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Not-So-Obvious Survival Tips: Rotate Your Food Stash

I just had a can of Beanee Weenee for lunch that was over two years old. Since money has been tight lately (hasn’t it been for everybody?), we’ve been making our grocery budget stretch by dipping into our emergency stores, and it’s a good thing. Since making sure we had several weeks’ worth of canned goods on hand (a lesson we learned thanks to the 2007 ice storm that blanketed much of the midwest) shortly after we moved into our house three years ago, we haven’t touched that food ever since.

So here’s something that might not be obvious to everybody (as my over two-year-old lunch makes it plain that it wasn’t obvious to us): canned goods and other types of stored food don’t last forever. Most canned goods start losing both flavor and nutritional value after about two years. Much longer than that, and they can start to become unsafe to eat. That’s why it’s important to rotate your emergency stash.
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By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago

Getting In Shape For Survival

I’m finding that an important aspect of preparedness is doing everything you can to be healthy and in good shape. Not only do you not want to be dealing with health issues if you find yourself in a situation where going to a doctor is difficult to impossible, but you also need to think about all of the physicality involved in a survival situation. Being able to run, at least in short sprints, is important, as it may just save your life some day. Endurance is also important, since you might find yourself needing to cover long distances on foot. And it’s just as important to have good strength for the physical labor that will no doubt accompany a survival situation.
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By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago

My Every Day Carry Kit

Every Day Carry Purse KitI guess I’ve always had a tendency toward preparedness, even without giving it a lot of thought. I’ve always carried certain items in my purse that would help me tackle common, every day emergencies, such as headache medicine, Band-Aids, safety pins, Kleenex and an umbrella. I also usually keep a protein bar in my bag to help regulate my blood sugar (and keep me from becoming a cranky beyotch) when I am stuck out running errands between meals. So it wasn’t that big of a stretch, once I became more preparedness-minded, to convert my purse into an every day carry emergency kit.

So here, along with my wallet, cell phone and umbrella, is what’s in my purse at all times: (more…)

By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago

My Earthquake Bag

The increase of tremors here in Oklahoma have prompted me to put together an earth quake readiness kit. Hopefully, we’ll never experience a large enough quake that I will need to put it to use, but as most things preparedness-related, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Prompted by a post on The Survival Mom that left my head swimming with visions of my husband and I having to stand around outside in the cold in our skivvies in the middle of the night while we watch our home get shaken off its foundation, I put together a grab-and-go bag that contains the following: (more…)

By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago

Survival Blog

If you’re not new to disaster preparedness and survival, then you probably already know about James Wesley, Rawles’ SurvivalBlog (and no, that comma in his name is not a typo); but if you are new and you haven’t checked out this resource yet, you should. It’s a little hard-core, but as such it’s loaded with great info for preparing to survive anything from tornadoes to social upheaval to zombies (okay, I made up the part about the zombies–but seriously, the stuff here would probably help you survive zombies, too).
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By Jean Marie Bauhaus, ago