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.

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.

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.

I got a question from one of my readers, Dee, and thought it would make a great Survival Survey.

I live on my own in a suburb of a large city and don’t think I’m going to be bugging OUT.  I’ve been making preparations to bug IN, staying put and safe in my home.  Yes, I know that certain situations may not make that the best thing for me to do, but it’s my only option.  I know NO ONE who thinks about preparedness, and my family lives 1000 miles away, and they aren’t concerned either.

What suggestions do you have for someone like me who must bug IN if/when a big crisis hits?

Are you planning on staying right where you are, no matter what happens?  What are your plans?  What advice do you have for Dee?

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by ST33VO

Over on The Survival Mom Facebook page, we’ve had a discussion about the perception of most Americans that this is all one big party that will never end, in spite of warnings that the cops are on their way.  But there are hundreds of thousands of us, millions around the world, who view it differently and realize that this party can’t go on forever.  Some of us have moved away from cities to smaller towns and rural areas, believing it’s the safest place to be when the party ends.  Others are stocking up on all kinds of life’s necessities and learning how to be their own doctor.

This Survival Survey asks the question, “If everyone else around you is pretty much oblivious, then what was your trigger point that made you start preparing?”

Mine was the decline of the economy about three  years ago.  It was more of a gut feeling that this time something was really wrong and there was no going back.  I don’t want the party to end.  It’s been a fun ride, but more than that, I don’t want my family digging through garbage bins and sleeping in our Tahoe.

Your trigger point?  And, if you feel like adding to your answer, why do you think so many people are still oblivious?

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by Sugar Pond

In the prepper world, skills are just about everything, even surpassing buckets of beans in importance.  As one writer pointed out, what if everyone in your “survival group” is a computer programmer?  Yep, you’re pretty much zombie bait.

So during the last 12 months, what has been the most important and helpful skill you’ve learned?

Sewing?

Baking homemade bread?

Learning different ways to start a fire?

For me, it was re-learning camping skills that had become rusty over the years.  I think the most helpful thing we did as a family, was take a road trip through the northwest states, pitching our tent at a different location every night.  In just a matter of a few days we were pros at setting up and taking down camp, fixing outdoor meals, and enjoying a completely different lifestyle, albeit temporarily.  Now I know that our family is capable of living life unplugged from electronics, thinking on our feet, and quickly adapting to changes in weather, environment, and location.  We also learned to work together as a team.  Those are not only important survival skills, they’re also important attitudes.

How about you?  What was the most significant skill you learned last year?

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by CarbonNYC

This question was Tweeted last night by @GettingPrepped, and it’s something I’ve often thought about myself.

If a disaster or emergency situation were to strike without warning, what three things you would grab?

Assuming my kids and husband aren’t included in those ’3 things’, I would grab our Bug Out Bags (already equipped with clothing, flashlights, water, snacks, etc.), cash, and a handgun.  What about you?

As a side note, blogger Survivor Jane has started a daily Prepper Talk on Twitter, and it’s become more and more popular over the past couple of months.  Just sign on to Twitter, do a search for #preppertalk and join in.  Keep in mind that your responses (Tweets) must contain #preppertalk in the body of the Tweet in order to be viewed by everyone in Prepper Talk.

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

Guest post by Liz Long.

The news has been stressing me out pretty badly, and I know I’m not alone. One of my friends has started watching old Cary Grant movies. I recently watched Gidget and I’m following it up with Season One of The Flying Nun. These shows are all unrealistic, happy-happy, sugar plums and sweetness, but when real life is, well, not happy-happy, it’s nice to have a distraction.

What do you and your family watch, read or do to help relax or just mentally get away when life gets too stressful?

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by Don Hankins

Let’s face it.  We may say we’re preparing for winter blizzards or freak hurricanes, but down deep, if you’re a prepper, what you’re really preparing for is a collapse of America’s economy.  It may happen within a few days or it may be a continual downward slide over many years.  Its causes may include numerous Katrina-size natural disasters, a toppling federal government, chaos on Main Street, and the odd meteor or two, but regardless of the causes, we want our families to be as secure as possible for the long haul.

So, the question that naturally arises is: How do you prepare for a Greatest Depression?  Is it even possible to prepare for something that may last a decade or much, much longer?  Is it better to be a homeowner, even if someday you’re unable to make your mortgage payments or is it better to have mobility and rent?  Should you leave your life savings and retirement funds where they are or take the tax and penalty hit and invest in land, or gold, or a year’s worth of food?

If we could talk with survivors of the first Great Depression and ask them, “If you could go back to 1925, how would you have prepared for the Great Depression,” I wonder what they would say.  We’re preparing for something on a world-wide scale, so my question to you is, how should we prepare for a Greatest Depression?

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

One of the very first purchases we made, The Paranoid Dad and I, was two cases of freeze dried meat.  I knew we could grow our own produce and that canned veggies and fruit were cheap, but I was worried about having enough protein in our storage.

image by whatleydude

It seems everyone has a plan for having a supply of meat for the future.  Some intend to do a lot of hunting and fishing.  Others are canning beef and chicken like there’s no tomorrow, and a growing number of families are raising chickens and rabbits.  I can’t help but wonder, though, what’s wrong with planning on eating vegetarian when the S hits the fan?

People have lived on little or no meat for thousands of years.  Yes, most of us eat poultry, fish, and meat, but we’re already stocking up on a lot of the same foods vegetarians eat, such as beans, legumes, rice, etc.  Most preppers have gardens or, at least, have plans to garden and grown some of their own produce, and you can buy freeze-dried and dehydrated versions of just about anything that will stand still long enough!

I’m not trying to pick a fight with carnivores!  Just wondering why more preppers aren’t making plans to eat mostly or all vegetarian in the future.  What about you?  Would you go vegetarian or are you honing your hunting skills?

© 2011, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.