The Survival Weekly Dispatch - Volume 11, Issue 35
Hey everyone, thanks for checking out the newsletter this week. I’m running behind schedule with so many things right now and rushing to get caught up. I was sick as a dog from Sunday night through late Monday. Caught some sort of 24-hour bug, apparently. But that was an entire workday I missed, which set me behind. I also have some trips coming up that will pull me away from the keyboard, so I’m really trying to crack down and get projects off my plate quickly.
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Prepper Tip -- How secure are your basement windows? I feel like many homeowners overlook this risk to the security of their dwelling. I mean, they’re easy to miss, given their small size. But make no mistake, those windows are definitely large enough to allow someone to slip inside. I did it myself in my younger days. The reason was absolutely legit – I was accidentally locked out of the house. I found one of the basement windows wasn’t latched, so I was able to push it open and slide through.
There are a couple of options. The first is to install a deadbolt or some other quality lock on the windows. You could also opt for security bars. They do make hinged varieties, so you’d still be able to open the window from the inside if you want.
Either way, I recommend keeping the windows covered with curtains so that potential burglars can’t see inside. Don’t obstruct them with shrubs or anything that might hide a burglar as they work on opening the window. That’s a good rule of thumb for all ground-level windows.
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Have you checked out the How to Survive 2025 podcast yet? You can get caught up on all of the available episodes here or over on YouTube.
Reminder – Patreon subscribers get each episode well in advance, delivered right to their inbox.
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A reminder I like to share from time to time.
Prepping is, for many of us, a big part of our lives. It influences many decisions, from how we budget our money to what groceries we buy to where we choose to live. We read numerous books, we subscribe to several magazines, and we watch innumerable videos, all in hopes of learning one more skill or technique that we can add to our toolbox.
That's all well and good, admirable in fact. However, while prepping might influence your life, it shouldn't RUN your life. Yes, there is an awful lot of bad stuff going on in the world right now. There's no denying that. But you need to get out there and live your life. Prepping should not be about fear. Working toward being better prepared for whatever life tosses your way should result in confidence, not trepidation.
Keep your wits about you, of course. Maintain a constant level of situational awareness. But, don't let fear of the unknown be a driving force in your decision-making process. Life is meant to be lived. It is a journey to be experienced.
Eat the cookie. Stay up late and watch a stupid movie with your kids. Hug your dog. Take your spouse out to a fancy dinner or a picnic in the park. Go on a hike. Take a long drive somewhere new. Make love. Laugh at your own foibles. Invite a few friends over for a game night. Go see a play. Buy the ice cream cone. Tell your loved ones how you feel about them.
Live your life. Do it intelligently and with an eye toward common sense, but don't just sit at home afraid the boogeyman is going to get you.
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I mentioned this about a year ago, so here's a reminder in case you haven't done it yet. 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 those people.
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Silliness I found on Facebook a few days ago. A guy expressed an opinion that prepping was worthless. When asked why he feels that way, he replied, “You can't just prepare for whatever. If you don't know what you're preparing for, then you're not preparing.”
Apparently, food, water, and similar supplies, not to mention skills like first aid and situational awareness, are disaster-specific. Who knew?
Here’s my take on it. I’d estimate that somewhere around 90% of the stuff we do to prepare ourselves and our families, from stocking up on supplies to learning various skills, are applicable in a wide range of emergency and disaster scenarios. Nobody knows for certain what the future holds, which is kind of the whole reason we prep, isn’t it?
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I’m doing a Prepping 101 presentation on Thursday, September 26, 6:30PM-8:00PM, at Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. It’s part of a small preparedness event that will also include Narcan training and CPR/AED training. They are requiring people to register in advance so that they have an accurate head count. You can do so at this link.
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In addition to being National Preparedness Month, September is also National Suicide Prevention Month.
Here in the US, there is such a stigma attached to any sort of mental health issue that many people hesitate to reach out for help, even when they desperately need it. On top of that, getting in to see a qualified counselor or similar professional can take weeks, even months. Depression is a serious issue that goes untreated far too often.
My mother suffered from various and sundry health issues, both physical and mental. Some of them I wasn’t aware of until well after I was an adult living on my own. Some of them were undoubtedly the result of how she was treated by my father…long story for another day. The point here is that I’m no stranger to how mental health issues can affect a person, as well as those around them.
In case nobody has told you today, you matter. People care about you. I’m proud of you for everything you’re going through. I know it isn’t easy and I know sometimes you probably want to just give up. I’m glad you’ve stuck with it.
If you need help, even if all you want is just someone who will listen, I implore you to call or text 988. That’s the National Suicide Hotline. You can even reach them via chat at this site.
Don’t give up. It gets better.
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For our weekend hike, we went to one of the state forests near us. It’s been a while since we visited this particular trailhead. Tell you what, I can’t wait for true fall weather to arrive. It’s mid-September and I’m about done with the 80F temperatures. Bring on the 50F days.
Survival Tip – Prepping with Kids
I recently did a short presentation on prepping with kids. One of the topics we discussed was how to talk to your kids about preparedness. Here are a few suggestions along those lines.
Keep the conversation appropriate to your child’s maturity. This isn’t an age thing, it’s a maturity thing, and only you know what your child can handle. Talk to them about realistic threats, such as severe storms, and what your family is doing about them. Depending on their intellectual and maturity levels, you don’t need to go into detail. You just want them to understand that you’re doing something about the problem.
Emulate how you want them to behave. Anyone remember the slogan or motto from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? Don’t Panic! If you act scared, they’re going to be scared. If you act confident, that’s going to rub off on them. It might not alleviate their fears entirely, but it’ll definitely help.
Talk through some What If scenarios and let them describe what they think they should do. Gently correct them afterwards if they got anything wrong. No matter what, it’s important in any scenario to show them overcoming the problem. Don’t ever let them think the situation will be hopeless. A couple of example scenarios could be a house fire or if they get lost in the woods.
Explore prep-adjacent extracurriculars like Scouting, 4-H, Destination Imagination. These can be fun ways for them to learn skills in a group setting.
Teach them real world skills. Take the time as they grow up to instill into them skills that will benefit them over their lifetime. Some of these include:
Self-Confidence
Cooking
Money management
First Aid and CPR
Self-Defense
Check out Ready.gov for resources. They have a neat program called Prepare with Pedro that’s geared toward younger children. There are various books and activities you can download.
Backwoods Survival Guide Magazine
For those new to my little corner of the Internet, I am the Editor in Chief for Backwoods Survival Guide magazine. Here is the cover for the current issue 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 are available here.
Questions, Comments, Complaints, Concerns?
I am always just an email away - jim@survivalweekly.com.