A recent article in the Lifestyle section over at the Mormon Times titled “Food storage includes more than just food” includes some quotes taken from an interview conducted with me the other day. While the newspaper is targeting members of the LDS faith, the article itself is applicable to anybody. Many people get caught up in simply having a certain number of calories, and not thinking about the other aspects of preparedness. This article does a good job of addressing this and stresses adopting a well rounded approach to preparedness. Although our readers may have more of a prepper mindset than the audience of the Mormon Times, you still may find some good information there. Click the link above to read the article.
National Preparedness Month
September is National Preparedness Month.
Make a difference this month by sharing what you know, encouraging others to do something more to be prepared and do more yourself to become better prepared.
Spread the news. This is a great month for preppers, as you will see a lot of companies with sales on their preparedness items, as well as harvests coming in with plenty of fresh foods to lay in store for another time. Get ready for the upcoming winter.
Great story of prepping and survival on Investors.com
Believe it or not, the investing web site investors.com has a great article about prepping and survival.
Read the article here.
This Navy flier can be a good example for all of us. He knew that there was always the possibility that he would be shot down and that he would need to survive. Rather than bury his head in the sand and ignore the issue, he reviewed the survival kit he was issued as a Navy aviator and supplemented it to meet his personal needs. When other pilots saw him doing this, they took a second look at their own kits and began doing the same thing.
This brings up another good lesson. Without sacrificing OPSEC we can be an example of preparedness to those around us. If someone is new to prepping and seems interested, try to foster that interest and get them on their way to self sufficiency.
What have YOU done to prepare you and your family today?
Shelf Reliance Special Event
Our friends over at Shelf Reliance (the people that make the amazing roller shelving all the authors here love so much) are having a special event this weekend, that I’ve been meaning to post for a while now. You see, they’ve been selling awesome shelving, and a great line of food storage products for a while now, but they have decided to open up another channel for sales. Yes, they are starting up their own “Home Parties“.
For those interested in maybe making a little money, or getting even better deals on some of the best, locally made food storage products, it might be in your interest to check it out. It’s open to everybody, and they’ll be giving demo’s for people interested in how to use many of their products.
From their blog announcement:
The goal of Shelf Reliance Home Parties is to share the vision of preparedness and food storage with people across the country. There’s a certain sense of accomplishment that comes from building your own future while helping others prepare for theirs, and Shelf Reliance Home Parties is the perfect opportunity to experience this for yourself. Our great-tasting food and competitive pricing have made us a leader in the industry, and this new business opportunity will allow you to benefit from our history of excellence. Whether you’re interested in a career with Home Parties, want to host a few parties here and there, or just want to see what it’s all about, we invite you to attend and hope you’ll stay to chat!
When: Saturday, April 17th.
Place: Golf Clubhouse at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah
Time: 1:00-5:00 PM (1-3 Open House, 3-5 Launch Presentation)
Admission: absolutely free
What we are doing this Spring
If my allergies are any indication, Spring has sprung. This means it is time for Daylight Saving Time, spring cleaning, starting gardens and other activities.
What are the UtahPreppers up to?
Continue reading “What we are doing this Spring”
Crossroads Gun Show: January Meetup
Yes, it’s time again for a Crossroads of the West gun show (Saturday January 9, 2010), and I know several authors and
readers here were planning on going. With that in mind, I figured it’s a great time to have another meetup. With this I think we should set two times, one earlier in the show to meet up inside, for those that want to discuss things in the show, and a second time, meeting for lunch. Continue reading “Crossroads Gun Show: January Meetup”
A Liberal’s View of Preppers
I’m writing this in response to a blog post by a liberal blogger that appears to live in Oregon and calls Barney Frank her hero!
She recently blogged that:
“Preppers Scare the Crap Out of Me”
In a post which is loaded with prejudice, falsehoods, slander and other good stuff. I’m writing this response for a couple reasons. First, to try to explore the thoughts and mindset of those who are dead-set against being prepared for hard times. Second, to look at some of the falsehoods presented in her post. Third, to rant a bit about crazy people who believe that everything is peachy in the world.
Emergency Preparedness Priorities
Our physical needs prioritized – The Rule of 3’s:
- 3 minutes without Air or Blood
- 3 hours without Shelter/Warmth
- 3 days without Water
- 3 weeks without Food
But, you won’t be bleeding or without air in every emergency situation so this list is not perfectly prioritized and it is lacking some priorities.
Wake-up Call for a Wealthy Prepper – Scenario Planning Exercise
The wealthy prepper boasted to his friend about his huge propane tank buried in his yard, an endless supply of fuel, food stores for years, and well, basically everything he thought he might need he had purchased. “What do you think of all this?” he asked his friend. His friend paused for a moment and then asked, “so, what do you think is going to happen when you’re the only house on your block with the lights on, while all your neighbors are cold, starving and miserable?” Continue reading “Wake-up Call for a Wealthy Prepper – Scenario Planning Exercise”
Prepping example on 18 Kids and Counting 4/7 on TLC
Tomorrow night, April 7th TLC will be showing a new episode of 18 Kids and Counting.
In case you aren’t familiar with the show, here is a brief description of this reality show. Michele and Jim Bob Duggar are the parents of a traditional Christian family. After 20 years of marriage, they have had 18 children with only one set of twins. They manage to afford this large family by being frugal, wisely investing the money they do have in money making properties and businesses and always paying cash for all their purchases. If they don’t have enough money to buy something, they save and buy it later or do without. All of their children are also home schooled.
What does this have to do with prepping? Continue reading “Prepping example on 18 Kids and Counting 4/7 on TLC”
10 Scenarios For Which You Should Be Prepared
Preparedness. There is perhaps no other word that conveys so much, yet so little. What does it mean? To what areas of life does it apply (or not apply)? Being adequately and generally prepared of a necessity requires that we ask ourselves all sorts of questions, plan for various scenarios, and abstract our preparations enough such that they can apply to various circumstances, if possible.
For example, having a lot of food stored will help you if there’s an earthquake, fire, flood, unemployment, famine, etc. So, this preparedness item is quite versatile in its applicability and usefulness. Other, more specific items, such as a portable toilet or potassium iodide tablets, fill a much smaller niche and can’t be used for too many situations other than the ones they’re intended for.
Yet, they’re all important. Preparedness in this context means acquiring the knowledge, skills, and physical possessions that would enable you to comfortably survive whatever may come our way. In most cases, external circumstances outside of your control dictate what you must go through, and thus you cannot reliably foresee what will happen. So, preparing for the unknown can be daunting, but it is by no means impossible.
Continue reading “10 Scenarios For Which You Should Be Prepared”
My EDC (EveryDay Carry)
I realized the other day that I hadn’t done an EDC post yet, so here it is! I do split EDC, meaning that some stuff I carry on my person but most of it I carry in my bag. There are two reasons for this, one I sit at a computer all day and do not like to have my pockets filled with stuff. I only wear cargo style pants so I always have plenty of pockets to drop things into as needed, but I don’t like to sit at my desk with anything in them. Secondly, as a geek I carry my computer EVERYWHERE I go and I carry it in my EDC bag. If you ever see the bag pictured on the right, it is probably following me like a monkey on my back.