Game Plan: Alas, Babylon

Yesterday I wrote a post on the 27 things I learned from Alas, Babylon.  Today I'm going to share what I have done with that knowledge.  I understand everyone's position is different.  I also well know the burden of living paycheck to paycheck.  Even worse still, I know how it is to live with no paycheck.  So do what you can.  If you have nothing but a desire to start prepping and storing things away you are on the right track! 

So here we go! 

1. Even tho banks will fail, we still depend on Fiat Money(paper money).  So keep your bank account!  On the flip side, keep a nice stash of cash on hand.  Stores will take cash for a while.  As a back up keep bartering items on hand.  There are some great lists on Pintrest!  Some of my top bartering items:
Diapers (Just what my little never used.)
Extra clothes
Canned Food
These are going to be high priory items.  Other items to consider are coffee, achocal, and tobacco products.  We don't use any of these, but when those that are addicted run out of them you should be able to trade for what you need.

2. Have a year supply.  The book only goes for a year, but the end is written so that they stay longer.  Food supplies are amazing and can last for 30 years if well stored.  A few side notes from the book that I needed to add are:
More salt!
A way to hunt with out ammo
Not relying on the freezer
Making sure there is enough food for everyone for a year, and that everyone gets at least 1,500 calories a day

3. Stick to a routine!  I'm not a routine kinda gal. (You can tell right?)  So we are going to come up with a few routines that will be relaxing should anything ever happen.  That way should something happen there will be a relaxing, soothing, normalcy in a hectic time.

4. Stock up on Medicine and learn how to heal illness naturally.  This one kinda goes with having a year supply, but kinda doesn't.  Most medicines keep longer then the expiration date implies.  I've taken out of date medicine and have had no ill side affects.  Solid pills keep the longest.  If a liquid medicine seperates its time to throw it away.  How ever I've started looking into Essential Oils, Herbs and other natural remedies. 

5. Find your community.  Do you live amongst family or in the middle of strangers?  I know a few of our neighbors but not all of them.  Get to know your neighbors and make friends with them.  They are the ones that are either going to help you or kill you for your food.


Most of the other points were great reminders of what could happen.  These 5 points are what I know I need to work on, and I thought would be the most beneficial to bring up for others.  Happy Prepping~

Elizabeth 

27 Things I Learned from Alas, Babylon

With winter upon us I've taken up reading to fill my time.  The dark of night isn't as bad if you can imagine yourself somewhere else.  I've started reading survival books, prepping books, spiratual books, and fiction.

Alas, Babylon is a fictional book that was written in 1959 by Pat Frank(pen name).  The book is set in Florida, and follows a handful of characters.  The story line is very well written, and is an amazing book!  That was not my reason for reading the book tho.  I took a prepper standpoint to reading the book and wanted to learn what could happen and what I could prepare for if my town was completely shut off from the outside world. I understand that this is a piece of fiction, but feel in my heart and soul that there is real world applications to this book. 

*The following blog post may ruin the book for you!  If you want to read the book then compare notes that may be the best idea!  I've included page numbers for your convenience.*

1. pg 117 Banks will fail fast.

2. pg 117 Small towns depend on daily deliveries.  Towns will become islands.  What is in town is what you have.  "...Its inhabitants would have to subsist on whatever was already within its boundaries, plus what they might scrounge from the country side."

3. pg 130 Ammo must be on hand.~Hidden if necessary.  ".. if economic chaos lasted for a long time, a meat shortage developed, and it became necessary to hunt small game."

4. pg 133 People will react to the changes and challenges in their own way.  You can't change that.  "Some nations and some people melt in the heat of crisis and come apart like fat in the pan.  Others meet the challenge and harden"

5. pg 135-136 Food will be contanimated if it happens to be a necualr accident.  Milk, green, will not be able to be eaten.

6. pg 137 Gun Safety and the understanding of keeping the family safe.  "Never point it at a man unless you intend to shoot him, and never shoot unless you mean to kill."

7. pg 151 The electricity will go out- Freezers will thaw.  When the power goes out eat out of the fridge and freezer, thaw and can everything!

8. pg 159 Addicts will be looking for their next fix.  Parents will be trying to feed their families.  Looting and killing will happen.  Hide your supplies!

9. pg 165 About 9 days after a Blackout those on refrigerated medicine will die.  ".. all diabetics in Fort Repose, dependent on insulin, died about the same period as the drug lost its potency."

10. pg 170 People will feel useless and depressed when their supplies run out, unless they have survival skills.  "I'm not much of a success, an I, in a crisis? I can't feed my daughter, or my self, or even bury my wife.  I wish I had enough guts to swim out into the channel and sink."

11. pg 173 Gas in cars will need to be conserved.  Funerals will happen in the families yard.

12. pg 185 Its better if everyone~family or community~ work together.  "If everybody worked as hard as they could until sun down every day, then everybody could eat, although not well."

13. pg 216 The Government will shut down with out man power or supplies.  "The other police men had abandoned unpaid public duty to scramble for their families.  The fire and sanitation departments, equipment immobilized, not longer existed."

14. pg 217 Someone has to be in charge.  "He had assumed leadership.""Command was a lonely state."

15. pg 224 Routine and traditions help stressful times.  "There was peace and continuity in the sound of the bell.  The bell announced that there was food on the table and a woman in the kitchen."

16. pg 227 Find your boundaries and keep them safe.  "He slept uneasily unless he knew all was well around his perimeter."

17. pg 235 Health can go downhill fast.  "Small pox, black plague, out of the middle ages, Not so."

18. pg 235 It is important to get over 1,500 calories a day.  "At day's end a mas was exhausted- phsically, mentally, emotionally.  Each sun herald in a new crisis and each night he bedded with old relentless fears.  He awoke thinking of food and fell into his couch at night still hungry, his head whirling with problems unsolved and dangers, unparried."

19. pg 241 Hid what you have!  "There were human jackles for every human disaster."

20. pg 243 Dogs, cats, ect. are going to turn wild after their owners die or let them go.

21. pg 253 Men and women in places of authority are going to change and shut out those they love.  "He had moved into a man's august world of battle and violence, from which she was barred."

22. pg 267 "Well when the rules are off you make your own." 
     Except God's Law is always available.  The rules and laws of man my fade, but God is forever.

23. pg 268 Marriages, babies, LIFE is still going to go on even though something has/is happening.

24. pg 288 Stock up on SALT.  Find natural ways to obtain it.  "Salt was a vital commodity....  They sweated their salt away, and they grew weak, and they grew ill."

25. pg 291 Book are a must!  Journaling is a must!  The only way we are going to survive is to have resources to learn from/refer to.

26. pg 300 School will be shut down.  "...that the responsibility for teaching must rest temporarily with the parents."

 27. pg 303 Old fashioned will be the best.  Hand tools, being able to do things with out electricity or stores. 



I have learned so much from this book.  I hope you will take the time to read it, and learn form it. 

Elizabeth~

The Goods on Household Goods

I am an overstocker.  I read 50 lbs of wheat per person and I over do it.  I read a sewing pattern it says 3 yards and I buy 6 yards.  Its just who I am.  I go overboard on EVERYTHING.  It is a huge personality flaw, but it does come in handy.  So where am I going with this.  I have overstocked on household goods.  I have found that there are three categories in house hold goods when thinking about preparedness.
#1 Things that will never go bad.
#2 Things that have experation dates that are still good after they "expire"
#3 Things that expire on their expiration dates. 

#1 Things that never go bad.
Think paper products.
These could be stored in a shed that is not temperature controlled and should be just fine. 
Paper Towels
Paper Plates
Toilet Paper
Cotton Balls
Pads and Tampons
Wax Paper
Aluminum Foil
Gauze
There are products that will deteriorate if not temperature controlled but will last forever if stored inside.
(Under a bed is the perfect place)
Plastic Silverware
Plastic Cups
Toothbrush
Hairbrush
Combs
Hair Ties
Band-Aids

#2 Things that have a expiration date that stay good after they "expire"
Toothpaste~ I'm currently using a tube that expired 8 months ago
Lotion~The lotion will thin out a bit but will still be good.  Currently using lotion that I bought 5 years ago.
Body Wash~ Yep 5 years old and still smells amazing, and cleans me.
Hand Soap~ Once again 5 years old and still working.
Bleach
Dish Soap
Shapmoo
Conditioner
Cleaning Products~Ours aren't 5 years old, but I do know they are expired.
Medicines~ I find that medicines in pill form last much longer then their liquid counterparts. 

#3 Things that expire on their expiration dates
Deodorant~ I'm trying to use up a stick that expired a year ago.  I'm not a smelly person, but it just doesn't keep the smell away.

There really are not a multitude of products that expire on their expiration dates, but trust me deodorant is one of them.

There are a few down sides to stocking up.  If you live in a flood zone, find some way to protect your paper products.  Having a year supply of toilet paper won't do you any good if it happens to become soggy.  Another down side is not being able to stay current on your body wash or lotion. Working at a mall specialty store, I've found that they like to come out with a scent for only 3 months and then discontinue it.  One of the con's of stocking up is that you might not be able to "keep up with the Smith's" so to speak.

~Elizabeth

Loaded Broccoli and Cheese Soup

 September is National Preparedness month.  All month I've been thinking of being prepared.  All I can thinking of is prepared for what?  I live in the high desert of Colorado.  I live on a hill so no flooding here.  Tornado,ummm unlikely.  I do have to cross a bridge to get into town, and if all 4 bridges out of here fail I could be in trouble.  The biggest threat?  A massive blizzard.  That is a real possibility.  We have had snow day's around here.  Wet snow two feet deep.  Not bad, but if the conditions were just right I could have to deal with a blizzard.  So in light of National Preparedness Month I've decided to use some of our prepping items, and then tell you about them.  We love Augason Farms Cheesy Broccoli Soup Mix.  It is wonderful to have on hand, and has a shelf life of 10 years.

Tonight for dinner I used up the last of my Cheesy Broccoli Soup Mix.  I hope you enjoy this recipe for Loaded Broccoli and Cheese Soup. 

Loaded Broccoli and Cheese Soup
4 Servings.
2/3 cup Soup Mix
3 1/2 cups Water
1lb Ground Beef
1 cup Green Beans
1/2 cup Carrots

Mix water and soup mix.  Turn stove on and bring to a boil.
Add green beans and carrots.
Boil 13 minutes.
Brown ground beef. 

Add ground beef to soup.

Enjoy~

I served our soup with Grilled Cheese Pull-A-Parts.  This was a very satisfying dinner!