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Category Archives: survival
Is Firewood a Part of Your Emergency Preparedness?
We all know that water is the Number One consideration when it comes to survival. Three days without the wet stuff, and you’re pushing up daisies. Besides water, have you ever thought of the availability of wood as a survival must-have? Have you stocked up on firewood for survival?
Back when we lived in the Phoenix area, I realized one day how desperate that city of 1.6 million would be without any fuel sources during a longterm grid failure. There are virtually no trees in that city that provide the right kind of firewood, and those that do, would take months to dry out and season.…
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Posted in fuels, heating, survival
Tagged cutting firewood, firewood, types of wood, wood
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Cooking & Eating Wild Mustard
Learn about the plants in your area. I live in Northern California and every spring you see acres of yellow flowers. Most people ignore them, but a few of us know that you are looking at wild mustard. This plant is good to eat, and you can make mustard from them.
Some people eat the flowering tops just before they open. They are cooked like broccoli. My wife was raised eating the leaves. The tender young leaves are used for cooked greens or in salads.
To cook wild mustard, wash the greens well and cook in salted water. Wild mustard can be somewhat sharp when raw and somewhat bitter when cooked.…
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Posted in edible plants, food storage, survival
Tagged foraging, plants, wild mustard, wild plants
6 Comments
36 Common Survival Items You Already Have in Your Home
In talking with people about preparedness, I find that many people think that you have to spend a ton of money to get started. They forget about the common household survival items they already have in their homes that can be useful, many actually necessary, for survival.
For instance, someone was complaining about how much it cost to get a good knife, until I pointed out that he already had several that he had not considered. It took a quick raid on his wife’s kitchen to find a knife that, while not the first choice, would serve his purposes.
Here is a list of other common household survival items that you probably already own
- If you want snow camouflage, make it out of old white sheets.
Posted in Self sufficiency, Seventy-two hour kits, survival
Tagged Common Household Survival Items
10 Comments
9 Reasons Why a Garbage Bag is the Best Emergency Shelter
If the SHTF, I can think of a lot of emergency shelters I’d rather be in than a trash bag. Maybe an underground bunker, fully stocked with weapons and food, with a wifi network. Oh, and my big, comfy recliner. That would be really nice. But of course, you can’t pick and choose these things.
In an emergency situation, a trash bag (namely the big, black ones my family uses for stuffing with raked leaves) can be an invaluable shelter to protect you from the elements. Let me tell you 9 reasons why a garbage bag is the best emergency shelter you can get in a pinch.…
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Posted in Shelter, survival
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25 Unusual Lessons From Long-Term Camping
If you’ve ever gone long term camping, you’ll be nodding your head in agreement, and then will have plenty more observations to add to this list. The more camping and outdoor skills you have, the better. Just a few days ago, I was contacted by a man who is now homeless and plans on living in his car as well as a tent, when the weather is conducive.
- Snails can CEMENT themselves to nearly anything, and often they will do it in the least expected places.
- You MUST make peace with the giant spiders. They eat mosquitoes.
- Raccoons have no respect for personal property.
Plant These Edible Flowers in Your Garden Now
The first edible flower I ever ate was a nasturtium. We had giant nasturtium plants growing in our herb garden, nearly taking over, in fact, and decided we would start consuming the orange and yellow blossoms and leaves. They have a peppery flavor with a little bit of a kick. It’s always fun to discover plants in your own backyard you can eat.
Nasturtiums aren’t the only edible flower that is commonly found in backyards and growing wild. Here is a list of some of the most common. This list is by no means complete, but is meant to be a starting point for further study of the flowers you have in your yard.…
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Posted in edible plants, gardening, Self sufficiency, survival
Tagged Edible Flowers, edible plants, foraging
2 Comments
When the Economy Collapses, What is “Money”?
It seems like every year there is talk of an imminent economic collapse. 2017 is no different. With the economic deck stacked against Trump, I don’t have much confidence that he, alone, can turn things around. After all, the national debt is completely out of control and has doubled in the past 8 years. Sooner or later, the piper must be paid and preppers who breathed a sigh of relief when Trump was elected, may want to think again, as I wrote about in this article.
So, with continued predictions of economic collapse, I asked Mac Slavo over at SHTFplan blog to share with my readers his insights into how a family might survive following a collapse of our money system. …
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Posted in SHTF, survival
Tagged collapse, currency, food storage, fuel, Gold, precious metals, SHTF, silver, TEOTWAWKI, water
14 Comments
Situational Awareness: 12 Things You Need to Know
This morning I have been thinking about situational awareness and how my perspective has changed over the years. Twenty plus years ago before I retired, I was very aware of what went on around me. Situational awareness was something that was foremost in my mind.
Today I have come to the conclusion that without the constant reminders that we used to receive, I have dropped my guard to a large degree. This is a mistake, and I need to step up my game and pay much more awareness to situational awareness. In the town in which I live, homelessness is becoming a problem and street crimes are up.…
Read More...Free Manuals to Download on Survival and Edible Plants
Everybody likes to get something for free and here’s a huge collection of free manuals for you to download. I have not had a chance to review all of them so I can’t say that everything they suggest is accurate. Many of them are hundreds of pages long, so take your time reviewing them and making note of the books or pages in books that you may want to print out.
Urban Preparation Kit, Part 1, On Body Kit
Cold Weather Survival: A Way of Life
Camp Life in the Woods and the Tricks of Trapping and Trap Making
FM 21-76 US ARMY SURVIVAL MANUAL
Survival In Cold Weather Areas
Survival, Evasion and Recovery
Marines Individual Terrorism Survival
Wilderness Evasion: A Guide to Hiding Out and Eluding Pursuit in Remote Areas
Free Manuals on Edible & Medicinal Plants
WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants
WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants Volume 2
WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants Volume 3
WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants Volume 4
Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada
Survival: How to Make Herbal Preparations
Medicinal Plants in Folk Tradition
Healing Pets With Alternative Medicine
Ethnobotany of the Forest Indians
Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herb Craft
A Taste of Heritage: Crow Indian Recipes & Herbal Medicine
Common Edible Mushrooms — Be careful here.…
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Posted in edible plants, survival
Tagged army, edible plants, free manuals, herbalism, herbs, military survival, shelter, survival, Water Purification, weather, winter survival
17 Comments
9 Uses for Rancid Cooking Oil
Now, I won’t say that I am cheap, but I never like to see waste. I use everything that I can. As many of you know, the shelf life of cooking oils is not indefinite, so the other day I found some olive oil that was out of date. I got to thinking about alternate uses for rancid cooking oils. Here is the list of uses for old oil.
Lubricant and rust preventative. It can be used for everything from squeaky hinges to oiling your tools. In a pinch, it would work to protect your firearms.
Lamp oil. Oil lamps are a good alternate use for rancid oils.…
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Posted in food storage, survival
Tagged diesel, Food, fuel, furniture, lamps, oil, tools
16 Comments