Category: Survival Mindset

Prepping: Things That I Got Right – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

In a recent SurvBut ivalblog article, I shared with readers the things that I wish I could re-do in my preparedness journey. It only seemed logical that I also share some things that I got right in that journey as well. Starting the journey Number one has to be that I started the journey into preparedness. Many people write about preparedness being a lifestyle but I think it starts with a particular mindset. I can tell you the event that started me on my journey. It was one Spring in the early 80’s when I got home from middle school …


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 …


Life With Propane Freezers and Refrigerators

Via an e-mail from reader Richard T., I recently had a special request to write an article.  His request: “From a 1975 The Mother Earth News magazine, I found an obscure reference to the Crosley “Icy Ball” refrigerator and a search found it mentioned in a SurvivalBlog article from 2009. I followed the link in the article which led me on to research it some more. Using “Crosley Icy Ball refrigerator” as a search phrase in Youtube I found several short videos on it. I then discovered this was not a lost technology but this is how RV and propane …


A Covid Experience: Three Years Later, by Tom In Alaska 

It was October 31, 2021. I was living in Arizona with a full season of cool weather hiking on the calendar. The first (and last) walk of the season was delightful. The temperatures were on the warm side and a steady breeze was kicking up the omnipresent Arizona dust. I arrived home in the evening filled with the satisfaction of a good first day but told my wife that my throat was slightly sore from the “blowing dust” Waking on November 1st with a 102 F fever was an omen. The next day I immediately drove to the local Urgent …


Your Last Day, by SaraSue

On Monday I seemed extra tired while trying to get morning chores done, and it took longer than normal.  I struggled milking the cow and carrying the milk in.  I felt dizzy, a little short of breath, like walking underwater.  I tried to shake it off, but it wasn’t shakin’.  After morning farm chores were slowly finished, I sat in a lounge chair and put my feet up.  I pretty much stayed there all day.  At least, until, it was time for afternoon chores, and I didn’t milk the cow.  Just couldn’t do it.  Went to bed early and slept …


Avoiding the Worst Case Scenario – Part 3, by M.B.

(Continued from Part 2.) There isn’t room here for detailing all the things to look for to see trouble coming, but violence does not usually consist of a bad guy leaping out of the bushes to attack someone. More commonly, the assailant looks for a way to get close to an intended “mark” and to size them up for their suitability as an easy victim. The idea is to gauge your reaction, and to see if it’s safe to victimize you. Marc MacYoung calls this “the interview”. The criminal interview may be as simple as asking for change, or for …


Avoiding the Worst Case Scenario – Part 2, by M.B.

(Continued from Part 1.) Some U.S. states and municipalities still practice anarcho-tyranny, with the state of California being a standout example. Homeless people and illegal aliens are largely ignored, while minor infractions by taxpaying residents are zealously enforced. Professor Victor Davis Hanson—affectionately known as “VDH”—is a classicist, author, and podcaster. VDH has written and spoken extensively about the situation in California. Comedian, filmmaker, and podcaster Adam Carolla has similarly spoken about the differential treatment between groups of people in California. He sees the reason that mountains of red tape are heaped onto taxpayers and homeowners is that they’re capable of …


Avoiding the Worst Case Scenario – Part 1, by M.B.

Author’s Introductory Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. Although there are references to the legal system in this essay, no part of this essay should not be construed as legal advice. This essay is for informational purposes only. INTRODUCTION On April 11, 1986, near Miami, Florida, eight Federal Bureau of Investigation agents engaged in a four-minute gunfight against two suspected bank and armored car robbers. The shootout took place in front of a home in a residential neighborhood. When it was over, two FBI agents—Special Agent Ben Grogan and Special Agent Jerry Dove—were dead. Five agents were wounded—three seriously. Only …


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— …


If I Could Do It Over, by 3AD Scout

My son played lots of sports growing up and had/has a very competitive nature. Very seldom did his teams lose. When his teams lost, he was a very poor sport about it. I used to tell him winning is easy, but you learn more from losing. That is, we learn what we need to do better or differently, thus making us stronger. The same can be said about preparedness, we learn more from our failures than our successes. Here are some of my prepper follies and what I wish I would have done differently. First and foremost, I would not …


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 …


Preparedness Notes for Monday — March 31, 2025

Lyman Cornelius “L.C.” Smith was born March 3, 1850. Lyman Smith was the namesake of the famous L.C. Smith Shotgun. In 1877, L.C. and his older brother Leroy joined forces with an established firearms designer, William H. Baker, to form W.H. Baker & Co., and for the next three years, the firm produced Baker designed shotguns. However, in 1880, Leroy Smith and W.H. Baker left the company, and founded Ithaca Gun Company. The defection of Leroy Smith and Baker from the company did not hamper business, as they were replaced by Smith’s younger brother, Wilbert, and a new designer Alexander …


The Winds May Blow So Hearts Can Grow, by St. Funogas

Some of the recent rough weather in March spawned a lot of high winds and tornadoes. After seeing some of the stories in the media, a buddy and I decided to pack up our chain saws and take a little road trip. It was o’ dark thirty and we were in pretty jolly spirits as we pulled out of the driveway. We were drinking coffee from thermoses like the coffee gods intended, not from those newfangled insulated travel mugs. Spring was springing, the pastures were greening up, the peach trees were just starting to flower, and the bees were so …


A Little Lexicon of Liberty and Freedom Terms

The following is just a brief summary of some legal terminology.  A serious legal scholar would do a deep dive and end up with a 50,000-word treatise. But that is not my intent here, so I will keep it brief: One book that I’ve often referred to over the years is Black’s Law Dictionary. Mine is a 6th Edition, printed in 1991. I also have an e-book copy of the classic Bouvier’s Law Dictionary from 1856. It is interesting to see how some definitions of terms have morphed, over time. People often use the terms Freedom and Liberty synonymously. However, …


Preparedness in the New Golden Age or Grimy Age – Part 1, by Single Farmer

Editor’s Introductory Note: This young man is prayerfully seeking a wife. He is offering an after-marriage gift of up to $50,000 to whoever introduces him to his bride with $18,000 after their marriage and another $16,000 to the individual who provided the introduction after the first two births of healthy children born to him and his wife, for a total potential gift of $50,000. For further details, see this link to his article posted on February 24th, 2025: My Quest For a Wife. — We find ourselves in a unique time which will be of great change. We can either …