Be ready now: A 5 week recap

Posted on 11 April 2011 by dlhitzeman

Be ready now is a weekly post about things you can do right now to get ready for whatever might come next courtesy of Dennis L Hitzeman’s Readiness Weblog. You can find other posts in this series in the “Be ready now” category.

If you have been following these posts for the past five weeks, you will have noticed that, if you followed the suggested plan, you will have the following things on hand for immediate readiness:

A plan for what to do in the case of a disaster or unrest.
2.5 gallons of water for every person involved in your plan.
A case lot of ready to eat food.
A clothing kit for everyone involved in your plan.
A tent (or tents) big enough for everyone involved in your plan.

At worst, depending on what you decided to buy, you might have spent several hundred dollars, but in fact, you could buy everything on this list for a couple of hundred dollars if you are savvy about how you spend. If you followed this plan, then you are probably now more ready than as many as 90 percent of the people in the United States are right now at the time of this writing.

If you did not follow these posts or the plan they suggest, consider doing so now. It’s never too early to be ready, but when disaster strikes, it is far too late.

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact me about ways you can support this effort.

DLH

Be ready now: 3 things you can start doing this week to be ready for whatever comes next: Clothing

Posted on 28 March 2011 by dlhitzeman

This week’s theme: Clothing

Immediate: Put together a clothing kit for each person who is part of your immediate readiness plan. The kit should include, but is not limited to, at least one change of underwear, at least one pair of good quality socks, a pair of work pants or jeans, a shirt, a sweat shirt, a pair of sweatpants or long underwear (That can be worn under the regular pants), a pair of work gloves, a pair of winter gloves, a stocking cap, a scarf, and a good pair of walking shoes. Other items to consider could be sunglasses, dust masks, simple tools (a Leatherman or equivalent would be a place to start), a winter coat, a rain coat, etc. Pack all of the clothing in a waterproof container or bag and store them in a central location that everyone involved in the plan knows about. If you wear dress clothes to work, consider packing a smaller version of this kit into your car or carry it with you in a backpack. If you carry nothing else, carry walking shoes.
Intermediate: How much of your clothing is appropriate for an enduring emergency situation? Do you have the capacity to repair your clothing? How will you keep your clothing clean? Consider all of these factors for a period lasting as long as a year. Consider stockpiling extra clothing for everyone involved in your readiness plan.
Long-term: Do you know someone who can make clothing? Do you know of a local, non-commercial source for fabric and supplies? Consider stockpiling raw materials.

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact me about ways you can support this effort.

DLH

Readiness Watch for the Week of 21 March 2011

Posted on 21 March 2011 by dlhitzeman

Readiness Watch is a weekly publication intended to provide current, relevant, and actionable readiness information to people determined to be ready for whatever comes next, and especially for those people who are just starting their journey down the road to readiness. Readiness Watch will include observations, commentary, advice, links to resources, and related news.

I always welcome input from my readers, especially tips on information or ways to make this publication better. Feel free to contact me with information, advice, or tips or for ways you can support this effort.

Readiness Watch for the week of 21 March 2011

Previous Readiness Watch posts.

DLH

Readiness Watch for the Week of 14 March 2011

Posted on 14 March 2011 by dlhitzeman

Readiness Watch for the Week of 14 March 2011

Previous Readiness Watch posts.

DLH

When will you be ready?

Posted on 18 February 2011 by dlhitzeman

If an emergency were to happen today, what would you do? What if the power went out? What if you could not buy gas or groceries?

What is your plan?

We live in unsettled times. Riots aren’t just for the Middle East anymore. Financial uncertainty, inflation, and shortages of critical goods are spreading. History tells us that it is exactly at times like these that you need to be ready because disasters happen quickly.

You don’t have to listen to me. There are plenty of other people saying the same thing, but the message is the same. Get ready. Be ready. There is danger ahead.

DLH

The looming currency collapse

Posted on 10 February 2011 by dlhitzeman

UPDATE: For those who find the linked video too painful (that is badly done) to watch, if you browse away from it, then click “Stay on this page” from the resulting pop-up” it will take you to a transcript of the video.

I’m not much for investment research firms for the most part, so I am skeptical when they give advice for free or as part of a thinly veiled promo for a product or service they provide. It is with that skepticism that I viewed Porter Stansberry‘s apocalyptically titled “The End of America” video.

Most people find the subject of the video boring. Many people who actually watch it will see the video as a scare tactic designed to frighten them into using Stansberry’s products or services and will ignore its message.

I believe they will do so to their own detriment.

Whatever Stansberry might be selling, his analysis of the looming crisis with the American dollar and everything it could mean for our way of life is dead on. And, he only focuses on one narrow aspect of looming problems that threaten to create the perfect storm that could bring the American and world economy to its knees.

Again, it is easy to ignore what people like Stansberry or me are saying because it sounds so impossible, yet it is only impossible if one ignores the inevitable lessons history taught past nations and civilizations who thought the same things.

Now is the time, more immediate than ever before, for you to get ready. Get out of debt. Make sure you can provide for your own basic needs without the need for constant infusions of cash. If you live in a city, have a plan for how to get out and where you are going to go. Have supplies and means of self-defense on-hand.

I grant that I could be wrong and that these things may never come to pass. History is quirky that way. Yet, I cannot miss the fact that it can and does happen and that the United States is not exempt from that reality.

The signs are all there. Are you going to pay attention?

DLH

A readiness challenge from FEMA

Posted on 5 January 2011 by dlhitzeman

Do you have ideas about how to help individuals, families, and communities be ready? If so, the Preparing our Communities Before a Disaster Strikes challenge from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is the thing for you.

According to the challenge, the goal is to: “To come up with ideas on how we can all help prepare our communities before disaster strikes and how the government can support community-based activities to help everyone be more prepared.”

The deadline for entries in this challenge is 29 January with the prize being your idea being showcased on the FEMA website.

DLH

Will you be ready in 2011?

Posted on 1 January 2011 by dlhitzeman

I believe being ready is more than having a stockpile of supplies just in case something happens that deprives me of the modern comforts I have come to expect. Readiness is a state of being; a world view focused on the art of living and a lifestyle adaptable to whatever circumstances might present themselves at the moment.

I want to inspire other people to pursue being ready the way I want to be ready myself, hence this weblog. Yet, over the last year, I have discovered just how much of a task readiness is and how hard it is to convince other people it is worth doing at all.

That last statement is not despair of trying. To the contrary, it is an acknowledgement of the difficulty of the task at hand and an acceptance that it is not going to happen quickly or easily.

I plan to be more ready when 2011 ends than I am now that it has started, and I hope you will join me in the quest.

DLH

This is what you get from $14 trillion in debt

Posted on 29 November 2010 by dlhitzeman

Most Americans have no idea why the world switching from the dollar to the euro as the global reserve currency, just like they have no idea why excessive government intrusion into their personal lives in the form of mandated health care is bad or why $14 trillion and growing in national debt is bad.

Yet, Vladimir Putin, de facto ruler of the worlds 12th largest economy is warning of the fact that Russia may abandon the dollar in favor of the euro and eventually join the Eurozone.

“So what?” you might say.

Well, the so what is that almost everything you probably think of as being part of your standard of living and current way of life derives from the fact that the rest of the world currently views the dollar as the standard for international trade. Oil, food, and industrial commodities are all bought and sold in dollars, and it is the strength or weakness of the dollar that determines the ebb and flow of international markets.

In short, it is the dollar, and therefore the United States, that dictates the rest of the worlds economy, up to and until the world switches to another standard. The other standard most likely to replace the dollar is the euro, and the moment that switch takes place, it will be the EU dictating terms to us.

Now, I know that there are people who think this is a good thing; who think the US needs to be brought down a peg. Unfortunately, those people do not consider the consequences of their thinking. The euro replacing the dollar will not mean that we suddenly will live in a more egalitarian world. On the contrary, such a change will simply mean that the powerful nations of Europe are calling the shots instead. The last time I checked, Europe’s record of calling the shots was a pretty bad one.

DLH

Immediate readiness

Posted on 22 October 2010 by dlhitzeman

The simplest part of immediate readiness is assembling a readiness kit. The government website Ready.gov has a good list for a basic kit, and a quick Google search can reveal hundreds of variations on the theme. That said, everyone’s kit is going to contain different things based on each person’s views, approach, and the kind of changes the person might be planning for. I tend to follow the advice presented by Laughing Wolf in his “Readiness Week” posts at the blog Blackfive because he has assembled quite a bit of information and experience all in one place. Whatever list someone might use, it should contain, as a minimum, the following:

Three gallons of water per person involved in the plan.
Enough preserved food to last each person involved in the plan for three days.
Flashlights and batteries (a hand crank radio with a built-in flashlight is really the better way to go).
A portable radio with batteries (a hand crank radio with a built-in flashlight is really the better way to go).
Weather appropriate clothing and footwear for each person.

In addition, some other things to consider as part of immediate readiness kits that do not always come up in lists:

A good quality multi-tool. I prefer multi-tools from Gerber, but brand is not so much of an issue as quality, but it needs to have pliers, a knife, and a flathead screwdriver as a minimum.
At least 100 feet of rope. I prefer military grade 550 cord because of its versatility.
A length of malleable wire (such as electric fence wire or steel ground wire). Wire can be used for all sorts of purposes, and even a short coil can prove to be infinitely useful.
A roll of duct tape.
A backpack big enough to hold all of your immediate readiness supplies.

The previous two lists are far from complete, but they are a good place to start. In my opinion, the best way to start an immediate readiness kit is to buy one of the ones someone else has already put together. There are as many kits as there are places that sell that kind of thing, but my personal preference right now is the Personal 72 Hour Emergency Kit with MREs from Emergency Essentials, to which I would add a Pocket Survival Pak (or a Pocket Survival Pak Plus when they become available), an emergency blanket, an emergency sleeping bag, a multi-tool, a 100 foot coil of 550 cord, a 100 foot coil of wire, and a roll of duct tape. My kits also tend to collect a variety of other things along the way, but pay attention to how much you put in the bag because they can get really heavy really quick.

I also take my kits one step farther by trying to stock one kit for each person in my house and another in my car, that way, even when I am away from home, I know I have at least a three day kit nearby. I also always carry a small pocket knife with me and will probably add some sort of survival key chain to the mix at some point so even if I cannot get to my kits, I am not without resources.

An important part of a complete immediate readiness plan is having an evacuation plan. Some sudden changes, like a natural disaster or a political upheaval, may require people to relocate, sometimes very suddenly and very quickly. Evacuation plans should include the following considerations:

Make sure there is enough fuel on hand for vehicles that may be used in an evacuation.
Make sure that some part of the readiness supplies are easily portable in case evacuation means walking.
If evacuation means walking, make sure you have appropriate clothing and footwear available. This idea is especially important if you find yourself needing to evacuate from work where you might not be wearing walking appropriate clothing and shoes.
Make sure that portable readiness supplies include supplies to weather being outdoors, possibly for several days.
Establish several rally points at increasing distances from the sites of potential changes and discuss those rally points with anyone involved in your plan.

Immediate readiness can be a lot more complicated than these simple considerations depending on the specific events someone might plan for, but starting at this simple point is a good way to establish a baseline from which more complex plans can be built.

DLH