cookiejar

When someone says Buckets:

Ordinary people frown thinking mopping, car washing, painting.

You grin and think "STORAGE!!!!!"

(if your second thought is,"I should go by and check the bakery for more" give yourself two bonus points.)

(If you've ever *Fibbed* about what your using the buckets for to the supplier give yourself 5 extra points).

*cookie looks pointedly at Mountain_Rider with lifted eyebrow*

We've added more to the windows/sliding glass door/ doors/garge series...

keep checking back as we update and find more ideas or PLEASE through in some of your own.

They say pictures can speak a thousand words.

snip:Detective Constable Ian Connelly is part of the team cracking down on the criminals. He said: “Since November there have been a number of homes broken into primarily for the car keys. During the hours of darkness, the thieves are breaking or sneaking into homes which tend to have a high value car sitting in the drive. They steal the keys and then steal the car.

Did I scare Ya? I hope so...if only to think.

Doing this series has pointed out my gaps I have to fill. So we're all learning together.

From the Images DogMom suggested, These little metal clips work great if your leaving a window slightly open for ventilation.

This is a series we plan to develop dealing with securing the home. Some things will be lower budget as well as pointing higher budget items people employ to make their homes more secure.

No place is foolproof, but you can do a lot to enhance your home security. From the low budget such as Locks, wood blocks and bar inserts for a sliding glass door. Extra add-on locks for windows and and chains for the front door to full scale alarm systems and motion detectors.

If you've had luck with some styles of security, make suggestions. If you have ideas or questions, voice them.

Guard dogs, bells hanging on doorknobs. What works for you, what are you interested in.

*ahem*

If you've ever been envious of someone's find of canning jars at a cheap price.

If you've ever try to *One Up* someone's amount of canning supplies I.E. another pallet of jars.

If your jars arrive on pallets, not just in boxes.

If you can (without consulting a book) describe in detail how to cold bath something.

If someone mentions the power out and cold baths and you think they are talking canning.

If your personal recipes include things people generally kill as weeds in their lawn.

If you can explain what corms are or golden treacle is and their uses.

If you plant hedges for privacy. If your hedges are edible

you might be one of us...

A good example of ceiling shelves. Good for the attic or basement.

The fat and meat I could understand but why no citrus?

Hilarious and true.

Now you see why I bumped it up so much. Leah posted a gem with this.

Thanks for the link chica!

The decorative GUN racks were interesting too

Emergency Sources of Water

In an emergency, if you have not previously stored water and commercial or public sources of water are not available, drain water from your plumbing system. Unless you are advised that the public water supply has been contaminated and is not safe, open the drain valve at the bottom of the water heater and salvage the water stored in the heater. A typical water heater holds 30-60 gallons of water. Discard the first few gallons if they contain rust or sediment. Let the water heater cool before draining it from the heater so it does not scald you. Turn off the electricity or gas to the water heater to prevent the heater from operating without water. Once water has been drained into clean, sanitized containers, add 5-7 drops of chlorine bleach* per gallon of water, and stir or shake the solution to mix it. Let it set 30 minutes before use.

Emergency Outdoor Water Sources

If you need to find water outside your home, you can use these sources. Be sure to treat the water first. Additional sources include:

Rainwater Streams, rivers and other moving bodies of water Ponds and lakes Natural springs Avoid water with floating material, an odor or dark color. Use saltwater only if you distill it first. You should not drink flood water.

Hidden Water Sources in Your Home

If a disaster catches you without a stored supply of clean water, you can use the water in your hot-water tank, pipes and ice cubes. As a last resort, you can use water in the reservoir tank of your toilet (not the bowl).

Do you know the location of your incoming water valve? You’ll need to shut it off to stop contaminated water from entering your home if you hear reports of broken water or sewage lines.

To use the water in your pipes, let air into the plumbing by turning on the faucet in your house at the highest level. A small amount of water will trickle out. Then obtain water from the lowest faucet in the house.

To use the water in your hot-water tank, be sure the electricity or gas is off, and open the drain at the bottom of the tank. Start the water flowing by turning off the water intake valve and turning on a hot-water faucet. Do not turn on the gas or electricity when the tank is empty.

Using Swimming Pool Water

You should always view your pool as “backup” water; keep the water treated; you never know when it will be needed! The maintenance of the free chlorine residual will prevent establishment of any microorganisms. The maintenance level should be kept about 3-5ppm free chlorine. (See Water Purification for detailed information on purifying pool water.) If other stored water stocks are not available, remove the necessary pool water and boil it or just treat with chlorine to the normal 5ppm. It is best to err on the side of caution.

Covering the pool at all times when not in use is a very good idea. Try to keep the cover clean and wash the area you put it on when removing it from the pool.

I remember how I drooled over Darlene's account of how she had a well on her Miami property. While I don't think my association will approve that. For the sake of possible emergencies, I have been considering other ideas. Cookie outside the box again.(Or too much Flu meds )

This is a snip from another site:

Just a side note; Some preparedness folks take a look at hydrology maps - even some metropolitan hydro maps may note natural springs, streams, abandoned wells, or underground drainage and seasonal watershed areas on private and public properties that are ignored, long forgotten or unused. I imagine there may be quite a few springs or wells nearby if you're in a rural area that has has very old homes or farms. Such watering holes may not provide a good solution for your needs, but it might be worth taking note of in a serious emergency.snip

I considered this to use along with water harvesting and conserving. Rain collection etc.

I found these things in a few minutes. A small list of larger springs with directions and links. A list of well use and artesians plus some cool places where torm drainoff is. I'm aware all of this will require care and filtering.

Consider googling the same for your area. It only takes a few minutes and gives you more than one option for finding water. So, do you have a plan for finding water in the advent of a extreme natural disaster? When the regular faucett doesn't come on?

http://www.miamiconservancy.org/

http://sjr.state.fl.us/programs/abandonedwells.html

http://www.tfn.net/Springs/Springbook/

Hey chica!

I decided to reread your wonderful book again and was struck by this snippet:

The news was getting worse every night. Oh, the newscasters were great. They had fun doing their job, and you could tell. But tonight, for a split second as the main anchor-man told of the dollar dropping yet again, the price of crude oil going up, and the tensions with China rising, you could tell/snip

So odd you wrote this in 2005? and it feels like you worte it about today...

Good and mildly scary!

Hugs to you

Bump for Happy Camper45,

who must put her idea for a canno-holic tee-shirt here...