Category: Survival Mindset

Five Acres and Independence- Part 1, by D.C.

How You Can Do It- Getting Started Many of us find the prospects of individualism and self determination, on a level of becoming a self-sustaining individual or family or even maybe tribe or community, simply daunting. It is germane to contend in this day and age, some aspects of this are difficult to fully appreciate, where they are so foreign from daily life to be almost inscrutable outliers. Just where to begin can be an overwhelming situation. Don’t feel alone. There are a myriad of ways to begin, indeed, and the simplest answer is it all begins with each of …


Letter Re: Five Things Women Need, by J.W.

JWR, Another great article, thank you. One of the things I would like to comment on, that unfortunately must be strongly considered when working with our youth, is “prohibited places”. Volunteering and picking up the kids at my children’s school, I am constantly un-holstering and securing my weapon (at home or work, never in the car) BEFORE I make the trip. I carry wherever and whenever I am legally allowed. However, there have been times I was late because I realized I was armed and had to turn around to secure my firearm. Could you imagine the joy of the …


Letter Re: Prepping for Elderly

Gentlemen, A few days ago you advised retired and elderly folks about possibly finding a young person with a back to the land mindset to help out on their property in exchange for rent of a room. Might I add that they should also consider recently discharged veterans? Most have a proven work ethic. Many of them are not able to find meaningful employment in our current economy. In a SHTF situation, they already have recent military training. Check with your local veterans service office, the DAV, and the VFW for possible prospects. – JBA


Letter Re: Spare Tire From Hurricane Matthew Lessons Learned

Gentlemen, I really enjoyed DD’s Hurricane Matthew Lessons Learned write up. There was a lot of good stuff in there, and it gave me a couple of things to work on. One thing I can personally vouch for is the mention of your vehicle spare tire. I recently had some work done of my main vehicle, and it required the removal of the spare, which is mounted on the undercarriage. The mechanic called and said he needed to cut the bracket with a torch, as it was so corroded that he couldn’t remove the tire. If I had broken down …


The Fallacy of the Bugout Bag, by J.C.

I began my quest to become self-sufficient in a bug out situation sometime around the end of 2004 or the beginning of 2005.  My first purchase, if I recall was a gravity fed water filter and a small solar battery charger.  The old saying that one can live three weeks without food but only three days without water, in hindsight is what drove me to that purchase.  I don’t regret buying it to this day, but the chances that it will be with me in a true bug out situation, are slim to none. Before I go any further I …


Prepare to Be Prepped – Sometimes You Have to Survive Daily Life, by Just-Do-It Jane

Most of us in the U.S. have been touched by winter storms. If you live in the South like I do, then you’ve probably tossed your hands in the air and said to yourself, “Wait a minute! What happened to mild winters?!” Fortunately for me, my friend “Survival Messenger” has had the foresight to help me (and many others) understand why we should prepare for come-what-may scenarios. She has shared everything from her favorite high-tech gadgets to trusted and ingenious homemade solutions for everyday problems. I’ve been the thrilled recipient of handy buckets and bags filled with so many helpful …


When and How Do We Fight? That is the Question, by X. Liberal

This message is more on a serious note. Before we get started I want to make an attribution to Lavoy Finicum. My wife and I had the privilege of being present in Utah to pay respects to him and his loved ones as we were driving back from our final Redoubt Property inspection in Montana while traveling home to Nevada. His sacrifice sparks this message: “THEY” say Lavoy Finicum and his cohorts were illegally occupying the Wildlife Refuge in Burns Oregon. THEY say nothing about the Occupy Wall Street Movement illegally occupying City Squares. THEY say that it was unsanitary …


Everyday Survival Living Overseas Among Muslims, by A.E.

I read articles and letters on this site, and other blogs and web sites, where people are prepping for survival. Oftentimes these articles and letters concentrate on hypothetical or theoretical post-TEOTWAWKI situations. My family’s and my survival experience is not theoretical. We live in an everyday survival context. I hope this article can help to enlighten some of you on prepping for everyday living and to expose some of the challenges faced across America and the world by people wishing to prep in less than ideal circumstances. I am an American, an Army veteran of foreign wars, believer in the …


The Survival Mindset: The Overlooked Prep, by B.D.

In prepping, the details matter. In most articles, blogs, and social media posts about prepping, you read at length about others’ preps: food storage, water filtration, alternative sources of energy, bug out strategies, vehicle maintenance, weapons/ammunition caches and military style training. These are all informative and necessary. However, the one prep that is often overlooked, but the preps that matter most, are the details regarding your human “preps.” I don’t mean physical fitness or skills training, though those are vital. I am talking about choosing potential Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) team members to better insure your ‘surthrival’ in one …


Prepare the Wolf Within, by N.K.

If you are reading this article you are already awake to the impending Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) and whatever that could look like. You probably already have your bug out bag packed, your rendezvous rural destination with loved ones, your hard copy maps, your silver coins and small bills, and your gun and ammunition. If you are thinking you need to stay put you have your stored food and water, your medical supplies, your plans with like minded neighbors. You may even have learned some new trades – perhaps you learned on YouTube from a Canadian how to be …


A Life Submerged: The Gray Man Existence, by A. Smith

This article explores concealment and the Gray Man mindset and lifestyle in The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) and survival in contemporary society. The tactics, techniques, and procedures I’ll describe are taken from a military point of view.  It is not intended as an end all. It is merely a perspective on some experiences of deployments in 30 years of service to many backwater countries.  Hopefully my shared experiences will help better understand and prepare you in case something really goes wrong with our economy, natural or man-made disaster, etc. 


Terror in Texas: An Active Shooter, by Sophie

This is a wake-up call for all of you who think you’re ready when the Schumer Hits the Fan (SHTF). Whatever trigger may cause the mayhem, you think you’re ready for it because you read all the advice from experts like SurvivalBlog so that your prepared to handle anything thrown at you. Well I’m here to tell you that when it does come your way, either by lack of practice, planning, forgetfulness or not doing what you know you should, life can turn for the worst to immediately change your life and those you love. Yesterday was my day to …


Hurricane Matthew–Some Lessons Learned

Dear Editor: Although I shouldn’t have been, I was once again amazed at the panic and last minute attempts to prepare, as Hurricane Matthew approached Florida. Florida’s geography dictates that there is only one way to travel to get out of the state, and that is north, unless you own a boat or plane.  The interstate freeways and highways get a lot of traffic and the stores get cleaned out, by hurricane refugees.  The parking lot of the Walmart that I visited was full of recreational vehicles (RVs).  Many of their owners were standing around with nowhere to go.  When …


My Personal Journey to Embracing the Second Amendment, by K.F.B.

My great appreciation and understanding for the need of the Second Amendment and the necessity for the right to own guns was a slow and incremental journey. No one in my generation of my family owned guns. I was not raised around guns. I grew up in densely populated suburban areas of California, the Midwest, and New England. I never served in the military or in law enforcement. My maternal grandfather was a highly decorated U.S. Marine in WWI with the Fifty-Fifth Company of the Fifth Regiment. He fought at Champaign, Belleau Wood, the Argonne Forest, Verdun, and Chateau Thierry. …


Letter: Circling Back on My Preps

Dear Editor, My preps are in five areas, per the “group think” of SurvivalBlog. I have worked from area to area starting with what is easiest and cheapest up the ladder in each area. As I circle back I am working my way up but also looking back and questioning myself: Where did I store the extra ammo? Exactly what is in that unmarked box on my closet shelf and how might I better package to grab and go should we have to hastily migrate? Electrical items are on the agenda today. It started up with recharging the AAA-size batteries …