# How do you plan to prosper in 2013?



## alwaysready (May 16, 2012)

What goals or projects do you have planned for the comming year. While I plan to continue adding to my stores my goal for 2013 is to buy one ton of wheat berries. I have the bags, O2 obsorbers and food grade containers. A coworker had planed to go 50/50 with me. But he's seems to always have an excuse so I'll do it myself. I'm currently waiting for quotes from a list of distributors provided by the California Wheat Commision. They have been helpful in answering my questions. I would like you wish all here the very best in the comming year.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

In 2013 I intend to slowly step out of my comfort zone and increase my skill set. I am going stop _just_ storing preps that I purchase and start working on sustainability. We put in a raised bed garden in the fall but it has yet to see a single seed. The Mrs. and I are working on what we want to plant and how best to implement our plan. I have a dehydrator, just got a Foodsaver and am going to get an All American pressure very soon. So when harvest time is near I want to be able to freeze some and can some of our produce. Of course before then I want to be canning meat and other foods. I am also working on adding some rain collection barrels to the house, especially since water rights are not an issue where I live.


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## NooB2ItAll (Apr 10, 2012)

2013 is gonna be BUSY!!!! Lots of things planned. Here's the list in no particular order.
1. Steel roof for the house
2. Pole barn
3. Fencing a pasture
4. Getting a few (3-6) goats
5. Raising another round of meat chickens
6. Adding 10-12 layer chickens
7. Planting fruit trees
8. Putting in the new garden
9. Experimenting with grow lights/small hoop house to extend growing season
10. Digging an outhouse
11. Building a smoke house and block BBQ 
12. Planting berries and grapes
13. Building a new hunting blind
14. Chop and split 15-20 face cords of wood
15. Raising 2-3 feeder pigs
16. Raising 2-3 turkeys
17. Raising 6 Peking ducks
18. Building a new storage room in the basement
19. Canning canning and more canning
20. Bee hives
Oh and we are hosting a September wedding here on the farm!!!

It's gonna be a long hard year here but in the end everything will put us closer to self sufficiency.

The 5-10 year plan includes...
1. Digging another well
2. A pond
3. Windmill/solar panels
4. Horses
5. A steer or two a year
In the end the goal is to be off the grid and 90% self sufficient. Happy new year everybody


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

I plan to expand my garden space and that's about it. I'm already fairly self-sufficient because of my upbringing.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

For 2013, I have my seeds ready and a plan for putting up more self-harvested food than last year. Will have the dehydrator working overtime.
Other than that, I'm praying the world holds itself together a bit longer.
I'll be returning to university for spring semester. Ecology, Chemistry II and another upper level BIO course. 
Also, I've got some of my family interested in "primitive camping". This is a step in the right direction.
Prep your body, prep your mind. You never know when you'll need to know how to prepare a distillation reaction or how to break down compounds into new, useful molecules.


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## DJgang (Apr 10, 2011)

I'm praying that I can just physically feel better and I think I've found the key.

I want to plant twice as many tomatoes this year and hopefully most can be from my seeds. 

I would like to be able to get a new roof and possibly metal, implementing some sort of rain barel system. 

Hunker down and only spend what is necessary.


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

I'd like to start storing water. I live in a very dry area, with very little water around to collect. I need to have any I'd need stored up.

We also plan to start a garden. We'll see!


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## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

WWhermit said:


> I'd like to start storing water. I live in a very dry area, with very little water around to collect. I need to have any I'd need stored up.
> 
> We also plan to start a garden. We'll see!


That should be fairly easy... Every 2 liter of coke, diet dr pepper, once empty, I clean and then fill with water from the tap... We go through 3-5 2 liters a week, so after a few months I was set there...

Just an idea for you...


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

been getting financial ducks into a row for awhile now, and things are finally coming together. I want to buy a place of my own.

*after this*

garden boxes, bigtime
chickens or ducks (maybe both, but I'm not feeling that ambitious right away)
a root cellar
refurnish my house in "early american nothing" I have so much crap that needs to be burned/sold/recycled...

I want to get a pure bred German or Austrian Sheppard, and get her trained. I've had many GS over my years and I think they are fantastic dogs. 

I will get my home canned food stores to over 1500 lbs.
I will quintuple my silver collection.
I will buy another 20 buckets of 40lb wheat berries
I want to upgrade from EMT-B to EMT-W 

I want to get ready for possible legislation (okay I already am), but I want more powder primers and lead

I want to quit my job, politely, and go to medic school.... this will never F'n happen and that sucks. I'd rather make half what I make now and do that but it's just not going to happen unless I win the lottery.


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## pandamonium (Feb 6, 2011)

DJgang said:


> I'm praying that I can just physically feel better and I think I've found the key.
> .


 Get yourself a decent juicer and JUICE JUICE JUICE!!!! Green veggies, carrots, kale, fruit, whatever you like, juice it and drink it!! It's like eating 15 pounds of fruit and veggies a day, all the nutrients and none of the bulk. you can cut out a meal or two for a while if you want/need to lose some wieght. Try it for a month or two and tell me then that you don't feel better. I wont believe you though. If you're on some meds, after a while you probably wont even need them anymore. My brother went whole hog and did a full juice fast for almost two months, (I like food too much) but he lost 30 some odd lbs. AND HE FELT 100% BETTER!!!

My goal for 2013 is to quit smoking these effing cigs!!! Start working out again and get back in shape. I am 50 years old, 6'1", and 200lbs, not really overwieght, just out of shape, but that WILL CHANGE!!! 
My brother and I are gonna build a coop and get some laying and some roasting chickens.
Cut and stack about 4-5 cords of wood.
I would like to expand the garden, kinda small now and not in the ideal location in the yard. 
Can,can,can.
Dehydrate, dehydrate,dehydrate. (not myself, keep myself well hydrated!!)
Learn more primitive skills. 
Reload, reload, reload!!!
Spend every minute I can with my son and my little baby girl, (she is 6 now, not quite a little baby, but MY little baby girl!!! )


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## Homegrowngirl (Apr 19, 2011)

More fruit trees, and berry bushes also, a raised herb bed . Gathering more wild berries to put away, canning more of a variety of foods. Adding to my dehydrated stock and water supply.


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## TexasMama (Dec 3, 2012)

alwaysready said:


> What goals or projects do you have planned for the comming year.


I am not done yet with setting up my goals - and we're still fairly new preppers (only been really doing this for about 8 or 9 weeks).

However - here are some of my goals for 2013.

January - learn to can and can a bunch of meats for storage (Canner has been bought and is on its way)
continue to build food storage to close to a 12 month supply that we eat and replace from
get more water storage going
get our basic set of fish/bird antibiotics bought (about $150)

February - Continue canning and learn to use my dehydrator better and work on dry-canning things (ie chocolate chips in canning jars that are vacuum sealed and meal mixes, etc) 
Hopefully buy a gun and start learning to use it

March - Work towards getting conceal/carry license - possibly attend Prepper's Expo in Nashville, TN with my husband and son
I'd like to get a shortwave radio by this time if we don't have it already plus some two-way walkie-talkie radio type things

April - start working on getting my HAM radio license

May through September - focus on the garden and canning what we get from our garden - tending our new fruit trees and bushes - not sure if they will give us something this year or next year..

Go to yard sales and look for jeans for $1 - $2 and boots in good condition and a few other items I'd like to set aside for bartering once the SHTF. I'd like to budget about $250 total towards this project

By the end of next year, between canning meats I get on sale, buying items on sale in bulk, etc. etc. - I'd like to have at least 3 years worth of food put up for us and a year's worth for our pets.

I'd also like to reorder my "basic antibiotic" medications for fish/birds at least 4-5 times during the year to have on hand also. I'm thinking that roughly $50 per month will be a good budget towards that.

Every payday I'm trying to do the following things:

- buy X amount of water (not nearly enough but it is a start)
- buy a big package of toilet paper to set aside
- buy pellets for the air rifle thingys we have (we don't have guns yet)
- set aside 5 gallons of gas w/ stabilizer in a barrel we have 
- buy certain things until I feel we have enough - right now it is about $25 per payday towards OTC drugs. In a couple of month I'll move on to building up our battery supply. My daughter also has me buying up some bootlaces right now cause they are cheap - we figure when we get 2 dozen or so - we'll stop. In January I will be buying everyone new underwear and socks every payday - probably do that for a couple of months too.

I tell myself that I can't do it all - but I can do it a little bit at a time.


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## Cabowabo (Nov 6, 2012)

I'll spend most of 2013 in Korea. So I'll be unable to put away any preps. However my current plan is to invest as much as I can and try to make enough money for when I return to the states to make a massive down payment on a nice piece of land. Just save and invest. Hopefully it works out for me.


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## alwaysready (May 16, 2012)

Sentry18 said:


> In 2013 I intend to slowly step out of my comfort zone and increase my skill set. I am going stop _just_ storing preps that I purchase and start working on sustainability. We put in a raised bed garden in the fall but it has yet to see a single seed. The Mrs. and I are working on what we want to plant and how best to implement our plan. I have a dehydrator, just got a Foodsaver and am going to get an All American pressure very soon. So when harvest time is near I want to be able to freeze some and can some of our produce. Of course before then I want to be canning meat and other foods. I am also working on adding some rain collection barrels to the house, especially since water rights are not an issue where I live.


 SUSTAINABILITY! Thanks for the reminder I've had blinders on I'm stuck on this dadgum wheat it's becoming an obsession:nuts:. Once I get that done maybe I can think again. I also have plans to put in raised beds. My sons (Carpenters) are going to build a 36X12 foot shed that will get the garage cleared out. Got a dehydrator for Christmas so I be learning how to use it also. Thanks everyone for the input it's helping me put togeather a better detailed list.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

This year we're finally going to rebuild our greenhouse and build more raised beds. We're also going to get the water line run from our springfed marsh to the garden, where we have a 300-gallon tank that is going to go on a stand my husband has been building out of 12" beams. I'm planning to up my stores of wheat and sugar this year. A new project I plan for this year is to buy herbs and spices in bulk, vacuum-seal them and store them in air-tight buckets. I'll have enough excess spices to use for barter, even though they won't be a high-demand item.


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## redhorse (Dec 27, 2012)

I plan on doing more practice runs in the back country looking for wild edibles and such. I've been investing in a lot more books. I try to buy at least two per pay on various subjects like tanning, old fashioned meat storage techniques, old fashioned tool making ect. I read a lot on the internet, but I don't have a printer, so I only have a journal with things I find important wrote down. I want hard copy information, and boatloads of it. Then I want to really start putting those skills to the test. My blacksmith is Amish, and his wife said she would be glad to have me over when they butcher so I can get some hands on practice making hams, salamies, and jerkies from scratch, without electricity. She also cans a lot of course. I'd like to put some pigs out with the horses that can be ready when hers are. My food stores need beefed up, I have a little over 6 month stored up, although I have several tons on the hoof (useless unless I obtain more canning jars than I already have). Growing enough feed for my chickens and rabbits for next winter is big on the list. I sold my goats two years ago, but I heard milk may double if the farm bill doesn't pass. I'd like a couple of milk goats again and maybe a boer buckling to be able to freshen them myself next year. So much to do, and it seems not enough time to do it! Ammo stores.... The shelves in all the stores around here are bare of all .22 LR, 30.30, 30.06, 12 guage, and 410. All I have been able to purchase is 38sp. Are there any good websites that don't have huge backlogs that anyone knows of?


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Since I'm no longer pregnant & can actually reach the ground again, I'm going to get back to gardening again this year. I also want to try making & canning some jalepeno jelly. I'd really like to install a water collection system to collect rain water off the roof to use on the garden. Gonna research water filtration systems & find one that doesn't require electricity.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

Things are kinda on hold for us. DH has inoperable stage IV bladder cancer and I'm sad to say he is in his final days.
I haven't stopped prepping as it is just a way of life for us. Canned 45 pints of carrots this weekend. I would love to have a dehydrator and Berkeley water purifier, but since he hasn't been able to work in 10 month and I've been missing a lot of work while he is in and out of the hospital money is really tight. So we will do what we can.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

Sentry18 said:


> In 2013 * am going to get an All American pressure very soon.* So when harvest time is near I want to be able to freeze some and can some of our produce. Of course before then I want to be canning meat and other foods..


now would be a good time to advertize on Craigslist or local papers for jars, I advertized in the 2 cities near me and bought over 80 dozen for less than 2 bucks a doz.


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## alwaysready (May 16, 2012)

Clarice said:


> Things are kinda on hold for us. DH has inoperable stage IV bladder cancer and I'm sad to say he is in his final days.
> I haven't stopped prepping as it is just a way of life for us. Canned 45 pints of carrots this weekend. I would love to have a dehydrator and Berkeley water purifier, but since he hasn't been able to work in 10 month and I've been missing a lot of work while he is in and out of the hospital money is really tight. So we will do what we can.


I'll keep your family in my prayers.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

Last summer I bought some more land a couple hundred miles from me and off the beaten path and have a lot of work to do up there,The place already has a well,pond, plenty of wind for a mill, we planted apple trees and blue berry bushes last fall. It has the best place that I've seen in yrs for a root celler.I'll move a couple bee hives up there this spring and have the farmer next door stock pile me a couple hundred yds of manure.
my place here is great,private and in the woods, but a little too close to the Rotten Apple to suit me although it over a hundred miles. both places are off the state rd on town rds but the home place is still vulnerable as we've lived here over fifty yrs and known by everyone. If America slipped into a full blown depression, I'd rather slip quietly out of town than watch friends and relatives turn into beggers and tell me that I was right as I prepared for my family all the time telling others to get prepared.


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## squshnut (Sep 5, 2011)

I've been studying the great depression, Argentina, Greece, and Cuba.
Lots of good information from those countries on where we are going.
Learning on how buying groceries in bulk can help feed a family when you cook from scratch. And how it leaves extra for my pantry.
Basically if we don't eat it we don't need IT. Thrift stores are ouR freinds, credit cards are not. Any way to make even a few dollars extra or save a few is a good thing.
Find a way to grow more, even if it's just a square foot along the edge of my garden.
Don't listen to news or politics , too much insanity.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Our plans are to start growing as much food as we can on our balcony. We already have 2 raspberry bushes, 2 blueberry bushes and 20 strawberry plants. Am going to start with peas, carrots, onions and potatoes as a late winter crop. If we keep getting frost at night I might wait til early spring. (Frost a mile from the beach on the Pacific coast?)

We want to increase our water storage 10 times what we have now. You can never have too much water!

Looking to move to BFE to start our homestead as soon as our current lease is up. We need to get away from the city and our druggie neighbors.


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## laverne (Nov 18, 2012)

TexasMama said:


> I am not done yet with setting up my goals - and we're still fairly new preppers (only been really doing this for about 8 or 9 weeks).
> 
> However - here are some of my goals for 2013.
> 
> ...


I love tje " everything is a $1 store" for boot laces and otc drugs. You can find so many things there for just a few dollars. 
Happy prepping


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## laverne (Nov 18, 2012)

Clarice said:


> Things are kinda on hold for us. DH has inoperable stage IV bladder cancer and I'm sad to say he is in his final days.
> I haven't stopped prepping as it is just a way of life for us. Canned 45 pints of carrots this weekend. I would love to have a dehydrator and Berkeley water purifier, but since he hasn't been able to work in 10 month and I've been missing a lot of work while he is in and out of the hospital money is really tight. So we will do what we can.


Adding you all to my prayer list.


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

Clarice said:


> Things are kinda on hold for us. DH has inoperable stage IV bladder cancer and I'm sad to say he is in his final days.
> I haven't stopped prepping as it is just a way of life for us. Canned 45 pints of carrots this weekend. I would love to have a dehydrator and Berkeley water purifier, but since he hasn't been able to work in 10 month and I've been missing a lot of work while he is in and out of the hospital money is really tight. So we will do what we can.


For what it's worth, I'll remember him in my prayers, and you as well.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Clarice said:


> Things are kinda on hold for us. DH has inoperable stage IV bladder cancer and I'm sad to say he is in his final days.
> I haven't stopped prepping as it is just a way of life for us. Canned 45 pints of carrots this weekend. I would love to have a dehydrator and Berkeley water purifier, but since he hasn't been able to work in 10 month and I've been missing a lot of work while he is in and out of the hospital money is really tight. So we will do what we can.


You are in my prayers...know that I am thinking of you and your dh.
JayJay.


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

Hoping to get my feces in sequence this coming year:

More stored foodstuffs.
Replace my car (not a happy thought, but mobility is life).
Finalize radio-communications and vehicle installations.
Hand-pump on well-head with a secondary inside installation.
Ammo.... more ammo.... (nothing to do with "prepping". I just like to shoot....) 
Cut down 6 year old wild raspberry bushes and re-locate / re-plant (they lose bounty after a few years. Time to re-cultivate).
Re-explore / re-evaluate back acreage for wild edibles & possibly "introduce" a few.
*MAYBE* build a green-house (*really* want one... mostly sand here on this extinct river-bed) & try a combination of raised-beds & hydroponics
CHICKENS... got to get some CHICKENS (and a few guinea hens... maybe they can eat *all the friggin' TICKS!*)
Build a chicken coup (probably ought to do that before I get the chickens)
Experiment further with passive solar-assisted home heating, & implement what's effective.
Mulch & compost / methane digester.
Get "emergency" wood-stove - test design for expedient jet-mass-heater.
*Finally* begin canning - pressure & steam
Improve house security system & perimeter video system. 
Last but not least - improve neighborhood coop (as in cooperate) - I have *GREAT* neighbors, we just gotta' see more of each other!

(if I get even *half* that list done, I'll be so proud of myself I'll be unbearable)
:nuts:

Oh.... I also have to make a list of all the crap I need to do this year...
:doh:


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Clarice, you and your family are in our prayers.


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

Clarice said:


> Things are kinda on hold for us. DH has inoperable stage IV bladder cancer and I'm sad to say he is in his final days.


I'm sorry for you, Clarice. I wish I could say or do something other than pray, but I can't.


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

Well, I've got a little over a month's worth of canned foods stored up, I suppose a good goal for 2013 would be to increase my canned food stores to 90 days worth; then I can start thinking about storing some dehydrated/freeze-dried stuff as well.

Mostly, my goals for this year will be financial. If all goes well, and the country doesn't completely fall apart, I should be either completely out of debt, or very nearly so.

I'll also be increasing my water storage whenever I can, and getting some more TP stored, as well as some other toiletries. Room is starting to become scare, though.


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