New Jersey Preppers Network

Monthly New Jersey Roll Call

2011-08-03T06:01:00.001-07:00

Please log into the forum, and check in here:

http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=308&t=12914

The Record Heat Waves

2011-07-22T14:12:00.001-07:00

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

A Quick Start Guide to Emergency Preparedness for Apartment Dwellers

2011-03-17T08:11:00.001-07:00

A Quick Start Guide to Emergency Preparedness for Apartment Dwellers
From: Bernie Carr
Website: http://apartmentprepper.com/

If you live in an apartment and want to prepare for a disaster, you may initially feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done, and the feeling worsens when you realize a disaster can happen at any time and you don't have any supplies at all.

Don’t let all this worry get you down; the most important thing to do is to get started. Whether you live in a small apartment, or a small home, there is always a way to prepare regardless of your lack of space. Just focus on a few things at a time.

Here are a few steps to get you started:

Focus on the basics. You need water and food to survive, so focus on those first. Each time you go to the grocery, pick up extra gallons of water, and extra cans of food that your family likes. You need one gallon of water per person per day. Pick up foods that do not need heat to be edible: canned pasta, tuna, canned fruit and vegetables, cereal or granola bars etc. If you have babies, make sure you pick up extra formula. Keep going until you have at least two weeks worth of water and food.
Buy enough toilet paper and other sanitation items (diapers, trash bags, sanitary napkins etc) to last for two weeks. Toilet paper is a necessity, so don’t put this off. Pick up disposable plates, cups and utensils, so you don’t have to use dishes in an emergency.
Assemble a First Aid kit or buy a prepackaged First Aid kit. There are several available-I picked up a fairly large one at Sam’s for under $20. Add medications or prescriptions your family normally uses.
Stash emergency cash in case ATMs or debit cards don’t work. The amount is whatever you think the family would need for a few days. Start with just $20, and keep adding to it.
Pick up battery-powered flashlights, radios and extra batteries, and store them within easy reach in case power goes out.
If you have a space issue, get creative with your storage. You don’t have to store all food and water in the pantry. Store your stash in a closet, under the bed, or behind the couch. Just keep track of where you store things, so nothing gets forgotten.
Make copies of your important documents: licenses, ownership statements, 401k statements etc and keep them in a binder.

This is not a complete list by any means, just a few steps to take as a fast track way to get started. Once you have a few supplies set aside, you will feel encouraged by the feeling of security you get, knowing that you are taking steps to prepare yourself and your family. If you are interested in additional preparedness tips for apartment dwellers, please check out my blog at http://apartmentprepper.com

Helpful links:
Year Supply of Basics
Apartment Prepper Store

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New Jersey Preppers Roll Call - All Preppers Please Check In

2011-03-07T06:05:00.000-08:00

The American Preppers Network is conducting a network-wide roll call. Whether you are a member or not please check in and let us know what you are doing to prepare.

This is a good opportunity to network with other preppers near you.

New Jersey Preppers, to respond to the roll call please follow this link:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=307&t=9272

Reply to the Roll Call and let us know what you have been doing to prepare.

If you are not yet a member of the forum you can register here for free:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register

More gun control

2011-02-28T05:11:00.000-08:00

More gun control and rights lost:

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Aquaponics 101 discussions on APN

2011-02-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

Saw this post on the Arizona Preppers Page and thought it was outstanding, so here it is.......

If you missed the posts on APN blog and forum, check out the following series called Aquaponics 101 contributed by APN Sponsor AquaponicsUSA ...

Here is a snippet from Part One (links to the series below):

What is Aquaponics and why should I care?

Aquaponics is an ancient food growing technology that has been around since the Earth has had water with fish and plants growing together naturally. Aquaponics is nature at work. In nature, the fish eat whatever they find for food, and their waste is broken down by the bacteria in the water creating nutrients for the plants. The plants then absorb these nutrients; and in doing so, they clean the water for the fish.

The word "aquaponics" comes from two separate words. The first word is "aqua", which, of course, means water; but in this case, the "aqua" is from another compound word "aquaculture" (the raising of fish). The second word is "ponics", which is latin for work, and comes from its use in "hydroponics" (working at growing plants in water, hydro).

So, aquaponics is raising fish and growing plants by using the nutrient rich water provided by the fish. ...

Links to Aquaponics 101 series on APN forum:

Aquaponics 101 Part One: The Process

Aquaponics 101 Part Two: The System

Aquaponics 101 Part Three: The System, Continued

Aquaponics 101 Part Four: System Start Up

Aquaponics 101 Part Five: Fish to Water Ratios

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How to Survive Total Economic Collapse

2011-02-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

There is a continuing belief that the economy of the United States is under attack by the current administration and it's backers. I'll check my politics at the door for a moment and just deal with the steps you need to take to prepare for a collapse that is not necessarily nature driven.

As the U.S. dollar weakens and the price of goods such as oil, grain and gold rise, many fear for the economic stability of the country. So how does one survive total economic collapse? The U.S. dollar is weak and it may be too late to save the finances of this debt-driven economy. However, it's not too late to learn some basic survivalist skills. Following are some tips and resources. Here's how to survive a total economic collapse.

Original article: How to Survive Total Economic Collapse
By WriterGig, eHow Member

Educate yourself before hand if possible. Read everything you can on how to survive a total economic collapse. Start with "Financial Reckoning Day: Surviving the Soft Depression of the 21st Century" and "Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis", both by William Bonner, for a historical perspective and very well-written analysis of the current situation. Also read "The Great Bust Ahead: The Greatest Depression in American History" by Daniel A. Arnold. (See the Resources section, below.)

Plan

Make a plan for how to survive a total economic collapse. List your debts and assets. How quickly can you pay down your debt, while still purchasing necessary supplies? Your goals should include no debt and the procurement and storage of valuable assets. Your preparation timetable should be as short as possible.

Nix debt

Pay off debt and avoid new debt by paying with cash instead of credit. Concentrate on paying off high-interest debt, loans with adjustable rates and unsecured debts first. Sell expensive vehicles that have loans to pay off what you owe, and buy cheaper replacements using cash. In order to survive a total economic collapse, you need to have assets, not liabilities. (Note: storing food and resources are higher priority than paying down debt for families of modest means.

Buy Silver

Change liquid savings into silver and gold. If the dollar collapses, having precious metals will preserve your money and it can be used as currency or exchanged for a currency with value, such as Swiss francs. As the dollar continues to lose value, silver dollars preserve their value or go up in value, thus protecting your assets in the event of a economic recession, allowing you to financially survive a recession or depression.

Invest wisely

Re-evaluate your stocks and funds. In order to financially survive a total economic collapse, your investments must be secure. Consider putting some of your stocks into gold (GLD) or opening a precious metals IRA. Research stocks that will survive a total economic collapse through sites like Daily Reckoning Day.

Store grain

Purchase goods and valuables such as guns for hunting and personal protection, and basic food supplies such as whole grains and legumes, which are easy to store. Invest in water purification bottles and tablets, and keep some bottled water on hand to meet immediate needs in the event of a shortage. All of these will make it more possible to survive a total economic collapse.

First aid

Prepare a First Aid Kit, sewing kit and other practical necessities of daily life to aid in survival of a total economic collapse. These are good things to have on hand anyway, for regular daily life as well as unforeseen emergencies.

Build community

Get to know your neighbors and build a community wherever you are. In the event of total economic collapse, life will become very local and survival will depend on working together with others, beginning with families.

Grow food

Grow some of your own food and raise animals for meat. Chickens and rabbits are small and easy to tend. Chickens provide eggs as well as meat and are excellent sources of protein and fat, both critical for survival. In economic downturns such as a recession or depression, being able to produce food is a important skill to have.

Barter

Learn how to barter, and stock items to trade. Think about necessities (wool blankets, soap, boots, duct tape, ammunition) as well as luxuries (chocolate, tobacco, alcohol). Useful tools will be more valuable than money if there is a currency collapse. Useful barter items will be helpful to have on hand as you prepare to survive an economic collapse.

Sources:
Top 10 Ways to Prepare For the Coming Economic Collapse

Could You Survive Total Economic Collapse?

How to Prepare for the Economic Collapse

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Now the FED's are in the city of Newark

2011-02-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

By hikenlightguy

Well I guess that the NJ State police's assistance was not enough so now the Feds have been dispatched into the city of Newark to help w/ the carjackings & other violent crimes. I have been told from the local LE agencies, "....it's like the wild West on the streets of Newark now" Not good, we can only hope for the best !!
Here is the link from NJ.com :
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/0 ... elp_s.html

To respond to this post please go here:
http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=308&t=8416

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How to Build a Campfire for Cooking

2011-02-03T08:41:00.000-08:00

I got my regular email from http://www.pioneerliving.net/ and clicked on the link to see what was new. While browsing I cam across the "How To" of building an open fire cooking pit. Always interested in what folks have to say on such things I checked it out and found it to be quite informative.

The Article basically lays out 4 simple steps:

Preparing the site
Laying the Kindling
Grading the coals
And finally cooking

Since I love to cook in my Dutch Oven these steps are perfect for doing just that. Head on Over to Pioneer Living and check out the article on Building an Open Fire Pit

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Ten Essential OTC Medications to Stockpile by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

2011-01-24T06:05:00.001-08:00

When we speak of a changing world that, initially at least, will break down so bad we won't enjoy the consumer habits we have today, we often think of storing food and batteries and the like. But what about basic over the counter medicines? People who strategize the first year of a total breakdown often speak of the first and second waves of death. The first wave would be due to the fighting and looting, the second would be those who need medicine to live. This column I read over at SurvivalBlog.com instructs us to start looking at long term over the counter medicines that everybody should have a supply of when our consumer system fails.
The Column was written by a Physician who has written some books on Armageddon Medicine so it is with particular interest that I read the info. I'll blast a quick summary, but please JUMP TO the original post for the full story......

Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) - Among the OTC anti-inflammatory medications, ibuprofen is probably the most versatile.
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) - Acetaminophen is the only OTC pain-reliever that is not an anti-inflammatory drug.
Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) - An inexpensive antihistamine, diphenhydramine is primarily used for drainage due to respiratory infections and nasal allergies...
Loperamide (Imodium) - The most effective OTC medication for diarrhea is loperamide, which is available both as tablet form and liquid for children.
Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) - Pseudoephedrine is effective at relieving congestion of both the upper and lower respiratory tract due to most common causes including infection, allergy, chemical irritation, and mild asthma or bronchitis.
Meclizine (Bonine, Dramamine) - This antiemetic drug is available both over the counter and by prescription. It relieves nausea, vomiting, motion sickness, and vertigo-like dizziness.
Ranitidine (Zantac) - Although several medications are available OTC for the treatment of heartburn, ulcers, and other acid-reducing conditions
Hydrocortisone cream - The 1% version of hydrocortisone is the strongest steroid cream available over the counter.
Bacitracin ointment - This ointment is best used to prevent skin infections when the integrity of the skin has been breached, as by an abrasion, laceration, insect bite, or sting.
Clotrimazole (Gyne-Lotrimin) - The same antifungal medication, clotrimazole, is contained in both Lotrimin and Gyne-Lotrimin.

Other Links for TEOTWAWKI Medicine:

Armageddon Medicine
Unlikely Sources of Anti-Biotics
TEOTWAWKI Medicine & Minor surgery
Diabetes & TEOTWAWKI
Doctor's Thoughts on Antibiotics, Expiration Dates, and TEOTWAWKI

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FROSTBITE IQ

2011-01-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

This months Backpacker Magazine has a nice quiz on Frostbite to test your knowledge. I'll sum it up here.

Frostbite has two stages: Freeze and Thaw. Thaw is the most dangerous because the thawing releases inflammatory substances that cause blood clots, reduce blood flow and further harm the tissue.
Your toes fingers, ears and Nose are the most susceptible to frost bite because as the the body chills it constricts blood flow to the extremities in order to preserve major organs.
Your body is predisposed to frost bite if you are : Dehydrated, Fatigued, and Hungry. Your body needs calories, water and energy to preserve it's temperature. That's why people who are lost and without shelter suffer most.
Tissue that was frostbitten once is more susceptible in the future.
The medical term for frostbites black dry tissue is Mummification and the area may be saved. It takes 6 weeks plus to determine which tissues are dead. Hence the trem "Frostbite in January, amputate in July"

Those are a few answers to a really good quiz. You can take it in the magazines current issue.

I was trained regarding Frostbite while in the Army and what they showed and taught us has haunted/stuck with me since. Trust me you don't want to see the final results of frostbite.

Before going outside in extremely cold temperature:

Apply skin moisturizer to the face, hands, and any other body part that may be exposed to the cold.
Dress warmly, wear dry clothing, and stay out of the wind. Wear a face mask for extra protection. Wear heavy mittens instead of gloves in freezing cold weather. When the fingers are together in a mitten, their collective body heat keeps the hand warm. Dress in many loose layers, the base layer being an absorbent one like tech-wik.
Children playing outside should be watched carefully to make sure that they do not lose or remove mittens or head-coverings.
Be extremely careful when pumping gas into your car if the temperature is below freezing. Gasoline on exposed skin evaporates very quickly, lowers the temperature of the skin, and makes it more susceptible to frostbite.
When you exercise in below-freezing temperatures, wear layers of clothing. The more layers you wear, the better insulated you are. The innermost garment must be nonabsorbent and loosely woven.
Go inside, if possible, when you feel too cold. Remember that fatigue, lack of oxygen in high elevations, and consumption of alcohol may cause you to disregard discomfort and cold.
Avoid smoking or drinking before venturing out into extreme cold. Tobacco decreases circulation by constricting blood vessels, and alcohol interferes with the body's ability to regulate temperature.

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Water Storage - Continued

2011-01-11T11:44:00.001-08:00

Back in March of 2009 I had a post here about Water Storage. Basically I ran the math on how much you need depending on your situation and number of people to keep alive. And essentially it's like this:

This is a highly personal decision, but I urge you to store at least three days worth of water for each family member--including pets. A minimum of 1 liter per person per day (for drinking purposes only) is the bare minimum for survival. For our family of 4 people and our dogs, we have stored in excess of 60 liters.

But what about "storage" and how is that best accomplished? Well research says three things.

Water has no expiration date, it's water
Keeping it commercially available plastic bottles most likely wont harm you. So yeah, keep buying those gallon jugs at the store and storing them in a cool dry place out of sunlight to get the max time out of them.
Stored water may eventually develop a disagreeable appearance, taste, or odor.

Inspect your water supply at least every six months (I inspect ours every 4-5 months) to see whether the containers have leaks or if any of the above problems have occurred. And to increase the shelf life of water stored in translucent containers, group the containers together in dark plastic bags to keep out the light. Polyethylene plastics (water, milk, and bleach bottles) can be permeated by hydrocarbon vapors. Store your water supply away from gasoline, kerosene, pesticides, or similar substances.

A good policy I came across is to store water in two different home locations, in case you are unable to access one stash. A suggestion would be half is stored in the basement, while the other half is stored in a freezer. These frozen jugs of water help to improve the efficiency of your half empty freezer, and in the event of a power outage will help to protect the food from thawing. After a disaster, the jugs can be used in a freezer to provide you with an icebox.

A post I came across on the expiration of water was kind of funny but poignant:

Your bottled water wont go bad. Want proof? Put some bottled water in your shelter and wait for the next apocalypse. When your choices of water consumption is a decision between feces infused rot-water from the puddle with the chemical sheen on it or the expired bottled water in your bomb-shelter you'll understand that bottled water doesn't go bad.

Some additional links for Water Storage tips:

FEMA
American Preppers Forum Water Thread

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2011-01-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

Rotating your Food Storage

Why rotate my food storage? Because it is wise and you want to provide the most nutrition and taste for your family. In order to do that, all stored food should be rotated as frequently as possible. Rotation of long-term storage prevents throwing away unused, expired goods, which saves you money.

Rotation also allows you and your family to get accustomed to eating stored and dehydrated food, essential in effectively dealing with emergency situations. Lastly, eating your long-term storage is healthy. Most food storage items are lower in fat and higher in nutrients than most convenience foods.

How do I remember to use my food storage?

Many families keep food storage in the basement or in the back of their food pantries. These are ideal places to keep food storage because they are usually dry, cool, and dark, which increases the life span of food. These out-of-the-way places, however, don't usually prompt us to use food storage on a regular basis. To help overcome this problem, try the following solutions that have been volunteered by food storage professionals:
Keep small amounts of your food storage in the kitchen.

Stock your kitchen shelves with small containers filled with egg mix, powdered milk, etc. This will serve as a subtle reminder that you have these items without taking up your whole kitchen. Stock your shelves with canned items, too. The more you see these items the more often you will use them.
Make a one-week menu consisting only of items in your food storage and then live on it.

This exercise will really put your food storage to the test! You will probably notice that your food storage isn't as rounded out as you'd like it to be. Perhaps you don't have enough items for breakfast, or your food supply lacks essentials like proteins or vegetables. After completing this exercise, you will have a better idea of what you need to purchase to make your year's supply complete. And your family will be better prepared to eat meals made from stored food, especially in disaster situations. You'll also find yourself looking for and creating recipes using your food storage items.

If you don't know where to start in creating a menu that uses food storage products, Marlene's Magic with Food Storage, Magic Mixes, Country Beans and Cookin' with Home Storage are very helpful books. They contain some great recipes and meal ideas.
Mix food storage items with everyday foods.

One of the best ways to form rotation habits is by incorporating food storage supplies into your favorite recipes. Some habits formed by the pros are:

Use cheese powder to make homemade macaroni and cheese.
Grind wheat to make pancakes.
Substitute powdered milk and eggs when your fresh supply runs out.
Make homemade cold cereal with oats, honey, dehydrated fruits, etc.
Include dehydrated fruit in lunches.

How do you make your stored food last longer?

Store all your foods in a cool (40-60 degrees F), dry, dark place.
Physically rotate all foods, dating and placing all new purchases towards the back.
Store off the ground, away from the condensation near the floor.
Don't ever let your food storage be exposed to freezing temperatures.

By learning to rotate, you take advantage of the best nutritional value and flavor of your food storage. Plus, you can save money by not wasting food. Enjoy peace of mind by knowing you can provide for your family's nutritional needs. Be wise in preparing so that an emergency won't turn into a crisis.

Sources: Marlene's Magic with Food Storage by Marlene Petersen and The Sense of Survival by J. Allan South
http://beprepared.com Rotating Your Food Storage
American Preppers Network Food & Water Forums

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Gasoline, Diesel Storage, and Restoration

2011-01-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

On the way into work this morning I was thinking about my ability to have a large quantity of Gasoline stored on the property, for you know, whatever. So the first thing I thought about was how long it would last and was it easy to deal with preservation. So I went in search of some info and found a nice bit of info over at BatteryStuff.com, and since I use the website frequently and have found it reliable and trustworthy, I thought I would share the info here. I've snipped some bits out in the name of brevity, whole web page HERE

Gasoline, Diesel Storage, and Restoration

There are many situations where fuel storage and restoration need to be considered, like when equipment is put into storage more than a couple weeks, such as RV's, motorcycles, boats, classic cars, etc.

Some of the most current documents we have found on fuel storage dates back to the 80's and fuels have had many major changes due to environmental concerns over the past 2 decades.

The fuels we buy are made for seasons and regions, therefore gas and diesel fuels are blended for the ambient temperatures of the area where they are purchased. For example, the winter time fuel needs are quite different in Tampa, Florida than Minot, North Dakota. If you store fuel purchased in the summer you may experience wintertime operation problems. In the case of diesel the fuel may cloud or gel. In
the case of gasoline, the gas may not vaporize well and cause starting problems. If you are storing fuel in a boat, RV, generator, tractor, auto, etc., it is best to leave the fuel tank full and use a commercial grade fuel stabilizer prior to equipment storage.

Fuel Treatments.

Today over 30% of gasoline sold is oxygenated and gasoline does not store as well as non-oxygenated gasoline. If you have a choice, pick gas without MTBE or ETBE additives.

There is no advantage to using gasoline with octane higher than what the manufacturer calls for; in fact, high octane gas can be a disadvantage in many newer design engines and engines operating with a governed speed such as a generator. You should use what your operator's manual instructs you to use. Obviously this does not apply the same way in older cars, where today's formulated fuels are often lacking. For those, we recomend Octane Supreme

Kerosene is what is added to diesel fuel for sub zero wintertime use; at the truck stop they call it #1 diesel fuel. I suggest that Kerosene be treated as diesel fuel using PRI-D Fuel Treatment when storing and preventing algae growth. Here are some tips for storing diesel fuels and gasoline in barrels, tanks, and other types of containers. Keep fuel in a cool area and avoid wide temperature swings. Keep storage
containers free of water and harmful metals. If you are storing in plastic type containers be sure these containers can handle fuel. Be sure the tanks are clean.

To keep fuel free of water, above ground tanks should have no contact with the ground. Underground tanks should be set in soil and rock for improved water drainage. Wide temperature swings can be avoided by placing tanks in the shade or painting them with reflective paint. Metals such as copper and galvanized/zinc
should not be used in fuel storage. If you use plastic, fiberglass, or other epoxy composition tanks, be sure they will stand up under the long-term hydrocarbon contact. When a large fuel tank is exposed to wide temperature swings, it should have a 2-way check valve to relieve pressure and vacuum. Most fuels produce
microorganisms when water begins to collect in tanks. Commonly called algae, this stuff can be a real problem. The fuel contamination plugs filters and causes fuel system corrosion. Biocides have been developed to kill and prevent algae, bacteria, and fungus in fuels. When using fuels that have been in long term storage, don't
pump from the very bottom of the tank, and filter the fuel.

There are a lot of variables that effect fuel storage. In general the use of a commercial grade fuel stabilizer on an annual basis will extend the useful life of fuel for an extra year. This annual procedure can be repeated between 5 and 10 times, thus giving fuel between 5 and 10 years of storage life.

Now comes the self-serving part. BatteryStuff.com sells commercial grade fuel treatments and additives. Power Research Incorporated (PRI) treatments preserve and restore fuel freshness. PRI-G for gasoline, and PRI-D for diesel, kerosene and home heating oil extends fuel storage life for all fuels. PRI recommends that for
long-long storage, all fuels be re-treated annually at the normal dosage rate to ensure maximum freshness and performance. While laboratory tests show that PRI chemistry can preserve fuel freshness with just one treatment for 5 to 10 years, the length of fuel preservation is affected by the original condition of the fuel and the storage conditions. For maximum protection, follow the suggested re-treatment regimen.

PRI Fuel Treatments are capable of restoring and rejuvenating old fuels. PRI must be blended (shaken, stirred, or re-circulated) and left several minutes to several hours to restore fuel quality. In most cases the fuel will recover to engine manufacturers' fuel specification.

I want you to be aware that all manufacturers recommend the use of fuel stabilizers to protect fuel quality. Yes, I mean Ford, GM, Cat, Detroit, Cummins, Mercury Marine, Briggs & Stratton, etc. Folks run out and buy highly advertised Sta-Bil or other over priced fuel products that may or may not work.

Original post author credits to Batterystuff.com

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Extreme Cold: A Prevention Guide

2010-12-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

Cold weather is nasty and deadly. But before it gets deadly it gnaws at parts of you until there isn't much left. Yet Cold weather is easily defensible and with a little prep and knowledge you are set to survive and flourish.

Take a moment to review the Extreme Cold Prevention Guide made available trough the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC for short).

Extreme Cold: A Prevention Guide to Promote Your Personal Health and Safety

The Extreme Cold Prevention Guide combines all of the key content of the CDC Winter Weather website into one downloadable, printable file. Printing this PDF file ensures that you will have important winter weather health and safety information available even when you're without power or Internet service.

Download the Prevention Guide (3.45 MB/15 pages)

Credits and Links:
CDC Home
CDC Emergency Preparedness & Response
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Winter Strom Preperation and Survival

2010-12-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

Today we watch is astonishment as New York and the major Cities of New Jersey have failed to handle the task of snow removal. These are fine examples of governments inability to maintain control and demonstrate core government competency.

From over at Michelle Malkin :

Two feet of snow paralyzed trains, buses, plows and emergency vehicles in the Big Apple this week. Perhaps if Bloomberg — the nation’s top self-appointed municipal food cop — spent more of his time on core government duties instead of waging incessant war on taxpayers’ salt, soda, trans-fat and sugar intakes, his battered bailiwick would have been better equipped to weather the storm.

As opposed to Newark Mayor Corey Booker who has been on the streets since the snow started falling, shoveling and coordinating trucks and crews. But that doesn't change the fact that our city and municipal governments are poorly trained, led, and budgeted. So poorly in fact we can not count on them to be there when the citizenry needs them. Making prepping all the more critical.

So take a look at this post that was put up a couple years ago on Suite 101.com

Winter Storm Preparation and Survival

Cold Temperatures, Snow, Freezing Rain and High Winds are Dangerous

Nov 6, 2008 Maureen K. Fleury

Power and Telephone Lines Sagging After Ice Storm - National Oceanic Atomospheric Administration NOAA

Every autumn, residents in the temperate climates start to think about shoveling snow and driving on treacherous roads. This is also the time of year to put together a survival kit whether it’s for everyday winter weather or for a winter storm.

Preparing a Winter Survival Kit

Here is a list of items that would be essential when hit by a winter storm. Remember, it’s not unusual for power outages to occur.

Non-Perishable Food: Canned goods or boxed foods will keep for long periods of time and don’t need refrigeration. A few days supply is recommended because grocery stores may be closed or streets may not be passable. Refrigerated and frozen food can be put outside during a long power outage.
Can Opener: An electric opener won’t work during a power outage so a manual opener is necessary.
Shovel: This is needed for digging out after the storm and during a storm if there is need to get outside or to create access for incoming emergency services.
Rock Salt: It is good to have this on hand to melt the ice on shoveled walkways, driveways and porches.
Camp Stove or Barbecue: In case of a power outage, this is a alternate means for cooking food. Ensure there is sufficient backup fuel on hand. Cooking on charcoal or propane equipment must be done outside.
Matches and Candles: It is recommended to keep matches on hand because lighters may run out of fuel or malfunction.
Extra Blankets and Warm Clothing: If there is no heat in the house, these items will help everyone keep warm.
Flashlights and Battery Radio: Make sure there is an ample supply of batteries on hand. In addition, self-powered or solar flashlights and radios are available with battery backup. Some radios are able to charge cell phones.
Non-Battery Household Phone: These phones derive their power from the telephone line whereas many cordless phones won’t work because their bases are powered by household electricity. Some cordless phones have battery backup and may be used.
Bottled Water: This is essential for people whose water supply is from a well. The pump will not work during a power outage.
Extra Essential Items: The supply should last a few days. This would include prescription medicine, diapers, oxygen tanks, baby food, pet food, insulin, toiletries and lots of batteries.
Entertainment Items: If there is a power outage or the weather is too severe to go outdoors, having board games, deck of cards, books and craft projects available will keep everyone busy.

Preparing for a Snow Storm

In addition to having an emergency kit, there are other tasks that should be done:

Keep up to date on weather forecasts in order to know in advance of an approaching storm.
Shop for groceries and other supplies as soon as possible rather than waiting until the last minute because the stores will be crowded and stock may be gone.
Make sure cell phones are fully charged and ensure there is an adequate supply of batteries for the survival kit.
Gather up all winter clothing and make sure it’s clean and usable.
Plan to take public transportation during the storm. It is recommended to not drive a car during a snow storm unless it’s absolutely necessary. According to the American National Red Cross,” about 70% of winter deaths related to ice and snow occur in automobiles.”

With a winter survival kit and making preparations at the first notification of an approaching storm, a household can operate efficiently and safely.

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Doomsday Fear Mongers Get It Right Again

2010-12-28T21:29:00.000-08:00

By now, you’ve likely come across the recent 60 Minutes segment titled State Budgets: Day of Reckoning. If you have yet to view it, you can do so below.

Millions of Americans who have been told that our economy is now in a period of recovery may be surprised to learn that most states are so broke that they are left with no other choice but to cut spending on literally everything. Governor Christie of New Jersey is, according to 60 Minutes, the canary in the mine:

We spent too much on everything. We spent money just crazily. The credit card’s maxed out. It’s over. It’s over.

For readers of this web site and other alternative news and contrarian outlets this report was to be expected. We’ve been reporting on, and our readers have been contributing their insights via comments for quite some time - at least a couple of years now - about the fundamental problems facing our country. For those who have questioned their own sanity, or have had their sanity questioned by friends and family when trying to spread the message of preparing for the Greatest Depression, Governor Christie just proved that you’ve been right all along:

Where am I getting the money? I don’t have it. I literally don’t have it.

It’s not like you can avoid it forever because it’s here now. We all know it’s here. And the Federal government doesn’t have the money to paper over it anymore either for the states. The day of reckoning has arrived. And it’s going to arrive everywhere.

Unlike the federal government, states don’t have the ability to issue debt and print as much money as is needed via the digital presses at the Federal Reserve. They are left with no choice but austerity measures via spending cuts. And, as Charlie McGrath pointed out recently, Austerity will hit America like an Eight Pound Sledgehammer.

Earlier this year, we discussed the Collapse of Dysfunctional States as Another Step To The Federal Bubble Detonation, and according to mainstream reports as of late, we’re well on our way to complete destruction of the way of life as we have come to know it in our spend and consume society.

If you thought the housing bubble was bad, consider what financial analyst Meredith Whitney has to say about state and local governments. Take note that it was Whitney who blew the doors open on the problems in housing and the excessive leverage in the banking system - which led to the collapse that has left us where we are today. And while investment houses and ratings agencies are still promoting municipal bonds as a great way to preserve wealth, you might want to sleep on Whitney’s latest comments before you go all in:

It has tenticles as wide as anything I’ve seen. I think next to housing this is the single most important issue in the United States and certainly the largest threat to the US economy.

When asked why no one is doing anything about it, Whitney provides an answer that is as true today as it was before the housing bubble pop:

Because they don’t pay attention until they have to.

It is only at the precipice of disaster that people, especially politicians and vested interests, are willing to change.

The worst thing about all of this, is that, as Meredith Whitney suggested, the states will likely find a solution to their problems. Our view is that this solution will come down to massive, unprecedented bailouts from the Federal government. Not billions - not trillions more will be printed.

We maintain our previous forecast, though we can’t put a specific timeline on it, that the collapse of state governments will eventually lead to the largest bubble detonation in history - financier George Soros refers to it as the Super Bubble and trend forecaster Gerald Celente calls it the Government Bubble:

How long will this be?

It’s hard to say, but in terms of the states, we’re likely looking at sooner rather than later. States are already broke, with California, Illinois and New Jersey already showing serious fiscal strain. In the near future we’ll begin seeing states requesting bailouts directly from the federal government. Eventually, we suspect that the majority of states will be standing in the welfare line looking for hand outs.

For now, the US dollar remains fairly strong given our economic problems. In fact, any time a financial emergency spreads across the globe, investors seem to be running to US bonds for safety, so there is still confidence in the US government’s ability to service our existing debt.

However, we believe that once the states begin to require federal involvement to pay government workers, emergency responders and pensioners, we will be much closer to a serious collapse of not only our economic system, but the monetary system as well. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world realizes that we’re completely broke and takes action accordingly.

The states blew a government spending bubble, and that bubble is about to pop. The federal debt bubble will not be far behind.

Naturally, there will be skeptics. In fact, most are skeptical of the possibility of a complete collapse of the US Dollar and our way of life, but it is in process as we speak.

Just like the states, the federal government will soon be on the precipice.

Meredith Whitney says that municipal bond defaults will start occurring in scores over the next 12 months. We’ll see what the federal government does, but our guess is more bailouts - hey it worked before!

But who will bail out the $150 Trillion (official figure) government debt bubble?

Any takers?

Yeah, we didn’t think so.

Author: Mac Slavo
Date: December 22nd, 2010
Visit the Author's Website: http://www.SHTFplan.com/

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Sing the health praises of parsley and sage

2010-12-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

Those of us who go back a few years likely remember the line about parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme in the huge Simon and Garfunkel hit song about two ill-fated lovers, "Are You Going to Scarborough Fair". Many have speculated that the reference to the four popular herbs was due to their use in Medieval Europe to help cleanse the air and ward off the infamous black plague. Others have thought that the reference to the four herbs was because the combination may have been used as a love potion. Whatever the reason for their inclusion in the popular song, the many health benefits of parsley and sage are worth loving and singing praises about in their own rights.

PARSLEY

Parsley is an amazing medicinal herb with a world of health benefits. The root contains calcium, B-complex vitamins, and iron, which nourish the glands that help regulate the uptake of calcium. It is a source of magnesium, calcium, potassium, vitamin A, beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin K.

Among the many benefits reported for parsley are:

*It is a diuretic which helps the body produce more urine to keep the urinary system operating smoothly and which helps prevent problems such as kidney stones and bladder infections.

*It is wonderful for removing toxins from the body, such as heavy metals.

*It is an effective breath freshener. It is believed that the practice of including parsley on a dinner plate began due to its breath freshening abilities and not merely for its decorative effect.

*The root and leaves are good for the liver and spleen.

*It helps relieve bloating during menstruation.

*It provides relief for edema, often helping when other remedies have failed

*Parsley root and seeds help relax stiff joints, often making stiff and unmanageable fingers work again.

*It helps remove gallstones when used properly by taking a pint of the tea daily.

*It is beneficial for the adrenal glands.

*It is a powerful therapeutic aid for the optic nerves, brain and sympathetic nervous system.

*Parsley juice is an excellent tonic for the blood vessels.

Note: It is best to avoid large amounts of parsley if you are pregnant, especially the use of the volatile essential oil.

SAGE

Like rosemary, its sister herb in the mint (Labiatae) family, sage contains a variety of volatile oils, flavonoids and phenolic acids, including rosmarinic acid. The oils found in sage are both antiseptic and antibiotic, helping it fight infections.

Besides the antioxidant and other properties shared with Rosemary, sage`s other health benefits include:

*It is effective for symptoms of menopause, night sweats and hot flashes because of its estrogenic action and because its tannins help dry up perspiration.

*Sage helps provide better brain function and has been used in the treatment of cerebrovascular disease for over a thousand years. It helps provide better recall and research has suggested that it may be an effective option to help treat Alzheimer`s.

*There`s also compelling evidence that sage may be of value to people with diabetes for whom the hormone insulin does not work as efficiently as it should. Lab studies indicate that sage may boost insulin`s action.

* The ability of sage to protect oils from oxidation has also led some companies to experiment with sage as a natural antioxidant additive for cooking oils that can extend shelf life and help avoid rancidity.

In an upcoming article, we will also sing the praises of the other two herbs mentioned in the popular song - rosemary and thyme.

Sources included:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarbo...
http://www.healthy-holistic-living....
http://www.greenmuze.com/blogs/natu...
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pars...

About the author

Tony Isaacs, is a natural health author, advocate and researcher who hosts The Best Years in Life website for baby boomers and others wishing to avoid prescription drugs and mainstream managed illness and live longer, healthier and happier lives naturally. Mr. Isaacs is the author of books and articles about natural health, longevity and beating cancer including "Cancer's Natural Enemy" and is working on a major book project due to be published later this year.
Mr. Isaacs is currently residing in scenic East Texas and frequently commutes to the even more scenic Texas hill country near San Antonio and Austin to give lectures in health seminars. He also hosts the CureZone "Ask Tony Isaacs - featuring Luella May" forum as well as the Yahoo Health Group "Oleander Soup" and he serves as a consultant to the "Utopia Silver Supplement Company".

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Terrorist may poison the food supply (but the food companies already have)

2010-12-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

Always on the terror streak, the mainstream media is now warning Americans that terrorists may strike the food supply by dumping poison into restaurant salad bars and buffets, for example. CBS News broke the story, quoting anonymous "intelligence" sources who insist that terrorists might use ricin or cyanide to poison foods in salad bars.

I have news for CBS, the federal government, and the terrorists: If you really want to poison the U.S. food supply, just use aspartame. It causes neurological disorders and yet remains perfectly legal to dump into foods such as diet sodas and children's medicines. You don't even have to dump it into the food supply in secret, either: You can do it right out in full view of the public. Heck, you can even list this chemical right on the ingredients label!

Or get into the MSG business. MSG, which is often hidden on "natural" foods under an ingredient called yeast extract, is a potent neurotoxin that promotes obesity and even cancer, according to some experts. Feed people enough MSG and they'll probably die of cancer sooner or later, and that counts toward the goal of terrorism too, doesn't it?

If you really want to get nasty and up the body count, start a hot dog company and dump sodium nitrite into your processed meat like all the other hot dog companies do. Sodium nitrite promotes aggressive cancers -- even in children -- and yet the USDA and FDA allow its use in the food supply (http://www.naturalnews.com/007133.html).

Better yet, feed the population genetically modified corn and then wait for the mutations to kick in. GMOs might actually be called a biological weapon because they cause so much harm to humans and the environment. (http://www.naturalnews.com/GMO.html)

Why be a terrorist when you can do so much more damage as a processed food company?

If you're a terrorist looking to poison the U.S. food supply, get in line, buddy! The food companies have beat you to it!

In the U.S. food supply right now, you can find toxic mercury, BPA, acrylamides, petrochemicals, dangerous preservatives, synthetic chemicals like aspartame, pesticide residues and artificial colors that alter brain function. The FDA doesn't seem to care about any of this, of course: All these poisons in the food supply are legal!

So here's a message to Al-Qaeda and all the other terrorists trying to kill Americans: Don't bother with bombs and missiles... just get into the processed food business!

Or, heck, if you really want to kill Americans with poison, get into the cancer industry! The "Al-Qaeda Cancer Clinic" could really rack up some body bags by doing what all the other cancer clinics do: Inject patients with chemotherapy and watch them die (http://www.naturalnews.com/029996_c...).

Seriously, if you want to kill Americans, all you really need to do is keep supporting conventional medicine and the FDA with its do-nothing position on dangerous chemicals that threaten the health of Americans right now. FDA-approved drugs kill well over 100,000 Americans each year -- a statistic that dwarfs the body count of any terrorist group.

Come to think of it, how do we know the FDA isn't already being run by terrorists? Their actions, which blatantly endanger American lives, are entirely consistent with the aims of a terrorist organization. (http://www.naturalnews.com/001894.html)

By the way, this is all depicted in a CounterThink cartoon I created in 2006 called The Food Terrorists: http://www.counterthink.com/The_Foo...

This cartoon anticipated today's terror news alerts by four years. That's because when it comes to the U.S. government's rhetoric on terrorism, it's not that difficult to see where they're taking it.

Want to know what the next four years will bring us? I'll soon be publishing a list of predictions for 2011 and beyond. Watch NaturalNews.com for that announcement.

In the mean time, you might want to steer clear of FDA-approved foods and drugs, because you just never know what's really in them.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

Sources for this story include:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010...

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New Jersey Preppers Roll Call

2010-11-27T10:32:00.000-08:00

The New Jersey Preppers Network is conducting a Roll Call on our forum. If you are a prepper please check in.

* Here is a link to the Roll Call:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=307&t=6189

You have to be registered to check in. If you aren't registered please join here:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register

* If you are a HAM Radio Operator check in here:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=143&t=6219

* If you are an A.N.T.S. member please check in here:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=618&t=6220

Preparing your vehicle for winter driving

2010-11-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

It's getting to be that time again. I saw that the UP got some snow today so it set me to thinking. A little knowledge and preparation can be the difference between being in an emergency and avoiding one.

Preparing your vehicle for winter driving

Have your local mechanic help you with all of the following. Or, if you have the time, there are a few items you can perform yourself:

Have your battery tested
Get your brakes and transmission inspected
Have your exhaust system checked
Check your wipers and replace the blades if they are split, leave streaks or skip
Make sure your headlamps and taillamps are working
Examine your tires for any signs of wear
Check to make sure your brake fluid, oil and power steering fluid reservoirs are full
Add windshield washer fluid and make sure you have more on hand
Consider snow tires if you expect to encounter a lot of snow or ice

Tips for safe winter driving

Check the weather first. A little common sense can go a long way. Before you even venture out, listen to your local radio or TV station or check the Internet to see what weather and road conditions you should expect. If you can postpone your trip, it's always safer to wait out any potentially hazardous weather.

Keep your gas tank at least half full. Fuel gives added weight to the vehicle and this also helps ensure that you won't run out of fuel in adverse weather. It can also help keep ice crystals from forming inside your fuel line.

Keep a closer eye on your tire inflation. Your tire pressure can drop one pound per square inch for every 10°F drop in the outdoor temperature.

Clear your view. Be sure your windows are all free from snow, ice and frost. Don’t forget to scrape your side view mirrors too.

Know your vehicle’s features. If your vehicle is equipped with Traction Control™, the feature will automatically detect and control your wheel spin to help maintain the stability of your vehicle in slippery conditions, such as snow and ice. If your vehicle is equipped with Four-Wheel Drive (4WD), you can give yourself extra traction in slippery conditions by shifting into 4WD. Consult your Owners guide for details.

Give other vehicles extra space. Err on the side of caution when it comes to your speed. Accidents often happen when drivers travel too close or too fast for wintery conditions.

Know what to do if you start skidding. Sometimes skidding or sliding on icy, snow-covered roads is unavoidable. If your vehicle starts to skid, take your foot off the accelerator, gradually turn your vehicle in the direction you are skidding and gently apply steady pressure to your vehicle's brakes. Don’t pump them, as it may cause you to lose control of the vehicle.

Don’t spin your tires if you get stuck in the snow. This won’t help you regain traction and will only create a rut. Instead, use a shovel or ice scraper to remove any snow or ice from underneath the tires. Pour sand or gravel (or salt if you have it) under the drive wheel tires to help improve your traction, floormats under the wheels can be a real help as well. Then turn off your vehicle’s Traction Control (if equipped) and try accelerating gently both forward and in R (Reverse). If none of these techniques work, call for assistance.

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On Line Manuals

2010-10-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

For information that's handy you can't beat online manuals. Some of these you may have seen, others are unique and some are new but all are useful.

Marine Corps Manuals
http://www.theusmarines.com/category/usmc-manuals/

Military Manuals
http://www.stevespages.com/page7c.htm

Service (repair, not military) Manuals for just about everything.
http://www.eserviceinfo.com/index.php?what=search2

Electronics:
http://www.tpub.com/neets/

Mathmatics:
http://www.tpub.com/content/math/

Corpsman / Dentalman:
http://www.tpub.com/content/medical/

Metalworking and engines.
http://www.lindsaybks.com/

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, 2009 revision
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html

Random Manuals.
http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download.php

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2010-10-16T04:30:00.001-07:00

From the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management:

During his 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush asked Americans to volunteer their services in order to improve and safeguard their country. Harnessing the spirit of cooperation that developed as a result of the tragic events of September 11th, he created the Citizen Corps Program to organize volunteer services in the areas of crime, natural disasters and terrorism. The Community Emergency Response Team or (CERT) is a part of the Citizen Corps Program.

CERT – THEN AND NOW

The CERT concept dates back to 1985, when the Los Angeles Fire Department recognized that in the early stages of a disaster – earthquakes in particular – local emergency responders would be overwhelmed, and basic training in disaster survival and rescue skills would improve the ability of community members to survive until responders or other assistance arrived.

Recognizing the universal value of this program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) worked in conjunction with the LAFD to make the CERT program applicable to all types of hazards and developed a CERT training program which could be used nationwide and adapted to meet local conditions when the need arose.

The tragic events of September 11 remind us that disaster can strike anywhere or anytime, and that basic safety and disaster survival skills can mean the difference between life and death. CERT training empowers community members to prepare responsibly and respond appropriately when emergencies occur.

WHAT CERT TEAMS DO

CERT members give critical support to first responders in emergencies, provide immediate assistance to victims, organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site, and collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts.

READ MORE HERE: New Jersey Office of Emergency Management

List of NJ C.E.R.T.S from APN

County C.E.R.T. Coordinators

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October in NJ

2010-10-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's the second week of October and as fall creeps in it's a good time to take stock of your shelves and make use of the harvest season. In my neck of the woods (North West Morris County) tourists from the more urban sections of the state flock to get hay rides and pick pumpkins. But for those of us who live here there is a nice bounty of falls crops just begging to be put up for the winter dinner table.

Today the wife canned some Apple Butter and spent sometime in the back yard picking crab apples to make Crab Apple Jelly. These things aren't hard to do and it makes the house smell great. It's also a way to develop your prepper skills for cooking, canning and preserving food for future use. These skills have been lost over time and replaced with supermarkets. Should the world go in a negative direction, supermarkets won't be of much help and you'll need to have the ability to gather and store for yourself and your family.

As the fall closes in an opportunity arises for those that don't have a garden and that is farmers markets. These markets are chock full of great value for all your winter needs. Acorn and Bottleneck squash are inexpensive and store extremely well in a cool dry spot in your basement. As do potatoes, onions, gourds and those beloved pumpkins. Pumpkins are tremendously versatile for roasting, baking and lots of different Pumpkin Soups!

So do yourself a favor and get out the cookbook, do some foraging in your yards and local farmers markets and practice those canning and food storage skills.

Prepping in NJ, it's a way of life.

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Hello NJ Preppers

2010-10-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

Please welcome to the group our new members:

KDOG

Hi everyone. I'm a member of SurvialistBoards and decided to join up over here too. Im a 38 yo male located in way South Jersey near the shore. So it looks like there arent' many NJ people here... kinda sad really. Hope to learn alot here....

To welcome this member please follow the link below:
http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=307&t=5904&sid=4f5ba

77gabe77

Hello NJ Preppers, wonderful to be part of group from the great state of New Jersey, I am happy to see a group who are here for each other. Glad to be here

To welcome this member please follow the link below:
http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=4758

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How To Join The New Jersey Preppers Network

2010-09-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Come learn survival, preparedness and sustainable living with us!

The Preppers networks are all about volunteering our knowledge and skills with each other. We share ideas, tips and basically network with each other to survive any type of disaster whether natural, man made, or economic. Information that you learn and share with others will help everyone learn how to find "Freedom Through Teaching Others Self Reliance."

Joining the New Jersey Preppers Network is simple, and most of all, it's Free! To join, just follow these few steps.

1) Register to become a member of the American Preppers Network www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net The registration page is here: http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register

2) Once you have your account, go to the index page of the forum and do your first post by introducing yourself in the new members area. http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/index.php

3) Once you know how to do posts, visit the New Jersey forum and introduce yourself. The New Jersey forum can be found by scrolling to the lower section of the index page where you will find a list of states, or you can go directly by following this URL: www.New JerseyPreppersNetwork.net

4) After you've visited the New Jersey forum, follow this link to learn how to join the New Jersey Preppers Network group:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=564&t=2738

APN's success depends on your contributions. If you would like to donate to our organization by becoming a Gold Member you can join the APN Gold Members club by following this link:
http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/page.php?p=apn-gold-membership&sid=5b241e92a767cdfbe7a345c54dd55127
Gold Membership is only $5 per month. For a list of Gold Member benefits go here

Thank you for your support!

Power Outage Yesterday

2010-08-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a call from both my wife and daughter that power was out due to an unfortunate incident between an errant driver and a utility pole. It was interesting to note that other than the disgruntlement over not having the internet available, no one was concerned. Plenty of light sources in the house, candles aplenty, reserve fuel and ways to cook on hand. Heck I went so far as to actually offer an extension cord to run the fridge....if it was really necessary :).

I did take the opportunity to use the event to remind the wife that we needed either a big time generator or a large bank of batteries and some solar equipment. A discussion ensured about the generator being an attractant to looters in times of unrest, but that was reserved for another time.

My point here is that with very little prep, and having everyone participate in it, little issues like power being out for a dozen hours or so need not be an issue at all.

What did you do to Prep today?

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Soap Making Class - APN Forum

2010-08-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

While browsing the American Prepper Network Forums I came across a little soap making class. It's pretty cool and simple to do. patchouligrrl Provides us with an information step by step "how to" that is easy to follow. Hit the jump to read more.

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Citizen Corps + disaster/prep volunteer groups

2010-07-27T05:22:00.000-07:00

Not much is closer to my heart than being a volunteer firefighter. I did it for 14 years and my parents, specifically my father, always said you should try to leave your community a little better than you found it. And being a volunteer in emergency situations is a perfect way to not only be prepared, but to give of yourself to others.

A new post on APN yesterday the 26th speaks directly to being an emergency volunteer and provides fantastic links and explanations for many levels. PLEASE hit the link and jump over to APN forums and read more.

WHAT IS CITIZEN CORPS?

Citizen Corps was created to help coordinate volunteer activities that make the nation’s communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to any emergency situation. Citizen Corps is managed at local levels by Citizen Corps Councils, which bring together existing crime prevention, disaster preparedness, and public health response networks with the volunteer community and other groups.

READ MORE AT THE LINK

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Straw Bale Gardens - UpDate

2010-07-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I spoke about experimenting with a concept called Straw bale Gardening in which you garden without dirt. Seemed like a neat Idea so I embarked on an experiment and bought 3 bales of straw and found a spot along the fence in my garden that was being used to grow weeds. The process goes something like this :
Place the bales on their sides and make sure they are firmly in place, stakes can be used but they will most likely sit still without them.
Everyday for 1 week sprinkle 1 cup of Ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) if you can get it, another high Nitrogen fertilizer if you can't (But it has to be at least 12-0-0), over each bale and water in thoroughly. Reduce that to 1/2 cup the following week, always making sure to water it in. After that you are ready to plant.

I planted excess plants that I had no room in the garden for. 1 Bell Pepper, 2 Cucumbers, and a pack of gourd seeds. So far the Pepper is going great, the gourd seeds have sprouted and are doing very well, but the cucumbers seem to be on the skimpy side and I'm not sure if that's because of the internal temperature of the bales or a nutrient issue.

A couple of points about this experiment: 1) The amount of fertilizer it takes to prep the bales, to me, is excessive and the time is also a tad on the crazy side. 2) The amount of water up front was huge, but after that it doesn't seem to need regular watering at all as the bales really hold the moisture once they get swelled up. And finally 3) The Straw grows too! but scissors keep it to a dull roar :).

Once the season is over I'll just till in the bales and consider the experiment as experience. I'm not sure that if you have room and dirt to garden in, this is worthwhile, bu tit is fun so far.

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The Value of Honey

2010-06-17T05:35:00.000-07:00

Honey has values that are many, both medicinal and nutritional. Where I live you can find local honey pretty much everywhere as the farmers keep bees for their pollination value and the honey is a nice by product. But maybe you don't have that access, maybe your only shot at honey is the local grocery store or health food store. Well read up a bit on this thread at American Preppers Network and start to stockpile some honey. It will be a valued asset in your preps.

Other Honey Resources:
The Medicinal Value of Honey
The Nutritive Value of Honey
The Therapeutic Value of Honey
The NJ Bee Keepers Association

"All acrimony of the mind is pacified with sweet liquers, the spirits are made peaceable, the passages made softer and fitter for transpiration; and they are also good physick for manners."

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Handling Dead Bodies

2010-05-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

This was posted on the APN Forums a week or so ago. Critical information not often seen or discussed. Thanks to the folks over at Arizona Preppers for posting this.

Often First Responders cannot reach a disaster site for hours, days or weeks so citizens should be prepared to deal with death or the handling of dead bodies.

Death in a shelter during a nuclear / radiological event – If a person (or pet) dies while in a shelter, cover body with a sheet or put it in a bag (or tape several large plastic bags together) and move it outside the shelter. Don’t try to bury it if high levels of radiation are still in the area, but do poke several pinholes in bag so gases won’t build up. (Make sure to decontaminate yourself before reentering shelter.)

If in a Disaster Situation with Casualties and No Help

- Dead bodies typically do not cause epidemics after a natural disaster. In fact, it’s survivors who will most likely spread disease.

- Don’t put yourself in danger to recover a body if there is any chemical, biological or radiological contamination in the area or structural damage due to an earthquake, etc.

- People handling bodies should wear gloves and boots and avoid wiping their face or mouth with their hands. (Facemasks are not needed but may be helpful to some handlers.)

- Wash hands with soap and clean water often, and disinfect tools, clothing, equipment and vehicles used to move the bodies.

- Bodies often leak feces after death so avoid contact with it (and body fluids) to limit exposure to any possible diseases.

- If no First Responders are on scene (and it may be a while before any are), write down any known details about where and when a body was found, name (if known), personal belongings on or with the body, take a photo (if possible) to help with identification later, etc.

- Graves should be between 5 ft (1.5m) and 9 ft (3m) deep.

- Burial sites should be at least 218 yards (200m) away from water sources such as streams, lakes, springs, waterfalls, beaches, and the shoreline. (If 4 or less bodies: 650 ft (200m) from water … if 5 to 60 bodies: 820 ft (250m) from drinking water well)

- The Department of Health and Human Services for North Carolina suggests pets and wild animals be buried in holes at least 3 feet (1m) deep where there is no possibility of contaminating surface or ground water. Livestock animals should be disposed of by incineration.

Some FAQs per PANO:

Do dead bodies cause epidemics?
Dead bodies from natural disasters do not cause epidemics. This is because victims of natural disasters die from trauma, drowning or fire. They do not have epidemic causing diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria, or plague when they die.

What are the health risks for the public?
There is a small risk of diarrhea from drinking water contaminated by fecal material from dead bodies. Routine disinfection of drinking water is sufficient to prevent water-borne illness.

Is spraying bodies with disinfectant or lime powder useful?
No, it has no effect. It does not hasten decomposition or provide any protection.

Local officials and journalists say there is a risk of disease from dead bodies. Are they correct?
No. The risk from dead bodies after natural disasters is misunderstood by many professionals and the media. Even local or international health workers are often misinformed and contribute to the spread of rumors.

Resources: City of Surprise Crisis Response Team and Management of Dead Bodies in Disaster Situations by The Pan American Health Organization

Read the Full post and comments on the APN Forum.

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Our Governor is becoming a standard

2010-05-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

Reading some posts about Governor Christie this week has led me to believe that he is becoming sort of a Standard by which other governors looking to balance state budgets and deal with the oppressive government labor unions. I applaud the man for coming through on his promises to straighten out the state Supreme Court and to go toe to toe with the state labor unions over the budget issues. The State of New Jersey will surely run down the California and New York path if some of the current issues are handled and corrected right away.

Gov Christie calls S-L columnist thin-skinned for inquiring
about his 'confrontational tone'

From American Thinker
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Preppers get more respect......

2010-05-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

The prepper movement is getting some press of late and that's a real good thing. The more press we get the more we can educate others of the need to be self sufficient. Read More HERE

Congratulations to matthiasj over at Kentucky Preppers for his great work on the Prepper Podcast, I'm proud to say I've listened to at least 31 episodes :) , great stuff.

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Grab and Go First Aid Kit

2010-04-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

I've addressed first aid kits on this blog before ( Something as simple as... ) but I have not discussed a "Grab and Go" First Aid kit. A topic that has been discussed at length by many a survivalist. but one thing I have learned is that everybody likes pictures and simple How-To's. Towards that goal I point you to a really great thread that shows multiple mobile first aid kits that you can learn from an maybe build one for yourself and family.

To read more and comment on this topic , please go here: AMERICAN PREPPERS NETWORK FORUM

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Emergency Home Repair Supplies

2010-04-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

We talk about food storage food growing food preserving..we talk about water storage water purify water usage..has anyone considered construction items??
nails screws window glass plywood etc..if someone just happens to drive by and throw a brick through your window during a riot or upheaval do you have glass to replace that window? if you get a bunch of bullet holes in the side of your house do you have something to fill them..if during a snow storm after SHTF and your hunkered down a tree branch lands on your roof do you have the means and parts to fix it? a house that is not intact makes it even tougher to survive during a bad situation..your beets and beans may make your belly full but that mason jar wont fix the broken window..building supplies may be very hard to come by when you need them most so now maybe the time to pick up some nails and screws and plywood, plastic tarps, battery operated tools and hand tools..this would be for both current and BOL houses if you have them, but it is very important for those of us that will have to stay in place ..i dont care how big your woodstove is it wont heat a house with a hole in the roof..

To read more and comment on this topic , please go here: AMERICAN PREPPERS NETWORK FORUM

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Straw Bale Gardens

2010-04-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

While surfing the garden sites looking for new and organic ways to garden I came across using Straw Bales as raised beds. Now, I know from when I was living on a farm that a wet bale of hay can be an issue in the barn and I also knew from looking at bales left in the field that stuff had no problem growing in them. But I never ever thought about growing vegetables in them. Well, I do now. I will be settting a bunch of bales along my fence line for additional plantings as well as a barrier to that pesky groundhog (He can also climb the fence as well as go under it). The bales as they are cultured and watered generate a good amount of heat for the roots while keeping them nice and moist. In the fall, till the bales into the soil and bam, they're gone.

Check out this "how to" site on using Straw bales in your gardening.

STRAW BALE GARDENS

Food Expiration

2010-02-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

I have been reading up on Food Storage and various related topics when I found a post over at survivalistboards.com titled "Online sources for Food Date, Shelf Life, & Closing date code information" that provides a wealth of info. My concern when I started the reading was the various types of codes you find on canned goods and how to decode that. I always went by the school of thought that a can was good until it could be "popped" indicating that contents had gone south. I still like that rule but there should be more thought and planning with regards to your food rotation and storage.

Read more about food expiration codes HERE

American Preppers Network: How To Make A Fire With Vaseline

2010-02-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

American Preppers Network: How To Make A Fire With Vaseline

Our Friends over at Idaho Preppers offer a quality post on using household materials for making serious fire starters. Take a look.......

Book Review

2010-02-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

The Book is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and while the authors politics may not be in kind with most of the views expressed by myself or other preppers, the information and story are very pertinent to a family looking to be able survive solely on what they can raise.

The author starts the book by picking up the family and leaving their comfortable home in Arizona to return to her childhood roots in the mountains of Virginia where they hope to become totally self sufficient and live off what they can raise, slaughter, and put up for the winter. The family has a noble goal to not purchase any types of foodstuffs that can not be grown at home or locally and are not out of season. The planning involves takes you through the seasons of the crops and how intricate your garden has to be to have it producing from May to October. Admittedly the authors reasons for doing this are more rooted in environmental issues that survival ones. However the self sustaining goal is basically the same one and we can learn from her experiment. As the book and seasons move along new issues crop up such as what to do with all the vegetables. As such the author offers new found "old world" recipes and canning methods that provides lots of variety to our standards. The author takes us through all of the seasons all the while offering up failures as well as success to show what works and what doesn't. In the end the experiment is not a complete success, but it's only their first year of trying and the lessons provided are valuable ones. I particularly enjoyed the section on choosing turkeys as the protein source, totally amazing.

All in all the book might throw you into a slow burn every now and then as the Author expands on her view of the world but that doesn't change the information provided from the family's experiment. It's a good read and the accompanying website ( http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/ ) provides expanded sections on recipes and seasonal meal plans that work with your garden.

NJ Emergency Management Links

2010-01-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

Listed for your use, New Jersey Emergency Management Links:

New Jersey Office of Emergency Management

Atlantic County
Bergen County
Burlington County
Camden County
Cape May County
Cumberland County
Essex County
Gloucester County
Hunterdon County
Mercer County
Middlesex County
Monmouth County
Morris County
Ocean County
Passaic County
Salem County
Somerset County
Sussex County
Union County
Warren County

Some sites are more robust than others depending on budgets and politics. But all have good information you can use. Please email me with corrections.

Month Long Supplies

2010-01-20T05:33:00.000-08:00

The amount you prepare is based on you and only you. But a good place to begin is with enough supplies to last you one month. that should be enough to get anyone through a specific crisis such as an Earthquake or flood. Remember that you can't count on anyone to be there for you and your family other than YOU and your family.

As you purchase your regular stores, buy a few extra things every week and soon you will have that month long supply. If you can you should stretch that to a three month supply over time.

Things to consider:

Food should provide 2,000 calories per day per person
Water should be a minimum of 1 gallon per day per person for drinking and hygiene. More for cooking.
Water Purification tablets or filters.
Don't forget things like condiments. Purchase these in large lots of individual packets to minimize storage needs.
Hygiene supplies like toilet paper and soap.
A Weapon and any supplies needed to maintain and use it.

I know this is all redundant and you've read it before but in the face of disasters like the Haiti Earthquake we all need to make sure that we can survive on our own until order is restored.

Links: MRE's, Water Storage, Portable Power, Can Storage

Hello, I'm A New NJ Prepper

2010-01-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I've always been interested in preparedness and I've made being prepared a New Year's resolution. I'd like to say Happy New Year you all and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

I'll make my bio really short...I was a fishing boat deckhand for years and have now retired from the industry and settled into a suburban existence. As I was always prepared for anything out on the ocean, I guess I need an outlet here on land.

I've been reading all of your posts and the ideas are excellent. I have gotten started on prepping from reading your posts, and I'm finally feeling a sense of accomplishment concerning what I consider important to me.

My Google bio will give you a bit more information as far as my preparedness training is concerned. I can answer question concerning things that could hopefully be useful to the preppers here( ie. how to read a barometer, how to tie knots, how to catch, skin and fillet pretty much any type of fish, how to handle someone who has been recovered from cold water and has hypothermia, how to handle someone who has sunstroke etc.) I'm most willing to answer any questions.

I have a question that I hope one of you can answer:

I know one of the members posted a list of cold weather car emergency supplies (I have already outfitted my car with the supplies after reading the post). My father's pickup truck is getting old and his birthday is coming up. I'd like to get him an emergency kit as this winter here in NJ is turning out to be a bit of a nasty one so far. I know some places that have some pretty nice ones (ie Home Depot, Lowes etc.) and cost is not an issue. I was just wondering what supplies are essential in a car emergency kit; what should I be looking for? I'd like to get him a kit with the most useful and reliable supplies.

Best regards and thanks,

Toma

BOAT

2010-01-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

BOAT - Bug Out Altoids Tin. Cool Idea right? So how much "stuff" can you shove into a used Altoids tin? I entered a contest and found that other people put much much more stuff in theirs. Take a look at mine and try one for yourself. They can be handy when you backpack, or to keep in the car or stashed around where ever.

This Kit includes as numbered in the photo:
(1) Tin - Also usable for Reflecting
(2) Surgical Razor
(3) Hacksaw
(4) Pencil
(5) Mini Prybar
(6) Peanut Lighter - uses lighter fluid, has a flint, and is sealed watertight when the lid is screwed on.
(7) P-38 Can Opener
(8) Compass
(9) Strike anywhere matches x7 and Cotton swab x7 on a wooden stick, inside waterproof bag
(10) Large Band aids
(11) Butterfly Band aids
(12) Single Use Burn Gel x 2
(13) Single Use Anitbiotic
(14) LED Light
(15) Wire Aircraft Key Ring
(16) Flat and Cross head screw drivers
(17) Post it notes
(18) Nylon Velcro carry case for the tin. Once the tin is in there there is stil a little room at both ends for other things. The case Velcros to your belt of backpack and stays pretty dry.
(19) Cash

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a time to reflect on family, friends and yourself. To be thankful for all we have and all we have been given. As you enjoy your time with Family and friends, look around and see where you are. Take the time to ask yourself if everything is how you want i to be. Can you do something better in the coming year than you did it is the previous one? Have you learned the skills necessary for the future?

Taking the time to examine our place in time is just a normal thing you should do everyday, and will pay off in the future exponentially.

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year from the Garden State.

Information Overload

2009-12-22T06:41:00.001-08:00

Sometimes Information overload is a bad thing. However if you look at a library as information overload then maybe this link isn't for you. I got this link from board I read and all I could say was ....Whoa that's a ton of info so I share it with you for what it's worth:

LINKS FOR EVERYTHING

Cold Weather Survival

2009-12-22T06:13:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was a trial for some trying to move north or south through a storm band that hit the East Coast. Remember that this is prime winter time around these parts and you'll want to be prepared for emergencies that could keep you trapped for a couple days while the responsible governmental parties get their collective heads out of the sand.

A few things that NEED to be in your car this time of year:
Water
Blankets
Road Side Emergency Kit
Jumper Cables
Snow removal tools, folding shovel, window scraper
Flashlight(s)
A Method to charge your cell phone.

Together with some simple winter preps, you will have no issues should an emergency occur while you are in your car. And remember, your car is a safe place to be when the temperatures drop.

Read more on the Basic Principles of Cold Weather Survival.

Climate change fraud exposed

2009-11-23T15:07:00.000-08:00

They "the hackers" obtained some vital information from the University of East Anglia, here are the links to the data its 69 mb.
Leaked Data File 1
Leaked Data File 2
Leaked Data File 3
Leaked Data File 4
Leaked Data File 5
Leaked Data File 6
Leaked Data File 7
Leaked Data File 8
Leaked Data File 9
Leaked Data File 10

If anyone has been following this then you will know how this data will expose the global warming tax fraud. Next month in Copenhagen the USA along with other countries might enter into a treaty that will literally destroy our nations sovereignty. If you want more info on how this would be bad just click on this link and watch the video. It takes place at the Minnesota free market institute.

Lord Christopher Monckton Speaking in St. Paul

Emergency Water Storage

2009-11-23T07:05:00.000-08:00

Emergency Water Storage is not difficult and with a few tips and tricks, you'll be all set for any short term emergency that crops up. Remember, Preparedness is an everyday event.

Containers that can be used for Water Storage:

Food-grade plastic or glass containers are suitable for storing water. One-, three- and five-gallon water containers can be purchased from most outdoor or hardware stores. Any plastic or glass container that previously held food or beverages such as 2-liter soda bottles or water, juice, punch or milk jugs, also may be used. Stainless steel can be used to store water which has not been or will not be treated with chlorine; chlorine is corrosive to most metals.

55 gal drums, designed specifically for water storage can be difficult to transport, if the need arises, but are of a tremendous value in an emergency .When looking for additional food grade containers, the bottom will be stamped with HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) and coded with the recycle symbol and a “2″ inside. HDPE containers are FDA-approved for food. Containers without these designations aren’t OK because of possible chemical interactions between the water and the plastic.

Clean used containers and lids with hot soapy water. Once the containers have been thoroughly cleaned, rinse them with water and sanitize the containers and lids by rinsing them with a solution of 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Leave the containers wet for two minutes, then rinse them again with water. Remember to remove the paper or plastic lid liners before washing the lids. It is very difficult to effectively remove all residue from many containers, so carefully clean hard-to-reach places like the handles of milk jugs. To sanitize stainless steel containers, place the container in boiling water for 10 minutes. Never use containers that previously held chemicals.

Continental Congress

2009-11-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
I haven't been here in a while, but i think everyone here would be interested in whats happening in Illinois right now. There is a continental congress in session til the 21st. I wont bore you with my opinion except for that i am very much in favor of this. The federal Government has trampled on the constitution long enough!!! If you agree with this statement and value your liberty then by all means please go here http://givemeliberty.org/
The broadcast will be live starting at 8 in the morning everyday until the 21st. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks to everyone,
Bob

Proper Documentation for your Bug-out

2009-09-29T06:15:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I had not thought about documentation until I listened to one of the Kentucky Prepper Podcasts. Sure I had my drivers license and NJ State Firearms ID card secured and ready for transport, but I never thought about Home or vehicle ownership proof. Of course once you start thinking about that then a flood of other information comes to mind. How about a household inventory in the case of a major casatrophe?

Being a prepper means more than surviving an SHTF scenario, it means being ready for all kinds of personal tragedy and events.

A couple years ago my brother in law lost his house to a fire. The resulting arguments with the insurance company lasted years. His advice to me was to capture the entire house on video and lock it away somewhere. So that is waht I will do. A simple afternoon of wandering through the house taping the walls and belongings then storing that tape along with the mortgage documents, deed and property survey ina fireproof, weather proof, and tamper proof safe off site should do the trick.

Next step will be to make sure I have notarized copies of all birth certificates, loan papers, and other proof of ownership in my bug-out bag. I can't believe I had not covered this in the past.

Thank You matthiasj

Personal Survival Kit

2009-09-14T06:37:00.001-07:00

Ever go out in the woods alone? Do you have a Bug Out Bag? What would happen if you were away when SHTF? Well here's an idea I picked up on while trying to make sure that all of my camping and hiking gear was good to go for the coming season. A small easy to carry personal survival kit.

I started to talk with others about what should be in such a kit and of course the usual suspects showed up, a knife, a flashlight, a mirror, first aid of some sort and well, you know lots of stuff that made the kit to big. So what to do? Hit the internet of course and what I found was a small kit that will fit into a U.S. Army Ammo Pouch and contains all the materials you will need for a personal emergency, be it lost in the woods, stuck in your car, or trying to trek home after the SHTF and the country has gone in a hand basket.

I can't take credit for inventing this kit, it's just that it impresses me so much I wanted to share it with everyone. The creator of the kit, and the author of it's website bring up a great point when it comes to building your own kit, and that is that it makes you think about each piece and why it's there. This leads to awareness and instead of getting in trouble and saying, "lets see what's in the survival kit that I can use" you say "Hey, I have just the thing to use in my survival kit". The kits contains 29 items and all fits into a tough as nails US Mil spec magazine pouch that can be had on ebay or at surplus stores for 8-14 bucks.

The Contents:
ITEM 1 - Contents, Survival Tips & Guidelines (Printed on Waterproof Paper).
ITEM 2 - Pencil & 3 Blank Sheets Waterproof Paper (notes for self & others).
ITEM 3 - Small Swiss Army Knife.
ITEM 4 - 550 lb.test Para Cord (20 ft.)
ITEM 5 - LOUD whistle!
ITEM 6 - Small Lighter
ITEM 7 - Magnesium / Flintbar Firestarter
ITEM 8 - Mini LED Flashlight
ITEMS 9 and 10 - 30ft Fishing Line and 6 Fish Hooks (15 lb test line)
ITEM 11 - 50ft Fishing Line (Hvy 80 lb test) (snares, shelter making, etc)
ITEM 12 - Mirror (Signaling, grooming)
ITEM 13 - Compass
ITEM 14 - Needles(3) and Heavy Upholstry Thread (10 ft)
ITEM 15 - Safety Pins (3)
ITEM 16 - Survival Blanket
ITEM 17 - Painter's Tarp 9'x7'
ITEM 18 - Water purifying straw
ITEM 19 - Water Purification Tablets (20)
ITEM 20 - 5 feet of duct tape, wrapped around ball point pen
ITEM 21 - Surgical Suture, Sterile
ITEM 22 - anti-diarrhea pills (4), Motrin (6) in a watertight capsule
ITEM 23 - Ziploc Freezer Bags (2)
ITEM 24 - Slingshot kit
ITEM 25 - Small Rectangular Cooking Tin
ITEM 26 - Fresnel Lens
ITEM 27 - Scalpel Blades
ITEM 28 - Fifty Dollar Bill
ITEM 29 - MilSpec Snare Wire (10 ft)

It would be wrong of me to detail the whole kit here since it's not my Idea so please head over to M40's web site and review the contents and the extrordinary details that the author has compiled to help you understand the value of making this kit.

HOME MADE SURVIVAL KIT

All Text, Graphics, Animations, Video, and Commentary on the M40 website was created by, and is the intellectual property of m4040@m4040.com

As for purchasing a lot of the content for that Kit, I went to County Comm to get most of it, then Ebay for the Ammo Pouch. I also looked around for other things and have listed the locations below. Have fun and enjoy building your own kit !

Duct Tape
Water Purification Straw
Water Purification Tablets

Fall/Winter Garden Preparation

2009-09-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

The end of August brings your garden efforts to your table. By now your garden has finished, or is at it's end of producing fresh vegetables for your table. So now what do you do? The answer can be one of two things, or a combination of both. A fall planting of vegetables and the clean up of the garden and planting of the winter cover crop. A fall planting takes planning and there may be some time left here in NJ to get some things in the ground, but you will have to start them by seed as most garden centers around me at least, will not have vegetables started for a fall planting.
The Tennessee Preppers Network has a fantastic post regarding fall planting if your up to the task, so go ahead over and read up to get some ideas and specific types of veggies to grow. Keep in mind the first frost date of your area, below are average dates for NJ Cities:

City	Spring	Fall
Atlantic City	5/15	9/28
Hammonton	4/25	10/3
Jersey City	4/18	10/19
Millville	4/29	10/10
Newark	4/15	10/26
Newton	5/24	9/19
Shiloh	4/29	10/12
Trenton	4/15	10/23

Source: "Climatography of the U.S. No. 20, Supplement No. 1", 1988, National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, and http://www.victoryseeds.com.

As for this post, I'll limit myself to Winter Cover Crops because that is what I will be starting on this weekend. First some definitions.

Winter Cover Crop

A winter cover crop is planted in late summer or fall to provide soil cover during the winter. Often a legume is chosen for the added benefit of nitrogen fixation. In northern states, the plant selected needs to possess enough cold tolerance to survive hard winters. Hairy vetch and rye are among the few selections that meet this need.

Summer Green Manure Crop

A summer green manure occupies the land for a portion of the summer growing season. These warm-season cover crops can be used to fill a niche in crop rotations, to improve the conditions of poor soils, or to prepare land for a perennial crop. Legumes such as cowpeas, soybeans, annual sweetclover, sesbania, guar, crotalaria, or velvet beans may be grown as summer green manure crops to add nitrogen along with organic matter. Non-legumes such as sorghum-sudangrass, millet, forage sorghum, or buckwheat are grown to provide biomass, smother weeds, and improve soil tilth.

Catch Crop

A catch crop is a cover crop established after harvesting the main crop and is used primarily to reduce nutrient leaching from the soil profile. For example, planting cereal rye following corn harvest helps to scavenge residual nitrogen, thus reducing the possibility of groundwater contamination. In this instance, the rye catch crop also functions as a winter cover crop. Short-term cover crops that fill a niche within a crop rotation are also commonly known as catch crops.

For my use this winter I will be planting first the new crop of Garlic, that will go in the ground mid-September. I have the peas in the ground already as I actually remembered to purchase extra seeds this past spring. But the rest of the garden will get tilled, limed and split between clover and Buckwheat. I alternate which end gets planted with which just to keep in line with rotations.

A cover crop can be seeded as soon as the vegetable crop has reached maturity and has been harvested. In fact, cover crops should be sown while the weather is still warm enough for the seeds to germinate. After that time the seed is apt to just sit dormant and not germinate until the next spring, at a time when you really don't want these cover crops growing in your garden.

There's no special soil preparation for seeding a cover crop. Simply, spade or till the soil after harvest, and sow the cover crop seed. If you have late crops in a part of the garden, then simply sow the cover crop in the space between the rows.

Source: 'Ed Hume, Ed Hume Seeds, Inc. - www.humeseeds.com

So this weekend, I will be planting clover in one half of the garden and buckwheat in the other as well as adding some green compost to the soil. Pay attention to the crops you till in this year since the Tomato blight and other fungus or pest issues that may have arisien over the summer can stay dormant in your soil and show up again next year. Better to just pull the old stuff out and burn it than to have a continuous problem. If you have farm animals, or the stuff they leave behind, winter is a great time to get that mixed in as well. My grandfather was always good about spreading Manure in the fall and I'd swear his garden never had any problem producing more food than the family needed.

Can Storage

2009-08-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

Canned food is a good staple to keep on your shelves. Long shelf life, pest resistant, and all kinds of things come in cans. I have Bread, cheese, and bacon and you can even get whole Chickens in cans for the shelf. At the end of this post I'll put some links that people can use to purchase canned goods, but for this post my purpose is to share a few types of storage methods that I have found work real well.

First lets take a look at what most folks do in the pantry with regards to canned goods:
Now this is basically a good idea and if you have the room you can group a tremendous amount of stuff together and you'll have some basic organization. However, how do you control what is expired and what is not? Do you fish around through all those cans to get the expiration dates? Probably not and that can be really time consuming. This was my problem (although that's not a picture of my storage by a long shot) so I decided to research some ways to help me not loose inventory to expiration, and also to help me get a better picture of what it was that I needed and to stop overstocking of some items and falling short on others.

Looking at Can storage I found some very clever adaptations to the normal pantry shelf. One was a vertical storage method that fit between the joists in your wall. The good people over at Pharoah's Storehouse provide methods and instructions for clever use of the voids in your walls.

The idea here is a simple one, first In First Out, or drop them in at the top and always pick them from teh bottom. This way your stock is constant rotated and it's very clear what you are in need of or when you have too much. there are some good solutions available from this website, but as always they come at a price.
Another way to store cans with the same FIFO philosophy is a horizontal method. This is more oriented towards shelves and the racks can be stacked or even built to hold large amounts of cans. Horizontal racks look like this:These are great for shallow shelves and can be lined up side by side to store vast quantities of cans. the trouble as I see it is that the pre-made ones are expensive. they are sturdy and work well so you may be inclined to purchase these or other models that are available on Amazon and elsewhere. A solution I have decided to try is to make my own from plans I found at CanRacks.com. I have purchased the plans I need for three different shelf depths and a few different can sizes. All told I spent about 30 bucks on the plans and when they arrive I'll whip up a materials list to see what those will cost and I'll report back here to let you know. I'd like to keep you abreast of the construction as I do it with some pictures before and after so you can decide if this method is to your liking.

Either way, keeping your shelves organized will benefit you and your family by being efficient, clean, safe and will save you money in terms of correct inventory. With the fall coming up it's a great time to stock up on canned goods and you'll need the new space.

As promised here are some links for long term food:
Long Life Food Depot
MRE Depot - Tremendous selection of canned goods here
MREfoods

Of course you can just go the normal route and buy an extra 5 or 10 dollars worth of canned goods everytime you go food shopping and in just a short period of time you'll have a good supply on hand. Here's a link for the extreme length you can go: Costco

S1774

2009-07-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

Usually I try to stay away from Gun talk because there are others that are far more knowledgeable than I. But NJ passed a law about a month ago that, depending on your interpretation, will either severely limit handgun ownership or destroy it altogether. NJ S1774 is a bill that will arbitrarily ration the sale of handguns to one per month. It passed by a disappointing vote of 21 to 15. Now, this kind of backdoor assaults on our second amendment rights is just the type of thing that makes people wary of government.

I bring this up because it coincides with the deployment of bulletin boards all over NJ that advise citizens to "Be Prepared". These advertisements are worth the money spent on them and educate folks to the value of being prepared in case of emergency, even if it's only a 3 day preparedness, it's a good start. However I look at these and see them as an acknowledgment that the government will not be there when you need them, at least not quickly and we all learned from Katrina that the government when they do show up, they will be looking to confiscate your firearms. So am I being paranoid when I see a state sponsored alert notice to "be prepared" in concert with legislation that seeks to eliminate your constitutional right to own a firearm?

Government today worries me a great deal since I think they look at citizens as useful producers instead of a collection of free minded individuals. Think about contacting your state representatives today to find out whats on their minds BEFORE they pass unconstitutional legislation.

The following text was copied from the National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action

Please contact the following State Senators, who supported S1774 and let them know how disappointed you are in them for supporting this bill.

State Senator James Beach (D-6)

State Senator Barbara Buono (D-18)

State Senator Richard Codey (D-27)

State Senator Sandra Cunningham (D-31)

State Senator Nia Gill (D-34)

State Senator John Girgeniti (D-35)

State Senator Robert Gordon (D-38)

State Senator Raymond Lesniak (D-20)

State Senator Fred Madden (D-4)

State Senator Dana Redd (D-5)

State Senator Ronald Rice (D-28)

State Senator Teresa Ruiz (D-29)

State Senator Nicholas Sacco (D-32)

State Senator Paul Sarlo (D-36)

State Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-32)

State Senator Bob Smith (D-17)

State Senator Brian Stack (D-33)

State Senator Shirley Turner (D-15)

State Senator Joseph Vitale (D-19)

State Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-37)

State Senator Jim Whelan (D-2)
*

Also, please take a moment to thank the following State Senators, who opposed this attack on our Second Amendment rights.

State Senator Diane Allen (R-7)

State Senator Bill Baroni (R-14)

State Senator Christopher Bateman (R-16)

State Senator Anthony Bucco (R-25)

State Senator Gerald Cardinale (R-396)

State Senator Christopher Connors (R-9)

State Senator Marcia Karrow (R-23)

State Senator Thomas Kean (R-21)

State Senator Joseph Kyrillos (R-13)

State Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-40)

State Senator Steven Oroho (R-24)

State Senator Joseph Pennacchio (R-26)

State Senator Robert Singer (R-30)

State Senator Stephen Sweeney (D-3)

State Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1)

Vacation Preps

2009-07-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

High Folks, just got back from vacation. A very exciting 2 weeks in Florida sailing, snorkeling, fishing and other great adventures. But while I was out on the water I got to thinking about what I would do if SHTF while I was on vacation. And frankly I was unprepared for that event should it occur. I would have been trapped in Florida with nothing more than my luggage and my wallet.

I admit to never giving any thought what so ever to preparedness while on vacation. I have some serious thinking to do about that. What about you?

Prep in a bucket

2009-06-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

I saw this post over on Hotel 23 and thought it was pretty clever.

Survival Bucket as the author notes, is not a new idea, but he was helping a friend and provided some photos to help. Another commenter posted a link for a Costco Bucket , now I won't pass judgment on the contents of the Costco bucket but I will raise some caution about the quality of the goods since you can't get your hands on them to actually see them. I like the original authors idea of building your own.

Either way, preps are preps.

2009-06-20T02:21:00.000-07:00

CQ CQ CQ NJ CQ CQ W4DMH CALLING CQ QRZ

OK now I have done it in true DX fashion for all you HAM'S out there.
I know others that read this will be real confused now but I would really like to hear from you HAM'S out there so I figured I would write in a language you would understand. We need to get HAM'S involved here so we can try to get a net going to help with off the grid communication among the prepper networks. I know there are many Ham's already involved in the prepper network and many more that read so please come forward and help us with getting this going. Now that all the people that read this (that are not HAM'S) are confused let me add one more slang that only the HAM'S will understand.

73 de W4DMH

PS Please email wvsantaclaus@aol.com so we can get to work on this.
_________________
God Bless all from the Wild and Wonderful West Virginia
Santa

Survival Seed Vault

2009-06-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

I received my first survival seed vault today. I have plans to buy 3 more over the next year, all to be stored in my root cellar for, you know, whenever.

Needless to say I have a few co-workers that think I'm nuts. But as I told them, "When you get tired of the looting and the riots, when you grow hungry waiting for your precious government to bring you food and water, I'll be all alone listening to the birds chirp while I tend to my garden. And NO, you can't get my address..........but you CAN start reading survival blogs if you want to survive.

Organization 101 : A database

2009-06-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, after some looking around and asking other prepper types what they do in order to keep supplies straight I found one topic I can address right away. And that's a database. Now, if you aren't familiar with building a database, this could be a problem. But if you have a general knowledge of using one, then you are in luck because you can start by using a pre-built template. MicroSoft offers a Home Inventory template that you can start with.

I used it to make a single entry, without editing any of the fields:

Noting that any of these fields are easily modified to what ever you want, you can see the utility of using a database for inventory control. this template is for office 2007, for templates on earlier versions, Use this Access 2000 Template.

I will get busy entering my data and try to keep a log of the progress for later posts. In the mean time I have noticed that others have done databases as well and would like to hear from them about how it works, mainly on the maintenance and addition of items. Now the question: Is one database enough? Or will I need one for food as well as one for inventory?

I'm finding out that acquiring preps, storing preps, and using preps are all very different issues.

Organization = Success

2009-06-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

In trying to come up with things to talk about that are new, or fresh and not just another re-hash of how to build a BOB, I came up with organization. I got this because I was cleaning up the garage and I found a small box that contained small prep items. A couple pocket reflecting mirrors, emergency water filtration devices, 3 space blankets and two army ammo pouches among the items. I remembered these were an attempt to gather specific items to make small emergency survival kits that could easily be carried and contain a wealth of survival items. Well, I made those kits, but these were items that were initially bought, lost/misplaced in the garage, and re-bought.

I figured this is a common issue with most of us as we collect and gather our prep materials. Do you keep a check list? How about a database? A card file? or do you just rely on your memory? I find it amazing that the fastest way to find something is to buy a replacement for it.

Check lists are pretty good for starting your prepping, but I am not so sure about them as a way to catalog and maintain your supplies. A database would be slick, but in the PAW you are not likely to have a consistent power source so using your computer may be sketchy after the collapse, but before PAW it looks like a sound Idea.

A card file would be a nice manual method but would take some more than ordinary filing skills to maintain. But thinking about it may make some sense for me, I will just need to figure out a system that isn't overly complicated.

I hope to make a few more posts towards this end as I research it more thoroughly.

What do you use?

Memorial Day

2009-05-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrate Memorial day. We do that by having barbecues, open our pools, watch parades, and go shopping for great deals. Does anyone remember why a day in May has been designated as a memorial? I think there are plenty of people who do, but to me at least, it seems that our society has moved farther and farther away from remembering those who give the most in the name of Liberty, whether it's for us, or for the oppressed across the world.

So on Monday the 25th, at 3 pm EST, stop what you are doing and take a moment to remember that hundreds of thousands of men and women, who in the name of Life, Liberty and Freedom for all, gave their only true gift so that others might walk free and sleep soundly in the security they granted us.

Learn more about Memorial Day.

News and goings on...

2009-05-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

Watching the news lately has pretty much verified my belief that our society as we know it over the last 200 years or so is unraveling. Who knows if that will be good or bad, only time will tell. But for sure, the Western Civilization, free market, individual centered, freedom loving society we all know and have prospered under is on a downward trend.

All the more reason to start relying on yourself for things, because the government won't be able to help you unless you fit one of their "categories". and god help you if you actually produce something, you're pretty much doomed to some sort of confiscatory policy. As so much intrusive government policy is taking hold, how long before we have shortages of all kinds of things that we take for granted? Food, via government policy, is already being used for fuel and while that creates a windfall for farmers, it causes shortages and price increases at the grocery store and hurts the poorest of the poor more often than anyone else.

Every time the government tinkers with the free market, there is an equal and opposite reaction somewhere else. The government then tries to fix that as well thereby throwing everything into a hopeless spiral that can't be corrected. What are the chances that the government will just back away and let our system correct itself? None, that's what I thought you'd say.

In the blogs and Forums today:

Events, Connections, and Get togethers is a thread on Survivalistboards.com that tries to pull like minded folks together.

Snake Boots are a nice addition to your supplies. Stealth Survival has a nice little article about the necessity of them.

Rawles is ringing the bell loud and clear over at Survivalblog.com with respect to the global economy. If he's right, his book looks clarevoyant.

There are a bunch of nice discussions on Tactical P.A.W. Gear over on Hotel23.

Have a great day, and remember: What did you do to prepare today? Even if it's reading and learning, it's a good thing to prepare.

MRE Sale

2009-05-13T17:04:00.001-07:00

Just a fly-by note to let everyone know that MREDepot.com is having a pretty good sale if you buy 2 cases, you get free shipping. Works out to about $80 a case.

Nothing says "Prepared" like a couple of cases of MRE's on the shelf.

Wow, May 11th already

2009-05-11T06:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, into the second week of May already. Times moving whether I like it or not.

How is your garden doing? By now in NJ you should be harvesting your Asparagus and beets, have your beans, and a variety of other stuff planted. This is you prime opportunity to grow your own food stuffs and learn to set them up for winter. You can't trust corporate farms to be there for you forever.

Speaking of putting up food.....

Farmers markets will start appearing in my neck of the woods around the first week of June. There are a great way to support local farming and the bio-diversity needed to wean our way off of corporate engineered crops. They are also a very cheap way of getting fresh veggies to can. Consider them as a good source of wholesome food. If you can't garden enough, or can't garden at all, farmers markets are your alternative.

On the food front, I just picked up another case of MRE's for a reasonable $55. That makes 6 cases on the shelf. I'll probably back off for awhile and concentrate on more dry goods for now. Plus I want to get that Root cellar built and that may consume a whole load of my time.

On the Supply Front:

I have taught my son the proper way to build a First aid kit, posted earlier HERE, and he has taken to making a few more using cheap tackle boxes he gets at the Evil BigBox-mart. I'll let him continue for a little while, but those supplies are expensive. He's a good kid, try's hard. Look for Supplies for your first Aid needs HERE, they ship incredibly fast and they have literally everything you can think of.

Ammo Drought:

Man, is it me or is ammunition hard to come by these days? If any of you know of a good source in Jersey, please share it. Looks like the well is going dry for sure.

What have you done to Prep today?

Swine Flu update: 4/28

2009-04-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

Being prepard for a flu outbreak is pretty easy. Follow some basic rules about your hygene, stay away from crowds and you should be all right. Of course staying away from crowds assumes that you have all the necessary means to live alone in your house for a couple weeks. Funny, theres that 2 weeks window we talk about when we say "Short Term" preparedness.

Regarding the Flu outbreak, NY has had a school close down after 10 students decided to go to Mexico for a Senior trip instead of going the normal route with everyone else. Oh well, that's the unlucky lottery in my opinion. On the good side of this is that we are in the greatest country in the world and our standard of living and well being far surpasses places like Mexico.

Things seem to be progressing as they should health wise, people taking care, our pharmaceutical industry gearing up and so on. Now my biggest fear is the media and the hysteria they seem to thrive on. This is a time for calculated moves and level heads, not whipped up lunacy by the non-stop talking heads on the network news.

Anyway, use the links provided to keep updated, and stay cool, calm, and collected.

2009-04-28T06:08:00.001-07:00

Get this Widget

Being Prepared - Swine Flu update 4/26/09

2009-04-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

Currently at the CDC: H uman Swine Influenza Investigation , this doesn't include the NY Tests , hoping those come out negative.

Here's a link for our friends over at Tennessee Preppers:
Biosurveillance, an excellent tracking tool.

Touching Base

2009-04-25T04:41:00.001-07:00

A Swine Flu outbreak in Mexico has folks concerned and there was a strange sickness out break in NY this past week. Read more HERE. Make sure you have standard prep items on hand, water, food for 7-14 days, some basic masks and gloves. And be prepared to stay home for awhile in case an outbreak is serious. We live in a densely populated area, germs travel fast.

Our Illustrious leaders in Washington want to be able to control what you see on the Internet, This smells bad. Not sure how you prepare for a government take over of the information systems. HAM Radio anyone?

Speaking of which, I could use some good links for HAM radio operation and education. This is a great thread over at Hotel 23.

Why are YOU prepping?

2009-04-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hello. My name is njprepper and I fell priveleged to contribute to this blog. I hope to add value to this blog with the benefit of some of my experiences. I also hope to learn from other contributors on this forum and others about prepping and self-sufficiency. Together we may make the world a little better, if only if a single person gets an idea or motivation to get started with prepping.

I currently live in a moderately sized town in northern New Jersey. For most of my career I lived in South Texas, had some land in the Hill Country, gardened and tried to be as self sufficient as possible. Never heard of survivalism or prepping, although I DO own every issue of The Mother Earth News back to No.1. Then in rapid succession I had neck surgery that forced me to change careers, I moved to New Jersey, Y2K came and went as did 9/11. Now we have to hear about anthrax attacks, suitcase nukes, SARS, bird-flu and we may be in the worst economic downturn in the history of the United States. So I now am shifting into high gear, dusting off some of my old supplies and wish to pose this question to the group: What exactly are YOU prepping FOR? Is there any scenario that you specifically fear, and if so, how are you tailoring your preparations?

Are you preparing for when the SHTF? If you have a retreat or bug-out property, how do you have it supplied? Will you transfer your current supplies to the remote location? If so, how and when? Do you expect the roads to be open and accessible? Do you have a job that requires you to be in the city or do you live there full time?

Do you anticipate basic social amenities to continue (water, electric) albeit sporadically, and remaining comfortable due to your preparations while others may suffer? Or do you expect a SERIOUS breakdown in such services, where lack of service may be the norm (similar to a third world or war-torn country) where your neighbors may be in serious trouble? What about short term breakdowns such as hurricanes or serious weather issues?

Or, do you just not want to be dependent on just-in-time stocking and deliveries, so that you will always know you can make it on your own in comfort? Do you prepare for the contingency that you may suffer a work setback such as a layoff or plant shutdown?

I make judgements against no one for their beliefs or expectations. I follow several "survivalist" blogs, and while I find some of their ideas and writings extreme, especially regarding civil unrest and such, I respect their beliefs wholeheartedly and will defend their right to express them.

So, what are YOU prepping for and why?

_________________________________________________
"Do ... or do not. There is no try." - Yoda, Star Wars VII
(sometimes these campy aphorisms actually make sense.)

Knives and You, it's all bout the edge....

2009-04-13T08:23:00.001-07:00

Hey folks, how are your knives? Sharp I hope but if not pay attention, I have some information to share. Knives are an essential part of our preparation for a future in which your regular Henkel Kitchen knife might not be sufficient. For this discussion I'll be breaking knives into 3 categories: Camping, hunting and Survival. I choose this break out because after looking at all the scenarios I could think of I was able to generally group them that way. Kind of boiling it down to essentials if you will. Grab a cup of coffee while I pontificate......

Camping Knives: These knives should be of the multi-purpose variety. A camping/backpacking knife will be used for general cutting and maybe some whittling of an emergency tent stake or cutting some branches so a straight edge blade is necessary. If you are fishing and you have a need to clean your fish then you may feel a requirement for a serrated blade for cutting and or filleting the fish. Now you could pack separate knives but in a scenario of backpacking or camping space and weight are a concern, so a multi bladed knife serves the situation very well. A favorite for this class of knives if a Leatherman like tool that provides you with other blades, scissors, or pliers. Good choices for these types of knives are the previously mentioned Leatherman, The Zillatool, an Everyday Buck Knife, or one of the new Ignitor series. These are just some examples to get you started.

Hunting Knives: This is a special purpose knife that really depends on the user. I can point to some very specific purposes and how they affect the use and utility of this type of knife, but the acquiring of one is a exercise in comfort and competence. Generally speaking a Hunting knife will be a straight edge knife with a strong blade that is fixed and made of full-tang premium 440A stainless steel. Stainless Steel will not rust but it will corrode if you don't take care of it. These knives are used for skinning and field dressing animals, possibly even to cut through bone, so a sturdy blade and handle are of utmost importance. You won't need a serrated blade here as they aren't meant to be used on the type of action that occurs during the dressing of an animal. Small points have a way of breaking of when you use a twisting action so, once again, a stout straight edged blade will suit you well. Make sure the Blade is fixed, folding knives have to many nooks and crannies that can hide blood, fur and bacteria that will only mess you up later on. You'll want to have a small guard as well to make sure your hand won't slip while your elbow deep in blood. And finally the handle should be comfortable and easy to grip. Some new materials that are now available for the grips are Micarta, hardwoods, or stacked leather. Good examples of Hunting knives are CRKT's Russ Krommer Series, Gerber Freeman, and the Buck Vanguard Series.

Survival Knives: This class, to me anyway, is the biggest grouping of knives simply because the term "Survival" can me pretty much anything to anyone. So consequently you can throw any knife into this pile. Basically, survival knives are an evolution of military issued knives that were meant to help downed Airmen and sailors survive a hostile environment until they could be rescued. Today we benefit from many years of these types of knives being developed by both the military and survival experts. Survival knives take into consideration all of the features of a Camping or Hunting knife, yet may not be uniquely suited for either of those purposes. But, we can address the general needs of a survival knife and possibly define the features that you will need to include when you go shopping for that elusive companion to your post apocalyptic days. These knives can be of multiple varieties, Fixed Blade, Folding Blade, Multi-purpose, Multi-tool, and machete-variations. The blade should, in this case, be a High Carbon Steel blade as they are easier to sharpen and hold an edge longer. Try to avoid Stainless steel in this category as they can be difficult to sharpen well and the features of Stainless are not as well suited for survival as they are for Hunting. It all comes down to your local and your preference an location.
For New Jersey it's hard to define a location specific survival knife as we are so diverse. Those folks that live in areas such a Newark, Camden, Trenton, will all need multi-tool type knives, or at least a multi-tool as a companion to the survival knife. A survival or escape scenario from an urban setting could require tools. Examples of of these are mentioned above. If you feel that a multi-tool isn't much of a knife (I agree with you), then you can always carry a companion blade that is more useful for cutting, remembering that it is more weight to carry of course. Those of us in the reaches of Morris, Hunterdon and Sussex Counties will all want a Multi purpose type knife as our area would require more field or woodsman type scenarios. some good examples of Survival knives are Ka-Bar Becker Companion, Bark River Bravo-1 (a little pricey), Gerber LMF-II, Leatherman Wave, CRKT Zillatool, and a Becker Knife & Tool CM-BK7

All in all this topic is so unique to the user it's hard to go in depth unless your a major knife expert. So please take some time to shop and get educated before you purchase and plan. And always remember, safety first, there's no 911 to call after the zombies arrive.

Useful links and Videos: Pack & Carry Video, Emergency Sharpening, How to Choose a survival knife

Slow down darn it......

2009-04-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

To Quote Brooks Hatlen "The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry." and THAT my friends is a shame. Last night as we enjoyed my Daughters 18th Birthday dinner we spoke about a new cell phone plan for the family. I stated right off that all I "needed" was a phone, all that other junk was just that, junk and I didn't need it. Of course I was met with jeers and general taunts that I was "old" and out of touch. Well, I am neither, I just don't want to be buzzed all day with the goings on of every little thing. Since when does anything I do absolutely need to be addressed immediately? In fact I would hazard to guess that if everyone just sat still for 15 minutes they would realize that unless someone is bleeding, nothing needs to be addressed NOW.

Preparation for the future takes time, and patience. It requires us to survey our surroundings and our situation, to evaluate threats and environment, and to make decisions based on fact. Do it to fast and you make mistakes, do it to slow and life hangs in the balance.

Take a few minutes each day to sit at your kitchen table and think in silence about where you are and where you are going. Everyone connected to you will benefit.

Enjoy your Monday.

New Jersey Survival

2009-04-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

Quick, how much wilderness does New Jersey have? Ha, you said none didn't you? Well, despite more than three centuries of development almost half of New Jersey is still wooded. The chief tree of the northern forests is the oak. A large part of the southern section is in pine. There is plenty of room to hide and survive off the land. In my part on NJ there is ample farm land, about 1000 acres right behind the house.

As I watch the wildlife in my back yard, which include ample Fox, turkey, deer and bear, I think that I could use more wildlife skills. more than just being able to "exist" outside, I want to be able to survive and live happily.

I'll be following up on that some more in the coming posts. Maybe a tracking class, yeah, that may be the next thing to do........

Mice and your food storage

2009-04-06T08:31:00.001-07:00

When the winter comes in my area of NJ, the mice decide that my house is a vacation haven. Now, I'm all for live and let live when it comes to animals I can't eat. But there comes a time when you have to say enough already. I employ two cats, and our relationship is a simple one. Keep the house free of vermin and I'll feed you, keep you healthy and even scratch your ears every now and again. But I have to call foul here, these cats, while catching an occasional rodent and leaving it on the steps for me to step on is good, they aren't working hard enough.

This weekend while clearing the shelves for stock rotation and culling out expired stuff I found the following: One (1) bag of Ramen, half gone, One (1) bag of pecans UNDER the shelves, empty with a small hole in the bag, and finally, One (1) box of Rice-A-Roni, once again UNDER the shelves, empty with a hole chewed into the side. ENOUGH I SAY.

Eh, righteous indignation, I love it. I've been moving to cans for some time now and these little annoyances are slowly going away but it can be therapeutic to rant about them. But the reality of having mice running around in the dark around my food stores is still upsetting to me. So I thought I would talk a little about rodent control and your food supply.

This little tidbit comes from Do it yourself Pest Control : A mouse will eat almost anything, but prefer cereal grains, seeds, or sweet material. They require very little water, obtaining most of their water needs from their food. Mice can consume large quantities of stored seed and grains from farmers and granaries. A truer statement has never been spoken, trust me. and the main point of my discussion here today will be about eliminating the reason the mice come visit: FOOD. During rotations I am restocking almost all of my stored food in cans and or Jars. I have also found that plastic containers such as food grade 5 gallon buckets are a good way to store large amounts of items and keep out unwanted pests. There are also elaborate Canned food rotation racks that you can purchase, they are however very expensive.

When considering Can storage you need to consider space. So FIFO Can storage racks are pretty cool. Availability is pretty good and the price is about $27-$30 for a mini rack that can store 25 cans. Take a look HERE and HERE for some ideas. Of course there's always the super solution and that's pretty cool from a can storage point of view.

As I go through my food storage and move away from foods that need no refrigeration, preparation or cooking I find that I get a more hands on knowledge of what my prep exactly contains. It sort of keeps me in touch and more comfortable in the knowledge. The folks over at Pharoh's Storehouse have a pretty good short section on the 7 Reasons Why Food Storage is Important. We can all come up with 7 reasons now can't we?

Now, back to my fight the the furry little buggers, lets see if they can chew through a can.

A Bug out Bag for your kid

2009-04-03T06:23:00.000-07:00

My daughter is heading off to college in Tennessee this summer and it is a little over a 14 drive from my house to her new school. So that got me thinking of what kind of emergency bag she will need to have in her car being so far from home and all. Now, a firearm is out of the question simply because she will be on a college campus as well as traversing many different states going back and forth. As much as I would like her to have one, I don't think it's practical at the moment. So going forward I will be putting together a list of equipment and the bag it will be going in, and share it with all of you here. I'll include the links for purchasing the gear, how much I paid for it, and some pictures of the whole kit and kaboodle as we go along.

So lets start with the bag, or back-pack. In discussing this with some other prepper type folks, the question came up "Well, what's this bag for?". My answer was simple emergencies, being stuck on the road, or having to get home in the event that the whole country comes unglued and she feels the need to head back to NJ. (Although truth be told, I'd tell her to stay in Tennessee, we'll come to her.) So that leads to the question of having to carry the bag for a long period of time. I still lean towards a bag with a shoulder strap, but my pals are trying to convince me that a back pack would be more suitable, and the little lady thinks so as well.

So, I chose a Maxpedition MERLIN™ Folding Backpack for the bug out bag that will go with my daughter to Tennessee. Mainly because it can be carried easily and this particular bag has lots of functionality. Although I would say shop around to see what kind of deals you can get.

Next came the list of "ingredients".

Flashlight
spare batteries. Check out this spare battery holder I found from County Comm.
A prepared First Aid Kit, available on line or from your local camping store. Choose the size you feel appropriate.
Space Blanket
2 Rolls of Quarters
1 Roll of dollar Coins
50 Feet of Para cord
1 Liter of bottled water
Matches / Fire Starter
Compass
12v trouble light w/cig. lighter plug
Knife
Pad and Pencil
Whistle
Emergency mirror

That's about it. Although I find that when I build a kit like this, laying it all out on the table in front of me usually leads to modifications in the ingredients of the kit.

Why don't you think about building some kits for your car, office, and around the house. Large or small they can make a difference when stuff collides with the fan. Check out lists over at The Big List.

Your Library

2009-03-28T06:09:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share some links. Your library will be your biggest source of info outside your HAM radio when a disaster hits. Particularly if it's a long term one. I'll share some links with you for manuals and such......

Random Manuals and How To's

The Disease.net - there is a lot of data here from firearms manuals to Army TM's and FM's. Some data is old, but there is plenty to chose from.

Survival & Self Reliance - A nice source to keep handy, good rading and plenty of How-To Info.

Librum Reading Room - A Library on line. Books include many building, gardening, and Farming/Homesteading materials.

As you can guess, this list can go on for as long as the Internet is wide. I'd appreciate suggestions to add to the list.

What have you done today to prepare?

Ammo, the new currency and how to store it.

2009-03-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of folks who say that Ammunition will become the best barter currency around in a Post Apocalyptic World. This may be true and in that case, you'd better have a lot of it lying around. With that in mind I asked a few friends how they store their ammo and I got pretty much the same response from them all. Ammo boxes. They are cheap, readily available from surplus stores, and can hold large amounts with out breaking. You should also think about magazine storage. A friend of mine was quick to point out that storing your ammo in loaded magazines is a good idea, just buy lots and lots of them, load them up and put them on the shelf. the wear and tear on a spring in the magazine comes from constant loading and unloading of the spring, not from being in a compressed state fro long periods of time. So consider that with your bulk storage options as well.

A few things to remember when preparing for storage:

LOW Humidity: If you are storing open ammo then there is little problem. But if you are storing it in it's cardboard box inside a metal ammo box, then you need to have the cardboard box sit next to a dehumidifier for awhile.
Temperature: This shouldn't be a problem unless you are planning to keep it in the oven, most ammo will survive a wide range of temperatures from -65 F to 122F. That's not to say that Ammo doesn't have an optimal temp range, but for storage most anywhere dry will be ok.
Rotation: Date the boxes when you put them in storage and rotate them so you are always using the oldest first. Dating the box will also help remind you of how often you need to purchase to keep your stock levels at a comfortable point.
Inspection: Check your stock every 12-24 months, just a spot check will do. Random boxes checked for the proper humidity levels and look for any type of corrosion or rust.
Clean: Make sure the ammo is clean and wiped off if you touch it before you close up the box.

I found a nice little project for you that is incredibly easy to make and cheap too! The guys over at Front Toward Enemy (where I got the idea for this post) provide nice instructions and pictures for a Single Lock Locker Box using a 40MM Ammo Can. The lock is a necessary touch, and they also reccomend a Humidity cards or discs placed inside together with a desiccant pack. The Humidity card or disc will give you a real quick way to see if you are at the 30% level, this makes your inspections fast and easy.

One final point I'd like to bring up about Ammunition storage. Keep it locked up and safe from the kids or other unfavorables who would like to relieve you of having to keep it. As always with your firearms, safety is point number one.

Links:
Front Towards Enemy, We the Armed: Ammo thread

How about a Root cellar?

2009-03-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

I got plans to build a root cellar this summer, I mentioned the little book in a previous post, so feel free to check it out. I had the idea of a root cellar because I need a place to store vegetables over the winter without having to bring them indoors where, I swear, all the field mice in NJ come to eat. Anyway, in looking at the multiple ways to store food outdoors I was amazed at the variety of ways to do it. This included leaving some specific crops in the ground and mulching heavily over them, which would work in NJ for sure, but is probably not advisable for northern climates.

I got onto this idea after watching an episode of the Discovery TV Series The Alaska Experiment In which one of the couples were trying to find ways to store food, and honestly they had good ideas but poor execution. Their Idea was to bury a can in the ground and take advantage of the earths natural ability to provide a steady temperature. Good idea right? I thought so too so I found a nice diagram of the proper way to do this, and it's available over at thefoodguys.com. I also found a neat "pallet root cellar" HERE, very clever, easy, and larger than a buried garbage can.

The most important thing when storing your food underground is to keep it from getting wet, wetness equals rot and rot equals no food. So a few things to remember when deciding what kind of crop to place in your new underground storage unit are as follows:

Root crops including carrots, beets, turnips and parsnips all adapt to storage well and do best at near freezing and a relatively high humidity. Onions will need less humidity to discourage neck rot.

Leafy crops like celery and cabbage will store as well, but they have to be separate from root crops as they give off a gas that is harmful to other crops.

When selecting vegetables for storage throw away (or eat) any that is remotely close to turning or unsound. If they are allowed to be close to other crops they will affect them.

Do plenty of research on curing the different types of crops for storage. This is a science that is easily learned and there is plenty of online help available. The more I research, the more I learn and the more excited I am to give it a try. I am sure I'll make mistakes, but remember: Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.

A few good food storage links:

Washington State University : Storing Fruits and Vegetables at Home

Cornell Cooperative extension: Storing guidelines for Fruits and Vegetables

Mother Earth News: Build a basement Root Cellar

Hobby Farms: Produce bound underground

Within 36 hours of a natural or man made disaster the food shelves at the local stores will be bare, if there are serious disruptions to the delivery system, they will stay that way for long periods of time. Prices will skyrocket and chaos will be the order of the day. With a little effort we can all make sure we have at least a 2 week supply stored for our families and with a little diligence, maybe more.

Water Storage

2009-03-21T05:32:00.000-07:00

I'd like to talk about water storage today because I think many of us don't think about it at all. I have mentioned previously that you would need a gallon a day per person to be comfortable, but you would only need a quart a day to survive. Very different numbers and two very different ways of looking at your storage amounts.

So lets do some math: Family of four(4), one (1) gallon per person per day, fourteen (14) days minimum for your average emergency and bam you need to store 56 gallons of water, potable water no less. Now, how do you store that much water? A great way is to use food grade barrels available at plenty of on line retailers, just search for Closed Head Polyethyene Drums. A drum like this will store your water for a year before you have to empty and clean it.

When we talk about water most of us just seem to take for granted that clean water is everywhere, but as most disasters show us, clean water can be pretty darn hard to find when you need it most and boiling it will only kill bacteria not remove poisons or heavy metals. So the next thing to address is filtration. Filtration can happen at the lowest level while you are backpacking with a device such as THIS , or you can have an elaborate setup such as THESE. But whatever you choose you have to address the need for more filters, mobility, and the amount of water you want to store, a couple canteens, or 2 weeks worth.

Water is essential to life and in our gloomy future wars will be fought over it. But god always seems to drop some on us every once and awhile, might as well catch some for future use, know what I mean?

2009-03-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, i want to commend jay on the articles he has been posting. I wanted to give everyone a little help on obtaining some of the information jay has been posting. What made me think of this was the post titled Preparedness in Print. Jay listed some books and manuals that would be good to add to your arsenal, Basically to get to the point you can find just about any document, book, movie, etc... for free and completely legal. I like to use two different methods, the first is a file sharing program http://utorrent.com/ . once you download this program you can use any file sharing site that you prefer. I did a quick search on http://www.mininova.org/ and found two out of four instantly. Now all i have to do is download them and then that's it, they'll be on my computer anytime i wish to view them. You can also type in the search for ex. "survival" or "plants" after that it's pretty much take your pick on what you want to download. Now to get on with this, The second site i like is http://www.scribd.com/ - this site is loaded with just about any document or book you can think of. If you want to download you have to register, but registration is free as are the above sites completely free. I dont know how computer savy everyone is so If anyone has any questions please dont hesitate to contact me I'd be glad to help. Keep up the good work jay, talk to everyone later

Organic Gardening

2009-03-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

This year I have set as one of my goals, to learn the art of canning. when I was a kid my mother and grandmother always "put up" fruit and vegetables for the winter, and I distinctly remember my Aunts basement lined with Jars of everything from Tomatoes to apples. So instead of growing a garden and giving away all the extra stuff, I want to make every effort possible to save it for the winter, or what ever befalls us in the next year.

I have to admit that I was led to this task by reading a book by an author that I share absolutely no political beliefs with, but this book isn't about politics, it's about living free from corporations and the government intervention of our food supply. The book is Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver and the purpose of the book was to show how to break your cycle on corporate farms and the constant screwing around that the government does with our food supply. The author tracks her family's quest to become totally self sufficient on producing their own food for 1 full year. This is, to me at least, a survivalist's dream and the books actually provides a wealth of information on how to move in that direction. Planning, canning, storage of all sorts, plus a ton of knowledge on things like bio-diversity in crops and livestock. There is a reason Monsanto wants to control all of your grain foods you know.

Anyhow, I though I would pass on a few items for the readers that will help them get moving towards a life of a "Locavore" (A person who eats only what they can grow or purchase locally). Ms. Kingsolvers book is a good start, but you also need to know where you can get heirloom seeds and ways to get your garden moving without the use of over processed fertilizers or non-organic stuff beign absorbed in your food supply. Take a look at the links below, I have used them all over the past few years so I feel they have some value.

Get those Tomato Seeds started!!!

Heirloom Tomato Seeds - Over 700 varietes of Heriloom Tomato and Vegetable Seeds

Garden State Heirloom Seed Society - Great source of information for people wishing to grow organic heirloom vegetables

Organic Gardening - Grow your food without poisons injected by corporate over the counter junk.

New Jersey Eat wild - your source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork, dairy and other wild edibles.

Know how to Can - And of course, know how to store all those great vegetables.

Plus you can just type "Food Storage" into Youtube and a whole day of viewing pops up.

What have you done to prepare today?

James Wesley, Rawles Fans

2009-03-18T06:16:00.000-07:00

For you fans of the book Patriots: Surviving the coming collapse, did you know the Author has a blog? Yep, you can check it out HERE and while you are there make sure you check up on his list of things like Trades, Tools, and your Firearms battery.

Speaking of Firearms and related topics. I am not an expert on anything more than using my weapons safely. BUT if you are into guns, ammo, the various laws governing them and all that "Gun Porn" then I suggest you visit We The Armed. Their mission on that message board is to become the preeminent source on all things related to personal defense.

Another note for you New Jersey Gun owners, or wannabe gun owners. This website NJGuns is an awesome resource for people trying to navigate the guns laws in our over-regulated state. There is even a list of Attorneys that will help with Gun related issues. Check it out.

Preparedness in Print

2009-03-17T20:11:00.000-07:00

Heres a couple of books I have acquired in the last 2 months. Keep in mind that the books you choose should have far reaching purpose, by that I mean they will provide you with information in the Post Apocalyptic environment, not just in preparation for it.

Build Your Own Underground Root Cellar
Author: Phyllis Hobson
This is a small 32 page book that gives some pretty good detailed instructions on a root cellar.

Handy Farm Devices: And how to make them
Author: Rolf Cobleigh
A handy book but the instructions are small and not to detailed. It's more of an idea book from way back in the day. When there are no more hardware stores, this book will be handy.

FM 21-76 US Army Survival Manual
Ok, so I've had this for awhile, since 79 to be exact when they issued it to me. The stuff in there will NEVER get old. You can get this at Barnes & Nobles now, saw it there on display in front of the store and thought that was kind of ominous. There are plenty of knock off's with names that come close, so be wary.

Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers, and Ponds for Domestic Supply, Fire and Emergency Use--Includes How to Make Ferrocement Water Tanks
Author: Art Ludwig
This is an awesome book. I was looking for ways to store large amounts of rainwater for my garden and this did it. The projects range from small to crazy large, but you need to learn to store large amounts of water if you are to survive. 1 gallon per day per person is the recommended amount just to stay alive, cook, and be healthy. What about your food source? The garden needs water too.

I try to buy my books used on Amazon, or at local used book stores. You can also try the couple of on line book trading sites as another source.

The Survivalist

2009-03-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

M.D. Creekmore over at The Survivalist Blog has put together a nice list of Barter Items you should think about having around should the Collapse of our markets occur.

Read more Here. I like his point about bartering Ammunition.

Get Trained

2009-03-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

CPR, Basic First Aid, Food Storage, Water Collection, Growing Food, all of these points are critical to long term survival. How much training do you need? How much can you get? How much does it cost?

Back in 2002 when then President Bush was looking for ways to organize volunteers, he created the Citizen Corps Program and from that rose the Community Emergency Response Teams here in Jersey. Now, I have my reservations because CERT is a government program, so of course right away I think red tape and wasted money. BUT by joining a local CERT organization, you can get some really good training:

From the CERT website:

If you join a CERT, you will receive basic-level training in the following areas:

Basic First Aid
Family Disaster Preparedness
Disaster Fire Suppression
Medical Operations
CERT Operations
Disaster Mental Health
Basic Emergency Management
Disaster Simulation -- Skills Review

Total training is usually about 18 hours, scheduled in 2-4 hour modules, over a period of weeks or months, in order to address the scheduling needs of team members. It's held in the community where you live.

Training courses, student materials and equipment are provided free of charge.

Of course, taking the training you have an obligation to the program, and truth be know, there is strength in numbers and being in a community of people that are trained and prepared will always be a good thing. The longer you can survive without depending on the government, the better off you will be.

What have you done to prepare today?

Something as simple as...

2009-03-17T07:59:00.001-07:00

A Home First Aid Kit.
I was helping my son with his First Aid merit badge last night and I thought about just how many people have prepared for the small problems, forget the large ones. So lets start small. And build yourself a First Aid Kit for your home or car.

The Red Cross recommends that you carry a kit or "Know when and where to find one." Right, in the event of a emergency or disaster, you and the other 400 people in your vicinity can all fight over the first aid kit. Better to have your own squirreled away for you and your family. Below I listed the essentials of a Home or Car First Aid kit along with some links that will help you in getting prepared. This kit is suitable for a family of four.

2 absorbent compress dressings (5 x 9 inches)
25 adhesive bandages (assorted sizes)
1 adhesive cloth tape (10 yards x 1 inch)
5 antibiotic ointment packets (approximately 1 gram)
5 antiseptic wipe packets
2 packets of aspirin (81 mg each)
1 blanket (space blanket)
1 breathing barrier (with one-way valve)
1 instant cold compress
2 pair of non-latex gloves (size: large)
2 hydro cortisone ointment packets (approximately 1 gram each)
Scissors
1 roller bandage (3 inches wide)
1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
5 sterile gauze pads (3 x 3 inches)
5 sterile gauze pads (4 x 4 inches)
Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
2 triangular bandages
Tweezers
First aid instruction booklet

Customize this kit to your needs by adding things like personal medications, phone numbers, and a flashlight with extra batteries. Check the kit twice a year for expiration dates and fresh batteries, do this around the time that your clocks change so you get used to doing it in the spring and in the fall.

Why prepare?

2009-03-16T11:43:00.001-07:00

Why prepare? I hear that question all the time from friends and family, heck I've even asked it myself back when I was younger. But ask yourself this: Have you ever lost power and were frustrated for days because you got no answer from authorities regarding repairs? Have you ever been stuck somewhere in the snow and wondered if you were going to be safe? Or how did you feel watching all those people in New Orleans after Katrina hit on '05?

When you consider preparation for long term disaster, or short term trouble, remember this: It's up to YOU to survive, don't make the mistake of thinking the government is going to help you first. They'll get to you sooner or later, but be sure, it's going to be later so YOU need to be ready, YOU need to be prepared.

Ask your self this question every day : What Have I done to prepare today?

Coming Soon...

2009-03-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

Jay will be operating New Jersey Preppers Network. Welcome Jay! If anyone would like to be a Team member and contribute, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail to: AmericanPrepper@yahoo.com

Welcome

2009-02-28T18:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the New Jersey Preppers Network. My user name is Bullseye and I am the Eastern Regional Coordinator for American Preppers Network. I am from Kentucky and part of the Kentucky Preppers Network too. I will be making a few posts on this Network until we find an individual who is interested in running the Network. If you are a patriot, survivalist, homesteader or are interested in preparedness you may be the person we are looking for. If you are interested please contact me, Bullseye, 1kentuckyprepper@gmail.com or Tom, americanprepper@yahoo.com for more information. Until then I have found a few web sites that I think all New Jersey residents would want to be aware of. I have listed them below for your convenience.

NJ Office of Emergency Management

NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness

NJ Hurricane Preparedness

NJ Emergency Preparedness Association

These are a few very useful links for all the residents of New Jersey. Please book mark these and I will be adding the links for each on the side bar so you will be able to find them when you need them most.
Thank you all so much for your time and I will be posting again in the very near future. Comments are always welcome and I reply to each as time permits. Thank you.