Category: Contest

Getting By In Wyoming, by DBF

Retiring back in Wyoming, where I grew up, has been a real blessing. I had way too much of living in cities during my thirty years with the military. I think a lot of folks out here could be called preppers, but for us it is just the smart way to do things. We don’t have to wait for the system to collapse; every year the weather, or some other thing, has us getting by on our own. We use a lot of the techniques discussed on SurvivalBlog, and there are a few others I’ll list here that you might …


Car Emergency Kit, by Z.M.

The holidays are just over, and that means that many of you probably spent at least a few hours out on the road. Going to visit family is always a blast, but the journey doesn’t always tend to be this way. Life happens. Cars break down, traffic jams block roads, and blizzards can leave you stranded. Are you prepared for a similar situation? Just being stuck by the roadside by yourself can be bad enough, but can you imagine going through this with your spouse and/or kids? If this situation happened, would you have prepared enough to make sure that …


The Good News About Nuclear Destruction, by S.C.

What possible “good news” could there ever be about nuclear destruction coming to America, whether in the form of dirty bombs, terrorist nukes, or ICBM’s from afar? In a word, they are all survivable, at least for the vast majority of American families, IF they know what to do beforehand and have made even the most modest of preparations. Tragically, though, most Americans today won’t give much credence to this good news, much less seek out such vital life-saving instruction, as they have been jaded by our culture’s pervasive myths of nuclear un-survivability. Most people think that if nukes go …


How To Keep Chickens Laying Through Winter, by S.I.

I love my chickens. They are the most easy to care for and more rewarding of all farm animals, in my opinion. However, I am also a pragmatist. My chickens are here to DO something, and that something is lay eggs. These are not pets; they are food producers that I also find beautiful and entertaining. I provide them with a clean living environment, free-ranging fun, food, and protection. In turn, they provide me with eggs. When they stop laying eggs, my family eats the chicken. Some chicken owners may wince at this outlook, but my family lives on a …


Natural Pharmacology: Medicinal Use of Mushrooms/Fungi and More, by M.H.

(Disclaimer: the following is for informational purposes only. The correct identification of fungus is incredibly important. If you do not know what you’re doing, and even if you do, do a spore print test. If you don’t know what that is, you better study before doing anything. The following medical examples are exactly that– examples! Some of the natural properties are incredibly beneficial, while some are extremely poisonous. You must know what you are doing. All other medical articles are geared towards research and extreme emergency-only procedures. None of this document should be construed as medical advice; please refer to …


Lessons on Prepping From an Afghanistan Deployment, by A.K. – Part 2

We are continuing this article, from a Marine Sergeant, about lessons learned while living in a remote region of Afghanistan, Marjeh district, which seem similar to a possible TEOTWAWKI environment. Food After two months of eating nothing but MREs, I began to get sick of them and started losing weight. Many of my fellow Marines experienced the same thing. We started to barter batteries for food that the ANA ate. They had a cook and bought bread every morning from the Bazaar. They had chickens for eggs and meat, and occasionally they had a goat. Eventually we bought 12 chickens …


Lessons on Prepping From an Afghanistan Deployment, by A.K. – Part 1

My experiences as a Sergeant in a Marine Infantry battalion have ultimately changed my philosophy towards prepping. Living in a remote region of Afghanistan, Marjeh district, was very much like living in a TEOTWAWKI scenario. There were no roads, other than small cart paths, used by civilian and Taliban alike. There was no running water and no electricity. Locals pumped water from wells, if lucky, or drank from the canals. Electricity was a luxury and power came from a generator. Many of the locals were so poor they had never owned a single piece of any currency; barter was a …


Prepper Digital Security, by A.B.

In this day and age of digital information, our communications and data are open to a world of invasive agencies. Some of these agencies may be your nosy neighbor out to see what you are up to or an activist group gathering unguarded data to send to agencies of various domestic and foreign governments. Many of us in the prepper community have taken some measures of security to safeguard our data. Some people avoid the digital world altogether to dodge this issue, though not all of us are willing to go to that level of abandonment of technology. There are …


The Importance of Bushcraft and Survival During TEOTWAWKI, by M.R.

You’ve all seen it. Hollywood makes films of a plane crash or shipwreck that cause only one or a few survivors to end up on a deserted island. He or she– the main character– frantically panics at first, maybe even screaming. Then a few months go by, the camera cuts back to him or her, and now this person is an advanced survivalist with a wide variety of skills and gear. They seamlessly kill and eat animals and make impractical but cool looking shelters. Then, he, for the sake of drama, is faced with some dire problem and has to …


How to Study Your Bible Without Electronic Tools, by A.A.

For the purposes of this essay, I am going to assume that you have done two things in your life. First is simply this; you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior. If you do not know what that means, I would recommend you stop reading now and find a solid pastor who can explain it to you, because none of this will really make any sense to you. Second is that you have gained, at the very least, a rudimentary understanding of the Bible. That being said, it is very likely that today day you are using the …


The Road to Ultimate Self-Reliance, by M.R.

When I was only 5, my father reached down and rubbed my head and said, “I wish times were always joyful and peaceful like this, but they won’t be. In fact, in your lifetime, you are gonna see some horrible things. You’ll probably see financial hard times and maybe even have to see all of your freedoms, well-earned freedoms, stripped from you, and you will have two choices: fight and risk everything in order to restore those freedoms, or conform and lose that famous American Dream.” Of course, it went in one ear and out the other, to a little …


A New Kind of Bucket List, by C.W.- Part 2

Now that I have explained the advantages and disadvantages of using a bucket system for storing preparations, allow me to share a few other ideas that may also be of interest, should you decide to attack your household with buckets. I believe that families who have homes that are kept clean and organized will be much better prepared for whatever comes at them. We all know friends or relatives who have lots of stuff (a.k.a. chaos), yet they have little idea of how to find an item when they want it or need it. So, off they go to the …


A New Kind of Bucket List, by C.W.- Part 1

I rarely let a day go by without checking in to see what I can gather from reading the latest at survivalblog.com. Through reading this blog, I have gained valuable information and been motivated to do much in preparation for the inevitable difficulties ahead. In addition, I have felt encouraged to grow emotionally and spiritually. I truly am inspired and strengthened by the written contributions and the expertise of the editors. Thank you so very much! Since you are now reading this website, you most likely fall into one of the following categories: a new visitor who just happened onto …


Why and How to Navigate the Homeschooling Waters, by Funtripmom

Do you find that the very thought of homeschooling sends shivers down your spine? Does your head start to spin? Are your children so rambunctious that you can’t picture them sitting quietly to read and learn at home without driving you crazy? If so, you are not alone. Many parents feel inadequate, overwhelmed, or just plain too tired to even contemplate the notion of homeschooling. However, these are the same parents that notice the drastic, negative change of our public education in this country, and they feel stuck. Is that you? Well, take a breath, and let me guide you …


Rapid Prototyping and TEOTWAWKI, by PMN

If there is a breakdown in the normal manufacturing system because of TEOTWAWKI, the usual supply of parts may be unavailable to replace the broken pieces of our machines. However, 3d printing might provide a solution by allowing us to make whatever we need as we need it, but we’d need to exercise caution. There are problems of strength, accuracy, and technical ability involved in this process, and it isn’t “Beam me up Scottie” quite yet. Some of you guys/girls may have heard of rapid prototyping, which is also called 3d printing. If you haven’t, it is roughly equivalent to …