Welcome to this week’s Sunday Survival Buzz – a roundup of preparedness news, tips, articles and recommendations from around the web. But first, an update on my own preps.
First and foremost, I made up a batch of chicken chili from from food storage and cooked it up on my EcoZoom rocket stove. On Tuesday I will post the results, the recipe and the details of the EcoZoom Versa giveaway.
S.H. and I dehydrated another big batch of broccoli in my new dehydrator. I also experimented vacuum sealing the broccoli in a food saver bag but it was dicey. Sealing it up in a mason jar took less effort plus mitigated the chance of the broccoli being pulverized.
I ordered supplies to make my own emergency candles and supplies to make my own liquid castile soap. I am especially anxious to try this since Dr. Bronner’s is on the expensive side and out of reach for many of my readers.
I experimented a bit using Hydrogen Peroxide as a spot remover on soiled clothing.
And last, I placed my monthly $100 order from Emergency Essentials. I will share the details of my order next week.
Okay, enough about me. Let’s get on to the Sunday Survival Buzz.
SURVIVAL NEWS & ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WEB
Massive solar flare narrowly misses Earth, EMP disaster barely avoided : A bit of the woo woo since this came out after I posted the article Prepping for an EMP and Solar Flares.
The Most Important Number In The Entire U.S. Economy: The answer might surprise you – this week from Michael Snyder.
More Important Than Preps And Skills: From Modern Survival Blog – at first, this one might surprise you, too. Although this is something to be aware of, for most, there is no alternative when it comes to where to live. There are family, health and financial considerations – just sayin’.
‘Do you have any bombs?’ Woman sparks police raid with ‘pressure cooker’ Google search”: In case you missed it, this is about a SWAT raid on a home where the husband was looking up backpacks and the wife was Google-ing pressure cookers. As my BFF George at Urban Survival says “Knock-knock… Unreal, huh?”
Bankers Own the World and are Ultimately Destroying It: I read articles like this as a reminder why I continue to devote so much time and energy to prepping. The news keeps getting worse.
Disaster Management:12 Ways To Keep Cool Without Electricity: Here are some useful tips for keeping cool when the temperature soars.
What to eat now: Kale: I enjoyed this article on how to make this good-for-you vegetable tastier.
Seattle officials call for ban on ‘potentially offensive’ language: As if they did not have better things to do. Can you believe this?
Government workers in the city of Seattle have been advised that the terms “citizen” and “brown bag” are potentially offensive and may no longer be used in official documents and discussions.
BACKDOOR SURVIVAL READER TIPS
From Rebecca in response to the article 15 Alternative Uses For Honey:
I have had direct experience with honey as a salve: When I was a kid, a bike accident resulted in my ankle being scraped down to the bone on the pavement. A wise old lady poured honey on it, and instructed my mom to keep it saturated and lightly covered. I barely have a scar today. I also used it in my 20′s after skinning both knees rollerblading. Honey takes the pain away NOW, and promotes fast healing.
Best shampoo ever is 2 tbsp honey, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup of beer. Cleans and conditions like crazy! And as a cholesterol-lowering treatment combine equal amounts of honey and ground cinnamon, take 1 Tbsp twice a day. I recommended this to a client, and her cholesterol went from 220 to 146 in a week!
NEWS FROM OUR SPONSOR
This week I am thrilled to announce our newest sponsor, Ready To Go Survival.
ReadyToGoSurvival.com was created to help people and their families get out of danger in emergencies – fast. Research shows that speed is the key to evading harm in a disaster.
When emergency strikes, you want to spend your precious time getting to safety, not packing. With our team of disaster responders, law enforcement professionals, and military personnel, we’ve created several survival kits with the best balance of quality, practicality, and necessity.
If your survival needs require something more customized, feel free to call us and we can discuss your specific needs and if a customized kit is better for you. We also offer a Amazon price match guarantee, so rest assured that you are getting the best price possible without the headache of assembling your own Bug Out Bag. We’re turning fears into a feeling of empowerment and changing the mindset of being scared in to being prepared. Just grab and go, we will take care of the rest!
Note: If for some reason the video is not displaying on your device, you can view it on You Tube here: http://youtu.be/2r5hS5tq57g.
As with all of my sponsors, please pay them a visit and let them know you saw them on Backdoor Survival. Speaking of which, check out the Backdoor Survival Sponsors page and support the fine companies that allow me to keep Backdoor Survival free for everyone.
LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?
Reminder: if you are interested in finding a past article on a specific topic, you can use the Search box on the right hand side or select SEARCH from the menu bar.
FROM THE GOOGLE DOES IT AGAIN DEPARTMENT
If you subscribe to Backdoor Survival using your Gmail account, you may unintentionally be missing some emails. Here is the scoop:
Google rolled out an automatic tabbed inbox categorization method that presumes how you want your email sorted. Don’t you just hate that? Anyway, some of my emails may now end up in the “PROMOTIONS” or other tab and not your primary inbox. Not good.
There are two things you can do. You can turned off the tabs entirely in your settings or you can train Gmail my moving one of the Backdoor Survival emails to the PRIMARY TAB. Personally, I turned the tabs off and am done with it but what you do is of course, up to you.
THE FINAL WORD
As I move beyond the basics of beans, band-aids and bullets, you may notice that more and more of my time is being spent learning how to make things that I would, in times past, have purchased at the grocery store or at Costco. This gets back to the reason I started prepping which was the isolation of our island home from the mainland. Being dependent on ferries, if there is a natural disaster, terrorist attack or civil unrest on the mainland, our little island community could be totally cut off from supplies for an extended period of time.
Along those lines, I have numerous DIY projects going right now but to be honest, many of my projects have resulted in failure. Sorry to say, but some of the DIY “recipes” posted on the internet have not worked. This leads me to believe that they are posted with the intent of drawing eyeballs and not for the distribution of worthy information to our global internet community. Sadly, some of these failures have come from some well-known and popular sites. What a waste of time, effort and resources.
Okay – that is my rant for today. You can bet that when I post a DIY solution, it is something I have tried and that I know works.
Until, next time, remember to make every day a prep day!
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
If you have not done so already, please be sure to like Backdoor Survival on Facebook to be updated every time there is an awesome new article, news byte, or free survival, prepping or homesteading book on Amazon.
In addition, when you sign up to receive email updates you will receive a free, downloadable copy of my e-book The Emergency Food Buyer’s Guide.
Bargain Bin: Today I feature items mentioned in today’s Buzz as well as a reader request for links to feminine hygiene pads.
Feminine Pads: I am posting this link to some options for re-usable feminine pads. This has been requested more than once by Backdoor Survival readers. I am also looking for some sewing instructions so that you can make your own.
Nesco 600-Watt Food Dehydrator: This modestly priced dehydrator (less than $60) has over 1000 reviews and comes up as the most highly rated dehydrator on Amazon. I think this would make a good starter unit although I personally own the Excalibur with 9 trays.
FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer: As long as the unit has an accessory port (and this one does), and inexpensive FoodSaver will work just as well as the fancier models. That is my two cents, at least.
FoodSaver Wide Mouth Jar Sealer: Already have a FoodSaver? If so, check out this jar sealer which can be used to vacuum seal your Mason jars. This is a great option for short to mid term storage of items such as beans, rice, sugar and salt. Store your jars in a cool, dark place and you are set with the added advantage of removing a small amount for current use without having to disrupt your large Mylar bag or bucket of food. There is also a version for regular sized jars.
Kirk’s Castile Soap
EcoZoom Versa Rocket Stove: Burning twigs and pinecones, this stove will cook a big pot of rice in under 20 minutes. The stove is solidly built and will burn charcoal as well. There is also a version that only burns biomass for slightly less money.
Shop the Emergency Essentials Monthly Specials
I really love the Provident Pantry Corn Muffin Mix which I cooked up as corn bread in my cast iron skillet. Oh my gosh – it was better than anything boxed that I have ever purchased and as good as home made. The best part is that all I had to add was water!
Same with the Buttermilk Biscuit Mix.
These are just two of the food storage items that you can purchase at Emergency Essentials. And if you need some recipes? Go to the Food Storage Recipes page of Emergency Essentials for lots of creative (and free) ideas for using the good you have on hand.
Like this and want more?
CLICK HERE to visit Backdoor Survival on Facebook. And CLICK HERE to follow Survival Woman on Twitter.
Spread the Word – Tell your friends: Share Backdoor Survival with your friends. All you need to do to send them a short email. Now that was easy!
Need something from Amazon (and who doesn’t)? I earn a small commission from purchases made when you begin your Amazon shopping experience here. You still get great Amazon service and the price is the same, no matter what.
Shop Amazon Tactical – Great Selection of Optics, Knives, Cases, Equipment
Amazon’s Most Wished For Items in Sports and Outdoors
Help support Backdoor Survival. Purchases earn a small commission and for that I thank you!
The Sunday Survival Buzz – Volume 76 is the latest article from the Survival Woman at Backdoor Survival.