Berkley Water Filters are some of the best water filters you can buy. Clean water is an essential commodity for every type of work. But, water pollution has become a major problem now, and is life-threatening too.
Water pollution is very common in big cities despite of a lot of care being taken in purification of water. It is caused due to a myriad number of reasons and is difficult to find an effective way to purify water thoroughly.
Berkey filters can get out most kinds of water contamination and make water taste pleasurable at the same time. These filters have come a long way to assist this case and are now being used extensively. These ably protect us from microorganisms and dangerous chemicals as well.
Berkey water filtration purifier is an important part of history of water purifiers. The company that manufactures these water filters is as much as 200 years old. Berkey filters are very popular all around the world for their ability to work in all kind of environments. These filters are also used to operate on kitchen counterpart.
A gasoline addictive named MTBE is found in water. And, if a person consumes even a very minute quantity of it, it may destroy the kidneys and the liver of the person who consumed this water. This harmful additive is water soluble and it is very difficult to eliminate it. But Berkey water filters has ability to eliminate it.
Berkey filters are very cheap and easy to use as well. Sub-parts of these filters are easily available in market in case of damage. Again, each and every part is cleanable and, can be maintained very well.
Berkey water filters last long time even if it is used for longer durations. Berkey water filters are easy to reinstate and can purify water for few pennies per gallon. There are various models available and choice depends on how many people will be needing water per gallons.
Berkey manufactures a range of rain water filters. Making their use for household work will provide whole family with healthy, thorough clean water usable for drinking, bathing, cooking, etc.
All these benefits make Berkey water systems a terrific choice for both people in residential areas as well as people relying on well water in rural areas.

If you are trying to become more self-reliant the most important thing you can do is to become self-reliant financially. This will give you the freedom to do other things. Honestly, it is the most difficult thing to do as well. Honestly, it involves sacrifice. Living on less involves paying down debt, and to quote Dave Ramsey, you need to live like no one else, so you can live like no one else. My first step in becoming more self-reliant has been to eliminate debt from my life. This process took a couple of years. When I started, I had more bills than I had income. I was falling into debt each and every month.

How did I stop this cycle?
1. Eliminated extra expense each month. For me, this was Starbucks, I learned to make some of my favorites at home. I stopped magazine subscriptions, I stopped anything that I had to pay monthly on, this meant gym memberships, monthly heath and beauty products from the Home Shopping Club.

2. Commit to bringing lunch to work more times a week than you go out. For me this was a struggle, I worked in high pressure finance and my office didn’t have a place where I could go eat undisturbed. So I started with bringing my lunch 3 times a week. I also committed to eating breakfast at home. This was a continual leak in my budget, dining out around work.

3. Limit eating out. You know, I love to eat out. This was reeled back into once a week. I prepared food at home. I used Sundays to make things like chilis, stews, and the like so I could eat on them all week-long.

4. Review utilities, I live in Texas, so I can shop my electric rates. I reviewed these carefully, and looked where I could save. I bundled long distance and internet, this helped me to save too. I also purchased some fans so I could cut back on the AC.

5. Pay down debt. From Dave Ramsey, I used his methodology of paying down my smallest debt first, and then worked on larger amounts. This was helpful. I stopped using credit cards because of this. Look at the interest rates, if that doesn’t make you mad, I don’t know what will.

6. Put some emergency money aside. Start with 500, then work up to more. You need to have money put aside for a flat tire, an emergency trip to the doctor and more. If you have this cushion it is what I consider to be trouble insurance. If you have this, trouble can be kept at bay.

Once you get in a cycle of doing this, you will begin to have money at the end of the month, and this will start a new cycle that will become intoxicating. These are just a few tips that I have to help you live on less. The message that we receive from our society, we don’t need to have everything. We can live on less. I drive an older car, and I live in a paid for house. My house and car aren’t as nice as my peers, but I know that I don’t owe anything and that my friend, is a beautiful feeling.

Having lived through multiple hurricane preparations and subsequent storms I have learned a few items that I try to plan on having. I am a single woman, so my concerns tend to be what I can keep on hand, and they tend to be items that I can handle. I am not particularly handy or skilled in the finer points of how to handle fallen trees, or how to swap out wiring or other more complex things. My list here is what I strive for, to keep myself well taken care of for about a month of limited electricity and water.

1. Water – I have a house with multiple pets. I strive to keep about 60 or so gallons of regular drinking water on hand at all times. This gives me about a gallon a day, and it gives my pets about a gallon of water a day as well. In addition to this, I have a very large rain collection barrel of a capacity of about 100 gallons. I also keep a berkley water filter on hand as well. This filter will help me filter out other water should I need it.

2. Fuel for cooking. I have a gas grill with a couple of large tanks of fuel. I also have a very nice Green Egg ceramic grill that uses charcol. The green egg can make bread, or even act as an oven. In addition to these two items I also keep a solar oven that is ready to be used.

3. Storage food. Keep a supply of canned, dry, or instant foods on hand. These can come in forms of instant meals, instant breakfasts, or even cans you simply need to reheat. You can keep things on hand such as spaghetti sauce, canned soups, canned meats, and other foods that you might enjoy. If you have never been around during a hurricane, suddenly the stores are well empty. I hate fighting the crowds for a loaf of bread, and other items. It is easy to stock up on food that you and your family will enjoy ahead of time.

4. Hygine products – these include soaps, deoderant, laundry soap, feminine hygiene products and more should always be kept on hand. These are items that are easy to stock up and have on hand. You don’t have to go hog wild, but buy an extra or two on hand when you go to the store. There are a lot of products that I try to keep up a years supply on hand at any time. A lot of these types of products don’t go bad.

5. First Aid Kit – Have your basics on hand. Are you on a prescription, try to have a week or two extra on hand just in case. Work on having basic pain relief, anti-diareaal, cough and cold, and allergy medicine on hand. Also have clean bandages, and some products like neosporin on hand. You don’t need to stock up on lots of exotic bandages, start with the basics.

6. Lighters and Matches. How are you going to cook without these? We all may be able to work up our own fire, but next time you are in the grocery store pick up a box or two of “strike anywhere” matches, and have some on hand. If you like buy some that come in smaller boxes, so you have a box or two to give out to your neighbor.

7. Battery or solar powered radios. Many models are now made that will charge up your cell phones. You will want to know what is going on, check your radio at the start of the season that you might need it.  Don’t wait until you need these things, check them before hand, in  fact long before you will need that radio.

8.  Extra fuel and some extra cash.  When trouble is brewing go to the cash machine, and get cash, try to keep some small bills at the house at all times.  This way when the power is down, you still have a way to conduct commerce.  You aren’t going to be popular with all big bills.  Have a little extra gas on hand too.  You may need it to refill your car, chain saw, or even generator.

9. Extra batteries, and an extra phone charger.  So maybe you still have an old fashioned phone that uses a cord.  These typically always work as long as the phone company has power.  If you have a cell phone, try to get a radio that charges cell phones too.  Also, pick up that extra pack of batteries, before everyone else does.  Stores like Sam’s and Costco, have tons of batteries before a natural diaster, and less so, when one is coming on. Be prepared.

10. Clean clothes, I know, I may be stating the obvious here, but make sure you have some clothes that you can wear, make sure you have comfortable shoes.

There are many other items you should have on hand before you have an emergency.  But a lot of items are things you can have on hand long before diaster strikes.  So when doom an gloom is coming, you can focus on other things and not spend your time trying to nail down the essentials.

Info PR: n/a I: 18 L: 0 LD: 29 I: 1 Rank: 26202004 Age: n/a I: 0 whois source Robo: yes Sitemap: no Rank: n/a Price: n/a Links: 69|12 Density

While I personally don’t have beliefs that are this strong, many of their bits and pieces of the information will give you pause for thought. I personally think food additives, and genetically modified food is doing unknown damage to our food supply, and possibly future generations. I would encourage people to food from clean food sources. Unfortunately this means that food can be more expensive, and that you may be at times very limited in the food choices you can make.

I find mandatory vaccines to be scary, because at times these vaccines that are being released such as the swine flu vaccines were never tested on real people. How can we release vaccines to real live human beings without adequate testing?
Swine Flu Vaccine Passes Safety Test
People Refuse Swine Flue Vaccine Testing Due to Fears

While I don’t subscribe to all viewpoints in this video, I do think it raises many valid points, an it should give one a little food for thought.

All homesteaders and survivalists should keep a small flock of chickens. That sounds like an exaggeration, but the truth is that chickens are an important part of a simple lifestyle. Not only can chickens supply you with food, but they can also provide a nice income for your family. Chicken droppings are great for fertilizing your garden or helping to create rich compost. In addition, chickens are friendly and sociable.

You can buy chickens at your local farm supply store during the spring time. If you live in an area where there is no such store, you can actually purchase chickens by mail. When purchasing your chickens by mail, you need to by at least 20. This is so that the chickens can stay warm while they are being shipped. Always buy plenty extra the people who sex chickens while they are often right, you want to make sure you get plenty of hens when you buy your chickens.

For information on purchasing chickens by mail, you may want to check out the following catalogs:

Sandhillpreservation.com
This is a great catalog for chicken enthusiasts as there are all different types of rare breeds of birds that you can order. For many years, we had Bantam chickens with the feathers on their feet. Not only were they beautiful, but they were also great egg layers.

Strombergschickens.com
This catalog has everything in it. Not only can you purchase all types of chickens, but you can also purchase supplies to help take care of the chickens.

Once you have decided that you want chickens, you want to do some research on how to care for them. It is not hard to take care of chickens: they will need a pen for the night-time as well as a place for their water and food to be stored. Although some people install electricity in the coops to provide heat and light, this is not necessary, unless where you live gets an stays very cold for large parts of the year. We often used heat lamps to help keep our chickens warm.

During the day, I would let my chickens out of the hutch so that they could forage and get some exercise. If you decide to do this, keep their wing feathers clipped or they may fly away in order to explore your area! If you wish, you can make a portable pen to put the chickens in during the day. Simply put the chickens on a new section of lawn each day. At night, put the chickens back into the pen. You will find they will want to go back into their pen, they feel safe there, and they love to roost at night. Always put your chickens back into their pen before it gets dark. Chickens like to go to bed once it is dark outside.

I do not like to put their food and water inside the pen simply because it attracts mice, rats, snakes, and other pests. This is unsanitary. However, if you keep your water outside of the pen, that will usually solve the problem. Note that if you have cold winter temperatures, you might need to get a heated water bowl in order to keep ice from forming in the water. Either that or you can replace the water frequently during the day.

Most chickens stop laying as the days get shorter and the nights get longer. If you still want a supply of eggs during the winter months, you will need to install a light in the pen. Make sure that the chickens get at least 12 hours of light per day. Another positive thing about installing a light in the pen is that the light will give off heat and help to keep the chickens warm. Keep in mind that egg production will slow down even if you provide lighting. Don’t worry though, spring is just around the corner!

The biggest problem with the chickens is what to do with the chicken waste. I found that it is easy to clean up if you add some straw or pine mulch to the floor of the coop or pen. Simply shovel the mulch or straw out and onto your compost pile in the summer or onto your garden in the winter. Put new mulch or straw down on the floor. Then, repeat this process as often as necessary. How frequently you need to clean out your coop will depend upon the size of your flock.

We got our first chickens 20 years ago quite by accident. Since that time, our flock has increased and decreased depending upon a lot of factors. There have been times when I’ve given away my chickens simply because I felt it was too much work. Usually, I find that I am ordering a catalog a bit later and making plans for a new flock of chickens. I suppose I should just accept the fact that I don’t have chickens; they seem to have me.

There are millions of families each year In America that choose to home school their children instead of sending them to a public or private school. The reasons for homeschooling are as different as the families themselves and very from religious reasons to personal reasons and everything in between. Some families want to live a self-reliant lifestyle and feel that home schooling is a very important part of that lifestyle.

If you are just thinking about home schooling or haven’t done too much research into the concept, you may be surprised to know that each state has laws which govern home schooling. Laws differ from state to state and some states have many regulations and some have virtually none. Before you begin your homeschooling journey, it is important to know the laws in your particular state.

Check Out The Law

In order to find out more about the laws in your particular state, you can go to http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp. This is one of the best sites I have found to look up information on home schooling laws. Once you know the law, be sure to follow it precisely to avoid any conflict that could affect your homeschooling rights. For example, if you live in a state where you need to have documentation delivered to the school district by August 12th of every year, make sure your documentation is there on time.

Check Out Curriculum

Once you have taken care of the legal aspects of homeschooling, you will need to do some research in order to create a curriculum for your children. The Rainbow Resource Room puts out an incredible catalog for homeschoolers filled with over one thousand pages of educational items. I would definitely recommend getting a catalog. Go here http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php for more information on the company.

Check Out Socialization Opportunities

You may be worried about socialization. The truth is that your children will have so many opportunities for socialization that you will be amazed. In order to find other homeschoolers in your area, check out Yahoo groups. Look for socialization groups in your area, or look for groups in your state that discuss legislation, state homeschool conventions, and other state home schooling issues.

Check Out Homeschool Conferences

Probably one of the best things that new homeschoolers can do is to check out homeschool conventions in their area. Some conventions are sponsored by specific groups and targeted at homeschoolers who are of certain religious beliefs. Other conventions may be sponsored by a homeschool organization that works with homeschoolers of a particular state regardless of their personal beliefs. At a conference, you will have the chance to attend lectures and information sessions, meet other homeschoolers, purchase curriculum, and talk with vendors about their products. Most conventions last for several days because it is simply impossible to do and see everything in one day.

My Story

I began home schooling my children over a decade and a half ago as part of my desire to have a more self-sufficient lifestyle. I also wanted my children to grow into self-sufficient, independent thinking people when they were adults. Although there were days when I honestly wondered what I had gotten myself into, I can say that I have never really regretted my decision. At this point, you may be wondering how it all turned out. My oldest child will be turning 18 in a few months. She is now a self-assured, hard working, independent thinking young woman who knows what she wants out of life. For our family, home schooling was definitely the right decision.