Category: Tips

Home Food Storage on a Budget: Building Your Pantry Without Breaking the Bank

JM Mason
There is a pot and an empty canning jar on a counter in a kitchen. There is three jars with vegetables and there is a cutting board with carrots and cucumbers and a set of tongs.

Building a well-stocked pantry doesn’t require a second mortgage or a warehouse. With smart shopping strategies and a systematic approach, you can create a robust food storage system that fits both your budget and your lifestyle. Start With What You Actually Eat The biggest mistake in food storage is buying items you’d never normally consume. Those buckets of wheat berries won’t help if you don’t own a grain mill or know how to use one. Instead, focus on extending your everyday pantry. Look at your family’s regular meal rotation. If…

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Building Your First 72-Hour Emergency Kit: A Practical Guide

JM Mason
Overhead view of a neighborhood with a lot of houses. There is a storm in the background with lightening.

When disaster strikes—whether it’s a hurricane, winter storm, or unexpected evacuation—having a well-stocked 72-hour emergency kit can make the difference between panic and preparedness. This guide will walk you through building a practical kit that actually works for real-life emergencies. Why 72 Hours? Emergency management professionals use 72 hours as a benchmark because it’s the typical time frame before organized relief efforts can reach affected areas during major disasters. Your kit should sustain you and your family during this critical window. The Foundation: Water and Food Water is your top…

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Preparing For Spring Storms

JM Mason
A green field with power lines running through, a forest in the background and dark storm clouds in the sky.

As we welcome spring and the wonderful things it brings we also need to remember to prepare for spring weather. Here are a few tips to get you ready: 1. Clean gutters and downspouts 2. Check your roof and the exterior of your home for any damage 3. Sign up for weather alerts on your phone 4. Review your storm safety plan 5. Repair any leaks 6. Check your go bags and emergency kits to replace/replenish 7. Plan your evacuation routes 8. Check surrounding trees and trim as needed 9.…

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Prepper Tips: Your Get Home Route for SHTF

JM Mason
A gravel road with tall pines trees on both side, the sun is faintly filtering in through the trees.

How are you getting home if SHTF happens while you are out? Have you planned your route? The route that you drive may not be the fastest, easiest or safest way home if you are on foot. Take some time this week to figure this out for the three places you visit the most often, if you don’t already know. And then the next time you go to one of those places make sure to drive home taking your new route so you can see it in person. There may…

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Prepper Tip: Test Your Gear

JM Mason
A person wearing a backpack is standing on the edge of a mountain looking into a valley. The air is foggy.

Sometimes we end up with gear, tools, food or other things that we bought but never tested out. It got thrown in the back of the pantry or into the bottom of your bug out bag with the intention of trying it out “soon.” And then you forgot about it. You don’t want to find yourself in a stressful situation and forced to use something for the first time. Maybe it will be fine, maybe it’ll lead to a knock-down, drag-out screaming bloody hell temper tantrum because a small gear…

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How to Find a Local Community

JM Mason
Multiple people sitting around a campfire in the forest in the dark.

I see this question asked over and over in prepper groups. People want to know how to find like-minded preppers in their local community to connect with but don’t know where to look. Most of these people have already googled “prepper groups near me” or some version of that search term, and found nothing. These people understand the value and importance in having those local connections. Because if SHTF, you and your family have a much higher chance of survival if you are a part of a larger group that’s…

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Prepper Tip: Build Your MAG

JM Mason
Sun setting over the mountains. There are tents set up and multiple people walking around.

Self reliance is a core value for a prepper. And we should all strive for that goal. But, in a long term situation it would really suck to try to go it alone. Your chances of survival exponentially increase when you have a group of people working together. A person doesn’t need to be a hardcore survivalist to bring value to your group. Even people who seem to have no skills at all may surprise you. Learn to think outside the box when trying to figure out how everyone can…

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