Preparedness Lessons from COVID-19

[BarredBuff]

It turned out pretty well. There was definitely some burnt spots, and I cut those off before I cooked it. I canned three quarts of deboned chicken to use in casserole, fajitas, and chicken salad. I slow cooked it all morning and also managed to cook down some pretty nice looking chicken broth.

 

[Beekissed]

I just watched this, and shared it in the coronavirus thread!! What do you think about it?

I think it's accurate and jives with all the information I've been learning for many years now. As a nurse I've had a front row seat to corruption in the medical field, which depends on the science community for accuracy and truth....but cannot do so. Corruption seeps into all aspects that pertain to our health, from the research, to the pharmaceutical companies, and down to the individual care providers. For instance, everyone with common sense knew they would never "find a cure" for cancer, as it's a multi-billion dollar industry...where it the incentive to "find" a cure?

Flu shots? Won't have one, won't encourage anyone else to have one, will NOT let them give one to my aging parents, who have not had one for over 25 yrs. I used to give flu shot clinics in which I jabbed people all day long, for days on end, back in the day. Now I'm ashamed of having been part of the deception....one lives and learns. Used to participate in cancer walks until I learned the truth about all of that also.

Fear of dying is the single most paramount fear all humans possess, so the real money is in playing on those fears and the science community have done that well and thoroughly for a very long time now. This C19 plandemic is just a culmination of years and years of work to effect a change and a shift of power to even more money and power to certain people. It has absolutely nothing to do with politics, just money/power.

Not a single thing we can do about it and that's not what this is all about....just handy to know the truth and be aware. Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, my friend.

 

[baymule]

I look at this as a trial run, a test. TP got to be an issue because it was time to restock. Haha. So from now on, I will keep a better back stock. We buy Feed once a month. I don’t keep more than that because it gets old. We did go stock up and buy enough for 6 weeks, same with dog food.

We had plenty of everything else. We could live for 6 months to a year, as long as the power stayed on.

In a true SHTF, no power would get real serious real quick. Our mobile home gets hot and stuffy in the summer when power goes off. It would be miserable.

What I learned is that animal feed would be critical. Chickens would have to rustle up their own. We don’t have enough grass for horses and sheep. Even with what I have planted and what I will plant, there wouldn’t be enough to go around. SHTF would mean no tractors making hay.

I need to print the recipes I saved on the computer. I need to review the sites I saved to my favorites. If there is something important, I need to print it out.

I learned you can’t be prepared for everything. But being prepared means you can take care of your family and be a help in your community.

 

[wyoDreamer]

A freezer would be really handy for meat, but I knew that before anyway. The stimulus isn't going to cover a new freezer for me with the increased costs elsewhere, but I am still looking into it. I wanted a chest freezer but someone told me they cost more to run.

I have always hear that chest freezers are better for energy efficiency - they cost less to run. Keep it full for best efficiency also. If nothing else, freeze milk jugs of water to take up space and help keep the cold. If the power goes out, throw blankets over it to help keep the cold in.

Every time you open an upright freezer, all the cold air falls out. Open a chest freezer and the cold air stays right there in the freezer.

I took the following from this article: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/upright-freezer-vs-chest-freezer/

Chest or upright freezer?
This really comes down to personal preference and space. These two different appliances have pros and cons to consider before you go shopping.

Chest freezers:

• Chest freezers have around 20 percent more usable space than a upright freezer.
• The temperature in a chest freezer stays consistent because it doesn't have a self-defrost system. Here's how to defrost a chest freezer.
• Air doesn't circulate as much in a chest freezer. This helps prevent freezer burn better than uprights.
• If there is a blackout, the chest freezer will keep your food frozen longer than an upright.
• They also tend to use less electricity than uprights, but be sure to compare Energy Saver tags while you're shopping to see which models are more energy-efficient.
• It's really hard to find the food you need in chest storage without rearranging and searching.

Upright freezers:

• Upright freezers are easier to organize because they have shelves.
• Upright freezers take up less space. A 22-cubic-foot chest freezer uses a rectangle floor space of 2 feet by 6 feet, while an upright 22-cubic-foot freezer only takes up 2.5 feet by 2.5 feet of floor space.
• They usually come in a variety of finishes.
• Chest freezers tend to be around $100 cheaper than upright versions.
• Though they are convenient, the temperature of door shelves are often warmer than the inside of the freezer.
• Uprights are typically noisier than chest freezers.

 

[tortoise]

For emergency preparedness, a chest freezer is better. For managing inventory, an upright is better. I have one of each. I greatly prefer the upright, except if the power goes out I wouldn't dare open it for fear of the cold "falling" out.

 

[farmerjan]

A couple of tricks for a chest freezer. Use some sort of containers to keep stuff in. I use cardboard boxes, not too big, so that stuff doesn't get "lost" into the bottom. Plastic totes/tubs are okay, but they are tapered so you will have some lost space but you can see in them. I put plastic down, on the bottom of the freezer, so that the cardboard boxes don't "stick". Mark on the outside what is in there. If you are a planner, it is easier to put a meal or 2 of meat, vegs, all together in small boxes so to make it easier to find. Or put all the blueberries in one strawberries in another, all the green beans, in another. I vacuum pack everything so the packages are slippery so the cardboard boxes are great.

 

[tortoise]

freezer burn is not a big deal. If it bothers you, slice it thin and marinade in a strong flavor. I use it for stir fry. I was cooking old freezer burnt venison when my MIL dropped by. Oh, the embarrassment. But, my MIL didn't even recognize it as venison! 🥳

 

[Daisy]

I'd love to get solar panels connected to the power here. Through summer there would be no problems. In winter I use less electricity anyway and there would still be enough sunlight. I think I am just worried someone would fall through the roof while they're getting installed lol.

 

[tortoise]

I lost my post this morning or put it on the wrong thread? IDK, hope I'm not repeating.

I learned that I need to consider pain management in my emergency preparedness. If electric is out I won't have ice and heat packs, or hot baths, which is most of my pain management strategy. I bought a bulk roll of kinesiology tape and a silicone cupping set. The cupping has similar function to heat pad - it draws circulation to the area. I am thinking I need to add a trigger point massage book to my SHTF-no-internet reference book collection.

 

[tortoise]

In addition to what you need, you also have to prepare for shortages on what other people (who don't know how to prep) think they need.

I've had to stock up on TP, only because there's been no guarantee I can find it in a store on the day I go shopping.

I had purchased enough cleaning supplies for our normal amount of cleaning and laundry for 6 weeks. I used my previous inventory info to decide how much to purchase. I forgot to factor in that I'd be doing more cleaning and laundry than usual.

I'm finding that my children's habits are a liability in a SHTF scenario. Especially the teen who feeds his meals to the goats and then binges on sugar, maple syrup, the chocolate chips and stuff I stashed for a cookie party to lighten the mood, gallons of applesauce, etc. An extraordinary amount of food disappearing. I sent him to grandma's house for the duration.

I learned that I'm most prepared for a situation that doesn't involve power outage. 😁