Survival tips

You can’t have a tool belt, much less a toolbox, slowing you down during a disaster, so find a good multipurpose tool you can keep on you at all times. Also, look for other types of multipurpose devices such as a flashlight with a built-in radio.

For yourself, you’ll need skills like building fires, purifying water, dressing wounds, and so forth, but also try to imagine the kinds of skills that might be valuable during a long-term disaster. These are skills you can trade with others. (For example, you fix my car and I’ll help you with your garden.)

Having a case of Spam in the closet might give you some peace of mind, but when you actually have to eat it, you’re going to wish you’d bought more foods that you like. Before you buy food storage over the Internet, request some samples. And before you buy cases of food at Costco, get a single box or can at the grocery store and try it out. And don’t forget comfort foods.

You don’t want to know how much food I had to throw away after my first year of prepping. I panicked and bought several things that ended up untouched in the back of the closet. By the time I got them out, they had already passed the expiration date. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Survivalism 101: Store what you eat, eat what you store.

Cold is just as deadly—if not more deadly—than heat. Make sure you have extra blankets, coats, sweaters, thermal underwear, and other winter survival items.

Even if you do all your reading on a Kindle or tablet, get some paperbacks. You can get them for pennies nowadays. Also get some cards, crossword puzzles, games that don’t require batteries, Sudoku books, etc. This might not seem important now, but during TEOTWAWKI, it will be critical for everyone’s sanity.

If you’re at work 40 hours a week, there’s a 24% chance the next major disaster will happen while you’re there. It’s even higher if you count time spent on the road or time you spend out during the evenings and weekends. Put together a bug out bag ASAP.

There are several ways to do this, and I encourage you to practice lots of them so you won’t have to refer to books when the time comes.

You don’t need to be able to run a marathon, but you need to at least be able to walk long distances and carry heavy objects around without getting totally wiped out. Here are some basic tips for getting in shape.

Anyone who knows about your survival supplies will think of you first when the SHTF. They might leave you alone at first, but if they get hungry enough they will turn into animals. Here’s what to do if they find out anyway.