Monthly Archives: September 2014

September 10th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

You CAN Make a School-Friendly First Aid Kit

We’ve all seen the First Aid kits you can buy at the store. Many of us have made our own. But does your child have one they can take to school without getting in trouble?

My kids go to public school. I like their schools, but there is no denying that public schools have a lot of crazy rules when eating a poptart into the wrong shape (a gun, in someone else’s opinion) can get a second grader suspended, even if that wasn’t the kid’s intention.

Signed forms are required for kids to get simple over the counter allergy medicine, and the school nurse has to dispense it. A “medicated” cough drop is considered medicine and kids are not allowed to have them at school or on a school bus.

A school nurse has to dispense cough drops. Seriously.

My son is very excited about emergency preparedness and wants to carry a First Aid kit wherever he goes, including school. Even in second grade, though, he knew he couldn’t have any medicine or sharp objects in school, so we set about making him a First Aid kit he could have at school.

All those crazy school rules make it harder to build a good First Aid kit. But it isn’t impossible to make school-friendly First Aid kit! It just requires thinking outside the box a bit.

Non-Medicine

Herbal remedies only require a few drops at a time, and aren’t considered medicine by the average school district. That helps a lot in creating a school acceptable First Aid kit.

A contact lens case is a great place to store liquids and gels! You can buy plastic bags in any size online. Another good option is a simple drinking straw, which you can get for free at restaurants. Melt the end closed, add the liquid or gel, cut the tube short, then seal the other end. Single use size! You can even buy straws in different colors so they are color-coded.

A homemade rehydration solution is 1/4 tsp of salt plus 3 teaspoons of sugar added to a half liter of water. If you read the previous link, you may notice that the amounts I listed are half of what they list. That is because half liter bottles of water are extremely common and it’s easier to carry two packets than try and guess how much half is if you make the full amount.

Also, little kids are, well, little. They really may just need a half liter.

Aloe gel is great for burns, including sun burns, but be aware that it can get sticky as it dries.

I would love to include essential oils, but really haven’t figured out a great, stable way to store them yet. I am uncomfortable with storing them in plastic, such as a straw, because they could easily interact with the plastic, altering their chemical composition or simply evaporating quickly.

If you have a great way to store and transport tiny amounts of essential oils, please share!


Non-Medicine to include:

  • Aloe: for burns, including sunburn
  • Honey: disinfect cuts (instead of Neosporin) – just make sure it’s raw, preferably local, honey
  • Cayenne pepper: add 1 tsp to 1 cup warm water and drink to stop a heart attack; help wounds coagulate (stop bleeding)
  • Rehydration solution: You can make your own with sugar and salt, or buy Pedialyte(TM) Powder if you think the school will be OK with it
  • Essential oils: there are many articles on this, choose the ones to suit your child’s needs. Companies like Young Living sell individual packets that could be very easily packed in a first aid kit.
  • Glucose tablets
  • Hand sanitizer: can also be used to sanitize objects because of the high alcohol content, and definitely school accepted
  • Salt for heat stroke

Bandages and More

There are some items that even schools allow. Bandages, for example. And tape.

  • Bandages (the link goes to novelty bandages with mustaches, bacon, and more printed on them)
  • Gauze pads
  • Paper tape
  • Moleskin
  • Plastic card, like a hotel room key, to remove stingers from bug bites
  • CPR face shield: A very small child probably can’t use this, but it can be used on them and older children and teens can learn CPR.
  • Non-latex gloves: Size small and large; small is for them to use; large is to be used ON THEM
  • Finger splint: A popsicle stick and tape
  • Vet wrap, in place of Ace bandages which have those terribly dangerous sharp, pointy closures (Hey, if a cough drop is dangerous, those must nearly be lethal weapons!) – Bonus: you can choose a fun color!
  • Super Glue for closing wounds
  • Small children’s safety scissors: They provide those in classrooms, after all, so they can’t be a danger.
  • Toothbrush: Use this to debride a wound
  • Syringe: irrigate a wound (I use free ones that come with medication.)
  • Face mask
  • Tick key
  • Lanyard: part of a sling
  • Electrical tape: It sticks to itself but not skin, making it great to hold gauze pads, splints, etc. in place for relatively short times

Non-Medical Emergency Items


Some items are just good to have in an emergency. These have many uses, including potentially being cut up.

  • LED flashlight, preferably of the winding variety
  • Neckerchief/handkerchief
  • Silver emergency blanket
  • Rain poncho
  • Duct tape
  • Lotion or oil – generally of the cooking oil variety, to help if a finger gets stuck somewhere it shouldn’t be
  • Signal mirror
  • Ear plugs: this is mostly because one of mine is very sensitive to loud noise
  • Whistle: In an emergency like a tornado where a child could be trapped, this is useful for alerting emergency workers.

Stretch Items

There’s a good chance your school won’t allow these, but some may. It’s worth checking.

  • EMT Shears – scissors that, realistically, are less likely to hurt someone than even kindergarten scissors
  • Safety pins – small ones, not big horse blanket sized (although those are a great addition to a regular emergency kit or a car kit), although it’s possible schools will have an issue with this
  • Tweezers

Finishing Touches

I bought 500 small plastic bags on Amazon. In addition to Lego, they have a ton of items in our First Aid Kits. I use a sharpie to label them, but it does sometimes wear off if it gets damp. For medicine, especially herbal remedies others may not know, I write instructions on the bags as well.

Now, put them all together in a bag. Personally, I currently favor something similar to a lunch box because, unlike a bright red First Aid kit, no one will ever even notice it, and my son loves eating school lunches. If your child is a regular lunch packer, you could simply use either an old lunch box or one they don’t like to help keep them from grabbing it by accident. Another option is a pencil box.

If you prefer, you can use one of little red First Aid bags you can pick up in any pharmacy section.

Voila! A first aid kit for your child, or for your travels.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: thesurvivalmom

 


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September 9th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Ticks: How to Safely Remove This Parasite From Your Skin


Summer is the major time for those blood-thirsty little arachnids, ticks! If you are hiking through an infested area, these tiny eight-legged creature will wait on brush, shrubs, bushes, grass or low growing plants and cling to your clothes as you sweep by. It then climbs upward looking for an area of exposed skin to burrow into and literally sucks your blood, which is used for food.

Ticks are in the same animal family as spiders, scorpions and mites. Incredibly resilient and adaptive, they live in all 50 states, most often in brushy fields and wooded areas. These tiny animals are active in late spring, summer and early fall, as temperatures warm, and also in winter, when it is above freezing.

Ticks can be found all year around virtually everywhere in rural America, where the vast majority of leisure, adventure, and outdoor activities take place.

Why Are They a Problem?

This parasite is not only an annoyance, it is potentially dangerous. When a tick burrows into your skin and draws your blood into its body cavity, it can transfer a variety of harmful bacteria and viruses (pathogens) back to its host, you, similar to the way a mosquito conveys malaria.

The nine species of ticks found in North America carry and transmit no less than twelve diseases that can harm you, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Pawassan Disease.

You or one of your family members are outdoors or have just come back from an outing and find a tick attached to you. Your immediate response is that the little parasite must be removed, the sooner the better.

Wait!
In your haste to remove it from your skin, don’t pinch the tick between your fingers, twisting or pulling to try to dislodge it.  These actions can cause the tick’s mouth parts to break away from its body and remain in your skin. There is a safe and dependable way to remove this pesky parasite.

How to Remove a Tick

The best and safest way to remove a tick is by mechanical means, using fine-tipped tweezers or a specialized tick removal tool (see the end of this article for a list of tools.)

  1. Disinfect the tweezers or tick removal tool with rubbing alcohol or soap before using.
  2. Gently grab the tick as close to your skin as possible with the tweezers or removal tool.
  3. Pull upward using even and steady pressure until the tick is dislodged.
  4. Do not jerk, twist or pull fast.
  5. If the tick breaks apart and the body separates from the mouth-parts (teeth), re-grab the remaining piece attached to your skin, repeat beginning with step 2.

Bite Care

After the tick is removed, clean and disinfect the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, soap and water, or iodine scrub.

Parasite Disposal

After removing the tick, dispose of the creature by placing in a plastic bag or vial, or wrap the little critter in tape (medical or duct tape) before putting in the garbage. Refrain from attempting to crush the tick between your fingers as this will spread its body fluids and contaminants.

The Don’ts

Other ways people attempt to dislodge a tick include applying nail polish, petroleum jelly, insect repellent, lighter fluid, gasoline, or heat. The tick may react to these other persuasions, but take more time to dislodge from your skin than if you properly pull it out with tweezers, increasing the likely hood the parasite will inject more of its body fluids into you.

These methods decrease the chance of removing the whole tick successfully, and the increase the possibility of infection and disease.

Monitor the Bite Area

After a couple of days, if the bite area is still red, irritated, inflamed or infected, check with your doctor for further care.

Summer is here, time to get out and enjoy some great outdoor activities. Just remember, if you get a tick embedded in your skin, you have a surefire way to safely remove it.

Additional Resources

 

Tools

Pro Tick Remedy

Tick Ease Tick Remover

Tick Key

Tick Twister

Tweezers

 

Websites

Center for Disease Control (CDC)

WebMD.com

TickInfo.com

 

Videos on How to Correctly Remove a Tick

University of Manitoba


 

Tick Encounter Resource Center


 

Howcast


 

 

 

Books

Living Ready Pocket Manual – First Aid: Fundamentals for Survival – James Hubbard M.D., “The Survival Doctor”

All images are the authors or from the CDC.

 

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

 

Via: thesurvivalmom

 

 

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September 8th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Talking to Family about Preparedness: How to get your family to start prepping for disasters.

The biggest preparedness challenge some of us will face is convincing our loved ones to get on board with our preparedness planning. Whether it’s convincing your immediate family about the importance of prepping, or talking to extended family and friends about why they need to prepare, the conversation is something we need to have if we really care about our loved ones.


How to get your wife and kids to prep (or your husband for the ladies)

This one is really a no-brainier; to truly be prepared for disasters, crisis, and threats, your immediate family needs to be on board with your plans. It’s really the only way you can ensure their safety.

Talking to your spouse about preparedness issues

  • The best thing you can do for a spouse who might not understand your reasoning is to simply open up and really communicate your concerns.
  • Share examples of past disasters, and try to make it as relatable and personal as possible.
  • Explain to your spouse how it’s really no different than buying health, life or car insurance. You’re basically taking out an insurance policy against future disasters.
  • Start slow, and don’t start with worse case scenarios – even if that’s what you’re preparing for. Ease them into the idea. Explain to them that it’s also about preparing for things like a job loss, a loss of income, or an illness that could cause you to have to take time off of work.

Talking to your kids about Preparedness

  • Keep it simple and age-appropriate. The last thing your want to do is over complicate it or cause your children unnecessary stress.
  • Focus on things that make sense to them, and try to relate to them using experiences that they can understand. Talk about what they would do if a disaster hit while they were at school.
  • Take it slow. Try to work the topic into everyday conversations and make sure you involve them and ask for their feedback.
  • Take the time to point things out when you’re out and about. Help develop there situational awareness; point out things like exits in stores, and ask questions on how they would respond to certain situations.

Talking to your friends and family about prepping

When it comes to talking to extended family or friends about preparedness, the importance of raising the topic really comes down to how much you care. While convincing them isn’t necessarily going to affect your efforts one way or the other, it is good to know the ones you care about are prepared to take care of themselves during times of crisis.

On the more selfish side of things, convincing the ones you care about to become more self-reliant also helps to ensure they won’t show up on your door step during a disaster, expecting you to take care of them.

Things you can do to convince your friends and family to prepare.

  • Give them the gift of preparedness. Give them something small like a vehicle preparedness kit or a first aid kit as a way to open the conversation and help change their mindset. It’s also something they can easily wrap their minds around and can help get them thinking about what else they might need.
  • Give them a book. A book is a great non-threatening way to introduce the subject. Shameless plug alert: The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide hits store shelves in November, and is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It covers just about every type of disaster, threat and crisis your loved ones will ever face.
  • Use what’s in the news. When there’s a disaster in the news, use it as a way to bring up the topic. Don’t go overboard, but try to get the conversation started and try to get your friends or family thinking about what they would do in that situation.

No matter how hard you try there are some people who are never going to see things your way. As much as that may hurt, especially when it’s someone you really care about, you may have to just let things go and hope for the best. In the end, there’s only so much you can do or say; if someone refuses to care about their readiness to face disasters, be satisfied that you’ve done what you can and then move on and focus on yourself and your immediate family.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 

Via: offgridsurvival


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September 7th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Homemade Laundry Soap

Here is a recipe for homemade laundry soap, will last one person at least three months, making about three gallon of finished product.You will Need 3/4 cup of borax, 3/4 cup arm and hammer Super Washing soda, 1 bar of Ivory soap, 5 gallon bucket to store soap…

  • 1. Shred soap with a grater so it is very fine pour into a pot then pour 6 cups of water in pot.cook on the stove on medium heat stirring
    until all soap has melted.
  • 2. while your mixture is cooking measure out the borax and soda put in a container mixing them up good before you pour them into pot on stove.
  • 3. measure out 1 1/2 gallons of water set aside lukewarm temp.
  • 4.  pour the soda/borax mix into pot stir real good until it is dissolved
  • 5. pour 4 cups of water from the tap water luke warm in your bucket then pour your mixture on the stove into the bucket stir it good.
  • 6.  pour in your 1 1/2 gallons of water that you set aside into the bucket and stir it up good within an hour it will set into a gelled mixture use 1/2 cup per load in your case bucket

You can also use a Fels naptha bar in place of Ivory soap bar.

Some prefer the dry variant. Same recipe but just don’t add water. You use 1 box borax, 1 box washing soda, and 2 bars felsnaptha. You use a very fine cheese grater for the bar of soap and then store it all in quart jars.

2 tablespoons per load of this works well. You even use this on cloth diapers. For diapers you do one prewash with some vinegar and then a regular wash with 2 tablespoons of the dry mix. Air dry them in the sun whenever possible.

Another option:

1 box Borax
1 box Arm & Hammer Washing Powder
4 boxes (1 lb) Baking Soda
3 jars (1 lb) Oxygen enhancer ($1/jar at Dollar Tree)
Small Bottle of Purex Crystals
2 bars Zote soap (We get it at Big Lots.)

I shred the soap in an old blender and then just mix it all together. We use an HE front load washer and it works great.

 

Have fun and make soap every 3 months or so.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

Via: thesurvivalistblog

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September 6th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

And More Bad News About Ebola.

Grim Ebola Prediction: Outbreak Is Unstoppable  : Folks this has the potential to mutate into a major pandemic threat, I hope that it doesn’t, and don’t know that it will, but it sure looks like we are quickly, heading in that direction.

According to the author of the above linked to article it’s passed the point of our being able to control it, so what can we do? Prep but don’t panic…

Start by reading this article “Ebola – What You Need to Know” this one “Ebola by Joe Alton, M.D., aka Dr. Bones” and this one, “17 Things For Pandemic Survival that You Probably Forgot to Include in Your Medical Kit” and watch the video below…

Also check out:

Pandemic Preparedness

15 Preparedness Uses for Kiddie Pools

Survival Antibiotics

SURVIVAL ANTIBIOTICS-2

MUST HAVE ANTIBIOTICS, ANTIFUNGALS, AND ANTIVIRALS

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.


Via: thesurvivalistblog

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September 5th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Top 5 wilderness survival skills you need for urban survival

So how valuable are the wilderness survival skills in an urban disaster environment? Very. Here are some you need to know.

A friend had set up a bugout bag for his my daughter. She started college near Los Angeles, and he was always paranoid about the potential for a major earthquake in that area.


Among critical skills for urban survival is the ability to use a map and compass.

Then, in an instant, he went from being a paranoid dad to visionary, as a 6.0 earthquake was registered in Napa, CA. Extensive damage and he expected to run into some of the aftershocks later.

Great segue into this question from a reader: “What wilderness survival skills will work in an urban emergency situation.”

Well, a survival mindset is necessary for surviving anything. Studies have shown that 80 percent of people in any emergency won’t know what to do, and will need someone to lead them. Another 10 percent will do the wrong thing. And the ones who survive, the remaining 10 to 15 percent will survive because they relied on previous training.

So lets’ say an earthquake (or fill in your particular disaster) has occurred. You have to evacuate a building, and end up in a parking lot with a lot of other people. The weather is nasty, and the temperature is dropping.  There is no help in the foreseeable future. What skills do you need?

Here are five wilderness survival skills that could help you survive this urban emergency.

Shelter:  The first decision might be to get out of the elements. Do you know how to tie effective knots? Can you make a shelter out of the available materials?

http://youtu.be/T3dqLD_RR6M

It could be the best place to find shelter materials is in the nearby dumpster. Look for anything that can insulate you from the elements: plastic sheeting, newspapers, cardboard etc.

Check out the trash can – if it has a 55-gallon liner, you can make a quick shelter out of it.

http://youtu.be/L0tepBy150s

Water: Any water you might find should be suspect, unless it is bottled or otherwise sealed from contamination.

Fire: You should know how to build a campfire using whatever flammable materials that might be available. Many of the people in the parking lot might need a place to get warm, and light as it gets dark will be really appreciated. Also, boiling water is usually the quickest way to purify it. Make sure to get any containers from the dumpster – you may need them later.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTxZw4f6nzSH2IAsw2A70K7lHkUM5UOZg

Obviously, if you smell gas or the situation seems dangerous, don’t play with fire!

Navigation: If you have to leave the area because staying would be dangerous, do you know where to go, and which way to take to get there? Can you read a city street map and use a compass? During a storm, or in the darkness, you may not be able to determine directions. Be able to orient a map and know how to read it.

First aid: Everybody should take a basic first aid class. You don’t have to reach EMT expertise, but a rudimentary knowledge is important. After any sort of disaster, somebody will be hurt, and you may be the only one available  to help. This is not the time to look around frantically and wonder what to do.

Obviously, there are a lot of other skills that you should know or learn. If you practice and prepare for an earthquake, for example, that means you’re pretty well set for other disasters.  You can’t prepare for every eventuality, but you can come close!

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.


Via: survivalcommonsense

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September 4th, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Enterovirus 68 Outbreak

Another great post from our friends at doomandbloom.net

There is currently an outbreak of a virus called Enterovirus 68 in the Kansas City area. This is one of those viruses that, sadly, strikes children in a disproportionately large percentage. 300 kids or more have been affected currently, with many hospitalized.


I have been asked if this could have been one of the diseases that crossed the border in the recent immigrant crisis. While I have no evidence that supports this theory, we certainly must be aware that various illnesses have been found in the kids in U.S. custody. Close monitoring is necessary to keep an eye out for trouble in the uncertain future.


Enterovirus 68 is a member of the Picornaviridae family, a group of viruses which includes the virus that causes polio. It is similar to the rhinovirus, the cause for most common colds. Once considered very rare, it has been seen more frequently as of late, usually appearing in clusters in a particular community. Before the most recent cluster, there were 6 known outbreaks on different continents during the period from 2008-2010.


Polio victim


Enterovirus68 infection starts off looking just like the common cold, and that’s as far as it goes in most cases. Sometimes, however, it can quickly progress to a syndrome which includes nausea and vomiting and difficulty breathing. In its full manifestation, it looks like an asthma patient who’s vomiting a lot. In the worst cases, mechanical respirators were necessary to maintain breathing. Despite this, it is rarely fatal, with 3 deaths total occurring in the Phillipines and Japan.


There was a small group of kids in California in 2012-3 who developed what appeared to be polio, except that they were already vaccinated against the disease. Although they survived, none of them recovered full function of their limbs to date. It turned out that two of these children tested positive for Enterovirus68, outlining the serious nature of long-term effects in the worst cases.


Enteroviruses are spread from person to person through contact with nasal secretions, saliva, stool, or by contact with contaminated surfaces. Frequent hand washing is the best preventative measure, as well as disinfection of work areas and sick rooms. For more info on maintaining a good off-grid sick room, check out our article on the subject:

http://www.doomandbloom.net/survival-sick-room/


Like the common cold, there is no cure at present for the illness and testing for it involves lab studies on bowel movements or spinal taps. Treat the symptoms as they present, and get a worsening case to the hospital if it’s available to you.


Hopefully, Enterovirus68 will stay what it is, a rare virus that pops up from time to time in a small group. Knowledge of the symptoms will help you succeed in dealing with the disease, even if everything else fails.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 


Via: doomandbloom

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September 3rd, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

Build Your Own Crossbow in 10 Steps

Guest post by Brandon Garrett

The crossbow is an outstanding field piece for hunting small game. It has all of the benefits of a bow-and-arrow such as reusable ammunition and silent firepower, as well as the comfort of a rifle stock and trigger pull. You can build your own effective, simple crossbow for less than $100 from basic parts. This step-by-step guide shows you how.

Materials:
• 2x pine two by fours, about 3 feet long
• 1x 1″ PVC pipe, about 3 feet long
• Nylon string
• 2 x miniature steel pulleys
• 6 x heavy-duty tie clips
• 2 x 2″ wood screws
• 2 x 4″ wood screws
• 1 x 2″ wood nail
• PVC or wood glue
• 1/4″ wood dowels

Building the Crossbow


Making the stock


1. Take a yard-long pine 2×4 and hold it against the shoulder of your dominant hand as you would a rifle stock. Find a comfortable length and mark the 2×4 at that length as well as where it feels most comfortable to place the trigger grip. A longer stock will give you a more powerful crossbow. Saw off the end past the length mark.


2. Draw a rectangle four inches long by one inch wide around the spot where you marked the trigger grip. Cut this rectangle out of the wood using a chisel, drill and rasp, and sand the edges.


3. Cut a 1/8 inch groove across the rectangular hole, towards the front of the hole. This will hold the crossbow string.


4. Cut a 1/4 inch channel down the exact middle of the top of the stock, starting from the rectangular hole and continuing to the end of the stock. Sand until it is smooth.


5. Cut a 22-inch piece of pine wood and attach it to the bottom of the stock using PVC glue. This will be the grip you will hold while firing the crossbow. If desired, shape it into a curved surface for more comfortable gripping.


Making the Bow
6. With a hacksaw, cut a PVC pipe to 35.5 inches long. Cut a notch at each end that is wide enough to accommodate a small woodscrew. Insert screws at both ends. Use a 2-tie clip to attach a pulley to each woodscrew.


7. Cut a 1-inch deep groove in the front end of the stock that is wide enough to hold the PVC pipe. Using two wood screws, attach the PVC pipe to the front of the stock. The screws should be long enough to firmly hold the PVC pipe to the crossbow stock.


8. Tie the nylon string securely to the woodscrew on the left end of the PVC bow. Loop the string under the crossbow stock and through the pulley on the right side of the bow. Come back over the top of the crossbow stock and loop it through the pulley on the left. Bring the string back under the stock and tie it securely to the woodscrew on the right side of the bow. Only the firing string should be above the crossbow stock. Draw the firing string back and make sure it fits securely in the firing groove. The string should pull taut when it is placed in the firing groove.


Making the Trigger Mechanism

9. Cut an L-shaped piece of wood that is 7/8 of an inch wide. It will need to fit snugly into the trigger housing but still be able to move more or less freely. Cut a 1/8 inch channel across the bottom of the L. Drill a hole through the angle of the L.


10. Place the L in the trigger housing with the groove up and the L pointing forward. Attach it to the crossbow stock by driving a nail through the stock housing and the hold at the angle of the L. The L should be placed so that it can “pop” the crossbow string out of the trigger groove when it is pulled.


Making the bolts
Notch one end of each of the wooden dowels so they fit snugly onto the nylon string. Sharpen the other end to a point. The bolts are lightweight and should fly up to 50 yards.


Updated April 23, 2014

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 


Via: thereadystore

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September 2nd, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

12 Onion Uses That Will Make You Cry (For Joy)


Onions are one of those vegetables that people have used for centuries for different purposes. Onions can be used for medicinal needs, cleaning, cooking, gardening and more!

Part of being prepared is knowing how to reuse items for multiple purposes. That’s why knowing the multiple uses of onions and other objects can be so important. Comment below to tell us what you’ve used onions for.

 

Reduce bruising
If you are cut and bruise easily, onions might be your best friend. After you’re cut, immediately press the cut end of a raw onion on a superficial bruise and keep it there for 15 minutes. The reason this works is because of allicin. Allicin is the same compound that makes your eyes water. This will stimulate the lymphatic flow in the blood, pushing away excess blood in the tissue – decreasing the causes of bruising.

Dyeing Easter eggs
You can use a lot of natural elements to dye Easter eggs different colors. Use 4 cups of yellow onion skins in 1 quart of hot liquid to create sienna-colored eggs. Let them soak for a few hours. If you want to create lavender-colored eggs, combine 4 cups of blueberries with 1 quart of hot water.

Repel caterpillars from your garden
Do you have a lot of caterpillars eating up your cabbage? Peel 2 medium-sized onions and grate them into a large bowl. Add 1 gallon of water and let the mixture sit overnight. Strain the mixture and put the liquid in spray bottles. Spray this liquid all over the leaves of your cabbage and other vegetables and watch the caterpillars turn away. To make the plants smelly enough, you may need to spray twice.

Remove rust from knives
If you have a kitchen knife that has a little bit too much rust on it, simply poke the knife into a large onion a few times and the rush should begin to shine again.

Clean your BBQ
If you love to barbecue as much as I do, then you’re grill is probably pretty dirty. You can easily clean the barbecue by heating it up and using a fork to hold the onion. Scrub the onion on all the grease and grime in your barbeque and watch as they get wiped away.

Treat acne
Does your child have a big dance coming up and can’t get rid of that nasty spot? You can come to the rescue by mixing crushed onions with water and applying the mixture to the face. The vegetable’s chemical components will gradually reduce the visibility of the zits.

Get rid of scorch marks
In my first apartment, we had a dryer that would always put little burn marks on all of our clothing. I wish I would have known that I could easily remove these marks with onions! Just cut an onion in half and rub the scorch mark. Let the clothes soak in cold water overnight and then re-wash. This technique works with washable cotton clothing.

Get a splinter out
We’ve all had that painful splinter that won’t come out. Now, just place a ¼-inch slice of onion over the splinter. Wrap the area with a bandage to keep the onion in place. Leave the onion and bandage in place overnight. By the morning, your skin should have shrunk and allowed the splinter to work its way out. And, as a bonus, your finger will smell like an onion for the rest of the day.

Keep frost off your windows
No one likes to scrape frost off their car windows, especially when you’re late to work. To avoid having to scrape the frost off, slice an onion and rub the halves against the windshield the night before a freeze. This should keep frost from forming.

Eliminate new paint smell
If you just painted your bedroom and need to get rid of the noxious smell, place several freshly cut onion slices around the room. Place each onion slice in a bit of water. The paint smell will be absorbed within a few hours.

Send a message to your pet
Many pets don’t like the smell of onions, so if your cat or dog has a favorite couch that they like to destroy, leave small onion slices around the area. That should keep them from returning to the scene of the crime.

Soothe a bee sting
Let’s say that you are outside barbecuing after the football game this weekend and get stung by a big bee. Quickly place one of those onion slices that was supposed to go on your burger and place it over the sting area. This should soothe the pain. If you do have a severe allergy to bee stings, seek medical attention.

Now, let’s discuss
So what do you think? What have you used onions for? Comment below to tell us what onions have helped you with and share your wealth of knowledge.

Reduce crying by freezing

Do you tend to cry when you’re cutting onions? The National Onion Association recommends tossing the onions in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before you cut them. This should minimize the fumes coming out of the onions.

 

Onions are poisonous for pets. Please keep them out of reach.

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 


Via: thereadystore

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September 1st, 2014
post by policysup | | 0

5 Minute Homemade Coleslaw and Dressing

From those great people at:  foodstoragemadeeasy


One of my favorite kitchen appliances is my Bosch mixer. I talk about it a lot on here because of how AMAZING it is at making bread. Since this is a Food Storage blog and most people store a lot of wheat in their food storage, bread is something that gets brought up a lot.

Today however I’m going to tell you something I do with my Bosch that has nothing to do with wheat or bread. Did you know the Bosch has a new slicer shredder that is AMAZING? It fits over the top of your mixing bowl and shreds, slices & grates directly into your large bowl. I have used a food processor in the past for these kinds of things but the container is much too small for big batches of things. You can buy your own slicer shredder attachment at here with FREE SHIPPING.

 

 

 

 

 

This summer I have loved making homemade coleslaw with my Bosch Slicer Shredder. I love it because I can throw in virtually any vegetable along with some cabbage and get a fresh and healthy salad in 5 minutes. It’s awesome! I also found a great recipe online for the dressing. I’m loving this shredder.

Homemade Coleslaw

1/2 head of cabbage
3 carrots
3 stalks of celery
6-7 radishes
Any other vegetables you have on hand:
Cucumbers
Zucchini
etc

Shred and add dressing. It’s that easy!


Homemade Coleslaw Dressing

1 cup mayo
2 tablespoons of sugar (I use honey)
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard seed
1/8 teaspoon of celery seed (I have skipped this)


 

 

 

Start now to make sure you are staying prepared.

 


Via: foodstoragemadeeasy

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