Survival Crash Course for the Johnny come lately

echo · 09-14-2008, 06:36 AM

Survival Crash Course for the Johnny come lately

I have a few books that cover many different survival issues so I thought I would list some common things here to get people motivated. This is not meant to be a "living in the wilderness" list just some ideas while things are still running. As always you should look at preparedness as insurance, you insure your car and home why not your life? Many of these things are easy to obtain now but will be hard to get later. So get them now and sell or trade them later if nothing happens.

Radio...
Like it or not, email will be one of the first things to go down. A shortwave radio receiever, AM/FM, CB radio transceiver and a ham radio are available now. I recommend a mobile ham radio like a kenwood or Icom brands. You might not be a ham certified operator but you can always get a book or just listen. The reason for mobile is if things go bad the one thing you will be abe to trade or barter for is a 12 volt car battery, especially if gas is $10/gallon (nobody is driving). Yes the AM/FM might get shutdown as well as the CB radio 'them' but I would rather have the device before things happen then search or trade for them after. Having some kind of communication is critical.

In fact, another great idea is an AC to DC converter so you can use the 12 volt battery to plug in anything that uses AC power. You can find AC/DC converters at amazon.com.

Phone...
Get a simple phone that runs on theline power, not a battery powered one. They are still out there and their cheap too. If the phone line is working then you can make a call, with a battery or plug-in type you might not have power to do so. One other thing everybody forgets about, "write down your phone numbers". Everyone has the numbers in their cell phone but they don't have them written down. What if you can't turn your cell on?

Food...
Before growing food (it takes time) you will need something to get you by, that means canned food. It doesn't have to be bought all at once, you can always buy a few extra cans every week and add to your pantry gradually. The easiest and a very nutritient dense food to grow is the sprouts and sprouting seeds. You can grow these little guys in a 5 gallon bucket on your porch or balcony. Oh yeah, get 5 gallon buckets from walmart too, their usefull for many other things like carrying water and composting and you can get them for $5 a piece. (garbage bag and some kitty litter for a toilet?).

Water...
Water filters are not cheap so I would recommend getting a berkey or katadyne water filter now while you actually have dough and the store will actually sell it to ya! There are plenty of ways to filter water but many of them include boiling and having certain materials available first. A simple hand filter will keep the drinking water clean. and of course the SteriPen, expensive but nice.

Cleaning...
Bleach is very cheap and there are a bunch of uses for it, the books below go into some of them. You can buy a gallon jug and mix it with water to clean the kitchen and the bathroom. It stinks for a while but mold a mildew can't survive that kind of onslaught. I would also recommend getting a liquid soap like miracle II. You can use a liquid soap for everything and buy it in a gallon form then dilute it later. It lasts much longer than bars of soap. (one of the books below shows how to make soap, a bartering item?)

Heating...
Some people have fireplaces so they can accomodate a wood fire to heat the house. There are also wood burning stoves that would also offset the heating costs while your cooking. Some other ideas are radiant heaters and oil filled heaters. Their not too expensive and 1 of them should be able to heat a room in the house. kerosene is pretty expensive and I have read about issues with the heaters starting fires too.

Trading...
In the case of a financial collapse money will not buy as much as it did before so bartering is an option. What types of skills can you barter with? How about knitting, manual labor, cleaning, cooking, baby sitting, can you fix a car? Can you fix a boiler? If you have the radio maybe you can trade updates on whats going on for food and favors. It's a 'back to basics' type thinking that will make survival easier.

Tools...
There will be value in tools that most people take for granted lying on the garage floor. A socket set, ratchets, screwdrivers, power tools, air tools, shovels, knives, axe etc. Not only are they barterable but they are usefull too. Anything that requires gasoline may or may not be usefull depending on gas prices and availability.

Light...
For flashlights I recommend the LED lights using AA batteries, probably the most popular battery around, or the wind up flashlights. You don't need a 12000 watt spotlight but you should have something to walk around with, You can also hit the dollar store and get some emergency candles 'on the cheap'.

Health...
This is big one because some people have special needs that include pharmaceuticals. All I can say here is stock up and have a reserver so you don't panick if something happens. One thing you can do now is head to the store and get a nice first aid kit or just buy common things like a big bottle of aspirin, bandaids, gauze, hydrogen peroxide, dressing, epsom and tape etc.

As for colloidal silver, take 3 9volt batteries, turn one upside down and plug the negative into the positive of one battery and the positive into the negative of the other battery. (looks like a pyramid) The exposed positive and negative is now 27 volts. Submerge 2 pure .9999 silver wires into 8oz. distilled water and connect the 2 wires to either side of the pyramid 9volts. Run this for 5 minutes at rook temperature and I believe you will have about a 5ppm solution.

The miracle mineral supplement sounds good too but I can't vouch for it. I tried it and at 9 drops I got pretty sick (went too fast) so maybe next time I will pace myself.

BOOKS...
* Dare to Prepare: http://www.standeyo.com
* Ragnar Books: Search for "Ragnar Survival" on amazon or barnes and you will find a bunch
* SAS Survival Handbook: Search "SAS Survival Handbook" on amazon
* Gardening When It Counts: Search "Gardening When It Counts" on amazon
* When Technology Fails: Search "When Technology Fails" on amazon

< Please add to the list >

09-14-2008, 06:36 AM	#1
echo Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 10	Survival Crash Course for the Johnny come lately Survival Crash Course for the Johnny come lately I have a few books that cover many different survival issues so I thought I would list some common things here to get people motivated. This is not meant to be a "living in the wilderness" list just some ideas while things are still running. As always you should look at preparedness as insurance, you insure your car and home why not your life? Many of these things are easy to obtain now but will be hard to get later. So get them now and sell or trade them later if nothing happens. Radio... Like it or not, email will be one of the first things to go down. A shortwave radio receiever, AM/FM, CB radio transceiver and a ham radio are available now. I recommend a mobile ham radio like a kenwood or Icom brands. You might not be a ham certified operator but you can always get a book or just listen. The reason for mobile is if things go bad the one thing you will be abe to trade or barter for is a 12 volt car battery, especially if gas is $10/gallon (nobody is driving). Yes the AM/FM might get shutdown as well as the CB radio 'them' but I would rather have the device before things happen then search or trade for them after. Having some kind of communication is critical. In fact, another great idea is an AC to DC converter so you can use the 12 volt battery to plug in anything that uses AC power. You can find AC/DC converters at amazon.com. Phone... Get a simple phone that runs on theline power, not a battery powered one. They are still out there and their cheap too. If the phone line is working then you can make a call, with a battery or plug-in type you might not have power to do so. One other thing everybody forgets about, "write down your phone numbers". Everyone has the numbers in their cell phone but they don't have them written down. What if you can't turn your cell on? Food... Before growing food (it takes time) you will need something to get you by, that means canned food. It doesn't have to be bought all at once, you can always buy a few extra cans every week and add to your pantry gradually. The easiest and a very nutritient dense food to grow is the sprouts and sprouting seeds. You can grow these little guys in a 5 gallon bucket on your porch or balcony. Oh yeah, get 5 gallon buckets from walmart too, their usefull for many other things like carrying water and composting and you can get them for $5 a piece. (garbage bag and some kitty litter for a toilet?). Water... Water filters are not cheap so I would recommend getting a berkey or katadyne water filter now while you actually have dough and the store will actually sell it to ya! There are plenty of ways to filter water but many of them include boiling and having certain materials available first. A simple hand filter will keep the drinking water clean. and of course the SteriPen, expensive but nice. Cleaning... Bleach is very cheap and there are a bunch of uses for it, the books below go into some of them. You can buy a gallon jug and mix it with water to clean the kitchen and the bathroom. It stinks for a while but mold a mildew can't survive that kind of onslaught. I would also recommend getting a liquid soap like miracle II. You can use a liquid soap for everything and buy it in a gallon form then dilute it later. It lasts much longer than bars of soap. (one of the books below shows how to make soap, a bartering item?) Heating... Some people have fireplaces so they can accomodate a wood fire to heat the house. There are also wood burning stoves that would also offset the heating costs while your cooking. Some other ideas are radiant heaters and oil filled heaters. Their not too expensive and 1 of them should be able to heat a room in the house. kerosene is pretty expensive and I have read about issues with the heaters starting fires too. Trading... In the case of a financial collapse money will not buy as much as it did before so bartering is an option. What types of skills can you barter with? How about knitting, manual labor, cleaning, cooking, baby sitting, can you fix a car? Can you fix a boiler? If you have the radio maybe you can trade updates on whats going on for food and favors. It's a 'back to basics' type thinking that will make survival easier. Tools... There will be value in tools that most people take for granted lying on the garage floor. A socket set, ratchets, screwdrivers, power tools, air tools, shovels, knives, axe etc. Not only are they barterable but they are usefull too. Anything that requires gasoline may or may not be usefull depending on gas prices and availability. Light... For flashlights I recommend the LED lights using AA batteries, probably the most popular battery around, or the wind up flashlights. You don't need a 12000 watt spotlight but you should have something to walk around with, You can also hit the dollar store and get some emergency candles 'on the cheap'. Health... This is big one because some people have special needs that include pharmaceuticals. All I can say here is stock up and have a reserver so you don't panick if something happens. One thing you can do now is head to the store and get a nice first aid kit or just buy common things like a big bottle of aspirin, bandaids, gauze, hydrogen peroxide, dressing, epsom and tape etc. As for colloidal silver, take 3 9volt batteries, turn one upside down and plug the negative into the positive of one battery and the positive into the negative of the other battery. (looks like a pyramid) The exposed positive and negative is now 27 volts. Submerge 2 pure .9999 silver wires into 8oz. distilled water and connect the 2 wires to either side of the pyramid 9volts. Run this for 5 minutes at rook temperature and I believe you will have about a 5ppm solution. The miracle mineral supplement sounds good too but I can't vouch for it. I tried it and at 9 drops I got pretty sick (went too fast) so maybe next time I will pace myself. BOOKS... * Dare to Prepare: http://www.standeyo.com * Ragnar Books: Search for "Ragnar Survival" on amazon or barnes and you will find a bunch * SAS Survival Handbook: Search "SAS Survival Handbook" on amazon * Gardening When It Counts: Search "Gardening When It Counts" on amazon * When Technology Fails: Search "When Technology Fails" on amazon < Please add to the list >

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