Kansas Preppers Network

By ldavies1

Starting your food prep—

So you have decided to start storing food. Maybe you have not made a long term commitment but it sounds reasonable to move away from living from one grocery store run to the next. Inflation and possible job loss are enough to get you moving. So you start to add a little extra to the kitchen cabinets. Once you get past the obvious what do you buy?

Begin to make a list of the food and nonfood items you regularly use and how much you use each week or month. This is your guide to stocking up. It does no good to buy things you or your family will not eat. Buy what you normally eat. Also start listing prices so you can learn when a sale is really a good sale.

Where do you shop? Discount groceries, closeout stores, salvaged stores are all good sources but you need to know how to spot a good price. Then go for the loss leaders at the major stores. You absolutely need to learn to control impulse buying. If I go into the store and there is a cart full of discounted items, it is smart to look and see if there is anything you use and if the price is really good. Buying ice cream that is not on your list is not a good buy but it is your choice.

Balance in your storage is important. Fifty bottles of ketchup is not good storage. As you begin, start an inventory in a spreadsheet or notebook. As you prep, think in terms of meals. Canned chunky soup over rice can be a pretty good meal without much prep so several meals worth these two items can go a long way. There is also great variety. If you purchase spaghetti sauce you must also have the pasta. Meat is actually optional, good but optional.

In addition to maintaining an inventory, it is important to rotate your food so it is used by the expiration date. When I bring home new storage items, I write the expiration date on the lid or label with a fine magic marker. This makes it easier to find and read. Slide the previous purchased items to the front of the shelf and put the current ones in back. I have several can rotators in my kitchen cabinets. This makes it easy to rotate. It handles the rotating – first in first out. I must admit that I skipped this step for the first three months because my mind was still in the normal shopping mode. It was a lot of work to go back and write all of the expiration dates on the containers and organize them. So if your new to prepping, learn this one.

Finally, as your storage begins to grow, you need to set goals. My initial goals were six months of regular food and six months of long term storage. I have to admit I had very little idea of what long term storage was at this point but I continue to research and educate myself.

Warning: food storage, water storage, equipment, etc can become overwhelming. I started a list of other topics to explore so I could stay focused on whatever step I was on but not forget the passing idea.

Until next time

Ida from the Urban Kansas Prairie

by ldavies1
from the Urban Kansas Prairie

How I got started prepping—

I can’t remember what first peeked my curious 15 months ago but I began to read and research. I wanted to understand why people were prepping and how they were doing it. It was a year of many natural disasters so it was not completely out of the realm of understanding. I soon learned that I had a wealth of experiences that applied if I renewed my skills. I grew up in an urban area but my family camped, did lots of scouting, and had big gardens. Mom canned lots of fruits and vegetable. My dad was a carpenter so we did lots of hands on repair work on our house, my grandparents houses, neighbors, and the rental houses. So doing it yourself was always the first option. Over the years as I raised my children and they became adults, I had gotten so I did less and less for myself. Now as I approach retirement, I am prepping and rebuilding old skills and new ones. This is my journey. It is more about skill building than just acquiring stuff. As many have said, you can read all day long but if you do not learn to do it is of no use.

I started with food storage. I read and researched and printed more prepping lists than I care to admit. I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted six months of regular food and six months of long term storage food. I have accomplished both of those goals. So now when I find a GOOD sale I buy several. Last week I came up on an unadvertised sale of boneless hams for a dollar a pound. I purchased four of them. That was about 24 pounds. I brought them home and cut each one into three pieces and froze them. I now have meat for 48 meals for about fifty cents or less per meal. Not too bad.

Rotating the regular food storage is very important and I continue to find ways to do that. I have several can organizers in my kitchen cabinets. These little devices are easy –First In First out. I also have steel shelves in my storage room. Before I put can goods or jars on the shelves, I write the expiration date on the lid or label with a sharpie large enough to easily read. Then I put the new item at the back of the row sliding older items to the front. I always use the one with the closes expiration date next.

I also have some wheat and a hand grinder. One of my upcoming projects is to grind the wheat and make bread from scratch. I made bread from scratch many years ago but wheat grinding will be a new skill but that is for a future blog.
Ida

With the record heat waves and drought across the nation, the American Preppers Network hopes that you have been prepared.  Disasters of any type can and do happen anywhere, at anytime, and without warning.  We are now witnessing and will continue to witness a prime example of how one disaster can cause a chain reaction leading to other disasters.  Here are some potential disasters to be aware of as a result of the drought and heat waves.

1) Water shortages.  Water is the number 1 most important necessity to survival.  The average human can only survive 3 days without water, and even less in a heat wave.  I hope you’ve stored some.  If the water system shuts down or does not have enough, you could turn on the tap only to have a few drips.  If you run into a situation where there is not enough municipal water supply to your home, start looking for other sources of stored water.

• Your hot water tank may have 30 – 50 gallons of water stored. 
• The top supply tank to your toilette is typically clean water that you can use.
• Your plumbing in your house could have a few gallons.  Open a higher faucet in your house as in a shower, sink, or upstairs source to relieve pressure, then open a lower outside faucet to retrieve water from your plumbing system.

Don’t short change yourself on water!  Make sure you have plenty for personal consumption.  If you stop sweating, that means you are dehydrated!   

Got Water?

2) Heat.  Heat poses many risks, including but not limited to:

• Heat Stroke.  Watch family members closely, especially the elderly, watch for slurred speech and disorientation.  When in doubt, call for help.  Time lost is brain lost.  Never leave pets or children in a vehicle, and keep them out of the direct sun.  Drink lots of water.
• Fire.  Fires are much more common in the heat.  Things dry out and become more flammable.  Keep dry brush and trash picked up.  Do not store fuel in or around your house, and keep well ventilated in a cool area out of the sun.  Keep grass cut short, especially if your city is rationing water and not allowing watering of lawns.  Do not store any flammables in the direct sun or in your attic.  
• Vehicle breakdowns. Avoid driving unless it’s absolutely necessary, or drive at nite. Check your fluid levels and make sure your oil and coolant are topped off.  Bring extra oil and coolant with you in case you need it.  DO NOT top off your fuel tank!  Make sure your tires are property inflated and not over or under inflated.  Bring extra water with you in case you do break down.  Drive with the A/C off when going uphill.  Watch your vehicles tempature when climbing grades.  If your car starts to overheat when going uphill, pull over at a safe location to let it cool.  Check to make sure your thermostat is working before you make your trip.

3) Blackouts.   The nations grids are maxed out.  With everyone using A/C, expect rolling blackouts.  If you are in a blackout, you can wrap sleeping bags around your refrigerator or freezer to help insulate it.  To conserve power, only use what you absolutely need.  Keep lights turned off and keep your A/C set to the warmest temperature that you can safely stand.  Do you have a generator?  Be prepared to use it.  Do you have plenty of non-perishable food stored?  If there is an extended blackout, you may need it.  Stores and gas stations will be shut down in a blackout.  Do you have an emergency battery powered radio and flashlights?

4) Food Prices   Expect food prices to increase.  Especially meat.  Many ranchers are butchering all of there livestock as there is not enough food and water to care for them, this means shortages in the future.  Produce crops are drying up. Prices of corn, wheat and other grains will increase.  Even produce grown in unaffected areas may increase in price as well due to demand.  If the blackouts are too severe, stores, gas stations and truck stops may close down temporarily disrupting the supply chain and preventing food from making it to the stores.

Stay safe during this heat wave and dought.  This is a serious and potentially devastating national disaster.

If you have tips, ideas, news, videos or pictures that you wish to share regarding this heat wave you can submit your article to americanprepper@yahoo.com.  If your article is chosen we will post it on your states preppers network blog.  Top articles will get posted on APN.  The top article of the week will win a free flashlantern valued at $49.95 (made in the USA).  Articles must be submitted before 7/29.

Feel free to copy and repost this article in it’s entirety.  Credit source as AmericanPreppersNetwork.com

Here are some free helpful pdf files to download

Fire and Heat Waves
- ARC – Are You Ready – Fire

- ARC – Are You Ready – Heat Wave

- ARC – Are You Ready – Wildfires

- Fact Sheet: Fires

- Fact Sheet: Fire Safe

- WildFires

Water
- ARC – Food and Water in Emergency

- Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water 

- How To Make A Solar Still (Plastic Cover)

- Purification Of Water On A Small Scale 

- Simple Solar Still For The Production Of Distilled Water

- Slow Sand Filters

- Water Purification

- Water Treatment

Fire Safety 

- Fighting Fire 

- Fire Safety

Get More Free Downloads here:
http://preppers.info/Free_Downloads.html