10 Ways to Keep Warm

Since I opted to turn off the electric heat this winter and use wood I have learned so much! First it can be done. I not only have lowered my electric bill but I am getting exercise collecting, cutting, splitting and hauling in wood.

It is true that there are other things that can be done to keep warm besides changing the source of your heat.

1. Wear layers of clothing. Your body creates heat and wearing layers contains this free source of heat. Did you know polyester underwear and long underwear is considered by survivalists to be the superior fabric of choice for undies? The reason is it wicks away moisture. Both cotton and wool hold moisture which can lead to hypothermia. I choose to have many polar fleece articles of clothing. I have hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, vests, jackets, pants, pullovers, socks and a bathrobe all made from polar fleece. My mother (who is 80 years young) now loves her polar fleece pants and loved the fact that she could hem them by simply cutting them off at the bottom. Polar fleece does not unravel or fray! If you are really cold, wear a warm hat as most heat escapes from your head and the brain gets the cold message immediately.

2. Throws and lap blankets. I have one on each of my easy chairs. If I feel chilled I pull one on and snuggle with Mister T. I have wool, down, cotton and polar fleece throws and again polar fleece wins the contest for being the warmest. Last Christmas I received a Snuggle which was one of the most popular gifts of the season. It is a great idea and design but the quality of fleece used is not warm enough for my taste so I use it in the warmer months.

3. Cover furniture with polar fleece. (Sounds like I am doing a commercial for polar fleece but I am not. If there is a polar fleece company that would like to hire me to do endorsements of course I am available.) I covered my sofa with polar fleece at first to keep it clean when I had two dachshunds. What I discovered was it very warm to sit on the couch and I have noticed that company seems to head straight for the couch and always comments on how comfy it is. I highly recommend a large piece of a good quality polar fleece for your favorite perch to keep you warm.

4. Socks and Slippers. I am not a fan of socks and would prefer to be barefoot. There is a huge difference in the warmth of my body when I wear socks so I have come to accept their importance to my well being in the winter months. Coupled with a great pair of warm slippers you will not feel drafts that creep around the floor. Since hot air rises, feet are subject to this cold air.

5. Down Comforters. For years I would not even consider a down comforter for my bed. Since most birds fly south for the winter why would down be warm? Silly me. Years ago when I still lived in New England I had opportunity to go to a sleeping bag factory. At their outlet store I purchased a down sleeping bag before the zipper had been installed. This "blanket" was very toasty and held in my own body heat. It was a simple army green and I made a duvet cover for it. I had that blanket for many years and it finally met its demise to mold while being stored. Two summers ago I chanced upon a very good quality down comforter that was being sold by a woman who thought it was too warm. Since I absolutely love a cold bedroom and have my window open at night 365 nights of the year, I was thrilled to steal it for $10. Again I have a duvet cover to keep it clean and I love the warmth I feel when I cuddle with Mister T (for those of you that don't know, Mister T is my best buddy my mini black and tan dachshund).

6. Use Door Draft Stoppers. Door draft stopper or guards are filled tubes that keep cold air from creeping under doors. They can be purchased new or made easily by filling a tube sock or tube of fabric with rice, beans, sand or stuffing. They look a bit like a snake and really do the trick. If you have a dog like mine that likes to pull the innards out of stuffed animals don't make yours with stuffing!

7. Close Doors. Keep the doors closed to rooms that do not need to be heated. Just heat the areas that you sit in during the day.

8. Do leave the Bathroom Door Open. Showers and baths create lots of heat but more importantly humidity. In the winter the house dries out and the moisture from the bathroom can help tremendously. Now I understand in some family’s privacy is important. Just leave the door open after showering and don't use the fan.

9. Do Leave the Oven Door Open. Leave the oven door open after cooking and turning off the oven. Let that heat escape to warm the kitchen.

10. Do Open the Dishwasher When Washing Cycle is Finished. Once the dishes are washed open the door and let the dishes air dry. This will let the heat escape, allow the moisture to escape to humidify the house and save a bundle on electricity over a period of time.

Hopefully one or more of these suggestions will help you stay snuggie warm in the cold months. If all else fails go to the animal shelter and get a Dachshund. Dachshunds love to snuggle under the blankets and curl up and sit in your lap. They are loving, loyal, small and great substitutes for hot water bottles. Your other alternative is to go to bed early with a good book.

by Jonathan Hunt

10 Traits Of A Successful Survivalist

1. They have a thirst for knowledge. There's no such thing as knowing too much, no matter how much we think we know, there is always areas where we can expand our knowledge base and survival skill set - increasing our survivability.

2. They stay busy. Preps are never complete, there's always something more we can do to increase our chance of survival. The successful survivalist knows this, and strives to do at least one thing every week to increase their level of preparedness.

3. They use what is useful. There is so much written about preparedness, both in books and on the web, that it's easy to suffer from information overload. The successful survivalist realizes that all the information given, does not pertain to their individual needs or situation, and that they must pick and choose from the information to formulate their personal survival plan.

4. They find solutions. When something doesn’t work as expected the successful survivalist will find a solution to the problem. They will make it happen.

5. They stay calm. Disaster; whether it be worldwide, nationwide, regional or personal, will be stressful - pushing many individuals past the breaking point. Those who stay calm and use reason to sort things out and determine their course of action will be the ones that survive.

6. They take responsibility. We are responsible for our survival and that of our family. A successful survivalist does not rely or count on anyone to save them. Help from neighbor's or community will be welcome but not guaranteed.

7. They are persisted. Expect most things to be difficult - acts that are commonplace today may be nearly impossible after a collapse. Survival will demand persistence, testing the fiber of even the strongest individuals.

8. They are open-minded. A successful survivalist acknowledges that advice given 30 years ago, may not be applicable to the needs and situation currently at hand. To further their chances of survival, they welcome new ideas and suggestions.

9. They don't procrastinate. A successful survivalist knows what needs to be done and does it without hesitation. In a survival situation decisions will need to be made and quickly - there will be no time for self-doubt or indecision.

10. They adapt. It has been proven that humans have an uncanny ability to adapt to their surroundings, the successful survivalist will need to be more preternatural than most, if they are to survive what is ahead.

Are you a successful survivalist?

by Jonathan Hunt

The Perfect Storm - Overpopulation and Lack of Resources

Malthus wrote in his classic work, "An Essay on the Principle of Population", as population continues to increase and the amount of resources needed to support the population decreases the quality of life goes down.


I know a lot of people think we have room for a few billion more and in a sense we do - If all you consider is sheer volume of land mass and not available resources, then yes, we have standing room for a few billion more.

But land mass does not equal sustainability, fertile productive land does. Alaska has over 378,242,560 acres or roughly one acre for every American. But try to support that population with the resources available solely in that area and you will experience a lack of resources leading to mass die off to a sustainable level.

All land is not created equal, nor suitable for human habitation, food production, clean water, energy, waste disposal, housing etc, should all be taken into consideration when weighing carrying capacity against population. The amount of land needed to support an individual goes far beyond were he lives.

We should also consider population of a given area, take for instance San Francisco or New York City - both major population centers who's populations are sustained through importation of necessities. If outside imports were suddenly cut off, neither could sustain their populations for very long.

To put it another way, say you have three people in a given area but only sufficient resources to sustain two of them - then the area is essentially overpopulated no matter how vast the land area maybe. They have exceeded the carrying capacity of their environment.

With that being said, overpopulation is not the most significant contributing factor (at least not yet) to a lack of resources, but an inefficient use of the resources available. For example; Despite steadily increasing need for food production, we continue to divert prime agriculture land into other non-sustaining forms of land use.

Another problem is many feel a need to "keep up with the Joneses" and the sense of entitlement, whimpering at the slightest inconvenience, delay, or restriction. Why have a 3,000 square foot home when 1,000 would suffice? Why a Hummer when a small compact car will get you from point A to point B as just as quickly while consuming fewer resources?

They have what I call "the look at me" syndrome, were their entire existence consists of trying to impress everyone else around them, no matter the cost or expenditure of resources. I'm fully convinced that at least 75% or more of the average family's financial assets are dedicated to feeding this syndrome.

As you can see; overpopulation is only one of many contributing factors to resource depletion, poor management of existing resources, greed and a sense of entitlement are also taking their toll.

If the resources required to sustain a given area are consumed faster than they can be renewed, then that area is overpopulated and will collapse without huge amounts of cheap imports from other areas.

The availability of cheap oil has made this possible by keeping shipping cost and retail prices low at a consumer level. As the demand for oil and other resources outstrip production and supply, look for prices to rise and supplies to contract accordingly, leading to shortages and chaos especially in areas suffering from overpopulation.

As individuals there isn't a lot we can do to change this, the only feasible thing for us to do is to get out of major population areas and become as self-reliant as possible, by simplifying our life and reducing our needs, for outside imports.

While it may be impossible to become totally self-reliant, at least for an extended period of time, we as survivalists should see this amount of self-sufficiency as our ultimate goal, and plan accordingly.

What do you think - do we need a few billion more people or have we already passed our limit?

by Jonathan Hunt

Living In A Travel Trailer In Winter

Travel trailers are hot in summer and bitter cold in winter. There isn't much you can do about that, it's the nature of the thing and something you've got to live with, if you decide to live in a tin box.

I do whatever I can to keep the temperature at a bearable level - even a gain of five or ten degree is a big deal when you wear thermal underwear to bed and.

The first thing I did was tape plastic over the windows and check the seal around the door. Next I replaced the light weight "summer curtains" with heavy weight acrylic fleece curtains (made from material bought at Wal-Mart) to further block drafts and keep the heat in and the cold out.

My trailer has two ceiling vents, one in the bedroom and another in the bathroom. These are great in summer to let the heat out, unfortunately during the winter months they let a lot of heat out and cold in.

I cut two pillows from a four inch thick piece of foam bedding. These were cut slightly larger than the space for the vents so they could be pushed into place and held by friction.

From an old emergency blanket, I cut pieces large enough to cover the pillows on all sides then neatly folded and taped this over the pillows forming a reflective cover. They are easily removed if needed and should keep the heat in and cold out.

Travel trailer doors are poorly insulated and have single paned glass, as a result they aren't very energy efficient. I taped plastic over the windows. I hang a heavy wool blanket over the door during cold snaps.

I also lined the walls inside the closets, shelves and under my bed with reflective type insulation. This is the first time I've used this type of material, so I can't guarantee the performance, the reviews I've read were positive. If you've used this material or have other ideas for winterizing a travel trailer, please leave feedback in the comments below.

by Jonathan Hunt

Build a Survival Arsenal You can be Proud Of

by Jonathan Hunt

Some time ago I wrote The Poor Man's Survival Arsenal and The Poor Man's Survival Arsenal Revisited, both articles detailed a bare bones set of firearms – this basic set of firearms would cover everything from foraging to self defense, yet be low cost.


This post expands on the concept of building an arsenal while considering different budgets and needs. For some (myself included) spending $5,000 or more for a set of firearms is impossible, for others this would be no problem.

Below I’ll outline five arsenals covering a broad range of tasks, needs and budgets. If nothing else my suggestions should generate discourse.


I work at Wal-Mart Arsenal

1. Mosin Nagant 91 rifle
2. Single Shot .12 gauge
3. Smith&Wesson model 10

The Government Welfare Arsenal

1. Short Magazine Lee-Enfield
2. Mossberg Maverick 88 12 gauge pump
3. Smith&Wesson model 10
4. Ruger 10/22

I have a full time Job Arsenal

1. Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle
2. Mossberg 500 12 Gauge
3. Glock Model 19
4. Ruger 10/22

Two Jobs and Maxed Credit Card Arsenal

1. Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle
2. Reminton 870 express with spare riot barrel
3. Glock 19
4. Ruger 10/22
5. Winchester Model 70 in .308 Win.
6. Taurus CIA Model 850 .38 SPL. Revolver

And Finally the Yuppie Survival Arsenal

1. L1A1 Rifle chambered in .308 Winchester
2. Remington Model 7 bolt action chambered in .223
3. Winchester Model 70 in 308 Win.
4. Remington 870 express with spare riot gun barrel
5. Colt 1911 A1 .45 ACP
6. Taurus CIA Model 850 .38 SPL. Revolver
7. Savage Model 24F .223 Remington over 12 gauge (if you can find one used)
8. Ruger 10/22


"So - what do you think? What would you add or take away from the suggestions given above (had to ask)?"

Pocket Pistols For Survival

I'm sure many readers will question the logic of including a “pocket pistol” in the survival battery. After all there are better, more effective tools available for self-defense and survival.

I agree there are better weapons for saving your skin. But the pocket pistol, being small and light is likely to be with you when you need it and not left behind because you didn't want to carry the weight and bulk of a more effective weapon.

Even a mid-size handgun like the Glock19 can be a pain to lug around all day, especially while doing chores like cutting firewood, mending fence or tending the garden. A small handgun like the Beretta 21A Bobcat can be carried all day, without any trouble and be available when needed.

For example; a few days ago I was picking tomatoes from the garden, dusk was filling the sky and I was in a hurry to get what I needed to fill the canner, before the last minutes of light slipped into darkness.

Just as I was reaching in to pluck a big juicy red one from the vine I spotted a torquata lying beneath the plants on the ground - to be honest, when I saw the thing, I nearly pooped my pants.

The first shot from the little Beretta Bobcat missed by about two inches (danged small sites) it quickly curled into strike mode, the second and third shot found the target.

It measured 30 inches end to end and was as fat as I've ever seen. I hope this is the same one that bit my dog a few nights ago. He has been bitten two times within the last four months. Looks like after getting hit the first time he would have learned his lesson. But then he's always been kinda slow.

I always carry the Beretta in my hip pocket when working around the place, it's not the best defensive tool, but it's always there; unlike the 12-gauge taking up space in the rack.

It's been said before that a handgun is best used to fight your way back to your shotgun or rifle. I couldn't agree more.

What do you think are pocket pistols useful for the Survivalist?

Let me know your comments on this.

How To Survive 2012

Fear of an uncertain future, spurred by disasters protections put forth by interpretation of the ancient Maya cyclical calendar, have many people clamoring for answers and advice. For example; over the past several months, I've received over 100 e-mails from readers, seeking information on how to survive 2012.

The general consensus is that on Dec. 21, 2012, when the Maya's "Long Count" calendar ends, the world will be thrown into apocalyptic chaos. Predictions range from polar reversal, shattering earthquakes, massive tidal waves, simultaneous volcanic eruptions, sunspots and sun flares, to peaceful transition into 2013.
The truth is no one knows for certain what will transpire Dec. 21, 2012. Throughout history there have been many predictions of the end of the world, but the end hasn't happened - yet. I put little faith in doomsday predictions or dates - most are nothing more than guesswork motivated by the agenda of the prophesier.

Yet, doomsday predictions for the year 2012 do have at least some validity, backed by scientific evidence, for example; NASA published predictions of a new solar cycle in 2011 or 2012, that it (NASA) says could wreak havoc with the power grid and electronic medium during that time.

I don't know what, if anything, will happen on Dec. 21, 2012 - no one does. My advice is to plan and prep as usual and to be as prepared as possible for whatever the future may hold, whether it be economic collapse, tyranny, peak-oil, climate change, infectious disease or Mayan doomsday.

by Jonathan Hunt