Category: Water Storage & Filters

Retirement and Surviving TEOTWAWKI, by Pat M.

All over the Internet are articles on surviving really hard times that are expected.  I note with some humor that most of these articles are talking to about 28-46 years old age groups, at least under-50 somethings.   I have seen nothing directed to the under 26 year-old or much over the 50 year-old.  Considering that we have a problem with what has been termed as an aging society retiring, what about us folks that can no longer throw on a 70 lb pack and hike 20 miles into the wilderness, or no longer have a sufficient income to prepare a …


Suburban Survival Revisited, by The Suburban 10

In April 2010 I submitted “Suburban Survival”. a set of ten steps I was going implement in order to get ready for TEOTWAWKI. Boy… did I underestimate the power and importance of survialblog.com! First and foremost I thank all of you who responded and gave a cold slap of reality. I thought I was going to be in good shape, but now my view and attitude are vastly different. How did it change? It really started when I bought and read Jim’s survival book. It offers solid fundamentals and interesting insight that I am adapting to my particular situation. My …


Letter Re: The Plan “B” Map

Sir: Regarding the comment in the The Plan "B" Map article about draining and filtering fire sprinkler systems for emergency drinking water: I’m definitely not an expert, and have only seen a few sprinkler systems purged, but the stuff coming out of those pipes is only loosely defined as “water”. The Fire Tech told me that some buildings have the original water in the fire sprinkler pipes dating back to when the system was installed, so it looks like motor oil coming out of those pipes. My office had the sprinkler system replaced, and it looked and smelled like sewer …


Convince Your Loved Ones To Prepare–Even When They’re Kicking and Screaming, by Patriot Chick

Becoming self-sufficient during a financial meltdown is difficult enough, but trying to convince reluctant loved ones to prepare can be doubly frustrating. It’s hard to understand how anyone wouldn’t want to start stockpiling their pantries after watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti, and more recently the devastating floods in Pakistan. We all watched the newsreels; millions of homeless and hungry fighting for a spot in breadlines. If that isn’t reason enough, the U.S. continues to be threatened with nuclear attack. Meanwhile, most of us are hanging by a gossamer thread between solvency and financial ruin. We …


Letter Re: What I Learned on My Summer Vacation

Dear Sir: I believe I represent the younger group of your readers. I’m 28 years old, third year medical student. I have no wife, kids or major responsibilities beyond school at the moment. I have a Facebook account which I mainly use for socializing with classmates of friends back home. Also as a relatively young adult/student I enjoy the long summer vacations many of my contemporaries do not due to work or other obligations. However unlike many of my classmates and friends I was born and raised up to the age of 14 in the former Soviet Union and have …


Letter Re: Survival Tips From a Sarajevo Siege Survivor

Jim: The following is one of those anonymously penned items that keeps getting passed around the Internet. It dates back to the Siege of Sarajevo in the ethnic civil war in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s: Experiencing horrible things that can happen in a war – death of parents and friends, hunger and malnutrition, endless freezing, fear, sniper attacks. To prepare… 1. Stockpiling helps, but you never know how long trouble will last, so locate near renewable food sources. 2. Living near a well with a manual pump is like being in Eden. 3. After awhile, even gold …


Letter Re: Finding Utility in Plastic Sodapop Bottles

James, I have just been at the sink filling water bottles. I know you say to leave the sodas alone, and for the most part I do, but occasionally I enjoy a glass of Coca-Cola. Okay, more than occasionally, but we will move on. We also attend family gatherings and church socials where refreshments are served. There are also all those school events coming up, for those still involved in public school where people will have to provide refreshments for different occasions. Instead of the cans of soda, buy the 2 liter plastic jugs. Re-use the jugs by washing them …


Drive Your Own Sandpoint Well

Have you addressed the issue of water in your long term family preparedness plan, where will you get clean water when everything collapses? Have you considered installing a pitcher pump well at your home or retreat? The supplies and instructions are readily available and fairly inexpensive. It is a great project for your survival group or family. It requires no power to use and costs nothing to operate.  If you are a regular reader of SurvivalBlog and have a preparedness mind set then I’m sure your guns are well oiled, you have trained to use them effectively and you have …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Beginning Preparedness

James, There have recently been some really good posts on SurvivalBlog. I found B.J.H.’s Thoughts on Beginning Preparedness very interesting. Not just because of useful information, but because it highlighted the differences between each of us and our situations. My first survival/TEOTWAWKI book was When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency by Matthew Stein. It made sense to me, so I started with lots of extra house/car keys, hidden appropriately. Next was Bug Out Bags (BOBs) for the whole family, and emergency bags in the cars. Then I started stockpiling food and water for …


Thoughts on Beginning Preparedness, by B.J.H.

Preparing for the end of the world as we know it is an understandably daunting task, especially for a beginning prepper. The path to securing yourself and your family should ultimately end in a self-sufficient rural retreat, but there are many steps down that path. It is easy in the beginning stages of your preparation to feel discouraged by the shear size of the task in front of you. The amount of information to be taken in, the sudden awareness s of your vulnerable present condition, the list of tools you never knew you needed, and the anticipated financial and …


Low Cost Preparedness, by J.E.

We, in the U.S.A., live on a knife edge.  Most of us take our life of ease (compared to the rest of the world) for granted, The ones who don’t are preppers and survivalists.  The television and radio give almost instant notification of the latest earthquake, hurricane, fire, or whatever and that makes many of us casual about disaster.  We get used to hearing about it so we ignore it beyond a “Gee that’s too bad!”  After all, disasters only happen to “the other guy.” Prepping for the individual and the way we go about it is different in almost …


Waking Up and Getting Prepared, by Matthew G.

I live a very average suburban life similar to many people across the country. Commute to work, office job, suburban home with wife and kids. It’s easy to forget how fragile this lifestyle is and how little it takes to remove all the things you come to depend on. Recently I had an afternoon that showed me just how easy these conveniences can go away and the difference a little preparedness can make. After picking up my daughter from day care I drove home to find myself locked out of the house. We were having new keys made and I …


Letter Re: The Disappearing Suburban Basement

Sir, Regarding the water problem in the basement: In our own basement, we have the traditional electric (grid powered) sump pumps. However, the previous owner had installed a water-powered back-up sump pump. As long as there is cold water pressure, this pump works beautifully. After using battery-powered back-ups for years, I’ve found this to be virtually maintenance free, while serving it’s purpose well. For most folks, a power outage in a severe thunderstorm is the most common cause of basement flooding. At least for a short period of time, such a water-powered back-up should work long enough for you to …


Letter Re: A Suburban Bug-In Problem (Or Maybe a Resource)

Since the 1950s many homes have had them. Since the 1970s many building codes have required them. What? A sump pump. Yeah, that thing in the hole in the corner of the basement that kind of hums every once in a while. You don’t think about it much do you? But it keeps your basement floor dry. If the electric goes out, for any reason, for very long, you may have a big problem. I have seen over a foot of water in a 30×25 foot basement after just a mild spring rain. They make “battery back up” auxiliary pumps, …


The Disappearing Suburban Basement–Part 2, by Jeff W.

In part one of this article, I outlined the process I used for the exterior of my home to create a hidden retreat for my family, and maybe a few lucky friends, should we experience some event in the nation which would precipitate the need to “go underground” for a short time. With the exterior of our home finished, and the basement retreat fully camouflaged from possible intruders, looters, or those looking to pillage and do harm, I turned my attention to outfitting our basement retreat into a space converted to provide shelter, defense, and storage. The only true access …