Things to prep besides food

Ways to cook
You need at least two forms of off grid cooking. And it it's not that difficult to do. But you may learn how do USE each item you have. If you have the items,  but do not know how to use them,  don't waste your money.

A barbecue grill is fantastic - especially if it does gas, charcoal and wood.
A kerosene single burner gas stove works well also. They are small,  fuel efficient and that cook exactly like a gas stove
A propane camp stove
Solar oven
Haybox oven, thermal oven, wonder oven
Propane oven
Herc oven
Penny Stove

Medical supplies
Medical tape
Cotton balls
Cotton gauze
Tweezers
Antibiotic ointment
Alcohol
Peroxide
Super glue
Strong soap
Razor blades
Suture kit
Gatorade powder

Sewing Supplies
Cotton buttonhole thread
An assortment of sewing needles
Several thimbles
Misc threads
2 pair scissors,  1 large,  1 small
Measure tape

Ways to Heat a cold room
Heat is essential in cold areas. A little heat can save your life.

Wool blankets with a cotton sheet
Reflective survival blanket.. But you must know how to use this
Hot water bottles
Liquid fuel heating pad /unit
Chemical hot pad
Reusable /rechargeable hot pad
A tent to make the room smaller
Camp heater

Ways to cool down
Water Spray mister
Alcohol spray
Hand fan
Swamp cooler (most require electricity)
Solar powered fan
Cold drinks

Hot water bottles and their uses

You may think my crazy, but I love water bottles.  Really!

Historically, the original practice was to use hot rocks from beside the fire to put in a bed. Later, it became metal boxes filled with hot coals from the fire that were put in the bed and later removed. Only the rich could afford the boxes with long handles so the poor still used plain rocks.

The modern derivative are made of flexible pvc or vinyl. Consigned to the pharmacy isles, no one thinks about just how convenient these wonders are.

I use them at work on my back when is hurting. One quick fill in the sink or a partial fill at the coffee maker (with water already inside) and I am set for hours.

In the winter, one goes to the car with me. It will either sit in my lap to help my hands unfreeze or sit in the floorboard to keep my toes warm. Ran over the inside of the windshield, it can even help clear the ice.

When I have a sick pet, I put one in the bed with hot or cold water as needed. In the winter they appreciate the extra warmth and in the summer it becomes a cooler place to sit.

I use them in bed in the winter on cold nights. When the electricity goes off, I fill them from the hot water heater and put them into bed with me.

When I am working at a desk in the winter and the floor is cold, I put one on the floor in a towel to put my feet on. Working is so much more comfortable with toasty feet.

In a tent on cool nights, I use water that has been close by the fire. They help keep the tent and bedding warmer.

When a friend had surgery and needed flexible ice packs, they came in handy. I filled them ½ with water and ½ with rubbing alcohol. They freez and stay flexible and will not bust if dropped.

The best thing?  They are sustainable.
In the summer, the used water goes on my garden. In the winter, it is returned to a pot on the heater. The pot provides humidity and a constant source of convenient hot water.

Another thing, if they are kept sanitised, the water is potable. So your pets and you always have a few cups of water available.

Cooking with no electricity

A question was recently posted on how to cook without electricity.

Been there, done that.

Sine we are mostly off grid for heat, this was my worry at one time.

Until I counted just how many ways I can cook off grid.

Uhhh, I shouldn't have worried.

First off, we have a grill on the deck.  It take propane or charcoal...or in an emergency...wood. But it is outside it is great for the summer, but in the winter, just would just be too cold. Camping stove? I have 2 of those believe it or not.
One is tiny, barely bigger than my hand, it sits on top of a liquid gas canister.

The other is an older two burner propane stove.

  Is that enough yet hmmm. Nope. So I bought a small kerosene stove.  I wanted something small to carry to craft events.  Something that wouldn't take a lot of room, be light to carry, work for a long time if needed.

This works great. We use a treatment to reduce the smell and smoke from kerosene.  I can use it inside if needed in the winter.  Since we use kerosene heat, I already know the precautions needed with kerosene.

This is not large enough to can on but it can function much like a small gas stove.  It is easily adjustable and it will work about 7 hours on a pint of kerosene. Because it works like a regular gas stove, anyone familiar with a gas stove can work it easily.

I did buy a steel wind screen and I have an large asbestos tile to sit it upon.

Canning Lessons

It's had been so long since I heard the tinkle of a canner going full blast.

I have the canner, the jars and the books...but the confidence had been missing.

My innate clumsiness could be scary in canning if combined with too much ignorance.

So I consulted someone willing to take on a student of two...minions...

So Saturday Jennifer and I traipsed off to Sarah's house to can pinto beans with bacon and pork shoulder.

We did two complete batches and in between I cleaned pumpkin seeds for roasting.

The first batch was beans that had been soaked all night, the second batch was dry beans.  Next week, we can compare.

Non electric lighting

Seasonal preps, we all have them; be it changing the batteries on our smoke detectors or getting out the snow chains.

One of mine is lights.
Yes, lights.
Growing up, heat was never an issue in the winter as we had a well-insulated basement and gas heat.  In the summer there was the pond and creek to cool off. But lights, there was nothing….absolute blackness when the lights went off.

Where I lived, there was nothing but stars. Luckily, my parents were old time country folk who had various coal oil lamps sitting around. When the lights went out, the lamps would be lit.  All was fine in the world.
There are many alternatives or modern lighting. Humans have had various light sources throughout the years.

First off, there was oil lamps. Simple oil lamps and rush lights.  Animal fat is put into a holder such as a sea shell and a wick of some sort is put into the oil and hangs to the side of the shell.  Easy, simple and available everywhere in the world. Later, special holders were made, but a hollowed out rock or shell works.

http://www.ramshornstudio.com/early_lighting_4.htm

Made out of any available fat, these were smoky and often smelly.  But they worked and they are essentially free if you use your own old grease.

Rush Lights are simple candle like lights that are super cheap to make.  They are also smoky and smelly, but essentially free if you can get rushes.

http://jas-townsend.com/combination-rush-light-4040-p-1037.html

http://www.colonialsense.com/How-To_Guides/Interior/Rush_Lighting.php

Torches were simply rags wrapped around a stick or a piece of metal.  Soaked in oils or pitch/tar, they were lit to create a fire you could carry. Dangerous, as they can drip oils that can catch fire, these are not recommended for any inside use. Tiki Torches are the modern equivalent of the tar torch.

http://www.jonsbushcraft.com/birchtar.htm

Candles are the most commonly thought of emergency light.  Today, these are super cheap and a great alternative to electric lights.  Pets and children notwithstanding, they are relatively safe, not smoky and most of the time, they smell great. With stores like the Dollar Tree around, they are also a cheap solution.

Kerosene lamps are a homesteader’s mainstay. They are relatively safe. If used correctly, they do not smoke and do not smell. – depending on the type oil used. Pressure lanterns are a form of kerosene lamp that uses pressure to make a brighter light. Alladin Lamps are a non-pressurized lantern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene_lamp

More to come.....

Making your own vinegar

I am a novice vinegar maker. My problem is I simply do not eat enough fruits. But when I do eat fruit, I make vinegar out of the scraps.

I clean with vinegar and I use it as a fabric softener. I rinse my hair with vinegar.  I have used it in gnat traps and in cooking. Vinegar truly is a wonderful thing to keep in hand.  For those of you who are preppers, why store vinegar when you can make it as you need it.

I start with scraps. I have used pineapple cores, peach skins and apple scraps.

Let them sit out when they can get air..but no bugs. The trick is to gather the yeast that occurs naturally in the air. Yeast is everywhere. The scraps can be wrapped in cheesecloth or put into garment bags and hung in the corner if the kitchen...or outside.

Don't let the scraps rot, that is not the point. The point is to gather yeast.  Once the have gotten a good dose of fresh air...and hopefully yeast, they need to be put into a sugar solution. The ratio is one quart water: 1/4 cup sugar (or one gallon water:1 cup sugar). It is best to not use plain white sugar. It has been bleached and treated to prevent molds. Use a brown sugar or a non bleached natural sugar for the best results.  Chopping the scraps helps also as it allows more access to the natural sugars. 

I save my scraps as I eat apples.  I put them into the warm sugar solution. When I get enough, I open it up and let more yeast in with cheese cloth.  After it ferments a while, I remove the cheesecloth and put my lid with the airlock attached to let it complete the fermentation process and keep bugs out. When it has fermented a few weeks, I cap it off and put it on the shelf.

Once you have vinegar going, you add a bit of your old vinegar..or the entire mother floating on the top to a new solution to jump start the process.

You can have a separate vinegar for each different fruit you eat or mix them all together,  it is your choice.  

If you cap the vinegar with normal lids it will corrode the caps.   I personally use old vodka bottles I gather. They will normally fit on a shelf easily,  they are easy to hold when full and they have a handy thing in the spout to make it pour easily. 

References

http://www.rural-revolution.com/2013/07/making-fruit-scrap-vinegar.html?m=1

http://www.eattheweeds.com/vinegar-your-own-unique-strain/

http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/The_Household_Cyclopedia_of_General_Information/howtomak_bjc.html

http://www.countrysidemag.com/83-4/countryside_staff/

Keeping warm in power outages

I recent Facebook discussion got me thinking of power outages and hours to keep warm in the winter.

That is not really a concern of mine and hasn't been for several years. Right now, I heat almost entirely with kerosene.  I treat the kerosene for the smell and have no real issues.  The kerosene provides heat and light. In a pinch, I can also use it for cooking.

But I have had to survive in emergencies.

Below is gathered some hints too stay warm in a grid down situation.

First I would put a tent in living room as it is a smaller area to heat.

Use sheets, blankets or even pillows to cover all the windows except one. That one window will be needed for ventilation.

Bring my solar lights into tent...it provides plenty of light

Set up the sun oven outdoors to heat water in bottles wrapped in dark cloth. When they are hot, wrap in wool socks and bring in the tent to give off heat.

Light a kerosene lantern to give heat. Move the cat beds into tent, cats have a temperature several degree above humans. Dogs will work also.

Eat, as the act of eating and digesting generates core heat.

Gather wool blankets, sleeping bags or whatever to insulate tent.  Don't forget about the floor either.

Wrap up the water heater.  It will not only give water, but warm water in cold nights. It will also help it not cool and freeze as fast.

Dress in layers. Cotton first to wick sweat, then wool to insulate. Spritz the wool with water as needed to raise the temperature of the wool.

Never drink anything cold as that chills the body core.

Set alarms specifically for checking toes and fingers for cold damage.

Crack a window for ventilation. Remember the window left uncovered?

Be sure to let someone know you are in an emergency situation so they can check in with you occasionally.

So, that is the main things.  This takes into account you are on a grid heating system and do not have an off-grid backup.