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Tips on Thriving Through Power Outages – Ep 910

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Join me today as I share some ways that we thrive through power outages learned by spending days without power over the years. Some of these tips are things no one thinks to tell you.

Featured Event: SelfRelianceFestival.com

Sponsor 1: HollerRoast.com

Sponsor 2: The Wealthsteading Podcast

Livestream Schedule

Tuesday: 9:30am Live with Jack Spirko and John Willis

Wednesday: 2pm all about Chickens with Dalia Monterosso of Chickenlandia

Friday: 9:30a, Homestead Happenings with the Tactical Redneck

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Green beans are GONE!
  • Bone broth every day. Cant wait to get my jars back
  • Freeze drying eggs and other abundance
  • Air drying wild herbal teas
  • Might actually pick and freeze some wild raspberries this week. Might
  • Looking back at pulling the roof from the prepper pantry and redoing it so things are moisture tight in the next few months

Weekly Shopping Report

Our first stop on this Friday’s shopping trip was Home Depot, primarily for bird seed. There is still no tag on the 2x4x8 studs, but the online price is still $3.73.

Our only other stop was Aldi. They have run out of 70% cacao chocolate again. I saw more trays of salmon than usual, in lesser amounts per tray; it’s priced per pound, so that’s not “shrinkflation,” apparently just a packing choice. Other meat choices looked a little sparse, with no pork butts and not a lot of ribs; fewer trays of ground beef as well. Lunch meat remains in good supply. Over in Produce, there was a big box of cantaloupe, but they all looked sorry, so we passed on those. The bananas (and other fruits and Bidens) looked good. Staple prices were: bread (20 oz. white): 1.29; eggs: $1.79; whole milk: $2.83; heavy cream: $5.29; OJ: $3.29; butter: $3.59 (-); bacon: $3.99; potatoes: $4.49; sugar: $2.99; flour: $2.35; and 80% lean ground beef: $4.09.

A gallon of untainted regular gasoline remains at $3.599.

Operation Independence

Chicken Processing and the PURGE

Main topic of the Show: 

Seventeen years ago, when I came to the Holler Homestead, some of the first things we did to the place was get set up to thrive through power outages. Back then they were rare and often repaired within an hour or two but growing up in a place where ice storms blew through every few years and no one was really set up for them – well that had set a foundation for things I wanted to make certain were handled no matter where I chose to live.

So much has changed from the early days, including how much time it takes to get things up and running when the power goes out, frequency of power outages, and how gracefully we weather these times.

Yesterday, I sold off two inverters that I had. They were intended to turn my car into a generator in the event of a power outage so that I could cool things down in my fridges and freezers and not have to panic pressure can all the meats here. As I watched them find a new home, I realized that we have not done a show with tips on how to thrive (not just survive) through power outages. Especially the kind that last a long time.

This show is for folks who are on grid but who want to do better when the grid goes down.

  1. Embrace the suck (Which is that you will be putting more effort into comfort during a power outage)
  2. Emotional boosts: rechargeable light bulbs, lanterns, hot coco and a way to make it, story time or other entertainment, having a known plan
  3. Have a plan – make sure everyone knows the plan and their roles, be cross trained, bonus points if it is documented (Mine isn’t)
  4. Tips
    1. Reduce what you cool or heat (Why I have a wood stove)
    2. Use what you have: camping supplies, the propane grill outside, your tent for sleeping in the summer at night, etc.
    3. Inverter/generator is a game changer BUT
      1. While they are in use take everything from the fridge that you plan to use for the day and keep it in a small cooler
      2. Countertop ice maker is a game changer
      3. Consolidate fridges and freezers so they are full
      4. Use paper plates and dish bins bins and wash 1-2 times a day WHILE IT IS STILL LIGHT OUT
    4. Top off battery operated devices while driving if you will be driving (Cigarette chargers with multiple USB Ports). Bonus points if you have power bricks
    5. Fast to cook meals, or low and slow in an insulated bin (or rock pot)
    6. What can you function stack? Woodstove is a crockpot and water heater
  5. Some things to consider for long term resilience
    1. What do you have that ONLY works with electricity and which of these things need to be handled to keep everyone thriving? (HVAC, Cooking, Drying, Lighting, Internet Equipment, Entertainment, Medical Equipment, Animal Habitat like aquariums or ponds)
    2. Can you shift to an alternative? (Gas, Wood, Camping Gear, Regenerative technology, Hard copies, do without)
    3. Can you use a battery supply for the things that you NEED? (Built in battery (A rechargeable device), Power bricks, battery bank, solar device)
    4. Can you find a way to regenerate the things that take power? (Hydro, wind, solar, gases, wood, gravity, hooking up a bike, composting. Etc.

A word on communications.

Mostly make it fun.

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

 

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