Category: Survival Mindset

Thoughts on Survival at Rosh Hashana, by Ze’ev

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Editor’s Introductory Note:  This essay describes a SurvivalBlog reader’s thoughts on the nature of survival and the meme of survivalism, from the perspective of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. This was celebrated just one week ago. Rosh Hashana is a holiday, but a serious one. It is a time of introspection and renewal of faith.  L’Shana Tovah Tiketevu!  – JWR — What does it mean to ‘survive?. There are different levels of survival for human beings. And even those ‘levels’ are subtle–based on how we perceive notions of survival. For more than 15 years I’ve oscillated between binges of …


Still Prepping After All These Years, by Tony T.

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I have written this to encourage others that may be getting weary with the never-ending labors of preparation. I have divided this into four parts: 1. Learning from my family. 2. Adjusting to my own family. 3. Persevering through the years 4. Where we are now. Learning From My Family I’ll start by describing my father and his family. I was raised in a family that by modern standards would be considered preppers, at least by some. Prepping is not universally defined, to my knowledge. Be that as it may, I say we were preppers, but were unaware. It started …


When is ‘Good Enough’ Good Enough?, by Survivormann99

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In the various areas of human endeavor one often runs across an individual who only wants “the best” in the pursuit of his or her chosen activity. Deciding what is the best involves choices about such things as golf clubs, running shoes, automobiles, firearms, wristwatches, and small kitchen appliances, to name only a few. Some individuals’ opinions about what is the best can be absurdly wrong, but it’s their choice to make–and to live with. They revel in the fact that others–even if they are complete strangers–see them driving a certain SUV model, carrying a certain designer handbag, or pedaling …


Triggers to the Second American Revolution, by A.D.

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Having been a reader of SurvivalBlog for a couple of years, I have read some fascinating articles. The body of knowledge out there is truly astounding. There have been many articles about preparing for the difficult times ahead which I found to be helpful and unsettling. Sometimes, I feel the dread of knowing a powerful storm is heading our way and there is going to be much hardship as a result. My family lives in the hurricane belt, and one of the frustrating things is knowing a storm is on the way and trying to develop an action plan when …


Build the Plan vs. Test the Plan – Part 4, by T.R.

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(Continued from Part 3.) Later that morning/early afternoon, we sat down at the kitchen table (having brewed a pot of coffee on the spare camp stove from the basement according to our “A” plan) and talked through this. We needed a balance of water, fuel, gear/shelter, food and safety/security. Optimizing the mix of these five items (plus cash and valuables) and optimizing how to pack them efficiently with some degree of access to the right items in what order took significantly longer than either of us expected when a filter criteria of “not coming back” was inserted vs “we are …


Build the Plan vs. Test the Plan – Part 3, by T.R.

(Continued from Part 2.) Some background: I still work almost full time, but portions of the year are full throttle 60+ hour weeks and other blocks are much lighter, with my husband retired from the military. We wanted a vacation in terms of scenery and wildlife and we wanted to test our plans across a number of elements. To appropriately field test our plans with a degree of stress testing that would replicate a certain amount of tension present in real threat condition whilst isolating certain elements one at a time to calibrate parts of our plan in a systematic …


Build the Plan vs. Test the Plan – Part 1, by T.R.

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(Editor’s Note: This Part 1 of a five-part article series.) My goal in this article is to detail how to “build the plan” versus “test the plan” for bugout, while having fun. We regularly read SurvivalBlog and enjoy it immensely. We’ve also read and studied a lot of great books including Lights Out and Patriots. However, a few years ago we realized our learning curve was too slow for the fast-moving risk profile of a civil society becoming more frazzled (coupled with having moved to a hurricane-prone state after my husband’s retirement). We brainstormed how to compress the time required …


Quality Control Requires Ethics, by H.L.

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It seems to me that many Americans have gotten used to lack of quality control regarding many desired and needed items for use around the home. I have not! I had the good fortune to have a Father (born 1904 in Connecticut) who would not tolerate shoddy workmanship, either in running our 100-acre farm with the help of a hard working wife/mother of five children, or anything that he purchased after he had to medically retire from the Service Station that he built and ran. I am 76 years old, and have the same philosophy. Too many American companies have shifted …


Viable Eastern Retreats, by H.A.

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One of the prime considerations of anyone interested in preparing for a serious man-caused or natural disaster in the near future, is the matter of geography. James Rawles coined the concept of the American Redoubt, giving name and definition to an area widely-held to be ideal survival terrain. This area by one of its own main core criteria, is very low population density. But the majority of American people attempting to prepare are not in the American Redoubt. It is difficult for economic and other considerations to uproot and relocate there. More power to anyone seriously considering relocating to the …


Post-TEOTWAWKI: Groups and Retreats, Pt. 1, by E.M.

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There are many articles on the internet concerning the benefits of forming a group of like-minded individuals who could support each other when times get “spicy” for months or even years, either in their own neighborhood or at a remote retreat.  These groups are sometimes referred to as mutual assistance groups. These articles are based on the premise that choosing a “lone wolf” approach after TEOTWAWKI is unsustainable in the long run, and that even expecting a single family to live and thrive on a remote mountaintop after a societal meltdown is unrealistic and ripe for tragedy in the long …


Our Wildfire Evacuation, Part 5, by SoCal9mm

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(Continued from Part 4. This installment concludes the article series.) OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT: Make sure you wait until the last moment to do your Christmas shopping – seriously, I never have to worry about “rescuing presents” when I procrastinate. Stupid “get-stuff-done-early”… Laundry – have enough clothes so that you don’t have to go commando next to the washer, waiting for your lone pair of choners to get clean. Trust me, not cool. Air – we worry about food, water, shelter, protection, etc., but we rarely worry about preps for air. Dust and ash are (relatively) easily removed from breathing air …


Picking a BOL by Pete Thorsen

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Many people think that there are very troubled times ahead for the United States. Some who think that realize if that comes to pass their current residence could make their very survival problematic. So what to do? Move now or if tied down, like because of a job, etc, then maybe set up a bug-out-location (BOL). Great but where would you go? And what would be the determining factors in BOL selection? The “where” and the many deciding factors will likely be different for just about everyone. And anyone who has ever been house hunting knows that buying a house …


Estate Planning For The Prepared, by David E.

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As Benjamin Franklin once observed, nothing is certain except Death and Taxes.  If you’re like most people, though, you find the topic of planning for your own passing uncomfortable.  In fact, it’s more comfortable planning for TEOTWAWKI than planning for one’s own death.  Many find it so uncomfortable that they avoid planning for it at all. A lack of a good plan, however, leaves your loved ones in bad shape: they could be saddled with months or even years of legal proceedings, have to pay onerous taxes that could have been avoided, and your years of preparing and saving could …


Commerce Model Prepping: A Re-Evaluation, by B.H. in North Idaho

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Editor’s Introductory Note:  This article serves as an update to B.H.’s original piece on this topic, published in SurvivalBlog back in March of 2013. Introduction Over the years since I first read the novel Patriots by James Wesley, Rawles and made the decision to embrace prepping my idea of prepping has changed. It started when I recognized that friends, acquaintances and strangers all had varying ideas and degrees of preparedness even within very similar prepping models. The greatest characteristic of Survivalblog.com is that there is something for everyone presented in articles and information. Regardless of your station you’ll find information …


Life in the 12th Century, by Edge

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The following article may offend some miserable gits with no sense of humour. If you are a miserable git, then you have been warned. Don’t come whining to me. To envisage a life after electricity, we must look back to a time without it. Most people can think as far back as the American Civil War for a lifestyle but that is modern history with Morse Code (1844), Railways (1804) and Steam Ships (1787) and not where we need to look at all. We need to go right back. In the 12th century there was a rural population of around …