What did you do today to prep?

[Longwalkhome]

I have been working on my garden plants. Kinda nice to get rain and sunshine warm enough my plants are growing. Strawberries are blooming already and so are my blue berries.

 

[Angie]

We spent the past two days helping mom and dad build cinderblock raised beds for their new garden.

 

[tfbit]

Went through my parents Thrive survival food stash. Mom died in 2016 and my dad died about a month ago and I'm starting to clean out their house. Large quantity of #10 cans, with best by dates of 2035-2040, for sale cheap in the classifieds here:

Thrive Survival Food 19+ Cases #10 Cans Manufactured 2010 25-30 Year Shelf Life

Less than $5 a can. You pickup in Dallas Oregon on a Friday or Saturday. My mom bought this cache in 2010. There are a total of 116 #10 cans. There's also a lot more serving in these older can than most manufacturers are putting in current offerings. The shelf life on all these cans is 25-30...

www.northwestfirearms.com

 

[The Heretic]

Now that hot(ish) weather is here, been slathering Sno-Seal on a Carhartt shirt-jac to make it water resistant. Setting it in the sun really makes a difference in how much wax it soaks up. This is a prep for fall/winter/early spring.

I don't like most of my current rain gear for when I am outside doing chores - I prefer the cotton/ripstop work clothes I wear, but they soak up the rain, so I am working on turning them into "tin cloth" which is water resistant and thorn/wear/dirt resistant. I may also try some of the DWR spray on top of the wax or I might save that for lighter/other fabrics.

 

[Burt Gummer]

Set up a couple ways to improvise toilets so if/when water services or access to same are gone there is 'still a way.'

Being a former Van Lifer there is anything from a bucket and bags to a composting toilet. Or a bucket with a seat when you have land with the bottom cut out.

A little of topic, BUTT ....... Dozens of Porta-Potties were installed all over Portland so homeless wouldn't defecate on the streets or on people's lawns. They are almost all gone now due to vandalism. Welcome to the unstoppable decay of our society now and the Clown World.

 

[NobullSKS]

New septic drain field last summer ….
Top soil and seed grass to try and keep dirt and mud out of the house from the feet of kids and dogs. And for slip-n-slides of course.

Never wanted an award winning lawn just something. Already tired of maintaining grass….mowing, water….lah di dah ….

Been wanting to get some veggies going since we moved in. A variety of heirloom vegetables. So here we go.

Just got a worm farm, compost bin and 2 rain barrels yesterday from county recycling event yesterday…. $25 a piece isn't bad at all.

About 550 sqft of slightly raised beds..soil underneath is great already. So weed barrier and couple inches of mulch. Working on keeping the grass way a little today….. kill some areas of grass around planters that I put but hopefully it'll help later.

We'll see what pests we get in the area…. Dogs we got are top notch rabbit getters. We've had signs of moles or something last year in the area…. Dogs are good at getting those too… I just don't want them digging the garden of course….. any tips…. I've already tried those sonic gimmicks…. I'm still a sucker sometimes.

But this is good family time too… kids are great at helping for now..7-8 yrs. Figure family effort for pests weeds. Hopefully this could be an added bonus for home schooling next year….. Auburn school district in King County ain't gonna work for our family.

Anyway a happy post.
Gonna erect some framing still for beans but pretty much done. Besides planting.

 

[The Heretic]

Ordered some braided fishing line that was on sale (discount code) on Amazon.

Yesterday ordered more NATO fuel cans.

Slathered more SnoSeal on my ripstop shirt-jac

 

[sobo]

Been wanting to get some veggies going since we moved in. A variety of heirloom vegetables. So here we go.

Trust that you did not use pressure-treated lumber for the raised beds. Hard to tell by the pics, but if you did, be sure to line the inside (bottom, all sides) completely with a plastic sheet/barrier to block arsenic migration into the soil and uptake into your produce.

2 rain barrels yesterday from county recycling event yesterday….

Queen County let you harvest rainwater? That's a first. Last I heard, they would cite (and if one continued to harvest, then County would arrest) people that collected rainwater. The enviro-wackos installed in the County system in the 90s started all that years ago. Dunno if it's still going on, but I would suspect so...

About 550 sqft of slightly raised beds..soil underneath is great already. So weed barrier and couple inches of mulch. Working on keeping the grass way a little today….. kill some areas of grass around planters that I put but hopefully it'll help later.

Maybe that weed barrier will stop arsenic migration, if you used PT lumber for the beds?

But this is good family time too… kids are great at helping for now..7-8 yrs. Figure family effort for pests weeds. Hopefully this could be an added bonus for home schooling next year….. Auburn school district in King County ain't gonna work for our family.

Good for you on getting your young'ns out of the corrupt State indoctrination system!

Anyway a happy post.

 

[Pete F]

New septic drain field last summer ….
Top soil and seed grass to try and keep dirt and mud out of the house from the feet of kids and dogs. And for slip-n-slides of course.

Never wanted an award winning lawn just something. Already tired of maintaining grass….mowing, water….lah di dah ….

Been wanting to get some veggies going since we moved in. A variety of heirloom vegetables. So here we go.

Just got a worm farm, compost bin and 2 rain barrels yesterday from county recycling event yesterday…. $25 a piece isn't bad at all.

About 550 sqft of slightly raised beds..soil underneath is great already. So weed barrier and couple inches of mulch. Working on keeping the grass way a little today….. kill some areas of grass around planters that I put but hopefully it'll help later.

We'll see what pests we get in the area…. Dogs we got are top notch rabbit getters. We've had signs of moles or something last year in the area…. Dogs are good at getting those too… I just don't want them digging the garden of course….. any tips…. I've already tried those sonic gimmicks…. I'm still a sucker sometimes.

But this is good family time too… kids are great at helping for now..7-8 yrs. Figure family effort for pests weeds. Hopefully this could be an added bonus for home schooling next year….. Auburn school district in King County ain't gonna work for our family.

Anyway a happy post.
Gonna erect some framing still for beans but pretty much done. Besides planting.

View attachment 1425171 View attachment 1425172 View attachment 1425173 View attachment 1425174

The best mole traps that I have ever used. It takes a couple of tries before you get the hang of them. $30 at Amazon, but I have purchased them for $9.99 at Farm stores.

I was averaging 20-25 moles a season, much better than the cats at 5-10 a year. Just keep them oiled to prevent rust.

 

[slimmer13]

View attachment 1425272
The best mole traps that I have ever used. It takes a couple of tries before you get the hang of them. $30 at Amazon, but I have purchased them for $9.99 at Farm stores.

I was averaging 20-25 moles a season, much better than the cats at 5-10 a year. Just keep them oiled to prevent rust.

View attachment 1425271

A 4wheeler and a chunk of hose works pretty good.

 

[NobullSKS]

Quick and dirty @sobo

Only like 7 boards are plain cedar no treatment…. The other half I got cheap and went Doug fir 2 b firs…..

Didn't go up sides with weed barrier. Now I know…..quick and dirty but yeah I'll pay in weed pullin later….

Currently…..
Can collect and store rain as long as it's used on this property and collected from existing structures NOT SOLELY used for rain collection. So my house is good. That's the county. WA state says can only store 110 gallons but I don't know how that applies….. quick reading on google.

My plans for future is a 200 sqft shed with some rain barrels mounted sideways semi permanent structure and 100-150 sqft solar panels on top. Like a little sustainment shed.

 

[sobo]

Quick and dirty @sobo

Only like 7 boards are plain cedar no treatment…. The other half I got cheap and went Doug fir 2 b firs…..

Didn't go up sides with weed barrier. Now I know…..quick and dirty but yeah I'll pay in weed pullin later….

Nice! Thanks for the reply.

Currently…..
Can collect and store rain as long as it's used on this property and collected from existing structures NOT SOLELY used for rain collection. So my house is good. That's the county. WA state says can only store 110 gallons but I don't know how that applies….. quick reading on google.

Again, thanks. Good to know. Don't know about my county, but it's in EWA so not much rain anyway. Plus, I don't plan on staying here much longer...

My plans for future is a 200 sqft shed with some rain barrels mounted sideways semi permanent structure and 100-150 sqft solar panels on top. Like a little sustainment shed.

You just reminded me of something! See next post...

 

[sobo]

I don't know if I ever posted it in this thread, but I had an 8.8 kW solar system installed at Maison Sobo last fall. Saved a bundle in October and November, and then the winter hit... But now that we're practically in summer here, my power bill from the PUD has been $0 for the past 2 months, and I'm just paying their daily meter charge of $0.65/day, or about $20/month. Got the 30% non-refundable tax credit when I filed for my 2022 federal assraping, and as a result, got my first tax "refund" in 10 years... Yeah, I know it's not a real refund, cuz it's my phuq'n money in the first place, but I'm celebrating the fact that it's the first time in 10+ years that I got my own money back from the Feds...





Next major prepping purchase for this place is to get some storage batteries, gradually...
Get Maison Sobo completely off the electrical grid before I sell it, and gain some experience in this regard to boot...

 

[Burt Gummer]

Since the future is unknown I'd like to upgrade my old tent from the 80s in case I need to join the club haha.

A friend bought this one, various sizes avail. There are also 'blow up' tents that are more show-boaty, prob not a good thing.

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-6-Person-Dark-Skydome-Camping/dp/B07XHDZGYP/ref=sw_ttl_deals_dfy_t2_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07XHYJTXD&pd_rd_w=rCBrs&content-id=amzn1.sym.65dc3b89-f67f-4d79-8157-35491ab86220&pf_rd_p=65dc3b89-f67f-4d79-8157-35491ab86220&pf_rd_r=DD47MA8H81KQA01NAYCC&pd_rd_wg=w6jIP&pd_rd_r=801c2ea5-58d9-48b5-a20e-b7924d54f010&th=1

 

[Jay Walk]

Practiced shooting some guns today, next week we make our second to last house payment. Well, actually will need another $117 to pay off in August.

Dave Ramsey baby steps

 

[The Heretic]

I labeled/organized the new gas cans I got, and some that I already had.

I tested & learned that a rifle mag that supposedly holds 35 rounds won't feed if I load it up with 35 rounds - more like 30 rounds to be reliable.

 

[sobo]

next week we make our second to last house payment. Well, actually will need another $117 to pay off in August.

Dave Ramsey baby steps

I love hearing/reading stories like this!

Call your bank/lender and have them apply the money you have in escrow to pay the house off now. I did that a few years back with about $6,500+ in escrow. Saved another 4 payments by doing that.

Then, be sure to do what Dave says when you ultimately pay it off. The grass really does feel different...

January 13, 2018: Paid off a 30-year note in 12.5 years.

 

[Longwalkhome]

Working to better my cooking skills today, something that I need to improve.

 

[OrPackrat]

Planted some tomatoes, probably very late but will see.

Looking like it should be a decent crop this year for my fruit trees.

 

[The Heretic]

Been tracking diesel prices - noticed that diesel seems to be cheaper outside urban areas, by quite a bit. So grabbed some (25 gal) diesel for $4.10/gal today while in a Cornelius - noticed it was almost a $1/gal cheaper than a station in Hillsboro. Need to move my aux tank over to under the hoist so I can start filling it up and have a way to hoist it onto my truck when necessary.

The Wavian/ValPro cans performed perfectly even though I put them on their side after filling them full - not a drop leaked from the filler cap. I figure I can put 30-35 gallons of gas in those cans, in the cargo area of my car without affecting handling (I didn't feel any difference today) - that would extend the car's range by at least 600-700 miles if I had to bug out with the car.

I would prefer to bug out with the truck - I can put the 106 gal aux tank on the flatbed, plus the 35 gal tank, plus 35-45 gallons in cans, for a total of 170+ gallons of diesel. The truck should get 15-20 MPG on a road, for a range of at least 2500 miles.

My plan is to get a camper for the truck, tow the pickup behind it, and load things like fuel/supplies in the pickup bed, and if I am home and have to bug out with the kids, one of them could drive their rig, and one could drive my car, and I would have enough fuel (gas & diesel) to get us somewhere far away if necessary.

Plan A is to bug in, but always have a Plan B. Stuff happens.