6 Off-Grid House Plans for Your Survival Retreat

 Original Article

by Tim Makay

Living off-grid is seen as the ultimate goal for many preppers. Reduced dependency on society, its regulations and its luxuries that invariably make you softer and weaker.

Quite a few of us want to free ourselves from the rat race entirely, living in a way that is much closer to what our great grandparents experienced.

Back then, it wasn’t cold survival, it was just called living, and this harder but a pure way of life is revealing itself today with ever greater appeal.

But making the transition from urban or suburban dweller with an on-grid, mass-produced house that is one step removed from apartment living to live full-time on an off-grid homestead is challenging stuff.

The list of prerequisites seems to be endless, not the least of which is what kind of house is suitable for off-grid living.

Space considerations, efficiency, best use of natural resources, and overall quality of life are all pertinent factors and if you are starting from scratch with no architectural experience you could be setting yourself up for wasted time, wasted money and dented dreams.

This doesn’t have to be you, however. In this article, we are bringing you six superb, ultra-efficient off-grid house plans that are well within the reach of any skilled DIY’er.

Disaster Preparedness Plan Every Family Needs

Original Article

 

By Linda Loosli

If you’ve visited my website you should understand through my posts that my goal is to help every family prepare for the unexpected, particularly for disasters and other emergencies. The archive on the website is full of tips to help families in their ongoing efforts to be best prepared. I wanted to provide an outline of the major things to consider when putting together your disaster preparedness plan every family needs.

No matter how careful we are to avoid accidents, live and eat following a healthy regimen, study about and react to possible pending weather or changing climate challenges, and many other critical issues, things happen to all of us that may have taken us by surprise. Many things that come our way are out of our hands, but we do have a choice about preparing for most disasters.

Disaster Preparedness Plan Every Family Needs

We’ve all heard about the importance of storing food and water and learning how to prepare meals from our stash, but there is so much more that goes into truly feeling prepared for most contingencies that come our way.

Below, I’ve tried to summarize the plans you need to make for the overall safety and survival of your family, no matter what the cause or circumstances. Besides my own personal experiences, I’ve researched other great sources of information to help put this post together. Some are from government sources, along with prepper websites and posts of related topics from those I trust.

Although disasters and other emergencies can come in a wide range of situations and circumstances, there are some general guidelines we all can follow as we develop a comprehensive plan of preparation. These can come in the form of simple steps that may be easy to implement, but others can take considerable time, energy, and funds to accomplish.

The outline below isn’t necessarily in a particular order or priority, but I do tend to spell out the need for food and water first in most of my preparedness summaries. It’s just me! I’ve always contended that the old adage, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is certainly a truism.

When it comes to being prepared you need to be systematic in putting your thoughts to paper before you go out and spend a lot of money, organize haphazardly, and implement action steps that may not work as expected.

Let’s talk about the most common steps or action items you’ll need to consider as you put your plan together

Water Storage Is A Must

Water storage is the key component of a good disaster plan. We all need adequate water to survive. It is even more important than the food you store. Actually, food and water complement each other since you generally will need to reconstitute many of your foods with water so they can be eaten directly or added as ingredients in the family meal planning.

Some people have suggested we can get along with one gallon of water per person each day. My gut feeling has always been that four gallons is more realistic as we try to prepare for drinking, meal preparation, personal hygiene, and minimal laundry efforts.

You need to remember that water might not be available during the disaster, so plan ahead. Check out my posts regarding water storage issues, it’s a good read for anyone serious about the proper steps for water storage and use.

We Can’t Survive Without Food

We seldom know when a disaster will strike, so having food in the pantry, and possibly elsewhere in your house, like a basement storage room, is a wise use of money and space. Yes, you can go for longer periods without food than you can with your water, but just think how you felt the last time you skipped a meal or two. You tend to get very hungry, have limited energy, and you might even get a little grumpy. Who wouldn’t?

The key consideration in your planning is to have food items that will stay edible longer than just a few days. If you looked at what I have stored you’d see a good inventory of things that I don’t need to put in a fridge or freezer. That would include canned veggies, fruits, and even some meat products

Other Items We Need To Store

Don’t forget to plan on other critical items you’d expect to need in an emergency, like a first aid kit, toiletries, medications the family has to have, light-generating items like flashlights, batteries, lanterns, etc., infant and elderly needs, cooking support items and safety concerns like a fire extinguisher. Most of these are needed if you decide to stay put.

What If You Have To Evacuate?

Think about what you’ll need if you have to evacuate, either on your own or under the direction of local authorities. This isn’t a decision you make off the cuff, there needs to be considerable thought put into this. Things like what do we take, where will we go, how do we get there, will roads be open and accessible for the entire route, and what will we have when we get there?

What About Those Important Documents?

Don’t just think about clothing and those types of items. You need to consider that your home could be destroyed while you’re gone. What about those very important papers like birth and marriage certificates, home and car titles, insurance and health information, tax files, old photos, and so much more.

Check out my printable critical documents binder, it can provide some get organizational ideas that can help you.

Is Your Vehicle Ready If You Have To Evacuate?

There is also the need to plan ahead for the vehicle you’ll use if you decide to evacuate. Is the tank reasonably full, is it properly serviced if you have to travel a fair distance, do you have an emergency kit inside that has been checked lately for current and usable supplies, etc. Be sure to have some extra blankets to keep you warm and a complete first aid kit, just like at home.

Is Your Home A Safe Place To Stay?

If the decision is to stay at home, there are plans for that choice too. If you stay, make sure you have a safe haven and not one that is hazardous. Do you have a fire extinguisher, tools, facilities to cook, etc. I’ve harped for years that alternative cooking options are a must?

I have butane stoves, propane for my BBQ, a Sun Oven so I can cook outside if needed, and even fuel for a fire pit cooking experience. I recently wrote a post about that

How Will We Communicate?

The need to communicate is also vital. You need a detailed plan for the use of cell phones, radio and/or TV access, ham radio or walkie-talkies, and other communication options. I have a crank radio I love. It will work even if the power is off and it includes weather channels so I can keep up to date regarding what’s going on outside and around my area. If you don’t have current information, how can you effectively react?

Where Is A Good Place For The Family To Meet?

Keep in mind that disasters seldom happen when everyone is at home. As part of your plan, you need to consider on any given day, where will we be and how can we stay in contact and eventually meet at a pre-determined location? You should consider more than one location in case the disaster is somewhat centralized and causes travel and unique safety concerns.

With our crazy schedules these days the family can be scattered all over the place. School, dance, piano, ball games, yoga, gym, business meetings, church activities, and more can make the meeting place plans a real chore. You may have to enlist other family members, friends, and neighbors in your plans if you want to do it right.

Are Your Kid’s School And Your Workplace Properly Prepared

As mentioned above, disasters can happen at any time of day, often when the family is away doing things that families do. You can plan all you want for at-home emergencies, but what if the kids are at school and you and your spouse are at work? You should immediately check to see if there are preparedness plans in place at both locations, and if not, offer to help put one together.

Some schools, particularly private ones, may not have thought about the risks involved at the school if a disaster happens during school hours. Businesses are similar, especially if the business is located in a large campus or building complex. Each location should have a plan that covers a “what do we do if” scenario. Schools lose roofs and windows in violent storms. They also have fires that can spread quickly from classroom to classroom. At a minimum they need evacuation plans, but what if it’s not safe to evacuate.

Businesses are also subject to earthquakes and other emergencies where staff members are put at risk. There should be evacuation plans there too, along with discussions about elevator safety issues and if staff need to take the stairs, etc.

Be Sure To Test Your Plan

Plan your work, then work your plan. You can’t assume just because you have a plan that it will be foolproof. Get your plan put together and then test it out. Go through the various issues we’ve discussed and see if you’ve covered everything. Have some exercises where you stay in place and also when you evacuate. Test your communication system, try the meeting place exercise, have the school try out their emergency plans under different disaster scenarios.

Have You Covered Every Issue In Your Plan?

As you and your family go through the exercises ask yourself the following questions:

How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings?

What is my family communication plan?

What is my shelter plan, and do we need to evacuate?

If we do need to leave the house, where will we go, how will we get there, are there alternates we need to consider, etc.?

Did I remember my 72 Hour Kit?

Is the car or truck gassed up, emergency kit in hand, and ready to go?

Sally is a dance, how can I get in touch with her to see if she’s ok, and how can I meet her now?

In case you missed this post, How to Barter with Food and Water

Final Word

Hey, this is just a short summary of the things we all need to consider when planning for a disaster. People smarter than me have written whole books on each section of this post. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the planning process. I promise, if you follow these guidelines, along with your own study of what needs to be considered, and then follow those directives, you’ll be able to sleep better knowing you did your best to protect your family by planning ahead. May God bless this world. Linda

Emergency Plans: Are Yours Really Complete?

 Original Article:

https://www.survivopedia.com/emergency-plans-are-yours-really-complete/

By 

By Bill White

One of the things I always like to do is a sort of after-action review of any disasters that come our way.

We can learn a lot by looking back at what has happened and how people reacted to it, even if we weren’t personally affected by the disaster. Those lessons maybe what we need to learn to survive the next upcoming catastrophe.

I’ve already discussed the cascading effects of the February 2021 freeze and how a simple cold front should have been a simple cold front, albeit a rather severe one, turned into a dangerous situation, as one system failed after another. After having experienced that, it seems to be what we can expect to find happening in any future disaster.

The infrastructure that we have created in modern society is incredibly complex. But as we have seen, each piece of it is dependent upon others. So what starts to affect one part of our lives can quickly grow into something that affects everything we depend on.

We talk about this when we talk about the effects of an EMP or CME. But we don’t necessarily apply it to other potential disasters. It’s commonly believed that those grid-down events will cause significant disruption to our lives, leading to many people dying. But we don’t expect something relatively minor to have the same effect. Yet if that freeze was any example, we’ve reached the point where things that seem to be relatively minor can end up having a rather significant impact.

After the Bug Out

Original Article:

https://www.survivopedia.com/after-the-bug-out/

By Bill White


We all know that bugging out and being ready to bug out, is an important part of prepping.

I’ve seen countless articles about building a bug out bag through the years, along with countless lists about what to put in them. Most of those are pretty similar, but they all seem to have an item or tow that the author of that list thinks is important to have, and which others have ignored.

Which of us doesn’t want to have that proverbial cabin the woods, someplace we can take our family to, when everything else falls apart? For that matter, it would be nice to have that cabin, even with everything going good. Who doesn’t need a place to get away to? But having it set up to be a survival retreat, when everything else goes south, definitely makes owning that cabin more than worthwhile, even if we don’t get to get away every weekend.

The tricky part about that isn’t so much the cabin, that’s just expensive. It’s stockpiling the cabin, making sure it’s ready to use as a survival retreat. It’s hard to stockpile supplies in a remote place and even harder to make sure that those supplies are secure. So even while bugging out, our minds would be filled with questions of how we’ll find the retreat, once we get there.

GRID DOWN: 5 Things You Must Do IMMEDIATELY

9 Hypothetical Bug Out Situations to Consider

 Original Article

By Derrick James

I’ve been at this prepping thing for a long time now. I’ve seen it go from a fringe idea talked about in whispers to something wildly accepted as reasonable and discussed around the office water cooler. One of the things that inevitably gets people started in prepping is envisioning how they’d respond to hypothetical bug out situations.

It might start with hearing news of a pending natural disaster, witnessing street protests, or – for some – just imagining a zombie apocalypse and the need to get out of Dodge (GOOD).

ULTIMATE GUIDE: HOW TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY DISASTER PLAN – PREPPING 101

 Original Article

By Morgan

When you begin to work on your emergency disaster plan, it’s recommended to try to get the whole family on board. Sit down with them and really talk about the importance of having a plan for ‘just in case’.

Think of an emergency disaster plan like you’re planning a trip to Disneyworld. You’re going to plan out when you go, how to get there, a budget, stuff to see, communication in case you split up or get separated, etc.

Disaster Plans and Decision Making

Original Article

from Preparing Your Family by Rudy Kearney

Today I want to touch on a few higher level preparedness concepts that I haven’t really talked about before. They’re all around planning ahead of time.
Planning ahead of time is critical because when you’re under stress you won’t be able to think straight. Even if you have time to sit down and consider the situation, your brain just won’t work right if you’re under any significant kind of stress.
It’s critical to have some of those basic decisions and plans already made. You can certainly change them, but having a place to start helps tremendously.

Do We Stay or Do We Go?

A key decision point to make for any decision is whether you stay (bug in) or go (bug out) of wherever you happen to be.

Rudy’s Note: The last part is an important distinction, because too many people focus on plans at home, and not wherever they happen to be.

To expand on that a bit, you MUST have plans and decisions made based on places you commonly go, such as work or school, as well as a set of ‘go-to plans’ for when you’re somewhere you don’t have specific plans for.

The basic guidance is pretty simple here. The question you have to answer is:

Will we be safer if we leave, or will we be safer if we stay?

Once you answer that question, your decision should be pretty clear.

Emergency Action Plan

Possibly the most important plan to have is one that covers what to do if you don’t have time to think. This is the ‘smoke detector at 3am, we gotta get out NOW‘ plan.

And I do mean get out now.
You should plan on being able to go from zero to done on this plan within 60-90 seconds of starting. Clearly this isn’t much time to think, so you MUST have a plan in place for this that is completely generic. Not much adaptation is possible with this little time to react.
Drilling on this plan is pretty darn important. You absolutely HAVE to practice this until it becomes instinctual. And your kids have to know what to do at the drop of the hat as well. And don’t forget to run a drill in the middle of the night once in a while.

Urgent Action Plan

An extension of your Emergency Action Plan, the Urgent Action Plan incorporates the steps from your EAP, but without quite as much urgency. You have time to think, get more stuff together, and be more deliberate about your actions.
With the EAP, you’re getting out of the house with whatever you have on and you can grab on the way out.  This is when you have a few more minutes and you can grab a couple changes of clothes, a pre-positioned bag that already has clothes, etc, or some irreplaceable items.
This is NOT a plan where you can grab everything you need.  You may not have to get out RIGHT NOW but you have to get out PRETTY DARN QUICK.

It’s the ‘An F5 Tornado was spotted a couple miles away and it’s headed right for us‘ plan. Plan on having about five minutes to act on this plan.

Time To Go Plan

This plan is what you jump on if you make the decision to bug out of your location. You should actually have multiple sections of this plan based on how much time you have before you need to beat feet.
Depending on time frame, this plan will include getting your vehicle ready, securing important documents, irreplaceable items, more clothes, and securing your home. How much of each you can do will be driven completely by how much time you have.
You should have a checklist for each time frame, and even better would be to have multiple checklists, so you can give your son Joshua the ‘one hour check the car’ checklist and daughter Elizabeth the ‘six hour get clothes and bedding’ checklist, while you and your wife cover other stuff.

Rudy’s Note: No, it’s not a violation of child labor laws to expect your kids to participate in executing your plan. In fact, I think you’re foolish if you don’t. Even simply having older kids keeping younger kids occupied and happy helps.

Never Mind, Let’s Stay Plan

This plan is what to do when you decide to stay home. Maybe you don’t have time to evacuate the area before danger strikes, or your immediate area will be unaffected.
Again, you should have checklists to go down, in order of priority. For consistency’s sake, I like using the same time frames as the ‘Time To Go Plan’ … it helps, trust me.
For this plan you may have things like securing the house, distributing alternative communication methods, moving important items to a safe area in the house, etc.
Once again, be sure to keep your kids in the loop here. Keeping them busy will help against the inevitable panic.

Men, This One Is For You

Guys, I can’t understate the importance of being the rock in an emergency situation. If you remain calm and collected, at least as much as possible, your family will feel more secure.
You MUST be decisive as well. Emergencies are no time to be messing around waffling about trying to make a decision. Observe, Orient, Decide, Act … then rinse and repeat.
Sometimes that decision will involve forcing people to do what they don’t want to. Maybe your kid doesn’t want to leave their favorite stuffed animals but the situation dictates that they do. Or maybe your wife doesn’t agree with your decision to leave. In an emergency, your word is law, period.
I know it may sound misogynistic to some, but while I believe that a marriage is an equal partnership, I also believe that we as men are designed (by God or by nature, whatever your belief structure is) to be that decisive actor or benevolent dictator in an emergency.

On the flip side, that doesn’t mean you should lord it over someone else in your family. If you do that, you deserve the ass kicking that’s coming your way… Reserve the veto pen for true emergencies.

Ladies, Here’s Your Turn

Speaking as a guy who is an imperfect husband, most men have a natural tendency to take things to a bit of an extreme. You are a tempering agent for this. Make sure that your spouse is being realistic.
My beloved wife will regularly bring me back to reality when I go off into la-la land about something or other. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her being there to do that for me.
To keep this relevant to the topic at hand, if you don’t create these plans and make these decisions together, make sure you review them and agree with them.
I guarantee that your priorities and your husbands priorities will not match, especially when it comes to those irreplaceable items and memories. If you don’t review and agree to what those priorities are ahead of time, this will be an instant and serious problem as soon as you have to execute the plan. And that’s NOT the time to be having a major argument about those priorities.

Rudy’s Note: Guys, since I know you’re reading this too, just because this is in the Ladies section does NOT absolve you from responsibility. The planning phase is not the time to be dictatorial.

Men and women are wired differently, and they think differently.  So include your wife. She WILL see things you don’t. I guarantee it. Respect her opinions and insights.  Period. End of story.

Ignore this advice at your own peril.

Wrapping Up

Well, this got alot longer than I intended. I plan to elaborate on some of these ideas with some concrete actions you can take soon. Please let me know in the comments or via email if there’s anything you’d like to hear more about in particular.

Preparedness: Things you can do right now

from ModernSurvivalOnline.com by Rourke

Many people are becoming more and more concerned with the future. At this same time they are discovering an interest in preparedness – or as many call it - ”prepping”.

 

If you are new to prepping – or even if you are experienced – I would like to make a few suggestions to “sure up” some of your supplies now…..while there is still time.

1. Stock up on food – Every time you go to the grocery store  – but a few extra items. If you can afford more – buy more. Shop for items on sale and use coupons to reduce prices even more. Just this morning I bought several cans of Del Monte canned fruit for .25 cents each – buying on sale and using coupons. I just place a large order through Coupon Clippers to keep maximizing my savings.
2. Identify water sources – Water is critical for your survival and typically one of the first things to disappear in a major emergency. Diversifying your water supply is important. Stock up on bottled water – in gallon-sized jugs as well as smaller more portable 16 – 20 oz bottles. Also – invest in a good water filter system such as the Berkey-line of filtering systems. If the room is available – larger storage solutions for maintaining water supplies are available – which are carried by many of my sponsors.
3. Meds and Prescriptions- In the event that there is a severe interruption to our normal way of life – the ability to obtain medical prescriptions could be a serious issue depending upon what the meds are used for. Make sure you keep your prescriptions up to date and filled so you have a maximum supply on hand. With the increase in popularity of preparedness – you may be able to find a like-minded doctor that would consider over-writing a script to allow stockpiling. Any medical procedures that you have been putting off – don’t wait any longer.
4. Back up important documents- Any and all important records such as tax documents, social security numbers, copies of drivers licenses, birth certificates, insurance policies, etc. should be kept in a fire resistant box. These documents can also be scanned and resulting images placed on a thumb drive and stored in a different location then the original documents. If you do scan the documents – it is a good idea to encrypt or somehow secure the information in case it falls into the wrong hands.
5.  Security – Being able to defend yourself from others that may take advantage of an emergency disaster situation is important. Storage of food and water can be for nothing if someone decides to take it from you – by force. You need to be able to protect yourself, your family and your supplies. Make sure you own firearms and are proficient with them. Check their function and make sure you have plenty of ammunition.

Every small step you make in the direction of preparedness is just another step in the right direction.
Take care all -
Rourke

© 2010, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

10 30-Second "Save Your Life" Activities

from Code Name Insight by Code Name Insight

It doesn't take long to save a life. In 30 seconds you can:

1. Put your seatbelt on. Seatbelts save lives, it's a fact, and it's a very fast, simple thing to do (be sure to push the belt low around your hips instead of letting it ride over top of your belly; in a high speed crash, a belt that rides up high instead of low around your hips can snap your spine).
2. Go push the test button on your smoke alarm. Did it ring? If yes, you're done, if no, you will need to change the batteries in it.
3. Put your kid in a car seat. Once the seat is installed properly-and of course you tested the seat in the store for ease of you--it takes less than a minute to secure your kid to the seat which makes a whole lot of difference in the event of a car accident.
4. Have your blood pressure checked. They have these machines all over the place (grocery stores, the mall, etc) and they only take about 30 second to give you a read out. If it is too high or too low (there will be a chart on the machine) follow up with your medical provider.
5. Lock your door when you enter or leave your home or vehicle. This is a quick activity that can soon become a habit if you do it consistently and it can save your life in the event that you are targeted by a random car jacker or robber.
6. Secure your firearm. This could be as simple as removing the magazine or emptying the rounds from a revolver and stashing them in your pocket. Obviously you should have a better plan for securing your firearms, but in the event that you need to leave your firearm anywhere that it is not under your direct control, doing this simple task could save the life of a curious kid or adult that doesn't know anything about safe weapons handling.
7. Take the car keys away from someone who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It sounds quick and easy but trying to reason with someone who is under the influence is like banging your head against the wall. Nevertheless, this simple, quick action could save a life (or many lives for that matter).
8. Before you hop on your bike or motorcycle, stick a helmet on your head. It takes just a few seconds to do this but the difference between a massive amount of road rash and a traumatic brain injury is significant.
9. If you are caught after dark walking outside, whip out your cell phone and use it to help make yourself visible to passing cars. Drivers can't see you if it is dark and you are wearing dark clothing.
10. If you (or your kid) are playing sports and sustain a hard knock on the head, stop playing for the day. It takes a few seconds to call a time out and excuse yourself from the game (another thing that's easier said than done), which is better than the alternative (multiple head injuries that could render you an invalid or dead).

Surviving a Disaster in the Urban Jungle

from Ready Nutrition by Tess Pennington

Riots, hurricanes, earthquakes, even severe power outages have all occurred in different cities across the country and have all left their mark upon citizens who dealt with the aftermath.  Many urban inhabitants do not realize how quickly “the system” can deteriorate.  Along those same lines, after  a disaster, the usual civil nature of  those occupying a city devolves into an unorganized mess of chaos.
For instance, many remember the L.A. riots that occurred in 1992 because of civilian frustration at the local government level.  When the civilians were angered about the verdict of a trial of officers, within two hours there were riots, looting, fires and chaos that broke out. Over 50 murders occurred during the L.A. Riots.
These breakdowns of the system eventually lead to waves of crime.  Typically those that are creating the chaos are ill equipped and unprepared to survive in such surroundings.  Desperation will be a reason to legitimize aggressive force to steal, loot or kill if need be.  The assistance of government agencies could be delayed as they are dealing with the influx of crime and other city related  matters.  Depending on the circumstance, citizens may realize they are on their own and left to fend for themselves.  And those that choose to bug out or stay in place may have a major survival situation on their hands.
The most important asset to have in a situation such as this is to have the capable skills and know-how of getting out of harms way.   The best advice in surviving the aftermath of a urban disaster would be to stay away from the crowd, keep your head down and immediately seek safety.
If a person must stay in place, having the following disaster items and equipment will make the situation more bearable:

• Have a emergency plan in place.
• Stock up on a basic short term food and water supply.  Having a stockpile of food will eliminate the need to go out and brave the crowds.  In addition having alternative cooking sources would be beneficial in that electricity could be cut off (i.e. fuel camping stoves, hot plates, compressed trioxane, etc).  In the event of food shortages that are expected, the skills and equipment to cook without alerting others is a life saving skill to have.
• Buy emergency items now – This is basically any item that would be of benefit in a survival situation (tent, bug out bags, flashlights, candles, lanterns, etc.)
• Keep your fuel in your vehicles filled up in case you decide to flee.
• Prepare to protect your family with different security layers.  Any type of self defense would be beneficial in a situation such as this.  In addition, the family owns firearms, then making sure they are clean and loaded may help ward off unwelcome guests.

Once all resources have been depleted in the city, the remaining occupants will flee the city and survival will become even more arduous.  Evacuating the urban areas to safety will be a journey in itself.  Here are some tips to staying safe if bugging out of an urban area:

• Know your evacuation route and plan before you leave.  Having a clear and concise plan will keep you as organized and efficient as possible.  In addition, plan for an alternate route.  Let’s be honest, in an emergency situation nothing ever goes as planned.  Have maps, GPS or compass to assist in guiding you to safety.  Try and stay off the major roads as much as possible.  This is where many crimes will take place. 
• Have a planned shelter to go to.  Whether it be a family member’s home, a friend or an out of town relative, make plans beforehand.
• Efficiently pack a 72 hour kit  and if you are evacuating in a vehicle, prepare a vehicle 72 hour kit. 
• Have extra fuel stored and ready to go.  Try to anticipate reasons that you would need to stop the car and prepare for them.  Stopping the car makes you vulnerable to the outside and groups that may be around.
• Expect the unexpected and mentally prepare.  Survival is 90% psychology.  Mentally preparing oneself, as well as staying flexible to the situation will help a person stay focused on surviving.

Surviving the urban jungle is not for the weak hearted.  The reality of the situation is whether you bug out or bug in, there are risks.  Those that are looting, stealing and being destructive will more than likely travel in large gangs and be heavily armed.  Therefore, setting up a perimeter and combining forces with others would be advantageous on your part to fight this horde off.  Morals, ethics, religion all are forgotten when a person cannot have basic needs met.  Preparing oneself for the possibility of a urban survival situation will increase your survival chances exponentially.

Related Reading:

• Prepare For the Worst – Mandatory Evacuations Planned for Louisianna, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida
• What To Do If a Society Breaks Down
• Are You Ready Series: Emergency Evacuations
• Are You Ready Series: Snow Hurricane
• Long Term Disasters Will Have Clear and Present Dangers

From Beginning Prepper To Fully Stocked

from Survival Preparedness Homesteading Forum by UncleJoe

From From Beginning Prepper, to Fully-Stocked Retreat: What to Buy, and When, by Scott in Wisconsin - SurvivalBlog.com

Here is an interesting essay to give you some guidance whether you're preparing for a weekend blizzard, a medium term disruption of services or a long term lifestyle-changing event.

Here are the highlights:

It's easy to see that the world may be heading for more trouble, and we need to prepare for hard times ahead. But it can be daunting to decide what to do, what to stock, and when to get it.
I've been working at this a while, and I've figured out a simple balance in what to buy, and when to buy it, that I think will help other Preppers move ahead with confidence.
You could call it my 100/1,000/10,000 system, and I hope it helps you get going, and get to a place where you feel more prepared for the tough times ahead.

Step One
Step one is to become a "100 level" Prepper. If you're not there, you're helpless in the event of even a minor disruption. Luckily, you can get to the 100 level fast, and inexpensively.
At the 100 level, you're prepared for a brief disaster. You have some food and water, you can keep warm, travel, and protect yourself in the very short term. It's a start. The bare minimum.
Here's what you need: 100 cans of food, 100 bottles of water, 100 lbs of fuel, 100 rounds of ammunition, 100 silver dimes, 100 dollar bills.

Step Two
Now, it's time to strive for the 1,000 level Preparation. This is the point where you and a couple loved-ones can handle a significant breakdown of civil society. 9-12 months without our accustomed infrastructure will be survivable at the 1,000 level Preparation.

Here's what you need: 1,000 pounds of food, 1,000 gallons of filtered water, 1,000 lbs of fuel, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, 1,000 silver dimes, 1,000 dollar bills.

Step Three
This is the 10,000 level preparation, and it will enable you to keep a dozen adults safe and healthy for 2+ years. How cool is that?
Why a dozen adults? If things really fall apart, you'll find friends and family at your door, asking to be taken in. You can either plan on sending them away, or you can plan on taking care of them. I suggest you plan on taking care of them.
Besides, you'll need a dozen adults to protect your retreat/home. You can't stay awake 24 hours a day guarding your stash. You can't be watching in all directions. There will be troublemakers to deal with. You need time to sleep, regroup, cook, wash, garden, play. That means you'll need help. Stock enough food for them, and they will come.
Why 2 years? Because it may take that long for things to settle out. It may take that much time for you and your friends and family to learn to grow food, and hunt and trap successfully. There's a lot to learn, and you don't want your first crop to be a matter of life & death.

Here's what you'll need: 10,000 pounds of food, 10,000 gallons of drinkable water, 10,000 pounds of fuel, 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 10,000 silver dimes, 10,000 dollar bills.

10 Items to Have With You When You Are Stranded in an Airport

Image via Wikipedia

from Code Name Insight by Code Name Insight

I still have a few more weeks of flying before I get back home for a month or so, then it will be off to Asia, most likely before the new year. If there is one thing that is nearly a guarantee for travelers, it is that you will be stranded in an airport during at least some point in your journey. Here's ten items you need to have with you in order to be prepared for these inevitable delays:

1. A cell phone. Actually I can't think of anyone who doesn't travel with a cell phone these days and I can't imagine being stuck without the ability to contact friends and relatives who are expecting me or being able to call the airlines to rebook a missed flight.
2. Internet access. Actually I have redundant systems for this. I always carry a netbook with me for the occasional airport that offers free wi-fi access, and I also have internet on my cell phone.
3. Food. There are a few airports that have pretty great food in their (highly over priced) restaurants, but sometimes I just want a snack so I tend to carry a small bag of food with me whenever I travel. Items include: granola bars, beef jerky, trail mix, nuts, dried fruit, candy, etc. I've also been known to travel with fried chicken and separately packed components of a subway sandwich which I can put together on the run.
4. Entertainment of some sort. Whether it is a book, a Kindle, a deck of cards, games on an iPod Touch, music on your cell phone, or something else that takes your mind off of being stranded, some sort of entertainment will help wile away the hours in an airport.
5. Contact numbers. For those times when a slight delay turns into a day or more "stranded in the airport" situation, I like having numbers of local contacts that I can call up for everything from a ride into the city (for more rural airports that lack public transportation) to a meet up for a coffee or impromptu business meeting.
6. A way to secure my bag to me. Since I only travel with one bag, it makes it easier to both have all of my stuff (a change of clothes, toiletries, etc) with me and keep an eye on it. For those times, however, when you end up sleeping in an airport, a way to both secure your bag itself and secure the bag to you is a good idea. Fortunately I am a pretty light sleeper and I tend to put my bag where someone would have to hop over me to get to it.
7. Plenty of cash. This should include both cash on hand and adequate reserves in your ATM-accessible bank account and/or on a credit card. On rare occasions you could end up stranded for literally days (think 9/11 when all aircraft were grounded for days or the Iceland volcano incident which similarly grounded all flights in the area for days). In these situations, airlines won't usually cover the cost of a hotel, and if you really need to get somewhere, you may end up renting a car or taking ground transport to your destination, all of which will require additional cash you didn't plan on needing.
8. Items to make sleeping in an airport more palatable. Even though I am a light sleeper, I an fortunately able to sleep anywhere, any time. On a rock in the desert in broad daylight, above a rambunctious bar in downtown Manila, doesn't matter, I can sleep easily. Others, however, have trouble sleeping without ear plugs, eye shades, a blanket, a pillow, etc. If this is the case, either bring these items or be able to improvise them.
9. Business cards. You never know who you will meet while slogging through long hours of boredom in a shut down airport. It's a nice idea to have business cards with you in case you want to trade info with people you meet.
10. A personal info sheet. My personal info sheet has all sort of important info on it that comes in handy in a variety of travel situations. For example, I lost--probably misplaced although it could have been stolen--an ATM card from one of my bank accounts a few days ago. By looking at my info sheet, I simply called the bank (number was on the sheet), gave them my account and ATM card numbers (ditto), and had them cancel the card. Obviously I could have called information for the bank's number then asked them to look up the information but it is much more efficient to have all of this important info at my fingertips. I keep all sorts of other information on this sheet as well including airline phone numbers and frequent flier account numbers, user names and passwords for all of my online accounts (the passwords are in code of course), personal info (allergies, blood type), etc.

Survival S.O.P.’s

from ModernSurvivalOnline.com by Rourke

In developing a Survival & Preparedness “System” – it is obviously important to think ahead. I mean, that is why we are all interested in preparedness is because we are concerned about what might happen in the future and are thinking, planning, and preparing now. Right?

With this in mind – it is a good idea to come up with Stand Operating Procedures for different scenario’s. These are written procedures with steps on how something will be done as well as who will be doing them, and what will be needed to make it happen.
The benefits to written SOP’s include the following:

1. The process of writing and reviewing them will often expose “holes” in the planning – enabling you to fix them now rather than possibly have to deal with them later.
2. Increased communication and consistency among group members as all will be reading the same SOP – there should be no question as to who will do what, when and how.
3. By being able to review these SOP’s frequently – the contents will become much more familiar to everyone. Should something happen it should not be necessary to pull out the SOP – rather it should be familiar to everyone so that the correct steps can be carried out. Basically – people will better know what to do and how to react with having SOP’s rather than not having them.

SOP’s can be both in printed form and stored electronically. It is suggested that SOP’s be stored in hard copy form in a binder – possibly having the individual pages laminated to make them water resistant.
Let me give you a few examples of a situations that a SOP would be beneficial:

• THSTF and communication is down and the kids are at school – Who gets the kids? Without some planning ahead of time so that everyone understands what is to happen under these circumstances – resources could be wasted (and the kids left at school!)
• TSHTF and travel home is impossible – where do you meet your group/family? Lets face reality – it could happen. A chemical spill could prevent you from reaching home. If communications are up – you could just place a call. If the nature of the “incident” is such that communications are down – does every one know where to meet?
• Your water supply has become interrupted – what steps do you take to provide non-contaminated water to your family?
• TSHTF and the power has been off for a few days and people are becoming desperate – what steps do you take to improve security on your property?

Those were just a few examples. Filling out a SOP form now can get you thinking about the possibilities that may occur later – so you can properly plan now.
For a Standard Operating Procedure Template – click here. The SOP template is in MS Word format. If you do not have MS Word – download OpenOffice.
Take care -
Rourke

© 2010, ModernSurvivalOnline.com. All rights reserved.

The Doorstep Problem

Image by Anthony Citrano via Flickr

from TEOTWAWKI Blog by TEOTWAWKI Blog

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"If the world ends, I'm coming to your place!"

We've probably all heard some variation of the above before. Family and friends who plan to show up on your doorstep when the stuff splatters on the fan. I like to call this the "doorstep problem."

In some ways, I suppose having this problem is a compliment--family/friends recognize that we're prepared, they aren't, and they'll need to rely on you in a bad situation. But really, how to respond to this? Let them use up your limited preps, eat you out of house and home? Turn them away?

Well, we're all about being prepared before trouble hits, so the doorstep problem something we need to think through and prepare before trouble hits. If TSHTF and your lazy, unprepared extended family member X shows up on your doorstep, you should have your course of action thought through and prepared beforehand.

The way I see it, there are three possible strategies for address the doorstep problem: leave them hanging, plan to support them or convert them to prepping.

Leave 'em Hanging
This is a pretty cold way to be, and likely to not be viable unless you're a cold heart or particularly dislike your relatives/friends. Basically, you plan, on purpose, NOT to help anyone out when TEOTWAWKI strikes. Not just the random refugees, but even your family, friends--anyone. You've got preps for your family and that's it.

Some survivalists "soften" this approach by flying under the radar. They pretend to be just as unprepared as everyone else and prep in secrecy -  generally a wise strategy anyways - and keep everyone not in your immediate family or survival group oblivious to your supplies. They avoid the "I'm coming to your place!" but will face the same decisions in the end--to help or not.

Others let friends/family know about their preps but make it very clear that they've only stored away enough for your family and there will be NO handouts after TEOTWAWKI. They say things like "I don't care who it is, I'm not going to give away my limited resources  to people who were too foolish to prepare for themselves."

Either way, you'll be confronted with the problem of helping these people out if TSHTF. It could be they show up on your doorstep after TEOTWAWKI, despite the warnings that you've got nothing for them. Or, if you've managed to keep your preps a secret--and can keep them a secret during a disaster-- you will have to sit by, doing nothing while your friends/family suffer, starve, remain in danger, or whatever. Both are pretty cold hearted, and you might be able to live with it, but you need to make sure your immediate family is on the same page. Will your wife be able to turn away her brother, sister, best friend--parents? Will you? Probably not.

And hey, if things are desperate, they probably won't leave. You're a starving refugee on your brother's or best friend's doorstep, and you know they've got food, water, guns and ammo, etc. Are you going to give up and head to the Superdome, or bang on the door, shout, complain--heck, maybe try to force your way in and try to talk some sense into 'em? As the prepared person in this scenario, looking to turn your unprepared loved one away, you may need to be ready to do so at gunpoint.

Aside from taking a cold heart, turning away friends and family is just not the smart strategic choice. With a few exceptions, friends and family are an important asset - more manpower, experience, expertise, skills, and people to watch your back and look out for you in a fight. You can't be everywhere at once, stay awake 24/7 and have every possible skill. These are people you already know and trust. You'll need all of the help you can get to survive and keep ahead of the goblins and zombie biker gangs out there. Not utilizing that asset--turning it away--is just plain foolish.

Plan to Support Them
In this strategy, you accept the fact that your family and friends won't prepare and will look to you when TEOTWAWKI comes. You prepare accordingly, storing away additional food, water, guns and gear for them to use. When they show up, you can feed 'em and put them to work.

This communal approach to survival may be more expensive, but it also enables you to capitalize on the extra manpower and expertise that more people can provide, and it also acknowledges the fact that you will have to accommodate them anyways.

Cover your family's survival bases first, and then look to build up your supplies to accommodate your "doorstep crew." This doesn't need to be top of the line stuff--they're handouts, so make them cheap but durable and functional.

For food, add in more buckets of bulk staples. For gear, buy used, army surplus or keep around old stuff that you've replaced and upgraded. For guns--well, many survivalists that I know have gun safes packed to the brim. They could outfit a small army without too much trouble. If you're not in that group and looking for low-cost "handout" guns, I'd pick from .22 rifles, Mosin Nagants and inexpensive pump shotguns. Plus several hundred rounds of ammo for each, plus some basic support gear, which could be as minimal as a satchel of some kind.

Aside from conventional survival supplies, think through the logistical and community-building aspects. Where will new comers sleep? How will you divide work? Make decisions? In a pandemic scenario, do you quarantine them? How? How can your little community thrive and stay ahead of competing/combative groups?

You should also make it clear to friends and family that if they show up at your house looking for help, you're going to be in charge and you're going to put them to work. No free rides. Set the expectations beforehand.


Finally, few people--even unprepared ones--are totally useless. People have some kind of interest, asset or skill that you can capitalize on in a disaster scenario. Encourage your doorstep crew to bring that along with them if disaster strikes. So "yes, you can show up here, and we'll share our food with you, but I'm going to put you to work, and I want you to bring your welding gear/guns/attack gerbils/ATVs/whatever with you." Get whatever value you can out of them in exchange for the security you'd offer.

Convert them to Prepping
This is kind of the "ideal," but also the most difficult to achieve for unmotivated friends/family. It's hard because getting someone to go from being an unprepared sheeple to a self sufficient sheep dog is a big change of attitude and behavior. But that behavior change starts with something simpler, a change in belief. If you want to get someone to prepare for themselves, you've got to get them to believe that they need to.


In my experience, if a friend/family member has zero preps and the "doorstep" attitude, they probably believe something like the following:

1. Nothing really bad will ever happen and there's no need to have food storage, survival gear, etc.
2. Even though I think something bad could happen, I can't afford/don't have time to do anything about it.
3. If something bad DID happen, I have my good ol' buddy/relative, the police, the government, etc. to depend on.

WE can see through this reasoning pretty easily, and honestly, most people that I've known can too. Most people, deep down, feel some desire to be quasi-prepared for hard times. But they use the above reasoning to rationalize that feeling away.

"That will never happen" or "that could never happen here/to me" is the most prevalent, and often tied with "you're paranoid to think something like that COULD happen!" Of course, the news provides us with all kinds of great opportunities to point out the crappy things happening to people around the planet. Sometimes the doom and gloom approach works--opening peoples eyes to the fragility of society and all of the horrible things that happen can be a powerful and necessary thing.

Other times, the doom-and-gloom approach just doesn't work. Yep, you can point out all of the bad things out there, but again, they can say that it won't happen to them, they can't afford it, whatever. So, you have to be able to take alternate routes to change those beliefs. Here's a few ideas:

• "It's your responsibility as a man/father/woman/mother to be able to take care of yourself."
• "It's practical to have an emergency fund, food storage and a firearm for home defense. Use examples of how they've come in handy in your life or provided peace of mind."
• Get them interested in something peripherally related to preparedness. Canning, sewing, hunting, fishing, shooting, reloading, camping, hiking, martial arts, knitting, mechanics, personal finances, whatever. 
• Give prep-related gifts, especially those that can influence their beliefs and attitudes vs. getting put in a closet. EDC gear (that they will carry) is also a good belief changer--learning from experience that it's good to be prepared.
• Discuss the economic benefits of preparing, mention great deals you've gotten, etc. Persuade them that they can afford to prep/it will save them money.
• Along with the above, share survival related media with them. It gets the conversation going and can open people's minds. Books are good, but they can be overwhelming or too doomy-gloomy (Patriots is a good example here). Movies and TV shows are usually more approachable.
• There's a variety of religious motivators for preparing, too, though scripture alone isn't enough to motivate many.

If you can convert someone over to the prepper ways, you've won the battle. If they show up on your doorstep post-SHTF, they'll be a valuable allies to your group, able to provide for themselves and pull their own weight.

A Combination Approach
Life is generally not as clear cut as we'd like it to be, and addressing the "doorstep" problem is the same way. You will probably have to use all three strategies as you deal with this problem.

There will be people you'll have to turn away--the neighbors, Bob from the accounting department, etc. Think that tough decision through beforehand, but realize that there will be some people you just won't be able to send packing.

You should prepare handouts and extra supplies for those who you do take in, so that you're able to take full advantage of the benefit additional people can provide. Take care of the needs of your immediate family first and then make inexpensive preps in this area.

As you can, motivate your "doorstep" contingent to prepare--work on changing their beliefs about preparing and surviving. Take multiple approaches as needed and work to motivate them to be able to take care of themselves in a disaster. Turn them into valuable allies.

"I'm coming to your place!" is a big concern and headache for many survivalists, and needs to be handled with thought and care. But, if handled well, you can capitalize on the manpower and skills bring to the table, and hopefully convert a few into well-prepared allies along the way!