LEAF SWEAT

Mindy’s got me thinking about water: the containers I need for storage, the amount of clean water I have ready for an emergency, sources for when the stored water runs out, and unconventional ways to collect water in an emergency.

Zoe, my eleven-year old granddaughter, and I went to a bona fide survival camp. We marched into the woods carrying our water, food, and shelter.

And then learned that survival is ninety percent positive mental attitude and a few important skills.

Water – It’s everywhere.

Our survival instructor showed us how to pluck water out of the air around us by making transpiration bags.

Transpiration is the process by which plants excrete water back into the natural system. Plants take in water through their roots. Leaves transpire excess water. Think leaf sweat. Heat and sun keep the process moving.  

Capturing the leaf sweat is as simple as tying a plastic bag onto a branch, putting a weight in the bottom of the bag (rock, pebble, or we used a chunk of metal from our tent gear) and waiting. Takes a while, so be patient. We set our bag up in the morning and had a glass of water in the afternoon. That's one transpiration bag. 

The water collected is pure and does not require purification the way water from an open water source (pond, ditch, stream) would.

Strain out any leaves and sticks with your handy dandy bandana (more about bandanas later) and drink up.

Linda (Full Glass) Zern     

WATER...easy ideas for prepping!

    Here are some different sizes of containers you can use to store water. The top left is a 55 gallon drum with a spigot (usually bought online from "prep" type stores like Emergency Essentials), top right is 5-7 gallon containers (can get from Walmart, and notice that they stack??), bottom left picture you can get anywhere! The bottom right picture....recognize the containers?? (it's a secret!)

 Remember in our last post, we talked about a minimum of 2 gallons per day, per person. These are a couple ways to approach the problem. I have used just ordinary 1 gallon water jugs from the grocery store. These are straight from the store with their "seal" on them. I put them in my bathroom closet and they lasted 3 years there before 1 sort of leaked. I have replaced the water in them twice with no problems.  My favorite are DeerPark gallons, which are stack-able if you can get the cardboard they are shipped in. Each week I picked up several until I had the amount I needed for my family. I also buy the water bottle cases from Costco that are now stacked in my pantry and marked "For 72 hr. Kit Use ONLY". Recently I had a friend find me a couple used 55 gallon drums (food grade ONLY)...at a garage sale. She cleaned and scrubbed them well and they are ready to use. The difference in price?? $4 each at the garage sale, and around $90 new. HOWEVER, I was saving my money to purchase them new because I felt it was worth the cost to have a couple of these filled and ready for use in an emergency. Last, but not least, is the "secret" picture. They are PETE bottles, being "re-purposed". The picture shows them filled with food, but they are great for storing water. PETE is a label (grading the plastic) which means it is FOOD GRADE (check the bottom of the container and your should see it imprinted). Once washed well they are reusable for food or water. We use soda bottles, juice bottles in various sizes, even reuse our 20 oz. soda bottles. They are FREE!! And, you're helping the planet :) Make a goal this week to bring in enough water for your family for ONE day.