# what if you are not prepared enough



## ckpettit (Jul 5, 2012)

The other day i was thinking what would you do if a shtf situation lasted longer than you prepared for what would you do.


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## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

I doubt there are a lot of us who have prepared enough, except for those who are self-sufficient already... I think those with the proper mindset and knowledge at hand - books, etc will struggle but hang on...


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## staceyj (Feb 17, 2012)

I think when the shtf it will be for a very long time. We will all have to rely on our talents and resourcefulness as well as a good dose of faith to make it thru.


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## hgreer0007 (Sep 15, 2012)

I personally don't think that you can ever be completely prepared. You should go shed and mentally prepare yourself for the situation in which you may have to violate someone's space and "tactically acquire" some much needed supplies. If a situation lasts long enough, only the strong (physically&mentally) will survive. Being prepared is much more than stockpiling food and supplies. Prepare your mind and body.


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## tugboats (Feb 15, 2009)

It completely depends on the cause of the disaster. If it is radioactive fallout I hope I am at ground zero at the time. We have the capabilities for the short term but the long term outlook is grim in that type of event.

For most other events I think we are pretty well off for a year to a year and a half, barring severe medical issues. We have enough seeds put back to produce a garden for two years but if we have a terrible season.....ouch.

We have sprouting seeds for vitamins during the winter. Enough wood to get us through two normal winters. Sources of water unless they are contaminated somehow. Then we only have 3-4 weeks set aside.

I have food stored at several places within a two day walk from home (at the farthest). We have a cottage 200 miles north of us that is on a stream that connects to a lake. I can fish, hunt, trap for protien if needed. This assumes that there will still be fish and game around.

We have substantial drugs for the older family members that we take care of but we will be out of luck in that department in 2-4 months. We are learning some of the natural remedies but that assumes that the flora and fauna remain unchanged.

I have no idea what will cause the SHTF. My assumption is economic melt down. In that case, I think we will be fairly OK.

I have taken classes for just about any skill (except medicine) that we will need. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, canning, skinning, butchering, animal husbandry, growing, preserving, sewing, blacksmithing, boat building, sail making and repair, mechanics, hydraulics, sciences. We have close friends that have the skills that I am lacking. All four of these families are within a half day walk from us.

By the time my preps run out I think a semi-orderly system of laws will be reintroduced and I can trade my skills and talents for the goods and services that I need. We are Americans and we can overcome any adverse condition placed before us. I believe in our basic greatness, compassion for our fellow man and the ability to best any and all situations.


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## Padre (Oct 7, 2011)

ckpettit said:


> The other day i was thinking what would you do if a shtf situation lasted longer than you prepared for what would you do.


You do or die.

Don't fool yourself that you can ever prepare enough to save your life; you'll go bankrupt, mad, and in the end you will be disappointed. Even these billionaire luxury preppers who have missile silo penthouses will be unpreppared in the face of a planet killer asteroid, or an all out global nuclear war. Sure, they may survive the event, but ultimately if the environment on the surface of the Earth becomes so inhospitable to life that we can't survive while they may survive 1, 3, or 5 years longer than others ultimately they are dead men walking and they will die just like everyone else.

We humans are able to live within a very limited range of tolerances to O2, gravity, cold and heat, radiation, etc.., we can choose to give thanks and praise to God for the "fittingness" of creation or not, but the fact remains that we are in the hands of God, whether we live or die we do so for the Lord.

Like Joseph in Egypt, we can prep, because we believe that it is God's will that we protect our families, we can prep in cooperation with God's plan, but ultimately when the seven years of famine are up either we will find enough resources, know how, and luck (God's providence) to begin to be "self-sufficient" (such as is possible) or we won't. I am preparing for the SHTF up to and including TEOTWAWKI, but if its simply TEOTW. then we are in trouble :shtf:

Accepting this reality goes a long way to being a well balanced prepper and having peace about the present and future


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

hgreer0007 said:


> I personally don't think that you can ever be completely prepared. You should go shed and mentally prepare yourself for the situation in which you may have to violate someone's space and "tactically acquire" some much needed supplies. If a situation lasts long enough, only the strong (physically&mentally) will survive. Being prepared is much more than stockpiling food and supplies. Prepare your mind and body.


I would shoot or hang anyone who "tactically acquired" someone else's supplies just as soon as I heard about it. Looters and pillagers are a threat to everyone plus I'm going to assume that they stole from someone who had the foresight to prepare for themselves and their family. That rates them right down alongside child molesters. They probably deprived some child of their necessities in order to keep themselves alive.

On second thought, shooting and hanging are too quick. There'll be a much slower and more painful way for them to "tactically expire."


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Learn to support yourself using stone age technology. We've become more interested and practiced in primitive living skills -- that's different from primitive survival skills because we plan on doing it as a lifestyle if necessary.

Preparedness is more than just accumulating a garage or basement full of supplies. Learn the skills needed to survive without all the modern gadgets people think are indispensible. Mankind survived for thousands of years without cell phone, tractors and firearms.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

ckpettit said:


> The other day i was thinking what would you do if a shtf situation lasted longer than you prepared for what would you do.


another reason why everyone should have at least one yrs worth of supplies. when the SHsTF, you go right into depression mood, plant everything you can if it's the right time of the yr.start rationing, when the SHsTF, it will be for your life time or fifty yrs or more.it will be TEOTWAWKI


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

mosquitomountainman said:


> Learn to support yourself using stone age technology. We've become more interested and practiced in primitive living skills -- that's different from primitive survival skills because we plan on doing it as a lifestyle if necessary.
> 
> Preparedness is more than just accumulating a garage or basement full of supplies. Learn the skills needed to survive without all the modern gadgets people think are indispensible. Mankind survived for thousands of years without cell phone, tractors and firearms.


And there it is ... 

Well said!


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## FrankW (Mar 10, 2012)

Right now I am poorly prepared w/ food for only 2 months.
I think the sensible cutoff is food for one year.
After 1 year all the unprepared are dead and the remainder is at a much lower population density so that it PPL would gain be willing to take others into their village as long as you bring in useful skills.


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## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

I agree my weakness is food, but next week that will change some, walking into Krogers on another 10/10 and walking out with $1000 in food stuff... That should get me to the 1 year+ mark... Just got 3 large shelving units to hold it too.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

mosquitomountainman said:


> On second thought, shooting and hanging are too quick. There'll be a much slower and more painful way for them to "tactically expire."


As I have said several times before, sew em in a tote sack of feral cats, hang it up and let the kids play pinata until the screaming stops!

Would send a good message for future looters!


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## teotwaki (Aug 31, 2010)

hgreer0007 said:


> I personally don't think that you can ever be completely prepared. You should go shed and mentally prepare yourself for the situation in which you may have to violate someone's space and "tactically acquire" some much needed supplies. If a situation lasts long enough, only the strong (physically&mentally) will survive. Being prepared is much more than stockpiling food and supplies. Prepare your mind and body.


"tactically acquire" = a "SHOOT ME" sign on your front and back sides

See the thread on "Preppers' Code Of Conduct" where looting vs. salvaging is covered: 
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f2/preppers-code-conduct-13368/


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Davarm said:


> As I have said several times before, sew em in a tote sack of feral cats, hang it up and let the kids play pinata until the screaming stops!
> 
> Would send a good message for future looters!


Don't forget to mount the corpse on a pole for all to see.


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

Your preps are only intended to get you to the next growing season. Consider your preps as an 'gap' insurance policy. Your preps will never last until the next "Great Enlightenment". If you think you will simply sit in your basement eating Mountain House until its all over and the grocery opens back up, you will be among the starving, just a few months later.

The funny thing is, is that all this prepping we do is aimed towards our survival - avoiding death. But we can't avoid it. All we may be able to do is delay it. 

I think that once we all accept the fact of our deaths, and the deaths of those we care about as just a natural course of events sooner or later, we would be in a much better position to confront what is causing all this pending grief before things get to the collapse stage.

Most fear death and think it the worst outcome. I think the worst outcome is to have your soul condemned to an eternal hell. But, thats just me.


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## db2469 (Jun 11, 2012)

Jezcruzen said:


> Your preps are only intended to get you to the next growing season. Consider your preps as an 'gap' insurance policy. Your preps will never last until the next "Great Enlightenment". If you think you will simply sit in your basement eating Mountain House until its all over and the grocery opens back up, you will be among the starving, just a few months later.
> 
> The funny thing is, is that all this prepping we do is aimed towards our survival - avoiding death. But we can't avoid it. All we may be able to do is delay it.
> 
> ...


Being alive is all I've ever known and I want to keep it that way...


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

BlueZ said:


> Right now I am poorly prepared w/ food for only 2 months.
> I think the sensible cutoff is food for one year.
> After 1 year all the unprepared are dead and the remainder is at a much lower population density so that it PPL would gain be willing to take others into their village as long as you bring in useful skills.


I think the sensible cutoff is a year too. I'd prefer to have more than one year's food but we don't have the money.

The village would have to have an adequate supply of extra food before they took in another person. Your skills can't help them if they don't have the extra food for you.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

UncleJoe said:


> Don't forget to mount the corpse on a pole for all to see.


Dang ... Now I going to have to dig into the History Channel movies to get the name of the guy who did that ...

Was it the Haunted Histories Collection ... :gaah: Guess I will have to dig them out and see.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

You are never too young, too pretty, too rich, or too prepared. It will be our skills that get us through a long term disaster. The trick will be to have enough stores to get you through to the next harvest or until you can trade your skills for supplies. TEOTWAWKI is the least likely disaster but by preparing for it you prepare for all lesser events. Enjoy prepping, you are always better at something you enjoy.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

I agree with much of what has been said here, regarding death as the inevitable end, and accepting that. Meanwhile, I will do what I can to provide for our family. 

Since it is entirely impractical for me to try to store enough to last the rest of my life, I expect to have to produce food, gather water and other necessities. Because crops fail sometimes (many did this past summer), we try to store enough for a couple years. Glad we did this year. 

We can produce our own vegetables, fruits, herbs, water, limited grain, and some eggs at home on an ongoing basis. For bulk grain, firewood, most meats, and other things, we will have to trade with others 

The lower the level of luxury one plans for, the easier it is to achieve, so we set our sights on maintaining the life of a comfortable farmer/craftsman of 1860 to 1900. This cannot be done by my wife and I alone, so we are part of a farming community, where I can provide equipment repair as a blacksmith and machinist in exchange for what we need. 

Among other projects, I am restoring an antique sorghum mill, so we can process the cane grown by others into syrup for a portion of the product. It can be operated by a gasoline engine, or any suitable draft animal for power. (There are lots of idle saddle horses around here.) 

Our family has both gasoline powered and horse powered gardening/small farming equipment. Our kids own an off grid place with considerable forest land not far from us. Our neighbors have been shop customers for years. With the help of family, friends, and neighbors, we can make it.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

*Andi said:


> Dang ... Now I going to have to dig into the History Channel movies to get the name of the guy who did that ...
> 
> Was it the Haunted Histories Collection ... :gaah: Guess I will have to dig them out and see.


Dracula. Vlad the Impaler in 13th century Romania. .


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

UncleJoe said:


> Don't forget to mount the corpse on a pole for all to see.


You Bet, good suggestion!


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

UncleJoe said:


> Dracula. Vlad the Impaler in 13th century Romania. .


I think you are right ... 

But a good reason to watch them again.

:thankyou:


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

> You are never too young, *too pretty*, too rich, or too prepared.


You have obviously not seen my photo.  But you got me on the other three.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

*Andi said:


> Dang ... Now I going to have to dig into the History Channel movies to get the name of the guy who did that ...
> 
> Was it the Haunted Histories Collection ... :gaah: Guess I will have to dig them out and see.


The Assyrians (circa 1800 BC, Mesopotamia) of ancient history also did that. And I'm sure they were not alone.

The Scythians (circa 700 BC, north of the Black Sea) used their enemies skulls for drinking cups...


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*I plan on*



Jezcruzen said:


> Your preps are only intended to get you to the next growing season. Consider your preps as an 'gap' insurance policy. Your preps will never last until the next "Great Enlightenment". If you think you will simply sit in your basement eating Mountain House until its all over and the grocery opens back up, you will be among the starving, just a few months later.
> 
> The funny thing is, is that all this prepping we do is aimed towards our survival - avoiding death. But we can't avoid it. All we may be able to do is delay it.
> 
> ...


I plan to die but I haven't set the date yet !


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

You can never be prepared enough, but you do reach a point where you are self-sufficient enough that you can provide for yourself in the event that things get really bad. 

You can only buy so many rolls of duct tape, but I figure if I run out, I can trade food for what I need. I am very good at growing/raising food.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Jezcruzen said:


> The funny thing is, is that all this prepping we do is aimed towards our survival - avoiding death. But we can't avoid it. All we may be able to do is delay it..., we would be in a much better position to confront what is causing all this pending grief before things get to the collapse stage.


I have no fear of death, but I will fight all the way to the grave to delay the death of my children. I have to do what I can to give them the chance to succeed. I have to keep them alive long enough and teach them what they need to know to survive in not only the current world, but whatever lies ahead.



machinist said:


> I expect to have to produce food, gather water and other necessities. Because crops fail sometimes (many did this past summer), we try to store enough for a couple years. Glad we did this year.


This is something many people overlook.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

I will never be prepared 'enough.' Period.

But I keep trying...


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

UncleJoe said:


> Don't forget to mount the corpse on a pole for all to see.


I was thinking that, but thought it a little harsh for some ears here..so, thanks for posting my thoughts.

Know what they say...we don't dial 911.

On a few forums/blogs/sites most advise to have more than one year...because we've just seen a bad summer for crops, and many the second bad growing season.
YMMV...in my opinion.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Eventually I'll run out of food and water. I'll be forced to go outside and look for both. I'll have to learn to hunt. The good thing is that the unprepared people will be gone by then.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

BillS said:


> Eventually I'll run out of food and water. I'll be forced to go outside and look for both. I'll have to learn to hunt. The good thing is that the unprepared people will be gone by then.


I'd advise learning to hunt, grow food, forage and whatever other skills you think you'll need to survive, now. Hunting is a skill that must be learned. The early colonists quipped that "game is exceedingly abundant but very wary." They noted that if it hadn't been for the native Americans teaching them to hunt and grow food that they would have starved.

Game is going to get scarce quick in a SHTF event, The animals that are left are going to be very alert and difficult to get by even illegal means. Even in Montana you'd be surprised at the huge percentage of people who road hunt and wouldn't stand a chance of collecting a critter on foot in the woods. It isn't as easy as it appears. Read _Fred Bear's Field Notes _(the book) and you'll see that he often spent days in the field without seeing a single game animal. This was with professional guides and outfitters in some of the richest hunting country on earth.

My oldest son was/is a crack shot and expected to get his first deer within hours of the season opening. He worked hard for days to get his first deer. We saw lots of them but they don't sit broadside waiting for you to shoot them. It takes practice and skill and knowledge to even hunt small game successfully. He's pretty good now with several elk and many deer to his credit but it didn't happen overnight.

If preppers haven't learned the skills before they need them they are the "unprepared."

Cheers,

Steve


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

hgreer0007 said:


> I personally don't think that you can ever be completely prepared. You should go shed and mentally prepare yourself for the situation in which you may have to violate someone's space and "tactically acquire" some much needed supplies. If a situation lasts long enough, only the strong (physically&mentally) will survive. Being prepared is much more than stockpiling food and supplies. Prepare your mind and body.


call it what it is: THEFT

If not my last resort, it would be pretty damn close to it.


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

hgreer0007 said:


> I personally don't think that you can ever be completely prepared. You should go shed and mentally prepare yourself for the situation in which you may have to violate someone's space and "tactically acquire" some much needed supplies.


Stealing is NOT prepping. We have a thread on that. You can mentally prepare to steal my stuff because I am more than prepared to shoot you for trying to steal it. Just saying.


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## urbanprepper (May 15, 2012)

goshengirl said:


> I will never be prepared 'enough.' Period.
> 
> But I keep trying...


My thoughts exactly.

I have my list of basic preps i still need, and that list is long. Once that is met, a suitable BOL (my family has a suitable location, which is my plan for now, eventually i want land, and my own location nearby) i will start getting my BOL ready. I imagine given the roughly 60-70 years i have left, i will still be working on a new list...


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

I will never be prepared enough because there are to many things that cause TEOTWAWKI. I have supplies enough to bug in for several months for my wife and I. But our household population easily will triple when it hits. I give the gift of supplies (mainly food) for all holidays to our immediate family and closest friends who will move in. But it's not enough. My BOL is set up very well and we are improving it all the time. We were there again this weekend. Pushing hard to finish some tasks before winter hits. With martial law it is very easy to shut down all roads here. We travel by boat to our cabin, but getting to the boat launch will be a problem. While everyone here is locked down by martial law, the locals know where all the cabins are in their area. So I have to realize that my preps at BOL may go to someone else and it will be bare by the time I get there. During the summer my grandkids and I spend weeks there at a time sometimes up to a month and a half. If it goes down then, we are set up as far as food (security will be a problem) I have to sleep sometime. I have a checklist at home so the wife knows what to bring as long as she can make it to the boat launch. My friends also own a boat so they will all coordinate that. That's summer, winter is a whole different situation. Just prepare as best you can.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

other than my continuing preps, I have a list of "last minute" preps. The last minute ones are things that would be nice but not mandatory but that I don't buy ahead for various reasons.


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## SURVIVALIST_RANGER (Sep 25, 2012)

If your not prepared enough, toy cant do anything about that. You just have to try and be prepared enough.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

preps can be gone through; skills last forever. And nobody can take them away, neither.


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## teotwaki (Aug 31, 2010)

I would add that your neighbors can be your biggest asset. They can trade with you for goods, provide assistance when you or your family are ill or injured, provide moral support or just share a willing ear and offer quiet counsel during the darkest days.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

teotwaki said:


> I would add that your neighbors can be your biggest asset. They can trade with you for goods, provide assistance when you or your family are ill or injured, provide moral support or just share a willing ear and offer quiet counsel during the darkest days.


I only have one "next door neighbor", and I am hoping to take down their privacy fence and use it for combined perimeter fencing, then combine our backyard gardens


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

yup the Theives will decorate the light poles around here as a warning to others. Kinda my specialty is figuring out how to shut down my immediate area to protect myself and the neighbors, to prevent theives and oportunists from destroying animal herds and crops. My biggest fear is hordes of people coming through pot shoting livestock causing huge waste of meat and the loss of a sustainable herd. Between me and the neighbors we have a pretty good chance of being self sufficient especially given I live kinda sorta in Amish territory so they are largely sefl sufficient now. What they especially lack is security and that is one of my "trade items" I'm counting on. Along with charging batteries and custom handloading, And sale and trade in a good variety of garden seed. And if I ever get it together alcohl for fuel and possibly liabation. Yeah can't just store food you have to ploan to be able to produce it and be self sufficient if not hte first season the second and hopefully save a little for a third if needed.


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