Junk Preps

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography

& is used with permission.

We all have them: items which are still useful enough that it feels wasteful to throw away, but aren't good enough to deserve a spot among your prepping supplies. I call these "junk preps", and my collection is full of flimsy plastic tools, cheap knives of unknown metal (likely 420 stainless or worse), thin-walled aluminum water bottles and tiny ferro rods. 

Now, I'm not going to tell you not to throw these things out. I'm a firm believer in the concept of "The things you own end up owning you," and your preps should serve you instead of the other way around. If you want my permission to throw them away, then I am telling you that you can throw them away with a clear conscience; after all, if they had value, you would have placed them with your preps. Clean up your clutter with a clear conscience. 

However, if that isn't enough and you still can't bear to throw away these junk-but-not-trash items, I have another solution for you: find a cheap duffel bag (and if you have a collection of junk preps, I know that you have at least one gym bag gathering dust somewhere in your house) and fill it with those preps. If you have multiple bags, then try to distribute the junk preps evenly. 

The purpose of this bag is so that you will have something to give away to friends, neighbors, or people who come asking for help after a disaster. You aren't giving away anything whose absence will hurt you or your family, but you will still be able to give away something if you're the kind of person who hates to turn away the needy. 

As a bonus, the low quality of the items will serve as a kind of camouflage for you; if you are convincing enough with your "This is what we can spare" delivery, then they may very well think that what you have kept for yourself is similarly low quality, and may not bother you for future handouts. 

Be ever mindful of the fact that giving away anything after a disaster is a sign that you have something that others may want, so there will be times that the wisest course of action is to turn others away or otherwise ignore them. As always, let your conscience and common sense be your guide. 

'Tis the Season for Giving ...Blood

As I write this, Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is buying gifts to give to family and friends. Despite the stress, we generally feel better after giving a gift, and the more appreciated the gift is the better we feel.

How about giving a gift to a stranger, someone you'll likely never see or meet? Giving of yourself when there is little to no chance of the favor being reciprocated is true charity, and charity is one of the virtues honored by most religious beliefs.

There is even a way to be charitable while increasing your odds of surviving a major disaster: donating blood. Think of the medical blood donor system as a form of insurance, where people put a little into the system to make sure they can be taken care of if the need ever arises. The more people who donate, the more likely it is that the system will be there if you need it.

Blood donors provide the resource needed by accident victims, cancer patients, and those going through major surgery. I think those all fall somewhere between “crisis” and “disaster” depending on the severity, so anything you can do to better your chances of survival counts as prepping in my book.

Transfusions
Transfusing blood, which means taking blood from one person and injecting it into another, has been around for a few centuries but it wasn't until 1901 that a doctor worked out the first three blood types (A, B, and O) based on experiments on blood from his staff and patients. This made transfusions safer, since not all types are compatible and the results were sometimes fatal. World War 1 brought the increased use of refrigeration and anti-coagulating chemicals to extend the shelf-life of donated blood. Organized blood drives started in the 1920's and 1930's, and WW2 saw the use of blood and blood products as life-saving tools in military hospitals. Today we're shipping freeze-dried plasma (FDP) to our troops to give them a shelf-stable emergency supply that will store for “a long time” and
can be reconstituted in the field with bundled sterile water. Our military is currently getting their stocks from a company in France while waiting for the FDA to approve a supplier in the USA.

Blood Components

Normal blood is about 50% plasma, 45% red blood cells (RBC), and 5% platelets and white blood cells (WBC). Donated blood may be kept “whole” or it may be separated into the different parts for different uses.

• Blood Plasma contains coagulation agents and is useful in restoring lost blood volume while helping stop bleeding. Plasma is normally frozen and stored for up to a year; a small portion of the plasma known as “cryo” will separate out during freezing, and since this portion contains potent coagulation agents it is often split off and stored by itself.
• Red Blood Cells contain the hemoglobin that transports oxygen from our lungs to individual cells. RBCs are where you may find a specific protein that further classifies the blood into RH positive or negative. Most people have this protein and their blood type will have a “+” after the letter; if it is missing, their blood type will have a “-” after the letter. RBCs are stored in a refrigerator for up to 42 days.
• Platelets are clotting agents that seal wounds in blood vessels. Platelets are not type-specific and can come from several different donors if need be. Platelets are stored at room temperature in a machine that keeps them mixed, but not clotting together, for up to 5 days.
• White Blood Cells are infection fighters, but can also cause inflammation or allergic reactions after a transfusion if they attack the new host's blood, so they are often removed from donated blood.

Donating

The main way to donate blood in the USA is through the RedCross. I've heard stories about how crappy they are in their disaster response, but they lead the field in keeping our hospitals supplied with blood; like any other group, they do some things well and other things not so well. The link above will take you to the site that deals with blood donations, not their general begging site.

Donating blood is not hard to do. The paperwork and questions will take longer than the actual blood draw, because nobody wants to let infected blood get into the system. Most healthy people can donate blood, as long as they:

• Are at least 17 years old,
• Weigh at least 110 pounds,
• Haven't donated blood in the last 56 days,
• Are in good health and feeling good,
• Haven't gotten a tattoo in an unregulated shop the last year.

There are a whole list of things that will disqualify you, which the screener will go over before they take your blood. After they have your blood they will do tests for a few specific things, and if they find anything out of the ordinary they will contact you. It normally takes about 30 minutes for the questions and 10 minutes for the blood draw.

Due to when and where I was stationed while in the Army, the Red Cross will not take my blood. I used to donate as often as I could, especially while I was in the military (we were our own blood supply), but because I lived and ate in a country that had an outbreak of mad cow disease and that particular disease has a habit of staying dormant in a body for decades, they won't let me give blood. It's frustrating, but I understand their reasoning: as much as I would hate to get a disease from a blood transfusion, I would hate it even more to be the one that caused someone else to get one.

Prudent Prepping: Paying It Forward

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping.  

The recent fires in Napa and Sonoma counties haven't affected me directly, but all the pictures of the survivors and their pets touched me.

In many interviews I've listened to, their dogs and cats were more important than anything in their homes. Getting out with only the clothes on their backs, but with Fluffy or Fido, made all the difference to them.

Sometimes Fido was the hero, like this dog who refused to leave the flock of goats under his care. Be sure to click through the slideshow, and be careful of the dust likely to appear.

This gets me in my usual meandering fashion to the topic of Paying It Forward. Many people think the idea originated in a movie, but Benjamin Franklin wrote about the concept long ago. I've had help like this several times, most recently when I was between jobs and had a dreaded (but not unexpected) veterinary bill. Due to a situation beyond my control, my cat ended up in very bad shape and the final bill leading up to putting her down was $350. This was money I didn't have to spare in my budget, but a friend knew what was going on and took care of it, keeping me above water.

My Tortoise Shell, Feliz

That money was freely given with the belief that I'd do something similar for others when I had the opportunity, and indeed I have given money and other items to people with the same instruction given to me: "I don't want this back, but look to do the same for someone else in the future."

The fires and the stories of pet owners saving their beloved animals made me think of the Animal Rescue Foundation right away. I've been a fan of A.R.F. for many years and liked the way their idea for rescuing animals came about:

" The catalyst for ARF came on May 7, 1990 at a televised baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees. In the middle of an inning and amidst cheers from spectators, a stray tortoiseshell cat looking for food took a wrong turn and suddenly found herself on the playing field. Trapped in the enormous Oakland Coliseum and frightened by the roar of the crowd, the frantic cat dashed around the field, desperately leaping at any means of escape and eluding the players and umpires who tried to capture her. Panicked and unable to find a way out, she slinked towards the infield, exhausted from her ordeal. Tony La Russa, then-manager for the Oakland Athletics, coaxed her gently into the A’s dugout where she would spend the rest of the game in safe confines. Tony and his wife Elaine, a life-long animal advocate, discovered there was not a single no-kill shelter in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area and that the little cat would likely be euthanized. They took her under their wing and exhausted every lead in hopes of finding a safe haven. At last, they were able to place “Evie” – named after Oakland A's team owner, Evie Haas - in a permanent, loving home where she could live out her natural life."

This group delivers on all their promises to do everything they can as openly as possible to help animals, and that is why I made a donation to their fire relief fund.

This isn't exactly Paying it Forward, since I don't directly know the people receiving the help or was able to tell them why I donated, but knowing A.R.F., I'm certain the idea will get through.

The Takeaway

• Helping with no no strings attached is a good thing. Doing it with a group that is making a difference is fantastic.

The Recap

• No direct purchases were made by me in the last week, but a donation was sent to A.R.F.

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running! 

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.

Prudent Prepping: Giving Thanks, Giving Back, Getting Ready

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Now we concentrate  on what to do in, and how to plan for, the long term via Prudent Prepping.

I am very lucky. Seriously, I am so lucky the words aren't there to describe how I feel. There is food on my table, a solid roof over my head and I have a job that is paying my bills, with a bit left over if I'm careful.

I'm Thankful For:

Food
With that extra cash in mind, I took some and bought a turkey to donate to my local Food Bank. I also brought some of the items in my prepping stores that were getting close to their 'sell by' dates, specifically bagged pasta and an equal number of cans of sauce. I donate to the Food Bank when I can all year long, but especially this time of year. The economy has recovered very slowly here in California, and while it is improving, many people are still hurting due to the outrageous cost of living here.

I bought more of the smaller size cans of Spam to go into my backpack's permanent gear, along with instant coffee, hot chocolate mix and cans of chicken to be restocked in my prepping supplies.

Shelter
It has been near freezing several nights this past week, and is forecast to be that cold again this coming week as well. Two thermal shirts are now in my GHB, along with a knit cap and a pair of insulated gloves. I am adding some extra hot drinks to my truck GHB and some extras in my backpack/camping gear. As I've mentioned before, I'm 'Bugging In' as I don't have a place to go, but I do want to be prepared to carry more items easily in the future since my job may be taking me more than a one hour drive away from home. If that is the case, the full size pack gets tossed into the back seat and I'm ready to do my best to get home safely.

Money
I have enough to care for myself and also share with others. Even more would be helpful in reducing stress, but it's not required.

Purchased This Week

• One frozen turkey from Safeway, $24.67.
• Six 7oz Spam cans from a discount grocery, $1.49 each.
• Five cans of chicken breast, Sam's Club: $10.98.
• Two 10 count Instant Coffee, Trader Joe's, $1.99 each. (Single-serve tubes)
• One 10 count box of Hot Cocoa mix, Trader Joe's, $3.49.

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon this Holiday season, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.

Prudent Prepping: Taking Care of Others

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Now we concentrate  on what to do in, and how to plan for, the long term via Prudent Prepping.

Taking Care of Others:

It's Not Just For the Holidays

The holiday season can be a fun time of year to gather with friends and family to share happy times and events, but it can also be a time of stress. Not having enough food on your table, let alone enough money to pay the bills, is an extra stressor that many people have this time of year. While I do not have that problem, many in our communities do, and there is a way that anyone can help: Donate to your local Food Bank!

I make donations to Food Drives when I see the collection barrels, but there is a way to make donations that benefit others and yourself: donate your stored foods that are close to going past the 'Best By' date. You will notice that I said close to going past, and not actually past. I have marked the stored goods in my pantry and emergency stores with the purchase date so I can rotate items out of the bulk area and onto my regular pantry shelf, as this keeps the older goods rotating towards the front. Surprisingly (or not), my local Food Bank is looking for items that fit into what I and many other people put away in our stores:

• Natural Peanut Butter 
• Whole grain cereals 
• Hearty low sodium soups 
• Beans and Lentils -- dry or canned 
• Water-packed tuna or chicken 
• Canned fruit in juice 
• Low sodium canned vegetables 
• Brown rice 
• Canned, low sodium ready-to-eat meals like chili and ravioli 
• Whole wheat/grain pasta 
• Canned tomato products

So by sorting my stored goods with the oldest marked items going out first, I can keep an eye on what is not being used quickly, and then donate the excess to the Food Bank if needed. Not only can I help those less fortunate than myself, I also keep fresh items in my reserve!

What I donated:

• One jar of peanut butter 
• 6 cans of chicken 
• 10 lbs of dry beans 
• 4 1lb pasta 
• 4 cans pasta sauce

These were all dated 'Best By' the middle or late 2015, but it is the perfect time to move some of these out, as I am not using them very quickly all by myself.

Even if you don't have food that is expiring soon or you have long duration stores, this is a good time to consider buying an extra can or two and dropping them into the donation barrels most supermarkets have on display. You will be helping others and also helping yourself.

Information from my local Food Bank:

• 28% of food distributed is for children under 18. 8% are under the age of 5. 
• Approximately 18% is for people over 65.
• The average family income of recipients is $15,000 per year.

If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!