What I/we/you did/bought/built this week/month to improve my/your survivability.

[Dutch]

This past month:

1. Installed a Shelf Reliance "Harvest" can rotation rack. Really cleaned-up some of my pantry shelves. $300 at Costco, delivered. Simple, no-tools required setup. 2-ton capacity.

2. Started a fund to replace the wood-burning stove in the storage building with a Harman coal/wood stove. Hope to put the new stove in next Fall.

[5150female]

Good thread. That Harvest rotation rack is nice I bet.

1. Bought my first cord of wood. (Red Alder)
2. Gave the girls each a 3 day SHTF Bag for Christmas
3. Set aside 3k for preps we would have liked to get but haven't yet
4. Purchased ammo from WalMart everyday this week
5. Finished "One Second After" and started "Patriots".

[shades]

1.

I put together a First Aid file that includes an Army First Aid manual (which is way more comprehensive than any civvy manual).

I'm kind of being a bit selfish as I might be the one that needs the first aid.

Also threw in the US Navy Seal Physical Fitness Guide.

2.

Bought some nice canned goods, mainly protein in the form of fish or turkey.

Stocked up on water.

[Zilver]

I had 15 cords of logs delivered;
mostly black locust, hickory and red oak.
I have been cutting and splitting like crazy;....trying to get ahead by stacking a couple years supply.
love the hickory and locust because they both burn long and hot, but the black locust really eats up the chainsaw chains! (about 2 tanks of gas, then it's time to resharpen)
you can actually see sparks sometimes while cutting the locust, the dryer it is, the tougher it is to cut
I got a great deal on the wood from a fellow who is clearing a large wood lot, having lots of wood on hand makes me feel secure,
there's and old saying that I keep thinking while out wielding the Stihl in the cold; "wood is good".

[<===Foolsgold]

I got my fat a$$ onto the treadmill. 25 years ago I ran 3 full marathons (26+ miles), I was fit, now not so much.

So I am about 6 weeks back into a sensible fitness regimen. I don't want to add years to my life....I want to add life to my years.

I have about 10 cords of red oak, the home fires have been burning since early November, the only fuel oil used has been to make hot water.

[Green Light]

Bought some extra beer for storage beer.

[Jimfrancisco]

Repaired my rainwater harvesting system, and bought another 40 gallons of bottled water. Bring on the BPA!

[HoldingAg]

[QUOTE=Zilver;129611]I had 15 cords of logs delivered;
love the hickory and locust because they both burn long and hot, but the black locust really eats up the chainsaw chains! (about 2 tanks of gas, then it's time to resharpen)
you can actually see sparks sometimes while cutting the locust, the dryer it is, the tougher it is to cut

Zilver, the Sparks aren't from the Locust, they are from the chain being pushed into the Bar to hard. You ever get smoke when you cut? When that stuff starts happening get a new chain on there. I run a small landscaping and tree business.

HoldingAg

[Jimfrancisco]

Or too little chain oil flow - Had that on a cheap chinese saw before I started my vast Stihl 041 collection!

[HoldingAg]

Or too little chain oil flow - Had that on a cheap chinese saw before I started my vast Stihl 041 collection!

haha, you have CAD too huh? Chainsaw Addiction Disease. My favorite forums used to be http://www.arboristsite.com but now my favorite time waster and knowledge producer is GIM!

Quick earth friendly tip about bar oil... USE CANOLA cooking oil. Its dirt cheap, and as long as your not cutting in super cold temps it works great! The other thing is its biodegradable and ok for the enviroment. Most bar oils are just 10W30 with added Tackifiers to minimize chain sling. Don't buy the Bio- bar oil from a place like bailey's because its the same as Canola with some tackifiers but it costs like 20bucks a gall. I use regular canola for like 3 bucks a bottle.

HoldingAg

[917601]

This past month:

1. Installed a Shelf Reliance "Harvest" can rotation rack. Really cleaned-up some of my pantry shelves. $300 at Costco, delivered. Simple, no-tools required setup. 2-ton capacity.

2. Started a fund to replace the wood-burning stove in the storage building with a Harman coal/wood stove. Hope to put the new stove in next Fall.

Now study the Russo-Finnish Winter War(1939-1940) and learn how the Finnish Army tactics destroyed the invading Soviet armor and infantry battalions in one year.

[Dutch]

Made a small trip to Costco yesterday.

8-can packs of peas. Price increase of $.86. (18% hike since 12/21/2010)

Organic, xtra virgin oilve oil, 1/2 gallon. Price increase of $.50) (5% price hike since 12/21/2010)

I noted the 25-pound bags of Blue Ribbon rice were priced at $9.69. Seems to me, they were under $8 a month ago.

Lots of comments from other shoppers about the rapidly rising food prices.

[AgAuGal]

added 5 cans of canned chicken. yep, the price increases at the grocery and product shrinkage is changing at an alarming rate, seems every week higher prices and less product. It has to be obvious now to everyday people (dc still oblivious).

[Merlin]

added 5 cans of canned chicken. yep, the price increases at the grocery and product shrinkage is changing at an alarming rate, seems every week higher prices and less product. It has to be obvious now to everyday people (dc still oblivious).

Yes, the Dole half-gallon orange juice is no longer 64 ounces -- down to 59 ounces now. Thank God there's no inflation.

[minimus]

Just purchases two linear amps for local radio communications.

[TylerDurden]

This past month:

1. Installed a Shelf Reliance "Harvest" can rotation rack. Really cleaned-up some of my pantry shelves. $300 at Costco, delivered. Simple, no-tools required setup. 2-ton capacity.

Holy crap that thing is awesome! I've decided the next item on my list is going to have to be convincing my wife to let me by one of those.

[GodspeedMetals]

though only a short-term solution... I purchased a xantrex 1500watt power supply a couple of days ago. I'm betting on power outages this spring and summer so I need to keep my refrigerators up and running when the lights go out. Next purchase will be a high wattage gas powered generator or a solar power generator.

[Milanion]

Bought 72 cans of black eyed peas for .39/each and 36 cans of cranberry sauce for .45/each, on sale at Aldi.
Reorganized the room in the basement we are stocking our food in, labeled the 30 buckets down there to make it easier for us to use.
Bought his and hers pocket knives
Started our plants for the spring
Turned the heat off and using the wood stove to warm up the house
Purchased 10 lbs alfalfa sprout seeds and 64 lbs of onion sets

[Etheostoma]

though only a short-term solution... I purchased a xantrex 1500watt power supply a couple of days ago. I'm betting on power outages this spring and summer so I need to keep my refrigerators up and running when the lights go out. Next purchase will be a high wattage gas powered generator or a solar power generator.

You might also find this product interesting. http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-APS.../ref=pd_cp_e_1 I have two units like this. You can hook them up to multiple deep cycle batteries. They charge the batteries, if the power goes out they switch to battery power inverted to 110 volts automatically, and switch back to main power and battery maintenance when the power comes back on. Whatever is plugged into the unit can stay plugged in, and when the mains power is on, it routes the mains power straight through to whatever is plugged in. I have one from this company and one from Vanner. I use them for back up on my Tilapia tanks.

[Barrettone]

Bought a fully restored Massey 35 tractor, two-bottom plow, disc, brush hog, blade and two-row planter with a cultipacker. Also acquired a bobcat loader with forks and bucket. Put up 250 gallons of stabilized diesel and 100 gallons of stabilized gas. Reloaded 100,000 rounds of assorted ammo, and added a lot of food stuffs to the retreat (100 lbs rice, 50 lbs pasta, 12 cases of canned goods, 50 lbs flour and 50 lbs sugar). Picked up a lot of medical supplies and have acquired some more AU, AG, PT, and PD. Also picked up five quads and four sleds as tangibles for getting around if necessary. Added 3 coleman 5000 watt generators to the stash as well (2 running, one for parts). Topped off the month with a Big Berkey purchase plus some spare filters and elements. Been a busy month...

[goldie40]

A peening Jig for Scythe blades and 2 whet stones, one corse and one fine.

[newmisty]

WOW! Now THAT is some serious prepping! 5 quads, 4 sleds, restored tractor, 3 generators, 350 gallons of fuel and AU AG PT PD !?

The economy must be doing really well in your part of the country!!

Bought a fully restored Massey 35 tractor, two-bottom plow, disc, brush hog, blade and two-row planter with a cultipacker. Also acquired a bobcat loader with forks and bucket. Put up 250 gallons of stabilized diesel and 100 gallons of stabilized gas. Reloaded 100,000 rounds of assorted ammo, and added a lot of food stuffs to the retreat (100 lbs rice, 50 lbs pasta, 12 cases of canned goods, 50 lbs flour and 50 lbs sugar). Picked up a lot of medical supplies and have acquired some more AU, AG, PT, and PD. Also picked up five quads and four sleds as tangibles for getting around if necessary. Added 3 coleman 5000 watt generators to the stash as well (2 running, one for parts). Topped off the month with a Big Berkey purchase plus some spare filters and elements. Been a busy month...

[Dutch]

Went to Tractor Supply and found a poly stock tank (8 feet diameter X 24 inch sides) on a $50-off sale. Will use this as a brooder pen for my day-old turkey poults in May.

Have not been happy with my AA/AAA battery situation. So I bought an Ansmann Energy8Plus charger and a small stock of Sanyo "Eneloop" slow discharge NIMH cells. Hoping that this will greatly simplify my AA/AAA battery storage/charging concerns.

Worked-out a trade with my brother. He give me half-a-hog and he gets 3 or 4 cured and smoked turkeys from me.

Finally found a range feeder for my turkeys that is rain-proof and pigeon-proof. It's a 50-pound capacity range feeder from Kuhl Equipment. Nice.

Ordered some bulk seasonings from "The Sausage Maker" in Buffalo, New York. Good quality products at reasonable prices.

Added 300 "bird banger" aerial pyrotechic devices to my existing supply. Great for chasing the deer out of the turkey pens as well as long-distance signal devices should that ever be necessary.

Ordered 300 gallons of gasoline for my bulk tank. Plan on dosing it with a quart of "Pri-G" when it arrives. This would be my generator, chainsaw, ATV & Snowcat fuel supply.

Working on getting in better physical condition. Lost 11 pounds since first of the year, hitting the treadmill daily as well as pushups, situps, etc..

[Barrettone]

WOW! Now THAT is some serious prepping! 5 quads, 4 sleds, restored tractor, 3 generators, 350 gallons of fuel and AU AG PT PD !?

The economy must be doing really well in your part of the country!!

I am VERY BLESSED right now. I am in Michigan, which is actually in the toilet. However, I am the purchasing agent for a HUGE scrap and demolition conglomerate (multiple yards), and all my implements and (at first unrestored) tractor were FREE, as were the generators and bobcat. People bring the darndest things into the yard (that work just FINE) . The generators, quads and sleds were repaired after coming into the yard (cost just $1500 to get them all running). As for the fuel, well, the yards have to drain all that fuel from the trucks and cars before crushing them...ever wonder where all that stuff goes??? We keep it from the newer vehicles, and it works just fine on the farm. As for my AU, AG, PT and PD purchases, they were not THAT impressive. I just spread around my FRN's to get a little of each. Ammo rolling comes easy for me...I am an action shooting competition shooter and have "rolled my own" for many years. I just assembled a ton (literally...nit figuratively) of components I was hoarding so I could put the reloaders up in the attic. Gotta love bein' one of the top dogs at a scrap operation though...you get first crack at all the goodies!!! As long as we are demolishing GM factories and doing strip-outs, I will be doing just fine. You can't even IMAGINE the free crap I get outta those jobs...In 3-5 years though, I could be in trouble when we run out of $hit to smash, so I PREP HARDCORE!!! I pray you are doing the same!!! May God also bless you on your journey to preparedness.

[Westfalia]

New bike helmet from ProTec.
http://www.pro-tec.net/helmets.php#all

4Sevens Preon 1 AAA Flashlight. Compact format and multiple outputs, highly recommend for Every Day Carry.
http://www.4sevens.com/index.php?cPath=297_332

Light Weight Hiking Shoes from Merrell, intended for summer use and as pack-up shoes during summer hikes.