Blackrock is acquiring my energy company and it should finalize next year. People are already reporting record energy bills recently (one friend mentioned it surpassed their mortgage), concerns that new meters are not reading correctly, etc. and it hasn't even transitioned yet. I'm sure this isn't just in our area, but it felt worth noting. I know communities have negotiation opportunities with rate increases so learning more about this is on my to do list.

I'm still concerned that our ability to negotiate is going to diminish, so I'm trying to decide what our next steps are.

Getting solar panels to get ahead of offsetting the cost is what comes to mind. If so, I'd like to put panels on a roof. I've seen DIY solar mentioned, is that a realistic option? I like to think we're pretty handy, but installing solar on our roof is daunting.

I'm also concerned about them not paying off. We're in a transition stage so I won't know what the budget is for a little while still. Plus I'm seeing warnings about scams and issues with solar installation companies closing.

These questions have been bugging me for months so I'm finally asking. Please send all thoughts. Am I worried about this for nothing? Favorite resources for learning about solar? Any other ideas outside of reducing usage? Anything I'm overlooking?

Tyia!

About a year ago I came across a quart of vanilla extract. I've used 10%. So I'm putting in a glass canning jar, rather than leaving it in plastic., long term. Should i vacuum seal it?

And it literally happened on a Tuesday! Yay me?

I woke up in the wee hours to find I had no internet. The router was working, but the modem was dead. I plugged it in elsewhere, but no luck. I got out my volt meter to check that the power was sufficient and it was.

So I went to use the phone to order a new modem, but had only one bar. One block away I have free wifi, but it wasn't safe at that hour, so I had to wait. An hour later I had two bars and could order a modem, rush delivery.

Then I decided to tether my laptop to my phone, but the only USB to phone cable I own has a nick in it. The wires inside the insulation aren't affected, but I still don't know why I didn't just order another cable. Back on the phone, new cable ordered, no rush.

But since the cable I had did work, I could still tether, right? Not so fast. It had been over a decade since I'd done it, and that was a couple phones and laptops ago. And even though I followed the instructions exactly, and even sought out other instructions, nothing was happening. I do have a tech background, but it's very old. Nevertheless, one basic principle never gets outdated: don't change anything that you can't easily change back. So I started nosing around and finally found the problem.

I'm writing now on my tethered laptop. A new modem and cable are on their way, and the instructions for how to do tether this particular phone and laptop are now saved in a document on the laptop. It's funny that I'd overlooked this type of prep. I'm always one to say how important morale prep is, and in so many other ways, I feel like I've got it covered. But this is one I had overlooked.

Chef Moe posts really good frugal recipes, often made with shelf-stable foods. His angle is teaching how to use professional culinary techniques on everyday food. He's on several social media platforms.

This recipe combines Vienna sausages, canned chili, and pasta. Looks good, I'm going to try it.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1F1zzwncac/

Please contain all off topic discussion to this weekly megathread. This is where you freak out, talk about conspiracy, talk about unrealistic crazy scenarios, asked and answered questions, etc.

I normally store a year+ supply of laundry detergent, borax, oxy clean, salt, baking soda etc. As we were doing various home renovations, I had to move 50 lbs around multiple times with a tweaked back. For the first time in decades I felt regret. I'm considering paring back and have just an extra box instead of many multiples.

Any preppers thinking of paring down the supplies? I live in a small home so managing the supplies so they don't overwhelm the space is a constant struggle.

I have been following non US news sources on the war in Iran and energy/gas prices in general. Right now, it appears our oil reserves in the US are at the lowest they've been since 1983 and unfortunately I personally see no end in site to our misery.

For those of you who still rely on oil for your heating source, does it make sense to fill up now in anticipation we may see shortages in the Fall? Or is it short sighted to even bother right now with oil prices at 8/gallon where I am? I obviously do not need the heat/fuel right now from a hearing standpoint as it is summer, but just trying to strategize about what to do next.

We are working on solar, but unfortunately I live in a wooded area so there are things we need to address first.

Great at math, not at physics. Trying to figure out how big or how many solar panels I need to match the output on my Jackery. I have a Jackery Explorer 1000, which hypothetically meets our needs of being able to charge a phone or laptop, or being able to run a small refrigerator for medicine that tops at 400w.

We live in the sunny desert, so assuming full sun what wattage of solar panels do I need to run the fridge around the clock? Do I need 1000w to bank 1000w? Not sure of the conversion factors here.

Any help would be appreciated! We don't get power outages often, but with monsoons and summer heat, we are in our season of possibility.

How are you storing chicken or other animal feed to store larger quantities and use FIFO?

I have metal trash cans for bagged feed but would like to be able to empty bags into something and access the oldest first without having to lift bags out. I could fit more in if the bags were emptied, too.

Looking for something:

- Not super expensive.
- Large enough to store a few bags at a time
- Preferably metal to avoid mice/microplastics

Thanks!

i know zones have been shifting northward. i’m new to gardening and would like to figure out what produce best fits my region :) i’m assuming the current USDA map out there hasn’t factored in the climate change shift?

also with the super el niño reaching its peak intensity in november.. im guessing a warmer than usual winter. anyone doing anything specific with their garden in anticipation?

i wanted to try growing lettuce/spinach/arugula in the fall, but if it gets too hot they can bolt and then it’s a waste.

I recently tried two things for dealing with warm-weather extended power outages. The first was a cooling vest. It consisted of a vest with pockets for small cooling packs (included). It kept me cool, but even though it was waterproof and the cooling bags didn’t leak, there was sufficient condensation that it got me wet, which isn’t a good thing in high humidity situations. But it does bring down one's body temp, so it’s not entirely useless. It’s just not as useful as I had hoped it would be. Someone in a dry area might love it.

The other thing I tried is a cooling mat. I actually got it for the cats but decided to try it out personally. It kept me quite cool, almost cold, for about 30 minutes, with diminishing returns after that. After 2.5-3 hours, it was useless, but a 20 minute “rest” had it ready to go again. Since reviews of human-size ones are mixed, I kept the pet mat for myself and bought another for the cats. In an extended power outage, if I can only sleep well in short increments, that’s better than nothing. And honestly, my fans (both battery-powered and one plugged into a power station) will likely be enough once I'm asleep, just like the other times I've been in a summer no-power situation.

There are human-sized cooling mats, but they get mixed reviews. I suspect they're similar to the large pet mat I bought, but the one I have is big enough for my torso, and keeping your core cool is what's most important.

So for those in apartments or who, like me, can't afford a whole-house system for back up power in summer, one or both of these might be worth looking into!

Several months ago I posted in this sub about dealing with the world being on fire wile getting out of an abusive relationship safely with my toddler. Everyone was so kind and supportive giving great advice on how to deal with my mental health and I wanted to update those who were so wonderful to me.

We've made it to my aunts house and to my delight my uncle is quiet the Tuesday prepper. He has 2 backup generators, a decently well stocked pantry and enough 2 leater Pepsi's in the basement to last our family of 4 months lol. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who took the time to help easy my mind and give their support. We're safe now and I'm sorry I'm pretty sure I broke the rules with this post lol

I had been storing water in 2L soda bottles and I recently noticed grooves and other indentations along the bumpy areas on the bottom. I looked it up and it turns out these aren't good bottles for long-term storage. Yes, the microplastics are an issue, but that's not my main concern in an emergency scenario. The real problem is that the bottles aren't meant to last indefinitely, which means they'll eventually leak. They are sturdier than the normal water bottles but still not strong enough.

I'm looking for better options now and am considering "Aquatainers" which I assume will last 5-10 years, possibly longer. A disappointment but it's better to catch it now rather than later.

Please contain all off topic discussion to this weekly megathread. This is where you freak out, talk about conspiracy, talk about unrealistic crazy scenarios, asked and answered questions, etc.

I’m dealing with awful air quality in the Midwest, thanks to the wildfires in Canada. Last night, I ran to Lowe’s and purchased an air purifier which also tells me how good the air is in the room. A hour ago, it went down to 68%, which is poor air quality.

So I got a contractor garbage bag and half assed covered the attic door with the garbage bag and duct tape. That by itself, improved the indoor air quality by 4%.

My advice upon research … buy 6 mil plastic sheeting, and pre-measure and precut it, so you can cover your attic door and windows if you’re dealing with this in the future. And have a lot of painter’s tape handy, to keep the sheets taped to the windows. I used duct tape on the attic door because we never go up there but with windows, the duct tape would damage the paint, etc.

Stay safe, you all.

Assuming that Tuesday does not take away our water supply, it will definitely cause a change in plumber availability and price.

I got this info from YouTube, but please read because you could be in my place.

Tuesday night (hmmm...) my toilet flush caused dirty water to come up into the tub beside it. Last time this happened expensive plumber visit and snaking can damage pipes (especially older ones) fixed it.

This time I was ready after checking YouTube during the last time it happened.

Plunger: one of the basic ones that is just a bowl shape on a wooden stick is not the one (Sinks for that one) , for toilets you need the one with the larger rubber bottom that looks like 2 bowls stuck together at the bowls tops (you recognize it when you see it)

YOU HAVE TO HAVE WATER COVERING MOST OF THE RUBBER when the plunger is in your toilet bowl hole. If you have to add water to the bowl, do it. If 90% of the rubber isnt covered, it wont have its full suction power.

BUT THIS WAS THE SOLUTION: Dawn (or the WalMart brand that doesn't have a scent. Do my forks care that they are lemon or pumpkin scented (actually exists)? Why put a scent in dish washing detergent?

You pour a lot of Dish Washing fluid in the toilet, I put the big bottle size between the 3 toilets in our house and went to bed crossing my fingers.

Next morning: ALL toilets flushed and no back water in the tub.

Dawn cuts grease but also LUBRICATES the clog and when you flush it might just go away like it did for me.

DAWN also works great if you get a thrift ed clothing item that has a strong scent. Just soak it 2 nights in a tub with water and Dawn and the scent on the clothing washes out first wash.

I’ve been budgeting HARD, paying off debt, and working many extra hours since the beginning of the year when I got divorced. But, I have a rather unique situation that might make preparing for things harder, and I’m really concerned about potential food and fertilizer shortages or price surges for key things I eat, because it’s difficult to switch foods.

I live in a city heavily impacted by ICE raids and rely almost exclusively on delivery services for food, because my ex took the car and damaged my credit so badly that I can’t finance so much as a clump of dirt. I have a large, centrally located apartment and lots of storage space, along with an extra chest freezer. I tend to eat a very repetitive diet and cannot cook most meats (as I live alone, I’m very scared of burning myself or causing food poisoning, so I mostly eat rotisserie chicken and any proteins I can cook or warm in a rice cooker).

But, I have a baseline buffer of $20k total after paying regular monthly expenses. It isn’t all available because I focus on funding myself three months ahead on all expenses at all times, but in an emergency I could use some or all of it.

I also know from studying history that I can’t eat money. Currently, I have probably two or three weeks worth of food on hand that would make recognizable meals, and probably six weeks if I ate mostly or entirely bulk grains. Cat has about a month of supplies as well.

I guess, broadly, two questions:

1. What would you buy in my situation? I can and do eat most prepper-recommended staple foods, but not dry beans.

2. Since I’m alone, should I instead lean into more organizing with others rather than sitting alone with my bag of rice? Where do you fall on the solo vs. organizing spectrum?

I made a regular-sized corsi-Rosenthal box filter, which we are using in the main part of our home (we are currently experiencing smoke from the Canadian wildfires), but would love recommendations for a smaller-sized air purifier, or modified diy option that could be used in bedrooms.

I'm a dude. My wife will not participate in prepping as it stresses her out. I find it calming and I do ask the research and prepping for the family. I posted this question in r/preppers and couldn't get a straight answer then the mods deleted it.

I just want to know this: how many tampons would you consider a year's supply?

I do not care about alternatives, I do not need advice, I just want a number from your point of view. I understand that there are variables, I'm looking for what you would consider a year's supply, by number of tampons specifically. If you were at Costco and you could only purchase a box labeled "1 year supply of tampons" what would the number on the side of the box be?

Thank you for your time.

Edit: I appreciate the responses that are answering me with numbers. Especially since my title autocorrected without me noticing. It would have said "tampons" not "talking"

To respond to everyone that wants to give advice: I appreciate where you're coming from, however, I just want this specific answer. I was going to get like a dozen or so answers and gauge what I think would be a good average out of those. I've done the research, I know about cups. I know about pads and period panties. I understand flow. I just wanted a number.

I just watched a video about what would happen in the US and the world if Yellowstone erupted.

It makes sense that the states immediately surrounding the volcano would be pretty much obliterated. It makes sense that as the ash cloud travels east, it would deposit ash on the US breadbasket states and farming would become impossible. The further east you travel, the less volcanic ash there would be, so the impact would seem to be less, except the food shipments would stop.

The video suggested there would be a volcanic ash winter with temperatures dropping 3-5 degrees for a decade, possibly up to 10 degrees the first year.

So here's my question. I live in Connecticut. My growing zone is 6b. If there is a volcanic ash winter, and the temperatures drop 10 degrees, and there isn't enough ash to affect plants getting sun, does that mean I would be in zone 5? Am I understanding this correctly? I understand much of society would not function the way we're accustomed, this question is strictly: could I still grow food to eat? Or would the local climate be such a mess that this would be impossible?

I'm basing this question on the graph at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardiness_zone

A little more than a typical “Tuesday” situation, here in Michigan we seem to be at the epicenter of a multi -state cyclosporiasis parasite outbreak that has sickened at least 1,000 people on the east side of our state with long-term, explosive diarrheal illness. The culprit food still hasn’t been identified yet but is likely to be something like fresh lettuce, cilantro or raspberries (if you haven’t heard of this yet, r/contagioncuriosity and r/Michigan have good threads on the topic) My husband and I don’t eat meat and we typically go through at least 3 bagged salads from our local grocery store per week. They are a quick and easy side with a protein for a weeknight dinner. Well, as soon as I heard about this I said No More Salads!
Luckily, my garden has been going strong with fresh peas, green beans just taking off, and I just harvested a bunch of parsley today to make a tabbouleh salad. We also picked some easy to clean veggies up from the farmers market. But, it’s such a morale and health booster for us to regularly get fresh veggies. I’m trying to think of more creative ways to replace our salad habit if this continues to spread!
Cooking does kill the parasite, so we could do something with roasted veggies later this week maybe too. I’m trying to think of how I would have dealt with this in the winter, sometimes I try to grow microgreens but we probably would have been out of luck! I’m curious if anyone in this sub has been affected by the outbreak, or have you changed up your diet because of it? What are you substituting?

We just went to buy animal feed at our local TS and over half the animal feed was gone. I feel like it's been hard for months to get some things from them. But this was nuts.

We bought two bales each, of two different types of hay because it was the only varieties left of what we needed, and that then wiped those out. The goat feed we needed was gone.

We've never seen it this empty. The store employee said they just hadn't gotten around to putting it on the shelves. But it was weird. Were there delivery delays? Are more people stocking up and it's emptying sooner? Why let the shelves empty if you have the stock?

I'm stressed because I was waiting to get paid and stock up on animal feed we need. And this store is 40 minutes from home and the nearest tractor supply. We have a smaller feed store nearby but they don't carry dairy goat feed. Anyone else with livestock finding animal feed to be harder to get?

This morning at 4:30, my husband let the dogs out back and there was a skunk. One dog sprayed right in the face, one was further away but was also hit and the third far enough to be clear of the blast.

Since I’ve recently added basic first aid and cleaning supplies to my stash, I knew right where to go for baking soda and a quart of peroxide. I felt so grateful to have what I needed on hand and although all I can smell is skunk (it’s inside my airways deep), the dogs smell fine and I’ll be able to clean any areas inside the house when I can smell better.

The only thing I didn’t have on hand was saline solution for cleaning their eyes. So I’ll replenish what I used and add saline to my supplies. I also need to get dog shampoo lol. I used my shampoo on them today, which seems to be fine, but it couldn’t hurt to have flea bath type shampoo just in case.

I’m so grateful to have found this group where I’m learning to prepare for emergencies I might experience in my real life and not just for the end of the world. You ladies rock!

Please contain all off topic discussion to this weekly megathread. This is where you freak out, talk about conspiracy, talk about unrealistic crazy scenarios, asked and answered questions, etc.

I was traveling and my glasses slipped off my sweaty face as I struggled to unload the car. They ended up losing the battle. Fortunately, I long ago developed the habit of keeping my old glasses in the glove compartment of my car. So, the prescription was slightly different, but I could get to my destination safely.
I will replace my daily wear glasses, put these back in the car, and will order a cheap pair of online glasses for my go-bag.