If you’ve been part of a prepper community for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard the warnings. Someone new shows up, asks a lot of questions, and within a few months, the whole group falls apart or worse – people end up in legal trouble they never saw coming. It’s happened before and it […]
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Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Whether you're a seasoned outdoorsman or just getting started with bushcraft, there's always something new to lear. The best survival skills aren't always the big dramatic ones like building a shelter from leaves and branches. Sometimes it's the small, clever tricks that make the biggest difference when you're miles from the nearest hardware store.
From turning a dead lighter into a fully functional fire-starting tool to improvising a draw knife from nothing but a stick and some cordage, these hacks prove that a little creativity goes a long way in the backcountry.
We found these gems on the YouTube channel Clay Hayes, and they're absolutely worth learning. You can watch the video, but we also listed and described each of the hacks below.
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One of the simplest and most useful EDC upgrades you can make is wrapping a standard lighter with duct tape. Or better yet, Gorilla Tape, which is a bit thicker and more heavy-duty. The tape stays on the lighter until you need it, and the uses are practically endless.
Gorilla Tape burns well and helps get a fire going in wet or windy conditions, and it can patch holes in tents, repair gear, and solve all kinds of problems in the field. It takes up zero extra space, and you'll be glad you have it.
Running out of lighter fuel in the backcountry doesn't have to mean you're out of options. A spent lighter still contains everything you need to start a fire. Use your knife to shave fine plastic shavings off the body of the lighter to use as tinder.
Then, carefully roll the striker wheel without flicking it hard enough to spark, and shave off the ferro rod dust inside onto your tinder pile. Once you've built up a good gray layer of ferro dust, strike it. The sparks will ignite the dust, which in turn lights the tinder.
If you've got a scrap of duct tape handy, lay it over the bundle to extend the flame even further.
Swapping out your factory boot laces for paracord is one of the best upgrades you can make before heading into the field. Paracord laces are virtually indestructible. More importantly, they give you access to a length of cordage whenever you need it. You can strip out the inner strands for fine lashing, sewing, or rigging, and use the outer sheath to re-lace your boots in the meantime.
To make lacing easier, heat the last inch or so of each end to stiffen it up so it threads through the eyelets cleanly. New paracord laces will feel a little slick at first, but they roughen up with use and hold a knot just as well as standard laces.
Carrying paracord loose in your pack is a recipe for a tangled mess. Here's a quick way to keep it neat and ready to deploy.
Coil up your paracord and leave yourself a tail of four or five feet. Wrap that tail over and around the coil repeatedly, pulling tight with each pass. Tuck the last bit of the tail under a couple of wraps to lock it in place. The bundle holds its shape, won't come undone in your pack, and when you're ready to use it, it pays out cleanly.
If your ax keeps getting buried in the wood when you're splitting, try tilting the ax head slightly to one side before you swing. That angle creates outward pressure on the split as the blade enters, which helps push the halves apart instead of wedging the head in.
It also helps to look for the natural grain or crack lines in the piece of wood and align your first split with those. This technique works with a full-size ax or a small hatchet. And whatever you're splitting with, keep your feet spread apart. If the blade glances off, you don't want it coming down on your shin.
If you need a draw knife in the field and don't have one, you can improvise one easily. Cut a short section of stick, around eight inches long, and bind each end with paracord or other cordage to form handles.
Then drive your sheath knife or a folding knife into the center of the stick lengthwise, so you have a handle on each side of the blade. The result functions surprisingly well as a draw knife for peeling bark, shaping wood, or other carving tasks.
If you can find a flat rock, that works great for sharpening, but if not, take the cut end of a piece of firewood and rub a bit of clay or gritty soil into it. That mixture of organic material and fine grit acts as a sharpening compound, and you can work up a legitimately sharp edge on a blade using nothing but mud smeared into a chunk of wood.
It's not a replacement for a good whetstone at home, but in the field it'll get the job done.
If you need a place to sit and don't have any rope or cordage available, you can make a functional stool using just four poles of roughly equal length. Prop them up in pairs, crossing them near the top to form two X-shaped supports, then lay a fifth pole or branch across the top to act as a seat.
The tension of the crossed legs holds everything together without any lashing. It's not fancy, but it keeps you off the cold or wet ground.
Forget the bug spray. If you're getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and didn't bring any, look around for plants with natural insect-repelling properties. Spearmint, for example, is highly effective and grows abundantly in many regions. It won't last as long as a commercial repellent, but it works.
What's available will depend on where you are, so it's worth learning a few local plants before you head out. While you're at it, keep an eye on fir trees. Those small pitch blisters in the bark contain a natural antiseptic. Pop one open and the resin inside can be used as a wound dressing in a pinch.
Nobody wants to talk about it, but everyone needs to know it. If nature calls and you didn't pack any TP, the two things you're looking for in a natural substitute are absorbency and softness. Large, soft leaves are your best bet. Avoid anything waxy, scratchy, or stiff. It sounds like a joke, but getting this one right can make a rough day in the woods a whole lot more bearable.
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The post 10 Survival and Bushcraft Hacks appeared first on Urban Survival Site.
Every day, I ask myself why food prices are still going up. From farm fields to your dinner table, a perfect storm of fuel costs, global conflict, and climate stress is pushing grocery bills higher. Here is what’s happening, and what you can actually do about it.
I typically buy cases of canned food that I use often from my Sam’s Club Plus membership card. It’s typically cheaper than going into the store (watch the prices), and they deliver those heavy cases to my door. Mark and I went to Walmart yesterday to pick up a few cans of certain items that were not available from Sam’s Club. Most of the time, I buy 10 cans; it’s how I roll. Well, today we bought 6 regular-sized cans of each product. The prices had doubled, if not tripled, from the last time I purchased them. I was shocked, to say the least. How are people feeding their families? No-Knead Bread
If you’ve stood in the checkout line lately, done the math in your head, and quietly put something back on the shelf, you’re not alone. Grocery prices have climbed so steadily for so many months that many families have simply accepted it as the new normal. But understanding why food costs keep rising, and knowing what practical steps you can take to soften the financial toll, is still worth your time, especially if you’re feeding a household on a real budget.
The short answer is that there’s no single villain. Food prices are the result of a long chain, from seeds in the ground to the truck that drops off pallets at your local store, and right now almost every link in that chain is under pressure at the same time.
Key Numbers: Groceries are up roughly 30% compared to 2020. Overall, food prices are predicted to rise 2.9% in 2026. Restaurant prices rose 3.8% compared to last year.
Overall food prices in the United States were about 2.7 percent higher in March 2026 compared to a year earlier. For 2026 as a whole, food prices are expected to rise around 2.9 percent, with restaurant and takeout prices climbing faster than grocery store prices. That might sound modest, but those numbers sit on top of years of prior increases. Grocery prices are up roughly 30 percent compared to 2020, which means the cumulative damage to family budgets is very real, even when year-over-year headlines look manageable.
This is perhaps the most direct pressure point right now. Diesel fuel is critical up and down the food supply chain. Tractors run on diesel, and the majority of food transported in the U.S. is moved by truck. Higher fuel costs translate into higher costs throughout the supply chain, ultimately reaching consumers at the grocery store. Perishable items like fresh produce and meat tend to feel the impact first because refrigerated trucks require more fuel to operate.
Seafood, which is typically transported by air, has also been hit immediately because of the high cost of jet fuel. So whether your family’s weekly shopping trip includes a bag of apples, a pack of chicken thighs, or a can of tuna, fuel costs have almost certainly already touched that price tag.
U.S. food prices are expected to increase again this year, as market pressures, such as the conflict in the Middle East, squeeze the supply chain from farm to grocery store. At least part of the increase in inflation is due to the resulting spike in oil and gas prices. When energy markets become unpredictable, the ripple effects reach fertilizer production, packaging costs, refrigeration, and transportation all at once. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the multi-year bird flu epidemic have each been shocks to the system in recent years, and their effects have never fully unwound.
Higher oil prices don’t just affect trucks. Nitrogen fertilizer, which is derived from natural gas, becomes more expensive when energy costs rise. The increased cost of oil-derived nitrogen fertilizer could prompt farmers to apply less fertilizer to their fields, leading to lower crop yields in the fall. That in turn means less feed for livestock and could drive up the cost of beef, which already hit record highs in 2025.
Longer, more unseasonable, and more severe droughts are becoming more frequent, partly because of human-induced climate change. Beef inflation has rapidly outpaced inflation for other foods, partly due to a severe drought that began in 2022, which raised feed prices and discouraged farmers from breeding cattle.
International wheat prices rose by 4.3 percent in March 2026, supported by deteriorating crop conditions in the United States amid drought concerns and expectations of reduced plantings in Australia due to anticipated higher fertilizer costs. Weather is perhaps the most unpredictable factor of all, and it can wipe out a season’s worth of progress very quickly. Many farmers are concerned with the recent low temperatures in areas growing fruit and other products. If the products got frozen, you won’t see much of that product in the stores after the usual harvest period.
Labor, transportation, and energy prices remain structural concerns for food prices. Food companies across nearly all industries continued to see turnover increase. The food industry also still lacks enough truck drivers, and electricity prices are expected to rise in 2026 due in part to the growth of energy-intensive data centers throughout the U.S. These costs are ones that food companies eventually pass along, one way or another.
The administration continues to discuss potential tariffs with Canada, the European Union, and other trading partners, which could drive up prices for fruits and vegetables, cheese, chocolate, spices, seafood, and many alcoholic beverages. Trade policy can shift prices in ways that are very hard for families to anticipate or plan around.
“Very rarely do food prices fall, and when they do, it is very short-lived, which is why some of these disruptions are really concerning.” David Ortega, Food Economist, Michigan State University
Yes, if anything, it’s rising faster. Food-away-from-home prices were 3.8 percent higher in March 2026 than in March 2025, and are projected to rise 3.6 percent for the full year, faster than their 20-year historical average. Labor costs at restaurants are the main driver, since waitstaff, cooks, and delivery workers all need higher pay as wages rise across the economy. Home cooking remains the most reliable way to stretch a family’s food budget.
You can’t fix global energy markets or drought conditions, but you do have more control than it might feel like you do. Here are some approaches that consistently help real families spend less without eating worse.
This isn’t just a cliche. The gap between grocery prices and restaurant prices is significant and growing. Even a few extra dinners cooked at home each week can meaningfully reduce your household’s food spending over the course of a month. Simple, filling meals built around grains, legumes, eggs, and seasonal vegetables remain among the best values in the grocery store.
Store brand products are manufactured to the same safety standards as name brands and often come from the same suppliers. On a full grocery cart, switching to store brands on even half of your items can save 20 to 30 percent. Start with pantry staples like canned tomatoes, pasta, cooking oil, and oats, and work your way through the rest.
Impulse purchases and food waste are two of the biggest budget leaks in family grocery spending. Spending ten minutes before your weekly shopping trip to plan four or five dinners, write a list, and check what you already have at home can eliminate a surprising amount of spending over time. Batch cooking on weekends and using leftovers intentionally both help stretch ingredients further.
Fresh produce that’s in season locally tends to cost significantly less than out-of-season items that have traveled long distances. Frozen vegetables and fruits are harvested and frozen at peak ripeness, often retain the same nutritional value as fresh produce, and are almost always cheaper. They also serve as a great buffer against weeks when fresh prices spike.
Several grocery chains with fuel centers, including Albertsons, Kroger, and Safeway, award loyalty program members with fuel points for every dollar spent on groceries, with 100 points equaling 10 cents off per gallon. These programs cost nothing to join and can provide real savings on both groceries and fuel, two of the biggest recurring household expenses right now.
For families that use large quantities of staples such as cooking oil, rice, dried beans, canned goods, or cleaning supplies, a warehouse club membership can pay for itself quickly. The key is to buy only what you’ll actually use before it expires, and to stick to categories where bulk pricing genuinely beats the grocery store. One key approach is to check the price per ounce that’s listed on the shelf price tag. Usually, larger bags or cans equate to lower prices per ounce. They may cost more in total, but you’re saving money based on the cost of each ounce purchased.
I’ve mentioned in many of my posts over the years that I look for caselot sales. We used to see them more often in the fall, but these days, the stores seem to have them multiple times a year. Make sure you buy what your family likes to eat, check the expiration dates, and buy what you have room to store at home.
If you’re struggling to afford groceries, look into help from food pantries and programs that offer free or reduced-cost meals. There’s no shame in using the resources available to families during difficult stretches. SNAP benefits, local food banks, school meal programs, and WIC all exist precisely for moments like this.
The honest answer is: in most categories, probably not. Very rarely do food prices fall, and when they do, it’s very short-lived and relates to a certain category of food. Eggs are a good example. They went up a few years ago when poultry farms were having to wipe out their flocks due to the avian flu. Once that challenge was dealt with, we’ve seen egg prices come down significantly. What families can realistically hope for is that the rate of increase slows down and stabilizes, giving wages a chance to catch up. Barring major disruptions to weather, trade, or energy markets, grocery prices should remain at moderate levels of inflation through 2026, though the range of uncertainty is wide.
The most empowering thing any family can do is understand the forces at play, make intentional choices about where to shop, how much to spend, and how to spend it on foods you like, and remember that small changes in shopping and cooking habits really do add up. You didn’t cause this situation, but you do have more agency in navigating it than the checkout line might make you feel. Don’t forget to plant those garden items you like, such as tomatoes, green beans, and strawberries. Having a garden can also be a cost-saving step and one that promotes a healthier lifestyle.
A Quick Family Checklist: Cook at least four dinners at home each week. Switch pantry staples to store brands. Write a meal plan and shopping list before every grocery trip. Lean on frozen vegetables and in-season produce. Sign up for your grocery store’s free loyalty program. If you’re struggling, reach out to your local food bank or check SNAP eligibility. May God bless this world, Linda
Images: Grocery Store Front AdobeStock_429829305 By Maksym Yemelyanov, Fresh Vegetables In A Grocery Store AdobeStock_496564425 By nd700
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, FAO Food Price Index, Michigan State University, FMI The Food Industry Association | April 2026.
The post Why Food Prices Are Still Going Up appeared first on Food Storage Moms.
Here are 30 food items you need now. Every family deserves the peace of mind that comes from a well-stocked pantry. Whether a storm rolls in, a paycheck gets delayed, or the world simply gets unpredictable, the families who have thought ahead and prepared are the ones who eat well and stay calm. This is your guide to the 30 items that belong in every home, every season, without exception.
None of this is complicated. You don’t need a bunker or a mountain of cash. You need a thoughtful list, a little shelf space, and the willingness to build something over time. Start with five items this week. Add more next week. Before long, you’ll have built something genuinely valuable for your family.
“A prepared pantry isn’t about fear. It’s about love. It’s about making sure the people you care about are always fed.”
We’re living through a period of genuine instability in the global food supply, and most families have no idea how close to the edge the system actually runs. The average grocery store carries only about three days’ worth of food on its shelves at any given time. That isn’t a scare tactic to bring that to light. That’s simply how modern supply chains work. They are designed for efficiency, not resilience.
Here’s what’s happening right now, and why every family needs to understand.
Global crop failures are becoming more frequent and more severe. Wheat, corn, and rice, the three crops that feed most of the world, have all experienced significant regional shortages in recent years due to droughts, floods, conflicts, and extreme heat events. When harvests fail in one part of the world, prices rise everywhere. When prices rise, lower-income families feel it first and hardest.
Shipping and logistics remain fragile. The disruptions that began during the pandemic years exposed just how interconnected and vulnerable the global supply chain truly is. Port backlogs, driver shortages, fuel price spikes, and geopolitical tensions can slow or stop the movement of food across borders with very little warning. Many of the ingredients in your grocery store traveled thousands of miles to get there. Any disruption along that chain affects your family directly.
Fertilizer costs have skyrocketed. Farmers around the world are planting less because the cost of producing food has risen sharply. Fertilizer prices surged to historic highs following the start of the conflict in Ukraine, since Russia and Belarus together supply a significant portion of the world’s potash and nitrogen fertilizers. When farmers plant less, harvests shrink. When harvests shrink, shelves thin out and prices climb.
Climate events are hitting closer to home. Wildfires, hurricanes, ice storms, and flooding are increasingly disrupting regional food distribution. You don’t have to live in a flood zone or a fire corridor to feel the effects. A single major storm can clear grocery shelves in your town within hours, leaving families scrambling for days.
Economic pressure is squeezing household budgets. Inflation has made groceries significantly more expensive for most American families over the past several years. Many households are already buying less than they used to. If a job loss, a medical bill, or an unexpected expense hits during a period of rising prices, a family without a stocked pantry is in a genuinely difficult situation very quickly.
None of this is meant to frighten you. It’s meant to be honest with you. The families who come through uncertain times well aren’t the ones who panicked. They’re the ones who paid attention, planned quietly, and built a small reserve while times were still relatively good. That’s exactly what this list is for.
You don’t need to solve the global food crisis. You just need to take care of your family. And right now, the most practical and loving thing you can do for the people under your roof is to make sure that no matter what happens out there, something good is waiting for them in the kitchen.
The goal isn’t to fill your pantry in a single afternoon. The goal is to build steadily, thoughtfully, and with your family in mind. Rotate your stock, replace what you use, and keep expiration dates in check. A pantry stocked with these 30 items can feed a family through job loss, illness, storms, supply disruptions, and the ordinary chaos of life with children.
“You don’t have to predict the future to prepare for it. You just have to take the next small step today.”
Start this week. Pick five items from this list that you don’t currently have and add them to your next shopping trip. Then do it again. In two months, you’ll have something real, something your family can depend on, something that lets you sleep a little easier at night. That’s the whole point.
50 Essential Pantry Items I Would Stock Today
Food Storage Matters-We Must Be Self-Reliant
Nobody wants to think about hard times. It’s human nature to assume that the life we have today will more or less continue tomorrow. But the families who have lived through a job loss, a natural disaster, a health crisis, or a prolonged power outage will all tell you the same thing. They wish they had prepared sooner. Not because they were pessimistic. Because they loved their families and wished they had done more while they had the chance.
A stocked pantry won’t solve every problem life throws at you. It won’t pay your mortgage or keep the lights on. But it will do something quietly powerful. It will make sure that, no matter how hard things get or how uncertain the days ahead become, the people sitting at your table will be fed. They’ll have warm meals and familiar flavors. They’ll have the comfort of knowing that someone thought ahead and took care of them. That comfort isn’t a small thing. During genuinely hard stretches, a bowl of rice and beans made with love, from ingredients you had the wisdom to store, can feel like the most important meal in the world.
So don’t wait for the headlines to get worse before you act. Don’t wait until the shelves are already bare or the storm is already forming. There’s no perfect time to prepare. There’s only now. Your family is worth the effort. They always have been. May God bless this world, Linda
The post 30 Food Items That You Need Now appeared first on Food Storage Moms.
One of the most rewarding, and also most challenging, endeavors you can engage in as a homesteader is raising beef cattle. Cows need a lot of everything: a lot of food, a lot of room, and most importantly a lot of care. There are tons to do and lots to know, and choosing the right ... Read more
The 12 Best Beef Cow Breeds to Raise can be read in full at New Life On A Homestead- Be sure to check it out!