Prepper TO DO list

Food Rotation System: can food storage rack
Double Doodie Sanitation bags for Luggable Loo
Prepper's Tarp
Shop Towels a Prepper's tool
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#26: Get a firestarter and Build a fire.
Hawke's Special Forces Survival Handbook has an excellent 30
page guide in chapter four on how to build a fire. In it, Hawje
discusses the importance of lighters, goes over the fire hierarchy
and shows you how to produce a spark and build a fire.  You'll
need to have stockpile many different kinds of firestarters, so
you'll always have backups.


#27: Fill your car with gas.
A tank is never more than half empty in a prepper household.
Keeping vehicles prepared also means having regular
maintenance, and checking the oil and water levels. You'll be your
own mechanic in the event of a major catastrophe. (
Learn how to
save money on gas.)

#28: Stock up on car maintenance items.
You'll always need oil changes, coolants, spark plugs, and air
filters. While you're at it, check your spare tires. Stock a fan belt
and a timing belt. A tow strap is immensely useful and often
overlooked. Grab one today. Also, every car should have Datrex
emergency food ration bars on hand. They are non-thirst
provoking and will give you the calories you need until you are
out of harm's way. Most people think of them for boating, but
Datrex provides smooth sailing for your vehicles too.


#29: Take a hike!
Preppers and their families are in their best possible physical
condition because they walk, run and exercise everyday. Hiking is
a skill that may be required in the event the unthinkable
happens. Do something active with your family to keep in peak
shape! Or hold a drill and
bugout by bicycle!

#30: Say Howdy to "Double Doodie".
Poor hygiene in the aftermath of a catastrophe could be one of
the biggest killers for mankind. Because of the risk of infections
of poor sanitation, it's important to get your portable toilet set
up and go "Double Doodie."
Plan your sanitation today, before the
stuff hits the fan tomorrow.

#31: Get to know your neighbors.
Perhaps there's a medical doctor, nurse or an EMT down the
street. Ask him or her to review your first aid kit. Dentists and
hygienists could provide some dental assistance. Just remember
the first rule of Prep Club: don't talk about Prep Club. Be a good
neighbor. If you are public about your prepping plans, which we
don't advise, then you must integrate neighbors in your planning
efforts. Help them develop their own means of survival! An
acceptable way to approach neighbors is to set up or participate
in a neighborhood watch. This is equivalent to pioneers banding
together and "circling their wagons" to defend themselves on the
prairies.

#32: Read a Prepper's books and articles.
Pick up a book on prepping. Visit regularly for new articles. Surf
Bing, Google or Yahoo for Prepper blogs. Head to YouTube for
Prepper videos. There are always new ideas to consider to
enhance your Prepper lifestyle!

#33: Try out a new Prepper recipe.
Make dinner tonight with ingredients from your Prepper's pantry
and stored Water you've never tried that sun oven? Now is the
time to try a recipe and to calculate how long it will take to get
that meal prepared from foods in your pantry. You may discover
that you need some new recipes or to expand the ingredients of
your everyday pantry. Here's our
preppers list of foods to stock.

  • Splurge on a Prepper's Cookbook. There aren't many good
    prepper's cookbooks around and the Prepper's Pantry,
    pictured left is a good one. Where else are you going to
    learn how to cook those dehydrated potatoes?

#34: Spend ten bucks.
You can prep on any budget and the dollar stores are a great
place to start. Read
99 ways to spend a buck at the dollar stores.
Or shop online: we'll help you with
prepping on the cheap for $10
or less.

#35: Head to the drug store to get some canned meat.
You'll find canned meat inexpensive at the local pharmacy. DAK
canned hams are sometimes two for $5. That's one pound of
excellent Danish ham for $2.50!

#36: Live off your freeze dried foods for a week.
Buy the individual sizes so you can sample a variety. Calculate
how much water you'll need and how much food you need to eat
as a family to feel satiated. Often the recommended serving size
on the package will not match your actual needs. You'll also
quickly discover the need for variety and you'll also recognize that
your stomach will feel differently. Take heed and get some fiber
pills!

NOTE: With freeze dried foods, you'll need to store more water.

#37: Consider adding a jar of Vaseline to your
supplies list.
Petroleum jelly is an excellent fire-starter when paired with
cotton balls soaked in the stuff. Paired with gauze it's also an
effective ointment for scrapes, burns, and cuts for your first aid
kit. Additionally, it can soothe chapped lips, and prevent chafing
between legs minimizing friction between skin and clothing for
walking or running long distances.


#38: Learn sign language.
You may find yourself in a situation where communicating with
family members covertly will be the best course of action.
Practice a few essential signs (made up or real ones) to help you
communicate should marauders threaten your family and
supplies. Learn words in American Sign Language.

#39: Clear the condiment shelf of your refrigerator!
Use the added shelf space for bottled drinks. You can never have
enough water stored and this is a way to squeeze in some extra
space. While canned foods can last well beyond the use by date,
condiments in open bottles can be dangerous to your health.
There's no need to store a salad dressing from 2009 or a hot
sauce that's too zippy for your families tastes. Get rid of it.

#40. Take a self defense Class. Get some defense
tools.
Even a simple self-defense key chain, pictured immediate right,
could save your life.

#41: Test your Prepper knowledge.
See if you know the glossary of Prepper terms in our Prepper's
Dictionary. It means you're about halfway to becoming a Happy
Prepper. "
Ghee" there are a lot of words defined there.

#42: Talk with Great Grandma or Grandpa.
Perhaps someone you know survived the Great Depression. Lend
an ear to an elderly person to find out how they stocked their
pantry in the old days or how they survived hard times. The Great
Depression wasn't so great, but people made do with what they
had or did without.

#43: Shop a farmer's market and can something.
Supporting locals may not at first seem like a Prepper thing to do,
but when you shop a farmer's market, you are supporting local
families and you may find the perfect ingredients for your
home
canning or dehydrating projects. Most farmer's markets are
organic: that's a total bonus!

44: Check the sodium content of your canned goods.
FEMA warns the public that salty foods increase the amount of
water you want to drink. This extra thirst threatens your water
supply by depleting it faster than if you had low sodium goods.
Donate the foods with high sodium to food banks, and find
alternative canned products.

45: Add more iodized salt to your shopping list.
Iodine is an essential trace element; and salting is an important
task in preserving. Check the label as you'd be surprised that
many sea salts do not contain iodine.

46: Boil some rice.
Seriously, you don't know how to boil rice? You may rely on the
directions for box of rice, microwave frozen rice dishes, or plug in
a rice cooker, but none of these options will work if there's a
power blackout. It's better to work on this skill now before you
need it. Now come up with some recipes around this inexpensive
staple.
Learn about rice and beans.

47: Make some food with grains, beans and legumes.
Sure, you've stocked-piled long term survival foods, but do you
know how to cook something with them? Make some lentils with
rice, mill some flour and bake some bread, sprout something.
Practice making something edible from samples of your food
storage. Legumes (including beans, lentils, peas, and peanuts),
are rich in protein and also a good source of fiber. Plus they're
low in fat. But if you don't know how to cook something, then
they are worthless in your pantry. Rice and beans will probably be
your staple, so you'll need to know how to make something tasty.
Brown some rice in butter, then add some diced tomatoes and
brown sugar and you'll have a wonderful Mexican style rice, that
will be very tasty with beans.

48: Stock up on board and card games and books.
How will you pass the time with your family when they watch T.
V.? Buy books and games early for the holidays and keep them in
reserve for the day the lights go out. Here is a list of our favorite
family
board games for prepper families.

49: Save seeds and sprout them.
Stockpile NON-GMO survival seeds before they are no longer
available, and Monsanto controls you.
Enjoy sprouting seeds.
They are healthy and fun to grow.

#50: Learn how to read a map.
Figure out how to navigate without a compass. A compass might
not work and GPS might not be available. Your bug-out plan may
require that you check alternate routes.

#51: Learn how to navigate with a compass.
The Silva lesson on how to use a compass is a great use of just
six minutes of your time. Bookmark this page and watch the
video if you don't know how to use the bezel ring on your
compass. If you don't already have a compass, know that the
Silva compass, left is highly rated. Keep your compass in the car
or on your person so that you always have one with you.

#52: Get products to repair punctures and inflates
your tires.
Some newer cars have the capability to driver 80 miles with a
puncture! if you don't have such tires, get help in a can to inflate
your tires. Two popular products include "Fix a Flat" or Slime
"Quick Spair" either is great to have in your car to help you get to
your destination. See our
Car Essentials page.  

#53: Be thankful if you love meat, consider eating
bugs, and say goodbye to vegetarianism.
Americans could certainly learn to live on less meat. Mykel
Hawke, Captain, U.S. Army Special Forces, and star of "Man,
Woman, Wild" on the Discovery Channel, says that "About 90% of
bugs and animals can be eaten by humans, but 90% of plants can
not." That's enough information to know that you simply can't
beat meat when it comes to your prepping plans. One can only
stay a vegetarian thanks to a stable agrarian society. Once we've
been knocked off the power grid, survival kicks in an sustains
itself through meat. Americans could certainly learn to live on
less meat.

#54: Super-size your food storage.
Super-size your prepping and buy food in bulk and put into food-
grade buckets. Mylar bags will keep your food safe for the long
term. Plastic Bags will help protect macaroni and flavored rice
products from moisture and vermin; plus you can identify
expiration dates quickly. .

#55: Get into the medical stuff.  

#56: Switch toilet paper brands.
If you're not buying Scott's 1000 toilet paper, then you're
changing the roll too often! Test this product and you'll see. You
may prefer the fluffier stuff, but because Scott's is concentrated
and is not fluffed up, it will store away more compactly for your
emergency toiletry supplies.


#57: Cut your old garments.
On the homestead nothing goes to waste. Cut up your old
garments and make a quilt. If you're not going to donate or sell
them, then start snipping your old clothes into quilt sized sheets
to use when the toilet paper runs out! This material will surely
store better than toilet paper.

#58: Check your tarps and supplies.
Do you have enough plywood to patch up a broken window or to
batten down the hatches in the event of a world in chaos? A tarp
can help you in a pinch.
Tarps have many other uses! A tarp can
help you temporarily patch a roof. The thing is ordinary blue tarps
may attract too much attention. Prepper's often want to stay
under the radar. The camouflage tarp, right can help you hide
many things. Be sure to have enough duct tape, bungee cord and
stakes on hand. Yes, they make camouflage duct tape. Get some
camouflage nets, too!

#59: Buy non-food supplies at the grocery store.
Toilet paper: check. Paper towels: check. Trash bags: check. Can-
opener: double check! Get extra can openers and spread them
throughout your supplies. Consider disposable vinyl gloves for
sanitation, and dish washing gloves to help protect your hands.
Then there's disinfectant wipes, and freezer bags.
Get the
non-food supplies to hoard while they are still available.

#60: Have cash on hand.
Be the only one on the block with cash that you can use at the
grocery stores when credit cards for everyone else won't work.

#61: Head to the pawn shop.
Pawn some useless stuff and get into junk silver coins or hard
cold cash. Investing in precious metals could pay off the day the
dollar devalues to next to nothing, just the way it did during the
Great Depression, (owning pre-1964 coins can be considered a
collectible, and likely won't be confiscated).

#62: Save silver, start collecting nickel and copper.
Now that you've got some junk silver, find a good spot for
safekeeping. Next on the list is to go through your coins and start
sorting the old copper pennies and nickels from the new ones.
Nickel certainly has more value as nickel than the 5 cents it's
worth. Likewise, so does the copper penny. These raw materials
may prove to be a barter item in the new world.

#63: Bake biscuits from scratch.
Bob's Red Mill has wheat and wheat-free varieties of biscuit and
baking mixes. Add some cheese, butter, water and salt and you
can have tasty cheddar biscuits.
Yes, they make canned butter.
Try baking biscuits with a stick on an open fire by wrapping it
around the stick.

#64: Roll some tortillas.
With masa harina, some warm water and salt you can make
delicious home made tortillas. This will certainly be a welcome
addition to all those rice and beans you've stored.

#65: Explore some new canned meats.
Put down the SPAM and start salivating when you see canned
bacon. See the list of
meat to stock in the Prepper's pantry.

#66: Start a Prepper's Binder (Survival Manual).
Gather all your favorite articles, recipes, instructions and
checklists in one place. This personal resource will be invaluable
to your family in the event you are not able to continue preparing
and protecting your family.

#67: Review your homeowners insurance coverage.
FEMA says everyone lives in a flood zone. Ask your insurance
agent to advise you on proper coverage for floods and
earthquakes too. What is FEMA hiding? Find out
FEMAs secrets.

68: Stock up on pet supplies.
Prep for your pet (and you simultaneously).

  • Fish Antibiotics. Fish antibiotics might be useful for humans
    when there is no doctor and you can't get your hands on
    prescription drugs to save a life.

  • Kitty Litter. Kitty litter is good for home made toilets and
    will get your car out of the snow.

  • Dog and cat food. Get dog and cat food, but not for your
    personal food storage silly! Although, we've heard of some
    crazy Preppers who plan to eat this inexpensive meat source
    (not us); however, surely, it's better than eating crickets.

#69: Get some thermal under wear under there!
Available year round on Amazon, see what they have right now
for family, including thermal shirts and pants. Now those are
some Prepper's panties! Think about your
bugout clothes.

#70: Crank it up with a crank radio.
Information could be the difference between life and death. If you
have a crank radio, then you're able to stay on top of important
news if it should surface. Best of all, all the power you need is
available in your hand.

#71: Join like minded friends on Social Media.
Visit HappyPreppers on social media and hook up with others who
are preparing for the best case scenario. Remember the first rule
of Prep Club is "Don't  talk about Prep Club!" Many preppers are
on Facebook and Twitter, two other good place to try are
Pinterest and Google+. If you like this article, please Google+ us
at the top right of the page. That's also where you'll find the links
to our Google+ page.

#72: Get a fire extinguisher and learn how to use it.
Let everyone in the family know where you've stashed the fire
extinguisher and give them a quick lesson how to use it. You just
may have to play firefighter someday.

#73: Think with your head!
Lice will probably be more prevalent if the world goes off the grid.
If you don't want to take on the harsh chemicals of the traditional
lice treatments, then at minimum get a special lice comb.

#74: Plan ahead for your growing kids.
Buy stuff in advance of kids growth spurts. For little kids, buy the
next size up of diapers, and plan ahead for toddler foods. Get
more powdered milk to replace the formulas. Set aside sturdy
shoes for each of your kids in a size larger than they currently
own. Garage sales are a great place for such finds. Stock up also
on larger sized socks (find them inexpensively at the dollar
stores) and underwear. If you have prepubescent girls, consider
stashing an extra supply of menstrual pads. Hume schooling
might be necessary, so get some material, such as an illustrated
dictionary and some work books a few grades ahead. Ensure they
have the right size gas mask.

#75: Watch a Prepper video.
See our list of Prepper television shows and movies. Noah had his
arc, Curtis had his bomb shelter. When all the world thinks you're
crazy, the movie "Take Shelter' certainly will at least make you
feel normal in the insane world where most people don't prepare!

#76: Consider the art of self defense: using
psychology.
There is an art to using the right tactics to defend yourself.
Anyone can avoid, hide and disguise, diffuse, surprise and
retreat. Read our
guide to self defense on these very principles.

#77. Grow your own and Buy NON-GMO foods.
Stock your pantry with non-GMO foods:


Look for the "Non-GMO project verified" label to ensure that food
you buy is not genetically modified. High risk crops include
alfalfa, canola, corn, papaya, soy, sugar beets zucchini and yellow
summer squash. Look also for grass fed meats, and milk.
Cows/cattle should eat grass, not corn, barley, wheat, soybean,
or rye, because these grains are an unnatural diet for them. Cows
bloat eating those foods and need antibiotics. Preppers are
concerned with non GMO foods. That's why they buy heirloom
seeds that art non GMO. Besides, the protein can be dangerously
low in other seeds.  You'll have to make some choices about
foods in your survival pantry, including buying more organic.
Thankfully change is starting through awareness. People are
buying organic foods. Even Wal-Mart, which now carries organic
products! Learn the truth about food production in the United
States. Want to learn more about how cows eat feed pumped
with toxic chemicals? Watch Food, Inc. to learn exactly why.  

#78. Discover Scoutcraft as an adult.
You're never too old to pick up scouting skills. Pickup a Boy Scout
Manual and learn how to "be prepared" the original Boy Scout
way. The original aim of Boy Scouts was to promote the ability in
boys to do things for themselves and others. They were the
original Preppers! "Scoutcraft" includes first aid, life saving,
tracking, signaling, campcraft, woodcraft, chivalry and patriotism
among other subjects. Learn to make a sundial and more.

#79: Know what you'll do to survive.
Watch this short urban survival video featuring survival expert
Cody Lundin. You may not take his advice, but at least you'll
know what he's doing. Get to know Cody, the shoeless survivalist
from Seattle. You may just want to purchase "When all Hell
Breaks Loose: stuff you need to survive when disaster strikes,"
pictured right. In it you'll learn the various uses of ordinary
freezer bags and the realities of food plan.

#80: Duct tape something.
There's nothing you can't fix with duct tape, WD-40, paracord or a
bottle of whisky or vodka! Of all these things, duct tape is most
popular with preppers.

#81: Dump your Teflon (and get into cast iron).
When you know the facts, you'll want to get rid of any Teflon
product you own. Teflon emits toxic particles that has been
known to kill birds.
Invest in a cast iron skillet, which provides a
healthy does of iron and is available to cook on any kind of heat
source. You can throw an iron skillet right on the fire!

#82: Know how to make your own electrolytes.
A pinch of salt, a fistful of sugar and a half liter of water could
prevent you from a diarrhea death in the event you don't have
any Vitamin Water or Gatorade on hand. Learn more about drinks
for survival.

83: Learn how to tie knots.
Teach your kids how to tie knots, too. With all the Velcro around,
it's an art that has gone by the wayside and yet tying knots is av
very useful skill.

#84: Prepare for nausea, diarrhea, upset stomach.
Your diet will certainly change in a survival situation. Plan now for
worms, diarrhea and general stomach upset.


#85: Go to target practice.
Enjoy your 2nd amendment rights while they still exist. Build your
marksmanship. You're only as skilled as your last shooting
session.  Your husband may get on board now that you want him
to have a gun in the house. Don't like guns? Learn archery or pick
up a sling shot and practice.

#86. Eat chocolate and stash some.
Chocolate is an antioxidant and superfood and better than
fluoride at fighting tooth decay. Really! Learn
how chocolate is a
superfood for your teeth. It is also a luxury to savor for boosting
morale. Stash chocolate in your preps, but know the expiration
date is limited, so enjoy it.

#87: Make an extra credit card or mortgage payment.
To reduce debt, start with the card balance that's smallest and
make an extra payment to get that debt paid off. Then work
towards your next goal. Ideally preppers should have no debt. It
is possible!

#88: Read the Richest Man in Babylon.
Not your ordinary prepper book, this is a book of parables on
money written in the 1920s by George Clason that's easy to read
and imparts secrets of the ages with regards to finances. In just
145 pages, you will learn how to "fatten thy purse, control thy
expenditures and make thy gold multiply." This is invaluable
information for Preppers, though it's not the typical of
books
recommended
for Preppers because with more finances, you can
buy more preps.

#89: Order canned butter, bacon and hamburger.
Yes, they make pure creamery butter, the real stuff and packaged
it in a can. Really! And while you're at it, consider
Yoder's canned
bacon. Prepper's don't have to suffer. Yoder's also makes grass
fed hamburger meat in a can.

#90: Buy distilled water (the purist form of water).
Reconsider your water supply. Get the facts about your local tap
water and start drinking distilled water and storing it instead of
tap water. Take some time to
learn why fluoride is deadly in your
water. There may be
more lead and minerals in hard water, so
get the facts about water softeners too.

#91: Get your water supplies off the cement.
Storing water bottles directly on cement of your garage may be
dangerous. If the cement heats, which it often does in an
unventilated garage space,  the cement may leach chemical.
Store your water on a pallet or platform to prevent lye leaching.
Even a plank of plywood is fine.

#92: Check your freeze dried foods in relation stored
water.
On average you'll need to store 1 cup of water for each individual
serving of freeze dried food. Grab pen and paper and jot down the
servings per #10 can and add it up. You may be surprised where
you stand. Of all the preps, water is the most critical.
Discover
the 7 Lessons on Water for Survival.

#93: Start saving your pennies: quite literally!
The copper value of a penny is two or three times it's value as
copper than as a penny. Think of it this way, copper is a metal
you might be able to barter.
Learn the copper value of pennies,
and start saving them. The value of nickels is approximately the
same equivalent of .05 cents. Interestingly, nickels aren't 100%
nickel (they are actually 75% copper).

#94: Enjoy National Geographic Doomsday Preppers.
Sometimes controversial with the prepper Community, because of
the sensationalized nature of the program, the Doomsday Prepper
show is entertaining. Look on YouTube or search On Demand with
your cable company to find it. Enjoy it as comedy and compare
strategies just for fun.

#95: Take refrigeration seriously.

  • Make a Zeer pot. A zeer pot is a simple refrigeration system
    that starts with clay pots, sand and water. See survival
    manual links for more information on how to make a zeer pot.

  • Realize they make solar freezers! The price will probably
    come down, but if you've got a spare $1,200 lying around,
    then buy a solar freezer. It sounds a bit like an oxymoron,
    but they really do make a solar freezer appliance. Ideal for
    off-grid solar homes or applications where grid electricity is
    not readily available, you'll get used to the idea of adding
    solar appliances to your home. Try a solar powered battery
    charger or a solar oven, or an inexpensive solar flashlight.

#96: Build a Faraday cage.
Okay, now we're getting in to the fancy stuff. A Faraday cage is
shielding device intended to protect electronic equipment from an
intense interruption of solar radiation.


#97. Turn off the grid!
Have a drill with your family and bug in for the weekend without
electricity. Light some candles and see what you learn from a bug-
in weekend. This is a graduation to advanced Prepper status and
you won't soon forget the experience.

#98. Set up an inventory spreadsheet.
Once you've amassed enough supplies, create an inventory. Soon
you'll feel better knowing that you've prepped well or you'll know
exactly what you still need, so you can create a wish list. At the
top left hand of the page is a free Android app to help you make
your TO DO list.

#99. Keep quiet.
The first rule of Prep Club is "Don't talk about Prep Club." Avoid
the unwanted commentary you'll receive from friends and family
by simply keeping prepping secretive. Rest assured, you're not a
crazy Prepper! People of the past were always Preppers. They
stockpiled food and supplies for lean times and for Winter. The
way of our past has simply been forgotten by the convenience of
our current economy.

#100. Do something with a five gallon bucket!
If you don't have a five-gallon food-grade bucket, head to your
local bakery and ask for one, then get started prepping! There are
dozens of do-it-yourself ideas for a five-gallon bucket.

Be happy! Be a Happy Prepper! Realize that you're never done
learning and never done prepping, but you can be happy knowing
you are protecting your family. Yes, Prepping isn't always easy,
but Prepping will surely ease your mind.

Happy endings...
While it's true the list of prepper chores is never complete, you
can be happy in knowing that everything you to today (while
there's still time) will help you survive whatever comes your way
tomorrow, whether it's a job loss, sickness, or local disaster.
There's power in preparedness!

Related articles...
Not sure
how to get started prepping? Get started prepping with
these ideas...

Prepare to live happily ever after with us at happypreppers.com - the Web site of
emergency preparedness, prepping, survival,
homesteading and self-sufficiency.
17: Fill a pitcher of water for the refrigerator.
Everyday, stock your refrigerator with ordinary tap water (even if
you only drink filtered water). Filter it if you like, but fill a
pitcher or jug. This will be your first source of water in the
event of a disaster. Make the habit of putting water in your
coffee maker in the evening, so it's ready in the morning and
you'll have that much extra water in your supply.

#18: Stay thirsty my friend.
Enjoy a glass of water, right now. Most of us just don't drink
enough water. If a survival scenario commences, most people
will be operating at a deficit. You can tip the odds in your favor
by quenching your thirst. Walk away from the computer and do
it now, then go on to read the rest of this survival checklist.

The Big Berkey Water filter, right is a prepper favorite for clean
drinking water.

#19: Rotate your canned goods.
Prepare a meal from eligible stock or donate items that haven't
yet met their expiration date to a food bank. Look for dented,
rusted, or cans that have bulged and throw them out. While
you're at it, check out the Food Rotation System: can food
storage rack at the top of the page. It will fit in just about any
pantry.

#20: Assemble something.
Take something out of the box and test it. Assemble the camp
cooking stove or try out the new solar oven. You may find it's
missing or broken part or it doesn't work as well as you
thought. It's better to find out sooner than later.

#21: Clean a closet or drawer.
There's a closet you've been meaning to re-arrange, isn't there?
You don't need to take on the chore all at once. Take it one
drawer, box, shelf or compartment at a time.

#22: Buy an extra bucket opener.
You already stock extra can openers, right? If you've got
buckets of stored foods, purchase some extra bucket openers
and
Gamma Lids. Gamma lids will make opening your buckets
easier without a bucket opener.  They seal up nicely. With an
ordinary bucket lid, you might not be able to open them up
without an bucket opener.

#23: Check for leaks in your water supplies.
Perhaps you've stacked water too high or a notice that a bottle
has sprung a leak. Monitoring could save the day! If you neglect
water supplies, the leakage could damage floors and possibly
ruin your food sources and other supplies, like toilet paper and
paper towels.

#24: Learn a new skill.
Preppers always have new skills to master. Take up a new
hobby today whether it's coin collecting, gardening, fishing or
charcuterie! What the heck is Charcuterie? Find out how this
skill could help you as a Prepper.

#25: Start chopping some firewood!
You know you'll need seasoned firewood, right? Your wood must
be a half year old to burn it. Get chopping, my friend! This will
be the most difficult part of an off-grid life: keeping firewood
stocked.
Prepper TO DO List
100 ideas for experienced preppers to spend prepping time

Prepper's TO DO list.
There are hundreds of things you could be doing right now
towards your prepping goals. A prepper's work is never done!

While the list is endless, at some points in the Prepper lifestyle
you may feel as though nothing has been accomplished at all.
For such times and for extra time on your hands, consider the
ideas below on how to spend your time wisely...

Prepper Top 100 "TO DO" list:
Here is our popular prepper's checklist of things TO DO today
towards your prepping goals:

#1: Be happy and grateful.
Take a moment to be grateful for your current life of abundance.
Be grateful for the
toilet paper! Be grateful for a cup of coffee,
chocolate or bacon. Be grateful as you take a shower, take a
drink of water, or wash your clothes. Relish the abundances of a
life unaffected by disaster.

#2: Get free prepper stuff on Amazon with Visa and
American Express.
Your VISA card may have a point system for purchases. Bank of
America provides options to receive Amazon gift certificates.
Shop for prepping supplies with points:

  • Shop on Amazon and use your American Express card
    membership rewards points or open an Amazon Visa card
    and get products for free.

  • Visit American Express Membership Rewards to learn more
    or check your monthly statement. To get the Amazon.com
    rewards Visa card with $30-50 off instantly, click on any
    product in our site and add it to your cart. There you'll see
    the Amazon.com rewards offer. It's like getting free money
    for prepper tools and freeze dried goods.

#3: Create a food and supplies journal.
Get a pad of paper and write down exactly what your family
eats for an entire week, right down to the snacks. You'll be
amazed at your family list and it can serve as a personal guide
to food storage. This will help you build your food storage.

#4: Check the list of 37 critical foods for the pantry.
Have you stocked the 37 essential pantry food items? Check
your pantry against our list and get them before they're gone
from supermarket store shelves.

#5: Shop for bug-out clothing.
Everyone looks better in camouflage; even so, you shouldn't
wear camouflage clothing directly after a disaster or you could
compromise your safety if you live in an urban setting. Looking
too much like military personnel is a signal to potential
marauders that you have things to take.


#6: Turn that brown thumb into a green one.  
Who says you need a garden? In five days you could sprout
seeds in a seed sprout tray, and add a crunchy home grown
goodness to your sandwiches, pastas or salads. Antioxidants
found in seed sprouts help protect your body against free
radicals. Try sprouting lentils, green peas, garbanzo, and mung
beans, too.


#7: Learn to make fire in more than one way.
A BIC lighter is an excellent tool, but the day may come when it
cracks or runs out fuel rendering it useless until you fix it. A
magnifying glass is a good option for starting a fire if you don't
a have a lighter. A good magnifying glass is around $4 and
available with free shipping. Other
good firestarters include a
magnesium stick, fire ribbon or waterproof matches.


#8: Do today's laundry (just get caught up).
Get all your laundry caught up. Yes, it's an everyday task, but
today is the day to air your dirty laundry! Suppose the power
grid goes down, and you're laundry is stacked to the hilt. You'd
be wasting precious water and time laundering by hand
tomorrow. Discover off the grid laundry techniques and never
wait until tomorrow what you can do today.

#9: Do tomorrow's laundry (off-grid method).
Get an inexpensive washboard and do your laundry the old
fashioned way. The Maid-Rite washboard,  pictured right, will do
the trick. Or try the green Laundry POD, which has an easy to
use spinning, washing and draining system, clean clothes by
hand in less than 10 minutes. While you're at it, get some
clothes pins, hangers and a wash line!

#10 Do your dishes (enjoy the dishwasher).
Be happy and grateful in the goodness you enjoy everyday, like
the convenience of a dishwasher. Know that the dishes you pile
into the dishwasher today could be your last. While you're at it,
you may as well check your supply of paper plates, napkins, and
disposable utensils. You won't want waste precious water doing
the dishes by hand if the power grid goes down! Also, get
yourself some basins so you can do the dishes by hand.

#11: Make doctor's or dentist appointments.
Get a checkup while you can. Never delay surgeries. Kep current
on prescriptions. Talk with your doctor and stock your cabinets
with extra supplies. Smile knowing you know what to do
when
there is no dentist.

#12: Hold a yard sale or garage sale.
Shedding your home of non-essentials will not only create more
space for you to stock your prepping essentials, but it will
provide funds to buy more prepping gear, hunting equipment,
camping equipment, or food storage. Or sell your collection on
eBay. Would you rather have a collection of freeze dried food
for your pantry or a collection of Beanie Babies? Enough said!
eBay is the perfect venue to convert collections into supplies
and food to meet your Prepper's list of essentials.

#13: Go to a garage sale.
Now that you've held your own garage sale to get rid of things
you don't need, head to a garage sale to find the things you do
need with your profits. You'll find plenty of emergency
preparedness supplies, including used camping equipment,
survival books, inexpensive bicycles and shelving, or hand-crank
tools and more at a garage sale.

#14: Get a Grain Mill (hard wheat grinder)!
Grind your own wheat and save money baking your own breads.
A Wondermill Grinder, pictured immediate works with wet/oily
grains; legumes, coffee, garbanzos, seeds, nuts, also!

#15: Check your bicycle (and have repair tools on
hand)!
Your bike might be the only mode of transportation in an
extreme power grid failure. If you don't have a bicycle head to
Amazon (we recommend getting an adult tricycle to load your
essentials). Of course you can always procure a used bicycle at
a garage sale. Extras would be great for bartering or backup!
Ensure you have a bike lock for every bike and at one bicycle
repair kit on hand. The bike tool kit left is just about everything
you need. Add patches, extra tubes, chains, oil and a bike pump
and you're just about good to go. You'll need some expertise in
repairing bikes.


#16: Count how many cans you have that contain
liquids.
Your food shelf space should contain 10 percent liquid foods.
Any liquid foods you have will help you conserve your water
supply. For example, you can make rice with chicken, beef or
vegetable stock or and as mentioned above, coconut milk.
Pineapple juice has an especially
long shelf life (4-5 years).
Other liquid cans include; vegetable juice (such as V-8 Juice) or
tomato juice; and evaporated milk.
Big Berkey Water filtration System
Survival Psychology
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Fresnel lens uses for survival
Foods with the best shelf life
Camp Stove options
Review of popular ration bars
Over the counter medicines to stockpile
How to control diarrheal symptoms
Survival Hygiene Kits
Respiratory equipment for preppers
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Mountain House Diced Chicken