Our survival blog website provides information on survival gear, links and information for survival preparedness. Learn how to survive a disaster, and should the worst happen our survival preparedness blog can help.
When disaster strikes you have to be prepared. This is why we are always on the lookout for survival essentials that we can store in case SHTF. But what items do we need to store exactly? The following list has 100 items that disappear during a crisis. Better stock up on them before it’s too late
The bugging in versus bugging out debate is probably one of the biggest in the survival community, most likely because it’s impossible to predict the future. Everyone’s got an opinion. You have your extremists (who see themselves doing either one or the other) and then you have those who prep for both.
Instead of siding with either of the two, let’s try to find good reasons for doing either so we can at least figure out which one is more important for our unique situation.
Read More From The Source http://urbansurvivalsite.com/5-reasons-to-bug-in-5-reasons-to-bug-out/
With December 21 of 2012 just around the corner I'm not standing on a street corner saying the end is coming but I thought I would do a Hub Page on some basic common sense survival basics. If you live in the coastal areas of the American southeast you should also be getting ready for hurricanes before the hurricane season even gets here. I'm not telling you to become a doomsday prepper but I am telling you to be prepared.
Well if you're reading this then we all know that December 2012 has come and gone. But let me ask you a very important question. If something really bad were to happen tomorrow are you and your family prepared? Are you ready if something really bad does happen. Continue reading from the source.
There are so many thoughts and beliefs around what our own personal TEOTWAWKI reality will look like. Every prepper I talk to about any subject has their own take on what will happen, when it will happen, how bad it will get and in what order the chaos will or won’t descend into their world. I think that is natural and shows how we each have our own thoughts and creativity. Often these different perspectives are helpful to me by making me consider other points of view that maybe I had overlooked.
Each prepper has to take the facts as we see them and apply our own set of experiences, bias and guiding principles to any potential outcomes we foresee. Nobody can tell the future, so the best we have is history, combined with some individual common sense that hopefully leans on lessons from real history to tell us what to prepare for and guide us toward what we might expect. What each of us is actually faced with may be exactly what we anticipated, or it could be completely different. The trick is to not let a surprise do you in.
I think a lot of people have a best case scenario view in their minds of how the world is going to end and how they will fare through the upheaval. I call this the Prepper Fantasy. I don’t mean fantasy in the sense that preppers wish for events like this, but if something bad is going to happen, this is what they view as maybe the more ideal scenario. It goes a little something like this.
There is a global EMP or Financial Collapse or Pandemic that kills 90% of the world’s population in about 1 year.
The Prepper will have plenty of supplies and survival seeds to keep them alive. The garden will be started right after the catastrophe and they will hunt and fish for food all day long because they no longer have a 9-5 job to go to. They also have guns and plenty of ammo to keep the bad guys out of the house.
This New World will be populated only with people who were smart, good-looking and tough enough to have survived through the bad times and we will be so much better off. Oh, and all of the women will wear leather bras and very tight pants. And they will have Ninja skills too.
Sounds like the outline of a movie plot doesn’t it? One of the many problems I see with this view is the timeline itself. While a global pandemic could make the rounds of the planet in under a year (see Spanish Influenza) there would need to be a lot of other things that fall nicely into place for this Prepper Fantasy to work out. Continue reading from the source...
We are surrounded by modern conveniences, so much so that we take most of them for granted, until we don't have them. From the knife and fork we use to the more complex machines we have built to serve us such as computers, washing machines and even the car we drive. We have developed a way of life where many think they cannot do without these modern day 'necessities'. Is all the gadgetry we have surrounded ourselves with really 'necessities' or have we let ourselves become victims to so much gadgetry that even a broken pencil cannot be sharpened because the electric sharpener is out of batteries? I'm not against having modern conveniences. They have made life easier. But the individual who will survive cannot become so much a slave to luxuries that they cannot do without them. There have been people who have died because they have lost all their modern gear in some outdoor activity because they could not escape the mentality that they were lost without it. It is a fact that disillusionment and the paranoia that follows it are the biggest killers among people thrust into a survival situation.
History bears out what can happen to a people locked into this mentality. Did you know there were people who died on the Oregon trail because they lost their silver forks and spoons and figured they could not eat because they no longer had the tools they were used to eating with? It's true! Many others died when their food supplies ran out because they would not eat the wild game their guides provided because they considered it uncivilized. Even earlier than the Oregon Trail, back to the establishing of the first European settlements in this land, many perished waiting for the supply ships though they lived in a land of plenty. Had it not been for some friendly Native Americans who opened their eyes to nature's bounty and how to make and use the tools they used, the casualties would have been even higher.
In 1989 Hurricane Hugo hit the south-eastern coast of the U.S. and came farther inland than any hurricane on record. Many lives were lost and entire cities were crippled. Most people who lived that far inland never dreamed they could be affected so much by a hurricane. After all, there were hurricanes before and only coastal dwellers needed to be concerned with such phenomena, or so many reasoned, many to their despair. I was amazed at how helpless many people seemed. But there were some, thank God, that would not allow their minds to succumb to the numbness of despair and helplessness and helped out one another, bringing about a sense of community never witnessed before on such a scale. It took a tragedy such as Hugo to bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Unfortunately it takes a crisis to show us what we are made of sometimes.
What about you? Are you a survivor or a potential casualty? Ask yourself, when the odds are against you, what do you do? A true survivor will continue no matter what the odds. He will not look at what he hasn't got and despair, he will look at what he has got and work with it. It is this quality of life that has helped people face survival situations in the past and gave them the energy to not only survive but also live a life with meaning. Too many have forgotten or never learned what a blessing it is to simply live. Groping for comfort upon comfort will only lead to disappointment and discontent. Knowing how to do with little will make you appreciate what you have whether it be a little or a lot. In a survival situation, whether it be a collapsed economy, stranded in the wilderness or whatever the case may be, will demand courage, determination and perhaps something more. But the power is within us all to overcome our 'impossible' odds and rise above them victorious. You are capable of much more than you probably give yourself credit for. Learn to dig deep within. Draw from that well of spiritual power that is within us all. You can survive!
Survival Basics - An Introduction
As much as is possible, plan ahead. Train yourself in the skills you think you will need. Challenge yourself by testing what you know under controlled circumstances and try to see the flaws in your skills. As much as is possible, prepare. Don't wait until you are thrust into a situation and then have to learn or wish you would have took the time to learn. I always caution all my students that just because they have taken a survival course or read a book on survival or watched a TV show on survival doesn't mean they should go out like an expert and think they can survive. Take time to master your skills. I suggest you train yourself by doing things like take matches with you camping but also take a bow and drill fireset. Try to make fire without matches during your trip but if you can't then you have your matches to fall back on. Take your tent but build an emergency shelter and stay in it instead. Use your tent if you have to though. Maybe even set up a modern camp then strike out, set up a survival camp and use it, that way you have a backup if you need it. Always be safe. Test your skills little by little. Allow yourself to experience survival skills. Take some classes in survival skills. Then when you are ready you and some fellow 'survivors' try it on your own. Never purposely endanger yourself. Always have a back up plan and inform others where you will be and what time to expect you back. That way a search party will know where to look should things go badly.
You may be surprised how little it really takes to enjoy the outdoors. You will find you don't need the entire outdoor store catalog on your back to enjoy yourself. In fact that is kind of what got me interested in survival skills. I was part of a camping organization as a boy. They took a group of us camping and we were so loaded down with so much stuff it was unreal! I quickly learned that the more skills I had, the less stuff I needed.
Survival Basic Attitudes
Are you an outdoorsman? No matter how experienced an outdoorsman you may be... you could become lost in the woods. It could happen to anyone. Daniel Boone, famous pioneer, even got lost. He wouldn't admit it though. His words were, "I've never been lost but I was a might bewildered for several days." You could be out in your canoe or boat and get overturned, losing all your gear. What would you do? It seems to be in the news almost daily, some family, individual or scout-type group strike out into the wild and get lost or injured or caught in the dark. Most are not prepared. Families out on a day hike get off the trail and become lost with inadequate supplies. Many people have died from exposure, when something as simple as being able to build a fire without matches or constructing a simple debris shelter could have saved their lives. Mother Nature is unforgiving but she is also no respecter of persons and will yield her resources to anyone who knows how to access them.
Many outdoor enthusiasts, perhaps most, are so dependent on their modern gear that they would be lost without it. Modern outdoor conveniences make recreation in the outdoors very pleasurable, but the wise person will have a backup plan. Taking a survival skills course and a first aid course from an experienced teacher is a wise thing to do, for nothing can replace hands-on experience for learning lifesaving skills. I teach survival skills courses, but I remember when I first tried to build a bow drill fire by reading a book on the subject with no success. It was not until an experienced teacher had shown me what I was doing wrong that I successfully could go into the woods and with nothing but what was around me construct a bow drill and build a lifesaving fire. I have had readers though that have written and told me that they were able to build a bow and drill fire from the instruction I gave in my articles and books. I do try to write from experience and try to think about what I would like to be told if I were the student.
I shall attempt to explain what I consider some of the basics of staying alive in a survival situation in this article. My approach in this article is more or less written from the assumption that all modern gear is lost. In such a situation you must survive with only what nature can provide.
Survival Priorities and Basics
The first thing to remember, if thrust into a survival situation, is to remain calm. Panic has lead to death in many situations, for one cannot think clearly with the anxiety brought on by simply not calming yourself and using your head. In fact statistically, Panic is the number one killer in a survival situation. Exposure is number two. Bill Gingrass, a fine outdoor survival and primitive skills instructor, came up with a good way of reminding yourself of this, remember the acronym S.T.O.P. Stop, Think, Observe, Plan. STOP, don't wander around. Sit down, calm yourself. Do whatever you have to do to get control of the situation. If you've planned ahead, informed someone of the trail or water you intended on travelling and the time you plan on returning, they will know to send someone if you don't show up at the appointed place and time. Rely on the knowledge and skills you have, you can survive! THINK, assess the situation for what it really is, not what your panicked mind is magnifying the situation to be. OBSERVE, look in your pockets and look around you at what you have that would be useful. Do you have a pocket knife? A pocket knife is much more practical than a large sheath knife and can accomplish most tasks. Even a good-sized sapling can be brought down with a pocket knife if the sapling is bent and cut on the tension side of the bend. Do you have a canteen on your belt or a survival kit? Survival kits are good, if they are well thought out and remain on your belt where they cannot become separated from you.
Most kits on the market are sadly lacking, especially the type found in the hollow handle of so-called 'survival knives', made famous by Rambo. Hollow handled knives were originally designed to contain dehydration tablets and the 'saw' on the back was never designed for sawing wood, but ripping out an opening in the fuselage of a downed plane. Hollow handles make a knife easy to break because the tang doesn't go far enough into the handle. PLAN to stay alive. What are your priorities? You must plan on staying a long period of time, even if it so happens that you are rescued quickly. Set up a permanent camp, don't try to find your way out, unless you know where you are going and it will not require more energy than you have to give and can supply yourself for such a trip.
Consider how long it is till sunset. Don't get caught unprepared in the dark. The darkness changes everything. Temperatures can drop rapidly. You can't see as well. Nocturnal animals that have superior night vision come out at night. In a survival situation you become just another part of the food chain. Depending on how you use your brain and survival skills you have acquired will determine how high on the food chain you remain.
How do you determine how long it is till sunset? Hold up your hand in front of you in your line of sight placing your four fingers just under where the sun appears on the horizon. Move your hand downward to a position just under where your hand was before, counting how many hands and/or fingers down to the horizon. Each hand is an hour, each finger is 15 minutes. This will give you a rough estimate and will vary depending on your hand size. Test this method before you get in a survival situation to your hand size versus timing with a clock. Then you will have a more accurate idea of how accurate your measure is.
As soon as possible, signal in some manner. Three is the universal distress signal, whether it is three gun shots, three fires or whatever the case may be. If you do decide to hike out clearly mark your trail so searchers may track you easily. Why not just bring a cell phone for calling 911? Never count on a cell phone in the wilderness where there may be no towers to even get a signal. Sometimes travelling down the road it is hard enough to get a signal much less in the wilderness.
Your top four priorities, in order of importance, are as follows: SHELTER, FIRE, WATER, then FOOD. Why this order? Most people that die when thrust into a survival situation die of exposure, not hunger or thirst. Hypothermia, one condition of exposure, is the condition of the body when it is losing or has lost heat quicker than it can produce it. Hypothermia can occur at 50 degrees F believe it or not. Hypothermia at 50 degrees F usually happens when one has fallen into the water and suddenly their body loses heat unexpectedly. If you do fall into the water try to remember to ball up into a ball, drawing your knees close to your chest allowing your body to adjust to the temperature of the water before you swim out. Symptoms of hypothermia are uncontrollable shivering (early stages), redness of the skin, numbness, usually in the extremities, such as toes, fingers, hands and feet, slurring of speech and lack of concentration. In advanced cases there is no shivering and the person is usually incoherent. You must get the victim of hypothermia warm as quickly as possible. If you are with someone in this condition, and you are lucky enough to still have a sleeping bag, crawl into the sleeping bag with them with bare skin to skin contact.
Even if you don't have a sleeping bag shelter yourselves somehow, out of the wind and insulate yourselves in some manner, with natural debris or some material and do the same. Build a fire as soon as possible. In some situations, such as this, the fire may actually take a higher priority than shelter, acquiring shelter as soon as possible. If a person is in advanced stages of hypothermia no matter how warm a blanket or sleeping bag they have it will not help. In this state the person's body is not producing enough heat to preserve by insulating them. You must warm the person. Warm liquids and a heat source are what is needed. If not treated early the victim will eventually experience frostbite and will begin to have blackening of the extremities, such as toes, fingers, ears and nose followed by entire limbs and will eventually lose the use of these body parts. The body will preserve the core (heart and brain) above other body parts in an attempt to stay alive.
Hyperthermia is the opposite of hypothermia. Hyperthermia is when the body becomes overheated. Sometimes the dangers of heat are underestimated. In the summer of 1980, a severe heat wave hit the United States, and nearly 1,700 people lost their lives from heat-related illness. Likewise, in the summer of 2003, tens of thousands of people died of the heat in Europe. High temperatures put people at risk. People that are particularly susceptible to heat are infants, people age 65 or older and those who are obese. People suffer heat-related illness when the body's temperature control system is overloaded. The body normally cools itself by sweating. But under some conditions, sweating just isn't enough. In such cases, a person's body temperature rises rapidly. Very high body temperatures can damage the brain or other vital organs. It's like having a fever. Several factors affect the body's ability to cool itself during extremely hot weather. When the humidity is high, sweat will not evaporate as quickly, preventing the body from releasing heat quickly. Other factors that can cause hyperthermia are dehydration, alcohol use and certain drugs. Hydration is so important in hot or cold conditions.
Two common problems of hyperthermia are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion usually occurs before heat stroke. Heat exhaustion is the body's response to an excessive loss of water and salt contained in sweat. A person suffering from heat exhaustion may be sweating profusely. The skin may even be cool and moist. The victim's pulse rate may be fast and weak, and breathing may be fast and shallow. If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke. Heat stroke occurs when the body becomes unable to control its temperature. The body's temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down. Body temperature may rise to 106°F or higher within 10-15 minutes. Heat stroke can cause brain damage, permanent disability or even death if emergency treatment is not given. Symptoms of heat stroke include high body temperature (above 104°F), reddening of the skin, no sweating, a rapid pulse, a throbbing headache, dizziness and in extreme cases nausea, confusion, seizures, unconsciousness and death. What should you do if you or someone experiences hyperthermia? First of all catch it as early as possible. Get the victim cool. Get them into the shade. Immerse them in water if you can. Even soaking the clothing with water will help. As the liquid evaporates it will take away heat from the body. Fan them. Do not allow consumption of alcohol. I know certain TV shows show the survivalist drinking urine for emergency water. Urine will actually dehydrate a person further as will drinking alcohol and blood. Soaking the clothes with alcohol or urine would be a better use. The evaporation process from the clothing can help cool the body. And of course, get medical attention as soon as possible.
Be resourceful. Be creative in a survival situation. Think. The life you save may be your own or someone close to you. Control your circumstances as much as is possible. Don't let things get out of control. Think ahead. You can survive!
Want to know more about survival? Purchase Raven's book CAN YOU SURVIVE? Well illustrated and comprehensive information on survival. Benjamin 'Raven' Pressley is a prolific writer on a variety of topics. He is also an author of many books available in paperback and Kindle. He also has many free blogs to read as well as audio to listen to. For the book CAN YOU SURVIVE? as well as many resources and services he offers be sure to visit his website at http://www.WayoftheRaven.net
Want to know some survival seeds storing techniques? If you haven’t started your seed collection for the rainy days, then this is something you have to learn.
—This post is courtesy of Survival Life. Shared with permission—
Survival Seeds Storing Techniques For Homesteading
Interested in survival seeds?
Want to learn how to gather, dry and store survival seeds for the long term?
Check out the article below on survival seeds storing technique from survival and preparedness expert Alden Morris.
Survival Seeds Storing Techniques
Any survivalist can tell you that a scenario is on the horizon in which all of our ancient knowledge will be put to the test. The scenario differs from survivalist to survivalist but the same underlying rules are nevertheless consistently implied. You must prepare. You must store food. And you must learn to survive without the comforts of modern day society.
Some of us have stored food and gear and have continued back to our daily lives. Some of us continue to train, adapt, and push ourselves to the spiritual, physical, and intellectual limit in order to counter any possible scenario. Some of these limits include hunting with nothing more than a bow and arrow as well as even gardening and harvesting food from home. However, no matter how far your survivalist training takes you always remember; our ancient ancestors survived on mere nothing all while traveling on foot and left much of this knowledge for us such as survival seed storing techniques. No matter the disaster or how far they traveled, our ancestors maintained techniques to ensure a lush garden when they finally reached safe ground.
The first step for survival seed storing techniques is gathering the seeds. Seeds do not always have to be purchased; instead seeds can be gathered from already harvested fruits and vegetables. It does not matter the fruit or vegetable however, do realize the growing process behind each plant. For example, if apple seeds are stored than many years will have to put into growing an apple tree in order to produce apples. However, strawberry seeds are a great seed to gather as strawberries usually flower not long after they’re grown.
Strawberry seeds are some of the best survival seeds to gather. (image source)
Be sure to store enough seeds from each plant as to compensate for individual seeds that might not survive until the next season. It is common to have a few seeds not sprout for every handful of seeds. Also, be sure to separate each strain of seed from one another as to properly tell the difference between seeds that may appear similar.
Drying Seeds
There are several different methods for drying seeds all that really matters is how much space is available. The point of drying seeds is to rid them of any excess moisture that may cause them to sprout prematurely. Once all the additional moisture is gone than the seeds can be stored properly until the next planting season.
If not much space is available than the first method is the paper towel and the paper bag method. Simply place several seeds of each strain between two paper towels or inside a paper bag and store for a few days checking frequently. Once the seeds are thoroughly dried than they can be moved into storage containers. If more space is available than the paper plate method is a great method to thoroughly dry mass amounts of seeds from several different strains. Allow several days for this method to dry the seeds.
Using a paper plate or towel are two popular methods of drying survival seeds.
Storing Seeds
In order to properly store seeds air tight containers must be purchased or prepared beforehand. A great example of an air tight container is a mason jar. Once all of the seeds from each strain or thoroughly dry place them into an air tight container and be sure to label each one. It is very important to label each strain of seed as the air tight containers will help the seeds survive roughly four to six months until the next planting season. This amount of time may cause you to forget which seeds are which especially if there are similarities.
When planting season finally comes be sure to only germinate two to four seeds at a time from each strain as to compensate for seeds that do not sprout. Although there are several different methods to germinating and the primary method consist of burying the seeds germinating seeds can actually be done in just a few days indoors.
Fold a paper towel and dampen lightly with water. Fold several times over than place two to four seeds of the same strain of plant in between each moist paper towel. Place the paper towels into a Ziploc bag and then set on the window sill for several days. About once a day check on the seeds for signs of swelling, cracking, or sprouting. A translucent root will appear once the seed is fully germinated roughly one to two inches in length. At this point plant the strain and wait for the seed to sprout from the earth.
Does this help you in storing seeds for survival? Let us know below in the comments!
Knowledge is something that takes time to develop, so we need to start teaching the next generation now. In case God forbid, our children are left to fend for themselves or we are injured or even just to make your family more apt to survive, every child must learn these survival skills so they can pull their own weight and contribute as much as they can.
It’s not just physical survival we need to teach them but mental, emotional, and spiritual survival as well. If your family learns now to be a well oiled machine, you will be more likely to survive any type of collapse.
How to sew so they can mend clothing or any fabric and even make things such as bags or scrap quilts
How to barter and trade (Kids naturally do this with their toys so teach them at garage sales.)
How to be responsible for themselves and to be aware of their surroundings at all times
Have a natural curiosity and good problem solving skills
Be hard working and a self starter and a family helper not a complainer!
Have a strong faith in God (morals, memorize Bible verses, prayers, songs, and have a hope for heaven). Ultimately, everyone reaches a point in which their physical, mental, and emotional abilities are completely taxed. Spiritual survival can make the difference between giving up and finding strength from somewhere to hang in there, just one day at a time.
It’s finally happened…
The worst has occurred. The grid has gone down. The balloon has gone up.
While you were one of the “smart ones” who believes in preparing yourself and your family to survive the coming collapse, your neighbors and fellow townsfolk were clueless.
And now the world looks much different than yesterday morning when they woke up.
You know something they don’t.
In fact, here are…
The Top 10 “Wake-Up Calls” For Non-Preppers When TSHTF
1. You look outside your window and only see darkness.
Our government has admitted that our electrical grid is being held together by little more than duct tape and bubble gum.
We’ve had events as “harmless” as a tree branch falling 5 states away cause entire regions of the U.S. to go black.
Without power, without street lights, urban environments become a pitch-black nightmare when the sun goes down.
2. Your family is complaining of being hungry and thirsty all the time
With grocery stores picked clean and chaos still ruling the world outside your home, you’ll be left to survive with only what you’ve collected so far.
In some scenarios, without electricity to run the city’s pumps (or your well), there won’t be any water coming out of your faucet.
Even if there is, if the utility infrastructure collapses and water treatment fails, the water coming out of your pipes could be dangerously contaminated and come out brown and smelling like chemicals or sewage.
People can only live 3 days without water – even less in hot, stressful conditions.
Even for survivalists who hoarded food and water early, you won’t want to run through your stockpile too soon so rationing will be a big part of your response plan… and you’ll need to make hard decisions.
For non-preppers, it will be much worse!
3. Your toilet is smelling up the house.
With no water, there’s no indoor plumbing. But non-preppers will still try to use their toilets which will soon be useless and begin to stink up their house.
YOU will be forced to find another means of getting rid of what’s coming out of your body.
4. You have no access to an ambulance.
In a disaster, critical injuries are more common but your local paramedics will be overwhelmed with the amount of casualties.
You may be the one who’s responsible of whether your child lives or dies from their wounds.
Basic first aid skills may not be enough if there’s massive bleeding.
5. Fires are burning uncontrolled.
With more people turning to alternative means of cooking and heating in their homes, the probability of fires skyrockets.
But as firefighters are called on to assist with crisis response throughout the area, flames will overtake homes and spread.
6. Mobs are moving from house to house – looting, smashing, and burning.
Police departments are manned based on peacetime needs and not prepared for an all out collapse.
With the anger and frustration over not being “taken care of”, local residents can turn mean and decide to take things into their own hands.
In a collapse, there’s no more law.
7. You pick up the phone to call 911 and the line is dead.
Remember the “old days” when the power went out but your phone still worked?
Well, with the “advancements” of internet lines, most phones now are all delivered digitally and almost nobody uses land-lines anymore.
In a collapse, if your computer goes down, so does your phone – and the cell networks will quickly become overloaded and drop your signal.
Your trusty smartphone will be useless.
Even if you do get through to emergency services, police will be outnumbered and rendered practically useless
Many police officers will be forced to abandon their posts and look after their own families and as looting spreads to your area, YOU could be the only thing protecting your family.
8. You feel unsafe at home.
Most people think they can just wait out a disaster.
But what if a flood, wildfire, violent riot, or hostile force is heading your way?
Or the looting mobs spread to your home and there’s no back-up from law enforcement to protect you? It’s a sad fact that most people will realize they have not choice but to get out of Dodge until it’s too late.
Unfortunately, very few know the right way to design a bug-out “go bag”… even experienced “preppers”.
This is one of the most critical elements of a survival plan and if you don’t get this right, you and your family are in severe danger
9. You look for an escape but there’s no way out.
Without a proper bug-out bag, most people will be scrambling around trying to collect all their belongings to evacuate the area.
This takes up critical time you need to get ahead of the masses.
Amidst the chaos, roadways will be jammed with fleeing citizens and stalled cars that have broken down or run out of gas.
Highways will look more like giant parking lots.
You’re stuck where you are.
10. Traveling outside your home becomes too dangerous.
As a sense of frustration, fear, and hopelessness sets in among your fellow townsfolk, even good people can turn bad.
Desperate people do desperate things to survive – like attacking others for food after asking… then begging… yields nothing for their families.
All travel, even over short distances, will be too risky if you don’t have your go-bag ready and can get out the door before the highways turn into parking lots.
At that point – faced with hordes of desperate citizens in chaos – the odds greatly increase that you could be killed if you venture out.
Preparing To Survive A Collapse
In a collapse, if you haven’t made preparations, if you haven’t stockpiled supplies, if you don’t have a PLAN… you won’t have a prayer of surviving!
Plain and simple.
The sickness, the lack of emergency response personnel, the terrible sanitation, the deprivation from lack of food… these are all realities of trying to survive a collapse scenario with no preparations.
The top ten realities of such an emergency might seem too horrible for most people to face.
But even for those of you who are already preparing, if your only plan lies in your stockpile at home, you can now see all of the threats that you may face that could uproot you and your family in a split second.
This is why all the smart preppers know to start with your bug-out bag – because they realize what others don’t… that you must have the ability to go mobile if a crisis forces you to leave your food, water, and belongings behind.
Put yours together now and put your action plan into place now.
It will be too late to get your evacuation kit together AFTER a crisis is already under way.
What Didn’t We List That You Think Will Be A Smack Upside The Head For Those Who Don’t Prepare Now?
There is something remarkable about the American Pioneer.
These are the folks that settled and developed new territories, without previous knowledge of an area.
They not only re-learned essential survival skills, but also how to savor their time and resources using these skills.
We want to take you back to basics, and learn up on these pioneer survival skills you should have up your sleeve.
Here are ten skills that came second nature to the pioneers, and got us where we are today.
1. Gardening
Growing your own fruits and veggies, is not always a piece of cake. You must know the harvest season of each plant, how to read soil conditions, understand how to properly your plants and how to keep away unwanted pests. Check out The Ins and Outs of Up and Down Gardening for essential gardening tips.
2. Seed Saving
Seed saving is a bit of a lost art, but such a beautiful concept. Practicing seed savers are able to see the evolution of a plant over the years, and find out what factors affect the longevity of the seeds.
More importantly, after a harvest, seed saving will help you plant again the following year. Should there be a drought or devastating disaster, this skill could hold the key to continuing your food supply.
See our full article about The Art of Seed Saving.
3. Fire Building
Do you know how to kindle? Which materials to collect? How to maintain a fire in the rain? Basic fire skills are essential to your overall survival strategy. Check out A Foolproof Fire Starting Technique for the basics of how to build a fire.
4. Fire Techniques
A fire is not only good for generating heat, but is a great way to cook food, boil water, and purify water.
5. Home Remedies
Understanding not only what plants are safe, but knowing their medicinal elements can be the difference between life and death. Plants have amazing healing powers and can treat common ailments such as cough, fever, headache, lack of sleep, bites and sores…the list goes on! Check out our article on Mother Nature’s Best Home Remedies.
6. Metal Working
Believe it or not, there are blacksmiths still practicing this ancient skill in many parts of the world. This skill is useful in making tools, weapons, horseshoes or just simple eating utensils. If SHTF, everyone will be knocking on your door bartering for these handcrafted items.
It work does require a good deal of practice and some special equipment, but it’s a skill worth learning and the learning curve is cut a bit if you already know how to weld or do other metal works.
Building a permanent homestead will take quite a bit of time and work, but is crucial to making everything on this list a plausible lifestyle, especially for families. Although building a cabin is ideal, we understand sometimes one is stuck in the wilderness in an emergency survival situation. Check out Emergency Shelter DIY for temporary shelter needs.
8. Sewing
That’s right, sewing. Can you image making everything you own – clothes, hats, bedding, blankets – from scratch? The pioneers did! Knowing how to patch, mend tears, alter hems, or create something from scratch could help you stay warm in the winter and beat the summer sun.
9. Hunting
It sounds silly, but hunting requires becoming one with the wilderness. Learning how to hit something accurately is just as important as knowing how to stay quiet and listen to what’s around you, as well as tracking wildlife. How else are you going to eat?
10. Foraging
Foraging is a great skill to have in addition to hunting. We need those essential vitamins and minerals! However, like most things, it requires attention to detail. Have you heard the saying, “White and yellow, kill a fellow. Purple and blue, good for you. Red… could be good, could be dead?” Do not mistake all plants to be edible.
All of these skill sets are essential for any survival situation, especially if there is a disruption in society. These skills can also be used to trade with others to retrieve resources you may not otherwise have access to. Source
When most people decide that it is time to take charge of there family’s security and preparedness, the first resource that they turn to is the Internet. This can be both good and bad as the entire gamut of the Prepping world is on display all from the comfort of your couch, and the entire Prepping world can be a bit, how to put this delicately. . . Bat Shit Crazy at times. While AR-15’s and EOTechs are cool they might not be of much use during the next Ice Storm or Blackout.
#1 Assemble A Black Out Kit
Whether it is a big storm or a drunk hitting a telephone pole, sometimes the lights go out. A Black Out Kit is set up for when things go dark. It has the stuff you will be looking for immediately: a flashlight (the cheap ones are fantastic for this), some spare batteries, a few glow sticks, a candle, and some matches. I have one in each bedroom, minus the flammable stuff in the kid’s room. A few cheap kits like this will get you through the the short term power outages without ransacking the house looking for light!
#2 Put Together A 72 Hour Kit
A step up on the Preparedness scale but still firmly rooted in Common Sense Preparedness is putting together a 72 Hour Kit. This the sort of kit that sites like Ready.gov have been squawking about for years now. A 72 hour should have enough emergency supplies to get you and your family through those crucial first 3 days following a disaster.
A good basic kit will have:
When it comes to Common Sense Preparedness getting to know your neighbors just make good sense. Neighbors can come together to accomplish a lot in times of disaster. Clearing trees, bringing a load of firewood to the older couple next door, cooking a meal, running an extension cord to the house next door, keeping an eye out for those looking to take advantage of a disaster, or running down to the gas lines together are all good examples of the benefits of a strong neighborhood.
#4 Buy A Generator
Buying a generator is one of the best Preparedness investments you can make. If the lights are out for more than 3 days or so you will be amazed at how much you will crave a little bit of light. A generator just makes everything easier, being able to keep the fridge cold, cook a meal, and take a hot shower are just a few of the things a generator makes possible.
No matter what kind of generator you get fuel will be a big concern. A generator without fuel is just a very large paperweight. Having a few days worth of fuel on hand is a good level to strive for. During Hurricane Sandy the Northeast was hit with crippling fuel shortages and long gas lines, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the 70’s, were the norm. 20 or 30 gallons of extra gas and some restraint with the run times could mean keeping the lights on or being forced to stand in line with a bunch of angry irritable people who are just looking for an excuse to lash out.
#5 Get Started On Food Storage
When you mention Food Storage automatically the non-Prepper begins to think of rows and rows of gleaming #10 cans filling a basement. I’m here to tell you that is a noble goal to work towards but I figure that working towards 30 days of food stored is a realistic goal for most people. By using methods like copy canning, shopping sales, and remembering the old adage “Store what you eat and eat what you store” you can begin right away to build a deep pantry that will see you through 99% of disasters.
#6 Talk About Prepping With Your Spouse And Family
Getting a spouse on board with Prepping is a lot easier if you have some common sense goals in mind. Saying you would like to dig a bunker in the backyard is most likely going to earn you a glazed over look at best and divorce papers at worst. Having a family that can move forward together is much better than one partner prepping in secret!
#7 Go Camping
Getting the family out of the house and into a tent in the Great Outdoors is still the #1 way to get a family ready to face most short term disasters. Plus a lot of emergency gear is really just re-purposed camping gear. Fancy flashlights and lanterns are easier to get past the significant other if you are actually going to use them. Camping also lets you hone all those short term survival skills that will come in handy in the event of a disaster.
That’s right folks – over 500 camping recipes that also includes over 100 for Dutch ovens. Oh yeah, it’s yours for FREE down below! Many thanks to ‘Troop 26 Parkville Maryland‘.
Many of these recipes can also be cooked at home in the kitchen or on the barbecue etc. Don’t wait until the weather is nice and you go camping, to try some of these recipes. The free PDF of camping recipes would also be useful for emergency preparedness as you’ll likely end up cooking outdoors if the SHTF. Download and print out this free PDF cookbook below. FREE: 500+ Camping Recipes (Incl 100 Dutch Oven Recipes)
More than one group of experts are talking about increased risk of soaring food prices and economic instability. With recent droughts and other natural disasters around the world, our food production and delivery system is under a lot of of stress. If you can, I’d highly recommend stocking up on non-perishable food items.
One question that I’ve been seeing a lot in preparedness discussions is how to make real, “living” food a part of your storage plans. Many food storage lists include large amounts of heavily processed food items because they are cheaper, readily available, and have amazing shelf lives.
That’s all well and fine, but you’re supposed to rotate your food storage items regularly by eating out out your storage, and I am not eager to live off of MRE’s, freeze dried meals with hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and commercially canned goods that may contain mold or other questionable ingredients. (We do keep some MREs and freeze dried meals, but they do not make up the bulk of our storage.)
So what are some of the best options for “real food” storage foods? Here are my top ten choices for foods that can be stored at room temperature for extended periods:
1. Lacto-fermented vegetables/ Home Preserved Products
Large containers of properly fermented vegetables can last for months, if not over a year, in cool conditions (for instance, an unheated basement). Captain Cook used kraut on his ships to prevent scurvy, as did other sailors. My husband remembers my mom talking about how they would preserve large crocks (15-20 gallons or more) or kraut from season to season. She said it would sometimes taste a little different but it was still good. In my own experience, this past season I keep two one gallon crocks of kraut in my basement from October until May – seven months – and the quality was still acceptable at that time. The flavor was a little more tangy/bubbly than younger kraut. At this point I repackaged it into smaller containers and put it in the fridge and freezer. Sauerkraut is very high in vitamin C, and is also a good source of vitamin K, which is often deficient in modern diets.
Home canned, dried or root cellared fruits, vegetables and other foods are not quite the nutritional powerhouses that lacto-fermented products are, but they are much easier to use for the bulk of a meal, or for an entire meal. I’ve been working hard this season to preserve the bounty from the garden through canning and and drying, and will soon be filling the root cellar. If you’re unfamiliar with home food preservation, I recommend checking out the post “New to Food Preserving – Start Here“. If you decide to purchase canned food items, make sure to buy from a reputable source.
2. Live Culture Dairy
If you keep a yogurt culture that works at room temperature (such as viili from Cultures for Health, which I use), you can use it to culture powdered milk without a yogurt maker. While powdered milk is not ideal, it does store without refrigeration. Culturing makes the nutrients much more digestible. Milk kefir is also an option for a drinkable product. Milk kefir grains can also be used to culture coconut milk, if they are are occasionally revitalized in milk. Kefir provides protein, minerals and B vitamins. Traditional hard cheeses (such as Parmesan) may also last for months in cool dry temps.
3. Whole grains
Whole grains (in general) have excellent shelf lives, much longer than milled flours. Places like Emergency Essentials (listed below) sell grains and grain mills (electric powered and hand powered). If you keep a sourdough culture, you can use it to make many baked goods, not just bread, such as sourdough crackers. Again, using sourdough culturing makes the nutrients in the grain more available. Grains can also be sprouted and used to make a simple essene bread, which is very filling and nutritious. Read about the bulk grain order I organized here.
4. Chia seeds
Chia seeds have a shelf life of 4 to 5 years for dried seeds. They have omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, fiber, B vitamins, calcium and protein. They can be used to make drinks and no-cook puddings, as well as adding nutrition to baked goods and smoothies.
5. Sprouting seeds
Sprouting seeds also have a great storage life, generally 2 years or more. They are generally high in vitamin C, and may also contain other antioxidants and essential nutrients. They also provide fresh, growing food in a hurry when it may be in short supply. Sprouting seeds are easy to use. You can grow them in handy sprouting kits, or in sprouting bags or even nylon stockings. Mary Bell (in the Dehydrator Cookbook) suggests bringing sprouting seeds with you while camping. She says to soak them overnight in a bag of water, and then place them in a section of nylon sock attached to your backpack. Rinse daily, and in a few days you’ll have live, crunchy additions to your trail rations.
6. High Quality Saturated Fat
Coconut oil, lard and tallow will all keep for at least 12-18 months (most likely longer) in sealed, airtight containers kept in a cool area. Your body needs healthy fats. Your brain is largely made up of fat, as is protective coating on your lungs, and many other critical body systems. Fats are energy dense, which is also critical during emergency situations.
7. Dried Legumes
Dried beans have a great shelf. They will keep around a year in just the plastic bags from the store, 10 to even 30 years if sealed in airtight containers with oxygen removed. Utah State University Cooperative Extension states: “Dry beans average about 22% protein in the seed, the highest protein content of any seed crop. They contain all essential amino acids, except methionine. Methionine can be obtained from corn, rice, or meat. Beans are an excellent source of fiber, starch, minerals and some vitamins. ”
8. Real Salt
Unrefined salt has many trace minerals that are essential to health. In my experience, the unrefined salts (Real Salt, grey sea salt, pink salt, etc.) have a “saltier” more robust flavor, meaning you can use less to achieve the same result. Salt can also be used to preserve food (such as fermenting vegetables, above, and meats). Since ancient times, salt has been also used as a valuable trade commodity.
9. Bulk Spices, Herbs and Teas
Don’t underestimate the power of herbs and spices. As well as being high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, many of them have preservative properties as well. The New Agriculturalist explains:
“Cinnamon is just one of a large number of spices that have long been known to preserve food. Recent research has tried to find out exactly how effective the spice can be, over what time period, and in suppressing which bacteria. At Kansas State University, microbiologists have been testing the effectiveness of cinnamon and other spices in eliminating one of the most virulent bacterial causes of food poisoning, E.coli type 0157. Complications arising from the bacteria can include anaemia and kidney problems, and a serious outbreak can lead to fatalities. The Kansas researchers found that cinnamon added to apple juice that had been contaminated with E.coli, was able to kill 99.5% of the bacteria within three days, at room temperature. They also did tests on meat and sausage, and found that cinnamon, cloves and garlic all had a powerful ability to stop the growth of the bacteria. Other microbiologists in Tennessee have found that oils extracted from oregano, coriander and basil, also have strong anti-microbial properties. In future we may see more natural preservatives supplementing the synthetic compounds currently in use.”
I store my spices and herbs in glass jars out of direct light (sometimes using the sock trick). I buy in bulk (generally from Frontier or Mountain Rose Herbs, listed on the sidebar), store a small amount in the cupboard and the rest in the bulk food storage. Both stores sell small, inexpensive glass shaker jars to repackage your spices for easy use. Larger spices, such as cinnamon sticks or other “chunky” spices, can be vacuumed sealed in mason jars to extend shelf life. Under cool, dry conditions out of direct light, spices should have a shelf of two years. They can still be used after this time, but potency will diminish. Spices could also be used as a trade commodity.
10. Sweeteners, Including Refined White Sugar, Raw Sugar, Honey and Maple Syrup
I’m sure some foodies will cringe at the inclusion of white sugar, but it is less expensive than the other options and has a great shelf life (white sugar will last indefinitely if kept in a sealed container in a cool, dry location). It can be used as a preservative for fruits. Sugar can be used to heal wounds (as can honey). (More details on the sugar for wound healing here.) I use sugar to brew my kombucha, too. Raw sugar can store as well as regular sugar, but may be cost prohibitive for many.
Honey can store easily for over a year, possibly decades. They have found edible honey in tombs over 1000 years old. To store honey, Honey.com states:
Processed honey should be stored between 64-75°F (18-24°C).1 Honey can be exposed to higher temperatures for brief periods; however, heat damage is cumulative so heat exposure should be limited. It is best to minimize temperature fluctuations and avoid storing honey near heat sources.
The recommended storage temperature for unprocessed honey is below 50°F (10°C). The ideal temperature for both unprocessed and processed honey is below 32°F (0°C). Cooler temperatures best preserve the aroma, flavor and color of unprocessed honey.
Maple syrup has the shortest shelf life – around one year in glass bottles without freezing or refrigeration.
There are many other food options, but these are my top choices for foods that store a long time without refrigeration. I’ll be covering various food preservation techniques in more detail in the coming months (it’s my thing , including drying, canning, freezing, fermenting, preserving in alcohol and whatever else I can think of trying.
We are surrounded by modern conveniences, so much so that we take most of them for granted, until we don't have them. From the knife and fork we use to the more complex machines we have built to serve us such as computers, washing machines and even the car we drive. We have developed a way of life where many think they cannot do without these modern day 'necessities'. Is all the gadgetry we have surrounded ourselves with really 'necessities' or have we let ourselves become victims to so much gadgetry that even a broken pencil cannot be sharpened because the electric sharpener is out of batteries? I'm not against having modern conveniences. They have made life easier. But the individual who will survive cannot become so much a slave to luxuries that they cannot do without them. There have been people who have died because they have lost all their modern gear in some outdoor activity because they could not escape the mentality that they were lost without it. It is a fact that disillusionment and the paranoia that follows it are the biggest killers among people thrust into a survival situation.
Be sure to store enough seeds from each plant as to compensate for individual seeds that might not survive until the next season. It is common to have a few seeds not sprout for every handful of seeds. Also, be sure to separate each strain of seed from one another as to properly tell the difference between seeds that may appear similar.
When most people decide that it is time to take charge of there family’s security and preparedness, the first resource that they turn to is the Internet. This can be both good and bad as the entire gamut of the Prepping world is on display all from the comfort of your couch, and the entire Prepping world can be a bit, how to put this delicately. . . Bat Shit Crazy at times. While AR-15’s and EOTechs
are cool they might not be of much use during the next Ice Storm or Blackout.
are fantastic for this), some spare batteries, a few glow sticks, a candle, and some matches. I have one in each bedroom, minus the flammable stuff in the kid’s room. A few cheap kits like this will get you through the the short term power outages without ransacking the house looking for light!
. Those Space-Saver vacuum bags make excellent waterproof storage for these.
and lanterns are easier to get past the significant other if you are actually going to use them. Camping also lets you hone all those short term survival skills that will come in handy in the event of a disaster.
without a yogurt maker. While powdered milk is not ideal, it does store without refrigeration. Culturing makes the nutrients much more digestible. Milk kefir is also an option for a drinkable product. Milk kefir grains can also be used to culture coconut milk, if they are are occasionally revitalized in milk. Kefir provides protein, minerals and B vitamins. Traditional hard cheeses (such as Parmesan) may also last for months in cool dry temps.
, or in sprouting bags
or even nylon stockings. Mary Bell (in the Dehydrator Cookbook
) suggests bringing sprouting seeds with you while camping. She says to soak them overnight in a bag of water, and then place them in a section of nylon sock attached to your backpack. Rinse daily, and in a few days you’ll have live, crunchy additions to your trail rations.
has many trace minerals that are essential to health. In my experience, the unrefined salts (Real Salt, grey sea salt, pink salt, etc.) have a “saltier” more robust flavor, meaning you can use less to achieve the same result. Salt can also be used to preserve food (such as fermenting vegetables, above, and meats). Since ancient times, salt has been also used as a valuable trade commodity.
to extend shelf life. Under cool, dry conditions out of direct light, spices should have a shelf of two years. They can still be used after this time, but potency will diminish. Spices could also be used as a trade commodity.
, including drying, canning, freezing, fermenting, preserving in alcohol and whatever else I can think of trying.
