Many people become interested in the Prepping Lifestyle when there are events or natural disasters that make them question the stability of the systems around them. In the recent past you might have experienced situations such as Natural Disasters, Domestic Terrorism, Food Shortages or many other things that are reported in the News. The first thing to remember is that the News lives for these events and they will push and foster ideas that could scare you in an improper way. This is how they get paid and anyone that lives in a snow climate area understands this because for days before and during a snow storm that might be relatively small the reports tend
to get out of hand. On the other hand there are situations that are real and we do experience problems where preparing for them would have been a really good idea.
The first thing I want to talk about is the difference of Prepping, Homesteading and Normal Home Ownership. Lets take them in reverse order.
Home ownership means that you have many more responsibilities than someone that might rent an apartment or even a home. If something goes wrong then it is up to you to fix it or for you to find someone that can fix it. Not everyone is handy around the home but there are things that we all need to know how to do. There are also things that we can apply to our lives from the Prepper community that will make life easier and cheaper. Most people belong to some type of Membership Club for shopping and buying in bulk whether its 25lbs of flour for $8.50 or buying Pasta when it goes on sale at the regular supermarket can save us a good percentage of our food costs. Additionally we need to take care of things around our house or have hobbies so its not so out of the ordinary for someone to have a Cha
insaw that could trim a large tree from a storm or a generator that we might take camping or bring to a vacation spot. What about that BBQ you have for summer cookouts? It can also be used for cooking when the power goes out. Many other regular things that we do can be applied to Prepping if we understand how to use them.
Homesteading is another level above basic home ownership. Homesteading is where the home owner makes use of their land and home to be self supportive. You might have chicken or other animals and you will definitely have a garden that is planted to speci
fically address long term food needs. In addition to a Generator you most likely have Solar or have considered it as regular source of power. You most likely are handy and you have taught yourself or maybe growing up your parents taught you how to repair things around your home without the need to call someone when something breaks. Homesteading might be part of a farming life but farming is normally another step where you are not only taking care of yourself but you are using your land for an income that can also provide food or other things for your community.
Prepping is something that anyone can do. Whether you live in an apartment in the city or on a 800 acre farm the decision to prep is a choice or part of your life if you want it to be. When many people are first introduced to prepping they might say this is something completely out of range of my life and other people might say I have been doing many of these things since I was a kid and this is just how we lived.
What is Prepping?
I think that is the biggest question that most people can’t really tell you but the name gives away the answer. Prepping is simply preparing yourself for something that has a possibility of effecting your life negatively.
If you live in an area that is prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes on the east coast or earthquakes on the west coast or tornadoes and snow and everything else that can be a serious problem then it really is in your best interest to prepare for these events.
If you live in South Carolina you might have experienced weeks without power or running water and in some instances you might decide that leaving the area is your best bet. Well having a bug out plan during such situations is really important because once there are forced evacuations the highways will get clogged and you have no way to get to safety. This would be part of prepping.
If you can’t get out do you have food for a few days. Every weather person is going to tell you that you should always have food for at least 3 days and most of us do. Most of us have food that can last much longer but how do we cook it and does it need to be refrigerated. The first thing you might end up doing after an event hits is grabbing the ice cream out of the freezer and having a BBQ to use up those burgers or chicken before they go bad. On the other hand if you have a generator you could probably power your fridge for a few days or with solar if it hasn’t been damaged by the storm you might be able to run indefinitely. Then you can store canned goods that don’t need to be refrigerated. You don’t necessarily need expensive MREs that last 10 years you can buy cans of Tuna and Vegetables and you can buy rice or mashed potato flakes. If you stock your pantry during sales you might have enough food to last a few weeks without even thinking about going to the store and in most cases a couple weeks is more than enough time to implement a backup plan or receive help from local fire Depts or FEMA or electric work crews that restore service in your area.
What Are Some Things You Can Do To Prepare For Events?
The planning that you need to make will depend on many things such as the location that you live and work in, what events you can expect in your area and what your abilities are.
If the most you can do is keep your cellphone charged and call 911 well that is all you can do but the fact that you most likely won’t be able to rely on immediate help is why you plan to help yourself.
You should have a Bug Out and a Bug In plan. Events can be very different so you have to plan for both situations where you might be better off staying where you are or getting out as fast as you can. Do you know the emergency routes that local officials have set up? If you are in the city do you have backup transportation plans?
Where will you go if you have to leave your home? This is a very important question to answer. If you are in a natural disaster then it is likely that hotels will be filled for hundreds of miles. If you do have transportation do you have relatives or friends that live outside of the area that you can stay with?
Food Needs are very important especially water. If your water goes out you can quickly turn off your street valve and cut your home off from the water system. This means that the water in your 80 gallon water heater is available for drinking. Food shopping has been talked about before but just something as simple as planning your pantry in case the power goes out for a few days will give you a lot of freedom. Pasta, Sauce, Canned Meats, Fish, Vegetables and Fruit can all be stored for 1 to 2 years for their normal expiration date. The fact is you probably won’t have 1 to 2 years worth of food stored but you can have a couple weeks stored without any change to your life.
Medicine Storage is a very important thing for many families. If you or a family member is on prescriptions then it could be some time before they can get access to a new supply. Mail Order pharmacies will normally send you a 3 month supply of your prescription if your doctor orders it. If you have special needs such as refrigeration then you will need to ask your doctor if there alternatives or you will need to make sure your prescriptions are safe. For other medical needs it is important to keep a full line of over the counter products such as pain killers, antiseptic and bandages in a variety of sizes. There are products that you might not normally use such as an Eye Wash or medication for other basic needs should be stockpiled. My suggestion is if you see it at your local dollar store and you don’t have it then pick some up.
Power Backup is important to fulfill your needs. If you are on the move then a power backup for your cellphone is going to be a primary need. If you have a vehicle you should keep an extra charger in it. Generators and Solar are an option if you are staying in place. Evaluate how much power and for how long you expect to need it.
Self Defense is something that we aren’t going to cover very much here but it is an important consideration under a variety of situations. Make sure that you understand the laws in your area and follow them.
Final Note
There are many things that you can do or may already be doing that can help in an event.
The Types of events that you should plan for will depend on your area and ability. The best thing to do is to protect yourself before something happens. If you live near the beach and you have hurricanes in the area you might want to have your home assessed for survive-ability or you might even want to consider moving to a safer location and that could mean 2 or 20 or 200 miles away.
Think of all of the important things in your life that you would need to restore if they were ruined or lost.
Also think about what you would need to survive the next 12 to 24 hours.
If you can plan for those things then you are ahead of most people.