Basic Prepping

Get started prepping by taking some simple and frugal actions. Here, you’ll find tips and instructions for assembling an emergency food storage pantry, how to put together emergency kits, preparing for natural disasters and power outages, and creating a safe and healthy home for your family.

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Why You Need Comfort Foods in Your Food Storage Pantry

27 Comments / Basic Prepping, Food Storage / By

Imagine a scenario where you’ve meticulously prepared for six months’ worth of provisions, complete with an ample supply of water and essential supplies. You’ve taken every precaution possible, ensuring you’re well-equipped to face any unforeseen challenges that may arise. But amid all your preparations, did you remember the power of comfort foods? Here’s why I recommend that you include in your emergency food storage planning foods that make you feel better.

woman after shower in towel with arm raised and holding hand in ok sign near armpit

Take Care of Personal Hygiene in Off-Grid or Disaster Scenarios

9 Comments / Basic Prepping, Sanitation / By

Do you like feeling clean? The vast majority of people want to be clean and hygienic. Daily showers or baths (sometimes more than one!), multiple hand washings, and brushing teeth a couple of times per day is the norm. But how will you do that if the grid is down, or after a disaster, or if you’re just wanting to explore a more off-grid type of lifestyle? Cleanliness remains paramount whether by choice or after a disaster. Especially after a disaster! Here are some options for off-grid personal hygiene.

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4 Important Food Storage Lessons Learned While Living Overseas

13 Comments / Basic Prepping / By

I’ve seen the idea come up in conversations from time to time that acquiring food for long-term storage is pointless when you know you’re not going to live in any one place for very long. It’s a pain to lug it from house to house, and if you end up giving all that food away, you probably won’t have it long enough to need it, anyway. My perspective is a little different and comes from my experience with food storage overseas.

image: woman cooking over open fire with pot hanging from stick tripod

Cook Off-Grid Without Power: How Many Methods Do You Have?

11 Comments / Basic Prepping / By

Power’s out! All you have to eat is cold food. For hours. For days. How soon will you get tired of that? How soon will the kids? If you haven’t planned for alternative ways you can cook off-grid without power, now is the time to start thinking about it. By having various options for cooking, you can ensure that they always have a reliable way to prepare their meals, regardless of the weather or any other unforeseen circumstances. The morale boost of a hot meal cannot be overestimated!

image: two packages of meals ready to eat MREs

Are MREs Worth Stocking? How to Decide if They’re Right for Your Family

12 Comments / Basic Prepping / By

Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) seem to make it into the stockpiles, bug-out bags, and trunks of many preppers. Unfortunately, few people do the leg work to understand MREs fully and whether they are a wise decision for themselves and their families. In this article, we’ll discuss the information you should consider to determine whether to include these meals as part of your food storage and emergency plans.

image: variety of superfoods for food storage on dishes on table-ginger, tumeric, blueberries, cinammon, chia seeds, oats, lentils

Superfoods: An Effective Way to Boost Emergency Food Storage Nutrition

2 Comments / Basic Prepping / By

Wheat, rice, and beans are the building blocks of most survival food storage checklists, but on their own, even with canned food, they don’t create a healthy, highly nutritious diet. Building an effective emergency food storage requires more than just storing shallow calories. Superfoods, combined with staples, allow us to build a food storage pantry with the nutrition to help us thrive, not just survive.

image: food storage containers, bucket, vacuum sealer, mason jars, #10 cans

Food Storage Containers: Choosing the Ones That Best Fit Your Needs

1 Comment / Basic Prepping / By

Finding food storage containers that will fit your needs, your space, and your wallet can be a challenge. Regardless, there are a lot of options from which to choose. To help you find the best fit for you, the author has critiqued many of the traditional and some not-so-traditional food storage containers. Almost everything on this list is available second-hand so don’t let cost deter you initially.

image: two drumsticks with thighs cooking in a cast iron pan

Using Cast Iron Cookware in Every Day Cooking So You’re Ready for Emergencies

37 Comments / Supplies and gear / By

With care, and perhaps even without care, cast iron cookware will last nearly forever, ensuring you can pass it down to your children or grandchildren. By using cast iron with your everyday cooking, you are not only getting more iron and fewer chemicals in your diet, but you’re also learning how to cook with time-tested cooking gear. Once you learn a few basics, you can use cast iron in your kitchen every day with great cooking results. Plus you’ll be ready for emergencies.

image: cooked ground beef in a skillet

22 Frugal Ways to Use Freeze-Dried Ground Beef

6 Comments / Basic Prepping, Food Storage, Freeze-dried food / By

Once I got over the price shock of freeze-dried meat, I discovered its versatility is as limitless as any other meat. Factor in its ability to remain fresh and ready to eat for ten years or more, then it makes sense to add it to your food storage pantry. One can at a time adds up, and you can begin to assemble simple recipe ideas like the ones in this article and the other ingredients you’ll need.

image: man in black leather jacket looking around corner at three young women, two of whom are aware of him

Safety for Women: Useful Tips to Improve Street Smarts & Avoid Violence

20 Comments / Situational awareness, Skills & Knowledge / By

30 percent of women globally have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. Safety for women should be everyone’s job but you can’t count on that. If you’re a woman, you could be a target someday, but you don’t have to be a victim. Learn some of the same skills used and taught at the CIA to improve your street smarts and avoid violence.