2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 19

I can’t believe how quickly these weekly updates come. Seems like the last one was just yesterday. I guess that means I’m keeping busy. Week 19 y’all! Can you believe we’ve exhausted almost twenty weeks in 2017? Been pretty busy around the Suburban Steader Homestead this week. Come along and check out what went on.

This Week’s Milestones

The Workshop Is The Place To Be

I spent a lot of time in my workshop this week. It really is my sanctuary at times. If I’ve had a bad day at work or just need some downtime from the family, I’ll head in there, crank the radio and just relax.

I think the most important thing I did in the workshop was getting it clean.

You know what they say about cleanliness and Godliness. Even if you’re not a religious person, you know how rewarding a clean area can be to your mindset. I feel ready to tackle a new project and get after it!

I used my Self-Centering Sharpening Jig and handmade hand plane iron sharpening jig to sharpen my hand plane iron. Unfortunately, it looks like the modification I made to the self-centering sharpening jig didn’t work right and I ended up with a crooked iron.

Any suggestion on how to fix it?

Once I got the place cleaned up, I broke out my grandfather’s old toolbox.

It’s a pretty cool piece of work – looks like all the corners are rabbet joints and the entire thing (with the exception of one piece) doesn’t use any hardware to hold it together. I’m trying to figure out how I want to finish it.

Thinking about hitting it with the orbit sander and throwing some boiled linseed oil on it. What do you think?

Garden Getting Going

Despite the colder weather here (we’re hitting low 40’s at night), the garden is really cranking. The parsley and peppers were introduced to their final spots outdoors. Likewise, the sage got replanted into larger containers outside with the intent of them growing bigger and stronger before being placed in their final homes.

I’m having some concerns with my peppers.

The feedback I’ve gotten so far is that it’s probably just exposure to sunlight. I tend to agree with that except for two things:

These plants have been under UV lights during their entire grow phase.
I hardened these off quite extensively prior to planting.

Not sure if that all makes a difference. What do you think?

Guilty Pleasures

I’m not what you’d call a voracious reader but when I find a book I really enjoy I sure can sink my teeth into it. The Survivalist Series from Angery American is one of those series.

I recently picked up the eighth book in that series entitled “Home Invasion.” I’ve devoured over half the book in a few days and will, no doubt, be done with it before the end of the weekend. If you like any kind of apocalyptic fiction, you’ll like this series.

In fact, if you like that kind of book, check out some of these fiction books. I definitely recommend all of them.

Next Week’s Goals

Gardening

The cukes are growing strong inside. Likewise, the basil and cilantro are making a strong push under the grow lights. They should all soon be on the hardening process and eventually make their way to their final homes outside. I need to get some thyme started outside as well.

The rabbits have definitely left and I’ve been able to prep that area of the garden for transplants.

Workshop

The toolbox is the next big project in my mind here. I’m going to get the unit cleaned up with the vacuum and a damp cloth. If it still looks kind of crummy, I’ll break out the orbital sander and go to town. I’m really going back and forth in my mind about whether I want to remove the years of “patina” and character or not. Any feedback you have would be appreciated.

That’s it folks – Week 19 is in the books! How was your week?

Thanks for reading!

Prepper’s Guide To Knots (Book Review)

Who hasn’t needed to lash items together at some point in life? I’m sure you have – I know I do on a regular basis. Most people take it for granted that they can jury-rig together whatever they need when tying a knot. But are you really able to hold that Christmas tree to the roof of your car or tie that tarp down tight when the big storm is coming? In Prepper’s Guide To Knots, Scott Finazzo presents a set of basic knots, bends, binding knots and loops that will allow you to feel more confident in your ability to properly handle any situations where you need to secure yourself or your equipment with rope.

Book Set-Up

Knots is as varied and oblique of a topic as you can image. Scott Finazzo does a good job of breaking this topic into digestible sections so that the user can easily access the spot they need.

The parts and chapters of this book are as follows:

Introduction

The Introduction is just that – an introduction to the book and the general reasoning behind why Scott wrote this book. He goes into his background a little bit – he’s been a rope rescue technician for the last 15 years of his 20-year firefighting career – and why he thinks knot tying is a prepper skill that should be invested in.

Materials Used In Ropes

If you have any experience with knots, you know that the quality of rope you use is equally as important as the type of knot you tie. Scott, in a short and concise manner, explains the difference between natural fibers such as cotton, hemp, sisal, and jute and synthetic fibers such as nylon, polypropylene, and polyester.

Care and Cleaning

Care of rope is pretty simple. You basically want to avoid the ultraviolet rays from sunlight and chemicals. If your rope gets dirty, you can clean it with water and a mild detergent. Scrubbing with a soft bristle brush is OK as well. Scott runs through a few other minor things to check on your rope during a cleaning inspection in this chapter of the book.

Terms

Do you know the difference between a standing end and a working end? What about a bight, loop, round turn, overhand loop and underhand loop? Well, if not, then you definitely need to check out this section of Prepper’s Guide To Knots.

Basic Knots

The first section of Prepper’s Guide To Knots which actually talks about knots concentrates on the sixteen basic knots that you need to know. These knots serve as the basis for all knots going forward and, if you don’t remember any other knots, these will get you by in life. Knots like the overhand knot, half hitch, overhand loop, heaving line knot and the monkey’s fist are all covered in this section.

Bends

‘Bending’ rope is attaching two sections of rope to make one longer section. There are numerous ways to accomplish this task, and Scott identifies twenty-two knots which allow you attach two sections of rope. Knots such as the sheet bend, fisherman’s knot, zeppelin bend, alpine butterfly bend, surgeon’s knot, and double grinner knot are all covered in this section.

Binding Knots

Binding knots use two ends of a rope to keep and object or multiple objects together. Lots of these knots are mistaken as bends. Take the square knot for instance – many people use this knot to extend a piece of rope and that’s just dangerous. Square knots can come apart under load! Scott uses this section of Prepper’s Guide To Knots to introduce knots such as the square knot, constrictor knot, marline hitch, transom knot, clove hitch, cat’s paw, ring hitch, and Knute hitch. There are a whopping thirty-four knots in this section!

Loops

Loops are indispensable for wrapping around things and hoisting items.Sometimes you want the loop to slide on the standing end and sometimes you don’t. Out of the twelve knots in this section, I regularly use at least half of them. The bowline, double bowline, figure eight loop, hangman’s noose, prusik and farmer’s loop are great knots to know.

Coils

Does your rope always get tangled when you store it? Well, you should learn how to coil it. Scott demonstrates four ways to coil rope – the alpine coil, fisherman’s coil, figure of eight coil and daisy chain – in this section of Prepper’s Guide To Knots.

What I Liked About Prepper’s Guide To Knots

Instruction books are typically useful books and this one is no different. Scott does a good job of organizing the knots into intelligible sections and clearly shows how to tie each knot. He also is very systematic in his approach with this book. He teaches the user knot tying basics in the early part of the book and then builds on that knowledge as the book progresses.

What I Didn’t Like

There are two things I don’t like about Prepper’s Guide To Knots – one is very fixable and the other is more of an overall critique.

First, I would have loved to have seen this book printed in color. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell whether the working end is going under or over the rope in the pictures. Other times, it makes it difficult to trace the loops. I understand the cost associated with printing in color. If you remember, I had the same complaint about Amy Stross’ Suburban Micro-Farm. I fully understand the additional cost associated with color printing and appreciate the need to bring an affordable product to market. That being said, color pictures would do wonders for an instructional book like this one.

The second thing I didn’t like is less about content and more about “why.” I am struggling why this book is being marketed at preppers. Scott mentions early on in the Introduction that he is choosing these knots with a prepper in mind but there’s no real linkage there. Knots are knots. Everyone should know how to tie some but I don’t see anything specific about these knots that are specifically necessary for preppers.

I’ll be honest – it seems like he’s trying to use the popularity of prepping to sell an otherwise very informative book.

Overall Thoughts on Prepper’s Guide To Knots

Overall, I greatly enjoyed Prepper’s Guide To Knots. It’s an informative book that is put together in a smart, sequential manner. The art of knot tying is essential to everyone, not just preppers, and this book will teach you how to tie a plethora of useful knots.

So, should you buy this book? Yes! Especially if you are not a great knot tier. This book will teach you a great set of knots and you’ll be much more proficient in handling anything with knots.

Disclaimer: Scott Finazzo supplied a copy of Prepper’s Guide To Knots via Ulysses Press for me to review. I can assure my readers that I gave it a fair and honest review.

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 18

Another week, another weekly update from the Suburban Steader Homestead. Unfortunately, there wasn’t another post in between the weekly update post from last week, but such is life. It’s a combination of being busy at work, being busy at home and not finding something to write about that I can really sink my teeth into. I need ideas people!

OK, enough about that. You know what they say about excuses and rear ends. If you don’t, email me and I’ll tell you!

Let’s check into the going-ons at the Suburban Steader Homestead for Week 18 of 2017!

This Week’s Milestones

Back To The Workshop

I have been making an effort to get back into the workshop a little every night. It may only be for five minutes at a time or so, but it’s a definite stress relief. This week, I spent a little time building a hand plane iron sharpening jig similar to what Cody from Wranglerstar did.

The jig came out pretty nice but I do have a few things I would change. First off, I wish I hadn’t used the brad nails to connect the lip to the base piece. That just gives it a cheap, hacked together look. Second, the blocks aren’t perfectly cut. I’m working on using hand tools over power tools, so the edges are not perfectly straight. My skills are getting better, however.

To be honest, however, this jig was pieced together pretty quickly. I fully intend on coming back and building a nicer one once I get my hands on a rabbit planer (anyone have any for sale?).

But how does it work?

Well, the jig works great. It lines up perfectly and helps me set the same depth over and over again using my Self-Centering Sharpening Jig that I got from Amazon.

The problem I have is that the jig itself is not the greatest as-is out of the box. In fact, my hand plane iron now has a non-perpendicular edge to it. I’ll post a picture on Instagram later on that shows what I’m talking about.

I need to spend some more time modifying it. Wranglerstar (yes, I like a lot of his videos) did a video on how to do this as well.

[youtube_sc url=”XA_KDe7lsls” width=”400″]

If I can get the jig to work as well as Cody does, then I’ll really be in business! The next step will be getting some of those sharpening planes Paul Sellers talk about and building myself a proper sharpening fixture.

Fishing On The Mind

I’ve really been getting excited about the fishing season. If you remember, last week I showed you how I got my New York Fishing License. What I didn’t tell you is that I also got my license for Massachusetts which is where my folks live and where I grew up.

I am so excited to get out there that I’ve thrown my rods and gear in my truck so that I can get out any time the opportunity presents itself.

I’m actually thinking of buying a gun rack to hold them so it’s a little neater. What do you think?

We went to Massachusetts this past weekend for my nephew/godson’s First Communion. I brought my gear and got some water time in.

I didn’t catch anything – I think I got only one or two bites – but it was great to be back out there. I think I got my old man upset a little bit. He’s partially retired and lives on the lack but I got my line in the water first this year! I’m sure he’ll get more time in over the year, but it was nice to beat him to the punch for once.

Getting Back On The Horse

If you’ve been checking in on the Facebook page, you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been getting back into the habit of working out. It’s been great and I’m actually feeling a lot better. I was feeling run down, tired and generally crappy for a while and a big part of that is just not taking care of myself.

Part of getting back into shape – some would argue it’s the biggest part – is diet. I’ve had a lot of experience over the years with working out and nutrition (I used to power lift in my ‘past’ life). I’ve found that a high protein, low carb diet has always worked best for me. To that end, the Mrs and I are pursuing a Paleo-esque diet.

We’re not buying into the Paleo diet 100% simply because it can be expensive and sometimes we just need to balance out life with diet. That being said, I’m trying to follow the core principles of the eating plan (I hate the word diet) as much as possible. I’m also cutting out dairy and alcohol from my diet. That’s really difficult because I love cheese and craft beer!

Next Week’s Goals

Gardening

The Mrs has been a huge help this week with hardening off the veggies we still have indoors. To that end, I should be able to get the parsley and peppers outdoors. The eggplant, cukes, cilantro and basil all need to move into bigger pots but stay inside.

Our rabbit visitors seem to have departed, so I can start to prep the beds for transplants. Looking forward to all of this work and seeing the fruits of my labor.

I also found that the oregano and lemon balm I transplanted last year has begun to bloom. Looking forward to getting my hands on some of those as well!

Workshop

The workshop is always foremost in my mind – at least these days. I want to figure out the issue I’m having with the sharpening jig and then clean the place up. It’s a big mess right now and I need a clean workspace before I can even think about getting started on a new project.

That’s it folks – Week 18 is in the books! How was your week?

Thanks for reading!

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 17

Wow! Are we at another week already? Last week was a busy week for us here at the Suburban Steader Homestead and this week wasn’t much different. Let’s check into the going-ons at the Suburban Steader Homestead for Week 17 of 2017!

This Week’s Milestones

Get Your Hike On!

My twin girls are a masters course on nature versus nurture. They have been together since conception and have been exposed to life in the exact same way. In fact, it was only two years ago when they were in Kindergarten (they’re in Second Grade now) that they were separated in school. Why am I telling you all this information? Because, despite being exposed to exactly the same experiences, they are as different as different can be.

One is a sporty girl (let’s call her M). She loves to play soccer, lacrosse, and basketball. M also loves to do stuff with me like running, swimming, hiking, camping, yard work and can’t wait to surf, wakeboard, and snowboard in the next year.

My other daughter is my little nerd (let’s call her J). And I say that as lovingly as possible (I am an engineer after all). She will gladly curl up on the couch with a book and read the day away. J likes being outside but isn’t much of an athlete. We constantly have to tell her about walking while reading her books is dangerous. I’ve actually seen her walk down the stairs while reading a book. I was scared that she was going to miss a step and crack open her head.

Back To The Hike

But, despite their differences, they both love to explore new things. I was able to take them to Bear Mountain State Park in New York last weekend and we actually climbed the mountain.

Now, before you get too impressed (sarcasm, folks!) Bear Mountain’s summit is at roughly 1,300ft and the trailhead is at roughly 200ft. It’s not a terribly difficult hike nor is it terribly long – I think it was about 4.5mi round trip.

The hike was great. We started up Major Welch trail, summited and returned on the Appalachian Trail (AT). That description sounds relatively easy, but the Major Welch Trail provided it’s own level of difficulty in that it was rainy and there were lots of rock outcroppings. I taught the kids (and my wife) how to make sure their footing was safe before moving the next one. M took to it like a duck to water and was flying up the trail. J was a bit timider and slow. She also didn’t like getting her feet muddy.

J took one spill off a slippery rock and started crying pretty loud. The Mrs and I calmed her down and we decided to take a break. We had just hit a false summit and everyone was a bit bummed. M was ready to go, but we got some raisins into J. After that, she was a rock star! She scampered up to the peak, climbed the lookout tower stairs (which were the worst part for Dad) and rocked on the way down.

Their First Time On The AT

The girls were pumped about the way down. This hike was their first time on the AT. I had told M and J all about it and they were very excited to be on a trail that ran all the way from Georgia to Maine. I have to say that I’ve hiked parts of it in New England (most New Hampshire) and the portion around Bear Mountain might as well have been a sidewalk compared to New Hampshire. There was crushed blue stone and “manicured” steps the entire way.

We finished the day with some great steaks on the old charcoal grill.

What a great end to a great day!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Yes, I’m a gardener and I’m wishing the rain away. Blasphemy, I know! But this last week has been non-stop rain. Unfortunately, that situation is not conducive to the point I’m at. I need to harden up some plantings and, to do that, I need some sun.

It looks like the sun will be coming out this afternoon for a while and the temps will really be creeping up – looks like we’ll be hitting 80F today (29-Apr)!

We should be able to harden off the seedlings and get them planted.

Civic Duty Calls

I had the pleasure of being called in for jury duty this week. Truth be told, I am one of those weird people who doesn’t actually mind it much. Over ten years ago I served on a grand jury and really enjoyed that opportunity. I got to see all kinds of cases come through there including murders, drugs, drunk driving and numerous other offenses. It’s very interesting to see how our court systems works – and how inefficient it is.

On this trip, I was brought up to final jury selection for a double murder case. It sounded quite interesting to be sure. Unfortunately, the case was expected to run from early May to the end of June. My employer does not pay for jury duty absences so I had to dismiss myself for financial hardship reasons. I was kind of bummed out as I would have liked to see how a criminal proceeding of that magnitude played out.

Next Week’s Goals

Gardening

I plan on getting the current seedling hardened off. I also have to plant my final crops – both for indoor and outdoor starts. The blueberries still need some loving – I have been so busy around the house and with work/jury duty that I haven’t gotten to them.

Workshop

I started building an alignment jig for chisel and hand plane iron sharpening similar to what Cody from Wranglerstar did. I’ll post pictures on Instagram once it’s complete. After that, I need to get the workshop cleaned up and then take a look at my grandfather’s old wooden toolbox. That should prove to be an interesting project.

That’s it folks – Week 17 is in the books! How was your week?

Thanks for reading!

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 16

I feel like I’m cheating a little bit as I wrote the last weekly wrap-up only five days ago. That being said, I want to get these back on track for Friday publish dates. The last few days have been somewhat busy and exciting. Let’s check into the going-ons at the Suburban Steader Homestead for Week 16 of 2017!

This Week’s Milestones

Uninvited Visitors At the Suburban Steader Homestead

I’ve begun daily walks through the garden after work now that I have actually placed crops into the beds. It’s a moment of relaxation for me every day after work. We also benefit from the walk because I’m checking the garden daily and noticing any changes (good or bad) as they occur.

A few days ago, I was doing my walk and had quite a scare. A mama rabbit came running out of the straw mulch. I took a look and noticed a little burrow in the straw and there were a few kits in it.

Needless to say, this discovery will cause my planting goals to be delayed a week or so as they mature. I stopped by yesterday and it didn’t look like they were there. I’m hoping Mama took them out and found a new home.

Tis The Season

I love being outdoors. I grew up on a lake and, while we didn’t have much money, we found tons of ways to have fun. One of those ways to have fun was fishing. My father is an avid largemouth bass fisherman and that apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. To that end, I went and got my fishing license this week and am looking forward to getting my line wet this year. I’d love to learn how to fish for trout as well since there’s a pretty good stocking here on Long Island.

Note that Mike over at The Backyard Pioneer correctly pointed out that I’m missing a few endorsements on my license. Gotta get that Hunter’s Safety Course done so I can go deer hunting with him this fall!

Next Week’s Goals

Gardening

There’s a lot of tasks that need to be taken in the garden. I have to spend some time with my blueberry bushes and give them some nutrients. In addition, I have a lot of items that need direct sowing. I think that will all occur this coming weekend.

Workshop

I haven’t spent much time in my workshop. There’s a lot that needs to be done in there. First and foremost, I need to get it cleaned up – again. It seems like I always need to clean up my workshop. But, it’s an important task and makes it easier to start projects.

Once I get the shop cleaned up, the next tasks will be taking my grandfather’s old wooden toolbox and reworking it. I’m looking forward to seeing how nice that box can be after it’s restored.

Blog

The blog will be back with an article next week. Most likely I will be reviewing a book next week. I have a few in the queue as well as some other post ideas. We shall see – I always like to keep it a surprise for you guys!

Family Time

Saturday is looking to be an adventure day for the family. We’re planning to head up to Bear Mountain in Harriman State Park to hike up Bear Mountain. It’s not a terribly difficult climb, but it’s a great view at the top. In addition, my daughters are so excited that, on the return from the peak, we’ll be hiking on the Appalachian Trail. They seem to be infatuated with that trail – for good reason – and I’m happy they are so excited!

That’s it folks – Week 16 is in the books! How was your week?

Thanks for reading!

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 15

Spring has sprung on the Suburban Steader Homestead! The weather has turned to the warmer weather and the gardens are starting to grow! There was so much that happened this week that I need to get into it right now!

This Week’s Milestones

Back On Track!

After what seems like weeks and weeks of complaining, I feel like my health is back on track! I feel a hell of a lot better than I did in the last few weeks. I felt so good that I even started back to the gym.

It felt so good to push some weight and feel like I was exerting myself again! I guess that doctor’s appointment my wife set up for me last week really paid off! I’m back baby!

Project Completion

I am very happy to report that the gas storage project is 100% complete. The shelving unit is built and all twelve cans are bought, filled and stored appropriately. This project was a huge accomplishment for me. I do a lot of project management at work and this project is the first one I planned out completely at home and then executed to plan. Very proud of the product and the execution.

Next up is planning for water storage.

Spring Has Sprung

Finally…Spring has come back to…The Suburban Steader Homestead (extra points if you know what that’s a paraphrase from)! I cannot begin to tell you how awesome it feels to have warmer weather back here.

I transplanted all my lettuce, onions and broccoli. Some are taking better than others but we’re moving in the right direction. Being that it was a very busy week away from the Suburban Steader Homestead, I was not able to get all my direct sow stuff started. I did, however, get the beds all prepped. I utilize the Square Foot Gardening methodology in my beds and make sure that every year, my beds are mapped out prior to planting.

All this means that we’re full bore ahead on planting this season and should have a hell of a garden waiting for us in a few months!

Good Friday Wasn’t So Good

Good Friday was an interesting day for me. I went to work and my company did a great thing for us. Rather than work in the afternoon, we all went to one of those Escape Rooms and had a little competition. We split into three teams and I’m happy to announce that my team was the only one to escape successfully within the time limit. Apparently, there will be some kind of prize (of the cash variety from what I’m told) waiting for us on Monday morning! They also bought us lunch, which was great.

I obviously came home in a great mood…until I walked into the basement. When I sat down at my computer to write this article, I got about ten words in and heard a weird sound. I turned around and noticed that the ceiling was leaking directly onto my wife’s desk! Our basement is brand new – just finished it off in late summer 2016!

Needless to say, everything got dropped and we immediately began moving all the critical electronics and then the furniture. I contemplated fixing it myself but didn’t trust my torch skills in such an enclosed area so I called a professional. He was great and now the leak is fixed, but I have a lot of drywall work and painting to do. Such is the life of a homeowner!

Great Weekend Of Food

In terms of food, Easter is second only to Thanksgiving in my top food holidays. I do love me a nice ham with some mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables. The only thing that beats a nice ham is a turkey. As I write this article, the ham is in the oven and we’re waiting on guests to arrive. I’m truly drooling at my keyboard.

The best part is that I started the day off with a great breakfast – tasty omelet, crisp up croissant and some bacon. Tack on a hot, strong cup of coffee and my morning was terrific.

I have to mention, however, that I’m still a little upset at my buddy Mike over at The Backyard Pioneer. He’s been posting amazing pictures of meat he’s smoking for the holiday weekend and I haven’t gotten a single call or text to come try it out. With friends like that 😉

Blog Work

I got back to my roots and published a self-written, non-review article this week on why preppers should be backpackers. It’s a great read if I do say so myself. The article speaks to how backpacking is not only a great exercise but also a terrific skill builder!

Have you had a chance to check out the site since I did a little spring cleaning? If not, please do and let me know what you think!

Next week, I expect to have another review (authors love sending me books) but I’m looking to get back into direct articles that really provide some guidance. What topics would you like me to address?

Next Week’s Goals

Gardening! Getting the veggies growing is goal number one for the next week and beyond. I have a lot of direct sowing to do as well as starting some stuff in the house. I’m thinking that the next few weeks should really determine where the garden is going for this year.

The blog is also getting some attention as articles should become more consistent (I apologize for how late this article is going up) and the content should get a little deeper. I’ve had a lot of stuff outside of work/home that has taken a lot of time lately. That all should be dying down and I’ll be able to concentrate more on the site.

Week 15 of 2017 is in the books and what a busy one it was! Things are heading in the right direction and the Suburban Steader Homestead is starting to really crank. How’s your property doing? Are you getting everything done that you want to do?

Thanks for reading!

Backpacking: Why Preppers Should All Do It

Backpacking is often thought of as this out of reach, extreme sport that only people in top physical condition undertake. That’s just not the case. Backpacking is as much a skill builder as it is an activity for the adventurous. And the best part is that anyone can do it. It can be as simple as an overnight a few miles into the woods or a multi-month, multi-state adventure. In the end, you’ll be building your prepping skills while having a great time in nature!

Here are seven ways that backpacking builds your skills as a prepper:

1. Keep In Shape

Let me ask you a question – have you ever seen an Appalachian Trail thru-hike who is out of shape? In case you live under the rock and don’t know what the Appalachian Trail or a thru-hiker is, the answer is no. They are all fit people. Do you know how they get like that?

They walk. A lot.

We are always told how walking is one of the best exercises in the world and backpacking is nothing more than walking in the woods. OK, it’s walking in the woods with a pack on your back.

Think of the pack as weights at the gym. You don’t start working out by deadlifting 500lbs. That kind of weight requires you to gradually progress your strength. You can do that with your backpacking as well.

Start with short 1-3 mile walks in your neighborhood with only some water. Once those are not very challenging, start taking 1-3 mile walks in the woods with a very light pack. Only carry some water, food and warm clothing. The trails will make you work harder. The short trail walks will eventually become easy. Start increasing your distance and the weight in your pack. Pretty soon you’ll be able to walk long distances with fairly heavy loads. Not only will this approach get you in shape, but it will also get you ready if you need to bug out with a heavy bag.

2. Learn To Cook

Nothing is worse than eating MREs and backpacker food all day every day. Don’t get me wrong, I love the convenience of Mountain House or Backpacker’s Pantry when I’m on the trail. That being said, every once in a while, I need more than just some pre-bagged meal.

I’ve learned how to create some great food with minimal ingredients and gear. Some of these meals are good enough that you’ll want to make them at home, not just on the trail.

Learning how to cook with minimal equipment is a great skill to learn. The trail presents the unique situation of trying to carry minimal equipment. You aren’t going to have your cast iron Lodge skillet or that nice spice rack. You’ll learn to make the most out of the least. This skill will translate to those occasions when you’re working with your preps and don’t necessarily have everything available to you.

3. Figure Out What You Don’t Need

One of the biggest things I’ve learned from backpacking is how to survive with minimal gear. Moreover, I’ve learned how much more comfortable a lighter pack makes my life.

You know that big bug out bag that you have sitting near your door? Have you tried walking a mile with it? What about ten miles? Over rugged terrain? If you haven’t, I suggest you do. Then figure out what you can ditch.

The easier way to make this decision is a trick that backpackers have been using for a long time. Go on an overnight, or multi-night, trip with your bug out bag. When you come back, unload your back into two piles. The first pile is the stuff you used. The second is the stuff you didn’t use.

Keep track of this information and then re-pack your bag for your next trip. When you get back from that trip, do the same thing. If you ditched something you needed on the second trip, then add it back. Likewise, ditch the stuff you didn’t use. Slowly, but surely, the “Didn’t Use” pile will diminish and you’ll have streamlined your gear list.

The next step is to take a look at all the gear you’ve defined as essential and then begin to look into lighter versions of them. It’s a slow process, but you can really streamline that bag to a very light weight and make sure you can physically last on the trail.

4. Source Your Water

Water is super important. Unfortunately, dirty water can be more harm than good to you. The effects of drinking dirty water can be miserable and, frankly, deadly if not treated quickly.

Learning how to filter water on the trail will teach you how to make sure your water is clean when your world gets turned upside down.

The simple way to avoid this type of situation is to carry a means of purifying the water. Water purification is typically performed in three different ways:

1. Boiling

Boiling water is the no-fail method of purifying your water. All you need to do is bring your water to a rolling boil and let it cool. There are definite downsides to this approach. First, you need to either carry fuel to boil water regularly or build fires on a regular basis. The former can get heavy and the latter can be tricky, or even illegal, at times. It’s also a much slower process than chemical disinfection or filtration

2. Chemical Disinfectants

Chemical disinfection is typically carried out by iodine or chlorine treatment. Brands such as Potable Aqua Tablets, Polar Pure Water Disinfectant, and Aquamira Water Treatment Drops can be used to treat water. The upside is you can collect the water, apply the chemical and keep walking while the water purifies. The downsides are that the chemicals typically leave a taste in the water that some people find unpleasant. Also, cryptosporidium is resistant to this type of purification. Depending on how problematic that is in your area, you may want to steer clear of this method.

3. Filtration

Filtration is one of the quickest methods to purify water. There are many different systems like the Sawyer Squeeze, Katadyn Hiker PRO Water Microfilter, or even the LifeStraw. Each has its pro’s and con’s but it typically comes down to the user’s preference. Systems like the Katadyn BeFree Collapsible Water Filter Bottle have faster flow rates and are more useful for on-the-go folks. Others systems like the Sawyer Mini work well with gravity feed systems for people who like to filter water when they set up camp.

6. Backpacking Navigation

Believe it or not, hiking a major trail does not take an extraordinary amount of navigation skills. The Appalachian Trail is marked with white blazes (white marks painted on trees). The Pacific Crest Trail is not marked as well as the Appalachian Trail, but it’s well marked nonetheless.

All that being said, no one goes into the wilderness without an adequate amount of navigation skills. Most backpackers are very adept at using a map and compass to not only find their location but orient their way to the next waypoint.

These type of navigation skills will be critical in a situation where the general travel routes are impassable and you need to move from Point A to Point B through nontraditional routes.

7. Practice, Practice, Practice

As you can see, backpacking is great practice for making sure you’re ready to handle yourself when the world takes a turn for the worse. You’ll be able to get in shape, feed yourself, generate clean water. Backpacking will also teach you what gear you need and how to use. Not only that, you’ll be able to navigate yourself to safety.

Backpacking is a great activity to get involved in. It’s something you can do alone or with your friends and family.

What other skills can you learn from backpacking that will help you when the world goes to hell in a handbasket?

Backpacking: Why Preppers Should All Do It

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 14

We are in the lull of the homesteading season here in the Northeast. It’s not quite warm enough to plant outside and, honestly, my home is fairly up-to-date so there’s not a lot of work that needs to occur. That being said, I kept busy this week on the Suburban Steader Homestead so come see what’s going on.

This Week’s Milestones

Make The Ick Stop!

Last week I complained of still being sick and, unfortunately, there’s no positive update this week. My cough has lingered and it doesn’t seem like the inhaler I’m using is doing much good. The good news is that my wife was able to get me an appointment with my real doctor (none of that walk-in clinic stuff we talked about last week) on Saturday. Hopefully, I’ll get some positive results from that appointment and I can stop whining to you every week!

It’s Sports Season

Spring is always a big season in our house for sports. It used to be that my twin girls played soccer. Now one of my daughters (we’ll call her J) doesn’t do any organized sports in the spring (she’s a cheerleader for the youth football program in the fall). My other daughter, M, is playing both lacrosse and soccer. She’s busy which means I’m busy – especially since I’m an assistant coach on the lacrosse team. Last week was the first weekend with games for us and I’m proud to say M scored a goal and had a few assists in an awesome lacrosse game which we won 6-2! This weekend is the first dual weekend game with both lacrosse and soccer on the same day. We’ll see how M shows up.

While she doesn’t do sports in the fall, that’s not to say J isn’t an athlete in her own right. We had Game Nights at the girls’ school last night and I got to see J smoke the rock wall in their gym. Awesome times!

I know this kind of conversation isn’t pertinent to the idea of homesteading, but remember that this site is dedicated to suburban homesteading. And raising your kids is definitely within that realm.

Plus, I’m a proud Papa!

Gardening Slowly Lurching Forward

The weather is – finally – turning! Next week should be in the 60’s here and I’m totally intent on getting some stuff in the ground. The lettuce, broccoli, and onions are doing great and will definitely benefit from moving to their final homes.

That means I can continue growing the peppers, sage, and eggplant. I’ll also be able to start additional plants like basil, cilantro, and cucumbers.

Oh, and I have garlic growing outside!!!

Blog Work

I got back to blog this work this week and boy, oh boy, did it feel good! I posted an article about Misty Marsh’s 72hr Kit Plan e-book. The e-book is great and, moreover, I feel like the article I wrote did it justice.

In addition, I did some maintenance on the site. The side column got cleaned up. A bunch of junk was removed and I added a list of the top ten articles on the site. My goal was to speed up the site with the removal of all the junk and to also provide a way for readers to find some of the great information on this site.

The resource page also got a little bit of a refresh with some new items. Most notably, I added a bunch of books. I want to do a review of all the tools I’ve listed and may even do something where I put together a toolbox for viewers to win. Is that a series idea you all would be interested in?

Next Week’s Goals

The underlying goal is to get better, but I’m finding more and more motivation. I’ve started to use a Bullet Journal and feel like I’m getting a little more organized.

The garden will see some traction this week and I will most definitely take pictures.

In addition, I’m going to review my 2016 Suburban Steader recap now that we’re a quarter way through 2017 and see how I’m living up to my goals.

So, that’s it for Week 14 of 2017! We’re moving in the right direction and just need Mother Nature to play her role. I also need to find time away from all the kids’ stuff. But, I love spending time with them, so it’s all good!

Thanks for reading!

Your Own 72Hr Kit Plan Ebook (Product Review)

In the past, I’ve posted articles on how to pack a bugout bag, but I’ve never fully addressed exactly what to put in a bug out bag or, as it’s also known, a 72hr kit. Fortunately, for both of us, Misty Marsh from Simple Family Preparedness has taken the time to write a “by the numbers” ebook on how to properly build a 72hr kit. Her ebook entitled “Your Own 72Hr Kit Plan” will explicitly state her expertise on the topic and give you a step-by-step guide on building your own 72hr kit.

How Is “Your Own 72Hr Kit Plan” Laid Out?

Misty understands that building a 72hr kit can be one of the most daunting tasks of becoming prepared. She also understands that families tend to be financially stretched at points and building 72hr kits can cause the financials goals of the family to be put in jeopardy. Both of those reasons led her to a twenty-six-week approach of building a kit and also financing it.

Her approach is designed on a once-a-week addition to the 72hr kit. You’ll start with water, move onto food, them clothes and shelter, first aid, light, communication, tools and then move into more specialty areas such as entertainment, pets, and items specific to babies and young kids. In the end, Misty talks about organizing and packing your 72hr kit.

The process is very methodical and builds upon itself. This approach is intelligent and simple at the same time.

What I Liked About “Your Own 72Hr Kit Plan”

Plain and simple, I loved the simplicity of Misty’s approach. Her approach is well thought out and, as a user, you can feel – and see – your kit grow over the course of weeks. Misty also provides budget solutions for all of the tips in the book. Not only that, but she provides budget levels for each option. What does “budget level” mean? Let’s take a look at Week #9 where she talks about warmth. In that section, she talks about the following solutions:

Small Budget

DIY Firestarters
Waterproof Matches
Lighter
Heat Packs
Emergency Blanket (Emergency Thermal Sleeping Bag)

Medium Budget

Larger Budget

Not only does she offer up these budget solutions for building your 72hr kit, but she also speaks to what her family did and why.

Misty also addresses those of you who have a kit setup for everyone in your family. She suggests using this book as a test of your current system. You can review and retool your gear based on the information provided in her ebook.

What I Didn’t Like About “Your Own 72Hr Kit Plan”

My most basic complaint about “Your Own 72Hr Kit Plan” is the same thing I like about it – the twenty-six-week approach that Misty suggests.

Wait, how can you both like and dislike something. Well, let me explain.

Misty suggests a very methodical, well thought out approach to building a 72hr kit. I fully support that with the single caveat that it means you’ll not have any kind of 72hr kit for over half a year! You’ll be at the mercy of your environment for over six months. I would suggest getting something together ASAP and then following Misty’s suggestions to rebuild and revamp your quickly thrown together 72hr kit. If (God forbid) something happened in the interim, you’ll have something you can grab-and-go with.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I highly recommend Misty Marsh’s “Your Own 72Hr Kit Plan” ebook. It’s a fundamentally sound, financially-minded approach to developing 72hr kits for you and your family members. You can’t really beat the approach she takes and, in doing so, you’ll save money and become more prepared. That’s win-win in my book!

Your Own 72 Hour Kit Plan (Product Review)

2017 Suburban Steader Update – Week 12 & 13

I’m going to start right here by apologizing. I haven’t written an article that isn’t a wrap-up since Week 10 and I didn’t even get to a wrap-up article last week. There’s a reason for missing so much writing, but I’ll warn you that it’s not terribly exciting. All that being said, let’s see what’s been going on at the Suburban Steader Homestead.

This Week’s Milestones

This Has Been The Winter Of Illness

It feels like I’ve been telling you I’m sick for the last three or four weekly wrap-ups. Unfortunately, nothing has really changed. I felt good after our snowboard trip to New England and even during my folks visit the following weekend. After that, my health went downhill again. Last weekend, I woke up on Saturday with chills, cough, aches, pains, and a 102F fever. That lasted until mid-afternoon on Monday.

Yeah, that was fun. The good news is that the fever broke and the chills and sweats stopped with it. The aches and pains subsided and I felt halfway decent. Well, that is with the exception of a cough. Oh, the cough. This thing is so nasty that sometimes I can’t catch my breath and once I even started to see black come in from the sides because I was essentially passing out.

My doctor is great, but it’s virtually impossible to get into her office. I was able to go to a walk-in clinic this weekend. They ruled out walking pneumonia with a few chest x-rays and have prescribed me an inhaler for bronchitis. Hoping I’m on the road to recovery…

By the way, one of the only things that have helped me is good ole bourbon!

Gardening Has Slowed, But Not Stalled

The weather here has been really shitty – please excuse the language – and hasn’t allowed me to even harden off some of the stuff I’m growing. It’s caused me to delay planting other items due to how much room I’m consuming with material that should be planted in my beds outside at this point.

That being said, everything inside is growing well.

The broccoli, lettuce, and onions all need to be hardened off and planted outside. That should free up some room to plant additional plants like basil, cilantro, and cucumbers.

Oh, one quick update – I did get germination in some of my eggplant and sage. It seems like they just have a longer germination period than others. That makes me pretty happy!

Blog Work

As I alluded to previously, blog work has been quite slow. Between illness, work and home, I have had very limited time to write. I’m also an assistant coach on my daughter’s lacrosse team so I’m spending a lot of time there.

My goal is to get back to writing next week but, to be perfectly honest, I can’t guarantee it. I haven’t even found time to edit guest posts recently so I can’t guarantee anything at this point.

Next Week’s Goals

Next week’s goals are relatively simple. First and foremost, get better. I’m nothing without my health. Second, I want to get some of my crops planted outside. I think the weather should cooperate. Finally, I need to get the blog back in order with some articles. Fortunately, writing this article reminded me of just how quickly I can turn out an article if I actually just sit down and do it.

So, thank you for your patience. I appreciate knowing that folks understand that this blog isn’t run as a full-time job but rather as a side-effort to help teach folks. Sometimes “life” gets in the way of what we want to be doing.

Thanks for reading!