No Excuses - Just Do It

Are you scared of what you are feeling in the air? You know something is wayyy wrong and you know that you need to do something - you just don't know where to start. Well, put your head down and lets get going!

Okay, you know the government is nuts and evil and they don't give a rats hind end about you, so you need to do for yourself. I started with just thinking "we need food" and "buy food" and it went on from there. Start small - go to a Dollar General or wherever and just pick up a couple bags of rice and beans and some cans of tuna. Look - you started your stash and wasn't that easy? Now, I did this about 2 times a week to start and slowly our stash grew to the point we felt like we were really doing something. Once you get over the hurdle of where to start, it all flows from there and then it becomes a way of life - prepping. Anytime you go to a store, spend a few extra bucks and pick up stuff for the stash - instead of buying groceries for, say, a couple of weeks at a time, buy extra and put back in a separate area. Buy things for the stash that you normally might eat like mac-n-cheese, ramen noodles etc. Lots of canned food and don't forget the fruits and veggies too. We did this for about 4 months and the stash grew a lot. We were on our way! Now, I feel like we have provided insurance and security for our family - I rest better at night!

Then my mind started going over different scenarios in my head (dangerous, I know) and I decided to change our direction a little to plan for different ways this crap may go down. I decided that we should fill our freezer - this would be food we would use up first. Then, keep adding to our stash of canned goods and also add in some easily portable foods in case we needed to bug out. We have MRE's and Mountain House foods(dehydrated meals) now too - just some insurance. Check out http://www.beforeitstoolate.us/ for long-term storable foods and the Berkey water system.

So, we have food to eat in our home with electricity (freezer) and without(canned and boxed) and food to go.

You will also need WATER! We have boiled water and stored it in plastic jugs with a small amount of bleach - to be used for washing and bathing. We also invested in a Berkey Water System - filters waters no matter how dirty it is ( we love this water!). The Berkey set us back about $210.00, but was well worth it as it is portable and easy to carry and requires no electricity (gravity fed).

Now, coming along in our prepping, we looked at it like we were buying all of the things we will need normally for the next few years. Buy toilet paper!! Seems like everyone forgets that one, but I personally like to use it. Save phone books - can be used to, uh, wipe when run out of t-paper. Stock up on deodorant, shampoo, soaps etc. Ladies - buy pads or tampons and lots of them!!

Heirloom seeds - you MUST have these - get seeds that are not GMO(genetically modified organisms) and are heirloom (can get seeds from them for the next years planting). Some seeds from Walmart are ok, but need heiloom for sustainability. I have gooten seeds from http://www.survivalistseeds.com/ and from http://rareseeds.com/ and have enough seeds to last us 8 years! Total cost was about $200.00. You will also need some gardening tools (and NO, I am not normally a gardener, but know I will have to be if we are to survive -eating and bartering). We have bought some claws and hoes etc. Will get more as time permits us.

Start somewhere and do what you can - don't eat out - use that money to buy preps, don't go to the movies - buy preps. Suffer a little now or a lot later! Anyone can do it and you need to be doing it now!

Stash:

mac-n-cheese
instant potatoes
instant milk
canned meats
canned fruits
canned veggies
cereals
flour
surgar
salt
veggie oil
spices
rice
beans
syrup
ketchup
vinegar
brown sugar
spag sauce
dry noodles
hamburger helper and tuna helper
boxed meals
soups
munchies (can't help that - have a sweet tooth)
ramen noodles

Well, that gives you an idea anyway - there is much more, but take it in small steps! I just want you to start somewhere and get going because I think the time is running on the short side.

Don't Forget:

emergency candles (Dollar Tree - 10 for a dollar)
matches
wind-up flashlight/radio

If have some money (LOL), get a pressure cooker and learn to can - cheap way to put food back by canning left-overs and meat you find on sale. Check out http://www.foodshortageusa.com/ and order their DVDs on canning - my husband has learned to can and now he is canning EVERYTHING! The pressure cooker cost us about $90.00 and we have spent about $120.00 on jars so far.

We also got us a dehydrator and are deydrating fruits and meats (if they would quit eating my jerky, there would be some in the stash). Also got a good deal on a foodsaver from survivalblog - saved us half (cost about $59.99)! We fight over who is going to suck the air out of the food stores now!! LOL!

There is so much to learn and to buy that I can't get it all on 1 post, so more as we go!

God Bless and Prep On

Ernie