Prepper Ideas
Conventional prepper wisdom tells us to get our beans, bullets, and Band Aids ready. This strategy begs the question(s): What then? What do you do after you have squirreled away this consumable stuff? Is it enough? How long before your stuff runs out? How long before the rubber seals on your buckets deteriorate?
“Is survival enough?” Maybe it is – for the short-term. But do you only want to only survive or do you want to thrive also?
There’s more to us than mere survival. We should be promoting a lifestyle that would be worth living both now and after SHTF, in whatever way that comes.
What’s our strategy? Build resilience physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. This is our long-term strategy and it takes time. But it’s worth the effort and investment, especially if we can help the younger generations who depends on us to be there for them and to do whatever is necessary to protect them.
Here’s a few ideas that will help you build resilient skills that produce wealth before and possibly after the bubble explodes.
- New ways of Cooking. People have to eat. “The Prepper’s Cookbook.
- Gardening/Aquaponics - grow food you can sell fresh or preserved.
- Learn how to save seeds from the foods you eat so you plant them. Start a seed swap with your neighbors.
- Preserving food – smoking, pickling, canning, etc.
- Water purification. Essential to life yet many folks will run out of it. (http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/survivalist/2014/07/survival-skills-how-build-inverted-solar-still)
- Build a barter network.
- Make charcoal. It’s mainly a hobby today but can be a value adder after a collapse.
- Mobil butcher and meat processor. Instead of hauling livestock to a distant location this would bridge a gap from farm to city dwellers.
- Shoe repair/leather work.
- Study, read, and learn valuable skill’s. Offer your knowledge through classes. Teach others the skills you’ve honed for a fee.
- Barbering and Hair Cutting. Most men still won't want to grow a ponytail.
- Waste and Sanitation ( read “The Humanure Handbook“ by Joseph C. Jenkins)
- Defense Skills - Security and Protection
- EntertainingThis skill is something rarely, if ever, mentioned in prepping circles. In a world where there are no movies, no TV, no video games and no mall, staying pleasantly occupied during leisure periods will be a challenge. Kids have ways to entertain themselves but adult have pretty much lost this ability for themselves. Entertaining in a post SHTF world may include singing or playing the harmonica, guitar or accordion. It might also include teaching a group to dance, play charades or even to play a rousing round of canasta. Knowing how to entertain others and bring a bit of fun into their lives is a special trait that can be honed now and put into use over and over again, regardless of how bad things get.
Smart people pick the easy stuff first. The stuff that’s free, inexpensive, or readily available.
- Buy an extra case of bottled water for 4 bucks
- Buy several 50 cent boxes of table salt (salt is valuable for various reasons including curing meats to last longer)
- Read free eBooks on prepping and survival – knowledge weighs nothing
- Never pass on Buy-One-Get-One deals that will be needed when SHTF
- Save your pocket change in a jar to buy more preps
- Become a yard sale junkie
Businesses that will Thrive after a crisis happens
While it is impossible to foretell exactly what will happen if a crisis strikes the nation, the one thing you can be sure of is that people will be struggling to survive. Any business that provides necessities for survival, especially at reasonable rates, will do well.
- Ye-Old-Fix-It-Shop: When a crisis happens people will be looking to fix what they have rather than replacing it because fixing it should be cheaper than replacing it. That goes for cars too.
- Shoes and Clothing: Just like cars and appliances, people will be reluctant to throw away their used shoes and clothing if they can find someplace to repair them that's cheaper than buying new ones. And you can easily make a thriving business out of selling used shoes and clothing too.
- Don't forget their Vices: Strangely enough, there is one thing people will often put before their basic needs, their vices. People who are starving will often buy a bottle of alcohol or a pack of cigarettes rather than a much needed meal. And what's even stranger, this actually increases during a time of crisis.
- Healthcare: Even during depression, people get sick, that's one thing that definitely doesn't change because of tough times. For this reason, the healthcare industry isn't likely to experience the same level of decline as in other industries because many people will still require this service regardless of their personal economic condition.
- Home Staging Experts: In a recession, it typically becomes more difficult to sell homes. Some people may be forced to move to a new city where they can find work or have family they can live with, and in these situations, a quick home sale can be important. Those who specialize in home staging can thrive as home sales become increasingly competitive. A staging expert increases the appeal of a home by playing up the strengths and downplaying the weaknesses. This can provide an edge up on competing homes that have not been staged for sale.
- Lipstick and Cosmetics: It can be said that the sale of inexpensive lipstick and cosmetics actually increases during a depression. This is because these items are seen as an affordable luxury, one in which women will still want to indulge in. Ask any woman on the street if they will forego wearing a lipstick and you might get dagger stares everywhere.
- Home-Based Tutoring Business: Even during a crisis, education and learning are still high on the priorities of parents everywhere. Regardless of their financial situation, parents want their children to learn and succeed in school and will be willing to hire a tutor if necessary. There is also huge demand for adults to learn other skills so they will be more in demand for a better paying job. As the job market tightens and unemployment rises, more and more are going back to school and will be seeking specialized training in various fields.
- Tattoo Artists: Even in bad economic times, people will splurge a little to get a tattoo. The reason is that people want to give themselves a little extra something when times are tough, something that will lift their spirits, and a tattoo has the tendency to do this. Also, the unemployed tend to get more tattoos, probably because they do not have to adhere to any company dress code at this time. And they know they can have a tattoo removed later on if they need to for whatever reason.
- Freelance/Temp Work: Companies will be feeling the crunch too, and may have to let go of employees sometimes. They need someone to take over the burden of the let-go employees. There’s only so much extra work the company can place on the remaining staff and still expect them to be productive. Sometimes they have to rely on temporary staffing to meet the demands of the recently let-go staff.
- House Cleaning: House cleaning is another business that will pretty much always have customers, even during a depression. Handling the types of regular cleaning jobs that the average working adult(s) doesn’t have the time or inclination to do is one end of the cleaning spectrum—at the other end is tackling very specific jobs like window cleaning, industrial or office cleaning, or even estate cleanups.
- Bed rest service: This unique business idea is dedicated to all mothers expecting babies. You can help them to enjoy this beautiful phase of life, by providing services starting from pre-delivery to post delivery. These services include providing personal concierge at home, hospital preparation, baby name registration, baby shower, diaper delivery service etc.
Foods that last forever without canning, freezing or dehydrating:
1. Apple Cider Vinegar – This kitchen staple has many health benefits and will last indefinitely as long as you keep it sealed.
2. Bouillon Cubes – As long as you keep these dry, they should remain stable indefinitely. However, over time, the taste of the bouillon can be altered. So when storing bouillon cubes, it’s best to use a food sealer or seal in Mylar bags.
3. Corn Starch – As long as it’s kept dry, corn starch can last indefinitely, so stock up. It’s not only great for cooking, but can also be used for other things like removing oil from the face and hair, soothing sunburns, and diaper rashes.
4. Corn Syrup – The most common substitute for sugar in America. You can use it for brownies, cookies or candy.
5. Ghee – This kind of butter is boiled until all the moisture is gone, which is why it never goes bad. As long as you seal it and keep it in a cool, dry location (as with every item in this list) it can last hundreds of years. Here’s some more information.
6. Hard Liquor – Distilled liquor never goes bad, even after it’s been opened. And it’s not just a temporary escape, it’s also important for disinfecting wounds and easing physical pain.
7. Hardtack – This is a mixture of flour and water forms a hard cracker that keeps for decades. Soldiers carried it with them in the civil war. It’s very hard and doesn’t taste great, but it will keep you going in an emergency. Here’s how to make it.
8. Honey – Archaeologists discovered ancient honey in the Egyptian pyramids and it was still edible! It crystallizes over time, but all you have to do is warm it up and stir it to get it back to the right consistency.
9. Maple Syrup – Like corn syrup and honey, this stuff lasts a long time because of the high sugar content. And what good are pancakes without maple syrup?
10. Salt This stuff lasts forever, whether it’s sea salt or ordinary table salt. It’s also very useful. Just make sure it’s not seasoned salt, which is only good for a year.
11. Soy Sauce – As long as it’s never opened, soy sauce also lasts indefinitely. This is mainly due to the high sodium content.
12. Sugar – Brown, white and powdered sugar all lasts forever. The problem with sugar is it hardens over time, but you can break up the chunks by warming it up and stirring it, just like with honey.
13. Vanilla Extract – Like fine wine, pure vanilla extract actually improves with time because it’s a form of liqueur. It’s more expensive than imitation vanilla, but well worth it. Since it’s made from alcohol, pure vanilla extract will stay fresh and flavorful forever. However, imitation vanilla does not have the same life span, so make sure that you buy the more expensive vanilla extract. It is usually used for baking but historically it was used to treat burns, cuts and wounds.
14. White Rice – Every type of rice except for brown rice will keep forever if you store it properly. Brown rice, on the other hand, has a lot of oil so it goes bad after several months.
15. White Vinegar – In addition to cooking, distilled white vinegar can be used for cleaning, polishing, deodorizing, etc.
16. Pemmican was first made by Native-Americans and later by European fur traders and settlers. It was made from meat of large game like buffalo, bison, elk or deer. The lean meat was cut into small pieces and dried by putting it over an open fire. Then it was mixed with fat and pressed into little cakes. Sometimes, berries were tossed in for extra flavor. (http://www.myfamilysurvivalplan.com/make-pemmican-ultimate-survival-super-food/)
17. Powdered Milk - In a difficult situation, powdered milk makes an emergency source of calcium and vitamin D for young children. It can last indefinitely in nitrogen-packed cans and can be placed in the freezer. And if the powdered milk develops an odor or turns yellow, it’s time to discard.
Unique "Must Have" Canned Foods for Prepping
1. Canned butter - Sealed airtight for maximum freshness, canned butter delivers convenience in the form of extended shelf life and easy distribution without the necessity of refrigeration. It has also proven ideal for disaster preparedness, camping, boating, and remote areas where refrigeration is not freely available. (https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acanned%20butter)