[spagirus]

I'm kind of surprised that dumpster diving has been brought up in terms of getting 'stuff' but not getting food. CW said to not consider yourself above dumpster diving, but I say a real survivalist will not be above it for getting their sustenance too. There are people who live this way all of the time, and by choice, not just bums. The thing is that grocery stores and restaurants have to throw things out after their expiration date, but most of that food is good way after that date. Also, a lot of that food is still packaged when they throw it away, so you don't have to worry about it touching yucky stuff (ya know, if you wanna be a wuss about it). Personally I will eat anything that is free wherever it is, probably nothing on the ground is going to kill me, and if it even physiologically bothers me, it's probably making me stronger. I think that preconceptions and personal boundaries about dumpster diving for food will be a good thing to overcome in the coming times.

That brings me to another point. Don't be above going to places that hand out food. If you aren't homeless, I don't suggest going to homeless shelters or Salvation Army for handouts. Save that for people that really need it, but know that it's there, if you become one of the people that need such things, and don't let your pride keep you from doing it. I take pride in my ability to survive above all else. However, even if you aren't homeless there are organizations, such as Food Not Bombs, that prepare and serve free food for 'anyone that is hungry' (and guess what, they get some of that food from dumpster diving).

Wild food foraging is obvious and we've brought it up. I don't hear people talk enough about plant identification and foraging on this list, which is one of my favorite past times, and what I would consider one of the most basic survival skills. Not so obvious is plant foraging in an urban environment. Here in Austin I laugh at people who buy Rosemary as there are huge Rosemary bushes somewhere on every street, sometimes even right outside the door of someone with the stuff sitting in their spice cabinet. There are also lots of edible plants, especially fruits, that are grown for decorative purposes on streets and parks. Find official and political building complexes, like the state capital, they usually have gardens with probably a few edibles in there. Now I know the Tom Brown Jr. types are doing to be saying, 'but it's bad to collect plants in the city because of all the pollution, and that's just not natural'. That's just Bull****! I'm not saying pollution isn't bad, but you aren't going to get any more of it from consuming plants than you would just breathing it, which you are doing if you are in the city anyway. I've been eating plants in the city for a long time, and I've never experienced any ill effects from it (the cigarettes I smoke do me a lot worse I'm sure, quitting soon doggonit, I swear).

Dumpster diving, utilizing food services, and food foraging, even urban, are all great ways to save money and build skills. I would like to point to my tag line in this regard and add that the time to be building survival skills is NOW. Okay, duh, you all know that, but it's worth all of us reminding ourselves of this.

[garret]

what meat i dont get by hunting i buy from a wholesale butcher, just bought 1/2 lamb cut and jointed for about 60% of what you would pay n shops, i also have a vacuum sealer, buy in bulk and seal what you dont use straigt away, it lasts so much longer and meat doesnt get freezer burn.

i also now buy powdered milk and eggs, i dont eat a lot of eggs and buying 6 at a time 3-4 would be thrown away, now i just use what i need and reseal the pack for next time and the powdered milk saves me abbout 25% on real milk prices.

one of the best i have found is using cash and carry warehouses, most require you to own a business that is associated with what they sell - i.e foor prep or sales - but a couple dont and if you use them regularly you can make great savings

[ivan1965]

what gets me , last year in our area there was a bounty of fruit. you couldn't give it away, BUT i saw tree after tree with fruit on the ground, rotting, never being used, and the people still drove to the store to buy fruit.
i thought to myself, these people are gonna regret that one day.

[spagirus]

Originally Posted by ivan1965

what gets me , last year in our area there was a bounty of fruit. you couldn't give it away, BUT i saw tree after tree with fruit on the ground, rotting, never being used, and the people still drove to the store to buy fruit.
i thought to myself, these people are gonna regret that one day.

I agree Ivan. You make a good point about how much people waste just because they aren't thinking or observing or realizing the inconsistencies in the way we think about living. 'Where does fruit come from?' The modern response would be, 'Well from the store silly.' People don't even realize it comes from trees or bushes that might be growing in their own back yard, or their walk to work (or maybe people don't even walk anywhere anymore). I've eaten pecans, walnuts, hickory nuts, apples, oranges, sweet grass, wild strawberries, prickly pear fruit (and learned the hard way to be careful with those, wear gloves!!!), and probably countless other things that I'm not thinking about right now, oh dandelions and plantain, just that I've found walking somewhere. I guess I was just blessed with the skill of paying attention to my surroundings (which I think is THE foundational survival skill) or thinking outside the box, so to speak. One of my favorite cliches is 'waste not want not', and our modernized culture could do well to live more by those words of wisdom.

[carolina168181]

I read Stairman's post about the rabbits and their manure.My co-worker has two pet bunnies and was throwing away their manure.I told her you are crazy-here you are buying cow manure,when your bunnies are cranking it out at home.So now she has a compost pile started.
She also did not know how breederific bunnies are,so after 2 litters, she got hers "fixed".

[stairman]

The best way to fix em is to have separate cages. But I guess vets need money too. Just not from me.

[Dave]

I have been gifted with the ability to fix most mechanical things. I have repaired everything from cars to appliances for extra cash or just to help someone out. Back when my son raced motocross I used to buy dirtbikes and stripped them down. I would then sell the parts individually on ebay for the extra money. You could do this for alot of items to make extra money.
Since my house caught fire I have been doing some of the work myself to get credit with the contractor that the insurance company is using. This credit is allowing me to make some updates for little or no moeny.
I would definately advise people to buy a service manual on all of their vehicles. Read up on your vehicles. Alot of repairs can be done for alot less money with very little skill. You can buy a scan tool for $50 and see why your check engine light is on. Replace a sensor or tape a rubbed wire and save your self several hundreds of dollars. I work at a dealership and can tell you that most of the diagnostic time only takes a few minutes but you pay a hour or more.

[dukman]

Originally Posted by ivan1965

what gets me , last year in our area there was a bounty of fruit. you couldn't give it away, BUT i saw tree after tree with fruit on the ground, rotting, never being used, and the people still drove to the store to buy fruit.
i thought to myself, these people are gonna regret that one day.

Don't forget if you have goats.. THEY LOVE APPLES! If my dad sees apples rotting on the ground, he will usually approach the property owner and see if it is ok to harvest them. With permission, he fills up a couple 5gal buckets! If any are still edible, he usually makes applesauce. He fills up voids in the freezer with them, so the goats can have some in the winter too.

[ivan1965]

and the nuts. i've seen countless chestnuts falling and people will not eat them. too wormy, etc., is their excuse. they don't realize that the worm taste like the nuts. you can't tell. i like setting these aside for a few months in a dry place. let them dry all the way. easier to peel, and they are much tastier too. and the worms are usually gone. sometimes i'll freeze them first, or place in a refridgerator to drive out the worms and then dry the nuts.
people waste too much. way too much. this is one of the reasons why i left my exwife in october. i grew about a 1/4 acre garden , harvested fruit off our trees, etc.. she would process a little and then stop. she was more interested in her computer and sitting on her butt. i processed the majority of the food. and one day i left a bunch of tomatoes and peppers in a box and told her this ones yours. she said, ok. it rotted. then i processed pears and apples. i left some for her. she let them rot.
that sent me over the edge. weird thing is, she used to get into canning, processing, and loving the fruits and vegetables we grew and used and saved. something happened to her. and i am not sure what. insanity? or just sheer laziness. and i won't live with that.

[SMD]

Now this is my kind of thread! I can't believe it took me this long to find it, but now that I have I'll try adding a few of my own.

I remember foraging as a kid with my grandmother into the woods and picking edible ferns and such, but I found a ton of great resources that make even urban foraging a good possibility. This guy on youtube has over 70 videos on "eating the weeds"

YouTube - EatTheWeeds: Episode 01: Why Learn About Wild Foods

The first thing I check if I need to get something is Instructables - Make, How To, and DIY where they have a huge cache of do-it-yourself projects and instructions - very useful.

I also check craigslist.org's free stuff section often - as others have mentioned, it's amazing what people are willing to give away.

WARNING! - One subject that's not for.... *ahem*...everyone is toilet paper use, so proceed at your own risk! There are really two types of people in this world: folders and scrunchers. I'm a folder, my wife is a scruncher. I try and maintain a good wipe to sheet ratio; mine is 2:3, meaning I try and get 2 good wipes for every 3 sheets of TP. My wife, the scruncher, typically got a ratio of 1:10. The sound of the TP rolling and rolling was like money going down the garbage. Anyway, after some coaxing on my part, I'm slowly trying to convert my wife to be a folder, or at the very least a more efficient scruncher. We've got a long way to go, but we're making progress! TP expense is down to almost half now! Now I just have to make sure the girls grow up to be folders like their daddy :)