Convinicing the wife I'm not nuts...

Switch off the breaker on the house one weekend and tell her she can't use anything involving power or running water for the weekend including flushing with running water. she will be begging you to stock up on Toilet paper, water, soap and food supplies that don't require refrigeration.....
 
I just buy stuff when it is on sale. 10 spaghettis for $10? Sauce, 3 for whatever? Campbell's soup this week. Progresso soup another week. Peanut butter at Walmart, 2 for whatever, times 2! You get the idea. My kids eat a lot of peanut butter. I wish they still sold the buckets of Teddy peanut butter like when I was little. Also get those pasta packets on sale. And biscuit mix.
 
I was in your shoes about 2 years ago. I could have probably written the same post exactly. My wife is ex military so the guns side was not an issue. My advice is to take baby steps. I jumped in pretty hard in the beginning and she really thought i was nuts. She will slowly grab on. Remember it is a concept and it will take time for her to understand it (she is a woman). For me, I kept on explaining what could realistically potentially happen. I also explained that in any shtf situation you are on your own. I also went down the road that this was something that I strongly believed in and felt that as the protector in the family must act on. I work hard to provide for my family and This give me a sense of security and practicallity. What is the dollar amount value of the great feeling you get knowing you are way more prepared tham 90% of the population. In time events will happen and both of you will be sure glad that you have the simplest of survival preparedness.

Go slow, start with the basics first, and very importantly be frugal with spending. Look for bargains, over time they will pop up everywhere. In time yours and hers mentality will change. The things that I see and do have changed dramatically. On a side note about weapons. They are essential! As essential as food, water, and shelter. Just as essential as wepons is being proficient with them. Remember weapons and ammo will Also be the most valuable barter items you could ever have.
 
KodiakFan24 said:
Part of our problem is right now we live in a townhouse with no basement so we're very limited when it somes to storage.
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Got a garage that stays above freezing?

Pretty much all my "prep" stuff fits one one five shelf wire breadrack. Other than a weeks worth of Mountain House it is all stuff that gets swapped into the pantry and replaced on a regular basis. Sort of like the fact that it is not harder to keep the top half of your gas tank full than the bottom. Once you have that original investment in one extra month's food, you are not buying any thing extra, you are just buying your monthly groceries. The difference is they go on the shelf in the garage while what you bought a month ago goes in the pantry to replace what you just ate.

Same goes for storing gas. While I do use stabil in case it is sitting in a tank for a while, I normally dump the gas in my car and refill the gas cans every few months if I am not using it up in the snow blower etc..
 
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rommel said:
My advice is to take baby steps. I jumped in pretty hard in the beginning and she really thought i was nuts. She will slowly grab on. Remember it is a concept and it will take time for her to understand it (she is a woman).
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Gah. Her brain is not defective because she is a woman. You either 1. associate with stupid women and/or 2. suck at having adult conversations with women.

Seriously? She takes longer to understand concepts because she has ovaries? Are you kidding me? I suppose that college graduates are over 50% female because it takes us four years longer to grasp those darn tricky concepts?
 
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This was a picture at WAL-MART that a friend sent to me THURSDAY before the storm.

She said "I have never seen a Walmart simultaneously sell out of bottled water, bread, lunch meat, peanut butter and jelly, the majority of the chips and ice cream, and the ENTIRE milk inventory..."

534995_10151694795037166_623585579_n.jpg
 
Another_David said:
get a costco or BJ's membership if you don't already. Approach it like this: buying in bulk will save you money. Designate a stock room and makes some lists about what you use regularly--that's what you need most. It's not so hard. You don't need to go out and buy anything labeled "survivor" supplies like MREs. Just get normal household items that won't expire past a year or two and keep them handy: canned soup, beans, rice, etc.. Add a simple radio (not a $80 survival radio!), flash light, batteries, and some water and you're 90% there.
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Join a warehouse club and you won't have a choice but to buy your soup and tuna by the 12 pack. I've also noticed that the expiration dates on canned goods at BJs/Costco/etc are usually much further out than at Market Basket (don't get me started on the expired goods I find on the shelves at certain grocery stores).

Another_David said:
RE: The water, 6 gallons for $6 is a no brainier. Aside from "crazy prepper reasons" it has many uses. I use it in my dehumidifier (distilled leaves no residue). When I go to the beach or hiking I take a gallon or two--it's so much cheaper than buying drinks anywhere. I often buy liter bottles too, which cost more but then I refill them with tap, although I don't store them long term like that. Water does take up considerable space. I can understand your condo space premium--that sounds like your biggest problem. Just do what you can do.
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Distilled costs about 10% more than "spring" water, isn't great for drinking water. I use a 50/50 mixture of distilled and spring water for coffee, made with pure distilled water it doesn't taste right.
 
RoterTeufel said:
This was a picture at WAL-MART that a friend sent to me THURSDAY before the storm.

She said "I have never seen a Walmart simultaneously sell out of bottled water, bread, lunch meat, peanut butter and jelly, the majority of the chips and ice cream, and the ENTIRE milk inventory..."

534995_10151694795037166_623585579_n.jpg
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Doesn't that happen at every store, every emergency?
 
Mr. Wolf said:
I spent a good 5 minutes typing my unbiased opinion. But I deleted it because you don't deserve the advice considering you had to come to the interwebs asking how to not be a giant vagina. Grow some balls and do what ever the hell you want. Especially if it benefits and protects the family.
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Well that's a productive answer. [rolleyes]

PennyPincher said:
Episodes 1056 and 1057 of The Survival Podcast can help you get started.
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I was going to suggest the same think. You can't go wrong with going to The Survival Podcast Forum - Index as it has a TON of good information.
 
Kodiak,

Here's my advice, for what it's worth.

Start with the most likely events:
Illness, Injury, Jobloss - What if one or both of you gets sick, hurt and loses their job. Being prepapre for these events provides a level of security. Having a few weeks worth of food at home, spare cash on hand, no credit card debt and a spare card or two with a few K in available credit limit so that these events don't become crisis. You can easily ride through a couple of weeks of major life events that temperarily affect your income, giving you time to transition. You'll likely find her receptive to making changes that provide security against events she can imagin happening.

Next move to the less likely, but slightly more dramatic - Minor natural disasters like Sandy, Snow-tober or the 2008 Christmas Ice Storm where people went more than a week without power. Stores and gas-stations were closed because they didn't have electricity. 2-years ago, there was only 1 gas station open in town because THEY had their own generator to power their pumps, but didn't have phone service to process credit cards, so it was cash only. They raised their rates 4 cents per gallon - posting a large sign stating they they were adding a 4 cent per gallon charge to their normal price to cover the cost of the gasoline they were putting into the generator. At least the roads were clear enough for them to get deliveries. Here's where you add a generator, fuel, lighting and alternate cooking and heating supplies to the mix so that you can live comfortably if the utilities go down for a period of time.

Depending on where you live, temperary rioting / looting may be the next one. If you're outside of the city and not expecing mobs to start forming, you can use the argument about break-ins / home invasions (if "that wouldn't happen in our sleepy little down" comes up, reference the Mont Vernon, NH incident from a few years ago where 4 teenages broke in and recorded the first homicide in the town in recent memory) and improve your personal security. What can you do to increase the physical security of your house? Improve locks and door strength, review your windows and other entry points. Try to avoid overtly heavy security solutions - if you look like you're trying to spend a lot of money protecting your house, some people will start to wonder what's inside worth protecting.

Once you're secure against the normal transitional financial disasters, temperary loss of income, temperary loss of utilities and able to improve your security to protect the home unlikely invasion, you can more into the more serious, unlikely but major events. Homefully by the time you've done the previous steps, your partner will be receptive to taking more serious steps. The focus (in the discussion) is security - maintaining a level of comfort through life's changes. That you don't need to worry about what life might throw your way because you're prepared for it.
 
Seems that life has been far to convenient and comfortable for far too long for your wife.

A good, healthy, moderately long term dose of adversity will change most people's minds in very short order.
 
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Mr. Wolf said:
It was productive. Hell I think it was the best advice in this thread.
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Sorry wolf, but it's actually horrible advice.

First, he wasn't coming here looking for help getting permission to prepare for his family's future and security, he was asking for advice on how to secure his partners acceptance of his preparations. The macho "Grow a Pair and Do Whatever You Want" advice that is so common here completely ignores the fact that being in a relationship involves considering your partners feelings. No, he doesn't need her permission to prepare for his family, but simply dismission her feelings is dismissing her value - it's literally saying, "Your thoughs, feeligns and ideas don't matter." Which is not condusive to a successful relationship, and certainly not condusive to being prepared for disruptive life events because it adds stress to your relationship, which will only intensify the results of a life event.

Getting your partner mentally and emotionally "on-board" with being prepared is a major part of not just surviving through such events, but thriving. Even if you have food, water, cash, fuel and power to get through a financial or natural disaster, it will put a huge amount of stress on your relationship, and much more so if you've demonstrated apathy towards your partners feelings and emotions in the past - even if you were doing because you thought it was in their best interest. That added stress will make surviving through life's little bumps all the more difficult, no matter how "prepared" you are.

Take the "I can do whatever I want" stance after reasonable attempts to address their thoughts and fears have failed, not as your first step.
 
ShadeWPI said:
Sorry wolf, but it's actually horrible advice.

First, he wasn't coming here looking for help getting permission to prepare for his family's future and security, he was asking for advice on how to secure his partners acceptance of his preparations. The macho "Grow a Pair and Do Whatever You Want" advice that is so common here completely ignores the fact that being in a relationship involves considering your partners feelings. No, he doesn't need her permission to prepare for his family, but simply dismission her feelings is dismissing her value - it's literally saying, "Your thoughs, feeligns and ideas don't matter." Which is not condusive to a successful relationship, and certainly not condusive to being prepared for disruptive life events because it adds stress to your relationship, which will only intensify the results of a life event.

Getting your partner mentally and emotionally "on-board" with being prepared is a major part of not just surviving through such events, but thriving. Even if you have food, water, cash, fuel and power to get through a financial or natural disaster, it will put a huge amount of stress on your relationship, and much more so if you've demonstrated apathy towards your partners feelings and emotions in the past - even if you were doing because you thought it was in their best interest. That added stress will make surviving through life's little bumps all the more difficult, no matter how "prepared" you are.

Take the "I can do whatever I want" stance after reasonable attempts to address their thoughts and fears have failed, not as your first step.
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Well said. [thumbsup]

Having your significant other on board would also benefit during a crisis situation. He/she would at least know the plan for handling the situation, oppose to them freakin out because they weren't on board with preparing. My wife was a bit "anxious" in the beginning, but now she understands and is completely on board and is now canning at home!

But to get back on topic, just start the process and hopefully she'll gain more and more interest as you go along. If a situation arises, such as a power outage or food supply issue, and sees that your prepared for it, she'll realize there's nothing to worry about, it'll click for her. . .hopefully! [wink]
 
Coyote33 said:
I just buy stuff when it is on sale. 10 spaghettis for $10? Sauce, 3 for whatever? Campbell's soup this week. Progresso soup another week. Peanut butter at Walmart, 2 for whatever, times 2! You get the idea. My kids eat a lot of peanut butter. I wish they still sold the buckets of Teddy peanut butter like when I was little. Also get those pasta packets on sale. And biscuit mix.
Click to expand...

I don't normally eat stuff out of a can, but I do buy it for storing it. I don't go overboard, but I do have some cans of Ravioli that I picked up for $0.89 a while back, and it expires in a year or two. When they are on sale, it's good to pick it up. If I don't eat it, it was still worth it. I can donate it to a soup kitchen, give it to a homeless person or friends/family, or even eat it, but like I said I don't like to eat that stuff because it isn't good for you. [smile]

Mr. Wolf said:
I spent a good 5 minutes typing my unbiased opinion. But I deleted it because you don't deserve the advice considering you had to come to the interwebs asking how to not be a giant vagina. Grow some balls and do what ever the hell you want. Especially if it benefits and protects the family.
Click to expand...

ShadeWPI said:
Sorry wolf, but it's actually horrible advice.

First, he wasn't coming here looking for help getting permission to prepare for his family's future and security, he was asking for advice on how to secure his partners acceptance of his preparations. The macho "Grow a Pair and Do Whatever You Want" advice that is so common here completely ignores the fact that being in a relationship involves considering your partners feelings. No, he doesn't need her permission to prepare for his family, but simply dismission her feelings is dismissing her value - it's literally saying, "Your thoughs, feeligns and ideas don't matter." Which is not condusive to a successful relationship, and certainly not condusive to being prepared for disruptive life events because it adds stress to your relationship, which will only intensify the results of a life event.

Getting your partner mentally and emotionally "on-board" with being prepared is a major part of not just surviving through such events, but thriving. Even if you have food, water, cash, fuel and power to get through a financial or natural disaster, it will put a huge amount of stress on your relationship, and much more so if you've demonstrated apathy towards your partners feelings and emotions in the past - even if you were doing because you thought it was in their best interest. That added stress will make surviving through life's little bumps all the more difficult, no matter how "prepared" you are.

Take the "I can do whatever I want" stance after reasonable attempts to address their thoughts and fears have failed, not as your first step.
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+1000

Could not have said it any better.
 
I agree that that your wife needs to be on board. Here is what I essentially tell my wife when things like this come up...and I've been met with good results:

"While you may think I am being silly and/or irrational, understand that it is my deep routed instinct or feeling to protect our family. I know how archaic and cave-manish that sounds, but just like how you wanted to start a family, I feel the need to be prepared and take care of you guys. It motivates me every day. I'm not asking you to fully understand it, but I would like you to try or just support me rather than criticize this. When things go bump in the night there is never a question who has to get up and take care of it. If I'm honest, it can say it can be a bit scary, but at the same time I take great pride in the fact that this is my role and I do it without question. Preparing for the what-if is part of that. I won't throw it in your face, but I'd like you to be on board."

Then see if you can do some smooching. (good results here aren't always as good) ;)
 
Late to the party, but I do think your kids are at a good age to teach about guns. When I was about that age my dad would catch me eyeing his service pistol so one night he sat me at the kitchen table and had me hold the pistol (unloaded and no mag, of course). All I remember was saying "man, thats heavy." Curiosity satisified, didn't give it much thought after that. Didn't even get into firearms until a few years ago, nearly 20 years later. It takes away the allure.
 
Disk,

I also grew up around guns - my father was a police officer for 26 years - but his service pistol was stainless steel Ruger .357 magnum for most of my life. I don't recall exactly what age I was when he first took me shooting, likely a little younger than Kodiak's kids. Guns were rarely a mystical taboo, but they were something you did with dad.

One less I do remember in vivid detail was firing a .22LR round through a motorcycle helmet - then having it explained that we wear helmets to protect our skulls because helmets are harder than our skulls - even 22 can kill, so you treat it with the respect it deserves.

We also fired .22LR hollow points into 1 liter bottles of selzer water, causing them to explode. - lasting images in a young mind, and ones that remind us just how destructive a firearm can be.
 
Use every storm, power outage as a learning experience. I have always been on board, and I am continually seeing what I need to do. Watch for sales and add a few more things of what you normally eat, etc. Store what you eat.
 
I treat it all as a game and a hobby.

The hobby is the reading and the fun of it all. The game is to make everything dual purpose and money saving.

Buying ammo by the case instead of the box makes it cost less. Buy more than you shoot and it will pile up. Reloading saves me more , and is enjoyable in itself.

Choosing firearms based on " prepping needs " helps you avoid buying stiff with no purpose. Shooting them then becomes both recreational and training - dual purpose.

We bought a parcel of land in Maine. It's a camp , for roasting marshmallows and swimming. It's also getting stocked with supplies , " just in case " ... Camp & Bug out Location - dual purpose.

I exercise on a regular schedule , but I do it at a Thai Kickboxing gym. - exercise and self defense .... ,

Everyone enjoys a fireplace. I put in woodstove inserts. Pretty fires and they heat the house , cheaper than the oil furnace , and act as a backup in the event of trouble. Layers of dual purpose.

The idea is to remain sane , improve the quality of normal life and have the ability to cope with Mayan Asteroid epidemic riots at the same time.
 
I am in a similar boat of convincing my wife that I am not one of the doomsday preppers she sees on TV. Over the past two years we have suffered a few prolonged outages thanks to winter storms and hurricanes.

I have flat out told her that this is what I plan to do, and that I am not nuts for doing it. I am taking steps to insure that my wife and 3 boys are warm and fed in the event of a prolonged outage or other such event. To that end I have:

1. Provided for defense. I've got rifles and a good bit of ammo. No need to say more.
2. Water. I have about 75 gallons of drinking water in the 5 gallon bottles. This is for drinking and cooking. I also have several 5 gallon bottles of water (still potable but not sealed spring) that is used for cleaning, hygiene, and toilet flushing. If need be, I live near a lake, that water is easily replaceable and that water can be purified if the going gets REAL tough.
3. Food. My family is young and single income at the moment, and we have 3 young boys. There is no such thing as a food surplus in this house. Anyway, whenever I do the grocery shopping I always make a point of buying a few cans of non perishables, such as vegetables, spam, fruit, pastas, etc. I'll never have the bunker full of food, but as I explain to my wife, I want to keep enough food in the house that we can go it for a few weeks if need be. I'd like to have 3 months, but it is a process....
4. Heat. The home is heated with a forced air, oil fired system. I have a generator that can fire the furnace in the event of an outage. As back up, and I have had to do this before, I have moved everyone into the basement and heated the basement with a ventless propane heater supplied with a 100lb propane tank. Even with a ventless heater one should always use a carbon monoxide detector. Moving everyone into the basement lets me avoid having to heat the whole house in the winter, and during the summer, it stays cool down there anyway.

It isn't perfect, but it is a start.
 
Maximus Slade said:
I am in a similar boat of convincing my wife that I am not one of the doomsday preppers she sees on TV. Over the past two years we have suffered a few prolonged outages thanks to winter storms and hurricanes.

I have flat out told her that this is what I plan to do, and that I am not nuts for doing it. I am taking steps to insure that my wife and 3 boys are warm and fed in the event of a prolonged outage or other such event. To that end I have:

1. Provided for defense. I've got rifles and a good bit of ammo. No need to say more.
2. Water. I have about 75 gallons of drinking water in the 5 gallon bottles. This is for drinking and cooking. I also have several 5 gallon bottles of water (still potable but not sealed spring) that is used for cleaning, hygiene, and toilet flushing. If need be, I live near a lake, that water is easily replaceable and that water can be purified if the going gets REAL tough.
3. Food. My family is young and single income at the moment, and we have 3 young boys. There is no such thing as a food surplus in this house. Anyway, whenever I do the grocery shopping I always make a point of buying a few cans of non perishables, such as vegetables, spam, fruit, pastas, etc. I'll never have the bunker full of food, but as I explain to my wife, I want to keep enough food in the house that we can go it for a few weeks if need be. I'd like to have 3 months, but it is a process....
4. Heat. The home is heated with a forced air, oil fired system. I have a generator that can fire the furnace in the event of an outage. As back up, and I have had to do this before, I have moved everyone into the basement and heated the basement with a ventless propane heater supplied with a 100lb propane tank. Even with a ventless heater one should always use a carbon monoxide detector. Moving everyone into the basement lets me avoid having to heat the whole house in the winter, and during the summer, it stays cool down there anyway.

It isn't perfect, but it is a start.
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Show her this. http://www.nh.gov/readynh/documents/emergency_planning_brochure.pdf

It's not just crazy preppers. The government suggests you should be responsible for yourselves. (not that I'm a fan but it carries weight for the non preppers)
I thought it was a decent brochure. It starts with a minimum amount of food days per person and then builds from there.
Any really bad storm in this area can knock out power for days. If the trucks can't get through then no food. It's that simple.
You'd think that would make sense to most people.
 
Btw tip on storing water: connect your storage tanks to water supply in such a way that you are continually cycling fresh water through. This way when the supply stops, you have the freshest water. Out west we'd connect through sprinkler system, for example.
 

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