Practical things to know.....

So the unthinkable has happened. You have awoken to a new world.  The apocalypse has actually happened! You’re prepared though, right? How could you not be? You’ve seen all the movies and you never miss an episode of walking dead.  In fact you’re even up to issue #77 in the comic. Truth of the matter is, you’re not a sword welding blind man with the will of God backing you like in Book of Eli. Nor are you a genetically altered super being like in Resident Evil. You’re not even a certified gun instructor named Shane who’s trying to bed your “dead” best friend’s wife! Truth of the matter is you’re in the worst shape of your life. You’re 20 lbs over weight and can’t do a single push up. The only thing you ever shot were Nazi’s in Call of Duty. So what do you do? You start by throwing out 90% of what you think you know from movies and try to think practically.  First thing you need to throw out is the idea that most of these movies and or shows seem to take place in the warm months when staying warm isn’t an issue. Reality is, the apocalypse could happen any time.

Practical thing to know #1 HOW TO START A FIRE

So you’re not just going to get a wood log and put a match to it. Well maybe you will being that you don’t know any better. Good thing you’re reading this! First things first, clear a space for you’re fire. Last thing we want is for you to have this fire spread and destroy your shelter or damage other items you have for survival. You can dig a pit or make a circle out of rocks, just make the area safe. Now here are the items you are going to need to collect. Tinder, tinder is what’s going to catch the flame or spark to start your fire; we’ll discuss different ways to create a spark or flame at another time. It can be anything from twigs to paper to my favorite, lint from the dryer. The key is for it to be dry. Next step is to collect kindling and no this isn’t that thing you’re wife uploads books to. Kindling is what’s going to be the base of your fire. This can be larger pieces of sticks, smaller pieces of wood or cardboard. If you go the cardboard route I suggest old pizza boxes! I have many stored up. This is a hot topic of debate with the wife. She says it’s like we’re hobos and I say she’ll thank me when she is warm come the apocalypse! Finally you need to collect fuel. This is what you will burn over time. Logs, peat, coal even animal poop also called dung can be utilized.

Now let’s put it all to use. First thing you do is pile you’re kindling making sure that the is enough space for air to circulate, air is the key to fire, remember that, but make sure its not to spaced out. You want the fire to catch and spread. Next, place you’re tinder on the kindling and light it (remember we’ll discuses different ways to light fires later) once the tinder and kindling have caught a flame start to build the fire by adding more kindling to it slowly. Once you have established a small steady fire start to add the fuel. When adding the fuel you must remember to lay it out to create space for air flow. I was once told to accomplish this you should layer the fuel as if you were building a log cabin. Before you know it you will have a steady fire. Now you can stay warm, cook food and boil water to make it safe to drink.

Now you’re one step closer to surviving.  Good luck…you’re going to need it.