Welcome to this week’s Survival Buzz with an update on my own preps and announcements from the Backdoor Survival blog.
As you may have noticed, in recent weeks I have been moving beyond a simple report on my personal preps. Since I am getting bored with it (the reporting, not the prepping) I can only assume that you might find it tiresome as well. Okay, maybe not.
That being said, this last week I continued my efforts to re-work and update my emergency kits. The primary focus has been on my bug out bags and first aid kits. Various incarnations of these kits were put together years ago and over time, have been added to as I find just “one more thing” that needs to be included. What a mish mash.
In an effort to refresh and renew, what I have done is empty my various kits into large laundry baskets where I can sort through the jumbled mess to determine what is good and what is not. For example, at the bottom of one of my bug out bags I found melted protein bars, leaky batteries in a Dollar Store flashlight, and four year old prescription meds that we no longer use. I found newer items stuffed into the top of the pack. These were mostly of better quality, and definitely in better condition. Can you imagine wading through this stuff during a real emergency?
Likewise with the first aid kit. Inside were a bunch of OTC remedies that I will never use because I have replaced them in day to day life with natural solutions using herbs, spices, and essential oils. There were bandages but not nearly enough, and trauma supplies were in an unmarked plastic tote, completely separate from the rest of the first aid and medical items.
And so it goes. My message to you this week is two-fold.
1. Things change. Stay informed of new methods, skills, and technologies that you can use to improve upon the emergency kits you have already built.
2. We are only human and no one is an expert at everything. You may have noticed that I have not written about bug out bags in a long time. That is because I am still learning and still refining my craft. What I have done in the past is mediocre by today’s standards and I need to make improvements. I am making improvements.
You can bet that once I have it figured out, I will share the results. The good news is I already have multiple kits serving different purposes and not all of them are a train wreck. The bad news is that my living area is cluttered with laundry baskets containing a jumble of prepping gear.
And so it goes in the life of a prepper. My advice? Update your emergency kits at least once a year, if not more often.
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Current Backdoor Survival Giveaway
This week’s giveaway is going like gangbusters and may turn our to be one of the most popular giveaways ever.
With all BDS giveaways, winners are notified by email and have 48 hours to claim their prize or an alternate will be selected. Once selected, the names of winners are also displayed in the Rafflecopter on the original giveaway article. This usually happens on the Friday following the end of the giveaway.
Essential Oils: Deal of the Week
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Sponsor News
Please extend a warm Backdoor Survival welcome to our newest sponsor, . Factory Express carries a great selection of gun safes, including fireproof gun safes, at great prices. They also sell gun cabinets in all sizes, small to large.
I hope you will pay them an online visit. It is companies like this that allow Backdoor Survival to remain 100% free for everyone. There is never an obligation to buy but I do encourage you to shop at sponsor websites.
Ham Radio Cheat Sheet
A hat tip to “Ranger Rick” for sending over this cheat sheet. This Ham Radio Cheat Sheet is from my friend Rob Robertson at .
If you are interested in a printable version, .
The Final Word
Something I did not mention from the get go is all of the strange happenings in the cyber world this week. With United Airlines, Wall Street, and even the Wall Street Journal suffering outages, it kind of makes you wonder. Heck, even this small website was hit with an outage this week.
As a precaution, it might be a good idea to read up on strategies to implement in the event of a cyber attack. Mind you, I am not saying that something is going to happen, but you just never know. You also might want to read or re-read this article form the BDS archive and this one from The Organic .
What about you? What did you do to prep this week?
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
If you enjoyed this article, consider voting for me daily at !
In addition, and receive a free, downloadable copy of my e-book .
Related Articles:
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Bargain Bin: Here is a list of most of the items recommended by Backdoor Survival reader, Karen Skoog, in the article . A great article, in case you missed it.: I never would have considered using a water pouch as an EDC bag. This one is a MOLLE compatible pouch so it can be easily attached to the rest of your MOLLE gear. It features MOLLE loops around the entire pouch, two 6 inch straps on the back, and D-rings on each side. The straw hole on the top and a drain hole makes hydration simple. A perfect companion to my favorite . I own three of these packs – two in black and one in tan.
: When I read about the “food pouch”, I had one of those “why didn’t I think of that moments”!
: This is the bottle that Karen chose and it is one that I have recommended in the past.
: Nice and something that I am adding to my own shopping cart. It is designed to slip over standard 1-liter water bottle and holds up to 18 ounces.
: Speaking of bandanas, be sure to check out the article .
: Ultralight tablets provide fresh drinking water anywhere you go. Effective against viruses, bacteria, giardia and cryptosporidium. Fresh tasting water-no unpleasant taste. These easy-to-use tablets meet EPA purification guidelines. Purification method: Chlorine Dioxide tablets. 1 tablet treats 1 qt. of water.
: This 4-way sillcock key has a 1/4″ , 9/32″, 5/16″ and 11/32″ stem to service most sillcocks in common use. It is durable, easy to use and has an attractive finish. Used to open and close sillcocks or spigots and made of durable steel construction.
: Firestarters are an essential piece of any survival/outdoor kit – waterproof, durable and easy to use as follows:
1. Scrape off black protective coating from firestarter rod
2. Prepare your tinder
3. Hold the striker at a 45° angle to the firestarter. Scrape striker hard and fast down the firestarter
4. Allow sparks to fall onto tinder
: This is a floating waterproof flashlight that provides 55-lumens of light output and a 31-meter beam distance. I am a big fan of Dorcy products so this one is definitely going in my shopping cart as well. Not that I need more flashlights! Wait – you can never have too many!!
: This folding knife features a 3 inch black finished 440 stainless steel tanto style blade with a quick opening thumb stud. The comfortably contoured black steel handle features a brushed metal finish, a heavy duty pivot pin and the liner lock blade locking design. It has a closed length of 4 1/2 inches and comes with a durable pocket clip.
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For over 25 years Emergency Essentials has been providing the highest quality preparedness products at great prices. Plus, each month they feature sales that quite honestly are fantastic.
One of my favorite picks this month is the which is on sale for $17.99 for a #10 tin. There are also some fantastic sales on MREs, fruit combos, and other Mountain House products.
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by Gaye Levy first appeared on .
from Prepper Daily News http://ift.tt/1UNPEj4
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