# When will you be finished?



## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

Do you ever see a time when you will be "finished" or prepared? Will the day ever come that you will say to yourself, "I'm ready"? 

It seems no matter how many preps I have I am always thinking of something else that I need. I think the sheer volume of what needs to be done is the main thing that overwhelms beginning preppers. Prepping seems to take on a life of its own.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

Sometimes it seems like prepping can become a bad habit.
If prepping interfers with your daily life beyond a reasonable amount it might be excessive. 
If you are spending money you do not have or effecting yourself or family in a bad way it might be excessive.
If you have to get rid of some preps because they go bad or feel the need to replace them it might be excessive.
If prepping becomes the most important thing in your life it might be excessive.

Too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

power said:


> Sometimes it seems like prepping can become a bad habit.
> If prepping interfers with your daily life beyond a reasonable amount it might be excessive.
> If you are spending money you do not have or effecting yourself or family in a bad way it might be excessive.
> If you have to get rid of some preps because they go bad or feel the need to replace them it might be excessive.
> ...


how much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it *ceases* to be a _healthy choice_ ?


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

kejmack said:


> Do you ever see a time when you will be "finished" or prepared? Will the day ever come that you will say to yourself, "I'm ready"?
> 
> It seems no matter how many preps I have I am always thinking of something else that I need. I think the sheer volume of what needs to be done is the main thing that overwhelms beginning preppers. Prepping seems to take on a life of its own.


For myself ... No,

Knowledge is never ending.


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

There is no such thing as being "finished". Prepping is a lifestyle and should not cause the problems that power mentioned. It is a bad preparation if it makes you less prepared for "normal" life. Such would be the case if you are taking out a mortgage on your home to purchase ten years of food. On the contrary, to me, prepping is just the way you live you life. Being self-sufficient and able to stand on your own (at least make the best of) in any situation. Its not about seeing how much food you can store or how many guns you can own. Much of prepping is mental/spiritual too or else you will fail the situational testing. 

Thats my 2¢ which as you know I dont mind sharing


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

The_Blob said:


> how much Healthy Choice ice cream can I eat before it *ceases* to be a _healthy choice_ ?


I am not certain of the answer to this but I will begin testing and I will get back to you


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

TheAnt said:


> I am not certain of the answer to this but I will begin testing and I will get back to you


:lolsmash::lolsmash::lolsmash:


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## Sourdough (May 22, 2010)

kejmack said:


> Do you ever see a time when you will be "finished" or prepared? Will the day ever come that you will say to yourself, "I'm ready"?
> QUOTE]
> 
> Every morning I wake-up and say this will be a glorious day to die. If you are willing to embrace death........you are fully prepared. (Note: this works if you are 17 or 77 years old).
> ...


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

To me, prepping is really about being self-sufficient. And that's a way of life that never ends. 

I do, however, think there are different stages in prepping (self-sufficiency), and I look forward to the day when I'm in 'maintenance' mode.  (I would define that as the point when you are primarily focused on maintaining food stores through the garden/hunting/livestock, and your home/property only requires maintenance.) It is understandable how prepping can seem overwhelming to a newbie, because prepping/self-sufficiency is a way of life - it calls you to make lifestyle changes. It calls you to see things differently - how to get food, water, materials for the home/vehicles that are different from what has become the norm. It calls for a return to more of a homesteading mentality.

But like *Andi says, the learning never ends. So even when a prepper is in maintenance mode, there will still be learning...


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

goshengirl said:


> To me, prepping is really about being self-sufficient. And that's a way of life that never ends.
> 
> I do, however, think there are different stages in prepping (self-sufficiency), and I look forward to the day when I'm in 'maintenance' mode.  (I would define that as the point when you are primarily focused on maintaining food stores through the garden/hunting/livestock, and your home/property only requires maintenance.) It is understandable how prepping can seem overwhelming to a newbie, because prepping/self-sufficiency is a way of life - it calls you to make lifestyle changes. It calls you to see things differently - how to get food, water, materials for the home/vehicles that are different from what has become the norm. It calls for a return to more of a homesteading mentality.
> 
> But like *Andi says, the learning never ends. So even when a prepper is in maintenance mode, there will still be learning...


Great explanation and I agree!


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

prepping never really ends. we get, find and then use. we then repeat the cycle again. no one ever finishes. preppers will die but their preps will go on......to some other prepper.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

kejmack said:


> Do you ever see a time when you will be "finished" or prepared? Will the day ever come that you will say to yourself, "I'm ready"?
> 
> It seems no matter how many preps I have I am always thinking of something else that I need. I think the sheer volume of what needs to be done is the main thing that overwhelms beginning preppers. Prepping seems to take on a life of its own.


What would "finished" or ready look like?

I don't think that preppers are ever "finished". I think that each day we have a chance to get more prepared. Every day you have the chance to secure your property more, educate yourself more, re-think your safety plan, stock more ammunition, food, water, supplies and whatever.

I digress, but I can't help but correlate this suggestion with "winning" the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. There is no winning there. And there is no ever being totally prepared.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

kejmack said:


> Do you ever see a time when you will be "finished" or prepared? Will the day ever come that you will say to yourself, "I'm ready"?
> 
> It seems no matter how many preps I have I am always thinking of something else that I need. I think the sheer volume of what needs to be done is the main thing that overwhelms beginning preppers. Prepping seems to take on a life of its own.


Yes, there will come a day when I say to myself that I'm ready. I'll have at least one gallon of water per person per day. We'll have at least a year's supply of food, enough guns and ammo, enough kerosene heaters and kerosene, and enough of everything else we can think of.

We're preparing for hyperinflation, the complete collapse of the economy, government, and society. I believe that at some time during that year that martial law will be declared and order will be restored. Those of us with gold and silver will be able to buy the new currency that's based on the gold standard.


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

BillS said:


> Yes, there will come a day when I say to myself that I'm ready. I'll have at least one gallon of water per person per day. We'll have at least a year's supply of food, enough guns and ammo, enough kerosene heaters and kerosene, and enough of everything else we can think of.
> 
> We're preparing for hyperinflation, the complete collapse of the economy, government, and society. I believe that at some time during that year that martial law will be declared and order will be restored. Those of us with gold and silver will be able to buy the new currency that's based on the gold standard.


I suppose if you are like BillS and you are prepping for a specific forseen event you can be finished or ready but I get the impression that most of us are prepping to be self-sufficient forever -- as a way of life.

And even for me if I was prepping for what BillS described I would get to the point where there is just one more thing might help me out. The hard part about what BillS is preparing for is that he makes assumptions about the length of time things will last and what their outcomes will be -- which you have to do if you are going to ever be finished -- but I would have less optimistic expectations for an outcome of such events.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Like the others here say,its a way of life so your never done.

Growing,raisng your food is a everyday job.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

weedygarden said:


> What would "finished" or ready look like?
> 
> I don't think that preppers are ever "finished". I think that each day we have a chance to get more prepared. Every day you have the chance to secure your property more, educate yourself more, re-think your safety plan, stock more ammunition, food, water, supplies and whatever.
> 
> I digress, but I can't help but correlate this suggestion with "winning" the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. There is no winning there. And there is no ever being totally prepared.


All that said, when I am totally prepared, I will have a rustic home where minimal living happens as a diversion for the real deal of supplies and possibilities, 10-20 + years worth of food for my family (not one year's worth because we are not going to have a one year problem), a few years worth of contained and protected safe for consumption water (I believe water contamination will be a strategy for control of the masses) plus a way of harvesting and storing rainwater, numerous mature fruit trees and bushes, a large herbal garden, a large onion - garlic patch growing in a wild like patch, an underground bunker on a property with several well hidden caches of supplies scattered around, a wood gassifier to produce my own fuel, simple machinery for plowing, planting and harvesting enough grains each year to keep the stores filled, tunnels around a perimeter that is reinforced with lots of big stones and felled trees to create a barrier that would be difficult to penetrate. Since this could take several people a lifetime to create, it is probably never going to be finished.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Never, I didn't "start" so I don't know if I'll stop.

I see it a way of life as opposed to an event or events.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

TheAnt said:


> I suppose if you are like BillS and you are prepping for a specific forseen event you can be finished or ready but I get the impression that most of us are prepping to be self-sufficient forever -- as a way of life.
> 
> And even for me if I was prepping for what BillS described I would get to the point where there is just one more thing might help me out. The hard part about what BillS is preparing for is that he makes assumptions about the length of time things will last and what their outcomes will be -- which you have to do if you are going to ever be finished -- but I would have less optimistic expectations for an outcome of such events.


Those are all valid points. I think some of what I'm doing is limited based on space, resources, and circumstances. I live in a 2 1/2 bedroom condo with a garage and a basement. I don't own land. I don't think it's practical to store two years worth of food and water. One thing that's hard is that I can't become fully prepared too early or too late. I'm stocking up on water but at some point that water won't be fit to drink and the jugs will start to leak. But I can't wait until one gallon of water is $5 or a general panic sets in and all the store shelves become empty either. At some point I'll need to stock up on some kerosene but there are legal limits on how much you can have in your garage if you live in Wisconsin. I don't want to buy 350 gallons and keep it in my garage for the next 10 years. But I should have some for heating and cooking in case of a long power outage.


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## Kai22 (Apr 30, 2011)

goshengirl said:


> To me, prepping is really about being self-sufficient. And that's a way of life that never ends.
> 
> I do, however, think there are different stages in prepping (self-sufficiency), and I look forward to the day when I'm in 'maintenance' mode.  (I would define that as the point when you are primarily focused on maintaining food stores through the garden/hunting/livestock, and your home/property only requires maintenance.) It is understandable how prepping can seem overwhelming to a newbie, because prepping/self-sufficiency is a way of life - it calls you to make lifestyle changes. It calls you to see things differently - how to get food, water, materials for the home/vehicles that are different from what has become the norm. It calls for a return to more of a homesteading mentality.
> 
> But like *Andi says, the learning never ends. So even when a prepper is in maintenance mode, there will still be learning...


I agree with this, too. Perfectly stated


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

BillS said:


> Those are all valid points. I think some of what I'm doing is limited based on space, resources, and circumstances. I live in a 2 1/2 bedroom condo with a garage and a basement. I don't own land. I don't think it's practical to store two years worth of food and water. One thing that's hard is that I can't become fully prepared too early or too late. I'm stocking up on water but at some point that water won't be fit to drink and the jugs will start to leak. But I can't wait until one gallon of water is $5 or a general panic sets in and all the store shelves become empty either. At some point I'll need to stock up on some kerosene but there are legal limits on how much you can have in your garage if you live in Wisconsin. I don't want to buy 350 gallons and keep it in my garage for the next 10 years. But I should have some for heating and cooking in case of a long power outage.


Aren't you in Ky>???? We plan on getting 35 gallon water buckets ($15 each)at Lexington Containers next week---I also have 8-- 5 gallon buckets unfilled----but would rather have the stackable 35 gallon for the garage.
The $9 coleman fuel at Kmart just went to $10--yep--not surprised. I love Kmart and I'm disappointed in the price-gouging!


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

goshengirl said:


> prepping/self-sufficiency is a way of life - it calls you to make lifestyle changes. It calls you to see things differently - how to get food, water, materials for the home/vehicles that are different from what has become the norm. It calls for a return to more of a homesteading mentality.


I feel this says it all.

If :shtf: tomorrow, we would certainly notice and some things would change. I would have to break out the wood stove to do the canning, finish the solar dehydrator, get the hand pump back on the well and probably confine the free range chickens, but other than that we would just keep living as we do. For us, it's a lifestyle, not a goal.


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

BillS said:


> Those are all valid points. I think some of what I'm doing is limited based on space, resources, and circumstances. I live in a 2 1/2 bedroom condo with a garage and a basement. I don't own land. I don't think it's practical to store two years worth of food and water. One thing that's hard is that I can't become fully prepared too early or too late. I'm stocking up on water but at some point that water won't be fit to drink and the jugs will start to leak. But I can't wait until one gallon of water is $5 or a general panic sets in and all the store shelves become empty either. At some point I'll need to stock up on some kerosene but there are legal limits on how much you can have in your garage if you live in Wisconsin. I don't want to buy 350 gallons and keep it in my garage for the next 10 years. But I should have some for heating and cooking in case of a long power outage.


Oh, dont get me wrong BillS, Im not saying you are doing anything wrong. Sounds like you are doing all you can with what you have and thats all you can do -- cant fault you at all. Fact is you are probably more prepped than me. In many ways I am in the same boat as yourself -- no land, no money, etc. It wouldnt make sense for me to try to stock up on some things. I do what makes sense to me and investigate doing the rest  cause thats free! Keep up the good work! :congrat:


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

All we do is sugges ,it depends on the person how well they can prepare.

Do what you can is all you can do.


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## Turtle (Dec 10, 2009)

Seems to me that the obvious answer would be that one could never "stop" prepping, as most stored food items need to be used and rotated on a fairly regular basis. Of course some items will keep longer than others, but it is always a good idea to rotate one's stock. If for no other reason, that precludes the possibility of ever being "done".

This isn't even touching the issue of replenishing my ammo stores on a constant basis.


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## Frugal_Farmers (Dec 13, 2010)

At the end of everyday I say "I'm finished", I actually say "I'm done". I work my tail off around the property doing something every day. It seems the more I do around here, the more I add to my list of things to do.

We will NEVER be done with what we do. Like others have pointed out, we are working towards self-sufficiency. The end goal will be not having to rely on outside sources. We are far from this goal, but we are progressing towards it.

Everyday, I learn something new. This is either through practicing an essential skill, experimenting, building a prototype of something, or reading volumes of information.

I think anyone who answers that they are finished or ready changes this answer everytime the experiement and try something new.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Frugal_Farmers said:


> doing something every day. It seems the more I do around here, the more I add to my list of things to do.
> 
> We will NEVER be done with what we do.


Ain't that the truth!


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## tugboats (Feb 15, 2009)

I know when I will be finished. There will be six feet of dirt over the top of me. I have been at this in excess of 10 years. Each day has been an opportunity to learn. They can take everything else away from me but they won't get my mind and skill sets. 

Knowledge is the key to satisfaction. Learn and enjoy. I keep building my skill sets and work hand in hand with my family to accomplish goals. We try to learn something new each and every day. By the way, kids will keep you humble.

The greatest thing we have learned in our adventure is: those that you can trust and those that you can not trust.

We have changed our lifestyle for the good. We moved from a 3400 sq. foot house into a 1100 sq. footer with much more property. After some ajustments (an understatement) we have adapted well. The family is very close and we challenge each other to try and "stump" each other. The winner gets to choose dinner for the next day and has no chores. The stinkers keep us on our toes.

I hope I am never finished .

I am proud that our kids have turned out as well as they have and will continue to grow long after I am the fertilizer for the Daisies.( I don't know how to spell that flower we push up).


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## kyhoti (Nov 16, 2008)

When I think of the list of things we have left to do to be "self-sufficient", I can say with confidence that "done" is not a word in my vocabulary. What I can say is that as each day closes, I have done all I can do for that day to secure the next day. When I do inventory, I see the amount of stored food and water slowly going up (gosh, kids do put a dent in food stores!), the number and use of "off-grid" tech going up in the house, the garden is producing food and the family is staying aware of their own training on equipment and tools. 

I used to have strings of sleepless nights, fretting over all the "holes" in my preps, which stole joy from my life and health from my body, while accomplishing little. The beauty in life is too precious to let it slip away in the doom-and-gloom. When the simple security of LTS prompts my spouse to ask about maybe moving to a "hobby farm", and getting off the grid and out of the ratrace, then the true worth of all this comes out for me. We are moving forward and are ready if certain amounts of S hits the F. I guess that's the best we've got, and it'll have to do.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

I'll stop preparing when Americas' war machine brings all the troops home and stops preparing for the next war, when everyone who wants a job has one, so it looks like I'll be preparing the rest o0f my days.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

kejmack said:


> Do you ever see a time when you will be "finished" or prepared? Will the day ever come that you will say to yourself, "I'm ready"?
> 
> It seems no matter how many preps I have I am always thinking of something else that I need. I think the sheer volume of what needs to be done is the main thing that overwhelms beginning preppers. Prepping seems to take on a life of its own.


You never finish,weather its replacing perishable goods or that new whiz bang rifle just on the market,you never get done, EVER. and when TSHTF you'll realize you could have done more.


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## dunappy (Nov 11, 2008)

Prepared is not a "finished" state. 
Prepared requires Maintenance. 
For example, I cut and stack firewood now, Burn it this winter and cut and stack fire wood next summer again.
I grow and can my food this summer, Eat it all winter and then grow and can again next year.

I'm Ready, but never "finished".



kejmack said:


> Do you ever see a time when you will be "finished" or prepared? Will the day ever come that you will say to yourself, "I'm ready"?


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

dunappy said:


> I'm Ready, but never "finished".


I like that line. :beercheer: :congrat:
I'm probably in that condition as well.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

dunappy said:


> I'm Ready, but never "finished".


This is a great motto for preppers!

I agree, though, with what 'power' said on the first page of this thread, that it shouldn't take over to where we're not living our lives. We should keep working at it, but not to the exclusion of everything else.

I go through my own personal rationalization when we take a trip or go do something for fun. I worry I should use the money to 'buy more preps'.

But if I'm not living NOW, what's the point of surviving THEN?

I try to find a balance of preparing for a comfortable future while enjoying the present. So..."ready, but never finished", how perfect!


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## power (May 7, 2011)

gypsysue said:


> This is a great motto for preppers!
> 
> I agree, though, with what 'power' said on the first page of this thread, that it shouldn't take over to where we're not living our lives. We should keep working at it, but not to the exclusion of everything else.
> 
> ...


Thank you. You have a much better way of explaining than I do. Wish I could learn how to do that.


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## beanpicker (May 25, 2011)

Just last week I went threw a "I;ve got enought" day. Trying to organize it an find room for what I have.. I have a girl who come in an help me do cleaning, so I don't have it all threw the house, but I have totally run out of room . But then today I went to wally world an got 5 5gal bucket free, an then to aldis to get 6 lbs of butter, 10 vinna winnes , Hubby loves thoes things, an got 4 of the canned hams. an 10 lbs of rice. 
But I guess I'll just keep on doing like I allways have , have allways stocked well in the summer so I don't have to go out much in the winter snow..


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