19 Baby Steps Toward a Self Sufficient Lifestyle - FOUR

Here is the fourth of nineteen easy steps you can take to to start helping you being prepared for life's storms.  These are steps that do not require a farm, do not require acreage and do not require a lot of money.  They are practical steps that you can select from and learn to be able to take care of your family by being ready....

 

4.  Install an alternate fuel source

You might be surprised by how little power you need to get by.  Start with an inexpensive portable generator or a ventless gas heater.  Also think about those items that must have power when the grid is down, such as a well, medical devices and refrigeration.   Take care of providing power to those things and let the rest go for now.  You might want to add a way to  cook without electricity as well; lots of ways to do this besides a grill if you do a bit of research...

• The Apple Box Oven — Covered with foil, the lid of a box that apples are shipped in is simple to make, inexpensive and portable. Notches should be cut in the bottom of the sides or put it on a rack to lift it from the ground. Use 10-14 coals to bake at 350 degrees for up to 45-55 minutes.


• The Paper Box Oven — Covered with foil, a box used to transport reams of paper is inexpensive, portable, and smaller than an apple box so it needs fewer coals, only 8-10.
Wooden dowels pushed through the top help with air circulation. A blanket cover will conserve energy and hold in heat.


• A Dutch Oven — is easy to use and store but must be used outside and they're heavy so they're not really portable.

Other fuel options include fuel gel that can be squeezed out to start fires, solid fuel cubes that burn very hotly for a very short time (to boil water) and MRE heaters that heat instantly.