Category: Self-Employment & Home-Based Businesses

Practical Furniture for End of the World – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Because I only have a small cabin, when doing large-scale canning, I use my outdoor kitchen that includes a deep stainless steel sink. While there is relatively inexpensive used furniture for sale at thrift stores and online places such as Craigslist, most of it does not meet my standards for that which is rugged or sturdy construction and durable when exposed to a long duration of many years exposed to the elements. This means that it is better if we can make our own, especially if we can not purchase it in the future bad times ahead. Furniture can be …


Homemade Aftershave, by Thomas Christianson

I will be the first to admit that aftershave does not rank high on any list of survival necessities. In fact, if used in the wrong way, products like aftershave may actually produce threats to one’s chances of survival. SurvivalBlog reader David L. shared some insights along this line in the September 13, 2023 Snippets column in SurvivalBlog: Like many well-prepared preppers, I have gotten past location, food, guns, ammo, etc, etc, to stocking toilet paper, paper towels, and things such as shampoo and deodorants. The last two can be literally DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH! Yeah, right, you say! Bear …


Basic Sewing: Cloning Clothes – Part 3 , by N.C.

(Continued from Part 2.  This concludes the article.) Front And Back Seams Now you have two separate pieces and each piece (left and right) has one completed French seam. You can pick front or back for the next seam, I will show with the back. To join them into a single 4-panel piece of cloth use the same French seam procedure. The only difference is to start at the top and only go down the sharp angle Figure 17.   Right sides out, pin from the waistband area down to the sharp angle. Sew with a running stitch. Flip the …


Bartering in a Post SHTF World – Part 2, by D.K.

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.) Equivalent Value When most people think of the word ‘barter,’ they think ‘trade,’ or ‘like-for-like.’ The following is a list of possible items that you might want to consider having for bartering purposes, or charitable giving, should the need ever arise. These are merely suggestions. Barter Item Categories & Suggestions Air Gun/Archery: BBs/pellets, CO2 cartridges Spare bow strings, arrows/bolts Food: Freeze dried, #10 cans, MRE Flour, yeast, sugar, wheat Coffee/tea, drink mixes Hand crank grinder (meat/grain), spare parts Alcohol: Homemade wine/liquor Airline mini-bottles Fuel: 93-octane, diesel, kerosene, white camp fuel, 1 lb. …


Bartering in a Post SHTF World – Part 1, by D.K.

What is Bartering? Bartering is the exchange of goods and services between two interested parties that does not utilize the current U.S. fiat monetary system, or any national currency system for that matter. Movies and television have presented numerous visuals that help people conceptualize what this might look like on a large scale like “The Hob” in the movie The Hunger Games. In lay terms, incorporating barter items in your preparedness plans is an attempt to anticipate the future needs of those near you or at your destination if bugging out. Words of caution when it comes to bartering: Anyone …


Unexpected Homelessness: An AAR, by A Grateful Mechanic

Editor’s Introductory Note: This article is an After-Action Report (AAR).  At more than 6,400 words, it was long enough to serialize into three parts. But because it is in narrative form, I thought it was best to present it all in one piece. — In late 2019 into early 2020 I experienced a several month unexpected period of homelessness. This was during the incipient stages of the COVID-19 pandemic situation where there was significant “fog of war.” The severity of the situation was unclear. This was an exceptional learning opportunity that yielded significant operating experience that I am sharing here. …


The Smaller Things, by A. Midwester

To give you a little background, for most of my life I lived in an urban environment, everything I needed was just a short walk or drive away. It could have been a few 2x4s and screws for one of my many projects, a new tool when I needed it, or anything else like it. If it wasn’t available locally, I could easily order it online and expect it, almost without failure, within a day or two. It’s truly amazing what society has developed in terms of convenience. But it’s also scary to consider what would happen if that convenience …


How to Prepare to Counter Sovereign Cryptocurrencies

Today, in place of my regular Friday column on Economics and Investing,  I’d like to address an important monetary issue. This article expands on a piece that I posted in SurvivalBlog back in July, 2022. — During the recent COVID pandemic, multinational corporations stayed open for business via the Internet, and grew larger. People cocooned at home, watched movies on Netflix, and ordered many of their household supplies via Amazon.com. But meanwhile, millions of small “Mom & Pop” businesses that dealt face-to-face with customers were forcibly shuttered and ruined, during the protracted lockdowns. When viewing national and world affairs, always …


What To Do in 2024?, by SaraSue

There has been a tremendous amount of change in our country, just in the past three years, not to mention the years and decades before.  It’s as if, the worst of the worst scenarios have accelerated, and many of us feel it in our bones that things are going to get worse in our country (America).  I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, and it was a wonderful childhood. But, as I look back, I can see how the gross inflation and economic problems of the 1970s affected my father, while he insulated us children from most of it.  …


Using the Past to Prepare for the Future – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Planting A good old-fashioned seed broadcaster maybe a good device to put back as well. The good news is they still manufacture these. I use mine in the mid-Spring to seed my hay field. I use a technique an old timer passed down to me. The method requires no tilling of the dirt. Just broadcast the seed right before it rains. When it rains, the seed will be transported into the “duff” or layer of decaying materials, where it should spout. I did this and had decent results. Another variation of this …


Using the Past to Prepare for the Future – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

It does not take much imagination to realize that our society will come crashing down without the cheap, steady flow of electricity. The world’s electric grids are the lifeblood of our modern lifestyle. Many predictions believe that if the electrical grid was shut down, by something like an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or a very strong Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), then civilization would be thrown back into the 1800s. Some predictions even think the 1700s or even further back. Regardless of what time period we are all transported back to, we are going to have to find ways to replace all …


My Experiment in Small-Scale Pig Farming, by SaraSue

It was a fluke, sort of, that I got a breeding group of pigs.  I had obtained two “feeder pigs” to see if I could raise them for the freezer.  I spoiled them, named them, and they had the run of the farm because they could get under the gates quite easily.  I didn’t really mind.  They were cute and would follow me everywhere.  The closer we got to their butcher date, the more they earned their new names: “the terrorists”.  I started calling them that because their love of food outweighed everything else.  They would get in the chicken …


How to Grow and Process Luffah Sponges, by St. Funogas

There are three types of people when it comes to luffah sponges: those who have no idea what they are, those who know what they are but think they’re for the kind of ladies who frequent health spas, and those who know they’re one of nature’s best all-around cleaning tools and natural scrub brushes. I’ve personally progressed through all three stages, and hopefully this article can get you straight to stage three. In a grid-down world, after all our sponges and scrub brushes have worn out, luffah sponges can take their place. They can also do the same before the …


Musical Instrument Basics for Preppers, by Kirk

The following are my thoughts on a topic that was suggested for the SurvivalBlog writing competition: This is a very broad topic. Does it mean the instruments themselves or the use and playing of them? Or perhaps it means how to choose one or how to master one? Does it pertain to what to have when SHTF or TEOTWAWKI? Are you at home, or on the road? Do you have room for a larger instrument or is your space limited? Do we start with the neophyte who is thinking about possibly getting into playing an instrument but is not sure …


Worth Reversal, by 3AD Scout

Being a serious preparedness-minded individual, I often look at venues that offer used or previously owned items for sale. These venues could be flea markets, thrift stores, antique stores, yard or garage sales, auctions, or online sites like Craigslist. It never ceases to amaze me the items that are offered for sale at these venues. When I go to these venues, I have prepping in mind and am looking for items to help make me and my family better prepared. Often, I have to wade through piles of, in my opinion, useless junk. What is useless junk in my book? …