Everyone who has ever had to open a bucket from their emergency preparedness food storage has torn up their fingers doing so. And everyone has thought there must be a better way. Well, there is.

The Gamma Seal lid is a revolutionary type of bucket lid system that is ideal for hundreds of uses, including long term food storage. These lids work in 3.5 to 7 gallon 12″ diameter buckets. No more nail-breaking, knuckle-scraping, or cursing when you need to open a bucket. They keep your stuff organized and dry with an airtight seal. Also, the lids come in different colors, so it’s easy to color code your food storage.

There is virtually no assembly. Just snap the adapter ring on the open bucket and then twist on the lid! Gamma Seal lids are waterproof and virtually unbreakable! The heavy-duty construction makes the lids reusable again and again. Also, they’re made in the USA, which is nice. If you are like me, you are tired of buying stuff made in other countries.

Another benefit to these lids is that they have built-in stacking ribs for convenient stacking. Buckets are firmly seated in the stacking channel, and can be stacked several high without sliding or teetering (provided you start with a flat surface). This is a great feature for organizing storage space in closets, kitchens, storage rooms, pantries, garages, wherever.

You can put freeze dried meals or any other type of emergency preparedness food in buckets and have easy access to it whenever you want.

Gamma Seal lids deserve a try. You fingers and knuckles will thank you. They make the dreaded chore of opening buckets an effortless activity.

Highly recommended!

I was over at SurvivalBlog.com and just read a fascinating story about an experienced Alaska Trapper. This is a story about his experience, but there are nuggets in there related to long term food storage and emergency preparedness.

Have a look at the article. Instead of going to the article page, I would read it on the website’s main page. The article page’s formatting is off and will drive you nuts.

Grub and Gear-Lessons Learned from an Alaskan Trapper

Storing food for a disaster or an emergency protects you the same way homeowner’s insurance protects you against damages to your home. Having some food on hand will insure that your family will be able to weather disasters and major emergencies.

We are living in very turbulent times and they are about to get more turbulent. Storing food is no longer an activity just for “survivalists”. More and more, people in the mainstream are looking at the world around them and realizing they need to prepare.

The value of Mountain House Freeze Dried Food is that its shelf life has been proven by laboratory testing to exceed 30 years. However, Oregon Freeze Dry, the maker of Mountain House Freeze Dried Food generally claims 25 years on their website.

Mountain House Freeze Dried can be prepared with only hot water (in a pinch, you can use cold water), and it is ready in less than 10 minutes. Mountain House quality is unsurpassed. Which is why it’s been the choice of backpackers, preparedness-minded individuals, and NASA for over 40 years. If it’s good enough for the astronauts, it’s good enough for you and me.

Freeze-drying provides unique benefits and advantages over other food processing methods. It combines the best of all food processing methods. It locks in the freshness, color, original shape, texture, and aroma of frozen food while providing the shelf-stable convenience of canned or dehydrated food.

Freeze-drying is a unique process that begins with fresh or cooked foods. Food is then flash frozen in a special vacuum chamber that reaches -50°F. Then, low-level heat is applied (much less than dehydrating), and the ice crystals evaporate without going back to the liquid phase. This process is called sublimation, and it removes approximately 98% of the moisture and thus prevents the food from spoiling. Freeze drying is the ultimate in long term food storage.

I read a statistic recently that said 250,000 people are born on the planet every single day. That’s 2.5 million people every 10 days. In another article, I read that the U.S. now produces less food than it consumes. So, it is only a matter of time until we have a food shortage in the United States.

If you look around, you will understand that having a few days of food in the house is no longer a good practice. Remember all the news reports you have watched where people in the southeastern coastal U.S. were preparing for a hurricane. Every single time, the store shelves are stripped clean within a few hours. What would you do in that situation if you couldn’t get food to feed your family? What would you do if no amount of money would get you the food your family needs?

I know I am pummelling this point in this post, but I look around in my area and don’t see people doing anything. As long as people can get to the grocery store and there is food on the shelves, they think everything is all right. And it will be, until some unforeseen event occurs. Then what will they do? What will you do?

The big three items of basic preparedness are as follows:

• food
• water
• medical supplies (first aid, prescriptions, OTC medications)

If you only store these three things, you will be ahead of the majority of people, and you will be providing insurance for your family. Remember, food is the only insurance you can eat.

Store food for your family today. Your family will thank you when the unexpected happens.

Bloomberg reported on September 2 that, “Switzerland’s oldest bank is telling wealthy clients to sell their U.S. assets, or switch banks, because of concerns new rules will saddle investors with tax obligations in the world’s biggest economy.”

“U.S. proposals to extend reporting requirements for banks whose clients buy American stocks and bonds coupled with estate tax liabilities that may be inherited by the heirs of people who have such holdings prompted the advice from the St. Gallen, Switzerland-based bank”, said Managing Partner Konrad Hummler.

You can go read the original article, but my assesment is that the U.S. is trying to get revenues any way they can. Makes sense. This country is bankrupt. That’s why I keep telling people to make preparations for their families. Get freeze dried food storage, dehydrated food storage, staples, store-bought canned goods. Whatever you decide to do, just do something.

Here is the link to the original article:

Oldest Swiss Bank Tells Clients to Sell U.S. Assets or Leave

I have been asked by several readers about my thoughts on water storage. There is some confusion because I have written posts about 55 gallon water storage barrels, water filters, and water purifiers. So, I will clear this up.

Yes, I advocate storing water. I have a water well and I still store water. I also advocate owning a water filter. Now, there are many choices out there, but a gravity filter like the Berkey would be a great choice. If you are looking for something portable, you can get a Katyden water filter, or a Steripen water purifier.

You may wonder about water purification tablets. I have never used them, but they must work because lots of people buy them.

Some people add some chlorine bleach to their water storage containers. I did this in the beginning, but I realized you don’t need to if your water containers are in a dark area. If there is no light, then algae can’t grow. So, for the past 10 years I have not added chlorine bleach to my water storage and have gotten along just fine. But, I knew the water I put in there was organism-free. I had my water tested to find that out.

I’ll give you an example why I store water when I have a well. A number of years ago, there was an earthquake in my area. My house was not damaged, but it took out my water well. I didn’t know it had, because the well didn’t actually go dry until 7 months later. My neighbor’s well went out too. We both had to have new wells put in. A costly affair. Well, I had to make an appointment with the water well driller because he had a waiting list. So after making the appointment, I had to wait 3 weeks until he could drill the new well. I had stored some water, so I was able to make it through the wait without too much trouble. But, if I had not stored water, my life would have been much different.

If you make the decision to store water, you don’t have to store it in 55 gallon barrels. But that is a good method. Some people even buy a water tank and store their backup water in that. It’s up to you.

A lot of folks store water in used milk jugs or they buy 1 gallon containers of spring water at the store. The problem with these is that over time, they may leak.

Here’s another example. I store 1 gallon containers of distilled water because I have a backup power system with a battery bank. You have to put distilled water in the batteries every six months to keep the cells covered. After storing some of these gallons for a couple years, I noticed that they sometimes will leak. I’ve also noticed that they sometimes leak even after a few months. So, you can store water in these types of containers, but just realize that over time, they may leak.

Actually, the plastic used in bottled water seems thicker than what is used in 1 gallon milk, spring water, and distilled water containers. So, bottled water may last longer without leaking than the 1 gallon containers. I don’t know, I have actually stored water that way.

The bottom line is I advocate storing water, having a water filter, and having a water purifier. Yes, if you live near a pond or stream you can get water and filter it, but ponds and streams sometimes dry up. Do you really want to take a chance that your favorite natural water source will always be there? Things change, and the weather now seems to be more unpredictable.

In summary, store some water. You’ll be glad you have it when the unexpected happens.