8 Items You MUST Keep in Your Vehicle

Bug Out Basics: Your Bug-Out Vehicle Checklist In my first “Outsmarting the Gridlock” post, I discussed the importance of building a comprehensive bug-out bag for each member of your family. Timing is crucial and there’s no time to pack. But that article left out one critical piece of information: How will you actually get out of dodge? You’re not planning to hike out to that remote cabin in the woods are you? For most of us, our bug-out location (whether it’s a family farm or a relative’s house) is simply beyond a reasonable walking distance, WAY outside… More than likely, […]

Outsmart the “Bug-Out Gridlock” [Part One]

In a crisis situation, panic is the only given… If you intend to “bug-out,” then you must hit the roads before they become gridlocked, or even shut down by authorities. All experts agree that the first 72 hours of a crisis are the most critical. This is the time after the disaster strikes, but before aid arrives to quell the panic. What they often leave out is that: If you intend to escape to a remote location, a cabin in the woods perhaps, you’re going to need to leave within an hour of the crisis event… within the first 20 […]

5 Survival Items Within Arm’s Length

Initially, I was going to limit this list to items that fit in your pocket, but then I started digging around and found a few extremely handy items (which I call “hyper-multipurpose”) that I’d have to leave out, like newspaper or aluminum cans… Instead, I’ve settled on items that are most likely within arm’s length of you right now, as you’re reading this. My goal: To turn as many common household items into multi-tools as possible. Changing the way we look at everyday items sharpens our minds in the event that we truly do need to improvise in a SHTF […]

What the Heck is a Survival Tin?

It’s great to have emergency supplies stockpiled in your home. Unfortunately, that won’t do you much good if disaster strikes when you’re on your lunch break downtown or caught in traffic. When you think about it, how much of your day do you really spend at home? For some of us, that’s an hour in the morning, an hour after work, and however long we’re asleep… That’s why the concept of a “survival tin” has become a mainstay for those who live by the Boy Scouts motto: Always be prepared. What is a Survival Tin? Simply put, a survival tin is […]

Selecting the Right Rain Barrel

It’s springtime and the rain is coming down in buckets across many regions of the country. Aside from the farmers, however, few are capitalizing on the precious resource that’s falling out of the sky. Some are taking advantage of it though. And if you’re not among them, you sure as heck should be… Saying that water is essential to surviving a crisis is cliché. So I’m going at it from a different angle. If your goal is to become truly self-reliant, then you must have a way to provide your own water. In the movies, you’ll see folks collecting dew […]