Here are my favorite resources that I use to physically prepare for the tribulation ahead.
Recommended Books:
Survivalist Family: Prepared Americans for a Strong America, by Joe Fox.
I admit the book’s cover looks very redneck, but this is an excellent and comprehensive guide, with checklists, covering every aspect of personal and family preparedness.
Joe Fox is a retired Green Beret who lives in an off-grid community in the Ozarks. He also runs the Viking Preparedness YouTube channel.
2. Survival Theory: A Preparedness Guide: How to Bug Out and Survive the End of the World on a Budget, by Jonathan Hollerman.
Another excellent guide that focuses on the tools and concepts needed to survive a long-term disaster. Published in 2016, some of his specific recommendations are a little dated, but the concepts are still valid. For example, for camp cooking, he recommends an Esbit CS585HA 3-piece lightweight cook set. Today think there are many other cook sets that will be just as good, or better.
3. The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, by Carol Deppe.
There are thousands of gardening books, but I keep coming back to this one. Its message is simple: There are five crops you need to survive and thrive:
- Potatoes
- Corn
- Beans
- Squash
- Eggs.
4. Butchering: Poultry Rabbit Lamb Goat Pork, by Adam Danforth. This is my guide when I process chickens and sheep on my farm. The same principles apply to processing wild turkey, quail, and deer.
Free PDF Preparedness Manual
I don’t subscribe to Latter Day Saint (LDS) theology. But, with that said, I respect the Mormons for two things: (1) their family emphasis, and (2) their preparedness mindset.
There’s a lot of really-good preparedness information in this LDS Preparedness Manual. You can read it here or download it using the link below.
Recommended Websites:
https://www.ediblewildfood.com
https://revelationtimelinedecoded.com/prep
https://www.theorganicprepper.com
Preparedness Overview
- Using the resources above (or resources like them) create and implement your preparedness plan.
- Your plan should address all the areas below:
Community
When our 21st Century electric grid goes down, either due to a solar flare or a hostile action, everyone’s daily workload will increase dramatically.
Imagine your life with no refrigeration, electric heat or air conditioning, no lights, and no power to pump gas, or use an ATM. According to this US Government report, up to 90% of Americans could die in the first year after such an event.
Successful people will form agricultural communities, similar to the Amish, helping each other and pooling skills and resources. You need other people for:
- Division of labor. Everyone has different skills and abilities.
- Spreading the workload: One person can’t do it all.
- 24/7 Security, if necessary
- Mutual support and friendships
Shelter
- Our bodies need protection from rain, snow, wind, and cold.
- Privacy.
Water
Most of the deaths after a grid down scenario will be caused by water-borne illnesses. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people are dependent on public water systems, so they’re totally unprepared to process their own drinking water.
For the last 7 years, we’ve filtered 100% of our family’s drinking water through a ‘Berkey Light’ water filter. Berkey is ‘the gold standard’ for daily family use. It’s a little expensive up front, but over time it’s a lot cheaper (and more dependable) than buying bottled water.
Sawyer Mini water filters are small but powerful. And, they cost 1/10th as much as a Berkey. They filter out 99.99999 percent of all bacteria, protozoa, and microplastics from dirty water. One Sawyer Mini filter can process up to 100,000 gallons. Everyone should carry a Sawyer Mini in every vehicle, and in every bugout bag, and should know how to use it.
Food
I recommend having a minimum of one year of stored food for your family. This stored food isn’t your long-term food plan. Your homestead is your long-term plan. The purpose of your one-year’s food supply is to get you through winter until your garden and livestock can provide for your needs.
So, you need to know how to produce food. That means learning how to garden, raise poultry and livestock, hunt, fish, and safely forage the abundance of wild plants growing everywhere around us. There’s a learning curve for all these, so don’t wait. Start now, even if you’re in an NYC apartment, do what you can.
Hygiene, Health, and Medical
Stock up on personal hygiene items
Assemble a first aid kit.
Get first aid training and skills