Survival Skills

TEOTWAWKI Survival : Dangerous Survival Situations | Survival-Mastery

TEOTWAWKI: it’s an acronym for “The End of the World as We Know It,” and it is a phrase most commonly used in survivalist circles. TEOTWAWKI survival means two things: preparing for bad situations so you are in a better position when something terrible occurs, and knowing what to do when a survival situation arises in order to increase the likelihood of survival.

There are many ways the end of the world as we know it can occur, whether it is nuclear war, electromagnetic pulse (EMP), weather disasters, natural disasters, financial collapse, a downed electrical grid, or even a pandemic of some kind. In such events, you’ll need to be ready to act accordingly to ensure your survival. Part of being prepared is being able to answer some very simple, direct questions: What will you need? Where will you stay or go? Who will be with you? How will you travel?

Plan A for TEOTWAWKI survival

You will want to establish two solid plans of action if you want to survive TEOTWAWKI. Consider the different situations that can occur and make a clear plan of action to increase the chances of your survival. You need to begin to think about what you are going to do in a given situation and the steps you will take in order to implement plan A.

Some of the basic preparatory steps you take will, of course, be the same in any situation. For example, you’ll want to stock up on food, water, and other supplies. Nevertheless, you make have to take different survival steps if there is a pandemic verses if a nuclear war.

Stick supplies

You want to have a plan where you have somewhere to go, and all of your family members need to be on the plan. You’ll want to establish a location that is outside of the city area as it can prove dangerous where the population is the highest. Consider the fact that in a situation that aligns with TEOTWAWKI, chances are the thin veneer that law and civilized behavior that keeps a civilization intact will be wiped away.

What will be left in its wake are frightened, unprepared people by the thousands. There’s liable to be fighting, crimes, looting, and an increase in violent situations. Thus, finding a place that is away from the city area can improve the likelihood of your safety as well as the safety of your family members.

Choosing a safe location

The city is definitely out when you are devising plan A and choosing a safe place to take your family. Cities will be areas where the resources will be limited, including power, water, and food, and therefore it will be impossible to sustain everyone. The place you choose to bring your family should be remote, perhaps even hidden from the main roads, and not easy to find. Once you choose a location, you’ll have to plot out how you will get your family there quickly and without being detected.

Chooce the location

You may want to establish a survival team for when things go badly. The team can include your family and close friends. Each person in the team can have a role to play, not only in preparation, but also in implementing the steps necessary to get everyone to safety when the time calls for it. If you choose people to be on your survival team, you should have regular meetings to discuss the following:

  • Where everyone will stay
  • Food stock pile
  • Medicines
  • Weaponry and weapon usage
  • Training in survival skills
  • Strategies for survival

For more information on choosing a safe place for you and your family, view the following video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSNeHjQBTXc&feature=youtu.be

It will teach you about the safe routes to take, the places you will need to avoid, and why such places should be avoided if and when TEOTWAWKI survival situation occurs.

Stockpiling your needs

There are several things should stockpile when you are preparing for TEOTWAWKI survival. The first thing you’ll probably think of is food products. There are many food products you can stock up on and store for years. You can put them in storage in your safe place. You’ll also want to have some food stored in a bug out bag that you can take with you as your travel to your safe place. Here is a list of some of the foods you will want to keep in storage.

  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Beans
    nuts
  • Bouillon
  • Canned foods
  • Canned meats
  • Cereals
  • Cheeses covered in wax
  • Chocolate
  • Condiments
  • Dehydrated foods like eggs, whey, and milk.
  • Dehydrated meats
  • Flour
  • Grains
  • Herbs
  • Honey
  • Jams
  • Jellies
  • Liquid stored in cans
  • Oils
  • Pasta
  • Peanut butter
  • Protein bars
  • Protein drinks
  • Rice
  • Salt
  • Spices
  • Tea
  • Coffee
  • Water

Additional foods you may want to consider adding to your TEOTWAWKI survival stockpile include things that have a long shelf life. You can get dehydrated meals and foods from specialty retailers. You can also add sunflower seeds, other seeds, figs, dates, and a variety of natural foods to your stockpile. See our list of the top survival food list that you should have to prepare for any emergencies.

TEOTWAWKI-Survival infographic

For a really good idea about some of the foods that are most ideal for survival situations, check out the inventory that specialty shops have available. You can get freeze-dried meats, veggies, fruits, and eggs, and you can buy them in bulk in airtight packaging. Make use of a food storage calculator online to determine your food storage needs.

Stocking up on medical supplies

Just as food supplies will be important, TEOWAWKI survival will call for a stockpiling of medical supplies. Remember, the hospitals will be located in cities and they are liable to be overloaded with people seeking medical attention during an emergency situation. Having the basic medical necessities stored in a safe place will ensure the greater likelihood of one being able to deal with simple medical situations. It can also end up saving a life. Here is a list of some of the most common things people stockpile for TEOTWAWKI survival situations.

  • Antibacterial soap
  • Antibiotic ointment
  • Bandages
  • Band-Aids
  • Blankets
  • Cold medicine
  • Cold packs
  • Gauze
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Herbal remedies like eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, thyme oil, cayenne, honey, garlic oil for their natural antiviral, antibacterial properties.
  • Hot packs
  • Lighter (for needle sterilization)
  • Magnifying glass
  • Medical tape
  • Medications
  • N-95 masks
  • Needle holder
  • Needles
  • Nitrile gloves
  • Oral Airway (OPAS)
  • Oral antibiotics
  • Pain relief
  • Peroxide
  • Q-Tips/Cotton Balls
  • Rubbing Alcohol
  • Safety pins
  • Scalpels
  • Scissors
  • Sheets
  • Spider wire for emergency stitches
  • Splints
  • Super glue for the treatment of superficial wounds
  • Surgical masks
  • Sutures
  • Tongue depressor (Popsicle sticks)
  • Tweezers
  • Wound dressing

Check out our piece on the how to assemble the best disaster preparedness kit for your survivial, it’s a must-read.

Additional items to store

In a survival situation, the best thing you can have stocked up and ready for use is water. The more water the better. Remember, you’ll need water for drinking, washing, and cooking. In fact, water should be your foremost concern as you can die without access to some drinkable water. To that end, consider having some water purification tablets and filters on hand so you can filter out impurities in the water sources you do find.

For clean water

You may want to stash a few things a way to serve as entertainment, especially if you are in a situation that will last several weeks or more. Books, magazines, games, and other things to entertain you will help pass the time as you wait for negative conditions to settle down. You might also want to bring a radio and some electronics that you can power with chargers and order batteries.

Bear in mind that when a TEOTWAWKI situation arises, cash will be rendered useless. In order to survive, you’ll want a few extra things on hand that you can barter with if necessary. Consider what is most important during a survival situation and that is what you will have to barter with that is the most valuable, including food, water, and weaponry. In regard to weapons, you’ll need to decide what you want to have on hand. If you have a gun or rifle, you’ll need to stock up on ammunition. You’ll want at least a few knives as well.

Plan B and TEOWAWKI

If you are going to survive TEOTWAWKI, you’ll need to have a plan B. Survival, to a great degree, is based on one’s willingness and ability to adapt to abrupt and uncertain change. To that end, you’ll want to have a bug out bag at the ready that you can grab and run with. You can use the bag to sustain you until you get to your safe place.

At minimum, if you never make it to your safe place, you’ll at least have some food, water, and materials to sustain you. Either you can create your own bug out bag or you can buy one ready-made with many of the supplies you’ll need already in the bag you buy.

Bug-Out-Bag essentials

Of course, no plan is going to work if you don’t give it a trial run. It’s imperative that you and your family/friends rehearse what it is you will do when an emergency situation arises. There are several ways you can put your readiness skills to the test.

First, give your family about 15 minutes to pack up everything they will need in a survival situation and stage a mock evacuation where you have to get your family away from the location. After you get to where you planned to go, assess how well everyone did, what may or may not have been forgotten, and make a list of the things you’ll have to change. Attempt to incorporate such changes when you make your next survival plan rehearsal.

See our article on how to build the best survival bug out bag to give you more options.

Additional preparatory measures

In addition to acting out an evacuation, you can also take a weekend to see how you can handle what it would be like to be in a TEOTWAWKI survival situation. For example, try eating nothing but the survival food you have for the weekend. Alternatively, have the family spend an entire weekend without the electricity to use. You’ll be better prepared for the moment when TEOTWAWKI survival techniques become necessary. You may also gain a greater appreciation for the privileges you presently do have.

Emergency survival food

Survival is also about education and training. You’ll want to read everything you can about survival, hunting, wilderness survival, survival medicine, and on subjects that teach you innovative, conservative means of living. Meanwhile, you’ll want to assess your physical fitness and train yourself to be as fit as possible.

Learn how to grow your own food and can it. It will also help you greatly in survival situations if you know how to preserve foods. If you don’t know how to hunt, it may be time you learn. Being able to hunt will give you a chance to hunt for additional all natural food sources. Hunting is just another survival skill.

If you don’t know how to hunt and you don’t want to learn, at minimum, you should learn how to fire a firearm for your own protection. Remember, civilization will not be what it used to be and you will be responsible for your own safety and the safety of those you love.

Affording all your preparations

It may seem as if getting ready for TEOTWAWKI is an expensive endeavor, and indeed it can be. However, there are ways you can save money as you prepare for a survival situation. Here are a few things you can do to save a few dollars now while you are preparing for a survival issue in the future:

Start now – start early: If you start stockpiling just a few things a week and you start right now, you’d be amazed at how quickly you can accumulate everything you need to remain comfortable in a survival situation.

Shop sales: Look for food sales and make sure you keep an eye on your food stock. You will have to regularly rotate your inventory. Eat up foods that are nearing the expiration date and replace them with new inventory.

Food storage

Grow goods and can them:  Initially, there is a small investment in growing your own food and canning goods, but you’ll find the expense is reasonable when compared to how much food product you can stockpile. You can grow a garden and can goods like cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, and other vegetables for long-term storage. If you grow fruits or you have some nearby berry bushes, for a few dollars, you can make your own homemade jams and jellies.

Coupons & other savings methods: Become an extreme couponer, and if you don’t know how, then learn. You can save a lot of money on your stockpile by using coupons.

More methods for saving money

As you prep for a survival situation, you make want to consider becoming the member of a warehouse club. Doing so will allow you to buy foods and water products in bulk while saving a considerable amount of money. You can shop at places like Costco or Sam’s Club and fine a variety of items, and not just food related either.

If you shop at discount grocery stores, you can get canned vegetables and foods for cheap too. You can buy veggies by the case and stock up the food pile quickly. Discount grocers sometimes also sell other things you’ll need to store including hand soaps, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, cleaners, and personal hygiene items.

25-foods to always purchase organic

Online sales: Shopping online for the items you need for a survival situation lets you find items and compare prices with greater ease. Shop with websites that offer reduced shipping and/or free shipping solutions.

Go organic: While organic foods are a bit more costly, in the long run you are contributing to your overall health, which is important in any survival situation. Shop at food markets where you can buy fresh foods to can that are free of GMOs, dyes, gluten, herbicides, pesticides, additives or preservatives.

Just a few dollars a week:  Using just a bit of money each week can afford you the things you’ll need for TEOTWAWKI survival. Return bottles or save pocket change and use the funds to get the items you need for the moment that emergency situation does arise.

In conclusion

TEOTWAWKI survival will take some considerable planning on your part. Nevertheless, getting ready for an event where the entire world as we know it will be forever changed will ensure your safety and the safety of those you love. With a few strategic measures and a bit of planning and forethought, you can remain as comfortable as possible in an emergency situation.

You and your family will have a safe place already established with everything you need to survive at the ready. With your day-to-day and medical needs meet, you can ensure the long-term survival of yourself and those you love.

Be sure you’re prepared for anything. Check out our guide on how to survive the collapse of civilization.

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About the author

David Dawson

David Dawson is a retired security specialist with over 20 years of experience. He worked for a secret manufacturing facilities and hospitals in Illinois. David's responsibility was to protect people in case of any disaster or cataclysm that might occur. Now he keeps on doing it through teaching others about how to prepare and survive flood, earthquake or even war.

4 Comments

  • I keep various boards games, chess, and games like that to keep my mind occupied and alert. I also have pen and papers to write everything down. Who said TEOTWAWKI has to be boring?

  • A very debatable article, but the thought of “how would this even happen in the first place”? scenarios in other words.

  • Information on apocalyptic scenarios are available around the web and it may sound debatable, most of them can actually happen, maybe not in our lifetime but they still remain a possibility.

    For myself, the essence of prepping is anticipating the what-ifs, no matter how it happens and when it may happen. SHTF scenarios can be thought extreme by some but it does not hurt to prepare for them if you have the time and resources.

    I do appreciate your feedback though.

    David

  • You are absolutely correct Corey. TEOTWAWKI does not have to be boring but I think I’d be busy preparing for what comes after to tinker with board games. Maybe after the storm passes and the world has settled once more.

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