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Advice for the beginning Prepper Part 6 Security & Self Defense

16 November, 2016 By Patrick Mikell Leave a Comment

Where and how to start your journey towards a more prepared house hold

Part 6

Security / Self Defense

Simple Definition of security

: the state of being protected or safe from harm
: things done to make people or places safe

Simple Definition of self–defense

: the act of defending yourself, your property, etc.
: skills that make you capable of protecting yourself during an attack

I recommended Knowledge as one of the first things you should try and gain in part 1, so in part six we will look at another basic category of Items or Stuff I believe is needed for emergency preparations to keep yourself and family safe and secure and today that is Security & Self Defense.

While I could have treated these as individual topics I decide to try and cover both since from my viewpoint they are interconnected with each other.

This is possibly one of the more difficult topics to cover because of variations in location, available of funds, physical abilities and motivation among other things. For many people living in the city or suburbs, their local Police, Fire Department and EMS personnel are typically what they rely on to keep them safe and secure. The implementation of the 911 emergency response system has saved countless people’s lives and is a worthwhile project.

As a Prepper the thought process tends to move further in self-reliance for personal safety and property protection, we like to add additional layers so to speak for redundancy. It has been shown that in large events, the first responders can be over whelmed when there were more injuries than the system was designed to handle. Depending on the situation and your location 911 may not be available in the time it takes for help to arrive so I recommend some basic preparations for your family are in order.

You should have on hand some basic medical supplies and knowledge of basic first aid. While I’m not suggesting you should know how to treat a gunshot wound or preform field surgery but rather have the ability to control bleeding, know how to treat for shock, and knowing CPR could mean the difference in a loved one, a friend or neighbor making it or not. The Red Cross and other organizations have classes and every adult should take a class and then repeat every couple of years as a refresher. And there is nothing wrong with learning how to treat a gunshot wound, just seek out the proper training, especially if you are a gun owner and participate in shooting sports. Whenever I’m at a local gun range or just out shooting with friends I have a military style IFAK, Individual, or in some circles Improved First Aid Kit, in my bag that includes supplies to control bleeding.

What about fire protection for your home and family. Have you ever discussed with your family what to do if there is a fire in your home? Hopefully everyone would have several ways to exit in case of a fire and that should be practiced at least annually. You should have at a minimum two fire extinguishers in your home, one located in the kitchen and the other somewhere central and easily accessed. An ABC Rated is the best and will work on all types of fires and 3 to 5 lbs. is the most common size and for what they will do I consider them to be cheap insurance.

Speaking of insurance, if you don’t already have renters or property and flood insurance for whatever reason, it’s a good idea to have it and I’ll leave it at that.

My former job in the corporate world required me to travel overnight quite a bit and as a precaution for my family we decided to have a monitored home security system installed. When researching the different providers and systems on the market I was amazed at the huge variation in costs so if you decide to go that route do your research before you spend your money and sign any contracts.

Weapons for personal defense range from non-lethal options such as Pepper Spray, Tasers, and Batons. (Maybe a good guard dog fits this category too). Moving on to the more lethal weapons you have knives, swords and guns of all shapes, sizes and manufacturer’s. I’m not going into great detail on what your choice of any defensive weapon should be, that will depend on your personal preference, affordability and willingness to seek out professional training for which ever you choose. In our immediate family each adult in our house hold has a pistol and knows how to safely operate it as well as where the home shot gun is stored and its safe operation.

If you chose to own firearms for competitive shooting, hunting or personal protection it is important that you allocate some time and money to get training for whichever endeavor you desire to participate. Simply owning a firearm does not make you competent and skilled in its operation and neither does an annual trip to the range for target practice or to sight in your rifle for hunting season. Check with your local gun ranges for recommendations on good trainers and classes.

Personal defense may also include the skill set found in learning a martial art of some sort if your physically capable and can afford the cost. If you are in a situation where a weapon is not allowed to be carried this could be a really good skill to have.

As mentioned earlier, if you can be a responsible pet owner and they are allowed in your residence, a dog can be a pleasure to have. It’s going to be based on your personal preference as far as size and breed but almost all dogs have a natural instinct to alert and protect their owners if there is a threat. If a dog is in your future please consider seriously getting a rescue or adopting one. A local internet search should have multiple possibilities in your area.

As always please add your thoughts, additional ideas and comments below.

Advice for the beginning Prepper, Part 5, Energy

9 November, 2016 By Patrick Mikell Leave a Comment

Where and how to start your journey towards a more prepared house hold

Part 5 Energy

I recommended Knowledge as one of the first things you should try and gain in part 1, so in part four we will look at another basic category of Items or Stuff I believe is needed for emergency preparations to keep yourself and family safe and secure and today that is Energy.

Water that’s clean and drinkable
Shelter, could be your home, a tent, or proper clothing for your area.
Food, canned goods, freezer stocked up, garden growing or freeze dried.
Energy, be it heat to cook your food or warm your shelter or electricity for lights & radios.
Security / Self Defense
Reliable transportation
Low or No Debt
Trade Currency, i.e. cash (or Barter items), to acquire the things you need from others.

So let’s look at our options and sources for energy if the grid goes down, specifically to cook with, lighting, communications, transportation and for warmth or cooling.

Cooking – If you have natural gas you should be OK for a while if it is a short term event, (and you don’t live in an earth quake area, if so all bets are off). Propane stores basically forever as long as the container is not damaged so if you have a barbecue pit or a portable camping stove you are set to boil water and cook food. When it comes to camping stoves there are lots of manufacturers and fuel options available. Different types and capacities from a two burner Coleman that runs on propane or white gas to a small portable alcohol, or one of the Solo Stoves that burns twigs and pine cones. Don’t have any of those, how about a camp fire or fire pit. Admittedly it’s a skill set to cook on an open fire and you need a few items like a grate or tripod to do so safely and efficiently. Now is a good time to practice and learn from your mistakes while supplies are available and working. A member of a MAG I use to belong to took it a step further and bought a wood stove and his family relies on it for cooking, heating water and canning.

Lights – Basics first, a black out kit, click here for the contents list of ours. Next acquire more LED flashlights, portable lanterns and plenty of fresh batteries to fit. As funds allow add more rechargeable batteries to your supplies and a solar panel of some sort to recharge them. We picked one on amazon that has multiple voltage out puts from USB 5 volts to recharge cell phones and tables all the way up to 12 volts to recharge a car battery.

Oil lamps and candles are options as well but be careful with open flames inside your home; a couple of good fire extinguishers are always a good addition to your home. Don’t forget extra wicks and plenty of lamp oil.

Power – After you have the basics covered, save some money, do some research and buy a 500 watt true sine wave inverter. With this and some extension cords you can use the battery in your card to supply AC power to some lights and radio or TV for short intervals. Next step up would be a small generator and I recommend at least a 1000 watt compact unit like the Honda E1000 or a Yamaha EF100is. These both are equipped with an inverter that will supply clean power to any electronics you will want to run. Yes you can get a similar size package for about 1/3 to ½ price from places like Harbor Freight and while I don’t have any first-hand experience with them, at such a low price point I wonder about there long term reliability. That being said if that is what your budget allows, it’s better than nothing.

One other advantage to the Honda, and I assume the Yamaha as well, is there are aftermarket carburetor kits available that allow them to run on natural gas or propane so fuel storage becomes less of a hassle. For a link to one we used click here, our use google for a search.

http://www.propane-generators.com/

And what good is a generator if you don’t store some fuel, be it gasoline, diesel or propane. Think safety and whichever you chose to store, check your homeowner’s insurance policy to make sure there is not some fine print on the amount you can store.

To continue to build on your off grid power supplies would next be purchase some deep cycle batteries, at least one but as many as you can afford in even number pairs, a bigger inverter and a charge controller and a 100 watt to 150 watt solar panel. You can use the solar panel or the generator to recharge the batteries if grid power is not available and the sun is shining.

Other options to consider if money and resources are available on your property are Wind and or Water power. You will still need some batteries to store your energy but if a good flowing stream or a windy hill is accessible there are dozens of manufacturers that can help put you in the home power business.

Heat – Next let’s consider what are options for heating your home in winter, assuming you live in a region that gets cold. As previously mention wood stoves or fireplace inserts are very efficient, much more than just an open fireplace for heating a living space. Portable propane space heaters are available here locally at Walmart, Tractor Supply and Northern Tool that can be used. Same cautions apply for open flames inside house, keep away from combustibles, have fire extinguishers available, and have a window opened just a bit for fresh air and keep out of reach of children and pets. A carbon monoxide alarm is also a wise investment for any home.

Transportation – Whether your mode of choice is an automobile, pickup truck, motorcycle, four wheeler, Jet Ski, boat, snowmobile, airplane or helicopter, sooner or later fuel may become an issue for that vehicle. Alternatives to consider are a bicycle, electric golf cart, electric car, horse, dog sled or being in good enough shape to walk some distance. Horses and dog sleds take another skill set, specialized equipment and knowledge but if you have access, then you are one of the lucky ones. The electric car and golf cart will have a limited range but if you have a way to recharge them you could be ahead of the curve.

Radios – Communications are going to be vital if the grid is down. Simplest place to start is a good quality weather radio and a couple of inexpensive two way radios like a Baofeng UR-V5. The UV-5R radios are available from lots of sellers on Amazon and eBay and are a great little radio for under $30.00 each. These will receive UHF, VHF, FRS and MURS frequencies and if you have an amateur HAM license you can talk on 2 meter and 440 short wave bands. It can also be programed as a scanner for your local area emergency services. A great addition of a replacement antenna will improve the reception and transmit range over the one included. Lots of detailed information on the web on these so take time and do some research.

That’s some of my thoughts on energy in its different forms, but there are dozens more tangents that can be considered. Keep in mind the best time to start preparing and working on some of these options is the present. Make a plan on what to work on first, save the money and pay as you go; don’t go into any more debt than you already are.

As always please add your thoughts and comments below.

Advice for the beginning Prepper, Part 4 Food

3 November, 2016 By Patrick Mikell Leave a Comment

Water that’s clean and drinkable
Shelter, could be your home, a tent, or proper clothing for your area.
Food, canned goods, freezer stocked up, garden growing or freeze dried.
Energy, be it heat to cook your food or warm your shelter or electricity for lights & radios.
Security / Self Defense
Reliable transportation
Low or No Debt
Trade Currency, i.e. cash (or Barter items), to acquire the things you need from others.

I know some of the audience will be thinking why not guns and ammo higher on the list? Fact is typically everybody and every living plant and creature on our earth, everyday needs to eat to survive and thrive. The probability that an invasion of, pick your imagined enemy, will require you to take up arms and defend your life, family and property at any second is fortunately for the majority of us, a low percentage possibility. At least it is in most of the United States in 2016, what the future holds is yet to be seen.

Probably most of you have heard the old saying, You Are What You Eat so in thinking about long term food storage, Raman noodles and Spam is not a good plan for emergency food supplies.

So let’s have a brief review on basic emergency food storage and supplies.

First decide how many days of food do you want to keep on hand starting out with, keeping in mind you can gradually increase that over time? Our United States FEMA recommends every family store at least 3 day’s supply for every family member as minimum. Decision is yours on how much more you feel it is prudent and affordable for your family and circumstances, but at least come up with a starting number of at least 3 days’ supply per person.

https://www.ready.gov/food

The absolute number one guideline on any kind of food storage plan to is Store What Your Family Eats, and Eat What You Store. This is going to require some work on your part but in the long run it will pay you back more than double.

If you do not already do so, use a shopping list for trips to the store. Best method our family has found is to have a notebook and pen to keep track of the meals and ingredients our family eats at home for a couple of weeks. If you take the time to do the same this will give you a good baseline and starting point to analyze what your family’s food tastes and requirements are on average. From these notes creating a shopping list to be used on next grocery store trip will be a simple matter.

Depending on your budget, a slow and steady method of purchasing more items on your list for storage is by using a technique called copy canning. Say you have a can of corn or can of green beans on your shopping list for this week that was eaten at some of last week’s meals. If it is something your family likes and enjoys regularly then buy two of that item, one for next meal and one for storage. Do the same for each item on your shopping list as funds and room to store is available. Continue to do the same thing on subsequent trips to the grocery store and you will gradually increase your storage.

For your canned goods, do you have a mechanical can opener that works in case the power is out? While it’s possible to open cans with a pocket knife, it’s not the safest way to do things. Especially if the power is out and medical assistance for stitches or an infection might not be available quickly.

After a power loss unless you have some backup power sources your frozen and refrigerated foods will need to be used before they spoil.

What about preserving food by canning, dehydrating or smoking? Water bath canning is fairly simple, does not require a pressure cooker and works well for high acid foods like tomatoes. The library or your local book store will have reference books to learn recipes and techniques from if you don’t already have the knowledge.

Pressure canning is required for low acid vegetables like potatoes, beans, corn and meats. This is another skill set and requires more expensive pressure cooker / canner and reference books on methods and cooking time that varies buy jar size and product being canned. New, quality pressure canners are not cheap but they will last for generations. We picked ours up at a garage sale, and I’ve seen them from time to time at Goodwill and other thrift stores and there is always Craig’s list and eBay.

Dehydrating fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to preserve them and there are relative inexpensive models of dehydrators available to get started with. As you gain experience and if you feel the need there are higher end models like those made by Excalibur that hold larger quantities and have better temperature controls.

Meats and fish can be pressure canned, smoked and sugar or salt cured to preserve them. Your library, local book store, Amazon or google are available at the time of this post.

Have you got room for a small garden or room for some containers? Having a stash of emergency seeds stored in case things go bad will not do you much good if you don’t have experience in growing a garden during the good times. Even if you live in an apartment or small urban house you would be surprised how much food you can grow in pots or containers. The other advantage to growing some of your own food is you know it is fresh, typically will have more vitamins and nutrients so it is healthier for you. That and a little exercise and fresh air is good for you too.

In our area there are several groups on MeetUp.com that from time to time offer classes on food storage methods many times for free or a small fee to cover materials. This is another knowledge item that would be good to learn and practice while these resources are available.

Staple dried foods like wheat, rice, corn and, beans are cheap right now and can be stored in Mylar bags and plastic buckets. You tube is full of videos on this technique, food grade buckets are available at most bakeries and donut stores for free in my experience or a couple of dollars at most. Properly stored these food types can last for 20+ years and contain lots of calories.

Don’t forget to store spices that you use for your families meals. The right combination of spices is the difference between a satisfying and enjoyable meal or bland and tasteless. At least salt and pepper at the very minimum.

Lastly freeze dried food while more expensive lasts for years, is light weight and highly nutritious. Our preferred brand is Mountain House but there are other high quality manufactures out there like Wise, Legacy, Augason Farms and Thrive that I’m familiar with and there may be others. I strongly recommend buying small samples and doing a taste test with your family before buying a large quantity of one particular brand because there are a lot of variations between the manufacturer’s menus and recipes.

As always you are welcome to add your comments, ideas and suggestions below.

Advice for the beginning Prepper, Part 3 Shelter

26 October, 2016 By Patrick Mikell Leave a Comment

Where and how to start your journey towards a more prepared house hold Part 3

Shelter

I recommended Knowledge as one of the first things you should try and gain in part 1, so here in part 3 we will continue to dig into some details on Items or Stuff I believe is needed for emergency preparations to keep yourself and family safe and secure.

Water that’s clean and drinkable
Shelter, could be your home, a tent, a camper or proper clothing for your area.
Food, canned goods, freezer stocked up, garden growing or freeze dried.
Energy, be it heat to cook your food or warm your shelter or electricity for lights & radios.
Security / Self Defense
Reliable transportation
Low or No Debt
Trade Currency, i.e. cash (or Barter items), to acquire the things you need from others.

First let’s cover some ideas for your consideration on shelter preparation and ways to assess you options for weather related threats. Most people reading this live in a house, apartment or a structure of some sort and it is usually considered your first shelter option in most cases. Those of you that live in a campers or boats should have run-a-way options in mind and manufactured home residents probable should run away too.

Depending on the type of threat you are anticipating, (click here to read my earlier post on local area threat assessment), there should be a family plan in place of whether you will stay or go. Time to go examples would be if your home is in an area that the possibility of forest fires and one is headed your way or if you live on a coast line and a hurricane is predicted to visit your general area then you’ve got to have a bug out plan. Houses and things can be replaced, people not so much, and that’s why homeowner’s or renter’s insurance is an important to have.

So the other scenario you are going to shelter in place and here are some things to think about.

If you lose power what is your plan for a short term outage, say 24 hours. Start with a blackout kit and as funds allow consider a small inverter and a deep cycle battery then maybe a small generator. What about a longer term of several weeks, do you have enough fuel, food and water stored?

What if a tree limb is blown down on your driveway or worse yet falls on your house. Do you have a chain saw, ladder, fuel and expertise to remove some or all of it and affect temporary repairs with some blue tarps or plastic sheeting? Same question with a window being broken out, what do you have on hand to make temporary repairs?

If your home has a basement, is it prone to flooding? Do you have a sump pump of sorts and a way to power it? Would sand bags be an option to prevent some flooding?

What about your stored food and water, is it out of harm’s way and stored in multiple locations in your house? No food should be stored on a ground level floor; shelves are the better option both for security and accessibility.

Keep some old blankets or quilts purchased from goodwill along with some duct tape to wrap your freezer and refrigerator with to extend the time food stored in will remain cold / frozen until power comes back on.

Do you have a way to boil water and cook if there is no electricity or natural gas service? We rely on a charcoal and a propane barbecue pits as well as two different Coleman camping style stoves for our preps.

How many fire extinguishers do you have in your house, what are their locations and does each family member know where they are and how to safely and correctly use them? Small, 1 to 5 pound ABC rated ones are the best to have on hand and will work on all types of fires.

Consider how are you equipped to deal with minor injuries? Do you have some basic first aid supplies and knowledge on using them? If not check with your local Red Cross for sometimes free or at least low cost basic first aid courses.

Do you have some preparations for sanitation needs for your family if the well or city water is not available? Some of your stored water is needed in this situation and sanitary preparations for rest room needs should be planned for as well. (For some ideas on this topic click here).

Depending where you live what seasonal weather conditions should you plan for? How cold does it get where you live and what options do you have for off the grid heating? Ours is a Buck Stove insert for our fireplace and two cords of seasoned wood stored up. As a minimum at least have quality sleeping bags for every family member rated to your locations coldest expected temperature. If moving some furniture around is an option, you can pitch a tent inside your living area for everyone to sleep in. It’s a smaller space to maintain shared body heat with your family or friends. If it works for explorers in the artic Polar Regions it will work for you. Just remember to have a window open slightly for fresh air and so carbon monoxide from a non electric heat source can get out.

Proper seasonal clothing is also a form of shelter. If you have to be outside dealing with shoveling snow, removing debris or making repairs, your clothing matters. Breathable layers and preferably no cotton fabrics. Cotton holds moisture, dries slowly and you do not want that in cold weather, it can cause hypothermia. Don’t forget the proper shoes and socks for ankle support and protection from the elements.

Extreme heat is a concern for people in the southwestern United States as well as other parts of the country during summer time. Our ancestors survived for thousands of years without Air Conditioning. In fact air conditioning was not invented and commonly available to individual home owners until around 1902, less than a couple of generations. That being said a few inexpensive box fans would make sleeping a little more tolerable if power is available.

Outdoor shelter is covered by having the basic camping gear for your family, adequate tent and sleeping bags for your region. A camper of some type is a nice viable option too if you have the funds and storage location available.

That’s shelter in a nutshell, as always comment below if you have additional ideas or tips to share.

Waterproof Boots, what exactly makes them waterproof?

19 October, 2016 By Patrick Mikell Leave a Comment

propper-100-wp-boot

Good quality boots are the first line of defense to what mother nature has in store to throw at you and they need to stand up and take a beating when called upon to do so. Through slop, mud, rain, puddles, you name it, if your feet are wet, your uncomfortable and it is one more thing to interfere with your concentration when you need it most. Whether you’re in the woods during hunting season, on a hiking trip, or you’ve been called out to help rescue someone lost in the woods, you need boots that will keep your feet dry yet also let sweat from a hard day’s work evaporate and not bog down your socks.

In the old days, waterproofing boots was an inexact science. Everybody and their brother had “the trick” to keeping water out and socks dry. From tree sap smeared over the seams and laces to all sorts of natural concoctions (and a few toxic synthetic ones), everyone said their special formula was the best. Truth was, however, that while there were some good ideas, at least in theory, none of them performed as advertised all the time, mostly because while they might repel water for a short time – maybe – none of the brushed on or dipped remedies fit the second criteria: breathability. In fact, adding old style water sealant made it worse. Water couldn’t get in, which was good, but neither could sweat get out. So socks got soggy and cold, feet developed blisters, and boot wearers suffered in the wilderness.

So much for homegrown remedies.

Today, boot manufacturers have uncovered the mystery of how to keep water out while keeping feet dry and comfortable, and it didn’t come from a tree or a cabin in the woods. It came from a much more technologically savvy source: the outdoor clothing industry. Who better to teach waterproofing than folks who spend days at a time out in the rain on purpose?

The outdoors industry had learned long ago through their own similar struggles the best way to manage the balance between keeping water out and letting sweat out at the same time. All the footwear industry had to do was figure out how to apply the same technology to shoes and boots.

One thing outdoor clothing and footwear have in common is seams. Materials are stitched together at overlapping points, which poses a problem: How do you ensure no water seeps into between the cracks? Seams generally run in straight lines or predictable patterns, so it’s simple to apply a waterproof sealant that could harden to an invisible, thin, rubbery texture to close even the smallest gap. What isn’t so easy is the fabric.

That’s where breathable fibers come in. Following Gore-Tex®’s lead in the 1970’s, fabric manufacturers began experimenting with one-way water-permeable materials that repelled rain but allowed sweat to come out to the surface for evaporation. Combined with moisture-wicking polyester-based layers, this new fiber structure finally solved the decades-old problem of how to make waterproof boots breath, at least for the fabric parts. One popular such fiber is Dri-Lex®, which is engineered specifically for footwear.

But what about the leather?

Leather on its own is very susceptible to water damage. While that might not make any sense at first – don’t cows stand out in the rain and not shrink? – because it is a natural fiber it is much more prone to drying and cracking. To prevent that, the leather is first treated for general boot construction and then a waterproof layer is applied to the outside, much the way Teflon works with cookware and tactical pants. This non-stick surface allows the rain to bead up and run off the boot rather than penetrating or being absorbed by the leather. The added benefit is that it’s harder to stain the boots, so they look better longer.

How do you tell which boots are waterproof?

Many boots come in waterproof and non-waterproof versions that look alike on the outside. To figure out which is which, check the lining. Waterproof boots will not only have an extra layer in the inside – often in a contrasting color, but not always – they will typically have a gusseted tongue, meaning the tongue is attached not just on the bottom but also up the sides to help keep water from splashing inside.

Waterproof boots aren’t entirely guaranteed to keep every drop of water outside, but there are certain purposeful elements designed into the boot to minimize the chance your feet will get wet. So whether you’re out on the range plinking steel after a hard rain or need a great duty boot such as our Series 100 waterproof that will stand up to harsh conditions, waterproof boots give you a protective option that looks good.

Fact of life: feet stink. Which is why boot makers have begun adding anti-stink liners to certain models of hiking, tactical, and even snow boots. Much like apparel tech, boot odor-removing liners can either mask the smell or kill the bacteria that causes it. The same pluses and minuses apply to each. One covers, one removes.

Propper boots are lined with anti-microbial material that prevents odor-causing microorganisms from growing and therefore creating stench. By breaking down the microorganisms, the boot liner not only prevents foul odor, it can also make the liner last longer because the same tiny organisms that cause stink can also break down the fabric inside a boot. So this lining serves two useful purposes: anti-stink and increased material longevity.

Anti-odor tech has come a long way, and while it doesn’t promise you’ll come out smelling like a rose, at least you won’t stink like a walking locker room.

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