The subject of prepping almost always comes up at some point during my day; usually a friend or family member wants to know about it. Casually I pitch my view on prepping, making a point to keep my spiel as light-hearted as possible because I have found many people are totally freaked out at the idea. Often the term is associated with the end-of-the-world type of thinking. And who really wants to think about that?
In my view, prepping is not something new. I have watched people prep for years. My parents and grandparents were all preppers of some form. If anyone in your family has ever canned vegetables from their own garden or raised their own chickens then they fall under the umbrella title of a “prepper” as well. In my area of the country such types of practices are common, passed down from one generation to another. It is a way of life. However, views towards prepping changed somewhere along the way. Maybe it was a few television shows featuring extreme doomsday preppers in which the terms “prepping or preppers” began to be perceived in a pessimistic light. In my opinion, if viewers could look past some of the dramatic editing techniques a few of these shows practice, I think more people might begin to see some valid points these preppers make.
If you do not think you should be practicing some form of very basic prepping then you should have no problem answering the following questions.
- Without making a grocery run, how many days supply do you have of non-perishable food in your pantry? If you are like most people your response would be three days or less supply.
- If your source of drinking water stopped today, where would you get safe drinking water?
- If for whatever reason you lost power to your home where would you turn for help?
- If a disaster of any type hit your area, could you and your family survive on your own? If so, how many days could you survive?
These are just a few of the most basic type of questions every family should be able to answer. If your answer for any of these questions included the words, a quick trip to Walmart or nearest gas station, you may want to come up with a better plan. Why? Because your neighbors are probably planning on doing the same thing. It is important to realize these outlets do have a limited supply of goods.
Living in the Midwest, I am fortunate to not deal with hurricanes nor live in areas prone to wildfires or unexpected snowstorms. Regardless, things happening in other parts of the country could affect my food and water supply. For example, when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast area, bottled water, canned goods and cleaning supplies became a challenge to find locally. Why? It certainly wasn’t because we had to meet local needs; instead folks in my area were eager to lend a hand to their fellow Americans a thousand miles away and therefore snatched up all they could find of these goods to send on aid-caravans to the region. A very compassionate gesture but by sending all these goods out of our region it left the local residents scrambling to find these products. What if a disaster struck here during that time? The same thing happened after Super Storm Sandy.
Prepping does not have to be the extreme measures. But you do need to be stockpiling some of the basics just in case something happens, even if it happens on the other side of the country. For me, the term prepping does not conjure up fear; it does not mean I am crazy. In fact, prepping does just the opposite as it gives me a piece of mind knowing I have done my best to prepare for the unexpected.
Food, Water and ammo is all you need in abundance.
You need to prep,this is no drill, it is an almost certain form of mental discipline one needs to cultivate in order to survive the future but in a way far above mere survival.
A mindset that builds self sufficiency and physical/mental discipline in ourselves and our young children as well.
Prepping also takes in body conditioning and its medical needs as well as its nutritional.
Learn more than minor first aid and also know or at least try to know local water and plant sources.
Oh yes don’t be a braggart about prepping.
In fact keep the braggart and trash talk the hell out of the conditions.
Re the water barrels in my previous post … I should have said they are available On-Line at Costco.com. They are not carried in the Costco Warehouse stores.
Great article, Lisa — I totally agree. I have stockpiled enough food, water and ammo — for hunting, of course ;-)– to last me a long time. Most of my extended family members think I’m a little “strange” but they’ll be the first ones to come knocking at my door when things go crazy. You are right — expensive survival foods with a 25 year shelf life are not totally necessary (fine if you can afford them) but ordinary foods like Spam, peanut butter, honey, most dry grains and beans will last a very long time and most canned foods are usable long past the “Best By ___” date. You can use them and then restock them with more recent items. I question stockpiling bottled water — it’s WAY more expensive than tap water and you’d have to have a huge storage area to store an adequate amount. Buy one (or several) 55 gallon drums designed for long term water storage (available from Costco) and fill with tap water NOW, BEFORE it becomes contaminated or unavailable. Tap water is already chlorinated, so will last a long time (bottled water is not chlorinated).
During WWII, my parents (like most of their neighbors) had a “Victory Garden” plus we raised chickens and turkeys — Mom canned lots of the foods we raised. I suspect most modern families wouldn’t have a clue how to raise (and preserve) their own food. It will be sad to see them starve if things get really bad. Famines have occurred many times in the recent past, even in “civilized” countries. Are we naïve enough to think it can’t happen again and HERE?? Folks don’t have to become radical preppers (like on TV) but they DO need to prepare!!!
PS: NICE photo of you, Lisa, with the gobbler that you and Wilhelmina harvested!
Anything will do for a start, a five gallon bucket with spam, hormel chili, chicken noodle soup, i had to start slow, my wife thought i was crazy, untill she watched dooms day preppers, then she got a bit more serious about it.
We live more than 20 miles from a town with a grocery store. What may be considered “extreme” to those living in major metropolitan areas, is “normal” from here. To answer your questions, we could go for several months with what we have in the pantry. We have about 60 gallons of bottled water for an emergency. If we have any warning the water is going to be off, we have a “Water Bob” that fits in the bathtub to store water. We have a 1,000 gallon “rain barrel” that catches the rain off the carport to water the garden, but could be used in a real emergency. We have a 1/3 acre pond on the property. If the electricity goes off, we have oil lamps, candles and flashlights with rechargeable batteries. If it stays off, I would ask my neighbors to come help me can the meat in the freezer before it all spoils. If a disaster hits our area, but is not a direct hit on us, we would be fine.
great advice…in my younger day I was in the boy scouts and their moto was “be prepared” it’s a life lesson I will never forget…we live in southwest florida and we are reminded of this every june when hurricane season starts….water, food, batteries, etc…I came from a farming background and “the Pantry” was the core of the plan and the “wood pile” was right up there too. Today people have become complacent and trusting that someone else will take care of them…..there is so much information out there on being prepared for anything that there is no excuse not to do something….anything… “be prepared not scared” is my moto. Then consider protecting your preparedness…do not discuss things like this with too many people you dont “really now” unless you want them at your door when SHTF…be careful, panic is a powerful emotion and people do things they would not normally do….I’m not saying, I am just saying think about it…Jasper
Lisa, what do you suggest we “prep” at the minimum…? Also, what is excessive in your opinion ? What is the difference between hoarding and prepping ?
Tj