Most people, once they get that far, figure that’s good enough. In this project, we’re going to greatly increase the protection of the entry door, spending all of perhaps $1 on the materials to do so.

MATERIALS

Screwdriver or drill

Wood screws

#1Open your front door and locate the hinges. Use your screwdriver or drill to remove one screw from the wall side of one of the hinges. Just one screw from one hinge, that’s all. Odds are that screw is fairly short, maybe 1 inch or so in length. These short screws are great for keeping the door upright and attached to the wall, but afford no real protection. An intruder could just kick the door down along the hinge side. We’re going to replace those short screws with longer ones.

#2Count the total number of screws used to attach the hinges to both door and wall. Typically, that’s six screws per hinge. Take the screw you removed down to your local hardware store and find wood screws that are the same diameter (thickness) as the one from your door, but at least 2½ to 3 inches long. Buy enough screws to replace all of the ones on your door.

#3When you get home, replace each screw one at a time. Doing it this way prevents you from having to take down the door and then rehanging it. On the wall side, the longer screws will go through the door frame and dig into the stud, affording you much more protection. On the door side, the longer screws will be much stronger as well.

COUPON STACKING

Few would argue that coupons can save you money at the grocery store. However, some folks just don’t see it as being worth the hassle. Finding a coupon in the paper, cutting it out, carrying it to the store, making sure the item matches the coupon—all in an effort to save a lousy quarter. Heck, you can often save that much just by buying the store brand, right? Here’s the thing, though. If you’re smart and you’re willing to do just a little bit of homework, you can save a considerable amount of money when you’re shopping.

MATERIALS

Coupon inserts from the newspaper

Ads from local stores

#1There are two basic types of coupons. The ones you find in the coupon inserts from the newspaper are called manufacturer coupons. These can be used at just about any store that sells the products. The second type is store coupons, which are found either in the store ads or perhaps in the store itself. These coupons can only be used at that store.

#2Stacking refers to using both types of coupons together to get you a better deal. Here’s how it works.

In this week’s ad, the grocery store has a coupon for granola bars, 2 for $3. Normally, these sell for $2 each. Just last week, you cut out coupons for that same brand of granola bars; each coupon is $0.75 off one box. By stacking your manufacturer coupons on top of the store coupon, you end up paying $0.75 a box.

Normal retail price: $2 each × 2 boxes = $4

Store coupon: $1 off on two boxes

Manufacturer coupons: $0.75 × 2 = $1.50 off

$4 – $1 (store coupon)–$1.50 (manufacturer coupons) = $1.50 for two boxes of granola bars

#3Many grocery stores today forgo the whole store coupon business and instead ask you to sign up for their loyalty card to get the savings. Some places call this “paperless coupons.” I know many preppers dislike such programs, as they feel they could be used to track purchases for nefarious purposes. If you feel that way, consider signing up for the programs but giving false information. Personally, I feel the savings are worth the infinitesimal risk of Piggly Wiggly knowing how often I buy canned chili.

PREPAREDNESS FLASH DRIVE

In the aftermath of a disaster, it can be critically important to be able to access certain documents. While a copy of your insurance policy might not literally save your life, it sure can make your life easier in the long run when you’re picking up the pieces left over from a tornado, flood, or other crisis.

The Preparedness Flash Drive is simply an electronic collection of the documents and information you’re most likely to need in an emergency.

MATERIALS

Computer

Scanner

Flash drive

#1This project is easy enough but can be rather time-consuming. You might find it best to break it up over the course of a weekend or two rather than trying to do it all at once. The basic idea here is to create and save a copy of all of your important documents. You might find it easiest to connect the flash drive first and create several folders within it. The better organized the data, the easier it will be to find if you’re under stress.

Property Ownership

Deeds to all real estate

Mortgage agreement

Lease agreement

Insurance Policies

Homeowner/renter insurance

Vehicle insurance (car, boat, RV, etc.)

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Financial Records

List of all bank accounts

Recent bank statement for each account

Copies of all credit/debit cards (both sides)

Copy of most recent tax return

Safe deposit box information

Medical Records

Insurance cards for each family member

Prescription cards for each family member

List of all of the family’s medical providers

List of all prescribed medications, allergies

Immunization records for all family members

List of blood types for all family members

Vehicles

List of all vehicles owned

Vehicle ownership records

Loan documents or lease agreement

Pets

List of all pets

Full medical record for each pet

Photo of each pet WITH family members

Miscellaneous

Recent photos of all family members

Copy of will

Copy of power of attorney

Copies of birth certificates

Copy of marriage certificate

Copies of all driver’s licenses or other identification

Copies of business cards for attorney, accountant, and other professionals

List of important phone numbers for extended family members and other loved ones

Copy of military service records, including discharge paperwork

#2Some of these records likely have been provided to you, or can be sent to you by the record holder, in electronic format. Just save a copy of those to the flash drive in the appropriate folder. For paper copies, you’ll have to scan them in order to make an electronic copy. When doing so, I advise you to make sure to use PDF as the file format. PDF is universally used and can be accessed using any computer. That said, do yourself a favor and download a copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader program to save on your flash drive, just in case the computer you end up using to access your data for some reason doesn’t have the program installed.

#3Another idea to include in this project will, for most people, be quite labor-intensive, but still worth considering. You might want to include scanned copies of any particularly treasured family photos on the flash drive. Yes, it will take quite some time to go through all of those photo albums as well as boxes of loose photos. But in the event of a house fire or other disaster, at least you’ll have the scanned photos. Many of us have multiple SD cards and other media that is storing our digital images. It would be a simple process to highlight, click copy, then paste them into a folder on the flash drive.

#4Naturally, many of these records are rather sensitive and you won’t want people to be able to access them if the flash drive is lost or stolen. Fortunately, you have a couple of options. First, you can password protect the flash drive. This is easily done with any number of free programs available online. Rohos Mini Drive and Comodo Disk Encryption are two options I’m told work extremely well.