Category: Contest

Assembling Advanced Medical Cabinets, by K.B., M.D.

No doubt, we all have a medicine cabinet of some size. Lately, I reorganized and consolidated our medical supplies with the major assistance of my kind talented husband who built a set of floor-to-ceiling cabinets dedicated to that purpose even though he dislikes doing carpentry. (Thank you!) Because I am a retired and disabled physician, I obtain supplies to mainly care for those under our roof in a TEOTWAWKI situation. Of course, we all are very aware of recent supply shortages (masks, hand sanitizer, medications-both over the counter and prescription) but what about the possibility of a decline in the …


Lessons From a Fire, by R.M.

I wish to share with you my pitfalls, follies, and other lessons learned from a small fire in my yard. I wake up around the same time every night, thanks to nocturia. However, last night was different. I saw a red hue cast was over my backyard. I wondered what it could be. Was it a neighbor with a car in it’s backyard, some unusual atmospheric phenomenon, alien invasion? The lights weren’t flashing so it wasn’t first responders. My stomach felt like a rock dropped in it. I was thinking: “Please don’t be what I think it is.” I got …


Grow Food in Summer That Lasts All Winter – Part 2, by J.T.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) — Cabbage: One cabbage plant only produces one head weighing about two and half pounds. We like coleslaw, cabbage rolls, cooked cabbage with potatoes, and stews with cabbage. One cabbage each week should be sufficient for eating. Like broccoli, cabbage will not survive after year end, so we will plan to harvest only about 8 heads. (I harvested one cabbage in December. It lasted in our refrigerator until it was eaten 8 months later). These plants will need an area 5′ by 6′ of garden space for 8 plants placed 2′ apart …


Grow Food in Summer That Lasts All Winter – Part 1, by J.T.

Gardeners: You can grow crops in your summer garden that will feed your family during the non-growing season. It’s all about the proper timing for starting your seeds and knowing which plants can make it through the winter. When summer comes to an end and you no longer have those wonderful veggies that came from your garden, what are your options? Well, for many of us gardeners, we are at the mercy of shopping for produce at Safeway from November until next year’s summer crop which won’t become available until June or July. Therefore, through winter and spring you will …


Semi-Secure Digital Communications for Civilians, by R.T.D.

In times of emergency, many American citizens have found both amateur radio and FRS/GMRS radios very useful to keeping in touch with friends and family as well as keeping local, state, and federal disaster response agencies up-to-date with the latest information on road conditions and disaster area damages. All of those radio communications are made entirely in the clear as there is no need for encryption, obfuscation, or brevity codes for such work. It’s done as a public service to assist others in times of natural or man-made disasters and just part of being a good neighbor. But just how …


Has Healthcare Collapsed in the United States?, by SaraSue

First, let me say that these are my observations based on my experience the past two years. When the “pandemic” hit, the people I knew in the Healthcare industry seemed to overreact to the perceived threat. Some of those people were doctors and nurses. Most had no desire to see an alternative point of view and stuck to the “party line” of wherever they worked. They were adamant and strident in their points of view and communication. There was an air of superiority and certainly a total lack of recognizing that the patient was a customer – someone whose stated …


Prepping with Healing Herbs, by Bonnie Blue

I was fortunate enough to be largely raised by my grandmother, who was a Great Depression-era bride. Even before Victory Gardens came along, her generation knew you had to take care of your family’s food needs and be self-sustaining. She was a strong farm and ranch wife, with the tenderness to let my little hands help her from as far back as I can remember. It would have been much easier for her to do it herself, but she knew it was important information to pass on. Those early lessons were largely centered around gardening and canning the fruits of …


Nootropics and Mushrooms for Survival, by Robert R.

I’m writing about the benefits of nootropics and how they can be used to enhance health, reduce the effects of stress, and even help to mitigate and treat anxiety, depression and PTSD.  A nootropic is a substance, natural or synthetic, which enhances memory and cognitive functions.  Some of this article also assumes that the government has collapsed and there is no longer any legal system or laws.  I have tried a number of things to help with my own PTSD and ADD issues and learned about many nootropics and supplements that can help in a variety of circumstances. Imagine for …


Medical Community Autocracy, by ToAndFro

I thought long and hard about whether to share this due to OPSEC, but felt it was important. We have been seeing the same GP for healthcare for 28+ years and he was just slightly older than us. In June of 2020 he announced his retirement due to his own health concerns and COVID. He had always been very down-to-earth, understanding, listened more than he spoke, understood people, non-political, etc. The kind of doctor you would want for a Physician. Luckily, his office partner was able to see us so we didn’t have to find new doctors. I had a …


Science Fiction and the Preparedness Mindset, by Michael J.

Some SurvivalBlog readers might think that science fiction is just starships, aliens, and directed-energy weapons. Not all science fiction is created equal, but the best of science fiction provides important commentary on society as it is now, or as it could be given the invention of certain technological devices. There is also a genre of science fiction called alternate history, which attempts to depict what life would be like if certain historical events had turned out differently, or if certain famous people had been removed from the scene before the activities that made them famous. (For example, imagine how different …


Keeping Preps In Stock, by 3AD Scout

You don’t have to be prepping for very long to know that the list of equipment and supplies never seems to end. As you move up from novice to expert prepper, your level of sophistication can actually decrease to some degree. As we all started out, we looked at the proverbial “Beans, bullets, and band-aids”. A good prepper is never really done with any one category but instead our sense of urgency shifts. I tend to shift my prepping based on a few variables. One variable is the demand. I refuse to pay $1 a round for ammunition, nor will …


Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?, by Kevin R. Berg

The title of this article is an echo of a song title, by The Clash. This essay is about how I will choose an area for further investigation before moving to the American Redoubt. This summer I will load the family into our RV for a trip through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. As we travel, we will all be looking out for the pluses and minuses of each area. I have already marked up a paper travel map of the route and we can make marks on the map to remind us later. When I make a long …


Patio Herbs, Spices, Peppers, and Tomatoes – Part 2, by MonkeyMan

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Thyme – unknown plants About three years ago, while my son was in college for forestry he would bring me leftover plants from the horticulture department. The horticulture departments from the local schools around you are an untapped goldmine of inexpensive, quality grown plants of all types. I encourage you to explore the markets these departments put on each year. I have two different types of thyme. I do not know the history of the plants. They each have a different look and taste. The seeds from these plants are so small …


Patio Herbs, Spices, Peppers, and Tomatoes – Part 1, by MonkeyMan

Introduction This is a collection of thoughts encompassing the last twenty years of slowly growing our patio garden of useful plants for our location northeast of Houston, Texas. We are located in Zone 9 that has long hot and humid summers, with maybe, a night or two each year below freezing. We sometimes cover or protect the pots or plants from freezing temperatures. Maybe the solar minimum will change all that, I don’t know. As all SurvivalBlog readers do, I will continually adapt and modify my approach for my location. I do not claim expertise on any of the topics …


Lifesaving Tourniquets, by A.P.

OBJECTIVE In this article, I will explain the life-saving benefits of the proper application of tourniquets, selection, placement.  I hope to clear up some myths about tourniquets, and explain the actions that need to happen after applying a tourniquet. Along the way, I will introduce some medical terminology to better communicate and to impress your friends. Anyone can apply a tourniquet. While you do not need any official or special medical certification or training, you do need to understand how to properly use one. This article, while informative, is no substitute for hands-on training and practice. A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY My …