Category: Retreat Groups

The Three Stages of TEOTWAWKI – Part 3, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 2.  This concludes the article.) STAGE 2: SURVIVAL MODE The survival phase is the intermediate period between the very short-term emergency phase and the time when things finally settle down to the New Normal phase. Once everyone is finally gathered together at the homestead, defenses set up, the freezer contents are canned, freeze dried, smoked, or those blueberries made into cobbler as a comfort food during those first few stressful days, and once we’ve got meals back to some sort of a schedule, chores divvied out, watch times established, and water and propane conservation rules tacked to …


The Three Stages of TEOTWAWKI – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) CLASSES OF PREPPERS Truly prepared preppers – These preppers took things seriously, even if the chance of a SHTF event wasn’t highly probable. They weighed the probabilities against the consequences of not being prepared and chose to prepare. For many, the self-reliance skills learned, knowledge gained, and talents developed while prepping made it worth it, SHTF or not. The psychological benefit of being ready for anything is also a big plus. The most prepared preppers will have a written plan to employ as soon as they realize that today’s The Day. They’ve done simulations and practice …


The Three Stages of TEOTWAWKI – Part 1, by St. Funogas

This article discusses some of the thoughts I’ve had about the different stages of post-SHTF life while writing my upcoming article, “A Realistic Top-10 Prepping List.” Consider this a preface to that article. Everything presented here is my opinion of course. As I’ve prepped and worked towards living a self-reliant lifestyle, I’ve thought a lot about things over the years. Many of my conclusions are based on history, ideas presented in some of the post-apocalyptic novels and movies, reading daily SurvivalBlog articles for the past seven years, and concerns about my current situation if the Schumer hits the fan next …


Neighbors, Friends and Enemies, by SaraSue

I think this is an important topic, and I’ve been struggling with it.  Who is my friend and who is my enemy, and why is it important to designate people as such?  Should I?  On the face of it, it’s about my safety and that of my family.  If I can identify friend or foe, I can more easily identify threats and make plans to mitigate them.  Maybe not easily, but at least I would know at some level what I’m dealing with.  I realize that my experiences are far different than those living in the suburbs or in a …


JIT Training for Trusted Friends, Family, and Neighbors, by Dr. Bob

This article will provide some thoughts on how to address a few common problems seen in the preparedness community. The first problem involves the difficulty finding like-minded people to form a community before the Stuff Hits The Fan (SHTF). The second problem is how to engage friends, family, and neighbors so that they take actions to prepare their families prior to SHTF. These problems are related and center on the realization that many people are bound by their current life circumstances and are unwilling or unable to consider that the current paradigm is in danger and, secondly, many of those …


A Three-Year Window or a Three-Month Window?

As an observer of contemporary politics, economics, and emerging threats, I have come to the conclusion that the last three years of Donald John Trump’s second term as President may provide a potential window of opportunity. If we were now living under a Harris-Walz Administration, we would surely be out of time to prepare. I have my doubts about Trump’s sincerity when he talks about scaling back the size and power of government. Alarmingly, the gains of the DOGE project were wiped out by the huge deficit spending included in the recent  “Big, Beautiful Bill”.  But I don’t consider DJT …


A 2025 Assessment: The Emerging Artificial Intelligence Threat

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been alarmingly rapid since 2022. Before then, AI was considered little more than a plaything or a novelty.  But now it is transforming businesses, wiping out entire categories of office jobs, and threatening human liberty. The first practical release of the Claude AI code-writing tool just by itself has completely transformed the global software industry. I’m talking about a Buggy Whips level of industry transformation. As a personal illustration, I should mention that my youngest son is now in his third year at a university here in The American Redoubt, studying for a …


Scrabble and Prepping – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) SCRABBLE IS A MATH GAME Just as Scrabble involves math, have we applied enough math to our prepping? Do we know how long a bar of soap lasts or how many calories we need per year per person in our group? Are we just guessing or have we actually marked a tube of toothpaste with a Sharpie when we begin using it and note the date when it’s finished? Have we at least looked it up somewhere to get a rough idea on how long it will last? Do we know how long it takes for …


My Quest for a Wife: I’m Willing to Move, by Single Farmer

I am still looking for a wife. I have been seriously thinking and praying about how to be able to get married and came to the conclusion that moving may possibly be the key. I have also expanded my search for my future wife. I am now looking both domestically and internationally/ If you are international reader or know a young woman overseas, then please read my thoughts on a possible international quest in the last of the frequently asked questions at the bottom of this article. The following is about my search for a spouse in the United States:


Another Look at Your BOB and INCH Preps, by Dr. Rick

In my most recent article which was posted on June 23, 2025, we looked at and evaluated your EDC and GHB equipment in the framework of survival priorities. Hopefully, you found that information useful. In the preceding article, the focus was on individual preparedness for drastic situations. Now we are going to look at two very different situations. In the two situations presented here, the focus is on family or group preparedness. Both involve evacuation. In this article, we will be looking at your BOB (Bug Out Bag) and your INCH (I’m Never Coming Home) kit using the same survival …


Practical Multigenerational Housing, by Hollyberry

Editors’ Introductory Note: Outwardly, the topic of this article might seem tangential to SurvivalBlog. But please consider that a natural disaster, a societal collapse, or even just sudden unemployment might throw some odd groups of people together to live under one roof. It might be relatives, or it might be some close friends. Or it might just be “that guy who you know from church” with the well-honed tactical skills. Take this prospect seriously, and plan accordingly. (The painting above is titled The Bedroom, by Pieter de Hooch, dated 1658.) — JWR Proverbs 16:31 teaches us: “A gray head is …


The Survival Mindset: A Two-Decade Retrospective

Introduction SurvivalBlog is now in its 20th calendar year. I began posting the blog in August, 2005.  That was just a few weeks before Hurricane Katrina. Over the past two decades, I’ve had many opportunities to write about what I generally term The Survival Mindset. The following is a mashup and updates to four brief blog essays that I wrote and posted in SurvivalBlog in November, 2005 and in April, 2006: Prepper Angst Many of my recent consulting clients have mentioned the same feeling of unease about the coming years. Perhaps it is just the general predisposition of my consulting …


Age-Appropriate Prepping Logistics, by R.D.

Many of the articles in the SurvivalBlog discuss preparation for different survival situations. With that In mind, we all have to face the fact that we are aging and that at some point, we may decide to share or pass along some of the supplies that we have accumulated. It also occurred to me that, as we age, our desire to help others may impact our survival plans. From a personal perspective, I’ve reached the point in my life where I’ve lived longer than any of my male ancestors. And, I’m certainly not as physically capable as I was in …


Retreat Security: What We Can Learn from Israel – Part 1, by Don Shift

Introduction It’s every prepper’s fantasy: living in (mostly) a self-sufficient secure compound surrounded by liked-minded individuals living off the land just out of reach of the ravaging hordes. For novelists and daydreamers, living on the frontier in a simpler way is an appealing escape from the often-disheartening humdrum of ordinary life. Rather than worry about politics and taxes, you worry about raiders and if this summer’s crop will come in. But in the pages of fiction or the corners of our imagination, the good guy always prevails. Reality is much more stark. Those who lived on Israeli kibbutzim—collective compound-style communities— …


Helping Liberal and Elderly Family Members, by M.J.

As has been written many times here at SurvivalBlog, we preppers can’t do it alone. We need people we can work with, whether it be neighbors, friends, or family. Yet it’s frustrating to see one’s family and friends not taking prepping seriously. Their lack of preparation would make them an extra burden on us during a real emergency. If there’s one thing that my IT career has taught me, it’s that our computerized worldwide system of just-in-time delivery of goods, as well as utilities such as power, telecommunications, and water are extremely fragile. Even authorized updates to software apps can …