Meet BOB (Not the battery one) *wink*

Bug Out Bag

Hi there fellow survivors,

So I wanted to touch base on few things that have me biting my nails when faced with the ever popular apocalypse. There are three things that are extremely important when wanting to survive the hordes of undead, virally infected, or alien scout parties.

Rule One: You can live for three hours without shelter.
(Extreme Conditions)

Rule Two: You can live for three days without water.

Rule Three: You can live for three weeks without food.

If you're like me and at the first sign of any undead, oozing neighbors, or slimy tentacle wielding visitors from outer space run for the hills then you need to be prepared.

Who knows what state the world will be in you may be able to scrounge for food in barren shops or hold up in an old jail, but what if your only option is to go deep into the woods and keep your loved ones safe.

So following the list of rules you are gonna want to make a shelter. For those of you that cringe at the thought of sleeping with the creepy crawlies get over it. Better that than having your brains served up as a main course.

You need to know your environment. Do some research and find out what works best in your area. I chose a tarp as one of the things I would grab. It has several uses and is light weight. You can use it as a rain catch, makeshift tent, and when you travel you can turn it into its own pack. The last thing you want to do is die from exposure when you survived the world's final days.

Fire is essential and man has quested for it since the beginning of time. I include this in the well duh section. It keeps you warm, cooks your food, and sanitizes your water. So can you build one? Hopefully you will be one of the blessed with a lighter but knowing my luck I probably wouldn't have one. *Sigh* So how else can you start a fire without a lighter? Rub two sticks together? *Cough Cough* Not me that could take hours and burn calories you need for something else like living. Okay so here it goes steel wool. It's amazing the smallest spark will ignite it and it burns at very high temperature catching dry grass or even abandoned birds' nests. Keep that baby going don't let it go out and you won't have to worry about starting it again.*Dances for joy*

Tip A huge part of surviving is mental and nothing gives you hope like the sight of the reds, oranges, and golds dancing in the flames.

Water. Nuf said, but how do you know it's safe? Well most would say boil it, but what if you don't have a pot to place over the fire and the few plastic bottles you scrounged could melt. Well the truth is if you fill the bottle with water and hang it over the fire it will not melt. Amazing right? It may only last through three or so uses but hey you won't be wishing to be one of the undead from being horribly ill. Also if you leave water in the sun for the day and the little beasties will die and it will become safe to drink.

Food. The one thing I managed to grab while running out the door was chocolate but hey despite my best efforts you can't live on that alone. *Grins* My husband is the big bad hunter, me not so much, Bambi ruined me for life. (My lip still quivers when I think about it.) So that leaves me to the gathering. You might be surprised at what you can eat and survive on. Insects, neutral colors nothing bright or flashy, 90% of blue/purple berries are safe to eat but only 50% of red, and of course plants. Research your area and become familiar with the plant life you never know when it may be the only thing holding off starvation while waiting for your husband's big catch.

There are so many things to consider while preparing for survival and I've touched on a scant few but hopefully I've sparked some ideas. The thing that often bothers me in apocalyptic movies is people not only lose their lives but lose their humanity. Good luck fellow survivors and I hope to see you there waving our arms in victory.

Best Wishes

Debra Smith