Category: Food Storage & Cooking

Two Letters Re: Constructing a High Efficiency (Low Current Draw) Refrigerator

James: Greetings from the rural Northeast, destination of choice for fleeing urban hordes! I enjoyed the article from Australia a while back on converting a small chest freezer into a low-power refrigerator. I had planned to undertake a project like that this summer. I admired the elegance of the circuit design and the use of a latching relay to lower the power consumption as low as possible. When I read the letter about using a brewer’s thermostat instead, though, I had the same epiphany you did. Your BFO award is certainly appropriate, and I commend Kurt for bringing the idea …


Letter Re: Masonry Stoves / Brick Ovens

Jim I have been reading the SurvivalBlog for some time now and thought I would share some information about a retreat technology that I have not seen mentioned. I am referring to a brick oven for baking bread, pizza and a large variety of other foods. Brick ovens have been around for thousands of years, they were very common in Roman times. They are having a revival in the artisan baking community and can also be found in many authentic pizza restaurants. They do take a little work to construct, however it is very simple to operate (decidedly low tech) …


Hurricane Preparedness, by MFA

I’d like to share a couple of things I’ve learned through the recent hurricane seasons in Florida, being hit directly by one, indirectly by three or four more (I’ve lost count). The following assumes you’re staying put, not bugging out. Typically my wife will take the kids and bug out, while I stay home for security and damage control if needed. This can also apply to some of the severe storms that other parts of the country experience throughout the year. 1. Water – In Florida, I travel with a case of water in the back of my car. You …


Letter Re: Why Food Prices are Soaring

Jim I enjoy your books (have bought two for others as gifts) and blog site. I came across this article [from Canada] describing another unintended consequence of the extreme liquidity the Fed is using to prop up our housing market/economy- high food prices. Aside from the new ‘miracle’ fuel – ethanol – our government policies are eroding our purchasing power in every sector of our lives. Here is an excerpt from the article: “After steamrolling through a laundry list of base metals, then oil and gas, the global commodity boom is finally hitting us in the gut: at the supermarket …


Raising Goats for Self-Sufficiency, by Freeholder

It seems like more and more people are becoming aware of the need to grow some of their own food. Usually they start with a garden, and maybe some chickens or meat rabbits. But eventually, if the family has room for them and the zoning allows, they decide that they need their own milk supply (with a little home-grown veal or chevon [goat meat] as a bonus). Cows have their place, but in many situations goats are a better choice. They are smaller and easier to handle; less expensive to purchase; require less room; and can eat, and even thrive …


Reader Poll Results: Your TEOTWAWKI Resume — 100 Words and 100 Pounds

Some of these stretched the 100 word limit. (I skipped posting one that rambled on far beyond the limit.) The poll’s premise in a nutshell: “If someday you went to the gates of a survival community post-TEOTWAWKI and pleaded the case for why you should be let past the barricades and armed guards to become a valuable working member of the group, would you get voted in? Taken objectively, would you vote yourself in?”   I am a shoe maker (not just a repairman) can repair saddles tan leather have done ranch work mechanics weld gardening skills set a broken …


Reader Poll: Your TEOTWAWKI Resume — 100 Words and 100 Pounds

S.F. in Hawaii suggested another poll topic: “If someday you went to the gates of a survival community post TEOTWAWKI and pleaded the case for why you should be let past the barricades and armed guards to become a valuable working member of the group, would you get voted in? Taken objectively, would you vote yourself in? I suggest the following poll. Put together your survival resume in 100 words or less. The resume is what you would present to a panel of tough as nails judges who would decide if what you offer is worth what you will consume …


Letter Re: Advice for a Preparedness-Minded ROTC Cadet

Hi, I appreciate your advice. Here is my situation: I attend college full time in a post-industrial [Eastern United States] city that has had a 50% population decline in 30 years. Most people here are on welfare, and the largest employers are prisons. I am in a bit of a predicament because I only make about $6,000 per year, so I cannot really afford to spend much on supplies. My goal if things go downhill is to do a ruck march (assuming EMP, otherwise I would drive) with my ROTC-issued [TA-50] equipment to my family’s summer home in farm country …


Letter Re: How to Harvest, Process, and Store Vegetable Seeds

Jim: [I recommend an article on seed storage available in PDF. Here is a brief summary:] “Storing seeds by immersion in CALGLY is a simple and cost-effective method for enhancing medium- or long-term longevity of orthodox seeds at ambient temperature.” CALGLY is easily made from readily-available chemicals – Calcium Chloride and Glycerol. The article gives instructions on how to prepare it. Also, note that this study shows that 2 percent moisture content is the optimum for seed viability. (The article by “Grandpappy” on May 11 [incorrectly] stated that below 5% will kill the seed.) Regards, – Stephen M.


Letter Re: Questions from a Newbie–Where Do I Start?

Mr Rawles- I’ve been a reader of your blog for maybe the last nine months or so and I know I need to stop reading and get to doing something. So I was wondering if you could advise me on where I should start my preparations. I’m a city boy so I don’t have many of the skills that I think would be useful in a TEOTWAWKI situation. I don’t know how to shoot or farm or fix a diesel engine. While I could start buying equipment in order to be prepared, I think that the first thing I should …


Poll Results: Why are You Preparing to Survive?

Here is the second round of responses to this question: Those who are well educated enough to see a societal collapse of some sort or another in the making fall into two groups, the merrymakers and the preparers. The merrymakers don’t see life worth living post-SHTF, so they live it up now. We on SurvivalBlog are the preparers and have chosen to survive, but why? Our children? To rebuild civilization? Because the collapse will only be temporary? Because we can and we’re stubborn with a stronger than normal will to survive? The following is the second batch of responses. A …


Letter Re: Positive Feedback on the “Rawles Gets You Ready” Preparedness Course

Mr. Rawles: I just wanted tell let you know how much I have enjoyed your “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. It was very informative and is going to really help my family get prepared for whatever may be in our future. I recently purchased the “SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog – Volume 1” and the Rawles on Retreats and Relocation book also and those were equally wonderful. The amount of information in your course was outstanding and has really jump started our family’s preparedness program. The covering of “A years supply of everything” angle was a unique approach …


A Matter of Will, or a Matter of Inventory?, by George L.

I really enjoy sitting down and watching movies. What the radio once was to us as Americans, I believe the DVD player has become to us now. On any night of the week, people are gathered together watching movies together. That being said, The Usual Suspects is one of the most interesting movies around. I should warn you before I go further that it is not for the squeamish, or the easily offended. The subject matter is coarse, and the movie is unapologetically rough. However, there is one particular exchange that sticks with me to this day, and it’s been …


Letter Re: Bees, CCD, Honey, and Mead

JWR, I’ve been perusing your site for a while now, and I must say I’m very impressed and quite grateful for such a fabulous resource. I just wanted to drop a line to address an issue that occurred to our small preparedness group. In a word: Honey. Or more importantly of course, the potential lack thereof. I don’t know if anyone else has addressed this potentially important issue, but if not, then allow me to be the first to do so. I am referring of course to the developing crisis with our nation’s bees and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). With …


Poll Results: Why are You Preparing to Survive?

Here is the first round of responses to this question: Those who are well educated enough to see a societal collapse of some sort or another in the making fall into two groups, the merrymakers and the preparers. The merrymakers don’t see life worth living post-SHTF, so they live it up now. We on SurvivalBlog are the preparers and have chosen to survive, but why? Our children? To rebuild civilization? Because the collapse will only be temporary? Because we can and we’re stubborn with a stronger than normal will to survive? The following is just the first batch of responses. …