# How long have you been prepping?



## twilightbluff (Nov 24, 2008)

Just wondering how long you guys have been prepping for? I've been into the idea for about 2 1/2 years now.


----------



## gumby (Nov 24, 2008)

I have been predicting worldwide catastrophies for the past 9 years now


----------



## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

I grew up on 100 acres, so have always been one to think preparedness. 9/11 started the serious thinking, have only seriously been prepping the last few years.


----------



## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Since very young. Father was very independent and self reliant in terms of food and supplies.


----------



## Backwoods (Oct 27, 2008)

I've lived in the country since my first breath so like many others being prepared and self sufficent was just always a way of life for me. I didn't really notice that we were being "Prepared" way back then since all our neighbors and family were just like us I thought everyone grew their own food, hunted, fished, split wood, bred animals...etc.....so I guess when I started my own family the tradition just continued.


----------



## crosscanadian (Nov 25, 2008)

I've always lived out in the sticks with not much civilation around. I grew up learning to be self suffient as not much is around and we didn't have a whole lot of money. But since the terroist attacks on 9/11, I have been preparing for the world to end....or what have you.


----------



## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

My whole life. As a child, I spent my time (outside of school) hiking, x-country skiing, camping etc. I have always had "survival" tools - clothing, food, knives, etc. When I was in Jr.High school, I had a bug-out-kit built out of a back pack that always had gear ready for a hike, etc.

I have also had my winter bug-out bag that was taken x-country skiing several times a week.

I have always had a winter prepared-kit in each of my vehicles - and a summer prepared kit that stays in my vehicles - all year around. If it is something that I might need once in a while - it is either beside my front door, in my bedroom or in one of my vehicles. Flash-lights, tools, food, clothing, back-pack at the ready.... 

I would like to think that I am always prepared.

My grandson is almost 4 now - soon I will be teaching him how to be prepared. I already am taking him for hikes, camping, off-roading - for "fun" - but that is the best way to teach them to be ready for anything.


----------



## JeepHammer (Oct 10, 2008)

gumby said:


> I have been predicting worldwide catastrophies for the past 9 years now


Some religions have been predicting end of the world scenarios for the past 100,000 years.
All have been wrong for the past 100,000 years.
Smart money says anyone planning for an 'Apocalypse' is an idiot and wasting time and money.
..............

I was at 3 Mile Island in '79.
I was stationed at a near by military base and had advanced NBC training (Nuclear, Chemical, Biological).
My radiation dose meter read exactly 0 (zero).
If the idiot reporters and anti-nuclear activists would have not tried to trespass on the grounds, then I wouldn't have had anything at all to do besides eat pie and hit on the local girls...
--Didn't see any riots, looting, mass hysteria, eating of babies or anything like that...
Did see neighbors helping neighbors!

I was in Washington State when Mt. St. Helens blew her top in '80. 
Military sent me there to help out.
That was a bad on, lot's of ash everywhere getting into everything. The Ash/Pumice covered three states before it was over...
--Didn't see any riots, looting, mass hysteria, eating of babies or anything like that...
Did see neighbors helping neighbors!

My personal close call... 23-Oct-83, the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

Early 80's I saw what the Soviet block had done to the people of Afghanistan.
Complete and utter destruction, putting those people back into the stone age.
I can't say much for a government/military/people that would distribute anti-personnel mines disguised as kids toys or use chemical weapons in civilian water wells.
--Didn't see any riots, looting, mass hysteria, eating of babies or anything like that...
Did see neighbors helping neighbors!

Mid 80's I was in Central/South America, again in war effected countries.
Government backed death squads, 
Lack of food, bad water, and political corruption.
No shortage of dictators (most US backed).
--Didn't see any riots, looting, mass hysteria, eating of babies or anything like that...
Did see neighbors helping neighbors!

In '89 I saw a local town loose it's entire water pumping/purification system in a flood,
And most of it's electrical infrastructure went along with that flood too.
In '90, that same town got hit by a tornado that just about removed it from the map.
--Didn't see any riots, looting, mass hysteria, eating of babies or anything like that...
Did see neighbors helping neighbors!

Winter/Spring of '92 I learned just how brutal Americans can be to each other.
I was in Whittier, CA, working with Blower Drive Service on the new Screw Blower project for Top fuel cars when around 1-May the Rodney King crap blow wide open.

Summer '92 was Hurricane Andrew.
I had business in the Fla. Keys, and family in south Florida.
Went down with a truck load of generators and other supplies to help out.
--Didn't see any riots, looting, mass hysteria, eating of babies or anything like that...
Did see neighbors helping neighbors!

I'm sure there is a BUNCH more,
Including 11-Sept-01 in New York (World Trade Centers) 
And Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans that I WASN'T there during, or in the aftermath of..

Anyway, the point is,
I don't see an 'Apocalypse' happening, because I don't see us ALLOWING it to become an 'Apocalypse'!

Natural or man made disasters will come and go, but we simply won't let it become an 'Apocalypse'...
AND,
If a giant meteor hits the earth, or something like the volcanic caldera under Yellowstone pops it's cork, there simply isn't any way to plan for those things effectively!
So what's the point of wasting time, money and effort doing so?!

Do what you like with your time and money, it's a free country...
I've just got better things to do than dwell on what '_MIGHT_', on the slimmest of chances, happen...

I'd rather plan for a failed crop by putting away TWO years worth of food from my garden,
I'd rather plan for another FLOOD like we had this spring.
I'd rather plan for a BLIZZARD like we had in '77 and '78 by stocking in some extra fuel and freezing some extra bread and milk for later use...

AND,
I'd rather take action and try to do something (even a small 'something') about the GLOBAL WARMING issue,
The Declining Oil Reserves Issue,
The Population Explosion Problems, 
Something I can actually have an effect on, although small, I CAN make a difference!


----------



## wildman800 (Oct 17, 2008)

I've had a BoB since 1970 (7th grade). I probably felt the need because of natural (Hurricane Camille(1969)/Tornadoes) and manmade (Laurel, Ms-14Feb68 train derailment)incidents.

I've been prepping/storing food since 1998.

It's a constantly evolving process as some "likely" threats fade away and "new likely" threats appear, as I have occasionally relocated.

It's now a natural process of normal living. No paranoia, just adding a little extra to the shopping cart, ensuring that we have backup supplies for the next hurricane, nearby hazmat incident, or whatever else man and/or nature throws our way.


----------



## Samoan (Nov 26, 2008)

That is so cute that you take your grandson on hikes and stuff, NaeKid. That is too cute!


----------



## Backwoods (Oct 27, 2008)

NaeKid said:


> My grandson is almost 4 now - soon I will be teaching him how to be prepared. I already am taking him for hikes, camping, off-roading - for "fun" - but that is the best way to teach them to be ready for anything.


Good man.......... I think it's never too early to start the young'uns learning about the outdoors and how to be ready for any situation they may be thrown into one day.


----------



## endurance (Nov 26, 2008)

Like a few of you, how long I've been prepping depends on your definition. I grew up in a small mountain town in Colorado so my entertainment during the summer was riding my bike in the woods all day long, camping, fishing and shooting BB guns. In 1986 my college roommate had a book Nuclear War: What's in it for you. I picked it up and started reading it. The book was written to scare the pants off of you, but when it talked about the estimated 138 million likely to be killed in the US in an all out exchange, I saw the glass as half full and started thinking about what it would take to be a part of the 40-50% that would survive. I bought a nuclear war survival book (can't recall the title) and started small. First was putting together a couple bolts and wire to make a "key" to get into a manhole cover for shelter as the book suggested. Then I realized all that camping stuff I'd acquired over the years had another purpose.

It wasn't until 1988-91 that I actually started doing things to really up my odds, like becoming an EMT, buying food, and learning to shoot a handgun and high powered rifle. I worked for the Forest Service on a wilderness trail crew, which is where I really learned to survive comfortably under the worst of conditions at 11,500' with the unpredictable Colorado weather. In 1991 I married my first wife who's family was LDS in Utah. I learned a great deal from them and put up the basic four for a year for two people. I also worked as a cop for three years before going back to the Forest Service for another spell. By 1994 my preps were about as good as they were going to get until recently.

I was in DC for training on 9/11/01 and it really didn't have the same effect one might think. Other than buying new filters for the gas masks and bringing one to work, I didn't really look at my cache very seriously. I didn't see terrorism as a threat to our society that the media was trying to portray it as. I still don't, but that's probably best saved for another thread.

Fast forward to the Christmas blizzard in Colorado of 2006. I was trapped in my home with ever-deepening snow piling up for three days and started to look at my cache again, recognizing it needed some attention. Of the hundreds of thousands of calories in those buckets, I didn't have a clue how to use what I had on hand. I went to the local grocery store and the bread, meats, and frozen foods sections were cleaned out in just three days. It was a wake up call at just how vulnerable our food supply really is.

I started by thinking about what I really needed for the most likely events. I beefed up my car kit to be a 72 hour kit on steroids. After that, I started shopping on-line at Emergency Essentials, getting restocked on easy to prep foods like MREs and freeze dried food stuffs. I stocked up on kerosene again and bought a new propane heater. Recently I've rejoined Costco and started putting up rice, pasta and dried mashed potatoes. I need to inventory what I have, old and new, and look at where my weaknesses are. I've taken enough nutrition classes in college to realize that you can starve to death with all the rice in the world available, so I need to work on rounding things out with complimentary and complete proteins.

My real needs right now are to work on greater energy independence (probably solar, possibly wind, definitely more efficiency) as well as continuing to improve my food situation. Long term, I'd like more food independence, too, which means turning more of the yard into garden, learning to can, and getting back into hunting (it's probably been 10 years).

I look forward to getting to know you all better in the coming months. Looks like you've got a great site here.

Mark


----------



## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Samoan said:


> That is so cute that you take your grandson on hikes and stuff, NaeKid. That is too cute!


Our grandson loves going camping and such with us. It is an absolute blast (most of the time)  .. and sometimes it is very trying.

I put a video of one of our long-weekends together with some hiking, some shooting, quading and Jeeping. Keaton was 2.5 when we were out that time. I haven't had a chance to create online video's of some of our other trips to the woods, lakes, creeks and such.

If you wanna see a bit of our fun together .. click the link:


----------



## dunappy (Nov 11, 2008)

I've not ever been officially Prepping at all. However I've been " living simply" for most of my life. I started gardening at like 8 or 9 and have had gardens most of my life. I've kept chickens for meat and eggs as much as I could since I was about 10 years old. and I learned to slaughter animals in college as part of the requirement for my degree. So over all I've had more than 30 years of experiences in different aspects of Self sufficiency.


----------



## AgentFlounder (Dec 12, 2008)

I've tried to build a sort of outdoor preparedness for at least 10 yrs now, but not so good on the home preparedness front. I think this forum will inspire me to get on the ball there.

NaeKid I really like what you said here:



NaeKid said:


> My grandson is almost 4 now - soon I will be teaching him how to be prepared. I already am taking him for hikes, camping, off-roading - for "fun" - but that is the best way to teach them to be ready for anything.


From my own experiences, whether it's preparing for hackers to break into your computers, or for IT systems to crash, or Jeeps to break on the 4x4 trail, or other things... real life practice is king. I find it not only hones the equipment but-- way more importantly-- the skills needed (aka training). And all of that is fun.

When I first started four wheeling, I did my best to prepare by piling in equipment and spares based on advice from others. And I did all my own mechanic work. Ten years later, I am usually the go-to guy for the critical spare parts when something breaks and since I've been through my truck end to end, I'm way better at fixing it than I used to be. Same would surely apply to various other skills / preparation. I guess I like being self sufficient so fun hobbies to me are ones where I DIY in various forms.


----------



## Canadian (Dec 14, 2008)

I've been preparing for almost a year now. I started when some investors I know told me about the coming recession. I'm only about halfway done building my survival stash. I hope to have it complete by the end of the first week of January.


----------



## Canadian (Dec 14, 2008)

Naekid - Keaton is cute. I love how the sippy cup made it into almost every photo.


----------



## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

twilightbluff said:


> Just wondering how long you guys have been prepping for? I've been into the idea for about 2 1/2 years now.


About 25 years,give or take.or ever since I was 16.I'm 44 now.


----------



## Denny (Oct 14, 2008)

Passively, about 10 years... Actively, roughly 3-4 years. At first, my wife practically wanted me committed, but with the way the world changes, she's become very supportive of me. For my birthday, she got several items off my list I hadn't got around to getting. Once, she started backing my efforts, it became a breeze. With mental, physical and material preparation growing daily, I know we'll have no problems at whatever is thrown our way.


----------



## skip (Dec 13, 2008)

Like many here, I've grown up with being prepared. When I was growing up here in the Ozarks, that's just what people did. You had to learn to can if you wanted veggies in the winter. Money was tight, so you learned how to hunt and fish for meat.

I got out of it for a while when I joined the Air Force, but when I moved home and married, I took it up again. There a few jobs that pay enough around here to not do it.


----------



## littlechickenranchHen (Dec 30, 2008)

Off and on for 15 years. Serious prepping since August, 2008. Got alot done, but a long way to go. However, Rome was not built in a day.


----------



## mitchshrader (Jan 3, 2009)

much of my skillset is my raising and heritage, family traditions.. and personal life experience.. 

but 'formally' prepping for 4 years about.. and about a year (or two) yet to go on the FIRST '5 year plan'.. 

there's 3. the first was mostly beans n' bullets & boots sorta stuff.. the 2nd is about relocating to rural property and becoming food & water self sufficient.. the third is about a family based business/co-op, and amounts to 'off grid economic self sufficiency'.. may need to rethink the latter two parts this next year, make adjustments.. 

but i started with a 15 year time budget and a 10$ a day cash budget (commitment).. 

4 years in it's looking like I slightly underestimated my greed for redundancy, and overestimated the time it'd take for our economy to crash (I'd figured another year, or two)..

but overall i'm fairly much on track compared to NOT prepping. 

jeeze i'm glad i bought ammo year before last, i can't afford it now..


----------



## SASSGlock2 (Dec 3, 2008)

First became interested in preparedness in the early 80s in HS. Read Tappan's Survival Guns many times courtesy of the local library (man I wish I had a copy now!). Read SURVIVE magazine (a product of RKB and the SOF folks), watched Red Dawn way too many times.

I dabbled in prepping from Post-Desert Storm to about 1997, then got bit bad by the Y2K bug. Ended the 90s in a perfect retreat/homestead situation (3,000 sq. ft farm house on over 200 acres) except it was a rental. Spent over 10G on preps for me, had a crew of like minded individuals and couples that were also prepped and ready to move in if the Schumer hit the fan.

After things got back to normal after 9/11, I kind of lost interest and focus. the past two years or so, i have really got back in the mindset. Married now, and the wife is on board for the most part.


----------



## Denny (Oct 14, 2008)

SASSGlock2 said:


> First became interested in preparedness in the early 80s in HS. Read Tappan's Survival Guns many times courtesy of the local library (man I wish I had a copy now!). Read SURVIVE magazine (a product of RKB and the SOF folks), watched Red Dawn way too many times.
> 
> I dabbled in prepping from Post-Desert Storm to about 1997, then got bit bad by the Y2K bug. Ended the 90s in a perfect retreat/homestead situation (3,000 sq. ft farm house on over 200 acres) except it was a rental. Spent over 10G on preps for me, had a crew of like minded individuals and couples that were also prepped and ready to move in if the Schumer hit the fan.
> 
> After things got back to normal after 9/11, I kind of lost interest and focus. the past two years or so, i have really got back in the mindset. Married now, and the wife is on board for the most part.


Once you get your spouse/family behind you and in the right mindset, everything becomes not only easier, but fun as well. I too have people my age and in my area like-minded about preparation. Between all of us, there shouldn't be much that we can't handle.

I think if anything were to happen on a national/global level, current and former military should (and probably would) step up and take on a leadership role for the others.

Like I've said many times before, I've been labaled a tinfoil hat wearer for years,laughed at, ridiculed, etc. But if anything were to ever go down, I can bet that I would get bombarded with people seeking help and/or direction. I am a firm believer that I am my brother's keeper and I'll go to extremes to aid anyone when asked. But if it takes away from my family or tried to be taken from me forcably, you will end up with a foot up your...


----------



## Turkish (Oct 3, 2008)

The idea is becoming more and more popular and accepted here in 2009. It's like the new bandwagon that everyone is hoppin' on! 
I've only been preparing for the past year or so.
I agree with you, Denny...I think many people who knew how to would step up and take on the leadership roles. Or I would hope so.


----------



## Lowdown3 (Oct 28, 2008)

Seriously since 1986, dabbled in it for a few years previous to that in round about ways. 

Got away from the cities almost a decade ago and started a homestead.


----------



## Jerry D Young (Jan 28, 2009)

My first taste of prepping came during the Cuban Missile Crisis when I helped my father clean out the storm cellar and move food inside. Just in case. Of course, we were living a fairly prepared lifestyle in some ways, even then. Huge garden, two milk cows, twenty-five chickens, a hog raised to butcher, and three or four goats every year. My father did the butchering, and mother did the canning, pickling, freezing and so on. We hunted and fished, too, to suplement the other meat and to add variety. I learned field skills at my father's knee.

Then I got interested again when I was in Junior High School. We'd moved to a small town by then. I read Alas Babylon and How To Survive The H-Bomb, both by Pat Frank. I've been actively prepping since. That was 1967.

I've had to use my preps a couple of times to get along, but I'm back to a point where I'm comfortable with what I have.


----------



## rachilders (Oct 9, 2008)

Since the 70's in one form or another. I was on the gulf for hurricane Andrew in the early 90's, San Francisco when the big quake hit in the late 80's, been exposed to blizzards, tornado's, the cold war (remember _RED DAWN_) scares of the 60's, 70's and 80's, gas shortages in the 70's and riots in the 60's to name a few things. I survived a home burning to the ground in the middle of the night, a plane crash and I had my neck broken in a car accident, but I'm still here and still kicking. Depending on where I live and what the potential disaster is, I prepare as best I can for the perceived greatest threat and to survive for at least two weeks on my own in place or longer if I feel the need to bug out.

OTOH, I agree with an earlier poster that the world isn't well on it's way to going to hell in a hand basket despite what some folks would like us to believe and I don't spend all my time time and cash doing a version of Chicken Little. I spent over twenty years in the navy and saw a LOT of the world. Even the worst of places in the worst conditions didn't even begin to rise to the level of what I'd call a collapse of civilization. While things may become hard and we all may have to make changes and adjustments to the way we live under some circumstances, I can't really see a total collapse of civilization in this country unless it's caused by some *MAJOR *force of nature that we would have no way to predict or control anyway.

As I said, I prepare for what are the most likely scenarios that could happen to me at any given time and location. I don't worry about hurricanes in Utah or earthquakes in Miami. While anything is possible, the likelihood of race riots and civil unrest here in my part of East Texas are slim to none. I'm more likely to be killed in a car wreck than by a mugger or during a home invasion. While there's a chance I could die because of a natural/national disaster or terrorist attack, the odds are infinitely greater I'll die of old age or a heart attack.

Prepare for the worst (within reason) and hope for the best. Live your life to the fullest every day, enjoy it while you can and don't spend all your time and effort worrying about all the "bad" things that might - or much more likely might not - happen.


----------



## Gene Backus (Oct 3, 2008)

I've been prepping for the past 10 years I would say. Moving into the new millennium back in 2000 got me started on this whole way of life.


----------



## kyfarmer (Feb 22, 2009)

I,ve been collecting seeds that will put another crop in for years. Stocked salt,sugar,driedfood,s for a while now. Getting ready for what, don,t know. I think thats the point. Better ta have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Icestorm we just had. We were lucky compared to the rest of the state. Lite damages in our area, never lost power. Just being prepared is something i wish a lot more folks in my area would do.


----------



## MaryV (Jan 31, 2009)

I didnt even know people were "prepping", I would often get the idea to store food, then I would think, whats the point? I cant store enough to make any difference...No one I knew worried one minute about buying food in the future. but I have known for a long time that one day there wont be any, or the little there is will be fought over. I just didnt think I could do anything about it. Then a few months ago just a fluke, somewhere i saw a link to a website selling food, i think it was yourfoodstorage.com, or one of those...I saw that americans were buying up food in large amts and that it could be kept in tins for 25 yrs or so, with research I found out about storing food in mylar bags in buckets, etc. so just for a few months now I have been storing food as I am able. I know that so many things can happen, food stored isnt all the answer, but it will go a long way to keeping me feeling prepared, at least I am more prepared even just after a few months, than many people here I know who dont save anything at all. they will be trying to sell their big screen tvs to buy food, but I will have mine...I already just after a few months have enough to keep me for 6 months i figure...but my dream is to have enough to keep my daughter and her husband and my grandsons, but that may not happen, esp if they dont contribute. even if nothing serious happens here, and food continuse to be in the stores, the prices are rising all the time, and at least I am going to eat cheaper than others are.
I am finding it fun, and like a new hobby...


----------



## River (Feb 24, 2009)

My parents were from Oklahoma and we lived in Arkansas, so we'd all gone through tornadoes all our lives and preparing for bad weather was a normal part of life, but I don't think we ever really stopped to think of it as 'preparedness'. It was just, you know, what it was, just a regular part of life.

I've always been into camping, hiking, and backpacking, so I've amassed a lot of gear and skills that are useful for preparedness/survival.

If I had to say exactly when, though, I'd say 9/11 is when we woke up and changed our mentality, because that's when we all sat down as a family and discussed what we'd do if we were caught in a disaster, or were being evacuated, and the kinds of disasters we face normally in our area and how to respond to them.

I didn't really work as diligently on my bug out bag or disaster plans until about three years ago, after a backpacking trip that went sideways, and it's been uphill from there.


----------



## Joanie (Feb 27, 2009)

I am fairly new to the idea. My family comes from money and a lifestyle that clearly lets people know they have money. I used to live this way until college. I found out how people really live when I was able to free away from the constant protection from my parents. I met my "hippie" husband 4 years ago and have been adapting more and more to his lifestyle ever since. I really like living the simple life and enjoying the small things.


----------



## Expeditioner (Jan 6, 2009)

I have been prepping/homesteadimg since I was a kid and did not know it until I was older. My family, while well off, has always gone camping, fished, hunted, and grown fruits and vegetables, canned foods, etc.


----------



## FreeAmerica (Mar 9, 2009)

I've been going hard for 6 months. I took a storage room in the basement, put in shelves, bought a gun safe, bought guns and LOTS of ammo. Recently I have been stocking up on long term food supplies.


----------



## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

I started thinking about it after reading Hal Lindsays "Late Great Planet Earth "in the late 1970s. I was in scouting my whole childhood and unknowingly learned alot. I moved to Miami, Fl. a year before Andrew hit and realized how ill prepared I was. All I had was a Coleman lantern & stove and 2 gal. of fuel. After that I put a plan together, evacuate and go to Disney World. 2 or 3 years ago I began thinking about it seriously and putting bob's and plans together. I don't have everything thouroughly defined yet, but would be quite comfortable in alot of scenearios. I would still like to get a small piece of land somewhere to retreat to with my family.


----------



## ingodwetrust (May 24, 2009)

*Your wrong about looters*

This is a reply to what jeephammer had to say.
Your wrong every hurricane we have been hit with and we have had our share we had to deal with looters coming into our area (EVERYTIME). It got so bad one time not only did I carry a rifle I kept one looter from my neighbors home AT GUN POINT! We had no protection until they (police department) found out someone had a rifle and was protecting our homes. At that time we finally got some help the police (from another county) started to patrol our streets, plus they blocked off the streets coming into our area. The police would not let anybody in our area that did not belong here (they checked ID). They did a GREAT JOB plus gave everyone ice & water & MRE's we can't thank them enough.


----------



## In the pines (Dec 13, 2009)

*Ive been prepping for.........ever*

My mother grew up in the depression. Therefore she raised our family to be self sufficient. You never threw anything out.We canned all of our food. She made my clothes. I guess I was born a prepper. Sadly mom died unexpectedly in 2000. It was then that I got serious about not only about prepping but, also survival. I have 4 kids of my own and 4 grandkids.I feel that maybe one day I just might save their lives.


----------



## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

*How Long?*

Going on 3 years now. Ever since we noticed the packaging of food shrinking and the price rising.


----------



## twolilfishies (Dec 6, 2009)

ive been prepping mentally for years...always been completely paranoid even as a child i talked about another war. I guess thats the psychic piscean nature....but as for actual real life storing shit, Man i got nothing,hahaha
I mean... I have lots of clothes and blankets so far but Im just starting to hoard stuff away ....just a baby in the prep world
Nice to meet you all by the way....
My family says you make paranoid me look normal!:flower:


----------



## Kriket (Dec 9, 2009)

JeepHammer said:


> I'd rather plan for a failed crop by putting away TWO years worth of food from my garden,
> I'd rather plan for another FLOOD like we had this spring.
> I'd rather plan for a BLIZZARD like we had in '77 and '78 by stocking in some extra fuel and freezing some extra bread and milk for later use...


:ita:

We had a windstorm from Ike last September and I believe I was the only one still living in my house for the 8 days w/o power that followed.

I was born this way  I have been "prepping" all my life. When I was a kid my dad lost his job for 6 months. I didn't even know we were living on zero income with the utilities shut off until my mom was talking about it as an adult. I moved to the city when I was 18 and have been trying to get back to where I was ever since. (6ish years)


----------



## Scavengerhill (Dec 15, 2009)

I've been waiting since I was about six years old. I 'll really be ready when the house is built, although I have sustainable energy, water supply and heat already on the thirty acre mountain plot. Hurr.


----------



## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

i guess I've been a "prepper" since I was a child back in the 60's and early 70's. Back then it was called being self-sufficent or bein' a country boy. I grew up gardening,fishing,hunting,foraging, herbing and such. It's just moved a step further and I am stocking up on the three B's as well. ( Beans,Bullets,Bandaids) We are currently sitting on about 18-20 months of food supplies, several hundred gallons of fuel for our 3 generators and our vehicles, enough medical supplies for a small clinic or ER. Just added another 1,000 rounds of .22 ammo bringing my ammo totals ( all calibers,gauges) to some 40,000 rounds. Have about 400 gallons of stored water (we also have a well) I/we still garden and have fruit trees and berry bushes/plants as well.


----------



## Akaalbany (Apr 8, 2010)

Kinda always been a prepper too. Grew up in a house where canned goods and dry goods have always been really important. Has come in handy over the years with hour cuts and when I got cancer and got "laid off". At least I was able to keep food on the table.


----------



## Littlebit (Apr 20, 2010)

Akaalbany said:


> Kinda always been a prepper too. Grew up in a house where canned goods and dry goods have always been really important. Has come in handy over the years with hour cuts and when I got cancer and got "laid off". At least I was able to keep food on the table.


I hear ya! We grew up poor, but food was never short around the house. Grandparents and my mother made sure of it. Between gardening and canning what we grew food was always in stock. My relatives come from the Ausable area upstate new york. Hope your feeling better.


----------



## Asatrur (Dec 17, 2008)

Have always been food preservers, etc., but recently started doing actual prepping for events out of our control.


----------



## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

I have been prepping seriously since Hurricane Andrew. It is becomming a way of life for me.


----------



## survivalboy12895 (Dec 17, 2009)

Hmmmmmmmm....I've been for about 18 months now!!


----------



## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

Well I'm sure you all know that I have been in the preparedness frame of mind for all of my adult life, but it started long before that, and as J.D.Y. noted, my family was on alert during the Cuban missile crisis also. I was born and raised a Mormon early on, and we were always prepared to some extent. My mother even showed us the manhole covers and water drain holes that were on our way to school we should take cover in, just in case.
We honed our skills with backpacking, rock climbing and mountaineering with the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club when it was in its infancy back in the late fifties and early sixties. My father, uncle and friends including Henry Mandolf, were involved in compiling and publishing the 'Basic Mountaineering Course' book, which, I believe is still around to this day. My father, did the illustrations for it also, the family you see hiking in the book is ours, all 5 members.
Once in the military I took all the classes I could to expand my knowledge, even courses on handgun reloading was offered on base back then.
I still have all of the long term food that I started back in the 70's, even after old friends that were into it back then, have long since disposed of theirs.:dunno:


----------



## Grizz (Jan 24, 2010)

I think i started to prepare when i was in the scouts. I really started to prep after the Air Force, when I had a family to think of. I have always been a hoarder. I buy storage units and go to yard sales and watch several auction sites. I have been involved in the Fire service since just before my 16 birthday. When I went in search of a site to help me put things in order, I found this site first. As I have been reading through this site I have become very involved assessing what i have gathered in materials in a my lifetime. A lot of what i thought was junk to be sold at auction or in our yard sales has now been gone through and placed on my keep shelves. I have never been a gardener, but i plan on putting in a small one this year as soon as it gets warm. We have nearly 700 canning jars ( all free ) of various sizes and all the canning materials and equipment and hope to know haw to fill them soon. My wife and i are in the process of down sizing our lives. No need for the big house and all the furnishings. I will retire in 24 months and move somewhere else. Calif is not for us. We will be looking for another place where we build our modest house, but totally off the grid. We will be looking for an area a couple hours from a city where you can shop for the thing you just gotta have. Shallow water, 2-20 acres, good soil, seclude enough that i can build a shelter without big brother knowing about it. I'm looking forward to reading everyones messages and learning more. I have saved every spent cartridge since i was 11 years old, and i'm looking at a reloader for my rifles. already have a reloader for our shotguns. I have 3 moving boxes of hulls to reload. That will be my winter project next year. I could use some advice on a good canning book. We have a large pressure cooker and a large water canner. I have looked through so many different books and they all have different ideas and methods. I really need one book that works.


----------



## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

Try these threads... http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/websites-canning-dehydrating-1838/

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/canners-16-qt-vs-23-qt-1331/

Just a reminder...If you use the search option in the tool bar it will bring up everything that has been discussed under "canning".

BB


----------



## mitchshrader (Jan 3, 2009)

I think it's more pick one method and stick to it, for each type of food, your location and the availability of 'root cellar' shelf space. Different types of food storage are optimal for those in differing circumstances, and what works great with abundant labor works poorly without it. 6 kids over 8 years old are assets, 6 kids UNDER 8 mean you do nothing else..  

Waterbath is easy, but works well on acidic foods and very sweet ones, and those 'spiked' with alcohol (brandied peaches).. 

Pressure cooking is sho' nuff professional, will even kill/prevent botulism, highly recommended for meat, or anything tough/hard. Supposing you had the jars to spare, you can even store beans precooked in pint or quart jars. Granma cut corners too, when she could. Canning has one prime virtue, in that it prevents waste of free food. Operative word 'free', meaning WILL be wasted if not canned. Between the heat, work, pitifully small quantities, and vast supply of help to eat it, home canning isn't an adventure. It is salvage. 

Don't even dream of buying stuff retail and canning it..


----------



## Asatrur (Dec 17, 2008)

mitchshrader said:


> Don't even dream of buying stuff retail and canning it..


It is about growing your own and preserving rather than buying stuff. I will it does make sense to buy retail veggies, etc. and can it unless you get a really good deal like at a farmer market or directly from the farm.


----------



## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

Husband and I have been in prep mode long before Y2K


----------



## Asatrur (Dec 17, 2008)

Freyadog,
May I ask where your name comes from?
In Frith,
Devin


----------



## Grizz (Jan 24, 2010)

Thanks for the info


----------



## worldengineer (Sep 20, 2010)

I got started with primitive survival in 8th grade.(still a hobby). I was to young in 9/11 to understand what it was about. I started my BOB not long after learning primitive survival skills. Currently started prepping for all scenarios. Snow storms are common in my area so I lean towards lack of power, and inability to grow food. Or the lack of a government to keep the hoarde in their homes when the SHTF.


----------



## SurviveNthrive (May 20, 2010)

My mother was in Hawaii before and during World War II. They faced forms or limitations beyond rationing and she always kept some extra stuff. Dad grew up during the Depression. Imagine working hard and not being able to put away much at all. We never suffered, enjoyed a comfy life but I learned about hard times young. They weren't too worried about the Cold War because the truth was, if that went, we all go.

In the 1970's I was aware of survivalism and it continued in the 1980's. I'd read several of the books, but wasn't as aware there was some more to it, companies catering, a few magazines and such, ASG being one until the early 1980's. Met an individual who practiced a form of survivalism that puts almost everyone here to shame. Through some unfortunate events, I guess he took on the government and WON because he vanished so he taught me only a faction of what he knew.


----------



## PamsPride (Dec 21, 2010)

I have been trying to prep or at least keep some extra food on hand all of my adult life. My mom is not against prepping but she does not prep. I did not grow up with more than a large freezer full of extra food in the house. My DH's mom, who is single, is NOT a prepper! If she has more than three days worth of food for just herself on hand I would be amazed!! That would be counting frozen TV dinners!


----------

