Category: Survival Mindset

Letter Re: I’m Not In The Position To Right Now

Hi Hugh, My wife and I were discussing the most excellent post by D.D. She asked me did I write this. I told her, “No.” The reason she asked is that we have sat during “rest breaks” and discussed these very same items and scenarios in great detail. We have dropped many hints, some very “blunt”, to the people who may come to “our farm”. We raise cows, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, and have reserved a small herd of goats that we need to pick up. We grow sweet corn, field corn, field peas, butter beans, squash, potatoes, et cetera. …


I’m Not In The Position To Right Now- Part 3, by D.D.

I/we Will Hunt! You answer, “My brother knows how to hunt!” You’re not in a position to learn or keep your skills up-to-date, but you think he will do it for you. I live in Florida, so let me give you the numbers for my state. There are approximately 20,271,272 people in the state of Florida. If half of one percent of the people in Florida survived a major catastrophe (that’s a death rate of 99.5%), there would be 101,356 people left or 1.5 people per square mile! Doing some research on primitive living, I read that it takes about …


I’m Not In The Position To Right Now- Part 2, by D.D.

Food “My brother has a farm! We’ll have plenty of food.” When I hear this I ask, “What kind of farm?”. You can get any kind of answer here. Most people don’t realize that most professional farmers are specialized; they only grow one or a few things. There are farmers that raise only cattle, or corn, or fruit trees, et cetera, sometimes with smaller sets of supplementary crops. Farms that can be lived off of completely, which are very rare, are almost always small and provide for a small number of people. Each crop or type of livestock take special …


I’m Not In The Position To Right Now- Part 1, by D.D.

Bring up disaster preparedness and you’ll get a variety of reactions, everything from concern to amusement. Awhile after you start this discussion you’ll usually receive a comment like “I’m coming to your house.” This last declaration being an entirely different issue in and of itself, it’s a statement to the effect of “I don’t have to do anything because you’re doing it all for me. I will continue on my merry life while you make the sacrifices necessary to save me if anything goes wrong. You save, you train, and you go without. We’re friends, and I’m special.” Here are …


Guest Article: SHTF Intelligence – Getting Started- Part Three, by Samuel Culper

This is the third article in a series about using intelligence for preparedness. I’m starting from square zero in order to introduce a new crop of Americans to the concept of using intelligence, to prove that there’s a need for intelligence and to get readers quickly up to speed on how to incorporate it into their security planning. For a better foundation, be sure to read Part One and Part Two and check out the Ultimate ACE Startup Guide, too. Brief Recap In the first article, we established that prepared communities need intelligence because they’re going to have blind spots …


Keep Your Nose Clean!, by E.P.

In a survival situation, one of the most important things to consider is hygiene, especially if you are caring for children. In developed countries, waterborne illnesses and skin diseases are no longer common, but even in a short-term survival situation, unclean spectres rear their ugly heads. Fortunately, a simple family hygiene kit is easy to prepare and store. Although public health has advanced much in the past 150 years, at its core it consists of isolating waste and washing hands properly. Other important considerations are regular bathing and dental hygiene. As a mother of six children, I would also add …


Urban Trash: Why and How to Minimize Your Garbage- Part 2, by K.S.

3. Compost/Animal Food Technically you could differentiate between these two, as some items that you can compost you shouldn’t feed to certain animals. So scrounge two plastic buckets of a size you’ll actually use, carry, and empty, and make sure they have well-sealing lids since you’ll probably keep these in the kitchen. Then, label one Compost and the other Chicken Food (or whatever). Keep them under the sink or somewhere where you’ll actually use them. I’ve heard that compost “rules” have changed and you might be able to compost meat and dairy products now. I probably wouldn’t feed old meat …


Letter: Check Yourself for Readiness

Readers, Are you prepared to handle BIG change? What if China invades the U.S. tomorrow, or Russia drops a nuke on NYC, or global warming causes the U.S. to become the poorest country in the world, or really any other life changing event occurs? Have you thought about what you will do differently? Many people gear up for that catastrophe by storing gear and food in the basement and buying weapons. While that is important, it is not nearly enough. Nothing will make you invincible, but as Curly said, “The One Thing” is your attitude. I own and run a …


The Times They Are A Changin’ , by ShepherdFarmerGeek

Last night, the Dogs of Doom and I were out for our after-dinner hike when we heard what sounded like voices. But it was coming from the treetops, and soon a crow flew into sight, pursued by an angry sparrow. The crow was smarter, stronger, faster, and much bigger than the little bird, but he was being driven away because the sparrow was out-maneuvering it. I knew exactly how that crow felt! Nine hours earlier I had been the only customer at the local copy shop, and the owner was helping me find some colored paper, when this sour-looking elderly …


Letter: Remote Versus Truly Remote Rural Retreats

Dear Editor:I’ve been reading SurvivalBlog for a few weeks now, and while I admit that isn’t remotely enough time to wade through all the data present, I’m an old school (former) U.S. Marine that has long had a survialist mindset; I see one particular issue that jumps out at me. The standard advice, for looking for a bugout location or retreat, whether inside or outside of the ‘Redoubt’ seems to be this… 1) Find a plot of 20 acres or more that is, (2) off the beaten path BUT (3) has a well established road access, (4) with a good …


Is Being Prepared Getting In The Way of Living?, by M.

What are you preparing for? Are you getting ready to survive an EMP attack? A financial meltdown? Flu pandemic? Nuclear holocaust? Regardless of what we are preparing for, sometimes it is healthy to ask ourselves how we are living in the meantime. Those of us who feel a need to prepare do it with a passion, but are we preparing in sensible ways that allow us to enjoy life each day, or are we so busy watching and waiting for the chaos of life to justify the time and money we’ve spent on our “preps” that we miss a lot …


Letter Re: The Profile of Wounding in Civilian Public Mass Shooting Fatalities

Dear Sirs, I read the excellent study (“The profile of wounding in civilian public mass shooting fatalities“) linked from SurvivalBlog on 7/30/16. The only criticism I have is the premise that civilian public mass shootings (CPMS) victims could receive prehospital care within 10 minutes and trauma center care within 60 minutes of injury. As we have seen in events such as the Orlando and Paris Bataclan nightclub capers, these goals are sometimes stymied. Insights I gleaned from the study are as follows: Blindly following an algorithmic approach to trauma care may lead you to select the wrong algorithm for the …


Budget Planning- Part 4, by Sarah Latimer

Flexible Expenses This is the list of all expenses that are generally short-term commitments and flexible in their amount. Initially, try to get a handle on where you are spending your money right now. Once you have that written down and can get the picture of how your income is being used, you can begin to make adjustments based upon your goals. So, be realistic and honest in this step! I will write more about how to cut some of these costs down in the next section, but for now get a handle on your spending. You will be able …


Letter Re: Keeping Children Safe

Hugh, The author did not explain that during emergencies, public schools will sometime remove children from the school and relocate all the children to a safe location. The local school should have the predetermined safe location address. (Obviously, if there is a big fire at the school or other emergencies, the school does not leave the children in the school or school yard.) You might want to mention this fact in some added on information by the SurvivalBlog editors. During Red Cross training at work, the Red Cross representative asked everyone in the room (100 people) if they know the …


Letter Re: Getting to Your Children

Hugh, This is very good information, but if I, as a police officer or a designated reporter (nurses, doctors, teachers, and the like), found someone with lots of observations and detailed notes and maps about the movement of children, I would be considering whether to assert control for some questioning, since some parents are legally restrained from contacting (kidnapping) the children – male and female, and this is exactly what a predator pedophile needs. The absentee parent is in an awkward position, and God help them if there is conflict of any sort. A casual comment of frustration can tip …