image by beccafawley

In the first chapter of my book, I talk about identifying why you are preparing. From the book

Here are a few possible disasters to consider. Which ones are most likely to affect you?

• ƒƒNatural disasters—Mother Nature at her worst: wildfires, floods,
  earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and more
• Extreme weather—“Storm of the Century,” ice storms, drought,
  intense heat waves, blizzards
• Personal disasters—loss of job, decreased work hours, illness
  or injury affecting the ability to work, your mother-in-law
  moving in
• ƒƒNuclear events—including, but not limited to, an electromagnetic
  pulse (EMP), suitcase bombs, and actual mushroom clouds
• Terrorist attacks—these could happen anywhere, anytime, although I
  have to admit that terrorists seem to favor New York City
• Social unrest—riots, strikes, large-scale and violent protests
• Increased crime rate—home invasions, car-jackings, burglaries
• Economic collapse—the devaluation of the dollar, bank closures,
  hyperinflation, a significant stock market crashƒ
• Biological catastrophes—epidemics or pandemics, biological
  warfare
• ƒƒUtter and complete collapse of civilization—it’s happened before,
  and it can happen again

This is all very good advice, of course, but many of you are prepping, “just because.” Maybe you’ve just had, “a really bad feeling about stuff.” Or, if you’re a spiritual person, you believe that you’ve “been led” to prepare.

It could be just a gut feeling, an instinct, your intuition, but whatever it is, you can’t quite put your finger on why you’re preparing.

Well, guess what?

That’s okay. I am a strong believer in the accuracy of those vague warnings. In fact, I’ve taught my kids to trust their instincts if/when something ever just doesn’t feel right.

In this video I go into more detail about being okay with vague feelings of uneasiness when it comes to preparing and survival.

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by *Zoha.Nve

More than 20 years ago, I learned this tip from a roommate, and now I’m using it so my family always has a crisp, healthy salad. Now when my kids say they’re hungry, I say, “Go eat a salad!” For a main dish, we add whatever cooked meat is in the fridge, along with some cheese and hard boiled eggs.

Super quick and super easy because I only have to make a large salad every 7-10 days.

All you’ll need is a large bowl with a snap-on lid, 2 paper towels, and a salad.

© 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by meltwater

A piece of prepper conventional wisdom is to keep all your “preps” secret, telling no one. If people, friends, relatives, neighbors, or friends-of-friends find out that you have stored food, water, and other supplies, they’ll be banging on your door demanding their share.

Recently an “emergency manager,” named Valerie Lucas-McEwen caused quite a stir when she wrote an article accusing preppers of being selfish. In a second article she tried to backtrack a bit but still stuck to her guns in the belief that people who seriously prepare for emergencies should be willing to share with others.

Columnist and blogger Patrice Lewis wrote a brilliant response here, and you’ll find numerous similar articles around the web.

My concern isn’t so much the issue of selfishness. After all, what do I care if a woman I don’t know has a less-than-positive opinion of something I choose to do with my own money and on my own time. My concern goes back to the responses of people who have been told they have a “right” to what I own based on the words of Ms. Lucas-McEwen and others like her.

This led me to an episode of Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone”, called “The Shelter”. As you watch this, keep in mind that Serling had to compress the actions of the characters to fit the time constraints of a TV show, but the reactions of the doctor’s neighbors in a time of a deadly crisis seem to be right on the money.

Those who have been preaching OpSec! OpSec! OpSec! are probably more right than not.

These three videos take about 25 minutes to watch.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Your thoughts?

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

Here’s the video, which also reviews the Fellowes laminator, followed by my list of 28 things to laminate!

1. Photos and a personal information sheet of each family member and pet in case of evacuation or lost child/pet
2. Local wildlife ID cards
3. Chore lists
4. Evacuation checklist
5. List of items for your emergency kits/bug out bags
6. Medication lists- who gets what, when, and how much
7. Insurance information (house, car, life, health, etc.)
8. Whiteboard pages – Put one in each kid’s emergency kit along with a dry erase marker.
9. Vehicle maintenance checklist
10. Vehicle emergency checklist
11. Laminate one emergency card per person. Include name, photo, description, medical info, and identifying marks.
12. Maps for evacuation with routes marked
13. Important contacts, including phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses
14. Homeschool schedule
15. Learning tools, like multiplication table, flash cards, vocabulary lists/cards
16. Instructions for emergencies, such as how to start a generator, tying knots, battery hookups for the camper, turning on/off the gas, water, and� power
17. Food storage inventory
18. Camping supplies checklist
19. Copies of well loved recipes
20. First Aid procedures
21. 911 instructions for kids
22. Directions for purifying water
23. List of last minute things to pack for evacuations, such as medications or medical equipment
24. Sewing patterns
25. Legal documents/licenses/permits
26. Paper instructions for anything you refer to again and again, such as canning times/temperatures
27. Specific medical instructions for things like CPR, burns
28. Items for the Grab-n-Go Binder

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

1.  Think about something you have done or learned that makes you proud to wear the title Survival Mom (or Dad or Grandma or Woman! This contest is open to everyone!).

Have you organized your food storage pantry and want to show it off?

Do you have emergency kits for the family and want to show us what you’ve included?

Have you learned a new skill or want to share some great survival/preparedness knowledge you’ve learned?

Or, do you just want to chat for a few minutes about what being a Survival Mom means to you?

2.  Whatever your choice, make plans to create a video. You can use any recording device, as long as the finished video can be uploaded to YouTube.

3.  Start recording, but pay attention to the clock! Videos must be 5 minutes or less in length.

4.  Your finished video doesn’t have to be professional quality but the sound and video should be easy to understand and see.

5.  You’re welcome to add a title slide, insert photos, even film credits, but the final winners will be selected based on the content of their video. In other words, we may be dazzled by special effects, but in the end, that’s not what makes a great movie! The judges will be looking for information, how-to tips, and inspiration for other Survival Moms to do what you’ve done.

6.  You may submit more than one entry but only one entry per person will be eligible to win.

7.  You do not have to include any personal information in the video, title, or description. You’re more than welcome to wear a paper bag over your head or blur out anything you don’t wish viewers to see. However, once you upload and submit the video, I cannot make any changes to it.

7.  You have until Sunday, September 30, at midnight CENTRAL to submit your video. Upload it to YouTube using these instructions (this is important!):

The title of your videomust begin with #SurvivalMom in order for viewers to find it. Example: #SurvivalMom “How to knit socks”

Write a few sentences telling what your video is about in the Description section of the video upload area.

Once your video is uploaded, send the link in an email to admin@thesurvivalmom.com

Your video will become part of the library of videos on The Survival Mom YouTube channel. If you would like your blog or website url to be included in the video description, please include it.

Oh, yeah! Prizes!

Grand Prize: A Big Berkey water system from Pantry Paratus and a signed copy of Survival Mom!

Second place: SteriPEN Traveler Set and a signed copy of Survival Mom!

Third place:  $50 Gift Certificate from Essential Survival and a copy of It’s a Disaster!

Fourth place: A Life Straw personal water filter and a copy of It’s a Disaster!

So, lights! Camera! Action! and Good luck!

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

image by thebittenword.com

A couple of summers ago I saw three children standing on a street corner in northern Utah giving away tomatoes.  “Free tomatoes,” read their hand-made sign! You may not find free tomatoes, but some grocery stores in my area have been charging just 25 cents a pound for Romas! If you’re ever going to learn to can, and canning tomatoes is super easy, this is the time to do it!

What you’ll need:

1.  A bit of confidence. Canning is way easier than you might think. The following instructions may seem complicated and intimidating, but trust me. Just start gathering your supplies, get your hands on a few pounds of tomatoes (Romas will have more flavor, Beefsteaks less so), and set aside about two hours. When you’re finished, you’ll be amazed that you ever thought canning was difficult and you will be SO PROUD of yourself!!

2. An inexpensive set of canning tools. Walmart carries the Ball brand for less than $8. It contains jar tongs (there really isn’t a good substitute for these), a magnetic lid lifter (used to lift the flat lids out of the hot, sanitizing water), jar funnel (helpful, even when you’re not canning), a bubble remover/headspace measuring tool. There are other tools out there but if you have these four, you’re good to go.

image by thebittenword

3.  Canning jars. Not any jar will do. Canning jars are designed to withstand high temperatures and pressure. Both Ball and Kerr sell “Mason” jars, which has become, more or less, the generic name of canning jars. Some will actually have the name, “Mason”, on them, others might be marked, Ball or Kerr. If you find canning jars at estate or garage sales, only use them for canning if they are marked with one of these brand names, to be on the safe side.

I stick pretty much with just wide-mouth jars. I just like the style and I find it easier to fill them and then maneuver the food around inside the jar to remove bubbles. Walmart carries a generic brand that is a bit cheaper, but canning experts have told me they aren’t in love with them, that their seals sometimes fail. You may save a couple of bucks buying them but then may have to turn around and buy Ball lids, to be on the safe side. New canning jars come with lids and rings. They’re ready to go!

What size jar should you use? Since we’re canning tomatoes, think about the recipes you make that call for canned tomatoes. Do you generally use the 14.5 ounce size can or do you make large batches of food that call for 28 ounce cans? I’ve been using the pint size since I’d rather open one jar and use it all than end up with leftovers that have to be refrigerated. Quart size jars are handy, though, and hold 2 pints.

4.  Lids. These are only the flat lid that fits over the opening of the jar. They have a rubber ring on the underside of the lid, and this is what provides the airtight seal and protects the contents from contamination. Jars and rings can be re-used, again and again, but the lids cannot. Check out re-usable lids by Tattler. They get rave reviews by everyone I know who has used them.

5. Rings. New jars come with both lids and rings, and there is no need to buy replacements. Unless the rings rust or are bent, they can be re-used.

6.  Large pot with a lid. There are inexpensive water-bath canners that come with a rack for lifting several jars at once, placing them into the pot of hot water and removing them. I have mixed feelings about using a rack since the jars can wibble and wobble, and I’m always worried one will topple out. I prefer just using the jar tongs. Your mileage may vary.

You do NOT have to have an official, “water-bath canner.” Any large pot with a lid will do, but a canner is definitely HUGE and will hold more jars.

7.  Lemon juice or citric acid. Tomatoes, even heirloom varieties, do not contain enough acid to safely can them using the water bath method without adding extra acid. I place a quarter teaspoon at the bottom of each pint jar before filling them with tomatoes and water.

8.  A ladle. You’ll use this to add hot water to your jars of tomatoes.

9.  A small saucepan for heating water to sanitize the lids and a 4-quart pan/pot for heating the water that you will add to the tomatoes in each jar.

10. A bowl of ice water. You’ll want to peel the tomatoes before canning them. Drop them in water that is at a low, rolling boil. Leave in for a minute or until you see the outer skin begin to crack. Immediately scoop the tomato up, using the ladle, and place in ice water. The skill will be ever so easy to peel off!

11. A cutting board and knife. You may want to cut the tomatoes in smaller pieces, although many people just press them down in the jar, whole.

12. 2 or 3 kitchen towels. You’ll set these on your counter to protect both your hot jars and countertop.

13.  Finally, TOMATOES!!!  Even if your garden produced few tomatoes this summer, since you’re just learning how to can, then buy 8 pounds or so when you find them on sale. This will likely give you enough tomatoes to fill at least a case (12) of pint jars.

Going forward, it will be important to find inexpensive sources of tomatoes and other produce that you want to preserve. Keep in mind that by canning your own food, you will always know exactly what it contains. There will be no hidden high fructose corn syrup, MSG, ultra high sodium, etc. That’s the beauty of growing and preserving your own food.

© 2012 – 2013, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

“Why,” they ask, “should I pay off debt when I’ll be able to pay it off for pennies on the dollar when hyperinflation comes along.”

In an odd way, it’s like they’re looking forward to it. Almost giddy, in fact.

I’d like to establish a handful of truths about hyperinflation.

First, no country that has ever experienced hyperinflation is suddenly filled with well-off, debt-free homeowners.

“Woo-hoo! Come to Zimbabwe!  We’ve got hyperinflation!”

No, hyperinflation is absolutely devastating and if you pay off a mortgage or other large amounts of debt with your cash, it just means that you’ll be using up the limited amount of money you have at a time when prices are skyrocketing at 100% or more per month.

To put that in perspective, a gallon of milk costs around $2.79.  At 200% inflation, that price becomes $8.37 a month later and a whopping $25.11 by the second month!

Another truth to keep in mind is that your income will not increase!  In fact, with the devastation wrought by runaway inflation, you may very well lose your job or business.  If you’ve spent a large amount of your nest egg paying off debt, you will have to rely on whatever is left in order to survive.

Well-educated professionals in Argentina found themselves digging through dumpsters and trash cans for food.  A college education and a good career will not protect you.

A third truth is that it will be far, far better to face hyperinflation debt-free and with money in the bank.  Yes, the money will not have the same value, but 100K in the bank is way better than $500, or nothing.  It is still worthwhile to pay off debt and save money now.

It’s even more worthwhile to purchase hard goods such as food, water filtering systems, firearms and ammo, and other survival goods and gear now while prices are reasonable.

In this video, I go into more detail, with the help of my whiteboards!, about what hyperinflation will mean to the average family.

Is it possible to prepare for this worst case scenario?  In my book, Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst Case Scenarios, I detail 13 ways to prepare.  Here are a couple of those tips:

1. Pay off any debt that has an adjustable
interest rate as quickly and as soon as possible.
Unsecured credit card debt, in particular,
is vulnerable to increased interest
rates that would demand more and more
income from a family already strapped to
cover the most basic necessities.
2. While interest rates are low, investigate the
possibility of refinancing your mortgage. If
your mortgage rate is already low, and
fixed, focus debt repayment on anything
that has an adjustable rate.
3. Consider ways to decrease your transportation
expenses. Should gasoline prices
soar out of control, you may be very happy
for a job that is within walking or biking
distance. Can you sell that second or third
vehicle and pocket the savings in gas,
upkeep, and insurance? Be strategic and
purposeful in deciding which vehicles to keep, sell, and/or purchase.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

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 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. For a written list of safety tips, click here.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.

© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.