Preppers, what did you forget?

How to Brew

Brewing supply stores online are still shipping.

Keep it local - Homebrew Barn in Hampton is open. (No stake, just a satisfied customer).

Windex will NOT take soap scum off a shower. Get the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for all sorts of cleaning jobs. And Simple Green for greasy messes.

Windex and clones don't take the plasticizer crud off the inside of a windshield either. I like Cinch for that.

One thing preppers with bug-out plans need to remember: at your destination, you might be treated like an invader instead of a refugee.

Just like summer people in normal times ...
 
There's that movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding or something like that, where the old man sprays Windex on everything, it's for cleaning, bug control, wounds, evil spirits, etc. It's supposed to be funny, but my mom did the same thing with it. Said Windex was all you needed for household cleaning.

I spray that sh1t on every thing. when the bottle runs low I add water a store bought ammonia 50/50 for some real strong stuff
I have spray bottles with 100% store bought ammonia, works great on kitchen grease.
bugs dead in seconds, I wash my hands with it all the time, since I don't have sink in my detached garage.
and works as one of best barrels cleaners. especially with black powered.
its my really main cleaner and its cheap.
I love the smell of the stuff.

Potato chips , never have enough, broken self-quarantine at least 2 times and I'm out again.
how do you store potato chips for the long term, without real potatoes and making your own?
 
Didn't know that. I figured all cooking oils were good for about 2 years unopened.
I use expeller pressed coconut oil from Tropical traditions. The benefit of expeller pressed is it has absolutely NO coconut smell or taste and literally lasts like 5+ years even after it's been opened. I buy it in a 5 gallon tub


I‘ve been buying from Tropical Traditions for nearly 17 years. Sign up for the newsletter; about every 4 weeks they put out a free ship code. That’s the time to buy the heavy stuff.
 
I spray that sh1t on every thing. when the bottle runs low I add water a store bought ammonia 50/50 for some real strong stuff
I have spray bottles with 100% store bought ammonia, works great on kitchen grease.
bugs dead in seconds, I wash my hands with it all the time, since I don't have sink in my detached garage.
and works as one of best barrels cleaners. especially with black powered.
its my really main cleaner and its cheap.
I love the smell of the stuff.

Potato chips , never have enough, broken self-quarantine at least 2 times and I'm out again.
how do you store potato chips for the long term, without real potatoes and making your own?
I used to use ammonia to clean the burners on my gas stove. Wife and step daughter always overboil things, so everything was always a mess. Put all the parts in a trash bag, bring it outside and dump a cup of ammonia in. The next morning most of the crap would just wipe off.
 
You can dump ammomia in a non-porus bowl nand leave it in the oven overnight-same result. use janitorial strength from the hardware store-about 6.00 a bottle.
 
Well, pool stores have those big containers of chlorine; I think 5-8 gallons, and it is a higher percentage strength than laundry bleach.

The big one though is communications. Let's say the SHTF. All social media, and probably email and cell phones will be monitored/censored. How do people communicate? You already see this with them suppressing information RIGHT NOW! I was thinking maybe take a laptop around and try out all the coffee shops/McDonalds/Starbucks type places to see what wifi works (I don't do this now). That way, at least you can get on somewhere, maybe NES, if that isn't down, and at least they won't trace it back to you. I guess I should consider getting some of those stupid Baofeng ham walkie-talkies, and learn how to use them. Maybe hook up the CB radio again, just for grins.
 
I‘ve been buying from Tropical Traditions for nearly 17 years. Sign up for the newsletter; about every 4 weeks they put out a free ship code. That’s the time to buy the heavy stuff.

Just received email from Tropical Traditions; free ship in effect for rest of day (Friday 5/15/20) on non perishable order over $59. No code needed. Must select ground shipping.

Here are the 5 gallons. Other sizes available too. If you’re looking for coconut taste and smell buy the Virgin Coconut Oil (green label) or the Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil. If you’re looking for tasteless and ordorless, buy the Pure Coconut Oil or the Organic Coconut Oil; both are manually expeller pressed so you’re still getting the benefits of coconut oil, just no taste or smell.




Also noted their Palm Shortening is on sale. Can recommend that and the Virgin Palm Oil.


If you purchase something in the gallon or 5 gallon white food grade containers, think about picking one of these up.

 
Who would buy coconut oil and not like "coconut smell"? Isn't that like one of the reasons to get it, for the smell.

Anyhow, my addition to what was forgotten:
dish soap (liquid kind for the kitchen sink)
dish detergent (for the dishwasher)
 
Well, pool stores have those big containers of chlorine; I think 5-8 gallons, and it is a higher percentage strength than laundry bleach.

The big one though is communications. Let's say the SHTF. All social media, and probably email and cell phones will be monitored/censored. How do people communicate? You already see this with them suppressing information RIGHT NOW! I was thinking maybe take a laptop around and try out all the coffee shops/McDonalds/Starbucks type places to see what wifi works (I don't do this now). That way, at least you can get on somewhere, maybe NES, if that isn't down, and at least they won't trace it back to you. I guess I should consider getting some of those stupid Baofeng ham walkie-talkies, and learn how to use them. Maybe hook up the CB radio again, just for grins.
We need to bring a HAM net back
 
We definitely went through more dish detergent than normal. all of us being home for all meals meant more dishes more often
 
Who would buy coconut oil and not like "coconut smell"? Isn't that like one of the reasons to get it, for the smell.

Anyhow, my addition to what was forgotten:
dish soap (liquid kind for the kitchen sink)
dish detergent (for the dishwasher)
I try to purposely buy the unrefined coconut oil because I like the smell.
 
I feel like Burt Gummer when he has to abandon his home in the movie Tremors. Lots of food, guns, ammo, generator, water, med supplies but like Burt didn't prepare for a gosh darn underground monster, I did not prep for an NBC (nuke, bio, chem) event so no masks, suits and protective gear.

I'd seen it before but we just watched Tremors, just love that movie. [laugh]

"You picked the wrong rec room to break in to!"
 
Anyhow, my addition to what was forgotten:
dish soap (liquid kind for the kitchen sink)
dish detergent (for the dishwasher)

Timing is everything. Just before the slam down, my garbage disposal had been dead for a year and I decided to have it fixed. The sink drain piping and dishwasher piping needed replacing as well, it was older than the disposal. I was not spending an hour or two on my back below the sink so I called my plumber and he was out in a couple days, made a list and repaired it all in a day. The benefit was that I had to clean out the overfilled storage under the sink.

4 bottles of Dawn dish soap.
3 Dishwasher detergent boxes.
2 bottles of Hibiclens
2 large bottles of hand sanitizer.
3 20 packs of 5x9 green scrub pads that I cut down for scrubbing

None of which I knew was there.

.
 
We had/have food, water, paper products, and first aid supplies, for the most part. (And ammo) What we didn't think to stock up on was cleaning products and disinfectant spray. .You can buy lysol on e-bay if you want to spend big bucks. They just laugh if you ask for it at the hardware store. We keep a can in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. Both are getting pretty low now. At least, they were big cans to start with. If you're thinking of using bleach for disinfeting, keep an eye on it and rotate. I opened an old bottle and discovered that it no longer smelled like anything. Maybe pool shock holds up better. But if your bleach is old, you might be out of luck.
 
I wash my hands with it all the time, since I don't have sink in my detached garage.
and works as one of best barrels cleaners. especially with black powered.
its my really main cleaner and its cheap.
I love the smell of the stuff.


For what it's worth, I would stop the topical application of Windex

Ingredients
Water. Provides a liquid base for a product.
2-Hexoxyethanol Cleaning Agent. ...
Isopropanolamine Cleaning Agent. ...
Ammonium Hydroxide Cleaning Agent. ...
Lauryl Dimethyl Amine Oxide Wetting Agent. ...
Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate Wetting Agent. ...
Fragrance Fragrance. ...
Liquitint® Sky Blue Dye Dye.

ISOPROPANOLAMINE
ICSC: 0905
1-Amino-2-propanol
Threamine
SkinPain. Redness. Blisters. Skin burns.
Effects of long-term or repeated exposure
Repeated or prolonged contact with skin may cause dermatitis.
 
Perhaps we need to re-purpose this thread to consider preps needed going into the fall. Mob violence , new Covid lockdown? etc. I'm pretty well topped off, but I am paying attention to my stock of paper and cleaning products. One thing I'm very focused on now is the potential for civil unrest, Topping off what's currently in the safe and making sure that everything I own could be deployed if required - extra pistol and rifle mags, slings for every rifle, Weapon lights, ways to carry extra mags and holsters for each pistol etc. etc. I'm also adding bear spray for each car in the event I or a family member are caught in a violent mob
 
Come on down to Southie. Not seeing that. Mostly old boxes.....

I think the 20-something leasing a BMW is in more trouble.
Ah, those notorious “Metro Boston” housing projects. That is pure, unadulterated bullshit. It probably comes as a shock to you, but most people live in housing projects because they are poor. Any car is an expense they just can’t afford. But by all means post a picture of all those deluxe cars at housing projects.

This was near but not in a Southie project. Acura rims fit on Honda’s, so....

i-tb4Vn8g-L.jpg
Kinda bummed I missed the Sountie shitbox sub thread here as I am familiar with the area and love cheap older cars. But keep in mind, your typical shitbox is maybe 10yrs old, looks great, and if it’s a luxury car can be had for fractions of its cost new after a good 8 yrs. That Acura TL(for example) looks like a 2008 and can be had for about $5k. It looks like a successful dentist must drive it, or perhaps a modest Wall Street trader. It’s also a Honda so it will be about as mild in maintenance as you can get without downgrading to an Accord. Way cheaper to maintain at a decent independent mechanic than bringing your Porsche Cayenne or BMW 330 in to the Stealership.

Point is, few people can tell a $60k 2018 from a $5k 2008 parked on the side of the road.
It’s why most of my cars are 10+ years old. If you understand basic car maintaince (let alone DiY), that’s when the getting is good!
 
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And back on topic...I was caught with barely any isopropyl or disinfecting wipes back in March. Made spritzing mask and hands after a grocery run tough.
 
For what it's worth, I would stop the topical application of Windex

Ingredients
Water. Provides a liquid base for a product.
2-Hexoxyethanol Cleaning Agent. ...
Isopropanolamine Cleaning Agent. ...
Ammonium Hydroxide Cleaning Agent. ...
Lauryl Dimethyl Amine Oxide Wetting Agent. ...
Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate Wetting Agent. ...
Fragrance Fragrance. ...
Liquitint® Sky Blue Dye Dye.

ISOPROPANOLAMINE
ICSC: 0905
1-Amino-2-propanol
Threamine
SkinPain. Redness. Blisters. Skin burns.
Effects of long-term or repeated exposure
Repeated or prolonged contact with skin may cause dermatitis.
most of my bottles have been refilled with ammonia and water only.
but what I'm washing off is probably worse than the windex, I know its worse, I probably should be wearing gloves
 
caught with barely any isopropyl
I STILL cannot find isopropyl alchohol! Remember, it used to be about $1-2 for a square bottle at Walmart or CVS? I do not want hand sanitizer, I want isopropyl alchohol. I use it for many different things, including removing stickers, cleaning wounds, drying poison ivy, as an astringent, etc.

Same with Hydrogen Peroxide.

Chlorine is plentiful. Get that at the pool store, in far higher concentrations than laundry bleach, 5 or 6 gallons at a time.



Anyhow, an easy item to store and useful to have is cooking spray. Either butter flavored or maybe olive oil. And toilet cleaner. This reminds me, I can get muriatic acid at the pool store also.

P.S. Reverse buying for pool chemicals tip: buy calcium chloride at the hardware store. There, it is called "Ice Melt", and is WAY cheaper than at the pool store!
 
I STILL cannot find isopropyl alchohol! Remember, it used to be about $1-2 for a square bottle at Walmart or CVS? I do not want hand sanitizer, I want isopropyl alchohol. I use it for many different things, including removing stickers, cleaning wounds, drying poison ivy, as an astringent, etc.

Same with Hydrogen Peroxide.

Chlorine is plentiful. Get that at the pool store, in far higher concentrations than laundry bleach, 5 or 6 gallons at a time.



Anyhow, an easy item to store and useful to have is cooking spray. Either butter flavored or maybe olive oil. And toilet cleaner. This reminds me, I can get muriatic acid at the pool store also.

P.S. Reverse buying for pool chemicals tip: buy calcium chloride at the hardware store. There, it is called "Ice Melt", and is WAY cheaper than at the pool store!

Don't be hung up on iso. Even in the worst of covid, wood alcohol was in the HD/lowes paint aisle, and Graves/Everclear was in the liquor store...just cost more.
 
Don't be hung up on iso. Even in the worst of covid, wood alcohol was in the HD/lowes paint aisle, and Graves/Everclear was in the liquor store...just cost more.
I would not use methanol (wood alcohol) as a disinfectant, easily absorbed into skin and/or breathing vapors (high vapor pressure). It is a poison. The Everclear stuff though (grain alcohol or ethanol) is good to go, effective both topically and internally (just dilute it first).
 
Oh, not sure if anyone mentioned lighters and lighter fluid (for the grill, but good for lighting most anything).



milk tends to run out with two grown kids in the house
One 10th grade, one 12th. Go through about 4-5 gallons a week.


plasticizer crud off the inside of a windshield
What is "plasticizer crud"?

Repeated or prolonged contact with skin may cause dermatitis.
Windex works on dermatitis, right? That Greek guy seemed to think so.


$2 a quart for 70% @ walmart on line delivere.d
I've been seeing both 70% isopropyl and 3% hydrogen peroxide at Walgreen's pretty regularly. S. NH.
1) I've never had anything delivered from Walmart.
2) I usually get 91%. Do they have that?
3) I might have to see what they have at Worcester Chemical. I would get pool chemicals there once in a while. I bet they have these two.
 
What is "plasticizer crud"?

The coating that develops on the inside of car windows, especially the windshield, that reduces visibility. It's worse on cold days because it attracts moisture and can lead to whiteout when sunlight hits it at the right angle. The source is the plastics in the car - plasticizer is what keeps them soft/less brittle. The stuff outgasses over time and deposits on the glass. Crud is an unscientific term for it. :)
 
Due to mother nature, several counties in my area were out of power for 11 days (not too long ago) . I tested my reserves during this time and found that I was lacking in a couple of categories. See below:

Fuel
Batteries
Communication (Receiver)

I now keep 40 gallons of fuel on hand which I stabilize and rotate out ever couple of years.

Added 150 AA lithium batteries to my on hand stash

Added a handheld short wave receiver to my home kit.
 
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