The Survival Buzz #157

Welcome to this week’s Survival Buzz with an update on my own preps and announcements from the Backdoor Survival blog.

I spent the last week in Arizona taking care of some personal business.  That left me little time for preps but I still managed to take delivery of an additional 55 gallon water barrel.  After going 12 days without running water, I felt it prudent to double up on stored water.

Speaking of water, I have been working on setting up a live webinar on understanding the in’s and out’s of treating water in an emergency.  After a couple of false starts, I have everything set up and we are good to go for a free, one-hour live event with emergency water expert Glenn Meder.

The date is Wednesday, March 4th at 5PM Pacific.  Here is what will be covered:

· How to properly purify water for long periods of time

· How to ensure our families’ safety in an emergency

· How to treat any water — even ocean water — and make it safe to drink.

I will be sending out an email about the event in a few days but in the meantime, you can check it out and register using this link:  Emergency Water webinar with Glenn Meder & Gaye Levy.  I promise you that this will be useful, interesting, and not a sales pitch.

While I was away, six boxes of organic honey from Tropical Traditions arrived along with some other items.  If you need to stock up on coconut oil, Tropical Traditions has free shipping going on this weekend with coupon code 15223.

And finally, we paid a visit to Shelly’s cardiologist on Thursday and showed him a chart showing a consistent, 20 point drop in blood pressure using a blend of essential oils. The good news is that he gave us his blessing in dropping one of the blood pressure meds.  The better news is that I will now write how we did it, including the “recipe”.

As I always recommend, if you are being treated for a serious condition, it is best to partner with your physician before dropping any life-sustaining meds.  That said, the moment to start experimenting is now, while you can.  Not every natural remedy will behave in the same manner for everyone.

Boring as it is, that wraps things up for me.  Now for some announcements.

BACKDOOR SURVIVAL MAIL BAG & READER TIPS

I have not tried this myself but Facebook fan Melvin offers this tip for making washing soda from baking soda:

Baking soda when spread on a cookie sheet lined with foil will convert to washing powder at 400F after one hour.

Washing soda is used in The No Mess No Fuss Method of Making DIY Laundry Detergent but in some areas, can be difficult to find.

Teresa has some advice that we all should heed if we get close to a tipping point:

I would like to caution everyone who is thinking/planning some version of “cashing out” your bank accounts.

It has been the experience of my family that most banks do not actually have much cash on hand. If you seek to make a somewhat significant cash withdrawal from your account(s) it is often necessary to return to the bank a day or 2 later to actually receive your money since they do not have sufficient funds on hand. I’m not talking about 6 figure amounts here either. The funds that you have on deposit with your bank are not physically sitting in a vault at your local branch. Most is apparently carried electronically.

So if that is the way that things are TODAY, imagine if everybody is looking for cash at the same time…….

Folks if your plan includes the intention of running to the bank at the last minute and making a cash grab, I fear you are going to be “up the creek”.

CURRENT GIVEAWAYS

There are two fantastic giveaways this week. You are definitely going to want to enter both!

BDS Book Festival 7: The Perseid Collapse Series Giveaway

The Nitro-Pak 72 Hour Survival Kit Review and Giveaway

Remember, the deadline for all giveaway entries is 6:00 PM Pacific on Tuesdays.  In addition, all winners are notified by email and have 48 hours to claim their prize or an alternate will be selected.  Once selected, the names of winners are also displayed in the Rafflecopter on the original giveaway article.  This usually happens on the Friday following the end of the giveaway.

HOW TO USE THE RAFFLECOPTER

I have had a few questions asking about the Rafflecopter widget.  Here is quick tutorial telling you how it works.

The way that Rafflecopter works is that you must sign in using either email or FB. This is so I have some way to contact you if you are the winner. It is used for no other purpose.

After you do that, there are usually 4 to 6 options, each giving you one or more entries. I always give the most “entries” for leaving a comment but it is not required. I also usually include some social media follows and a “free for everyone” entry. The latter is something you simply need to click on to record your entry.

When the giveaway is over, Rafflecopter picks the winner totally at random.

So, if you think about it, the more entries, the greater the chance of being picked.

By the way, to get to the requirements for each type of entry, click on down arrow next to each entry type.

Please note that if you are having issues or am unable to enter, the problem is likely a firewall at your end.  Try a different computer or, if you are at work, wait until you are at home.  This will usually solve the problem.

DEAL ALERT! The SAS Survival Guide for only $1.99

For a very short period, John “Lofty” Wiseman’s Kindle version of the SAS Survival Handbook is on sale for only $1.99.  This is an all-new edition will 100 extra pages of material bringing the total to 672 pages.

This is the ultimate survival handbook — covering environments from secluded woods to post-apocalyptic urban areas. No matter what the world throws at you, this is the handbook you want; a  must for the survival library.  Seriously!

THE FINAL WORD

With luck, I hope to stay home and avoid travel for awhile. March is right around the corner and I need to get some tomato seeds started.  For sure I need to be here to nurture them.  Plus, I have way too many half started (half-finished?) projects that need to be completed.

What about you?  What did you do to prep this week?

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye

If you enjoyed this article, consider voting for me daily at Top Prepper Websites!  In addition, SUBSCRIBE to email updates  and receive a free, downloadable copy of my e-book The Emergency Food Buyer’s Guide.

Bargain Bin: Many of these personal favorites were also mentioned by Backdoor Survival readers in the article 39 Fantastic Prepping Tips. 

Streamlight Nano Light Keychain LED Flashlight: Extremely small and light weight yet it will throw off a decent amount of super-bright light. At just .36 ounces and 1.47 inches long, the Streamlight Nano Light Keychain Flashlight will take up a minimum of space in your pocket or bag.

Kershaw OSO Sweet Knife:  This “oh so sweet” knife is solidly built, stainless steel knife that comes razor sharp right out of the package. It will pretty much cut through anything the price is amazing.

Blocklite Mini Compact Size Ultra Bright 9V LED Flashlight:  One of my readers (James) turned me on to the Blocklite.  I now own four.  There is a similar flashlight called the Pak-Lite (which is more expensive) but it does not have a high-low switch like this one.  Less than $10.

Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst-Case Scenarios:  This book covers the basics of prepping including food storage, water purification, financial and medical preparedness and communication during a crisis.  It goes beyond the basics, however, with the addition of charts, checklists and worksheets to help you stay organized in your preparedness efforts.  ON SALE – $2.99 for the Kindle version.

Windstorm Safety Whistle: I have many cheap whistles but for my bug out bag, I stash the Windstorm whistle.  I have tested it and this particular whistle can be heard a long distance away and above howling wind and other competing sounds.

Pepper Spray:  It is always good to have some form of defense that will temporarily halt a bad guy that is in your face.

Emergency Mylar Thermal Blankets:  These come in compressed packets small enough to fit in a pocket or wallet.  You will be surprised at how warm these will keep you.

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Shop the Emergency Essentials Monthly Specials:  One of the best deals this month is the Farmers Market Vegetable Combo which is 52% off at $79.99.  Now that is a good deal.

Included are broccoli, green peas, tomato chunks, spinach, green beans, and zucchini pieces—fantastic in soups, stews, or even in a refreshing salad.

Shop the Emergency Essentials Monthly Specials

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Need something from Amazon (and who doesn’t)? I earn a small commission from purchases made when you begin your Amazon shopping experience here. You still get great Amazon service and the price is the same, no matter what.

Amazon has feature called Shop Amazon – Most Wished For Items. This is an easy tool for finding products that people are ‘wishing” for and in this way you know what the top products are.  All you need to do is select the category from the left hand side of the screen.

The Amazon Top Most Wished For and Best Selling Outdoor Items
Emergency Preparedness Items from Amazon.com

Help support Backdoor Survival. Purchases earn a small commission and for that I thank you!

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