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Sorry i missed for a week or so, lets get back to it. One of the most over looked items that people with a preparedness out look, over look is maintenance's. Now with out getting into post of it's own, maintenance is important. We need to do it everyday of our lives, most of the time we do it we don't even give it a second thought. We do it all the time when we have a relationship with someone else. If we don't put into it, if we don't share responsibilities in that relationship it will die on the vine or in another application, your vehicle, don't change the oil. The oil gets build ups, harmful chemicals, does not work the way ti needs to to protect you motor. With that in mind lets look at a post that was in the forums recently and the responses.

The article was started by Grog, it is called Overlooked Maintenance thoughts

Time to review your protective items,Smoke detectors, Fire Extinguishers, and tools. Check for and remove ladder fuels from around your home or properties. Review your first aid supplies,and water as well. I consider these to be protective for your life and health. Check your hygiene supplies as well. Soaps, detergents, and those items used for cleaning. Keeping clean is vital to health and survival.Review your clothing. Replace what needs to be replaced, repair what can be repaired (eg Resole shoes, replace buttons on shirts etal)Check your kits for rotation, and the same for your food supplies. There are way too many lists for what folks think you should have on hand. Those lists maybe good, but snow shoes in the Arizona Desert? Your mileage may vary and then some.Any time is a good time to check your firearms and ammunition, and your tools. For stocking up, stay local when possible. I for one avoid ebay.Your regional Craig's list is a good resource, and if you are involved in a community center, some times there are physical boards that post things for sale or for trade. Review your resources and plans, revisit those with team members or those who are part of CERT/ MAG/ Neighborhood groups.

eeyore responded

Excellent advice.About smoke detectors, make sure they either use a battery or have a battery backup. Most new homes (5 years old or younger) have detectors hardwired in. This could cause a problem if your electric goes out. You might want to consider CO detectors also. They are a pain sometimes, but if the electric goes out and you have to use an alternate heating source, it my save your life.

Ozark 1 responded

Fire extinguishers ...Something you may want to consider:The old water-and-compressed-air extinguishers (usually silver in color) can be easily refilled and recharged at home. Even a simple bicycle tire pump can be used to recharge them. Repair / maintenance is simple too.[I've got three of them on hand.]

Ez 1 responded

lets not forget your vehicles , bicycles and other modes of transportation they must be kept in good working order.. and a good time for a tune up is when your spring cleaning and checking your other equipment.. we never know when it may save our life

Grog responded

As an additional thought, Reviewing your reference library maybe a good idea as well.Check for location and condition of your books, Are the bindings going? Are the pages stuck together and the like.Here is a listing of books that I have for survival reference in hard copy:
Carla Emery's 10th edition of the Encyclopedia of country living
Don Paul's books Great livin in grubby times, the green berets compass course,
Everybody's outdoor survival guide, and
everybody's Knife bible
Making the best of the basics
Larry Dean Olsen Outdoor survival skills
The US Army survival manual ,
First Aid manual, field hygiene, and the engineering field data guide
(very useful)Boyscouts of America merit badge guides on gardening, emergency preparedness and wilderness survival
Country Women A hand book for the new farmer (Me for the info, the title was something I thought would interest my wife, and it did)
The Healthwise HandbookFrom Hesperian
where there is no dentist, where there is no doctor,
A book for midwives, where women have no doctor,
How to survive a nuclear disaster by Robert C. Smith
American Red Cross standard first aid and the emergency response guide (First Responders Guide)
The herbal handbook by David Hoffman,
Herbal medicine by Dian Dincin Buchman
Back to Eden authored by Jethro Kloss
Modern Encyclopedia of Herbs by Joseph M. Kadans N.D, PhD.
How to brew by John J Palmer
Tom Brown's Field Guide to living with the earth
A guide to the Medicinal plants of the US by Arnold and Connie Krochmal
Foxfire series 1 through 9
The SAS Survival guide
When Technology Fails
There are more, but this is the main list of books. Also if possible recheck your computer does it have the latest updates, and when was the last time the hard drive was both anti virus scanned and if using a Windows Operating System was the hard drive defragmented. Were the files backed up to other means? Hope this helps

Heyman responded

as far as bicycles I would recommend either putting slime in tubes or buying tubes with slime in them. you never know where you will be riding and never know when a flat might put you in harms way.Don't forget an air pump

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