Conserving water is not just a “green”thing to do, it’s a good idea no matter where you live.  Using gray water, or water that drains from the washing machine or kitchen sink, is one option for recycling water. When I was researching the use of gray water for my book, I spoke with Buzz Boettcher [...]

Guest post by Liz Long Wabi Sabi is a Japanese concept that just may help you get through life with a little more joy and a little less stress. This isn’t about buying things or learning a skill you can show others. It’s about a mindset. I learned a little about it when I bought [...]

By  John A. Heatherly, Author of The Survival Template   As a new resident near the Gulf, I have much to learn about fishing and crabbing and many other disciplines that the Locals here have come to master.  While I am learning, I thought it responsible to improve my stash of survival gear with a [...]

This weekend some very good friends of ours spent several hours at our house.  At one point over dinner, the husband, James, began asking about food storage.  How did I know what to store?  How long would it last?  His wife, Dawn, had questions of her own and I began making a simple list of [...]

by John A. Heatherly, Author of The Survival Template Photo by Naomi Ibuki Pine trees are beautiful and abundant, while they offer the following three valuable gifts: Pine Needle Tea – green pine needles can make a tasty tea that will warm your family’s spirits on a cold day while providing much more Vitamin C [...]

Guest post by The Paranoid Dad In this crazy world of ours, I can’t help but wonder, what if our home was ever raided for food and the pantry emptied?  What would we do?  How long could we live without food? This thought led me to a pretty creative idea.  What if I squirreled away [...]

Update:  I’m posting this again because the Survival Mom discount expires on January 31.  If you want the $100 discount on the kit, be sure to enter survivalmom as the coupon code! Disclaimer: I am not associated with MedCallAssist in any way, nor do I receive commissions on purchases or ad revenues.  They provided me [...]

Last week’s Action Step was a recommendation to find a good source of wheat and stock up.  A reader made the comment that buying wheat from feed stores was a bad idea because of pesticides.  I wanted to check that out for myself, so first, I made a few calls to local feed stores.  Surprisingly, [...]

Guest post by Liz Long.   Prep & Pantry is an iPhone app that lets you keep track of all your preps and everything in your pantry. It really is a great little app, and worth the money, but there is a free “lite” version if you want to try before you buy. This app [...]

I was sent a link to this first-hand report of a Seattle resident, Dave, who lived through this week’s blizzard.  I lived!!! As anybody who doesn’t live in a cave probably knows, the Seattle Pacific Northwest this week was hammered by winter storms, knocking out juice to what amounted, at the high point, to over [...]