Author Archives: Guest Writer

5 Things You Should Know About Buying Food To Stockpile

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For most preppers, safety and food security is of paramount importance. Having your own food supply during an emergency or crisis situation will keep you and your family self-sufficient even during the toughest times. How do you build your own stockpile for survival?

foods list for off grid survival

Here are 5 things you should know about buying food to stockpile.

  1. What Is Your Goal?

Before buying food to stockpile, you will need to set your goal. How much stock do you intend to buy? How long do you want the supplies to last? Ideally, your food and water supply should sustain you for at least 72 hours but for peace of mind during an emergency, go beyond the bare minimum.

Start by writing a list of foodstuff that can sustain you and your family for three days. Once you have achieved that goal, keep building until you have enough supplies to last a few months.

  1. Decide On A Stockpile Budget

When buying food to stockpile, it is important to have a budget from the beginning. Determine how much you can afford and how much money you can spare from your weekly shopping to buy food to stockpile.

Make your budget conservative and reasonable. Avoid getting into debt. Know when to stop. There are times when you will have to pass up a great deal to avoid wasting money. Remember to go over your budget before you start shopping. You can always take advantage of store sales and product rebate offers.

foods list for off grid survival, food storage

  1. Invest In Nutritionally Dense Foods

Sometimes, consuming food from a stockpile can get tiring and boring. This is why you will need to invest in a stock that includes nutritionally dense and tasty foods. Consider your family’s taste and make a list of ingredients they will enjoy. Some of the foods to buy include; multivitamins, dried fruits, cereal, canned meat and chicken, nuts and peanut butter.

Don’t buy food items that your family doesn’t eat. Don’t buy food that will go bad before you eat it. Check all the expiry dates and preservatives used to ensure that your food is safe for consumption for the entire period you will need it.

  1. Prioritize On Water

Water is life. Without it, our bodies cannot survive for more than three days. Buy enough water. You should stockpile and safely store at least two weeks supply of water for every individual in your house.

Commercially bottled water is the best choice since it is safe and does not require sanitizing or disinfecting any further. However, it is advisable to consume or replace the water every six months.

foods list for off grid survival, jars and canning your own supply

  1. Prepare Space For Your Stockpile

Stockpiling on food and water will take up a lot of space in your pantry. Before you head out shopping, ensure that you clean and prepare the space. If you intend to store the food in the basement, ensure that your basement is cool and dry.

Remember, seepage, mice or mold can make your entire stock of food unsafe. You can invest in additional storage shelving or identical boxes that take up minimum space.

Conclusion

There you have it. 5 important things you should know about buying food to stockpile. To find out more on foods list for off grid survival go to simplyoffgrid.com for more information.  

Survival of the Ready – Preparation is Paramount

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Millions of people around the world have to face the trauma and consequences of an unforeseen disaster every year, and tens of thousands lose their lives.

You can rarely predict or avoid a disaster happening but you can often improve your odds of survival.

Ammo.com have put together a comprehensive guide for emergency preparation and looks at key reasons why you need to prepare for an emergency and what steps you can take to prepare.

The guide can show ready you are if disaster strikes.

 

The Top 3 Ways To Protect Your Loved Ones From Harm

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Protecting your loved ones

Danger can happen to anyone any day which is why it’s important to always be careful whenever we transact with other people and even go out of the safety of our home. We can’t control how people outside the home act, but we can, in our own ways do something to prevent harm from happening. Now that the world is becoming a more and more dangerous place, families put premium in ensuring their safety and protection by any means necessary. So many dreadful things can happen, not just physically, that threatens our quality of life. How do you protect you and your loved ones from a violent attack? A terrorist attack? Or maybe even a cyber-attack? This article will explore 3 ways you can do to protect your loved ones from harm, read on:

 

  1. Equip them

Today, there are a lot of non-lethal and legal self-defense weapons that can be easily concealed. Try looking for the best stun gun to suit your needs. Owning a mini taser or a stun gun is a great way to protect yourself without resorting to using lethal methods. Unlike using a gun, which can potentially cause permanent harm and even kill, stun guns won’t cause any serious harm to your assailant. Also, you don’t need to have perfect aim when using a stun gun, you can put your attacker to a halt just by tazing a part of their skin.

Another small and useful self-defense item is a pepper spray. It’s a handy thing to have especially for women and elderly living in a rough neighborhood. Pepper spray works by instantly inflaming the mucous membranes of the attacker’s eyes and nose, causing them to close their eyes and wince in pain at the sudden onslaught and the pungent smell. This immediate incapacitation allows you to run to safety and seek cover.

One last recommendation in the small and stealthy category that doesn’t require mad martial arts skills is a self-defense keychain, or a personal alarm. It’s small and can be carried anywhere. And in times of danger you can press it to let out a shrieking 130 decibels sound that will surely gather attention and turn your assailants around.

 

  1. Educate them

Aside from equipping your loved ones with all these small and fancy self-defense tools, it’s also important to educate them about violence, its prevalence, and how to react to them. It’s not enough than they can protect themselves, they must also know what to do next should any unfortunate thing happen their way.

Violent attacks can be traumatic for a lot of people, even if they’ve escaped it. Knowing how to deal with such incidents will help them cope better and live well. Surviving an assault, a robbery, or a mugging immediately causes shock to the victim. They can feel dazed and even detached from the environment for a while, some even experience denial. There’s a mix of feelings victims feel after the event, depends on how they react they can feel frightened, angry, and helpless. Yet some feel sad, ashamed, and guilty.

Keeping them safe

  1. Encourage them

It’s one thing to know how to protect yourself and it’s another to know how to react to attacks. But it’s also another to encourage awareness that as much as violence should be prevented, attacks are prevalent and you should be able to protect yourself. Encourage your loved ones to report any instance of violence they encounter, whether or not they’re directly involved. Cases of domestic violence, bullying, and sexual assaults should not be tolerated and should be handled by authorities.

Airbed vs Sleeping Bag – Which is Better for Outdoor Survival?

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Preppers who are just starting to learn about survival in the outdoors tend to compare the experience with camping, but besides the fact that you’ll have to live and sleep under the clear sky, the resemblance ends here.

Unlike camping, where you eat the food you brought from home, in a survival scenario you’ll be forced to hunt your own dinner. This is why, when you prepare the BOB, you must consider the type of hunting equipment to include.

You’ll also have to rationalize food supplies, learn how to use the environment in your favor, and last but not least, manage to be comfortable enough to catch some Zzz’s. When I describe the process this way, most new preppers get a bit anxious. And, while they’re quite OK with most of the processes, I get a lot of questions about sleeping outdoors and the equipment one should pack.

How to Sleep Outdoors and Be Comfortable

When you don’t have a car to serve as a temporary home, or even a tent to keep you warm during the night, how do you get by?

Well, first I want everyone to know that sleep is crucial in an SHTF scenario. If you’re sleep deprived, your mind will get fuzzy affect fast decision making, your hands may tremble while you’re trying to hunt, and you may lose focus during a life and death situation.

Now that everyone is up to speed, I must highlight the fact that the quality of sleep is just as important. This is why you should always try to improvise a bed that provides some cushioning and protects your body from humidity and low temperatures.

For this, the best equipment to have in your BOB is a sleeping bag and an insulating layer. For the insulating layer, you can use either an air bed or a self-inflating sleeping pad, but in my opinion, air beds are a bit more advantageous – learn more about it here.

But, if you’re forced to choose between the two, which one is more important?

Air Bed vs. Sleeping Bag

When you decide which elements go in your BOB, it’s important to understand their use on the long-term. So, I am not just going to tell you that the sleeping bag is more necessary; I am going to show it to you by comparing the two.

The sleeping bag is designed to cover your entire body and fit around you like a protective cover. I recommend getting a mummy type, so you’ll have protection around the head as well. Sleeping bags come with various levels of insulation but for an SHTF scenario, I recommend one that can be adjusted for all seasons. This type of bag has some inner lining that can be removed when it’s too hot outside, so you won’t sweat.

The main purpose of a sleeping bag is to keep you warm, but it won’t provide insulation from the ground or cushion the feel of a hard surface.

On the other hand, an air bed will do just that: provide insulation from the cold ground and cradle your body while supporting the spine. However, it doesn’t wrap around you, so it won’t provide protection from the cold night air or the humidity.

As you can see, if you have the possibility, it’s ideal to combine the two. But, when you can only take one, the sleeping bag wins. It’s lighter, more compact, and can be used in all sorts of situations. After all, you can always create a bed of leaves or tree branches – it won’t be as comfortable as an air bed, but it will provide insulation.

Add Some Paracord to Water Bottles or Make a Paracord Can Koozie

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[source]

Here are a couple of examples of adding paracord to water bottles.

A 25 foot length was used for the one in a ‘whipping’ pattern on the aluminum water bottle. And a 40 foot length was used in a woven pattern on the white stainless steel water bottle. Both started off with coiling the cord around the bottles, with the starting end just held in place with a rubber band and later tucked to finish.
The ‘whipping'(snaking) version, an example is seen in Geoffrey Budworth’s ‘The Complete Book of Knots‘, is easily zigzagged and looped around a couple of coils on each end of the paracord coiled wraps, and tucked to finish.
The woven version resembles ‘grafting’ type knot work, as seen in Stuart Grainger’s ‘Creative Ropecraft’, but is instead a single length of cord. After coiling the cord around the bottle, one end is then worked in an over/under pattern, back up then down, all the way around the bottle. For this pattern, I went under three coils, over three coils, but like ‘grafting’, you can vary the pattern to your own tastes
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I used a Perma-Lok Jumbo Lacing Needle to feed the paracord over/under as I worked, as well as a pair of hemostats/forceps.Here’s a woven paracord can koozie, done with a 25 foot length of cord. The weaving is just like that done on the water bottle, but with the vertical over/under part done closer together for a tighter weave before changing to half hitching on the bottom.
I didn’t have much paracord on hand to work with, so I reused some from the previous project. I would have made the can koozie a little bit taller and fully closed up the bottom, if I’d started with a 30 foot length, and a couple more feet for a cinch cord/drawstring with a cord lock for alternate use as a pouch. It still works alright as it is for holding a soda/beer can…

Top Tip:

For cleaning paracord on a water bottle, hat, or paracord bracelet, I use a little anti-bacterial liquid soap and an old soft bristle toothbrush to get the cord clean, then let air dry or I’ll sometimes take ’em in the shower with me to get everything done in one trip, lol… 🙂

Or,  I just throw my wrapped thermos/cup into the dishwasher. I’ve had it for about 5 months now and it hasn’t been a problem.

5 Earthquake Preparedness Tips for Business Owners

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Earthquakes are generally as a result of an instant release of energy into the earth ending in seismic waves. Earthquakes can not only happen anywhere but also anytime leading to injuries and losses. Have you ever asked yourself whether your business or employees will be safe if an earthquake occurs today? Are you ready for an emergency? If not then it’s time to get prepared. But how? Read through to learn the top 5 earthquake preparedness tips for business owners.

Are you prepared for an earthquake at work?

  • Identify potential problems

Do earthquakes usually occur in your area? Are they a threat that you have to deal with? You need to determine whether earthquakes are common and confirm whether they are a risk to your business. Start by preparing for the things that are likely to affect your business and organize yourself from there.

 

  • Prepare an earthquake survival kit

If a strong earthquake occurs today, you are likely to miss electricity, water, internet, sewage services and gas among other things. When you don’t have enough time, an emergency survival kit can provide you fast with important emergency supplies. A disaster survival kit may contain things such as water, food, flashlight, batteries, medications, multipurpose tools, and a map of the area.

 

  • Come up with a response plan

Work together with your workers so that you know what to do during and after an earthquake. You need to know who will be responsible for what and when. Regularly check the plan and ensure that you practice the safety actions. Check with those who are disabled and see whether there are plans in place for them. Also know what you will do if damages have affected your store, building or factory. Make sure you have an evacuation plan, emergency exits, and office earthquake kits. Do not forget about establishing a telephone line that workers can call in case of an emergency.

Prepare your business for an earthquake

  • Protect your financial data

What would happen to your business financial data if your store or office were damaged by an earthquake? What about other sensitive business information and customers’ data. If you want to protect your company’s records, you need to have an internal and external data backup site. Instead of storing your data in a computer hard drive use a company’s server and let your employees know. In addition to this, get a data compromise coverage from your company’s insurance. This will significantly help you with the legal and financial burden in case any information is stolen, lost or accidentally released.

 

  • Create a business continuity plan

How long will your business continue to run in case an earthquake occurs? For instance, if you are dealing with goods and services you may still continue to get orders even if your main store is closed. A business continuity plan involves knowing how to communicate with your suppliers and customers, how to take care of orders, and how to retrieve your company’s lost data.

 

These are the top 5 tips to help you prepare for an earthquake. Since natural disaster such as an earthquake can occur anytime, the success of any business will depend on how quickly it’s able to recover. Enough preparedness will allow your company to continue to run efficiently.

Leona is part of the content and community team at Specialty Fuel Services – providers of emergency fuel continuation services, in locations affected by catastrophic events.

3 Reasons Why You Need a GPS in Your Bug-out Bag

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Intro

Usually, it would be instinctive to stay away from electronic gadgets when you are choosing gears to bug-out or to simply travel in the wilderness. However, handheld GPS receivers can be considered as one such exception. The amount of benefits that you can derive from this wonderful modern gadget would outweigh the cons of holding such a device. The other must-have item would be a boot knife to keep yourself safe.

Handheld GPS receivers can be considered to be rather complex, where there is a huge variety for you to choose from. Some important aspects that you can consider include the display quality in   weather conditions, user-friendly interface and the amount of storage it has. Before going too far with the considerations for a good GPS, here are three reasons why you need a GPS in your bug-out bag.

3-reasons-why-you-need-a-GPS-in-your-bug-out-bag

Reason 1: Ensuring your safety outside cellphone coverage

By just having a GPS, you are already significantly increasing your chances of survival outdoors. A GPS with its basic function can provide you information about where you are, by letting you know your position, orientation and which intended direction you should take. Losing one of these positioning factors would be detrimental because it would potentially cause one of the other factors to tumble.

Equipping your handheld GPS receiver with navigational aids would be necessary if you want to send your coordinates to rescuers when you are in a place outside cell-phone coverage. Your GPS would only be radio signal receivers that contains a logic chip which is good for telling your location, but would be incapable of transmitting signals.

Therefore, you may want to get a GPS which contains an attachment to a cell phone or use it together with other transmission methods. The transmitters that you may want to look into are personal locator beacons and satellite messengers.

Note that personal locator beacons are used only when one is in really bad emergency situations. Personal locator beacons utilize the Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS) which are monitored by NASA to track distress signals.

Usually, we would just use satellite messengers which is also a navigational aid which helps tell our rescuers the location we are at, even when there is no cellphone coverage. When you are bugging out and when SHTF, having these functions at your fingertips can do you wonders.

 

Reason 2: Understand your surroundings

Also, to facilitate the process of understanding your surroundings, you may want to employ ‘scouting’. This can be said to be like your ‘homework’ before you travel outdoors or go to the location you want. First, you would start by scouting with your computer, where you can go through topographical or 3D maps so that you have a rough overview of the terrain. After that, mark those places that particularly interest you or the route which you intend to travel.

The next step would be transferring those marked waypoints into your GPS, where these waypoints are really helpful when you scout on foot. This can act as an alternative navigation method where you can just follow the waypoints which you saved which simplifies how you navigate.

Planning your outdoor trips is really important if you want to cover more ground in less time. The act of scouting and saving waypoints could save you a ton of time if you do it right. Remember, you would want to look for a GPS that can insert an external SD card as well so that you do not need to worry about memory.

 

Reason 3: Navigate with ease

By having topographical maps saved in your GPS, you do not need to weigh yourself down with loads of maps when you are outdoors. With a GPS with sufficient storage capacity, you can save many maps and waypoints that are necessary for your outdoor adventure. This would be important when you bug-out because you would not know how long more you would need to travel!

Handheld GPS receivers are also equipped with different navigation methods, and I would encourage you to experiment with them to determine the most convenient way to navigate. For example, you can choose to navigate by touching on the place of the screen or simply following waypoints.

Usually, I would prefer to navigate by touching on the screen only to find out new places. While I am on foot, travelling would be much easier when I just follow waypoints. An external antenna would be a useful feature to look out for so that you can be sure that you have good signal even when you are in canyons or thick foliage.

 

Conclusion

Ideally, your bug out bag should have predetermined emergency essentials, so you can be ready for any eventualities at any time. One important aspect is that the gears you carry must be light enough especially when your bug-out location is far from your current location. Another thing to note is the durability of the items you are holding. If you foresee yourself going through rough terrains, you may want to choose a waterproof GPS.

Other options would be considering a GPS that you can primarily navigate through the software using external buttons rather than using touch screen. This is because touch screen GPS would usually be more prone to spoil. If you have any other tips to share, please comment below!

Author Bio:

I am John Lewis, a blogger, survivalist and outdoor enthusiast. You can follow me over at Epic Wilderness. Please click here!

The Most Essential Hunting Equipment for You

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If you are a beginner in the hunting hobby, you could be quite intimidated by the number of accessories that are available on the shelf. You may wonder whether you have to buy all that stuff to start your hunting. You need not worry. As a beginner, you don’t have to spend money on all those accessories. There are a few essentials on which you may spend money. These make your hunting a more pleasant experience.

Hunters gear

Boots

It is not a big thing to say you need quality boots for your hunting trip. Everyone knows that. The important thing is to get a pair of good quality boots. They are expensive, but they are worth the money. A blistered foot can put your hunt to an end suddenly. It is better to get a good pair of costly boots which won’t give up on you too soon. You will be surprised at how fast sharp stones can tear up a cheap pair of boots. Such hunting equipments are not luxury, but a necessity in hunting.

 

Rain Gear

This is another important accessory for a hunter. You don’t know when it will start raining and it could be really cold if you are wet. A rubberized one is very good in heavy rains. There are many breathable raincoats, which really work nicely if you can find time to dry it. These are not rains coats but only cover you in short rains with time to dry them up in-between. For heavy non-stop rains these raincoats are not enough as they get saturated with water.

 

Pack

The pack is another important hunting equipments like your shoes. These packs should be able to carry all your necessities. It should be able to pack your stuff for at least a fortnight. You should be able to carry your food and other things you need. The one with good rigidity is the best for you. It will provide some support too. it should also be light for you to carry around during the hunt.

 

Hunting Optics

You will need an extra pair of good eyes when you go hunting. You should use good binoculars to sight your game easily. If you have good glasses, you will be able to say from far whether a game is worth following or not. Good glasses are expensive. But if you planning to take your hunting seriously they are worth spending on.

There are other hunting equipments which you will need for your survival for a couple of weeks which also you need to carry with you.

 

About author

I am Frank, a professional writer and blogger for outdoor, fashion, technologies, pets, foods, beauty, toys and much more. From early on I started studying life and writing about it. I have a passion to write for my blog and online business. It feels good when I have written an article or blog post that helps people discover and learn more. For more information, please visit my website Atbuz.com or follow me on the blog page.

 

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