New Year Prep Blog Review

We started this year with a New Year Blog Review edition that we put together for the beginner preppers.

We wanted to help them start working on their preparedness skills so that, by the end of the year, they would feel ready to face any disaster scenario.

This year we’re taking it a step further, putting together another list of articles that will help you go further with your prepping, so here’s what you might work on in 2016:

1. Disaster Communication for Preppers | Preparedness

“Disaster communication is important for our survival. There is no way for us to know exactly when or where a disaster can strike. Advanced technologies can help us predict these occurrences but try as we might, nature seems intent on finding ways to surprise the unsuspecting population.

Just think of the tsunamis, typhoons, and earthquakes that we have witnessed in recent years. As preppers, we should always be ready for anything that could happen to our nation, our homes and our families. And we should not only be talking about natural disasters but also the unfortunate incidents caused by fellow human beings.

Read more on Survival Life.

2. How to Make a Super Survival Shelter

“Survival Lilly is at it again! In this video, she used her creativity, knowledge, and survival skills to make a super shelter.

She uses branches, logs, and sticks to make an octagon shaped shelter.  Pay special attention as she coaches you through this and see if you can learn anything knew about making a house.”

Read more on Swiss Family Survival Skills.

3. How To Be Prepared For A Power Outage

“Food

One of the first things I did was to make sure we have a 3-month supply of food in case of emergency or in case of a quarantine. We all know what happens when a disaster strikes–the food is cleared from grocery store shelves immediately. In case of a power outage, I made sure I have many shelf stable foods.

I also bought a butane stove so that I can still cook indoors. I put off buying one for several months because I thought it would be an investment, but they are actually very affordable ($20-30). We have a Barbeque, but in case it’s cold outside, I wanted something I could use indoors, and something I could use my pots and pans with.”

Read more on Mother’s Niche.

4. How to Get 2000 Degrees Solar Power – Great For When SHTF

“This can purify water, instantly start a fire, melt metal, cook food and even melt concrete…..This can melt a padlock if you needed to get in somewhere too … just saying

This is made from a simple lens called a Fresnel lens… These are commonly found in old rear projection big screen TVs ….

WHAT IS A FRESNEL LENS – The basic idea behind a Fresnel lens is simple. Imagine taking a plastic magnifying glass lens and slicing it into a hundred concentric rings (like the rings of a tree). ”

Read more on SHTF Preparedness.

5. How to Bake Without an Oven

“Winter just does not feel like winter without an ample supply of baked goods.  My husband is a cobbler and pie lover, and I a muffin, cake, and cookie gal.  Together, we have spent many a winter eve enjoying a fresh blackberry cobbler with whipped cream, or woke to a delicious blueberry muffin.  But this winter, baking has been a bit more challenging because we do not have an oven.

Thankfully, we have learned several creative ways how to bake without an oven.

My two favorites are Dutch Ovens, and what I will call Stovetop Bakes. In this post, I share our experience with Woodstove Bakes.”

Read more on Homestead Honey.

6. Four Questions to Ask to Prioritize Emergency Preparedness Goals

“It’s a new year and that means the traditional time of making new goals for yourself. Hopefully you added a few goals to be better prepared this year. I keep an ongoing list of things I want to learn, do, and purchase for preparedness.  I call it the “Big List” and keep it in a notebook in my purse.  It keeps me working toward a goal and learning and preparing.

But sometimes looking at the “Big List” is daunting.  There is a lot on there!  And it seems like every time I cross something off the list, I add two more things.  How will I ever accomplish it all?  And for sure how will I ever purchase it all on our little income? This could be a cause of great anxiety and even bring on “preparedness panic shut-down” where you decide that rather than tackle that huge list, you’ll just put your rose colored happy glasses back on and do nothing.  Because really, there’s no way you can get it all done and it’s causing stress just thinking about it.”

Read more on Food Storage and Survival.

7. DIY Wind-Powered Water Pump

“This summer I made a bunch of fun things out of PVC for my visiting nieces and nephews, and this wind-powered water pump is a combination of two of those projects: a wind-powered deer deterrent, and a pump-style water gun.

This water pump is definitely in beta stage. All the components work, but the design is highly inefficient and requires considerable wind to pump water out of our pond. In the video below I act out the part of a gale to give you a visual of how the pump works. The last step in this instructable will discuss the bugs in the current design and how they can be improved for a more efficient use of wind power.”

Read more on Instructables.

8. Active Shooter Training | How to Survive a Gun Attack

“I thought I would take a second and share some pretty interesting things I have found on the internet. There are from some high-powered Government Agencies that we can all use; it is open to everyone to help make aware and even hold training for Active Shooter situation. These resources cover applications from the workplace, school campus (K-12, Higher education, First Responders at Schools) , and even church.

I want to be sure to make an absolute statement that I am not taking credit for writing any of these trainings. I just put them together and deliver them so everyone they are available and they can have access to many different options and methods in regards to how to survive a gun attack.”

Read more on Gun Carrier.

9. How To Tan A Hide Using Several Methods

“Knowing how to tan a hide is a very important skill to know, if SHTF, there will be no new sheets, no new blankets being made or imported in. It will be up to us to stay warm, this is one of the best ways to stay warm.

Hides can be used to make clothes, insulate your bed, room, windows etc. Little rabbit hides can be stitched together with squirrel hides and in no time you could have a blanket that may just save your life. Like I said, this is a great skill to know. See a few ways you can do this at home below.”

Read more on SHTF Preparedness.

10. The Top 8 Deadly Myths About Survivalism

“Hi! I’m Sheila.

For the last several years, our family, my husband Dan, our son Jesse and I, have been living what some may call the “survivalist” lifestyle.  Actually, we live  the off-grid (so far off the grid that there is no land line and no cell phone service available), self-sufficient life.  We’re not here to get away from the world for a few days while chaos happens and calms down. We don’t think that’s what will happen, anyway.

We’re here because we have chosen to separate ourselves from the rat race, the system, and not be swept away in the tide of what we see as society running amok.  This is not a temporary lifestyle to us. It’s a wonderfully peaceful, sometimes difficult and always rewarding life. Regardless of what does or doesn’t happen, “out there”, this is how we choose to live.”

Read more on The Survival Mom.

This article has been written by Brenda E. Walsh for Survivopedia.