retreat-living

Fully Stocked North Idaho Retreat

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This may interest some of you who may be looking for a safe, self-sufficient, retreat location…

FULLY STOCKED survival property for sale in N. Central Idaho. This property is located in the mild microclimate region 5 hours north of Boise, ID. The winters are very mild, and there are long growing seasons with an abundance of live water.

We have a large prepper community that has already organized a barter group that is working together towards common goals.

The home is large enough to accommodate 2 families (almost 4000 sq ft) with a floor plan that includes a first floor apartment. It sits on 12 self-sufficient acres, with 2 wells, a spring and pond, 3 pastures, a 3500 sq ft garden and orchard, laying hens, bee hive, 2200 sq foot barn, shop, chicken coop, cold food storage house, solar, generator backup, propane appliances, wood heat x 2, on and on. And the listed price includes an incredibly unique package consisting of a 2 year supply of food, diesel, propane, heirloom seeds, etc, etc!

It’s all done for you and move in ready. This “Prepper Package” is quite extensive and unique – see the details on our website at or call 208-476-0798 if you’d like more information.

List of Preparedness Items For: Cleaning

In a world without a functioning electrical power grid, perhaps a post apocalyptic world, a world knocked backward in time, you will need to perform tasks that were once assisted by modern technology. You will need items that will help accomplish the job, and you will need to know how to do it yourself.

Most modern hardware will become ‘boat anchors’ and the conveniences they brought to your life will vanish when their energy source is removed. Some of these things you will be able to live without, while others will have to be replaced with alternatives along with a new way of doing things.

Consider what you would do when it comes to cleaning.

Vacuum cleaners, dishwashers, garbage disposers, electric ‘anything’, as well as municipal running water will be unavailable and useless to help in the tasks of keeping the home clean. You will need to maintain a level of cleanliness throughout the house, not only for aesthetics and comfort, but for your well being.

NOT cleaning will allow the growth of bacteria, which can make you ill, or worse. It will invite other critters and nasties into your home and increase your risk of health problems. Keeping your health should be on the top of your priority list in a SHTF world. One example of caution is, if anyone has an open wound or cut, you don’t want to increase the chance of infection from coming in contact with a dirty environment. Another example is to keep your food preparation area (kitchen) clean to avoid food cross-contamination, etc. You get the idea.

In no particular order, here are some prep items to keep for the purpose of cleaning in a post SHTF world.

Brooms
Carpets will be nearly impossible to clean, however all else will benefit from the good old fashioned broom. Consider a variety of styles – some for inside and some heavy-duty for outside.

Mop
Keep a ‘good’ mop (and backups) for your floors. Plus, replacement heads.

Buckets
Keep plenty of these, since they have plenty of uses.

Rags and towels (lots of them)
You will need more than you think to satisfy the many cleaning chores that will consume rags and towels.

Sponges
Handy for cleaning and other uses.

Scrub brushes
Pretty obvious why these will be an essential item. Get all different sizes.

Rubber gloves
Keep plenty of these, because they tear and wear out. When using cleaning chemicals, you want to protect your hands.

Spray bottles
You can make your own cleaning solutions with the simplest of ingredients. Spray bottles are a great way to keep these solutions at the ready, without evaporation.

Dust pan and brush
Again, pretty obvious as to the use.

Water
Municipal water will be out in this scenario (unless you are gravity fed well below the source). You will need a water source nearby. Consider ‘gray’ water for your cleaning purposes (water runoff from roofs, etc.), unless of course you have an abundance of water where you live.

Bleach
Not only can you use this to disinfect water to make it safe to drink (in the correct proportions), but it’s a terrific disinfectant for cleaning too. Hospitals use it for that.

Borax
Just an all around great cleaner with a multitude of uses, for just about everything! It’s inexpensive too.

Soap
Bars of regular soap, including heavy duty ‘Lava’ soap, as well as liquid soaps are great cleaners. They are inexpensive and can be stored easily.

White vinegar
It’s an effective stain remover and sanitizer. It’s inexpensive and makes a great toilet bowl cleaner. It’s acetic acid kills mold and mildew. It is also really a very good window cleaner.

I’m sure that you probably have most or all of these items already. The idea here is to get you thinking about prep items in terms of categories – in this case, ‘cleaning’. Do you have enough?

Remember, one is none two is one.

If you have your own additional suggestions, comment and add to the list!

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Your Community: A Survival Help Or Hindrance?

What exactly is your community? Do you live in a rural area, or small neighborhood, an apartment building, a cul-de-sac or a city? You are prepping, stocking up and preparing for some level of emergencies. Are your neighbors prepping? In a SHTF scenario would you want their help? Would you be able to get their help? Are they even capable of helping? How well do you know them? Would they be a help to you or a hindrance to you?

Many people feel that you should keep your prepping and your emergency planning ‘quiet’. Generally speaking, I think you may be better off on your own. The bottom line is that the decision whether or not to help your neighbors is a decision that only you can make.

In a SHTF scenario, the world you know will be very different. People that have not prepared will think of many different ways to get your things. These ‘ways’ may be a good thing, such as bartering or helping with a task. But chances are these ‘ways’ could very well be devious or even intrusive.

Things to consider before you decide to put your neighbors into your fold.

Are your neighbors clueless and needy? Okay, seriously, I’m not being mean, I’m being realistic. If they are needy because they are elderly, that’s a different story. But if they are just generally clueless and needy, they will probably require a lot of your time as well as your supplies.  Once again, a decision that’s up to you.

How would they view your prepping? If you were to tell them and show them, today, all of the prepping work you have done, would they think you are weird? Or would they be receptive, ask you questions, and even start their own prepping? Something to think about when looking for a compatriot.

What are the occupations of your neighbors? Will they be able to be helpful in a SHTF scenario? Prepper groups are being formed out there folks. They are groups of friends, family, neighbors that are all preppers who are concerned about banding together for security when the S does HTF. A tight group of people with varied skills, occupations and interests that can all bring benefits to the group. Am I describing your neighbors, or not?

Are your neighbors frugal or wasteful? If need be, would you be able to get them to ration food? Something else for you to think about.

How will your community ( neighborhood, small town, apartment complex etc.), fare in a SHTF scenario? Would such a scenario increase their reciprocity? Would they follow a make shift leader to increase the strength of the community or would it be a dog eat dog situation. Something else for you to think about folks.

How many of you have watched the old TV show ‘Jericho‘? First of all, for the most part, they stuck with the mayor and sheriff as local leaders. The town generally united, but even then there were ‘factions’ that grew. Some folks combined with others from another town and thought they knew best. Although for the most part they worked together, there were still those rotten apples to watch out for. When it comes down to not having food, water or a shelter, people will act differently, instinctively. Think about this.

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Where Is The Best Place To Live?

So, you want to know where is the best place to live in the United States? I recently received an email with this question, which included criteria ‘where water is good’, ‘hunting’, ‘not too cold or hot’, ‘good soil’, ‘etc,,,’. The person is relocating in a year, which is good in that there is plenty of time to figure it out.

The person is definitely on the right track in the process of determining their best place to live, because he is establishing criteria. This is the key! You must think it through, and not quickly. Take a long time to establish your criteria because you will not think of it all in one sitting, or even a few. During each ‘thought’ session, write down the results. It is important to write it.

Although the ‘etc,,,’ in the short criteria list is a huge gaping hole, at least the person started with several. Let’s look at them now…

Where the water is good. I suppose that ‘good’ is subjective. Lots of municipalities have ‘good’ water or good-enough water because they treat it. If you are looking for an abundance of water, there are states and regions that are more beneficial. Minnesota and Wisconsin have more than 10,000 lakes each – but many of them are iced over during their cold winter months. Most of the eastern half of the country is loaded with rivers and streams while the western half definitely has fewer – although still plenty if you choose it.

The following map shows streams and water-bodies of the US, as well as areas of high arsenic concentrations in the surface ground water.

You may be concerned about water aquifers or drought conditions too.

From a survival preparedness standpoint, I would try and find a location that has a water source on the property like a stream, spring, or pond (or underneath, as in a decent and reliable well). Most all homes depend upon the municipal systems to supply water. It may be good insurance to have your own source too.

Hunting. About one-third of the nation is forested (currently about 747 million acres). Although there is game to be hunted beyond the forests, the following map of the United States forest cover (various types of forest trees are different colors on the map), shows locations (the forests) which will be more ideally suited towards hunting than non-forested areas.

Not too cold or hot. This too is subjective. Some people prefer the cold to the heat or vice versa. Equally important are the temperature effects on the growing season, which is typically high on the list of priorities of self-sufficient survival-preparedness minded folks. The following map shows the maximum and minimum temperatures of the United States. July is chosen for the maximum temp. while February is chosen for the minimum.

Good soil. Arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. There are vast parts of the United States that have poor soil for growing foods (desert and dry regions) without ‘help’ from us humans with things such as irrigation, treatment, etc. There are also many parts of the country that will grow food just fine, and have adequate natural rainfall to keep them growing. All soils require good management and replenishment, so even if you start with something good, be sure to treat it right with crop rotation as well as organic replenishment of nutrients. There’s lots of science as well as learning by trial-and-error to gardening…

The following map shows soil classified by their number of ‘agronomic’ limiting factors (green is better). The best soils for agriculture have no or few limiting factors.

There are many, many additional factors that will go towards your decision of the best place to live, including, population density, taxes, political views and state laws, cost of living, price to purchase, crime, hazards and risks such as earthquakes-tornadoes-hurricanes-flooding, etc.

The few factors touched upon here will hopefully set you off in the right direction of doing your research. First though, it is imperative that you write down the things that are important to you. This will help you more than you may realize…

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United States Aquifer Locations

An aquifer is the saturated zone beneath the water table, and they are huge storehouses of water. An aquifer is a geologic formation that contains sufficient saturated, permeable material to yield significant quantities of water to wells and springs. Aquifer is the name given to underground soil or rock through which ground water can easily move. The amount of ground water that can flow through soil or rock depends on the size of the spaces in the soil or rock and how well the spaces are connected. Aquifers typically consist of gravel, sand, sandstone, or fractured rock such as limestone.

Wells can be drilled into the aquifers and water can be pumped out. Precipitation eventually adds water back into the aquifer.

A view of the Real-Time Groundwater Data for the nation will reveal the approximate depth to which you may have to drill to reach groundwater. A few extreme depths are located in parts of Nevada at depths greater than 800 feet while other locations are only 10′s of feet.

The following map shows the location of all the aquifers of the United States. If you are choosing a relocation, you may find it desirable to live as close as possible to a good water source, or above an aquifer, as water becomes more of a valuable commodity in the future.

Full Size Aquifer Map

The next map of ‘sand and gravel’ aquifers in the United States are the easiest to access because they are shallow and closer to the surface.

Before you choose your ‘survival retreat’ location, think about the water…

Gray: glacial origin
Yellow: ‘consolidated’ aquifer (not as free flowing)
Blue: ‘unconsolidated’ aquifer (unconstrained)

When planning to buy or build a house, “you gotta know the territory”. Learn as much as possible about the land and the water supply, before buying or building. Prospective homeowners need to know about the terrain.

When buying a home in the country, people need to consider certain factors that usually do not confront the urban homebuyer, such as whether or not the water supply is adequate. Disappointed rural homeowners have sometimes found out too late that the well drilled on their new land does not yield enough water or that the water is of poor chemical quality. Wells can be contaminated by septic systems or barnyard wastes. Shallow or dug wells on farms or near older homes that served adequately in earlier years are often inadequate for modern uses.

If building in an unpopulated area, drill a well first—or if buying an old house, find out if the water supply is adequate.

An excellent USGS publication, Ground Water and the Rural Homeowner, reveals many helpful tips and what to look for, and to be aware of, prior to considering a rural property.

Another important factor is to consider the current drought outlook. The following up-to-date drought maps and forecasts show the current drought situation in the United States.
United States Drought Monitor Maps

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