Category Archives: Emergency Preparedness

What if Your Preps Outlive You?

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Two unrelated stories caught my attention this week, which prompted me to write this article.  One story was about a California couple who found an underground 1960s fallout shelter in their backyard and the other story was about a woman who had a baby and soon found her husband mistakenly sold a box where she had stashed her wedding ring.

These stories have nothing to do with each other, but they both got me thinking about something that is often left out of emergency planning:  having instructions should something happen to you.

As you can see from the story about the bunker, the man planned well, for what many feared in the 60s, that of nuclear war, but fortunately for him, a nuclear disaster never did come to pass in his lifetime.  Yet his emergency preps lived on, now a quaint reminder, even a time capsule of sorts, representing a bygone era.  In the same vein, we prepare for emergencies or disasters, and continue to hope for the best.

The second story about the wedding ring being hidden in an unused box that got sold inadvertently reminded me of the  importance of telling a trusted someone where you hide things.  I’ve seen articles giving tips on where to hide stuff such as cash and other valuables.  But what if you hide your items in these secret places and something happens to you?  You may have hidden them so well that no one will benefit from your foresight – your loved ones may find your stash accidentally, or maybe they will never get found.

I admit, I don’t even feel comfortable with this subject either, but I know it is something I  need to deal with.  At the very least, have a conversation with your partner about where and what you are hiding, so someone else knows where to find things should something happen to you.  If you were incapacitated or unconscious in the hospital, will your loved ones know where to look for emergency cash or even health insurance forms so they can pay the hospital bill?   Here are a few issues to consider:

  • Do you have a last will and testament?  If you have a lot of assets, then best consult an attorney, if not, and your estate is simple, websites such as Legalzoom (no affiliation with us) may help you.
  • If you are parents, who would take care of the kids?
  • To whom would you grant power-of-attorney should you become incapacitated?
  • Hidden caches and such:  would your family know where you hid your valuables such as safe deposit boxes and storage units?  Watching that show Storage Wars and seeing the characters uncover hidden gems for profit just makes me wonder about the hapless owners who lost these items for whatever reason.
  • Not all families are “on-board” with prepping – you’d have to consider who may appreciate and benefit from your efforts the most, instead of just dumping everything in the trash or selling them off for pennies at a garage sale.

No one really likes to think about this, but loss of life is certainly a disaster situation for the family.  It is something that many of us avoid thinking about, yet is necessary to consider as part of a well-rounded plan.

 

For beginning preppers

 

Preparewise

Preparewise

DebtProof Living

 

Final June Giveaway: Starter Emergency Bag

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Giveawaypic
We are excited to announce our final giveaway for June:  a starter emergency bag from Acme Approved (http://store.acmeapproved.com)

Here is a list of what’s included:

  • Condor Tactical Response Bag
  •  Mora Knife Classic #2
  •  Lifestraw
  •  Tri-wick survival candle and stove
  •  Olicamp aluminum cup/mug
  •  UCO lifeboat matches
  •  Nalgene Bottle
  •  Mainstay 1200′s (3)
  •  Adventure Medical Survival Medic
  •  Adventure Medical 1.0 FAK
  •  Ultimate Survival Pico lantern
  •  Fenix E01 flashlight
  •  Kevlar cord
  •  Midland pocket weather radio
  •  Hobo knife, knife spoon fork
  •  Radsticker

You can enter between June 17th until Saturday, June 22, 2013.  Lots of ways to enter!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Emergency Essentials/BePrepared

Monday Musings: 6/17/2013

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Welcome to another Monday Musings, where we share quick updates and blog events, before moving on to links.

First, blog news..

Acceptance of New Guest Posts is Currently on Hold   Due to the overwhelming number of requests for guest post opportunities, unsolicited guest posts are currently on hold until further notice.  There may be one or two that were agreed upon months ago that are already scheduled, or the occasional reprint of a post from other preparedness authors, but I will no longer be accepting unsolicited articles for the time being.

Who Won the Meals in a Jar Giveaway?  Our giveaway of Meals in a Jar was won by Adam.  He posted the following comment:

As a prepper and a chef I have always been on the look out for meals in jars and homemade MREs and even have lots I made up. You will be surprised at what the right ingredients from your locale store can make that will just last almost till the end of time and taste great. Even desserts are easy to pull off with dried fruit and a little love.

The last giveaway for June is being announced in the next post.

Don’t Forget Google Reader is Going Away  For those readers who currently read Apartment Prepper through Google Reader, I am sure you have heard Google Reader is discontinued as of July.  I am guilty of procrastinating about replacing it, and I am sure there are others who haven’t switched.  I am looking at Feedly, but haven’t made the move yet; or I may go back to going to the actual blog sites.

Now for the links….

Nifty Way to Grow Food Indoors in Small Spaces   If I couldn’t have a balcony garden I’d try this:  Solar Powered Aquaponics for Apartments

Little Known Uses for Lemons  Some are familiar, but some I had not heard about:  45 Uses for Lemons that will Blow Your Socks Off

Free E-book on Essential Oils   I downloaded it and will add it to the reference library.  See Everyday Essential Oils: First Aid and Emergency Preparedness  You’ll find the sign-up sheet on the right sidebar.

Who Knew this is the New American Dream  See  The Trade: American Dream Now a Part-Time Job and an Apartment

Take care and have a great week everyone!

 

Find products that are equally functional for wilderness survival as well as urban preparedness:

Meals in a Jar

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Meals in a Jar

This week I read through Meals in a Jar Quick and Easy, Just-Add-Water, Homemade Recipes by Julie Languille.

The book covers everything you would need to have in order to prepare all the ingredients needed to have “just add water” meals in your pantry.  It also gives step by step instructions on how to assemble, and finally, cook the meals you have stored.

With my schedule, I am always interested in having ingredients on hand to make quick meals.  Pre-packaged homemade meals would be great to have in the event of an emergency.   Even if nothing happens, the meals would come in handy for backpacking, camping and for everyday meals.  Once you are up and running, you would save both time and money.  However, as with many projects, there is a certain amount of equipment and preparation time involved.

I reached out to the author, Julie Languille, to ask a few questions and for some advice.

1.  How did you get interested in creating meals for food storage?

There are a few contributing reasons: I am very interested in food, both my grandmothers used to dry and “put up” food, I have been through earthquakes and extremes of weather where meals in a jar are wonderful to have on hand, and I also am a working mom who needs an easy go-to meal on busy work nights.

2.  Do you use meals in a jar for everyday meals?  

I do. My daughter loves to make chili mac and macaroni and cheese, and my even my husband can make a batch of chicken noodle soup for me if I am under the weather.

3.  Being a busy working mom, how much time do you allocate to preparing these meals?

I make meals about quarterly and I like to keep about a month’s worth on hand. I usually spend a day doing it, about quarterly. I do invite my girlfriends in to help which adds to the fun and makes everything go faster.

4.  Being an apartment dweller who does not have a lot of space for equipment, I have been hesitant about buying new equipment.  What are the minimum, most essential items we should consider buying?

The absolute minimum would be canning jars and oxygen absorbers. You could store dry soups and stews in jars with no other equipment. If you had a bit more space I’d get a vacuum sealer or a medium sized pressure canner you could use for storage and tuck in a closet when not in use.

5.  For those readers who are not ready to take the full plunge toward food storage, but want to take small steps, what would you recommend?

A good baby step is simply to stock up on canned meals, buying double what you normally would each time you go to the store. Also, in my next book, The Prepper’s Food Storage Plan, 101 Easy Steps to Affordably Stock a Life-Saving Supply of Food, breaks up the daunting task of creating a food storage into 101 easily manageable steps. I have categorized each step into where to buy the item and scored it from $ to $$$$ so you can maximize that trip to Costco and also work around your budget. I also organized it starting with the most important things first, so readers can maximize their preparedness right from the start.

Our thanks to Julie Languille for taking the time to answer our questions.

Win a Copy of Meals in a Jar

Ullysses Press, the publisher of Meals in a Jar Quick and Easy, Just-Add-Water, Homemade Recipes has reserved one copy to give away to an Apartment Prepper reader.  Just add your comment below, describing your food storage adventures.

The winner* will be chosen at random on Saturday, June 15th at 8 pm Central.

*Winner will be notified via email.  Winner must reply to email notification within 48 hours or another winner will be drawn.

 

 

Get the real deal. Whether bugging out or sheltering in place, you can never have enough clean water for survival: For your water purifier needs, please visit:

 For beginning preppers

Good ideas for building a food storage plan can be found here:

DebtProof Living

The Truth about Doing Laundry Off-Grid

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I thought it might be a good exercise to try doing laundry without using the washing machine and dryer.  Whenever there is a hurricane approaching one of the preparation chores that I do (in addition to making sure there is enough water, food and supplies for several days) is to do the laundry while power is available.  Ideally, you’d already have clean clothes available, but what if there is an extended power outage?

I saved a few pieces of clothing, some socks and a large towel to do the experiment.

Washing

MobileWasher

I piled the clothes in the bathroom sink.  For clothes washing, I tried using a  Mobile Washer sample that I received..  It was easy to assemble.  The washer looks like a plunger, but without the rubbery plunger smell.

20130601_092108

The instructions simply say add soap and 4-6 inches of water and agitate the clothes using up and down motion.  I used my homemade laundry detergent added to some water.

20130601_093336The socks were stained but I did not use bleach, as I wanted to keep the experiment as simple as possible.

Although the Mobile Washer instructions say you will feel a pulling action while the clothes are agitating, I did not really feel that the up and down motion was doing anything.  Perhaps the clothes had to be level to the ground or bathtub for this to work, as using it on a bathroom sink level felt unwieldy to me.  I wish I had a better result to report to you, but I always write the truth in these experiments regardless of expectations.

I contacted Mobile Washer after the experiment about my less than stellar results and got a quick response, which actually addresses what happened:

“The best way to get this action on the clothes is to make sure you have enough water so the clothes float freely, have a deep enough container (sink, bucket, tub etc) so that you can get some good plunging action without splashing the water out of the container.  When these steps are followed, the washer seems to have great results.  I can’t say that you were doing it wrong, maybe it just required a little harder agitation.

This is actually the first negative feedback we have received, so I do appreciate you letting me try to explain how it should work and what results you should be able to expect.  Normally the feedback is that the washer has pulled old stains and residual dirt and soap left behind by traditional washing machines. ”

I think the Directions for Use should mention the container should be deep enough for enough water so the clothes can float around.  The “4-6 inches of water” was quickly soaked up by the clothes.  The next time I wash off-grid, I will use a 5-gallon bucket.

Back to the story…  I resorted to washing the items by hand.  My hands did get all wrinkled and “prune-like” so if I do this again I would wear gloves.

After washing, I let the soapy water drain out.  I then rinsed the clothes with plain water in the sink.  The interesting part was in trying to wring all the water out.  Socks and shirts are easy enough, but the towel was quite heavy.  I had to wring it out in sections.

Drying

I found some space to hang the clothes using hangers and some of the shelving.  Because of the humidity, the socks and shirts took about 12 hours to dry, and the towel took over 24 hours.

Result

20130609_191155

T-shirts and blouses dried well enough with minor wrinkles when hung up in clothes hangers.  The clothes and socks smelled fresh and appeared to be clean enough.  The socks did not come out as white as when bleached and washed in the washing machine.

20130609_191226

However the towel took a very long time to dry, causing even more humidity with a slightly musty smell when it finally dried.

What I Learned

Living in a humid climate, if clothes stay wet long enough, there is a possibility of getting mildew, so you must try to wring out the clothes as well as possible.

If you live in a dry climate, the drying time would be a lot faster.

Having a clothesline outside would be much better than drying indoors as the hot sun would help dry things faster.  However because we rent, I doubt apartment management would look too kindly to having clothes flapping in the breeze out in the balcony.  So if I had to line dry, I would likely set the line across the bathroom.

Line dried clothes do not come out as soft as they do in the dryer.  On the other hand, this saves on wear and tear on the garments.

To minimize wrinkles, you need to “snap”clothes such as t-shirt and shirts before hanging them.

If you had to do laundry off-grid, you’d best have some backup clothes available to allow for longer drying time.

No doubt about it, washing and drying clothes are chores that would be much more challenging without electricity.   It is doable, and I am glad I tried this experiment.

 

Protect Yourself: www.gotpepperspray.com

Protect Yourself: www.gotpepperspray.com

Monday Musings: 6/10/2013

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Welcome to another Monday Musings, where we share quick updates and blog events, before moving on to links.

Who Won the Firestarter Giveaway?  We had a great giveaway from Camping Survival for the Strikeforce Fire Starter.  The winner is reader Malcolm, who has been contacted via email.

June has been the biggest giveaway month so far, with another one coming up this Wednesday.  I like holding giveaways as they give everyone a chance to win a useable emergency preparedness item.  I’ve received a few “hardship” emails, and while I am unable to personally send something due to my limited finances, I can at least give our readers a chance to win something they might need.  Thank you everyone for your support!

Recycling and Repurposing Old Junk.  Check out 13 Ways To Turn Your Outdated ’90s Tech Into Truly Usable Things  for some great ideas for your apartment garden and other useful items.

 

Inspiration to Save $50 or More a Month  We’ve downsized the service quite a bit, but we haven’t pulled the plug on cable, but we are getting close.  See 5 Reasons I Cancelled My TV Service

 

Wondering Where’s that Recovery  There’s a lot of talk about the improving economy and some markets have gone back to house flipping and such practices from before the recession.  Before joining the bandwagon, read Ron Paul: It’s Going to Get Much, Much Worse

 

 

Free Guide to Food Storage.  Free is good, so I thought I’d share this helpful guide.  It is the Emergency Food Buyers Guide from the folks at Legacy Foods  

 

 

The goal of this guide is to provide you with real, beneficial information and allow you to make informed decisions on what to include in your own personal food storage plan:

 

  • The guide covers each type of food storage, their benefits and drawbacks and what roles they can play in their own storage plans.
  •  You will learn about various topics associated with food storage such as buying tips, storage, and packaging.
  • This is a great beginner’s guide for someone just starting their food storage plan, or for someone that would like to expand what they already have.

 

Food Storage Buyers Guide – Copy

 

Take care and have a great week everyone!

 

ReadyMade Resources is a trusted source for your preparedness supplies:

 

Find products that are equally functional for wilderness survival as well as urban preparedness:

8 Everyday Tips For Frugal Apartment Living

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 800px-United_States_one_dollar_bill_obverseA Guest Post by Mark Russell

In this economy, everyone is thinking about saving more money and spending less. Whether you are a millionaire or a starving artist, times are probably tougher than they were ten years ago. This has led a lot of people to try to pick up extra work here and there, doing odd jobs like babysitting for the neighbor or gardening for the man down the street. In addition to trying to earn more, other people are saving more.  A lot of people are downsizing their lifestyles, trading in giant gas guzzling SUVs for smaller, more efficient hybrids – or sometimes even bicycles – and many people have transitioned from large houses to smaller apartments. Almost everyone, though, is on the lookout for ways to save some money. If you live in an apartment, then you might have your own set of challenges when it comes to spending less of your hard earned cash. Below are some everyday tips for frugal apartment living.

 TIP #1 – Cook at home. Many people living in apartments get used to ordering takeout and dining at restaurants simply because they do not have large kitchens and so they avoid the room entirely. But even a small kitchen can be used successfully if you just try and learn to work with what you have. Make sure you have basic cooking tools, head to the supermarket, and whip up your own dinner tonight to save some extra money!

 TIP #2 – Make more storage space. Storage space is always a challenge in a small home, but many people don’t take advantage of the space that they already have. Make sure your bed is on lifts to create more space underneath it. Install shelves on the walls so you can store on those as well. Use every inch – all the way up to the ceiling – of your closet. Once you have this extra storage space you can start using it in ways that will save you money.

TIP #3 – Buy in bulk. Preppers love to buy in bulk – whether it’s toilet paper, canned food, or bottles of water. But this can be a particular challenge to those living in small apartments where the amount of storage space is limited. However – that is why you have created all the new storage space using the last tip. Buying in bulk doesn’t just prepare you for disasters – it saves your money!

TIP #4 – Get rid of your car. If you live in an urban area with a good public transportation system, then ask yourself why you own your own car. Owning a car costs a lot of money – between gas, insurance, and parking, you are just pouring money into this car ownership. Trade your expensive car in for a much, much cheaper bicycle. You can store your bike on your wall instead of having to pay for a parking spot! And this is, of course, more environmentally friendly too!  If you decide to do this tip, make sure you have a backup way to get out of the city in the event of an evacuation or disaster.

TIP #5 – Donate your unwanted clothing and furniture. Anything you own that you don’t use is simply wasting your space and your time. It takes up space to have extra, unwanted t-shirts – but it takes up a lot more space to have unwanted chairs or tables. You can donate these items to a nearby thrift store or through the Craigslist “free” section. Keep a receipt and deduct the value from your taxes next April!

TIP #6 – Cancel your gym membership. Being a member of a gym is expensive, and for many people totally unnecessary. You can exercise for free (or almost free), both in your apartment and outside of it. You can run outdoors, especially if you live near a trail or park. To exercise in your apartment, just invest in a few free weights and a mat. You can save hundreds of dollars by finding alternatives to a monthly gym membership.

TIP #7 – Drink more water. If you live in a small apartment, you may have an extra small refrigerator. Even if you have a large, or normal sized fridge, your space in there is limited. So instead of taking it up with sugary sodas and other drinks, why not just get a Brita and drink water instead. It’s healthier, it doesn’t cost anything after you buy the Brita, and it will save you a lot of precious fridge space!

TIP #8 – Get rid of cable. Are you paying a lot for cable every month? Cancel your membership and sign up for alternative options like Hulu Plus (less than $10 a month), Amazon Prime, or Netflix. There are plenty of cheaper ways to watch television than to pay more than a hundred dollars every single month.

 

Mark Russell is a writer who specializes in writing about apartment living and ways to live frugal specifically around apartment living.  Mark is a writer for www.apartmentguysofchicago.com.

 

For beginning preppers

 

Preparewise

Preparewise

DebtProof Living

 

 

 

Please Welcome our New Sponsor: SurvivalCaveFood.com

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rsz_scf_beef_and_noodles_plate_3_1_1I am excited to welcome our new sponsor, Survivalcavefood.com.  Many people don’t know about them even though they have been around for years. They don’t do a lot of advertising because their products speak for themselves. They have an entire line of just add water meals including breakfast, lunch, dinner deserts and drinks that are delicious and very low in sodium. Instead of adding salt to prepare their foods, they vacuum seal their products and insert oxygen absorbers in every one of the meal bags and even include a zip closure at the top to keep it fresh in case you only want to eat a couple of servings.

Survivalcave.com is proud to carry high quality meats that are USA produced and USDA inspected.  They have developed an entire line of beef, chicken, turkey, pork and ground beef products for food storage.  All of their meats are slow pressure cooked inside of the can to preserve the meat, kill any bacteria and seal the can. They add no preservatives, additives, fillers or broth. Low in sodium, fat and cholesterol, every can is embossed on the bottom with the production date so that even if the label becomes damaged, you will still know what you have in your survival food pantry. They come in small 14.5 ounce cans and large 28 ounce cans. They currently are the only company in America that labels their meat for long term food storage.

Just added, are their delicious and fresh made line of freeze dried fruits. You can get them in 150 or 300 serving buckets with six fruit varieties including mango, banana, peach, apple, strawberry and pineapple but if you have favorites you can now get their 5 serving pouches and buy the individual ones you want. Their creamy potato soup is now available in 5 serving pouches so grab a few of those too.

With prices at about $1 per serving, they are by far one of the lowest cost emergency foods you can buy coming in at about half the cost of most survival food available. Check them out at Survivalcavefood.com or call one of their friendly and capable employees at 800-719-7650.

Tell them Apartment Prepper sent you!

Survivalcavefood

New Giveaway from Camping Survival: StrikeForce Fire Starter

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Strikeforce Fire Starter - CopyI am excited to announce our latest giveaway:

StrikeForce Fire Starter from Camping Survival

http://www.campingsurvival.com/stfistor.html

To enter, just comment below regarding firestarting methods you have tried.

The winner* will be chosen at random on Sunday, June 9th at 8 pm Central.  Good luck!  I look forward to reading your entries!

*Winner will be notified via email.  Winner must reply to email notification within 48 hours or another winner will be drawn.

Find products that are equally functional for wilderness survival as well as urban preparedness:

Monday Musings: 6/3/2013

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Welcome to a quick Monday Musings, since I had to work late today.

Giveaway winners     The winners of the The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide giveaway have been chosen via a random drawing.  I have emailed the winners JC and LU notifying them.  Please note if we don’t here back within 48 hours of the email new winners will be chosen. 

You’ll get another chance for the next giveaway, to be announced this Wednesday, June 5th. 

June sale   Don’t miss the sale offered by The Berkey Guy  June Specials here

And now for the links…

Bug season is here.  We have some huge insects this year and I am trying out natural repellants.

See How to Make Bug Spray for a super easy recipe and  Tips from an Herbalist: How To Make Your Own Tick And Bug Repellent

New product in development   I got an interesting link this past week for a promising new product being developed called EMP Sheild   

We are not affiliated, and I have not seen it, just passing this info along to you/

EMP Shield -
Protect your Electronic Preps from an EMP

Free information for preppers  

Armageddon Online now includes nearly 3000 survival books, manuals, guides and more in one place.  Topics include: – Natural Disaster Survival,  Food and Water Prep  -
Navigation – General Urban and Wilderness Preparedness – Gun Manuals -
Evasion Techniques – and much more!

http://www.armageddononline.org/disaster-prep-help.html
http://www.armageddononline.org/gun-manuals.html

Infographic about MREs  

http://www.mealkitsupply.com/assets/image/ns/A24_full.jpg

http://www.mealkitsupply.com/assets/image/ns/A24_full.jpg

Take care and have a great week everyone!

 

 

Emergency Essentials

Emergency Essentials/BePrepared