Getting Started in Prepping

As a survivalist/prepper, I hear a lot of, "I don't want to be a prepper, but I want to be prepared. What should I do? How do I start?" So I compiled a lot of information from FEMA, Red Cross, and other places that have very "basic" information and started typing up a list for them. The four "basic" areas I decided would be a good starting point: getting your whole family involved, what to do before an emergency, what to do after an emergency, and emergency sanitation. I say "basic" because this is only a starting point! This by no means is all you should do. If you think it is because the government will step in ... I feel sorry for you. I tell this to everyone I give this information to and encourage them to research more and be ready for when "it" happens because you won't be able to find me in my secure well stocked locations.

Alex we don’t hate “those who spend their retirement exploring other countries”.

A few months ago, after a ferry sank in the Phillipines, one Freeper posted that it had sunk only a few miles from where he lived.

But, he doesn’t keep posting about how wise he is to be living there, and constantly trying to justify it.

As a result, we don’t say squat to him.

You’ve got no evidence to back-up your claim that we hate you because you live in the Phillipines; that’s a bald-faced lie.

Sorry late to the party....working late to pay ol Chicken Neck’s SS.

Did not know the coward was living in the Phillipines... Whole new twists on things right there. Ol Chicken neck might not ever make it out.

Had a bud that was working there, many years ago when they “loved America”. His driver ran over someone. They pulled his papers while he slept and in the morning he was arrested. Spent over 6 months in jail being squeezed for cash and no one knew where he was. Hope Chicken neck coward got plenty cash available.

On the other hand......lil chicken neck can choose option dos.....the new serrated sword and have his coward head removed in payment....

Food for thought since this is a prepper thread....

Do a search for seed saving. Tomatoes need that extra soaking step to get the outer coating off but other seeds are saved the normal way of scooping out the seeds and laying them out to dry. Some, like cucumbers and okra need to grow large and way past eating stage for the seeds to mature. Lettuces and cole crops will bolt sending up flower stalks and eventually seeds will be produced and you can gather them by putting a sack over the stems and shaking the seeds into the sack. With flowers, clip off the dead blooms, put them in a labeled paper sack to continue drying. I usually have several little saucers on the kitchen counter of veg seeds drying naturally. Of course, labeled with some masking tape to identify which is which. Then they go into a small envelope with all the information on it. Some people put them into small containers like pill bottles but if they are completely dry, they may rot whereas an envelope can still breathe. After a month or so they go into baggies so the bugs won't get them. Many people store them in the freezer for longer storage prep but I have a continuous supply (knock on wood) of most things so they're kept in a box. That said, some bugs did hatch out in a bag of squash seeds so I put it in the freezer for a year but when I went to use it and left it out in a new baggie, more bugs hatched out and were happy munching away.

If you look on seed packages, sometimes they will say if the seed is a hybrid or an heirloom but sometimes you're left to guess. Heirlooms are seeds that have not been modified or tampered with for many years so the seeds will produce the same variety year after year. Hybrids have had various other varieties mingled with them or chemically changed, GMO, etc. so any seeds that were saved may be sterile and won't produce anything or the production may not be the same as the parent. Hybrids will give a larger production and it'll be more uniform (pretty) so it's your choice.

I must suggest this book to all. It contains so much information that can be used in survival, or even home use, situations. I have reread it a number of times. Every thing from hog dressing, building a chimney, and even how to get the eyeballs out of a possum. An extremely valuable book.

The Foxfire Book: Hog Dressing, Log Cabin Building, Mountain Crafts and Foods, Planting by the Signs, Snake Lore, Hunting Tales, Faith Healing, Moonshining, and Other Affairs of Plain Living

Available from Amazon

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