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An Israeli Bandage In Every Emergency Kit

May 7, 2018 By ParkerMama Leave a Comment

The Israeli Bandage  was created by the Israeli Defense Force to save lives during combat. The pressure applicator on an Israeli Bandage exerts 30 pounds of pressure to a wound area, effectively treating the bleeding from a traumatic hemorrhagic wound.   A sterile dressing that can be used for many kinds of wounds, it should be in every emergency kit.

Why There Must Be An Israeli Bandage In Every Emergency Kit

What Can The Israeli Bandage In Your Emergency Kit Do?

The Israeli Bandage is highly versatile. Use it for puncture wounds, deep lacerations, and even gunshot wounds. The wrap will bind a splint in place, and used as a tourniquet.

How To Use An Israeli Bandage

1. First, open the outer and sterile inner packaging.

2. Next, place the sterile pad over the wound in such a way that the pressure applicator is off set, or to the side of the wound. Use the the long end of the wrap to wrap over the sterile pad, and under and over the pressure applicator, wrapping tightly.

3. Use the closure bar to keep the emergency bandage closed.

Confused? Don’t worry. You’ll find the simple to follow directions for the emergency bandage on the back of every package package.

Emergency Israeli Bandage

PRO TIP: Purchase an extra Israeli Bandage to practice with. Also, teach your kids how to place an Israeli Bandage.

How This Bandage Can Save You Money and Space In Your Emergency Kit.

Because you add this emergency wrap to your first aid kit, you can remove triangular bandages, large dressings, and bulky rolls of gauze.

What Sizes Do Emergency Bandages Come In?

*this post contains affiliate links

You will find these bandages in the following sizes:

4 inch width

6 inch width

12 inch width that is designed to be used for abdominal injuries and amputations.

Pro Tip:  Finally, add a package of QuikClot Advanced Clotting Hemostatic Gauze for more serious wounds.

Get Serious About Your Medical Gear

The most Simple 72 Hour Kits and Checklists must include an Israeli Bandage. While you’re at it, add one to each of your car emergency kits too.

Have you ever used an Emergency Bandage like this one?

Filed Under: Emergency Preparedness, Survival Gear Tagged With: 72 Hour Kits, first aid kit, prepper, survival

Two Tone Honey Calendula Melt And Pour Soap Recipe

May 4, 2018 By ParkerMama Leave a Comment

Wondering how to make a two tone melt and pour soap recipe?  Well, I’m happy to tell you that it’s much easier than you think.  My two tone Honey Calendula Melt and Pour Soap Recipe will show you how to make a vertically layered soap.

Honey and Calendula Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

Ingredients For Two Tone Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

*this post contains affiliate links

1 pound Organic Translucent Melt and Pour Soap Base

1 pound Honey Melt and Pour Soap Base

Calendula Petals    (Now, most botanicals wind up looking like dead bugs in melt and pour soap. While Canlendua Petals do the best, they aren’t perfect. This is a soap you are going to want to USE, not sit out as a decoration. Just sayin’. And with all the goodies in this bar, why wouldn’t you run off to the tub with it asap?)

Manuka Honey    Opps…  No Manuka Honey?  That’s okay.  Take a look at our DIY Manuka Honey Recipe.

3×2 Rectangular Soap Mold (This recipe makes approx. eight bars of soap using this mold.)

Small Spray Bottle filled with Rubbing Alcohol

Pyrex Measuring Cup

Bread Dough Scraper

Young Living Orange Essential Oil

Young Living Lemon Essential Oil

$25.00 OFF Your Young Living Essential Oil Purchase

It’s no secret that I only use Young Living Essential Oils. I believe in these oils so much, that I’m running a special offer giving you a $25.00 REBATE when you purchase your first Young Living Premium Starter Kit.  Learn all about this deal in our How To Order Young Living Essential Oils post.

The Method For Honey Calendula Two Tone Melt and Pour Soap

Chop the translucent melt and pour soap into chunks and put them in the pyrex measuring cup. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat until soap is totally melted.

Organic Melt and Pour Soap Base

Add calendula petals. (I added about 3 Tablespoons, you can add more or less.) Stir the calendula petals and soap until soap cools down enough to allow the petals to be suspended. (About 60 degrees.) Add Young Living Lemon Essential Oil and stir.  Pour soap into molds and allow to set up and harden.

Pop out the bars of calendula soap. Using a *this post contains affiliate links bread dough scraper, cut each bar evenly in half. The dough scraper will help you make sure your cut is straight and even. I find this is MUCH  easier done with the scraper than with a knife.

Let the soap halves dry overnight.

Two Tone Honey Calendula Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

Pouring The Honey Side Of This Melt And Pour Soap Recipe

Put the halves of calendula soap back into the mold, one half per mold. Press the soap halves tightly into each mold.

Cut the Honey Melt and Pour Soap Base into chunks and microwave in 30 second bursts until melted. Add in 2 teaspoons of Manuka Honey and stir until melted. Add Orange essential oil.

OPTIONAL: Add ONE drop of yellow soap colorant to enhance the color of the honey melt and pour soap base.

When the honey base is about 120 degrees, use the finger of one hand press down the calendula soap half down as you pour the honey side of the soap. Spritz with alcohol to remove any bubbles. Continue with the rest of the soap.

PRO TIP: Spritz the cut side of the calendula soap before you pour the melted honey base.  This will help both sides stick.

Two Tone Honey Calendula Melt and Pour Soap Recipe

 

Lookie There!  You Did It!

See, it’s easier than you thought, isn’t it? Okay, so it took a minute to get that pesky honey soap base temperature thing nailed. But, it was SO worth it! And when someone asks you how you made this bar, just smile and reply; “Magic”.

Hosting A Make And Take?

I think these two tone bars would be terrific for a Make And Take. What I would do, is pour the calendula side the night before and cut the halves. Then the next day your guest will only have to melt the honey base, add the honey, scent and pour! Viola!

Do You Love To Pin?

Would you (pretty please) share this melt and pour soap recipe on Pinterest for us?  60 seconds and your good deed for the day is DONE!  Thank you!

Filed Under: Essential Oil Recipe, Essential Oils Tagged With: #DIY, essential oils, Homemade, melt and pour soap

Survive Hurricane Season Prepping Checklist

May 4, 2018 By ParkerMama Leave a Comment

The 2018 hurricane season is predicted to be even worse than 2017. It seems like every year people wait until the storm warnings begin to think about getting prepared. Don’t find yourself standing in long lines for the bare basics to survive hurricane season. Get your family ready now.

Survive Hurricane Checklist

Don’t Fall For These Hurricane Myths

First of all, lets get some of the myths associated with hurricanes out of the way, shall we?

Myth #1: Tape Your Windows Before A Hurricane. Nope. When high winds hit an untaped window, the pieces of glass shatter into a zillion pieces. However, when high winds hit a taped window, the pieces of glass break into big pieces that could really do damage to you. The zillion little pieces might take longer to clean up, but at least you’ll still be able to clean them up.

Myth #2: Crack Open Your Windows To Stabilize Pressure. Buildings aren’t airtight. They aren’t going to explode during a hurricane. But, opening a window will allow violent wind into your home. And when that wind gets in, it’s going to look for a violent way out.

Myth #3: I Only Need To Board Up The Windows Facing The Water Since when do hurricane winds only blow in one direction? Plus, boarding up your windows protects things from the outside flying through your windows into you home.  BTW, if you do plan to board up your windows, have them pre-cut and ready to go.

PRO TIP:  *this post contains affiliate links Each window you board up will require 4 windstorm window clips.  Get them before the storm season starts.

Myth #4: Leaning Against A Door Or Window Being Blown In By Wind Pressure Will Save It From Breaking. Blink. For the love of Pete, if it looks like a window or door is bending due to fierce winds, get the hell away from it.

Myth #5: Hurricanes Only Strike The Coasts. I’m Too Far Inland. Famous Last words.

How To Survive Hurricane Season

It’s important to be stay informed during hurricane season, and be aware of potential storms. You are going to need to know when to evacuate and have a plan in place of where to go.  Learn Community Evacuation routes and how to quickly get to higher ground. 

Assign A Safe Room

Decide on which room in your home will be your ‘safe room’ to wait out the storm if things get dicey. Store your hurricane emergency there too.

Monitor Hurricane Conditions With A Phone App

The American Red Cross has a Hurricane app that allows you to monitor conditions in your area, find help, and let others know you are okay.

Have A Hurricane Emergency Kit

The first step in your Hurricane Emergency Kit is for each family member needs to have  a 72 Hour Kit that is ready to go in case you need to evacuate. Bonus points if your 72 hour kits include sleeping bags too.  Our post on Simple 72 Hour Kits will walk you through this.

Water

Because of potential flooding contaminating the local water supply, it is important to have enough water on hand to get you through 2 weeks. That comes out to be 14 gallons of water per person.   And that is only enough for drinking.

Furthermore, flooding brings Dangers of  Standing Flood Water, that those of you in Hurricane country need to be aware of.

Did you know you can get about 30 gallons of water from your hot water heater?  We show you how in our How to Get Emergency Water From Water Heaters post.

Pro Tip: *this post contains affiliate links A good item to have on hand in this category is a Water Bob. Simply unfold the Water Bob into your bathtub and fill it with 100 gallons of clean water from the faucet.  Without enough water you are not going to survive hurricane season.

Pro Tip:  With a hurricane comes the need to know how to survive a Boil Notice.

*this post contains affiliate links below

Food

Two weeks of food for each person in your family.  Stock up on items that can simply be heated up, or items that only require hot water to create a complete meal.

Powerless Cooking

The odds of the power going out during and after a hurricane are high.  Having  a safe way to cook indoors, even if it is just heating stuff up, is important to be able to survive hurricane season.  I really like these GAS ONE Butane Stoves.  Please, stock up on fuel too.

Light

Hands down, one of my favorite survival lighting options is the Luci Inflatable Solar Light. No batteries needed.  (hint:  There’s a two pack inflatable solar survival  lighting option too.)

Flashlights for every family member.

Camping lanterns to light up common family areas.

Survive Hurricane Season

Two Weeks Worth Of Your Every Day Supplies

Medicines
Feminine Supplies
Toilet Paper
Paper Plates, Cups, etc.
Matches
Batteries
No Rinse Wipes for Sanitation
Hand Sanitizer
Baby Items
Pet Items

First Aid Kit

Stock a good first aid kit and know how to use it.

Weather Radio

I’m sorta partial to the Midland NOAA Emergency Weather Radio. It has a solar panel, hand crank, and a rechargeable lithium battery too.  Another good option is the Kaito.

Portable/Solar Chargers

Cell phones can be true life savers during disasters, as long as they are charged, and cell towers are still up. A portable charging station is a necessity.  It’s also a good idea to have a land line during a disaster.

Battery Operated Fans

It’s summer.  It’s humid.  There’s no power and nerves are fried.  Having a battery operated fan for each family member will make life much more survivable.

Generator and Fuel

I know these are expensive.  I also know that during extended emergencies they save lives.  If there is anyway you can manage it, get your self a generator.  If you already have a generator make sure it’s in working order.

PRO TIP: Want to learn more about how to survive hurricane season?  Ready.gov has got some great information to help increase your preparedness.

Have you ever experienced a hurricane? What were your most needed preps?  What did you wish you had?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: checklists, preppers, survival

DIY Beard Oil Recipe With Essential Oils

April 30, 2018 By ParkerMama Leave a Comment

Do you love a man with a beard?  Then give our all natural DIY  beard  oil  recipe with essential oils a try!  Not only is this beard conditioner perfect for unruly beards, it keeps dry beards flake free.  Your man have a smooth beard, and healthy skin underneath that beard too.

BTW, if you need oils I have a FANTASTIC rebate on the Young Living Premium Starter Kit going on right now!

DIY Beard Oil Recipe

The Benefits Of  Our Beard Oils

Jojoba Oil is actually a wax that is liquid at room temperature.  It has a fantastic glide and is very conditioning  for beard hair.  It’s lightweight and absorbs leaving no greasy feeling.

Pumpkin Seed Oil has a high level of fatty acids that assist in maintaining smooth skin tone and speeds up the repair of irritated, dry and flaky skin.  And it just makes beard hair look grand.

Nutrient-rich grape seed oil is rich in anti-inflammatory antioxidants that work to slow the aging process and prevent outbreaks.  Grape Seed Oil is a light oil that absorbs easily.  It’s also easy to find and cost friendly.

DIY Beard Oil Recipe Ingredients

*this post contains affiliate links

1 Ounce  Jojoba Oil

1/2 Ounce  Ounce Pumpkin Seed Oil

1/2  Ounce Grape Seed Oil

4 Drops Lavender Essential Oil

6 Drops Frankinense Essential Oil

6 Drops Cedarwood Essential Oil

Dropper Bottle  This should fill (to the very top) two 2 ounce dropper bottle, or one 4 ounce dropper bottle.

The Method

This really is simple.  Mix all DIY Beard Oil Recipe  ingredients into a 2 ounce dropper bottle.  Massage 4-5 drops into the skin under the beard and smooth over hair as needed.

Looking For More Essential Oil Recipes?

Homemade Organic Brown Sugar Scrub Bar

Lavender Charcoal Soap DIY Homemade Soap Recipe

Homemade DIY Gardner’s Soap With Essential Oils

How To Order Young Living Essential Oils

Filed Under: Essential Oil Recipe, Essential Oils, Uncategorized Tagged With: essential oil, essential oil recipe, young living

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Why Worry About Preparing?

Preparedness for a disaster makes a lot of sense. With recent and predicted events like Hurricane Sandy, The Colorado Wildfires, Fiscal Cliffs, and rising food and gas costs just in 2012 there is no denying that things are changing in our world. Whether or not you believe "The End of the World As We Know It" is near there are plenty of everyday things to worry about: loss of a job, health emergency, local weather events to name a few.

I find that I worry less about the big "what if's" out there the more emergency planning my family does to deal with the unexpected. I will share the survival tips and tricks I have learned while on this preparedness journey and hope that you join in with lots of comments. We all have a lot to learn from one another.

Now, lets get started prepping! Pick a post and start reading. At the end of every post the blog randomly selects three more survival posts for you to check out. Set aside 10 minutes a day to build your preppers knowledge base. We can never be done learning or prepping, right?

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