Category: Retreat Logistics

Letter Re: Tool Maintenance and Spares

Sir: Hand tools are nearly useless if not properly maintained. This concept seems under emphasized in preparedness literature. One should have a stash of assorted files and sharpening stones, as they can be broken or worn out. Items like hacksaw blades that are nearly impossible to make at home should be acquired in quantity. People should also buy a quantity of tool steel and drill rod suitable for fashioning cutting tools. Thanks for your advice on your blog site and for your novel “Patriots” . Regards, – Jim J.


Letter Re: Clothing and Shoes, Post-TEOTWAWKI

James, Okay, a year or three goes by, [after TEOTWAWKI]. My wife can sew, but where do you get cloth and thread? I love Goretex (since I live in Western Oregon), but where do I replace those great Hi-Tec boots? No one seems to be discussing what happens when a shoelace brakes after Schumer is in session. You can hardly find them now. Cloth – one will make a spinning wheel and loom after “the fan” has become clogged! All that I can recall is an anecdote about the early Oregon Trail, when the newly arrived – skinny and starving …


America is More Like Haiti than We’d Like to Think

The recent earthquake in the island nation of Haiti illustrates the fragility of all societies. While Haiti is unusual in its lack of infrastructure and its high dependence on foreign aid–more than half of its annual government budget comes from foreign aid–it is still similar in many ways to other nations: From the 1960s to the turn of the 21st century, as in many other nations, Haiti became an urbanized nation. Before the 1960s a substantial portion of Haitian society still lived on rural semi-self sufficient farmsteads. But as urbanization and specialization went on, fewer and fewer people lived off …


COA Analysis of Common Survival Strategies, by JIR

Having spent a lot of years on military planning staffs, I can’t help war-gaming scenarios. In short (as you know well) Course of Action (COA) development is a big part of Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB) and is a fairly reliable way of looking at possibilities and choosing likely sequels, given scenarios. In effect, a way of war-gaming out the future. There are a number of horror scenarios that seem to me to be fairly probable and they keep going around and around in my head as I try to sequence them and assign probabilities to each one. I …


Normal Disasters, by Blane

I live in the suburbs of our nation’s capitol and of course I want to keep myself and family safe, so I have taken steps to mitigate and eliminate the dangers of my area. My challenge for a while was getting my new bride on-board with my preparations. She thought my supplies, guns and gear were “weird” and she chalked it up to my military experience and largely ignored it. If anyone else has a similar problem getting buy-in on prepping from their partners they may find this useful, it sure works better than arguing. As Mr. Miyagi said in …


A Guide to Domestic Water Wells, by Olive

The recent post regarding the found well inspired me to write a note that I’ve been meaning to share. I work in the water well industry, specifically the troubleshooting of problem wells.  The thing that continues to surprise me is the wide range of beliefs and lack of solid information on well systems. I say systems because an owner/operator must view a well as a sum of parts, more than just a hole in the ground. The first issue I’ll address is testing. Most states and local health departments have settled on the coliform test as the only means to …


Preparedness for Digital Doomsday, by David W.

One subject I’ve not seen mentioned recently is that of data recovery and security. As a proponent of various disaster recovery plans for large companies during my tenure as in information technology auditor I’d like to propose a few ideas to the readers to increase the chances of keeping data post-TEOTWAWKI. No one plan works for everyone and your mileage may vary. First off we all generate lots more data then we think. The most common insurance against loss of a home PC is regularly maintained backups to some form of storable media like DVD-r’s. However, in a post-TEOTWAWKI world …


Letter Re: Vehicle Recommendations?

James, I have been reading a lot of the archive items and I have noticed a few times where you went on a trip etc, we have had a few nieces and nephews born this year and when I travel 3 to 4 hours from home I don’t feel as secure as when I am close to my home and supplies so when you venture out for a few days the questions that pop into my mind are: What kind of vehicle do you travel long distances in? What supplies do you stock in it? What are some things we …


Prepping as an Active Duty Servicemember Overseas, by M.B.

As a member of the Armed Forces stationed overseas, and for those civilian government employees likewise stationed, we face unique situations as we attempt to get ready for TEOTWAWKI scenarios. First, when you are stationed overseas, usually for a 12 to 36 month tour, whatever happens back home seems magnified in your mind because you are so far away and feel helpless to do anything about it. Mental preparation is of utmost importance if you get a sense of panic after reading about all the horrible things going on back home.  It is important not to panic when you see …


Survival Tools, by SJH

I’ve read many articles regarding “survival “ and “preparedness” topics, my conclusion is that an important area has been missed. Lots of planning seems to focus on food storage, water, supplies, and so on, yet I have not seen or read anything about “survival tools — how to be prepared for anything mechanically”. So after considering this topic for several years, I’ve decided to introduce my own topic as far as tools for the self-reliant individual. My background includes 30 years of mechanical equipment repair on automobiles and trucks/trailers to heavy construction equipment including dozers and cranes. Having been exposed …


Letter Re: Space-Efficient Shelving Systems for Retreat Storage

Hello Mr. Rawles, I am new to your blog but after reading “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” and currently reading “Patriots”. I am an active reader of your blog. I am an Eagle Scout and by living the Boy Scout motto, Be Prepared. I have already been living the lifestyle without even knowing it. However, there are things that I still need to work on which is also complicated by the fact I am currently in the military and some of the areas are lacking due to the complex issues this create for …


A Prepared Christmas, by Hunkerdown

As most folks are running around fiercely to holiday parties and the malls in search of the perfect gift, even in these troubled times, it dawned on me that this is a unique time of the year that preppers can share our enthusiasm for our lifestyle. I started my preparedness journey (Yes, ‘journey’, as I’m now sure there is not a final destination. Can you ever be too prepared?) a little less than a year ago, and through sites like SurvivalBlog, have spent many hours educating myself about the numerous issues we may face in TEOTWAWKI. I often find prepping …


Preparedness Considerations for Surviving in Florida, by The Rucker

Most of the books and preparedness literature available seem to assume that our post-TEOTWAWKI lives will be in a place where we can expect cold winters and the four traditional seasons.  I understand the attraction of relocating to a mountain retreat in a lightly populated northern or western state, but like many others my current preparedness plan is for in-place survival.  I just so happen to live in tropical Florida.  I believe that many of these same considerations apply for those living in southern Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas. There are both challenges and advantages to choosing a tropical location like …


Feeding Your Family Well During Hard — and Harder — Times, by Lin H.

We can all agree that at the very least hard times are here, for way too many of ourselves, our friends, our family members, our acquaintances. And most of us here agree that harder times are a’coming. And I’ll add  another basic human agreement: we all need to nourish our bodies with food, preferably good-tasting and health-sustaining food. I’d like to address and share my thoughts on this basic human requirement. I am not an expert in food nutrition or preparation. I have no college degrees in these areas: my credentials are only a little common sense and 30 years …


Two Letters Re: Long Term Food Storage Package Now Sold at COSTCO

Hi Jim, You’ve probably already seen this storage food now sold by COSTCO but it was news to me. Is that a sign of the times or what? In Him, – Karen H. Jim, I just noticed that Shelf Reliance “Thrive” brand food is being sold at CostCo.com. I love your site, – Robert C. JWR Replies: With a few supplements, the Thrive food storage system would make a very good “core” food storage system for someone that puts a premium on their time. These are top quality products. You would of course want to add other foods for variety …