A Water Storage Idea
This is one of those things that will work for some folks and others will think it is a dumb idea. All I can say is that it works for me.
Long story so bear with me. Several years ago between my son and I we found three deposit tickets for Primo water jugs. In this area the stores have a rack of three and five gallon water jugs that they sell for $6 for the three and $7 for the five gallon jugs. I had several empty jugs from a bottle water company in the area that was cheaper than the Primo so I bought three five gallon jugs and stored them away for emergency water.
I got home from work one afternoon several years ago when we still lived in town and found that the city had post a boil water advisory on our neighborhood doors. I broke out one of the jugs and we used it for everything except showers for the next few days. It worked great and the one drawback was it took two people to draw water, one to tip the heavy jug and one to hold the receptacle.
A few weeks ago I finished building a storage rack/ bunk bed in the basement and decided that I wanted to add more water jugs to the supplies. My son was home on leave and needed to run some errands in the old town so I drove and we got to chat for a while. Before we left I dug out the old tickets for deposit and decided to pick up the three jugs they would allow me to get.
We loaded them in the cart and took them to the counter to pay. I handed the lady the three tickets and $21. She tried and tried to ring it up but the computer scanner would not take the tickets. She took off for the office and my son went out to check the machine that accepts empty jugs to see what it said about the tickets.
The lady returned with a new ticket and explained that the ones I had were very old. I just said we don’t go through a lot of water fast and let it go at that. My son returned and flashed several tickets at me from behind his palm. We had one of those family conversations with just our eyes and he put the tickets in his pocket.
The lady finally got the tickets read into the scanner and handed me my change. We put the jugs in the truck and headed home. My son pulled out the tickets and counted ten of them. They had been sticking out of the machine when he walked up to it and no one was anywhere around the machine.
I gave several of the tickets to Tonto for his use and have some here for Toolman next time I see him. Each of us will have some nice clear clean water stored away for a time of need.
Seven dollars a jug is not unreasonable for a jug of water and a lot better than the $14 it would have cost with deposit. Yes you can store rinsed out bottles and use camping jugs, and buy small bottles and yada, yada, yada. I know all that. What I did works for me. The jugs store well, can be divided up so each family member has one to take with them if needed. I can make sure the animals have water without having to run it through my filters and extend their life.
You may check a machine for months before you find a deposit ticket, or you may find a bunch the first time like we did. If you do you can buy some water and store it away. It is just an option open to you to try.
Yes, I wish we could have traded in those tickets for the cash value. We could have bought a lot of food with $70, but the store only uses the tickets for deposit, no cash value. Having good drinking water is a high priority and this is one way you might accomplish that. Check it out and see if it works for you.
Wolverine
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Friday, March 25, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Michigan ready to ban burning of household trash
Michigan ready to ban burning of household trash
Posted by Atreus
This is the first I've heard of this. I don't burn a lot of household trash except for items that need to be shredded to protect myself from identity theft.
I wonder if this mean I can't burn the small limbs that fall out of the trees on my property that I rake up in a pile and set on fire or have a campfire in my back yard anymore?
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110321/NEWS01/303210004/Michigan-ready-ban-burning-household-trash-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage
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Posted by Atreus
This is the first I've heard of this. I don't burn a lot of household trash except for items that need to be shredded to protect myself from identity theft.
I wonder if this mean I can't burn the small limbs that fall out of the trees on my property that I rake up in a pile and set on fire or have a campfire in my back yard anymore?
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110321/NEWS01/303210004/Michigan-ready-ban-burning-household-trash-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage
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Thursday, March 17, 2011
The List of Lists
Don’t tell Tonto, but this is really his idea for a post. I steal some of his good ideas from time to time. I know Rawles refers to his list of lists from time to time, but Tonto was doing it long before Rawles came along.
It is a simple concept really. You get a small pocket notebook and keep it with you. In it you make a list of items you are looking for. What I do is keep items separated by category in my book. On one page I will have my needs in ammo and firearms items. It might list .308 hunting rounds, .32 automatic pistol rounds, a can of Rem Oil, new .22 cleaning brush. When I am at a gun show I can look over my list to make sure I am looking for those needed items.
Besides firearm related items your notebook can have categories like food staples, tools, books, gardening supplies, lighting needs, and on and on. I doubt any two preppers would have identical notebook entries, but a lot of them will be similar.
As you read the blogs and have conversations with other preppers you will get struck with ideas for things you would like to have for your preps. You simply add them to your notebook.
Another list I keep is the chores I need to get done around the farm and retreat. Writing down those things makes them more like goals to accomplish and helps get them completed.
As I get older I find that a lack of organization cost me money in not having things at my finger tips like I should. The list of lists helps me remember what I need and where it is when I do get it. Good luck in keeping your list of lists.
Wolverine
P.S. Anybody notice the similarity between Michigan Roads and that game Skittle Bowl where you roll the ball into the rings and win prizes? Think about it. You drive the roads trying to keep your tires out of the big pot holes and if you have to hit a hole you want it to be the smallest possible. You don’t get prize tickets, your “prize” in not having tire damage, not needing a wheel alignment, or no front end suspension damage. The roads in our township are really bad this year and I think we would be better off if we had left some roads gravel instead of paving them a few years back.
------------------------------------------
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It is a simple concept really. You get a small pocket notebook and keep it with you. In it you make a list of items you are looking for. What I do is keep items separated by category in my book. On one page I will have my needs in ammo and firearms items. It might list .308 hunting rounds, .32 automatic pistol rounds, a can of Rem Oil, new .22 cleaning brush. When I am at a gun show I can look over my list to make sure I am looking for those needed items.
Besides firearm related items your notebook can have categories like food staples, tools, books, gardening supplies, lighting needs, and on and on. I doubt any two preppers would have identical notebook entries, but a lot of them will be similar.
As you read the blogs and have conversations with other preppers you will get struck with ideas for things you would like to have for your preps. You simply add them to your notebook.
Another list I keep is the chores I need to get done around the farm and retreat. Writing down those things makes them more like goals to accomplish and helps get them completed.
As I get older I find that a lack of organization cost me money in not having things at my finger tips like I should. The list of lists helps me remember what I need and where it is when I do get it. Good luck in keeping your list of lists.
Wolverine
P.S. Anybody notice the similarity between Michigan Roads and that game Skittle Bowl where you roll the ball into the rings and win prizes? Think about it. You drive the roads trying to keep your tires out of the big pot holes and if you have to hit a hole you want it to be the smallest possible. You don’t get prize tickets, your “prize” in not having tire damage, not needing a wheel alignment, or no front end suspension damage. The roads in our township are really bad this year and I think we would be better off if we had left some roads gravel instead of paving them a few years back.
------------------------------------------
Join the APN Forum at:
www.AmericanPreppersNetwork.net
Visit the Michigan Forum at:
www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
Friday, March 11, 2011
Modular System for Prepping
Modular System for Prepping
From: Wolverine
I have stated many times that my major plan for a SHTF situation is to shelter in place. Like all well prepared folks I do have a back up plan. We have a retreat in Mid-Michigan that until it becomes the retreat it is a vacation cabin. We visit it for hunting, fishing, photo safaris with the wife and just plain old recharging the batteries from the stresses of life.
If we find that we will have to head for the retreat it could be a total mess if I didn’t have a plan in place for bugging out. I will be the first to tell you that my bug out plan is half-fast as it were. One thing I do have though is several modular units that I can load and go with.
I also use the modular system for smaller scale preparedness also. Now that we are still in winter I have my warm module in the truck. It is a small gym bag that holds all my winter clothes, polypro underwear, wool hats, gloves, warm socks, and a couple other things to help me stay warm. Every fall it goes in the truck and I have it with me at all times. If I get stuck I can dress warmer for outside work. I can not dress for only outside work everyday, my job is both inside and outside work. I layer for the day. When deer hunting at the cabin I wear the polypro and wool the whole week. Having it all in one place makes it easier to find and move.
I have several first aid kits with me at all times. I carry an old military first aid bag that has a smaller first aid bag inside that I can pull out and use. My CERT bag also has a smaller first aid kit in it that I can pull and go with.
I find those small size gym bags to be great for making modules out of. They hold plenty of any one item and are easily carried. Having soft sides they can be stuffed into tight spaces and don’t stick out like a military MOLLE system does.
I recommend that you look into making up your own modular system so if you have to bug out you can grab and go quickly and the items you need are already gathered and in one place.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
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From: Wolverine
I have stated many times that my major plan for a SHTF situation is to shelter in place. Like all well prepared folks I do have a back up plan. We have a retreat in Mid-Michigan that until it becomes the retreat it is a vacation cabin. We visit it for hunting, fishing, photo safaris with the wife and just plain old recharging the batteries from the stresses of life.
If we find that we will have to head for the retreat it could be a total mess if I didn’t have a plan in place for bugging out. I will be the first to tell you that my bug out plan is half-fast as it were. One thing I do have though is several modular units that I can load and go with.
I also use the modular system for smaller scale preparedness also. Now that we are still in winter I have my warm module in the truck. It is a small gym bag that holds all my winter clothes, polypro underwear, wool hats, gloves, warm socks, and a couple other things to help me stay warm. Every fall it goes in the truck and I have it with me at all times. If I get stuck I can dress warmer for outside work. I can not dress for only outside work everyday, my job is both inside and outside work. I layer for the day. When deer hunting at the cabin I wear the polypro and wool the whole week. Having it all in one place makes it easier to find and move.
I have several first aid kits with me at all times. I carry an old military first aid bag that has a smaller first aid bag inside that I can pull out and use. My CERT bag also has a smaller first aid kit in it that I can pull and go with.
I find those small size gym bags to be great for making modules out of. They hold plenty of any one item and are easily carried. Having soft sides they can be stuffed into tight spaces and don’t stick out like a military MOLLE system does.
I recommend that you look into making up your own modular system so if you have to bug out you can grab and go quickly and the items you need are already gathered and in one place.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
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Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
Monday, March 7, 2011
Michigan Preppers Roll Call - All Preppers Please Check In
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.
Michigan Preppers, to respond to the roll call please follow this link:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=419&t=9264
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register
This is a good opportunity to network with other preppers near you.
Michigan Preppers, to respond to the roll call please follow this link:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=419&t=9264
- Reply to the Roll Call and let us know what you have been doing to prepare.
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Building a Survival Library Part Three: Top Ten Survival Books
Building a Survival Library Part Three
Top Ten Survival Books
Actually I am not that big a fan of “Top Ten” list because my ten favorite any things never make the list. Like so many things that appear on blogs, the purpose of this list is to get you to add and subtract from it. Maybe you have a really good survival book I have not heard of or one that I remember as being good is outdated and sucks. That happens. I started reading survival books back in the 1970s so I am sure some have changed or no longer can be found.
Another thing that can tilt the list is your own personnel prejudices on survival. If you are one that plans to head into the Huron National Forest and live off the land your best books will be more toward that goal, while the family in Oceana County that have 87 acres and a good home and outbuildings are more likely to have shelter in place preferences.
I fall into the latter category. I moved out of the city and back to the family farm a few years ago. We kept the farm stocked and ready all the while Dad and Mom were alive and it was our retreat. After Mom passed my wife and I moved “home” and now our retreat is our full time residence. I will not lie to you; there is a great sense of relief now. I wish I didn’t have the debt we ended up with because of choices we had to make, but all in all, this is where I want to be if TEOTWAWKI comes calling.
In no real order, ten books I would keep over the others are as follows:
The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery.
The Guide to Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour
The Outdoor Life Complete Book of Camping by Leonard Miracle and Maurice Decker
Storey’s Basic Country Skills
Country Wisdom: The Art of Successful Homesteading by the Editors of Countryside Magazine
One of my seven or eight Wild Foods guidebooks. (Hard to pick just one, they all have info I want.)
One of my half dozen Mushroom Field guides. (Man, do I love Michigan mushrooms with a good fire grilled steak.)
Where There is No Doctor by David Werner with Thuman and Maxwell. (I believe you also need a good first aid book to go with this book.)
Making the Best of Basics by James Talmage Stevens
My “Survival Bible”, all the stuff I have printed out that I think I might need and want on hand if we ever go grid down.
My guess is that most of these books you already know about or have at least heard about. The only one that may need any explanation would be my Survival Bible. It is simply any article that I have read and printed out or cut out of a magazine that I believe I will want to look back on and re-read at some future date. A good recent example would be the Grub and Gear article by Alaskan Trapper over on Survivlblog.com about his list of supplies for a winter of trapping. It will make a good checklist for my wife and me to check making sure we have all the items we might need to hold up even longer than we plan on now.
Ok Michigan let us see some of the additions and subtractions you would have. I wanted to put my old Poor Man’s James Bond on the list, but frankly I rarely look at it anymore.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
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Visit the Michigan Forum at www.MichiganPreppersNetwork.net
Top Ten Survival Books
Actually I am not that big a fan of “Top Ten” list because my ten favorite any things never make the list. Like so many things that appear on blogs, the purpose of this list is to get you to add and subtract from it. Maybe you have a really good survival book I have not heard of or one that I remember as being good is outdated and sucks. That happens. I started reading survival books back in the 1970s so I am sure some have changed or no longer can be found.
Another thing that can tilt the list is your own personnel prejudices on survival. If you are one that plans to head into the Huron National Forest and live off the land your best books will be more toward that goal, while the family in Oceana County that have 87 acres and a good home and outbuildings are more likely to have shelter in place preferences.
I fall into the latter category. I moved out of the city and back to the family farm a few years ago. We kept the farm stocked and ready all the while Dad and Mom were alive and it was our retreat. After Mom passed my wife and I moved “home” and now our retreat is our full time residence. I will not lie to you; there is a great sense of relief now. I wish I didn’t have the debt we ended up with because of choices we had to make, but all in all, this is where I want to be if TEOTWAWKI comes calling.
In no real order, ten books I would keep over the others are as follows:
The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery.
The Guide to Self-Sufficiency by John Seymour
The Outdoor Life Complete Book of Camping by Leonard Miracle and Maurice Decker
Storey’s Basic Country Skills
Country Wisdom: The Art of Successful Homesteading by the Editors of Countryside Magazine
One of my seven or eight Wild Foods guidebooks. (Hard to pick just one, they all have info I want.)
One of my half dozen Mushroom Field guides. (Man, do I love Michigan mushrooms with a good fire grilled steak.)
Where There is No Doctor by David Werner with Thuman and Maxwell. (I believe you also need a good first aid book to go with this book.)
Making the Best of Basics by James Talmage Stevens
My “Survival Bible”, all the stuff I have printed out that I think I might need and want on hand if we ever go grid down.
My guess is that most of these books you already know about or have at least heard about. The only one that may need any explanation would be my Survival Bible. It is simply any article that I have read and printed out or cut out of a magazine that I believe I will want to look back on and re-read at some future date. A good recent example would be the Grub and Gear article by Alaskan Trapper over on Survivlblog.com about his list of supplies for a winter of trapping. It will make a good checklist for my wife and me to check making sure we have all the items we might need to hold up even longer than we plan on now.
Ok Michigan let us see some of the additions and subtractions you would have. I wanted to put my old Poor Man’s James Bond on the list, but frankly I rarely look at it anymore.
Wolverine
------------------------------------------
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
DNRE and the Q1 Buck Pole: Regional Deer Regulations
DNRE and the Q1 Buck Pole: Regional Deer Regulations
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