[caption id="attachment_2448" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Sumatra, Indonesia, was hit hard by the December 2005 tsunami. (U.S. Navy photo by Jennifer Rivera.) "][/caption]

A true disaster brings with it much death and destruction. Whether the disaster is an earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, or a long-term power outage, preparedness is not about standing up to the impact of such an event. After all, you will die or you won’t. There’s not much you can do against the forces of Mother Nature or a nuclear warhead right in your midst. But what we must prepare against and CAN prepare for is what is called the “Secondary Kill.”

Preparedness is a full-time job for me. I live it, breathe it, and think about it constantly. Obviously I teach and write about it regularly as well. I used a Saturday this weekend to learn about how I can be better prepared. Then I spent some more “spare” time reading a novel that illustrates other possibilities I may not be prepared for yet. Why? Because I believe that preparedness is about honor.

[caption id="attachment_2326" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="US Military in Iraq, February 2008. Photo by Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images"][/caption]

Many people would label those who strive to be better prepared as paranoid lunatics. And yet they would not think of calling our honorable men and women who serve in the military, who are on night watch with AR-15s in hand right now, “paranoid.”

As you may already know, the use of coupons is mandatory for my personal preparedness of food and medical supplies. I have truly obtained a bounty of free or dirt cheap goods over the last 6 months that has nearly doubled my original supplies. As a result, it’s really freed up money for items such as solar ovens, fuel, pressure cookers, butane stoves, foam, etc. When I share this information in passing (read: Outside of the confines of my 3 hour Coupon Training Boot Camp) I frequently get a lot of negative comments with a touch of whining such as “coupons are only for junk”; “I can’t find coupons on items I use”;  “It’s not worth the time and effort it takes” or “I shop at Costco instead.”

[caption id="attachment_2289" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Grapefruit"][/caption]

Interesting. I have a new find that I want to share with you all. The funny thing is that I’ve had this item in my preparedness supplies for some time. But I admit, I had no idea what it was capable of doing. I had it in there simply as a “just in case” item as opposed to a SUPER multi-purpose item. It is *drum roll*… Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE).

[caption id="attachment_2173" align="alignright" width="138" caption="Morning Moos Chocolate Milk"][/caption]

Every two week, Preparedness Pro will be giving away one of my favorite food storage items such as freeze-dried strawberries, Morning Moo’s chocolate milk, Spiff-E-Whip, etc.

To enter to win, you simply need to comment on our articles—any one of our articles during the drawing time.