May 9, 2024

Posts Comments

The Five Basic Human Needs

April 16, 2012 by

There is a lot of talk about “preparing for economic downfall” or “getting ready for an EMP or solar flare” or “societal meltdown”. The problem with preparing for specific events is that the events you’re preparing for might never happen, or if it does, it could happen differently than you expect.

It doesn’t matter what part of the world you live in, how old you are or even how much money you make, there are five basic things that every human needs to live, let alone survive. If you prepare for meeting these five basic needs, you will have a higher level of overall preparedness and ability to face a variety of situations.

Whether you’re preparing for your entire family or just making a new BOB (Bug Out Bag) or car kit, you should work toward meeting these five basic needs first. Once they’re met, if you want to add in specialty preparations for a specific type of event, more power to you.

Water

I covered The Storage, Filtration And Purification Of Water pretty thoroughly in that article. Here I will just say that people need one gallon a day to drink, more if you want to bathe. Water is so much more important than food. The Rule of Three’s says we can last three weeks without food, but only three days without water. Having some stored is great, but I highly recommend you find a way to purify water that works for you. Boiling will kill any bacteria but will not remove chemicals such as arsenic or chlorine. For that you need a water purifier. I own and reviewed a Big Berkey. The Storage, Filtration And Purification Of Water lists many other ways to purify and filter water.

Food

There are many ways to approach food, from using Copy Canning to build your pantry with the “eat what you store, store what you eat” foods that your family eats most often, to storing staple foods with a 25+ year shelf life or planning long term with gardening and Permaculture and many things in between.

Water might be the most important, but food is the insurance policy that ensures your self-reliance and independence. In a survival situation the more food you have stored, or available in your land, the less of a drain you are on the system and the longer you can go without taking a handout.

I have covered food storage in depth in the articles linked below:

Food Storage Part One: Why Store Food And The Rules For It.
Food Storage Part Two: The Kind Of Foods That You Can Store
Food Storage Part Three: Shelf Life of Staples.
Food Storage Part Four: The Process and Enemies of Food Storage.
Food Storage Part Five: How much food should you store and where should you put it all?
Food Storage Part Six: Tips On Stocking Up and Affording it all.
Food Storage Part Seven: Food Boredom to Survival Cooking .

Shelter

The importance of shelter depends on your situation. Of course, if you’re lost in the wilderness and it’s raining, it takes on more importance. For most of us however, our shelter is our home. There are things you can do now to protect your home, such as general fire safety, or to harden your home with a safe room.

When you’re in your car, it is effectively your shelter. Having a car kit and AAA are ways to make sure your car can be an effective shelter should the need arise.

Energy

This is an area that doesn’t get as much attention as the others, I think mostly because we are so used to always having power, that we take it for granted. You can ensure you can meet your energy needs with a portable generators. A low end unit can cost just a couple hundred bucks. I covered off grid fuels. You can find backup ways to heat and cook for relatively cheap.

If you have no power, it is still possible to keep food cold without electricity. Make note of it now and have a plan just in case.

Energy and shelter often go hand in hand. If your car does become your shelter, or you do get lost in the woods, do you know how to make fire? Do you have a car kit? Do you have a mini kit? I’ll cover fire starting in another article, but knowing how to make fire can be a lifesaving skill; to make heat and a signal for others to see.

Security

I want to start by pointing to an article I wrote on whether or not Christians should practice self-defense for those of you have reservations on the subject. My personal stance is that I pray for my enemy now, but if he attempts to do me or mine harm, I will be a danger to my enemy and will use as much force as is necessary to stop the threat.

The first part of self-defense is situational awareness, Proverbs 27:12 tells us:

“A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”

Because the danger cannot always be avoided, using the Cooper Color Code we can be ready for a possible threat ahead of time. I suggest everyone one of us decides now what we’re willing to do to protect ourselves and those we love, because you will not have time to make a plan in the midst of violence.

Find a means of protection you are comfortable with and get training in it. If that means carrying pepper spray or training in real world self-defense, fine.

If that means using a current handgun, or getting a new handgun and getting your conceal and carry permit, or just being armed at home, then get training and go for it.

 My Take

No matter where you are or what situation you are in, these needs do not change. Preparing ahead of time and building redundancy for these five needs will help to mitigate many situations.

 

Filed Under: Energy/Power, Five Basic Human Needs, Food, Security, Shelter, Water

I made a mistake on the pepper spray article

April 13, 2012 by

On the post I made about pepper spray, inadvertently linked to the inert version of the pepper spray. It was quickly pointed out and remedied, however not fast enough. One person followed that link and purchased the inert version. If you ordered pepper spray please verify which type you purchased, if you did purchase the inert version send me an e-mail and I will send you the “real” pepper spray.

Chris at preparedchristion.net

I apologize for any inconvenience.

Chris

Filed Under: Uncategorized

What should you do if your car starts to skid out of control?

April 13, 2012 by

It was raining on my way to work one morning recently; not heavily, but enough to make the roads slick. In my rear view mirror I saw a vehicle cut another vehicle off, moving from the right lane to the left. They turned too hard and were going too fast and proceeded to violently swerve across both lanes of traffic, over-correcting and going back to the other lane, probably four times before they got things under control. I thought there would be a multi-car pileup, going 55+ MPH.

I want to approach todays “What would you do?” a little differently.  When I write these I always write the scenario and then write what I would do after.  This time I wrote down what I learned in drivers-education, then did an Internet search and found that what I was taught is a bit outdated.  It makes sense.  When I was learning to drive, front wheel drive was about as popular as rear wheel drive.  For years, the only options have been front or all-wheel drive.  There also wasn’t any such thing as ABS(anti-lock brake system) and headlights were often still turned on with your foot.

So today I would like you to think about how you would react to skidding out of control.  Then take a look at the video below that I found at Defensive Driving.com and the article they wrote on “What To Do If Your Car Skids”

As a second part, what would you do if you weren’t able to pull out of it and ended up in the ditch or hit the guard rail, etc.
 

 

So, what would you do?

 
Please click here to vote for Prepared Christian as a top Prepper site!

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!

Preparedness Club

Filed Under: What Would You Do?

Self-Defense: Pepper Spray

April 12, 2012 by

I know there are some people who prefer less than lethal force, or are not able to conceal and carry. I believe pepper spray is something that everyone (especially women) who is legally permitted should carry, especially if you conceal and carry.

Before I get in to the why, let me briefly explain what pepper spray is and why it is effective. There are three different types of chemical components used in pepper spray:

CS (Orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile),
CN (alphachloroacetaphenone)
OC (Oleoresin Capsicum).

CS and CN are considered irritants and will cause stinging and tearing. They can take from five to thirty seconds to be effective and may have little to no effect on someone who is chemically altered or in a psychotic state.

OC on the other hand is an inflammatory agent. When sprayed with it, your eyes immediately slam shut. People most often become temporarily blind due to the capillaries in the eyes dilating. From breathing in the agent, there is also coughing and possibly some choking.

Pepper spray is considered less than lethal but there have been cases where people with breathing issues, such as asthma, have died.
 
 
Blowback

Blowback is when some of the pepper spray blows back at you. It is more of a danger outdoors and of course is more likely to happen if you spray it into the wind.
 
 

Types of Sprayers

There are four types of sprayers. They are:
 
 
Stream

Think water gun. This gets a lot of spray on the target quickly and as a result empties faster. There is a mild risk of blowback. That risk increases proportional to the range it is sprayed.
 
 
Forced Cone

The spray pattern is circular and sprays a fine mist of droplets. There is a larger risk of blowback than with stream or foam.
 
 
Fogger

A fogger sprays a wider pattern and finer mist than the forced cone. Foggers are the most effective to use against a crowd, as they put out a large amount of spray. Aim is also less critical. A fogger could be used nicely to defend a home as well. The risk of blowback is higher than with spray or foam.
 
 
Foam

Foam shoots out like silly string and accumulates on the target. Attempts to wipe it off often just rub it in, making it more effective. Foam is the least subject to blowback.
 
 

Why Carry Pepper Spray?

I have a permit to carry, and often do. I am also trained in Haganah, an Israeli-based martial art. Why do I carry pepper spray? Because there are some situations where I believe it is the best choice. If the only tool you have in your toolbox is a hammer, you treat everything like it’s a nail.

One such scenario could be that there are two unarmed men walking toward you, making threats. If I’m armed I could draw. They may or may not back down. If they do, problem solved. If they don’t, I’ve put myself in the position to have to shoot. If I choose to go hand-to-hand, I might be able to take them both using what I have learned in Haganah. Then again, I have no idea of their skill level and could be entirely out-matched. With pepper spray, since it is most often non-lethal, I can draw it earlier than my gun. If they don’t back down I can also use it earlier than I would my gun. I’ll discuss the people that are unaffected by pepper spray next. For now, I’ll just say that if they are unaffected, I can still draw my gun, or go hand-to-hand.
 
 
What About Those Unaffected?

I heard a story once about a Navy Seal who sprayed pepper spray on his sandwich and ate it. I’ve also heard a story about a guy that used pepper spray like breath spray and just swallowed it. There are many more stories like this. Whether or not they are true, I have no idea. If they are, my guess is that they used CS or CN and not OS. I have read reports that claim a tolerance can be built up to CS and CN but not to OS.

I heard once that 30% of people sprayed with pepper spray will be unaffected. I believe this was related to CS and CN types. People use this as a reason not to carry pepper spray. They are focusing on the wrong number. So what? 30% are unaffected. There are 70% that ARE affected. If there was a 70% chance that you would win the lottery, reservations about gambling aside, the vast majority of us would buy a ticket. That 30% who are unaffected, aren’t completely un-phased. They are just not completely shut down like the rest. They will still have some tearing, blurred vision and other difficulties.

Because I believe in having many tools in my self-defense toolbox, if I were to spray someone and they were unaffected I would still have options. I could either make a tactical retreat, giving me a chance to escape or giving me time to go to a more lethal form of self-defense or I could go right to them. I wouldn’t want to go hand-to-hand, as I’m not one of the unaffected.

That brings up another good point. Your job is not to subdue the attacker like a policeman. Your job is to survive the attack and make it back to your family. Whether that means spraying with pepper spray and making an escape or using your firearm as a last result, so be it.
 
 
What I Carry

I personally carry Cold Steel Inferno .38 oz. Keyring Hardcase Unit Pepper Spray,as does my wife. I even bought a can for my son’s ex-girlfriend when they were together. If I had a daughter, she would carry a can with her.

Inferno is an OC agent and comes out in foam. They have small pen type units, the keychain model I carry and they also have a 10.5 oz.can, perfect for home defense..
 
 
Bee and Wasp Spray

There are people who say they’ll use bee or wasp spray for self-defense. It is a crime to use it in a means that it was not intended for. If you used it because it was close when you were attacked, I can understand. But setting it aside for the intended use of self-defense, I don’t understand. There are products better suited for the job that are legal in most states to use. While the big can of Inferno might be more expensive than a can of wasp spray, it’s not cheaper than a lawsuit or a fine. Since you have time now to purchase it, I can’t see why wasp spray would be an option.
 
 
How to Carry Pepper Spray

It’s not effective if you can’t get to it quickly, I have my can on my key chain and I carry my keys in my hand or in my jacket pocket with my hand on it. If you need in an emergency, you will not have time to fish it out of your pocket or purse and put it to use.

 
Please click here to vote for Prepared Christian as a top Prepper site!

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!

Preparedness Club

Filed Under: Security Tagged With: ,

Secure Your Personal Data with Low Tech Cryptology

April 11, 2012 by

As I mentioned in Low Tech Data Storage I have always had trouble with memorization, not just with phone numbers, with everything, even ATM PIN numbers. It’s not such a big deal now, but twenty years ago many places didn’t take debit cards, so remembering the PIN for the cash machine was important. I came up with a way that I was comfortable with for writing that number down so I could always have it with me.

The reason I felt comfortable putting the ATM PIN number down on paper was because I used a form of low tech cryptology.  PIN numbers are typically four digits long.  I would make up a name that I would associate with the bank. Then I would make up a phone number using the ATM PIN as the last four digits.  To make it look authentic I would use the area code and prefix for the city I lived in.  For example, If the bank was Twin Cities Federal and my pin was 9999, I might have used Trevor C. Fines 612-555-9999.

Another form of cryptology, albeit low tech, is something I call X-off. You pick a number and add or subtract that, to any number you want to encrypt. For example, let’s say X=+3 and I want to encrypt my pin number 5729, my new number would be 8052. Because zeros are used, you have to count it as a number between 9 and 1.

Another cryptology method is shifting a letter in the alphabet over a set number. Let’s use +3 again, so A = D, B = E, C = F and so on.

 If you have other low tech cryptology methods please post them as a comment.

 
Please click here to vote for Prepared Christian as a top Prepper site!

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!

Preparedness Club

Filed Under: Preparedness Tips, Security

Filling Your Pantry by Copy Canning

April 10, 2012 by

Preparedness Tip:

I learned about copy canning from the video Urban Master Volume 1 “The Home”, created by the late Ron Hood and his wife. The process is very easy and is as follows:

  1. You decide you want chicken noodle soup for lunch so you take a can out of your pantry.
  2. Add chicken noodle soup to the shopping list.
  3. When you go to the grocery store, you buy two instead of one. (If you used two cans, you guessed it, you buy four.)

This is a great way to build your pantry to the point where you’re at the maximum amount of any item you want to store. Then you simply move back to buying just one when you use one.

Here are some links to other articles on food storage, these can help in stocking your pantry as well.

Food Storage Part One: Why Store Food And The Rules For It.
Food Storage Part Two: The Kind Of Foods That You Can Store
Food Storage Part Three: Shelf Life of Staples.
Food Storage Part Four: The Process and Enemies of Food Storage.
Food Storage Part Five: How much food should you store and where should you put it all?
Food Storage Part Six: Tips On Stocking Up and Affording it all.
Food Storage Part Seven: Food Boredom to Survival Cooking .

 
Please click here to vote for Prepared Christian as a top Prepper site!

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!

Preparedness Club

Filed Under: Food, Getting Started, Preparedness Tips Tagged With: ,

Introduction to Permaculture; Building a Food Forest

April 9, 2012 by

Permaculture is something that I have mentioned a few times, but it’s not something I have discussed in any detail. I’m still a Permaculture novice, but thought I would share some of what I have learned as well as some resources. I think Permaculture can be useful for anyone designing food production systems, whether that is a small suburban yard or a multi-acre farm.

This is an immense topic, so in this article I am only going to introduce you to what Permaculture is and give you some resources to further explore the subject.

 

What is Permaculture?
Permaculture is a design system that takes principles found in nature and works with them. For example, instead of planting an acre of corn (mono-culture) you might plant 100 different species, scattered throughout the acre. Instead of things being planted in rows, the only structure might be zones and layers, which are how they grow naturally. A Permaculture system would more resemble a forest than the traditional farm. In fact, a Permaculture design is often referred to as a “food forest”.

 

Why Use Permaculture?
Why use Permaculture instead of traditional farming or gardening? Bill Mollison answers this very well:

“The aim is to create systems that are ecologically-sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore sustainable in the long term. Permaculture uses the inherent qualities of plants and animals combined with the natural characteristics of landscapes and structures to produce a life-supporting system for city and country, using the smallest practical area.”

 

Who Developed Permaculture?
Permaculture, as a design system, was developed by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970’s and introduced in their book “Permaculture One” in 1978. Permaculture is a term coined by Bill Mollison. It was originally derived from “Permanent Agriculture” and later “Permanent Culture”. Since these same practices are visible by watching nature, others have developed similar concepts, under different names.

 

Zones

Zones in Permaculture are used to organize things by their frequency of human intervention.

Zone 0
This is your home.

Zone 1
This is the area closest to your home. These would be the things that need the most attention; being watered and mulched the most. Things here would be your herb garden, raised beds and compost pile. This could also contain a greenhouse.

Zone 2
This is the area for perennials and any orchard trees. You might still mulch and irrigate, but less than in zone 1.

Zone 3
This is for conventional farming crops

Zone 4
This is a semi-wild area. You might forage here but there is minimal human intervention.

Zone 5
This is wilderness with no human intervention.

 

Layers

Planting in layers is how permaculture gets its structure and should be used when planning your landscaping; planting the tallest things the furthest away, so that all layers get as much sun as possible.

Layer 1
The canopy; the tallest trees.

Layer 2
Sub-canopy layer. This contains shorter trees, such as dwarf fruit trees.

Layer 3
Shrubs and bushes belong in layer three.

Layer 4
Herbaceous layer, plants such as Daylily’s and Hosta’s.

Layer 5
Rhizosphere layer, for roots and tubers.

Layer 6
Soil surface, consisting of cover crops like bush green beans, strawberries, any low growing plant that can add nutrients and limit erosion.

Layer 7
Vertical climbers, vines that climb like pole green beans.

 

Swales
A swale is a shallow ditch used to trap water that would normally run off the surface of land. It captures it and forces it to slowly go through and hydrate the soil.

 

Hugelkultur
The last thing I want to cover is something that isn’t necessarily a part of permaculture, but something that could be used in a permaculture design.

raised garden beds: hugelkultur instead of irrigation covers Hugelkultur in much greater detail, but I’ll give a quick and dirty explanation. Hugelkultur is simply burying wood with soil, compost, manure and planting on top of it. In the first year, you may have to water as you normally would, but here’s the reason people practice Hugelkultur; as that wood breaks down it acts as a sponge and holds moisture, releasing it to the vegetation that you have planted.

 

Permaculture Resources

I first learned of Permaculture from Jack Spirko on the Survival Podcast. Jack has done a huge amount of content dedicated to permaculture, some of it in hour long shows. Some of the information is also answering a listener’s question, so that show might only have 5-10 minutes on the topic. I searched his site using the word permaculture, here are all of the results.

Permies.com
This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, permaculture forums on the Internet. There is a huge amount of information here on all things permaculture.

The Permaculture research Institute of the USA
Here is a link that has a lot of information on permaculture, including classes, DVD’s and other information, including a forum, on permaculture.

 
Please click here to vote for Prepared Christian as a top Prepper site!

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!

Preparedness Club

Filed Under: Food Tagged With: , ,

Survival Sanitation

April 6, 2012 by

Survival sanitation is a subject that doesn’t get much attention. It’s not surprising. This isn’t a subject for polite conversation and, it’s gross. But, not knowing what to do with waste in a grid down situation can lead to a dire survival situation. This is fair warning; this information is important, but will cover some information that is a bit disgusting.

In researching this article, I found a series of three articles at Tactical Intelligence, that cover almost everything I wanted to write on. So instead of writing a similar article, I am going to ask you to take a look at his articles and I will just add my $.02 here.
 
 
Survival Sanitation: It all Begins with the Hands

This article covers how many diseases are spread from bodily fluids to hands then to the mouth. He even gives instructions to make your own chlorine bleach, as well as good and bad hand hygiene habits.
 
 
Survival Sanitation: Disposing of Garbage Off-Grid
 
 
Out of the three, this is the one area I think people should hold out on. Only go this route if garbage pickup is on hold for a long time. That is, unless you live in a densely populated area such as New York. Due to the day after Christmas blizzard in 2010, New Yorkers went without trash collection for a week and limited collection for another. There were mountains of it and soon the rats came out. This is good information to be aware of.
 
 
Survival Sanitation: How to Deal with Human Waste

This is a topic that while mildly unpleasant, is very important. If you are on city sewer and water, in a grid down situation there won’t be power to the water pumps to provide water for disposing of the waste. This article explains what to do if you have water available and what to do if you do not.
 
 
Backflow Valves

I only have one other thing to touch on and that is the back-flow valve. A back-flow valve will keep sewage from flowing back into your plumbing. Backwater-Valves.com hosts the image below. They explain the need, based on your location, hypothetically; on a hill in a flooding situation.

I also contacted a local plumber via e-mail asking if the power going out would have any impact on sewage back flowing.

“Hi Chris,
The back water valve is only required if the plumbing fixtures are below the manhole in the street. ( most are but some houses are on hills ). The power going out has no effect unless you have a lift station in your home.

You can tell if you have one because they are required by code to be accessible. ( somewhere in floor ).

They are not a huge project but we would need to locate the drain, remove the concrete, install back water valve and patch the floor. There are any variables that would raise the costs but a minimum price would be $450.”

Where I live, back-flow valve installation became code in 2009. It might be code where you live. If you have an older home and think you might be in danger of back-flow, contacting a plumber in your area now might be a prudent idea.
 
Please click here to vote for Prepared Christian as a top Prepper site!

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!

Preparedness Club

Filed Under: General Preparedness, Off-Grid

Prepared Christian Review of: Gerber Torch II Tanto Black

April 5, 2012 by

Gerber Torch II Tanto Black Serrated Edge Knife

I decided I wanted a knife for the times when I couldn’t carry my firearm, so that I would have some means to protect myself; a self-defense knife if you will. I wanted something that had a clip, so I could wear the knife inside my waistband. I wanted it to be fairly easy to open, so I could release the blade with one hand. It needed to be a good quality knife but I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it either. I looked at many different knives at both local stores and online, eventually settling on the Gerber Torch II Tanto.

“Designed by Rick Hinderer, the Gerber Torch II features a matte black tanto blade with drop point, dual thumbstud for one-handed opening, and a finger flip that doubles as a finger guard. The partially serrated 3.5-inch blade is made of surgical-grade 7Cr17MoV stainless steel, while the stainless steel handle has machine-textured G-10 insert for an excellent grip. It includes a pocket clip for easy carry and storage as well as a lanyard attachment. The Torch II measures 8.25 inches when open and 4.75 inches when closed, and it weighs a svelte 5.7 ounces. Backed by a limited lifetime warranty.”

Price: $30 – $40

Pros:

  • I love the way this knife looks.
  •  It’s a Gerber. I actually own other Gerber products, so they’re a company I know and trust.
  • Very easy to open.
  •  I like the finger guard; it adds to a firm grip.

Cons:

  • The clip is on the wrong side for a right handed person. To better explain this, in the top picture above, the clip should be on the left side, not the right. If you have the knife clipped in your pocket or waistband, when you draw it, the blade opens into your hand, so you would need to adjust before putting it to use, which defeats the purpose of the quick draw.
  •  Some knives have the ability to move the clip to another position, not this one.
  • It is very easy to open, too easy, actually. I was wearing it inside the top, back of my pants one day, when I had to use the rest room. When I took my pants down, the blade slipped out and cut every layer of skin for about two inches on the top of my right calf. I got lucky; it could have easily cut my calf in two.

My Take

I’m obviously unhappy with the purchase, but I am inclined to believe that the opening problem is a problem with this specific knife and not with Gerber. As I mentioned I own other Gerber products and have always been happy with them.

I looked at several stores near me for a self-defense knife and didn’t see one that was in my price range that I cared for, so I ended up buying it on line. If I would have been able to put my hands on it, I may not have noticed that it opened too easily, but I would have noticed that it opened on the wrong side, and wouldn’t have purchased it.

Even though I didn’t return it, I should have. I give this knife one star.

 

 
Please click here to vote for Prepared Christian as a top Prepper site!

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!

Preparedness Club

Filed Under: Reviews

What Would You Do: Imminent Wild Fire

April 4, 2012 by

Due to a prolonged drought and high temperatures over the course of the last three months, water reservoirs are at an all-time low.  Local governments have asked citizens to use water sparingly and there is a burning ban in effect, as well as a watering ban on all lawns.

Areas that are not normally at risk for wild fires are in danger of seeing them.  Your town has an ongoing wildfire that has already claimed ten homes and unless the winds change direction or firefighters find a way to stop it, the fire could be in your neighborhood in a matter of two to three hours.

So, what would you do?

(Check the comments section to see the answers from everyone as well as to add your own.)

 
Please click here to vote for Prepared Christian as a top Prepper site!

If you liked this article please think about sharing it on the social media listed below, thanks!

Preparedness Club

Filed Under: What Would You Do?
«Previous Page
Next Page»