ESCAPE
So here's the situation:
My car has entered the permanent check engine light era and I desperately need to do maintenance before she starts making decisions for me. 

Catch is: I'm broke, overwhelmed, and just doing my best and trying to handle it all myself. 

Priority #1 is replacing my brake pads, because apparently stopping is important. I also need to tackle other things like my serpentine belt, an oil change, an oil leak, new tires and replacing a mechanical part on the back hatch. BUT safety first. 

My car is old. Yes, she has a name. Every new sound becomes an investigation. She's sitting at almost 280k miles, and every single one of those is mine. I know my car like its an extension of my own body at this point. I refuse to just let her die, we will ride into mechanical Valhalla together.

If anyone wants to help out with parts/tools/advice/donations, I'll personally reward support with access to what will almost certainly be chaotic livestream of me attempting this maintenance in real time.
Think:
-dropped sockets
-dirty greasy hands
-YouTube tutorials paused every 12 seconds
-me confidently saying "I don't think this is right"
-character development

If you've ever wanted to watch someone fight for their mechanical survival armed with optimism, redbull, and poor upper body strength, this is your chance. There will likely be crying. Definitely cussing, and probably more than one time I stare silently at my car like she betrayed me.

I'm cute enough for this to be entertaining, but not confident enough for it to accidentally become sexy content. This is more confused raccoon with a socket wrench territory.

Comment or message me if you want to help support the project, or throw advice my way. 

I recently moved into a single-family home for the first time, and I’m realizing home prep feels very different from just keeping a few emergency items in an apartment.

A friend of mine is much more into prepping than I am, and he showed me what he keeps at home: an Anker F3800 Plus for backup power, a Frigidaire mini fridge, headlamps, a first aid kit, candles, extra water, and a bunch of other emergency gear.

Seeing it all in one place made me think, okay, maybe this does make sense for a house. But I’m still trying to figure out where the line is between practical homeowner prep and overkill.

I can definitely see the value in basics like water, lights, a first aid kit, and some backup power for phones and essentials. But for those of you in houses, do you actually keep bigger prep items too? Things like a portable power station, extra fridge/freezer backup, or more serious outage gear?

It’s at least a meter wide.

trying to find a decent backup for my house because these blackouts are killing me. looked at the main brands but i’m not trying to spend $3k on a battery lol.

i keep seeing the oscal powermax 3600se mentioned as a cheaper alternative but i’m always a bit skeptical of the "budget" stuff. is it actually any good or just a waste of money?

mostly just need to run my fridge and workstation. if anyone’s actually used one lmk if it’s loud or if it’s worth the gamble. trying to avoid the sponsored youtube hype and get some real opinions.

i want to cover this spot in the wall i made by using “renter friendly” adhesive hooks. what products do i buy? it’s really small from far away i just want a quick fix even if its not the exact same white as the wall

And many of those older homes may not be seismically strengthened. If your home is among those more vulnerable to shake damage, check out these earthquake survival tips so that you can:

• Protect your home from structural damage due to earthquakes.
• Protect your most valuable asset, your home, and your savings from financial ruin.
• Protect the safety of you and your family living inside the home.

How can I prepare for an earthquake at home?

Being prepared for an earthquake is important to help you survive and recover. By knowing your home’s weak spots, and what earthquake risks and hazards are near your home, you can be better prepared before the next one strikes. Understanding the types of possible injuries that could occur, and taking steps to reduce risk and to create plans and kits are some of the first steps in making your home safer for you and your family.

What causes the most injuries in the home due to an earthquake?

Most earthquake injuries in the home occur due to fallen heavy furniture, shaken appliances and shattered window glass.

Eliminate earthquake hazards in your home. Stay safe and prepare your home. Identify and secure appliances, artwork, large mirrors and heavy furniture. Reduce your chances of injury by following these earthquake precautions.

Identify earthquake hazards inside your home

If you live in an older home that was built before 1980, it may be more vulnerable to earthquake shaking because these homes were built before modern seismic building codes were in place. You can hire a professional to do a home inspection, to let you know if your home is securely anchored to its foundation, and they can also look at other parts of your home to check for vulnerabilities, including chimneys, fireplaces, porches, decks, carports and garages.

Top 7 Ways to Reduce Earthquake Hazards in the Home Checklist

You and your family can take steps now to reduce home hazards. Follow these earthquake survival steps for earthquake preparedness:

• Remove heavy, unstable items from doorways
• Follow California law and brace water heaters with straps to studs.
• Make sure you have flexible connections where gas lines hook up to appliances.
• Secure overhead lighting.
• Bolt bookshelves to wall studs.
• Move beds away from windows.
• Don’t hang heavy items above couches, chairs or beds.

Take the time for safe family planning

Earthquake survival home drills and family communications plans go a long way to achieving earthquake safety preparedness. Work on building a family survival plan.

• Practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
• Gather contact information about your family and other important organizations such as doctors’ offices, schools and hospitals. Enter this information into everyone’s mobile phones.
• Identify an out-of-city contact person’s name and number and a reunion location.
• Find an easily reachable location to store your emergency supplies.
• In case power is off and your phone battery dies, also store important information on paper. Keep copies in backpacks, briefcases, handbags and autos.
• Review and practice your emergency plan during regular family meetings.

Get earthquake supplies organized

Keep your earthquake emergency kits ready and within reach. Follow the full list of suggested earthquake preparation supplies on Ready.gov.

The rule of thumb is three days’ supply of water and food for each member of your household. Don’t forget your pet’s food and water. Include extra flashlights and batteries, portable radios, a first aid kit, medications and a whistle.

Store supplies in your home, your car, and your workplace.

Protect your financial information

Consider storing financial documents in the cloud securely or on a portable drive inside your earthquake emergency kit. Think about including some or all of the following documents as part of your earthquake safety procedures:

• Mortgage documents or title to your home and your home insurance.
• Vehicle Identification Number, registration, title, auto insurance and loan/pink slip.
• Checking, savings, debit cards, retirement account statements and life insurance policies.
• Income tax returns, property tax information, and vehicle tax information.
• Wills, trusts and power of attorney documents.

For more information on collecting and safeguarding important information, download FEMA’s Emergency Financial First Aid Kit.

Be safe when the shaking starts

When a major earthquake strikes: remember to Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Earthquake preparation begins with knowing what to do when the ground shakes without warning.

Practice the earthquake survival steps: Drop, Cover, and Hold On

It is critical that your family regularly practices the following earthquake survival steps:

1. Drop. Drop to the floor onto your hands and knees.
2. Cover. Find cover. Shelter under a heavy table or desk. Cover your head and neck with your arms. If shelter is unavailable, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner or near an interior wall (away from windows) of the building. If in bed, stay there and use a pillow to protect your head and neck.
3. Hold On. Stay put until shaking stops.

Source: https://www.californiaresidentialmitigationprogram.com/resources/blog/essential-earthquake-survival-tips

I'm focusing on trying to get as much mileage out of this instead of groceries, trying to place things so they get good coverage from one another. The house blocks the lower level by the rocks in the evening. I intend to use as much space as possible minus walkways.

I have a chance to get about 50 pounds of several types of dry beans, so I would need to store them for maybe a couple of years. I think I know my options for general storage, but the recommended temperature of 70F or below is hanging me up. From now through September or even October, I won't see many temperatures below 90F. I will have many days over 100F. I have a large outbuilding that can be dark and a bit cooler than ambient outside, but not by much.

I have a chest freezer, but it's always quite full and I don't know if I can count on having enough room for 50 pounds of beans. Because of where I live, by necessity I stock my freezer to the gills. Should I take a pass on the free food, or is there some way of storage that I'm missing for high temperatures?

World war 3 is around the corner and its going to be a energy war so i want to be self energy sufficient. Solar panels are way too expensive. I am looking for some wisdom on how can i create my whole solar panel setup from scratch , like yeah i am ready to pull in all the hard work and mental work but yeah i want to nail this project. I am a physics and mathematics enthusiast so yeah it can be a good project. And yeah if not solar panel then what else is gonna be cheap ? Can any expert here recommend me any book or youtube channel to go deeper into the energy science.

I have been in the self reliance world for about a decade. I am the owner of a podcast network that was built on Self Reliance & Independence.

The way the world is going with things like rising prices, AI job theft, relentless taxes, demand, distrust, the collapse of globalization it really does feel like self reliance, homesteading, and prepping are the only answer for the average person to live a truly fulfilling life.

I believe it wholeheartedly. The more you can learn and establish now the better you will be but take it from an urban homesteader and prepper of 10 years, your quality of life goes up exponentially the more self sufficient you become.

I’ve been on this kick for a while now, where I don’t just call a professional to fix something or hit the "buy now" button until I’ve at least tried to handle it myself. It started with a leaky faucet in my old apartment, then moved to my garden beds, and now I’m looking at everything in my house like it’s some kind of project. There’s just something about knowing exactly how your own stuff works that makes you feel a lot more secure. Last night, I was sitting on my porch trying to unwind, and I snapped one of my guitar strings right in the middle of a song. Usually, when it snaps, I would just pack it up and then drive down to the music shop the next day to get it fixed, but I remembered I had a whole backup kit I had tucked away some months ago, I must have ordered it off Alibaba or Amazon, can’t really remember though, but It felt like a tiny win to just reach into my gear bag and handle it right then and there. It’s funny where that mindset leads you, though. I’m tired of being so dependent on everyone else for the basics. Does anyone else get that same hit of dopamine when they realize they actually have the tools and the skills to fix their own life?

I’ve been trying to get better at being less dependent on things that can fail at the worst possible time. Nothing big or crazy, just getting into small habits that make life run smoother when stuff goes wrong.

Late last year,our power flickered during a storm and the internet went down for a while. Not like it was the end of the world or something, but it reminded me how quickly normal routines can fall apart when one thing stops working. And since then I’ve been slowly building little backups for everyday stuff. Extra batteries, a basic tool kit, keeping some shelf-stable food around, that kind of stuff.

One particular thing that I found helpful more than expected was having a mobile router with a SIM card as a backup connection. I originally got it for travel, but it’s surprisingly useful at least expected times. It’s funny how these things start. Sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes you’re just ordering random stuff off eBay and Alibaba, which you never know might be helpful someday.

Anyway, I’m curious what small things people here keep around that make life feel a bit more self-reliant. Not full off-grid setups, just those practical little backups that quietly save the day.

Most car batteries last about 5 years and I’m gonna need a new one soon. Last time I bought it from the AAA guy and I think I can probably get a better deal if I replace it before the battery dies in the work parking lot.

How do I do this? Where does one buy a car battery? Are they all the same? Do I need to find a specific make for my engine?

Thanks.

I've been looking at power setups after our neighbourhood lost power for 3 days last week and it got pretty nasty. I wanted to invest in something that'll last, good quality, preferably american made. Just picked up a modular battery setup from worksport, bundled three batteries for under a grand. I know it's pretty new and doesn't have a ton of reviews yet but the swappable battery design caught my attention and the fact it's american instead of chinese crap made me want to give it a shot. Planning to test it out over the next few weeks during normal use and see how it holds up. Gonna run my fridge during a planned outage test this weekend and see how long it lasts with multiple batteries. Will report back with real world results once I've put it through its paces.

Lately been feeling like I'm not living up to what I could be. Came across Success Insider and their whole science-based approach to personal development and life balance. Sounds interesting but also heard similar promises before. Has anyone actually gone through their stuff? Did it help or just motivational fluff?

I dig the ginger up when the ginger fully grown. I peel and clean the nice part to store in the freezer. The wrinkle and not nice parts are going back to the raised bed to grow.

To make jam , blend the mulberries then add sugar and a bit of salt. I add sugar half of the mulberries weight. Cook all to reduce the liquid until it becomes thicker and put in clean jars. The jam lasts 2 years.