START WITH THE BASICS
New to the idea that your world could end and you don’t know where to begin? Welcome, we have all been there at some point. The important thing is you are interested in doing something about it now.
As survivalists there are certain things we do to help give us and the ones we care about the best chance of surviving turbulent times. Below is a list of the basics to start considering.
Build a 3 month non-perishable food reserve for every person in your family or group. There is endless information about this topic, so I will say this…are you sheltering in place, or on the move? Will you have regular access to water or are you filing up as you go? Personally, I keep a store of both. I keep the basics of beans, rice, salt, powder milk, oats, red wheat. I keep these in vacuum sealed mylar bags. In addition I keep a mixed of (home) canned foods - mostly fruits, veg, proteins, and fats. I also store honey. In addition I keep ready to eat meals. Military and civilian rations. Very portable, no fire or water needed. Very discreet. More about food supplies to follow….
3 months of fresh water for every person in your family or group. Get creative here. You could live beside a lake or river. You could have a swimming pool or a pond on your property. These are back ups. You also need water stored where ever you are planning to shelter. It could be a well with a solar or wind generated power source or water stored in containers. Store fresh water in WaterBricks, camping jugs, washed out clear plastic 2l soda bottles, or larger cisterns. Use a barrel under your down gutters and collect rain water. Water is life.
Get in good physical shape. Quit smoking, cut down on alcohol, stop using drugs. Start doing physical work, if you can. Get into multi-functional training, strength training, mobility. Go for a run, a hike, a walk. Throw on a backpack or rucksack and head into the back-country. Exercise everyday, for the rest of your life. Take care to notice your diet. Make corrections now.
Take care of any health, optical, or dental issues. Get a second set of glasses and / or a year+ supply of contact lenses and solution. Keep your prescriptions up to date.
Learn at least basic first aid. Build a family first aid kit. Know how to perform CRP. See more training. Never stop learning.
Diversify your income. Learn a trade. Start a business. Invest your earnings. Look at all revenue sources and make the most of them.
Diversify your financial holdings - crypto, gold & silver, real estate, stocks and bonds. Save 10% or more of everything you earn and invest it. Buying preps that will not go bad is a good hedge investment against inflation. Think about things like ammunition, tools, training, or books, equipment, nonperishable food.
Get your gun permit. Go to the range. Learn to shoot. Bring someone with you, get them into it as well.
Learn to hunt. Know when and where to hunt what. Learn how to hunt a variety of species with a variety of tools. Rifle, bow.
Learn basic trapping. Again, know the when, where, and what of the species in your area. This could be a rat or a rabbit, a person or a bear.
Learn to fish. Head north in any part of North America and sooner or later you will find a place to fish. Learn how to fish with multiple lines and hook, with a spear, a net, traps, by spooning. Learn how to find fish. Know how to do it in all seasons.
Consider moving out of the city to a rural community or homestead. If the SHTF moment ever does come, being a city dweller would be my last idea of a good time. Get a head start now if you can. At the very least know your escape routes and have options. This goes for everyone - urban or rural. City dwellers will all rush out to the country when things in the cities go sideways crazy.
Learn map & compass navigation. Know how to navigate in the wilderness using a map and compass. Navigators have always had special roles in human societies. Most people don’t know this stuff, and it is pretty simple to learn. (Navigation)
Learn to forage for wild foods and medicinal plants in your area. Knowing where and when to find wild food is a skill that not everyone will posses. Learn about the useful and edible plants in your area now. Practice your knowledge. There are a lot of books about this.
Learn how to defend yourself. Learn how to fight. Fight with your body; striking, military combatives. Krav Maga or Jujitsu are good options. Learn how to use a knife, and how to defend against one. Practice shooting your long rifle, carbine, shotgun, pistol or bow. There will come a time to fight. Better to know what to do before you get there. A favourite quote of mine is “Better to be a Warrior in the Garden, than a Gardener in the war.” Sun Tzu - The Art Of War.
Produce some of own food - grow a garden. It could be a basket of fresh herbs on the balcony of your New York apartment. Or it could be a 1000 sq foot plot in your backyard. The point is to take a hand in growing something that you eat. My advice would be to grow as much as you can handle. Learn how to do it now. Make notes about what works, when to plant, what you grew. Learn how to collect and store your own seeds. Talk to other gardeners in your area.
Learn a trade. Learning an analogue trade is a great way to make yourself valuable in a post-SHTF world. It is also a good way to augment your current revenue stream. Choose something you are interested in, something practical, useful. You could train to be a paramedic, a welder, a blacksmith, a gunsmith…the list of choices is long.
Live within or below your means. Stay debt free, invest, and live within your means. Be humble. Be that guy that know one knows is a millionaire.
Build a community network of like minded individuals. Get to know other people in your community. People with skills you lack. Doctors, dentists, veterinarians, paramedics, nurses, pharmacists, active or ex-military, hunters….By forming community relationships now, you all stand a better chance of surviving together later. Keep your network a size that suits you all.
Build your tool collection. Start collecting tools that you will need in a post-collapse situation. James W. Rawles wrote a great book about this called Tools for Survival.
Actively practice your skills. Get out and practice what you have learned. Go hunting, butcher the game yourself. Take it home and preserve it. Repeat. Move in the wilderness with map and compass. Try it on snowshoes in the winter. Get out there and show what you know and note what you don’t.
Build a survival library. No one can know everything, and we all forget things. Start to build an off-line library of books about the skills you think will be important for survival now and into the future. Bushcraft, shelter building, farming, gardening trade skills, shooting, tactics, medical, dentistry, pharmaceuticals, homesteading, raising livestock, tracking, hunting, fishing, lock picking, combat, martial arts, anatomy, the list of subjects is endless. The value of this resource to you and to future generations could well be a game changer.
Teach your children all of the above. Share the knowledge you are gaining. Get your family into the process of becoming more self-reliant, self-sufficient, and self-preservationist. Exercise together. Teach your children about financial matters. Teach them how to shoot. Show them how to hunt and provide for themselves. Our kids are the ones who could face the most dire situations in the future. Pass the knowledge.
The Northern Survivalist