine tablets have a reasonable shelf life, but still need to be rotated every year or two.
Yes, a major first aid kit. Don't buy one off the shelf, build your own, with a supply of 4x4s, 2x4s, adhesive tape, eye cup, tweezers, reading glasses (for finding tiny splinters), scissors, superglue (as good a sutures most times), antihistamines, NSAIDs and pain killers. Your doc will probably write a scrip for a supply of vicodin if you ask. In Canada you can buy codeine over the counter, but a surprising number of people can't metabolize the stuff.
Do yourself a favor and install a permanent wood stove in the basement, preferably with a fire clay lined masonry chimney. In that location, it will heat the whole house. You can cook on it. You can heat bath water on it. Build a wood shed to keep the wood dry and only burn dry wood, or you will waste a huge amount of heat boiling water up the chimney.
Yes, a .22 rifle should be your first gun. It's the world's finest survival gun. It will take small game without blowing it to bits. Anyone who has ever shot a grouse with a large bore rifle knows exactly what I mean. Learn how to kill with it. It's not humane to wound an animal, and you just end up hungrier.
Water, shelter, food, sanitation, in that order.
Most people go way too big with generators. I have a 1000 watt camping generator that will run for 4.5 hours on a gallon of gas. It needs to be run every other day to keep the freezer cold. It cost me $149 at a local farm store. Small inverter generators are also very fuel efficient, but more expensive. With my setup, a 5 gallon can of gasoline will last 10 days.
Don't get weird about food. Buy what you eat, except buy more of it until you get a supply built up, then eat the old stuff while replacing it. I have lots of canned chili, fruit, tomato sauce, beans, mushrooms, pickles, hot sauce, jellies and vegetables. Quite a bit of it I canned myself, in glass, which keeps much better than stuff canned in metal.
Dried foods keep well. Pasta, beans, rice, potato flakes, dried skim milk, egg powder, oatmeal, corn meal, flour, semolina (cream of wheat), buckwheat, wheat berries, pearl barley, etc. My family is getting potato flake mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. Storing dried foods free of insects and rodents is a challenge. Don't trust plastic, a rodent can chew right through it. You can get glass gallon jars from fast food joints really cheap or free. Vacuum seal anything you want to last for a long time.
Don't forget dog food. Fido has to eat too. A couple 35 gallon metal trash cans full will last a while. For more independence, 55 gallon drums are good for both livestock and pet food.
Speaking of 55 gallon drums, check your local ice cream factory. The flavorings and syrups are shipped in food grade, teflon lined steel drums. One of the last batches I got still had 5 lbs. of solid chocolate in the bottom.
Soap. Lots of soap. Hand soap, dish soap, body soap, laundry detergent, degreasers, floor cleaner, window cleaner and ammonia.
Unfortunately, bleach has a very short shelf life, so you can't stock up. Instead, stock up on alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is cheap but poisonous. Ethyl Alcohol (ethanol) is just as good, plus you can use it to disinfect drinking water. Everclear (190 proof) is cheap. Iodine tablets have a reasonable shelf life, but still need to be rotated every year or two.
Yes, a major first aid kit. Don't buy one off the shelf, build your own, with a supply of 4x4s, 2x4s, adhesive tape, eye cup, tweezers, reading glasses (for finding tiny splinters), scissors, superglue (as good a sutures most times), antihistamines, NSAIDs and pain killers. Your doc will probably write a scrip for a supply of vicodin if you ask. In Canada you can buy codeine over the counter, but a surprising number of people can't metabolize the stuff.
Do yourself a favor and install a permanent wood stove in the basement, preferably with a fire clay lined masonry chimney. In that location, it will heat the whole house. You can cook on it. You can heat bath water on it. Build a wood shed to keep the wood dry and only burn dry wood, or you will waste a huge amount of heat boiling water up the chimney.
Yes, a .22 rifle should be your first gun. It's the world's finest survival gun. It will take small game without blowing it to bits. Anyone who has ever shot a grouse with a large bore rifle knows exactly what I mean. Learn how to kill with it. It's not humane to wound an animal, and you just end up hungrier.
Water, shelter, food, sanitation, in that order.
nwltruck
Silver Member
A 22lr with practice is good for more than small game. A well placed shot at a deer or hog will bring them down. You have to remember that people kill large animals with arrows. Patience and practice go along way. 22lr is also very easy to stock pile.
A book on local native wild edibles is a good idea, I myself have been looking for one for my area. From what I've seen in some books you would be surprised at what is growing in the ditch in front of your house. Some books even give recipes.
It is also reasonable to keep things on hand to make structural repairs on your house. If your stranded in a storm a broke window or roof could be a major problem.
A book on local native wild edibles is a good idea, I myself have been looking for one for my area. From what I've seen in some books you would be surprised at what is growing in the ditch in front of your house. Some books even give recipes.
It is also reasonable to keep things on hand to make structural repairs on your house. If your stranded in a storm a broke window or roof could be a major problem.
Egon
Epic Contributor
Just do what many rural folks of only 70/80 years ago did. Lived off grid, supplied almost all their own food and winter would see them isolated or using horse power for leaving the farm.
AlanB
Elite Member
Hi Folks, Have not posted much in a bit.
I recommend Survival Podcast Jack Spirko, rational, knowledgeable, easy to understand and practical. poke around there, a tremendous amount of information on getting started.
Added on edit, and you will get it from the Survival podcast, look at "Permaculture" and ""food forest"
Eddie, Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy
Survival Medicine with Dr Bones & Nurse Amy | Doom and Bloom (TM)
Patriot Nurse Medical Preparedness Education
Ditch medicine Ditch Medicine: Advanced Field Procedures For Emergencies: Hugh Coffee: 9781581603903: Amazon.com: Books
(Watch your mailbox)
A visit over and we can line up a day / half day with some folks that do this for a living in a special kind of way.
Ps. should start digging the big pond next weekend.
I recommend Survival Podcast Jack Spirko, rational, knowledgeable, easy to understand and practical. poke around there, a tremendous amount of information on getting started.
Added on edit, and you will get it from the Survival podcast, look at "Permaculture" and ""food forest"
Eddie, Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy
Survival Medicine with Dr Bones & Nurse Amy | Doom and Bloom (TM)
Patriot Nurse Medical Preparedness Education
Ditch medicine Ditch Medicine: Advanced Field Procedures For Emergencies: Hugh Coffee: 9781581603903: Amazon.com: Books
(Watch your mailbox)
A visit over and we can line up a day / half day with some folks that do this for a living in a special kind of way.
Ps. should start digging the big pond next weekend.
