RF Scanning for Preppers – Part 1, by R.W.

Sir Franics Bacon is attributed with saying, “Knowledge is power.” And nothing could be more true than when it comes to prepping for emergencies and SHTF situations. When the forces of nature or the whims of men (or women) turn life upside down, we need to have a plan for reacting. If you’re reading this then you, more than anyone else, understands how true this is. For those who are unprepared it can literally mean the difference between life and death. Shortly after I began writing this article the people in Texas were put to the test with massive loss …


What To Do with Trash?, by Mrs. Alaska

Living remotely means, among other things, that we receive no municipal services for trash and garbage disposal or recycling. Surely anyone with a hunting cabin or a bug out location has had to do some of the following: We have become very intentional about what we haul out to our home because we have to figure out how to dispose of what remains! I have been inspired by Internet sources like “1000 uses for wooden pallets” and whimsical yard art from cans as well as techniques referred to now as “zero waste kitchens,” which I realize, applies to what I …


The Five “C’s” of Prepping, by Mr. B.

It strikes me that as a prepper, whatever your level of commitment and however you become involved in prepping, that we all go through various feelings and stages. I have pondered recently – in light of unnecessary lockdowns, “mandatory” face masks, and threats of imposing questionable vaccines – that one might interpret that there are five stages of “being”. These are my Five C’s. Let me explain: Challenged The first is being challenged. This is the starting point when you are challenged by a moment or thought, an action or a reaction, to an event that takes you out of your …


Tool Maintenance, by Richard T.

I’m now 73 years old and can’t remember ever not having tools. In my mother’s diary she wrote about little projects I made before I even started kindergarten at the age of four. Some of the tools that I have today were my father’s. These include a hammer and some tinsnips. They outlasted him and those and others will outlast me, if they are maintained properly. This is where most of us fall short, me especially when it comes to tools for tasks that I’m not particularly passionate about. Outdoor yard projects fall into that category. For a tool to …


Post-Collapse Barter: The Value of Silver – Part 1, by Dr. Derek King

You, as an avid reader of SurvivalBlog posts, know a few things for sure: 1. That the spot prices for physical gold and silver metals have been tremendously manipulated and suppressed for decades. 2. That if a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) from our sun (similar to the Carrington Event in August of 1859) strikes our country and our planet, that ALL of the semi-conductor circuits, electrical transformers, and vehicles dependent upon those parts will instantly become inoperable. And 3. That the Dominion Voting machines would not be used in the next elections. If an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) struck the …


AAR: Winter Storm Uri, by Rocket J. Squirrel

Editor’s Introductory Note: The following is the third After-Action Report (AAR) that we’ve posted in SurvivalBlog about the recent severe winter weather in Texas. Anyone who lives in a temperate region should read these AARs closely, and learn from their experiences. Make adjustments to your home/retreat’s backup power system, water system, heating sources, and insulation. If nothing else, these AARs illustrate that you need to now how to repair copper, PVC, and PEX pipe, and keep the requisite tools and repair pie and fittings on hand. — I live in a suburb south of downtown Houston, Texas. We woke up …


A Prepping Change: My Move to New Mexico, by M.J.

I recently moved from Southern California to New Mexico because I requested a transfer to my employer’s office out there. I lived most of my life in Southern California; please feel free to read my 2019 SurvivalBlog article about prepping there. The road trip was long, but interesting. I drove through the beautiful desolation of the Mojave Desert on I-40. I saw vistas worthy of any Louis L’Amour novel. There weren’t many passenger vehicles like mine; most of the vehicles were trucks. After the Mojave, night fell and I was rolling through the Kaibab National Forest. I caught a glimpse …


Movie Review: Mr. Jones, by Large Marge

I visit elderly shut-ins.  Yesterday, instead of us puttering in her garden, one old gal that I visit insisted we spectate at television programming. She wanted to watch a 2019 movie from Poland called Mr. Jones. Although filmed in Poland and crewed by Poles, this award-winning movie is in English. Sub-titles are available for hard-of-hearing folks. The script, acting, costumes, sets, and production values are equal or better than anything from ‘major Hollywood* studios’. Based on historical events, I strongly recommend it, and yet… I hesitate to recommend it. Although well-made, several minutes of this were very difficult for me …


Lessons Learned from the Texas Deep Freeze, by B.B.

Texans had two weeks warning about the artic cold set to hit the state last month. Yet most Texans were not prepared. It is estimated that 80 people died from the cold and lack of power. Some froze to death from lack of heat while others died from carbon monoxide poisoning trying to stay warm in foolish ways. It started Sunday night with rolling blackouts in my area, but complete power outages in some areas. For my family, rolling blackouts continued through Wednesday night, ending in the early hours of Thursday morning. During this time, many lost water service, either …


Leatherman Wave and Skeletool, by The Novice

It was a beautiful late-July evening in southeastern Alaska. I was on a work team helping a missionary supported by our church. The missionary’s organization was updating an old fishing lodge to serve as a halfway house. The goal was to provide a place to mentor native Alaskans who had recently been released from prison. I was tired in a good way. We had been busy all day clearing land at the lodge for a sawmill site. Now we were enjoying a quiet evening. A friend from church was fishing on the river nearby. I was just watching, because I …


Basic Computer Privacy and Security, by Liber T. Y.

First of all, a few disclaimers: 1. I am not a computer geek and I am not good at coding. I am merely a layman who has found some useful tools for computer privacy and security and knows a thing or two about computers (I’m also not a lawyer so any legal ramifications should be talked about with a legal professional). 2. This article is about what a layman can do to secure their computer and browse privately in the Windows operating system (OS). As such, not all of the products listed herein may work in an Apple or Linux …


Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 2, by J.T.

(Continued from Part. 1. This concludes the article.) Onions 1. Onions can be started anytime between February 25 and April 27. I grow my Walla Walla onions from seed not from sets that have been started by another grower. You can begin harvesting these about 125 days after starting the seeds. 2. Using the small containers, start by filling each with 90% starting material then soak each one. Next, put 50 to 60 seeds in each pot, then cover 1/8″ with potting soil, then very slowly add enough water to soak the last 1/8″, trying hard to avoid the seeds …


Volume Vegetable Gardening – Part 1, by J.T.

This article describes the steps required to raise a variety of 14 vegetable plants from seed starting to a successful harvest. I’ve been at this for 50 years and feel like I am getting closer to getting it done right. I raise vegetables and fruit, manly to sell from a roadside stand. Yearly, I grow about 4,200 pounds of vegetables and 1,500 pounds of apples, plums, and pears. Our family uses only 30% of this yield, so that leaves a lot to sell. The following are what I believe are the most important preparation and focus points for a successful …


Preparedness Principles – Part 2, by Old Bobbert

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Bobbert’s Principle #5 – Principles are never my personal possession I try daily to practice the principles regularly promoted on Sundays as being the right way to conduct my life, and as to how I should treat others, and what to teach my family, But I am also fully aware that these fundamental principles are not owned by any belief system. We can confidently look to any, and every, good and worthy example for enlightenment and information. Additionally, as preppers / leaders, we must never forget that “Being Wrong Does Not Make …


Preparedness Principles – Part 1, by Old Bobbert

In this two-part essay, I will relate some Profoundly Productive Proper Preparedness Principles:  “Protection From Failure.“ Part 1 is general, while Part 2 is quite specific and has lots of links. Disclaimer:  The contents of this article are offered only as educational information freely available to the general public. There is no intent to promote or enable any type of illegal, immoral, insurgent, destructive, dangerous activities, communications, or conduct. I find it distasteful that living in these times that I feel obliged to post such a disclaimer. — Introduction “Principles.”  It’s not just another dull word. No, it is an …