Always Prepared!

Right now our family is really strapped for cash, but I have to say - our food storage is better than I thought it would have been in an emergency. Little Man has been on me for 2 days to make some kind of cookies! But, out of margarine and do not want to use peanut butter that we all eat on toast for cookies. So, I dug deeper into the "stores" and got the Margarine Powder and Peanut Butter Powder and baked some pretty good peanut butter cookies. A much needed treat on a day that had started out not too good. Having a food stockpile has turned out to be the best thing that we have ever done for our family. By the Grace of God we are going to make it through the stuff that is going on in our family now.

Free Off Grid Living DVD

Here’s what we cover in this brand new DVD that is sold exclusively here:

• How I set up my solar power system using this "simple little trick" for maximum efficiency
• How we wired our affordable and easy-to-use solar panels, and how you can do this too...
• We go over the inverter, the controller and the batteries and what they do to maximize your power output.
• Our backup system in case the weather doesn’t cooperate!
• Our affordable but powerful wind power system and how it works – it’s so simple you’ll laugh when you see it…
• I go through every room of the house and show you our power efficiency tricks so that we need a small, easy-on-the-wallet power system!
• I’ll show you how we use the sun to heat AND COOL our house for FREE
• I’ll go through all the little tricks and tips you can do that can slash your power bill BEFORE you ever spend a dime on solar!
• Why anyone can do this with a little bit of elbow grease and desire for independence.

And its all FREE in the Off Grid Solar DVD. FREE Off Grid Solar DVD

Homeschool Minute - Lifecycle of a Frog

 

We had fun yesterday using our Insect Lore Frog Life Cycle Stages to learn about the life cycle of a frog. 

I had printed off a lifecycle sheet to use and it helped with having the actual frog life cycle to hold in hand and see it in "real-life". 

Little Man has been playing with them, too. Talking about them and has really gotten it too where he is saying them off without any help and really knows it now. Having a tool to hold in your hand really helps with learning. Insect Lore has all of the bugs too learn their life cycle! Great learning experience.

Homeschool Minute - Landforms

I did the water forms a while ago and shared how I made them  on here. 

                                                      Well last night I did landforms.
                                      Mountain, hill, cliff, valley, mesa, canyon, and plain.

                                              Another easy and frugal homeschool tool!
                                                These were free for me to make, Used what
                                                  I had left from making the waterforms

                                                                  http://preparedforsurvival.blogspot.com/2013/10/homeschool-minute-homemade-water.html

EMF Protection

EMF Protection: How to Stop Harmful EMFs, EMRs (including Cell Phone Radiation), & Dirty Electricity - the Invisible Threat to Your Family was a free book when I wrote this post.

 Every day there are new "smart" devices being introduced that promise to make our lives better and easier.

And while that might be true, there are also invisible and dangerous consequences to this technology that we are exposing ourselves to at a new and greater level (and it's only going to get worse as we become more dependent on automated technology).

As we become more "connected" with our electronic devices, so does the world around us.

Consider that:
- cell phones increasingly don't leave our pockets or bedsides
- WiFi equipment all around us is emitting dangerous electromagnetic radiation (sometimes 24/7)
* wifi routers
* cordless phones
* smart meters
* smart appliances, smoke alarms, alarm systems...
* cell phone towers
* electric cars
* power lines
* and many, many more

If you have been curious or even concerned about what all of the “smart” devices could be doing to your health, I hope you'll consider some startling data discussed in this book.

Additionally, if you have children, there are much greater risks that can have long term consequences.

If you currently have any unexplained health issues (i.e. like dizziness, sleep issues, loss of focus, etc.), EMF Sensitivity is a very possible culprit.

I wrote this book because as a doctor I was suffering from severe EMF and electromagnetic radiation exposure related health issues that literally took me months to piece together. If I, as a doctor, missed these signs, so could you.

I am so passionate about sharing what I now know about what these silent EMF dangers are doing to our health, that I want to help you prevent what happened to me.

I have successfully been able to cut the EMF Exposure in my home and surroundings by an estimated 80%, and because of that I believe that my health has been greatly improved. I also did so without spending a lot of money or feeling like I am missing out on the "technology" train.

I want to help dispel the truth and myths, so that you have the tools and knowledge you need to protect you, your family and especially your children!

*****
In this book you'll discover:
- How at risk you are now (you can take a short quiz to find out)
- 10 Simple and Affordable ways you can reduce your exposure
- Why this “invisible” exposure can be harming your health
- 11 unexplained health issues you might be experiencing now (there are many, but these are some of the most common)
- Why EMF is particularly dangerous for your children
- The biggest EMF offenders in your house, and what you can do about it
- The types of electropollution
- Compelling studies, charts and case studies
- Smart Meter myths and dangers
- Tools you can use to measure fields in your home
- What levels are "safe"
- Even if you are currently symptom free, risks of illness that can occur

BONUS: You’ll also have the opportunity to download a free worksheet (self assessment) that will help you further determine the current risk to your family now.

****
Learn how to protect yourself and your family.

Download the book today to learn about the dangers and 10 simple and affordable actions you can take today to protect you and your family from EMF exposure.
****

Dr. Ariel Policano has over 10 years of clinical experience in natural medicine.

Food Storage Recipe - Super Easy Yeast Bread

Here is the recipe that my Little Man used to make bread. Made some great tasting bread.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

NEED:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoon margarine

1 teaspoon salt

1 package yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 egg

4 cup flour

Heat the milk slowly on low heat. Add the sugar, margarine, and salt to the hot milk. Let it cool.

While the milk was hesting up mix the yeast and warm water together in a small bowl. Set it aside until it gets bubbly. About 5 minutes.

To the milk mixture add 1 cup of the flour and mix it well.  Then add the egg that had been slightly beaten and the yeast.  Use a whisk to mix it up.

Add the remaining 3 cups of flour until the dough is easy to handle.  Knead for about 8 minutes and the put in a slightly greased bowl, covered, and set in a warm spot to rise. About an hour. Punch it down and knead it another few minutes. Split and place in 2 greased bread pans. Cover them with a damp cloth and set them aside to rise one more time. Stick in the oven and bake about 20 minutes.

If a seven year old can make this, than we all can!

My 7 Year Old Little Man Can Bake Bread

I gave my little man all of the items and talked him thru it. His bread turned out awesome! I have trouble with bread. He is not only a green thumb that can grow any seed or stick you give him, but he is also a baker! I have some great ideas for Christmas gifts for him now! Chefs hat, apron, etc!

$10 Root Cellar

$10 Root Cellar: And Other Low-Cost Methods of Growing, Storing, and Using Root Vegetables (Modern Simplicity) was a free book when I wrote this post.

1/10 of an acre can feed you all year!

The easiest way to grow more of your own calories is to focus on roots like potatoes and carrots. With yields of up to 200 calories per square foot, you can break your reliance on the grocery store with just a few seeds or starts and a shovel. Most root crops are easy to store through the winter and require no special harvesting or processing equipment.

So why don't we all grow roots? To keep them happy after harvest, these crops need a cool, damp storage spot like a root cellar. This book walks you through building a root cellar out of a junked fridge for $10, and also presents some slightly-higher-cost options for winter storage. Other highlights include tips for growing storage vegetables and feeding those roots to your family or your livestock.

69 photos.

Self-sufficiency begins with the potato!

Christmas Present Ideas For Survivalist , Homesteaders, Preppers etc

 It is getting to be that time of the year again. Wondering what we will buy for our family and friends. Here is a list that might help you if you have any survivalist, homesteaders, etc on your list of if you are one and want to help your family and friends become more prepared.

Kindle You can get some great preparedness books for it and survivalist fiction.You can get a Suntactics sCharger-5 High Performance Solar Charger, Quickly Charges iPhone, iPad Mini, iPod Touch, Android Phones, Samsung, Nokia, eReaders, BlueTooth Speakers, and Many Other USB Devices Directly From Sunlight. Extremely Durable and Reliable. to be able to charge it in an off the grid experience.

Katadyn Pocket Water Microfilter

3-Day Lite Emergency KitI am getting one of these for my son to keep in the trunk of his car. I got him a Jump-N-Carry JNC300XL 900 Peak Amp Ultraportable 12V Jump Starter with Light for his birthday and he has already used it a few times to help friends.

Mr. Heater F215100 MH4B Little Buddy 3800-BTU Indoor-Safe Propane Heater



Complete Pillar Candle Making Kit: Learn how fast, easy & fun it is to make your own pillar candles. Perfect for beginners!This is a great idea for a teen or just for someone that you know would love to be able to make their own candles.

Mountain House Best Sellers KitThis is a great idea for getting someone you know started into food storage.

Emergency Survival Food Supply 275 Meal PackGreat idea also to get someone started in food storage.

Global Sun Oven® - World's Best Solar Oven

RoadPro RPSL-350 12V 1.5 Quart Slow Cooker

Wonderwash

Advanced Elements 5 Gallon Summer Shower / Solar Shower

Kaito Electronics, Inc. Portable Dynamo & Solar-Powered Radio and Cell Phone Charger

Solar 11-in-1 Battery Charger

Glo Brite L201 Galaxy Clear Glass Kerosene/Oil Lamp

FoodSaver V2222 Vacuum Food Sealer PLUS Starter Kit

Nesco/American Harvest FD-80 Square-Shaped Dehydrator

Motorola MR355R 35-Mile Range 22-Channel FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radio (Pair)

Gerber 31-000701 Bear Grylls Survival Series Ultimate Kit

Whistle Creek Survival Kit in a Sardine Can

There are some great survivalist type movies that you can get someone for a present also. The Walking Dead: Season One, The Walking Dead: The Complete Third Season, The Colony: Seasons 1 & 2
, and The Road are just a couple that are my favorites.



The Prepper's Pocket Guide: 101 Easy Things You Can Do to Ready Your Home for a Disaster Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak
120 Serving Breakfast Only @ $198 (120 Servings breakfast assortment. No entrees) - Order Now!

Plows and Scarecrows: How to Successfully Pull Off Rural Preps

Plows and Scarecrows: How to Successfully Pull Off Rural Preps

By Naomi Broderick, a prepper author with Protect Your Home

For those in rural areas, preparing for emergencies can seem like a less daunting task than for those in metropolitan areas. After all, areas outside of major cities frequently enjoy more than a 50% reduction in crime rates per capita compared to neighboring urban zones. However, due to the nature of rural life, it is estimated that a higher percentage of crimes go unreported in these areas. Additionally, there are some risks and challenges that come along with prepping as a rural homeowner that can be more difficult than prepping in cities.

No matter where you live, being prepared for survival is always a smart way to manage your household. For those outside of the cityscape, here are some tips that can help you on your way to emergency preparedness. In addition, those in the rural Midwest can browse options provided by ADT in Gary, Indiana.

Dealing with isolation during a crisis

One of the more pronounced differences in rural prepping is that proximity can be a game-changing concern. Whereas growing one’s own food supply is always an admirable prepping quality, it’s of upmost importance for those in areas who aren’t within a fair distance to another source of food. There is no such thing as a successful prepper in the woods who doesn’t manage a garden of nutritious, hardy, perennial staples.

Living out of one’s pantry with dehydrated goods is always only a patchwork solution, and this is all the more true when you’re isolated. There are a variety of gardening resources specifically designed with preppers in mind, so doing your homework and establishing a survival garden could be a great idea if you’re currently relying on only store-bought goods. There is no alternative to gardening and manufacturing your own resources for long-term survival.

Adjust your home security accordingly

In suburban and urban areas, simply maintaining a home security system can go a long way in keeping potential crooks deterred from your property. In addition, neighborhood watch groups are common in these areas and report threats to authorities whenever they appear. Both of these security features nearly vanish when you’re located away from densely populated areas. For the first part, security systems are not as effective in these areas for the benefit of deterrence.

Criminals are more willing to spend time exploiting systems in areas where there isn’t regular traffic, and they might ignore these features entirely due to the inferior response time of authorities in these far-off areas. That being said, while security alarms don’t always necessarily win out in deterring home invaders entirely, they almost always severely reduce the time that home invaders spend on the property. 

 

Keeping this in mind by structuring your home with surveillance in mind can help. Using dummy equipment while keeping other elements of your home security camouflaged or in discreet locations can help in preventing vandalism against your security equipment, and it ensures their effectiveness in alarming authorities when home invasion does occur.

Scaring off crime

The second feature that vanishes is neighborhood watches, which are usually limited to zones with frequent traffic. Watch programs have demonstrated an efficiency of up to 40% in the reduction of crime in certain areas. Without this benefit, the odds of criminals targeting properties in your area are significantly increased.

Beginning and registering your own watch system can be an effective method if you have enough hands to effectively manage it, but rural individuals are frequently left to their own devices when defending their properties. One favored method is one that a good friend of mine terms the “scarecrow strategy.” This incorporates keeping a sense of surveillance on your home, even if you’re not available. 

 

This can range from keeping signage on your property which indicates that you have a watchdog, firearms, or security equipment. Motion-sensing porch lights are a great way to strike fear in those who might be approaching what they believe to be empty properties. Some might install motion activated sound alarms that actually produce dog barking noises, or other such threatening sounds; these ingenious options are picking up a lot of traction with reduced costs and increasing ease of DIY installation of such equipment. 

 

What other considerations would you recommend for those prepping in areas off the beaten path? How would you obtain resources and maintain a secure presence if you were a prepper in an isolated area?

5 Effective Tips For Winterizing Your Chicken Coop

When you are building a chicken coop, taking care of weather conditions is extremely important. Especially for the winter months with sub zero temperatures. Failure to properly plan your chicken house can result in the birds falling sick. If you are keen to have healthy birds and eggs every day, then winterizing your chicken coop is very important.

Chickens normally fall sick when they have to face cold weather and moisture. So proper insulation and heating is required to keep the birds happy.

Here are some tips for winterizing your chicken coop:

1) When building a chicken house, plan for having well insulated walls. The insulation should be such that the birds cannot peck or eat them.

2) Have pine shavings on the floor and the shelves where the birds normally sleep. This will keep the birds warm and healthy.

3) You should have proper arrangements for heating the waterers so that water does not freeze. This is extremely important for having proper water supply for the birds. Alternately you may have to hand carry water buckets several times a day from your home to the coop. This can be a difficult task.

4) Anther technique that is used for winterizing the chicken coop is to have ceramic lamps for heating. These lamps just produce heat and no light. It is important to install the lamps at a height and location where no one can even touch them by mistake.

5) For certain chicken house designs you can have arrangements for having shower curtains on the outside. This will stop the cold winds and snow from making any kind of impact on the house. This technique for winterizing chicken coop may save you from having heating inside the house.

Do you know that a good chicken coop plan can cut your time and effort by half and also save you a lot of money on building material? To learn how to build a chicken coop that delivers maximum benefits without investing a huge amount of money and effort - Winterizing Chicken Coop

Homeschool Minute - Parts Of A House Fly

 

This is what we have worked on today. For the life of me , I cannot find where I printed the cards from. It is parts of a house fly. I also have parts of an ant cards. Cannot remember where I found the printable, but we love them. PLEASE _ if someone knows where the printable is from post it in comments! 

Little Man loves doing "parts of" activities. He loves to see how things are made and how they work. We also found a dvd at the library to watch about insects and it had some information in it about flies and ants. Gave him some blank paper and he drew flies that he was pretending were monsters and stuff. He did some math - addition - with some tiny flies that I had gotten at Dollar Tree during Halloween. There are 25 in a bag of these little flies. They really look life-like - Big Bubby came in from work this morning and actually tried to swat one. Anyway we have 50 of them and he used them to do some addition. A lot of fun. 

Homemade Crazy Fun Putty Dough

Pour 1/3 cup liquid starch on a old cookie sheet. Using A craft stick, stir in 1 cup craft glue slowly. After it starts to clump, let it stand for a few minutes. Put a small bit of starch on your fingers and knead the dough mixture. Now you can pull it, stretch it, roll it, and even use it to lift pictures from the funny pages. I let my son play with this at the kitchen table on the cookie sheet. Make sure not to get it on carpet or furniture. Little Man had fun with the Sunday comics. Store it in small, airtight container.

Our Food Storage Has Been A Lifesaver...

The last 3 months has been so hard for us. Hubby switching jobs and he's been sick, taking 2 weeks off for that. If we didn't have the food storage we would've starved! Our savings was used for bills and medical, so having the food helped a lot. Didn't have to worry about feeding all of us on top of worrying about everything else.

Having food storage is a good idea for any type of emergency. Not just disaster, weather, zombie outbreak, etc. It is a good idea to have food storage because anything could happen. You never know what could happen. Lay-offs, sickness, switching jobs, moving and more. There are many things that could happen to us that make having food storage a great idea.

The Healthy Prepper

The Healthy Prepper - A Resource Guide For Healthy Preparedness For You AND Your Pets! was a free book when this post was written.

The Healthy Prepper book reveals the preparedness secrets for thriving instead of just surviving and how you and your pets can be prepared for any situation in a healthy way. Information in this book is not like anything you’ve heard before in ANY prepper book!

In This Book You'll Discover:

* The #1 all natural item you should have in your preparedness kit that will knock out ANY virus - often in 24 hours or less!

* The absolute worse food to stock up on that most preppers buy a lot of.

* 2 little known and very unique methods that will make harmful insects want to stay far away from your survival garden while at the same time increasing the vigor, health and yield of your crops.

* How to create clean, pure, sparkling water out of thin air.

* What all natural items you should always include in your pet’s emergency preparedness kit.

And much, much more!

Also this book is meant to be a resource guide and not just an informative read. So many people only write about a topic and leave you scratching your head trying to figure out where to find what they are talking about. And if the product or resource written about isn't on the first 10 pages or so of Google then good luck finding it. This book is different. Links are provided in the book to most everything written about saving you lots of your precious time trying to locate many unique items you may have never even heard of. This is a true resource guide.

Be a Surthrivalist. Buy your copy now! 

Food Storage Recipe - Fireside Chicken Soup

Fireside chicken soup

Need:

2 tablespoon butter

1 medium carrot, sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced

2 packages of chicken ramen noodles

4 cups water

1 1/2 cup canned shredded chicken

2 tablespoon flour

(  you can exchange all of vegetables with dehydrated or freeze-dried.)

Saute the veggies in the butter. Add the noodles, seasoning packs, and 3 1/2 cups of the water.  Cook for a few minutes. Add he flour to the remaining 1/2 cup of water and then add to the soup. Serve. Sandwiches are good with this.

Food Storage Recipe - Chocolate Snowdrop Cookies

This is such an easy cookie recipe and great for the holidays coming up. I am already getting ready for all of the holiday cooking coming up. Hoping that family comes to my house this year.

Chocolate Snowdrop Cookies

NEED:

1 box of devil's food cake mix

2 1/4 cup of frozen whipped topping , that has been thawed out.

1 egg

1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl , mix the cake mix, whipped topping, and the egg. Mix it well. Form into 1 inch balls and roll in the powdered sugar. Set the on a lightly greased cookie sheet a couple of inches apart. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Cool them on the pan before you place them on a plate.

YUMMY!

DIY Water Filter

To ensure that you have clean water , that is free of sediments, vegetation, etc, you have to have a good water filter. You will still have to boil to kill the germs, bacteria, etc. This is great for if you have a stream close by or some other water supply.

You can make one very easily. You need 2 clay flower pots. You will be setting them one above the other one. In the bottom of the upper pot you want to place a large sponge. A clean new one. Stuff the sponge into the bottom tightly so that no water can get by it.  You will also put one in the bottom of the lower pot. But the bottom pot also has layers of other filtering material , 1 layer of smooth pebbles, coarse sand, and then a top layer of pounded charcoal about 4 inches thick. On top place one more layer of smooth pebbles. This prevents the charcoal from getting all stirred around from the water dripping down from the upper pot.

The upper pot should be the largest and if the lower one is strong it should be able to set on it just fine. You could add two strips of wood as support. Put the two pots on a stool with a hole drilled in the bottom that is lined up with the hole in the bottom pot so that the water can drip down into a clean jug for using the water. The sponge in the upper pot acts to stop the worst of the impurities and should be replaced frequently. Very frequently. The lower pot should be fine to only be replaced about once a year. Only a bit of attention , with changing sponge in top pot once or twice a month and this should last you and with little care.

Guide to Trapping

Guide to Trapping was a free book when this post was written. Great survival book to have in your survival library.

From the description:

Trapping has become somewhat of a lost art, but interest in the sport is as strong as ever thanks to a stable fur market and a growing need to control mammal populations or remove nuisance animals. In Guide to Trapping, Jim Spencer covers strategies for successfully harvesting popular species such as raccoon, muskrat, mink, otter, beaver, coyote, gray fox, red fox, bobcat, skunk, and opossum. His entertaining and informative writing will appeal to trappers of all levels. Spencer discusses trap styles and the basics of establishing and working a trapline, including techniques for fastening and adjusting traps and a species-by-species review of trapping tactics for the country s most pursued furbearers. The field-tested techniques, carefully explained and illustrated, will help trappers make sets that deliver maximum results.