Category: Health and Fitness

Emotional Stressors During Societal Collapse by Campcritter

As determined men and women of yesteryear made their way west to make for a better life, pioneer women often kept journals of their life on the great prairies or sent letters home to their sisters back East. In those letters they described the silence as the most unwelcome guest. These brave women wrote about being left for weeks on end alone, lost in an endless sea of grass with only the wind for company while the men hunted or went for supplies. In some cases the quiet was so severe that it became unbearable and the women developed mental …


Life’s Lessons and the Foundations of Preparedness, by A.B.

We may soon depend on all of what we have learned over the years. Putting all of the threads of knowledge together into a tapestry of self-sufficiency, and survival capabilities, is part of the lifelong quest for our family’s security. We learn from many sources and experiences such as: family, church, friends, teachers, teammates, co-workers, reading books and SurvivalBlog, and hopefully from our mistakes. Preparedness Skills from our Grandmas and Grandpas The foundation for preparedness begins with my childhood in Michigan. We lived in Lansing where my great-grandmother was next door and my grandmother lived next door to her. My …


Letter Re: The Value of Sprouting

Mr. Rawles, In addition to seeds for a garden, anyone can produce fresh healthy and extremely nutritious sprouts on a kitchen counter with nothing more than a couple of plastic ice-cream containers. They can provide a real respite from canned veggies while you’re waiting for the crops to mature and year-round fresh greens. I sprout the common mung beans (think Chinese cooking) but I also do lentils, various peas and beans and (if I could get it) I would do alfalfa and clover. You can also make a respectable salad in your kitchen with a tray of mesclun seeds, grown …


Herbal Cures at Your Doorstep, by Organic Cathy

“Health care” in America – while having “evolved” – leaves much to be desired i.e. cost, effectiveness, government restrictions of natural medicines, deaths caused form “modern” medicine, control and pharmaceutical greed to name just a few. in the blaring light of reality of today’s coming collapse even simple health care will be challenging to say the lease. While I am not formally trained in herbal medicine, I do have some medical background and twenty plus years of growing and using herbs and more recently delving into wild herbs. TEOTWAWKI will change the availability of “home health care” from government regulated …


Did the American Indians Have it Right?, by MMJ

In these trying times when civilizations are at the brink of disaster and many people are already in personal collapse, we should look back through history to find out how to salvage what we have and how to survive what is to come. [Minor rant snipped.] It seems that economic collapse is imminent and that at some point in the near future it is going to be every man for himself. As we watch countries collapse, global economies fail and people across the world starve and die, I ask myself has any culture or civilization in history gotten it right? …


Perspectives on Prepping on a Very Low Income, by Kuraly

I was raised in a missionary family, on nine different mission fields around the world. At the age of nineteen, I went out to serve the Lord on my own in the former Soviet Union. I had no formal Theological training, but was accepted by the missionary societies of my denomination because of my experience under my father and my willingness to go to dangerous areas. I married, and my wife and I have now six children. A few years ago, due to some changes in my theology, I fell out of favor with my denomination and had to return …


Preparing Your Feet for TEOTWAWKI, by The Surgeon

This essay will cover several common foot problems which can be prevented with proper care. These problems can lead to impaired walking, running, and decreased mobility, which may adversely affect survival in a serious post disaster situation. The foundation for this information is basic knowledge gleaned from the 1930s edition Scout Handbook, which relied heavily on Lord Baden Powell’s experience in the British Army.The author is a Board-Certified Surgeon. The feet have a hard job to do. They support the weight of the body standing, walking, running, and jumping. Any time there is excess body weight, the added load on …


Letter Re: Looking at Preparedness as a Challenge

Jim: My mainstream friends feel sorry for me. According to them, I live in a world of fear rather than hope. What they don’t understand is that I enjoy the preparedness lifestyle. While they are out shopping for shoes and designer jackets, I’m buying fruit and nut trees and learning how to graft and manage an orchard. While they are at home watching millionaire athletes compete on television, I’m doing 100 reps up and down my stairs with kettle weights building my stamina. While they are watching a movie, I’m learning how to fix my car, weld, set up a …


Survival Dentistry, by The Army Dentist

Dentistry may be one of the least exciting topics under preparedness. You will never see a television show on the daily life and death struggles in a dental office and you won’t find too many stories “from the front” on the dental team. But a dental emergency can quickly complicate or even bring to a standstill, daily living and tasks. In a SHTF scenario, this is not something you want to deal with. The confederate army was the first army to recognize this and fielded a dentist for their troops. In Vietnam, dental disease accounted for 11% of Disease and …


Letter Re: Comments on Two of the Three Bs: Bullets and Band-Aids

Greetings Jim, With [the] November 4th [US presidential and congressional election] behind us, many of us are wondering how to proceed with our preps. With regard to the bullets in the “Three B’s” consider this; your firearm will function with one magazine, most with even no magazine, but they all require ammunition. As a prep (as opposed to investment), I put forth that a good supply of ammunition is a higher priority than spare magazines, after purchasing the firearm, of course! In selecting a firearms battery, ammunition availability is a common selection criteria. You should own firearms that ammunition can …


Letter Re: Saving Your Life and Saving Your Relationships–Don’t Drive Your Loved Ones Away

Dear Mr. Rawles, Emotions are sure running high out there. I’ve tried my best, as a clinical psychologist, to let my readers know that they can have a good life, albeit of a very different sort, as our economy continues to deteriorate. Your site has done so much to provide a blueprint and important details as to how to go about it. I’ve read some of your material (the Rawles Get You Ready [preparedness course]; “Patriots“, and your blog) and I see in your words the deep respect you have for your readership, and for the importance of leading a …


Letter Re: Storing Multipurpose Castile Soaps

Jim, Thanks for your warnings and all the help your novel and blog are to us. In reference to the recent mention of Dr. Bronner’s soaps, I just wanted to pass along some tips on Kirk’s Castile coconut soap. It doesn’t have a lot of added chemicals. I can purchase it at Woodman’s for 79 cents a bar.[JWR Adds: It is also available at reasonable prices from several Internet vendors if bought in full cases.] It can be used as shampoo as well as to brush your teeth. People don’t believe me when I tell them it’s been my shampoo …


Five Letters Re: Preparedness Advice for the Parents of a Newborn Infant

Dear Memsahib: I’d like to suggest exploring the Wear Your Baby site There are free directions for making your own baby wearing wraps and free videos demonstrating different wrapping/carrying styles. The free printable items have good clear photographs to help in choosing the right fabric for the job. Now that slings have become poplar and trendy the prices have become rather expensive. There is nothing like spending $30+ dollars to find that baby doesn’t like that carrying style or is wrong for momma’s back. I’d rather buy fabric and try different styles (more comfy). If it is a total washout …



Letter Re: Energy Bars as a Storage Food

James; This might interest your readers. I am considering buying compact, high-calorie emergency food bars for long term storage of food. I know they are not “real” [nutritionally complete] food but they easily moved and taken along, they have a great storage life and taste pretty good. The problem is that no pizzas and no cereal might make for a dull year, but having some of these on hand might be good. I was wondering if the ‘food bars’ are a good storage product. I would not stop storing real food, but would rely on the ‘bars’ for [short term] …