Category: Survival Mindset

Lessons From A Hard Disk Crash

In place of another feature article that I had planned for today, I’m posting a recap of a recent laptop computer problem, with some lessons learned. To start, I should mention that I’ve been a Macintosh user for my home computers since 1986. My first Mac was a Macintosh Plus, purchased just after I got off of active duty as an Intelligence Corps officer. This was before I was ever married.  I’ve owned a whole succession of improved Macs since then.  Since the turn of the century, most of those have been alloy-case MacBook laptops. I’ve always been fairly good …


Basic Home Safety Plans for the Duration – Part 2, by Michael X.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Sadly, I have found that it is very easy to not use the proper protective equipment. If I happen upon a piece of work that needs doing, I have a tendency to just start it. If a person doesn’t think about the proper tools and processes used for a task, they may not use them. If they don’t think about the risks with the work, or they decide the proper tools and PPE is inconvenient to get, they may just start the job. I have learned some hard lessons …


Basic Home Safety Plans for the Duration – Part 1, by Michael X.

With the current state of decline afflicting many of the institutions of our country, many people may feel our country is at a tipping point and our lives will revert back to near-pioneer status. Those who feel they are prepared to continue living on separated from the sagging society and decaying government may soon be isolating themselves at their preferred location, whether it is the bug out location, homestead, suburban ranch, or even a bug-in location in a populated area. Once you are at your preferred location it could be for the long haul and things will get harder and …


The Time It Takes, by SwampFox

I work as a truck driver. That means I spend a lot of long, boring hours driving from state to state. I have a regular route, covering the same roads each day. On good days, not much happens that is new or exciting, and to pay attention to my job I need a bit of entertainment in the background. So I listen to a lot of audiobooks. A handful of these have been survivalist fiction or preparedness-oriented. I have discovered that many authors and readers may possess some unrealistic ideas about what a prepared life looks like, or what life …


Preparing With a Parent in Decline, by C.H. in Kansas

It’s a hard thing to watch a parent who is in decline. This may include physical failings, cognitive decline, loss of memory, forgetfulness, disturbed sleep patterns, and bad decisions. The person who once took care of you is simply no longer able to take care of themselves. What responsibilities do you have toward family? 

In this article,  I’m going to relate some thoughts regarding the care of an elderly parent and some considerations for general preparedness planning, not necessarily TEOTWAWKI. This is not intended to be an exhaustive treatment of the subject of hospice, elder care, legal issues, or anything …


Some Elements of American Redoubt Culture

It has been said that most regions of the United States have distinct norms and cultures. Though we lack a distinctive accent, Redoubters definitely have our own culture. To sum it up in one sentence, I’d say the culture is marked by: fierce independence and conservatism, but with a kindly streak.  I’ll try to articulate that more fully, in the rest of this essay.


Some Ramblings on Preparedness, by Jed

The following are really ramblings and they will be all over the place. I lost my teeth several years ago and dentures didn’t work. With no teeth, the amount and kind of food became greatly reduced. I lost weight for sure but also lost muscle and energy. The big surprise was how must my brain depended on food. My thought processes slowly became diminished. Figuring out problems, making plans, being creative, making poor decisions, and that sort of thing is worrisome. The lack of all those things in an austere environment could be bad if not deadly. Food is needed …


The American Redoubt: America’s Empty Quarter

A major part of my consulting work revolves around relocation and retreat property selection, for my clients. When I have conversations with clients from the eastern United States, they often have difficulty grasping just how empty The American Redoubt is. Their view of “The West” is often skewed by the teeming masses of California that they see on television. I’d like to quantify, describe, and anecdotally illustrate the American Redoubt in this brief article.  As our friend Joerg Sprave would say: “Let me tell you about its features.” Vast and Lightly-Populated First, let’s discuss basic geography. The American Redoubt consists …


Bugging Out: Some Realities, by Mr. Zipph

I recently relocated from a rural suburb in a purple state to a much smaller community in a very red state. I had long-term plans to make this move, but an unexpected career change enabled me to move sooner than expected. While my new home is not a compound deep in the woods, it does provide me with more security, more privacy, the ability to expand my gardening efforts, the option of raising some chickens and/or rabbits in the future, abundant wildlife, and a smaller community where people go to church and value their freedom. When making our relocation decision, …


Solo Road Travel, by Hollyberry

THE PLANNING STAGE I live in Maine, and my mom lives in New Jersey. The drive, one way, is 550 miles. Depending on weather conditions and traffic, the drive will take 9-10 hours. I have been making this trip several times a year for about 19 years now. Due to mom’s declining health I have been required to travel more frequently. We have some animals/livestock that need attending to so my husband stays home on “homestead duty”. I wish my dogs were car dogs but they would make that 10-hour drive even longer so I go by myself. Over the …


An Honest Look at My Farm – Year 2, by SaraSue

We are coming up on the second-year mark of developing this small five-acre farm.  I share my experiences in hopes it will help others.  I’ve had some great successes and some disappointing failures.  I am in the process of reviewing my own work to see where I can change processes for more success in year three.  I’ve learned so much I can’t even write it all down.  I’ve worked too hard, of course.  I’ve spent too much money, guaranteed.  I’ve often had to do things over, trying to save money, only to spend two to three times what I could …


Mutual Assistance Group Planning – Part 2, by Survivormann99

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Post-SHTF, a survival group will be dealing with issues that are certainly more important than occasional potholes. What happens if individuals within the group begin dragging their feet and refuse to help with group projects or refuse to spend time on security and common defense? From a pure expediency perspective, what can actually be done about people in a group who don’t help with projects or participate in security and defense efforts? Should a group sit idly by and allow a gang of marauders to loot the recalcitrant member’s home nestled in …


Mutual Assistance Group Planning – Part 1, by Survivormann99

I have been involved in the preparedness movement, at least to some degree, for a very long time. I became involved in preparedness when all like-minded people were classified as “survivalists,” although there was never a universally accepted definition of exactly what a survivalist is. There still isn’t. When that term became tainted because of certain bad actors, many of us were then classified as “preppers.” It sounded less threatening, less “Unabomber cabin.” Again, there was no universally accepted definition of exactly what a prepper is. There still isn’t. The television series Doomsday Preppers almost always seemed bent on finding …


American Genocide: The Eugenics Solution Promoted by Socialists

In this essay, I’d like to expose the eugenics movement for its genocidal evil and racism. The leadership of the 20th-century eugenics organizations was mostly led by wealthy socialists. Rather than re-hashing all of the detailed history of the eugenics movement here in this article, I encourage my readers to watch this documentary film: The Eugenics Crusade. The film was produced by the leftist PBS, so it has a bias that soft-pedals the strong influence of American and European socialists in the movement. But regardless, the documentary shows the insidious evil of eugenics. Herein, I will provide just a few …


Behind the Scenes, by 3AD Scout

In April of this year, SurvivalBlog published “WHEN WAR COMES”. In that 2-part article, we explored some reasons why war is coming soon, what life might look like, and what we can do to be better prepared. Since writing that article, I have done a lot of research. Ninety percent of intelligence is open source, that is it is, in the public domain. It takes a lot of time, a little training, and a little luck to find the puzzle pieces and start connecting them. There are a lot of people out there who are stating that war is coming. …