The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 10, Issue 35
National Preparedness Month -- Week 3
Hey folks, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. We’re about halfway through National Preparedness Month. I hope you’ve spent at least a little time on something prep-related. For my part, I’m revisiting some of my various kits, reorganizing them and making sure the contents are still in good condition.
I’m also working on about six different projects at once. That’s not a bad thing, but it does require a lot of organization so I don’t lose track of anything. One of those projects is the 2024 Real World Prepping calendar. If you purchased the 2023 calendar and have any feedback to share regarding improvements, please drop me a line.
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Prep Tip: Take some time today to write out a list of things you love about your family members. Keep that list in a safe, secure location. On day three of an extended power outage or similar situation, you might need that list to remind why you don’t really hate these people.
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In honor of National Preparedness Month, we’re going to run a giveaway. Last week, I announced that my publisher is now offering subscriptions to Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide. For this giveaway, the winner gets their choice of a one-year subscription to one of those titles.
To enter, send an email to subscriptioncontest@survivalweekly.com. In the subject line, put “Giveaway.” In the body of the email, just put “I’m in.”
Entries will be accepted through Monday, September 18th. Any entries received after 11:59PM CDT that date will be discarded. I’ll choose one winner at random from all qualifying entries and announce them in next week’s newsletter, as well as contact them via email.
The obligatory fine print:
Winner must have a mailing address in the US.
One entry per household, please.
Winner must be subscribed to this newsletter.
Good luck!
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Prep Tip: Being able to come up with creative solutions to problems is an excellent skill but temper it with common sense. While it is great to know that you could use Crisco or a crayon to improvise a candle, it is far better to pick up a couple of boxes of actual candles to sock away for emergencies. Use the right tool for the job whenever possible and save the improvisations for when they're truly needed.
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One of my personal focuses (foci?) of preparedness is working on keeping my mind sharp. I witnessed firsthand the cognitive decline in both of my parents before they passed. I have less than zero interest in allowing that to happen to myself, not without a fight.
In addition to recreational and educational reading, something I’ve been doing daily since I was just a wee lad, I’ve added a few activities.
Wordle — Many of you are undoubtedly familiar with this one, if only through the regular posts from people who like to share their scores every day. For those who’ve not played it, you are trying to guess a five-letter word each day. No clues, you just start guessing and it’ll tell you which letters are correct and you figure it out from there.
Connections — This one really varies in difficulty from day to day, at least for me. You’re given 16 words and you need to place them into groups of four based on what the words have in common.
Crossword puzzles — I’m old school and do these offline. My wife picked me up a book of puzzles at the dollar store a while back and I try to do one a day.
Aside from your just day-to-day chores and such, are there things you’ve added to maintain or improve your mental acuity?
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Prep Tip: When storing water, various experts suggest one gallon of water per person, per day of the crisis, will be needed. Strive for more, not less. Nobody has ever complained they had too much clean water in an emergency. One case of 24 half-liter bottles comes to just over three gallons, which should be sufficient for one day for two people.
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Ergonomics is the science or study of the efficiency of people in the workplace. I’m old enough to remember when this was a new buzzword and employers were all talking about how to improve ergonomics in the workplace. For a while, offices around the country were filled with ever more confusing pieces of apparatus that were supposed to improve efficiency while also reducing stress-related injuries, though I’m not sure of the success rate in either of those categories. The term has also come to refer to the design cues or features of an object and how they work to improve the efficiency or comfort when it is in use.
When I review a knife or other piece of kit, the “ergos” of the product are always one of the areas of focus. How does it feel in use? Is it comfortable or awkward? Are there risks of hot spots or other problems if you’re using it for a while?
In the prepper and survival world, we sometimes concentrate on being able to make do with whatever we have. And that’s absolutely a great mindset to have, no question about it, as there are times when you don’t have the luxury of options or choices. However, that doesn’t mean we need to entirely forget the concept of purchasing gear that is comfortable for us to use.
If a new piece of equipment is awkward to carry, if it is cumbersome to use, if it just doesn’t feel right, you’ll find reasons to leave it behind. That negates the whole point of having it. What good is survival equipment if it isn’t available to you when you need it?
What works best for you isn’t likely to work best for every single other person and what another person feels is whiz-bang awesome might be lukewarm at best for you. We’re all built differently, from hand size and strength to length of reach, height, weight, and more. This is why it is critically important to play around with and test out new gear. That’s the only way you’ll find out if it works well for you.
Roughing it is great and being able to tough it through whatever is to be commended. But don’t look for ways to make the job even harder on yourself. Seek out gear and equipment that is ergonomic and compatible with your body structure.
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Prep Tip: An absolute minimum goal for food storage should be enough to feed your family for one solid week without running to the store. Once you reach that point, strive for two weeks, then a month. Do it a little at a time and let it add up. Just a couple of extra items in the shopping cart each trip to the store will get you there.
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Last week, we’d wanted to go to this certain nature preserve for our hike, but the small parking lot there was full, so we went somewhere else. This week, we tried again and the joint was empty, no problem parking at all. It’s been a few years since we were last here. The trail had changed a bit from what we remember, but it was still a good walk.
Survival Tip – Mental Health Kit
There are many different types of kits, or perhaps sub-kits would be the better term. A fire kit, a first aid kit, a hygiene kit, the list goes on. Really, they are just ways to keep your gear organized, right? When you want to get a fire going, it makes sense to pull out a small pouch that contains your lighter, tinder, and what not, rather than poking through different pockets of your pack to find everything.
The Mental Health Kit is the same idea, just a different category of gear and one that many don’t think about ahead of a crisis.
The basic concept here is to have a few things that can help keep you calm, occupy your mind, and lift your spirits. While alcohol and other substances can do those things, those might not be the best options in an emergency situation, as you want to stay sharp rather than dull the senses.
This isn’t necessarily the sort of kit that you’d assemble for home use. Instead, it would be for a car kit, Get Home Bag, Bug Out Bag, or something else along those lines. And we’re not talking a ton of weight or taking up a lot of space. Just a few things that might help. Some options include:
An easy-to-transport copy of the religious text of your choice.
Deck of cards
Photos of loved ones
Handheld game
Book of crossword puzzles and a pencil
Small paperback book
Notebook and writing utensil(s)
If you have children in the mix, don’t overlook their needs in this category as well. Depending on their age, maybe a small stuffed animal or other toy would be a good idea, or perhaps a new-to-them book to look through or read.
A crisis is stressful, so anything you can do to help mitigate that stress will be beneficial. Think about what you could keep in your various kits to help in that regard.
Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide
For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for both Prepper Survival Guide and Backwoods Survival Guide magazines. Here are the covers for the current issues that are available in stores right now.
You can find them just about anywhere magazines are sold, including:
Walmart
Sam's Club
Costco
Publix
Walgreens
Rite Aid
CVS
Tractor Supply
Fleet Farm
Barnes & Noble
Subscriptions to both titles are available here.
Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?
I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.