Candy is Dandy

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So you have a bunch of preps, you can survive for months on end, you have water food, ways to cook your food, you my friend are set!

This is a prep that I put into the category of preps that you would never think about, and if you have kids, they will love you for this one! What is this magic prep you ask?

CANDY!

“Candy is nature’s way of making up for Mondays.” ~Unknown Author

Yes that is right candy is prep, specifically hard candy. Remember prepping is more than just bare bones survival, the goal is to keep life worth living and having a creature comfort like hard candy can be a real psychological boot to the mind and the soul. If you have children this can be a wonderful treat to raise spirits and restore a little piece of normalcy to their lives, in a time that might be full of uncertainty and stress.

“Anyone who uses the phrase ‘easy as taking candy from a baby’ has never tried taking candy from a baby.” Unknown Author

Another use for candy is for an energy boost when you don’t have time to eat at the moment like while you are hiking. It is not necessarily the best choice, it would always be preferable to have a fresh piece of fruit or nuts and berries something that will give you more complex nutrition and a longer energy boost. Let’s be practical about it though, you are not always going to have access to those other food sources all the time, and in times like these a piece or two of  candy popped into your mouth can be a Godsend when you need it.

“As long as you’re in the food business, why not make sweets?” ― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

I get mixed bags of hard candy, then vacuum seal them to keep them away from moisture. Smashed up butterscotch candy is great in breakfast muffins or pancakes for a change up on the flavor profile. Cinnamon candies mixed with applesauce are great, even dropping a peppermint candy into a cup of tea can brighten it up.

So there you are a fun prep for hard times.

 

Keep up the good work

 

Jeff

The dollar store prepper

Obverse of United States one dollar bill, series 2003. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently they built a Dollar Tree across the street from me and I was shocked at the amount of stuff that you can get there so I have compiled a list of things that I have picked up for prepping there.

 

Glow sticks 5”

Glow sticks 14” – Glow sticks are great to stash around the house in case you have power outages and need light quick, also really fun for the kids in camping

Reusable plastic plates – I like to have non-breakable plates and glass ware to have to store away also as part of my camping equipment

Reusable plastic cups

Coloring books

Crayons

Playing cards

Kid’s games – I stock up on this stuff in case of power outages or serious emergencies I want to have things for my son and I to do to keep our minds occupied

Potted meats .50 ea

Large packages tuna

Large one serving noodle bowls – I take these, open them up put all the contents in a vacuum seal bag and seal it up.

20 pack miscellaneous sewing needles

Emergency Candles

Lamp Oil

Small zippered camera case – makes a great little container for small tools, sutures, sewing kit

Package 10 1 gallon freezer bags

16 Oz Aluminum drinking water bottle with screw top – great for storing lamp oil or d-natured alcohol

Various plastic containers – great for storage

Garbage bags – black

Garbage bags – white

There are lots of doodads, hoo-ha’s, and knick knacks that can be used for all sorts of purposes.

 

As always keep in mind that you don’t have to spend a lot tin order to get yourself ready for whatever might happen. Keep it up you are doing good!

 

Jeff

Lessons learned from my father or “Hi Have you met BOB?”

Bug Out Bag - currently (Photo credit: Steven Vance)

My father met my mother after he got out of the Marine Corps at the end of WWII they were soon married and living in a small apartment complex while my father went to college to attain a degree in psychology with a minor in sociology. One night they were awoken by the cry of fire and they jumped out of bed rushed out of the building and watched as the fire department of Colorado Springs Colorado put out the aforementioned conflagration.  Fortunately their pastor and his wife, who live a few blocks away, were able to put them up for the night and give them clothes to wear until they were able to get back into their place and get their cloths. They were fortunate they did not lose anything important they only had to clean the smoke smell out of their clothes.

What a sweet story Jeff, I am so glad that your parents were unharmed and were able to go on to produce a fine man such as yourself,  but what does that have to do with anything and who is this Bob you’re talking about?

Bob is an acronym that stands for Bug Out Bag or Bail Out Bag, the term B.O.B. is used within the prepper community. The basic idea of a B.O.B. is a backpack packed and ready to go placed in a convenient area so that you could literally just pick it up and go at a moment’s notice. My backpack is set up as if I was going camping, it has 7days worth of food, clothes, sleeping bag, tarps (instead of tents), lightweight cooking gear, bible, money, flashlights, and other miscellaneous doodads and hoo-ha’s. I also have a smaller version for my son, with changes of clothes game etc.

How far will your B.O.B. be going? There are many in these communities that think that they will be grabbing their B.O.B., head for the hills and never look back. Or their B.O.B. is getting them to their country retreat locations (more on this in later posts). I look at it in a slightly different way, I am less concerned with having to permanently leave my home and becoming Grizzly Adams, I look at it in the light of my parent’s experience. Having something to grab on the way out of a burning building or earthquake that will give me a few essentials that I will need like shoes a jacket etc. Imagine standing outside of your home in your pajamas with your family, cold no shoes, as you watch all of your stuff go up in flames. Now imagine that there is no one there to help you out…..I prefer to be ready with my friend Bob.