Shortly after posting Part 1 to Ron Brown's book, Propane for Preppers, a major pipeline in the US was hit by a cyberattack.  This attack resulted from a hack that for close to a week, shut down a system that delivers about 45% of the gasoline consumed on the East Coast.  This led to panic buying and shortages at gas stations from Washington, D.C., to Florida. 

What a mess!

Whereas that attack affected gasoline, who is to say that the next attack, if it happens, won't shut down our electrical power grid? 

Of course, there are many risks other than a hack attack.  This summer, it has already been reported that some states will face grid disruptions due to brownouts and blackouts.  Natural disasters occur and there is always the possibility of a massive EMP, whether natural or manmade. 

One way or another, we all need to be prepared with a fuel source that will get us through a short-term disruption to our power grid. One of those fuels is propane. 

Propane, at the moment, is relatively easy to acquire and while not cheap, is still affordable.  With propane, you can boil questionable water to make it safe to drink and add lighting to pitch-black darkness. With propane, you can cook your food and heat your living space. There is a lot you can do with propane in an emergency situation.

I am posting this multi-part series on propane to educate you about the various aspects of propane, including its storage and safe usage. By the time you finish this series, you will be able to use propane with confidence and without fear that you will hurt yourself in the process.

Keep reading to go to Part 2 of Propane for Preppers.

The post Propane for Preppers 3.0: The Complete Book Part 2 by Gaye Levy first appeared on Strategic Living.

For over ten years, propane has played an important role in my preparedness life. Both my former home in Washington State and my mountain home in Arizona have relied on propane for heat, cooking, and hot water as well as the incidentals of BBQs, fire pits, and lanterns.

As a result, over the years I have written two separate series around the topic of “propane for preppers”. Credit where credit is due: the second series (in 2015) was authored as a guest piece from my pal Ron Brown. Those articles subsequently became the basis for the 7th book in the Non-Electric Lighting Series.

That brings us to today.

I have close to zero confidence that our leaders have the wherewithal to prevent a cyberattack on our grid specifically and our utilities generally. That includes the propane that is supplied directly to our homes via local utility companies.

That is not to say that a cyberattack is the only risk to consistent propane delivery. Fossil fuels of all types are under attack by our own government and until/unless the narrative changes, I can imagine a time when non-green fuels will be rationed.

In my effort to bolster my own reserve of portable propane (meaning propane not provided by our local gas company), I recently revisited Ron’s book and reminded myself of the excellent job he has done in educating us in propane independence as well as propane safety.

I reached out to Ron and asked him for permission to reprint his book as a series of articles on Strategic Living and he said yes! How cool is that?

What comes next in this piece is Part 1 of Propane for Preppers, Book 7 in The Non-Electric Lighting Series. Let's get started.

The post Propane for Preppers 3.0: The Complete Book Part 1 by Gaye Levy first appeared on Strategic Living.

There comes a time in everyone's life when we find the need to scrimp on even the most basic of life's expenses.

Sometimes, this is by choice when, for example, we are saving to purchase a home, a new car, or even a much-needed vacation. Many times, however, the need to save, and by definition, live frugally, is due to unemployment, illness, unexpected expenses, or an attempt to cover basic living expenses from a meager monthly social security check.

Let's face it. The global pandemic has devastated the finances of many households.  Even savers have suffered since savings accounts currently generate close to zero percent interest. Try living on that.

To survive, our government will have to quit printing money.  What then?  The answer will be higher taxes, massive inflation, or both. Sadly, there is no question in my mind that we will be looking at tough economic times ahead if not another Great Depression.

All this leads me to Daisy Luther's new book, The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Living.   Many of you know Daisy from her website, The Organic Prepper.  You may also know that she and I have been blogging pals for close to ten years. 

Let me be clear: Daisy knows what it is like to have two young children, no job, and no food in the cupboard.  She is a survivor and generously shares her survival strategies and wisdom almost daily on her website.

Her new book is fantastic, and, in my usual style,  I have a copy to give away to one lucky reader.  More about that later but first, an interview with my wonderful gal pal, Daisy Luther!

The post The Ultimate Guide to Frugal Living: An Interview with Daisy Luther by Gaye Levy first appeared on Strategic Living.

A couple of years ago my pal George Ure posted this piece on "Real Prepping" on his website.  At the time, he gave me permission to share it here, but for one reason or another, I did not.

Given the world and domestic situations at the moment, I believe it is a good idea for all of us to inventory our preps and make plans to bolster our supplies, skills, and most importantly, attitudes.

These are scary crazy times and many of us can sense an imminent attack on our way of life.  Wait. Hasn't this already happened? 

Indeed, the Stuff has already Hit the Fan.

The post Real Prepping for Real Preppers by Gaye Levy first appeared on Strategic Living.

I have always taken food storage seriously, doing my best to preserve the quality of my stored food using a combination of good packaging and proper temperature control.  Over the years I have learned a few things. 

First of all, packing dried foods in huge, 5-gallon buckets or bags is a non-starter.  Second, storing food in a moderate climate such as Washington State is a whole lot different than storing food in super hot Arizona.  That means that if food is not carefully packaged, it will go bad rather quickly.  And by bad I mean inedible.

I have also learned over the years that practices for storing bulk foods vary widely, with some methods being both cumbersome and confusing.  After all, with only two hands and two arms, there is just so much juggling of potentially heavy bags, buckets, and beans that a person can do without struggling and making a big mess.  Been there, done that.

Today I am going to show you how I currently package bulk foods using dog food, a highly perishable item, as an example.

The post Packaging Food for Long Term Storage Using Mylar Bags and O2 Absorbers by Gaye Levy first appeared on Strategic Living.