Vehicle Prepardeness for Winter Driving

     It's that time of year again.  It is December, many of us will be out of the roads visiting friends and family for the holidays.  However it is also that time of year that winter storms have started sweeping across the country.  You don't have to be a prepper or survivalist to know that you need to make sure your car is prepared for winter weather.

Netflix for Survivalists and Preppers

     There are many resources out there for survivalists and preppers, from books and manuals to the television and internet.  One resource that combines the last two is Netflix.  There are many people out there with access to this website and the instant streaming that is available on it.  Therefore I thought it would be worth it to list out some of the current documentaries and shows available on Netflix.

     These shows and documentaries all have some kind of connection to survivalism.  Whether it is wilderness survival, homesteading, social issues, or political issues, there is a little bit of something for everyone.  If you have Netflix take a look:

Five Ways to Predict the Weather

    I love the Weather Channel.  Being able to flip on the TV and find out what the weather is right now, and what it will be in the future.  However if I am out in the woods camping or hiking, or if shtf, then I don't have the Weather Channel to turn to.  As a result, one of the skills I have been working on learning is how to predict the weather from the natural environment around us.  It is a skill everyone can learn and pick up pretty easily, and maybe you can even impress your friends with it.

10 Survival Uses for Duct Tape

     Duct tape is one of those materials that everyone knows about, and everyone uses.  It's sturdy, sticky, and has been used for practically everything.  From holding on our car mirrors that we accidentally broke off on the side of the garage, to be used to create a on of a kind prom dress, duct tape is everywhere.  As prevalent and useful as duct tape is, it only makes sense that it can be a great tool for survival.  We've complied ten different ways that duct tape could help you if you ever find yourself in a survival situation.

Finding North Without a Compass

     Directions.  They are important.  They are how we find our way around.  Whether it we're using maps, a list of landmarks our friend gave us, or GPS, directions tell us where to go.  When it comes to survival, directions become even more important.  Directions help us navigate paths, roads, and the wilderness, and can be the difference between finding our way home, or spending the night, or longer, lost in the wilderness.
 
     Many people take directions for granted, and don't even know how to read a compass.  For those that can, often times they feel safe enough in their skill, that they never think to learn beyond that.  At least until its too late, and they find themselves somewhere in the middle of the wilderness, and they realize that they left the compass back at the campsite.

DIY: Paracord Waterbottle Wrap + Finished Paracord Belt!

From: stormdrane.blogspot.com

     As you all know, a while back I bought some paracord.  A thousand feet of paracord to be precise, and the result has been a number of DIY projects using it.  My first paracord project was a to make Slatt's Rescue Belt, which has proved to be rather successful.  With the belt finished I have moved on to a second paracord project and this is making a water bottle wrap.

50 Skills Every Prepper Should Know

     As preppers and survivalists there are many skills we all should know.  The challenge is trying to learn them.  First we need the time to learn them, and then we need to have the materials to learn them.  This may be anything from a book or youtube video.  However it may require more effort such as finding classes at local community centers or wilderness survival schools or folk schools in your area.
     Here are some of the skills that we think would be particularly useful post collapse:

The Five W's of Shelter

     Shelter is perhaps one of the most important aspects of survival. Shelters help protect you from the weather. They are a barrier between you and whatever may be out there, wheather its wind, rain or animals. Of course building them is the hard part, however before you build them, you have to find the right spot. This is where the five W's of shelter come into it.

DIY: Paracord Belt - Slatte's Rescue Knot

     The Paracord Project has been up and running for a year and a half now, without any actual posts on paracord.  It is time to change that.  A while back I got a hold of a thousand feet of paracord with the intention of attaching it to anything I could as way to add a significant amount of cordage to my camping and survival gear.  The first project I have decided on is a belt.

Gardening for the Apartment Prepper

     This post may be a little late in coming seeing as we are now well into the summer months, and at this point most people who are going to garden have already started a garden.  However for those of you out there who live in an apartment and despair of ever having a garden of your own, there are some great and easy ways to supplement your food with home grown veggies.  Best of all, if you want to start a garden you can do it right in your apartment, so it actually isn't too late to start at all.

Natural Home Remedies: Tinctures, Salves and Syrups. Plus some recipes to get you started!

          In a long term shtf situation all one has to do is look back at history to realize what our greatest threat will be. Disease. Modern science and medicine is something many of us take for granted, especially if we have never had a serious operation or infection. Until it happens to you, you don't realize how many things modern medicine stops from killing us. Something as simple as a small cut can get infected and kill us if it isn't treated properly. For this reason it is essential as preppers and survivalists that we learn as much about medicine as we can to help better our chances for survival.

      Infusions, tinctures, teas, salves, tonics and syrups. Even the words sound strange in our modern world, but these types of medicines were common a hundred years ago. If we find ourselves in a long term shtf situation then they could easily be common again. In fact they may be the only things that will help keep us healthy and cure us when we're sick or hurt. So what exactly are each of these things and how do we make them?

How to Make No Pectin Jam + Strawberry Jam Recipe!

image from strawberrysue.com

     I am excited. We are getting into the warmer months of the year and that means that plants are starting to flower and fruits are beginning to ripen. Here in the Midwest strawberries will be coming into season here in the next week or two. For those that are further south, your strawberries are already ready for picking. For me though, strawberries means that it is time to start making strawberry jam, and start canning!

Cooking Off the Grid or Post Collapse

     One of the things all us preppers and survivalists do to prep is stock up on food. After all hunting and gathering will only get us so far at the beginning when shtf. If we don't have a survival gardening up and running, or if we have to leave it behind, we want to have some kind of food. That is why we stock up on food and water. No matter how much food we stock up on though, we will have to cook it, and we will eventually get sick of, or run out, of our canned food. Therefore knowing how to cook without all our modern conviences will be be an important skill when shtf, or even just for living off the grid.

Pandemic Box - A Survival Kit for Disease

     In case you aren't aware yet, there is a new substrain of bird flu.  H7N9.  There have been a number of cases reported out of China.  The disease has resulted in severe illness in all cases, and death in a number of those who have been infected.  The source of infection and transmission mode hasn't been discovered yet.  Should it turn into a full blown pandemic will you be ready?

10 Free Survival Resources that Should Be in Your Collection

     One of my favorite parts of being a survivalist is all the knowledge that I get out of it.  There are so many different things that I know and I can do, that other people wouldn't have the first idea about.  I'm always looking for different sources of information and the internet is perhaps the best place to find it.  While I always prefer having paper copies of information, sometimes its not practical to buy all those books I find at one time, so I will keep an electronic copy instead if I can get it.  So here are my top ten electronic books, that you can get for free!

DIY: Char Cloth

     Fire is one of the basics of survival.  It helps us keep warm, it can dry clothes, cook food, provide safety and provide light.  For survivalists, campers, hikers, and really anyone who may find themselves out in the wilderness, knowing how to create fire in one of the most important skills you can have.  Of course there are many different tools to make sure you can bring fire, or at least the ability to start it, with you.  Perhaps one of the best methods though is char cloth.

5 Unusual Ways to Make a Fire

     One of the most important skills in wilderness survival is the ability to make a fire. Fires allow us to do everything from cook food and purify water, to keeping us warm and warding off predators. When going out into the wilderness your best bet is to take an easy fire starter such as a lighter with you at all times. However if you find yourself lost in the wild, and in need of a fire, there are some more unusual methods that people have created to make fire.

DIY: Bug Spray

     As the weather starts to warm up, the bugs start to come out. For many of us, this also means that the bug spray comes out as well to keep those pesky insects from biting us. A while ago it occurred to me that when SHTF, there won't be anymore bug spray. So I decided to try and figure out how to make my own, and found that is in fact really quite easy!

Bear Safety

     In many areas of the country we are still surrounded by cold weather and snow.  It may seem like it is going on forever with no end in sight, however tomorrow is the first day of March.  Daylight savings time starts on March 10th (remember to change your clocks!), and the Spring Equinox is on March 20th.  It may seem like we are stuck in a never ending cycle of snow, but spring is on its way! 

 

     Spring means warm weather is coming and hiking will no longer require cumbersome coats, numerous winter accessories, and even snow shoes in some places to just walk around.  As we start to get out and hiking and enjoy the world waking back up, it is a good thing to remember that not only the plants are waking up, but the animals as well.  Specifically, bears.

Camouflage and Evasion

          In our daily lives we are constantly looking for different ways to be prepared. Many times a lot of us however tend to focus on the stuff for survival. How much food, water and supplies we need. However skills are also very important to have as well, and we have to remember not to neglect learning and maintaining skills that could be important for survival. One skill that we should all know is evasion and camouflage.

Hypothermia and Dressing for Winter

     A little while ago I did a post on winter weather and a few people commented that there wasn't much information on clothing. Most people who live in cold weather areas already understand how to stay warm, and what clothing they need. As a result, many of us who live in these areas don't really think much on the clothing we wear. However for someone who normally lives in warmer areas of the country, this isn't something they are normally faced with, and some people may not know how to deal with clothing in cold weather.

Having Pets When SHTF

      As survivalist and preppers we are constantly looking at different ways we can be prepared. Different survival plans, bug out bags, bug out locations, gear, and survival food and pantries. We plan for ourselves, we plan for our family, and we plan for our friends, even if they don't really get why we are prepping in the first place.  However, there may be one aspect of our lives that we haven't been paying attention to and prepping for. Our pets.

Beginning a Garden for Life and Survival

     In recent years the ideas of victory gardens and homesteads have enjoyed a resurgence as people look to find different ways to save a little money, be more "green", or just as a way to get fresh vegetables.  However, gardens are important for survivalists as well.  Sometimes we get so caught up in our newest gadgets, bug out bags, and survival caches that we forget to think about those other long term plans for when all those things run out or stop working.