Category: Survival Mindset

My Long Lesson, by D.D.

As an engineer I make my living by solving problems efficiently and with an eye toward the future. I can be stubborn in technical things, which bleeds into other parts of my life. This article is a about how that failed to serve me. Perhaps, it will ring true for you. I remember the day I became a prepper. I was living and working in southern California. One morning in my office, after a discussion of current events a fellow engineer quietly and kindly said to me, “You know, gasoline stations only have about one day of fuel in their …


The Thorough Planning and Orders Process- Part 2, By J.E.D.

2. Arrange for Reconnaissance: The best way to describe this portion is with a story. Let’s say you’re looking to buy a new house with some property. This new place is going to be your retreat, so you really want to make sure it’s going to be the right place for you and your family. You found a place you really like by looking on the internet, but it’s on the other end of the state from you. So, the first thing you do is find the address to the property. Then you’ll probably MapQuest or Google map it, and …


The Thorough Planning and Orders Process- Part 1, By J.E.D.

After reading articles on this site and many other similar sites over the last few years, it has surprised me that no one has written about the planning process itself. I have read quite a few well written articles that have contained very good information about planning for tasks such as defending your home, bugging out, and other activities. In this article I would like to address the overall planning process that can be used for everyday life. During this piece, I will be throwing a lot of acronyms at you. My goal is to make this as easy to …


Letter Re: The 20% Solution, by Redoubting Thomas

Hi Hugh, Regarding Redoubting Thomas’ article, in Missouri, we have more Amish than any state west of the Mississippi, not to mention a whole lot of Mennonites. It is true that they are good neighbors, and they do rely on “English” neighbors for a great deal, but I can’t imagine them ever wanting manual labor from an “English”. On the contrary, growing up in large families of 5 to 12 children without modern conveniences means that they can outwork most non-Amish with one hand tied behind their back. They do, however, provide excellent labor for someone establishing a new homestead …


Killer Survivalism, by Faith Believing

Do you read the news and start to worry? Do you lie awake at night gripped with fears of the future? Do you bolt awake at midnight and stave off the panic by making lists of preps to buy? Have you talked to your doctor about this? Don’t get me wrong; I think survivalism is a good thing. However, I think that there is an under-addressed subject that survivalists would do well to contemplate: the emotional stress brought on by worry about the future can be as deadly as the things you’re worrying about. It can work the other way, …


The Least Expensive Way Out – Part 2, by L.J.

5. Tools Tools are a great help in a lot of situations, like building or bartering, they can even be used as weapons! If you do end up buying tools, make sure you know how to use them so you don’t injure yourself. First, get basic hand tools, like a hammer, nails, screwdriver, screws, scissors, saw and a hacksaw, different sizes of wrenches, and files. Keep these in a safe place but not out of reach. Then there are the bigger tools, which are hard to forget because they are really useful, like shovels, spades, rakes, and hoes. Be sure …


Letter Re: The Least Expensive Way Out

Hugh, The article reminds me of a fellow I met on an American Heritage Girls camp out. He melts down his wife’s defunct candles placing the wax in Dixie cups that are half full of chain saw shavings from fire wood cutting. He just covers the saw dust and lets it solidify. Top half of the cup serves as a wick now that I think a little more. It provides the little extra that the fire needs to get going without the danger of accelerants. They are small and light. RV


The Least Expensive Way Out – Part 1, by L.J.

I’m writing to give alternative ideas for those of us who have less money. The basic idea is to spread out your funds to be able to factor in prepping costs. Now I don’t know how much money you get, but if you’re really dedicated you should be able to reach a reasonable conclusion which allows you to invest in prepping needs while also having enough for daily living; maybe you can set aside 4% of your monthly income for prepping. It gives you plenty for your prepping needs but also allows sufficient funds for your everyday needs. Now that …


Survival Journal, by Harley

Hi, I am a journeyman, millwright, and electrician by trade and do a lot of fabrication for the companies I work for. I also have 20+ years as a contractor, building houses. Additionally, I am an avid artist and a survivalist. The basic principle of a survival journal is almost exactly as it sounds. I say almost, because there is a bit more to it than just a simple journal. I will give my general journal layout and some of my reasons for adding certain things. First off, I will give some description of what kind of book I currently …


Letter Re: Multiple Families on Your Retreat

Hi. The article on Multiple Families was very good. We, too, live at our retreat. We’ve been working for five years to make this 9000 ft elevation retreat sustainable and may someday write about lessons learned, but for now we just want to respond to Farmer Brown. He was very generous to invite someone in to partner on the ranch, especially since the infrastructure he owns is a very expensive venture– one not shared by the new family. We believe we solved this issue in that we developed a co-op and invited a number of small families from our church …


Renters Can Prepare Too, by FLSnappyTurtle

Fifty secluded acres with a fully-stocked, underground bunker, an off grid cabin, and year-round clean water source is what comes to mind when I imagine my ideal prep situation. However, like many others who plan to survive TEOTWAWKI, my family cannot make this vision a reality right now. In the meantime, we rent homes. There are many reasons why folks choose to, or must, rent their living space, but that does not mean tenants cannot prepare for disasters and other negative world events. It may, however, require more creativity at times. This article is written for the beginner survivalist and …


Letter Re: Low-Budget TEOTWAWKI Preps – Part 2

Hugh: While the article discusses three specific breeds of protection type dogs, the author is incorrect in saying that German Shepherd dogs are a danger to families with small children. As a former USAF K9 handler and former law enforcement officer, we’ve now had German Shepherd dogs in our family for the past 35 years with not a single “issue”, bite, or wanton/reckless/attack to our children, grandchildren, their friends, or neighbor children. Well trained dogs do not attack at all, and even a family pet does not attack without provocation. Oh, and yes our insurer (the same one for 38 …


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 …