image by mynameisharsha

I got this question from one of my readers and thought it would be great as a Survival Survey question.

Every time I empty a container of some sort, i.e. milk, soda, cottage cheese, salsa jar, or even cleaning sprayer, or bottle,  I wonder what is the best prepper re-purpose for these, if any?  Should they go to the recycle bin or should I keep them for storing something?

This is a great question, and I’m looking forward to some creative ideas from all you Survival Moms out there

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

When I was a classroom teacher, I could always spot the troublemakers no later than the second day of school. They were the ones who didn’t bother trying to make a good impression, while everyone else was clean, shiny, and overly polite.  In due time, this small number of kids would take up a good portion of my time as I worked to keep them focused on learning and out of trouble.

Looking back, I’d say that roughly 20% of my students caused about 80% of classroom disruptions.

This breakdown, 80/20, turns up over and over again, almost eerily so.  It was Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who lived in the early 1900′s, who first observed that 80% of the peas he harvested from his garden came from 20% of the pea plants.  Looking beyond his own backyard, he noted that 80% of the land was owned by 20% of the population.  In time, Pareto’s Principle, as it came to be called, was noted to have applications far beyond a harvest of peas or distribution of wealth.  In fact, it has implications for how survival-minded individuals can allocate their time, money, and energy.

Spot the 80/20 Rule in your own life

When I was preparing material for the webinar, “5 Survival Rules You Can’t Afford to Ignore,” I collected together all the knives in my kitchen.  I had quite a pile of bread knives, steak and santoku knives and many, many others.  When I set aside the knives I actually used on a regular basis, it was quite apparent that the 80/20 Rule was at work in my own kitchen!  I reach for the same 6 or 7 knives over and over.

My daughter loves to paint and has a large collection of acrylic paints in every color of the rainbow. However, when it’s time to buy new paint colors, the list is almost always the same: white, black, yellow, red, and blue.  In other words, about 20% of the colors in her paintbox!

In what ways do you see the 80/20 Rule in action in your own life and home?

image by HVargas

Applying the rule to survival

So what does all this have to do with preparedness and survival? Quite a lot, actually!  Consider first the collection of tools you have collected.  In your tool box or garage, you probably use the same 20% far more than the other 80%.  When you go camping or hunting, only about 20% of your supplies are most vital to the success of your trip.  When you go to the shooting range, you likely take the same firearm(s) every time!

I have a large box of various over-the-counter medications that I’ve been collecting, but you know what we use most often? Ibuprofen, cough syrup, and Benadryl.  Among my essential oils, I use lavender and eucalyptus most often.  Clearly the lesson here is to stock up on these items far more than any of the others.

The important point about the 80/20 Rule and these tools and supplies is that it helps you identify what you use most often and, possibly, what is most likely to break or be consumed most quickly.  With that in mind, those are the items that need back-ups and back-ups to the back-ups!  (See Rule of 3.)

Survival skills and vital knowledge

The 80/20 Rule has been called the rule of, “the vital few and trivial many.”  When it comes to skills, knowledge and survival, there certainly is an 80/20 breakdown with a few skills being most vital to survival and the rest, not so much.

Consider the skills that you have mastered.  If you could pass down only 3 or 4 to your children or grandchildren, and you knew those skills could make the difference between life and death, which would they be?  Classical guitar?  Hunting and field dressing game?  Cooking from scratch?  Scrapbooking?  Identifying wild plants that are safe to eat?

Knowing which skills are most important will improve the survival odds of your family now and teaching them to the next generation will do the same for them.

Here’s what’s most important…

Regardless of where it’s applied, the real value of the 80/20 Rule is that it reminds  us to focus on the areas, the people, the knowledge that is most important.  None of us have unlimited time, money and energy.  Each day we have to determine what steps to take to become better prepared for an uncertain future.  Each day we have to decide how to allocate our time.  The smartest way to do that is to look for ways to apply the 80/20 Rule in your  own life and home.

The video

I’ve recorded a short video that shows how to apply the 80/20 Rule to other areas of preparedness, including food storage and establishing a “survival community”.  You can watch it right here!

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by Ed Yourdon

Sometimes my weekends fly by and in spite of good intentions, Monday arrives and the projects I had hoped to tackle remain untouched.

Not this weekend.  I’ve been on a de-cluttering rampage over the past few weeks, donating boxes and boxes of our unwanted stuff to a local charity.  I’m also going to be making a batch or two of fresh cream cheese, refining my fledgling cheese-making skills!  And last on my list, putting on my plant-doctor’s cap and figuring out what the heck is wrong with a handful of new tomato plants that aren’t exactly thriving.

What are your prepper projects this weekend?

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by dirt licker

It’s not my imagination.  Angry groups of people are gathering together more and more often, protesting perceived injustice, failure of leadership, the financial malpractice by our government and banks, and just about any unpopular decision made by a governing body.  Sometimes these groups go so far as to cast their anger, and blame, on those far from the source of their original complaint. They may even show up at the private homes of individuals they have targeted for one reason or another.

Riots and mobs have long been a part of life in second and third world countries, and as America’s fortunes continue to spiral downward, it’s highly likely that, at some point in the future, you will be confronted with surviving an encounter with a mob.

Just recently a small group of self-identified, “anarchists” attacked a Starbucks in New York City.

“Mob of Anarchists Attack Starbucks”

Reading the article, a few facts jumped out at me.

• Only 25 people were involved in the group.
• Those inside Starbucks must have been terrified with no place to go and probably no forms of self-defense.
• The anarchists advertised their event.
• Some were wearing masks, increasing their anonymity.
• They were willing to attack private property and law enforcement alike.

The problem with people

People are unpredictable and as a general rule, the larger the group, the lower the overall IQ.  How else can you explain the crazy college students who go out and burn police cars to celebrate winning a championship game?  Think about it.  These young people had to present their high school transcripts and take at least one admissions test in order to be accepted.  Then, they set cars on fire because their team won or lost a game.  A large group of people with a lower collective IQ and fueled by alcohol is an even deadlier combination.

Another issue when it comes to protests and demonstrations is that it increases the cloak of anonymity that people believe they have. They feel free to do what they have always wanted to do but felt constrained by the fear of being identified.  Look at this photo of a protest that took place in Iran and you’ll see what I mean.  How likely will anyone remember the dark-haired guy in the white shirt a third of the way from the front?

image by FreedomHouse

Many of these groups are made up of cowardly bullies who would never confront a police officer on his/her own or break windows or strip innocent bystanders, but when they are part of a larger group, they’re emboldened to do things that they would never do alone.

A final issue with mobs of people is that they adjust their behavior to that of those around them.  You can see this occasionally in photos and videos when one protester will glance at others around him and raise his voice, increase his level of anger, raise his fist, etc.  The mob, not the individual, is in control.

Where does law enforcement come in?

I spoke with a few individuals in various law enforcement departments, and here is the gist of their advice: You’re pretty much on your own if you are ever caught in a riot or other violent demonstration.

That’s right.  Police and other law enforcement departments have multiple plans for dealing with angry mobs.  What they don’t have are plans for rescuing you if you are caught in the middle.  You absolutely must have a plan for staying safe.  Not for taking on a hundred people single handed,

image by Kashklick

just staying safe and getting away.

Information can be your best defense

It’s vital to know what is going on in your town as well as national trends.  The protests and violence following the Trayvon Martin incident spread far beyond Sanford, Florida.  Listen or watch local news and sign up for email and/or cell phone alerts from local TV and radio stations.  Very often they will send out alerts far more quickly than law enforcement.

Staying informed is especially important if you live or work in a high-profile area, such as an urban area with many government and corporate buildings.  If this describes you, you should also have a Get Home Bag and multiple routes for getting to a safer place.

Groups such as Communist Students and sites such as Protest.net publicize their grievances, plans, and protest locations.  Law enforcement keeps tabs on these groups, so why not you?  Follow them on Twitter, sign up for their emails (establish a separate email address for this), and track them down on Facebook.  If you hear of a protest scheduled near you, at least you’ll have advanced warning to be prepared or to be somewhere else on that day.

What about real self-defense?

One friend in law enforcement told me that he would want to have a concealed handgun if he were ever caught in a mob.  I have no problem with being armed but would definitely think twice about the circumstances and my plan for self-defense.

For example, firing a gun would immediately identify me as a target, especially if my appearance didn’t fit in with the crowd.  I’m not so sure facing down dozens of angry people is my idea of a good survival plan.  As well, stray bullets could hit innocent people or a police officer.  A firearm might be a better choice for back-to-the-wall self-defense among a smaller mob or if caught in a building that provides a degree of cover.

It’s important to not underestimate the force and combined anger of a large group of people and how rapidly it can amplify.  The smartest self-defense weapon in this scenario is your brain and previous planning.

Plans and tactics when peaceful becomes violent

Here’s the problem with these protests.  They are made up of people, generally angry people, who have a grievance. It takes very little to turn a peaceful protest violent.  In fact, many groups have trained individuals who purposely stoke anger and, hopefully, cause a violent reaction against police, bystanders, and private or government property.  To some, a protest isn’t a success until several of their members have been hauled off to jail.

I recorded this video with more tips for staying safe during a time of civil unrest.  Please add your own suggestions in the comment section and remember to enter this giveaway for a free Big Berkey water filter and a signed copy of my book! 

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

By John A. Heatherly, Author of The Survival Template

photo by marksontok

Coined by Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great, the term “The Stockdale Paradox” has come to describe then mentality of one of the toughest survivors to be studied, Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale.

Admiral Stockdale spent seven years in the Hoa Lo Prison in Vietnam, where he endured and survived unspeakable conditions.  Years later he was asked how he coped during such dark, tortuous times.  His answer:  “I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”  It is interesting that he CHOSE to make captivity “the defining event” of his life.  His disciplined mind was able to frame the experience to his advantage.

When asked, “Who did not survive?” he responded,  “They were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart … This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

The Stockdale Paradox (faith that you will prevail + discipline to confront the most brutal facts of current reality) can be practiced and developed BEFORE times get dark.  It is a mental perspective that can be powerfully effective, and is a gift from Admiral Stockdale that we all can make use of.

© 2012, John A. Heatherly. All rights reserved.

By John A. Heatherly, Author of The Survival Template

photo from AFR 64-4, Figure 19-15, page 189

A variety of events can contaminate ordinary, working sources of water.  For example, rainstorms, or even worse, hurricanes, can pollute tap-water that is normally clean.  In other cases, a pond or puddle may be used as a water source.  With a little improvisation these problems can be remedied, allowing for better-tasting, better-smelling water.  NOTE:  This type of filter will NOT purify water, but is meant to be used in conjunction with a purification method (boiling, iodine, bleach, etc ….)

The figure above illustrates a three-stage water filter built out of a tripod and porous cloth.  This simple device is highly effective in cleansing drinking water.  I have seen a version of this constructed out of a plastic milk jug that washed up on the beach (a large, plastic soda bottle would work as well.)  In this case, the bottom of jug was removed with a knife and a piece of cloth was placed over the jug’s mouth.  The inner layers of the filter were the same as in the image: charcoal, sand, and grass.

Projects such as this water filter can also make for great fun on family outings and camping trips.  Again, ensure that the water is PURIFIED before drinking it, and experiment with filters such as this one to improve the look and taste.

Anyone have experience with filters similar to this one?

© 2012, John A. Heatherly. All rights reserved.

By John A. Heatherly, Author of The Survival Template

photo by jennaddenda

Early Spring can bring spectactular Family time!  The following tricks for finding and gathering dry firewood are extraordinarily practical and work great when approached as “games” that children and parents can play together.

1. “Squaw Wood” – Though the term Squaw Wood is sometimes in question, generally this refers to dry branches that can be found at the bases of evergreen trees.  The boughs and uppers branches of the trees tend to protect the Squaw Wood from rain, making it an excellent choice for kindling.  One game, that works especially well in a predominately deciduous forest, is to have children scan the hillsides for evergreen trees.  From a distance they stand out really well.  Dry Squaw Wood can normally be found there.

2. Pitch Stumps – Pine stumps often consist of hardened sap, called Pitch or Fatlighter, which is highly flammable.  Any easy way to find the Pitchwood is to simply kick a stump.  Once the rotten wood falls away, the Pitchwood normally remains, as it is much stronger.  I like to make shavings from the Pitchwood to use as tinder.  Often it can be split into kindling as well. Once children start to look for these stumps as a game, they will start to notice them everyone, even when they are not looking for Pitch specifically.  *Of course, supervision is necessary if children are using cutting tools as part of the game.

3. Cedar Stumps – These are sought for ease of use.  Cedar is very easy to split into kindling, and long pieces work well for making shavings for tinder.

4. “Standing Dead” – The split wood of standing-but-dead trees is a great place to find dry firewood (assuming the top of the tree is not broken and hollow to allow water to seep in.)  This technique is more advanced, as a saw, ax, or large knife is often needed to split into the wood.  Again, fine shavings can be used for tinder, with long, thin pieces being used for kindling.

The ability to find firewood is a valuable skill, and the “games” listed above will help you and your children to hone the skill.  The warm fire at the end of the game is the best reward!

© 2012, John A. Heatherly. All rights reserved.

I got this email a few days ago from Jackie:

I was wondering if you had any advice for a teenage prepper? I’m 17 years old and I’ve been prepping for about 5 months now. My family has basically given me full responsibility for prepping, I even have a set budget each month. But we live in an apartment and I was wondering if you had any advice on storing things and how to get my family more involved?

image by Riley Alexandra

I love the fact that young people are realizing that their future may be very different and more challenging than that of their parents.  With their young eyes they watched 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the catastrophic tsunami that hit Southeast Asia, and so much more.  If they have learned how necessary it is to develop skills and a mindset of self-reliance, then those horrific events produced something good and positive.

My advice for Jacqueline is to get her family on board with a massive de-cluttering project.  Many of us own so much stuff that doesn’t have much value, isn’t useful, and probably isn’t even attractive!  It’s just there, and we’ve become accustomed to looking at it, stepping over it, and walking around it!  Be brutal.  After all, if the house was on fire, you’d have to leave almost everything behind anyway!

Once you’re down to the necessities, you should have some storage space available.  As you begin filling it with preparedness items, keep track of what is stored in each location.  Pre-pack emergency kits and evacuation bags now.  Keep an inventory list inside the bag so you’ll know what you have and what you still need to get.

See if your family is open to getting together for “Preparedness Pow-Wows”, or family meetings to talk about progress being made, what still needs to be done, and projects the whole family can participate in, such as learning about amateur radio, dehydrating food, taking outdoor survival classes, etc.  Even when money and space are tight, there is always room for learning something new, something that will be beneficial in both good times and bad.

What advice do you have for Jackie, our teenage prepper?

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

By John A. Heatherly, Author of The Survival Template

photo by MSBarrows

Birch trees are both elegant and useful, especially in the Springtime, and can be utilized in the following ways:

1.  Treatment for Poison Ivy – With the arrival of warm weather, families are spending time outdoors, and poison ivy could be a problem.  Small twigs of birch can be boiled into a tea, cooled slightly, then applied to affected areas.  This little known treatment can work wonders when other medications fail!

2.  Tree taps – In the Spring, Birch trees can be tapped to procure liquid for drinking or to be boiled into delicious sap syrup.  After placing a small (approximately 1 inch) wooden peg or “tap” into the inner bark, sap can easily be gathered.  If trying this, please research the tap process a bit to ensure that you properly repair the tree when finished, as tapping can be harmful if done improperly.

3.  Fire-starter – Strips of birch bark are one of nature’s best tinders.  They are highly flammable and burn with a black smoke.  Caution: I do not recommend extracting birch bark from the decorative trees outside of restaurants for a fire-craft demonstration in the parking lot.  Once I dazzled my friends with the trick but no one else in the area seemed impressed.

4.  Tea – Mild tea can be made from a palmful of leaves (one palmful per cup of water) or a stronger tea from the boiled twigs (1-2 palmfuls of twigs per cup.)  The tea has a diuretic effect, and strong birch teas act as a sedative in times of stress (1/2 cup per day.)

5.  Edible inner-bark – The inner bark can be dried in the sun then ground into flour.

Have you used birch in these or other ways?

*Sources: Personal experience; Tom Brown’s Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plans

© 2012, John A. Heatherly. All rights reserved.