Category: Contest

Homebrewing Benefits for a Prepper – Part 1, by Joseph R.

I’m a young man who considers himself a prepper. I love to pore over survival manuals and guides, stock up on resources, and prepare for an apocalypse. It grants me peace of mind in a crazy world. One day while reading a book on self-reliance, I came across a recipe for brewing amber American ale. I thought it would be a fun and simple thing to try, and when finished I could store some for an emergency and give some away to family and neighbors, potentially earning goodwill. When I did a bit of research however, I ended up going …


Why I Bought a Pluggable Hybrid EV Car, by R.G.

I live in the high desert in the Southwest on a 20 acre homestead within a small farm/ranch community of 200 hardy souls. My homestead includes all the typical accouterments of a homestead including wells, septic, gardens, greenhouse, tractor, barn, and animals. I recently installed a 8,000 watt off-grid solar system. A good-sized county seat town is 20 miles away with WalMart, drug stores, grocery stores, local hardware store, courthouse, and regional hospital within that 20 mile range. An extra five road miles gets me to a Costco and big-box hardware stores. A major city is 100 miles away with …


Caveat Emptor – “Let the Buyer Beware”, by Steve M.

As you make prepping related purchases, bear in mind that there are transactional risks that should be considered and mitigated. Two recent incidents have served as a reminder that business practices have changed, for the worse in my experience. Business accountability that we once took for granted, can no longer be assumed. A common saying of old was “the customer is always right”, but I’m afraid that Biblical principles are increasingly ignored and negative societal trends have permeated the business world, changing the focus away from a customer-first. Let me first summarize two recent transactions. I am of course withholding …


Lessons Learned from the Alabama Ice Storm, by H.J.

Some Recent History In June 2022, we sold our house and moved to a 38-foot long 5th wheel camper. After the Christmas 2022 cold snap, my wife gave me the riot act. We had to be out of the camper by December 2023. We found a house; we liked and bought it. It is not the ideal prepping spot, but it is a town to live in. In September 2023, we started moving into the house. We were surprised how much stuff we had in the camper. For reference, we also had three storage units full of stuff. To date, …


A Water System Adventure – Part 2, by E.R.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) I used 30 amp Anderson Power Pole connectors with 12 AWG (American Wire Gauge) stranded ‘zip cord’ for the connections. I did this so that replacing any potentially failed components would be quick and easy. Do however note that 12 AWG wire, while versatile, is considered slightly large for a pump that might use only 8 amps, intermittently. The inlet of the Shurflo RV pump was connected from the outlet of the storage tote using a fitting which adapted the IBC outlet to a garden hose thread. The outlet of the RV …


A Water System Adventure – Part 1, by E.R.

Many folks might take water for granted as being a mundane issue, although readers of this blog might be the exception. No matter, please read on. Our adventure began when the municipality decided that they no longer wanted us as a customer. “To really know something, one must go directly to people with immediate experience of the situation. You can’t really know by talking with someone who has only read about it.” – “The Great Taking”, by David Rogers Webb, p xxi. I am not a professional writer. Instead, I am a strong-minded individualist who insisted on paying my own …


My Solar-Powered Ham Shack Setup, by BMB

There are many things we need to prepare for before the ball drops, (SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, or whatever term you want to use) like water, food, shelter, bullets, medical supplies, aetc. But another item I feel is very important is communication with my family group. This article is about how I got into amateur radio, how I setup my basic solar-powered ham radio shack, and how I stay in practice with my equipment in my shack. I had been interested in Amateur Radio (a.k.a. “ham” radio) since I was a little boy, more than 50 years ago. I will soon be …


The Cactus Police, by Hubbyberry

We just got back from the grocery store where my wife bought a cactus. I’m not a “plant person” generally, but if it makes her happy, well, then I’m happy. Removing the new plant from its bag revealed it to be a dragon fruit cactus. FOOD!!! I am always up for food. A closer look at the label revealed more information that was odd. Turns out the company placed a registration number on the houseplant’s tag, which allows the consumer to register it online with the company. Needless to say, (but I am going to) this led us to investigate …


A Christian Prepper’s Response to Postmodernism – Part 2, by Benjamin Szumskyj

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Additionally, various elements of postmodernism do not fit together to form a coherent system; it seeks to exist as much as a coherent system, yet doesn’t want to exist as a coherent system. While postmodernists claim that there is an overarching coherence, this cannot be true as this is only true inasmuch as the individual believes it to be according to their view of reality and how they interpret knowledge. By its nature, it could have coherence, order, and structure and at the same time, seek to dispel these are real, possible …


A Christian Prepper’s Response to Postmodernism – Part 1, by Benjamin Szumskyj

From the ancient world to the contemporary, followers of Jesus Christ have encountered philosophies that often seek to compete or undermine the Christian faith and the Scriptures they are based on. The Apostle Paul, in writing a letter to the church at Colossae, exhorted to believers that they should ensure “no one takes [them] captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary” (Colossians 2:8). One of the most prevalent philosophies of the latter and current century’s is that of postmodernism. The informed prepper knows this. Postmodernism is the philosophy that rejects absolutes, …


End-Times Trends and Pre-Tribulation Events, by R.G.

The Old Testament of the Christian Bible (which is the whole of the Jewish Bible) gave many astonishing predictions of what will take place during the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI). The key passages found in the Old Testament include Psalms Chapter 83, Ezekiel 36-39, Zechariah 14, and Daniel 7-12. The last book of the Christian Bible, Revelation, and many other New Testament books are full of end-times predictions. Jesus combined most of these Old and New Testament prophecies about the end times when he gave the Olivet Discourse (Mat 24, Mark 13, Luke 21). This …


Handling Predators, by Hollyberry

Predators come in all shapes, forms, and sizes. Some have fur, feathers, or scales. Some of them walk upright among us. What exactly is a predator? As the name implies, they prey on a victim. Who doesn’t hum the theme to Jaws when stepping into the ocean? As soon as you enter the water, you become part of the food chain. Sharks are predators, we are the prey. When an animal preys upon another animal, it is usually not on a personal level, it’s to eat. Yes, sometimes dominance is involved. When humans prey on other humans, it’s all personal. …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced – Round 110

We’ve completed the judging for Round 110 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.  Round 110 began on December 1, 2023, and ended on January 31, 2024. (The contest runs in rounds that each last two months.) The prize-winning writers for Round 110 are: First Prize First Prize goes to A.F., for Winter Plumbing Preparedness, posted on January 13-14, 2024. See: Part 1 and Part 2. He will receive the following prizes: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite …


Encouraging Plant Pollinators, by Steve R.

Editor’s Introductory Note:  Over the years, we’ve published several articles on beekeping in SurvivalBlog. But this is our first fundamental article on pollinators.  If you want to have abundant crops, then you should encourage pollinators, locally! – JWR We are getting help with crops, fruits, nuts, and vegetables from little flying, crawling things you probably know little about. They are animal pollinators of plants. A book about pollinators has a first sentence of the first chapter that says it is impossible to overstate the service they provide to plants. You can do a lot to help pollinators, no matter where …


Heating Your Home With Wood, by Hollyberry

Nothing beats stepping into our toasty cabin on a subzero day to a nice, warm wood stove. Having had experience with all types of heat and fuels, wood beats all! As soon as friends come in, they stand right in front of the stove to warm up. The dogs fight over who gets to lay directly in front of the stove on the hearth rug. Our Jack Russell Terrier usually wins that argument. We do not have access to piped natural gas in this part of the state but there are many ways to heat your home. After trial and …