The Top Ten Posts of 2020

Unlike last year, when I was amazed at which articles were the most widely read and spread, there was only one that surprised me this year.  Most of the articles that boast the highest numbers were linked on Prepper Website or Reddit (which has since banned me for telling people where they could legally obtain antibiotics), or a few other smaller websites.  But one of them, #9 below, a rant of sorts, got spread on Facebook.  

Another of this year's top ten, #3, wasn't actually posted this year.  It came from last year, where, curiously, it didn't make the top ten.  

Unsurprisingly, two of the big hits this year were related to COVID--items that disappeared first and lessons learned.   And most anything on antibiotics or pain relief is sure to get wide play. 

Anyway, here are 2020's top ten Prep School Daily articles so that you could see what your fellow preppers were most interested in reading and sharing.  Maybe there's something you missed.  Maybe there's something you'll feel comfortable sharing with others.  For sure, there is an increased interest in preparing for uncertain times.  Here's hoping 2021 is as boring as 2020 was challenging for some folks.  But I'm not planning on it.

10.Shelf Stable Meals                    
9.  Where Does My Responsibility Begin and End?                                              
8.  Cotton Ball Fire Starters
7.  Doxycycline--Don't Bug Out Without It                                
6.  TEOTWAWKI Local Anesthesia Options for Everyone                                                                         
5.  The First 100 Things to Disappear                                                                       
4.  Lessons Learned from COVID19 Quarantine and Food Supplies
3.  Antibiotic Chart to Guide Acquisition                                                                     
2.  16 Food Storage Myths Busted                                                       
1.  The Master Medical Shopping List                                 

If you haven't read them yet, go ahead and check them out.  And share them, if you are so blessed to have like-minded friends and family.  The more we all prepare, the better off we'll be. 

Links to related posts:

Top Ten Posts of 2019

Constipation--Risk Factors, Prevention, and Treatment in a Collapsed Society

Constipation is something we’ve all experienced to some extent and which we’d all like to avoid.  Most of the time it is easily avoided and just as easily treated.  However, it will become a frequent problem in a collapsed society among those who undergo drastic dietary changes.  It will be especially prevalent among individuals consuming a diet composed primarily of protein, simple carbohydrates (white flour, white rice, pasta), and fat, with little to no fiber.  If that looks like your food storage plan, consider the following:

RISK FACTORS

In addition to the risks a poor diet presents for constipation, there are a few other factors that contribute to constipation:

• Narcotic use, including for short term pain relief
• Not drinking enough water
• Being elderly
• Anti-depressant use
• Hypothyroidism

PREVENTION

The absolute best methods of preventing constipation include drinking plenty of water and eating a diet high in fiber—whole grains, beans, and dried or canned fruit are ideal.  Other foods high in fiber include broccoli, apples, bananas, carrots, potatoes, onions, grapes, apples, prunes, and raisins. 

TREATMENT

Unfortunately, eating a lot of high fiber foods may not address an acute constipation problem.  There are numerous ways of correcting a current constipation problem.  The list will go in order from easiest and least invasive to the most difficult and least desirable options.

·       Walking may be all that is needed.  It will also help keep a body regular.

·       Prunes and prune juice were on the table every morning for breakfast at my grandparents’ house.  Dried prunes store well.

·       1 teaspoon cream of tartar in 1 cup of water.  (Tartaric acid, which is used to make cream of tartar, comes from grapes.)

·       Epsom salts, also known as magnesium sulfate, are a fast-acting solution.  Use 1 teaspoon in ½ cup of water. 

·       Stool softeners like Colace (docusate sodium) and Surfak (docusate calcium) are OTC and taken 1-2 times per day to soften stools.

·       Mineral oil, a petroleum byproduct like Vaseline, usually works within 6 hours.  It is a better choice for those with hemorrhoids as it “greases” the stool for easier passage.  For others, mineral oil shouldn’t be the first choice as it prevents vitamin absorption and for this reason it should never be taken with meals.  The dose is 1-2 tablespoons at bedtime.  It inhibits the absorption of water and nutrients from stool so that the stool passes more easily.  Due to the potential for causing pneumonia if it is aspirated, it should not be used by anyone with a cough or who has trouble swallowing.  It is generally not for use by children under the age of 12 years, though my pediatrician recommended 1 teaspoon per day for my chronically constipated two-year-old. 

·       Suppositories with glycerin or bisacodyl are inserted into the rectum and are relatively fast-acting.  At least one package of infant glycerin suppositories should be in every family’s medical kit.

·       Castor oil works quickly and should not be taken at bedtime.  In addition, it must not be taken by pregnant women as it can bring on premature labor.

·       Enemas are used in hospitals when all else fails.  The fluid loosens the stool and stimulates expulsion.  The most effective enema is the M&M.  One cup of milk (you can use reconstituted powdered milk) and one cup of molasses are mixed over low heat until combined, then cooled to room temperature.  Fill an enema bag with the mixture and insert the tube into the rectum.

·       Manual removal is the last resort.  Insert a gloved and lubricated finger and start digging.  No, it is not comfortable or desirable, but it’s all that will be available if you don’t stock up on other remedies.

Herbs reported to be of efficacy in relieving constipation include the following:

• Buckthorn
• Dock
• Dogbane
• Green gentian
• Scarlet pimpernel
• Wild violet

Only wild violet is safe for use by pregnant women.  All the rest must be avoided as they will stimulate uterine contractions.[3]

Links to related posts:

Epsom Salts

Cream of Tartar

Vaseline

References:

Charles W. Kane, Medicinal Plants of the Western Mountain States, pp 95, 124, 125, 157, 218, 261, 262, 323.

 09.20.23

Off-Grid Laundry Solutions

Our annual family vacation several years ago included driving through North Dakota, and along the way we stopped at Ft. Mandan, where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804-05.  There we learned about the most highly paid women of that period, anywhere in the country.  They were the washerwomen.  Cleaning the uniforms of the soldiers there was hard, backbreaking work.  The washerwomen always walked with their hands behind their backs to hide the hideous condition of their skin—dry, rough, and even raw at times.  It got me to thinking. How would I manage keeping my family’s clothes clean in a grid-down situation?

Of course, my first thought was rubber gloves.  Lots and lots of rubber gloves would save the skin on my hands.  But still, the idea of scrubbing and washing all that laundry by hand was more than a little unsettling. 

I decided to buy one of those hand-powered washers sold by preparedness vendors.  It will wash a couple of shirts or a pair of jeans.  It’s not that big. 

A friend announced that she had purchased a new toilet plunger specifically for washing clothes in a 5-gallon bucket.  It was a lot cheaper.  But it still involved hands and arms.

Historically, women in the US used a washtub and heated water on the stove.  And they also had washboards for scrubbing.  I wasn’t persuaded that any of these methods were going to work well for me.  I finally left all the ideas on the back burner and shifted the preparedness focus to other areas. 

My guilty pleasure and escape from the crazy reality of American society for the past few years has been watching Korean dramas.  And in more than a few of these dramas the characters did laundry without a washing machine.  But not by hand.  It was by foot.

Here was the solution I needed.  While the Koreans used washtubs, we can use our bathtubs or 5-gallon buckets.  Clothes are added to soapy water, and the legs and feet do the agitating.  This works so much better for heavier items like jeans and jackets, as well as large items like sheets and other bedding.  Of course, delicate items are still washed by hand.

Regardless of which method(s) used for doing laundry, you’ll still want to have a clothesline and clothespins or a drying rack. 

Here are some points to keep in mind for doing laundry off-grid:

Rinse clothes well.  Do not rinse in running water, but let them soak in the bucket or tub for a bit.  Lightly agitate the clothing, and then drain the water again. 

Do not wring water from clothes.  This stretches and destroys fibers.  Instead, press out as much water as possible and then use a rolling pin to squeeze out even more. 

Dry clothes flat.  Heavy items like coats and jeans can be hung on a line, but many regular clothes, especially knits, will stretch and lose their shape.

Dry whites in the sun to bleach them.  All colored items should be dried in the shade; otherwise, they will start to fade.  

Links to related posts:

Survivalists, Preppers, and the 49ers

DIY Laundry Detergent

 6.4.24

Basic Water Purification

(For the next several Sundays, I'll be posting previous articles on water purification methods)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (actually, it was just Clay County, Missouri, but for all intents and purposes...), I taught preparedness classes for the ladies in my congregation.   And for class one month I decided to focus on the entirely unglamorous subject of water.  No one, and I mean no one, gets excited about water sterilization, purification, filtration, distillation, whatever term you want to use (and no, the terms are not interchangeable).  It's a miracle anyone showed up.  

I thought it would be a good idea to use the same water everyone in our area would have to use if there were a disaster and we had to resort to drinking pond water.  I can't remember if we used scummy pond water from our neighbor across the street, or if my dear friend Betsy provided some of her own precious supply of scummy pond water.  Regardless, it was truly scummy pond water.  I guess pioneers didn't have a problem drinking it, but no one today ever would.  At least, no one in my class would.  

No one wanted to try it even after it had been treated properly.  

I presented the class with four examples of treated water.  a.  water that had only gone through a regular paper coffee filter; b.  water through the coffee filter and boiled; c.  water through the coffee filter and bleach added; d.  water through the steam juicer, in effect, distilled.  

The clearest most beautiful water, most desirable appearance for drinking?   Not that anyone would touch it, because it had been scummy pond water.  Yep, it was the water that had only gone through the coffee filter.  It was so very clear, just like anything you get out of your tap.  Probably even better looking.  What a lesson.  Looks can be very deceiving.

The other three treated water samples were all pretty much equally uninviting.  They had a kind of dull look to them, like I had started off with dirty pans or something.  (My pans were most definitely not dirty.)

Your absolute safest method for making your drinking (and cooking and washing) water safe is to first run it through a coffee filter, or cheesecloth, or some other cloth to remove the larger contaminants and then boil it at a hard boil for one minute, plus an extra minute for each additional 1,000 feet above sea level.  So for me at 5,600 feet altitude, that's six minutes of a hard boil.  Unfortunately, that's going to take a bit of fuel which we may not necessarily have an excess of when TEOTWAWKI hits.  Future posts will cover other methods of water purification.

Links to related posts:
Katadyn Micropur Tablets   
Comparison of Water Purification Methods in One Easy Chart 
  24 october 2018

Making Your Own Peppermint Extract

Whenever you go to plant peppermint, or any member of the mint family, you invariably come across the warning to plant in a container or some area where it will be well-confined, because it will spread like wildfire.  And while most don’t really want it spreading into the garden beds, I love having boatloads of mint, especially peppermint and lemon balm. 

True peppermint is a little harder to find than might be expected.  A lot of what is sold as peppermint is actually spearmint.  And while spearmint will make an extract, it won’t be quite as bright or strong as peppermint.  So the first step in making a good peppermint extract is to make sure you’re really starting with peppermint.  And honestly, that’s probably the hardest step.  Everything else is much easier.

Peppermint Extract

3 cups peppermint leaves

1 ½ cups Everclear alcohol, or the highest proof vodka you can get

Wash and dry the peppermint leaves.  Let them air dry for a day, if possible.  Coarsely chop the leaves and pack them in a pint canning jar.  Cover the leaves with alcohol.  Place the lid on the jar and shake well.  Set the jar in a dark cabinet and shake daily.  After 1 week, strain to remove the leaves and discard them.  (Do not put this step off.  Leaves that remain in the alcohol too long will produce a bitter extract.)  Now you have peppermint extract. 

For a stronger extract, repeat the process 3-4 times, using new leaves and the extract that you just produced. 

Use your extract as you would any store-bought peppermint extract. 

Links to related posts:

DIY Lemon Extract

DIY Almond Extract