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Thread: Low to no cost preps one should start?

  1. #21
    plenty of extra room "down his pants"
    ElevenBravo's Avatar
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    Canned foods for sure... Dont forget the protein, canned chicken, tuna, spam and the list goes on!! Might be a bit on the heavy side, but its very convient AND inexpensive compared to alternatives. As I have some extra money, I get freeze dried also to supplement for short term or when there is little time...
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  2. #22
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    When just beginning some preps, stay away from freeze dried foods. In an emergency you need calories and if you look at the labels of some, they provide as little as 100 calories per serving, yet the pouch tells you there are 4 servings! That is not enough and is expensive per calorie.

    Many good points have been posted so far. One thing I tell people is decide what situation you are prepping for. I am not focused on TEOTWAWKI preps, but on getting by for a bad SHTF situation that might last up to a year. We began with a focus on three days of no gas, water or electricity due to an earthquake. Actually we have dealt with 3 days of no electricity due to wind damage so that provided a slight trial run.

    Water storage is critical. There is a rule of threes. Three minutes without oxygen, three days without water and 3 days without food and you are out of the game forever. Given that it we need that water let's look at how to begin storage for next to nothing as that was the question of the OP (original poster.)

    Get your hands on some 2 liter soda bottles. We do not drink much but on occasion we have a family party and someone brings a few bottles of coke or whatever. Rinse them very well and refill with tap water. Add about 6 drops of unscented household bleach, put the cap on tightly and store in the corner of a closet or other fairly cool area. I like to use a permanent marker to put the date on the bottle. The "experts" say it is good for a year, though I tend to empty and refill about every 6 months. Pour the water on your plants, not down the drain. We need about a gallon per person per day, so 2 bottles is a day for 1 person. You may get by on somewhat less.
    One thing I have done is fill two of them a bit less then full and freeze them. The will help keep my freezer cool when the electricity goes down. Don't freeze all your bottles of water!

    Begin by picking up a 1 or 2 pound bag of rice and dried beans. It may not be great just by itself but what I have just mentioned will give you about 3 days for 2 people. If you can afford it, get a can of chicken stock and use it to cook the rice. Someone mentioned adding bullion and that works, but it adds a great deal of sodium.

    Can you get your hands on some canning jars? Around my area just about every neighbor has at least one fruit tree and fruit trees do not spread the harvest over several weeks, it seems that 100% of the peaches are ready in one week. We all share with one another. Perhaps you can do the same and can some of that bounty when it all comes in.

    Keep reading and every day is a day to do something small to prepare!

  3. #23
    For the Love of Cats


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    I don't remember if it was mentioned, but a very cheap prep is to work on your green thumb. Either indoors or out, but a few potted plants (veggies/herbs) and work on growing them. buy a little fertilizer and when those plants are done, start again from scratch.

    Everyone should have a window or two to sit a plant in front of...
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  4. #24
    I'll most likely shit myself



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    Socal, you are so right about using Chicken Stock. We don't eat a lot of rice (although we have plenty stored), but we do use stock when cooking beans. It adds a very nice flavor to a pot. We use no water in them.
    I like your planning time line. Water is the biggest factor we all face. Some much more than others. We have some 55 gallon drums filled and kept dark. Rotated and with bleach. We've had no issues with this for several years now. We always use the water on our trees, bushes, and garden. Another item in this vain, purification! We kept some tablets to carry in the GHBs along with filters for both the kitchen, backpacks, etc. I want to build a system with 2-5 gallon buckets to build a large volume capacity. My next door neighbors both have spring fed ponds that I can draw from if needed.

  5. #25
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    Socal and BP, we use chicken stock when cooking several things. Songbird buys Swansons in the boxes usually 5 to 10 at the time when she finds it on sale and it will last a year or more. She puts fresh spinach in a pan and then pours the chicken stock in and cooks it down and man it is so tasty! She also use it in her homemade mashed potatoes instead of the milk and it too is the best!! We use it in rice, greens beans, squash, dry beans, broccoli and the list goes on.

    BP, I built a cheap system for filtering water (actually two systems). Now we do have a Big Berkey that we use everyday, but for backup I bought the ceramic filters from Cheaper Than Dirt (I think, it's been awhile ago) and made two systems that are identical so it took four 5 gal buckets. We also have tablets, and other smaller systems in our GHBs and BOBs.
    Don't wrestle with pigs; you'll get all muddy and the pigs will love it!

  6. #26
    I'll most likely shit myself



    bacpacker's Avatar
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    Willie, it sounds like we are thinking a lot alike on water.

    The wife uses stock for rice/Jambalya and mashed taters too. I really like the taste it imparts.

  7. #27
    For the Love of Cats


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    you guys remember my old thread about dehydrating your own soup stock... right?
    Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day!
    Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

    Cat's are food... not friends!

    If you're going to fight, then fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp into Noah's arc... and brother, it's starting to rain.

  8. #28
    I'll most likely shit myself



    bacpacker's Avatar
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    Forgot that. I need to look that up.

  9. #29
    Walking on Sunshine

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    Also don't forget to coupon, coupon, coupon. check your store's policy on coupons though. Around here thanks to that couponing show the companies changed their couponing policy. It's a challenge but last year between the store sales, online coupons and manufacturer coupons I saved over $2,000.00 at the stores.

  10. #30
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    I just wanted to bring this thread back to the fore. I have recently seen so many ads on TV about prepping and purchasing freeze dried foods from one of the major players in the freeze dried market. One good result is it is bringing prepping to the front in many peoples' minds. The problem is that freeze dried food has its own set of problems:

    1) It is relatively expensive for the amount of calories/nutrition you get.

    2) Without an ample supply of water it is essentially useless.

    If I have to, I can open a can of green beans and eat directly from the can without any preparation. Yes, it may not be gourmet dining but it is there, plus there is water in that can.

    I continue to be an advocate of the "baby steps" in prepping. We continually add a little with each trip to the market. We add a little water storage each month.

    Many of us are not in a situation where we can get out and live off the land. In the Los Angeles area, perhaps only 1000 people could live "off the land". There just isn't that much around anymore. We are setting up to take care of ourselves for a year, provided the zombie hordes do not overrun our place. We might be able to protect the home from a small group but in time a large group will win out. I don't have the firepower to cover all the possible approaches to our place.

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