Month: March 2026

Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — March 13, 2026

On March 13, 1639 Cambridge New College, Massachusetts was renamed Harvard in honor of clergyman John Harvard. The College was founded as a Christian institution. All students were expected to be proficient in Latin before acceptance into the college. Scripture reading and prayer gatherings were held twice each day, for all students.  Harvard College was founded with the motto: “All for the Glory of Christ.” It was changed to “Truth for Christ and the Church” in 1836. But the words “for Christ and the Church” were dropped from the motto in 1880, leaving the now familiar motto: Truth. (Veritas.) Pictured …


Understanding Hydrocarbon-Based Fuel, by Industry Guy

Editor’s Introductory Note: I’ve had many e-mailed questions about buying, transporting, and storing gasoline and diesel fuel in recent days. I also had a question about the available blends of gasoline. So, I thought it would be apropos to re-post a few fuel-related articles from SurvivalBlog’s deep archives.  This article dates back 16 years, to April, 2010. It was written by an anonymous reader in the fuel refining industry. Background Fuel supplies are essential for many aspects of modern society. Complex supply chains rely on hydrocarbon-fueled trucks, trains, and planes to deliver food and other supplies in near real-time. Natural …


Economics & Investing Media of the Week

In Economics & Investing Media of the Week we feature photos, charts, graphs, maps, video links, and news items of interest to preppers.  This week: A map showing the hours of minimum wage work needed for rent, as of 2025. The thumbnail below is click-expandable.       (Graphic courtesy of Reddit.) Economics & Investing Links of Interest Reported on March 6th: Oil surges 35% this week for biggest gain in futures trading history dating back to 1983. Oil soars then retreats, gold drops as Iran war jolts global commodity markets. Venezuela Inflation Hit 475% In 2025, The World’s Highest …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“We are all tattooed in our cradles with the beliefs of our tribe; the record may seem superficial, but it is indelible. You cannot educate a man wholly out of the superstitious fears which were early implanted in his imagination; no matter how utterly his reason may reject them, he will still feel as the famous woman did about ghosts, Je n’y crois pas, mais je les crains, — “I don’t believe in them, but I am afraid of them, nevertheless.”  – Oliver Wendell Holmes


Preparedness Notes for Thursday — March 12, 2026

March 12, 1850: The first US $20 gold piece (dubbed the Liberty Head, Coronet, or “Double Eagle”) was issued.  Later issues had the “In God We Trust” motto (as pictured above), so the early issues are now called “No Motto” coins by collectors. — March 12, 1940: Finland signed the Moscow Peace Treaty, capitulating to Russia and ceding 11% of their pre-WWII territory, ending the “Winter War”. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day Course Certificate. This …


Alternative Fuels and Lighting For When The SHTF, by Tractorguy

Something that we always stress to fellow preppers, is that “when the SHTF, what you have is all you will have,” stressing the importance of permanently sustainable and renewable things like wood heat, electricity from solar panels, etc. Once you have that covered, however, it is worthwhile to consider that some of the disaster scenarios we may have to cope with may be temporary – whether a weather event such as a snowstorm or tornado, or something medium-term like an EMP event affecting a smaller town where the residents are likely to pull together and survive. A limited-supply fuel may …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column: The Iran War and still more AI threats. The Iran Missile and Drone War Iran’s missile math: $20,000 drones take on $4 million Patriots.  Here is a key …



Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — March 11, 2026

On March 11, 1708, Queen Anne withheld Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill. This was the last time that a British monarch vetoed legislation. — March 11, 1897: A meteor entered the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded over New Martinsville, West Virginia. The debris caused damage, but no human injuries were reported. — And on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared that the COVID-19 outbreak was a pandemic. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three-Day …


Necessity is the Mother of Improvisation – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) At one auction, I found some very odd tools for some type of woodwork.  Upon research they were used by wheelwrights to make wooden wagon wheels.  I have an interest in several old trades but wheel making is not one of them.  On a trip to Holmes County, Ohio (in Amish country) I took those old wheelwright tools and traded them for some other tools (blacksmithing and chisels) that I did want at the Colonial Homestead Store, in Millersburg.  This store offers old but usable tools from many old trades.  Just walking …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — First up, over at Zero Hedge: The Fix Is in to Defeat Alberta Independence. o  o  o This piece by Paul Joseph Watson if one for the “England Has Fallen” file: He Didn’t See This Coming o  o  o A quite useful video: Installing My Underground Propane Tank.  JWR’s Comments: The crucial …


The Editors’ Quote Of The Day:

“What then is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interest alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind …


Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — March 10, 2026

On  March 10, 1831, the French Foreign Legion was established by King Louis-Philippe to support his war in Algeria. — March 10, 1891: Almon Brown Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patented the Strowger Switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching. — And on March 10, 1910, China officially ended slavery. But unofficially, China now has one of the world’s largest slave populations. These are mostly political prisoners, working in prison factories. Sadly, there is no way of reliably knowing whether or not most of the “Made In China” merchandise that you buy might originate …