reThinkSurvival.com - Suburban Family Preparedness for 99% of What Life Can Throw at You!

T.R.: Thats true , and even if it wasn't the greatest , its ready made .
millenniumfly: That is a good point about " stuff we are familar with and dont pay attention to we dont even notice"... that'll probably do us all in! Oh, and thanks...
millenniumfly: Normally I don't like pre-made kits at all but I thought this one wasn't too bad, after all, not everyone likes to spend hours a day prepping.
T.R.: thats scary .
T.R.: I dont want to call it suspect , having never seen the kit or examined the items . I just have to wonder what the quality of the items are...
Roy: we are right on these lines of thought... we have a mixed balance of freeze dried, dehydrated and MRE;s food stuff for the initial time peroid until things calm down,...
millenniumfly: I don't know what you can use to clean a chemical suit. I think, in general, the protocol is to bag it immediately and dispose of it but not entirely...
Vic: I am not a Dr or Nurse. But I have been trying to collect masks, and gloves in bulk (need air tight goggles, a hood covering, but have a Gas...
desertrat: Sounds like an interesting experiment, and could be effective against pistol at least. My thoughts are in the way the individual panels are bonded to each other- melted bees...
millenniumfly: Yeah, but is also doesn't go nearly as far as you think. I know my in-laws had to dip into their food storage that they thought would last a year......
T.R.: I have heard this several times about how prepping made job loss much easier on a persons family . That can happen to anybody ( unless you work for the...
millenniumfly: I guess I'll have to pay more attention to these sale but I know that whenever we looked for things like chairs and desks in the past they were always...
millenniumfly: Didn't know that about styrofoam or egg flats, thanks. As for using carpet, I would have just tacked it up with nails but the tack strip idea is a good...
millenniumfly: That would be an interesting experiment but I'm not going to hold my breath that it works out. ;)
Dillon: Right now office second hands are cheap! Don't look for a store but instead look for businesses closing, post on criagslist, etc. We recently got new cubicles at...

Quick Reference – Prepping for Death

As much as we don’t like to think about it, we may very well need to understand that Prepping for Death is a natural occurrence and one we may be sorely unprepared for in SHTF.

Daily YouTube – Overview of Lansky T.A.S.K.

The folks at Equip2Endure review the Lansky Tactical Apocalypse Survival Kit (T.A.S.K.), a potential bridge between the DIY kits and the horribly equipped kits you find most everywhere online. Here’s a link to the kit at Lansky’s site and seemingly the only place you can buy it if interested…

Daily YouTube BONUS – 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Blossoms

Noreen shows us how she makes some peanut butter cookie from only three ingredients (four because she makes a blossom). Ingredients include peanut butter, sugar, egg, and hershey’s kisses for the blossom… yummy!

What’s That Smell? Oh, Nothing… Nothing at All

The third major sense we need to consider when it comes to OPSEC during a SHTF scenario is that of smell. Again, as with the other senses, our sense of smell isn’t as good as many animals, but it is plenty good at detecting the unmistakable odors that result from human activity. Things like cooking food over a campfire, a burning wood stove, and human waste come to mind.

In fact, I’ve stated in the past that smells could be more likely to give away your presence than even light or noise for the simple fact that smells can travel for miles and don’t need to be line of sight to be detected. Yes, odor discipline is THAT important.

So, what can you do about it?

Let’s talk about human waste to start with. Not only can the smell of human waste give you away to others, but I’m sure it’s among the last thing you would want to smell yourself if you don’t have to and, besides, human waste can be a major source of diseases when not handled properly, so have a good plan for dealing with it.

I would suggest this means digging a latrine, building an outhouse, or even a small septic system if you like. Whatever works for you is fine. Heck, even digging a hole each time is better than letting it fester out in the open. I’m sure I have plenty of good links and videos around here that show how it’s done. Now, you’re also going to want to be able to deal with transferring waste from the house to its permanent burial place, so it’s wise to have some sturdy plastic buckets with tight-fitting lids, plenty of trash bags, and something like lime or cat litter to control the smell until properly buried.

Another major source of concern would be cooking food. Like human waste, the smell of cooking food is very distinctive too, especially over an open fire. That said, propane grills as well as any other fueled cooking device will produce a smell too if nothing more than the fact that food is being cooked. With that in mind, if you feel you must cook over an open fire then maybe it makes sense to cook multiple meals at one time (assuming you can safely refrigerate it for several hours or a few days) in order to minimize the amount of time that you’re producing such smells? Like I eluded to above, you risk food poisoning if food cannot be properly refrigerated or consumed within a few hours so don’t just expect that you can cook several meals for the next few days without being refrigerated.

Other alternatives include campfires building techniques that not only minimize smells but light and smoke as well, such as a Dakota firepit or Pit cooking. Granted, you would still have to build a fire but at least you’re doing your best to reduce their “signature” while doing so.

Of course, I would strongly encourage you to utilize the least obvious methods of cooking, including a wonderbox cooker, thermos cooking, and especially a sun oven. Not only will these styles of cooking reduce your odor signature but save precious fuel resources as well. It’s a win-win if you ask me.

Another option is to consider meals that are the “just add water” only type so that at least you’re not producing smells while you cook food over an open campfire, for example. Simply heat the water as fast as possible, extinguish the fire, and bring the food in to finish cooking. Or, if you can do so safely (and most likely only in the winter) you can cook food inside such as atop a cook stove.

Ultimately, just as with light and noise considerations, you need to think about your activities and actions in a new way. You need to think about how everything you do–and everything your family does–and how it might be noticed not only by passers-by but people a long distance away that you might not even be aware are there.

99 Capacities Series – Capacity #60: Recognize Potential Threats (Situational Awareness)

The sixtieth capacity that I introduce in my eBook is that you must [be able to] recognize potential threats, including con artists, thugs, looters, and so on. In it I state that:

You must “Recognize potential threats, including con-artists, thugs, looters, and so on. This is really where the aforementioned situational awareness comes into play. Don’t just go through life oblivious to your surroundings. Learn to recognize what’s out of place. Simple actions such as not opening your front door to strangers regardless of their supposed identity (e.g., a delivery man) could prove to be a life-saving action. Talk to your spouse and kids and get a response together.”

At Home

I’ll be honest, I’m not paranoid enough to NOT open my door if the UPS guy is standing there… not even when I can’t remember if I ordered something. That said, we do keep the doors locked when we’re home but even that’s not very easy with kids coming and going. What I’m trying to say is that there’s a very grey line between being/feeling very secure and actually letting life happen. That said, I’m not oblivious either.

Other simple actions such as keeping doors and windows closed in rooms that you’re not actively using–in order to avoid surprise intruders–would be a good idea. Even a basic heavy-duty door latch on your front door is useful to delay surprise “rush” attacks. I know this post isn’t about home security but more about your actions, such as that of actually using the door latch when home.

Equally important, are you paying attention when you come home? Are the lights off when they’re supposed to be on (or vice-versa)? Is the door ajar and that NEVER happens? Did you notice a broken window or maybe one that’s cracked open? What’s not normal?

In Public

When we’re out and about my “trouble radar” is usually ON, though, I have admitted in the past how it’s easy to turn OFF too. In this case, it’s simple things like keeping your head up, eyes open, and ears perked when in public. This is quite contrary to the common behavior of head down, face in an iPhone, and earphones in blaring away the latest top 100 billboard songs. It still amazes me as to how oblivious most people seem to be. (My personal pet peeve is how willing people are to assume you’re going to stop your car as they aimlessly walk in front of you in a parking lot… it’s even worse when they pay no attention to their young kids trailing ten feet behing them… who’s to say I would have stopped my car?)

That’s just the obvious basics. Situational awareness can go well beyond just paying attention. For example, when you’re at a restaurant (or any public place for that matter) do you sit with your back to the front door and the majority of the crowd? Do you know where the nearest exits are? Have you considered what could be used as cover or concealment if needed? Who looks like they’re having a really bad day? Granted, these considerations could be for reasons besides an active shooter incident, such as the need to escape a fire, earthquake, or who knows what else.

Equally important to your ability to be aware of your surroundings: what about your family’s ability? Especially the kids!? I’m not saying I have a great answer but I, for example, won’t allow my kids to use their ipods in public because I don’t want them to be the oblivious kids that almost get run over in the parking lot because they have their face glued to a game. Heck, I still ask them to check for cars before we cross the street together. Do they on their own? Probably not always but I figure it will sink in eventually.