30 Days of Prepping - 2024

[EBuff75]

It's almost that time of year again - September, which is National Preparedness Month!  And like last year, I'm going to do the 30 Days 30 Ways challenge.  The goal is to do some type of preparedness activity every day for the entire month and to post about it here in this thread.  It's meant to be an interactive, social activity, thus a thread to share with everybody.

As was the case last year, I've already started a list with some ideas of preparedness tasks.  Last year's list was quite long and I still haven't done all of them, so I might do a few of those too.  Here is last year's list:  Prepping Idea List.txt

Everyone is welcome to join in and to post about what you're doing.  It helps all of us to consider things that we might not have thought of on our own and it also provides encouragement to keep our own preparedness journey moving forward.  Even if you don't do something every day, doing one thing is better than not doing anything.  Every little bit counts!

Consider this your three-ish day warning - September is Coming!

Last year's thread:  https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=1691.0

[majorhavoc]

This is a great exercise and glad to see you're making it an annual tradition. I started strong last year but petered out about half way through the month. But as you say, it's still a very useful exercise even if you're not doing something every day.

Easy things that can count as a daily activity:

• Inventory. It can count for multiple days by dividing your supplies/equipment into separate categories and doing one each day.
• Check expiration dates of your food stores.
• Function test your equipment (lights, radios, etc)
• Charge up your rechargeable batteries.
• Top up your power station/phone power bank.
• Recharge your car's battery powered jumpstarter (seriously: if you have one in your vehicle, when did the you last check its charge level?)
• Sharpen your EDC knife
• Test your smoke/CO detectors, replace batteries as necessary.
• Make a list of all your prescriptiion medications. Put it on your phone and keep paper copies in your wallet, purse and all your emergency kits
• Rotate the gas in your fuel cans.

[EBuff75]

Everybody ready?  September starts in a couple of hours! (for those of us in the US anyway - those in Europe are already there!)

[EBuff75]

Day 1 - Swap out all the alarm batteries

I use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (yes, you can get them in 9v) in all of the battery-operated alarms in my house and it was time to swap them with freshly charged ones.  So this morning I took some of the batteries out of my stash, put them on the charger to top them off, and then switched out the ones in the alarms.  Two smoke detectors (there's a 3rd, but it's wired and doesn't need a standalone battery), two CO detectors, one CO/explosive gas detector, and a high-water alarm for the sump pump.  Pretty easy, other than getting some of the PowerOwl 9v batteries out, as they're slightly larger than standard.

I'm also trying to get more movement / exercise into my daily routine, so I walked for 1.25 hours this evening.  Not sure that my smartwatch is accurate for step count though, as I walked about 4mi and it only counted a little over 6000 steps.  Pretty sure it was more than that...  Anywho, the "official" step count for the day is 6572, at least once I put the watch on mid-way through the afternoon.

Getting a new smartwatch is one of the possible "preparedness" items this month!

[majorhavoc]

Day One: went through and organized all the tools in my mobile tool cases.  Those are the ones I'd reach for if I felt I was bugging out for the long term.

[Rednex]

Day 1 worked on bug out truck. It's going to take a while so y'all going to see a lot of this.
Removed truck bed, cleaned up frame under bed, made a list of what parts i need,and removed burst brake line.

[Z.O.R.G.]

Day 1: Canned applesauce, spaghetti sauce, and started some (solar cooked) mint jelly.  Charged radios in field day / disaster go box. 

Edit: How could I forget?  Pickled jalapeno peppers....

[Raptor]

I am bit out of sync with this date. I do all of this before May 31. 

That said with potential tropical weather I did check the generators and topped off the fuel as well as rotated the monthly supply of gasoline for the cars. I keep 3 filled 5 gallon cans during hurricane season and 2 the rest of the year.

I also put 6 2 liter water jugs in the freezer to ensure a supply of ice for any ice chests if needed.

[EBuff75]

Day 2 - Nebo Rambler PS100 power station review (finally!)

I've been meaning to get around to this for quite some time now.  I know that several other members bought one and provided some information about their experience, but I wanted to go ahead and run it through the full test cycle and do a write-up like I do for other power stations (there are more coming, hopefully yet this month!). 

tl;dr  I gave it a 3 out of 5, due to very low capacity utilization (around 70%), dirty power curve (modified sine wave), and high price (the MSRP is $200!!).  However, I also use mine on a regular basis, because it's the only "power bank" with wireless charging that I own, and that makes it handy to use for keeping my phone topped off.  If you can find it on a deep sale (I got it for $55) then it's a much better value.  But for the $160+ that I usually see it?  Nope.

On the exercise front, I didn't do any traditional exercise today, but I did work in the yard for an hour and a half this evening, mostly cleaning up branches and twigs from last week's storm.  Given how sore I am from just that activity, I think that it'll have to do for the day!  And I only cleaned up half of the front yard tonight, so I've got a long way yet to go this week!

[Rednex]

Day 2 ran around to the local parts store, had nothing. Ordered parts online to fix bug out vehicle.

[majorhavoc]

Day 2 (yesterday): I went through and inventoried some of my extra gear. Man, do I have a lot of stuff! These are extra supplies I've picked up over the years that are not part of my "official" preps - my various grab-go bags, vehicle kits and emergency stores,  etc.

This is what happens when you live near Goodwill stores that regularly get donations from LL Bean's returns department. And when you have a penchant for sniffing out online deals to share on our Bargains and Discounts section.  But we all have our prepping gear fetishes, right? Ebuff75 has a thing for power stations, NT2C gets weak in the knees over the latest flashlights. Some of us are way into knives while others collect firearms.  Some of this stuff I have on hand will be given away (to friends or as future prizes if we can figure out how to properly promote ufozs.com contests). Or perhaps sold off if I can figure out how to connect with the right kind of buyer.

But it's good to know exactly what you have and I definitely found some things here that I had forgotten about. Like 5 additional Meal-spec brand high output flameless ration heaters. Those will get added to 5 more of those Sopacko low sodium MREs I and some other forum members bought this summer. The food items are fine but we discovered the included FRHs were pretty much shot. 

I'll probably replace those dead FRHs tonight - that'll be my Day 3 prepping activity.

[MacWa77ace]

I'm also trying to get more movement / exercise into my daily routine, so I walked for 1.25 hours this evening.  Not sure that my smartwatch is accurate for step count though, as I walked about 4mi and it only counted a little over 6000 steps.  Pretty sure it was more than that...  Anywho, the "official" step count for the day is 6572, at least once I put the watch on mid-way through the afternoon.

seems low for that speed unless you're 7ft tall.

Here's a step calculator based on your height and speed. 1.25 hours to go 4mi is 3.2 mph.

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/health/how-many-steps-in-a-mile

Make sure you scroll down after calculating to see all the data.

You might want to walk at your speed over ground where you can actually measure your stride. Also check to see if you've got your settings correct on your smartwatch app.

[EBuff75]

I'm also trying to get more movement / exercise into my daily routine, so I walked for 1.25 hours this evening.  Not sure that my smartwatch is accurate for step count though, as I walked about 4mi and it only counted a little over 6000 steps.  Pretty sure it was more than that...  Anywho, the "official" step count for the day is 6572, at least once I put the watch on mid-way through the afternoon.

seems low for that speed unless you're 7ft tall.

Here's a step calculator based on your height and speed. 1.25 hours to go 4mi is 3.2 mph.

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/health/how-many-steps-in-a-mile

Make sure you scroll down after calculating to see all the data.

You might want to walk at your speed over ground where you can actually measure your stride. Also check to see if you've got your settings correct on your smartwatch app.

Keep in mind, this is a failing (only about 75% of the screen still works) no-name "smartwatch" / fitness tracker that I paid *ahem* -$2 for.  Yes, that's negative $2.  Basically, I paid $38 and the company sent me a $40 gift card.  I know that it undercounts steps, which is something that it's done since new.  But I was willing to put up with it, since it at least gives me a general idea of activity.  However, now that the screen is failing, I'm shopping for a new watch.  And this time, I'll probably get one that's an actual brand name, probably a Garmin. 

The screen actually started to fail over 2 years ago.  I bought another inexpensive watch, but that one only lasted 13 months before the battery started to expand and popped the watch body apart.  So I switched back to my "Virmee" watch and just used it with the failing screen.

[MacWa77ace]

Keep in mind, this is a failing (only about 75% of the screen still works) no-name "smartwatch" / fitness tracker that I paid *ahem* -$2 for.  Yes, that's negative $2.  Basically, I paid $38 and the company sent me a $40 gift card.  I know that it undercounts steps, which is something that it's done since new.  But I was willing to put up with it, since it at least gives me a general idea of activity.  However, now that the screen is failing, I'm shopping for a new watch.  And this time, I'll probably get one that's an actual brand name, probably a Garmin.

LOL, ok, sounds like some of my equipment. I'm squeezin' every ounce per dime.

Still sounds like you have a dedicated 'step counting' watch which is off by 45%. Is that Garmin expensive? I've seen a couple reviewed by John Lovell and Michael Jones [aka Garand Thumb]. They were expensive but good although I don't really remember them counting steps.

[EBuff75]

Keep in mind, this is a failing (only about 75% of the screen still works) no-name "smartwatch" / fitness tracker that I paid *ahem* -$2 for.  Yes, that's negative $2.  Basically, I paid $38 and the company sent me a $40 gift card.  I know that it undercounts steps, which is something that it's done since new.  But I was willing to put up with it, since it at least gives me a general idea of activity.  However, now that the screen is failing, I'm shopping for a new watch.  And this time, I'll probably get one that's an actual brand name, probably a Garmin.

LOL, ok, sounds like some of my equipment. I'm squeezin' every ounce per dime.

Still sounds like you have a dedicated 'step counting' watch which is off by 45%. Is that Garmin expensive? I've seen a couple reviewed by John Lovell and Michael Jones [aka Garand Thumb]. They were expensive but good although I don't really remember them counting steps.

Most of the Garmin watches are actually focused more on the fitness side, rather than the smartwatch side.  I'm considering several different ones which range in price from $250 - 450 (Venu Sq 2, Vivoactive 5, and Venu 3s, if you wanted to know).  They can go up to the $3000 mark at the top of their range, but I don't think that I need to get one like that!  I also don't think that I need to get one that has a GPS map showing on the screen (all of those have GPS tracking which can plot your walk/run/bike/swim on a map when you're done).

Oh, and the reason that I was looking specifically at Garmin was that they don't charge a monthly fee to unlock all of the features like some brands do.  Just download the app on your phone and you're all set.

[MacWa77ace]

@EBuff75 Yeah the Garmins I've seen were more for navigating and altitude, but in that price range.

[Rednex]

I have an Amazon Fit Bip Pro uses the Zepp app counts steps , seems pretty accurate to my untrained,not paying attention brain.I got 4500 steps, work in an office and sit in my hole most of the day.

For the 3rd day of prepmas i yet again worked on the truck. I also went to work to make money for prepper needs,and financially preparing the 401K.

Stretching it i know , i promise to do better later when i get caught up with the truck and moving 900 miles.

[majorhavoc]

Prepmas Day 3: Took those 5 Meal-spec flameless ration heaters (FRHs) I came across yesterday going through my backup/excess prepping gear and taped them to 5 more of the Sopako MREs I got on sale earlier this year.  I and some other forum members discovered that the original FRHs had lost their potency.  Even though these Meal-spec ones (I don't think they're sold anymore) are circa 2016, they still kick out plenty of heat when activated.  Wapped inside each of the replacement FRHs, I added a little zip lock bag containing hot sauce, salt, pepper, a wet nap and powdered drink mix. 

[EBuff75]

Day 3 - Shop cleanup & micro projects

I think I posted here about the cheap flat-pack shelves that I put up in my shop earlier this year.  I still need to do even more rearranging, but they're a lot better now after I spent some time on them this evening. 

Mini Project 1 - I finally installed those gel earpads that @Moab recommended for the Howard Leight Impact Sport hearing protection.  It took longer to unbox and for me to find the video on how they pop out than it did to actually swap them!  You really do just pinch and pull inward a bit for them to come right out!

Mini Project 2 - When I had my deck restained this summer, I pulled off the old gate hardware (hinges, latch, and support caster wheel that keeps the gate at the proper height as it swings across the deck) as they needed to be stripped and repainted.  I soaked them in some apple cider vinegar and then scrubbed them off tonight.  The hinges aren't worth trying to save; I'll just buy new ones.  The latch is just a slide bolt style, but the ends of the bolt had corroded (it's aluminum) and pitted really badly.  Pulled out the angle grinder and a flap disc to grind off the ragged ends, then polished them off with the die grinder and an abrasive pad.  Still need to prime and paint it, but it cleaned up pretty nice!  I'm also not sure if the caster will be salvageable; I might have to replace it as well.

No "official" exercise again, but I did get a pretty good upper body workout in the yard today.  The mower doesn't really pick up acorns and I've got a ton of them.  So I raked a bunch of the front yard and filled several yard waste bags (probably half of that was acorns or acorn caps).  I also used a ladder to get at the twigs and leaves that were starting to pile up in the valley on the front of my roof.  Fortunately, the weather has been cooler this week, which makes doing this yard work much more pleasant!

And to officially keep things weird, my music choices while working this evening were Perry Como's Greatest Hits, followed by Animusic 1! 

[Rednex]

So on the 4th day of prepmas i once again worked on the truck. I also put all the "charged" 9 volt batteries in the charger to make sure they are full so i can change them in the smoke detectors. Did  quick maintenance sharpen/oil on the EDC blade, changed the battery in the EDC flashlight,only 3408 steps today.