30 Days of Prepping - 2025

[EBuff75]

Day 25 - Refresh vehicle FAK

This was looooong overdue.  I found meds in there that had expired 6-8 years ago.  Bad EBuff!  Bad!  

After pulling everything out, I made a list and went shopping. Ouch!  It was around $140, although some of that is for other kits as well.  I also filled in a couple of gaps that I identified.  The problem now is that with the additional items, the bag doesn't have enough room!  

Of course, I'd already been looking to get a larger bag, so maybe that's the next step.  I really like a couple of the bags made by Damero and Trunab, but one of my requirements is that the bag is orange and they don't offer any in that color currently.  There are a few from Lightning-X that might work.  If I do upsize the bag, then I can fill in even more gaps, at the expense of even more trunk space.  

Decisions, decisions...

[EBuff75]

Acorn FAIL!! (update)

Last night I noticed something on the floor in my kitchen (where I've been processing acorns), but didn't stop to investigate.  Turns out I should have.  Of note, my kitchen has some really old, beat-up linoleum tiles that have patterns on them, which is why I didn't clue in to what I was seeing.  Today, I was in the kitchen and saw one of the things move...

Yeah, it was acorn weevils!  Looks like the float test with the acorns wasn't all that decisive and that a lot of them still have the weevils in them.  The older acorns that I'd collected and which were in boxes with the fan on them to dry out were badly infested and apparently it had reached the time for them to burrow their way out.  There were hundreds of them under the table, rug, and anywhere else that they could squirm their way to!  I vacuumed and got the crevice tool in everywhere that I could reach, but it looks like I'll need to do a complete cleaning of everything in the area.  Not to mention doing a very thorough mopping (which it needed anyway) to get up the ones which were squashed from me walking in and out a number of times. 

Oh yes, the boxes were relocated to the porch and I can see that a ton of the acorns are now showing holes in them which weren't there just a few days ago.  The only ones that I kept were the ones that I'd dried in the oven over the last few days.  I'll have to sort the rest of them to see if any can be salvaged or not.

On a related note, it was a poor decision to choose a lunch that had rice in it today...  

[EBuff75]

Day 26 - Cemetery clean-up prep

Not a real prep, but it took up most of the evening.  Tomorrow I'm volunteering with a clean-up at a local historic cemetery.  From past experience, most of the participants aren't actually local (they're board members who live elsewhere in Michigan) and don't bring much in the way of tools.  So I emptied out my Suburban and re-packed it with most of my yard tools - rakes, shovels, wheelbarrow, chainsaw, string trimmer, loppers, etc..  I also put a bunch of gloves, face shields, and the like in, along with a couple of power stations and chargers for all the batteries that I'm bringing along.  The weather is supposed to be quite nice tomorrow and hopefully we'll get all the trash cleaned up, along with the majority of the downed branches, and trim back the brush along the road that goes through the cemetery.  That way it will be looking its best for the Movie In the Cemetery event the following weekend.

[EBuff75]

Day 27 - Community involvement and movies/videos

I ended up at the cemetery clean-up event for about 4.5 hrs today, even though it was only technically scheduled for 2hrs.  We got a ton of work done, everything from cutting down unwanted saplings, trimming back bushes, cutting out grass that's growing through cracks in the road, collecting trash and more.  We even re-set a few headstones that had sunk into the ground or were tipping (it would be a massive job to fix all of them, but these were graves that were for family members of a few of the volunteers.  

By the time I got back, I was completely wiped out!  I did have a discussion with one of the other people there about (what else?) power stations, as we used them to charge up power tool batteries.  He's in our CERT group and said he's been looking at them for a while and just hadn't gotten one yet.  He really liked the Bluetti Elite 100 V2 that I loaned him to recharge his batteries, so I might've made a sale for them!

After having something to eat and taking a nap, I woke up still very, very tired and sore.  I did unpack the truck a little, but most of it's still in there right now (I got out all the batteries and power stations so that I could recharge them).  I did watch 'Signs' for the first time in some years.  It's only a so-so movie, but the idea of:  how would you harden your house if it was being attacked by hordes of aliens (or zombies, or crazed girl scouts who are desperate to sell cookies), is interesting.  I'd also probably end up in my basement, just because it's the most easily defensible part of my house, although mine is quite a bit more comfortable than the one in the movie.

So that's it for the day.  Building community ties and watching a movie.  Now I think I'll take another dose of pain killer and call it a night!

[EBuff75]

Day 28 - Renew auto insurance

Yep, just some normal adulting.  I did review my coverage and considered dropping collision (my car is nearly 20 years old).  But collision only costs $60 (per six months), so I went ahead and left it on.  KBB says that my car is worth around $2500-3000, which means any type of accident is likely to result in it being totaled, but at least I'd get some money out of it.  

I'm still fairly sore from yesterday, particularly in my upper body.  Using a string trimmer for over an hour, plus lifting and dragging logs and brush turns out to be some serious work if you're not used to it!  Nothing injured, just sore.  

[EBuff75]

Day 29 - Nothing!

I had a bunch of vacation time to use up, so I'm taking this week off from work.  Today, I marked the start of my vacation by doing nothing.  Absolutely zip, zilch, nada!  Futzed around online, watched some TV, snacked, and read books.  Didn't even bother changing out of my sweats.  I've got some shopping planned for tomorrow, but for today, nothing!

Everyone needs to take a break now and then!

[EBuff75]

Day 30 - Antiquing, boot/shoe shopping, and a garage sale find

As I mentioned before, I'm on vacation this week, so I spent the day just doing some miscellaneous shopping.  I hit up a large antique mall first.  No particular goals, but I was curious to see what they'd have for hand tools, and maybe some other items (glass insulators, old books, etc.).  There were a few items there, but nothing really jumped out and called to me.  I did find a booth that had several grain mills, but the one that was most interesting to me was also missing a tag.  Since it's a "mall" that means the people working there don't actually set the prices and would've had to reach out to the seller to get a price for it.  Not worth the hassle.  Still, it was a fun trip.

I stopped for lunch at Miller's Bar in Dearborn.  Yes, that's the one that Jimmy Fallon was raving about a few weeks ago.  I've been going there for years, so it's not any surprise to me how good it is!  I hadn't been there since earlier this year and I was driving right by it anyway, so I got lunch there.  Yep, still good!

The army surplus store was a disappointment, mainly because they're in the middle of a huge remodel and only have about 1/4 of their normal selection right now.  In fact, they only had a single pair of boots there that are even in my size (one of the employees checked their computer and confirmed this).  I also stopped at a few stores looking for a new pair of Asics shoes, but didn't have much luck.  The only store that had more than 2 pairs to choose from also had much higher prices. 

But the big stops will be tomorrow, when I'm planning to hit up two different outlet malls, plus another antique mall that's right next to one of the outlet malls.  There are Merrell outlet stores in both of them, plus Famous Footwear, so I'm hoping to get both shoes and boots tomorrow.  *fingers crossed*

I also emptied the truck tonight from the cemetery clean-up this past weekend.  I'd brought some of the stuff in earlier, but there was quite a bit to go.  And in anticipation of the amount of stuff I'll need to load up for the Movie In The Cemetery event this coming weekend, I also removed the 2nd row seats to make even more room.  This is when I miss my 2004, where I could fold the 2nd row down and have a completely flat load floor.  *sigh*  I actually toy with the idea of finding a clean 2004-2006 Suburban to replace my 2013, but it's pretty much impossible to find rust-free examples around here.  I'd have to look out of state if I want to do that. 

There is quite a bit of prep that I need to start on shortly.  Things like topping off all my power stations, batteries, and working my way through the rather extensive list of items to pack.  The bulk of that packing will take place on Friday and Saturday morning, but I might start in as early as Thursday night.  The good news is that the forecast is holding and we should have fabulous weather for the event this year!

ETA:  My one find of the day was at a garage sale in my own neighborhood - Seven brand new 100ft spools of 14ga wire for $5!  It looks like it was an 8-pack of wire (each spool a different color) that someone only used the black spool.  The seven spools are still unwrapped.  It's CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) wire, so not the greatest stuff, but even cheap spools run about $0.50/ft.  I've got higher quality stuff for automotive projects, but this will work great for things that don't need to be weather resistant.  Score!

[EBuff75]

How did you do?

I know that a few people have chimed in with things that they've done this month, but are there any other success stories that people want to share?  

[Uomo Senza Nome]

I wanted to say I've really enjoyed your thread and appreciate the effort that went into it. I haven't been able to keep up but that is a me problem.