Ads 468x60px

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Candles For Lighting


Yard sales have not been too good this summer, but I have found a few things. One of the best was what I got at a yard sale this past weekend. A huge shoe box, a size 13 pair of KSwiss used to be in them, full of safety candles!! Guess what I paid for it. A whole $3.00!! I could not believe it. I even told the woman that I thought that she might want to keep them in case she needs them later and she just said oh I need them out of my house. Too cluttered. So, Cool, I got them. There are over a hundred in there. I burned one that night just to see how good of quality they are and I had to put it out when I went to be a couple hours later and it was only about half burned down. So they are good quality candles. Probably about 5 hour candles.

Below are some candle safety tips: Got the list from National Candle Association Website

The National Candle Association urges consumers to be careful when burning candles, and to following these rules for burning candles safely.

Always keep a burning candle within sight. Extinguish all candles when leaving a room or before going to sleep.

Never burn a candle on or near anything that can catch fire. Keep burning candles away from furniture, drapes, bedding, carpets, books, paper, flammable decorations, etc.

Keep candles out of the reach of children and pets. Do not place lighted candles where they can be knocked over by children, pets or anyone else.

Trim candlewicks to ¼ inch each time before burning. Long or crooked wicks cause uneven burning and dripping.

Always use a candleholder specifically designed for candle use. The holder should be heat resistant, sturdy and large enough to contain any drips or melted wax.

Be sure the candleholder is placed on a stable, heat-resistant surface. This will also help prevent possible heat damage to counters and table surfaces and prevent glass containers from cracking or breaking.

Keep the wax pool free of wick trimmings, matches and debris at all times.

Always read and follow the manufacturer's use and safety instructions carefully. Don't burn a candle longer than the manufacturer recommends.

Keep burning candles away from drafts, vents, ceiling fans and air currents. This will help prevent rapid, uneven burning, and avoid flame flare-ups and sooting. Drafts can also blow lightweight curtains or papers into the flame where they could catch fire.

Always burn candles in a well-ventilated room. Don't burn too many candles in a small room or in a "tight" home where air exchange is limited.

Don't burn a candle all the way down. Extinguish the flame if it comes too close to the holder or container. For a margin of safety, discontinue burning a candle when 2 inches of wax remains or ½ inch if in a container.

Never touch a burning candle or move a votive or container candle when the wax is liquid.

Never use a knife or sharp object to remove wax drippings from a glass holder. It might scratch, weaken, or cause the glass to break upon subsequent use.

Place burning candles at least three inches apart from one another. This is to make sure they don't melt one another, or create their own drafts that will cause the candles to burn improperly.

Use a candle snuffer to extinguish a candle. It's the safest way to prevent hot wax from splattering.

Never extinguish candles with water. The water can cause the hot wax to splatter and might cause a glass container to break.

Be very careful if using candles during a power outage. Flashlights and other battery-powered lights are safer sources of light during a power failure. Never use a candle during a power outage to look for things in a closet, or when fueling equipment - such as a lantern or kerosene heater.

Make sure a candle is completely extinguished and the wick ember is no longer glowing before leaving the room.

Extinguish a candle if it smokes, flickers repeatedly, or the flame becomes too high. The candle isn't burning properly and the flame isn't controlled. Let the candle cool, trim the wick, then check for drafts before re-lighting.

Never use a candle as a night light.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Looking for other supplies

I have been getting some solar powered items and then got it in my head that I had to have a solar powered fan. I looked on ebay and seen some that look like desk fans , about 5 inches across. I went to Google and did some looking around and the reviews on them were not too good. Not a lot of power and no real fan movement to where you can feel them. So now I still want a solar powered fan , but do not know what to get. There are some out there that are like attic fans or vent fans , but they are way out of my budget. WHAT TO DO??
Download our free toolbar

Friday, August 14, 2009

Solar Power is AWESOME!

I went a few months ago and bought a bunch of rechargeable batteries. We go through a ton of batteries. Last week we had a really bad storm go through and our power went out for most of the day. Well, that made me realize that having rechargeable batteries would be useless without power. I went online and did some looking around and found on ebay some solar powered battery chargers!! I went a head and bought one that has a light on it even. Cool. It is real bright, too. So we will also have a light AND charged batteries!

The photo below shows my radios and my new battery charger in the only south facing window I have in my house. The yellow radio below also has a cell phone charger and a flashlight.


Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Earthquake Preparedness


All of the bad earthquakes in Japan the last couple of days have got me to thinking about being prepared for an earthquake. I live in a earthquake area.(Not California) I have been researching what to do and I have found some interesting things online.

Earthquake Preparedness

One major thing that I am reading is that your water and power might be disrupted so you need to be prepared for that. Also if you have natural gas you should probably shut it off. This web page has some great info on getting your preparedness kit ready.

The US Geological Survey website has tons of maps, info, and more to help. I also love my little add-on that I have on my Firefox browser that is called equake. It shakes your browser every time an earthquake happens any where in the world.



Download our free toolbar

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

A Mini Stove Necklace??

This is just so cool!! It is a Working Stove Necklace - great for hikers, survivalist, and more. It is also great looking. I wish that I had thought of something like this.


Download our free toolbar

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Prepared For Survival Tip Of The Day

I have not been baking a lot this summer, But I know that soon it will be cold again and I will be baking every day. So, if you bake a lot of bread , like I do , than this tip is great. Place a small oven proof dish in the oven filled with water while baking your bread and it will help to keep the crust of the bread from getting to hard.


Download our free toolbar





Affiliate Disclosure: I am grateful to be of service and bring you content free of charge. In order to do this, please note that when you click links and purchase items, in most (not all) cases I will receive a referral commission. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to share more information and get closer to getting my family totally off-grid and on our own piece of land. This will let me share more and more information to allow , hopefully, for you to become more self-sufficient and able to become more prepared by reading my blog and purchasing items that I share with you that will help you. Thank you! :)