So I've gotten a couple of tweets asking me what exactly prepping is, and I'd love to try and explain it the best I can. Prepping (verb) is the act of a group or individual preparing themselves and loved ones for any potential threat to life as we know it. There are a few basic things that one would need to know when becoming a prepper, and preparing their family for any potential threats that could come their way, and surviving any ordeals you may face. First, the basics:
Food
Shelter
Water
These three are probably the absolutely most important things to start off with when considering your survival needs. Why are these important? Well lets go over each one:
Food - Right now, get up and go look in your kitchen (if your home of course) and count the number of days you could survive off of just the food you have at this moment. You probably counted the food in your fridge too huh? Don't. The reason being is that in most teotwawki (the end of the world as we know it) situations, the electric grid is more than likely to be gone, and any food you have in your fridge or freezer will go to waste within a matter of hours. So now just look at the non-perishable items that you have. Most Americans will find themselves with less than THREE days worth of food.. So now consider this, if your like most other Americans, your first thought is to panic and run to the store and try to stock up. Well guess what, that's what all your neighbors are doing too. So now you have to fight to get whatever left is remaining in the stores closest to you. Once the grocery stores are out, then what? In most teotwawki situations, transportation and freeways will become impassible or impossible, meaning that the food that is delivered to grocery stores by big trucks will no longer be on its way. So with no way to replenish the stores, what do you do? That is what prepping is all about, preparing your family with either the ability to grow and produce your own food, or having enough food to last you until proper order can be restored. (Best is to try and have at least 72hrs worth of food for if you need to leave (bug-out-bag), and 90days worth of food in your house for storage.)
Shelter - For obvious reasons, this is an important factor to consider first when beginning to prep. Is your shelter reliable for protection against raids? Natural disasters? If you answered no to either of those two questions, then your next step would be to consider how to prepare your home or bug out locations for any type of situation. Many people who live in places where natural disasters such as tornados, hurricanes and earthquakes already have plans in place to protect their shelters. But if you aren't already prepared, knowing your location (geographical region), what types of dangers you might be exposed to, and how to properly secure and defend it is going to be important. Having wood to board up doors and windows, basement to seek deeper shelter, and weapons to defend your location is all important things to consider.
Water - One of the most important keys to survival, of any living creature on this planet, is water. In most teotwawki scenarios, water will be obtainable for only a short period of time. With no electricity, how will water be pumped to your house? Unless you have a well, your out of luck. One of the very first things to do in a emergency disaster situation, is to run to your bathroom and fill up your tub as quickly as you can. Having extra water on hand will be important, not just for drinking, but for cooking as well. It would be a good idea to have at least 3 months worth of water on hand at all times.
Remember, that food and water have a shelf life, and can expire over time. Its important to think ahead and get food that will stay fresh and eatable for up to at least 5 years or longer. MRE's have shelf lives of up to 25 years! These three topics can be discussed further, and I would like to hear what you think about what was just said here. Please post your comments and let me know what you think :) Ask questions too, a lot of preppers read this site and love to give out information that will help you to protect your family.
I have thought of the question, "what is a prepper." And for me, the answer is my grandfather and grandmother. They were the generation that grew gardens, canned, and were resilient. It was just a way of life. That is where I want to head towards in my prepping path. To be the person who can stand on his own two feet (with a little help from my friends). Thanks for the post and knowledge!
ReplyDeleteVery cool perspective, ya know for a lot of people prepping isn't prepping its just a way of life. Thanks for the comment. :)
DeleteI think a prepper is someone who is able to be as self-sufficient as possible in a crisis. In my own personal experience its the local incidents that can take you by surprise. The city we live in was flooded back in 2005. Power went out at 5.30a.m. by 11 am all the major supermarkets were closed, cash machines down, fuel unavailable. Police were in the worst hit areas, looting began as soon as night fell. All our routes out of the city were inaccessible due to flood water. There were rumours that a group of men were driving round our housing estate seeing what they could take and here in the UK we're not allowed to defend ourselves. It only took 24hrs for things to completely change.
ReplyDeleteLisa, really appreciate the comment thank you. Wow, ya that's exactly the reason we are all here and that's to prepare ourselves to be able to survive on our own without the dependence of others. This ability will protect ourselves and save our families. I bet that situation was intense, is that what started your prepping or were you already prepared when that went down?
ReplyDeleteI began to think about prepping following 9/11 after browsing the web I came across info provided by FEMA which was great because we dont have anything like that. Then I got complacent and thought well we live in a small town where nothing ever happens. Seeing my hometown deluged with water completely changed that. Even though the water receded in a couple of days and electricity was restored within a week the psychological effects were much longer lasting. Its amazing the damage water can cause. The one thing I was really glad of was my battery operated radio. We had no internet, no mobile phone service,no TV so the radio was our lifeline. We had another situation recently caused by roadworks and the mains water was hit. Bottled water flew off the shelves in no time so the local authority positioned water containers at the end of every street which were emptied fairly quickly thankfully I had water already stored at home. The water was back on after a couple of days but I did notice how people's behaviour can change when things that theyre used to having are in short supply. God help us if we get a solar superstorm.
ReplyDeleteI think 9/11 brought realization to a lot of people that anything can happen at anytime, and even though we may feel safe, its important to be prepared for anything that can happen at anytime. That is really something though that you were already prepared and didn't have to worry or feel afraid for your family like other people might have been. With your skills at prepping, you were able to keep your family safe and comfortable even in the most stressful of times. Very good inspiring story. :)
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Nice, simple introduction. I'd call it more of a "how to" than a "what is", but it is good information none the less.
ReplyDelete