Miyamoto Musashi wrote a book about a multi-trade Samurai in the novel, "Go Rin No Sho". The main message of the book was the importance of becoming familiar with all trades. Some of these trades that individuals should spend time learning are: medicine, gunsmithing, herbalism, languages, and basic wiring. These skills may not come in handy instantaneously, but there is a good chance that you will … [Read more...]

The first step towards being able to survive a mass shooter or other dangerous situation is to be aware of your surroundings. If your instincts tell you that you should leave, listen to them. Know how to find the exits wherever you are, and learn to recognize what gunfire sounds like. Try to flee if you can. If you can’t, find a very strong and solid wall or barricade to protect yourself. Only try … [Read more...]

Handgun owners love to debate the comparative virtues of their favored pistol ammunition for self-defense. Two of the most common rounds are 9mm and .45 ammunition. When evaluating these two rounds, it’s important to remember that the goal of any self-defense shooting scenario is to stop the attack, regardless of whether the attacker dies. Ideally, a defensive pistol round should expand or even … [Read more...]

Chia pudding is a tasty, versatile and healthy snack that may help people with high cholesterol. While some people prefer to just swallow chia seeds with water, but there are lots of different options for chia pudding recipes. Eating chia seeds every day have a major impact on cholesterol over time, so it’s well worth a try. Some of the flavors of chia pudding include banana bread, lemon … [Read more...]

There are some vegetables which grow and can be harvested quickly and simply. Spinach is a very healthy vegetable which can be harvested about a month after planting, and has high contents of many minerals. Carrots can grow in many hardiness zones, although they need a lot of sun. The fingerling types take three to five weeks from planting to harvest. Radishes take only 21 days to harvest and is … [Read more...]

Money isn’t the only thing of value you can carry while traveling abroad — there are some situations in which bartering can be far more useful than most people think. However, when you do carry cash, it’s important to be smart about it. Know how much cash you can legally keep on your person in different places. While US currency is sometimes better than the local currency, if you do change your … [Read more...]

While water itself may be easy to find outdoors in an emergency, much of it will be too unsafe to drink without using one of several proven water purification methods. Straining water through a coffee filter and then boiling it is one of the simplest methods. While it is inconvenient and requires a heat source, it is very reliable. You can add tablets of chlorine dioxide or iodine to water to … [Read more...]

Yucca is a plant which provides a wide variety of resources for survival, including food, soap, and tinder. Survivalist Bob Hansler shows that there is also a sweet liquid inside of the yucca plant, and gives instructions on how to harvest and peel the plant to access it in case of dire thirst. The stalks can also be charred and fermented in order to produce alcohol. The seed pods and blossoms are … [Read more...]

Gardening can be very expensive but with a few tips it will make it more affordable. Take advantage of yard sales and pawn shops to purchase tools, estate sales are also great for this. Research the internet for fun and easy projects, and recycle or re purpose items such as milk jugs for planting containers. Mostly we need to think outside of the box, build our own platforms, and garden boxes, … [Read more...]

As a prepper a certain lone wolf feeling is sometimes inevitable. Nonetheless, the truism that no man is an island exists for a reason. Community is always desirable, even as a prepper. But, it is important to understand what you seek from a community. A shared understanding of each other's world perspective and goals is useful and can be achieved by actually going out and meeting other preppers. … [Read more...]