The 'feeling' of prepping.

There are just somethings you really cannot describe when it comes to doing what I do.

There is a certain 'feeling' when you vacumme seal a package of dried blueberries as a special flavoring for later.

There is a certain 'feeling' when there is a snow storm outside, and you really dont care because you have the extra food at home to make your own hot chocolate from dry chocolate mix, dry milk, and hot water, and not panicing like everyone else is.

There is a certain 'feeling' when you're laid up for a while, yet you have pre-made dinners in the freezer, cans of soup in the cupboard and buckets of dry stuff that just takes water to boil.

There is a 'feeling' when you grow your own food, preserve it and eat it yourself.

The 'feeling' you get when you enjoy that small treat that you get yourself every once in a while because you have done really well in prepping and splurged a bit on some candy.

There is a certain 'feeling' when your car breaks down, yet you do not panic because you can either fix it yourself or know someone who can fix it for you.

Personally, I call that a measure of 'freedom and relief'.

Survival Mentality: Extra Bag Freedom.

I like the idea of having an 'Emergency Vehicle Bag' in my vehicle.

I mean, it feels good to be able to pull over at a park, open up my vehicle bag and cook a hot meal out the back of my vehicle when ever I please. Sure it might be only an MRE, but to me, that is freedom.

And also, practicing using your vehicle bag is not only perfection, but tasty too!

Survival Mentality: Pay it Forward

"Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." -- English Proverb.

I saw this little program that the American Preppers Network has a few months back called Pay it Forward and thought I would mention it. What you do, is you go there and print out one of the Pay it Forward Bucks, as many as you want. And then when you do a good deed for someone, you hand them one of those bucks and ask them to do what it suggests. I like this idea, as it gets the word out about the site and about prepping in general. It has been a while since I heard about it, but I think this would be a good thing to pass around to others. Not a bad deal huh?

Ravenwolf

Survival Mentality: The Prepper Life

Ben said...

How to make prepping an addition to your life and not your entire life. Making your life simpler via doing things for your self, but not being so pre-occupied with it that you can enjoy life and share with others.

Ben,

Thank you for your reply, and that is a good question! Honestly I had to think about this a while. The reason being is that the basics of prepping is normal for me. What I did with prepping was integrate it in my life, almost to the point that I really did not have to think about it too much. My family taught me those lessons because that is what they did. I don't think of prepping as a separate activity, it is a part of life.

For example, just today I went to the grocery store for a few items that I was running low on. I saw a good sale on a type of bread that I love that I was out of and it was a good deal, buy one get one free. Well I normally buy two loaves, but with the deal, I got two extra. The two loaves I keep out to use, and the rest I freeze for later. When I get home I sort the stuff that will get used soon from the stuff that I will put in extra storage right away. See some can goods that you normally eat, like a good sale on canned corn? Buy what you need, and then get a few extra on top of that and store it away. I do this on my grocery day and just add a little each time. Then I go do what I want. I just leave it at that. Over time I dont have to go to the grocery store as much, and since I live in Minnesota, I dont like driving in winter. Doing this cuts down on that.

In reality, prepping IS a lifestyle. I think for the longest time it was normal, at least with our grandparents and great grandparents. This was just what they did and did not have to talk about it. Right now I think some have to consiously think about it because we are not used to doing it. Many have become so used to having everything at our disposal, and that has made us a little slothful in a way. In this way it makes prepping a bit of a chore. Well there are ways to make it fun! Prepping is not only working with food, but also with skills. Some of these skills you can make into hobbies. Maybe try something new that you would not normally do and take pleasure in it. Get your family into it too. Costume making teaches sewing, and kids love cosplaying! I found a good forum that helps out with making costumes, which equals making your own clothes! Or get involved in First Aid or CPR, the Red Cross has excellent classes. I liked taking those classes when I was in girl scouts. Maybe turn off the T.V. and take the kids out camping. That is a good way to teach prepping skills, without making it a chore.

Can you guys out there think of more ideas like this for your family? I hope this is a good illustration, and that I did not ramble too much... heh.

Survival Gear: Field Testing Part 2

I am just quick making another post because there are also a few other things that I forgot to mention. It is a good idea to field test your gear for several good reasons.

1. It is good practice. Get comfortable actually using it, even if it is for mundane things. Good example is what I mentioned in my last post, I made my lunch with it. What good is your gear if you do not know how to use it or how it works? Testing in relatively safe conditions before you happen to get into trouble helps.

2. It shows where you can make improvements with your bag, and your personal skills. Are there things that you forgot to add? Or is there something that you did not think of, but found you could use later? For example, my bag could use a rag for cleaning things like dishes. Or maybe an extra pair of socks to keep your feet dry? If you do not have it, then you cant use it.

3. Testing shows how well your gear performs too. Maybe you bought or made something that was supposed to work, but didn't?

4. It gives you a chance to use up the perishable things in your bag so that way what you have does not go to waste. Waste not, want not.

These are all good things to keep in mind when you put together an emergency bag. Someday you may have to rely on it.

Survival Mentality: Quiz Question Reply

Answer: It is YOU! You are your greatest survival tool, both body and mind. It is yours and yours alone. What you do with it, how you feed it, take care of it, and teach it can possibly make the difference if you would make it out of a situation. How in shape is your body? Do you exercise, or do you lay on the couch all day (sorta guilty on that one...). Do you eat fruits and veggies? Or do you eat fast food? Do you teach yourself new skills, or was the last time you read a book back in high school? I think these are legitimate questions to ask yourself, and GET HONEST WITH YOURSELF! That is the best thing, getting honest.

I know I am guilty on not doing a lot of that stuff, like the exercising, and not eatin right, and I have only myself to blame on that one. But, I am going to fix that and start a small routine. I have some exercises that are pretty simple to do that will help me. As far as the food issue, I have been recently going to the farmers market on saturdays getting fresh stuff to eat, while supporting local farmers, and getting lots of exercise from the walking and lifting! The skills thing I am working on right now. I had bought several books that, while I am sitting on the couch, I am at least reading them, and gaining knowledge on what to do. So far I have Urban Survival Guide and Cody Lundin's book 'When All Hell Breaks Loose.' (Reviews are coming on those!) And soon I will be doing the lessons and ideas from those books. Also just recently I have been field testing a few items that I have bought and am actually working with. I bought a second small Sterno stove (Wow, say that five times fast) to use for just as a second stove here at home, or to have an extra for my vehicle bag. Also, keeping up this blog is a good thing too, because I am not only reminding myself what I have learned, but I am also helping you guys out there too. Practicing these things also helps to get the mindset, and helps not to let panic set in. I never knew the freedom of carrying a mini kitchen with me, and having the skills to make a meal whenever I wanted. It felt kind of nice. If you know what to do in hard situations, you are less likely to panic, and more likely to live. Even speaking is a good skill, as Bob mentioned in his comment on my last article, it might be able to get you out of trouble.

I am not sure what made me write this post. Maybe it was the show 'I shouldnt be alive'. Where a couple got lost in the jungle for several nights, and did what they could to survive, on hardly any water, an very little food. The sheer mentality got them through it. Or it maybe just a random thought or two.

To sum everything up... Your body and mind is the best survival tool you have, and everyone knows, if you neglect your tools, they wont work when you need them the most. So take care of it! Thanks to everyone who has responded, and sorry for the delay. Thanks again!

Survival Mentality: Quiz question!

Ok, I know that I have been doing a lot of product reviews and have not gone into the survival mentality too much since I started this blog. I thought I would just put a question out there that might get some folks gray matter going. I think most on here might get it right away, but here goes...

Question: What is your greatest survival tool?

Feel free to post your answers in the comments area.

(BTW, I will be posting the comments in a few days!)

Survival Media: After Armageddon

Hey, back again with another review! This time I am giving a review on The History Channels documentary 'After Armageddon'. The premise of the documentary is what more than likely will happen after a huge catastrophe, and in this case they used a global pandemic. Which in reality, I could see that happen some what. Disease spreads really fast and can move with speed, especially if someone is a carrier, and do not know it. So I could see this as plausible but slightly far fetched.

What they try to show is what would possibly happen with an "average" family, what should be done to protect a family during a crisis like this and what might happen afterwords. They talk about what would happen in the cities as far as food, water, and basic sanitation services, if those fail due to the crisis. They talk about other things like human migration from the large populaces. And what I like most of all is that it talks about the human behavioral aspect before, during and after too, from what I can see. Mind you I am just a beginner (as in no formal training) in learning this stuff, but so far this looks like a very good documentary as a layman's common sense perspective. Just to mention where I got it, I downloaded it from Itunes, just to add it to my collection.

Survival: How I started out.

Getting started in living this way seems like a huge undertaking. Let me tell you it does take time to get started, but once started it is easy to keep up with. Here is the basic way I began to change my thinking and started to prepare. Again, I am not the tin foil hat type most of the time, so I just started easy. I started asking basic questions. Here is a list to maybe get you started:

"What do I do if I get into a car accident, or if I get stranded? What do I do, or what do I need?"

"What do I do if I get sick and or I am (insert weather emergency here) in that I cant get to the grocery store?"

"What do I do if I get lost?"

Just basic questions like those that got me thinking. Try and think up more questions that would pertain to you and where you live, the things that are more than likely to happen to you or in your area. Then set a plan of action, maybe finding a way to store up some extra food, or have what we call a "Get Home Bag" in the car, maybe learn to use a map. Those questions where the exact same questions that I asked myself when I started out. Then I did my searching for good references that would help me out, some of which are on the left hand side under Survival Links.

Survival: Making Life Easier By Starting Small.

The reason why I am doing the survival bit is to save me money and to live a bit more comfortably. When many think survival, they think that they need to have the most expensive items. Not so, really. It is all in the planning. Maybe the best way to start out is to start small. Try buying that extra can of soup or that extra pack of toilet paper when it is on sale. That is exactly what I did. (I try to buy canned food when it is cheap, my fresh fruits and veggies when it is on sale and in bulk when I need dry goods. I find that is the cheapest way to work around my food expenses.) Then set it aside from the rest of your food, using proper ways of storing it. Maybe keeping your eyes open for deals on the every day stuff that you use. Make a list of your most common used items and watch for sales on them. Work with cash instead of using that credit card. You dont need to make huge expensive purchases to make a difference. Just simple small things that can lead to big changes over time.

Living life.

Unless you have been living under a rock lately, life has gotten a bit uncomfortable these days for a lot of people. The same is here too. I have dealt with living my life under some hard times. Not much money, not much of a life, basically living in a survival mode these last few years. But as I look at what I have been going through, my experiences have shaped me for what I do now. By choice and by force, I have learned to live with less, and learned to live off less.

Over time, I changed from thinking "this sucks" to "wow, life is better", even though I have less. I just needed to learn how to work around problems and be resourceful. I had to learn skills that I should have been taught a long time ago. Things on living, not just for a career, but for my life. How to take care of things, and how to get STUFF done. Basically how to take care of me. I have taken up the survivalist mind. NO! Not the type of the tin foil hat, the world is coming to an end sort. I am talking on things how to take care of me. How to take care of emergencies. How to make and save food the old fashioned way, just to save cash. How to make things, literally everything from scratch. How to change parts of my life when needed. Learn skills that many would consider outdated, but come in handy when the situation arises? Cooking, sewing, making stuff.

Maybe I could use this blog to teach what I learned or point to resources to help others?