When will Americans start to wake up and realize what is happening?  At the end of last week, President Trump announced that the U.S. would be imposing a 10 percent tariff on 300 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports, and that marked a dramatic escalation in our trade war with China.  This move by Trump came as a total shock to Chinese officials, and global financial markets were thrown into a state of turmoil.  Since that announcement, we have been waiting for the other shoe to drop, because we knew that the Chinese would retaliate.  But honestly, very few of the experts expected something like this.  On Monday, China announced that it is going to completely stop buying U.S. agricultural products…

China confirmed reports that it was pulling out of U.S. agriculture as a weapon in the ongoing trade war.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Chinese companies have stopped purchasing U.S. agricultural products in response to President Trump’s new 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods.

This is essentially a trade war equivalent of a nuclear bomb.

If the Chinese would have slapped U.S. agricultural products with tariffs, that would have been a proportional response.  But to quit buying them entirely is an unprecedented escalation in a trade war that is really starting to spiral out of control.

And it is also clearly a political attack on President Trump.  The Chinese know that Trump is highly popular in rural areas, and this ban on U.S. agricultural products is going to severely hurt farmers in rural areas all across the United States.

U.S. voters tend to be more influenced by their bank accounts than by anything else, and so this is a smart strategic move by the Chinese if they would like to see a Democrat get elected in 2020.

In 2017, the Chinese bought 19.5 billion dollars worth of U.S. agricultural products, and that number dropped to just 9.1 billion dollars in 2018.

Now that number is going to zero, and according to Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall this latest move by China is going to be “a body blow to thousands of farmers and ranchers who are already struggling to get by.”

Please say a prayer for our farmers, because they really need it.

In addition to ending purchases of U.S. agricultural products, the Chinese also allowed the value of the yuan to decline dramatically on Monday.  This really rattled global financial markets, and shortly thereafter U.S. Treasury officials formally designated China as a “currency manipulator”.  The following comes directly from the official website of the Treasury Department…

The Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 requires the Secretary of the Treasury to analyze the exchange rate policies of other countries. Under Section 3004 of the Act, the Secretary must “consider whether countries manipulate the rate of exchange between their currency and the United States dollar for purposes of preventing effective balance of payments adjustments or gaining unfair competitive advantage in international trade.” Secretary Mnuchin, under the auspices of President Trump, has today determined that China is a Currency Manipulator.

As a result of this determination, Secretary Mnuchin will engage with the International Monetary Fund to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions.

This is the first time since the 1990s that the Treasury Department has used this designation on any of our trading partners, and it is the kind of move that would not be made unless all hopes for a trade deal were completely gone.

Of course the Chinese wouldn’t have made the moves that they made either if they were still holding out hope for a negotiated solution.  According to one market analyst that was quoted by CNBC, the Chinese are “signalling that they have lost confidence that they can reach an agreement with Trump.”

So what this means is that in the short-term things are going to get bad for the global economy.

Really bad.

In the longer term, the structure of the entire global economic system could change dramatically, and this will especially be true if Donald Trump emerges triumphant in 2020.  According to economist Neil Shearing, we could literally be looking at “the end of the world as we know it”…

Among the implications for more deterioration in the global picture that Shearing cites are the “disintegration of the rules-based system” that has governed international commerce since the end of the World War II, and a potential “Balkanization” of the world economy as the U.S. and China develop their own standards, tech platforms and payment systems.

“It’s too soon to say exactly how events will pan out, but this casts the escalation in the US-China trade war over the past year in an altogether more ominous light. We may be witnessing the end of the world as we know it,” he wrote.

It is difficult to imagine a world in which there is no trade between the United States and China, and many would argue that we would be far better off today if we had never gone down that road in the first place.

But now that our two economies are so deeply integrated, trying to decouple is going to be an exceedingly painful process.

If you are familiar with my work, than you already know that I am not a fan of the Chinese government at all.  Something needed to be done about China, because they have been brazenly taking advantage of us and flouting the rules for decades.

Having said that, it is imperative that the American people understand that a messy breakup with China is going to cause an extraordinary amount of pain for us, for them and for the whole world.

It looks like this trade war could be the spark that plunges the global economy into utter chaos, and right now very few Americans seem to understand the true scope of the economic nightmare that appears to be headed our way.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

Our trade war with China has begun to spiral out of control, and as a result global financial markets have been thrown into a state of turmoil.  On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 767 points, and that represented the sixth-largest single day stock market decline in all of U.S. history.  To put that into perspective, the biggest single day decline during the financial crisis of 2008 was just 777 points.  So what we witnessed on Monday was definitely very serious.  And the Nasdaq just got absolutely monkey-hammered as well.  On a percentage basis, it was down even more than the Dow was, and it has now fallen for six days in a row.  We have not seen a losing streak that long for the Nasdaq since President Trump was elected, and some analysts are convinced that even more chaos is on the way.

Overall, 1.4 trillion dollars in stock market wealth has been completely wiped out in less than a week…

It took just four brutal trading days for a $1.4 trillion wipeout in the S&P 500 stock value. From the Federal Reserve’s disappointing comments on the future of interest rates to President Donald Trump’s surprise tariffs to China’s weaponizing of the yuan, the record-long bull market took a big hit in a relatively short time.

European stocks have been getting clobbered as well.  In fact, they just experienced their largest two day decline in three years.

After Trump imposed another wave of tariffs on China at the end of last week, we knew that the Chinese would retaliate.  But we expected that the retaliation would be at least somewhat proportional.

Instead, they decided to bring down the hammer.

When Chris Krueger was asked about China’s retaliation, he said that “on a scale of 1-10, it’s an 11”.  The Chinese have announced that they are going to completely stop buying U.S. agricultural products, and they shocked global financial markets when they allowed the yuan to drop like a rock early on Monday.  In response, the U.S. Treasury Department formally designated China as a “currency manipulator”, and it appears that any hopes for a trade deal between the United States and China before the 2020 presidential election are completely and utterly dead.  For an extended analysis of these events, please see the article that I just posted entitled “China Just Went Nuclear In The Trade War, And There Is No Turning Back Now”.

All along, most investors seemed to believe that all of the angry talk would eventually fade and that the U.S. and China would be able to work things out.

But that didn’t happen, and now we have crossed the point of no return.  Financial markets are finally starting to realize that this trade war is going to have very, very serious implications for major U.S. corporations, and this will especially be true for our largest tech companies.

Over the past two trading days, the big five tech companies have combined to lose 228 billion dollars in market value…

Tech’s big five companies lost $66 billion in market value on Friday, and Monday’s plunge brought the two-day drop to $228 billion. Apple had the biggest percentage decline, falling 5.2%. Apple told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in June that the latest proposed tariffs would hit “all of Apple’s major products.” Some analysts are projecting a significant impact.

Meanwhile, by the way, the price of gold has been soaring.

As I have repeatedly argued, something definitely needed to be done about China, but trying to bully them into making a deal was never, ever going to work.

They are a very proud people, and once we started repeatedly pushing them extremely hard, it was just a matter of time before they started pushing back…

“Your back is put against the wall and you’re constantly being attacked. Pride starts to kick in, and it’s not surprising China has started to assert some of its force,” said Greg Peters, head of multi sector and strategy at PGIM Fixed Income. “I’m not sure what that means in real terms. It’s not different than any other life situations. You push someone hard enough and they start pushing back. … I never thought it was a good idea to act like it’s a scorched earth policy – I win, you lose. I continue to think that was never viable for the Chinese.”

Being aggressive can be an effective negotiating tool, but if you push too hard and too fast you run the risk of completely alienating the other party.

That appears to be what has happened in this case, and now all hopes for a trade deal are completely dead.  As Bonnie Glaser has noted, the “potential for compromise has past”…

“The timing couldn’t be worse,” said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “The potential for compromise has past. Both sides are digging in and both leaders are first and foremost concerned about their domestic audiences. Politics is in the lead.”

Hopefully the markets will bounce back on Tuesday.  After being down quite a bit earlier, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are trading slightly higher as I write this article.

However, the truth is that this crisis isn’t going away.  There isn’t going to be a trade deal with China, and that is going to mean a tremendous amount of pain for the global economy.

When a financial bubble pops, usually there is some sort of trigger that causes it to happen.  In 2008, it was the subprime mortgage meltdown.  This time around, it looks like the trigger could be our trade war with China.

As I noted a few days ago, our financial markets are more primed for a crash than they have ever been before.  And we are moving into the season when big crashes tend to happen.

Things have not looked this ominous since 2008, and a lot of investors are starting to get very nervous.

We shall see how the rest of this year plays out, but right now events certainly seem to be moving in a very alarming direction.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

The post $1,400,000,000,000 Gone In Less Than A Week – Stock Market In Turmoil As The Trade War Dramatically Escalates appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Whenever a tragic act of violence makes national headlines, the calls to give up more of our freedoms and liberties in exchange for the promise of increased security become deafening.  But if we take another step toward becoming an authoritarian society every time something horrible happens, eventually we won’t have any of the basic liberties and freedoms that previous generations of Americans fought so hard to secure for us.  Unfortunately, voices like mine are becoming increasingly rare, and the American people seem to want a society that will shelter them from anything that could possibly go wrong.  Of course there has never been such a society in all of human history, and we won’t be able to create one either.  No governmental system can eliminate the problem of evil, and bad things sometimes happen to good people.  And without a doubt, the mass shootings that we witnessed over the weekend were absolutely horrific.  In less than 24 hours, 29 American lives were lost between these two mass shootings, and this has greatly shaken the entire nation…

On Sunday, Americans woke up to news of a shooting rampage in an entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio, where a man wearing body armor shot and killed nine people, including his own sister. Hours earlier, a 21-year-old with a rifle entered a Walmart in El Paso and killed 20 people.

In a country that has become nearly numb to men with guns opening fire in schools, at concerts and in churches, the back-to-back bursts of gun violence in less than 24 hours were enough to leave the public stunned and shaken.

Sadly, these are not isolated incidents.  As our society has become less moral, we have seen an escalation of violence all over the country.

According to USA Today, so far in 2019 there have been more mass shootings than days in the year…

As gunfire ripped through America in an unprecedented 24 hours, a bleak milestone in a nation pocked by gun violence was marked: There have been 251 mass shootings in 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

A shooting spree early Sunday at an entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio – which left at least nine dead and more than two dozen injured – notched an even darker statistic: It occurred on the 216th day of the year, meaning there have been more mass shootings than days so far this year.

As I have been warning for years, the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted is steadily disappearing.

At one time, you could walk down the streets in most communities in America without worrying that someone would suddenly gun you down, but that is no longer a safe assumption.

And in some areas, things are getting really, really bad.  Just check out what happened in Chicago over the weekend…

In Chicago at least three people have been killed and 37 more injured since Friday evening in shootings within city limits, including 22 people shot Sunday in less than four hours, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

In particular, a mass shooting that took place near a children’s playground was particularly tragic…

As The Epoch Times’ Jack Phillips reports, at least seven people were shot and wounded on Aug. 4 as they gathered near a children’s playground on Chicago’s West Side. The people gathered at 1:20 a.m. as they stood in the park on the 2900 West Roosevelt Road when a person opened fire from a black Chevy Camaro, said Chicago Police.

So why didn’t this mass shooting get the same kind of coverage that the other mass shootings received?

Could it be that it is because it didn’t neatly fit the agenda that the mainstream media is trying to promote?

The city of Baltimore is another major American city where violence is completely and utterly out of control.  In fact, there is only one nation on the entire planet that has a higher homicide rate than Baltimore…

Only one country in the world has a higher per capita homicide rate than the city of Baltimore.

According to WorldAtlas, the murder capital of the globe is Honduras — where there are 90.4 homicides per 100,000 people.

Baltimore, with 56 homicides per 100,000 people, edges out the number two spot ahead of Venezuela, where there are 53.7 homicides per 100,000 people.

As the violence across our country continues to escalate, the calls to restrict our 2nd Amendment rights are going to become overwhelming.

But taking away our 2nd Amendment rights is not going to solve the problem.  Instead, it will just take the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.

The truth is that the El Paso shooter picked a gun-free zone for a reason.  When they know that their targets will be sitting ducks, that just makes things even easier for the mass shooters.

And the bad guys will always find ways to get guns.  Just look at the city of Chicago – they have some of the harshest gun laws in the entire nation, but they also lead the country in gun deaths.

Unfortunately, logic doesn’t tend to work with those that love authoritarianism.  Whenever something happens, they want the government to do “something”, and that “something” almost always involves eroding our most basic rights.

I wish that it wasn’t true, but this is where our country is heading.  Americans have been trained to believe that the government should take care of them from the cradle to the grave and should do all that it can to shield them from everything bad that can possibly happen in life.

Sadly, every time such a totalitarian “utopia” has been attempted throughout human history, it has always ended very badly, and that will be the case here as well.

About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.

The post America Is Not Going To Be A Free And Open Society Any Longer appeared first on The Economic Collapse.

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editor’s Note: A guest contribution from Scott Huntington to The Prepper Journal.

Before we had ovens, cooktops and microwaves, there was only one way to cook up some grub — over the fire. You have to admire fire’s staying power. How many other old-world methods remain relevant thousands of years after they were invented?

Cooking over an open flame isn’t just fun, it’s popular for a good reason. The flavor you get from a flame-cooked meal is difficult to match on even the finest bar-b-queue. Plus, sometimes it’s the only cooking method you have. From surviving and camping to just getting creative, here are 10 things to try next time you’re around the fire.

Blueberry Orange Muffins

Let them try and tell you that baking on a camping trip is a bad idea! This environmentally-conscious muffin recipe makes your pack lighter by re-using the peels of oranges that you can eat on the trail. When it’s time for dessert, mix water and muffin mix as directed and then spoon the result into the empty orange halves. Wrap the mini muffin trays in a double layer of tinfoil and set them in a warm — but not flaming — section of coals. Allow eight to ten minutes of cook time. Boom, a sweet treat that you wouldn’t expect around a campfire.

Kebabs

While they’re simpler to do over the backyard fire pit than on the trail, kebabs can be packed and made in the wilderness with little hassle. The beauty of these simple-but-tasty creations is they allow you to create a multitude of flavor combinations and can customize for meat-eaters, vegetarians or omnivores. As your skill in combining flavors improves, you can play around with mixing things that cook faster or slower, like meat and fruit, and using the thickness of each slice to help the entire skewer cook evenly.

Pizza

Everyone loves pizza, right? But you might not think to cook it over a fire. With a simple pizza stone, you can make it on your backyard grill or beside a babbling brook. Fresh pizza dough can easily pack into camp for a first-night-out feast, and of course, it transports well from your fridge to the bar-b-queue. Similarly to Kebabs, you can enjoy a number of flavor combinations and you might be surprised how much you enjoy the nuance of a crispy-yet-chewy grilled pizza crust. It’s not unlike a gourmet wood-fired pie.

Steak

We’re not surprising anyone by including steak on a list of things you can cook over a fire. A steak traditionalist might even argue this is the only way meat should ever cook. Choose a flavorful piece such as New York Strip or Rib Eye to make over the open flame and the fat on the meat will nearly cook it for you. We recommend a good coating of butter or olive oil, complemented by some salt, pepper and rosemary, but you’re welcome to get more creative with your steak seasonings. Another great thing about this fire-cooked meal is there are several sides you can make over a fire as well.

Corn on the Cobb

Sure you could boil your corn, something we’ve probably all had. But flame-grilled corn-on-the-cob is without question the better way to have it. Plus, it’s so simple. Pick up some good fresh corn, shuck it and wrap in tinfoil, and place in hot embers for 20-30 minutes.

You can also do it with a campfire grill to reduce the mess. Throw a nice chunk of butter and some salt and pepper inside the tinfoil wrapper to add the perfect finishing touch to this sweet and healthy side.

Baked Potatoes

Similar to corn, baked potatoes can be made easily around a campfire by taking advantage of the wonders of tinfoil. However, as a heartier dish, baked potatoes can serve as a main dish when stuffed with the right ingredients. Do some meal prep before hitting the trail by splitting your spuds and packing them with bacon, chives, butter and seasoning. When you arrive at camp, everything will have melted together in the foil — you can finish it off by cooking it over the fire.

Egg and Sausage Taquitos

We tend to focus on dinner when the idea of making things over a fire comes up. But what about breakfast? For the most important meal of the day, breakfast can get neglected on camping trips, but these simple breakfast taquitos will give you a morning boost whether you make them for the kids at home or cook them up after a night on the trail. Meal prep is fairly simple — you make some sausage links and eggs, season them up and then wrap in a tortilla and add seasoning. Make sure you have a good means of keeping these cold if you plan to make them at camp.

Campfire Griddle Cakes

Your camp-mates will be thrilled to wake up to the smell of hot, fresh pancakes on the trail. If you’re used to cooking on a cast-iron skillet, these are about as straightforward as making pancakes at home. You can whip up a batch of batter in 15 minutes at home and jar it or bring with you on the trail using a Tupperware container. Make sure you bring along the necessary flatware. These aren’t as easy to eat with your hands as a kebab, hot dog or s’more. Extra points if you remember syrup and fresh berries.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Similar to the baked potatoes we mentioned earlier, these stuffed veggies can easily serve as a main course. The recipe we chose uses a combination of rice, veggies and ground beef for a well-rounded and nutritious dinner that helps get all your food groups in while you’re out on the trail. The stuffed peppers are cooked in a Dutch oven and take about 30-45 minutes, which should be enough time to prepare additional sides if needed. They look pretty gourmet when done — proof you don’t have to be at home to enjoy something special.

S’mores

What would a list of fire-cooked goodies be without s’mores? These old-timely favorites will bring a smile to anyone’s face, whether on the trail or in the backyard. Did you know, s’mores have gone upscale? Try them with fruit, peanut butter and other wild combinations.

Cooking over an open flame is a wonderful social experience and a way to make plain-old good food. It brings the family together and gives you an excuse to try some truly special recipes that you otherwise might not. So try out some ours, or let us know in the comments below what your favorite flame-cooked eats are!

Be Safe out there and be sure to check out The Prepper Journal Store and follow The Prepper Journal on Facebook!

The post Things You Can Cook Over a Fire appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Although DIY’n is a common practice in this era, it still may be surprising to some that creating your own ethanol source using just a few basic ingredients can be done very easily and by anyone. Why would anyone go through the trouble to create their own gas in the first place? For starters, it can save you a pretty penny on your fuel bill at home. Then there is always an advantage to being prepared in the occurrence of a natural disaster. Most ethanol producers use it to fuel their vehicles, lawn mowers, gas powered generators and even power tools. Although it might not be something you need to do daily, it’s not a bad skill to acquire.

First things first, keep it legal. In order to build your own fuel source you will need to have a permit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. This permit is called a “Fuel Plant Permit” and is necessary no matter how much gas you plan to produce or how you intend to use it. Without the permit, it is a criminal offense to produce ethanol out of your home. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Now that we have warned you about the legalities, safety is next. For obvious reasons you’ll need to use some common sense and precautions when producing ethanol. When using your DIY gas for your car and other home needs, it’s imperative that you know what the fuel system is made out of. Ethanol is highly corrosive to plastic and aluminum so it needs to be mixed with gasoline, about 85% ethanol to 15% gasoline. Be sure to read up on the manufacturer guidelines before using your own ethanol in any fuel system to decrease the chances of destroying it completely.

Ethanol production is a natural process. It actually comes about through the fermentation of carbohydrates. There are several recipes for it, but let’s just assume that you don’t have your own crops to work with. Now let’s get to the directions. You will need the following:

(1) 20 gallon plastic barrel with a lid
(1) 10 ounce packet of brewer yeast or distiller yeast
(1) stirring paddle
(40) pounds of sugar
(1) still

Mix it

You will need to melt the sugar in hot water (about 100 degrees fahrenheit). Fill up your barrel about halfway with water and then add sugar in 8-10 lbs at a time. This allows it to melt and stir easier. After the sugar is pretty much broken down you can fill the remainder of the barrel with more hot water. You will mix the yeast in once the temperature is somewhere between 80-90 degrees. Place the lid on loosely to allow the fermentation process to occur. Set the barrel aside in a place that is about 70 degrees consistently.

Leave it

The fermentation process will naturally happen over a week or so. The yeast is eating up the sugar and producing waste in the form of carbon dioxide and alcohol. You will see bubbles coming out of the mixture, this is good. Keep that lid on loosely to avoid too much pressure causing the barrel to explode. Once the bubbles stop forming, fermentation is complete.

Filter it

You will need to filter the ethanol that will most likely carry dead bugs, debris and dead yeast.

Distill it

The remaining mixture is that of dead yeast, water, and ethanol. To get the ethanol out of this mixture, you need to use a still. The distilled version of your solution should get you around a 3:1 ratio of original solution to finished ethanol.

Dehydrate it

At this point your ethanol may still have some water inside of it. In order to remove it, you need to use a unique fuel filter that can filter the water out. These filters are made out of specific fabrics that allow ethanol molecules to pass through while keeping the water out.

And there you are. Do it yourself ethanol for your car and other home needs. You’re welcome for the lighter fuel costs.

When one decides to begin the journey into “prepping,” that doesn’t necessarily mean they have a lot of money at their disposal. That’s why it’s important to do the things that cost nothing first before you start buying things to store for when the SHTF.

This list is in no particular order, nor is it a complete list of all the possible things you can or should do after you decide to start prepping that doesn’t cost any money.  But this is a great guide for those just getting their feet wet and on a strict budget.

1. Inventory Your Items

Take an inventory of everything you have already that you can or might need if the SHTF.  Put your first aid items together and organize your food. Doing this will help you get an idea of what you already have, what medications or ointments have expired, and what you may need to replace.

2. Write Out A Wish List

After you’ve gotten an inventory of everything you already own that you will need for your prepping gear, write out the things that are missing.  Do you need to replace some expired medications? What foods are you missing to make hearty, wholesome, and filling meals quickly, cheaply, and without power? Cross-check your inventory list.

3. Make a Space for all Your Items

Organize your gear in a central location so you know where it is.  In an emergency, such as a medical one, you’ll want quick easy access to your first aid kit. Keeping all your food together also allows you to more easily see what you’ve acquired and what you still need.  Organize your food by groups, such as spices, vegetables, meats, sauces, etc.  Keep the oldest food toward the front of your supply so you will use it first.

4. Practice Skills

Take the time to practice the things that you can already do. Practice building a fire. Make it a challenge and practice during the rain. If you can sew, take the time to repair a worn-out item by hand. Watch self-defense videos on YouTube and practice with your family. A free skill you can begin to learn is getting around your house in the dark.  Practice with the whole family. Learn to move quietly and safely and know how to evacuate if need be. Practice situational awareness and make it a habit.

5. Make a Family Plan

Come up with an emergency plan as a family.  What do the children need to do if the SHTF when they are at school? Where is the rendezvous point where everyone is to meet in the aftermath of a disaster? If it’s home, who is responsible for staying put to make sure everyone arrives? Come up with a few plans and rank them. If plan A fails, then everyone moves on to plan B.  You can write these out or just have family meetings to discuss your plans and brainstorm ideas with each other.

*A failure to plan is a plan to fail.

Prepping doesn’t necessarily have to be complicated or expensive. The goal is to get you and your family in the preparedness mindset so you can take the reigns on your own. Knowing what you need for your particular situation will be invaluable as you begin your prepping journey!

If you have any suggestions for readers that are free and that they can begin at any time, share them in comments!

Cordage is long stringy gold for us survivalists. It bundles items, lashes structures, creates the noose for the would be dinner, and so much more. As most survivalists do I went with the military spec paracord as my cordage of choice. Its strong, inexpensive, and versatile. I also wanted a good deal of it, at least a hundred feet if not more. Cordage can always be cut shorter but splicing or knotting two pieces of cordage will always create a weak point at that spot. Now I have over a hundred feet of paracord, but how do I store it?

By Grimm, a contributing author to SHTFBlog & Survival Cache

As a beginner I went with the traditional way of wrapping loop after loop from my thumb to my elbow and then wrapping the last bit in the middle to secure it. It worked but it took up room, the loops got caught on things and sometimes when unraveling it all it would knot up. Having this happen to me more than a few times and I was ready to find a new way to store my paracord. The paracord donut technique was the answer.

Related: 21 Survival Uses For Paracord

In the video you will see that a paracord donut is nothing more than a loop of daisy chain loops. Going around itself until there is no more. This technique creates a very compact donut spool of your cordage. Unlike other spools though it doesn’t have a rigid structure in the center and the cordage will not continue to peel off if you drop it. It will not knot up on itself while it sits in your bag, I have never had it catch on anything and as a bonus the weight of the donut itself can be used to throw your cordage over a branch or to another person.

The process of making this will take some time and some getting use to, but its actually quite simple once you get the technique down and very hard to forget. You can even label multiple paracord donuts with what length they are for easy identification. Also although I am calling it a paracord donut this technique can be used with other cordage types as well. Take a moment and watch the Pioneer Prep so you can see how easily it is to wrangle in your wild cordage.

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