# How did you become a prepper?



## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

I ask this because I am trying to figure out how to 'reach' people in my life. In general our culture is not geared towards prepping, so how is it that everyone on this forum came to that way of life? I figure maybe if others share how they came to be preppers, there will be a kernel of an idea that will help me reach folks in my life - most notably my DH.

For myself, it started when I'd just moved to Colorado and overheard some comment on the news about getting a 'car kit' together with items to survive getting stranded in a snowstorm on a mountain pass. I put a car kit together, and within a couple of years gave everyone in my family car kits for Christmas. That was the beginning of them thinking I was nuts...

Then more recently - we went without power for a week due to a wind storm, and six months later my DH lost his job and we lived off the bulk food stored in the house (we bought in bulk to save money, not to prep). Then, when we moved into our new home, I've been literally compelled to prep. I didn't just want fruit trees, I HAD to have them, so that we could can/dry food to put away. I planted English walnut trees so that we would have a source of protein in a pinch (when they start producing in about 4 more years) - my DH doesn't understand why I think that way. In the past six months I've learned how to can and dry food, I've started learning about water collection...

DH is into the self-sufficiency concept - and he's all about saving $ so anything we can learn to do ourselves is great. But when $ is so tight, it's hard for him to understand why I want to build up an even bigger food supply or why I'd want to spend money on #10 cans of freeze-dried food. he thinks I've gone over the top. And I understand that, I really do - because his environment doesn't tell him we need to prepare. We share the same environment/culture, yet I feel the need to prep literally imprinted on my heart. I feel driven. But I can't make him 'feel' that same drive - I have to figure out an experiential way to reach him.

So how did you all come to be preppers? And is there anyone else out there that 'converted' a spouse to prepping?


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## Moose33 (Jan 1, 2011)

Hi Goshengirl,
I grew up on or near farms and ranches. One learns quickly, with once a month trips to town, to be self sufficient or go without. My grandmother had a garden and raised eight kids through the depression by canning and canning and canning. I'll bet she had a quarter mile of shelving in the basement loaded with everything from her garden. 

In high school I lived on a working cattle ranch in eastern Colorado. We also raised a couple of pigs, sheep, chickens and had milk cows. All provided food in one way or another. Once or twice a year we'd take a steer to the butcher and come back with a freezer full of meat. My ex's mother stored at least a years worth of canned food in her basement too. For many years it was just how I lived. It wasn't prepping it was just how it was done. I didn't know any different. 

I fell away from that life and became a "townie" for too many years. Last year I wondered what the heck happened. My daddy used to tell me that the only person that's going to take care of you is you. Recently I've spent more time focused on what I learned as a kid and how I can use it now. I even went so far as to make a list of the things I've done in my life. Silly, maybe, but its a reminder, you did it once, you can do it again. Ok, so I may not need to back loaded cattle trailers down chutes all day but I might have to drive 10 miles home in a nasty snow storm. If I've done one surely I can do the other. I figured out that my daddy taught me a LOT and I'm not going to waste his investment in me. I'm doing what I can for myself and what I can't do I'll figure out eventually.

Take it easy,
Moose


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## BadgeBunny (Nov 2, 2010)

My spouse actually converted me. He and I met in December 1999. Had probably known each other casually all of three weeks when Y2K came along. He calls me on New Years Eve and asks me if I am ready for Y2K. I'm told him no ... I needed some mascara and beer (for a New Years Eve party I was going to). He started laughing, then he stopped and in a deadly quiet voice said "No I'm serious ... are you ready for Y2K?" :scratch

Now I knew his department had gone to 12 on, 12 off, all leave cancelled, no days' off but personally I thought they were just being JBTs ... 

At the grocery store (I went to get mascara and beer, mind you) there were people running around all over the place buying everything. I remember thinking to myself "Good Lord, all these folks buying frozen TV Dinners are gonna be pissed if Y2K actually happens and the power goes out cause they won't be able to keep it frozen and they won't be able to cook it." 

Well, we all know what happened ... nothing ... so the old JBT and I continue on and find ourselves married some time later.  He is still trying to extoll the virtues of "being prepared" ... I remind him every single time he brings it up 1. that I have lived 40 some-odd years and never been without power more than overnight; and 2. remember Y2K??  

Thankfully, he does not give in. He buys extra stuff, trades a rifle for a generator and listens to me complain about all the "stuff we don't need taking up space in the garage".

In 2007 we had an ice storm here that was a doozy. We were an entire WEEK without power. :gaah: There were no restaurants to eat out or hotels to stay at because they were all without power too ... never mind that I had pets I wouldn't leave anyway. If he hadn't put back what he did (gasoline, generator, food that didn't have to be cooked to be eaten, etc.) we would have been a lot more miserable than we were.

:surrender: And now ... here we are ... 3 years later ... He is still doing his JBT thing but now my "job" is to take care of all the prepping here. If it needs to be learned I am the one who learns it ... If it needs to be put back, I am the one who puts it back.

We have gone from being at 2-income, consumer-driven couple who never had time for anything except to write the check for someone else to do it to a 1-income couple who is happier, more self-sufficient and much more satisified overall than we ever were before. 

I have some friends who say it is all my kooky JBT's fault ... others say it is a phase ... others say I have lost my mind completely ... I dunno ... as long as I can take care of me and mine I figure they can say what they want.  (And I am not nearly as hard-core as some of you folks!! -- but I'm getting there! LOL)


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## BizzyB (Dec 10, 2010)

Hiya Goshengirl -- for me it's learned/cultural. I was raised in the west where there is, in my opinion, a certain level of acceptance it. Everyone had a blanket in the car in the winter, and everyone kept some water in the car in the summer. This was the era before cell phones, so if you broke down somewhere on those miles and miles of miles and miles, you were up a creek if you weren't prepared. My parents were part of the post-Hippie back-to-the-earth movement so we had a small hobby farm with a garden, chickens, goats and rabbits. They built a cellar and kept it full.

Since moving to the east coast, I've learned to smile and say, "It's a Western thing" whenever someone opens my pantry and nearly faints at the sight of it -- packed full of cans and boxes and bags. "Don't worry! It's a Western thing that comes from living almost 30 miles away from the nearest grocery store. If you can't get to the store that often, then you have to stock up!" There is much more to it than that, of course, but it seems to mollify them while saving my reputation as a sane, intelligent person. 

So while I've always kept a couple months' worth on hand (lifelong habit), I'm making the concerted effort to expand that to a year and expand it to more people. Why? I'm not a news junkie any more (too much stress) so I don't think it was the result of inflation warnings accumulating in my subconscious. Therefore, l call it a prompting. I woke up early on a Saturday morning last fall to an urgent, compelling, and crystal clear thought in my mind: "get ready". It has only been since I started tracking the news once again that I see what I'm getting ready for. Inflation. Social unrest. Tough times. My fervent prayer is that it doesn't progress to flying excrement. (I still have a lot of work to do to handle that one.....)


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

With both my parents working so much, I spent a LOT of time with my grandparents who themselves had lived through the depression in a rural area, thereby giving a me more than a fair modicum of "Missurra Mule Contrariness" I never thought of the stuff we did as 'prepping', until a member of another forum told me "you're a prepper! you might like *this* site (prep society)!"; but yeah, most of the things we do are many times are just a way to save $$$. I have no idea how most people get by while paying other people (many times, me) to do even the most simple of things... it is just how we live. With the populist onus against 'hoarding' currently; I think that many cannot draw the distinction about preparedness and mental illness... and I think this is *intentional*, I think that TPTB are conditioning the sheeple to accept an unprecedented age of dependence from 'cradle to grave'   . So maybe my incliniation towards prepping is just another manifestation of my contrariness. :dunno: :nuts: :sssh:


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

There is another thread somewhere that discusses this but I don't have time to look for it right now. If I think about it, I'll look tonight.

For us it was seeing the packaging of food shrinking and the price not. That was back in the winter of '07-'08. For whatever reason, walking around the store that day made me think of the hundreds of jars of produce that my grandmother canned from their huge garden. I started looking into canning and preserving food the same way she did which led me to consider expanding our little tomato garden. In my search for info on food storage and preservation, I came across forums such as this one and started reading. I also found SurvivalBlog.com and started reading that every day. A lot of folks find JWR a little too radical but I looked beyond all the gun talk and took in what I felt was pertinent articles. As I started reading the archives I realized that a lot of the things written back in '05 and '06 were beginning to transpire. Not everything, but enough to open my eyes to the potential problems that we were facing. All this combined led us to a less consumerism, more self sufficient way of looking at life.
So now we have a 10,000 sf garden, chickens, goats, canning supplies, food storage and of course the means to protect it all.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Perty much grew up doin this. Grandma an grandpa lived in Missouri an out in the woods. Ya better have everthin ya needed out there our ya did with out it. 

Learned how ta smoke meat on my own, from what I remembered granddad doin. Good way ta put aside some tastey food.

Learned some bout cannin, bakin an cookin from my grandma. My dad was a perty fair cook in his own rite.

Grew up on the edge a town, more in the country then in town, so the power ain't as reliable as it is everwhere, ya have a lantern, flashlight an candle ready cause ya never know when you'll be sittin in the dark. One a the reasons we have heatin options too. Furnace don't run with out power. Course now, there be things like generators an such, back in grandpa's day they weren't around. They didn't have electricity till in the 40's!

I guess fer us it was just a learned behaviour. To convert most folks gonna take a life changin event. Usually by the time that happens it gonna be to late.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

My first years(that I can remember)were in pretty remote ranch country, no grid power, gravel roads . sometimes 3or4 or more days 'til those roads got plowed out with a grader in winter, I learned young that nature is in charge and if you don't have the nessecities when a storm hits you do with out. in prep for Y2k we grew an acre of potatoes (that is a LOT of digging) thru most of them away,but was glad they were there.


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## BasecampUSA (Dec 26, 2010)

Laugh all you want, I'm used to it... -but I'm a pretty well known (and proven) psychic on the internet both here and in Europe. (Hey, "the proof is in the pudding" - it was all written in black and white way ahead of time)... Everything I predicted in 2005 on, has since happened to the economy and world events. My last big hit was the BP oil spill in May, which I predicted 6 mos. in advance at Tanksgiving 2009. Been like this since I was 4, and it always amazed my relatives and friends who use me as a kind of "barometer" of what's to come.

In 1973 and 1975, I had two major visions of the future and I dropped out of society back then, moved to Maine and bought a clearing wayyy deep in the woods because I knew that homesteading and self-sufficiency was the only way to survive what was ahead in the years to come.

I taught climbing, mountain rescue and wilderness survival for Outward Bound and Vision Quest back then in the early 70's, so I had the right mental attitude, -it was just a different application when I arrived in Maine. I spent the first summer in a big Sioux tipi living off the land here 100% and starting my underground solar house. ==> http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f43/maine-iac-4985/

Over that summer, I met my wife (who was the same "Preparedness' mindset) and we got married. She grew up a true country girl, tough as nails but tender and a hard worker like me. We built everything here geared toward homestead self-sufficiency, and I would travel occasionally as an industrial engineer to earn the extra cash we needed. She was a dental hygenist for years and kept all her cash in the bank, which we invested in silver just before it began to skyrocket in 2009 (due to another successful premonition).

- Basey


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

BasecampUSA said:


> Laugh all you want, I'm used to it... -but I'm a pretty well known (and proven) psychic on the internet both here and in Europe. (Hey, "the proof is in the pudding" - it was all written in black and white way ahead of time)... Everything I predicted in 2005 on, has since happened to the economy and world events. My last big hit was the BP oil spill in May, which I predicted 6 mos. in advance at Tanksgiving 2009. Been like this since I was 4, and it always amazed my relatives and friends who use me as a kind of "barometer" of what's to come.
> 
> In 1973 and 1975, I had two major visions of the future and I dropped out of society back then, moved to Maine and bought a clearing wayyy deep in the woods because I knew that homesteading and self-sufficiency was the only way to survive what was ahead in the years to come.
> 
> ...


I have to ask in all sincerity are you still getting accutate premonitions now, as in the last 6 or so months or does the timeline of things seem skewed??


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## BasecampUSA (Dec 26, 2010)

Tirediron said:


> I have to ask in all sincerity are you still getting accutate premonitions now, as in the last 6 or so months or does the timeline of things seem skewed??


I don't want to tick anyone off by going off-topic here, but there are 2 psychic researchers (Professors) in Europe and one in the US (Neurosurgeon/Psychiatrist) that have studied a group of "psychic" people I belong to.

They all say that timelines are the most difficult to hit. I agree, although I have had an 85% overall sucess rate, I have missed the dates over 50%, so I don't even give a timeline... just an approximation. The Eyjafjöll volcano in Iceland that shut Europe down last spring was predicted by me in Jan. 2008. The recent N. Korea attack I described in detail for mid-Dec. 2009, but I was exactly _one year late to the day_. The same thing happened to me back in Jr. High School (1961) when I predicted the Cuban Missle crisis one year before anyone even knew the Russians had brought missiles there.

This is probably not a good forum to discuss this type of thing in detail. 
PM me instead... thanks 

- Basey


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

My mom was a single mom way back in the 60's and I spent most of my time growing up(well till age 7) with my grandparents at their home on the lake-I heard many tales of the great depression and what they did to survive and when my mom got married( I was 7 then and we moved) we always had a garden and canned the veggies. but both of her sisters(my auntys and their hubbies) had farms and gardens and I spent most of the summer there with my cousins, helping on the farm where ever I could, my cousins thought I was nuts to really enjoy this when they hated "having" to do it!
But I did live in Florida and on my own for quite a bit before getting married and for the first few years we didn't have the room to garden or the yard either.
But now I live in the family home as it was too big for just mom and due to mounting allergies to weird food additives and the like I started my own garden and canning etc...
The last 6 or so years tho have gotten me caught into this frantic "have to learn this now" cycle.. I have this awful feeling that something bad is coming down the pike and I don't want to be ran over.
So now I have been learning and relearning many things to be self sufficient.
Breads from scratch, and I mean all kinds of stuff- pita, bagels, croissants , tortillas, rolls and so on.
Not only growing all my veggies but having heirloom and OP seeds that I have learned how to save properly and to keep the seeds pure.
Relearning all the canning and freezing and drying of the produce.
Growing as many permanent berries and fruits as I can cram into the yard and still have garden space. Apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, raspberries (4 different colors) blueberries and this last year I added a few grape vines. Oh I forgot all the wild mulberries that are here!
I learned how to make just the basic of cheeses in the past few years.
I even learned how to make lye soap.
Relearning from when I was younger and a girl scout all the wild foods that are all around us, but most folks just try to kill them off as weeds.
Relearning all the sewing from when I was in 4-H This is coming in handy is so many ways.
I have just learned this last year how to make moccasins and just that simple little thing makes me feel much better about what to do about shoes after SHTF. Even using old jeans and making a few moccasins for slippers was worth the learning.
I have been a camper for years and learned when young how to make and cook over an open fire.
One of the above uncles was a butcher, so I picked up a few things from him, and the other uncle had 80 acres of sugar maples so I know tons about boiling sap for maple syrup.
The next thing I really want to learn better is snare traps that will not announce to the whole neighborhood that I've just got some wild game for dinner like a gun shot would.

I'm sure that I am not the only one to feel this never ending urge to learn, learn, learn some more, not just read but go out and do it to make sure that When SHTF I'll KNOW how to do it hands on, not just something I read about.
There are so many things that I know that I have forgotten at the moment to list, but I think ya'll got the gist.


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## 41south (Dec 4, 2010)

I grew up as a grandchild of the depression. I was taught as part of life, you lay back or stock up enough to get you through the next growing season, and hope the bugs don't eat your next crops. My whole family lived this way.

One Grandfather told me up till the day before he died, boy sometime in your life you and this country will face something so bad and so hard you can't imagine it being possible. It could be a flu outbreak, depression, big war or a combination of both, I don't know, but you best always lay back enough to take care of you and your family to last you through the next growing season.

He had lived through the 1918 flu, two world wars, the great depression and had seen a lot pass in his time, good and bad.

Only rule he had that I have broken is, {always keep your home paid for, your friends will feed you, but they won't put you up}. If the Good Lord lets me live and work just about five more years, I will be back in line with his WISE financial planning.


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## GoldenBoys (Oct 8, 2010)

I didn't even know I was a prepper until I came across the term on the internet! My parents grew up during the depression, so we always had a big garden, di our own butchering and canned a lot. We also had a lot of fruit trees, bushes and nut trees on the farm. I always thought this was normal? The most often we went to town was once a week, many times not that often, so we always kept a large stock of staples at home.


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## davjan4 (Nov 24, 2010)

*An unesy feeling*

I started prepping because a year a go I just got an uneasy feeling that I could not shake. So, I started in earnest in November. I don't talk about it to anyone.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

It seems I have never had the desire to buy pre-packaged foods. I look at the price and read the ingredients and know I can make at least 2 meals for the cost of this one. I have always been frugal, a throw back from a very poor childhood. Waste not want not has always been my moto. I love the challenge and the adventure of growing and canning our own food.


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## dakada (Jun 4, 2010)

My husband and I moved to a remote location and built our dream retirement home, 4 years ago, without realizing it I was starting to prep because of the distance it was to get supplies. We also were living in a 3rd world country and when I spotted something I was missing from the states, I would buy as many as possible to stock up. I just thought of it as "comfort food" but soon was stocking up on cleaning and dog & cat goodies, as well.

My husband had us well stocked, in terms of generators, gasoline, tools and things that I took for granted and thought were silly until a storm would come and we would be all alone on a mountain with no power and the road blocked until we chainsawed the trees and could make it out. Then I would be so grateful and humbled.

We have moved back to the states and have bought 5 acres and a old farmhouse. I feel the need to prep more than ever. I am so grateful for this site, as it helps me find my way in moving forward with my preps.

While I am grateful to have the land to start gardening and plant fruit trees and move forward with hopes of a more sufficient life, I feel a sense of panic because I can not get it done right away due to financial restraints.

Something that I feel strongly about but have not acted on is our personal safety. I read about guns and ammo and knowing how to use them and I realize how important this is, yet have not budgeted for this extremely important part of prepping. 

The weird part of being back in the states is my husband (sweet man) has a false sense of safety. He has no interest in any prepping because he is back in the states. I am working on him slowly but if he doesn't come around, I will continue without him for our future. When we left our home, we needed to leave everything behind. We gave much to lovely local families in the village near us. We simply could not bring back what we had.

My last thought is about being able to protect ourselves without gun power, like in a parking lot or if some kook goes crazy in the market. We had a home invasion, the reason we are back in the states and I think we should all have the tools or skills to defend ourselves in a bad situation. So at the top of my list this week will be to find a self-defense class. Hopefully like having a full pantry makes sense - knowing the right moves might help in a scary moment!!

Thanks for all the great info and support you offer to all that seek it.


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## Ponce (May 3, 2009)

I am from Cuba where TSHTF has lasted for over fifty years, in the year 2000 I saw the signs of what was going to happen and the first thing that I did was to get the hell out of CA and into the hills of OR.

I have been getting ready for the past ten years but no matter what I do there is always something else to do......unless you have food for "AT LEAST" three years you will become dog meat, I for one have food for seven to eight years and done everything that I can think off, but remember..............

"To be ready is not"... Ponce


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

My decision to become a prepper was a pretty gradual one. Shortly after I moved here to Arizona, gun rights became very important to me, because it became clear to me that the police were not likely to going be able to get to me in time to do me any good if I'm in a jam. Then after September 11, it began to occur to me that Gov't was not always going to be able to protect me. A few months after, I got a Glock and some ammo, and joined the NRA.

Then I saw the aftermath of Katrina, how the very people who were taught to trust the authorities, trust the gov't, and depend on them were the very ones who suffered the most - many of the New Orleans PD had abandoned their posts; the city and state leadership, despite having had a week to prepare, did almost nothing but point fingers at everybody else, and what was their grand plan? The Superdome - we all know how well THAT worked out! And the Sheriff Dept was confiscating guns simply because people had them. And most of these sheeple were complaining all the while "Bush didn't DO ENOUGH FOR US!"

I came to the conclusion that not only was the Gov't NOT going to be able much for me, but that if I rely on those schmucks for ANYTHING, I'm going to get it right between the eyes every time.

Soon after that, I started reading up on disaster preparedness. That was all I really COULD do at that point, because I had a fairly substantial credit card debt and I just started paying back a student loan.

Well, now I've gotten most of my card debt paid off, and I've gotten well over half my student loan paid off. I've acquired about a 2-week supply of food, and enough preps for a very basic EDC bag (just need a convenient bag to put them in). Also, I have enough money saved up so I can pay a month's rent, all utilities, buy a new pair of shoes, and still have some money left over (or I could pay for some substantial car repairs).

The point is, I've got options now; I may not LIKE all my options, but at least I've got them. I'm not just living paycheck to paycheck like a couple of sheeple I work with.

Oh, by the way, I OWN my crappy car!


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Foreverautumn said:


> Well, now I've gotten most of my card debt paid off, and I've gotten well over half my student loan paid off. I've acquired about a 2-week supply of food, and enough preps for a very basic EDC bag (just need a convenient bag to put them in). Also, I have enough money saved up so I can pay a month's rent, all utilities, buy a new pair of shoes, and still have some money left over (or I could pay for some substantial car repairs).


:congrat: :congrat: :congrat:
That's awesome!!! Being debt-free is its own kind of liberty, and it's priceless.  Way to go!

What I'm finding is that even though it seems like there's a long way to go, if you keep working at it little by little, one day you realize you've accomplished a whole lot. Then you start liking your options more.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Ponce said:


> I am from Cuba where TSHTF has lasted for over fifty years, in the year 2000 I saw the signs of what was going to happen and the first thing that I did was to get the hell out of CA and into the hills of OR.
> 
> I have been getting ready for the past ten years but no matter what I do there is always something else to do......unless you have food for "AT LEAST" three years you will become dog meat, I for one have food for seven to eight years and done everything that I can think off, but remember..............
> 
> "To be ready is not"... Ponce


Ponce, you are one of the few people that seems to think like I do. I think that having the magic "one year's food supply" is almost as dangerous as not preparing. When I say that, I am talking about the mind set of thinking you are prepared if you have a year's supply, when you could/should have more, much more and are really never finished. It is a start, a beginning, to have a year's supply. Some people will never have more, no matter their cicumstance.

I think one of the problems that WE (me included) have is that we have to put up a certain appearance. People judge and talk. We want to fly under the radar, but we want to prepare.

I became a prepper due to many circumstance. Both of my parents grew up in the dirty 30's in South Dakota and they both had times when there was little or no food to eat. There are stories of dinner being weeds that grew around the place, cooked like greens. For my mother, breakfast was often wheat that was purchased, one bushel at a time, hand cleaned by the children at the dining table, and then boiled to eat.

My dad's family ONLY had potato soup one day, made with water, not milk and had company drop in. The company dropped in because they didn't even have that.

We always had a freezer full of beef, pork and chicken, the basement full of home canned goods, huge gardens, and the pantry full of food so that if we couldn't get to town for a month, no problem. We worked the garden all summer, canned the vegetables from the garden, canned fruit bought in lugs, raised chickens which were cleaned and cooked for dinner or put in the freezer. We always had chickens that produced our eggs.

My parents and grandparents always talked about the fact that if it happened once (drought and national financial problems), it could and would happen again. Their preps were considered normal, practical and a common practice where we lived. I have cousins who remember the conversations, but are doing little or nothing to prepare. I am odd, the odd ball, the hoarder, according to some in the family. Why have more than one package of toilet paper? The store is just a couple minutes away?

When I watch our society, our nation, our government, our lives unravel, I think it is innevitable that it is coming again. I think it is coming and it is coming sooner than we can know or can even prepare for. The Obama Healthcare calls for all to be chipped by March 2013. Some of us who are members on this site and some of you reading this will fall prey to what is coming down the pike, if not all of us. I think you would have to live in a cave in the wild to not fall prey.

Why does the government have so many guillatines? It is going to be "off with their heads" again, only this time it will be us, not France.

So I have had the mindset of preparing for most of my life, but it is just not always so easy when you are in school, young, moving, raising a family. It is not easy when those around you act like this thinking is crazy and we have all encountered that.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

When we found ut what they are doing to our food with bio and chems,we decided to grow our own,but it was easier planned than done.
Then everytime I went to store and paid a buck for a veggy I got mad that we did'nt try harder.

Hearing how they are mixing genes of different species and now even human genes in plants.
Heard on radio they are puttign hukman hearts into pigs to use later for transplants.Well the monster makers found out that the pig genes are infiltrating the hearts. Like the clones they are very sick.A goat the monsters created was neither male or female,it was another surprise the devils had.ANYTHING TO MAKE A BUCK!
We live in a dangerous world because good people do not speak out against the bad ones.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Meerkat, the whole genetically engineered food is so scary to me. I heard/read that 2/3 of prepared food contains corn. The corn is so scary! 

My daughter is in her late 20's and so many of her friends were so into tofu and soymilk. Okay, soy was the first g.e. food and my guess is that if you are eating or drinking anything with soy, it is g.e. Some of those kids have quit soy altogether because it has made them sick. I suppose if you eat tofu 3 + times a week, and only drink soy milk, you will know it is not good for you faster than those of us who only get soy occassionally in processed foods.


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

Goshen, I read your OP and I must pat you on the back! It is awesome to see a woman taking the initiative to see that her family will be fed in an array of unforseen circumstances. I am sure that you husband is proud to call you his wife even if he thinks you might be a 'little over the top'. Keep up the good work! :congrat:

For me, I was born to a mother and father that believed wholeheartedly in all things self-sufficiency. We were never well off but we were always self-sufficient to one degree or another. I was born in an old farm house that originally had no indoor plumbing and the bathroom (which was added on years (probably decades) after the house was originally built) was only accessible from the porch. We had chickens, goats, garden, pear trees, etc. I honestly dont remember much of that early part of my life and lived in many other places and ways as the times dictated for our family but we always were taught to be self-sufficient.

Now that being said there was a time when I used to make fun of my mother, who like you was primarily the planner/prepper (though we didnt know that word). It was around the Y2K thing and I knew computers and knew that the technical side of all the worries was 99% BS but Mom was preparing anyway. She would talk to us about how we would need to be prepared as a family to go through hard times in case of riots, food shortages, fuel shortages, etc. I put a skillet and sack of beans in the back seat of my truck and told my Mom that it was in case "Y2K started" I would pull over on the side of the road and start cooking beans. :lolsmash: I was making fun of her but she was right to be preparing despite what I knew about the actual "Y2K bug" itself. 

At this point in my life I am trying to get to a place where I can take care of my own family and be self-sufficient to the highest degree possible in my current sitation. Its the way I was brought up and the way I want to bring my kids up.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

I have just always been frugal. I have been thru some ruff times in my life and decided then and there my family would never be hungry. I love to garden and take care of our critters. I've been at it so long now it's just a way of life.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

weedygarden said:


> Meerkat, the whole genetically engineered food is so scary to me. I heard/read that 2/3 of prepared food contains corn. The corn is so scary!
> 
> My daughter is in her late 20's and so many of her friends were so into tofu and soymilk. Okay, soy was the first g.e. food and my guess is that if you are eating or drinking anything with soy, it is g.e. Some of those kids have quit soy altogether because it has made them sick. I suppose if you eat tofu 3 + times a week, and only drink soy milk, you will know it is not good for you faster than those of us who only get soy occassionally in processed foods.


 Soy also is full of female hormones.It is proven to reduce the size of the males sex organs and may be one reason we now have so many feminine men now.I told my daughter who was feeding her kid soy formular,she threw it all out,seldom do they listen but she did that time.
Most of us were breast fed,all my kids were for first few months,then Carnation,Karo and water.


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## Homestead Gal (Nov 25, 2008)

Actually...I think I was raised a Prepper! My family farmed and raised much of their own food. We also camped, hunted and fished. As an adult, I fell into the modern society pit, moved to the city and lived like everything I needed was at Wall Mart or Food Lion.

When Y2K reared it ugly head I got a wake up call to clear the cobwebs off my arsenal of do-it-yourself skills and get back into living a more self-sustaining life. I moved to a little cabin on top of a mountain ridge and got rid of all the stuff I didn't NEED. I became proactive in every buying decision by making careful selections of what I grow, eat, use, medical care and overall BUY in general. I put my God Almighty Dollar to work for what I really needed and not what I was told I "needed".

When Y2K passed without ending the modern age, I was immensely satisfied that my family was prepared regardless.  
I had no problem telling those who were teasing me for my prep that they failed their prep test while I passed mine.  
I had prepared to live and they had prepared to starve...that shut them up.:scratch

Soooo, now prepping is a lifestyle for me. I don't think about it so much as just live it everyday. My hubby and I now live in a rural mountain area with a river behind our property. God's/Yahweh's bounty is everywhere. I have a garden, a couple of goats, a flock of chickens and lots of lovey wild edibles my neighbors call WEEDS. we won't starve. Even if we have to bug out, we will have the knowledge we need to endure. It won't be ideal living conditions, but it will keep us going when nothing else is available

We live large by living simply...just don't get any better then this!:2thumb:


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I became a prepper about two months ago after I saw the video at endofamerica44.com. The video talks about the coming economic collapse of the US and the collapse of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. Since then I've read as much as I can about those subjects. I do regular Google and Youtube searches under the terms, "economic collapse", "dollar collapse", and hyperinflation. If you go to shadowstats.com you'll learn that inflation is much higher than the official number, unemployment is much higher, and the economy is actually shrinking when you look at inflation-adjusted growth numbers.

Right now we're about 85% complete towards having a year's supply of food. Water will take longer. We have about 500 gallons so far. I buy at least 16 gallons every week day. A couple of weeks ago my 21 year old stepson and I bought our first guns. We have Mossburg Bantam shotguns. Yesterday we went to the shooting range for the first time. We bought kerosene cooking stoves a while back. In the next week or two I'll buy 3 kerosene heaters. Starting in September I'll start buying 5 gallon containers of kerosene. I get the sense that things will be accelerating in the coming months.


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

Interesting question, and to be honest, one that I had never previously considered.

I think for me, there were four things that made predisposed towards the concept of prepping, and one thing that tipped the scales.

Growing up, my grandmother lived with us, and her sister-in-law (my grand-aunt?) lived next door. They lived through the Great Depression, and as a child I remember thinking that my friends didn't have as much food stocked up as we did. My grandmother kept a pantry stocked that was about half of your average-sized bedroom, and Aunt Helen had three freezers and four large metal bookshelves that were always full of canned goods. She also, up until the age of 95 (she died at 97), kept a half-acre garden of every imaginable fruit and vegetable that will grow in our area. Aunt Helen's canned goods and baked goods are still the standard by which I judge all fresh food. It's funny that I didn't really appreciate that until you brought it up. Thank you for that. 

The second thing that pointed me in this direction is my love of the outdoors. I grew up about a half-mile from a relatively unknown state park, which I almost always had to myself, so I was always hiking and mountain biking back there. A love of camping followed, which drove me (no pun intended) to my love of Jeeps.

The third thing is the fact that I am a huge history buff, and I truly feel that the best way to relate to history is to learn how they did things and experience it for myself. I've been a member of living history groups, and have always striven to master archaic skills. I like to do things "the old fashioned way."

Fourth, I hate being dependent upon others for anything. I like knowing that I can get by on my own if I have to do so. This doesn't mean that I won't accept help when I need it, but I like to be as self-sufficient as possible.

The thing that really tipped the scales was a conversation with my father about two years ago. He runs a Class III- licensed custom gun shop out of a shop that he built on his property, and he retired as a pretty important guy in the Federal counter-terrorism/national security world. He knows some stuff. Right before I became a Federal police officer, we were talking about the world situation, and he told me of his plans. He just bought about 100 acres in Idaho, and plans to move out there in the next year or so. He also told me that he has several hundred gallons of stored diesel fuel that he rotates out as he needs it, enough food for about two years, and enough guns and ammo to become a 3rd world dictator.  I can't go in to what he said, but knowing the security clearance level that he held, and his position when he retired.... If things are bad enough to scare _HIM_ into running to Idaho (he is notoriously pretty cocky. my wife thinks it's genetic.), I figure it's pretty legitimate. Since then, I've started paying attention to some things, and it ain't pretty.


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

never thought about it as being a "prepper" just like to learn and practice new things. didn't have a lot when first married. we would go dumpster diving in the country and fix the things we found. some of them we still use..LOL


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## Possumfam (Apr 19, 2011)

That's funny, DH and I were just talking about this. How/why did we start this? He was sorta raised this way, hunting, fishing, gardening, chopping wood, etc... We met overseas in the military, got married, had kids, and got our first new home. I was a stay at home mom w/ two in diapers and when he planted our first garden. I was LIVID when he planted 80 tomato plants!!!! What was I supposed to do w/ that? I didn't know how to can, we didn't have a freezer yet. :gaah: So, as married couples do, we became more and more like each other. Now I do can, put clothes on the line, bake bread, etc...But, when did we become "PREPPERS?" That would've been a few years ago, for political and economical reasons. We became concerned about the Second Amendment, watched the price of Silver and Gold go through the roof, the housing market crash, etc... Not to mention having been through power outages on several occasions (sometimes during the freezing winter - sometimes during the FL summers). Prepping gives us a sense of contentment - we'll be ok, we'll get through this. Plus, we're not fighting the crowd for last minute hurricane supplies - we're already supplied!


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

It was a gradual thing for us. We were both raised by depression era grandparents & learned many self sufficient skills/habits/mindsets from them. We've always had extra food, money saved, skills, etc. In 2009, we had a nice income, lived well below that income, & had 9 months worth of expenses set aside in cash. Hubby's income decreased substantially, my sister's family of 4 moved in & we figured out real quick how fast we could be in a serious bind financially despite doing everything the way the "experts" said to do them. We started prepping, increased our savings, increased the gardening, & reprioritized our money. We're not where we want to be but we're better than we were!


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

Hurricanes....nuff said....

Jimmy


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

My email friend from California:wave:...and I told dh some of the things she was doing:congrat:...and he told me it was a good idea to buy extra (like cases) when I shopped...and then I found these preparedness sites:beercheer:...and oh, voy!!!!

Whew!!!!!

Thank you sites!


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

I'm so glad this thread has been revived. It's great reading everyone's stories!


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## dirtgrrl (Jun 5, 2011)

I think a lot of my prepper mentality came from growing up very, very poor. There was no question of purchasing most things other people commonly bought. My mother sewed our clothes, we gardened and canned, etc. In her later years she stocked up on so much stuff I'm still using the last of it eight years after she passed on. 

I hate throwing anything away, so I guess Mom's "hoarder" ways were genetic, ha ha. I can live pretty cheaply if I have to, but I always live below my means. As a horticulturist I've always been interested in gardening and plants, plant medicines, dyes, and fiber arts. As world events progress I'm convinced more than ever that we are heading for hard times, and have stepped up considerably in the last few years. Being a prepper is really just an extension of the person I am already.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

dirtgrrl said:


> I think a lot of my prepper mentality came from growing up very, very poor. There was no question of purchasing most things other people commonly bought. My mother sewed our clothes, we gardened and canned, etc. In her later years she stocked up on so much stuff I'm still using the last of it eight years after she passed on.
> 
> I hate throwing anything away, so I guess Mom's "hoarder" ways were genetic, ha ha. I can live pretty cheaply if I have to, but I always live below my means. As a horticulturist I've always been interested in gardening and plants, plant medicines, dyes, and fiber arts. As world events progress I'm convinced more than ever that we are heading for hard times, and have stepped up considerably in the last few years. Being a prepper is really just an extension of the person I am already.


Among the very important things that you mention, living well within ones means is probably one of the most important, but least practiced things (for a majority of the population), and the key to the current crisis.


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## Skeeter (Nov 7, 2009)

I went from 40,000 + a year , Living like there was no tomorrow, to no job no money without any notice. LESSON LEARNED Thankfully I realised what I needed to do and found places like this to help me learn.


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## ComputerGuy (Dec 10, 2010)

For me it was the H1N1. I had a friend die from it and then I got it. I was lucky because I never really got sick, but did have to take meds galore.

The the movie After Armageddon came out. So now I prep for a all hell breaks loose scenario. We the DW and I are debt free and very lucky, because being retired Air Force, and spending most of my career in the Middle East, Africa and a good majority of $hit holes, I have some skill sets that help us out.

I am still learning new skills, reading, and especially getting knowledge from this site, the survival podcast. I also every day visit the commissary on base, and when I get my luch, I buy a few cans, bags, boxes, of this and that!! Adds up at the end of the week.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

> So how did you all come to be preppers? And is there anyone else out there that 'converted' a spouse to prepping?


I was born a hillbilly.its life y'know?

The gas mask and M-14 came much later.


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## tugboats (Feb 15, 2009)

I got into “prepping” and had no idea what it was. Over fifty years ago several buddies and I took off with our .22 rifles and went to the creek about 8 miles away. My Schwinn got a flat tire and I had to push the darn thing back about 7.5 miles. After cutting several lawns I saved up enough for a tire patch kit and a small hand pump. Always carried that kit and a small repair kit from that day forward.

I never drive without having a good spare in all of my vehicles. The first thing I do when I get a new vehicle is check out the jack and get to know how to use it. God has blessed me with the talent of being able to learn and a gift of using my head and my hands. (I kind of lost out on grammar and spelling), 

Prepping is as much a state of mind as anything else. 

Years ago we owned large boats. My biggest concern was always to get my family back to shore in as good of condition as when we left. I have needed to repair engines, water pumps, etc. while out on our voyages. Being prepared was always mandatory. Prior to LORAN C or now GPS we navigated with a watch and a compass. Yes the compass got smashed one day and we had to improvise a solution. Was this prepping or was this just using what is at hand to solve a problem?

I do not wish to survive, but rather, I choose to THRIVE. I am continually taking classes, learning skills from others, and acquiring tools to attempt to overcome any adversity. My food storage follows in this vein. I am sure I have overlooked a great deal in my “preps”
But with my knowledge of totally useless things when times are good they may be pressed into service when things are not so great.

I am not anti-social but I refuse to “need” or rely on others for basic items. I will impose on them to learn from them but not to do for me. I do not possess certain skills and will gladly pay for these services (medical and dental, being just a couple) that are beyond my abilities. If I come up on a situation where I am stumped I commence learning. We enjoy besting any adversity. No matter how bad it gets I remind myself “ at least they ain’t shootin’ bullets at us”.

As long as my mind works I will be able to communicate my stored knowledge and barter smarts for goods.


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## dirtgrrl (Jun 5, 2011)

Tug, you're my kinda guy


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## crazychickenlady (Jun 30, 2011)

Great thread!

Like a lot of you, I was raised that way. We always canned fruits and veggies from the garden or from wild picked stuff for the winter. Our whole family pitched in and worked on the canning. Us kids would go picking wild blackberries with my Gram and we'd make our own pies and jam. The whole family piled in the wagon behind the tractor and went picking wild apples to make cider and pies in the fall. We'd go camping with a tarp in case it rained and our sleeping bags...the whole family. Some of my best memories are of those 'good ol' days'! We also raised our own pigs and beef cattle to butcher for meat, and everyone went hunting for venison. I think when the whole family is involved it really makes you closer and you can appreciate each other much more.


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## Sourdough (May 22, 2010)

How I got into Prepping.........? Basically got backed into prepping, as I only go to town for supplies every two or three months.


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## boomer (Jul 13, 2011)

Grew up on the farm and with annual shopping for everything except dairy and fresh produce. My dad would take a truck and come home with it full of canned, frozen, dried foods as well as some case lot fruit for fresh eating and processing. This would happen every year mid July or early August, just before harvest started. Carried the practice with me to the city when I left home, my basement was well stocked even if I was shopping daily.

I can say it discourages moving very often. A years worth of food, even where there is not a supply of future needed anything else, can be daunting when moving.

I get the same feeling from less than a years worth of food in the house as I would get thinking about going out in a blizzard with only a windbreaker. Insecurity to the point of fearful.


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