How Do You Define an “Emergency Situation”?, by A.Y.

An emergency, as Webster’s Dictionary defines it, is: “…an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action, or an urgent need for assistance or relief.”  Throughout our lifetimes we may see many types of emergencies not just the Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) types of emergencies such as nuclear war or economic collapse that we should be prepared for. I have found that in my life choosing the prepper lifestyle has aided me in many such emergencies.  Once, for instance, I found when I was laid off from work that my preparedness and stringently frugal …




DIY Wood-Lined-Steel-Drum Corn Storage, by Thomas

“Some deer came to the squirrel feeder today,” Kari announced at supper one evening. Kari and I both love deer. Kari loves deer because she thinks that they are pretty. I love deer because I think that they are tasty. As a result, our priorities don’t always coincide. But we do both agree that we like having deer around on the property. It isn’t that I have ever actually shot deer on our property. I just want them nearby in case I get hungry. The squirrel feeder had not always been a squirrel feeder. It was originally a platform that …




For Want of a Nail: A Preps Inventory System – Part 4, by J.M.

(Continued from Part  3. This concludes the article.) What I’ve covered so far are the absolute basic things you need to know to use Obsidian for an inventory management systems. There are a number of other potentially useful capabilities you can use to enhance your inventory system that I’ll cover next. Where’s Waldo? Another potentially useful feature of Obsidian is the ability to assign a geographical location to a note. Say, for example, you have a couple of buried caches that you want to include in your inventory and you’d like to be able to include a map of their …




For Want of a Nail: A Preps Inventory System – Part 3, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 2.) For security reasons, the Obsidian folks are pretty strict about letting you install Community plugins. You first have to go into the ‘Community Plugins’ section in ‘Options’ and turn off ‘Restricted Mode’ before you can install any plugins. Then after you install a plugin you have to verify you want to install it, and after it’s installed you have to click the ‘Enable’ slide switch to enable it. When a core or community plugin is installed a new button will usually appear for it at the bottom of the left pane of the Options dialog. If …




For Want of a Nail: A Preps Inventory System – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1,) The Obsidian UI The User Interface (UI) for Obsidian can appear somewhat complicated, but it’s actually laid out pretty well. Here’s a picture of the basic interface:         Starting on the left is the Ribbon, which contains a series of icon buttons that you can press to perform different actions. There are a couple of different core functions, and many of the additional capabilities you can add via Plugins (more on that later) will add additional action buttons here. Next is the Left Sidebar, which can display a number of different views, but …




For Want of a Nail: A Preps Inventory System – Part 1, by J.M.

If you’re a regular reader of SurvivalBlog.com you’ve probably collected at least a few things as part of your preps – canned food, radios, firearms, ammunition, medical supplies, etc. When you first start prepping, knowing what you have and where it’s located isn’t that difficult – you can probably remember the contents of your bug-out bag, the canned food in the basement, a medical kit, etc. But as your preps continue to expand it becomes harder and harder to keep track of what you have, where it is and what you need to do to take care of it. Not …




Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds …




Preparedness Logistics – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

The science and practice of logistics is often defined as getting the right stuff, in the right quantity, to the right place at the right time.  For those who are preparedness-minded, logistics takes on additional nuances.  Unlike those in business and industry, where orders for goods drives the logistics process, Preppers are preparing for threats that have no pre-determined date, have many unknown impacts including time to recovery (if ever), and spatial impact.  Whereas a car manufacturer, who has an order for 100 cars knows they need 400 tires (not including the little donut spare).  Preppers have no idea how much of a …




Vacuum Sealers: For More Than Just Food, by 3AD Scout

We have had a Vacuum Sealer for over two decades having received it as a wedding gift. Although we originally used it for food storage over the years we have found other things to vacuum seal for survival. Here are some of our thoughts and experiences on vacuum sealers For Prepper Food Storage When we first got our vacuum sealer I started sealing up white rice. I did packages with two cups of rice and then placed them inside a five-gallon food-grade bucket. As time went on we started to seal up five cup packages as well. The two-cup packages …




Shelving: Storage Projects – Part 2, by A.F.

Back to building cabinets. A cabinet is only a box built from materials the same width having smooth parallel sides. For wall hung units, the depth is usually around 12 inches. If you subtract for the thickness of face frame material (approximately ¾ inch) then the plywood panels can all be cut at 11-1/4 inches. You can make them which ever width you want, but an advantage of this size is that each full sheet of plywood can yield four sections eight feet long. If you are brand new to woodworking, keep in mind that a saw blade eats somewhere …




Shelving: Storage Projects – Part 1, by A.F.

We never have enough storage, do we? Be it a lack of dry coverage for equipment and gardening tools or pantries that are packed so full that first in first out rotation becomes a full contact sport. I enjoy working with my hands and trying to solve problems. In this two-part article, I hope to share some insights, ideas and projects that have helped us with storage for food, preserving supplies, and household items along our self-reliance journey. When we purchased our home, the property included a 24-foot by 30-foot dirt floor metal building, a derelict house, and the most …




Challenges of Living in a Small Home, by Hollyberry

I have always lived in a small space (apartment/mobile home/cabin) since leaving mom and dad’s nest many years ago. Small living is not for everyone. Being in a small living area, with pets and personal belongings, it can get crowded quickly. My husband jokingly says that we live homicidally close! I find that organization is important, as is letting stuff go when no longer needed or used. If you save everything because you may need it one day, then you can quickly run out of space. Clutter can take over quickly if not kept in check. We try to keep …




Learning Food Storage From Hard Experience, by PitbullRN

We all have our stories on how and why we got in to prepping. Mine began about seven years ago after reading One Second After, a 2009 novel by American writer William R. Forstchen. (I highly recommend this book, if you haven’t had the chance to read it!)  It is about how life changes for a small western North Carolina town following the collapse of the grid due to an EMP. As a nurse who lives in Western North Carolina, this book interested me not only for the setting, but how people with chronic illnesses would suffer and die if …




Letter: Advice on Oxygen and Moisture Absorbing Packets

Reader C.A. wrote to ask: I was wondering if you guys had an answer to this or could direct me to the answer: Those oxygen absorber packs that you get inside of food like beef jerky and medication / pill bottles. Can those be re-used for food storage, etc.? Also, who would you recommend as suppliers for these? Thanks. JWR Replies: There are two quite different types of packets. They usually have identifying markings. The two main types are: 1.) Most of the pill bottles and many electronics come packaged with a silica gel (moisture absorbing) packet and those CAN …




JWR’s View: Storage Space Planning for Your Stuff

As a survivalist since age 14–and now 58–I’ve reached the stage of life where I’ve accumulated a deep larder and a lot of stuff. Just writing can’t help but remind me of the classic George Carlin stand-up comedy routine on “A Place For Your Stuff.” (Be forewarned of Carlin’s foul language.) But seriously, every well-prepared family has mountains of stuff. Storage space planning presents three major challenges: 1.) Where to fit it all. 2.) How to keep it safe from deterioration. 3.) Keeping it organized, so you can quickly find, retrieve, and replenish it. I will attempt to address all three …