Everyone Should Have This Soap

A recent line in an article caught my attention.  It said, "If you could only have one soap, what would it be?" That was an easy one for me.

Ivory soap can be used for just about anything.  Your hair & body, dishes and laundry.  

Using Ivory to bathe should be pretty self explanatory.  

To use it on dishes you can do it several different ways, I'm going to mention the 2 easiest here (we are talking about prepping after all). 

#1 is to simply toss the bar in the sink or wash pan as you're adding the hot water.  Let it set for a bit to allow the soap to melt a little bit, then slosh it around a bit to circulate.  Wash the dishes with a rag and rinse.

#2 Grate a small amount of soap into sink or wash pan before adding water.  Add water and allow to sit for a bit to melt.  Add dishes and wash.

For laundry it is similar.  First wet any heavily soiled areas and rub the bar directly on the soiled area. Add about 1 tablespoon grated soap (the finer the grate the better) to a washing machine, run hot water for about 6 inches and stop the filling to allow soap to melt. After allowing about 10 minutes (all soap may not be melted) resume adding water if you are washing in hot or warm water.  Wait until soap is melted if you are going to use cold water the rest of the way.  

If you are hand washing the process is similar.  Wet and treat any soiled areas with the bar.  Add a small amount of grated soap (you'll have to allow for the size of your washtub as to decide how much, but I would not go over a tablespoon) to your washtub and add water.  The hotter the better, if you need to add hot water and let it melt the soap and cool before adding clothes. Agitate clothes and when clean, rinse well!

There you have it, why I think Ivory Soap should be the choice if you could only have one soap.

I have a few more thoughts I'm going to be posting soon, please follow my blog to get notices when it's updated.  It will only be one or two items a week so you won't be inundated with items.  Thank you.

Why I'm a "Simple Prepper"

You've probably seen (or heard of) the Discovery Channel series "Doomsday Preppers."  Like any other "reality" show, they focus on the most extreme people they can find.  Personally I think those folks are wasting their time and money. Maybe someday, if the mood hits, I'll write posts about why I think they're misguided and why I think they give the idea of being prepared for a disaster a bad name.

Enough of that.

I grew up and spent most of the first 50 years of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area.  AKA "Earthquake Country." I lived around 1/4 of a mile from the Hayward Fault for a long period of time. As far back as I remember, FEMA and the CA Dept of Emergency Services have recommended having 3 days worth of food & water on hand.  I was blessed to have been in a home where food was always available. I really can't remember a time when we didn't have food in the house.  In an emergency situation it may not have been exactly what we wanted, but I am sure between the freezer, pantry and cupboards we probably could have gotten by for a couple weeks, maybe longer. A habit I carried over when I had my own place. Back then no one stored water.  I don't even know if you could buy drinking water back then, the only water I recall being sold in stores was distilled water.

Back in those pre-internet days news was disseminated via the TV and Newspapers.  TV for the headlines, newspapers for the in-depth stuff. Mainly the Sunday paper. I was a voracious reader of the papers back then, often reading two or three a day.

I recall reading a newspaper article (which paper I've forgotten) after the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989. It stated that in the event of a major earthquake, the water supply to the area could be destroyed.  The article stated that in that type of event, it would take 6 months to restore limited service to the area and two years to restore full service. That was probably the beginning of my "prepping", although I don't think that was a word back then.  :-)

My plan then, and now, is in the event of a localized disaster is to have enough on hand to last a few months. Somewhere within that time frame I am sure will be the opportunity to leave the area and drive to a friend or relative outside of the disaster zone.  And I have them all over the country.  :-)

What is the essence of "simple prepping"? Simple  ;-)

• Keep the tank on the van full of gas.
• Have an emergency supply of meds for my folks.
• Have a few months of food & water on hand.
• Keep a reasonable amount of cash on hand.
• A reasonable amount of personal hygiene items on hand
• Same for cooking items and such.

Some of these items are subjective and I will go into more detail in future posts.

You don't have to be a "Doomsday Prepper" to be ready for an extended emergency!

Awesome Survival Hacks

While cruising around I found a post about Survival Hacks.  It linked to a video and I seldom watch videos online, and even fewer are the times I'll click on a link to one.  (If I'm going to watch a video on this thing it better be something I really want to learn, or music I really want to hear).  SO I did a search for "survivial hacks" and found this one, which features 37 "hacks".

I hope you like it, I did.