# How much is too much?.



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Many seem to be confuse with the more you have the better you will be mentality, many like to brag or show their stuff as a symbol of power or supremacy as a way to say that I will make it and you won`t ego trip but many forget that it only takes a small event to wipe away everything that you own or the fact that the weapon is only as good as the shooter not all those gadgets added to it to make it look like a stars war tinker toy, all applies the same and many eat more with their eyes than with their mouth. The question is not why do we prepare? As much as is there a limit to those preparations? Many who perish in these last events did so during the event, flood, fire, water surge; not because lack of food or water, the community was up in arms helping each other, 24-72 hours later Government assistance was active , yes is better to be prepared than not but again, how much is too much?,. The mentality of many is to have a bunker full of stuff, to hide and live forever in the coming doom world ,it happens not to be a normal way of thinking in my book, sharing that found can of coffee or meat in the rubble with others is a much better way to start a survival situation than hiding like a rat with all her cheese, in the past events here and in my youths I have found that helping and sharing has made me a better person, I have sleep better and more secured knowing that my neighbors are part of a big family, not unknowns trying to steal from me or each others, we have all share that can of coffee and our bellies are equally full. Winter is coming to many up north a readiness mentality has to kick in and base in your last winter’s you and family most act accordingly ,going over board will only add stress and anger to the family and by having what you need will make it a better and warmer winter. My humble opinion.


----------



## Cabowabo (Nov 6, 2012)

I've noticed the same thing on a certain TV show. It seems like most people have a massive amount of money, and very little sense. They spend so much money in the words of one "accumulating the newest and greatest, Guns, Ammo, and MRE meals". But can they clear a house, plant a garden, tend livestock, mend fences? Maybe the key to survival is to get people to gather around you, offer services that make you a key member of the society instead of a tempting target. For instance I would personally come to the aid of someone much faster that healed my kid (if I had one) then someone who hid in a bunker like a little girl. Besides the key about a collapse (if it is economical) or anything even minor like a fire, or a flood. Is the help you can offer other people because they will remember that bob down the street put a cast on their kids arm. Or helped fix the roof etc.


----------



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Your best resource is what is between your ears. Everything else is just a bonus.


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

TheLazyL said:


> Your best resource is what is between your ears. Everything else is just a bonus.


Very well said.


----------



## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

While not disagreeing, since you don't know the scenario that will unfold, and you may wind up with more people, a longer shelter stay, or some other variable going contrary to plan, there is a saying that I think applies here:

If some is good, and more is better, then to much is just enough.


----------



## FatTire (Mar 20, 2012)

I dont know that theres 'too much' prepared supplies. A problem arises when you put too many resources into one thing, to the detriment of another. If you have a half million dollars worth of guns and ammo, but your water supply consists of a few 2 litres, thats a problem. 

Everyone is going to have particular things, and amounts of those things, that make them feel secure and prepared. Some people are fine with three days worth of food and water, others want three years worth, personally i wont feel adequately prepared until our self sufficient homestead is up and running. My SO and I want to disconnect as much as possible from the current system.

So i guess to answer OP question, its too much when it detracts from something else, or doesnt allow you to be happy in life.

Oh and, as stated above, skill sets are more important than stuff!


----------



## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

The point is simply that it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.


----------



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Cabowabo said:


> I've noticed the same thing on a certain TV show. It seems like most people have a massive amount of money, and very little sense. They spend so much money in the words of one "accumulating the newest and greatest, Guns, Ammo, and MRE meals". But can they clear a house, plant a garden, tend livestock, mend fences? Maybe the key to survival is to get people to gather around you, offer services that make you a key member of the society instead of a tempting target. For instance I would personally come to the aid of someone much faster that healed my kid (if I had one) then someone who hid in a bunker like a little girl. Besides the key about a collapse (if it is economical) or anything even minor like a fire, or a flood. Is the help you can offer other people because they will remember that bob down the street put a cast on their kids arm. Or helped fix the roof etc.


You are so right, wasted of money and brain power, both and the sad part is that many loose everything in the long run, and even your closest friends don`t want nothing to do with you.


----------



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

TheLazyL said:


> Your best resource is what is between your ears. Everything else is just a bonus.


Grandpa use to say that paper was only good for one thing, but I like your post.


----------



## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

You bring up a good point, but, just remember what this site is originally all about ..


homesteading
family
gardening
animal husbandry
cooking
canning
preserving
dehydrating
sewing
home-schooling
teaching the young
sharing knowledge with peers
traditional skill-sets

carpentry

hunting and birding
trapping
bow-n-arrow
rifle
shotgun
skinning
tanning

fishing
 and then finally - _surviving_

The very last thing on the list is being in survival mode. Before we get to that point, there are many steps that we should all be taking. Helping others as we can may help us survive, but, it may also take away our chance to survive. It is a very thin line that we need to tread there ...

Oh ya ... take a peak at the line in my signature ...

*Ready or not, trouble comes. Being prepared for it and having the right attitude to deal with the issues is what makes us prepared. Having stuff is just a bonus!*


----------



## txcatlady (Sep 26, 2013)

NaeKid, 
I so agree with you. The list was the reason I joined PS. Thanks to the wise ones who got it going. It was the way I was raised and the way I raised my children. Thanks to all of you. I skip the sites that do not interest me and subscribe to the ones that do. I try to keep my nose clean and KISS (keep it simple stupid!). Have a blessed week!


----------



## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, 
conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, 
comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, 
analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, 
fight efficiently and die gallantly. 
Specialization is for insects."
-- Robert A. Heinlein

I like that quote and alot of other stuff from heinlein. 

In most limited duration circumstances I agree you go out you help all that you can instead of hording but id a real and total apocalypse type scenario offering help will just put you in the same boat and very very fast if it doesn't just get you dead. I'm not an advocate of hide and watch either I think any plan should plan to ASAP start a community but the community itself will have to limit its growth to match the ability to produce or limit it's size so that it can offer limited assistance outside of itself or some variation You can't run right back to the Govt way of thinking and start handing out more than you make or Everyone loses. My plans always plan to hunker down till the worst blows over whether its a storm or a teotwawki then immediately get out and start helping what I can to build a comunity of survivors and get things going. First survive, then help, then repeat everyday you gotta survive then you help etc etc. More you have the more you can afford to help or the longer you can hunker if things take a while to stabilize. MOre gives you more options. yup I just rambled sorry  wonder how many have me on ignore because of my rambling posts  can't blame em


----------



## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

Cabowabo said:


> I've noticed the same thing on a certain TV show. It seems like most people have a massive amount of money, and very little sense. They spend so much money in the words of one "accumulating the newest and greatest, Guns, Ammo, and MRE meals". But can they clear a house, plant a garden, tend livestock, mend fences? Maybe the key to survival is to get people to gather around you, offer services that make you a key member of the society instead of a tempting target. For instance I would personally come to the aid of someone much faster that healed my kid (if I had one) then someone who hid in a bunker like a little girl. Besides the key about a collapse (if it is economical) or anything even minor like a fire, or a flood. Is the help you can offer other people because they will remember that bob down the street put a cast on their kids arm. Or helped fix the roof etc.


Money is an advantage because it will allow you to build supplies faster than the person who has less money. Other than that it is only valuable as long as other people think it has value.

No one can know everything, so it is best to know what you can and know others who know different and varied skills.


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

readytogo said:


> Many seem to be confuse with the more you have the better you will be mentality, many like to brag or show their stuff as a symbol of power or supremacy as a way to say that I will make it and you won`t ego trip but many forget that it only takes a small event to wipe away everything that you own or the fact that the weapon is only as good as the shooter not all those gadgets added to it to make it look like a stars war tinker toy, all applies the same and many eat more with their eyes than with their mouth. The question is not why do we prepare? As much as is there a limit to those preparations? Many who perish in these last events did so during the event, flood, fire, water surge; not because lack of food or water, the community was up in arms helping each other, 24-72 hours later Government assistance was active , yes is better to be prepared than not but again, how much is too much?,. The mentality of many is to have a bunker full of stuff, to hide and live forever in the coming doom world ,it happens not to be a normal way of thinking in my book, sharing that found can of coffee or meat in the rubble with others is a much better way to start a survival situation than hiding like a rat with all her cheese, in the past events here and in my youths I have found that helping and sharing has made me a better person, I have sleep better and more secured knowing that my neighbors are part of a big family, not unknowns trying to steal from me or each others, we have all share that can of coffee and our bellies are equally full. Winter is coming to many up north a readiness mentality has to kick in and base in your last winter's you and family most act accordingly ,going over board will only add stress and anger to the family and by having what you need will make it a better and warmer winter. My humble opinion.


If we're talking about a complete SHTF scenario then it's insane to share your food with your neighbors. We don't have a farm. We don't have a well. We live in town. We have a year's supply of food and water for just four adults. We could share it with 44 additional adults and have only a month's worth of food for ourselves. That doesn't make sense. Sure, it would feel better to share with others but during a famine it's a death sentence for you and your family.

We don't have a well so we're storing water. That stored water takes up a lot of room in our basement. If we had a well with a hand pump I'd consider increasing our stored food to two years. With only a year's supply of food and water I'm betting the lives of me and my family that that's all the food we'll need before things go back to normal.

Let's face it: If we're prepping for a complete economic collapse then we'll have to live with the knowledge that almost everyone we know and care about will die. We can't save all our friends, neighbors, family, coworkers, and people we know from church. We have about 50 relatives alone if we count just siblings, their children, grandchildren and everyone's spouses.


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

BillS said:


> That stored water takes up a lot of room in our basement.


You are wasting your space. 
You need a rainwater harvesting system and a good filtration system (slow sand, followed by a "whole house" cotton filter, then Berkey filter?) instead.

The area of Wisconsin where you live has plenty of clean water, and lots of GOOD people. You should feel pretty safe in your part of the country. Water should not be your biggest concern.


----------



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

readytogo said:


> Many seem to be confuse with the more you have the better you will be mentality, many like to brag or show their stuff as a symbol of power or supremacy as a way to say that I will make it and you won`t ego trip but many forget that it only takes a small event to wipe away everything that you own. The question is not why do we prepare? As much as is there a limit to those preparations? Many who perish in these last events did so during the event, flood, fire, water surge; not because lack of food or water, the community was up in arms helping each other, 24-72 hours later Government assistance was active , yes is better to be prepared than not but again, how much is too much?,. The mentality of many is to have a bunker full of stuff, to hide and live forever in the coming doom world .


Different people have different ideas of the way things will be post SHTF, different ideas of what is coming, & different situations. At any rate, my sitting around thinking about what someone else is doing or not doing is a waste of time & more often comes from someone who is envious of someone else's stuff or insecure in the choices they've made for themselves. I can neither control it nor do I have to reap the consequences of it. Yes, it's true there needs to be a balance between skills & physical preps. You rant about those who, in your opinion, have too much stuff & not enough skills but say nothing about the potential to rely too heavily on skills and not have enough put back. What if the SHTF scenario leaves you with two broken legs, lots of head knowledge, but little in the way of physical preps? How's that gonna work out?


----------



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

BillS said:


> If we're talking about a complete SHTF scenario then it's insane to share your food with your neighbors. We don't have a farm. We don't have a well. We live in town. We have a year's supply of food and water for just four adults. We could share it with 44 additional adults and have only a month's worth of food for ourselves. That doesn't make sense. Sure, it would feel better to share with others but during a famine it's a death sentence for you and your family.
> 
> We don't have a well so we're storing water. That stored water takes up a lot of room in our basement. If we had a well with a hand pump I'd consider increasing our stored food to two years. With only a year's supply of food and water I'm betting the lives of me and my family that that's all the food we'll need before things go back to normal.
> 
> Let's face it: If we're prepping for a complete economic collapse then we'll have to live with the knowledge that almost everyone we know and care about will die. We can't save all our friends, neighbors, family, coworkers, and people we know from church. We have about 50 relatives alone if we count just siblings, their children, grandchildren and everyone's spouses.


I do see your point and sharing your survival preps with others is not easy but what I`m talking about now and always is not a doom scenario/end of the world type of thing, I never think about things like that, I'm talking about a mother nature event,hurricaine ,snow storm ,loss of power ,something that eventually goes away not an end of life movie ,making some coffee and fried doughnuts is not going to break my bank nor drain my supplies ,eventually is going to make 
my community stronger and neighbors more neighborly ,I have witness that myself.


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

LincTex said:


> You are wasting your space.
> You need a rainwater harvesting system and a good filtration system (slow sand, followed by a "whole house" cotton filter, then Berkey filter?) instead.
> 
> The area of Wisconsin where you live has plenty of clean water, and lots of GOOD people. You should feel pretty safe in your part of the country. Water should not be your biggest concern.


No, there's isn't plenty of clean water where I live. I'm not drinking water out of Lake Winnebago or the Fox River or the other bodies of water that flow into it, boiled or not. I'm also not walking or bike riding 5 miles away with a 5 gallon bucket to get water after the grid goes down. It'll be way too dangerous to do that.

Yes, a rainfall harvesting system would be nice but you'd still need a lot of space to hold the surplus water. I'd want to have a huge surplus of water going into our 4 month winters. Not only that but I'm not risking my life that we won't have a prolonged drought here. Also, I doubt that the subdivision I live in would let me put one in.


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

readytogo said:


> I do see your point and sharing your survival preps with others is not easy but what I`m talking about now and always is not a doom scenario/end of the world type of thing, I never think about things like that, I'm talking about a mother nature event,hurricaine ,snow storm ,loss of power ,something that eventually goes away not an end of life movie ,making some coffee and fried doughnuts is not going to break my bank nor drain my supplies ,eventually is going to make
> my community stronger and neighbors more neighborly ,I have witness that myself.


You'd still be alerting everyone that you're prepared.


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

BillS said:


> I'm not drinking water out of Lake Winnebago.


I would. That water looks like its distilled compared to what we swim in here in Texas!



BillS said:


> Yes, a rainfall harvesting system would be nice but you'd still need a lot of space to hold the surplus water.


Put vertical tanks in your basement. You can fit a LOT more water in one big tank than layers of jugs and plywood.



BillS said:


> but I'm not risking my life.


I think you may perceive a danger that is greater than it truly is (even in the future). You need to work on building relationships with your neighbors and a lot of your problems will go away. Try very hard to avoid the idea that someone is going to kill a dude hauling water on a bicycle.

....and go find out who has a well nearby - and make friends with them!!!


----------



## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

readytogo said:


> I do see your point and sharing your survival preps with others is not easy but what I`m talking about now and always is not a doom scenario/end of the world type of thing, I never think about things like that, I'm talking about a mother nature event,hurricaine ,snow storm ,loss of power ,something that eventually goes away not an end of life movie ,making some coffee and fried doughnuts is not going to break my bank nor drain my supplies ,eventually is going to make
> my community stronger and neighbors more neighborly ,I have witness that myself.


You bring up a good point. There are many events which are clear from the outset that they are temporary and/or limited in the area they affect. The kind of thing that affects the entire nation or world and lasts for years is another matter.

Issues like how much supply, skill sets required, OPSEC all change depending on which you are discussing.

I'd be quite willing to help my friends and neighbors during a hurricane, but very few people know that I prep for anything beyond that.


----------



## laxsick (Oct 26, 2013)

readytogo said:


> Many seem to be confuse with the more you have the better you will be mentality, many like to brag or show their stuff as a symbol of power or supremacy as a way to say that I will make it and you won`t ego trip but many forget that it only takes a small event to wipe away everything that you own or the fact that the weapon is only as good as the shooter not all those gadgets added to it to make it look like a stars war tinker toy, all applies the same and many eat more with their eyes than with their mouth. The question is not why do we prepare? As much as is there a limit to those preparations? Many who perish in these last events did so during the event, flood, fire, water surge; not because lack of food or water, the community was up in arms helping each other, 24-72 hours later Government assistance was active , yes is better to be prepared than not but again, how much is too much?,. The mentality of many is to have a bunker full of stuff, to hide and live forever in the coming doom world ,it happens not to be a normal way of thinking in my book, sharing that found can of coffee or meat in the rubble with others is a much better way to start a survival situation than hiding like a rat with all her cheese, in the past events here and in my youths I have found that helping and sharing has made me a better person, I have sleep better and more secured knowing that my neighbors are part of a big family, not unknowns trying to steal from me or each others, we have all share that can of coffee and our bellies are equally full. Winter is coming to many up north a readiness mentality has to kick in and base in your last winter's you and family most act accordingly ,going over board will only add stress and anger to the family and by having what you need will make it a better and warmer winter. My humble opinion.


:thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown:


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

laxsick said:


> :thumbdown::thumbdown::thumbdown:


Ignore the flaming asshat named laxsick. He needs to kill himself like he keeps telling us to do.


----------



## soldier506 (May 24, 2013)

There is way more to prepping than guns and ammo. 
A Person needs skills for a long term situation along with proper resources.


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

soldier506 said:


> There is way more to prepping than guns and ammo.
> A Person needs skills for a long term situation along with proper resources.


True.

A lot of us spend any free time we can to gaining that skill base.


----------

