# Simplest survival living



## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

I'm single and currently not in good shape physically. I'm trying to break things down to the simplest way of meeting my basic needs. 
Some preppers go to elaborate lengths in their prepping but I'm just looking at basics.
I am setting up a new homestead from scratch so I can design it for this purpose from the beginning. It is hot and humid with an average of 46 inches of rain per year. There are 3 very dry months in the summer usually.
Looking at that level of rain I will be doing rainwater catchment. Especially since there is a lot of oil field activity in the area that sometimes pollutes the ground water. Know a fella that ended up spending north of $50,000 to filter the oil and salt water out of his household well.
Livestock will be limited. I love animals too but I'm going to assume that feed will be scarce or too expensive to buy. So I will only have things that can be fed from local resources. Earthworms, bees, chickens and maybe fish.
I have a lot of acreage and could easily feed a cow, sheep or goats with grazing but not sure I can manage them physically at the moment.
Earthworms can be used as the protein source for the chickens and fish if I decide to include them. I dry vegetable trimmings for feeding the chickens in the winter. 
That's pretty simple. Little to no feed expense. Also these are things I can do without being robust. 
I'm having a shipping container cabin built. Ample for my needs. Bullet proof. Will be painted camo and placed in thick woods so it isn't immediately obvious. Will have an outdoor screened in kitchen to keep heat out of the cabin. Plenty of wood for a wood cook stove even if I just use small branches. I use a cordless sawzall to trim branches and cut them up. Can be recharged with solar and it's light enough I can handle it without becoming fatigued quickly.
My goals on a garden are to keep it small but productive. I live in the south so I have a long growing season. I will have a small greenhouse and I have shade cloth for putting over poles in the summer. Greywater will be used in the garden if necessary or I have a year around creek. 
While I do have whole wheat in storage I hope to learn if I can grow it here. It's not a crop I've ever seen grown here. If not I will figure out what grain can be grown. Maybe rice or amaranth.
Next purchase will be a manual seed press for oil. Since I won't be raising a fat rich animal like pigs I need a source of fats. The oil press, long term salt storage and fresh herbs should take care of my food needs.
My plan other than rice, flour, dried bean, sugar, salt and coffee (planning to have a bed of chicory. Love chicory coffee) doesn't depend on a lot in storage. Rather I am planning to have daily supplies. If someone were to come and take my stores from me(yes I have the means to defend myself but I could be surprised) it would be a big inconvenience but not something I can't overcome. If the chickens were taken that would be bad. Need to think on that. Extra seeds will be buried in a vault for an emergency.
I am placing a solar system on a trailer in case I need to move it. My particular physical problems mean I have a lot of trouble regulating my body temperature. I need air conditioning. This is reasonable to do with only 320 sq ft of cabin. I will be building an exterior wood stove to heat with in the winter to keep smoke out of the cabin.

What are your minimums? We are being told there will be shortages. Inflation is out of control. If you don't have your basic needs planned for, now is the time.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Forgot to add. The least practical thing I will have is my mini schnauzer. Love is important so maybe he isn't impractical. 
I have abundant wild hogs. I am very immune compromised so they would be the last thing I would consider eating but I am researching if I can use it for dog food. 
Lots of wildlife and Grandpa taught me how to trap and hunt on this very same land when I was little. Trapping would be preferred as it doesn't require buying ammo and is silent.....if I can keep the wild hogs from taking my catch.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

puled pork is cooked to death shouldn't be anything able to live through that , the issue would be handling the carcass , wear gloves.

carnitas with pork , peppers and tomatoes is good stuff 

dogs can absolutely eat port if you don't cook it with the peppers , but that mini probably would take 2 years to eat a big hog


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

TxMex, aren't you in central Texas? Wheat's not grown here much.

I have eaten the feral hogs. Can you shoot?

Do you have pecan trees?


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> TxMex, aren't you in central Texas? Wheat's not grown here much.
> 
> I have eaten the feral hogs. Can you shoot?
> 
> Do you have pecan trees?


I'm in northeast Texas in the Tyler Longview area. I've never seen it grown here either though pretty sure it's grown in the panhandle.
Looks like amaranth grows well here. A member of the same family...pig weed...does outstandingly well here. Quinoa may be another option. I was looking up rice and apparently it has a lot of pests here. Field corn does really well. I'm hoping buckwheat is an option.

I shoot very well. At least I did before being put on these horrid immune suppressants. Now I have tremors. I normally shoot a 2 inch grouping. Hoping I can mostly keep it inside 4 inches. Trigger pull may not be very smooth.

No pecan trees currently though they grow well in this area. I have some huge black walnut trees along the creek that the squirrels usually beat me to. Also some worthless water chestnuts. I do have some old heirloom fruit trees scattered around. Papa bought up old homesteads and any adjoining land he could to put together the ranch. So there's old wells that have been filled in, occasional patches of daffodils and easter lilies to show where houses used to be.
Quite a bit to be foraged if my cousin hasn't killed everything by dousing it in herbicide.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> puled pork is cooked to death shouldn't be anything able to live through that , the issue would be handling the carcass , wear gloves.
> 
> carnitas with pork , peppers and tomatoes is good stuff
> 
> dogs can absolutely eat port if you don't cook it with the peppers , but that mini probably would take 2 years to eat a big hog


I can't handle the carcas at all. It is not just disease that is the problem.....though that is a major problem because I don't have an immune system to speak of. I currently can't handle the weight nor do I have the strength to cut it up.
I received a transplant almost a year ago. I expected to go on to have a normal life. If anything I am much worse off than I was before transplant. The medications are really bad. They keep me so pulled down and weak that I can't do a lot. 
I keep an infection. Within a week of getting off of an antibiotic I am sick again with a new uti. I am currently raising hell with the Drs but it does no good. I am working on changing Drs.
So I'm praying I get stronger but I'm 10 months post transplant and my hope is beginning to diminish. So I am trying to figure out how I can meet my basic needs with the ability I have now.
It's not that I don't know how to cut up a hog....or deer....or fish, etc. 😉


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I get it , getting old isn't for the weak transplants are a further complication 

and every day you have to accept your not as good as you were and hope you can be a little wiser to cover for it.

I hope you can get what you need to get better.

when medical conditions take over you find yourself figuring out how to live day to day in the normal times , let alone SHTF stuff


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## starrynights (Oct 7, 2021)

TxMex said:


> I can't handle the carcas at all. It is not just disease that is the problem.....though that is a major problem because I don't have an immune system to speak of. I currently can't handle the weight nor do I have the strength to cut it up.
> I received a transplant almost a year ago. I expected to go on to have a normal life. If anything I am much worse off than I was before transplant. The medications are really bad. They keep me so pulled down and weak that I can't do a lot.
> I keep an infection. Within a week of getting off of an antibiotic I am sick again with a new uti. I am currently raising hell with the Drs but it does no good. I am working on changing Drs.
> So I'm praying I get stronger but I'm 10 months post transplant and my hope is beginning to diminish. So I am trying to figure out how I can meet my basic needs with the ability I have now.
> It's not that I don't know how to cut up a hog....or deer....or fish, etc. 😉


This is a hugely complicated situation you are into. I am sitting here thinking of how I am living and I actually have it quite good. I know this is out there, but have you thought of not staying where it's so hot and humid that your body is fighting to keep a even temperature, like not sweating so much? When I lived in the south I hated the humidity...had to stay in a lot. I am also immune compromised. There isn't one good place for you and me re the temps. i am in the north and it does snow a lot here, but the summers and fall are doable. You also have access to top notch hospitals and doctors. There are plenty of homes where gardens can be grown and animals kept if you want. I too would only want small ones, chickens just for eggs,...the Uti infection is because you have been on so many antibiotics that they only work if you keep taking them. Also check what you are eating---no raw honey, milk ,nuts little sugar and no home canned foods at all. I have a bit of a problem with my diet but I work around it. As for the UTI---
When you have an antibiotic-resistant UTI, it means that the bacteria causing your infection isn’t responsive to antibiotic treatment. This happens when bacteria evolve in response to frequent or constant antibiotic use:

People with underlying medical conditions or chronic UTIs are at the most risk for antibiotic resistance.
I sure wish I could help you because I know how you feel...I have had it too. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help, you cannot go on this way.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

GREENCOUNTYPETE said:


> I get it , getting old isn't for the weak.


I'm not that old. Or at least to me I'm not. When I was in my teens 50 was ancient but now I'm here it doesn't seem so old.
2 years ago I was single handing a 30 ft sailboat in the Pacific. A year or 2 before that I was toting around 100# beehives on a regular basis(the joys of being a migratory beekeeper without all the fancy equipment).
I am accustomed to being very strong.... unusually strong for a woman.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

@starrynights I have no doubt you are correct. I could tell you a long story about an incompetent surgeon removing infected cystic kidneys but I text with my thumb only and it would take too long lol.
I was on antibiotics for 4 months before I was septic and they finally put me on IV antibiotics.
I cannot imagine living up north. I have seasonal affective disorder so badly that I usually spend the winters near the equator. Texas is too overcast. I'm solar powered! Now I'm solar powered with a wide brimmed hat and long sleeves.
The property I'm moving to is where I grew up. I'm moving from dry west Texas because of lack of medical care. 
I have over 300 acres, free and clear, of mostly creek bottom with a glorious high hill with huge oak trees that looks down over the bottom. No I can't use it but I love seeing the wildlife and having that buffer between me and others


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

When I saw my grade school principal died in the news paper , I thought he must have lived to around a hundred no not even that far into his 70s , meaning he was about 40 when I knew him through school , he was my grandpas neighbor also.

man 40 doesn't seem old at all once your passed it


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

If you don't have a dog for companionship, you could end up making a friend from a soccer ball. Keep the dog.


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## wdcutrsdaughter (Dec 9, 2012)

@TxMex your plan is so thorough and well thought out, I wish you all the best. 300 acres sounds delightful, I wouldn't mind that big of a buffer from people either! At our old place I could watch our neighbors tv from my own house.

I understand why you couldn't come North, winter can be rough for sure. In the woods where I am the sun doesn't come over the trees much at all until early March. 

We have thought about basic needs and taken some steps towards ensuring them as best we can. Life is so unpredictable.


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## Hard Aground (Oct 4, 2020)

Danaus29 said:


> If you don't have a dog for companionship, you could end up making a friend from a soccer ball. Keep the dog.


Wait, wasn't that a volleyball? Lol... in the 'CASTAWAY' flick?


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

Hard Aground said:


> Wait, wasn't that a volleyball? Lol... in the 'CASTAWAY' flick?


true but a soccer ball is going to be a lot easier to find in Mexico.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Hard Aground said:


> Wait, wasn't that a volleyball? Lol... in the 'CASTAWAY' flick?


Yes, you're right. Soccer balls have the black spots. Wilson was all white. Excuse my confusion. My school was so poor that we had only basketballs which were used for everything, including dodgeball.


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## Hard Aground (Oct 4, 2020)

Wilson was ALL WHITE??? "RACISM!!!"


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Five or six chickens, and two goats if you want milk. Hatch a bunch of chickens during the summer, and put them in the freezer for winter. Or just butcher them as needed. With a deer or a hog every now and then, you will have all the food you need.


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

it doesn't take long to go downhill even if you haven't had something major wrong. i hurt my back beating ice around a couple months ago and i haven't been the same. i figured i was finished and i might as well be dead if i can't get in my gardens. should have been there a couple weeks ago. 

my son kept telling me. you'll come back out of this mother like you always do. yesterday around 3pm when i was exercising i felt like something in my back had slipped back into place. got up this morning cleaned out all my roses and clematis and staked them. did all the vacumning downstairs and whatnot. couldn't even bend down before. had to use one of those grabbers? if i wanted to pick something up.etc. 

i'd like to get at it and do all that hasn't been done in 2 months. i probably better slow down though. it's too bad that some of us who are likeminded live so far away from the others who are having a little trouble right now. we could all work together and have things done in no time. take care TxMex ~Georgia


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Let’s start a goats, chickens, and gardens retirement community for women.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

TxMex I, too, have a suppressed immune system. 

1. You need a urologist. Mine told me to get the cranberry pills THAT ARE MARKED 3X, and to not bother with the grocery store bottles. The grocery store types are not strong enough. I buy mine through Wonderlabs.com. Also if I get a UTI I can call the urologist and he will call my pharmacy and that usually covers it in a matter of a few hours or so. Urologists do not delay when there is a UTI, and I get one once or twice a year. I used to get them more often but the 3X cranberry and drinking more water reduced that a LOT.

2. Also I am supposed to measure my water. 8 cups whether I want them or not. 

3. Also, about the homestead. I suspect that you will need something to ride when you take fertilizer and such out, the harvest back in, moving firewood, the prunings of your fruit trees, etc. Because even small exertions add up quickly and you will get twice as much work done if you use something to reduce your work load. I use a scooter chair that pulls a cart, but since you have a larger place you might want a golf cart or something similar. 

4. Lastly I no longer can: instead I freeze and dehydrate. I am subject to running out of energy with no notice at all, and that does not work if you are timing a kettle full of processing food. It is much easier to slide the tray of what you were working on into the dehydrator, wash your hands and call it a day.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Sorry who has 300 acres?


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

i must check out those cranberry pills.we supposedly have a big snow storm coming in monday so i'm heading to wmart in the morning. they usually have everything in the line of pills.

i have only had one ITU in my whole life and the doc that i saw was so surprised. guess it's a common thing according to him. my sis told me to take apple cider vinegar with the mother and i have ever since. a glass of water with 3 T every morning. that was a few years ago and have never had another. i also put some in the bath. the pills would be good to have on hand though . ~Georgia


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Let’s start a goats, chickens, and gardens retirement community for women.


You are going to need a milk cow, and I know of one that might me for sale.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Let’s start a goats, chickens, and gardens retirement community for women.


I like it!!!



Terri said:


> TxMex I, too, have a suppressed immune system.
> 
> 1. You need a urologist. Mine told me to get the cranberry pills THAT ARE MARKED 3X, and to not bother with the grocery store bottles. The grocery store types are not strong enough. I buy mine through Wonderlabs.com. Also if I get a UTI I can call the urologist and he will call my pharmacy and that usually covers it in a matter of a few hours or so. Urologists do not delay when there is a UTI, and I get one once or twice a year. I used to get them more often but the 3X cranberry and drinking more water reduced that a LOT.
> 
> 2. Also I am supposed to measure my water. 8 cups whether I want them or not.


I was released from my transplant hospital earlier today. Part of my Urology team stopped by this morning. The concensus is that there's nothing else they can do for me. They feel the Infectious Disease Dr is who will be able to help me. I'll be here for 2 weeks taking IV antibiotics..... again.
If the Infectious Disease Dr doesn't put me on a preventative antibiotic my primary care physician/Nephrologist says she'll put me on one just to give me some relief from infections for a while at least.

I'm going to be changing from a 4 wheeler to an ATV with a dump bed.



Forcast said:


> Sorry who has 300 acres?


😁. It's a bit over 300.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

@TxMex, I'm sorry you are going to be in the hospital again. I hope this time you can kick the infection.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Ah you received a kidney. My husband is also a kidney transplant recipient.

Wishing you all the best, from one kidney family to another!


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Danaus29 said:


> @TxMex, I'm sorry you are going to be in the hospital again. I hope this time you can kick the infection.


The problem is that I'm pulled down so low with the immune suppressants that as soon as I get rid of an infection another pops up. So far these are all bacteria that occur naturally in our bodies. The immune system keeps everything balanced and we rarely have an issue. I basically don't have an immune system. I've begged my Drs to lower my dose or change my meds and they won't. As soon as I get moved I'm changing Drs.



Alice In TX/MO said:


> Ah you received a kidney. My husband is also a kidney transplant recipient.
> 
> Wishing you all the best, from one kidney family to another!


Thank you! I hope your husband had a better time of it than I have. I keep hearing about people having a normal life after transplant and I really hope it happens for most folks.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Methodist Hospital in Houston has an awesome transplant unit.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Methodist Hospital in Houston has an awesome transplant unit.


The one in San Antonio does not. I'm looking forward to transferring to one in DFW


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

An update. 
I have now gotten established with a new Dr in Dallas and he is changing my meds! I am now taking a medication by IV that will replace the worst offender of my meds. I took my 2nd infusion last Friday and was able to cut the dosage for the med it's replacing in half. In 2 more weeks I get to stop taking it completely and continue with monthly infusions. Wow what a difference even a few days at 1/2 dose makes! I am actually doing some exercises inside in the A/C! So I have some hope for being able to do a bit more than the bare minimum on the farm.
I ran into a legal snag with kin that's got me on pause but maybe I can get that worked out.
I have everything I need to set up rainwater collection, so of course it isn't raining.....and weeks on end of triple digit temps.
I ended up getting a double wide rather than a container home after getting prices on container builds. I'm basically going to just give the living room to my hydroponic veggies. I have dwarf papaya seedlings getting established now. Nice to have a bedroom to set up for sewing and storage.
All I can do currently is inside stuff because of the heat.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I am glad to hear your new doctor is trying to get you straightened out.

With temps over 100°F I would be inside in the air conditioning too. I don't function well in temps over 80.

I envy your living room devoted to hydroponics. I wanted to set up a growing room in my son's bedroom but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before that and I haven't had the time or energy to fuss with it.


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## Timbrown (7 mo ago)

TxMex said:


> An update.
> I have now gotten established with a new Dr in Dallas and he is changing my meds! I am now taking a medication by IV that will replace the worst offender of my meds. I took my 2nd infusion last Friday and was able to cut the dosage for the med it's replacing in half. In 2 more weeks I get to stop taking it completely and continue with monthly infusions. Wow what a difference even a few days at 1/2 dose makes! I am actually doing some exercises inside in the A/C! So I have some hope for being able to do a bit more than the bare minimum on the farm.


Glad to hear you're getting better!


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## 012345 (6 mo ago)

TxMex said:


> I can't handle the carcas at all. It is not just disease that is the problem.....though that is a major problem because I don't have an immune system to speak of. I currently can't handle the weight nor do I have the strength to cut it up.
> I received a transplant almost a year ago. I expected to go on to have a normal life. If anything I am much worse off than I was before transplant. The medications are really bad. They keep me so pulled down and weak that I can't do a lot.
> I keep an infection. Within a week of getting off of an antibiotic I am sick again with a new uti. I am currently raising hell with the Drs but it does no good. I am working on changing Drs.
> So I'm praying I get stronger but I'm 10 months post transplant and my hope is beginning to diminish. So I am trying to figure out how I can meet my basic needs with the ability I have now.
> It's not that I don't know how to cut up a hog....or deer....or fish, etc. 😉


If you have not tried it ... Stinging Nettle tea will help you a ton with the infections and UTI and if you can cook and eat the fresh greens it is great at helping with recovery. It isn't a miracle cure for everything but it is an amazing plant.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

HillFun said:


> If you have not tried it ... Stinging Nettle tea will help you a ton with the infections and UTI and if you can cook and eat the fresh greens it is great at helping with recovery. It isn't a miracle cure for everything but it is an amazing plant.


So will marshmallow root. Capsules are the most convenient way to take it. I used that for years before kidney failure. Very fast and effective.
The problem is that my immune system is literally suppressed. That's why I kept having infections. Thank God that the daily antibiotics are working! I've been without an infection for 3 months and it is such a relief!
If my body weren't being manipulated by the meds I would absolutely try stinging nettle.


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