Guest Article: The Best Oils For A Worst Case Scenario – Part 1, by Melissa Mink

I am going to lay out the very best oils in my opinion to have on hand in a “worst case” scenario or emergency situation. I have used (ran a business and used personally) essential oils for 17 yrs now. They are a part of my life, in home and business every day. I am giving my wisdom, gleaned from experience and much research on the uses and abilities of essential oils. Although there is no replacement for a well-trained medical professional, I realize sometimes life puts us all into situations where what we need isn’t always accessible. So here …


Letter Re: Sanitation Considerations for Long Term Emergency Situations

SurvivalBlog, Reading all the back and forth last month regarding what to do after toilet paper is no longer available, lead me to the conclusion that I think we are making things much more dirty and complicated than necessary. I currently have a small one-gallon hand pump pressure sprayer in storage specifically for this purpose. It will be kept next to the toilet or outhouse and used essentially as a bidet. Simply remain sitting on the toilet, “power wash” the affected area, and dry with a clean cloth. You will still need to clean and disinfect the drying cloths, but …


Prepper Axioms That I Find Puzzling- Part 2, by N.B.

(SurvivalBlog Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SurvivalBlog, its editors, or its advertisers.) Prepper Axiom #3: “Grey man” I cringe every time I hear these words. It sounds so reasonable, but it isn’t. In essence, the idea is to make yourself so nondescript that no one pays you any notice. In theory, if they don’t notice you, then they won’t harm you. In certain situations this could work. However, I think it is very dangerous to apply it all the time. …


Letter Re: Prepper Axioms

Dear Editor, I have to comment on the recent article on prepper axioms. The author suggested oats were not part of his daily diet due to the preparation time. I was introduced to cold oats with fruit and nuts by an old girlfriend over 25 years ago. I have been eating cold oats for breakfast every day since then primarily to the taste but also for the quickness of the preparation. I make a large pot of oats. I boil 4 cups of water, then add 2 cups of oats with some ground flax seed and cinnamon. I stir the …


Prepper Axioms That I Find Puzzling- Part 1, by N.B.

(SurvivalBlog Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SurvivalBlog, its editors, or its advertisers.) My situation is not yours, and what works for me may not necessarily work for you. Only you can decide the best course of action for yourself. This article contains my opinions, which you may find useful. You may also find them bizarre or even shocking. Luckily, in accordance with natural law, you are under no obligation to accept my opinions. All that said, there are several prepper …


Recipe of the Week: Teriyaki Steak

Ingredients: 2 to 2½ lbs boneless chuck steak 1 tsp ginger 1 Tbsp sugar 2 Tbsp oil ½ cup soy sauce 1 clove garlic, crushed Directions: Cut steak into ¼-inch thick or smaller slices. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Place meat in a slow-cooking pot and pour the sauce over it. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Serve with rice Makes 5 to 6 servings. o o o Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!



Escape from New York- Part 2, by Ragnar

Evaluation In the after action review, I realized there were a lot of things I learned and will do differently in the future: The small almost empty bug out bag approach worked great, but there were a few items I had room for that would have been game changers in the event something happened. In the event I have to survive with just the bag and its contents, I have since added a few items. The first thing I added was a small water filter (like a Sawyer mini). Water is key, and this was a big thing to have …


Letter Re: Monitor Your Preps!

HJL, When it came time for the 6 month change-out of my emergency water, what a surprise to find how light the jugs felt! Both of my Reliance Products Desert Patrol 6 Gallon Traditional Jeep Style Rigid Water Containers had sprung leaks. Slow leaks, so I didn’t notice in my dry cool basement, but both were half empty. Okay, out they go! Then checking my Reliance Products Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Rigid Water Containers, one of them was light too, having sprung a leak some time in the not-too-distant past. One had a leak near the top from having the other …


Escape from New York- Part 1, by Ragnar

There you are, in your off grid solar powered survival complex somewhere in the Redoubt, in a very carefully selected location, stocked to the rafters with every conceivable supply and armament. You are completely prepared for literally anything that might happen. ”Bring it” is your motto. Happy and confident that you have reached the pinnacle of prepping, you sit down at the keyboard to take care of some work e-mail. You open the first email and find, congratulations, you’re going to New York City! New York City? For those of us who have not moved to the middle of nowhere …


Letter Re: Moving to Alaska

Hugh, This is just another opinion, but it may help. I moved to Alaska when I was young. I lived there for 28 years. It was a glorious time. Alaska is a beautiful place. It is a great place for young people who have lots of energy and are unafraid of work, seasons, and learning new things. I learned to hunt, to fish, to reload ammunition, to cut my own meat, and I got married. We now live in the Redoubt. There are lots of former Alaskans here. Why did we move? First, Alaska becomes more difficult to deal with …


Reloading Ammunition For WTSHF- Part 2, by S.B.

Having removed the spent primer, you now need to insert a new one. There are specialty tools available for this, as well as attachments to do this on your press. How your particular setup will work depends entirely on what equipment you buy, but all methods insert a new primer into the primer pocket in the base of the brass case. Exactly which primer you need depends on your cases. For example, some 45 ACP cases use small pistol primers, and some use large pistol primers. Your specific round formula ca be found in your reloading manual (e.g. standard or …



Letter Re: Buying and Selling Rural Land

Hugh, If you have narrowed down your list to one or two properties, consider chartering an aircraft to do a visual inspection. It might cost you $300-$500 but it allows additional validation of a significant investment. Even at 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL in pilot speak) you can quickly take some pictures, makes some notes, and assess things such as the terrain, trees or vegetation, and even a potential risk if say a neighbor has something on their property that could ultimately contaminate your water supply. I know some readers will scream “my privacy!”. Here in the USA there …


Reloading Ammunition For WTSHF- Part 1, by S.B.

First off, let me say that I am very grateful to have SurvivalBlog. Over the years, I have learned so much from the accumulated wisdom of the writers and the administrators. I felt that it was time to give back to this community, so I decided to share what I have learned over many years of reloading my own ammunition for rifle and pistol, while being conscious of both budget and space/OPSEC concerns. Please believe that you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars or have a 1000-square-foot shop dedicated to reloading in order to produce your own high-quality reloads …