DIY Projects for Preppers

Lip balms are some that a lot of people use even if they use no other balms or cosmetics at all. During the winter months in particular the need for…

During good times and bad, there may come a time when you need to have something like glue on hand. There are a lot of benefits to making your own…

These days I have been doing a lot of thinking about my daily hygiene and beauty routine as it relates to a long term survival situation.  I don’t want to…

Making and smoking your own sausage at home is an art in itself. There is nothing like it but it does take some patience and the ability to keep up…

Most everyone uses laundry detergent and if we’ve kept a record of the cost, at the end of the year we would be surprised at the expense for that one…

Charcoal making is a simple process, however during each step there are protocols to be followed or that beautiful charcoal will either burn down to ashes or it will be…

A number of years back, I found Gaye’s recipe for an essential-oil based DIY Miracle Healing Salve that she found effective on everything from cuts and rashes to sore muscles…

Growing your own food is an empowering experience. You nurture a seed or small starter plant into a tasty meal. You remove a bit of your dependence on grocery stores…

One of the greatest food assets a prepper can have is a year-round garden. Yet, gardens do not grow well in all locations. To help extend the growing season, this…

Water filtration is one of the most if not the most important part of any survival plan. You can do for a while without a lot of things but water…

When you go to the grocery store or look for canned meats online the price may shock you. If you want really high quality meats then there is even more…

Living in the desert has taught me not to take water for granted. Unlike the Pacific Northwest, I am not footsteps away from streams, ponds, or a vast sea just waiting for me to collect and purify for personal use.

In a continuing effort to educate our readers on the finer aspects of self-sufficiency, I have invited Dan Chiras to share his best strategies and tips for creating a rain catchment system that works. Learn what you need to know about building a rainwater catchment system.

Late last year I put out a call for topics that would enhance your ability to become self-sufficient. One of the topics that was suggested over and over again was step by step instructions for making soap from common ingredients that could be stored as part of our long-term preps.

As part of the Backdoor Survival “doing it my way” initiative, I put a call out to colleagues who had not only made soap themselves but were will to share their experience so we could learn ourselves. In this article, experienced prepper and soap-maker, Carmela Tyrell teaches us how to make cold pressed soap safely and easily using common ingredients plus gel from the Aloe Vera plant.

Hand sanitizers have their place in our lives, especially in the sick room where alcohol-based sanitizers rule. On the other hand, many hand sanitizers currently on the market deliver a chemical brew that results in a sticky, nasty mess along with ingredients such as triclosan and other anti-bacterial ingredients that are now suspected to contribute to the creation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Given that plant-based essential oils are some of the strongest antibacterial and anti-microbial substances around, I have chosen to make my own day-to-day hand sanitizer. I use this hand sanitizer to supplement good old fashioned hand washing with plenty of soap and water. This recipe uses 100% organic, cold-pressed Aloe Vera gel, organic coconut oil, and a mix and match blend of essential oils.

Have you wondered about the hoopla surrounding body butters? A body butter is like a salve except it does not include beeswax and has a creamy, silky feeling when applied to the skin. Here is my version, including instructions for making a body butter version of “miracle healing salve”. You are going to love it!

Did you know that there are 7 species of Elderberry in North America? That makes them easy to locate and forage which is important because of their health and wellness benefits. Here are 12 to start with plus directions for making your own elderberry tincture and syrup.