Jump to content

In. Il. Preppers.


Recommended Posts

Can you ever really be ready? I am just starting have a free packs of rice and beans in Mylar but thats it other then tools and what not. I also got a food processor for Christmas. What are some ideas other then rice and beans.

Link to post
Share on other sites

We got started with long term and light weight food storage because of our interest in back country back packing trips for a week at a time. Research for back packing helped a lot with getting going on prepping.

 

Pasta keeps as long as rice and beans.

 

Food dehydrator is must.

 

You can dry a lot of stuff and vacuum seal it. I make jerky alot. Can store jerky in plastic zip lock for 6 months. Probably get up to a year or more vacuum sealed. Dehydrate tomato sauce and powder it in your new food processor. We do it for back packing all of the time. Canned soups dehydrate well, just ad water to make into soup again.

 

We also can our own foods in Mason jars old school style. They keep for as long or longer than many canned goods.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks alot. I do have a dehydrator. I make deer jerky with it. Thanks for the tips. I will try them for sure. Please keep the advice coming. I go on some prepper web sites but it seems alot of negative attitudes some times. I also watch alot of youtube videos.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It would be nice to try to establish a network in this area. For everything from helping with location work, prepping work to desastar relief type things. Bartor, sells etc.

 

Sounds like you'd be a good point man to get things started. Something else we are going to do is get a couple of downspout rain barrels to collect rain water for fresh water supply. We already have a well on our property, but you can never have too many sources of water. May not work for every scenario, but then again nothing will.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Wish a few more guys from the area would chime in. Im about 2 hours south east of you on the state line. I have rain barrels for the garden and we also have a well and a creek. I think water is covered. We still keep some bleach in the house to help purify water if its in question.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I popped open a MRE today for some ideas. It had vac packed peanut butter (ding ding idea...) dehydrated peaches vac sealed (mixed fruit here) a cookie (tasted like crap but still a good idea) some shit meat crackers coffee salt sugar packs etc Got some good ideas from this. Going to be hooking up the dehydrator and vac sealer.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm not in your area but you should start researching wild edible plants for your region. Harvest, preperation, and nutritional values. Start printing this info off the computer and organize it in a binder, make copies for distribution if possible.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

have you tried fishing in your stream? there may be a few fresh tasty things in there to add to the stored food? i keep a stock of toilet paper, we have had a few natural disasters in nz lately(earthquakes and floods) and i can go without many things but bog roll is one luxury i dont want to loose! another thing our power companies gave out after the big earthquake was small battery powered radios, handy to have when you are wondering what is happening and the power is out.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Im pretty blessed land wise. I have the stream that has turtles and small fish in it a pond near by that has good fishing and alot of wild game. I still want to be prepared, game and fish will only last so long with hundreds of people tresspassing. I need to get a good ham radio and get a license and learn how to use it (wrol I wont have to worry about a license.

Link to post
Share on other sites

IL sucks. I have open land and love to shoot all the time and the damn ass neighbor called the county 6 @#$!'n times now. We are both getting tired of them. If it all collapses there's going to be a ton of idiots to deal with here. I get deer herds that wander through the yard, I can sit on the roof and pick them off. Lol.

 

Preppers better prepare for biological and chemical threats more than anything because all the ammo and manpower in the state won't fight smallpox, ebola, or chems like corexit dumped into the wells.

Link to post
Share on other sites

IL sucks. I have open land and love to shoot all the time and the damn ass neighbor called the county 6 @#$!'n times now. We are both getting tired of them. If it all collapses there's going to be a ton of idiots to deal with here. I get deer herds that wander through the yard, I can sit on the roof and pick them off. Lol.

 

Preppers better prepare for biological and chemical threats more than anything because all the ammo and manpower in the state won't fight smallpox, ebola, or chems like corexit dumped into the wells.

 

What can be done for that stuff?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Live in a plastic bubble.

 

You can immunized against some things. The military has been doing that to me for years. Not sure it will really help.

 

I have been trained in chemical and biological response for emergency responders, and the military. Not much will really help it just prolongs what will probably inevitable. Best response to those kinds of threats is to get as much distance from them as you can as fast as you can. Or just take really deep breaths to end it as quickly as you can.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yep, distance and sanitation also. But unissued gasmasks with a good face seal are also a worthwhile investment. Tyvek suits aren't too expensive either.

I think that if some superbug got loose you'd have to plan to get as far North as possible that the bugs won't survive but you stand a chance.

 

Or dig in and hope your bunker has good enough filtration and circulation of air. Lol.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

Just moved to the Springfield area myself to start the new year. Started prepping last year but realize that I'll probably never have everything I need which sucks. Trying to buy a house since there's hardly any rentals available. Of course that'll bring debt which bites but there's no way around it.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Anything you need a gas mask or Tyvec suit for will kill you before you even put it on, IMHO.

Most likely is a viral plauge. Like any epidemic, the thing you need most is a plentiful supply of clean water. You need to wash everything you bring in including yourself,your clothes- and hands need washing frequently.

 

Had a 'prepper' moment today. There was a boom in the distance -and out went the lights! On my way to start the generator I used the john and flushed. The tank filled -That got me thinking about what a basic prepper i am! (my well water is crap, so the conditioning system I put in stores 75 gal of pressurised and treated water, and the softener works on line pressure. So does the RO drinking water unit, and it stores 2 gal of pure H2O.) Went downstairs and the emergency light /flashlight was on, next to the X-fer and entrance panels. Picked up the generator cord. Took it out the door and plugged it in to the generator, started it up and went in, threw the X-fer switch. 10 minuits later - the power came back on!

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
  • 5 months later...

Illinois prepper here, bout an hour north of Peoria. Kind of an old thread here but I'm new to the forum. My favorite prep is home made filtration (sand and gravel in a found container) and solar purification (a sealed clear container, receiving 12hrs of direct sunlight) of water. As for food, long term storage. Wise freeze dried foods wins with a 25 yr shelf life.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...

It would be nice to try to establish a network in this area. For everything from helping with location work, prepping work to desastar relief type things. Bartor, sells etc.

You might look at A.N.T.S, Americans Networking to Survive.

Also American Preppers Network

Edited by slippingaway
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Siminov:

Try looking at a book like the following. This book is for Illinois and I've found it quite helpful. You'll also want to try and see if there's a foragers group in your area, as a book can only go so far and a knowledgable person can highlight the subtle differences that can mean the difference between life and death in foraging:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Berries-Illinois-Missouri-Adventure-Publications/dp/1591932483/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1351095270&sr=8-3&keywords=illinois+edible+plants

 

Also, here's a couple foraging web sites:

http://www.wildcrafting.net/

http://northernbushcraft.com/plants/index.htm

http://www.aircav.com/survival/appb/asappbtoc.html

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

Hi OLSN500,

 

Care to share your water filtration plans? I have a Berkey water filter but it's nice to have backup plans (isn't that why we prep anyways?).

 

Thanks,

Dad (Sean)

 

Water filtration is all about common sense. Take any clean found container and put a small hole in the bottom for drainage. Start with an old Tshirt, layer of sand, then an old T shirt, a thin layer of charcoal, an old Tshirt, a layer of gravel. Repeat these steps as needed depending on the size of your container and the size of the hole in the bottom. A smaller hole will slow the drainage and catch more particles. This process just makes the water clear, it does not make it clean. boiling or solar purification is still required.

 

For small scale water clarity use a centrifugal method. Find two old soda bottles, fill one with cloudy water. cap bottle and attach a small rope, swing the bottle around your head to settle debris to the bottom. At this point pour off the clearest water into a different bottle and repeat as needed.

 

Keep on preppin!

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Chatbox

    Load More
    You don't have permission to chat.
×
×
  • Create New...