How did you get into Prepping? Are you a Prepper?

[GOPerfect]

I remember reading something like this thread somewhere else.

Figured we could start a new discussion on it.

Yep, I am an American who likes to Prepare for the unknown.

I try to keep all options open. I have plans for nearly all that I can think about.

Zombies, SHTF, EMP, Gang infiltration of the Suburbs, Weather, lack of food. I try to have plans for as many events as possible.

I started preparing a very long time ago. Guess it started way back in the early 90's when I first deployed. Never seemed to have everything that I needed.

While on Active Duty, we would go to the field for months on end. If you did not bring something with you, you were out of luck, there was no going back to get "it".

Started to realize early on, it was better to have something and not use it than need something and not have it.

I see everyday life the same way. As time went on and I became older and wiser, I saw the world in a different way. Chaos all around us. Countries failing, economic systems crashing, citizens becoming unhappy with their leaders. The more that I watched, the more that I read; the more I understood that we in the US are NOT immune to these horrible changes.

I began to amass things that I thought I would need. More guns and more ammo were the start of my prep.

I began to stock up on food stuffs as well. Began small, an extra few cans here and a few extra there. Baby steps.

In the past few years, I have begun to read a lot more as well. Dystopia type books. Started seeing a pattern between these books and life around us. Started to really understand how weak many of our institutions and our infrastructure are. The power grid, our roads, bridges and financial markets. Farming is so very different than just 10 years ago. Chemically treated produce and meats. Genetically altered food that we eat each and everyday.

I see how many Americans are becoming so dependent on the Government for EVERYTHING! Housing, medication, food; everything.

I never want to be dependent on others. I'll always use help if offered; but no dependency for me!

I figure if I am wrong, nothing bad happens, no big deal. I will just have extra of everything. If real bad does come our way, I will live and survive, most Americans will perish!

(Some of this was copied and pasted)

 

[Automan21]

Really wish I can get into it. Have no real space to store anything though.

 

[carpediem]

I started because it seemed logical to provide for yourself in the event you might need it. Reliance on only the government and its' agents for your survival in any type of drastic scenario will leave you waiting and quite likely dead. I think if it got too bad, even the police, fire departments and military would dissolve in efforts to secure the safety of their own families. That, of course, is entirely dependent on the emergency scenario.

 

[Blimey]

I would say I am more than most people, less than some. I define most people as the average family/person who has nothing in their house other than some days, maybe a week of groceries, and some extra cans of stuff they've yet to eat. Basically, I have more food than these people; I've taken some modest effort to store food to last well beyond the next grocery trip. This is very cheap to do and very easy and takes up very little room.

The purpose of the above is to help flatten out any ups and downs from an extended power outage. Not concerned about the Chinese invading or a zombie apocalypse, but society is very reliant on power and I think a carrington event could make things uncomfortable for a while if it happened.

 

[Catskillkid]

Not the biggest or best prepper in the world but I'm trying like others to keep cans and other items in stock. Been pretty good about having plenty of ammo (for training, defense and barter if it ever comes to that). I've joked with friends that if something ever happens to me I'll be the guy on the news with an arsenal and a cache of ammo...one of those crazy doomsday preppers.

More than that I've been trying to prep by gaining knowledge. How to build things. How to fix things. How to grow food and preserve it. How to get clean water. Basics of medicine and things like that. More so than the material things, I think learning and education is the most important aspect. They can seize your canned food and your ammo stash but they can't erase what' in your brain (yet).

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

Really wish I can get into it. Have no real space to store anything though.

40lbs of beans and rice, some canned goods a lifestraw and some other supplies don't take up much room. You could fit all that in a plastic tote.

Start small and build from there.


If you have bigger ideas and maybe your in a small apartment perhaps rent a storage locker?

 

[ImpeachObama]

I asked my wife to buy extra rice. She came home with 25-50 lb bags. I ended up buying a years supply of paper towel and toilet paper. It snow balled from there.

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

I really can't explain how I got into prepping in one specific way, but probably multiple things.

I randomly happened to catch doomsday preppers on tv once and didn't know much about it. It was interesting and didn't really understand everything that was going on the way it was portrayed the people seemed nuts (but at least having fun) and I didn't really understand a lot of things they were worried about. Like for example why should I be worried about a Carrington event? Or the economy,melting down... Didn't seem realistic to me at the time I watched the show.

Fast forward to last year, I read the book "one second after" and as a father and husband it terrified me. It suddenly made doomsday preppers make sense in a way I hadn't thought of.

I started doing research on my own(reading more books, youtube, alternative news sites) and discovered there are many events (economic meltdown, Carrington event, nuclear war, emp, terrorists attacking/hacking the power grid etc..) that would all have similarly horrible outcomes for this country. Say what you want but in my opinion those scenarios above all are either an eventuality or are a legitimate risk.

It made me think about things I never thought about before and how sensitive our supply chain system is to how dependent the average American is. If there is a significant interruption, game over for many. After seeing how agitators behave in situations like hurricane Katrina and fergeuson it will get ugly.

So I'm definitely not prepared with a fully stocked off the grid bug out bunker and cabin in the hills, but I'm slowly trying to build up supplies and food. As an example every week when I go grocery shopping I'll typically buy a little extra like maybe a 5lb bag of rice or beans, a few canned goods or peanut butter and then store them away. I have bought Mylar bags and am now trying to store food to last 5-10 years so it doesn't spoil. Etc...

I know I'm reading a while Heck of a lot more now than before. Trying to learn new skills, ideas, strategies etc.. And I'm also paying more attention to alternative news sites. Not sure how accurate or reliable they are but the definitely report stories our corrupt ministry of propaganda doesn't.

In not prepping for weather per say. I lived through 7feet of snow in 36 hours and physically not being able to leave your house for 5 days. I've lived in power outages. If you prepare for a major event (grid down, economy collapse) you will be good to go for a weather disaster too.

I feel pretty strongly things are certainly heading in the wrong direction and building up and unfortunately most people (even myself until recently) are blissfully or willfully ignorant.

Look at anything, it goes in cycles. Since the end of ww2 the world has experienced an unprecedented population explosion without any sort of correction along the way. I feel we are over due.

So I'm kinda "late to the party" at prepping and hope I have enough time to build my supplies before anything happens. But I'm very thankful I have what I have now, last year at this point I had maybe 2 weeks of food in the house and not much else... I wouldn't have faded well in a catastrophe.

So that's more or less my story.

 

[Deplorable Me]

I grew up working part time on a farm and am an old tent camper. A little experience with dealing with storms and living remote and off grid. Yes we have supplies but also a good hard copy library so we can forage and improvise when the supplies run out or extend them. Knowledge. Knowledge will also save you money too. Don't think linear, think like a spider web and learn how to make options, recognize them and exploit them.

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

This is kinda like a grid down 101 video done by national geographic.


The thing I am having trouble with is delicately getting others into prepping while trying to maintain opsec and also not be seen as the crazy guy.

A video like this is good because it from national geographic not some crazy guy.


Here is an example of a physical attack on the power grid

Also read the book "lights out" by Ted koppel

 

[GOPerfect]

And BTW, it is never too late to get started. Prepping, or preparing for the unknown, does not need to be expensive. All the toys and gimmicks are just that. Buy a little extra of the foods you already eat. I go to estate sales and see what I can find there. I picked up about 200 candles for $6. Some of the candles are huge. You might be surprised at what you can find in other peoples homes for real cheap!

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

And BTW, it is never too late to get started. Prepping, or preparing for the unknown, does not need to be expensive. All the toys and gimmicks are just that. Buy a little extra of the foods you already eat. I go to estate sales and see what I can find there. I picked up about 200 candles for $6. Some of the candles are huge. You might be surprised at what you can find in other peoples homes for real cheap!

I hadn't thought about this. Like many I'm on a budget so the chance of a haul like that for $6 is inticing.

 

[GOPerfect]

I hadn't thought about this. Like many I'm on a budget so the chance of a haul like that for $6 is inticing.

Seriously, the finds are amazing.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to an estate sale in Amherst. It was the last day so it was 50% off everything. I went to the basement and there was a tool box on the floor, it had a lock on it. I asked what was in it, the guy had no clue. I asked how much, re told me $15. I hagled him down to $11. I got it home and it was full, FULL of tools. Most of them were Craftsman and many were still in the packaging, never opened.

I am telling you, it is worth driving to these sales.

 

[Cleck]

Got into prepping by way of my other hobby, camping. Been camping with @NirvanaFan since we were kids, so I've been around it a long time. Growing up in the woods got me into the mindset also, of things that I need to know how to do. Living in a house with 3 women, I have to be able to do these things, at least for now. My daughter loved sleeping in the tent w/ me when we tried it over the summer, so I'd like to get her into that more and more.

Like others have said, it was seeing things around me and knowing that it could all go to shit in a minute. It's on its way, just no idea when or how bad. I've been gathering small canned goods for a while now, along with gathering supplies for camping and buying one extra when I do go out.

I took a CERT class last fall that was really helpful. Helped me get the ball on getting bags in the cars, ready to go with medical supplies, food, and basic things needed in an emergency.

In the meantime, I like reading "survival" mags and the like, they always give me a good tip here and there, it's nice to read them and have an extra idea if I ever need it.

 

[NirvanaFan]

I grew up out in the middle of nowhere. Well, as middle of nowhere as you can get in the Finger Lakes area. It was 10 or 15 minutes to everything. The "town" I grew up in still doesn't even have a stop light. It was a big deal when it got a gas station back in the early 2000s. You didn't just "run to the store" to pick something up for dinner. You planned the weeks worth of meals. My mothers side of the family all live out there near each other, so being prepared was a normal thing. Hunting, gardening, etc was what everyone did. My family had been farming the area I grew up in for generations. Hops were the big crop before prohibition.

We lost power for about a week during the '93 ice storm. It barely phased us. We had plenty of food and water. My parents still heat the house with a wood stove. We had plenty of batteries and propane for flashlights and lanterns. My aunt and uncle stayed with us for a few days because they had no heat.

 

[Cleck]

Yeah, it's a reason why I wanna get that coal burner from my step-dad, we could definitely use it.

I'm either gonna start buying bottled water, or get some sort of rainwater collection started. I'm not sure what is best. That, and a generator one of these days. Nothing crazy, but the prices are so reasonable, I should at least have one to run the fridge. I've got gas utilities and a fireplace. We could get by if we had to.