Survival Course Update

There are many interesting aspects to life as I get older, and by “interesting” I mean they mostly suck. One aspect that I’ve found less than ideal is my lack of desire to get things done that I’ve committed to. Whereas I used to “go, go, go” until bedtime, that’s just not the case these days. Couple this with an unrealistic timeframe to start with, and I tend not to get things done as quickly as I assumed I would. This survival course update is no exception.

But I have been working on it, and I even have an excuse! Sort of…

You see, I thought I was nearly done earlier this week. I’d been diligently working on the course over the past month, adding a lot of information, including PDF files, checklists, and more. In fact, I intend on having nine whole video modules covering the questions people ask me most. I also revamped the email portion of the course, and I’ve even included several bonus files.

I was on a roll.

But then, when I went back to look at the videos I’d made, it turns out that most of the audio I’d recorded–four or five hours worth over the course of a few days–didn’t record. That might not sound like such a horrible thing, but it was rather upsetting at the time because I’d not only lost a bunch of work, but also because I’m not much of a speaker either, so it takes a lot for me to work up the desire to do it. Not that this is your problem, but after trying again this week I’ve since given up on getting this done before the holidays with family coming in town.

Ultimately, that’s probably a good thing because I’d hate to rush it. And you’ll be happier to have a better experience, too. I’ve also considered how I might present the videos in a different format as well, but I haven’t fully decided yet.

In any case, the course will include the following nine video modules:

  • How to prepare on a budget (and save money on preparedness supplies)
  • How to prepare with limited time (mostly about saving time after disaster)
  • How to get spouse/family onboard (perhaps the most crucial problem!)
  • How to organize preps and maximize space (you can do a lot with limited space, and if you organize from the start, then you’ll be in great shape)
  • How to bug out (what to do before disaster, how to plan evacuation, considerations for bug out in a vehicle and on-foot, and more)
  • How to shelter in place (this becomes a difficult topic when hours turn into days or weeks; we’ll discuss supplies, locations, pets, security, and more)
  • How to have privacy in the suburbs (it’s more than light, noise, odor, and litter discipline; and it starts before disaster even strikes)
  • How to prepare for a long term power outage (problems abound when the power stays out for days or weeks on end!)
  • How to prepare when away from home (disasters don’t wait for you to be at home and ready for them; we talk about EDC, vehicles, work, and more)

There are several bonuses included, too:

  • The best barter items (I given my thoughts on 41 of the best barter items)
  • A list of important documents (mostly for bug out, but any disaster can necessitate having these files handy)
  • Expiration dates of food and supplies (100+ items are considered; I was surprised at what I’d found)
  • Long-term task tracking worksheet (it’s easy to let preparedness actions go as times goes on; here’s how to stop that from happening)
  • The best free survival guides to download (there are hundreds of free guides out there, but only a fraction are useful)
  • A priority checklist (ensure you get all the supplies and other crucial items you don’t want to leave behind)
  • One pager worksheet (for personal disasters)
  • Fire safety plan (fires are one of the most common disasters; here’s how to ensure your family stays safe and you can recover as quickly as possible)

I may include a few additional bonus files, such as a food storage calculator and home hazard hunt worksheet, but I haven’t decided yet.

Is there something not included above that you would like to see? Leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll consider it.

As for timing, I’d hate to pin myself down again, but if this isn’t done by sometime in January of 2024, then I’ll have to figure out who I can blame besides myself. I’m thinking it’ll be a “dog at my homework” sort of situation. 😉


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Comments

12 responses to “Survival Course Update”

  1. Crystal

    Since I am a nurse, the medical side of me always come out.
    You MUST be prepared to meet the need. Think ahead concerning personal and over the counter medications (OTC) for various conditions & illnesses. Yes medications expire, but……not as quickly as you may think. Do your homework & research this. Stock up OTC medications for any & every condition you may think of. For example: Allergic reactions, colds, diarrhea, nausea & vomiting, pain. FIRST AID SUPPLIES is a MUST HAVE. Not just band aids either. Purchase a book regarding what to do in an emergency when you can’t see/get to a doctor. There are many books on this subject. You can build your supplies from there. Just keep in mind the “what ifs.”
    Keep a list of your personal meds & allergies on had always.

    1. Absolutely. This is a topic I tend to shy away from, leaving such things to my wife who is far more competent than I, but that doesn’t mean it can be ignored entirely. My go-to is The Survival Medicine Handbook by Dr. Alton and Nurse Any.

  2. Greg Everard

    I’m in my 70s and on a pension but my wife and I manage to save a little “pocket money” with which we sometimes buy some freeze-dried “survival” food that is going to last for several years, this not only is a “prep” but also with inflation causing grocery bills to outstrip your income it means you have a bit of a “hedge” against rising costs because you know it is likely to continue to rise, how many times have you compared food prices in the supermarket today with what it cost for the same items just a couple of years ago? If you had bought them then and saved them until today would you have saved money? Another thing we always do is to try and have multiple ways of doing something like having solar charged lanterns and candles for if the power goes out, also we have a gas stove and an electric fry pan in case of a power outage or gas supply problem or we can cook on a solid fuel BBQ, as long as you have some level of redundancy you have at least short term solutions which buy you some time to take stock in the situation you find yourself in and removes some of the immediate “panic” if you find services no longer available. It’s not a case of “nothing bad will happen” but “prepping” can be disguised as “good housekeeping”, saving for a rainy day, “camping supplies”, “something for the garden/house” etc. also, look for items that could be reused for other purposes like decorative solar garden lanterns that could be used indoors if the power is out at night. Just my 2 cents worth!

    1. Greg Everard

      Whoops, sorry, the above was meant to be a response to Jean Marchese’s comment

  3. Mike D

    Didn’t see anything about security. You know when the SHTF people get desperate and want what you have. How far do you go to protect your supplies? Would you be willing to shoot your neighbor?

    1. Greg Everard

      I wouldn’t be prepared to shoot my neighbor, but what I do is split my supplies into small caches and keep the larder half empty so I have the option of showing that I only have a small stash and can give them a portion of that if they are desperate, for strangers, I have a heavy frying pan near the door that I can hit them with if they are threatening!

  4. Dave C

    My main concern is how and where to obtain water when the faucets stop flowing during a prolonged power outage after the storage tanks empty and their electric refill pumps don’t work. One can easily find room for a year or more of food storage but it’s impossible to store that much water. Filters and purification tablets won’t help if there’s no water. Where do we go for water?

    1. Greg Everard

      Where I live (rural Australia) our water supply comes entirely from rainwater tanks with water collected from the roof, however if you rent, or live in a flat or apartment that won’t be an option, but there are now water extraction machines that condense moisture from the atmosphere however they appear to be fairly expensive starting from about $1700 and upwards also they are powered so a solar power set-up or similar emergency power supply would be needed. Other methods would be to rig up a tarp to catch rain on a temporary basis and funnel it into a container, set up a “fog net” as used in Peru to collect dew passively which you might be able to disguise as a window shade (I haven’t tried this). You do have to be aware of any hazards in your location such as years ago in Port Pirie in South Australia which had a lead smelter and airborne particulates caused all rainwater to have unacceptable levels of lead content, also in large cities might have pollutants from vehicle exhausts making water harvesting problematic on a long term basis. Obviously if you have land, you may be able to sink a bore or well but that can also get expensive.

    2. Yes, water and power will be primary concerns.

  5. Jean Marchese

    I have been trying to prepare for several years now, but my husband and I are both older people and have had a lot of health problems this past year. Most of my extended family and none of my friends have a clue about my preps because they think I am nuts and continue to believe that nothing bad is ever going to happen. I hope you include some information about what senior citizens can do going forward to keep safe and continue preparing in smaller ways.

    1. tig

      jean, I am in the same position as you, in 70s, dont get around well, etc. and hubs thinks I’m nuts to try to “prepare” anyway…he doesnt help. anyway, I do have storage of food, some water, way to clean water, flashlites (solar, battery, etc), crank radio, cb, plenty of home stuff – linens, blankets, etc. so ready with normal prep things, first aid, so on. but he doesnt seem to care about the security part – we have lots of windows/doors, that have regular locks and a bar(sliding door). so if people have some more ideas for us seniors, shout them out quick. stay safe cause its coming quick….

    2. I’ll have to think about this one.

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