Category: Survival Mindset

Letter Re: Storage Without a Basement

Hi, Mr. Hugh! I live in the hot, HUMID, deep South and have a couple of things to add to the conversation. 1) If you have a spring, dig it out and box it in with cypress wood or some other wood that should last in water. We did that back in ’75, and added shelving on the inside of the box, at just under water level. Our spring water is very cold and should keep milk and milk products nice and cool. I have to admit that we’ve never had to use it for that; we just pump the …


Two Letters Re: So You Think Starting a Garden Will Be Easy After TEOTWAWKI

Onions are a winter crop, which speaks to planting for three seasons or even four. I am working on soil quality, as that would be hard for a looter to carry off, and I am working on it in more than one place with double digging and nitrogen-fixing cover crops like clover, black-eyed peas, buckwheat, and vetch. He mentioned 100 jars of food. I figured out that I need 400 jars (pint) for my family of six (grandma, husband, wife, and three children). I am using pints, because you can always open two; keeping half of a larger jar is …


Arming Your Neighborhood in a World Gone Feral, by E.M.

I occasionally prowl prepper forums to read the opinions being expressed on various survival-related matters. Some people offer opinions that provide excellent insight into a particular problem or concern. Other people offer opinions that reveal profoundly weird or nonsensical views about issues. Of course, that situation certainly isn’t limited to the field of preparedness. I recently saw a posting on a forum by someone who asked whether, in making his preparations for a possible societal collapse, he should acquire “pass out” guns to hand out to his neighbors who, though mildly interested in survival matters when he discussed it with …


Letter Re: So You Think Starting a Garden Will Be Easy After TEOTWAWKI

Dear Editor, I just wanted to add some thoughts regarding your recent article on starting a garden now. I grew up in the Midwest, and our family had one and sometimes two gardens. We grew a variety of vegetables, and we canned and froze whatever we didn’t eat. After I moved away and eventually moved into a city, I got out of the habit of having a garden. My travels took me from Iowa to Minnesota, back again, and eventually to Texas. This year my wife and I decided to grow a small garden. We have a home in the …


Letter: Reality Check

The following is my view of a major event in a large metropolitan area. Those that are fortunate enough to reside in a rural area will obviously have it much better. We all have read about bugging out and sheltering in place. The reality may not be our choice. Depending on the situation, you may not be able to leave the area. If the situation is a looming storm or hurricane, you may and probably will have warning and probably can evacuate if you don’t wait until it’s too late. If the event gives no warning, only a very small …


Sending Your Child from a Fully Stocked/Prepared Home to College for the First Time, by Mom

We have been successful with preparing our “bug-in” home and continue to learn and make mistakes along the way! Our daughter is in her second year of college, and I wanted to share our experience with preparing and sending off your first born into the college world. We were fortunate that she was able to take her car with her during her first year. This not only provided an obvious way to get home but also a mini-storage facility for supplies. If your son or daughter is not permitted to park on campus, the college can typically direct you to …


Frustrations of Prepping with an Unsupportive Spouse, by B.C.

I actually began writing this as an email to a close friend in order to vent my frustrations. After several conversations, I realized that there may be others going through the same struggles, and hopefully what I share can help them. I think in order to fully understand the situation, I need to share some information about myself as well as my wife. I believe the best way to understand where someone is coming from is to know WHERE they come from. I feel that Eric Haney in his book “Inside Delta Force” captures this best for me: “The larger …


A Get Home Plan, by H.H.

First, I want to thank all the contributors for all the time and effort that they have put into this blog. I won’t say I have read all of them, but I have considered a significant portion of them not only in my own lifestyle but in my preparation. My own situation is that I work in a large city in the south and the family is miles away. I have been prepping for a few years now and would just like to offer a few observations. I have done all the normal things at the retreat, including food to …


Two Letters Re: So You Think Starting a Garden Will Be Easy After TEOTWAWKI

Hugh, Finally someone has addressed something that has been on my mind for quite some time. Thanks Dr. Prepper for pointing out that gardening alone will be an insufficient means to provide adequate food when the SHTF! Your 2000 cal/day figure easily shows the shortfalls of relying solely on a vegetable diet, but under the high stress and increased activity levels that will be required when the SHTF a 3000cal/day requirement often is used as a more realistic figure. This would increase the required amount of the harvest by 33%! I wonder what the net caloric gain is with the …


Surviving the Collapse, Not Only Physically But Spiritually, by F.C.

So often, we hear about how to prepare for the future collapse. We hear, and correctly so, that we should store up food and other essentials to survive in the future. However, what will life really be like after the collapse has taken place? What will we do besides just survive? What should we do? Let’s assume that there is no longer any electrical power, either due to an EMP, general societal collapse, terrorist attack, natural disaster, or some other reason. This means there is no more Internet, cable or satellite service, television, Facebook, video gaming, and texting, and it …


Negotiating, by KMD

Negotiating is a useful skill in all aspects of life. Negotiating effectively in a SHTF scenario may be the difference between life and death. Whether haggling over the price of your next vehicle, home-repair service, that last box of shells, or something even more important, you want to make sure you walk away from the exchange, and walk away satisfied with the outcome. Below I present some tips to help in this regard. General Discussion As with all serious endeavours, careful planning and preparation prior to the affair, can pay healthy dividends. Actively negotiating is typically an exciting, stressful experience. …


So You Think Starting a Garden Will Be Easy After TEOTWAWKI, by Dr. Prepper – Part 3

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the preparation of a survival garden where grass used to be, amending the existing soil with compost, and the creation of rows or raised beds. In Part 2, I discussed the construction of an eight foot tall fence and gate with the intent of keeping out varmints. Specifically, and perhaps strangely to some readers, no mention has been made yet as to WHAT should be planted in the garden or how much and why. This is because many who are not familiar with subsistence gardening may be surprised at the true facts …


Letter Re: Confiscation of Stored Foods

Hi Hugh, I really enjoy the blog. There is a lot of good info. You mentioned about losing weight during TSHTF along with everyone else. I and others in my group have bought used clothing in bigger sizes than we wear now. I have worn this clothing around people who haven’t seen me in awhile. All of them commented on how much weight I had lost. Some even asked if I had been sick. In truth, I was the same size I was before. The clothes made it appear I had dropped 20-30 pounds. Perception goes a long way. I …


Letter Re: Confiscation of Stored Foods

Hugh, Thanks for your comments to my “letter”. I have another thought that I would like for you to address. Many of us have practiced good OPSEC, while others have not. Even those that have done a good job likely have a breech somewhere– a friend they were trying to “get on board” or family members that “talk too much”, et cetera. What might any of us that feel there is a breech of whatever magnitude do to “patch” the hole? Hugh Replies: Most of us are in a similar situation. You must be careful to maintain a high moral …


Guest Article: Prepping, by J.B.

“We interrupt this program with a Special News Bulletin…” As a child of the 1980’s, it was so clear to all of us that one day we would be sitting at home, watching MTV, and talking with our friends on our cordless phones, when the high pitch emergency alert sound would pierce the air waves and hypnotically draw our attention to the television. It would finally happen; the Soviet Union would launch an unprovoked attack upon the United States, and we all have minutes to live before our world would be changed forever. That day never happened. With the collapse …