Posted on 07/22/2014 6:35:28 PM PDT by Kartographer
When Paul Revere’s alarm, “The Redcoats are coming!”, was sounded through the countryside centuries ago, it was made to people who were prepared to meet a challenge. Whether the coming challenge in our present day is one of economics or something else, will you be prepared to respond when the alarm is sounded? Here are some ideas you should consider as you get started in your preparations for whatever hard times might await:
(Excerpt) Read more at survivalblog.com ...
I don’t know how you react when something goes bump in the night, but if it is fear instead of a tingle of excitement, then you should look into a combat shooting course geared for women.
In general, when women grab a knife or a gun at home they see themselves as fearfully and desperately protecting themselves, instead of visualizing themselves as the dominate force taking control of the house, rather than feel sorry for the poor slob who doesn’t realize who’s house he just broke into, they tend to see the intruder as the expert in violence, they see him as the tough guy.
Seeking out the right course in house clearing and defending the home, could help to instill a more masculine type confidence into a woman living alone.
Hope one of your lifeskills is skinning and cooking up those varmits. Or you’re feeding them to the dogs. Just don’t discard them.
During a big sale and with free shipping, I bought a 6 week supply of freeze dried food last year, it is something that I have lusted for since the 1970s but just couldn’t afford.
I like not only having the additional 6 weeks of stocks, but I think of it as back up in case I’m sick or injured and not fully up to speed on feeding myself, the preparation is easier than the incredible effort it will take to use my #10 cans of dried beans.
I really don’t look forward to the labor and water and fuel, and cooking time monitoring, and canning involved to make use of my cheaper dried foods, long term storage.
You don’t have to worry about the prisons. Fact - they already have an end plan for this. Just make sure you aren’t picked up for jaywalking the night before.
Canned goods containing acidic foods such as tomatoes will eat into the metal of the can so those don’t have such long shelf lives after the expiration dates. I’ve noticed tuna cans are being made with less metal so are more flimsy and likely to not hold up over time. Try pushing the sides and top and you’ll see what I mean and that is a major cause for concern. Canned pet foods, too. I opened 5 national brand canned cat foods (Friskies, I think) just a few days ago that were well within their dates but the meat was black so had to throw them out.
More and more foods are being sold in paper containers (tomato sauce, broth) and in foil packages (tuna, meats, fruit, pet food) which would definitely NOT be good for prepping because it takes just one pin hole to kill someone.
I tend to skip the freeze dried foods since they are so expensive. They certainly taste better than dehydrated, but I don’t think they are worth the cost except as a treat (freeze dried ice cream is awesome!) or to complement other food storage items (adding freeze dried ham or sausage to beans adds a lot of flavor and you don’t need a lot.)
I mainly go for the cheaper, long lasting, dried items that I would use up whether there was an emergency or not. I started by buying super pails of beans, wheat berries , and rice. I figured out I could pack them myself much cheaper, so I did that and added some other types of beans and rice for variety. Sugar, honey, and salt will last forever. Baking soda will last a long time, and you can make baking powder by adding cream of tartar, which also lasts. I packed them in Mylar with oxygen absorbers.
Think of what you normally eat and see what in it can be stored. Figure if you want a ‘fast food’ scenario or can wait for beans or rice to cook, or can bake bread. I also like the purity of the dried ingredients-some of the freeze dried packaged meals have questionable ingredients.
Good list except the maybe the rice if they have no water or means to heat it. Sure, there’s lots of ways to heat foods, such as the sun, but it’s those very people who wouldn’t have a clue if their microwave and can opener weren’t operable.
I'm with you. When there's a storm on the way that might cause outages, I'm filling water containers and getting the laundry done and kitchen clean.
With some people, it's like talking to a brick wall. I was half raised by my grandparents who raised their kids during the Depression so these relatives know first hand what can happen but they're oblivious. I can't tell you how many times I've talked to them and taken over foods stuff only to be met with blank stares. Their road has been cut off from town several times but they still refuse to see the light. Of course, you know who they'll come whining to if/when something happens. Sadly, after an economic bump causing us to eat through the food preps, I'm slowly trying to build it back up on a limited income. One of the big things I learned from my grandmother was to always have a full pantry so I'm never comfortable when it's empty. These days, I'm not comfortable.
It is $5 dollars worth of instant rice, and not for an end of the world scenario where you can’t heat water and don’t have a pint of water to spare.
I can shoot and love doing so, but not too many women are excited when something goes bump in the night. Friends of mine have taken those courses and they made the courses and instructors sound great. I’d like to do that. (Though the chances of needing that are far far lower out in the sticks than in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.)
Nobody really knows what Revere (and more importantly Dawes) actually said. They would have said either regulars or redcoats, or maybe even lobsterbacks. What they wouldn’t have said is “The British are coming” since they still considered themselves British.
I know in the event of a blackout, prison doors automatically lock.
What’s a pocket rocket (in regard to this thread) :)
Sling shot...
Oh, OK! Thanks.
Funny, I was just looking in our closet for the folding sling shot that used to belong to one of the kids.
Going to start practicing with it.
Careful...you might put yer eye out...
I'm sure they have a backup plan. The problem is, if they can't implement it properly or completely. If they can't move them, they are most likely to just let them go. I'm sure they just wouldn't leave them locked up to starve - or if they just left them there somebody would eventually be along to let them out. The authorities would probably figure the most "humane" thing would be to release them. You can be sure they would not shoot them rather than let them go. They would not be thinking clearly about the ultimate consequences of this but they probably wouldn't commit mass murder of these prisoners.
That means, you will have roving gangs of criminals around with nothing to survive on except what they can loot or steal. They would have nothing to lose and nothing on their minds except taking advantage of the situation and survival. Once they got started there would be large numbers of them banded together. They would be well armed from their loot, and they would be ruthless in getting more and surviving.
Remember, these are not good people to start with. Many of them would already be accomplished thieves and killers. It would be a nightmare. It would not end well for any "peaceful" citizens they decided to exploit.
They would be the ultimate chaos factor.
Thanks!
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