PREP What Are Your Oddest Preps And Why Do You Have Them?
- Thread starter day late
- Start date
day late
money? whats that?
Well, you know that 'Granny' on 'The Beverlyhillbillies' always said that getting the left rear possum's foot in your stew was good luck.
Walrus Whisperer
Hope in chains...
Old socks of all sizes are good for covering/bandaging things like elbows, knees, the heel part is good for that, the rest for straight body parts. I have a janitor pail with the mop squeezo part. Good for washing clothes in and squeezing the water out.. also a scrub board. Old t shirts for cutting strips also for covering wounds.
Walrus Whisperer
Hope in chains...
The rubber band that goes inside a bicycle tire to keep the spoke ends from damaging the tube. A few tubes for bikes and car tires. Handy also for patching certain things. And the glue that sticks to them.
NoDandy
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Odd item - I save empty Gatorade Jugs, and Ocean Spray juice jugs. Rinse out, and store water in them. Since we are on a well, with a 3,000 gal tank, gravity feed, may not need very often. But, never know when the power may go out, and water pump will not work. Do not need to use the gasoline to run the generator. Water is always good to have, cleaning, drinking, cooking, flushing toilets. Even you that live in the city, how often have lines burst, and water shut off ? These containers are real good for storing water. Milk jugs are NOT good for storing. I was raised in the city, and learned young about water getting shut off. Not good !!!
NoDandy
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Interesting ! I assume you live near salt water, or have a tank of salt water. How long before you can eat them ?
briches
Veteran Member
We do have a house on the water. Some will be ready in ten months. Others up to two years. I could bore you with some of the details I’ve learned about oysters this past week. I’m just excited to get my “babies” going. We currently have eight floating oyster beds with (I’m guessing) about 35 dozen oysters in them. I’ll get another 500 in the spring. And continue from there.
NoDandy
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Interesting. I can reload shotgun shells, 12 & 20 ga, never thought of doing that. May get some for that purpose.
AlaskaSue
North to the Future
I’d really like to be able to tan furs. I’m learning to trap and have several snares to run a line this winter. And I’ve sewn furs ...but have yet to tan them. You’ve got a great prep I think.
I have a wide variety of typical prep items - because I’ve prepped most of my life, starting when I was literally starving as a kid. But mostly I try to have a broad range of skills, be physically fit, alert, aware and willing to learn more (which is but one more reason to love you folks). I guess my best ‘odd’ thing is my vast collection of thread, fabric and treadle machine and table (1885) plus a Janome hand crank machine for possible future need and/or income. Besides, every Alaskan has an off-grid sewing machine for their cabin or boat!
Now if I could just turn back time....
Codeno
Veteran Member
Saw the guitar string comments, thought I'd post. We've got 10 guitars in the house, so we've gone kind of long on strings, picks, capos, peg winders, humidifiers, Snarks & batteries for the Snarks (and a tuning fork, just in case), etc. All but 3 of the guitars are acoustics, so hopefully we'll still be jammin' when the lights go out.
Lots of candles here too Coco.
Lots of candles here too Coco.
Signwatcher
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I've heard they don't get rabies either.
Here in the Ozarks, locals have eaten armadillo for years. Always talked about how good eatin' it was. Generations lived on this meat...until the gov't food police told them it could kill them.. Don't eat it! It's bad! It's contaminated! It'll kill your children and you'll die!
They all said: Ok. Then went back to catching, killing and eating them...no one I know that eats them has gotten sick, ill, died...but they've put on a few pounds...lol.
They all said: Ok. Then went back to catching, killing and eating them...no one I know that eats them has gotten sick, ill, died...but they've put on a few pounds...lol.
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
Would leader wire used for fishing be cheaper and serve the same purpose?
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
That was sarcasum wasn't it?
"The opossum is a known carrier of the rabies disease. Rabies is an acute disease usually transmitted by the bite of an infected animal. All warm-blooded animals are susceptible to the rabies virus, but most reported cases are from dogs, cats, and bats. Once infected, the virus affects the brain before spreading to other body organs.
A rabid, sick or injured opossum moves around during the day as one of the symptoms is listlessness - moving from one place to another in a restless manner. In addition, a rabid opossum is going to display a heightened aggression that is rarely seen in healthy opossums. Another symptom to look out for before ruling that the day-active opossum is rabid, is that it will show an unnatural boldness around humans. It would not slink away to hide as is normal."
Link to source:
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
Grandmother used to seal her fruit, preserves, jellies and jams with food grade paraffin. She put the preserved fruit in clean baby food jars, pour melted paraffin over it and put the lid on. Sometimes the seal broke or would pull away from the glass as it hardened and the jelly/jam would mold. Not Recommended.
My mother in law did the same thing. I ate lots of it over the years no bad effects.
Hfcomms
EN66iq
I don't know if it's an odd prep or not but I still have a several hundred pounds of corn, winter wheat and rice that were packed away in the 1997-1998 time frame in preparations for potential Y2K disruptions. They still store just fine and are in almost as good shape today as they were when packed over twenty years ago. Would have no issue at all with using them today.
I still prefer the multi-wire (cable-like) picture wire over anything - guitar strings (haha!) or leader material might work, but for snares, it's necessary to be able to shape the wire and have it stay in that shape. With rabbit snares, you are attaching the anchoring end to a sapling or a fallen log, and the loop (business end) has to stay open and at the perfect height in the rabbit run. Picture wire STAYS where it's put in the shape you dictate.
HangDone Picture Hanging Wire #3 100-Feet Supports up to 30lbs - - Amazon.com
Melodi
Disaster Cat
Pig scrapers from Lehmans! One time of having "the guys" try to take the hair off of a pig in my bathtub with several bags of disposable razors was enough!
At the moment, it is technically not a good idea to home slaughter a pig (there's a 1700s law that allows it for home use but it is better not to push it) but if things get bad, no one in rural Ireland is going to care, in fact now with so many meatpacking plants shut down a lot of animals get listed as "ran away" usually to the farm family's personal freezer...
I also collect hand sewing needles, my housemate buys tons of "quilting squares" (the made great mandatory masks), cast iron cookware, I have a Lehmans hand-washer (just in case) wool carding machine, knitting machines, spinning wheels, lots of yarn, knitting needles (and other fabric crafts) looms of various sizes and a simple floor loom (4 shafts).
Husband has lots of herbs planted and store, he can make all kinds of homemade "remedies" but only for home use unless things go bad, then I suspect he will be very popular in the village, especially his cream for sore backs and muscles.
I mean after 25 years we have a lot of "usual" prepper stuff like an old grain mill and a number of tools people were selling off two decades ago that are hand or foot-powered versions of electrical tools, some are not in great shape but could be restored.
Then, it currently isn't in operation but Nightwolf has a forge and blacksmithing skills, he would need to apprentice to someone to learn to make and put on horseshoes (that's a very specialized skill still needed out here) but he could already make knives and other items if he had too.
A lot of our "weird preps" are skills like making olive oil lamps from pudding bowls or glass jars, spinning/weaving/knitting, silversmithing, black smithing, campfire and turf stove cooking, etc, etc.
What we are still working on is gardening, but we have found out our real problem is our soil and how to fix it, so we just ordered big bags of the needed stuff to change the PH of the soil.
I'm really enjoying this thread!
Melodi (and safety pins, lots and lots of safety pins..)
At the moment, it is technically not a good idea to home slaughter a pig (there's a 1700s law that allows it for home use but it is better not to push it) but if things get bad, no one in rural Ireland is going to care, in fact now with so many meatpacking plants shut down a lot of animals get listed as "ran away" usually to the farm family's personal freezer...
I also collect hand sewing needles, my housemate buys tons of "quilting squares" (the made great mandatory masks), cast iron cookware, I have a Lehmans hand-washer (just in case) wool carding machine, knitting machines, spinning wheels, lots of yarn, knitting needles (and other fabric crafts) looms of various sizes and a simple floor loom (4 shafts).
Husband has lots of herbs planted and store, he can make all kinds of homemade "remedies" but only for home use unless things go bad, then I suspect he will be very popular in the village, especially his cream for sore backs and muscles.
I mean after 25 years we have a lot of "usual" prepper stuff like an old grain mill and a number of tools people were selling off two decades ago that are hand or foot-powered versions of electrical tools, some are not in great shape but could be restored.
Then, it currently isn't in operation but Nightwolf has a forge and blacksmithing skills, he would need to apprentice to someone to learn to make and put on horseshoes (that's a very specialized skill still needed out here) but he could already make knives and other items if he had too.
A lot of our "weird preps" are skills like making olive oil lamps from pudding bowls or glass jars, spinning/weaving/knitting, silversmithing, black smithing, campfire and turf stove cooking, etc, etc.
What we are still working on is gardening, but we have found out our real problem is our soil and how to fix it, so we just ordered big bags of the needed stuff to change the PH of the soil.
I'm really enjoying this thread!
Melodi (and safety pins, lots and lots of safety pins..)
Melodi
Disaster Cat
I almost forgot lots and lots and lots of chile powder from our friend that used to work in a convenience store - sure it is old but stored in glass and still packs some heat.
That along with some other "storage" is both for our own use (though I have better chile powders) but mostly in case things even fall apart to the extent that the "Wednesday Afternoon Market" returns to the villages/local towns and I take up trading sometimes (I'm good at it, I do it in the SCA a lot).
I figured there is no way the modern (last two) generations of Irish will want to give up having curries and hot sauces, even if they played no part in traditional cooking here. They are socked into the culture now but mostly as "take away" food from "the chipper," "The Chinese" or in Dublin/Cities the burrito/taco stand. Curry in the UK (which here means heat/chile) is almost as common as fish as chips as a national fast-food dish.
So I figured I would make up little bags of chilies, herbs, mixes, etc as part of my "trading blanket" that could be carried in a backpack or easily on a horse wagon, along with things like thick home knit (machine or by hand) socks like my Mom used to make as a child to trade at the shop for eggs (no heals) warm hats, and other small stuff (like safety pins).
hiwall
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I'm with your family
Martinhouse
Deceased
Could one raise enough crickets to use as a protein supplement for several backyard chickens? I'd rather eat eggs than crickets and I know for a fact that chickens LOVE crickets!
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
Not giving medical advice just mentioning a prep I don't think I've seen anyone else mention. I've no affiliation with the company or product other than I bought it for the med cabinet.
It's called Dentemp and is for: Loose Cap and Lost Filling Repair. I picked it up over at a big blue box store. It comes in a small container with an application tool. It only cost a few bucks. I've never had to use it but, we have it if we need it and can't get to a dentist asap.
It's called Dentemp and is for: Loose Cap and Lost Filling Repair. I picked it up over at a big blue box store. It comes in a small container with an application tool. It only cost a few bucks. I've never had to use it but, we have it if we need it and can't get to a dentist asap.
NoDandy
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thanks for posting the pic. Truly interesting !
briches
Veteran Member
Thanks! I’ve found it interesting as I learn about them as well!
rob0126
Veteran Member
Might not be odd but a power tool portable fan that runs off the power tool batteries.
Batteries are expensive but ebay has some good deals on new ones, if you dig deep enough.
Plus, If you get the work light for whatever brand, it makes the batteries even more handy. (Most 100-200 lumen lights will last a long time with a 4-6ah battery pack. Possibly days.)
Batteries are expensive but ebay has some good deals on new ones, if you dig deep enough.
Plus, If you get the work light for whatever brand, it makes the batteries even more handy. (Most 100-200 lumen lights will last a long time with a 4-6ah battery pack. Possibly days.)
Night Breeze
Veteran Member
I hate to admit it but I still have about 6 cases of canned soup from way back. I have been rotating some but new cans of soup are pull tabs instead of sealed cans. Darned if you do darned if you don't
They used to treat the cereal bags with BHT, which is a preservative. Dunno if they still do or not...
Summerthyme
I was wary of the pulltop cans, bit I don't worry anymore. We've been finish8ng up sone canned pears in heavy syrup in pulltops from 2014. Haven't had a bad one yet.
Summerthyme