Category: Contest

Georgia: Hurricane Helene – Part 1, by Forward Preppers

Our background: We have been prepping and part of the SurvivalBlog community since 2011. We moved to our bugout location in the summer of 2016, a secluded spot in Middle Georgia. I work full-time at a local bank in a town about 25 minutes away. My husband had total knee replacement surgery several weeks prior to the hurricane, so he was unable to help much. We are in our late 50s/early 60s, respectively. Back in September 2017 and 2018 we experienced hurricanes with power outages of five days on the first one and three days with the second one. And …


Practical Wood Stoves, by Tunnel Rabbit

Wood stoves are the heart of everything that happens at a off-grid homestead. The obvious reason is that it provides heat that keeps the home warm and comfortable, yet it can also be used to cook and preserve our food, boils water for drinking and cleaning, and just as important, wherever it is located there will be the family gathered together. The Fisher/Forester style stoves were produced in the the early 1980s all over the U.S. in small and large metal fabrication shops that purchased the doors that had the name brand cast into the door. Had the name plate …


Pressure Cooker Lessons Learned – Part 3, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.) The first issue when I started was using the pressure cooker even though the gasket had some very small wrinkles along one surface. On the previous two experiments the pressure hadn’t gotten above normal and the gasket held. The second issue developed after Experiments #1 and #2. The lid was harder to turn into place so I applied butter to act as a lubricant for this third experiment. The owner’s manual suggests a little mineral oil if a small amount of lubrication is needed. Too much butter making the gasket too slippery …


Pressure Cooker Lessons Learned – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) I took the pressure cooker back into the house and washed and checked everything again. Pressure cooker knocked over in use – Next, I wanted to know if a pressure cooker got tipped over or knocked off the stove, what would happen? I was expecting a steam release, but how much? I set up the stove and pressure cooker on a stump in my north 40. This time I just used water. I placed an old sleeping bag next to the stump to avoid damage to the pressure cooker when I pushed it over after attaining …


Pressure Cooker Lessons Learned – Part 1, by St. Funogas

This article refers to what happens if you break all the rules while using a pressure cooker. It refers only to stove-top models, not electric models such as Instant Pot which I have no experience with. My First Pressure Cooker Many people don’t own a pressure cooker because… Who wants a bomb in the kitchen? I worried about the same thing the first time I ever used one. I warned my family ahead of time that I was taking the new pressure cooker on a trial run. I instructed them to be on alert and if they heard me yell, …


Mentoring: Steps Toward Changing The World – Part 2, by A Grateful Mechanic

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) What I implore you to consider is how can you take direct action to help our younger generation to find an old and better way to spend their time. If you are not physically able to interact with your community, I ask for your prayers. Prayers for our leaders, for our adults, and especially for our young people. Sitting idly by and complaining will not change anything. Becoming demoralized will not change anything. I too am disgusted by the degeneracy that I’ve participated in during my younger years, as well as what …


Mentoring: Steps Toward Changing The World – Part 1, by A Grateful Mechanic

“Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.” – George Mueller I am grateful for SurvivalBlog and this community. There is a great wealth of knowledge and inspiration that comes from this project. In the last ten years I have experienced and pursued the development of a survival-focused lifestyle. I do not “do it right.” I have weakness at many points and I do not live in an ideal situation. Regardless I take active steps to improve my survival ability and to improve the resilience of my …


Lessons Learned from Hurricane Helene, by N.C. Ham

I really did not give a lot of thought ahead of time about the approaching storm. I spent time at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo in Cuba growing up and I have lived through several hurricanes in the Southeast. I won’t make that mistake again. I now see how we can get way too comfortable with the daily situation live in and not see the forest for the trees. My work location is several hours from my home which is in the mountains of Western North Carolina. I work from home about half the time and was in the mountains when …


Writing Contest Judging Results (Round 114)

We’ve completed the judging for Round 114 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize goes to N.C., for Basic Sewing: Cloning Clothes. (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, posted August 9-11, 2024.) His prizes will include: 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 Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried …


Practical Furniture for End of the World – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Table Project #2 was just the Project #1 design retrofitted with heavier lumber that supports seating for up to six people. It is very comfortable. This design is very sturdy and the table is stable enough that three people can sit on one side without tipping the table. The design lends itself to quick disassembly so that it can be loaded into a full-size 8-foot pickup bed.   Table #3 is similar to Project #1, although its legs are different. There is no cross beam, so standard chairs can be pushed completely …


Practical Furniture for End of the World – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Because I only have a small cabin, when doing large-scale canning, I use my outdoor kitchen that includes a deep stainless steel sink. While there is relatively inexpensive used furniture for sale at thrift stores and online places such as Craigslist, most of it does not meet my standards for that which is rugged or sturdy construction and durable when exposed to a long duration of many years exposed to the elements. This means that it is better if we can make our own, especially if we can not purchase it in the future bad times ahead. Furniture can be …


The Final Countdown: Last-Minute Readiness Checks – Part 2, by Michael X.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Water List This is an item for the first three days. This is super important and needs to be one of the first items confirmed. Check locations and condition of water sources: Bottled Water/Stored water containers Well water (power dependent) Lake water – are there containers to carry and larger containers to store lake water? Is there a rainwater collection option available? Is the Berkey/Filtered water system ready? Can the tub be successfully filled with water from the system before the power goes out or the line pressure is gone? Can I …


The Final Countdown: Last-Minute Readiness Checks – Part 1, by Michael X.

Hypothetically, (of course), assume for a moment that the proverbial fan has been hit. Now you have three days….or two weeks….or two months…until the consequences of the event hit where you are. Good luck guessing how long it takes to hit you. Are you as ready as you can be? Are you sure? How do you know? How and when it hits you, whatever it may be, may be based on three key things: the type/cause of disaster, your proximity to the disaster or populated areas, and the stability of your systems (electricity, water, fuel, and human support systems). THE …


Prepper Group Training: Indigenous Guerrilla Teams – Part 2, by Bulldog

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) The Challenge To understand why I feel we are lacking in our preparation of these men and women, let us look at only one necessary skill set, team radio communications. Certainly we could agree that it represents one of the key core elements critically necessary to prepper and survivalist groups. Yet, in most cases it is overlooked or minimized by group leadership. Instead, we relegate programming to the “commo guy” and hope that after stuff hits the fan (SHTF), group members will somehow magically demonstrate more interest. Please understand that I am …


Prepper Group Training: Indigenous Guerrilla Teams – Part 1, by Bulldog

I would like to begin my topic by examining two concepts. I feel both ideas illustrate the hearts and souls of many men and women within today’s prepper and survivalist communities. The first one is an analogy. Its origins have most been often attributed to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. Lt. Col. Grossman’s premise was that all people can be placed into one of three groups; “sheep, sheepdogs, or wolves.”