Hurricane Florence Help

First of all, my sincerest wishes of luck and good fortune to those who will be affected by Hurricane Florence. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Second, I thought there might be some value in establishing a list of helpful hints which hopefully will make life a little more comfortable and safe. Some call them "life hacks" or "preparedness hacks", or whatever.

I'll start with a few:

1. Take about 10 wraps of duct tape and wrap it around the end of your mini-mag flashlight. This way you have a light you can hold in your teeth (without breaking them) to free up your hands, and plus, you'll also have about 4' of duct tape handy.

2. You can use a tub of Crisco shortening to make a candle with some cooking string. Just dip the cooking string in oil of some kind and then poke it down into the shortening and light. Will burn for days!

3. Everyone knows to fill their bathtubs and sinks with water, but if you do it right and sanitize your tub first, use this water only for drinking water (after you run out of bottled water). There will be plenty of other non-drinkable water around to use for things like flushing the toilets, so use that instead of your tub water. You can collect it in a garbage can or other large container.

4. You can easily make a very usable stove from just about any (empty) large can of food supplies. Just poke some holes all around the bottom of the can and place any dry combustibles like dead branches, dry news papers, etc inside and light it.

5. You can convert AAA batteries to AA batteries in a pinch with some tinfoil.

6. Cotton balls mixed with petroleum jelly make a great fire starter (for your stove above). Melted wax works good too (in the cotton balls).

7. Contractor grade garbage sacks are worth their weight in gold (any heavy garbage sacks really, just the contractor grade ones are really tough). They can be used to keep things dry, used as a flotation device, used as a rain coat and 50,000 other uses. Know where they are and keep them out of harms way and close at hand. They'll come in handy.

8. This one is a GREAT one that most would never think of... Buy or find that old Frisbee, it's the handiest tool you'll ever use in an emergency!! Frisbee's make fantastic shovels, they work as a plate, they will carry water, they're great for holding small parts when you're trying to fix something and don't want to lose those little screws and springs, etc. They're reusable, easy to clean, indestructible and practically bullet proof.

9. This one is kind of obvious, but start out with the mindset that water, even though it's everywhere, is always going to be your biggest and most difficult challenge. Drinking water that is. It's the biggest, meanest, dog you'll ever have to contend with in an emergency. Water is golden, water is precious. Never underestimate the value of clean water and don't waste even a single drop! With just the water it takes to flush a toilet you could stay alive for several days. Sure it's more convenient to grab a bucket of water from the tub in the bathroom to flush with, but don't do it. Clean water is your #1 priority (commodity wise) and you should constantly be thinking about it.

10. Most important of all, in any survival situation, the #1 thing which will keep you alive more than any other single thing is, PMA. Positive Mental Attitude. Negativity is infectious and dangerous, don't go there. Take a sharpie and write "PMA" in big letters on something in every room, keep it where everyone can see it...all the time. You can never remind yourself enough to keep a Positive Mental Attitude.

Anyone else have some helpful hints? Please contribute them if you wouldn't mind. People may benefit from them.

Good luck East Coast! We'll be rooting for you! Be safe.

Frisbee! Who knew? Go Whammo!

Seriously though, some excellent advice!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I would give two flags if I could, excellent thread

one thing to add, out of personal experience, when stocking up on supplies don't forget the toilet paper or other personal hygiene items. Wet wipes will save you tons of water...

Also for your flushing all you have to do is dump a bucket of water into the bowel of your toilet and it will flush without having to fill the tank....

Bag up your TP towels and the likes, also have a bag with flare pistol and some 12gayge low brass bird shot just in case can never have enough matches. Remember that material possessions can be replaced just worry about your peoples and pets. Another water storage truck is to get an air mattress clean out the inside real good with soap and water and fill the air mattress with water.

Also for batteries keep 9 volts around they have 6 AAAA batteries inside which like already stated can be wrapped with AL foul to make AAAs or AAs.

Erm... just tied a Frisbee to my wife’s chest to see if it was « practically » bullet proof as you said...

Who do I send the carpet cleaning bill too?

On a practical note: When you have no oil left to start a fire... dig a finger into your ear...

A hint of good old fashioned ear wax helps to get that little tinder burning.

Kindest respects

Lags

Some water purification hints:

Most people don't have water purification equipment, but they do have bleach. So here are the ratios for using bleach to sterilize water without making yourself sick:

Bleach.....to Water (ratios)
2 drops for 1 Quart of water
4 drops for 1/2 Gallon
8 drops for 1 Gallon
1/2 teaspoon for 5 Gallons
5.5 teaspoons for 55 Gallons

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
Some water purification hints:

Most people don't have water purification equipment, but they do have bleach. So here are the ratios for using bleach to sterilize water without making yourself sick:

Bleach.....to Water (ratios)
2 drops for 1 Quart of water
4 drops for 1/2 Gallon
8 drops for 1 Gallon
1/2 teaspoon for 5 Gallons
5.5 teaspoons for 55 Gallons

And for those with no bleach :

Burn wood until it turns into block of charcoal.

Take charcoal and place in a sock.

Crush charcoal in sock into powder.

Pour water through sock.

Great filter.

Need to charge your cell phone and the power's out???

All you need is a 9V battery. Take your car charger and hold the tip of the plug on the small contact on the 9v battery. Take a paper clip and make contact with the large terminal on the 9v battery and also on the metal contact piece on the side of your phone charger plug.

Voila! Your cell phone is charging.

If clean water is worth it's weight in gold and frisbees are valuable to carry water, then does every empty plastic bottle and container become valuable too?

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
Need to charge your cell phone and the power's out???

All you need is a 9V battery. Take your car charger and hold the tip of the plug on the small contact on the 9v battery. Take a paper clip and make contact with the large terminal on the 9v battery and also on the metal contact piece on the side of your phone charger plug.

Voila! Your cell phone is charging.

Aaaaaand...

No car battery, no phone but a dead phone battery and want to start a fire?

Place useless phone battery under tinder and pierce it with a knife or a sharp object...

Hey presto... Fire...

Lags

And how about a word on food prep and conservation of supplies...

Prepare meals in groups. Resist the temptation to allow people in your group to eat at whatever time they're hungry. The reason, surprisingly, is waste. Food supply waste is 10x more for people eating individually. Pick a time and think out a meal. That's what's for lunch or dinner. The reason there's so much waste for people eating individually is there is usually little commonality between what everyone eats, therefore there is lots of wasted food (either by over-eating, or just not eating everything, but not leaving enough to contribute to a meal).

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
First of all, my sincerest wishes of luck and good fortune to those who will be affected by Hurricane Florence. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Second, I thought there might be some value in establishing a list of helpful hints which hopefully will make life a little more comfortable and safe. Some call them "life hacks" or "preparedness hacks", or whatever.

I'll start with a few:

1. Take about 10 wraps of duct tape and wrap it around the end of your mini-mag flashlight. This way you have a light you can hold in your teeth (without breaking them) to free up your hands, and plus, you'll also have about 4' of duct tape handy.

2. You can use a tub of Crisco shortening to make a candle with some cooking string. Just dip the cooking string in oil of some kind and then poke it down into the shortening and light. Will burn for days!

3. Everyone knows to fill their bathtubs and sinks with water, but if you do it right and sanitize your tub first, use this water only for drinking water (after you run out of bottled water). There will be plenty of other non-drinkable water around to use for things like flushing the toilets, so use that instead of your tub water. You can collect it in a garbage can or other large container.

4. You can easily make a very usable stove from just about any (empty) large can of food supplies. Just poke some holes all around the bottom of the can and place any dry combustibles like dead branches, dry news papers, etc inside and light it.

5. You can convert AAA batteries to AA batteries in a pinch with some tinfoil.

6. Cotton balls mixed with petroleum jelly make a great fire starter (for your stove above). Melted wax works good too (in the cotton balls).

7. Contractor grade garbage sacks are worth their weight in gold (any heavy garbage sacks really, just the contractor grade ones are really tough). They can be used to keep things dry, used as a flotation device, used as a rain coat and 50,000 other uses. Know where they are and keep them out of harms way and close at hand. They'll come in handy.

8. This one is a GREAT one that most would never think of... Buy or find that old Frisbee, it's the handiest tool you'll ever use in an emergency!! Frisbee's make fantastic shovels, they work as a plate, they will carry water, they're great for holding small parts when you're trying to fix something and don't want to lose those little screws and springs, etc. They're reusable, easy to clean, indestructible and practically bullet proof.

9. This one is kind....

Thanks FCD for letting the folks know.

Full disaster prepardness lists and ideas on the cheap is available at:

www.ready.gov

1st Responder
Advanced Disaster Life Support

a reply to: stormcell

Plastic bottles have some uses, but not as many as you think.

Plastic bottles are difficult to clean and they take loads of water to do so. They are also perfect breeding grounds for bacteria, like a mini-greenhouse. Even if you know where a bottle has been, it won't stay sterile enough for drinking water very long at all.

a reply to: stormcell

Plastic bottles have some uses, but not as many as you think.

Plastic bottles are difficult to clean and they take loads of water to do so. They are also perfect breeding grounds for bacteria, like a mini-greenhouse. Even if you know where a bottle has been, it won't stay sterile enough for drinking water very long at all.

I say after giving her such a beautiful name, we should chant for her a bit..what? it worked when shamans did it?

Crayons make great candles, and they don't even require a wick. The paper wrapping serves as the wick.

Here's another one that may be surprising to some...

Ramen noodles do not need to be cooked. They're already cooked, and they can be eaten dry. They're actually pretty tasty too.

You can take about half the seasoning pack (save the rest) and use it to season the dry noodles. It's like a crunchy snack and doesn't require any water. Who doesn't have some ramen noodles laying around?

Cotton takes the longest of any fabric to dry out. Being wet has two negative properties; it wicks off body heat and it promotes infection. Cotton is okay in the heat to keep you cool, but once the sun goes down it has the same effect.

Believe it or not, a person can die of hypothermia in 80F water.

Make sure you know where fabrics are which will help keep you dry (especially your feet). Fabrics like wool.

Dbl