TOTM January 2015 Prepping/Survival Goals

Tick, tock 2014 is almost gone. Our national debt is rising quickly. We had our first cases of Ebola on American soil this year. We are seeing race riots and unrest.

What are your preparedness/ survival goals for 2015? More gardens? More comms? Will you be up-grading an old system? Concentrating on food storage? Finding a BOL?

My goals for 2015 are.........

In 2015 I want to learn.........

 

Jan 1:
I WILL have my tower garden set up and running in my sun room.

2015:
Office Food Garden
Goji berries at home.
0 Debt.
New self defense weapon.

*EDIT TO COME WITH CHECKS*

 

Expand our solar power more food from our gardens and no money on F#@&ing Chinese junk.

 

Try to make it to 2016 without too many more dings.

 

2015 is going to be a focus year for me. Like many people who hop into preparing for "just in case" I bought items that were on the list but not well thought out or quality, nor did I know how to use them. They were on the lists but they will not do me good if I cannot use them. From lots of reading and research I see many areas that need to be redone. I now look at things and do they have multipurpose uses.

Food- Like most people who start storing, I bought food because you need to store food. Lots of mistakes, lots of food that went to waste and lots bought because it was on the lists, yet we don't like it. I know you will eat anything when hungry but if S doesn't HTF soon, I have a waste.
Example- tuna: I don't like tuna, no one in the house likes tuna. Tuna is packed full of good stuff and I have cans of it I purchased a few years back. I have been giving it to the food shelf. We do not eat it, thus it doesn't rotate. We like chunk chicken in a can. I buy cans of chicken and take out tuna. I didn't just grab all cans of tuna and donate them because I need X- amount of canned meats for just in case but the stock is becoming more tailored to what we eat (rotation) vs just stored food.

Early summer/late fall I pretended I was @BTPost, someone who has to bring in supplies to last for X months with no replenishing in between. It was an eye opener. I have two lists- 1. this is what we will eat in 18 months, 2 this is food we can eat after- the real long term stuff. I have holes but I know where they are now. One thing that is important is learning to make things- scratch is the best way. I do have pure maple syrup but I also have the cheap stuff- fake. I don't need to fake any more because you can make your own syrup easily from stuff you should have stored- How To Make Homemade Syrup In 5 Minutes — Delish Megish Same with eggs- there are many substitutes for eggs- In a pickle: What to do if you’re out of eggs Listing perishables and learning what you can sub for them, then learning what the subs are that can be used elsewhere.

Thanks to @Falcon15 I now can make crackers. I stored crackers but cracker go stale. Thus once I perfect the recipe (1st attempt disaster), can make my own crackers, free up the storage space and use staple ingredients. Going nuts over crackers | Survival Monkey Forums

My family has the heads up Mom will be taking weekend classes. I will be taking HAM classes, I know in some areas I am a hands on learner. I can read the posts on here over and over but I do not understand. I know from past learning experiences, sometimes I just need to sit with someone who go over things with me and answer my questions right there. - it will click, then everything I have read will make sense.

Other classes are on the schedule, I am shooting for one weekend a month to be dedicated to learning. Also- thanks to a thread on the monkey and my friend @KAS I have a focus on solving the long term heating issue. I have my list- I know what is needed and it will be gotten.

 

My goals for 2015 include:
Personal health and fitness

• I have got to get into better shape, eat better, exercise and take better care of myself. All the prepping in the world means nothing if I end up on a dozen meds which will run out 90 days into the "event". I need to drop about 15 lbs and get to a point where I have at least some stamina back.
• Eating better is going to be on both mine and the Mrs. list. We've kind of started already but after the first of the year we are going to simply not have the junk food around. It's hard to "cheat" when there's nothing there to cheat with and going out just for "crap" isn't an option. Along these lines we'll be looking at a more primal diet but not going whole hog. I tried it and it is good for what it is and eventually we may opt for it but we, as a family, just don't switch that quickly with regards to anything, we just don't. Baby steps are better than no steps (unless you're talking about smoking...drop it all at once...which I did 20+ years ago).
• Be outdoors more. Regardless of if/when the ball drops and we're thrown back to living in tents and the backs of wagons, being outside has always made me feel better than living as an indoor, cube-dwelling hermit.

Financial

• Dramatically reduce debt. We have a plan that should finish paying off all consumer debt within the first 3-6 months of the new year. House, cars and monthly bills will be all that remain. We'll be taking advantage of things like FSA for health (for the first time ever), pre-tax deductions for parking at work (which saves over 30% monthly which is CRAZY and I can't believe I didn't do it before) and a few other things.
• Save/set aside money for an emergency. Won't get into details of PMs or whatever because right now it's going to be greenbacks (yeah, I know...I said I KNOW!). First step is liquidity in case of job issue, THEN we worry about long-term protection.
• Pay off vehicles and don't necessarily buy replacements right away. I hate owning a vehicle outside of warranty, I buy used from CarMax and get the extended warranty up to 100,000 miles (next time will go 150,000). Going to hold onto the vehicles as long as they aren't costing me more than a car payment a month to repair and then the next cars we get will be 3 year notes with 150,000 mile extended warranties. Stuff now just isn't made to last.

Preparatory

• Expand our storage capability in our existing rooms, closets, etc.
• Create, build or (gasp) buy some can rotation "units". Yes, I know there are online instructions for making some. Looking into it. That's one of our biggest problems. We have stuff stacked on shelves in the closets where it's dark, you can't see what you have and it expires. No good.
• ORGANIZE our storage, both short and long term.
• More staples. One of the things we did over the Christmas break was to simply bake some cinnamon rolls from scratch. The wife and I both noticed how much less "waste" there was. No boxes, no wrapping stuff and yes, there were aluminum foil pans but that was a choice we made. We have the big metal and glass casserole dishes and pans that we could have used but didn't want to tie them up. We have the aluminum pans from the restaurant supply store, they were cheap, and we washed them out well so we could recycle them. Using staples we already had, about the only thing we needed to buy was butter and cream cheese for the frosting (haven't made the leap to buy dehydrated butter yet...just...haven't). No, these were anything BUT primal but man they were good!
• More "eat what we store, store what we eat". We're getting better at it but need to do more.
• Garden. This could be a 10 page post all by itself but we need to get better at growing some of what we eat. Part of our problem is the soil here is just so bad, the other part is the raised beds I built are too big, too deep (yes, that's possible) and the soil mix isn't right. Need to fix that.

Skills/"Stuff"

• BOBs for everyone. I keep putting it off and that ends soonest. They don't have to like it but they do have to participate in what goes into them. We have backpacks we can reuse until (and assuming) we buy replacements. They have at least a single change of clothes they can pack. We have emergency rations for everyone's bag, we have flashlights, we have glow sticks, we have fire starters for the older kids, we have multi-tools for the older kids. We need to get some weather protection, even a poncho, some emergency blankets and even some drop-cloths that they could use to stop the wind. Then we need to practice some skills. 'Nuff said.
• I need to get back into HAM. I have the gear, I have the license, I need to use them or I'll lose the skills. I want to build an antenna, for example, for my HF rig. I need to get more involved with the local club and try to do field day. I need to get on a schedule where I charge a set of batteries every weekend.
• GHB for my truck. It's only 15 miles on the highway which I should, theoretically be able to do in a single day. Heck, even now I can walk 2.5-3 miles/hour over flat terrain but there's no guarantee I'll be able to do so if something happens. Need the proper tools, equipment to make it home and possibly by both schools for the kids.
• Permanent vehicle firearm. On a related note, the next vehicle I buy will be one that either has a locking console or that there is a "vehicle safe" made for. Cable lock to a post is great in a pinch but it doesn't keep the weapon "handy". I want it in the console.
• Camping, outdoors living, self sufficiency. A recent set of posts by a member who is no longer with us (and may soon be "no longer with us") got me thinking about what I can and can't do realistically. How long would I survive if I had to hit the wilderness? How long could I get by with what I could carry out? Couple that with my recent 2 days on the Appalachian Trail and I'd be in serious trouble in less than a week with the gear I took.
• Round out multi-purpose survival gear with an eye towards carrying it rather than driving it.
• Round out "bug-in" gear. More fuel for example.
• Solar (another 10 page post if I were to go off).
• CCW for the Mrs.

One of the biggest things that will help, however, is the lack of debt. Debt is bondage and closes off so many avenues. Without debt and with the resulting money available, so much opens up by the way of getting property, buying what you need to prepare, saving, vacations (yes, you gotta unwind), etc. That is going to actually be the very first thing we focus on.

 

Well, since tomorrow is the first day of 2015, I guess the first thing up well be attempt number one on a nested Marconi for 80 meters. Then adding more battery capacity for the solar system. Then finding room for some more ammunition...and the LTS food currently stacked in the living room. Friday will be pulling the head off of the Samurai...see what all is going on there.

But later this year the plan is to pay off the house & purchase the adjoining property.

 

Well now that we've decided that I'm going to give up working on the road I hope to get several things done here myself instead of hiring it out. I've got a few acres that I want to clear, building the greenhouse and smokehouse for starters. I've got a ton of solar panels and fence chargers that I've salvaged that need to be sorted out and either put into use or sold/bartered/given away. We are giving serious thought to building a new house as well. I'd like to add a lift for working on the vehicles. We have a well and spring on the property, and I'm still trying to decide if we need a cistern or not. That should be more than enough for 2015!

 

Bro...do some self-watering rain gutter grow rows or a full blown dutch bucket garden.
If you do it pretty...prolly ++++ the value of your property!
I'll buy some panels off ya - if they're cheap enough and you're willing to ship as "gift" to Canada.
Barter? Want seeds? PM me.

 

New skillz; Learning the art of silversmithing. People like bright shiny things.

 

Well, we already did some of our 2015 shopping. Three deer in the freezer,check. Stockpiled some gas,check. Bought some more ammo, check. Tried some 5 year old Flour, check it is great. Our long term preps are holding up well. O2 absorbers work. sealed 5 gallon buckets work.

Number one goal this new year is to lose some weight. Number two goal is to really do better on my wood supply this year. I want to have a 5 year stash and that is going to take some real work. Could use that work to lose weight. I need to upgrade our wood stove to a slightly bigger one. All in all though except for our lack of solar power we are ready for most anything. We are also looking at getting more financially stable. KF

 

Improve my attitude and overall demeanor, breaking the family tradition of treating your loved ones in a manner in which they should not be treated



Debt lower if not gone (save for the cars and house)
Setup $1500 emergency fund. Done
Paid off first card tonight, woohoo. Done
Have another $1000 check going to payoff/down the next lowest card... Not even sure what is on it so hopefully I can pay off one and down another. Friday

Learn some skills properly using O2 absorbers, and Mylar bags and more I'm sure

Get in better shape and drop pounds.
Since 12/29 To 1/11 I have dropped 2.5 lbs, just eating less, then I caught some intestinal thing and have dropped like 4 more (not counting this unless it stays away.) since I haven't eaten Gluten in like 4-5 days now I'm gonna stay off it for 5-6 more and then try to reintroduce it to see if I am sensitive to it.

Stock firewood and build another shed to house it in

Get HAM license

Buy property in TN, NC or KY and sell our Indiana home

Solar, solar, solar

More to come...

 

Goals (at least for now): replace the charge controller panel in the RV, expand the house battery bank.

 

I learned basic life saving from my county EMS services and now hold a EMT -B license. So that was one major thing I wanted to accomplish. I volunteer for experience. Next is...I'm not sure, I already have a few trades, maybe learn another language (I already have 4 English, Russian, Spanish, Arabic) I can't garden or farm for shit. What do you guys suggest?

 

Depends on your living situation;
Backyard chickens for eggs & butcher them if you can't keep them over winter.
"meat" turkeys (no eggs) could be a good choice too.
Try tomato plants in 5 gal buckets if you can't set them in the ground. (easy and hard to kill)
Potato's are another "set and forget" crop. (at least for me.)