Category: Retreat Logistics

Post-TEOTWAWKI and Off-the-Grid Entertainment, by Reed C.

As a newcomer to the “prepper” lifestyle, I’ve been devouring the wonderful information I can find on SurvivalBlog.   These articles have prompted some deep and serious thinking from both me and my wife.  But one day, as I was reading about food handling and storage and how to survive after the crunch, I began to consider what it would be like to spend many long months locked up in a safe-house somewhere with two young children.  I remembered the Diary of Anne Frank, and how much they suffered from boredom while locked up in the attic of their safe house…and …


Letter Re: First Aid Kits Are Not Enough

I have been a prepper for a while and I have always regarded my current location in rural West Virginia a safe place for WTSHTF. However I failed to recognize it’s vulnerabilities in the time before that happens. To set the stage I live just west of the Shenandoah Valley, the nearest hospital is 20 miles away over a mountain chain in Virginia, a 45 minute drive during good weather. It had been snowing for two days and this route happened to be closed to all but emergency vehicles. The other hospital was a two hour drive away, again, snowed …


Preparedness: Asking the Right Questions, by Grace T.

In the last year my husband and I have been blessed to be able to sell our house and move to our bug out location (BOL) in the mountains.  It is a learning experience!  We have been watching the signs of these times.  It seemed prudent, for us, to prepare for emergencies – be they natural disasters or an economic meltdown.  About four years ago we began our journey to learn as much as we could and fumble our way through obtaining supplies and equipment to become self-sustaining.  What follows are lessons we have learned and questions we have asked …


Returning to My Retreat After a Three Year Absence: Lessons Learned, by C.J. in Montana

My wife and I own  a 50 acre place in Northern Maine that was originally intended to be a home-building site.  It is remote, quiet  and off-grid.  Along with an outbuilding/bathhouse I constructed,  there is also a 40 foot shipping container I set up as a  secure storage building/shelter.    The land  has  plenty of water nearby  and the entire property is wooded in White Cedar (weatherproof/rot-proof) Balsam Fir , Birch and Spruce.  Unfortunately over the years the location has became less ideal for us.  The  political climate (until very recently) is unfavorable ( taxes, government regulation, overall policies).   The economic …


Letter Re: Buying Prep Gear at Auctions

There is a website that I just found out about that lists all of the auctions in your area.  I am not affiliated with them at all, but I will be looking into it more.  It is called www.auctionzip.com.  Plug in your zip code and mile radius and it will come up with a monthly calendar of upcoming auctions in your area.  I have attended an auction house in my area a couple of times that receives truck-loads of surplus, camping, hunting, tools and outdoor gear; and that auction house was listed.  The website showed their auction schedule and examples …


Letter Re: Resources for Preppers in South Africa

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Dear Editor: This letter is a primer for new preppers in South Africa. The reason for this is simple, we don’t have the equivalent of a SurvivalBlog in South Africa and our family and confidants have had to find out the hard way where and what to buy. (Subtle hint to a South Africa-based prepper looking for a home business) That said, this is not to be considered a definitive resource for the South Africa prepper, it is a list of known suppliers to us that we have purchased from, specifically for reasons of preparing. We have never had a …


One Retreat’s Rules, by T.N.P.

The following is a document that I have developed for our retreat. Obviously your mileage may vary. These guidelines are based on our area, family connections, our previous preparations and many other factors. Feel free to use them as a starting place for drafting rules for your own group. Retreat Rules It is not the goal to have a burdensome and complicated set of rules. However, there must be some rules so that everyone is on the same page. In the event of “Retreat Activation”, the survival of any one of us depends on the survival of the rest of …


Letter Re: Extreme Couponing

James Wesley: Extreme couponing is an absolutely incredible way to save on your groceries. But like many things it should not be the only way you save. In fact, the “Frugal Zealot” Amy Dacyczyn was able to feed a family of eight on $200/month (in 1996 prices) and she hardly ever used coupons. “Frequently, massive couponers boast about the difference between the pre-coupon price and the final total. They circle the “you saved” number on their receipts. “You’re circling the wrong number,” Amy said.What you need to compare is the difference between all possible alternatives and your final total. Other alternatives …


Coupon Warrior Part 2, by GRITS (Girl Raised in the South)

I’ve learned a few tricks since writing the first part of this article on stocking up on food items and other good stuff with the help of coupons combined with sale prices. Here are some tricks that I’d like to share with you: First, a word about ethics:  The web sites will limit the number of coupons you can print. Photocopying coupons is considered coupon fraud. Each printed coupon has its own codes, and duplicates are not legal to tender. They are counterfeit. It is fair game to clip several coupons for the same item, or to use more than …


Letter Re: In Praise of Productive Dumpster Diving

JW,R:   Ever since I was a young’n, it has been hard for me to pass a dumpster or trash heap without investigating it.  I quickly learned that folks throw out a lot of good stuff, thinking it is worthless (someone said “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”); e.g. I’ve found appliances which only need a new electrical plug!  Nowadays, the same habit has greatly enhanced my prepping inventory, and best of all, it’s free, leaving more of my tight budget to buy store-bought items.  If you collect more things than you can use, the extras can be bartered, …


A Crucial DIY Skill: Ammunition Handloading, by Aaron L.

Would you like to learn a skill during these relatively quiet times that will assist you to obtain, or at least keep,  gasoline, diesel, food and every other commodity the a day after this society falls?   The SurvivalBlog posts regarding TEOTWAWKI may provide you with information regarding  what is the bare minimum you need to strive for in you preparation of the day after disaster strikes.  What if you want to be more prepared?  Do you want to possess a skill that everyone will have a need for the day after the disasters strike? Some people believe that a person’s …


The Post-SHTF Store, by J.P.C.

So much has been written on preparing solely for survival of TEOTWAWKI. What about after? What about five years after? Granted, if something minor happens and we could overcome it within a month or so, I truly see precious metals quite viable. However, should the whole world fall to its knees and we would be looking at years before any sort of progress could be made, I think material goods would be much more important. This list is not meant to be a final checklist, but rather a starting point that you could adjust, add, or take away from. These …


Letter Re: Retreating: A Minority Perspective

Hello Jim, Blessings to you and your family. Here are my comments regarding the article Retreating: A Minority Perspective, by Alex B. The Aryan Nations group has been forced out of North Idaho.  Not only did they lose the lawsuit that took away their “compound”.  The new owners allowed local fire department to train on site when the buildings were torched. Their leader, Richard Butler, died a few years later and the rest of the bugs left for parts unknown. This small group was good at making themselves look bigger by holding an annual camp-out at the compound and marching …


From Beginning Prepper, to Fully-Stocked Retreat: What to Buy, and When, by Scott in Wisconsin

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It’s easy to see that the world may be heading for more trouble, and we need to prepare for hard times ahead.  But it can be daunting to decide what to do, what to stock, and when to get it. I’ve been working at this a while, and I’ve figured out a simple balance in what to buy, and when to buy it, that I think will help other Preppers move ahead with confidence. You could call it my 100/1,000/10,000 system, and I hope it helps you get going, and get to a place where you feel more prepared for …


Letter Re: A Technique for Decanting Oil Into Small Containers

Sir: I found many years ago that oil by the gallon like WD-40 is cheaper than small cans of three in one. But, how to get the oil from the gallon jug to the small can? I took about four inches of surgical tubing, and pressed it onto the end of the squeeze can. Hold the small can with cap up. I took a small pill bottle, and filled it from the big gallon jug. Hold the small can upright, and put the end of the surgical tubing into the small bottle of fluid. As I squeeze the small can, …