Well it was certainly a busy week in terms of prepper stuff for me. I got a lot of little items checked off my list.
The top of my list is that I worked out 4 times-2 cardio and 2
weights. As a prepper, it's my opinion that I'm useless if I'm not fit
enough to carry a pack or even do the simplest tasks that require a
reasonably fit body. As the weather gets nicer, I think I might start
putting Cole in the baby backpack we have and cart him up to the park.
I
read more of Tom Brown's Field Guide to City and Suburban Survival.
I'm finding a lot of great information in this book and I've generated a
lot of good ideas based on what I've read. After reading the "Shelter"
chapter, Barb and I had a great discussion on some simple things we can
do around the house. First, we talked about crumpling up newspaper
into some garbage bags and stuffing them up in our skylights. It
defeats the purpose of the incoming light, but it does provide great
insulation in a location that is prone to heat loss. Second, we talked
about installing heavy curtains over the windows in our bonus room,
living room, and dining room. The bonus room is where we spend a
majority of our waking hours during the year. We'll probably install
them in such a way that the bottom can be tucked into the windowsill to
eliminate cold drafts from entering the space. Third, we talked about
installing heavy curtains in the open doorways (no doors) from our
kitchen to the dining room and front hall to the living room. This will
have the effect of isolating that portion of the house and lowering the
need to heat that space. The overall effect of these items is that it
creates 2 shelters in the house if we need them. The bonus room has a
wood burning fireplace insert to provide heat and the living room/dining
room area has a gas fireplace. Now we have 2 alternatives to
effectively weather a power outage in the dead of winter.
After
reading the chapter on "Water", I recalled some training I received
when I was doing summer camps in ROTC. Tom talks about recovery of
water from the ground by simply digging a hole in a sunny location,
putting a bucket in the bottom of it, running surgical tubing out of the
hole, covering the hole in clean, clear plastic that has a rock located
in the center. This should take advantage of the heat evaporating
water out of the soil, collecting on the plastic, and running down into
the bucket. The surgical tubing can then be used to draw the water out
of the bucket without removing the plastic. The water is purified, so
no further steps for purification are required. I'm adding this to my
list of things to try this summer-yes I intend to dig a big hole in the
backyard.
Barb and I sat down and took the time to
re-familiarize ourselves with the contents of our secondary bug out bags
from the car. I was adding the new Gerber EAB's, their refill's, and
tea candles to all of the BOB's, so I figured this was a good time to
remember exactly what we are keeping in the cars. For a good
explanation of the Gerber EAB, go here:
http://tracemypreps.com/2012/01/09/product-review-gerber-eab-lite-utility-knife/.
For a good explanation of tea candles, go here:
http://stealthsurvival.blogspot.com/2012/02/simple-survival-gear-tactical-tealights.html.
I
also added emergency cash to both Barb's wallet and my wallet, as well
as the secondary BOB's located in each of the cars. This was prompted
by a discussion between Trace, Sarah, Barb, and I last Saturday night.
It was pointed out to me that we need to keep cash on hand for something
as simple as a power outage, where, for instance gas pumps might be on
emergency power, but the credit card machine may not be. I'm pretty
much solely a credit card user. I pay off the card every month, but use
the charges to generate cash back based on the types of cards we used.
Now Barb and I will have enough cash on hand to fill up the car with a
tank of gas, get a motel room, and buy some dinner, without the need of a
credit card.
I also started keeping a "Task List" of
all the preps I'd like to make as I think of them. I use this to
organize my list in terms of priority, cost, and need. My list will
never be completely resolved, but it seems like a good idea to me to
keep everything in one place for quick reference.
What did you do this week?
I prepped that week, with a trip to Federal surplus in downtown Seattle. I found some medium type weight polypropylene tops and bottoms. I think each piece was $14.99. The brand name is Indera. I would guess that they function the same as what you may pay easily three times that amount at REI. Basically, I was looking for something that was similar to what I wore, while going through an Army cold weather survival course near Mt Rainier, years ago, while stationed at Ft Lewis. For the whole course, I pretty much wore the poly pro base layer, army issue wool socks, my Matterhorn gortex lined boots, my lightweight BDU pants and shirt, and my gortex rain jacket... and my cap. That was it, and it kept me quite warm the whole time. Also, the theory with the light weight (ie. ripstop nylon type clothing over the poly pro) is that it provides the additional layer of insulation\wind break, and if it gets wet or damp, it will dry quicker than a heavier more dense material. For alot of our common winter conditions in this area, the aforementioned setup works pretty well at keeping one relatively warm and dry.
ReplyDelete