This gave me chills. It’s too important a message not to pass on.
Via Michelle Malkin.
April 24, 2012
by PrepperGirl
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March 27, 2012
by PrepperGirl
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Our Tornado Closet
Tornado season is here, and if you live in Tornado Alley like I do, that means it’s time to make sure your storm preps are ready.
We haven’t had any majorly severe storms in our area yet this year, thank goodness, but I haven’t let that keep me from getting our storm closet ready. Unfortunately, our house lacks a basement or cellar, and as much as I’d love to, we can’t afford to install a tornado shelter or safe room, so we have to make do with our bedroom closet and a lot of prayer. Continue Reading →
March 19, 2012
by PrepperGirl
4 Comments
How Does My (Survival) Garden Grow?
Watering Can by michaelaw on sxc.hu
I started my vegetable garden this year… or at least, I tried to. I tried to start some seeds indoors, but it’s been about a month since I planted them and so far there’s not so much as a single sprout. Part of the problem, or possibly THE problem, is that the only south-facing window that isn’t shaded from the sun is in my husband’s office, and by keeping them in there I keep forgetting to water them as regularly as I should. I also didn’t use heirloom seeds—I’ve read a lot about the importance of keeping heirloom seeds for your survival garden, but I’m not really clear as to why that’s important. But we didn’t find any at Home Depot when we went to stock up on seeds, and we decided to take our chances with some Burpee organic seeds instead. Continue Reading →
March 13, 2012
by PrepperGirl
0 comments
When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes
You might know Cody Lundin from The Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival. Or you might know him as that guy from Youtube with the sustainable underground house. But if you don’t know, Lundin is a survival instructor based in Arizona whose instruction focuses primarily on indigenous skills—in other words, surviving off the land the way the Native Americans used to do it.
But Lundin broadens his teaching focus for When All Hell Breaks Loose, his manual for urban survival in a SHTF situation. Whereas in his survival school Lundin primarily works with hikers, campers and other outdoor sports types who are at a greater risk of getting lost in the desert or wilderness for a stretch of days, his book is more concerned about long-term survival for the entire family, and it’s deliberately written in terms that even Grandma and Grandpa can understand. Continue Reading →
March 5, 2012
by PrepperGirl
0 comments
Finding My Motivation
The biggest problem I always face with a niche blog is that there comes a time when you just can’t think of anything to write about in that niche, and that’s what has happened with me here lately. It’s not so much that I’ve said all I have to say on the topic of prepping as that I just got a little burned out on the subject. I needed to back off for a while from the doom and gloom of the prepper community and stop worrying about what’s going to happen. I just needed a break.
But while it’s good to take a break when you start to feel burned out on something, that also makes it really hard to get going again. I have a list of topic ideas in a notebook from a brainstorming session I did over a week ago. But it’s hard to get re-started after a hiatus, even a relatively short one, because I always feel like said hiatus is the elephant in the room and I need to mention it so we can move on.
So here, to re-break the ice and jump-start this thing, is a random list of what has been going on with me. Continue Reading →
February 16, 2012
by PrepperGirl
1 Comment
More Sustainable Hygiene: DIY Deodorant
Image credit: cheaplikemeblog.com
In my recent post on Frugal & Sustainable Beauty and Hygiene, I mentioned that I was on the lookout for a good alternative to store-bought deodorant. Shortly after that post went up, my new best friend Pinterest showed me a recipe for DIY deodorant made from coconut oil, arrow root and baking soda. Sounds great! Except, arrow root is enough of a specialty item around here that I’d have to make a special trip to the health food store to get it, and it would also mean spending extra money on something that I wasn’t sure I’d use for anything else. Continue Reading →
February 14, 2012
by PrepperGirl
0 comments
Survival Crafts: DIY Pet Harness
Recently when putting together a bug-out bag for my pets (more on that in a later post), I realized that I needed harnesses for each of my three cats. We have carriers for each of them, but once we get to our bug-out location we don’t want to keep them crated the whole time, and we don’t know how safe it will be to let them run around unsupervised. But faced with no money to go out and buy three harness and leash combos, I turned instead to my massive yarn stash, and to the Internet, where I was sure I’d find instructions on how to make some harnesses.
February 1, 2012
by PrepperGirl
1 Comment
No More “Product” – Frugal & Sustainable Beauty and Hygiene
I’m in the process of weening myself off of store-bought beauty and hygiene products. There are a lot of reasons for this; for one thing, it’s saving us a lot of money. Products are expensive, and even the cheaper alternatives like Suave or generic brands add up to quite the chunk of change over time. The natural alternatives I’m switching to tend to be much more frugal, and they tend to be things we keep around the house already.
Store-bought products also tend to violate the survival rule of only packing or storing items that have at least two or three different uses. Oh, sure, a bottle of hairspray can double as fuel for fire starting in a pinch, and as a flame thrower if you find yourself under attack by a zombie horde, but most other beauty and hygiene products are pretty much single use. Also, if TEOTWAWKI ever happens, it’s not like I’ll just be able to skip down to Walmart for new shampoo and toothpaste when I run out. Natural alternatives tend to be a little more sustainable, and by switching now, at least I’ll stand a chance of being able to keep up my beauty routine after the poo hits the fan.
Continue Reading →
January 29, 2012
by PrepperGirl
0 comments
Survival On a Budget
One question I see pop up from time to time in preparedness forums and comment threads is, “What can I do to prepare if I have a limited income?” Another variation of this question is, “So really, am I screwed?”
The problem with a lot of budget-conscious advice is that it always tends to assume that there is some luxury you can easily give up to help meet your goals. But what if you’ve already given up all the luxuries and you are already surviving on a diet of Top Ramen? Do you just plan on stockpiling as much ramen as possible and hope for the best?
Continue Reading →
January 25, 2012
by PrepperGirl
2 Comments
Daring To Dream In Uncertain Times
Hello there, fellow preppers! I’m back after an unexpected hiatus that was forced on me by my “day job.”
Part of the reason for my absence is that I’ve been working toward my survival goal of getting out of debt and acquiring some land by overhauling my freelance business–niching down my services, raising my prices, overhauling my web site, researching marketing strategies, that sort of thing.
Any time I start giving serious attention to the structure and operation of my business like that, I eventually find myself starting to dream big, and this time it’s no different. Suddenly I’m having visions not just of improved income, but of someday growing my little web design “studio” beyond just me and my laptop to something that includes partners and employees and posh office space.
And then I remember that our nation and its economy are on the verge of a meltdown, and I reel it back in.
Continue Reading →