# What was your wake-up call?



## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Many people have said on here that prepping wasn't a conscious decision so much as a generational habit. For those that made a decision to do it, what tipped the balance to get you started?

I've had a number of tipping points, but what's really gotten me going was a specific newscast I saw after one of our blizzards this winter. It was an interview with an older couple who was snowed in and lost their utilities. "And after we ate through our 3-day emergency supply, we had to trek into town and get help."

It prompted to me to go though my own provisions and find about the same thing - emergency batteries that had been in storage so long they burst and destroyed my flashlights, bloated cans, empty water jugs ... not good. But I'm very grateful that my wake-up call was a vicarious one and I didn't run out of food or needfuls myself.

What about the rest of you?


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

I was raised by my grand parents. They went through the great depression.
They taught me gardening, food storage, lack of trust in the banks, My grand mother always had several weeks of food stored in an old country pantry. 

My mother had me move in with her when I was 16 and she never had more then a day supply of food. I started storing food in my bedroom out of my mother's sight. When ever we had blizzards, tornado's, and floods I was prepared. To this day (43 years later) she still thinks I'm strange.


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## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

Hey Tweto

Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: , Nebraska
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Please give one more Likes Given!


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## VoorTrekker (Oct 7, 2012)

The Cuban Missile Crisis when I was six years old, coupled with the Cold War, the Kennedy assassination, the Johnson Administration, the Carter Administration and the complacency of my parents and family elders. 

My realization came when I was unemployed and began starving. Once I was able to get a means to live I began pre-emptive planning and preparations in anticipation of unforeseeable hard times. Like economic horrors, gas prices hyperinflating, car breaks down, traffic tickets for the quota system, etc.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

a realization of how vastly mismanaged our currency system is.

taken a step further to realize that I was completely exposed, I had no tangible wealth, enough weapons and training to be a problem, but not to be a solution, and my food stores made "the average american has less than 3 days food on hand" seem like... I wish I had that...

There's so many things that "could" happen... for me, planning for economic collapse covers just about everything that I would be able to plan and successfully cover, and it's attainable goals. A lot of it is actually fun too. I love long distance shooting as well as combat pistol matches, I like storing my own foods and crafting my own jams/jellies/whatever. I like self sustaining life style hobbies and I like the toys all of those interests and more leads me to buy! I'm good with all of that 

I'd say my stress levels are down about 500% when I first realized how vulnerable I was to things outside of my control, that I had made no effort whatsoever to mitigate with resources I could control.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

My parents lived through the depression. Income was often seasonal. Shopping day took half the day if you rushed through it due to the distance to the store so we kept a lot at home. Prepping was a way of life.

Illness and other misfortunes have reminded me, on a semi regular basis, why I prep. Studying potential disasters and watching current events has carried me further than I ever expected. It is not so much that I became a prepper because of an event as that I remained inspired due to a series of events.


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## FatTire (Mar 20, 2012)

9/11.. Or rather, things i learned in the years after, questions, books read.. Slowly i woke up n realized that a little oatmeal n potatoes n ramen wasnt gonna cut it.

Then as i got more into prepping, i eventualy found this site and came to believe that the only real liberty left is to be self sustaining, so thats my current goal, to save enought money to buy a small patch a grass n get off the grid.

In the meantime i read n practice n try to aquire new skills. The skill im most recently tasked with is letting go of the past. Time to quit beating myself up for past mistakes n buckle down in the here and now... I hope time is on my side, if not, every new thing i learn gives me an edge. 

Chin up, eyes open, the world is comming at you and it doesnt care if youre having a bad day, no excuses.


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

I was always a outdoor, youll find me by the creek or making forts in the fields kinda kid. My friends mother had a huge garden and it always was wonderful. I started a small garden around 10 and made blackberry jam and once bb wine ( with my friends moms help..i was 13 but was allowed to keep one bottle) . Anyways outdoorsey and animals was my thing as a kid, dispite my mom trying to steer me into more girly interests. 

About that same timeframe i started reading the clan of the cave bear, the valley of horses. The main character was a beautiful strong woman who basically was a survivalist..so that started my interest in knowing wild plants, watching wild animals, my fake caves ( forts) and i started running to be strong like her. That time frame started my interest in outdoor survivalstuff more because before that it was being the pesky girl who got to butt in on a few boy scout fun things only because my dad was a scout leader. Also, the only role models at the time interested in that kinda stuff were mainly boys..i was the odd girl. So having the strong woman character who could survive on her own in caveman days n defy custom n roles was very cool to me at the time. 

So like many here it started as a interest and or way of life as a youngster..and expanded as an adult. I admit i didnt start paying real careful attention to politics untill my brother was all over the world in the Navy. He made a career out of the military n polotics and happenings worried me. 

My job with the state at the time really set in my head to be prepared at a moments notice. I also started volunteering with a local search n rescue team, for a year was a volunteer firefighter and did 2 seasons wildland firefighter. One with CDF, another as a seasoal contract fire crew but it wasnt our only job. We did trail building n maintence and salmon n trout habitat restoration mainly except that summer on fires. Anyways my point is by then being prepared for emergencies was very drilled into my brain. 

After 9/11 was when i really started critically thinking about our government, i really started questioning ..everything..really started reading all sorts of views on politics, financial news, geopolitical perspectives, and everything in between. Its been an awakening and a process. Ive had to come to terms with n challenge some beliefs i held. The more i learn..the more i realize how things really are. 

We are living in historic times...things arnt always what they seem...


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I grew up in a family where preparedness wasn't considered preparedness it was just prudent and wise living. We always had pantries packed full of food and a root cellar packed full of canned goods. You didn't buy stuff when you ran out, you bought more stuff to keep fully stocked. Of course the same applied to guns and ammo. We always had a garden, we always hunted and we always fished to supplement food stores. Pretty much everyone in my family was in law enforcement; so operational, physical and home/personal security were standard. Like I said, it wasn't about preparedness it was just the way we lived.

But several years ago just before a serious blizzard was supposed to come through our area, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a _something_ because they were out 4 to 5 days earlier when we purchased our groceries. The place was a madhouse. The shelves were semi empty, you had to stand in line for 20-30 minutes to check out and people were acting like snow snowageddon was going to kill us all. I realized that I had never in my life experienced this, not because it didn't happen regularly all over this country but because I had never failed to plan ahead. At that point I decided planning ahead was going to become preparedness. I stopped thinking about having weeks worth of supplies and started thinking about having months worth of supplies. Once I began playing the "what if" game in my head, preparedness took on a life of its own.

I have found a balance between being prepared (knowledge, skills, supplies and ability) and living my life. I have found that point where I feel I have what I need to take care of my family. Maybe someday I'll decide to take it to the next level, but for now I'm happy with where I'm at.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

I have always had an enjoyment for EOTW movies and books. I figured I might as well not be like the first characters to die and start prepping.

That and my ex started stock piling guns and ammo right at the end of our relationship. We had also talked about buying some property and building a bunker style underground house.


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

What got me started way back in the 80's was a storm that knocked out the electric in my all electric house and I had two kids in diapers ( one total care handicapped).
I started out making sure I had supplies for them, a way to cook not electric, then moved on to water( storage) and heating not electric. Started a large pantry. 

From there we bought our acres, bought a generator, I planted fruit trees and berry bushes. We added raised beds for a garden. Then I decided to learn to not only to grow the food but preserve it somehow. I knew about eating "weeds" for meals from a neighbor when I was a kid and helped her find the landcress and dandelion. She was from the deep mountains down south. So I decided to check the library and found books on foraging and such.

Then I found out what I did on my own others were calling themselves "survivalists" and then the more pc version of "preppers".


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

I don't think it was a single event, but a whole series of them, both things I've experienced and some that occurred elsewhere. I've personally been in hurricanes, one tornado, a couple minor quakes, the police enterd my house without permission or a warrant, and I was in the WTC when it was hit on 9/11/01. Throw in stuff on the news Katrina, tsunamis, etc. Finally we elected Obama, twice. 

Ultimately I came to the decision that short term events were normal and a long term event was definitely possible and even probable at some point.


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

I grew up in the city, Denver. My parents bought a cabin about 12 miles from Estes Park, Co. I remember as a kid growing up how much I liked the peace and quiet, the fresh creek water and chopping wood for our cookstove. It took till I was in my late twenties to get a place in the mountains. Since then everywhere I have moved to has been away from any city. I don't know if being more isolated you tend to become more efficient and aware of what's going on elsewhere. Things you can do without those city things, A garden, better tasting food and fresh, a shed you build, chickens you raise. It certainly beats being in a city home watching TV or going to the movies every week. 
The fresh air and natures sounds. You have to prep so you don't have to make as many trips into town. You work harder at being totally self reliant and to being able to handle all the hickups along the way. When you see what's going on in the world, and USA, the unrest all coming to a head, something gotta give soon. I want to be as little involved as possible and be non dependent on life's needed items as possible. Must be my old age. Still have a ways to go but working on it all the time.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

RevWC said:


> Liked 1053 Times on 538 Posts
> Likes Given: *666*
> Please give one more Likes Given!


Off topic....

POPPYCOCK
noun: poppycock
1.nonsense.
synonyms: nonsense, rubbish, claptrap, balderdash, blather, etc.

It is ONLY a number, and nothing more.

Remember, the devil ONLY has as much power as YOU give to him.


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

Two years in a row with major ice storms that knocked out our power for 2+ weeks. I had two small kids and an infant at the time, and it was not at all fun. Plus, I live on a small acreage so why not take advantage of the space and be able to at least feed us if I have to.


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## Jim1590 (Jul 11, 2012)

Mine was simple, started watching Glenn Beck and said to myself, oh crap, this makes sense! Actually it was my wife who around same time got an urge to do so. Those two together got me on here.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

I had a dream about destruction, death, and chaos, but God was there to comfort me. I became a Christian and a prepper in one night. (No joke)


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## timmie (Jan 14, 2012)

i was raised where we always canned our own food and processed our own meat ,so i guess it is just natural for me. but i really got started big time when everything coming in from china, etc. was contaminated.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I knew we were headed for serious problems once I learned the Federal Reserve had started monetizing some of the debt in March of 2009.

Then I heard an advertisement for Porter Stansberry's "End of America" youtube advertisement. I don't believe in the financial services that he's selling but watching it on youtube is what woke me up. That was about three years ago. I went into prepping in a big way once we got a 401k loan. Since then I've read and watched all I can so I can be up to speed on what's coming.


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

As many of my friends know I was raised in a survivalist family so the question is not so much for me but rather for my immediate family. The one thing that strikes me the most is when it hit my wife. We were living in Georgia at the time and I went up to Jasper, GA to purchase a brand new JEEP Cherokee with four wheel drive. She was meant for off road and fun. My wife took holy hell from her friends about why in the world did she let me buy such a TOY. In their eyes we needed a soccer mom van. My bride drove it home from the dealership and it was her vehicle from that day forward. She loved it. 

The funny thing was in less than a month we got hit with a Major ICE storm and she became the ambulance driver/ get out of the house ride for all the friends who had made so much fun of her. She still drives SUVs today. She also saw the light as to the need to be better prepared for the unforeseen. GB


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

1981 when my Daughter was born...


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## arwenmark (Mar 23, 2014)

I have been a member of the LDS church for over 50 years and so to me it is not something unusual to try to be prepared for whatever may come. As you may know the church is the Church of Jesus Christ of LATTER DAY saints. These are and have been for some time the Latter days, but now it is my oppinion that we are on the LAST DAY. I don't mean 24 hour days, but the Last Day non the less.


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## gabbyj310 (Oct 22, 2012)

As most of you know,I was raised in the " islands".My Stepfather worked for RCA/Panam.....but anyway we live on Grand Turk .There was no electric,no running water no A/C no TV.My stepdad brought drinking water from the base on the motorcycle in a big jug.We were the only ones to have lights on our Christmas tree due to a battery hook-up.We had to hand pump our water caught in a big barrel when it rained.(we took very short showers)we cooked with kerosene and ate a lot of fish.If the local supply boat was late or couldn't get in we ate enough fish we almost had gills  My Mother was smart enough to buy half a freezer(we shared with friends as the cost was very high) but after that we kept as much real food in it as we could pack..Always always after that I said I would have enough to be ready!!!! Then a few years ago the "LIGHT" came on again and I hit full speed ahead.I have my mini farm,seed,water supply(in the works) a little solar and still working on that darn "tin mansion" to be not just home but our BOL for the rest of the family...Getting there but slow,wish I had it all yesterday!..so back to work again real soon.One way or another I WILL be ready for whatever!!!


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## bigg777 (Mar 18, 2013)

I grew up in the suburbs of a "small town" in the mid-Atlantic. Our best friends had a horse farm on the DE/MD state line and my best friend Shawn and I used to fish, hunt, cut wood and "collect" frogs, snakes, molting ducks and just about anything we could catch by hand, rod or shotgun.

My wife grew up on a farm in N. DE raising cattle, sheep & hogs. Helping out in the family garden, sewing and canning and basically being a good "farm girl".

2 years ago, her boss gave us 2 books by James Wesley, Rawles, How to Prepare for TEOTWAWKI and Patriots. After reading those two books, we decided to add tangible goods to our financial preparation for the future. We have many skills, not that we aren't learning more, but we realized that total dependence on today's financial and energy spider webs was naïve.

We hope to be able to retire and live out our lives in a manner in which we've become accustomed, but we're not willing to bet our lives on it.

The old adage "It's better to have and not need it, than to need it and not have it," has guided us in our preparations.

God bless you all, and prepare for that rainy day that will come some day.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

In a galaxy long ago and far away as a pre-teen kid I loved to run around in the woods eating wild berries and understanding what was safe to eat. As time went on I read a lot of science fiction, "1984", "Brave New World" and others and then in the 1970's I read "None Dare Call It Conspiracy" which was an awakening. The church I used to be in was great on "Prediction Addiction" so that always set in mind something was going to happen. Then my wife and I tried to start various businesses over the years, spend a lot of money and time for next to nothing except for an off shore conference were we went to Cancun, Mexico in March of 2001 where we met and learned from many people what was really going on in the world. That triggered off getting totally out of debt, studying economics for the last 12 years and prepping for whatever lies ahead. We are still learning, in January of 2012 we made a major shift in how we store foods. After seeing many "wet canned" foods rust or eat through, sometimes less than a year and a half (especially fruit and tomatoes), we switched to dehydrated and freeze dried nitrogen packed foods. I can honestly say that we feel a whole lot better prepped than just a few years ago and we know that in spite of all that we have done that when the SHTF all bets may be off, but at least it cannot be said we didn't do our level best. And, by the way, all has been done on what most people would call a sub standard income. We learned a long time ago all about delayed gratification. A lot of things we'd like to do we put off for the greater good of our future or the future of our son.


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## Dixie (Sep 20, 2010)

GrinnanBarrett said:


> Jasper, GA to purchase a brand new JEEP Cherokee with four wheel drive.
> 
> *Jasper Jeep! DH bought there but mostly from Dub Lawson (Chevy).*


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

We had a week long power outage, we lived in an all electric house. We spent that week at my mom's house with four of my siblings & their families. We decided we didn't want a repeat of that fun & started prepping for another outage. Y2K we bought a woodburning stove just in case. We've always had a well stocked pantry because I buy when things go on sale, use coupons, etc. I hate paying full price for anything. With O's election, we started collecting guns & ammo & got our concealed carry permits. As things have continued to deteriorate, our preps get more extensive.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

I grew up gardening and canning but what opened my eyes (a little) was a 10 day power outage where I had to feed 10 by oil and candle light. 

Once we built our house, I made sure I had a large pantry in case something like that happened again. Its snowballed from there as I've read (and my eyes are opened fully).


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

tsrwivey said:


> We had a week long power outage, we lived in an all electric house. We spent that week at my mom's house with four of my siblings & their families. We decided we didn't want a repeat of that fun & started prepping for another outage. Y2K we bought a woodburning stove just in case. We've always had a well stocked pantry because I buy when things go on sale, use coupons, etc. I hate paying full price for anything. With O's election, we started collecting guns & ammo & got our concealed carry permits. As things have continued to deteriorate, our preps get more extensive.


It seems that with O's election it bumped a lot of people off the fence, as to CCW permits our county sheriffs department is now open on Saturdays to keep up with the demand.


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## forluvofsmoke (Jan 27, 2012)

A tornado that nearly hit our house as my wife and kids fled, while I was at work, then nearly hit me on the highway while trying to get home through torrential rain (never saw it coming 'til it was on top of me, literally). It really didn't sink in until after spending 2-1/2 days living with friends nearby, then we were finally able to return to our house. We lost half of the food in our outdoor freezer, everything in the fridge, and about 1/3 of the indoor freezer stores, because the grid had to be shut-down to repair the damage.

Our area was the first to be brought back online just so power could be routed through here to reach farther outside of town, otherwise, we would have lost all the perishables. The house had moderate hail damage, but just next door was much worse...and a few houses away on the other side was total destruction...some lots were bare, with nothing but a brown patch where a home once was, and maybe, a few stubs from where the utilities were connected. This was th one and only time I EVER saw FEMA step into a scene and offer assistance (for uninsured damage repairs to homes and temporary replacement homes).

Red Cross was on-scene as well as Salvation Army for food, clothes, blankets, etc. Many residents were sleeping in the high school gymnasium on cots and eating only what was being prepared for, and given, to them by the charity organizations...as they had nothing left but the clothes on their backs, and maybe, vehicle with no money to get gas for it. Churches were giving out gift cards for fuel, food, etc, but that only goes so far. We were of just a few who were so close to ground-zero that didn't lose everything we had. This storm killed all the grid power for a radius of probably 20 miles, so the bank was closed as well as pretty much every business, except for those who could take cash, from the few who actually had cash...nobody was ready for anything like this...nobody...everybody uses plastic these days and doesn't even carry cash...we weren't of that line of thinking...still could buy what we needed, if it could be found.

I really didn't have the space for much storage of preps, but knew I had to start somewhere and make an effort to come up with a workable plan and achievable goals. That was 2005. I'm still nowhere near where I'd like to be in terms of disaster preps, but this spring things are beginning to take on a more recognizable shape...in fact, I just received an order of #10 cans of dried food items today.....and already have more items chosen for a future order coming soon. I have kids/spouses/significant other/grand-kids in the immediate area to prep for as well, and will be putting together a BOT of sorts, but more of a staging platform for emergency needs, which can be utilized as a BOT if the need arises...multipurpose items and equipment definitely have their benefits.

Looking forward, I plan to grab some dirt when I find the right location, to go off-grid for a sustainable lifestyle...been planning for this for a few years...well probably a lot longer than I think...started studying/researching alternative energy, earth sheltering, energy efficient appliances/lighting/construction, alternatives to energy use, etc, since around 2006 or 7. I've lost track of more websites due to computer crashes and not having a back-up for bookmarks than I can even fathom. Now, I email my bookmarks to myself every few months to keep them updated and accessible from anywhere I can connect to the web.

I grew up on a more modern large farm/ranch operation, so I just need to get back to my roots, only on a smaller scale with less of the "niceties" we had to do our work back in the day...we had the highest tech we could afford back then...I'll be steering away from tech and leaning hard on old-school ways...technology will fail, and so will fuel supplies. For now, I just gotta keep chuggin' along and hope all hell doesn't break loose here in the US before I can get to where I want to be so I can take care of the family at will...better put as "whenever they need me". I do feel a strong sense of urgency as of late, with grand-kids now in the picture...there's a lot a stake if I can't get things right before SHTF with the looming currency crisis and global economy issues.

I too, never paid much attention to politics, economical issues, currency crisis, and the like, but have been following things a bit more every few weeks in the past couple years...things look like crap already, but when the plug gets pulled, I wanna be in that sweet spot where I can take comfort in knowing that my family can come to me for help...long-term...we work together to take care of each other...I just provide the base for it all to start happening and where we can continue to grow as a family, and build a new life away from all the BS, even (if) S (doesn't) HTF...(yeah, right).

Back to more research...great thread, BTW!!!


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

I don't think my wake up call was any one thing; it was a series of things. First, my experiences in Boy Scouts helped lay the foundation, with it's emphasis on camping, wilderness survival, first aid, "be prepared," etc.

Then, later on in High School, I started reading about nuclear war, and one book stood out from the rest: Nuclear War Survival Skills, by Cresson H. Kearny. In that book, he laid out distinct, concrete things ordinary, mere mortal people like me can do to prepare for something as dire as a nuclear attack. I was in Minot, ND, near an Air Base, so I naturally took an interest. Then, as I talked to others about this, I got an introduction to "sheeple."

Then, several years later, there was Y2K, which got me thinking again about preparedness, not just about nuclear war, but also about what would happen if the grid went completely down.

Fast forward to September 11, then Hurricane Katrina (and the government's incompetent and inadequate response at the federal, state, and even local levels). And then the debt situation (don't even get me STARTED on THAT!)...these things gradually made me realize that I could no longer kid myself that the government and the authorities knew what they were doing. They more resembled Keystone Cops on Valium! If I relied on a government agency of ANY kind in any REAL emergency, I was going to die waiting for Godot. In other words, I was going to die waiting for help that was not ever going to arrive in any timely manner.

I made the decision sometime around October 2010 that I was going to 1) stay mobile 2) get out of debt, and 3) start working on gathering and storing extra food/water/batteries/other provisions as circumstances and finances permitted. I somehow found this website, and the rest is, as they say, history.

Like many of us, I'm not as far along as I'd like to be. Nobody ever is, I think. But I'm further along at this point than 90% of the people in my neighborhood, and I don't necessarily have to be the fastest camper running from the bear - I just have to be faster than the slowest camper!


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

*my wake up call was a never ending niggling panic in the back of my mind*

I always had a 2 week supply of stuff when kids were young, then they grew up and moved away. The Army taught me to prepare for myself and then I worked for the county public health and we had to do emer. mgt training for the county. enter... my first earthquake, and then had a double spinal cord injury and a brain tumor removed (among other smaller health crap) and so I added much more to my prepping, but mostly for 2 people. Now I am responsible for 7 and at least have been blessed to acquire the land in small town usa back where my children are, but now its time to prep big time. I am a responsible adult, mom, daughter, grandmother and when the govt shut down last year kicked my butt I started scrambling to get prepped for the economic collapse that I am sure we will experience and I have a lot more people to prep for so am trying to double time it. all you folks have only cemented what I have believed for 30 years, prep now, live later


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

myrtle55 said:


> I always had a 2 week supply of stuff when kids were young, then they grew up and moved away. The Army taught me to prepare for myself and then I worked for the county public health and we had to do emer. mgt training for the county. enter... my first earthquake, and then had a double spinal cord injury and a brain tumor removed (among other smaller health crap) and so I added much more to my prepping, but mostly for 2 people. Now I am responsible for 7 and at least have been blessed to acquire the land in small town usa back where my children are, but now its time to prep big time. I am a responsible adult, mom, daughter, grandmother and when the govt shut down last year kicked my butt I started scrambling to get prepped for the economic collapse that I am sure we will experience and I have a lot more people to prep for so am trying to double time it. all you folks have only cemented what I have believed for 30 years, prep now, live later


It's called delayed gratification, prep now and enjoy the fact that when and if the SHTF, no matter what it may be, you'll have done the best you can. And yes, if you're doing everything right, it's always ongoing.


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## TrinEire (Jul 23, 2012)

Great question, Here is the long version for me, I wrote a letter to my wife after we had a heated discussion about "all the stuff we have stored" and I find that by writing things out helps with the question of why I believe or do what I do. This is an excerpt from the letter:

-My Bride, our conversation the other night sparked a need to help you understand my position and thoughts in my need to be prepared. It is not out of a place of worry or fear. It is in its simplest form, out of Love and Caring for my family, both immediate as well as extended. I also wanted to apologize if you thought I was talking down to you, I never want to do that or have you feel that way. I've been thinking about this for a long time and the conversation we had forced me to think about things from a different perspective. It's one thing to believe something, but it's another thing to understand why you believe, why you feel the way you do about those beliefs. I have found that by taking the time to write these important things out, it has become a way to explain with the proper examples and even though emotions can be shared, it is not a driving factor for derailment of the conversation.

Early on in my life (I can remember specific times as a Boy Scout) I have had a desire to help people. As the Boy Scout Motto exclaims, "Be Prepared", I have learned a core skill that runs deep in my life. From the food drives and deliveries to shut-in families in Oakland, to repairing homes for people who didn't have the skills or financial means, and without even knowing it at the time, have learned both physical skills and Knowledge of what it means to be prepared.

As I got older, events have happened to mold my sense of the basics of this philosophy, to grow the deep seeded desire to prepare for things in life that we go through. Not everyone has an earth shattering, life changing experience, but by paying attention and really taking in your surroundings in the moment, can impact us greatly. For instance, In the fall of 1985, in Parsons and Elkins West Virginia, they had record breaking rainfall and mass flooding. After the storm, we went there to assist the relief efforts with our church and again as a youth group. During the drive down the mountain to Elkins, I saw countless homes under water. The closer we got, the worse it was. Businesses and homes were under water and covered or buried in mud and silt from the river. Lives were destroyed and laying in little piles everywhere. When we got to our designated safe area to park, we had to walk in to the get to our work zone across a bridge. As we were walking over the bridge, I saw 2 things floating down the river, a rag doll and a dead dog. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I think this was the first time that I realized that life was fragile and could be lost at any time. We spent the day digging out homes and businesses that were filled with mud and silt and trying to save as much as possible from people's lives. It wasn't until later on the drive home that I started thinking about what I would do if we lost everything in a flood and the overwhelming feelings and tears started to pour out of me. I remember talking to our youth leader about having these feelings and guilt at the same time, that I felt sorry for those people, and at the same time glad it wasn't me.

Charlotte, NC. In September of 1989, the eye of the storm of Hurricane Hugo struck Charlotte North Carolina. I was living with a family at the time in a 2 story town home in Charlotte, just south of the city proper. The storm hit hard and with it the loss of power and water for 18 days. I was working construction at the time and after being up all night taping windows and filling containers with water, I had lost track of time. It was 4:30 in the morning and I changed for work and headed out to see if my car was damaged in the storm. After cutting and removing the branches and limbs, I drove to our most recent work site. It took me an hour and a half to get there because the streets were blocked with downed trees or flooded with debris or water. I couldn't believe it, the 6 homes that we were working on were in piles of broken lumber or were simply gone from the development. After looking around for a bit, I went to the Park Road Little store where I worked part time as a clerk. When I got there the owners Dan and Linda were working on clearing the gas pumps and removing the downed tree from the store front. The canopy over the 2 gas pumps had saved them and the front of the store. Dan and I cut a pathway into the front door and removed as many of the branches to get to the pumps. Dan told me to get the generator, chain it to the side of the store, and get the pumps working and he wanted me to fill all of our vehicles and the 8 five gallon gas cans he had before the rush hit. I didn't know what he was talking about, but his tone of voice and demeanor meant business and I did as I was told. After filling the vehicles Dan had me park them in such a way as to make a one way funnel into and out of the pumps and store front, again I had no idea, but I listened. I started the other generator he had and hooked up the freezer and coolers with the dairy and other refrigerated items in it. Dan removed the cash register from the counter at the front of the store and placed it on the back counter by the grill station. Linda started cooking all the hot dogs and burgers and made a big Open for Business sign with a magic marker. I hung the sign out front and it seemed only seconds before people started arriving. Most people bought necessary items like batteries, toilet paper, canned goods, and any kind of bread or rolls. It was cash only and I couldn't believe the number of people that left because they only had credit cards or checks. Dan asked me to man the pumps and only let people get 10 gallons of gas total and that no one was allowed to touch the pump except me. He told me that for every 20 cars I filled, I needed to come in and empty my pockets so I didn't become a target for theft. Again my brain was spinning as to what he was talking about and couldn't figure out why Linda was cooking burgers and hot dogs at 8 o'clock in the morning. Everything in the store was sold, all the shelves and coolers were emptied by 9:30, all the burgers, hot dogs, French fries, everything she had prepared was sold. The gas ran out an hour later and I helped Dan with boarding up all the windows and front and back doors.

What I quickly realized was how crazy people get in an emergency; people were pushing, shoving and fighting over loaves of bread and cans of food. The cops were called and even though they were there, people still fought and tried to take things from other people. It was complete chaos. One guy grabbed someone's gas can from the back of their truck, and started running down the road with it after it was filled. I was threatened several times about limiting the amount of gas I could pump and even propositioned by 3 women. This was small scale compared to the large grocery stores and the events that took place there. The first days were ok, not much going on, but after a week of no electricity and people were becoming more primal and animal like, stealing from each other, breaking into cars and homes, it was a true without rule of law situation and one that I will never forget and hope I never have to deal with again. 
When I asked Dan how he knew what to do, he said, "Experience and I have been there with nothing." Several things clicked for me during this time and the all grateful 'aha' moment hit me. I realized why my dad always had supplies in the vehicles we owned, why we always took extra boots and warm clothes on car trips in the winter and why he always had tools in the car besides the tire jack. It made me realize why we had a root cellar that was always stocked, why there was always spare batteries and flashlights in the house and vehicles, and why my mom knew so much about food and making things from scratch, just to name a few.

In a Nut Shell (ok it would have to be a large shell)

These are just a few things that have happened in my life that have shaped my thinking about preparedness. My mom always said, "Save for a rainy day." My own short phrase for me is, "Prepared, not scared." I know that you have said to me that you don't want to live in a place of fear, that you believe that God will take care of us and provide for us. I believe this too, and I also believe he has placed these events and things in my life so I can learn from them and prepare, plan and provide for my family. I thank God for what he has given me and my family everyday and I will ALWAYS do what is necessary to protect and preserve my family. I know that you may not agree with me on some of these things, but I am aware of what is happening around me, around us, and it drives my inner being to be prepared as best I can, so we don't have to be scared or worried, so we can not only survive if something happens, but thrive if something happens. I do not want my children to have to worry about the basics of life, or their safety, that's our job. -----------[/SIZE]
Long and short of it, Take care of your family, protect and preserve to the best of your ability and always keep learning.


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## BlueShoe (Aug 7, 2010)

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but it was 9-11-01 that "did it" for me. 
After seeing what happened as a result, then over the next few years learning the back story and the players leading up to it. Then we all started learning the criminality after the event, and by the end of 2003 or start of 2004 I was well into the realization that our government was lying to us. That other nations lied to us. That the Federal Reserve was a scam currency system. That the border was opened and airport security screeners were made Federal, that the TSA and DHS had been created by the those I helped into power but now they were on the same team as the presented opponent. I dropped my chosen politics and became an Independent and extremely vocal supporter for a fairness and America first thinkers.

I remember that I laughed, nervously, at my in-laws for storing water for Y2K. I mostly knew nothing would happen. Mostly. By 2001, my opinion was on it's way to changing.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

BlueShoe said:


> I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but it was 9-11-01 that "did it" for me.
> After seeing what happened as a result, then over the next few years learning the back story and the players leading up to it. Then we all started learning the criminality after the event, and by the end of 2003 or start of 2004 I was well into the realization that our government was lying to us. That other nations lied to us. That the Federal Reserve was a scam currency system. That the border was opened and airport security screeners were made Federal, that the TSA and DHS had been created by the those I helped into power but now they were on the same team as the presented opponent. I dropped my chosen politics and became an Independent and extremely vocal supporter for a fairness and America first thinkers.
> 
> I remember that I laughed, nervously, at my in-laws for storing water for Y2K. I mostly knew nothing would happen. Mostly. By 2001, my opinion was on it's way to changing.


I mentioned 9/11 a couple pages back, but it took a while for it to sink in. In fact I may have been the last person to learn that the whole thing had been caused by airplanes crashing into the building. (It wasn't obvious from inside.)

Y2k could have been a good learning experience, but it went off the rails when a bunch of consultants convinced companies that they needed to not only worry about themselves but every conceivable supplier. From that point on the scenarios got progressively more far fetched. Then somebody got the ridiculous idea that we should treat it like a natural disaster scenario. The last week I was ordered to check all the First Aid kits to insure they were all stocked. This was a typical office environment. If the computers all failed in the middle of the night, no one was going to need a Band-Aid.

Thinking about it now Y2k may have been the single worst event in terms of discrediting the whole idea of preparedness.


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## pmkrv12 (Mar 15, 2012)

The main eye opener was hurricane Sandy, it was supposed to come to Maryland. But right before it took a turn out t Sean and the. Hit New Jersey. Looking at the situation in NJ made really step it up.




Sent from my iPad using Survival Forum


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Geek999 said:


> I mentioned 9/11 a couple pages back, but it took a while for it to sink in. In fact I may have been the last person to learn that the whole thing had been caused by airplanes crashing into the building. (It wasn't obvious from inside.)
> 
> Y2k could have been a good learning experience, but it went off the rails when a bunch of consultants convinced companies that they needed to not only worry about themselves but every conceivable supplier. From that point on the scenarios got progressively more far fetched. Then somebody got the ridiculous idea that we should treat it like a natural disaster scenario. The last week I was ordered to check all the First Aid kits to insure they were all stocked. This was a typical office environment. If the computers all failed in the middle of the night, no one was going to need a Band-Aid.
> 
> Thinking about it now Y2k may have been the single worst event in terms of discrediting the whole idea of preparedness.


I know what you mean about the discrediting of preparedness. These same people will get distracted and catch the red light at the last second. They don't take their seat belt off and say how stupid that is. They don't come home at night, feel stupid because the house is standing, and cancel the fire insurance.:dunno:


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

pmkrv12 said:


> The main eye opener was hurricane Sandy, it was supposed to come to Maryland. But right before it took a turn out t Sean and the. Hit New Jersey. Looking at the situation in NJ made really step it up.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Survival Forum


I'm surprised how few people in NJ got the message from Sandy.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

I started the week before hurricane Andrew hit. Radio news people said to get ready. I invested in a colman lantern, stove & white gas. I also bought a 5 day supply of food and water. After the storm I evaluated my situation and expanded form there. News stories about Fema camps, hurricane Katrina, social and civil unrest and other natural disasters have directed my prepping expansion from there. 

I don't prep out of fear, I prep to be ready. Hurricane Ike wiped out the electricity in my neighborhood along lake Erie for 5 days, the gennerator was quite handy then. It's interesting how something that hits one end of the countru can have an effect on the other end.


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

It seems that it is split why we started prepping; either it was how you were raised -prepping was a normal way of life- or, it was some kind of disaster -whether natural or man-made. I wish I could say I started prepping because 'it's what the cool kids are doing' or 'it's just the smart thing to do'

Really don't have a point with this other than the split on reasoning

What got me into prepping was hearing a news reporter from LA before Katrina was due to hit. She said something to sort like "it would be smart for you to begin preparing for landfall". This gave me my ultimate WTF moment. You can see the storm off the coast and it is due to hit land in less than 24 hours and NOW you would be making a _smart_ decision if you began to prepare.

Keep in mind that I was in Texas at the time and we got NO kind of moisture from that huge storm. It just rocked me to my core knowing that I was one of the people that would be at the store buying whatever water and bread I could.

I use that as my example for other people when prepping comes up. it goes something like this:
Non-prepper: you are one of those crazy prepper persons?
Me: yes I am one of those crazy preppers
Non-prepper: what are you prepping for?
Me: whatever comes at me
Non-prepper: makes no sense. seems ridiculous
Me: So... me preparing months before an event happens is crazy and ridiculous BUT you running to the store buying milk and bread hours before a huge ice storm is due is completely sane and rational?
Non-prepper: ???
Me: you're right, I am being ridiculous because nothing like natural disasters ever happen.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

I have never had a wake up call I live like my grandpa and his before him. It's not prepping to us it's just our life, It's a feeling of pride knowing you can be self sufficient. We grow a garden twice as big as we need always have at least 2 years worth of firewood hunt, trap, forage and fish. I wouldn't teach my children any other way.


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## Cabowabo (Nov 6, 2012)

I had spent a year and a half in the military and was in the middle east. When my cousin and I started B.S.ing on what we would do for a Zombie Apocalypse he sent me a link to a T.V. show Doomsday Preppers. I watched it and it started making sense. They were talking about stuff I had never heard of, and it got me interested in reading "Prepper fiction" I started by reading One Second After, Lights Out, Rawles works etc.
I got hooked. My now Girlfriend, soon to be other stuff (Fiance, Wife etc.) is a country girl and wants a little land out in the country and some animals. And it was pretty easy to get her on-board when I want the same thing mostly as a result of seeing whats coming. 
September 2012 I came home on leave for the first time in over 20 months I wanted to purchase an AR-15, and a M9. Two weapon systems I have training in that I would feel comfortable carrying. My mom who didn't feel my sentiment on prepping (and still doesn't) talked me out of it. That December I like the rest of the country watched after Sandy hook. 
I watched helpless overseas as the Guns I was trained to use got bought up by people who didn't know the first thing about field stripping or firing that weapon. The people on my flight watched Gun-broker and those that had families that were ok with guns were trying to get family to buy them something. I wasn't that lucky, I felt helpless.
When I came home again that February I went out and bought what I could when it came to guns made a few mistakes. Right now I'm heavy on guns and ammo and light on other preps. Really no excuse for it and its something I need to equal out with other stuff. 

I guess the short answer is that I Prep because I don't want to have to go to a FEMA camp. I was Born Free, and I intend to die that way.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

Cabowabo said:


> I had spent a year and a half in the military and was in the middle east. When my cousin and I started B.S.ing on what we would do for a Zombie Apocalypse he sent me a link to a T.V. show Doomsday Preppers. I watched it and it started making sense. They were talking about stuff I had never heard of, and it got me interested in reading "Prepper fiction" I started by reading One Second After, Lights Out, Rawles works etc.
> I got hooked. My now Girlfriend, soon to be other stuff (Fiance, Wife etc.) is a country girl and wants a little land out in the country and some animals. And it was pretty easy to get her on-board when I want the same thing mostly as a result of seeing whats coming.
> September 2012 I came home on leave for the first time in over 20 months I wanted to purchase an AR-15, and a M9. Two weapon systems I have training in that I would feel comfortable carrying. My mom who didn't feel my sentiment on prepping (and still doesn't) talked me out of it. That December I like the rest of the country watched after Sandy hook.
> I watched helpless overseas as the Guns I was trained to use got bought up by people who didn't know the first thing about field stripping or firing that weapon. The people on my flight watched Gun-broker and those that had families that were ok with guns were trying to get family to buy them something. I wasn't that lucky, I felt helpless.
> ...


Don't sweat being long on one category and short on another. It happens to all of us. All you need to do is recognize it and correct on the next round.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

*It's Genetic*

I got it from my parents and grandparents. They were survivors of the Great Depression. By the time I was in second grade, a recession put my Dad out of work, so he traded their nice suburban home and acreage for a real farm. We lived the homestead life until I was ready to work my way through college.

Things got better for a while through the mid-1960's so I got a bit complacent until 1973-4 when the Arab Oil Embargo hit. We endured the ensuing economic downturn for a couple years, then sold out our suburban property and moved to a 45 acres homestead. Haven't looked back since then.


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

Geek999 said:


> Don't sweat being long on one category and short on another. It happens to all of us. All you need to do is recognize it and correct on the next round.


So true.

Unfortunately this inevitably leads to what I call P.O.C.A.P.I.S - Preppers Over Consumption and Acquistion of Perceived Item Shortages - 
Layman's translation: OMG! I have only 363 bars of Zest. At 3 bars a month, 36 for a year; this will only last barely a decade. Next shopping trip I MUST buy more soap. Please allow the disaster to hold off for another week so I can get more soap.

Of course the week after soap will be replaced with Chapstick and that replaced with bandages . . . . . . . Welcome to the preppers disease


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

OMG...someone else does that besides me....wow...I feel so normal now.lol


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

Geek999 said:


> Thinking about it now Y2k may have been the single worst event in terms of discrediting the whole idea of preparedness.


Yeah, I know what you mean. The night of New Years Eve 1999 was, fortunately, the most BORING night of my career. I remember joking to someone, "I don't mean to brag, but this is the second end of the world I've lived through." The first being Y2K, and the second one being the Mayan Prophecy.

Still, I'd much rather prepare for something that DOESN'T wind up happening than the other way around.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

doubleTHICK said:


> So true.
> 
> Unfortunately this inevitably leads to what I call P.O.C.A.P.I.S - Preppers Over Consumption and Acquistion of Perceived Item Shortages -
> Layman's translation: OMG! I have only 363 bars of Zest. At 3 bars a month, 36 for a year; this will only last barely a decade. Next shopping trip I MUST buy more soap. Please allow the disaster to hold off for another week so I can get more soap.
> ...


Whatever you have too much of becomes trade goods. Finding the guy who has too much of what you are short of is your challenge.


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## Asatrur (Dec 17, 2008)

Have always been a homesteader type and during the W era, I was how he wanted to control people, but the biggest straw was when my faith ended up on an FBI list of potential terrorists. It just was confirmed with O being elected.


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

Geek999 said:


> Whatever you have too much of becomes trade goods. Finding the guy who has too much of what you are short of is your challenge.


My problem/issue/dilemma/insecurity/any other synonym that fits - is when do you have too much? Can you ever have too much?

I honestly think like this and it turns into one 'but if' question after another. I have accumulated 16 shovels, most are regular round nose, is that too many? My thinking is how can it be too many. I may not need that many shovels (let alone all the other yard tools) but they could easily become a viable currency in a barter system. 
Like you said; I have enough yard tools to barter with a guy who has none and he just so happens to have some Johnson rods that I need.

But when is enough crossover to too much? So far I can only place limits on space. If I have room for another shovel and there is one on CList for $5, ..., well I guess I don't have enough

:sorry3: just realized I've done the ol' hi-jacking of a thread trick


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## VoorTrekker (Oct 7, 2012)

Funny thing about Y2K. I met the two New York Jewish ladies who started the whole thing in Silicon Valley. They both had degrees from NYU as English majors and moved to California to strike it rich in Silicon Valley as trainers and technical writers.

Never happened. They needed money to get back to New York and started this thing to correct software for the "millennial rollover." They were teaching people to rewrite the code in the programs and caused a lot of businesses to buy new computers afterwards because the businesses installed the gals' "programs." 

I met them and they tried to offer me their course for $500. !! I figured that the software engineers were smart enough to have it corrected before 1999.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

doubleTHICK said:


> My problem/issue/dilemma/insecurity/any other synonym that fits - is when do you have too much? Can you ever have too much?
> 
> I honestly think like this and it turns into one 'but if' question after another. I have accumulated 16 shovels, most are regular round nose, is that too many? My thinking is how can it be too many. I may not need that many shovels (let alone all the other yard tools) but they could easily become a viable currency in a barter system.
> Like you said; I have enough yard tools to barter with a guy who has none and he just so happens to have some Johnson rods that I need.
> ...


I think your post is fine. The way I look at it is to try to assess how long my supply will last. If I have a lifetime supply of shovels (your favorite) and 3 months supplly of food, then I probably don't need another shovel, but I am far from fully prepped.

The challenge in this is comparing durable items (like shovels) to consumable items like food. The comparison is going to be imprecise, but the exercise helps me figure out where to spend the next dollar.

An additional factor is the size of the group. 16 shovels is plenty for one person. It may not be enough for a llarger group.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

doubleTHICK said:


> My problem/issue/dilemma/insecurity/any other synonym that fits - is when do you have too much? Can you ever have too much?
> 
> I honestly think like this and it turns into one 'but if' question after another. I have accumulated 16 shovels, most are regular round nose, is that too many? My thinking is how can it be too many. I may not need that many shovels (let alone all the other yard tools) but they could easily become a viable currency in a barter system.
> Like you said; I have enough yard tools to barter with a guy who has none and he just so happens to have some Johnson rods that I need.
> ...


If you have more of something than you can use before it goes bad then you have too much. It is easy to have too much lettuce, shovels not so much. When I have as much as I can use in my lifetime or as much as I am likely to use before it goes bad I focus my resources in another direction.


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

@Geek999 - it almost seems as if you want me to apply a basic level of common sense to my procurement of items  Applying my parameters or factors to an item which places it into a 'want' or 'need' thus helps said item to be placed on a priority 'to buy' list. 
In other words; why would I buy another shovel even at a low price when I know I could use MORE oats and wheat flour? I guess it is easier for me to look at as I'm not buying a single shovel for $5 but buying multiple shovels for $5 and the multiple shovels eventually add up to 50-75lbs of wheat.
But honestly what would you do (this is my Sunday this weekend) A lady the next town over has acres and cords upon cords of FREE wood **already cut and chopped fireplace size** FREE!!! Take as much as you want and she asks for NOTHING in return. This is some nice oak and pecan wood. All I have to do is pull up to a pile and load up, that's it.
Maybe it doesn't apply to my needing to place a priority on items, but c'mon that is too good to pass up.


@Caribou - as crazy as this sounds I totally forgot about the life of products. If you hadn't did your post I would still be trucking on with no thought to shelf life. Just had another WTF moment in this WTF moment thread! Talk about getting back to basics. Think I need to stop worrying about shovels and re-focus.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

doubleTHICK said:


> @Geek999 - it almost seems as if you want me to apply a basic level of common sense to my procurement of items  Applying my parameters or factors to an item which places it into a 'want' or 'need' thus helps said item to be placed on a priority 'to buy' list.
> In other words; why would I buy another shovel even at a low price when I know I could use MORE oats and wheat flour? I guess it is easier for me to look at as I'm not buying a single shovel for $5 but buying multiple shovels for $5 and the multiple shovels eventually add up to 50-75lbs of wheat.
> But honestly what would you do (this is my Sunday this weekend) A lady the next town over has acres and cords upon cords of FREE wood **already cut and chopped fireplace size** FREE!!! Take as much as you want and she asks for NOTHING in return. This is some nice oak and pecan wood. All I have to do is pull up to a pile and load up, that's it.
> Maybe it doesn't apply to my needing to place a priority on items, but c'mon that is too good to pass up.
> ...


Free is good. If you wind up with an excess of something that is free you can trade it for what you need later. If we are talking about something free, just forget what I said earlier. 

As for applying common sense, it is actually tough to maintain balance. It requires actually figuring out what you need, determining when you are in balance and when you aren't, etc. then adjusting your plans to rectify the imbalance. If you apply what sounds like common sense across a few hundred different items you are stocking it gets to be a challenge.


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## Bumpers1975 (May 28, 2012)

Born and raised in Upper Michigan. Grew up spending summer out at camp chopping wood to heat da house for winter. Proud "yooper". Now officially in Webster's dictionary.


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## AnnieAnnie (Apr 6, 2014)

It was after I read Mary Summer Rains books about No Eyes and her predictions for the future . The Phoenix Rising is one such book. It was 1987. I just reread the books and she predicted the market crash and home value loss... in fact almost all of her predictions have come to pass. The last few to go will be real kickers too.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Geek999 said:


> Free is good. If you wind up with an excess of something that is free you can trade it for what you need later. If we are talking about something free, just forget what I said earlier.
> 
> As for applying common sense, it is actually tough to maintain balance. It requires actually figuring out what you need, determining when you are in balance and when you aren't, etc. then adjusting your plans to rectify the imbalance. If you apply what sounds like common sense across a few hundred different items you are stocking it gets to be a challenge.


I have worn out so many shovels around here that I never seem to have as many as I'd like. I joke that that is how I keep in good physical condition.


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## musketjim (Dec 7, 2011)

2 movies changed my life. "The Mountain Men" with Charlton Heston <RIP> and "The Jupiter Menace" with George Kennedy. Our move to Alaska really pushed me to skill building and storage.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

musketjim said:


> 2 movies changed my life. "The Mountain Men" with Charlton Heston <RIP> and "The Jupiter Menace" with George Kennedy. Our move to Alaska really pushed me to skill building and storage.


I don't think that there are many who really understand what it takes to live in Northern areas as you do. Many are not able to cope with the low sunlight hours of those areas. My dad told me years ago that a lot of people that lived in Northern Norway, where my grandfather came from, had depression problems and there were high rates of suicide. Cabin fever is real and can be deadly.


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

Bumpers1975 said:


> Born and raised in Upper Michigan. Grew up spending summer out at camp chopping wood to heat da house for winter. Proud "yooper". Now officially in Webster's dictionary.


Went to college at NMU, was a gander the first half of my life, took family to become yoopers after my firstborn came along, for t h e quality of life it gave us..western wash looks like the UP, only taller mtns and bigger water..lol


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## Bumpers1975 (May 28, 2012)

Go wildcats!


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

Geek999 said:


> Free is good. If you wind up with an excess of something that is free you can trade it for what you need later. If we are talking about something free, just forget what I said earlier.
> 
> As for applying common sense, it is actually tough to maintain balance. It requires actually figuring out what you need, determining when you are in balance and when you aren't, etc. then adjusting your plans to rectify the imbalance. If you apply what sounds like common sense across a few hundred different items you are stocking it gets to be a challenge.


Holy crap! You keep hitting the nail on the head while I don't even realize I need to swing the hammer. <-- makes sense to me

I think this is my problem and may have just come full-circle with my postings and you being one step ahead. Seriously.

I went through the phase of buying everything that was 'prepping' related - to buying from a list - to planning a list - to putting a plan and possibilities together and going from there; the normal path of preppers. 
But is there a stage where one can 'relax'? 
Of course you should never stop preparing or assume you've reached that point of "umph, this is good enough" but is there a point of still be diligent while maintaining a comfortable pace of prepping . . . 
I hope yes. More to the point, why shouldn't there be one? I think I'd like to make that my next goal of finding that sweet spot.


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## gabbyj310 (Oct 22, 2012)

I think my dilemma is,The more I KNOW I need, it seems like the less I have....How can I even catch up?There is soooo much I need and it sure seems like a slow process.I need a cool dry place to keep my "stuff".But still need to get my place liveable..It's a chore but every time I get one thing another pops up ....And take my word for it, it's never a cheap purchase/fix....I need more money and balance


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

I think there's a tipping point where we need to balance preps for the future with living in the moment. Kind of like the saying that no one spends time on their deathbed regretting that they didn't spend more time at the office ... that balance will be different for each of us, but prepping should be about ensuring quality of life. We may be surrounded by stuff in a bunker after the zombies come to town, but how much will it be worth if we're there all alone with no happy memories to savor?


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

doubleTHICK said:


> Holy crap! You keep hitting the nail on the head while I don't even realize I need to swing the hammer. <-- makes sense to me
> 
> I think this is my problem and may have just come full-circle with my postings and you being one step ahead. Seriously.
> 
> ...


If we are going "full circle" a step ahead is the same as being a step behind. 

The way I have approached the problem is to think in terms of time, number of people to be supported, and to a very small extent the type of disaster.

I started with being prepared for a 3 day event, made a list and prepared (basically BOBs for the family). Next what happens for a 7 day event? More water, more food, try to be a bit more comfortable, better gear if a Bug Out, etc. (Hurricane Sandy was an 8 day outage for us, so this is still quite realistic.) How about a 1 month event? Toss in some variables like needing more medical supplies for a pandemic flu, etc.

Ultimately you're done when you can sustain yourself indefinitely, unless you take on a larger group.

My current goal is to be able to take care of a 16 person family for 1 year. I'm not there yet. The most expansive goal I have heard of was a group of almost 100 people and they intended to stock for 30 months expecting initial crops, etc. To be less than adequate. This is way beyond anything I have considered, but it shows how far you can go with the goal setting.

Once you have figured out how many you are prepping for and how long an event you're prepping for, you'll be able to guage your progress against that goal. You can always change your goal later, e.g. Add a person or familly to your group, but that will require translating the larger group, or longer time period, into revised lists of needed supplies, skills, etc.

For instance, let's say I am prepped for a year for a family of 4, but then I add 4 more people. I need to adjust my needed supplies. Obviously I need to double my food, but I may not need any more shovels. 

You need to work out your own lists of required supplies for your situation, track what you have, and be prepared to not only adjust your inventory as you make acquisitions, but also to adjust your goals as your situation changes.

To your question of whether you are ever done, I suspect you either need to be very wealthy or it is a multi-generational effort to be ready for the most extreme and long lasting scenarios.


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## ironhat (Oct 21, 2008)

One word. Carter. I was in my mid twenties and have lived my life building skill-sets and self-sufficiency. Several years ago I crushed a vertebrae but seemed to get past it. Two-and-a-half years later, severe heart failure. But, a strong constitution got me by that one too. Then, while they were inserting the pacemaker/defibrillator my back started to go south and hasn't stopped yet. Now, I'm recliner bound, narcotic dependent and can't be up for more than half an hour. We still have our food reserves and my tools. But, most of all we have a church family which sees us past the chores that are beyond my wife's ability to clean up. So, I'd say to one and all, to get a support system and one which is Christ centered. That's just my personal choice, BTW. It's scary getting old.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

No doubt. My sympathies.


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

gabbyj310 said:


> I think my dilemma is,The more I KNOW I need, it seems like the less I have....How can I even catch up?There is soooo much I need and it sure seems like a slow process.I need a cool dry place to keep my "stuff".But still need to get my place liveable..It's a chore but every time I get one thing another pops up ....And take my word for it, it's never a cheap purchase/fix....I need more money and balance


The funny thing with this prepping lifestyle is with every new stage is a new set of issues and concerns.

I would consider myself fairly far along in this adventure and am in an OK-ish position; of course this is subjective - some would consider my preps barely minimal while others would consider me super-prepped. All my previous post in this thread are about issues and concerns at my level of prepping (me and the wife and an emergency plus-one are sitting comfortably right at the 18 month mark) AND I STILL have issues.

Before I start rambling on I guess I should get to my point 
The issues will be there at any level so don't let them get in the way. Post here, read old posts, trial and error or whatever it takes to find an answer. In regards to your post it helped me to get past the "I have this much.....................................................to buy" but "I have this much.....money" I bought a can here or a can there. Anytime I went to store that may have something for the preps I looked for ONE SIMPLE item to buy.

The one item at a time is cheap to do and I promise you'll be surprised by how quick it adds up. You will not realize how much you actually have of something until it slaps you in the face. The wife and I concentrated on green beans and candles of whatever kind. With both of us buying a can here and a candle there whenever we went to a store we are done buying each. Yes, done. I was shocked at how quick and how much of each we put into the preps; crazy


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

Geek999 said:


> For instance, let's say I am prepped for a year for a family of 4, but then I add 4 more people. I need to adjust my needed supplies. Obviously I need to double my food, but I may not need any more shovels.


I've been thinking about the math as far as if X people are added is it a simple conversion. 
If a unit consist of 3 members and they add 3 more is it a simple doubling of supplies? "We have 15 tubes of toothpaste now we need 30", I cant help but to wonder if it is more involved.

In your case: your unit has 4 members and adding 4 more will give you 8. should the preps be doubled or should the prepping start over as if 8 is the original amount? There is no error balance or adjustment for reaching X amount of people? 
Say the first interval is (1,5) and if you are within that range the prep on a 1:1 system. The next interval can be (6,10) and this prep ratio would be 1:1.5. The (11,35) unit members would almost seem to need to be adjusted even more aggressively, somewhere in the 1:2.3(2.5)

Of course these numbers are not scientific and are only for demonstration purposes but I find it difficult to agree that prepping maintains a 1:1 regardless of count.

***Geek999*** Please understand that I am not picking on you and I hope it doesn't come off that way. If it does seem like I am nit-picking things I apologize. More like I am bouncing ideas off of you


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

doubleTHICK said:


> I've been thinking about the math as far as if X people are added is it a simple conversion.
> If a unit consist of 3 members and they add 3 more is it a simple doubling of supplies? "We have 15 tubes of toothpaste now we need 30", I cant help but to wonder if it is more involved.
> 
> In your case: your unit has 4 members and adding 4 more will give you 8. should the preps be doubled or should the prepping start over as if 8 is the original amount? There is no error balance or adjustment for reaching X amount of people?
> ...


I had not taken anything said as nitpicking. I am enjoying this thread.

I feel that there are items where you need to increase per person, items you need per familly, and items you need for the group in a multi-family group. There are also items that are consumable which bring in a time factor and items that are durable, e.g. Shovels (A shovel that works for a one year plan still works for a three year plan.)

As a result the requirements change but it isn't simple multiplication by the number of people, or even the number of people and the duration of the plan. You need to reassess requirements overall. Also a new addition to the group will presumably bring at least part of what they need, so your inventory just changed.

You also are going to have a mixed bag of preppers and non-preppers. Your additions may not bring much in the way of resources, or they may bring valuable assets. For instance, I have a daughter who recently got engaged. The young man is currently finishing school and flat broke. I would be pleased to have him with us in SHTF, so he is now someone I have to consider as I accumulate food, but he has a remarkable array of tools that might have been on my list of future acquisitions had he not become part of our plans.

As a resullt, additions send you into a new round of planning and assessing where you are. People will be coming and going. People are born and people die. People get married and have kids and people move too far away for you to be able to do anything for each other in SHTF.

While this is going on you get the idea that you ought to stock something you haven't stocked before. The whole process is plan, acquire what you can, and plan again.


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## Moose33 (Jan 1, 2011)

doubleTHICK said:


> So true.
> 
> Unfortunately this inevitably leads to what I call P.O.C.A.P.I.S - Preppers Over Consumption and Acquistion of Perceived Item Shortages -
> Layman's translation: OMG! I have only 363 bars of Zest. At 3 bars a month, 36 for a year; this will only last barely a decade. Next shopping trip I MUST buy more soap. Please allow the disaster to hold off for another week so I can get more soap.
> ...


Oh my, does this mean a decade worth is really enough? Who knew...

What motivated me was partly age, partly family practice and partly having only myself to rely on. Illness, job loss, natural disasters, I need to be able to take care of myself, and fur babies. I need to be able to protect myself. It's the way I was raised. I will NOT be going to a Superdome like facility. Ain't gonna happen.
Moose


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

doubleTHICK said:


> I guess it is easier for me to look at as I'm not buying a single shovel for $5 but buying multiple shovels for $5 and the multiple shovels eventually add up to 50-75lbs of wheat.
> But honestly what would you do (this is my Sunday this weekend) A lady the next town over has acres and cords upon cords of FREE wood **already cut and chopped fireplace size** FREE!!! Take as much as you want and she asks for NOTHING in return. This is some nice oak and pecan wood. All I have to do is pull up to a pile and load up, that's it.


You could get what you can get cheap/free then resale it, using the proceeds for preps you really need. Using Craig's List or preferably Facebook to resell things doesn't require much time or effort.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

doubleTHICK brings up a good point, we really don't know how many we are prepping for. Both sides of our family live far enough away that I don't expect them to show up. My friends are all preppers so no problem there.  My wife's friends are all liberals so not only do the not prep but they will consider our preps as communal property. This question has come up before and will again as there is no answer. Who do we take in and who do we turn away. The more people the stronger the unit. The more people the shorter time the supplies will last.

How many shovels do I need. Currently I have a snow shovel, they don't tend to last very long. A flat nosed shovel. A folding shovel that lives in the car. I also have a #2 shovel. I have gone through at least three #2 shovels and this one is on its last legs. If I needed more than one person to dig today I'd be out of luck. 

My prepping has come in surges. I'll perk along holding steady or with a gentle growth most of the time. Then I'll get sick, have another personal disaster, or listen to the nightly news and I'll increase my preps. Do I have enough? There is no way to know. I can tell you this, I have had personal disasters that, literally, ate through all my preps. I have more now.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

The answer to "do you have enough?" depends on the question "for what?". I went through Hurricane Sandy quite comfortably, so I am prepared for a Hurricane. I am not even close to prepared for an EMP.

You can drive yourself crazy if you try to prep for a TEOTWAWKI event without some intermediate goals. Once you reach a goal you can feel good about that success before you set your next goal.


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## Beaniemaster2 (May 22, 2012)

Back in 1971, we had a really bad snow storm and the trucks couldn't get to the stores... With two small children, I realized what it was like to have no food in the stores and been stocking up ever since....


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## lovetogrow (Jan 25, 2011)

In the early eighties I read a book (amongst other events) that some serious prepping community friends referred me to, and it opened my eyes to what was coming down the pike 

The Day the Dollar Dies
by Willard Cantelon


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

I have always garden, I like it & it is cheaper & better.

My wake up call was this site, which I found from a link on a garden site.

I do not see any real big changes in the next 5-8 years, but at least I am ready if I am wrong.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

Caribou said:


> doubleTHICK brings up a good point, we really don't know how many we are prepping for. Both sides of our family live far enough away that I don't expect them to show up. My friends are all preppers so no problem there. My wife's friends are all liberals so not only do the not prep but they will consider our preps as communal property. This question has come up before and will again as there is no answer. Who do we take in and who do we turn away. The more people the stronger the unit. The more people the shorter time the supplies will last.
> 
> How many shovels do I need. Currently I have a snow shovel, they don't tend to last very long. A flat nosed shovel. A folding shovel that lives in the car. I also have a #2 shovel. I have gone through at least three #2 shovels and this one is on its last legs. If I needed more than one person to dig today I'd be out of luck.
> 
> My prepping has come in surges. I'll perk along holding steady or with a gentle growth most of the time. Then I'll get sick, have another personal disaster, or listen to the nightly news and I'll increase my preps. Do I have enough? There is no way to know. I can tell you this, I have had personal disasters that, literally, ate through all my preps. I have more now.


You need to make some guesstimate of people and time to plan. It can be difficult but with no plan, you don't know what you can handle and you don't want to be figuring it out when those liberals show up on your doorstep.

I'd also suggest taking a stab at getting some of them to prepare for a Hurricane or similar event. They may not buy the idea that Obama willl wreck the economy, but it is hard to argue with a Hurricane. Then if you need to turn them away, because they aren't part of your plan, you can do so with a clean conscience that you tried to get them to prepare.


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## doubleTHICK (Jun 19, 2012)

lovetogrow said:


> In the early eighties I read a book (amongst other events) that some serious prepping community friends referred me to, and it opened my eyes to what was coming down the pike
> 
> The Day the Dollar Dies
> by Willard Cantelon


This is why I am prepping. Not for anything else but the dollar being devalued by at least 40% and crazy inflation from the debt.
http://www.pagetutor.com/trillion/index.html **may have seen this before but still scary to look at**

So you want to be a prepper? Step 1 - WHAT ARE YOU PREPARING FOR????
You can NOT go any further with your plan UNTIL you decide what you are planning for. Otherwise you are just shopping for random stuff.

Geek999 - once again you made a great point and once again it puts me back on track. "Plans change". I get so focused on sticking to the plan I forget about Step 2 of being prepper - Plans change.
There is no rule that says plans must change but plans do: adapt, modify from its environment, grow, evolve, and just simply grow with age

I am still going to work on the math for adding people to a unit. Bringing in non-preppers or liberals and age would make plans change differently than a simple doubling. Teen-age boys are going to eat way more than double. The very young and very old will create liabilities which causes error in calculations. As I am writing this it also makes sense to me that one could go by the 'average'. With a simple 1:1, or doubling of preps, things will average out. Having a small child can't pull their weight but are still a liability/responsibility, but a 20' something adult can easily pull their own as well as a little extra. Hence they now average out.

AAHHHH!!! the humanity. I think I am sticking with just me and the wife and the emergency +1. But hey, I'm not preparing for TEOFTWAWKI but for 1930s Part II


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

doubleTHICK said:


> My problem/issue/dilemma/insecurity/any other synonym that fits - is when do you have too much?... I have accumulated 16 shovels......


I try and work from a scarcity list.

For an example let's assume we had to fend for ourselves for a year.

Could I live 1 year if I prepped only one shovel? I could dig with a knife, make a wooden shovel, use a piece of metal, lots of ways to dig without a shovel. Shovels would be towards the bottom of my scarcity list.

Could I live 1 year if I prepped my entire food source with only one MRE? A few rabbits/squirrels would buy me a few days. Dogs or deer would give a few weeks. Stray cattle a month. I believe I'd be in dire straights waiting 3 or 4 months for the crops to mature and I'd be dead if SHIT happen in the fall. Food is towards the top of my scarcity list.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

What you need for most scenarios is pretty much the same except for the length of time. There are some exceptions, like you may want a geiger counter for nuclear fallout, but you won't need it for much else. Mostlly the scenario impacts your time horizon. A Hurricane is likely behind you in a few weeks. An EMP coulld be years. If something else occurs with a similar time horizon to what you have prepared for you'll probably do okay.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

It was the "energy shortage" of 1973-4 that got my attention and that was because our society is SO dependent on fossil energy. Add to that the fact that I was an engineer working for General Motors at the time and the Oil Embargo of that period caused no end of disruption and unemployment. 

That all makes me think we need to look at key issues:

-Energy (How ya gonna cut firewood without gasoline?)
-Electronics (Virtually nothing works in our society without electricity.)
-Water (Priority number two, second only to air.)
-Food (In a major crisis, many folks get hungry after about 3 days to a week.)

So, that should help put some perspective on our priorities. 

Another thing that got my attention in the 1970's was living in an all-electric home when an ice storm struck followed by a blizzard. I watched the power lines coming to our house, coated with 2" to 3" of ice, crackling in the wind and wondering if they would break and leave us to freeze. We were fortunate that they did not break when many did. After that, I have ALWAYS had a backup for every energy need. Maybe not the best choices, depending on what I could afford, but I DID have a backup. 

Two is one, one is none. It applies to everything. Plan accordingly.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

An old adage in the preparedness field, often glossed over today, is that nobody can store enough to last forever. You absolutely have to look at how you can either, A) PRODUCE what you need, or, B) Trade something for your needs.

Today we trade money for almost all our needs. Take money out of the equation and how do you make it? Could easily happen within 24 hours. 

What if you lose your income source? Got a backup for that? 

My wake up call caused me to think about that a lot, since my job was the first thing to be threatened by the Oil Embargo. 

So, air, water, food, shelter/clothing, heat/transportation/energy, and income should rank in roughly that order, IMHO. My wake up call got me to thinking about all of those very seriously. I changed how we lived after that and still loathe dependence on any external thing.


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## southernskies (Jan 17, 2013)

I suspect that for many of us, it started with one small, common sense thing we felt might be a good idea to have a small cached supply of. That one small thing led to another, and so on. I was in denial about calling myself a "prepper" until the day I realized that my supplies included 60 pounds of dried pinto beans and 300 rolls of toilet tissue. Even in my somewhat remote location, there was really no other rational way of explaining that. The concept of talking openly about it, even here, still feels a little uncomfortable.


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## tenntex (Oct 27, 2011)

I've always been of the "Be Prepared" mindset since BSA

But my wife became more interested in prepping when Obama got re-elected.


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## HillbillyGirl (May 5, 2011)

I've always had a be prepared attitude - we grew up in a "living off of the land" family/area where the winters could be cruel. But it wasn't until the 2004 hurricane season that really put that attitude/knowledge into perspective.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Geek999 said:


> What you need for most scenarios is pretty much the same except for the length of time. There are some exceptions, like you may want a geiger counter for nuclear fallout, but you won't need it for much else. Mostlly the scenario impacts your time horizon.


Out here on the West coast a geiger counter is probably a good thing to check the salmon and tuna before you eat it.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Viking said:


> Out here on the West coast a geiger counter is probably a good thing to check the salmon and tuna before you eat it.


Any recommendations for a geiger counter suitable for checking food?


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Caribou said:


> Any recommendations for a geiger counter suitable for checking food?


I'll get back on this as I'll have to call a friend that just recently bought one for this purpose.


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## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

Prepper and I were going to run away and we started hoarding supplies so we could survive in the woods on our own but we got caught. Then we started thinking about what we were gonna do with all the stuff we'd gathered up and figured we might as well stay prepared.


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## Beaniemaster2 (May 22, 2012)

Sybil6 said:


> Prepper and I were going to run away and we started hoarding supplies so we could survive in the woods on our own but we got caught. Then we started thinking about what we were gonna do with all the stuff we'd gathered up and figured we might as well stay prepared.


May I ask how old you were to run away?????


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## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

Beaniemaster2 said:


> May I ask how old you were to run away?????


Twelve??? Hahahaha.


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## Geek999 (Jul 9, 2013)

Sybil6 said:


> Prepper and I were going to run away and we started hoarding supplies so we could survive in the woods on our own but we got caught. Then we started thinking about what we were gonna do with all the stuff we'd gathered up and figured we might as well stay prepared.


You've opened yourself up to some friendlly advice, so here goes:

I approve of the prepping, but running "away" is seldom a smart move unless you are being physically abused, in which case call 911. What you need to do is get a job, save, and establish independence. If you are close to 18 consider the military as a possibility. If you are really 12, you need care from an adult, an education, etc. So it is going to take what may seem like an unacceptable amount of time, but the reality is you would hurt yourself more than help yourself by running away.

Good luck working through whatever the troubles are.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Geek999 said:


> . If you are close to 18 consider the military as a possibility. If you are really 12, ....


I think " Sybil " is 17 and " -prepper- " is either 17 or 18?


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## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

Nah. We started when we were 12 because we were gonna run away. And then we got caught, and just decided to keep all of our stuff and bags and add to it which quickly transformed into prepping and we've been prepping since. Prepper is 17 and so am I. We've both been prepping for 5 years.  haha.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Caribou said:


> Any recommendations for a geiger counter suitable for checking food?


 The geiger counter that my friend bought is a Radex RD 1503+, I think she said she got it on Craig's List or something like that. I saw it and it looked like it was of good quality, but she hasn't done the research yet on what background radiation levels would be for normal safe readings. She lives a pretty hectic life taking care of four girls, a boy and one of the girls' son and keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table. Oh yeah, she's striving to do what she can prepping at the same time.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Sybil6 said:


> Nah. We started when we were 12 because we were gonna run away. And then we got caught, and just decided to keep all of our stuff and bags and add to it which quickly transformed into prepping and we've been prepping since. Prepper is 17 and so am I. We've both been prepping for 5 years.  haha.


Actually sounds like these two young people have a great deal more sense than a lot of older and supposedly wiser people.:2thumb:


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