Of course, we knew better. But when you have a Hollywood production company putting everything you need to survive at your fingertips, then ‘Surviving’ isn’t that hard! I mean, how ‘lucky’ was it that they found the solar panels on a nearby building or that they were positioned inside a warehouse with all types of different parts and types?

I mean, geez, what’s the chances that there will be a small group of Survivors after any disaster that contain a Computer engineer, Aerospace engineer, mechanical engineer, Doctors, Mechanics, Construction experts, Machinist, etc.! And what’s the chances there would be no guns or other real forms of weapons for self defense? Yeah, slim to none and slim has left town!

So it was, those of us who practice this everyday were just mildly amused or outright disgusted with the series. I myself found it just mildly entertaining because we both know one person with half a lick of sense could have walked in there and took everything those people had if we wanted it!

The Colony – Season 2

Supposedly Season 2 of The Colony on the Discovery Channel will be shot on location in Chalmette Louisiana. If you don’t know where Chalmette is, it’s near New Orleans. Which when I first heard this, I thought that the producers missed out on a perfect example of filming a real survival show immediately after Katrina. Complete with real victims and real thugs. Of course, I suppose they wouldn’t really want to show a prime example of what to expect after any kind of disaster, would they?

The premise of Season 2 of The Colony is that it’s going to try and simulate a group of Survivors and what they’ll find after a Biological disaster. This ‘Social Experiment’ as Discovery likes to call it takes 7 people and places them in a survival situation. The background of these 7 ‘Survivors’ is at least a little more believable than those of Season 1.

Here’s a quick rundown of the volunteers. There’s a Model, Auto mechanic, Contractor, a Carpenter, a Geology Professor, a Foreman of a cell phone tower construction crew and an Industrial Artist.

I’ve looked at the bio’s for this years group and the combination of backgrounds is heavy into construction and mechanical skills. So hopefully we’ll not see any of that bogus stuff we say last year…like the building of the wood gas still.

If I had to put my money on one of the ones to watch, I’d pick the Carpenter. According to his bio, he’s versed in hunting, trapping and self defense.

I’ll probably follow this post up with some reviews, but honestly, I’m not holding out much hope. Right now the best Survival show I like on TV is the one with Cory Lundin and Dave Canterbury. But to be honest, like the Survival shows of Man vs Wild and Survivorman, I believe there are scenes staged in this show as well. Not that it matters, I just hate seeing something staged for the sake of TV.

By the way, you can find a lot of cool video’s on YouTube from Dave Canterbury. And many of us have been reading Cory’s books for years so we know these guys know what they’re doing. Wish there were more shows like this!

Well, anyway this is what I did to build my instant herb garden. By the way, when I read the article in the magazine, the author was using it as a vegetable garden, so I guess it will work for this as well.

I went down and bought several bags of top soil and garden soil. I can hear you asking “What’s the difference between garden soil and top soil?” Most garden soil is mixed with compost, peat moss and/or fertilizer. I also bought a few bags of potting soil because I wanted to experiment on which would be better for this method.

Next, I bought several potted herb plants. These included Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Dill, Chives, Mint and others.

Once I got home, I laid down a 4 x 8 foot sheet of black plastic. I then laid the bags of soil down and leveled them. Once leveled and arranged I wanted them, I cut out the side of the bag that was on top. I left a few inches around the sides to hold the soil in.

On the bags of Garden soil, I felt like there was too much organic material and pulled about half out and replaced it with top soil and mixed it together. I then planted the herb plants in these bags of soil laying flat.

Keep in mind that some herbs don’t get along with others. Sage and Rosemary come to mind, so keep these away from the others. You can Google “Companion planting for herbs” to find a list of others.

While this wouldn’t be my first way of planting a garden, I’m doing it here because I ran out of time to build a spot for herbs and I wanted to experiment with this technique. I prefer the square foot gardening method as I have less than 1/2 acre. As of now, I have 8 4×8 raised beds that I practice the square foot gardening method and it’s absolutely amazing how much food we get from those raised beds! Last year it was the second best way of obtaining food for long term food storage!

If you haven’t tried it, I’d highly recommend it to anyone that has a small space. I’m not sure I wouldn’t use it even if I had more space because it makes gardening, especially weeding and mulching, so much easier. Plus it’s easier to work the soil and add nutrients such as compost.

Anyway, here is what my finished instant survivalist garden (or topsoil bag garden if you like) looks like, with the plants in place. I’ll keep everyone informed as the growing season progresses.

The places where you see no plants in the bags, that’s where I planted some seeds of my favorite herbs. I can’t wait to see how these grow during the Summer months.

I also put in two strawberry plants in a bag of ordinary top soil. Just to see how they would do!

If you’re looking to move into rural America or you planning on staying put where you are in the suburbs, there are a few skills that will become very helpful to you should the SHTF.

These skills can be learned rather easily and may provide beneficial to you beyond your dreams. Some can be learned by reading a book or watching a video while others will require you attending a few classes at your local community college. Here’s my list of skills every survivalist should learn.

#1. Stick Welding

Learning to stick weld is not that hard. You just want to get proficient enough to be able to know which rods to use or which amp setting to use so you can join two pieces of metal. It’s not like you’re planning on making welds on the Alaskan Pipeline. Are you?

Many community colleges now give classes on Welding. And they are very reasonable. Once you own a welder, you’ll find a million and one uses for it. Not to mention should you ever need some extra cash, you can barter or start your own small welding business on the side.

The little Lincoln cracker boxes are 220V welders that can be picked up cheap in a lot of places such as Pawn Shops or Craigslist. These are great for nearly any situation you’ll find yourself needing a welder in a survival situation. But they require a 220V power source. A better choise for the Self Reliant family is a portable generator/welder combo. This way you can take your welder with you plus have the convienance of a portable generator. Honda, Lincoln and Hobart as well as others all make excellent combo units. Just stay away from the cheapies, especially if they’re from China or Indonesia. They may be fine or they may leave you swearing.

#2 Small Engine Repair

Knowing how to repair your generator motor or any other small engine (such as Garden tractors, pumps, etc) is a must. Sure, you could either take it into town or call a repair guy out to your place, but in a crisis situation, do you really want to put yourself at that risk? Once again your local community college will come to the rescue. Many have classes over basic and advanced small engine repair. Once you’ve learned the basics, the rest is a piece of cake.

So the next time your butterfly sticks closed or your magneto isn’t firing, you’ll know why and more importantly, you’ll know how to fix it!

#3 How To Fish

No, I’m not talking about grabbing a can of worms and heading off to a stream. I’m talking about putting up a ton of fish quickly. If you even live remotely close to a large body of water such as a lake, river or pond, you should learn how to catch a lot of fish and do it quickly.

Learn how to make fish traps, nets and trotlines. Then learn how to use them properly.

Many fish have seasonal spawns where they will congregate in schools and move in mass to spawning areas. Most everyone knows that Salmon do this, but fish that live in lakes and rivers do this as well. Stripers, White Bass, Crappie, Walleye and many others spawn this way.

There are many fine books on the market that will teach you these skills. Memphis Net and Twine has a wonderful catelog that includes trawl and gill nets plus many supplies to help you achieve this goal.

Be warned, many of these techniques are illegal in a lot of States. Be sure to read the regulations for your area before trying any of these techniques out. Of course, in a survival or emergency situation, you’ll probably be more worried about eating than getting a fine!

#4 How To Butcher Animals

This skill will come in very handy for those of you who wish to raise your own livestock and to take advantage of the Wild Game in your area. You may need to connect with another like minded individual who already knows how to do this and convince them to show you as well. Learning how to properly cut up an animal, whether it’s a Deer, Cow or Chicken, is a valuable skill that every survivalist or person wanting to be self sufficient should learn.

Many butchers in my area charge 50 cents per pound on the hoof to kill, butcher and package a Steer. If you’ve got a 800 pound steer to put up, that can add up to a lot of money. I’ve even heard some butchers charging 75 cents per pound or more to do this!

Deer typically cost at least $50 and many times more to have processed.

Save yourself some money and learn to do it yourself!

#5 Learn To Trap

Trapping gives the self sufficient person or survivalist a whole other avenue for procuring fresh meat.  Unlike hunting, traps that you set are working for you around the clock. You can also set a lot of traps in order to cover a wide area. This increases your chance of catching something for the Supper table.

What’s more important is knowing what type of trap to use in order to catch your intended target. If you’re wanting to catch a Wolf, then you’ll be sorely disappointed if you use a trap or snare intended for a Mink.

The Survivalist needs to know how to use Snares, Live/Box traps, leg hold traps and body gripper traps. All have their use in the Survivalist tool shed!

Snares can be used in a survival situation to catch everything from Rabbits to big game animals like Deer and Bear.

Most States have a Trappers Association. They routinely have meetings or weekend get-togethers where there are seminars on basic and advanced trapping. There’s always something for beginners. Look yours up and get on the list today.

#5 Gunsmithing – Learn To Repair Guns

If you’re living the Self Reliant lifestyle or you’re a Survivalist, then chances are good you have some firearms around, or you should! But do you know how to fix those guns if they break? Can you disassemble your guns, clean them and reassemble them and have them work properly? Sadly, from what I’ve seen, most people can’t. Some believe they can, but their idea of cleaning is spraying a half can of WD-40 into the action and calling it clean.

Do you keep spare parts around for your guns? Probably not. But you should and you should learn how to fix a firearm if it breaks, especially the military type firearms.

Brownell’s has a huge library of Video’s and Books on Gunsmithing. Grab yourself some that cover your type of guns and learn how to clean and repair them.

#6 Learn Basic Carpentry Skills

Can you plumb a wall, build a barn, square up walls or plumb a house? If not, these skills are easily learned. Your local community college may come to your rescue again. If you’re the type that can learn from a book, then you can find many fine books on building and carpentry at Amazon.com. If you live near a Barnes and Noble, they have a decent list of books as well.

These skills are necessary should we face a long term crisis. Carpentry, Electrical and Plumbing skills will all be in demand and you could make a lot of friends quickly if you the one in your area who knows how to fix things.

#7 Auto Repair

This is close to the Small Engine repair skills you’ll need, but on a much larger scale. You’ll need to learn basic maintenance and repair skills and obtain some advance skills like possibly being able to rebuild an engine or transmission. If you have a newer computer controlled vehickle, then these skills will be more important. Older, non-computer controlled vehicles are much easier to work on than those built today.

Also, depending on who you listen too, these older vehicles may give you some protection from EMP attacks. No sensitive electronics to be fried in case of an attack.

At the very least, you should be able to change a tire, break a tire down and repair it with basic hand tools, change out starters, alternators, water and fuel pups. If you can’t do these simple chores, you’d better have money or another vehicle to rely upon should one go down.

You should also be able to tune an engine and adjust carbs and troubleshoot your vehicle. This may all sound intimidating, but all are easily learned skills.

#8 Operate a HAM Radio

I have to confess. This is one skill I don’t have right now, but I’m certainly going to work on it very soon. In the case of a disaster, a HAM radio will allow you to communicate with the outside World to find out what’s going on.

There are plenty of books and courses on operating a HAM radio, all that is required is a little time and effort.

After Hurricane Ike struck, we were without power for two weeks. At the end of this time, I was really getting use to not having a TV blaring every day or phones ringing. I was very content to hang around my home while cleaning up the debris left by the Hurricane. Once we got power back on, I was amazed at how much news I’d missed out on. I was also amazed at how much useless information we have coming at us everyday without realizing it!

Learn to use a HAM radio. Get your license, find out what type of equipment you really need and get going!

#9 Hunting Skills

It’s easy to assume that all self reliant families or survivalist know how to hunt. But that isn’t the case. Many don’t even have the skills to find and harvest squirrels or rabbits, not to mention big game. To be successful on a regular basis, these skills will have to be learned and will usually take some time. It’s not as easy as going out to the City park and pot shooting city squirrels.

You can bet that when the SHTF, others will be out putting food on the table. The same food that should be headed to your table!

Most hunting skills can’t  be learned from a book or video. Your best bet is to find someone who is successful and tag along. have them show you what to look for and specifics on each game animal. At the very least, you’ll need to get out in the woods and watch how animals exist in their part of the World. Once you understand how animals move and use the woods, you’ll be on the right path to being a good hunter.

#10 Advanced First Aid

Yeah, there are other important skills I could have used at #10, or any number for that matter, but knowing advanced life saving first aid skills should be the goal of every person who is prepping for the worse. It’s just good common sense that you should know these skills. And I’m talking about skills that go above and beyond those taught in basic first aid classes.

You should know how to treat major wounds, such as a sucking chest wound, until help can arrive. Could you set a broken bone? How about removing a bullet? It’s not as simple as some macho guy on TV makes it look. You’ll have to assume at one point during a crisis, you’re first aid skills will be needed. If not by you, then possibly by a family member or friend. You may be their only hope for surviving.

This is my top 10 list. If you don’t know these, then you should be working on learning them. If you do know these skills, then start your own top 10! Remember, these are only the skills you’ll need to start if you want to be truly self sufficient or become a true survivor.

Take my neighborhood for example. There are eleven homes on the street. I’ve talked with the homeowners of all except 3. I know the answers to the questions above on all of these neighbors. Even from the 3 I haven’t got to talk to. (thanks to the other neighbors who were ‘willing to share’ this information about them.

In an emergency, knowing this information could mean the difference between life and death.

By getting to know, really know, your neighbors, you can start to sort out the ones that might cause a problem during an emergency, those who are more likely to think the way you think or perhaps those who have skills that may helpful to you should the need arise. For example, one of my neighbors is a retired nurse. When visiting their home recently, I noticed she had more certificates on the wall than you could shake a stick at. This told me two things right off.

1. That she had the drive to obtain additional education to achieve some nursig goal she had. People who do this generally are not slackers.
2. That she was probably a pretty darn good Nurse.

My Wife confirmed most of that later on in follow up conversations with her. So if someone around my home gets hurt bad, I know who I’m calling right after I dial 911.

Now if you have no social skills, then trying to find this information out isn’t going to be easy. If you can’t hold a conversation with someone then don’t even think about digging a little deeper into their personal life.

How to go about collecting information on your neighbors

I’ve actually started files on each house in my neighborhood. I also have maps of the subdivision plus Google Earth pictures I printed off of the area.

But the real meat of the files comes from talking with my neighbors. Like I said above, you have to have some socials skills or you’ll come off as a nosy sociopath! You don’t walk up to them and start firing questions at them. You should honestly be trying to make friends with them at first. You can get the info you need a little bit later.

If you ring their doorbell and start off by saying “Hey, I’m Sam down the street. Do you have any guns? How much food do you have stored? If the SHTF, are you bugging out or staying behind?, don’t be surprised if the slam the door in your face.

Through general conversation, I’ve been able to collect all the data I need for the immediate households in my area.

I get my foot in the door by taking them some vegetables from my Garden, just waving and saying “HI” if I’m out in the yard while I am, being helpful when I can or at neighborhood get-together. In fact, throwing a party at your house is one of the best ways to get to know the people who live around you. It will cost you a little bit of money, but the information you can obtain from an informal backyard BBQ can be invaluable.

People like to talk about their self. All you have to do is be a good listener and guide the conversation with your questions without being obvious.

As mentioned above, a neighborhood BBQ is another way of meeting and greeting your neighbors. Everyone loves free food and I can’t think of a way to get people talking faster than giving them some good ole ribs and a cold beer. Heck, after a couple beers some people will give you their SS number, CC number along with the PIN!!!

Your goal should be to constantly keep in touch with your neighbors. If a new family moves in, take them a cake, cookies, fresh Garden produce – anything to welcome them into the neighborhood. Make them feel welcomed and they’ll soon be trusting you with information you need for your new file.

STFU = Shut The F&%k Up

If you’re the type that likes to blow and go about everything you have or you have that know-it-all mentality, you’re best off staying to yourself. The goal here is to find out all you can about your neighbors, not go blabbing about what all you have or what you’re planning. There are a lot of things that you should not want some of your neighbors to know about yourself but if you can’t keep your mouth shut, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by staying home and counting your ammo again.

This also goes for your Wife and/or Kids. Recently, the head of MI 5 of Britan ended up with a lot of personal information about his personal and professional life on Facebook. All thanks to his Wife who posted this information on her Facebook page. Things like his job title, their address, photo’s of the couple and their family and other stuff that could have been used against him or his family had it got into the wrong hands.

Remember, loose lips sinks ships! You and your family should practice STFU when you’re around others. Sure, you can give them some vague or non important informaton, but keep the important stuff to yourelf.

Blend In, Don’t Stand Out

This is a pet peeve of mine. Depending on who you listen too, there is a Japanese (some say Chinese) saying that goes “The nail that sticks out the furthest gets hammered down”.

Part of your urban survival plan should be to blend in.  You want everyone to think you’re just like them. That you think like them, that you live like them.

If you run off at the mouth telling everyone in the neighborhood that you’re a “Survivalist” (or you write on a survivalist blog) and that you have weapons and food cached, who do you think will get the finger pointed at them when the SHTF? Or when there’s any trouble in the neighborhood? If you can’t help but show off your M1a, M16 or your Custom Sniper Rifle, do it at the range, not in your neighborhood.

This also goes for what you wear. Whenever I see some wanabe badass wearing a SOF or “Kill ‘Em All Let God Sort Them Out” T-shirt, I immediately think what a easy target they’ll be. You’re telling people that at the very least, you may have guns and ammo at your place should they need it.

If you also drive a lifted 4×4 with all kinds of bumber stickers or other graphics on it portraying guns or anti-Government sayings, consider yourself as sticking out.

It’s my goal to blend in to my surroundings. ‘Hide in plain site’ as they say. I want to look, act and be thought of as the average Joe Taxpayer.

I’m nothing special Uncle Sam, go get the guy wearing the SOF T-Shirt and driving the Hummer with the picture of a M16 with the catch phrase of “Come and Get It” below. Yeah, he’s the badass you want to take down Uncle Sam…not me, I’m just your average Joe…

I hope this has given you people living in the Cities or towns some food for thought. Sure, we don’t live in the ideal area to survive, so we have to make the most of it!

If you’re like me, I’m sure you thought about this many times. You’ve run the scenario of a financial collapse or other National emergency through your mind. That’s what people who are preparing for an emergency do.

I’ve bet you’ve thought about these questions more than once; What would happen to our financial markets? How about our currency? Would it still be worth something…anything? What should you use as currency in case of a financial crisis? One where our money is worthless and is not being accepted for goods and supplies.

I don’t know the answers to these questions anymore than anyone else does. Oh, I can speculate with the best of them and that’s what I’m doing in this blog post. There are too many variables involved to say what would happen in the case of a Global or National financial meltdown.

Should a situation like that arise, here are a few things I thought could be bartered or sold for things you need should we wake up one morning and find that our Greenbacks are worthless and your local Grocer wants something besides the Almighty Dollar in exchange for a sack of potato’s.

So besides the obvious alternatives to dollars such as Gold and Silver, here are a few extra items I’m putting back in case I need to barter for something down the road.

Food

Food is always a good bartering item. Especially to those who have none! However, keep in mind that those who don’t have food can get a little testy when they’re hungry. Canned goods as well as MRE type foods could be worth their weight in Gold in such situations. Just make sure you don’t cut yourself short.

Don’t forget water. Remember, there will be people who have not prepared for such a crisis as well as you have. Water can be a great bartering tool, especially in arid regions.

Booze

Have you ever noticed, that people who drink but are broke always find a way to get their fix. I doubt things will change much after a collapse. A bottle of JB could go a long ways in getting you the supplies you need in a dollar-less World. I don’t drink, but I keep several different sizes and brands of booze available for a precaution. You never know, and isn’t preparedness and survival the name of the game.

Cigarettes

Just like booze, people will have to have their smokes should they wake up one day and find their money worthless. It wouldn’t be a bad idea in my mind to grab a few cheap cartons of smokes and keep them around for just such an occasion. Cigarettes don’t go bad if they’re kept sealed. They may become stale, but they’re still smokable! Take it from a smoker, smokers will trade valuable items, often much more valuable than the smokes their self, for one cigarette when they want one!

Medical Supplies

I keep several first aid kits around. A couple in the house, one in each vehicle, in the boat, etc. You just never know when you’ll need one. But I’ve also put back some over the counter pain killers such as Ibuprofen, aspirin and Tylenol. Along with those items I’ve made sure I have on hand some other medical supplies like alcohol, peroxide as well as a general list of things to help one feel better should they be on the outs. Pepto, Tums and like should not be overlooked and neither should clean, sterile bandages. Military type medical kits could become good trading items for those who don’t have none.

Just make sure you rotate out items with a “use by” date on them.

Guns & Ammo

Okay, guns & ammo is listed in nearly every ‘what to use for currency wtshtf’ article you read. I have a problem with this though. I don’t want to be trading guns & ammo to people who may turn around in the future and use them against me. This is one of those things you’ll really have to think about before doing it. Unless I trusted the person I was dealing with, I think I’d pass on giving them some ammo or a gun unless it was the last straw. I’m sure I could come up with something else or find another person to deal with.

Tools

I’m ‘tool poor’ as they say. I probably have 3 or 4 of everything, so tools make a perfect item for me to trade. If you’re not a tool type of person, then you could probably start by throwing back a few of those cheap tool kits you see at Harbor Freight or in the Dollar store. You just never know what people will need.

If you’re a tool junkie like myself, then you can sit and think of things you’ll need and try to figure out what others may need if the stuff gets deep. I already keep my older hand tools separate from my newer tools. These will be the first to go if someone ever needs a 9/16 combination wrench in a bad way!

Crafts

No, I’m not talking about toilet paper covers or birdhouses here, I’m talking about your ability to make things from scratch. People who are good at sewing and making clothes and other items will be in need. Those quilts will be in high demand from those who didn’t put back come Winter time. Same thing goes for clothes.

If you’re handy or mechanically inclined, your skills could be in great need when someones vehicle or generator goes out. Keep an open mind and you’ll see there are a lot of things you can do and trade to help you get by in an emergency.

Health & Beauty

The few times I ever watched the show “Survivor”, one thing that kept surprising me was how some of the contestants kept whining about needing a shower or wanting clean clothes or soap. They would trade nearly anything for those items, they as much said so. As I understand the show, they’re only out there like 30 days or so. Imagine how desperate they’d be after 6 months!

I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised though, my Wife and Daughter complain after a few days of Camping! It’s a good idea to keep some of those toiletries sets handy to trade off. (or pacify your Wife in a Survival situation!)

Toilet paper should also be added to that list!

Make Your Own List

This isn’t a hard and fast list. You can make your own list of items you think people will need should all hell break loose. I’ve heard of people stockpiling things like toilet paper and writing tablets.

Here are a few more items that you may be able to barter should the worse happen.

* Traps and Snares
* Fishing Equipment, ie; rods, reels, tackle, nets, twine, etc
* Containers. Glass, plastic and metal
* Old clothing
* Shoes
* Cordage
* All types of batteries
* Knives (see Guns & Ammo)
* Fasteners. Nails, screws, hooks, bolts, etc
* Vehicle/generator parts
* Tarps
* Camping Gear

Obviously you don’t have to run out and start buying everything on this list. On your trips to the store just pick up an extra this or that when you’re buying something for yourself. You’ll soon find yourself with plenty of items to barter with should the need arise.

So what type of things can you think of to use for trading should you dollar bills ever become worthless?