This Was Yesterday, by G.P.

Today was no different than any other. The sense of peace was in the morning breeze. Some of the most beautiful birds were singing, as if they wanted the world to know they are blessed with no worries. The morning dew gives the air an almost sweet smell of perfume. Kids are briskly walking down the street, so they limit the chances of missing their bus. Parents are rushing off to work in an almost robotic manner. News stations are broadcasting news, and radio stations are playing music. Smiles, frowns, tears, and fears fill the faces of society. Many people …


Seasonal Items and Survival Steps, by P.F.

It never ceases to amaze me when something seemingly trivial that occurs in my life can lead to so much self reflection and totally change the direction I travel, so to speak, in my life planning. I recently decided to purchase a spare, portable plug-in heater for my camper, in the interest of redundancy. So, off I went blissfully unaware that this simple, last-minute decision would alter the course of history, my history that is. I went to my local big-box store and soon realized an important issue I had never thought about before– seasonal items are difficult to find …


Time “OUT”, by K.T.

Any serious survivalist has thought through numerous scenarios and situations, right down to the most seemingly insignificant minutiae. I have been engaged in various stages of “preparation” for over 40 years now. Over the last 20 years or so, I have noticed that the vast majority of the public, in general, counts on assorted digital gimmickry to keep track of time. As a result, many people now do not even wear a wristwatch; they just pull out their ever-present cell phone to see what “time” it is. Of those who do wear a wristwatch in the traditional style, an ever-increasing …


Food Less Fortified: Vitamins in a Time of Grid-Down Existence – Part II, by PA Jes

Today, we’ll conclude the article reviewing the vitamin situation in a SHTF scenario and how to provide our body with necessary vitamins without bottled vitamins or vitamin-enriched foods. Vitamins D, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E are reviewed in Part 1, so go back and read it if you missed it yesterday. Vitamin K Vitamin K is necessary for the body to produce blood clots. Blood clots are the body’s method to control bleeding. Without enough vitamin K, people could easily bleed to death. Worldwide, vitamin K deficiency is a major cause of death in newborns, a result of …


Food Less Fortified: Vitamins in a Time of Grid-Down Existence Part I, by PA Jes

TEOTWAWKI can take on many forms. This article is directed towards those who will transition (or already have transitioned) to locally-grown, seasonal, and non-processed (non-vitamin-fortified) food. This includes food produced as a result of homesteading, self-sufficient living, or surviving in a situation where trucks stop stocking supermarkets with vitamin-fortified food, multivitamins, Florida oranges, ocean tuna, and so on. Will America regress to a level of malnutrition typically seen in a third world county? This article is written to be a practical guide to surviving in a vitamin-deficient world, describing some of the key vitamins and their respective government-directed fortification in …


Two Thousand Miles Into the American Redoubt, by M.H.

The following is an extensive review of my journey into the American Redoubt over 11 days and 2,000 miles in July 2014. My traveling companion, during this time, was my adult son, who shares my concern for the rather dim future ahead. My wife of so many years preferred to leave to me the filtering process on which communities we will decide to move to when the time comes. This is not my first trip into the Redoubt but my third; however, this is my most extensive. There is little in life that is more boring than someone else’s travelogue. …


Preserving and Storing Food Safely – An Overview – Part II, by N.M.

Types of Preserving Now that you understand, from Part 1 of this article, some of the reasons to preserve and priorities in preserving correctly, let’s consider which preserving methods you may want to use. Preserving methods include multi-step processes, like soaking, skimming, rinsing, hanging to dry, freezing, canning (in mason jars), smoking, and sucking air out of bags, containers, and buckets. Your choice of which method to use is governed by the food. For example, you would usually freeze berries but dehydrate and vacuum seal tomatoes and strips of meat (jerky). You could can (in glass jars) green beans, though …


Preserving and Storing Food Safely – An Overview – Part I, by N.M.

Preserving food has become an important focus of many families. After reading this article, you will understand what is involved in preserving and be able to decide if it’s for you. Food prices are soaring, and food quality and quantities are decreasing. You can save lots of money by buying things on sale or take advantage of bulk purchases, because you can preserve the food and use it later. You will be protecting yourself and your family by having safely stored nutritious food in the event of an emergency, and you can help your neighbors. With all these pluses, it’s …


Apiculture, by Z.T.

I want you to think about the most expensive liquid per unit volume that you can. What different liquids came to mind? Gasoline or other petroleum based products? Sure. I am sure many of you thought of bottled water; as crazy it sounds, it is up there. Still, no, that’s not the liquid I am thinking of, though all of those are certainly expensive. This liquid is sweet. It’s extremely useful.  It’s fairly hard to come by. It is commonly referred to as “liquid gold”. Have you figured it out? It’s honey. Many of you are raising your eyebrows at …


Seventy-Five Ways To Save Money For Prepping, by E.S.

There seems to be a significant uptick in the number of people who are concerned about preparing for unforeseen circumstances. Have you been studying on the necessity of prepping, but you wonder how you can afford it? Do you read article after article that outlines someone else’s backup plan, the backup to the backup plan, as well as plans A, B, and C on any number of topics? Are you concerned about inflation and food prices but can barely afford to feed and clothe your children? So am I. Flash back to 2012, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the …


Lessons Learned the Hard Way About Food Storage, by The Northern Prep

This is our fourth year of prepping, and we are planning to make a full-time move to our retreat location by spring. We believe the Lord is compelling us to move now, and we are working diligently to get there as soon as possible. By the way, if you have been paying attention, the world looks really bad. This weekend was a significant eye-opener, as we cleaned and inventoried our pantry for the move. I would like to share the experience. However, before we do so, you need to have a bit of our background for a full understanding, so …


Growing Without Pests And Without Pesticides, by T.D.

Chemical free gardening for organic food and ornamentals is no harder or more expensive than conventional growing. Remineralization by adding rock powder is perhaps the most important component, bringing the soil back up to the balance of trace elements the plants require to naturally resist pests on their own. Long before there was agriculture, there were plants that managed to grow, thrive, reproduce, and survive to the end of their natural life. They lived and died, and anything that ate them lived and died, all in the same neighborhood. This pattern continued until the last hundred years or so. The …


The Joy of Canning, By DDR

Food preservation through canning is a skill still practiced extensively in the rural areas of the United States, but people who live in the cities rarely consider canning because it is no longer a part of the urban culture. Most city dwellers wouldn’t have the first idea about how to start canning, much less how to develop a viable food storage program through processing their own food. Canning is a skill that is not only important to our lives right now, but it will become even more important in the event of TEOTWAWKI, because there will likely be no more …


Common American Plants, Trees, and Weeds for Surviving TEOTWAWKI Survival, by Christine W.

I once read a very interesting article from a survivor of the Bosnian Collapse of the late 1990s.  This was a true end of the world as they knew it event, and it was fascinating and eye opening to read. One of the things the author talked about in his extensive article was the most useful skills to possess. Medical knowledge was the highest on his list. Lacking real world medical training, people with the knowledge of the uses of herbs and plants were able to trade and use that skill to survive. Most people in America can’t identify even 1% of …


Hydroponics: An Update, by D.P.

Today I have an update for you on my hydroponics adventures. The system has been up and running all season (April 20 – November 1) so there is a lot of information to be shared. The system currently includes 12 beds – 4 outdoors and 8 in a greenhouse – for a total surface area of 56 sq.ft (~ 5.5 m2). An in-depth description of the system was published last year on Survivalblog. I made only 1 substantial change since then and that is in the way the polyethylene drain pipes are connected to the beds. The connections need to …