I recognize you weren’t asking me, but I think the stats are way off. I personally know at least half a dozen people who’ve had diagnosed Lyme (one of whom died from complications of it in his forties, and another who ended up completely disabled from it in her fifties – though for context she did not follow medical advice and tried to ‘treat’ it with herbs), two who have had diagnosed Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and three with diagnosed Alpha Gal Syndrome (AGS).   It is AGS that keeps me slathering on the bug spray and tucking pants into my socks – no way am I giving up bacon! 

Thank you so much for asking this Eric. All of my alarm bells went off with this one: No contact information for the poster, a gmail (instead of university) address – and no response to your question. In most universities even the advertisements promoting a study need to be approved by a committee, and surely a committee would have pointed out that any female prepper worth her salt would see this ad as – sketchy?

July, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights during your time of loss. May your husband’s memory be a blessing to you in these difficult times.  I used to think estate plans were only for rich people. Now I understand that they are for responsible people, of whatever income level. So I invested in the services of an estate attorney to put all of the paperwork together for us. It was worth every penny.  He knew so many ins and outs of the law (for example, in our state that “safe deposit box” rule mentioned below applies, and so we would have been making a serious mistake putting our wills in a safe deposit box, which is what I had planned to do.) As time has gone by, however, it is so easy to let little bits and pieces fall to the side – those stray accounts you mentioned, for example. In general I’ve made it a practice to simplify, simplify, simplify. A bank offers you $200 to open a new account and maintain it for a year?  NOPE. It’s not worth it to have that extra paperwork.  The checkout lady offers you 5% off to sign up for a card? NOPE.  (It’s easier to say no when you freeze your credit, which you should absolutely do, because then you actually CAN’T open a new account!) Whenever I have a major change – in insurance, an account, or whatever –  I send all of the details to the executor of my estate. That way he won’t have to go digging or get surprises months later.  And though it is a complete pain, I do ensure our accounts are properly titled and that I check the beneficiaries periodically.   As summer wedding season approaches, I encourage folks to consider gifting newlyweds with the services of an estate attorney.  Most couples starting out don’t have the funds to hire an attorney (though they are not nearly as expensive as you would think), and what a great gift to get them started on their life together.  The estate planning process sparks deep and meaningful conversations and can really help a couple solidify what is important to them. Would be a great gift for graduates, too.  

I have also decided to bring my BOB on the road trip, since we will be gone a while and who knows?  I discovered that the batteries in my headlamp and emergency charger were dead.  I also went through The Prepared’s full BOB list again and noticed that I did not have food (!) or sunglasses in my bag.  And though neither sunscreen nor reading glasses were on the official list, I added both. Very glad to be finding this out now and not in an emergency. 

I am about to go on a big road trip so decided to inventory my first aid kit.  To my disappointment, many key items were missing and I have no idea where they went! I also realized that I completely overlooked the obvious need to include a few days’ worth of critical medications not on the IFAK list that are necessary for health conditions of those in my family.  Just a reminder to do a “bag check” periodically and make sure the gremlins haven’t stolen anything!

As I have commented before, history has proven that if I have to rely on my own gardening for survival, I shall starve.  So instead this year for the first time I subscribed to a CSA.  It is SO. AWESOME.  I have gotten so many many many fresh veggies.  Had to freeze half of them because it is too much to eat.  For sure this was kinder to me, and to the environment, than starting my own garden (I have quite a rep amongst the plants in the neighborhood and they all wilt when they see me headed their way!)

I own three SCOTTeVEST products: Two jackets and one vest. I vote vest, specifically the “QUEST” vest. If you think of them as a wearable suitcase, that is the right viewpoint. For prepping purposes, their usefulness is somewhat limited in that I don’t think they are particularly sturdy and they don’t actually function well as clothing items. I would not buy one to use just as a vest or just as a jacket; they are not especially comfortable and not particularly flattering. But they are great at what they do, which is to hold a LOT of stuff. One good use would be as a wearable get home bag that you could hang on the jacket hook of your car.  Less likely to be stolen than a bag, and super easy to grab and go while remaining inconspicuous (if you buy the black model, it is amazing how much you can carry without anyone realizing you have anything in the pockets).  But it does not have enough space for a full-blown BOB.  Another idea would be a similar scenario in an office.  You could load the pockets with emergency items and hang it on your coat hook and no one would be the wiser, whereas if you have a bag people are likely to ask you about it.   I mainly use my vest when traveling, as my “third suitcase”.  I travel extremely light, and packing the vest with some of my carryon items allows me to better balance the weight and avoid some of the gate check nonsense.  In the back pocket of the vest I can fit two laptops – TWO! – and then I distribute some of my heavier items (filled water bottle, extra battery pack, charging cables etc) into the other pockets.  That way I don’t have to carry those items in my actually carryon bag, which both frees up space and minimizes weight.  And usually I can fit it on top of other carryon bags in the overhead compartment and if not it hangs on the hook by the tray table.  Perhaps if I used it every day I would get more accustomed to it, but since I only use it when traveling I have found it to be a PAIN to remember what is in which pocket and how to get in to said pocket.  So usually once I arrive at my destination I just empty the vest out and hang it on a hook until it is time to go home again.  Once in a while I wear it instead of a backpack to a theme park or something, so I can carry things like umbrellas without a backpack.  And an argument could be made for wearing it in touristy areas as some of the pockets would baffle pickpockets (but will also baffle you, so be prepared to spend a long time trying to remember where the heck your wallet is. I seriously recommend practicing what you put where before you leave or you’ll look like an idiot trying to find your ID and stuff when you get to the airport!). Keep an eye out for the sales, which happen fairly regularly and especially on typical sales days like Black Friday. And I recommend sizing UP.   Once you fill up all the pockets with all the stuff, it is harder to zip the darned thing. And if you are female, be aware that the female QUEST vest was clearly designed for the flat-chested.  Definitely measure before ordering, because their return policies are not particularly generous.  

I am actually not comfortable sharing the whole story because it is an ongoing situation and I’ve become rather paranoid, even wondering if the scammer can track my online activity.  He (or they?) is very persistent.   But the key element that almost made me fall for it was that the call appeared to come from my bank.  I recognized the number.  So even if you get a call that appears to come from a legitimate source, always always always hang up and call back.  A genuine bank will not be offended if you say you have to call them back! In fact they should applaud you.  I wrote up a lot more but sadly I am not comfortable sharing here, and deleted it. If the scammer is lurking (and they are so good, I cannot assume they are not), I’d rather they not know what I’ve done to protect myself.  I sometimes think that if these people put as much effort into a “real” job as they do into trying to steal, they’d probably be very successful.  One of my family members – very smart, very aware, very “with it”, got caught at a bad moment and fell for a scam. She lost $800.  A huge sum to many, a smaller sum to others.  But it destroyed her self esteem for months. It was truly, truly sad.  The emotional cost was far higher than the financial cost.  

My partner and I used to joke about “code words” we would use in case of a kidnapping for “proof of life”.  Well it’s not a joke any more – we had a serious discussion yesterday and agreed on three code phrases we would use to verify if a phone call (or even a video!) is a legitimate call for help.  Stuff that could never be ascertained from our online activity and are not obvious answers. Could be a great way to discuss scams and fraud prevention with loved ones.   I think of myself as having excellent situational awareness and even I almost feel prey to a bank scam (of a different sort) last week – those people are good.  Lesson well learned: Never, EVER engage in any account activity based on an inbound phone call.

I have multiple Jackeries and have been quite happy with them. It really depends on what problem you are trying to solve.  Per the thread below, mine are not strong enough to power multiple appliances (though Jackery does make one large enough to power a refrigerator, I have not yet been brave enough to buy that model because it is pretty pricey)  But my Jackery500 can and has powered a CPAP for four days.   I have multiple small ones instead of one big one so that I can use them for different applications, plus charge one while using one. That has worked well for me but everyone will have different needs. So, for example, I can use my 500 to power my laptop and the wifi router downstairs while one person in my household uses the 240 upstairs for his computer and someone else uses the 160 for a cell phone and a lamp. That still leaves me with a 300 to loan to a neighbor!  Because one can never have enough gear.  🙂

You are ahead of me here!  I did the same as you – except three years ago at the beginning of the pandemic, and despite my best intentions I haven’t gotten around to refilling them.  I’ve sort of told myself that I could run the water through my LifeStraw or Berkey, or even boil them, if push came to shove.   But when I do get motivated, I intend to redo all the steps. I did have to use the emergency water in my car once, and it was only one year old, and the taste was just – awful.  Clearly perfectly safe because I’m still alive but I’d rather not have to go through that with multiple gallons!

This was such a cool story; thank you for sharing! Makes me wonder whether I should spend my next “prepper fun money” on an iPhone 14 with satellite messaging – or a drone.  (The correct answer, as we all know, is BOTH!)

One small thing I do is store “kits” under the beds.  So instead of having ALL of my #10 cans in the basement, where I have lots of storage, I have a mixture of cans under the beds too.  For example in the master bedroom we have a can each of beans, rice, potatoes, apples, oats and – oh, I don’t remember but there is a variety! That way if I am either robbed or a disaster damages what is in the basement, I at least have a good supply spread out in other locations. This has happened naturally with medical supplies too.  By the time I have a kit in my BOB, my husband’s, the one in the car, and the one for the house, I’m already pretty diversified so if one kit goes missing it’s not a huge loss.   For me one of the main points in being prepared is to live a life free of fear.  Shifting my attitude from “how can I hide this from other people?” to “how can I organize my supplies so I’m best able to help other people who might need it?” was a very healthy way to shift perspective and keeps prepping fun and abundant.  

Thank you so much for this guidance! I always feel wasteful when I toss leftover fat into the trash. I had heard about rendering fat but never really looked into it (rumor has it it is great for winter birds if you don’t want to use it for human consumption).  You just gave me the excuse I needed to finally get those silicone molds I’ve been eyeing!  I store a great deal of coconut oil and other fats in my freezer but beef and pork fat (and oooh lamb fat) are especially tasty.  

I have had very positive experiences stocking my pantry with these items. As you mention, they are very cost-effective. If possible I recommend going to one of the centers vs. having items shipped, as on occasion I have received several items dented (I’m pretty sure it was the delivery person’s fault, tossing them on the porch).  I do wish they had more variety sometimes – a person can only eat so many apples – but it’s a great way to build up on staples and as you mentioned, I have told all of my friends about this option, many of whom have also ordered. Items are often sold out but if you check back regularly you can catch them when stuff is restocked.   Incidentally it would be a nice, and inexpensive, housewarming gift idea to give someone a stash of this food.  Good way to get them started on prepping. 

I, too, did the equivalent of over-exuberant Costco runs (though mine were to other stores since I am not a Costco member). I can’t say any of my chocolate lasted three years though! I have no regrets. 🙂  I also discovered cacao nibs during the pandemic. While not quite the same as chocolate chips or cocoa, they are still delicious and satisfy my chocolate craving. It seems they store well for long-term storage.  I like to sprinkle them in yogurt or granola; a little goes a long way.   As for Vitamin C, I recommend looking for nonconventional sources. For example sauerkraut is a great source of Vitamin C; granted the shelf life of the canned version seems to be “only” around 5 years (I say “only” because in a true SHTF situation 5 years is a long time). Most people think of only fruits like lemons and so forth but red cabbage and broccoli are also high in Vitamin C and can be relatively easy to grow; some survival food companies also sell freeze-dried broccoli.  Strawberries and blueberries are also fairly high in vitamin C and the freeze-dried versions can be bought in forms that claim a 25-30 year shelf life.  One thing I do now, when abundant food supplies are available, is make a conscious effort to eat as much variety as possible.  Essentially I’m storing nutrients in my own body.  It takes  about three months with no vitamin C sources to develop scurvy.  I figure if you start an emergency situation as healthy as possible, and you have a lot of variety in your food stores, scurvy is likely to be the least of your worries. 1/2 a cup of freeze-dried broccoli claims 50% of your daily requirement for vitamin C, and can be stored for up to 30 years.  Freeze-dried strawberries have 80% of the daily requirement in 1/2 a cup.  I’m not sure that would hold for 30 years, but honestly in a SHTF situation we probably won’t be around in 30 years.  But going out with a strawberry smoothie would be kind of a nice way to go.  

That is the best news I’ve heard all day!  I’ve been wondering about you all week long. Glad to hear you (and the trees) are safe. 

If you have a gas fireplace it should be serviced every year, and when that happens you should ask the contractor about the viability of this scenario.  In my case one gas appliance in my house would keep running in a power outage (assuming the gas kept flowing), but the other had a safety shutoff so that it would not, since the vent for that appliance required electric power to prevent carbon monoxide buildup. I had the appliance moved so that the vent could be “passive” and keep working in a power outage. The next time I have my HVAC service done I’m going to ask my contractor about precisely the scenario you described: Hooking up the fans to a Jackery. Thank you for that idea! For years I did not know my fireplace needed annual service and wow did it make a difference in terms of the heat produced, air quality in the house, and even the appearance of the fireplace. It was worth every penny and I regret not having it done before. The guy even did a full safety inspection and refused to leave until we moved one of our carbon monoxide detectors (we have many) closer to the fireplace. He said his company had had clients who died during storms because they slept next to the gas fireplace for heat, but didn’t have a carbon monoxide detector and had not had their fireplaces serviced regularly.  (A blockage from, say, a birds’ nest is all that it takes).  So they went to sleep all cozy and warm but never woke up again. 

I have found “Mike’s Weather Page” to be useful, though it can be a bit intimidating. It is very easy to misread some of the information and make bad decisions, so I use it mostly as a pointer to other data sources and a way of getting an overview. As others mention in this thread, the local news does tend to be the most reliable, weather-wise: Our local news even did an entire educational series about why their weather forecasts were more reliable than what you could get on your phone! Self promoting, sure, but also accurate. 

I always wondered, when I heard about people or cars getting crushed by trees, why the heck they didn’t get out of the way. Until I was home one day when an enormous oak in our backyard came down – BOOM. There wasn’t even any wind or anything, just a cracking sound and zero warning. We were immensely lucky that it fell away from us and not toward, because there would have been nothing to do – not even time to pray.  Gravity is a force, my friends.  We had a tree expert come out who said the roots had been damaged when the foundation to our house was poured many many years before, and it had essentially died from the inside out (so sad).  He then identified three or four other trees that were likely to fall down and we very sadly said goodbye to them.  Interestingly our neighbor had a tree that looked fragile, with a giant hole in the middle, but the tree guy assured them it was fine.  Sure enough, well over a decade later, it is standing strong. We now pay anywhere between $400 and $800 per year to have our trees inspected and trimmed back from the house. It’s worth it when considering the alternative of having our roof crushed or worse. One of the many costs homeowners don’t take into account (we didn’t) when purchasing a home.