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The Practical Greenhouse Guide – DIY Greenhouses Done Right

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greenhouse with shade cloth on, attached to building. Pink flowers in foreground

There are many ways to extend your growing season. We cover many of the basics in “Protecting Plants from Frost – 12 Ways to Beat the Cold Weather“, but in this post we're focusing on greenhouses. There are a ton of DIY greenhouse options online, but many won't hold up to extended use, or they skip some recommended components (like good ventilation). In this post we're going to give you the information you need to choose the right greenhouse option for you – from cheap mini greenhouses to large hoophouses and earth sheltered greenhouses. We'll talk about greenhouse costs, types of greenhouses, locating your greenhouse and planning for operation. [Read more…]

Best Rechargeable Battery and Best Battery Charger

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Best Battery Chargers, Power Packs, Solar Chargers & Emergency Radios with Chargers, Rechargeable Batteries, Non-rechargeable Batteries & Battery Storage

My husband, August, did a ton of research to find the best rechargeable battery and the best battery charger for emergencies and every day use, so I asked him to help put together this post to share what he found out. We identify the best value and absolute best AA, AAA and 18650 rechargeable battery in this post. We also review a 21 watt solar panel that provides 5 volt USB power and emergency radios with built in solar and hand crank chargers to charge USB devices.  [Read more…]

The Best Cheap Flashlight – “Best of the Best” Cheap Flashlights List

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The Best Cheap Flashlight - Our recommendations for inexpensive, durable, multipurpose flashlights that are great for everyday emergencies and EDC.

As part of our effort to be prepared for everyday emergencies we went on a hunt for the best cheap flashlight. Our target was a durable inexpensive high lumen flashlight that we could give to children and not worry if it was lost. It needed to be a flashlight bright enough for power outages and lighting the back of the van at night.  [Read more…]

What to do About Spectre and Meltdown CPU Vulnerabilities

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Ways to protect yourself from Spectre and Meltdown. BIOS and Operating System Patches and updates to avoid being hacked.

August IV and August V here to help out with the latest round of computer bugs – Spectre and Meltdown. These CPU bugs can give the bad guys access to your computer. In this post we'll cover how these bugs can effect you, and what to do about them.

Warning: Watch for phishing emails claiming to have patches for Spectre and Meltdown. Be VERY SUSPICIOUS of Spectre/Meltdown emails and links. (They may be malware.) Instead, go to the vendor websites directly – for example, if you've got a Dell computer, go to Dell's official website. [Read more…]

What is The Plague, How Could I Get It and How Dangerous is It?

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What is The Plague, How Could I Get It and How Dangerous is It?
Laurie mentioned to me earlier this year about vanilla bean prices spiking due to a plague outbreak in Madagascar, so we decided to add basic information on The Plague to our Common Sense Preparedness series.

This post explains what the plague is, global plague “hotspots”, how you can get it, the three types of plague and symptoms of each type. We also discuss how to reduce your chances of getting the plague, protecting your pets and historical plague remedies. [Read more…]

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