30 Days of Prepping - 2025

[EBuff75]

It's back again (in another three days anyway)!  September is National Preparedness Month and once more, I'm planning to participate in 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.

I put together a starter list of ideas a few years ago, which I'll link here.  Some of these I've done, some of them I haven't, and I'm always adding new items and removing old ones.  Here are some ideas:  Prepping Idea List.txt

So post your progress this month.  Even if you don't do something every day, anything that you do accomplish helps you to be better prepared!  By sharing what you do, it helps others to be motivated and acts as thought-starters for the rest of us.  Remember that every little bit counts!

Last year's thread:  https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=2512.0 

[EBuff75]

Day 1 - Swap out smoke / CO / explosive gas / high water alarm batteries

Why mess with a winning formula!  Once again, I've started off the month by swapping out the batteries in all of my household detectors. 

Fortunately (and somewhat by design) they all use 9v batteries and several years ago, I switched over to using rechargeable 9v batteries (see links below).  I did test several of them as I removed them today, and they all pegged the battery tester, so they appear to be holding their charge quite well.  It only took a few hours to top off enough batteries to have fully-charged ones to put into all the detectors.  Since the EBL batteries are slightly smaller (physically) than the PowerOwl, I'm able to use those in any detectors where the battery compartment is a bit tighter.

Yeah, I know that I should be doing this 2x a year, but I frequently end up forgetting to do it in the spring.  It was nice to discover that the batteries are all doing a good job of lasting a full year anyway, as that allows me forgiveness if I forget to charge them up in the spring.

PowerOwl batteries and charger:  https://a.co/d/2GAtWKs
EBL batteries:  https://a.co/d/flX29gl

Who else is participating this month?  Chime in with what you're doing!

[EBuff75]

Day 2 - Inspect all fire extinguishers / fire blankets

All of them are still in the green (other than one that doesn't have a gauge), they're all within date (except for an old one that came with the house and I just keep in the garage as a backup), and none of them have any damage - lots of dust / cobwebs though!  I also confirmed that the fire blankets are all packed and ready, and that I can get to them all easily.  

Once again, this is a repeat, but it's good to do each year.  While the fire blankets are no-name stuff from overseas, the extinguishers are all either Kidde or First Alert.  



Total count:  

• Six 5lb refillable - bedroom, front closet, kitchen, basement workshop, garage, truck
• Three 2 to 3lb (only one of which is refillable) - car, garage (old, this one is just a backup), basement
• Four fire blankets, all of which are at least 1.5m x 1.5m in size - bedroom, car, truck, workshop

I've still never had to use any of these for an actual fire and I'm hoping that never changes!  But it's nice to have them, just in case!  I have used one of the fire blankets a few times when cutting metal, just to keep the sparks contained, and they worked great for that (although repacking it afterwards was a pain).  I should probably add one for the kitchen and maybe for the garage too, so I might buy another pack of them sometime.

[EBuff75]

Day 3 - Ordered a pair of choking rescue devices

I already have a similar model in each vehicle's first aid kid, but I bought two more from another company, one for my house and the other to donate to our CERT.  They should arrive tomorrow and I'll drop one off in our CERT meeting next week.  While the two I already have should work fine, I went with this one that has an easier to use handle, and is FDA registered (yes, I checked their database).  I could've gotten LifeVac, but that would've doubled the price for what is essentially the same thing.

Given that I'm single, having something like this around could potentially save my own life if I were ever to start choking.  And I actually do know someone who lost an adult relative when he choked on some food while driving, so it does happen.

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Day 3 - Ordered a pair of choking rescue devices

I already have a similar model in each vehicle's first aid kid, but I bought two more from another company, one for my house and the other to donate to our CERT.  They should arrive tomorrow and I'll drop one off in our CERT meeting next week.  While the two I already have should work fine, I went with this one that has an easier to use handle, and is FDA registered (yes, I checked their database).  I could've gotten LifeVac, but that would've doubled the price for what is essentially the same thing.

Given that I'm single, having something like this around could potentially save my own life if I were ever to start choking.  And I actually do know someone who lost an adult relative when he choked on some food while driving, so it does happen. 

Second link doesn't work for some reason, Ebuff.

[EBuff75]

Day 3 - Ordered a pair of choking rescue devices

I already have a similar model in each vehicle's first aid kid, but I bought two more from another company, one for my house and the other to donate to our CERT.  They should arrive tomorrow and I'll drop one off in our CERT meeting next week.  While the two I already have should work fine, I went with this one that has an easier to use handle, and is FDA registered (yes, I checked their database).  I could've gotten LifeVac, but that would've doubled the price for what is essentially the same thing.

Given that I'm single, having something like this around could potentially save my own life if I were ever to start choking.  And I actually do know someone who lost an adult relative when he choked on some food while driving, so it does happen. 

Second link doesn't work for some reason, Ebuff.

Thanks!  Not sure why, but the link kept double-posting. I had to delete the text and re-create it with the link to get it to work.  Weird.  

[12_Gauge_Chimp]

Day 3 - Ordered a pair of choking rescue devices

I already have a similar model in each vehicle's first aid kid, but I bought two more from another company, one for my house and the other to donate to our CERT.  They should arrive tomorrow and I'll drop one off in our CERT meeting next week.  While the two I already have should work fine, I went with this one that has an easier to use handle, and is FDA registered (yes, I checked their database).  I could've gotten LifeVac, but that would've doubled the price for what is essentially the same thing.

Given that I'm single, having something like this around could potentially save my own life if I were ever to start choking.  And I actually do know someone who lost an adult relative when he choked on some food while driving, so it does happen. 

Second link doesn't work for some reason, Ebuff.

Thanks!  Not sure why, but the link kept double-posting. I had to delete the text and re-create it with the link to get it to work.  Weird. 

Links can be weird sometimes, but at least it's fixed now.

[Raptor]

Day 2 - Inspect all fire extinguishers / fire blankets

All of them are still in the green (other than one that doesn't have a gauge), they're all within date (except for an old one that came with the house and I just keep in the garage as a backup), and none of them have any damage - lots of dust / cobwebs though!  I also confirmed that the fire blankets are all packed and ready, and that I can get to them all easily. 

Once again, this is a repeat, but it's good to do each year.  While the fire blankets are no-name stuff from overseas, the extinguishers are all either Kidde or First Alert. 



Total count: 

• Six 5lb refillable - bedroom, front closet, kitchen, basement workshop, garage, truck
• Three 2 to 3lb (only one of which is refillable) - car, garage (old, this one is just a backup), basement
• Four fire blankets, all of which are at least 1.5m x 1.5m in size - bedroom, car, truck, workshop

I've still never had to use any of these for an actual fire and I'm hoping that never changes!  But it's nice to have them, just in case!  I have used one of the fire blankets a few times when cutting metal, just to keep the sparks contained, and they worked great for that (although repacking it afterwards was a pain).  I should probably add one for the kitchen and maybe for the garage too, so I might buy another pack of them sometime.

I like to see dust and/ or cobwebs on fire extinguishers. It means they were not needed. That is good thing.

One of the things I do when doing my annual fire extinguisher check is to remove it from the bracket and gently tap the cylinder side from top to bottom and then invert it to make sure the powder has not compressed. You generally can feel the powder move when you do this.

[EBuff75]

Day 3 - Ordered a pair of choking rescue devices

I already have a similar model in each vehicle's first aid kid, but I bought two more from another company, one for my house and the other to donate to our CERT.  They should arrive tomorrow and I'll drop one off in our CERT meeting next week.  While the two I already have should work fine, I went with this one that has an easier to use handle, and is FDA registered (yes, I checked their database).  I could've gotten LifeVac, but that would've doubled the price for what is essentially the same thing.

Given that I'm single, having something like this around could potentially save my own life if I were ever to start choking.  And I actually do know someone who lost an adult relative when he choked on some food while driving, so it does happen.

They arrived this afternoon.  I opened both of them up and confirmed that they're functioning properly.  Mine went into the hall closet and the other one is on the table to take to our CERT meeting next week.  Since we're volunteering at our local Oktoberfest event in a couple of weeks, I figured this was something that I should pick up before that, just in case!

[EBuff75]

Day 3 - Ordered a pair of choking rescue devices

I already have a similar model in each vehicle's first aid kid, but I bought two more from another company, one for my house and the other to donate to our CERT.  They should arrive tomorrow and I'll drop one off in our CERT meeting next week.  While the two I already have should work fine, I went with this one that has an easier to use handle, and is FDA registered (yes, I checked their database).  I could've gotten LifeVac, but that would've doubled the price for what is essentially the same thing.

Given that I'm single, having something like this around could potentially save my own life if I were ever to start choking.  And I actually do know someone who lost an adult relative when he choked on some food while driving, so it does happen.

They arrived this afternoon.  I opened both of them up and confirmed that they're functioning properly.  Mine went into the hall closet and the other one is on the table to take to our CERT meeting next week.  Since we're volunteering at our local Oktoberfest event in a couple of weeks, I figured this was something that I should pick up before that, just in case!

And just to compare the two, the Senvok is on the left and the SFEIXE on the left.  The actual mask part that goes against your face appears to be identical between them and are interchangeable between the units.  However, I do prefer the D-handle style of the SFEIXE over the 'Atari joystick' style of the Senvok.  It's more intuitive and easier to use.  Both of them seem to pull about the same amount of suction. I would also guess that the one-way valves are the same, just in different locations.  The total volume of the storage bags is about the same, with the one from Senvok being slightly wider and taller, but shorter in length.

You cannot view this attachment.

When I tested them on myself, both of them were able to pull air out of my lungs, even with my mouth closed and with a week's growth of facial hair.  I made a sort of pig grunting noise in the process!  

[EBuff75]

Day 4 - Harvest acorns for acorn flour

Last year I tried harvesting and processing acorns for the first time.  It didn't go well...  Even after leaching them several times in boiling water, they were still quite bitter.  I dry roasted a handful of them, but they just weren't that good and I ended up dumping them outside for the squirrels.

I don't have ideal oak trees for this, as all of mine are pin oak, which is part of the red oak family.  Doing a bit more reading this year, it turns out that red oak acorns are harder to leach.  The linings (a sort of skin like those you see on peanuts, called testas) don't come off as easily and this is where a lot of the tannins are contained.  It doesn't take too much of that to make them taste bitter.

But, I'm giving it another shot!  I spent about 45 minutes tonight wandering the yard, sidewalks, and road around my house, until I had about a quart of them...  Yeah, there aren't very many acorns this year, probably less than a quarter of what there were last year.  One good thing, I discovered that there are burr oaks on the other side of the street, which are part of the white oak family and are supposed to be a lot easier to leach. 

After collecting them, I came inside to float test them to find and discard bad acorns.  I had... 23 that passed the test...  Hmmm... this might be more work than it's worth this year!  I had hoped to try doing two different leaching processes - hot water (like I did last year) and cold water (which requires a rough chop/grind first) to see if I could get better results with one or the other of them.  I've also given up on doing the dry roasting (unless the burr oak acorns lend themselves more to that) and will just try making flour this year.  Of course, that means I'll need to get a mill of some type (which sounds like a problem for Future EBuff to deal with - maybe a trip to an antique store will turn something up). 

I may try a local park to see if I can find enough acorns to make this worthwhile.  In the meantime, I'll dry these and continue reading to get a better idea on techniques to use for processing.

[EBuff75]

Day 5 - Routine vehicle checks and charge the jump packs (plus some more acorns)

Check the fluids, tires, and air filters and top off as needed.  Also took the car through the carwash (which did a terrible job that I had to clean up after when I got home), plus vacuumed, and cleaned the windows on it.  

I need to take my Suburban to the tire place and have them check the rear passenger tire as it's got a slow leak.  I've checked several times and never see anything stuck in it, so it's probably a valve stem or just that it's not completely sealed against the rim.  But topping it off every few weeks isn't that onerous, whereas dealing with the tire store on a Saturday is a madhouse!  

It was really windy here today and so I went out and gathered up some more acorns.  I'm improving - this time more than half of the ones I collected were good, which added about 30-35 more acorns to the pile!  Tomorrow I need to clean up the yard - the wind knocked a ton of twigs down and it looks terrible right now.  Damn oak trees...  

[EBuff75]

Day 6 - Shred old files - bills, statements, prescription info (the stuff that's stapled to the prescription bag every month), etc.

I try to remember to do this every year, but apparently I forgot last year as I had about 2 years worth of stuff to shred.  This is sort of just a financial housekeeping thing, plus it helps to provide extra space in my filing cabinet.  

I do check my credit report 3x a year, once from each of the three bureaus (you get one free pull, per bureau, per year), but my next pull won't be until next month the way that I've got them spaced out right now.  

[Rednex]

Well i did unpack some stuff today still unpacking the move. Found my old Coleman mini collapsible lantern used 4 AA batteries. The granddaughter proceeded to pick it up toss it on the floor and brake the screw that holds the batters in.

They don't make that style anymore. Like this one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/388922083011?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=388922083011&targetid=2295557531950&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9016293&poi=&campaignid=21400677539&mkgroupid=173029508628&rlsatarget=pla-2295557531950&abcId=9448483&merchantid=656333244&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21400677539&gbraid=0AAAAAD_QDh8cF0VQSgKI3UxH0LxXXF-IT&gclid=CjwKCAjwt-_FBhBzEiwA7QEqyKuqUxJdlOpoVuXjhfp1-hYxuJIyjzl4z71FwHY1S18so_J82i9fHhoCUp8QAvD_BwE

[EBuff75]

Well i did unpack some stuff today still unpacking the move. Found my old Coleman mini collapsible lantern used 4 AA batteries. The granddaughter proceeded to pick it up toss it on the floor and brake the screw that holds the batters in.

They don't make that style anymore. Like this one.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/388922083011?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=388922083011&targetid=2295557531950&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9016293&poi=&campaignid=21400677539&mkgroupid=173029508628&rlsatarget=pla-2295557531950&abcId=9448483&merchantid=656333244&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21400677539&gbraid=0AAAAAD_QDh8cF0VQSgKI3UxH0LxXXF-IT&gclid=CjwKCAjwt-_FBhBzEiwA7QEqyKuqUxJdlOpoVuXjhfp1-hYxuJIyjzl4z71FwHY1S18so_J82i9fHhoCUp8QAvD_BwE

That's a bummer!  There are tons of lanterns that are similar though, so you should be able to find a replacement fairly easily.  E.g. these lanterns that NT2C posted about last year:  https://ufozs.com/smf/index.php?topic=2041  The deal isn't going on anymore, but it's an option. 

[EBuff75]

Day 7 - Update wallet contact list

I've carried a mini "address book" / contact list in my wallet for many years and it had been just about a year (gee, I wonder why that is?) since I last updated it.  Not a lot of changes, but there were a few edits to put in.  Then I just had to print it out, trim off the excess paper and fold it.  I've got it sized so that it's about the width of a business card, so I just need to fold it over twice and it fits perfectly. 

I also printed copies for the bags in each vehicle, plus the one here at home, one for my emergency prep binder, and one for my address book (which already has most of these in it, but just to be safe).

Not a sophisticated prep, but an important one, just in case I should ever lose my phone or need to retrieve a number without having internet access. 

[EBuff75]

Day 8 - Restart hydroponics (again), sprouts (again), and collect (more) acorns!

Today was all food-related.  I'd ended the latest round of hydroponics earlier this year and just hadn't gotten around to setting it up again again.  So tonight I removed the old pods/roots, gave the whole thing a quick once-over scrub, mixed more of the fertilizer for it, and put some new seeds in.  I only planted 4 of the bays (out of 12) because these are all leafy veggies that will take up a fair amount of room.  More of the buttercrunch lettuce, some romaine lettuce, and two varieties of spinach because I'm going to get it to grow sometime!  This time I put 6-8 seeds in each pod.  Maybe that will be enough to get it to sprout...

Speaking of sprouts, I'd gotten out of the habit of doing those as well.  But this afternoon I soaked some seeds and then put them into trays this evening.  The trays are in the closet for the next 5-6 days and then they'll move to the south-facing window sill.  Right now it's peas and mung beans, but the current seed bags for both of those are nearing the end, so they'll likely run out within the next week or so.  That's not an issue, as I have a lot more to pick from, sealed up in a bucket in my basement.  

And while I was out working in the yard tonight, I collected a few more acorns (I was literally just putting them in my pocket while I worked).  Once I was done out there, I took a quick spin around the block and got a good bit more.  The burr oaks seem to be dropping more acorns now and I got quite a few of those.  The small park by my house turned out to be a bust though, as it doesn't have a single oak tree!  I'll have to walk down the street on the other side of me next time, as I think it's got a bunch of oaks.

[EBuff75]

Day 9 - Sharpen & clean EDC knives

These are all fairly sharp already, so I just broke out the strop and went over each of them until they'd slice through some cardboard like it was barely there!  Also cleaned off the blades (I'm terrible about cleaning tape goo off of them) and used compressed air to blow out the inside.  I could've taken them apart for a full cleaning, but this was good enough for now! 

And if you're interested, my EDC consists of a SOG Mini Aegis and a Leatherman Juice S2.  I also cleaned my previous EDC, which was a SOG Flash I, which I sometimes carry when I'm dressed up more (it's smaller and more discrete).  

Over 30 years ago, when I graduated high school, one of the gifts I received was a Victorinox Executive (black) which I carried daily up until around 2012-ish.  At that point, the knife was showing it's age, with one scale that was refusing to stay on.  So I just put it in the bathroom, in case I needed some scissors (those tiny little buggers are the sharpest scissors that I've ever owned!) or the tweezers (hands-down, the best tweezers that I've ever used).  It's stayed in there ever since and any time I need to get it out, I have to be very careful that I don't lose something when it basically comes apart in my hand.  So tonight I sent an email to Victorinox asking about repairs.  No idea if they'll be covered or not, but it's long past due for me to have it fixed.  

Oh, and I collected more acorns again tonight!  The strainer that's holding them while they dry is getting almost full!

[EBuff75]

Day 10 - CERT Meeting

We had our monthly CERT meeting this evening.  The main topics of discussion are several upcoming events that we're assisting with - Oktoberfest and the Movie In the Cemetery (a fundraiser for our historic society).  We also discussed how National Night Out went last month, particularly some interactions with a few other local groups where we discussed doing some future things together.  We don't have any training sessions on the calendar yet, but are hoping to run a new CERT membership class early in 2026.  We also talked about several other events that we aren't officially involved in: doing cleanup at the cemetery the week before the event, the fire department open house (which used to include other community organizations), Trail R Treat (local event the day before Halloween where businesses set up tables and hand out candy at the park), and Olde Fashioned Holidays (a Christmas-themed event with hay rides and Santa).

I also dropped off the choking rescue device that I donated and showed it to a few other people, including an ER nurse.  We also talked about trying to order new batteries for our AED, as they're currently backordered.  One of our members said that he may have some extra pads/electrodes for it at work, as they had accidentally bought the wrong type for their own AED and he thinks they got the ones that go with ours (and can't return them).  

Other topics included talking about UPS systems and battery backups, laughing at a local story where someone brought a grenade to the police department for disposal, rather than just calling them (as a result, the PD was shut down for several hours while the bomb squad responded), and plans for some of the equipment in our trailer (generator, printer, radios, repeater).

Yep, it was a fairly long meeting (about an hour and a half), but lots of good discussion.  I'll claim this one as my prep item for the day.

Oh, and some more acorns collected, of course. 

[EBuff75]

Day 11 - Check out antique and secondhand shops

It's been a minute since I went to any of my local antique or secondhand shops, so that's what I spent the evening doing.  I hit up an antique "mall", a Salvation Army, and a Goodwill.  The antique store would've been fine if I was just looking for collectibles or home decor sort of things.  For anything like tools or usable vintage kitchen items, it wasn't so great.  To be fair, it's half antiques and half crafts.  There is another large one that I've never been to that I may check out in the future. 

Secondhand shops?  Meh.  I've been to the local stores in the past and there's not much there.  It's about 90% used clothing, with a smattering of everything else.  The Salvation Army store was better organized, but didn't have as much.  The Goodwill store is (as usual) a bit of a mess.  I always see these great stories online about people finding incredible deals, but I'd usually be happy to find a decent skillet for less than the cost of new...

The specific item I was looking for was a manual grain mill to use with the acorns, but no dice.  I could buy a new one on Amazon, but I'm hesitant to spend $50+ for something that I may never use again if this doesn't work out!  And from doing some research online, it looks like I'd need to spend quite a bit more than that to get one that's actually any good. 

My basic (cheap) options are to get an electric mill that's really just a glorified blender, or a manual one that may leave bits of metal / paint / chrome in the flour (per a lot of the complaints).  That first option piqued my curiosity and after poking around online, I found that yes, you really can make flour in a blender!  So I think that'll be the way to go, since I already have one of those.  If it doesn't end up working, then I can order something else, but I'll go the cheap option first.

And yes, I collected more acorns again tonight!

ETA: I did order some cheesecloth to use during the soaking / milling process today.  I think I'm all set with everything else that I'll need.