Category: Survival Mindset

Low-Budget TEOTWAWKI Preps – Part 2, By E.J.H.

So let’s go into some improvised methods for each of the prongs listed earlier. Improvised Methods for Detering Invaders You should get a loud dog. I have a golden retriever, who, even though he would probably just lick an invader’s boots, sounds like a dog three times his size when he barks, and he sounds very deadly. He is not effective for defense, but he could definitely deter a potential looter. A good dog would be a German Shepard, Pit Bull, or Bullmastiff to deter robbers/raiders even before the world ends. I know I would not like to even risk …


Low-Budget TEOTWAWKI Preps – Part 1, By E.J.H.

I am here to teach you some practical tips for preparing and surviving the end of the world without fancy preps or high-dollar retreats. I will also share some practical uses I have found for everyday items. As much as I would like everyone in America to be able to afford nice, expensive things for their preps, that just cannot be. Let’s face it, Mr. James, not everyone has enough money, time, or space for prepping, or maybe it is just not a big aspect of their life. Yes, I would love to have a multi-million dollar retreat, but some …


Letter Re: Traversing the Hinterlands – Part 2, by Iowa Farm Boy

HJL, Regarding grain storage buildings, the danger of corn piles/storage is when corn is being removed from the bottom of the pile. As with an electric auger when filling a semi trailer, the pile then begins to flow and one will be “sucked” through the pile. Otherwise, this is not an issue. With no electricity, removing grain from a 100000 bushel bin will be by scoop shovel (not a threat of entrapment). A pile of grain will “suck the heat” out of you, as will a bed of ice or a mud bog. Put insulation under your bag. Grain storage …


My Home Won’t Keep Me Safe in a SHTF, by SDL

I just wanted to start by saying I’m so thankful for sites like yours and other independent media out there that have the courage to share the truth. I know we can’t ever be free until we start thinking for ourselves and caring to learn the truth. It’s amazing how many people I’ve talked to and tried to warn, but they aren’t in the least bit interested. I would say the church is less interested than the world. They don’t seem to care about anything outside of their comfort zone. I’ve read that Americans have an eight second attention span. …


Letter: Are We Prepared?

Dear HL and Readers, I am a faithful reader of SurvivalBlog and enjoy the links to related articles. I, along with many of you, am seeing the signs of problems ahead. Your readers are preparing and have beans, bullets, and bandages. They are ready, but are they really? I went to Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010. I was part of a Christian mission team who helped with the construction of a home for a family in the Port-au-Prince area. For a period of about eight days, I experienced some incredible things. I slept in a tent inside a …


Traversing the Hinterlands – Part 3, by Iowa Farm Boy

Dangerous Areas It will be extremely difficult to cross this region while avoiding some major cities. For example, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City are very close together. You all know as well as I do what happens when people get desperate. How far away from the cities this will effect the countryside, I don’t know. Cities to avoid specifically are the ones with major prisons, like Fort Madison or Anamosa. There are several prisons or minimum security facilities across the region, and someone coming through Iowa needs to do their research and avoid them, if possible. I have spent the …


Letter Re: A Problem Today That is Only Going to Get Worse When SHTF

Those that we’ve urged to prep over the decades and who know we are well stocked up personally have given the typical parting comment from most of them; “Well, at least I know where I’m going when TSHTF”. Clearly implying their only prepping will be gas enough to come here. When I hear that I respond that they won’t get anywhere near here then without the password. “Password!?! What’s the password?” I’ll then cup my hands up to my mouth like I’m yelling in from afar outside the gates: “I brought all my own food!” I’m not laughing or smiling …


This is Your Brain; This is Your Brain When the SHTF, by SERE Guy in OH

The average American today considers comfort their greatest need. There is no scientific research needed to come to this conclusion. Just look around you and you’ll see people worried about vacations, going out to eat, parties, and the list goes on and on. Before I go any further, realize I have nothing against any of those things; in fact, I enjoy those comforts as much as the next person. The difference between us– me and most likely every person reading this website– and the rest of the world is that we understand that all these niceties are fleeting, and we …


What Happens After the End of TEOTWAWKI?, by Virginia Visionary

Many years ago, my wife and I were aghast at things the government was doing, and we were talking frequently with friends in the same state. Several years ago, we realized we needed to make preparations for survival because this ride is obviously not going to end well. We were pleasantly surprised to find many of the same friends thinking exactly the same way. Today, we have a lot of our preparations in place, including food, water, protection, debt freedom, and so forth. Achieving this now has me thinking ahead, as should we all. What’s going to happen after the …


Beyond The B’s…Now What? – Part 2, by Jason (Soon To Be In The Redoubt)

Don’t Be Too Cool For School SurvivalBlog readers, at least on the greater web, believe it or not, have a reputation as being amongst the more educated and affluent members of the preparedness community. Take that for what you will, but up until quite recently I had relied on a work ethic, intelligence, and blessings to continue to secure my rise in my chosen field. I had left college some eight years ago after being stuck in the “somewhere in my senior year” quagmire for what seemed like forever, after deciding that I had plenty of opportunity in my chosen …


Letter Re: Most Important Prepping

HJL, Regarding CC in Ohio, while concerned about his current status, he is also way ahead in that he is aware and attempting to get to his personal end result. He has weapons, ammo, food, he’s a HAM, and he has the mindset that shows he is watching and planning. Many of us (I’m in my 60s and active) understand that we no longer have physical youth on our side. Teamwork is putting together a team that works well together. I’m sure that if CC can keep his ears open, I feel certain he’ll find someone that would love him …


Beyond The B’s…Now What? – Part 1, by Jason (Soon To Be In The Redoubt)

Living a prepared life, as most readers understand, is not something that stops. One is never properly finished preparing. It is not something one works on for a bit and then says, “Okay, I’m done.” It is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency and preparedness. One of the first things most preppers come across in exploring the basics of preparedness is the three B’s– beans, bullets, and Band-aids. How many times have we read, even on this blog, “Make sure you have your beans, bullets, and band-aids squared away first!” That’s sage advice, and we should all follow it. However, what happens …


Letter Re: Illusive Self Sufficiency

Hugh, When I read the letter from RG, I thought, “Did my husband write this?” We have been in the same spot, also at year three of striving for preparedness and self sufficiency. I wrote SB over a year ago; it was the article on Year One at the New Retreat. We have continued our preps and property improvements and are still working very hard. I suspect we will never reach that point where we have thought of everything. Since my husband travels as part of his work, a great deal of the work around the property falls to me. …


Do What You Are Good At, But Work At What You Aren’t, by R.D.

Fear and prudence I’ve never thought of myself as being particularly knowledgeable on specific things regarding preparedness. I wasn’t in the military, so I don’t feel qualified to give “tactical firearms advice”, but I like to shoot and train as much as possible. I’m not an EMT, but I’ve put together several first aid kits that our family feels comfortable using. I’m not a farmer, but we have learned basic gardening over the last seven years in our small urban garden. I’m not a professional mechanic, but I prefer to maintain our cars and equipment largely by myself. I’m not …


Letter Re: Most Important Prepping, by JM

HJL, JM’s article on preppingis very good, well written, and info we need. But, what about senior citizens like myself who are on the downside of 70s, partially disabled by a neurological condition and couldn’t walk a mile if my life depended on it? My wife, who is five years younger and in better shape than myself, can outwork most men. I have adequate weapons, some stored water and food, but I don’t feel we are more than 30-40% prepared. We would like to protect our home as long as possible. We are in an older, smaller sub-division about 45 …