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Spyderco Native 5 Review – Spyderco’s Lightweight Classic

Spyderco Native 5

Spyderco has made a lot of amazing knives, but very few of them have been as popular as their Native line of knives. The Spyderco Native 5 is the 5th generation of the Native line and they've just about perfected it in my opinion.

The Spyderco Native 5 is one of the most popular knives that Spyderco makes. It features a CPM-S30V spearpoint blade and a fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) handle. It's available in straight, serrated (aka Spyder Edge) and partially serrated blades and a variety of handle styles.

Open Length: 6.95"

Closed Length: 4"

Blade Length: 2.95"

Weight: 2.5 oz.

Overall, I feel great recommending this knife to just about anyone! It fits the hand well, doesn't slip even when it's wet and stays sharp for a long time before you need to touch up the edge. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Spyderco Native 5

Who should be Interested in the Spyderco Native 5?

Features

Spyderco Native 5 Pros

Spyderco Native 5 Cons

Conclusion

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Who should be Interested in the Spyderco Native 5?

The Spyderco Native 5 is ideal for anyone who is looking for an EDC knife to fit into most roles. It's just as suitable for an office environment as it is for the trail or while you're out camping.

The size, blade shape, and handle, as well as the variety of available blade designs, makes is it versatile enough to fit just about any role that you can come up with. You can even get it in Spyderco's Salt finish which is designed to resist corrosion in humid and wet environments.

Features

The Spyderco Native 5 comes in right around 7" when opened and 4" while closed. The normal Native 5 model comes with a 2.95" S30V spearpoint blade, and the Salt version uses LC200N. Both types of steel hold an edge well and are resistant to corrosion, but the blade of the Native 5 Salt takes it even further with its extremely corrosion-resistant design.

The sharpened edge of the blade is 2.42 inches with a finger choil at the base so you can hold it closer to the blade if you need to do some finer work. The blade is 1/8" thick.

Spyderco says that the blade has a full flat grind, but there is a secondary bevel at the edge so it's not a true full flat grind.

The handle is made of injection-molded fiberglass-reinforced-nylon (FRN) to make it both strong and light. Unlike some of their other knives, there is no steel reinforcement inside to add strength to the handle. They do this to keep the knife as light as possible. The good news is the handle doesn't flex like some other plastic handled knives that aren't reinforced.

There is a decent amount of grip without the handle being too rough. It uses Spyderco's Bi-Directional Texturing which I really like. It provides a firm grip when the knife is wet or when you're pushing or pulling.

Some of the knives from Spyderco have brass inserts that allow the blades to open easier. The Native 5 doesn't. This means that it can be a little stiff opening when you first get one.

Regardless of how you like to carry your knives, the Native 5 has you covered. You can carry tip-up or down on both the left and right sides. The knife comes with the clip installed for tip-up right-handed carry.

I've been a little less than enthusiastic about Spyderco's stock pocket clips in the past. With the Native 5 that really isn't the case. The squared-off back edge of the knife fits well with the pocket clip.

The back lock mechanism of the knife keeps the blade firmly in place. There is a secure click when it opens and almost no movement once it's in place. With the knife open, you can flex the handle and blade if you really try, but it's not a lot.

Spyderco Native 5 Pros

I really like the blade design of the Native 5! It's really similar to the Spyderco Shaman that I carry on a regular basis. It has a sharp point that's both fine and strong at the same time and the cutting edge is perfect for most common uses.

The handle design makes the knife really comfortable after periods of longer use. Being able to choke up on the blade a little is a nice touch because it really helps with any finer detail work that you may want to do.

You can get the Native 5 in a ton of different colors and blade finishes. You may just have to shop around a little to get the exact color/blade combo you want because not all retailers carry all of the different combinations.

There's a Salt version of the Native 5! The Salt version is designed for use around water (specifically saltwater) and humid areas where other types of knives tend to rust and corrode quickly. This is actually the version of the knife that I own. It's the same as the regular Native 5 but the steel is different and it comes with a high visibility handle.

Spyderco is based in Golden, Colorado and their knives are made in the United States. When you buy a Spyderco knife, you're supporting a quality American company and American workers. This probably doesn't matter to a lot of people, but I like to support American companies.

Spyderco Native 5 Cons

My biggest complaint with the Native 5 is how stiff it is when first buy one. It takes quite a bit of use to finally get the knife to feel like it's opening smoothly. Even after it's broken in, it still isn't nearly as smooth as some other Spyderco knives.

With a 2.95" blade and a 4" handle it's going to be too small for some people. If you have big hands then you could end up with a pinky hanging off the end of the handle. It's not a deal-breaker at all, but it's something to think about.

I like the light weight of the knife, but some people seem to find the light handle to kind of unsettling. I will admit that it can feel a little weird at first and make you think that it's going to break even though the handle is super strong and doesn't flex at all.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a great all-around knife for every day carry then the Spyderco Native 5 is a great choice.

With a medium-sized blade, a lot of different styles available and a lifetime warranty, it just works really well in a wide range of lifestyles. That's why it's so popular!

Spyderco Native 5 Review – Spyderco’s Lightweight Classic is courtesy of: www.readylifestyle-staging.gtgrgq9c-liquidwebsites.com

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Best Bug Out Bag Food – The Top Food for Bugging Out

Bug Out Bag Food

There is a lot of different information out there about bug out bag food. Most people are doing their best to provide information that they think will be helpful, but some of it is just bad.

Bug out bag food should be light, compact and calorie-dense. It should also need very little preparation. MREs, freeze-dried food, canned food, tuna/chicken pouches, energy gels, emergency rations, energy/ protein bars, nuts/dried fruit/trail mix, jerky/pemmican, candy, and drink mixes are all solid choices as bug out bag food.

Let's look at the types of food you should pack in your bug out bag and why. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Bug Out Bag Food

How To Choose Bug Out Bag Food

Purpose of a bug out bag

Considerations for bug out bag food

Bug Out Bag Foods

MREs

Freeze-dried Food

Canned Foods

Tuna/Chicken Pouches

Energy Gels

Emergency Rations

Energy/Protein Bars

Jerky/Pemmican

Drink Mixes

Dried Fruit, Nuts and Trail Mix

Candy

How Much Food Should go in a Bug Out Bag

How much food do you need per day?

Recommended Bug Out Bag Foods

Conclusion

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How To Choose Bug Out Bag Food

Before we dig into the different types of food that make sense for a bug out bag, I want to quickly lay out the general idea behind a bug out bag. I'm a firm believer that you should understand why you're doing something instead of just following checklists.

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For a more in-depth look at bug out bags, check out this article.

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Purpose of a bug out bag

A bug out bag is designed to get you from your home to a bug out location if you have to leave on foot or with no notice.

That's it.

You shouldn't be packing like your going to go camping for a week. You shouldn't be planning to walk for 8 hours then setting up a campsite and waiting until morning to start moving again.

Once you bug out you should keep going until you reach your bug out location only stopping to briefly rest, collect water, eat quickly or sleep.

Considerations for bug out bag food

The food that you decide to pack in your bug out bag should be light, compact, calorie-dense, and not need a lot of preparation. I also prefer food that doesn't need to be prepared and has a long shelf life.

The shelf life of food is important because your bug out bag is going to spend most of its time just sitting in a closet or basement. The longer the shelf life of your bug out bag food, the less that you need to change it out. This means less money and less work over the life of the bug out bag.

Size (being light and compact) is also important when choosing food for your bug out bag. As an example, canned food may seem like a good idea when you first look at it, but it weighs a lot and takes up a lot of space.

Being calorie-dense is another important factor to consider. Calories are energy, and that's the only reason that you're packing food in your bug out bag. The more calories that you can pack into your food, the more energy you'll be providing your body to keep moving toward your bug out location.

Finally, you want to pack food that doesn't need a lot of preparation. Try to focus on food that you can eat while you're walking so you don't need to stop to start a fire or get a stove going to cook your food.

Bug Out Bag Foods

The list below is there to get you thinking about what types of food works well in a bug out bag and why it works. It isn't all-inclusive so feel free to pack food that you like as long as it makes sense.

MREs

MREs (meals ready to eat) are military-style meals that meet all of the requirements for bug out bag food. They're easy to prepare, calorie-dense, light and don't take up a lot of room. The shelf life is also pretty good (around 5 years) so you won't have to replace them all that often.

You can make an MRE even lighter and more compact by opening them and removing all of the extra packaging. Feel free to take any of the other things that you don't need or won't eat.

Freeze-dried Food

Freeze-dried foods are great for backpackers and campers that are looking for a lightweight option to take along with them. They fill most of the boxes for bug out bag food, but they also usually need to have boiling water added to them before you can eat them.

Does that mean that you should completely rule them out? Not necessarily. I don't keep any in my bug out bag, but don't write them off if they make sense for you. As long as you're willing to boil water to cook them they're great.

I'd suggest choosing something else if you live in an area that doesn't have a lot of natural water sources.

Canned Foods

Canned foods last for a long time and usually can be eaten cold so they don't take a lot of time to prepare. I don't like canned foods because they take up a lot of space and weigh a lot compared to the number of calories that you get from them.

The exception to this is canned meats like chicken, tuna, and Spam. I'd rather have tuna and chicken in pouches because they're a little lighter, but a can doesn't add all that much weight.

Tuna/Chicken Pouches

Tuna and chicken pouches are a great option for a bug out bag. They're cheap and last for quite a while.

The only thing they have going against them is the pouch. Try to pack them in a way so that the pouch won't get punctured by other things in your bug out bag.

Energy Gels

There has been a ton of research put into inventive ways to fuel the body during strenuous activity. Energy gels are one of the products that have come out of that research.

They're mostly sugar so don't expect them to be good as your sole source of food, but they're great when your body is depleted and run down. I'd have a few on top of your normal food to keep you going through a few long days of walking.

Emergency Rations

Emergency rations (sometimes called lifeboat rations) are specifically designed to be shelf-stable for years, calorie-dense and relatively lightweight. They're pretty much a perfect food for any emergency and always have some in my bug out bag.

You may have seen people saying that they aren't good for bugging out but that's pretty ridiculous. I would suggest ignoring the serving suggestions and just eating enough so you're replacing the calories that you're using during the day.

They may not be great food, but they are a great emergency food.

Energy/Protein Bars

Energy bars and protein bars can be good survival food and bug out bag food. Most of them are specifically formulated to maximize the way that they provide the body with calories and other nutrients.

They have the added benefit of being easy to eat on the move and with no advance preparation.

Jerky/Pemmican

Jerky and pemmican are both a good source of food and calories. They last for a couple of years as well so they shouldn't need to be replaced too often.

One of the best things with having jerky in your bug out bag is that it can be eaten while you're walking and tends to make you feel more full than something like a PowerBar.

Drink Mixes

Drink mixes aren't exactly food, but they do provide some calories and energy so they can make sense to add to a bug out bag. Don't rely on them too much, but they can give you a little sugar boost and change things up so you're not just drinking water.

Dried Fruit, Nuts and Trail Mix

Dried fruit, nuts and trail mix can be a good idea for bug out bag food, but you need to be careful about how long you leave it in your bug out bag before checking on it. The oils in some of these foods can lead to spoilage pretty quickly.

Dried fruit can normally go for about a year before it spoils while nuts have about a 6-month shelf life.

Candy

Candy of all kinds is the old school way of providing the body with quick energy during hard work. It basically does the same thing that energy gels would do for you plus having something sweet is a good way to lift the spirits during a stressful time.

Look for candy bars that can last for a while in a backpack and will hold up well to being bounced around and beat up a little.

How Much Food Should go in a Bug Out Bag

The amount of food that each of us needs in our bug out bags is going to vary based on our individual needs.

A generic "72-hour" bag is going to need enough food to keep you going for three days. This obviously doesn't work if you're in a situation where you may need to spend 4 or more days walking to your bug out location.

Make sure that you have enough food in your bug out bag to last for however long you plan to be traveling.

How much food do you need per day?

WebMD says that an active average-sized man should consume somewhere between 2,200 and 2,800 calories per day. That number is a good goal if you fall into that category and you're not in a survival situation.

In a survival situation, you need about 1,200 calories at a minimum for long term survival. This does vary based on size and weight but it's a good average for most people. At 1,000 calories a day the physical effects on the body are roughly equivalent to total starvation.

Keep these numbers in mind when you're planning how much food you need to have for each day. I try to pack about 1,500 calories per day in my bug out bag. That's going to leave me hungry when I get to where I'm going, but it keeps the load lighter and is still in the normal calorie range.

Recommended Bug Out Bag Foods

You're free to choose whatever kind of foods that you want, but this is the food that I pack in my bug out bags.

ER Bar - These make up a majority of the calories in my bug out bags. Each 3,600 calorie ration will last me 2 days. I expect to feel kind of hungry, but I also have other food to snack on as I need it or when I need a boost of energy to keep going for a little bit longer.

Clif Bars - Everyone probably knows what a Clif Bar is. They taste good, provide a decent amount of nutrients and have about 250 calories apiece. I pack 1 or 2 per day in case I need something extra to fill me up a little more than just the ER Bars.

GU Energy Gel - I pack some GU Energy Gel because I find that it gives me a decent boost of energy when I need it. These have 40mg caffeine, 55mg sodium, 30mg potassium and sugars that are designed to quickly absorb into the body. They aren't going to work miracles for you but they definitely help toward the end of the day. I like to have 2 per day to use toward the end of the day when I find myself dragging and wanting to rest more and more often.

Conclusion

Bug out bag food doesn't need to be complicated, but it does need to make sense for your situation. Choose foods that you like, don't take up a lot of space, don't weigh a lot, pack a lot of calories and last for a while. You also need to make sure that you're getting more than 1,200 calories a day at a minimum.

Other than those few guidelines, you can choose whatever you like!

Best Bug Out Bag Food – The Top Food for Bugging Out is republished from: https://readylifestyle.com

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8 Signs of a Tornado – How to Tell a Tornado is Coming and What to Do

Signs of a Tornado

Tornadoes often pop up with little notice with wind speeds of up 250 miles per hour and can clear a path 50 miles wide. That's horrifying! Luckily there are usually some signs that a tornado is about to occur.

These are the 8 signs that can signal the approach of a tornado:

Debris Falling from the Sky

Loud Rushing Sound

Dark Skies with a Green Hue

Complete Calm Following a Thunderstorm

Rotating Funnel Cloud Reaching Down from the Sky

Approaching Cloud of Debris

Sudden Large Heavy Hail

Wall Clouds

Keep reading to get more information about these signs. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Signs of a Tornado

What Are the Signs that a Tornado is Coming?

The Difference Between a Tornado Watch and Tornado Warning

What to do if a Tornado Strikes

After the Tornado Strikes

Conclusion

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What Are the Signs that a Tornado is Coming?

Tornadoes are extremely powerful columns of air that extend down from the base of thunderstorms. They can happen at any time of day, at any time of the year and have been recorded in all 50 states.

They usually only last for about 10 minutes but they can last for up to an hour and travel more than 10 miles before they go away. During that time, they can tear trees from the ground, level buildings and throw objects through the air at deadly speeds.

One thing that I'll say is to always trust your "intuition". What I mean by this is when things get weird and you feel like something is wrong, but you don't know why, you need to trust yourself.

Most of the time this is your brain subconsciously picking op on what's going on before you consciously catch on. Trust yourself!

Because they can be so deadly, it's important to know the warning signs of a tornado.

Approaching Cloud of Debris

Tornadoes throw a massive amount of material into the air. Sometimes you'll notice that there is a lot of debris circling around for seemingly no reason.

This can happen before you can even see the swirling formation of the tornado.

Debris Falling from the Sky

Just like the swirling cloud of debris that shows up before a tornado, another way to tell that a tornado may be on the way is falling debris. Some of the material that gets sucked up into a tornado gets flung into the air and can land in the surrounding area before you can detect the tornado in other ways.

Even if it's not a tornado, falling debris can be a sign that any number of bad things are headed your way. You should get to the best cover you have as soon as possible.

Loud Rushing Sound

The power in a tornado can sometimes cause the earth itself to rumble. This can sound like an incoming freight train where the ground rumbles loudly.

Dark Skies with a Green Hue

The clouds that often accompany tornadoes can be full of hail and ice. As more and more ice builds in the clouds, it refracts the sunlight causing a greenish color.

Don't think that a tornado won't form if the clouds are just really dark. It's still possible for a tornado to form even without the green hue.

Complete Calm Following a Thunderstorm

There's often a really strange phenomenon that comes before a tornado. A strange complete calm immediately after a thunderstorm may mean that a tornado is forming.

Sudden Large Heavy Hail

Just before a tornado, there is often large hail. This happens even if there wasn't any rain associated with the storm.

This hail can reach sizes of up to 4 inches and can cause a lot of damage all by itself. Immediately take cover from the hail, but keep moving to a strong shelter if you can.

Rotating Funnel Cloud Reaching Down from the Sky

This is a no brainer. When you see a rotating funnel cloud reaching down from the thunderstorm toward the ground, you can be sure that a tornado is on the way.

Wall Clouds

A wall cloud is a lowering of the cloud under a thunderstorm. This can be the beginning of a tornado.

These are also called a pedestal cloud. This makes a lot more sense because they look a lot more like a pedestal than a wall.

The Difference Between a Tornado Watch and Tornado Warning

There are times when there are signs of a coming tornado and there is enough time for local and national weather services to issue a warning. When that happens, they will tell you that there is either a tornado watch or a tornado warning. They both mean that a tornado could be coming, but they mean slightly different things and require you to take slightly different actions.

Tornado Watch

A tornado watch is the lesser of the two warnings. It means that tornadoes are possible in your area. This is when you need to make sure that you're prepared in case the watch changes to a warning.

During this time, review your emergency plans and check your supplies in your safe room. Most importantly, be ready to act if the watch is increased to a warning.

A tornado watch will usually cover multiples counties or states.

Tornado Warning

Tornado warnings mean that a tornado has been sighted or seen on radar. If you're in a tornado warning area, you need to take action immediately!

Warnings usually cover a small county or a single city and are very specific to the local area. They're spotted by trained weather and law enforcement officials who pass the information to local weather personnel. It means a tornado is happening right now.

What to do if a Tornado Strikes

Once you see the warning signs of a tornado, get a tornado warning or see a tornado, you need to immediately seek cover. Your life is in danger.

Go to the safest place you can reach. Get underground if you can!

Always avoid windows during a tornado.

If you have a basement you should get into the basement and cover yourself with a mattress, heavy blankets or sleeping bags to protect yourself from falling debris. If you have a heavy table or workbench get under it.

If you live in an apartment or other building without a basement you should go to the lowest floor and find an interior room to shelter in. Get low to the floor and cover your head and neck. Cover yourself with heavy blankets, sleeping bags or a mattress.

If you're in an office building, hospital or highrise building get into an enclosed room in the middle of the building that doesn't have any windows. Interior stairs make a good shelter and allow you to get to the ground floor quickly. Get low to the floor and cover your head and neck. Don't use elevators!

If you live in a mobile home you should get out immediately and take shelter in a storm shelter or permanent structure. Then seek an interior room to take shelter, lay on the ground and cover your head and neck.

Schools will have a disaster response plan that the staff should follow. Go along with the plan and follow them to the place they have designated as a shelter. Get on the ground and cover your head and neck.

If you're in a car or truck then you have two options. If traffic is light enough for you to keep driving, then move at right angles to the tornado's path to get out of its way. If you're too close to the tornado to drive away or there is debris or traffic preventing you from continuing to drive, you should stay in your vehicle, cover your head with your hands, a coat or blanket and duck below the level of the windows.

If you're stuck in the open you need to realize that you're in a very bad position, but there are still things you can do to improve your chances. Lay flat on the ground and cover your head and neck. Stay away from cars, trees, and other things that can fall or get thrown on top of you.

After the Tornado Strikes

Once the tornado has passed you should listen to emergency notification systems, NOAA Radio, and local authorities for any new information.

If you're trapped you should cover your mouth with a cloth or a dust mask and try to contact rescuers. Send a text or call if you can. You can also try to bang on a pipe or wall or use an emergency whistle.

If you're outside or need to travel you should avoid fallen power lines or broken utility lines. Stay out of damaged buildings until they are cleared by authorities. Stay off of your phone except for emergencies to keep the strain on cell networks to a minimum.

During clean-up, you need to make sure that you are as safe as possible. Wear sturdy footwear (preferably boots), long pants and leather gloves.

Conclusion

Tornadoes are powerful natural disasters that have the potential to strike quickly and with very little warning. That's why it's so important to have an idea of the signs that one may be on the way.

Always trust yourself and seek shelter as soon as possible when you see the warning signs of a tornado. If nothing happens then you've only lost a couple of minutes of your day. If a tornado does strike then you'll be much better off than if you hadn't taken shelter!

The blog post 8 Signs of a Tornado – How to Tell a Tornado is Coming and What to Do was first seen on: readylifestyle-staging.gtgrgq9c-liquidwebsites.com

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EDC a Fixed Blade? (How to do it, and What Knives Are Best)

EDC a Fixed Blade?

Most people decide to go with a folding knife of some kind for EDC, but what about all the great fixed blades that are out there? Can you carry a fixed blade every day?

Carrying a fixed blade knife as part of your EDC can be done pretty easily. For hard use, you really can't go wrong with a fixed blade knife. If strength is the most important thing to you, then a fixed blade knife for EDC is the way to go.

If you interested in adding a fixed blade to your EDC, keep reading to get some ideas on how to go about it! [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

EDC a Fixed Blade?

Carrying a Fixed Blade as Part of Your EDC

How to EDC a Fixed Blade Knife

What Side Do You Carry a Knife On?

Best Fixed Blade Knives for EDC

Conclusion

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Carrying a Fixed Blade as Part of Your EDC

Carrying a fixed blade knife (a knife that doesn't have a folding blade) can be a little more difficult than carrying a folding blade. It also has some of its own advantages.

The main disadvantage of carrying a fixed blade is that the blade doesn't fold, so they tend to be longer than a folding knife. This makes them more difficult to carry comfortably and to conceal, but those are the only real disadvantages.

There are also some great advantages that fixed blades have over most folding knives. Folding blades are usually weakest at the hinge where they fold. Fixed blades don't fold, so they don't have that disadvantage. If you value the strength of your knife over ease of carrying, then a fixed blade makes perfect sense for you.

Most people that carry fixed blades use them as part of their daily jobs or live in more rural areas where seeing someone carrying a large knife doesn't draw any extra attention. If you're carrying a fixed blade in an urban area, then people that see it may react differently.

How to EDC a Fixed Blade Knife

At first glance, there doesn't seem like there'd be a lot of ways to carry a fixed blade knife for EDC, but after you look around a little, there are actually a lot of creative ways that people have come up with. These are just some of the ways that you can carry a fixed blade.

OWB

Outside the waistband carry is probably the most popular way to carry a fixed blade knife. This just involves attaching the knife to your belt, either tip down or tip up. It just works. There really isn't a lot to say about it.

IWB

Inside the waistband carry is similar to the way that you'd conceal carry a pistol. The sheath and blade are inside of your pants so they can't be seen and the handle protrudes up so you can grab it and get to the knife when you need it.

This is the least comfortable way to carry a fixed blade for me. The only time that I don't mind it is if I'm carrying something small like a Ka-Bar TDI.

Make sure you check your local laws before you start carrying a knife this way. In most states, this is considered as carrying a concealed weapon. If you're not allowed to carry a concealed weapon, then you probably can't carry a fixed blade knife this way.

Dropleg

A dropleg sheath can make carrying a fixed blade much more comfortable for a lot of people. By moving the sheath below the beltline, you don't run into issues where the handle can jab you in the side.

Most dropleg sheathes have some way to attach the bottom of the sheath to your thigh to prevent it from moving around while you're walking or crouching. I suggest giving it a try with the sheath tied down and with it loose. They both feel very different and you may find that you like one over the other.

Neck

A neck knife is simply a fixed blade knife with a sheath that hangs from a cord around your neck. I've never been a fan of neck knives, but there are a ton of people out there that really love them.

The advantages of this style of carry are that you can carry this way in shorts and a t-shirt without any problems. This really lends itself to smaller knives that aren't going to be too annoying as they swing around on your neck.

Bag/Backpack

The easiest way to carry a fixed blade is by attaching it to a bag or backpack. It's not the best way to make sure that you'll always have a knife with you, but it does ensure that you'll have your fixed blade with you while you're out hiking, backpacking or doing anything else that requires you to have your bag with you.

I see this being most effective as a work/recreation style of carry, and probably not a true EDC carry method.

Scout Carry

Scout carry is probably the way that I'm most comfortable carrying a fixed blade as part of my EDC. This is when you attach the sheath inline with your belt.

The downside of scout carry is that if you carry a larger knife, then you end up with the handle (or the blade) sticking out away from your body. You can get around this by carrying in the small of your back, but I don't recommend carrying anything hard directly over your spine.

Cant Carry

Cant carry is pretty much like scout carry, except that the blade is angled up slightly. This sometimes lets you carry a slightly longer blade without it sticking out like it can with scout carry and it can make getting a grip on the handle a little easier.

Pocket Carry

You can pocket carry a fixed blade by attaching the tip of the sheath to your belt or belt loop with a cord and then putting the knife and sheath into your pocket. This way, when you grab the handle of the knife and draw it, the sheath will pull away when it reaches the end of the cord.

Pocket carrying a fixed blade can be comfortable for some people, but I don't really like it. I prefer to have the knife firmly attached to something rather than loosely sitting in my pocket.

What Side Do You Carry a Knife On?

There are a lot of options for carrying a knife beyond just the specific type of sheath or carry style. One of the most important is deciding exactly where you carry the knife.

For most people, carrying on your strong side is probably the easiest. This means that left-handed people will carry around the 9 o'clock position and right-handed people will carry around the 3 o'clock position.

This changes a little if you're carrying a pistol as part of your EDC. In this case, most people carry their pistol on their strong side so a cross draw option may make more sense for you.

Some people will carry their pistol and their fixed blade on the same side. I don't like this because I wouldn't want to be reaching for my knife and have someone mistakenly think that I'm going for a gun. It's not likely to happen, but it's not a scenario that I want to find myself in.

For me, I like to carry a fixed blade on my left side. I appendix carry my EDC pistol so I could also carry it on my strong side if I wanted to.

Best Fixed Blade Knives for EDC

It's always hard to come up with a list of things that are the very best in any category, and fixed blade knives are no different. These knives are chosen based on quality construction, ease of carry and overall usefulness on a day to day basis.

Ka-Bar TDI

The Ka-Bar TDI is probably the best known defensive fixed blade knife out there. It's comfortable to carry inside and outside the waistband and the handle angle makes it easy to grip and carry.

The blade is around 2 1/2 inches long with an overall length of 5 5/8 inches.

It's really more of a defensive knife than anything else. You could carry it to do other cutting tasks but there are better knives out there for those tasks.

If you're looking for a fixed blade to carry for defense then you can't go wrong with the TDI.

Buck Knives 853 Small Selkirk

The Buck Knives 853 Small Selkirk is probably the best looking knife on the list. It's marketed as a survival knife due to its full tang design and the metal base of the handle that can be used as a hammer in a pinch, but the blade size and blade design is perfect for EDC use if you're routinely doing tough jobs.

The blade itself is 4 inches and the overall length is 8 1/4 inches. It has a micarta handle with small serrations to give it a decent amount of grip without being too rough and comes with an injection molded sheath that can carry the knife vertically or horizontally.

The popularity of the Small Selkirk is nice because there are a few custom leather sheath makers that make great scout carry leather sheaths for these!

SOG Snarl

The SOG Snarl is an interesting little sheepsfoot style blade. It's different than any other knife on the list because of its all-metal design and handle that has finger rings.

The blade itself is 2.3 inches long and the overall length is 4.3 inches. The handle can be so small because the finger holes let you get a secure grip without the chance of your hand sliding up on the blade.

As a neck knife, the Snarl is a solid purchase. It comes with a kydex sheath with a clip on the back to clip it to a belt or backpack as well.

Gerber Strongarm

The Gerber Strongarm is the most "tactical" of the knives on the list. It's strongly marketed toward the military and police, but it would also be perfect as an EDC fixed blade out on the homestead or in a more rural area.

It's a full tang knife with a small striker on the base of the rubber-coated handle. The blade length is 4.8 inches and it's 9.8 inches overall making it on the larger side of knives that I'd carry regularly.

It comes with a plastic sheath that has a slightly confusing attachment system that lets you connect it to Molle webbing, wear it scout style or attach it to your belt in a traditional vertical carry position.

Gerber Gator Premium

The Gerber Gator Premium is made to be a good looking knife that uses premium materials but is still perfectly at home doing hard work out in the field. I like the handle of the Buck Small Selkirk more but this is probably my favorite fixed blade on the list.

The knife has a lot of similarities with the Buck Small Selkirk. It's 3/4 inch longer at 9 inches and the blade is the same length at 4 inches. It also has a full tang and a handle with a lot of grip, but the Gator Premium is glass injected nylon coated with rubber.

The sheath is the downside of this knife. Gerber claims it's made of premium leather but you'd be better off with a different sheath if you're really going to carry this every day.

ESEE 3HM (Handle Modified)

The Esee 3HM is a slightly modified version of the ridiculously popular Esee 3. The HM in the name stands for handle modified. The original Esse 3 had a more tactical feel to it while the Esee 3HM has a more bushcrafting style to it. A lot of people seem to like this handle better than the original.

The cutting edge of the blade is 3 1/2 inches long and the overall length is just over 8 inches. The handle is a textured micarta that cleans up easily after hard use.

There are three sheath options with the Esee 3HM. You can get it with black leather, brown leather or in Kydex. The downside is they're all designed for a traditional vertical belt carry but you can get creative with 550 cord to modify how you can carry it.

Conclusion

In the end, it's really up to you if carrying a fixed blade as part of your EDC is for you. I like it when I may need a knife that's stronger and may need to take a little bit of a beating. When I'm camping or hiking I carry a fixed blade.

The truth is a fixed blade just doesn't make sense for me every day so I only carry one when I feel like it may be necessary. Other than that, I rely on a folder of some kind tucked into my pocket.

You may be different though, and I encourage you to at least give it a try. You may like it!

EDC a Fixed Blade? (How to do it, and What Knives Are Best) is courtesy of: https://readylifestyle.com

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Why EDC a Prybar? (What They’re Good For and the Best of 2020)

Why EDC a Prybar?

EDC prybars have been pretty popular for a few years. You know what I'm talking about, the little metal prybars that are a couple of inches long and probably have a few other tools forced onto them. What are they good for?

A prybar is the most effective tool to apply leverage to open something or pry it apart. On top of that, EDC prybars usually have other tools built into them like bottle openers, screwdrivers and wrench flats. They also make good keychains.

Is an EDC prybar right for you? Keep reading to find out. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Why EDC a Prybar?

EDC Prybars

Purpose of an EDC Prybar

What to Look for in an EDC Prybar

Best EDC Prybars

Conclusion

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EDC Prybars

At first glance, it's kind of hard to see why you would even want to EDC a tiny little prybar. They don't look all that impressive, they aren't big so you're not going to get a lot of leverage out of them, and they don't normally have many other useful tools on them.

So what's the big deal? Well, in all honesty, the main thing that my little Gerber Shard does is keep me from breaking the tip off of my knife.

I can't tell you how many times I've broken the tip off of knives doing things that I know I shouldn't do with them. These little EDC prybars have stopped me from doing that so I consider them to be worth it right there.

I've also bent a few keys trying to use them as a prybar...

Purpose of an EDC Prybar

EDC prybars didn't make a whole lot of sense to me when I first saw them, but the more I carry one, the happier I am that I have it. Knives are a cutting tool, these are prying tools.

One thing that's overlooked so often with these prybars is that most of them are completely airline safe! This means that you can have a useful tool with you even if you fly a lot.

Prying Things

This is a no brainer... There's no need to think outside of the box here. Whenever you have something that takes more force than you can exert with your fingers then these things are great!

From popping open keyfobs to replace the batteries, to pulling thumbtacks out of walls, to prying off paint can lids, to working nails out of walls, a little prybar definitely has its uses.

If you find that you run into situations where you need a little more prying power then one of the larger EDC prybars is probably a good idea for you.

Opening Packages

I used to just use a sharp edge on one of my keys to cut the tape on all the stuff I have delivered, but it's really not ideal. The prying ends of these prybars tend to be a little sharp so they cut through the tape on packages pretty easily.

Stripping Wires

Some prybars (like the Gerber Shard) work really well as wire strippers. The narrow "v" at the bottom of the prybar end makes short work of just about any wire you'll run across.

Scraper

If you ever need to scrape the rust or corrosion off of battery contacts or remove paint from a small surface then most of these prybars have you covered. There's just a lot of things that you can do with a small tool like this.

Screwdriver

The prybar end of some of these can be used as a flathead screwdriver. On top of that, most of them have areas that are specifically designed to be used as a screwdriver.

Bottle Opener

Most mini prybars have some kind of bottle opener, but even if they don't they're still easy to use to pop the top off of a bottle. Just hold the bottle near the top and pry the lid off.

Tire Lever

If you ride mountain bikes then you've had to change out a tire. I haven't made the switch to tubeless tires yet, so I still have to occasionally replace a flat tube in one of my tires.

The prying edge of these EDC prybars makes a great tire lever to help get the tire off the rim and back on.

Any Other Functions Designed Into the Prybar

Most of the prybars out there have other functions designed into them to make them more appealing and more useful. The most common ones seem to be bottle openers, screwdrivers, wrenches, and carabiners.

What to Look for in an EDC Prybar

For the most part, the design of the prybar that you choose is really mostly personal preference, but there are a few things that I think make some prybars better than others.

Don't Buy a Prybar with a Cutting Edge

I don't like any tool that's designed to sit in your pocket and has an exposed cutting edge. This goes double for things like prybars.

Most of these tools have areas that a pretty sharp but an area that's specifically sharpened can make them really dangerous. Prying usually involves putting a lot of force behind the tool in order to move something that's stuck. If your hand breaks free from the prybar then it can easily slide on to the sharp edge and cut you pretty badly.

This is especially true when you're working with something as small as these EDC prybars.

Look for a Prying End with a Good Angle

Some of these prybars have very flat prying ends which makes them difficult to use as prybars. If you find one that's angled, you can usually pry much better.

Choose a Prypbar That's Longer for Serious Work

If you want a prybar that has some real power behind it, then choose on that is on the longer side. A 2.5" - 3" prybar can do a lot but a 5" or 6" prybar is MUCH more effective for prying.

Like everything else, there are trade-offs based on what you choose. Smaller prybars are easier to carry around in your pocket, but longer ones are definitely more effective as prying tools.

Best EDC Prybars

There are a lot of EDC prybars on the market today. Some are good, and some just don't make a lot of sense for one reason or another. The ones listed below represent the best that I've seen.

Gerber Shard

The Gerber Shard is my preferred EDC prybar. I really like the angle of the prybar which makes it much more effective than a lot of other prybars in this size range.

One of the best parts is it's usually somewhere between $5 and $7 depending on when and where you buy it.

The only downside that I can see with it is all the pointy edges. I don't have a problem with it, but some people have.

Length: 2.8"

Additional Tools:

Small Flathead Screwdriver

Medium Flathead Screwdriver

Philips Head Screwdriver

Wire Stripper

Bottle Opener

Kershaw PT-1

The Kershaw PT-1 is great for pocket carry because it doesn't really have any sharp edges. If you want an EDC prybar that isn't going to tear up your pockets or jab you in the leg, this is the one for you.

The prying edge also has a good angle to make it really effective as a prying tool. The glass injected handle also makes it a little nicer to use than others.

Length: 2.75"

Additional Tools:

Bottle Opener

Flathead Screwdriver

Gerber Mullet

The Gerber Mullet has a great prying angle and doubles as a way to hang your keys from a belt loop or strap. It's also has less pointy parts than the Gerber Shard.

Length: 3"

Additional Tools:

Wire Stripper

Scraper

Small Flathead Screwdriver

Medium Flathead Screwdriver

Philips Head Screwdriver

1/4" Hex Driver

Bottle Opener

Nite Ize Doohickey

The Nite Ize Doohickey is the only carabiner-style prybar on the list. This lets you hang your keys from straps, loops, and backpacks pretty easily and makes getting your keys on and off of it really fast.

The lack of an angled prying edge and short length make it the worst at prying, but if you want a carabiner-style prybar, then this is probably the one for you.

Length: 2.6"

Additional Tools:

Bottle Opener

Box Cutter

3 Wrench Slots

Metric + Standard Ruler

Flathead Screwdriver

Kershaw PT-2

The Kershaw PT-2 needs a little work when you first get it. I recommend sharpening the point of the box opener/can opener just a little. Not enough to cut you, but enough to make it a little more useful.

The prying angle is pretty much non-existent as well so it struggles as a prybar compared to some of the others on the list here. That being said, it's the only one that has a can opener.

Length: 3.75"

Additional Tools:

Bottle Opener

Flathead Screwdriver

Philips Screwdriver

Wire Scraper

Three Hex Drives

Conclusion

Save your knife and keys and pick up an inexpensive EDC prybar for your keychain. You won't use it every day, but I can almost promise you that there's going to be a time where you're going to be happy that you had it with you.

The article Why EDC a Prybar? (What They’re Good For and the Best of 2020) was first published on: Ready Lifestyle Blog

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Body Armor for Preppers – Do You Need It?

Body Armor for Preppers

A lot of preppers are really focused on buying things like body armor but do preppers even need to worry about buying body armor? Does it make sense for preppers to buy body armor?

Body armor for preppers makes sense but it shouldn't be the first thing you buy. Once you've stored enough food, water, and medicine for your family, you should start looking at things like body armor. I would recommend getting level III body armor.

Choosing the right type of body armor for your situation makes it much more effective. This basic explanation of body armor will let you choose what's going to work best for you. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Body Armor for Preppers

Prepper Body Armor

Different Levels of Body Armor

Level IIA Armor

Level II Armor

Level IIIA Armor

Level III Armor

Level IV Armor

Level V+ Armor

Choosing the Correct Level of Body Armor

Other Prepper Body Armor Considerations

Can civilians buy level IV body armor?

What level body armor do police wear?

Is it illegal to wear body armor in public?

How much does body armor cost?

Conclusion

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Prepper Body Armor

In an SHTF situation, there are a lot of things that can go wrong, but the thing that scares me the most is other people and what they will do when they get desperate. A lack of food and clean drinking water will drive people to do just about anything they have to do in order to get access to food and water.

If you're asking if you need body armor for SHTF, then you can probably already see where I'm going with this. The answer is yes. But that doesn't mean that the first thing you should run out and get is body armor when you're first getting started.

Food, water, and medicine are all more important than body armor for preppers. If you don't have a month (or more) of those things already stored, then you need to do that first! Body armor and weapons should only come in after you get that initial buffer of food and water built up.

Different Levels of Body Armor

Body armor comes in a variety of levels that are based on what they're rated to stop. You probably have heard people talking about hard and soft armor as well. This just means that the armor panel is either soft or hard and doesn't necessarily mean anything about what the body armor can stop.

Level IIA Armor

You'd want to wear level IIA armor when you need concealable body armor and need protection from pistol rounds...but it only protects from some pistol rounds meaning that there's a very good chance that the threat you're facing can still defeat your armor!

For this reason, we always suggest that you wear level II body armor as a minimum level of protection.

Level IIA armor is capable of defeating some pistol rounds. These include the 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP & .38 Special.

Level II Armor

Level II body armor is the minimum level of protection that we recommend if you think you need to defend yourself from pistol rounds and still need (or want) to conceal your body armor. With level II armor you're getting much better protection that you would with level IIa and it's still almost as concealable.

Level II body armor can keep you safe from all but the most powerful pistol rounds. If you don't need to have concealable body armor, we'd suggest going for level IIIA armor instead of level II.

Level II armor is capable of defeating most pistol rounds. These include the .357 Magnum, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP & .38 Special.

Level IIIA Armor

Level IIIA body armor is designed to protect you from practically any pistol round. It can stop up to a .44 magnum so you're not likely to come across a pistol that will defeat it under normal circumstances.

Level IIIA can come in both soft or hard versions with the soft armor panels still being pretty concealable.

Level IIIA armor is capable of defeating most pistol rounds. These include the .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum, .357 SIG, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP & .38 Special.

Level III Armor

Level III body armor is hard armor designed to stop many rifle rounds out there. These are plates worn on top of soft armor or by themselves.

Make sure that you know exactly what you're buying from the manufacturer since level III armor is sometimes improved upon to provide guaranteed protection from certain rounds that can defeat other level III armors.

Level III armor is capable of defeating most rifle rounds. Steel plates are usually capable of protecting from 5.56mm green tip "penetrator" rounds while UHMWPE level III armor usually cannot.

Level IV Armor

Level IV body armor is the highest level of protection available. They typically weigh about as much as level III armor but are made of materials that make them more expensive.

Level IV armor is capable of defeating most rifle rounds .30 caliber and smaller.

Level V+ Armor

You may have heard of level 5 body armor, and you probably have seen people asking if there's such as thing as level 5 or higher body armor. There is no such thing as level 5 body armor. If you see someone trying to market body armor as level 5 then they're either lying or don't know what they're talking about.

Choosing the Correct Level of Body Armor

Choosing the right body armor level for your particular situation makes body armor make a lot more sense. If you choose body armor that doesn't protect against the threats that you're probably going to face, then that body armor is useless.

If you choose body armor that protects against higher levels of threats, then you'll be protected, but you'll be carrying a lot more weight than you need to. It's a delicate balancing act between weight and protection.

You can use this flow chart to decide what type of armor is best for your situation.

Other Prepper Body Armor Considerations

These are some common body armor questions that get asked a lot and you may want to take into consideration.

Can civilians buy level IV body armor?

Right now there are very few restrictions on who can buy body armor, including level IV body armor. This changes based on the state and country so make sure that you check in your particular area before you make any purchases.

There is a movement among lawmakers in the U.S. to push for more limitations and laws on who can buy body armor and what types of body armor are legal.

What level body armor do police wear?

Police usually wear level II or level IIIA body armor because they're most likely to encounter a shooter with a pistol in a common caliber. Level II and IIIA both protect against that type of threat.

They also normally have a plate carrier with level III or level IV plates in it close by in case they have to face someone with a rifle.

Is it illegal to wear body armor in public?

Wearing a bulletproof vest in public is legal in most states as long as you aren't a convicted felon. In some areas, it's illegal to wear body armor on school grounds so make sure that you check ahead of time if you plan on wearing body armor in or around a school.

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You can read all about the legalities of wearing body armor in public here.

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Most states have some kind of provision that makes it illegal to commit a crime while wearing body armor. Committing a crime while wearing body armor will result in everything from an additional fine to extended sentences to additional felony charges.

How much does body armor cost?

The cost of body armor varies a lot! Some companies charge very little for basic plates and plate carriers, like AR500 Armor. Other companies focus more on the government and military so they tend to charge more.

If you're looking for something that will get the job done, then I'd suggest giving AR500 Armor a look. They make solid products that usually won't break the bank.

Conclusion

I definitely suggest getting body armor at some point if you're a prepper but don't do it if you don't have the basics like food and water covered. Always start there and then get the "extras" like body armor and other gear later.

If you're interested in more ideas and information about body armor, make sure you check out our complete body armor guide before you go.

The post Body Armor for Preppers – Do You Need It? was first seen on: Ready Lifestyle Blog

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Can You Drink Rainwater – How to Collect Free Drinking Water

Can You Drink Rainwater?

Have you ever wondered if it's okay to drink rainwater? At first glance, it would seem like there should bee no problem drinking rainwater, but then you start to think about air pollution, the stains left on your car after it rains and all of the different things that rain touches before it ever gets to a point to where you could drink it and it starts to not be so clear! So can you drink rainwater?

Rainwater is almost always safe to drink. In fact, it's normally cleaner and contains fewer chemicals and other things than water that you'd get from the tap at your house. Just remember rainwater is only as clean as the container that you're collecting it in.

There are a few things that you should know before drinking rainwater, so let's look at them a little closer. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Can You Drink Rainwater?

Is it Okay to Drink Rainwater?

Is rainwater pure?

What can be in the water?

Preparing Rainwater for Drinking

Harvesting Rainwater May be Illegal Where You Live

Rainwater Collection Laws by State

Why is rainwater harvesting illegal?

Best Ways to Use Rainwater

Conclusion

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Is it Okay to Drink Rainwater?

Normally, it's okay to drink rainwater, especially in a survival situation where other sources of water aren't available or are obviously contaminated. The problem is that the answer isn't always as cut and dry as that.

There are a lot of variables to consider when collecting rainwater for drinking. The type of pollutants in the air, what the rain has come into contact with after it hit the ground and the container that's holding the rainwater can all change whether it's okay to drink it or not.

Is rainwater pure?

Rainwater starts out mostly pure but it quickly picks up some of the pollution that's in the air as it falls through the sky. Then, it may come in contact with things like your roof before it finally settles into whatever container that you're collecting it in.

Each step in this process can contaminate the water and make it unsafe to drink.

Believe it or not, the amount of pollution that rainwater collects as it's falling through the air is pretty limited! This can obviously change depending on where you live and the types of pollution creating factors in your area.

Factors that increase air pollution:

Chemical Plants

Certain Types of Factories

Heavy Vehicle Traffic

After the rainwater hits your roof (or the ground) it then can be contaminated by the materials your roof is made of, pollutants from the air that have settled on the roof, and things like animal feces.

Finally, the container that you're collecting the rainwater in can contaminate the water if it's not clean.

What can be in the water?

A study done in New Zeland found that there is a bunch of things that can in rainwater that can make it less than ideal for drinking. Salmonella, Giardia, Cryptosporidium and E. coli are all found on roofs and can contaminate the water.

There's also a risk of chemicals getting into the water but they were found to be low and would only have an effect after someone drank rainwater collected from a roof for years on end. The main risk is from a potential disease.

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Galvanized steel is the best roof type for rainwater collection, but asphalt shingles, other types of metal, and clay tiles are all fine. Try to avoid treated wood shingles if possible.

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Preparing Rainwater for Drinking

There are a few ways that you can reduce the chance of diseases and pollution getting into your water before you drink it.

Installing first flush diverter (like this one) is a good idea if you're going to be collecting rainwater for any reason. It's just a simple device that takes the initial water runoff and keeps it from getting into your tank. It basically lets the initial rainwater wash some of the contamination off the roof before it gets to your storage tank. This reduced the amount of contamination by up to 5x in some tests!

The next step you should take is to run the rainwater through some kind of filter before you drink it. Any of these water filters will work but you should choose something that will last for a long time and be able to easily filter a lot of water at once. I personally have a Big Berky water filter for that purpose.

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The best way to treat rainwater for drinking or cooking with it is to run it through a filter that removes any microorganisms and chemicals.

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You could also boil all of your water before you drink it or use it for cooking. (This makes a lot of sense for people that have a wood heater to heat their homes.) Boiling will get rid of any of the disease-causing microorganisms but most of the chemicals in the water will stay behind if you don't use some kind of filter.

Adding 8 drops of household bleach to 1 gallon of rainwater water will also kill off any disease-causing microorganisms. Just give it 30 minutes to work before you drink it. If the water is cloudy, then double the amount of bleach to 16 drops.

Harvesting Rainwater May be Illegal Where You Live

Most states in the U.S. allow you to collect rainwater, and many even encourage it because it can reduce the strain on city and state-run water treatment plants. Others only allow it under certain circumstances and some even highly regulate who can collect rainwater.

This list is just here as a quick reference. I highly suggest that you look into the laws in your area for yourself before you set up any kind of rain collection system.

Rainwater Collection Laws by State

Alabama Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Alaska Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Arizona Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Arkansas Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

California Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

Colorado Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

Connecticut Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Delaware Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Florida Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Georgia Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

Hawaii Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Idaho Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

Illinois Rainwater harvesting is regulated.

Indiana Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Iowa Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Kansas Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Kentucky Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Louisiana Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

Maine Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Maryland Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Massachusetts Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Michigan Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Minnesota Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Mississippi Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Missouri Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Montana Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Nebraska Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Nevada Rainwater harvesting is regulated.

New Hampshire Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

New Jersey Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

New Mexico Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

New York Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

North Carolina Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

North Dakota Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Ohio Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

Oklahoma Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Oregon Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

Pennsylvania Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Rhode Island Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

South Carolina Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

South Dakota Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Tennessee Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Texas Rainwater harvesting is allowed but it has some restrictions.

Utah Rainwater harvesting is regulated.

Vermont Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Virginia Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Washington Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

West Virginia Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Wisconsin Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Wyoming Rainwater harvesting is unrestricted.

Why is rainwater harvesting illegal?

It probably seems crazy to some people that rainwater collection is illegal in some areas. I would honestly agree, but that doesn't change the fact that there are some areas where collecting rainwater can get you in trouble.

Most of the laws around rainwater collection seem to come from laws that regulate the use of water on private property and water rights. They're designed to prevent people from using water in a way that will negatively affect the environment.

That still doesn't explain how certain states see rainwater collection as a huge plus and others almost completely limit it.

Best Ways to Use Rainwater

Rainwater is certainly able to be used as drinking water as long as you filter it sufficiently, but that's not really the best way to use it! When you don't use rainwater for drinking or cooking, you usually don't need to filter it or do anything special to make it useable.

Most people that collect rainwater, don't actually drink it. The most common use is for watering and irrigating gardens. This saves on the amount of water that they need to use from outside sources and it's why most states allow you to collect rainwater.

Showering is another great use for rainwater. If there's ever a time when water is in short supply or you decide to live off-grid, you can shower with rainwater. Again, this is probably a better use than drinking because you don't need to treat the water as long as it's relatively clean.

Rainwater is also good for washing clothes. I would stay away from washing whites and any light colors because rainwater tends to be slightly off-color depending on how you store it.

The last way is something that a lot of people probably don't think about at all! You can use it to flush toilets. Even if everything starts going south and the world falls apart, you can still fill up the back of your toilet to flush it.

Conclusion

Rainwater can be used for drinking as long as you take some measures to kill off the diseases that it could contain. Filtering is the best way, but it also takes more time than other methods.

You also need to make sure that rainwater collection is legal where you live. It sounds kind of crazy but it may be illegal in your state.

Can You Drink Rainwater – How to Collect Free Drinking Water is republished from: Ready Lifestyle

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How to Make Bleach with Pool Shock

How to Make Bleach with Pool Shock

Emergency situations can make clean water hard to come by and a potential spread of disease can make it extremely important to sanitize commonly touched items in your home. The good thing is bleach can do both of these things, but it doesn't last that long on the shelf and storing gallons of bleach will take up quite a bit of room. This is where pool shock comes in.

Mixing one heaping teaspoon (1/4 oz.) of granular calcium hypochlorite (HTH) into 2 gallons of water will make a chlorine bleach solution roughly equivalent to normal household bleach. You can use it to clean, sanitize and disinfect water.

Let's look at using pool shock to make bleach a little more closely. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

How to Makes Bleach with Pool Shock

Making Bleach with Pool Shock

Advantages Over Household Bleach

Why Bleach is so Important

The Uses for Bleach During a Disaster

Purifying Water

Cleaning After A Flood

Disinfecting During a Pandemic

Conclusion

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Thanks for supporting Ready Lifestyle! We participate in the Amazon associates program and other affiliate programs. We earn a small commission on qualifying orders at no expense to you.

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Making Bleach with Pool Shock

Making bleach with pool shock starts by choosing the pool shock that contains the right ingredients. Figuring out what ingredients will work is probably the most confusing thing so I'm going to try to make it easy.

What you want in pool shock:

73% calcium hypochlorite (HTH)

70% available chlorine content

There are obviously other ingredients in pool shock, but they aren't necessarily bad in the very small amounts that will be in your bleach mixture.

Don't use lower strength calcium hypochlorite (HTH) pool shock or anything that uses a chemical other than HTH. If you absolutely have to use lower HTH content pool shock then you can use 68% calcium hypochlorite (65% available chlorine) but your numbers will be a little different. 73% calcium hypochlorite is the preferred mixture.

I personally buy the pool shock that comes in 1 lb. bags instead of the buckets because one pound will make at least 200 gallons of bleach solution. It's probably going to take me a long time to go through that much bleach! Each bag of pool shock is good for at least 10 years but once it's mixed the bleach solution is really only at full strength for about 6 months.

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Examples of pool shock that we're looking for: Rx Clear Mega Shock, Zappit 73, and DryTec Extra Shock.

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Using numbers that come straight from the EPA, you're going to mix 1 heaping teaspoon of high test HTH (73% calcium hypochlorite) to 2 gallons of water to make a bleach solution similar to household bleach. This solution will kill germs, strip the color out of fabrics and disinfect water the same way that household bleach will.

To purify water, add the bleach solution to water in a 1:100 ratio. This comes out to one pint to 12.5 gallons of water or 1.25 oz to 1 gallon of water.

You can make a cleaning spray that will disinfect surfaces by mixing the bleach solution in a 1:10 ratio with regular water. This is great if you're stuck in quarantine or just trying to prevent the spread of disease.

The important numbers:

Pool shock with 73% calcium hypochlorite (70% available chlorine)

Mix one heaping teaspoon (1/4 oz.) of pool shock into 2 gallons of water to make bleach

Make a disinfectant for surfaces by mixing the bleach solution 1:10 with normal water

Disinfect drinking water by adding the bleach solution in a 1:100 ratio (1.25 oz of bleach mix to 1 gallon of water)

Advantages Over Household Bleach

Storing pool shock has a lot of advantages over storing household bleach, but there are really two main advantages that stand out to me...shelf life and storage space.

The shelf life of store-bought household bleach is only about 6 months. After that, it begins to lose its potency and will gradually continue to decrease over time. It's not really a big deal if you're just using it to wash clothes.

It's when you start to mix it with drinking water for purification that the loss of potency can get a little concerning. You just don't know if you put enough in if it's lost some of its strength.

By storing pool shock you get 10+ years of shelf life and can mix it on demand. That's a lot better.

The other great thing with pool shock is the fact that it takes up so little space. Six 1 lb bags of pool shock fit in a box that's about 6" x 6" x 12". That's enough to make 1200 gallons of bleach! Having that much potential bleach in suck a small package is pretty amazing.

The only trouble (if you can even call it that) with storing it is that it does put off a slight chlorine smell so I wouldn't store the bags near any food products.

Why Bleach is so Important

Bleach is an amazing disinfectant! It alters the proteins in microorganisms that will quickly kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The low cost and availability of bleach make it important throughout the world to treat water and clean surfaces.

The Uses for Bleach During a Disaster

Bleach has a lot of different uses before, during, and after a disaster.

Purifying Water

Purifying water is one of the most often talked about uses for bleach, and in some parts of the world, it's one of the few ways to make sure that you're getting drinking water that's clean enough for drinking. Even in developed parts of the world, chlorine is pretty much universally used to treat drinking water.

To use your bleach mixture to purify drinking water, add 1 part bleach mixture to 100 parts water. This comes to right around 1.25 oz per gallon.

Before you drink the water it should have a slight chlorine smell. If you can't smell the chlorine, then you need to add more.

As the water sits, the chlorine will naturally off-gas. You can speed this process up by pouring the water back and forth between two clean containers.

Cleaning After A Flood

A flood is one of the most destructive types of disasters that you can experience. Even if it's just your basement that floods, the floodwaters can be contaminated with all kinds of waste and microorganisms. Everything that the floodwaters touch has to be assumed to be contaminated!

Use 1 cup of bleach to one gallon of water to kill mold. You probably want to get rid of most things that got wet during the flood, but you can also use bleach to wash things that you need to keep.

Disinfecting During a Pandemic

A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a disease that can't easily be contained. If you experience this type of disaster, then having plenty of bleach on hand will let you routinely decontaminate things like doorknobs, countertops, and food preparation surfaces so you limit the spread of the disease.

A 10% bleach mixture is great to clean these types of surfaces. Clean them several times a day until the threat of the disease spreading has passed or a vaccine is developed.

Conclusion

Bleach is often overlooked as an item that should be on your shopping list when you're out buying preparedness supplies, but it's actually extremely important. The bad thing is traditional store-bought bleach takes up a lot of space and only has a shelf life of about 6 months to a year if you're lucky. This is where pool shock comes in.

Pool shock takes up a lot less space and stores for 10+ years. All you need to do is mix it with water and you have a bleach mixture that's just as good as any other kind of bleach and can do all of the same things.

The previous blog post How to Make Bleach with Pool Shock was originally seen on: https://readylifestyle.com/

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How to Survive a Pandemic – Make Your Family as Safe as Possible

How to Survive a Pandemic

The thought of a pandemic is pretty scary. Is there anything you can do to protect yourself if a disease is spreading across the entire world? Yes!

Surviving a pandemic is best done by preparing ahead of time and knowing what you need to do to not spread the disease around your home once it starts to spread in the community.

The real way to keep yourself as protected as you can is by preparing ahead of time. Don't listen to the people that try to act like preparing ahead of time is for crazy people! We all have insurance and prepping isn't any different than an insurance plan for disasters. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

How to Survive a Pandemic

How to Prepare for a Pandemic

Store the Things You're Going to Need Ahead of Time

Over the Counter Medicine

Don't Forget to Check on Family Members

What Type of Disease is the Most Likely to Become a Pandemic

What Happens When a Pandemic Occurs

How Diseases Spread

How likely is a global pandemic?

How long would a pandemic last?

Prepare for Services to be Unavailable

Once the Pandemic Starts

Conclusion

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Thanks for supporting Ready Lifestyle! We participate in the Amazon associates program and other affiliate programs. We earn a small commission on qualifying orders at no expense to you.

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How to Prepare for a Pandemic

Preparing for a pandemic before one begins is the best way to protect you and your family. On top of helping you, it also helps the community because you're one less willing victim that the local and state government officials are going to have to save when things go bad.

The first way to prepare for a pandemic is by getting rid of the attitude that nothing can happen to you. Guess what? Just because you live a relatively easy life, doesn't mean that nothing bad is ever going to happen to you.

Store the Things You're Going to Need Ahead of Time

Store the supplies that you're going to need if you have to spend a couple of weeks in your home. We live in a just in a world that relies on just in time delivery of everything from food and water to gas and medicine. If you don't plan ahead and store the things you need before something happens, you're going to have to try to rely on a system that can't support the strain that a pandemic will put on it.

Simply put, if you wait to try to get the things you need until the last minute, you're probably not going to get them.

The DHS suggests having a 2 week supply of food and water. I personally suggest having 4 weeks of food and water stored.

This is what you need for a long term quarantine:

5-gallon bucket with trash bags and kitty litter - You can pack most of the items in the 5-gallon bucket and it will double as a toilet by lining it with a trash bag and pouring about an inch of kitty litter in the bottom.

1 gallon of water per person for as many days as you may need to quarantine - A case of bottled water is just over 3 gallons.

non-perishable food for each person for the length of time that you'll be quarantined for.

Household chlorine bleach (unscented with no additives) - You can add 16 drops per gallon of water to disinfect it or mix 1 part bleach to 9 parts water to make a disinfectant cleaner.

Pool shock (73% Calcium Hypochlorite and 70% available chlorine content) - Allows you to mix bleach at home and has a much longer shelf life than bottled bleach.

Battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radio

Flashlight with extra batteries

First aid kit

Thermometer

Several N95 dust masks per person

Disposable rubber gloves

Clear goggles or protective glasses - Allows you to cover your eyes to prevent possible contamination by airborne particulates.

Plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal around the plastic - Enough to seal all doors, and vents for an isolation room if needed.

Surgical masks - For anyone in the house that may get sick.

Heavy gauge garbage bags - For disposing of potentially contaminated waste.

Anti-bacterial hand soap

Clorox wipes

Hand sanitizer - 60 - 95% alcohol

Handheld spray bottles - For bleach disinfectant mix.

1-gallon sprayer (like this) - For disinfecting larger areas.

Diapers and formula

Food and water for pets

Can opener if you pack canned food

Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Prescription medications that will last you for the entire quarantine

Over the Counter Medicine

Over the counter medicines are easy to get when everything is going well, but when things start to go bad, they can be hard to come by.

I suggest starting by boosting your immune system boosting medicines because our immune system is still our best way of beating a disease. Cough suppressants can help limit the spread of and disease but I prefer expectorants since they thin mucus and can help you clear your respiratory system when mucus starts to build up.

Most diseases are going to be accompanied by a fever. Tylenol and NSAIDs will help reduce your fever and get rid of any body aches you may have.

Over the counter medicine to stock:

Immune system boosting OTC medications - Emergen-C and Airborne

Cough suppressants (usually has the active ingredient dextromethorphan)

Expectorants (active ingredient guaifenesin)

Tylenol

NSAIDs

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Read our article on home quarantine to learn what to do with step by step instructions.

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Don't Forget to Check on Family Members

If you have elderly family members or other family members that need special assistance, you should check on them as soon as you feel something like this may happen.

You may want to temporarily move them in with you until the pandemic looks like it's over. At a minimum, you should take them the supplies they'll need to make it through a quarantine and any prescription medicines they need.

What Type of Disease is the Most Likely to Become a Pandemic

Most experts agree that some variation of the flu is the most likely disease to cause a pandemic.

What Happens When a Pandemic Occurs

According to the CDC, pandemics happen when a new disease occurs that is easily transmitted from person to person in a sustained way. This happens when diseases can be transmitted for a long period of time while remaining asymptomatic.

How Diseases Spread

Learning how diseases spread is one of the best ways to keep yourself from getting sick. Avoiding the things that spread disease will keep you from getting it and keep you from spreading it to others.

Direct contact

Direct contact with a person or animal with the disease is probably the easiest way to get a disease.

Infectious diseases can be spread through these different means of direct contact:

Person to Person - One of the most common ways that disease spreads is between people. This can be through bodily fluids, coughing, sneezing or sexual contact.

Animal to Person - Being bitten or scratched by an infected animal can make you sick. This goes for pets as well. Animal waste can also spread disease if you're exposed to it.

Indirect contact

Many types of diseases can stay on surfaces for hours (or even days). When you touch the infected surface you can then transfer the disease to yourself and others.

Insect bites

Another common means of transferring disease is though insect bites. Some of the worst epidemics in history have been transferred by fleas. Mosquitos are another really common insect that spreads disease.

Food contamination

Contaminated food can spread disease too. E. coli is a common bacteria that's transmitted through food contamination.

Individuals can also help reduce the spread of disease by:

Keeping your hands away from your face.

Coughing and sneezing into your arm, not your hand.

Keeping common surface areas clean and disinfected.

If you get sick, stay home.

How likely is a global pandemic?

The World Health Organization has been saying that we need to increase our focus on global pandemic for years. As I'm writing this, COVID-19 is still spreading across the world and has just started to spread in the U.S. among people with no travel history that would expose them...community transmission. I'm going to say the chances are very high!

Even if COVID-19 dies off and never really becomes a massive disaster, there's always the next disease that's coming. Be prepared and get stuck in the mentality that nothing will ever happen to you.

How long would a pandemic last?

A pandemic isn't going to just be one wave of the disease and then it's gone. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety says that it will take 3 months for a disease to spread to the pandemic level with modern means of travel.

They also say to be on the lookout for 2 or 3 rounds of the disease and for the entire pandemic to last between 12 and 18 months.

Prepare for Services to be Unavailable

During a true pandemic, many services that you're used to will probably be discontinued, at least temporarily. Banks, stores, post offices, utility companies, and even hospitals may all shut their doors.

Medical facilities will probably try to stay open for as long as they can and the government will likely try to force local utilities (like electricity and water) to stay up for as long as they can as well.

Even if medical facilities are open, they're going to be packed full of people that are contagious. Think carefully before you head to the hospital and be sure that you can't treat yourself at home.

ATMs and gas stations will probably be out of money and gas. Have some emergency cash on hand and some extra gas in the garage. I don't think the gas will be gone because of increased demand, but gas probably won't be getting delivered.

Once the Pandemic Starts

Once everything really kicks off you need to do what you can to stay healthy.

Avoid interacting with people who are sick.

When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.

Wash your hands often.

Don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth.

Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat healthy food.

Conclusion

A global pandemic is probably one of the most likely threats that we face. If we prepare ahead of time, then it's more likely that we'll be safe and make it through the pandemic. If we don't prepare then we'll be at the mercy of public health offices that are overwhelmed.

I personally won't ever blindly put the lives of my family in the hands of others.

How to Survive a Pandemic – Make Your Family as Safe as Possible was first published to: Ready Lifestyle Prepping Blog

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Difference Between an N95 Mask and a Surgical Mask

Difference Between an N95 Mask and a Surgical Mask

A lot of people are trying to figure out what the difference is between an N95 mask and a surgical mask. What do they protect against? How long can you use them? It can all be pretty confusing!

An N95 mask is a respirator that removes 95% of particulates that are .3 microns and larger. This includes bacteria and viruses. A surgical mask protects the wearer from splashes of blood and bodily fluids and protects others from diseases that the wearer may have. It does not protect against bacteria or viruses.

If you're going to be within 6 feet of someone that may have an infectious disease, then you should be wearing an N95 mask. If you have the disease then you should be wearing a surgical mask. Make sense?

Keep reading to get all the information you need about N95 and surgical masks. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Difference Between an N95 Mask and a Surgical Mask

Surgical Masks

Do surgical masks keep out germs?

How often should surgical masks be changed?

Can I reuse a surgical mask?

Is it bad to wear a surgical mask all day?

N95 Masks

Proper Fit of the N95 Mask

FDA Approved N95 Masks

What does the N in N95 stand for?

What is the thing on the front of some N95 masks?

Are N95 masks reusable?

Other Types of Masks

R95 and P95 Masks

N100 and P100 Masks

Conclusion

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Thanks for supporting Ready Lifestyle! We participate in the Amazon associates program and other affiliate programs. We earn a small commission on qualifying orders at no expense to you.

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Surgical Masks

Surgical masks are mainly used by doctors and other healthcare professionals to protect them from drops of blood and other bodily fluids. They also protect others from any large droplets of bodily fluid that may come off of the wearer.

You can see why it makes sense for people in the medical community to wear them, but does it make sense for other people to wear surgical masks to protect them from diseases they may come in contact with?

Do surgical masks keep out germs?

Surgical masks don't keep germs out! They just aren't designed to prevent small airborne contaminants from making it into the wearer's mouth and nose.

The small particles (not visible to the naked eye) can get in straight through the mask or around the sides of the mask because they aren't designed to seal tightly on the face.

Simply put, surgical masks will not keep you from getting sick, but they can keep other people around you from getting sick.

In the U.S., only masks certified from the Food and Drug Administration have been tested to stop blood and bodily fluids. Make sure the FDA signed off on any surgical masks you buy.

How often should surgical masks be changed?

Surgical masks aren't meant to be worn for long periods of time. Once they get moist they lose a lot of their ability to stop the spread of diseases.

Change out surgical masks once they're moist, come in contact with human bodily fluids, or in between patients if you happen to be treating people. At a minimum, change them out at least every day.

Can I reuse a surgical mask?

Surgical masks aren't made to be used more than once.

Don't re-use, share or try to wash surgical masks. Throw them away in a lined garbage can and dispose of them with your other trash.

Is it bad to wear a surgical mask all day?

There's nothing specifically bad about wearing a surgical mask for a whole day. The problem comes when the mask gets wet. At that point, it gets a lot more likely that it won't be as protective as you expect it to be.

N95 Masks

The N95 mask is a NIOSH approved respirator designed to capture 95% of all particles that are larger than .3 microns. They're mainly used by people that work in environments with a lot of airborne particles that can be harmful to the lungs. Medical professionals use them to limit the chances of inhaling airborne viruses and bacteria.

The main difference between surgical masks and N95 masks is the fact that N95 masks are actual respirators. This means they are designed to filter the air you breathe. Surgical masks are there mainly to keep fluids from coming out of your mouth and onto someone else or preventing fluids from someone else from getting into your mouth.

Proper Fit of the N95 Mask

In order for an N95 mask to work correctly, you need to make sure that it fits you properly.  When you breathe in all of the air should be sucked through the mask itself and not come in around the sides of the mask.

If air is coming in around the sides of the mask, then it's not being filtered and you are being exposed to whatever it is that you're trying to protect yourself from! Make sure that you tighten the elastic straps on the mask to get it as secure as you can.

N95 masks come in several sizes, so try a couple out to see which one fits you the best and gives you the best seal. They also come in different styles so you may find that one style doesn't really work with the shape of your face, but another style fits great. Go with the mask that fits you the best.

FDA Approved N95 Masks

Some N95 masks that you find will be FDA approved on top of being NIOSH approved. This just means that they have been tested by the FDA to adequately stop fluids from getting through them and have been tested for flammability.

This style of mask is a medical-grade N95 mask. Other than being tested for those two things, they work the same way as other N95 masks. You don't need an FDA approved N95 mask to protect yourself from illnesses.

What does the N in N95 stand for?

The N in N95 means that the mask isn't resistant to oil. Other masks are designed to stand up to airborne oils and they have an R or P in front of the 95. I'll touch on P95 and R95 masks at the end of the article.

What is the thing on the front of some N95 masks?

You probably noticed that some N95 masks have a small plastic thing on the front of them. This is just an exhalation valve.

It's meant to decrease the resistance when you exhale to make breathing in the mask a little easier. I find that they help to keep moisture from building up inside the mask and make it more comfortable to wear for a long time.

The good thing is you don't need one! If you have a mask with one, then great. If you don't, it isn't going to change the level of protection that you're getting from the mask.

Are N95 masks reusable?

Technically, N95 masks are reusable until they become deformed, dirty or difficult to breathe through. This is great advice if you're wearing the mask to protect you from dust and other things that can get into your lungs and cause problems.

Does that make sense for preventing the spread off disease? Not really.

If you're wearing an N95 mask to prevent you from getting a disease then you should really get rid of it after you wear it.

Think about it this way. The mask that you're wearing is stopping all of the potentially infected droplets that other people are coughing and exhaling around you.

It's great that you didn't breathe those droplets in, but now they're on the outside of that mask. The outside of that mask is now contaminated. Do you really want to take that mask off, save it for later, and put it back on your face?

Here are a few tips for wearing an N95 mask:

Never try to wash an N95 mask

Don't wear it if it's deformed, overly dirty, or difficult to breathe through

Always make sure that you have a good seal around the sides of the mask

If you're wearing the mask to protect from disease, throw it away after wearing it and wash your hands after you touch it

Other Types of Masks

There are tons of other types of masks out there that you'll probably end up seeing if you go looking for an N95 mask. Knowing what you're looking at will make buying masks a lot less confusing.

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Interested in learning about gas masks? Check out our article that tells you everything you need to know about gas masks.

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R95 and P95 Masks

R95 and P95 masks are designed to be used where there are oil particles in the air. They both still filter out 95% of the junk that bigger than .3 microns in size.

R95 masks are good for about 8 hours in an oily environment and P95 masks can go for 40 hours. That's the only real difference.

If you're looking for N95 masks and can only find R95 or P95 masks then you can buy them and they'll be just as good as an N95 mask!

N100 and P100 Masks

N100 masks are basically the same as an N95 mask except they filter out nearly 100% of all particles over .3 microns. P100 masks do the same except they're designed for oily environments.

Are they better than N95 masks? They do provide a little more protection so yes, but most people will be just as well off with an N95 mask.

Conclusion

Remember, surgical masks are for those people that have the disease, and N95 masks are for those people that are trying not to get the disease. If you know that, then you know about as much as you really need to know about the difference between the two types of masks.

Remember the other types of masks out there! People may rush to buy all the N95 masks they can find if there is some kind of scare about a disease, but they probably won't know what a P95, R95, N100 or P100 mask is. These could still be in stock when all of the N95 masks are long gone.

Difference Between an N95 Mask and a Surgical Mask is available on: Ready Lifestyle

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Step-by-Step: How to Prepare for Quarantine (with Cheat-Sheet)

How to Prepare for Quarantine

I'm writing this in the wake of the COVID-19 scare that's currently spreading around the globe, but all of these steps will work equally as well for any situation that may cause you to have to want to quarantine in your home. Depending on how bad a certain disease gets you could even be forced to quarantine in your home.

Let's look at why you would want to quarantine, the supplies needed, how to quarantine, and when it may be safe to come back out. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

How to Prepare for Quarantine

Preparing for a Quarantine

Additional Things to Consider About a Quarantine

When to Quarantine in Your Home

What to Stock for Quarantine

Over the Counter Medication

Food Items for Quarantine

Water for Quarantine

Quarantine Procedures

Daily Activities

Dealing with Sick Family Members

Making an Isolation Room

Interacting with Outside People

Breaking Quarantine and Coming Out

Conclusion

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Thanks for supporting Ready Lifestyle! We participate in the Amazon associates program and other affiliate programs. We earn a small commission on qualifying orders at no expense to you.

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Preparing for a Quarantine

A quarantine is designed to separate sick (and possibly contagious) people from those people that aren't sick. It's one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of disease but it's also very restrictive, so it's often only used as a last-ditch effort when nothing else is working.

This is especially true when you're dealing with a highly contagious disease that has a long incubation period and like the Coronavirus. When a disease can be spread, even when you don't show symptoms, quarantine is usually a good idea.

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Download our home quarantine cheat-sheet here.

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Additional Things to Consider About a Quarantine

Quarantine is obviously going to seriously change how you go about your daily life. With that change, there are some things that need to be considered.

If you have kids in school then you need to be prepared to make arrangements for them to keep up with their education from home. You can do this by contacting their school and getting assignments ahead of time or possibly even arrange for some kind of teleschool set-up. Kids will benefit from some kind of normalcy in their lives if they're forced to quarantine.

You're going to want to arrange to work from home if you can. If you work a job that doesn't lend itself to working from home, then you're going to potentially experience a loss of pay and even a loss of your job if you decide to quarantine yourself without being forced to by a government agency. It's a tough call, but it's one that you may be forced to make!

If you have a need for ongoing medical care, see if your doctor offers the option of telemedicine (e-health, telehealth, whatever you want to call it). This is where you can consult your physician remotely in the same way that you can by going into the office. If your doctor doesn't offer the option, then there are a ton of places popping up on the internet that will prescribe medications and offer health advice via the internet.

When to Quarantine in Your Home

No one really wants to quarantine in their home, but there are some times when it's the only thing that you can really do to protect yourself.

When to quarantine in your home:

When you've been exposed to the disease and may be contagious

When you don't want to run the risk of getting exposed to the disease

Ultimately, deciding to self-quarantine is usually done as a way to prevent you from spreading the disease to others and not the other way around.

What to Stock for Quarantine

In order for a quarantine to be successful, you need to be able to stay inside for the entire time without exposing yourself to the outside world. This means that when you're preparing for quarantine, you're trying to store enough supplies to keep you going for as long as you'll need to stay inside your house along with all of the things that you'll need to implement your quarantine procedures.

Most of the items that you'll need for a quarantine are similar to a shelter in place kit. If you've already built one, then the extra items that you need are going to be pretty minimal.

Quarantine kit inventory:

5-gallon bucket with trash bags and kitty litter - You can pack most of the items in the 5-gallon bucket and it will double as a toilet by lining it with a trash bag and pouring about an inch of kitty litter in the bottom.

1 gallon of water per person for as many days as you may need to quarantine - A case of bottled water is just over 3 gallons.

non-perishable food for each person for the length of time that you'll be quarantined for.

Household chlorine bleach (unscented with no additives) - You can add 16 drops per gallon of water to disinfect it or mix 1 part bleach to 9 parts water to make a disinfectant cleaner.

Pool shock (73% Calcium Hypochlorite and 70% available chlorine content) - Allows you to mix bleach at home and has a much longer shelf life than bottled bleach.

Battery-powered or hand-crank NOAA weather radio

Flashlight with extra batteries

First aid kit

Over the counter medication (see below for a full list)

Thermometer

Several N95 dust masks per person

Disposable rubber gloves

Clear goggles or protective glasses - Allows you to cover your eyes to prevent possible contamination by airborne particulates.

Plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal around the plastic - Enough to seal all doors, and vents for an isolation room if needed.

Surgical masks - For anyone in the house that may get sick.

Heavy gauge garbage bags - For disposing of potentially contaminated waste.

Anti-bacterial hand soap

Clorox wipes

Hand sanitizer - 60 - 95% alcohol

Handheld spray bottles - For bleach disinfectant mix.

1-gallon sprayer (like this) - For disinfecting larger areas.

Additional items to add if your situation requires them:

Diapers and formula

Food and water for pets

Can opener if you pack canned food

Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Prescription medications that will last you for the entire quarantine

Don't forget to have enough shampoo, deodorant, toilet paper, toothpaste and other items that you use throughout the course of your day.

Over the Counter Medication

There are a ton of over the counter (OTC) medications that may help boost your immune system so you don't get sick and make your life a lot less miserable if you do get sick.

The top immune system boosting OTC medications are Emergen-C and Airborne. They're both very similar and come in drink mix, chewable tablets, and gummy forms. They basically take all of the things that are known to increase the efficiency of your immune system and package them into one place so you don't need to grab each ingredient individually.

Using one of these two products is pretty much a necessity in my mind. Keeping your immune system powered up is really important, especially if you're already immune system compromised or you do things that lower your immune system (like drinking heavily or smoking cigarettes).

There are two different ways to go about treating a cough with OTC meds. You can either use a cough suppressant (usually has the active ingredient dextromethorphan) or by using an expectorant (guaifenesin).

Cough suppressants may seem like the way to go because they keep you from coughing and can soothe your throat and give you some relief from a chest cold and infection symptoms.

Expectorants are usually the way to go in my opinion. They thin the mucus in your and allow you to get it out of your body. It may be miserable to cough non-stop, but you're better off getting the mucus out of your body.

Pain relievers are readily available OTC. I'd suggest stocking up on either Tylenol or an NSAID of some kind because they both help with aches and pains and can lower a fever.

Food Items for Quarantine

The types of food that you should store for a quarantine should be relatively shelf-stable and not prone to spoiling or going bad quickly.

If you don't cook on a regular basis then you should really look over the things that you have in the pantry and make sure that you have the things required to make simple baked goods. Cooking will also help keep you occupied and distract you from the fact that you're stuck in the house.

Food items to stock for quarantine:

Canned soups, meat, vegetables, and other foods

Pasta, rice, beans, flour, baking items

Crackers

Spices to keep things from getting boring

Comfort foods (Chips, Cookies, etc.)

Juice

Softdrinks

Coffee

Powdered milk

Oatmeal

Meal replacement bars

Nuts

Power should still be up (at least for most of the day) while you're quarantined, so you can still rely on your fridge and freezer to keep foods fresh. On top of buying frozen meals from the store, there are also a ton of foods that freeze well and will keep through a prolonged quarantine.

Food that freezes well:

Meats

Casseroles

Soup, broth, and sauces

Muffins, bread, dough

Applesauce

Butter, cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream

Eggs

Fresh herbs

Citrus, grapes

Milk

Water for Quarantine

You should already be storing water as far as I'm concerned but, water in quarantine isn't likely to get turned off. You probably don't have to go crazy with the amount of water that you store if you're not already doing it as part of your normal preps.

Even though your water will most likely be fine to drink, I still suggest picking up a few cases of water for each person in your family on the off chance that something really crazy happens.

Quarantine Procedures

The exact procedures that you take to quarantine yourself in your home aren't very difficult. They mostly have to do with the way that you sanitize things throughout the day and the ways that you prevent your exposure to other people.

There's just no need to try to seal your whole home from outside air or anything crazy like that!

Most diseases that would cause a quarantine are spread through contact with infected people, by inhaling respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing and touching surfaces that have been infected and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth. This means that almost any disease will need you to be in close proximity to an infected person or to touch a surface that infected and then transfer it to yourself. The disease isn't going to be climbing through the crack under your door.

Daily Activities

The primary thing that will change with quarantine is your day to day activity. Just about everything is going to have to change!

Only leave your home to get emergency medical care. This is the basic idea of quarantine, but it needs to be said.

Wash your hands often and whenever you do anything that may get them contaminated like going to the bathroom. Wah your hands before touching your face, eyes or mouth. This is the BEST way to keep yourself healthy.

Effective hand washing is a deliberate action! You should be thinking about cleaning your hands and making sure that you scrub all areas of your hands. Don't just get them wet and smear some soap on them. That's not enough!

Using hand sanitizer is okay but it's not as effective as washing your hands. If you have any kind of visible bodily fluids or other dirt on your hands then you need to wash them with soap or water.

Using bleach to disinfect hard surfaces is a great way to keep them free of diseases. The CDC recommends using 1 cup of bleach to 5 gallons of water.

Wash the area with soap and water, then clean the surface with the bleach mixture and allow it to air dry. If the surface is rough then you should scrub it with a hard-bristled brush and let it air dry.

Other things to do as you go about your day:

Cover your cough or sneeze. Clean your hands with hand sanitizer or by washing them with soap and water.

Throw used tissues or paper towels in a lined trash can after use.

Don't share glasses, dishes, utensils or other personal items with other family members.

Disinfect all surfaces that get touched often with bleach at least daily. This includes doorknobs, keyboards, phones, handles, tablets, and bedside tables.

Disinfect all toilets or other items that may get bodily fluids on them after each use.

Open curtains and blinds to let sunlight in during the day. UV light kills microorganisms and sunlight can help with depression.

Everything is about preventing the spread of any disease as you go about your day.

Dealing with Sick Family Members

Dealing with sick family members is going to be one of the most difficult parts of any kind of significant outbreak. The key is going to be to treat them as best as you can while not contracting the disease yourself.

When you first decide to quarantine in your home, you should set up an isolation room if you can. An extra bedroom is a great place for this. The isolation room is going to be where a sick member of your family goes until they're past the point of being contagious.

When you're dealing with sick family members they should wear a surgical mask and you should wear an N95 mask and goggles or a face shield. Also, stay at least 6 feet away from them unless you have to get closer. If you need to come in contact with any surfaces that have their bodily fluids on them then you should wear rubber gloves.

After you leave the room, throw away disposable masks and gloves. Do not reuse them. If you're using reusable protective gear, then you need to sanitize them according to the manufacturer's suggestion. If you don't have guidance, then use bleach to sanitize them.

Remove protective gear in this order:

Gloves

Wash hands

Face mask

Wash hands

Eye protection

Wash hands

Sick family members should also be kept away from animals. There's very little chance that the disease will spread to your pets, but it's a possibility.

Pets are also much more difficult to sanitize and control. Imagine your dog running all over the house after jumping on a sick family member. How could you possibly be sure that the disease wasn't spread everywhere?

Making an Isolation Room

An isolation room is where you will place any sick family members until they're better. The idea is to keep them separated from the rest of the family so no one else gets sick.

If you can also have a dedicated bathroom and shower for them then that's even better.

The sick family member should do as much as they can to not spread the disease to the surfaces of the room even though they'll be in your isolation room. This means constantly cleaning their hands, sanitizing surfaces daily with a bleach solution, etc. the same way that everyone else is doing in the rest of the house.

There aren't a lot of steps that need to be taken to prepare the room, but I would do the following before anyone was sick:

Cover any central air return vents in the room with plastic (or have some tape and plastic nearby). This is probably overkill but blocking the return vent will prevent most of the air from your isolation room getting sucked into the central air system and spread through the house.

Have surgical masks, heavy-gauge trash bags, hand soap, hand sanitizer, and bleach pre-staged in the room.

Interacting with Outside People

Don't open the door for anyone! Unless the police are at your front door and threatening to kick it in, keep your door closed and don't interact with anyone that comes to your door.

You can speak to them through the door, or even better, talk to them through a smart doorbell like the Ring. It's times like these that I'm happy that I installed one about a year ago.

Breaking Quarantine and Coming Out

It's difficult to know exactly when it's okay to drop your quarantine and join the rest of the world again. If there is an all-clear given by authorities, it's probably okay to assume that it's okay. Otherwise, you'll need to use your best judgment based on the life cycle of the disease as you know it.

Things to consider when determining when to break quarantine:

Any information being passed by government officials (A drop in infection rates, "All clear" announcements, etc.)

The potential incubation period of the disease (The time where people may be infected but not showing symptoms)

How long the disease lasts once you're showing symptoms

The action of other people that live by you (Are they coming outside, are there obviously sick people in the area, are other people going back to work/school, etc.)

No matter what, I wouldn't be the first one out the door running to Walmart. Plan on an extra day or two in the house after most other people have started going out again!

Conclusion

If you're forced to self-quarantine in your home, it's going to be stressful and you're most likely going to be worrying about all kinds of things. By preparing ahead of time, at least you don't need to worry about fighting the rush at the stores for food, water, and other supplies!

Hopefully, this article helps you understand what's needed in the event that you do have to quarantine in your house and makes things a little easier for you and your family. Good luck out there!

The article Step-by-Step: How to Prepare for Quarantine (with Cheat-Sheet) was first published to: ready lifestyle

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Bug Out Tents: Are They Right for You?

Bug Out Tents

Bug out tents aren't on everyone's list of things that you need in a bug out bag. Why is that? It seems like having a tent in your bug out bag would be a good idea, but is it?

A bug out tent is usually a small one-person tent that is lightweight and can be carried inside your bug out bag to give you shelter while you're bugging out. They can also be a tent that you can set up once you get to your bug out location to act as shelter or an expanded living area.

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Bug Out Tents

Why Would You Want a Bug Out Tent

Do you need a bug out tent?

What to Look for in a Bug Out Tent

Price

Weight

Size

Color

Material

Water Resistance

Bug Out Shelters That Aren't Tents

Tarps

Hammocks

Bivy Sacks

Best Bug Out Tents

River Country Products Trekker Tent 1.2

River Country Products Trekker Tent 2.2

Larger Tents

Conclusion

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Why Would You Want a Bug Out Tent

In my mind, there are two reasons that you'd want to have a bug out tent. One is straight forward and the other may be overlooked by most people.

The first reason to have a bug out tent is pretty obvious. You could be forced to bug out during a time of the year where you need to protect yourself from the environment.

During seasons with extremes like cold temperatures or frequent rainy weather, it makes sense to have a bug out tent available.

The second reason to have a tent is as an addition to your bug out location. You can use it as shelter once you get there or as an extension of your living area.

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Tents follow all of the basic shelter building principals that makeshift shelters do.  Make sure that you understand them!

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Do you need a bug out tent?

If you live in an area that experiences very cold weather or long rainy seasons then I'd suggest adding a tent to your bug out bag. I usually don't recommend a tent because you should really be moving to your bug out location pretty quickly and building a tent just adds weight to your bug out bag in most situations and really isn't needed.

Another reason to have a bug out tent is if you plan to bug out to an area that doesn't have any pre-build shelter or if you're not really sure where you may end up bugging out to.

I also think a good use of a bug out tent is to add living area to your bug out location. In this scenario, you would take a pop-up carport or gazebo to supplement a small permanent structure like a hunting or fishing cabin.

You can pack this larger tent in your car or truck and use it as an area to set up an outside cooking or eating area. This lets you use the permanent structure for more important things like sleeping areas.

What to Look for in a Bug Out Tent

There are certain things that make a tent better for bugging out over other tents. Price, weight, size, color, material, and its level of water resistance are all important.

Price

Price is important if you're on a budget. The good thing is there are usually plenty of products that function well at lower price points, and tents are no different.

Weight

Modern tents, made with modern materials actually weigh very little compared to how large they are. I would try to keep the weight down as much as possible without losing a lot of functionality from the tent. Keep it under 3 pounds if you can.

If you go for something like an emergency shelter then you can get the weight down to about 1/2 lb, but these tents aren't great for keeping the elements out. I would rather just not bring a tent in most circumstances.

If you plan on packing a larger tent in a vehicle then the weight doesn't really matter much. Just make sure it's light enough that you can get it out of the car easily and set it up with one or two people.

Size

The biggest drawback of bringing a tent with you is the amount of space that it takes up in a bug out bag. I'm a fan of tents that don't need poles and can be set up with sticks or tied to trees. This style of tent really cuts down on the amount of space needed in a backpack and usually are less than a foot long and 6 inches wide when they're packed up!

Again, the super small emergency tents seem like they would be great because of their small size, but I don't really find them useful in a scenario where I'm planning to use a tent.

For tents that are going to go into a car, you don't need to worry too much about the size, but there is a point that it can be too large. It the tent you're planning on taking start to displace things like food and water from your loadout you're probably going to want to look for something a little smaller if you can.

Color

Color is important because you want to be able to blend into the environment if you need to. Usually, this won't be a problem, but there are definitely occasions where I could see not wanting to be seen while you're bugging out.

Choose colors that are close to the environment you're most likely to bug out in. If you can't find an exact match, I wouldn't worry about it.

If you really need to blend in then you can use brush and vegetation from the surrounding area to help your tent blend in. If there isn't much brush and other things to help you blend in, then your tent is probably going to stick out like a sore thumb no matter what color it is.

Material

Pretty much any tent that you're going to get these days is going to be made of nylon or some other synthetic material. These materials are light and help prevent water from penetrating them.

The main way that material affects the tent is through durability. Look for strong tents that aren't going to tear easily but are still light enough to make carrying them easy.

Water Resistance

Any tent that you get should be mostly waterproof. You can seal a new tent if you're worried about water getting in or if you plan on using it in extremely wet weather.

Tents that have an additional rainfly are going to be heavier, but they usually stay dry for longer. If you plan on bugging out in a rainy season, go for a tent with a rainfly and don't worry about the minor added weight.

Bug Out Shelters That Aren't Tents

Tents aren't the only type of shelter that makes sense for bugging out. There are actually quite a few options that may be even better than tents.

Tarps

Tarps are a multi-use piece of equipment that can fill a whole range of roles. One of those roles is as a makeshift shelter.

If you know that you're going to need a tent, then buy a tent. If you're not sure, or you only need a tent for a couple of months out of the year, then a good quality tarp could make sense.

Tarps are easy to use to make into a bunch of different shelters. Make sure that you pack some 550 cord and tent stakes to make building a shelter a little easier on you.

Hammocks

Hammocks don't usually come to mind right away when we're thinking about shelters but they actually do several things that make them great.

Hammocks naturally lift you off of the ground which prevents you from losing a lot of body heat into the ground. You still have the wind that can suck body heat away but if you put a decent underquilt under the hammock you'll stop that from happening.

You can also set up a tart over the top of your hammock to prevent rain or snow from getting you wet while you sleep. Just make sure that it covers enough of your hammock so it completely blocks the rain and doesn't drain onto you as the rain runs off.

The big drawback of hammocks is that you need to be able to attach both sides to a tree, pole, building, car or something else when you set them up. If you're traveling across flat land you could have a hard time setting up a hammock.

Bivy Sacks

Bivy sacks are another great option if you're trying to keep your gear lightweight and compact. They're basically a waterproof shell that you can slide your sleeping bag into.

I prefer to use bivy sacks that have added headroom and zip completely closed to protect you from the elements. Look for a GoreTex bivy sack that zips completely closed for the best results.

Best Bug Out Tents

These two tents are some of my favorites in the ultralight backpacking tent realm that won't break the bank.

Be sure to wear warm clothing and/or pack a sleeping bag if you need to stay warm. These tents are great for keeping you out of the wind and keeping the rain off of you, but they're not going to arm enough in low temperatures.

River Country Products Trekker Tent 1.2

The Trekker Tent 1.2 is an ultralight one-person tent that doesn't come with any poles. It's designed to be held up with trekking poles so it keeps the weight down. The good thing is that any sturdy branch can also hold it up.

The .2 version has been redesigned to better seal the seams and the tent as a whole so it's more resistant to the elements. Get the .2 version since it's basically the same price and provides more protection.

Inside Dimensions: 7′ long, 48” wide, and 42” tall in the front and 32” in the back

Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz.

River Country Products Trekker Tent 2.2

The Trekker Tent 2.2 is super compact and designed for 2 people. Just like the 1.2 it's meant to be held up with trekking poles, but you can use just about anything to keep it propped up.

Get the .2 version of the tent because they made it more resistant to water by beefing up the seams and sealing the whole thing better.

Inside Dimensions: 7' long, 62" wide, and 42" tall

Weight: 3 lbs.

Larger Tents

For larger tents, I like simple, easy to set up options that don't take up a lot of room when they're packed up. Most large 10' x 10' or larger tents are between 50 and 100 lbs. so having a carrying case with wheels is another plus.

What to look for in larger tents:

Packs small enough to fit in the vehicle you plan to bug out in.

Easy to assemble with 2 people and able to be assembled with 1 person if needed.

Packs into a case that has wheels to allow you to move it around as needed.

Conclusion

Bug out tents are great if you're going to be bugging out in inclement weather or if you need to set up some kind of shelter at your bug out location. They're also a necessity if you don't have a predetermined bug out location selected.

Look for small, compact and lightweight tents for your bug out bag itself, and sturdy, easy to assemble tents to add to your bug out vehicle.

Bug Out Tents: Are They Right for You? was first published on: Ready Lifestyle

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New to Prepping? Start Here!

New to Prepping?

If you're new to prepping, then you're probably getting barraged with a ton of info from all different sources. It can get overwhelming really quickly!

I'm going to try to make it a little easier on you by laying out the things that I think are the most important for you to do first and providing some useful information and links to articles that answer questions that usually pop up when you're just getting started with prepping and preparedness.

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New to Prepping?

Is it too Late to Start Prepping?

What Should You Do First?

Start Small and Work From There

Water Storage

How much water do you need to store?

Food Storage

How much food do you need to store?

Bugging In

Bugging Out

Knowledge is Power

What Can Cause an SHTF?

Emergency Kits

Bug Out Bags

Get Home Bags

Weapons for Preppers

Body Armor for Preppers

Conclusion

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Is it too Late to Start Prepping?

It's never too late to start prepping! Don't get discouraged if you're just getting started.

There's always going to be some kind of event going on in the world that could cause us to have to rely on the things that we've prepared, and it's always going to seem like that event is too close to get ready for it. The good thing is nothing bad is probably going to happen right now! The bad thing is eventually something bad is going to happen...

We all started somewhere.

If there's something specific driving you to get into prepping right now, then you're in the right place. Get started, be ready for anything, and hope for the best.

What Should You Do First?

The first thing that you need to do is do something! Everything that you do gets you closer to being prepared. Don't get caught up reading article after article for weeks on end and never taking any action.

Being prepared is all about moving forward and taking action! You'll probably never reach a point where you'll feel like you have enough water, food, medical supplies, etc. no matter how long you stay on the prepping path so make progress and know that you're better off now than you were the day before.

Start Small and Work From There

Water and food are always going to be the most important thing you need. If you're ever wondering what you should get next to further your preps, you can't go wrong with water and food.

If you don't have any water or food stored then your first goal should be to get 1 week of each stored for each member of your family. You should aim to have 1 gallon of water and 2,000 calories stored per day.

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The only time that I'd recommend not starting by storing food and water first is if you have medication that you rely on for survival. If you fall into that category then I'd start by working to get a surplus of medication if you can.

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After you reach the one-week goal, you should continue to store food and water until you have a full month of supplies for each member of your family. At this point, you'll be far more prepared than most families in America!

I highly suggest that you don't bother buying any other preparedness items until you have a full month of supplies for everyone in your home.

If you have plenty of money to spend then just buy what's needed to get you to a month. If you're strapped for cash you can gradually grow to that point. Either way, having a basic level of food and water is the most important part of prepping.

Your initial prepping goals:

1st Goal - 1 week of stored water and food. This equals 7 gallons of water and 14,000 calories of food per person in your family.

2nd Goal - 1 month of stored food and water. To reach the next goal, you should have 28 gallons of water and 56,000 calories of food for each member of your family.

Water Storage

Water should be the first thing that you focus on if there aren't any easily accessible natural water sources close to where you live. Even if you have tons of water sources around your home, you should still try to get to the point where you have at least a full month's supply of drinking water stored.

The cheapest way to get started is by refilling empty soda and juice bottles. Any bottle that's strong and has a good screw on top will work as long as you can clean it out well.

Stay away from things like milk jugs since they're hard to get completely clean, don't have lids that seal well and can crack if they're dropped and as they age.

The easiest way to get a decent amount of water stored quickly is to simply buy cases of bottled water. I prefer to buy name brand water because the bottles are usually stronger and have more secure lids.

If you just buy the cheapest water you can find, you should still be fine. I just like the stronger bottles because it just seems like they're less likely to break and leak.

The best way to store water is in larger containers as long as you have space. Read our home water storage article in the recommended reading section to learn more.

How much water do you need to store?

FEMA recommends that you have at least three days of water stored per person. I just don't believe that it's enough.

Flooding, earthquakes and many other disasters can easily interrupt home water services for weeks or more! That's why I suggest working toward at least one month if you can.

Recommended Reading:

Home Water Storage

Can You Drink Pool Water?

How Long is Bottled Water Good For?

How Much Water Do You Need to Survive?

Food Storage

Storing food should be your other priority when you first start prepping. We can survive for weeks without food, but it's not something that anyone wants to do!

The cheapest way to start storing food is to buy rice, beans, corn, wheat and other staple foods that can be bought in large quantities and last for a long time. Check out our Cheap Survival Food article in the recommended reading below.

The easiest way to get all of the food storage you could ever want is to simply purchase freeze-dried food and have it shipped straight to your door. This is the most expensive way to get it done, but it's definitely easy.

The best way to store food is by having a wide range of freeze-dried, canned, and long shelf life staple foods stored.

How much food do you need to store?

FEMA says the same thing about food that they do about water, have three days of food for everyone in the house. I also say the same thing about food as I do about water, start at one month and store more after that as you can.

Recommended Reading:

What is Food Storage?

Cheap Survival Food

Survival Food Bars

10 Reasons Why Food Storage is Important

Where to Store Survival Food

Bugging In

Bugging in is when a disaster strikes and you stay in your home and stay there throughout the entire disaster. Bugging in keeps you in a safe area that has all of your preps and your family in one place. This should be your first reaction to a disaster.

If you live in a place that you plan to leave as soon as some kind of disaster is headed your way, then I would suggest that you start looking for a new place to live. It may not be very practical for you right now, but you shouldn't live in a place that's too dangerous to stay in during a disaster.

Recommended Reading:

Should You Bug Out or Bug In?

Bugging Out

Bugging out is when you grab emergency supplies and leave your home because it's too dangerous to stay there or it's going to become too dangerous to stay there. Bugging out should be one of the last resort measures that you take.

Bugging out should be your last resort because it takes you from a place that you know (and has all of your food and water already in place) and puts you out into the unknown. Natural disasters are one of the main reasons that people bug out.

Recommended Reading:

Bugging Out

Best Bug Out Locations in America

Knowledge is Power

You can never have enough knowledge! There is so much information available out there for free that it doesn't make sense to not learn every single day.

My only warning is that you need to take action and not get stuck reading more and more articles on the internet! As long as you're putting what you're reading into action, you're always going to be one step ahead of a majority of the population.

The first things you should learn as a new prepper:

Water purification and storage

Food preservation and storage

First-aid

Recommended Reading:

Diseases in an SHTF or Post Collapse Environment

Prepping 2020

How to Stop Bleeding

Basic Survival Needs

What Can Cause an SHTF?

An SHTF is a disaster that sends our day to day lives into disarray. It doesn't need to be a complete break down of society. It can be everything from a personal event, like losing your job, to a full-blown financial collapse or even an invasion from a foreign army.

Natural and man-made disasters can all lead to SHTF. Read our SHTF article in the recommended reading to learn more.

Recommended Reading:

SHTF – What Does it Mean and How Can You Survive It?

Emergency Kits

I don't suggest building a bunch of emergency kits and buying a lot of gear before you have a basic level of food and water stored for your family. If you have the money to trow at prepping then feel free to buy gear and emergency kits at the same time as you're putting together food and water storage. If not, then focus on food and water first!

Bug Out Bags

Bug out bags are a self-contained kit that has everything you need in case you have to just grab one bag and hit the road. They're talked about all over the place, and some people get distracted by building a bug out bag when they first get started prepping. Again, don't worry about it until you have food and water stored.

Bug out bags are important and should be one of the first things you put together once you start buying gear, but they're just not important to start out with.

Get Home Bags

A get home bag is a bag that's designed to get you home from where ever you happen to be. Normally this place is work since you probably spend much of your day there when you're not home.

Recommended Reading:

What is a Bug Out Bag?

Is a Bug Out Bag Necessary?

Bug Out Bags

Get Home Bags

Office Survival Kit

Weapons for Preppers

You should have a firearm of some kind to protect you and your family if you're legally allowed to. I also suggest carrying a pistol with you every day. You never know when you may need it!

Outside of a home defense weapon and a carry pistol, I suggest having either an AR-15 or AK-47 style rifle for each adult in the family. Don't go crazy buying weapons unless it's a hobby because collecting weapons isn't prepping.

Recommended Reading:

Best SHTF Weapons

Should You Use an AR-15 for Home Defense?

Body Armor for Preppers

Body armor is one of the last things that you should be thinking about if you're just getting into prepping. There are definitely reasons to get body armor as a prepper, but it's nothing that you need to worry about before you have all of your other bases covered.

Recommended Reading:

Body Armor Guide

Is Body Armor Necessary for SHTF?

Can You Wear Body Armor in Public?

Conclusion

Just getting into prepping can be confusing and a little intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. Start with the most important things, food and water, and then move on to other things when you have those in place.

Get started now and you'll be way ahead of most people.

The previous article New to Prepping? Start Here! was first seen on: Ready Lifestyle

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5 Wound Healing Plants to Help When SHTF

Wound Healing Plants

There may come a time in anyone's life where you become wounded but do not have immediate access to a hospital or some sort of medical attention. Perhaps you are out hiking and the trail back is long and arduous, maybe a remote rock climbing expedition has gone horribly wrong and help is further away than you would like. Or, when the SHTF and you are injured during the event.

This can be an intimidating situation if you are unprepared but there are ways in which you can help yourself. One of these ways is by using what nature has to offer and taking advantage of the many plants which are able to help in the initial treatment of wounds. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Wound Healing Plants

Top 5 Wound Healing Plants

Plantain

Yarrow

Calendula

Goldenrod

Aloe Vera

Conclusion

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Thanks for supporting Ready Lifestyle! We participate in the Amazon associates program and other affiliate programs. We earn a small commission on qualifying orders at no expense to you.

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Top 5 Wound Healing Plants

In this article, we are going to be taking a closer look at the things that mother nature has provided for us and dive a little deeper into which plants are great in a first aid situation when SHTF. All of the plants can be found growing naturally all over the United States and so you can be sure that you will have easy access to some if not all of them in an emergency.

Plantain

In this instance, we are not referring to the species of banana but to a type of weed that can be found all over the country. The plant is easily identified by its veins which run up the back part of the leaf. These veins run in a parallel pattern and always come in odd numbers.

For open wounds, you can simply apply the leaf in order to help draw out any infection. Plantain has many properties that can assist in the treatment of wounds, especially in an emergency situation.

It is not only anti-inflammatory but also anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and a powerful antioxidant, if this wasn't enough it also helps in the prevention of ulcer formation.

Yarrow

This plant has been used for its medicinal properties for thousands of years and there is a good reason for this. One of its superpowers is that it is incredibly effective in the treatment of burns, this includes sunburn which may be common in a survival situation.

It is also effective when trying to stop bleeding from an open wound and acts as an anti-bacterial. You can simply chew the leaves and then apply the mixture of leaf and saliva to the wound in order to reap the benefits.

To identify yarrow you should look for a plant that has a fern-like appearance with many leaves and small white flowers. It is worth noting that in some cases, the flowers of the yarrow plant may come in a pale pink color.

Calendula

Having a high similarity to the marigold, calendula is another plant that is very useful in the treatment of wounds. The plant is great as an anti-bacterial and is also well known for increasing blood flow, this is perfect when it comes to quickly healing a wound.

This plant has also been praised for its pain-relieving properties when applied directly to the area. You will easily be able to recognize the calendula plant due to its long, straight and colored petals, these petals will usually be either yellow, orange, pink or white.

In the center of the relatively flat flower, there is a single dot that is very distinct and will give away the species easily.

Goldenrod

 This yellow flowering plant has been noted for its anti-inflammatory properties which is of course, highly useful when it comes to the treatment of wounds. The plant contains saponin which is a chemical that turns into a soap-like product that is used to treat a wound and for other medicinal purposes.

Goldenrod is also known for being very good at assisting with bleeding. Goldenrod has also been noted to be very effective for pain relief. Interestingly, goldenrod was used by Native American tribes for a variety of different medicinal purposes including hair loss but also as a topical treatment in wound care.

The plant can be identified by its smooth leaves that have jagged edges. The plant can be confused with plants that are poisonous and one surefire way to determine whether what you are seeing is in fact goldenrod is to look at whether the stems branch out if they do it is not goldenrod, the stems of this plant stay in a straight formation.

Aloe Vera

In warmer parts of the USA such as Texas, Florida, and California, you will find the amazing aloe vera plant growing. This plant is famed for being highly useful in a huge variety of ways.

The clear gel which can be found inside the leaves is ideal for applying to a burn as it is super soothing. The plant also contains chemicals that promote collagen production, this, in turn, speeds up the healing process for a wound. It is also known to be a plant that promotes the regeneration of cells which adds to the healing process.

Once the aloe gel has been applied, if you can, you should dress the wound with a bandage in order to prevent infection. On top of all of this, aloe vera is also an excellent anti-inflammatory.

In order to successfully identify aloe vera, you will need to look out for a succulent plant with thick, spiky green leaves. The plant is known to grow with its leaves in a spiral formation.

Conclusion

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you or someone you are with get injured whilst out in nature or in an emergency situation, there is no need to panic. There are plants that have real medicinal value growing all over the U.S.

You may not even be aware of the fact that you might have medical plants growing in your own garden.

In an emergency situation or when the shit hits the fan where you do not have access to a doctor or a hospital, you may have to treat a minor wound or injury in a more natural way. By being able to identify the plants which can assist in would care, you can be confident that you will be successfully able to take on any situation that may arise.

The post 5 Wound Healing Plants to Help When SHTF is available on: ready lifestyle

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Free Survival Gear – Is It a Scam? We Tell You the Truth!

Free Survival Gear

A lot of people are looking for free survival gear. You can take advantage of these offers as long as you shop around a little.

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I did the homework so you don't have to! Look under each offer to see if it's worth it or not.

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You can find free survival gear from quite a few companies that make more expensive gear. One of the latest marketing techniques that survival companies are using is to give away a free item with the hopes that the person who takes advantage of the free offer will become a long-term customer.

Most of the offers below are structured in a similar way. The price you pay covers the shipping for a piece of gear or training and the company hopes that you'll be impressed enough to continue to buy from them.

Some of these offers are decent, and some of them just aren't worth it. I'll tell you which is which.

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Free Survival Gear

Free Survival Kits

Free Survival Tools

Free Flashlights

Free Emergency Fire Starters

Free Preparedness Books, Videos, and Training

Miscellaneous Free Survival Items

Conclusion

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Normally the company asks that the customer pays for the shipping costs. These usually run somewhere between $3 and $6 and basically covers the actual cost of the item.

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I'll keep adding offers as I find them and get a chance to test them out.

Free Survival Kits

  Paracord Survival Kit - Another "survival grenade". 10 items wrapped in 9 feet of paracord. Comes with 16 free survival PDFs that aren't mentioned anywhere but you get e-mailed the link in the order confirmation e-mail.

You can get something similar on Amazon for the same price but it doesn't come with the PDFs.

Actual Price: $4.95

Is it worth it? YES

Ape Survival Survival Grenade - Typical "survival grenade". Contains 15 items. The best use for these is to simply clip it on a bag until you need it. Comes with 3 free survival PDFs that aren't mentioned anywhere but you get e-mailed the link in the order confirmation e-mail.

You can get something similar on Amazon for the same price but it doesn't come with the PDFs.

Actual Price: $6.95

Is it worth it? YES

Free Survival Tools

Free Karambit - This karambit is around 7.5" in overall length and would be a decent, cheap defensive knife.

Actual Price: $9.95

Is it worth it? YES

USMC Neck Knife - Free neck knife with a partially serrated blade in the style of the beloved K-Bar.

Actual Price: $9.95

Is it worth it? NO

Alternative: The karambit above is a better knife and built better.

Strikepen - LED flashlight, pen, tungsten striker point, and two interchangeable tools.

Actual Price: $9.95

Is it worth it? YES

Alternative: This no-name 2 pack tactical pen set is also a good deal for the same price. They don't have the extra tools or flashlight inside, but they come with 6 refills.

Survival Card Multi-Tool -  Typical survival card. It contains 11 tools. It also comes with 2 free survival e-books.

Actual Price: $9.97

Is it worth it? NO

A better alternative: The Small Business Survival Card below is less expensive and comes with three e-books.

Survival Business Card - Typical survival card. Contains 11 tools. Comes with 3 free survival PDFs that aren't mentioned anywhere but you get e-mailed the link in the order confirmation e-mail.

You can get something similar on Amazon for the same price but it doesn't come with the PDFs.

Actual Price: $4.95

Is it worth it? YES

Credit Card Knife - This is an interesting little knife that folds up and hides away in a wallet. It isn't practical for everyday use but it could come through in a pinch.

Actual Price: $9.95

Is it worth it? NO

A better alternative: I would go with the credit card knife farther down the page. It's the same thing and half the price.

Rescuecard - One of the better-looking survival cards. It contains 14 tools.

Actual Price: $8.95

Is it worth it? NO

A better alternative: The Small Business Survival Card above is less expensive and comes with three e-books.

Knife Card - Another folding concealable credit card knife. This is pretty much the same thing as the one above, but it's half the price.

Actual Price: $4.95

Is it worth it? YES

Free Flashlights/Lanterns

Hybeam Tactical Flashlight - Another LED flashlight. Aluminum body with a beveled edge for striking. Comes with a lanyard. Less expensive than any of the equivalent items over on Amazon.

Actual Price: $6.95

Is it worth it? YES

Q5 TacLite - Uses a new Q5 CREE LED emitter to throw light up to 1100 feet. It uses a single AA battery, has an aluminum body and pocket clip. Great as a backup EDC flashlight or to put in the car.

Actual Price: $8.95

Is it worth it? NO

A better alternative: Any of the other flashlights here.

J5 Tactical Flashlight - LED flashlight outputs 250 lumens with aluminum body and pocket clip. Another great back up light for the house or the car. Less expensive than any of the equivalent items over on Amazon.

Actual Price: $6.95

Is it worth it? YES

Hybeam Micro Tactical Flashlight - Very small, water-resistant, and easily slips into the pocket. Aluminum body with a pocket clip. Less expensive than any of the equivalent items over on Amazon.

Actual Price: $4.95

Is it worth it? YES

Free Emergency Fire Starters

Everstrkye Match - Contains a ferro rod, wick, and fuel for more than 15,000 strikes. Limit 10 per household.

Actual Price: $3.95

Is it worth it? YES

FireKable Paracord Bracelet - 80 feet of usable cordage with a ferro rod.

Actual Price: $4.95

Is it worth it? YES

Everstryke Waterproof Lighter - Usable for 15,000 strikes. Sealed to prevent leakage of fuel.

Actual Price: $3.95

Is it worth it? YES

Optic Fire Starter - A simple, yet often overlooked fire starter. Focuses the sun to light tinder quickly.

Actual Price: $2.95

Is it worth it? YES

Free Preparedness Books, Videos, and Training

Miscellaneous Free Survival Items

Deck Of Seeds Cards - This is an interesting deck of cards. It has info about different herbs, vegetables, and other food on the back of each card that gives tips on growing and harvesting them.

Wasn't in stock last time I tried to review it.

Valois SSD-90 Tactical Knife Belt - A web belt with a concealed knife in the buckle. Adjustable from 24 to 52 inches.

Wasn't in stock last time I tried to review it.

Emergency Survival Blanket - Typical mylar blanket. Good for throwing in a bug out bag, car, boat or backpack.

Actual Price: $3.95

Is it worth it? YES

Free iPac T-Shirt - Free iPac t-shirt with a Glock pistol on the front.

Actual Price: $9.95

Is it worth it? NO

A better alternative: Any other T-shirt...

Free American Patriot T-Shirt - "American Patriot" T-shirt.

Actual Price: $6.95

Is it worth it? NO

A better alternative: Any other T-shirt...

Armor.1 RFID Blocker - 5 pack of RFID blockers to prevent scanning of credit cards and chipped ID cards.

Actual Price: $9.95

Is it worth it? NO

A better alternative: Alpine Rivers RF-ID Blockers come with 14 credit card sleeves and 4 passport sleeves for the same price!

Conclusion

Free survival gear isn't actually free, but that doesn't mean that all of it is worthless. There are a lot of offers out there that I wouldn't suggest (it doesn't necessarily mean they're bad) but there are a few that actually make sense when you take a good look at them!

The previous article Free Survival Gear – Is It a Scam? We Tell You the Truth! is available on: Ready Lifestyle Prepping Blog

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Office Survival Kit – What You Need to Survive a Disaster at Work

Office Survival Kit

Most of us spend the majority of our week at work. That means that when a disaster strikes, there's a good chance that we'll be in the office when it happens. This is where an office survival kit comes in.

This isn't a cutesy article about how you need gum in your kit in case you have onions at lunch. This a serious look at the things that can help you in a serious situation!

An office survival kit should include everything that you may need in the event of a disaster. Food, water and medical items are needed as well as protective glasses and a face mask, flashlights, an emergency radio, knife or multi-tool, a prybar, emergency whistle and leather gloves.

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Office Survival Kit

Office Survival Kits

Who Needs an Office Survival Kit

What Should be in Your Kit

Other Considerations

Conclusion

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Office Survival Kits

I was surprised when I went looking for office survival kits...there's basically no good information out there on the topic! We'll look at this logically and come up with a solid survival kit that will work for just about anyone.

As I describe things, just keep in mind that everyone's situation is different so add or remove items as you see fit.

Who Needs an Office Survival Kit

Anyone that works away from home should have an office survival kit. That goes for someone that works in a factory, mailroom, or any other building. If you work out of a truck, I would suggest just having a get home bag with you at all times.

You can put it in your desk, under your desk, in a locker or anywhere else. I know a lot of people are embarrassed to have any kind of emergency kits. You should work to get over that because it's not you with the problem. Anyone that looks down on you for being prepared is the one with the issue!

If you're still working through some kind of embarrassment or just don't want anyone to know that you have a survival kit in your office, just bring it in early before everyone comes in or bring it in after everyone has left for the night.

What Should be in Your Kit

This kit is basically designed for two scenarios. The first scenario is being stuck in the office for some reason where you're better off staying inside. Extreme weather and similar disasters could easily cause this depending on where you live. This could also transition into the second scenario.

The second scenario involves being trapped in the office and having to escape or survive until rescuers can get to you. This scenario is much less likely, but also much worse than the first scenario.

When you're building this kit, keep in mind that it's for you!

If you feel strongly about preparing the entire office for a disaster, then I would bring it up with your boss or office manager. There are all kinds of pre-made kits out there that will work as a basic survival kit for an office of people (like this one from More Prepared) but they're pretty bare bones. I'd beef them up if I was making a purchase for my office.

Water - Water is at the top of almost any emergency kit loadout and this one is no different. I suggest just putting a case of water under your desk and calling it good.

Drink four 16.9 oz bottles of water per day to stay hydrated while you're not overly active. This one case of water will last you 6 days of being trapped in the office.

The minimum amount of water that you should drink for survival is about 1 liter (about 34 oz.) per day. It's not ideal, but it keeps your organs functioning and you should only experience minor dehydration symptoms if you're sitting relatively still in an office waiting to be rescued or waiting out a storm. You should shoot for drinking at least 2 liters per day to stay hydrated.

The chart below shows how much water you should be drinking per day based on body weight.

How Much Water Should You Consume Based on Body Weight

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Weight Ounces of Water Daily 100 pounds 67 ounces 110 pounds 74 ounces 120 pounds 80 ounces 130 pounds 87 ounces 140 pounds 94 ounces 150 pounds 100 ounces 160 pounds 107 ounces 170 pounds 114 ounces 180 pounds 121 ounces 190 pounds 127 ounces 200 pounds 134 ounces 210 pounds 141 ounces 220 pounds 148 ounces 230 pounds 154 ounces 240 pounds 161 ounces 250 pounds 168 ounces

Food - Food seems like it should really important in a survival kit, but it doesn't even come close to being as important as water. Since we have 6 days of water, let's get 6 days of survival food bars (this two pack of S.O.S. survival bars will cover it).

I'd also add a few Power Bars or Clif Bars so you have extra calories and can eat something other than emergency rations.

You can go for weeks without food! If you're used to eating a lot every day, you're going to feel like you're starving with just the S.O.S. bars but I promise you're not.

First Aid Kit - Most offices have some kind of centrally located medical kit that has bandaids and some other things to treat minor cuts and scrapes. For day to day work and to meet minimum legal requirements, these are fine. They usually don't cut it for a real emergency!

For a first aid kit, I'm going to suggest the same thing I always do; the Adventure Medical .5 Kit, the Adventure Medical Trauma Pak, and the SWAT-T Tourniquet.

These three items give you the basics to treat everything from scrapes to major trauma. You hopefully won't need them, but they're there in case you do.

Glasses/Goggles - A cheap pair of clear goggles or glasses can help keep your eyes safe if something happens that causes a lot of particulates like dust, dirt, dry, etc. to get thrown in the air.

N95 Face Mask - N95 face masks are also useful when there's a lot of stuff floating in the air. If part of your building collapses, you don't want to be breathing in all the various toxins that may be in the air.

Leather Gloves - Leather gloves are there to protect your hands in case you have to break glass, dig out from a collapsed wall or section of the building. Make sure they're sturdy and fit well. There aren't many requirements beyond that.

Flashlight - Just about any kind of disaster can cause the building to lose power. Any sturdy flashlight will work, it doesn't need to be some high speed $100 combat flashlight.

Throw in extra batteries and you're good to go.

Emergency Radio - Look for a NOAA capable radio that runs off of batteries and can be charged by a hand crank, solar and USB. This radio is a good choice since it functions as a battery bank as well and can charge your cell phone.

A NOAA lets you monitor the National Weather Service's emergency broadcast system which should be broadcasting about any major disaster in the area. They provide updates and changes in situations that you may not know about if you're stuck in the office.

Knife or Multi-tool - I would go with a name brand multi-tool like a Gerber or Leatherman. They're more expensive, but they also don't break the first time you go to use them.

Prybar - A prybar may seem crazy when you first think about it. Why do you need a prybar in an office survival kit?

If things have really gone bad, something simple like this wonder bar could mean the difference between life and death! You can use it to pry open doors and windows to let you get out of the office.

A larger prybar is usually better. You'll have to make a decision about how big you want to go but 15" is a good all-around size.

You can also dig with it or just bang it on the walls to signal to rescuers that there's someone alive.

Emergency Whistle - The emergency whistle is there as another way to signal to rescuers. It doesn't need to be anything special, it just needs to be loud and not break when you need it most.

Blankets/Sleeping Bag - A blanket or small sleeping bag can help keep you warm and comfortable if you're trapped in the office during the winter and the heating system fails.

Comfortable Shoes - Most people working in offices aren't wearing the most comfortable shoes out there. Dress shoes and heels just don't have the grip or flexibility that you need in an emergency.

Put a pair of old sneakers or boots in your kit. Don't go out and buy new shoes! This will save you money and used shoes are already broken in so they won't cause blisters or hotspots on your feet.

Backpack/Gym Bag - You don't have to buy a backpack or other bag to put everything in. Even a simple cardboard box will work fine if that's what you choose to go with. I like a backpack because it lets you grab it and go if you need to move from one room to another or go to a different part of the building.

Make sure everything other than the case of water fits in the backpack and put several bottles of water in the backpack. If you have to move to another area, put the backpack on and carry the rest of the case of water with you if you can.

Other Considerations

If you're reading this, then you're probably the most prepared person in your office! It may fall on you to bring up questions about basic preparedness with your managers and you could easily find yourself in a leadership role during an actual disaster.

Your office should have a designated shelter in place room. This is usually a room that has no windows and is on the interior of the building. If there isn't a plan in place, you can get the basics from osha.gov and work with your management to create one.

A disaster that strikes an office could be preceded with a shelter in place order. You should know the difference between shelter in place and lockdown. They're two different things and require different reactions.

Know where the fire extinguishers and emergency shut-offs are located in your building. This seems basic but I bet a lot of us walk right past fire extinguishers every day and don't even realize they're there.

If you work in a building that stores, produces or deal with chemicals, you should know where the SDS (Safety Data Sheets) are for the chemicals that are used in your building. If your office is near a building that uses chemicals then you should try to find out what chemicals they use in case of a spill or disaster. You can find the SDS for any chemical by searching for the chemical at SDS Search.

Check your kit every quarter to make sure your batteries are still good and nothing has expired. If you find something that doesn't work anymore or any expired items, replace them as soon as you can.

You should still have a get home bag in your vehicle. Your office survival kit is designed to keep you going if something happens while you're in your office. If you need to use your get home bag while you're at work, you can pull certain items from it if you need them but they serve two separate purposes.

Conclusion

The office survival kit is often overlooked, even in the preparedness community. You probably spend at least 40 hours at work every week. It only makes sense to have some kind of emergency kit where you're spending 1/3 of your day.

It doesn't need to be a challenge. Take a few minutes to put together the things that you have around your house to make a kit for your office, then fill in the gaps when you get cash or have more time. It's really that simple!

Office Survival Kit – What You Need to Survive a Disaster at Work was first published on: Ready Lifestyle Blog

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Bug Out Boxes – The Bug Out Bag Companion

Bug Out Boxes

What are your plans if you have some time to get ready before you have to bug out? If you're well prepared then you probably have a list of everything that's most important for your survival with the location of each item so you can grab everything and get it loaded into your vehicles.

It's great if you're at that point! You're probably well beyond most people when it comes to preparedness, but isn't there some way to be even more prepared?

That's where bug out boxes come in. Having as much as you can have prepacked and ready to go will make the frantic time more smooth and greatly decrease the possibility that you'll forget anything. [wc_toggle title="Table of Contents" padding="" border_width="" class="" layout="box"]

Bug Out Boxes

Bugging Out with Bug Out Boxes

What Should be in a Bug Out Box

Priority Loading of Bug Out Vehicles

What are the Best Boxes to Use?

Conclusion

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Bugging Out with Bug Out Boxes

Bugging out should be planned long before you ever have to even think about doing it. This is where bug out boxes shine, but before we get into that, let's look at where bug out boxes should fall in your overall bug out plan.

The base of your bug out plan should revolve around your bug out bag. This base level of bugging out is when there is a no-notice disaster that causes you and your family to have to just grab your B.O.B.s and go, no questions asked and not stopping to grab anything else. You may be leaving in a vehicle, or you may be leaving on foot.

The next step above your immediate, drop everything and go plan for bugging out should start to involve bug out boxes. If you have an hour to get out of the house, you can get a lot more loaded into your vehicles if your most important items are already loaded into pelican cases or storage totes of some kind. Bug out boxes streamline the whole process and ensure that you're packing the things that you need most.

If you have several hours, to a few days notice before you have to leave, then bug out boxes will make it much easier to organize things in your vehicle (or vehicles) as you're loading everything. Bug out boxes are great for everything other than the "get out the door now" style of bug out.

What Should be in a Bug Out Box

The beauty of having preloaded bug out boxes is that you can put anything that you'd like in them as long as you pack them based on the importance of what's in them. For example, food and water should be high on the list while a pop-up carport or air mattresses would be lower in priority.

The top priority boxes should include those things that are essential for life. Water, food, shelter, and medical. Water should be in its own container but you should think of it as part of these kits if you need to bring water with you.

Everyone's situation is different so the way that I've prioritized things below isn't cut and dry but it should be pretty universal. When it comes down to it, you're smart enough to know what's important for your particular situation. Do what's right for you!

1st priority bug out box items:

Water (desert areas)

Water purification items

Food

Tents and blankets (depending on your situation)

Extra medical supplies

Documents that can't be replaced

2nd priority bug out box items:

Hygiene items

Durable clothing

Batteries

Hand held radios

Bleach

Solar power

Cooking items (stoves/pots and pans)

Matches/lighters

Additional ways to catch food

Extra defensive firearms and ammo

3rd priority bug out box items:

Candles and lighting

Air mattresses and bedding

Duct tape

Glue

Sewing kits

Laundry detergent

Outdoor carport tent

Toiletries

Shovels

Axes

Extra tarps

Zip ties

Plates and utensils

Priority Loading of Bug Out Vehicles

Determining what is most important to load into your vehicle is going to depend on your particular situation. I see two different scenarios being the most prominent for people.

The first scenario is less desireable but it's probably the most common. In this scenario, you either have a plot of land with no structure on it as your bug out location or you haven't even chosen a bug out location. In this case, you're going to need to bring tents, cooking items, and everything else that you may have wanted to store at a bug out location with a building on in.

Because you don't have much, or any, shelter in place at your bug out location in this scenario, you need to prioritize a higher level of shelter. A carport style tent for cooking and living is a great idea in these situations.

The second scenario is less common, but it's the best case for bugging out. In this scenario, you have a bug out location that has a home or at least some kind of structure on it. This can be a hunting cabin, a house in a secluded area that you vacation at or just a plot of land with a shed on it. This lets you preposition the supplies you're going to want when you get there and cuts down on the "must-haves" that you need to take when bugging out.

If you have most of what you need at your bug out location, you can put yourself even farther ahead by bringing more food and may even be able to start prioritizing more comfort style items. This is where all of us should be striving to get to!

As you load your vehicle, you should put the highest priority items in your vehicle first. These are the things that you want to leave in your vehicle at all costs.

Your 2nd priority boxes get loaded on top of your 1st priority items so they can be removed if you need to make space for higher priority items or other people. Your 3rd priority items are loaded on top of the 2nd priority for the same reasons.

Load each person's bug out bag last! Your bug out bag is the highest priority of all your gear because it can support you all by itself. It gets loaded last so you can grab it and go if you're forced to leave your vehicle for any reason.

What are the Best Boxes to Use?

The type of boxes that you use is really up to you. I happen to have several Pelican 1560 cases that I use because they're tough, waterproof and have wheels which make getting them around really easy. They're just too expensive for a lot of people and they're heavy even without anything inside of them.

The good thing is you can use any kind of plastic stackable totes. Even the cheap ones from Walmart will work fine as long as you don't need to lock them and keep them out of the elements. It really comes down to your budget and personal needs.

Conclusion

Bug out boxes make the perfect companion to your bug out bag and should be a large part of your bug out plan. Having boxes prepacked and ready to go can really ease your mind when everything is going bad.

It also helps when you have things pre-prioritized so you know that you have the most important things loaded and haven't missed anything.

I definitely think that bug out boxes are important for anyone who doesn't have a specific bug out location. You don't have food, water and shelter in place already so you need to bring all of that stuff with you when you go out the door!

Bug Out Boxes – The Bug Out Bag Companion was first published to: https://readylifestyle.com