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Building a Better Bug-Out Bag: You’re NOT Going on a Fun-Filled Camping Trip
Building a Better Bug-Out Bag: You’re NOT Going on a Fun-Filled Camping Trip
Based on the things I’ve learned from folks who have actually lived through survival situations and bugged out, I think that we need to revisit what bugging out really means and why you might use a bug out bag. If we understand the concept better, it’s easier to pack a bug out bag that will work for each of us personally.
3 kinds of bug-outs
There are at least three different kinds of bugging out:
- You’re never coming home again: This bug-out means you’re leaving and you don’t expect to be returning. It could be due to a rapidly approaching natural disaster that is likely to demolish everything in its path, like a wildfire, or it could be due to terrorism or genocide. It could happen at the last moment or you might have time to pack – it really depends on the situation. If it’s a last-minute thing, you might only have the things you can grab in your bug out bag. Sometimes you don’t even have time to grab that – it could be a situation in which a few seconds are the difference between life and death. When I visited a museum about the genocide in Bosnia, one woman told of leaving the house with her child wrapped in nothing but a hastily grabbed towel because the little girl had been in the bathtub when the family was hauled away.
- Bug Out with Warning: This bug-out happens during natural disasters and often (but not always) you’ll have a few days of warning. Some examples might be a nearby wildfire or an approaching hurricane. You can load up your vehicle with sentimental items and bring more than you’d ordinarily bring. The focus for this type of bug-out is often on the things you can never replace.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
A List Of 50 Things You Should Get Right Now To Prepare For The Chaotic Events Of The Next 12 Months
A List Of 50 Things You Should Get Right Now To Prepare For The Chaotic Events Of The Next 12 Months
People have been asking me to do an article like this for quite some time. In all the years that I have been writing, I have never seen so many of my readers so alarmed about our immediate future. Over and over again, I have been getting emails from people asking for advice about how to prepare for what is ahead, and so many of them are using the word “urgency” to describe what they are feeling. And I can definitely identify with that, because around the middle of last year that is a word that I started using constantly. I felt an urgency about 2020 that I had never felt about any other upcoming year, and there were certain things that I knew that I had to get done. One of those things that I had to get done was my new book, and it is now finished. The plan is to release it this month, and after reading it there will be no doubt about why I have been feeling such a sense of urgency in recent months.
I want to warn you in advance that the list below is not an exhaustive list.
Instead, it is meant to be a very basic starting guide. There are many other things that could (and probably should) be added to this list, and I very much encourage readers to leave comments after this article with their own suggestions and recommendations. We should always be willing to learn from one another, because nobody is an expert on everything.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Here’s What 75 Preppers Learned During the Lockdown
Here’s What 75 Preppers Learned During the Lockdown
The lockdown that recently took place due to the pandemic was like a practice run for a bigger SHTF event. Many of our prepper theories played out and were accurate, while others weren’t as realistic as we thought beforehand.
People who weren’t preppers already learned a lot about why they would want to be better prepared in the future, but they weren’t the only ones who learned lessons. These preppers took a moment to answer questions about the lessons they learned during the lockdown. (Here’s an article about the things I learned.)
What did you learn about preparedness during the lockdown?
Trisha…
I learned two main things. First, I was very surprised at how strongly the isolation hit me. I am a person who is “energized” by interacting with other people. I knew that already, but I was shocked at how MUCH it affected me. Second, I got a taste of normalcy bias. I kept trying to see ways in which our situation was still “Normal”. As a school teacher of little ones for thirty years, I was pretty much used to switching into action immediately to deal with a crisis and putting my feelings on the back burner. So, I was shocked that it took me a couple of months to “accept” the changes in our lives and start looking for creative ways to make life work and meet our needs.
Maria…
I learned it is so important to pay attention to what’s going on and stay ahead of the crowd. My husband and I were able to stock up two weeks before everyone else panicked. I also learned my plan of being stocked up and shopping only for replacements is a great system.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
9 Things to Buy Every Time You Go to the Store
9 Things to Buy Every Time You Go to the Store
Lots of folks have mentioned that their grocery stores never fully restocked after the rush on food and supplies back at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. And with the current news stories about spiking COVID numbers, it may not be long until we’re locked down again.
Work on what’s within your control
It’s important to note that even if you are unconcerned about the virus, there are a lot of things that could be out of your control in the event of another governmental series of actions:
- Workplaces may close back down
- Supply chains may be further damaged
- The economy will take another hit
- You may not be able to go where you want
Real, or not real; dangerous or not, the end result for us is the same.
It’s just like the debate over whether a terror attack in the news is a false flag or an actual terror attack. Every time I write about surviving one of these attacks, people flock to the comments to tell everyone that it was all crisis actors, the whole thing is a hoax, or our own government did it to take away our guns.
But we’re talking about survival. If you’re there when the bullets are flying or the bombs are going off or the planes are crashing, it doesn’t matter who’s behind it. Your only goal at that point is to survive it.
With COVID, does it even matter if the numbers are accurate or not? Because the government is using it as an excuse to exercise rigid control over all of us – telling us when we can go to work, when we can visit with loved ones, keeping us away from hospitals and leaving our ailing relatives to die alone, and enforcing laws about masks and appropriate distances.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Why Every Person In America Needs To Become A Prepper During The Second Half Of 2020
Why Every Person In America Needs To Become A Prepper During The Second Half Of 2020
It has been on my heart to write this article for a few days, but I knew that it wouldn’t be easy to write. 2020 has already been one of the worst years in modern U.S. history, and it looks like the next six months are going to be extremely challenging as well. But even though most Americans are expecting that things will return to “normal” in 2021 and beyond, the truth is that the “perfect storm” that we are witnessing is only in the very early stages. All of the old cycles are ending, all of the bubbles are bursting, and we are starting to experience the consequences of decades of incredibly foolish decisions. So even though the remaining months of 2020 will be chaotic, the truth is that things are going to get progressively worse as the years move along. That means that you should use this period of time to prepare for what is ahead of us, because at some point the window of opportunity to prepare will be closed for good.
COVID-19 should have been a wake up call for all of us. Lockdowns were implemented very suddenly once the virus started to spread in the U.S., and shortages of key items began to happen. To this day, many retailers are still limiting the number of items that you can buy in certain categories. Hopefully this has helped people to understand that if you have not stocked up in advance, you may not be able to go out and get what you need when a major crisis strikes.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
How Do You Prepare for a Revolution?
How Do You Prepare for a Revolution?
As all hell breaks loose across the United States of America (and we haven’t even gotten to the election yet), a resistance movement to the status quo seems to be increasingly violent, taking over a Minneapolis police precinct and an area in downtown Seattle. Protests continue to be peaceful in some areas but show little signs of letting up.
A lot of folks are pretty sure that a revolution is coming – and many people say it’s already here.
I got a great question in a group that I moderate: how do you prepare for a revolution?
As preppers, this is always our go-to response to trouble. We want to know what we can do, specifically, to meet the crisis head-on and keep our families safe.
How do you prepare for a revolution?
In this article, I want to speak specifically about the practical steps you need to take to be prepared for a revolution if things should come to that point across the country. This article is not about philosophy or right vs. wrong. It’s not about fighting for your “side” whatever side that might be. It’s about surviving. There are lots of links because I’m not reinventing the entire wheel here – that would be a book on its own. This is merely a guideline so you know where to focus your time, money, and attention.
I pondered the question for quite a while before answering because it isn’t really a situation I had given a lot of thought to before.
The answer is really not anything earth-shattering. In fact, many will probably find it underwhelming.
You prepare for a revolution by simply continuing to prep. Specifically, consider prepping for the following:
- Supply chain disruption and shortages of food
- Supply chain disruption and shortages of material goods
- Civil unrest
- Disruption of utilities
- Disruption of services
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
What I Learned During the COVID Crisis
What I Learned During the COVID Crisis
The COVID-19 crisis has affected just about every family in the United States in some way or another. All of our situations are unique and everyone I’ve spoken to has learned some lessons about their levels of preparedness. Some of those lessons are unconventional but valuable nonetheless. There are a whole lot of things you can’t learn from a book or a blog.
Here are the things I’ve learned.
Trust your instincts.
I began writing about this virus back in January when it was announced that the entire city of Wuhan was being locked down and millions of people were under stay at home orders. With that many people under a mandatory lockdown, I was firmly convinced that this had potential global ramifications.
I had come back from Europe to attend a funeral in early January and was supposed to return on January 28th. After doing the research for the article mentioned above, I rescheduled my flight for March 28th and settled in with my youngest daughter at her apartment to help out with the bills. We immediately began stocking up.
A lot of folks at that time said I was crazy – a few here on my website but more so on other sites that republished my work. I’m no stranger to being called crazy – I’m in the preparedness industry and I like guns, so right there, the mainstream media sees me as a lunatic. It no longer bothers me and I was convinced that this was going to be a big deal.
Every day from January 23rd to the present, I’ve spent hours researching as this pandemic has unfolded. I sincerely wish that I had not been correct, but here we are, still in lockdown in many parts of the country.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Here’s How to Become a Prepper
Here’s How to Become a Prepper
If the coronavirus has inspired you to become a prepper, you’re not alone. At long last, prepping has become mainstream due to runs on supplies, shortages, and stay-at-home orders throughout the country. More folks than ever before are seeing the wisdom of having extra food and household goods on hand. It can help you through not only disasters and pandemics, but also through personal financial problems.
But delve into most preparedness websites (including this one) and it can start to get overwhelming when you read articles about civil unrest, EMPs, and existential catastrophes. You’ll see articles about guns and outdoor survival and all sorts of things in which you have absolutely no interest.
And more than that, it’s kind of overwhelming. It can make you feel like, “Wow, I will never be able to have a bunker in Montana with 150,000 rounds of ammo. I don’t even know how to build a fire. Why even bother?”
Before we get started with the “how to’s” here are a few things you should know.
All of us started at the beginning.
It’s important to know that all of us started somewhere. We all had some event that awakened us to the need to be better prepared. (To learn how some readers were inspired to get started, go here.) We all had to learn the ins and outs, read the books, and acquire the stuff.
Most of us don’t have thousands of dollars to drop on buckets of food and secondary locations. We began by just getting a few extra things when we could.
It takes some time.
Getting well-prepared doesn’t happen overnight. Even if you have a budget that is relatively unlimited, you will find that it still takes time to figure out what you need, where to get it, and where to store it.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
The S*** Is Actually Hitting the Fan But Somehow It Doesn’t Feel Real
The S*** Is Actually Hitting the Fan But Somehow It Doesn’t Feel Real
So here we are. Right on the cusp of that SHTF event that we’ve been prepping for all these years.
A global pandemic.
A breakdown in the supply chain.
Shoppers who are already becoming agitated and even violent.
We’re watching it all unfold in our hometowns and across our nation right now.
Yet, somehow, it still doesn’t feel real to me. Is it just me who finds this hard to fathom? Am I the only one who still thinks doubtful thoughts? Like “No way. It’s going to be okay. You’re overreacting. It’s a little scare, just like Ebola and MERS and SARS.”
I’ve researched and written about this stuff for years. I always knew it could happen. I was whole-heartedly convinced of these possibilities and yet when this situation began to move irrevocably toward disaster, I find myself, somehow, shocked.
I can’t be the only one who has prepared for this yet still feels stuck in normalcy bias, thinking “this isn’t going to get as bad as you think” even as I watch the events unfold around us pretty much like we in the survival community always predicted. There’s still that doubtful voice in my head, making me wonder about spending even more money on another “last” shopping trip.
Heck, maybe this makes me a bad prepper. A fake survivalist. A fraud.
Or maybe it’s only natural to think that life will keep moving on pretty much like it always has.
Will Covid-19 really be the thing that brings us down? Will the nation devolve into chaos? I’d like to say no with firm conviction. After all, there have been close calls before. But the rational part of me won’t allow that firm conviction, despite the part that says, don’t be silly, everything will be just fine after a brief blip.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
We’re Close To Your Last Day To Prepare For The Coronavirus
We’re Close To Your Last Day To Prepare For The Coronavirus
As supplies fly from the shelves, you’ll have to deal using the preps you now have
A cases continue to grow exponentially in South Korea and Italy. yesterday the US recorded its first coronavirus death on the continent: a 50+ year-old man in Washington State.
Meanwhile, most hospital systems in the West are woefully unequipped for any large influx of serious respiratory patients.
After dragging its feet for seeming forever, the CDC finally “allows” states to begin testing on their own. Why this took so ridiculously long is inexplicable.
For over a month now, we’ve been consistently telling you that you need to prepare for a covid-19 in your area. Now it’s getting quite close to the “too late” stage. Already many communities are experiencing runs on basic items like food and water.
Any actions you take from here on out need to be done ultra-responsibly and not contribute to the growing panic and hoarding.
From here on out, it’s going to be about “mitigation” (not containment) and “non-pharmaceutical interventions” or NPIs. That’s a fancy way of saying no large gatherings, no school, and no unnecessary travel or contact.
Use this last bit of precious remaining time before supplies are gone to continue do what you can.
If you’re one of the many new readers here on Peak Prosperity, be sure you’re up-to-date on developments with the coronavirus. All of our latest covid-19 video updates, podcasts and articles can be accessed here for free.
And here’s a brief list of the more recent material that Chris and I have published for our premium subscribers, to give you a sense of what’s behind the paywall (free executive summary, enrollment required for full access)
- Why Your Family & Friends Aren’t Taking The Coronavirus Seriously Enough
- Why I’m Ramping Up My Coronavirus Preparations
- A Resilient Defense Against The Coronavirus
- How We’re Personally Preparing Against The Coronavirus
- Positioning For A Market Downturn
- Our Recommended Pandemic Preparations
- Chris and Adam answer PP reader Q&A:
Meanwhile At A Costco In Brooklyn, The Hoarding Begins
Meanwhile At A Costco In Brooklyn, The Hoarding Begins
The same long lines that we’ve seen in China, Japan, South Korea, and across the world as people panic buy food and health supplies have started in the US.
On Saturday, the US Surgeon General urged people to “stop buying masks,” saying on Twitter that they’re not effective in preventing the general public from catching coronavirus.
Seriously people- STOP BUYING MASKS!
They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus, but if healthcare providers can’t get them to care for sick patients, it puts them and our communities at risk!
http://bit.ly/37Ay6Cm Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China.cdc.gov
Despite the CDC telling everyone to calm down, alleged video of long lines pouring out of a Costco store in Brooklyn, New York, surfaced on YouTube Saturday afternoon.
This comes days after we reported Hawaiians raced to Sam’s Club and Costco to panic buy food and health supplies as virus fears surge.
And as we noted earlier today: “The great panic of 2020 is underway” as Americans are now stocking up on supplies as the next pandemic could be imminent.
The Grim Reality About Pandemics They Don’t Want You To Know: “No Country is Prepared”
The Grim Reality About Pandemics They Don’t Want You To Know: “No Country is Prepared”
It’s been 100 years since the Spanish Flu caused a global pandemic. While you can rest easy right now knowing a global pandemic is not currently a threat, it is just a matter of time before the next one arrives. And when the next one does arrive, “scientists say an outbreak of a flu-like illness could sweep across the planet in 36 hours and kill tens of millions due to our constantly-traveling population.”
It’s been 100 years since the Spanish Flu caused a global pandemic. While you can rest easy right now knowing a global pandemic is not currently a threat, it is just a matter of time before the next one arrives. And when the next one does arrive, “scientists say an outbreak of a flu-like illness could sweep across the planet in 36 hours and kill tens of millions due to our constantly-traveling population.”
According to the Daily Mail, “The report, named A World At Risk, said current efforts to prepare for outbreaks in the wake of crises such as Ebola are ‘grossly insufficient’”. It was headed by Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, the former Norwegian prime minister and director-general of the WHO (World Health Organization). He said in the report: “The threat of a pandemic spreading around the globe is a real one. ‘A quick-moving pathogen has the potential to kill tens of millions of people, disrupt economies and destabilize national security.’”
No country is fully prepared for the mayhem a pandemic flu can cause
Out of the entire world, a mere 13 countries had resources and health care systems to put up a fight against a global pandemic. Among the countries ranked in the top tier were Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, France, and Holland.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Prepping: The Only Way to be Ready for Anything is to be Ready for Anything
Prepping: The Only Way to be Ready for Anything is to be Ready for Anything
Most of the time, no one actually expects the S to HTF on that particular day.
Most folks don’t go through their lives expecting one specific disastrous event to occur, and then have it unfold according to a predetermined script.
Several years ago, I didn’t get up in the morning expecting some jerk to get mad at his girlfriend, light a tree in her yard on fire, and set off a 100,000-acre forest fire. But he did.
People don’t go to work, expecting to sit down at their desks and grab another cup of coffee, only to find the company filed bankruptcy at midnight the night before. But it happens.
The folks in West Virginia didn’t expect that a container would leak deadly chemicals into the municipal water supply. But it did.
Residents of Haiti weren’t expecting it the day an earthquake leveled most of the homes on the island. But they still found themselves homeless.
Some disasters we can expect. If we live on the coast and there’s a hurricane warning, we know that we either need to evacuate or batten down the hatches and ride out the storm. We are usually aware if war is brewing. Often, we suspect we’re on thin ice in the workplace long before the pink slip arrives on our desk.
But most disasters are a complete surprise, either in their suddenness or an unexpected intensity. We can’t prep specifically for every single eventuality, but that doesn’t mean we must face challenges unprepared. By combining adaptability with general preparation, we can be ready for whatever life throws our way.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
SELCO: Strategy and Mobility Are More Important Than Storing Lots of Physical Things for the SHTF
SELCO: Strategy and Mobility Are More Important Than Storing Lots of Physical Things for the SHTF
Years after my SHTF I am definitely better prepared and organized for anything similar in the future, but just like all things in prepping it is so easy to get again in the same false feeling of being “secure.”
Once it was, “Oh it can never happen here.” Now it can be, “I am much better prepared now, I am safe.”
We all sooner or later get ourselves in a situation where when we buy physical things for SHTF, we are actually buying the feeling of safety and peace of mind. I try to avoid that, but of course just like everybody else I often find myself there.
One of the questions that I get often goes like this: “What would you choose to have now for SHTF after going once through it?” And it is easy to answer it more or less.
But taking into consideration how most preppers prepare for SHTF I must say that while a lot of things would be easier, the same problems would be there even with having a lot of physical things stored for SHTF.
Here are some examples.
Security and resources
Of course, I could have used more weapon at that time, and more ammo, especially at the beginning of everything when there was complete and absolute chaos everywhere. It was a time when you still do not know exactly who is dangerous and where you can go to be safe.
In that period of time, it is, as I mentioned before, it is best to stay put, and even better to have some resources and means to defend that resources.
So yes, I could have used more of both at that time – better resources and better means to defend it.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Climate Research Needs to Change to Help Communities Plan for the Future
Climate Research Needs to Change to Help Communities Plan for the Future
Climate change is a chronic challenge — it is here now, and will be with us throughout this century and beyond. As the U.S.government’s National Climate Assessment report made clear, it’s already affecting people throughout the United States and around the world.
Warmer temperatures are making heat waves more intense, with harmful effects on human health. More intense rainfall and higher sea levels are leading to more frequent and intense flooding, with ensuing damages to property, infrastructure, business activity and health. Higher temperatures and strained water supplies are requiring new agricultural approaches, while fisheries are shifting and in some cases shrinking; in some cases, stressed food systems are contributing to national instability.
This reality means society needs to think about climate change in different ways than the past, by focusing on reducing the risk of negative effects. And speaking as a climate scientist, I recognize that climate science research, too, has to change.
Historically, climate science has been primarily curiosity-driven — scientists seeking fundamental understanding of the way our planet works because of the inherent interest in the problem.
Now it’s time for the climate science research enterprise to adopt an expanded approach, one that focuses heavily on integrating fundamental science inquiry with risk management.
Flexible Infrastructure Design
Climate risk management strategies need to be broad, ranging from efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to designing new infrastructure hardened against more frequent extreme weather, to policies that encourage development to shift to less exposed areas.
And these strategies must be flexible. In some cases, decisions made today affect people’s vulnerability for the rest of this century, even though there is much that remains to be learned about how climate change will unfold over the decades to come.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
