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Prepping: Where to start?

In a previous job I often had occasion to visit various businesses and in some cases, homes of clients.

One home sticks in my mind. It was massive. The floorplan was more or less ordinary, just everything was bigger than us normal people are used to. But the main thing that stood out to me was the basement. The basement was significantly deeper than I was used to, probably 10' ceilings. Around half the basement was filled with shelving. On the shelves were, for instance, cases of bar soap. Cases of canned soup. Even chewing gum and toilet paper.b It was virtually a supermarket of supplies not requiring refrigeration.

These people were wealthy, not preppers. They simply found it cheaper to buy wholesale and store it until needed. Of course they wasted the savings on fancy cars and other frivolous junk...

The lesson learned is, when possible and you see a deal, buy 10 cases of soap or 100lbs of spaghetti instead of just what you need.
 
There's a lot of good information in this thread, thanks everyone who has contributed. I think the first question any Prepper (or would be prepper) needs to ask themselves is "What am I prepping FOR?" Some folks have touched on this (natural disaster, social unrest, zombie apocalypse, whatever), and how you prep will depend on your answer to that question. There is no "everyone should prepare this way" because if we all knew what was going to happen, everyone could prepare for it, and we'd all be happy (right? right?)

Prepping at many levels is an illogical pursuit. Most people don't prep specifically for a logically thought out, well defined threat. They prep against their fears. What scares you the most in your uncertain future? If preparing can help you allay those fears, then that's what you should prep for. For some that's guns. For others it's food. Others it's anonymity and being able to vanish. Again, choose what you're prepping FOR, but this time, for what you're scared of.

Once you have those two things in mind, you can start moving ahead and addressing those needs.

Now, for me? I'm prepping for things I'm worried about - being unprepared for whatever may happen. I'm not talking alien invasion or commies or whatever, I'm talking about the basics of "if something goes sideways, am I aware enough of what's around me to be able to make it through?" For me this is looking at the problem in steps. Time frames if you will.

VERY SHORT - I'm hiking or out doing something, and osmething breaks or I get hurt. I need to have basic medical care with me, and the ability to affect basic repairs. This is my EDC (Every Day Carry). Ye old altoids box of
 
AM13 said:
water, food, ammo. Not necessarily in that order
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Most of the "preppers" I've met have enough guns and ammo for a year, enough food for a month, enough water for a few days, and enough first aid supplies and knowledge for 30 seconds.....

The hazard that happens virtually every year is a severe Northeaster snow or ice storm. They shut things down for a few hours to a week or to. So start there.

http://www.ready.gov/ has common sense checklists. If that tree comes through your roof, it makes sense to have your glasses, grandmas prescription, and a travel cage for your cats ready.

Apartment dwellers have it harder sometimes because they can't, for example, run a generator. But you can get a car booster battery pack to charge your phone, store water in gallon jugs, etc.
 
garandman said:
Most of the "preppers" I've met have enough guns and ammo for a year, enough food for a month, enough water for a few days, and enough first aid supplies and knowledge for 30 seconds.....

The hazard that happens virtually every year is a severe Northeaster snow or ice storm. They shut things down for a few hours to a week or to. So start there.

http://www.ready.gov/ has common sense checklists. If that tree comes through your roof, it makes sense to have your glasses, grandmas prescription, and a travel cage for your cats ready.

Apartment dwellers have it harder sometimes because they can't, for example, run a generator. But you can get a car booster battery pack to charge your phone, store water in gallon jugs, etc.
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What he said.

If you prepare for the mundane emergencies like a winter storm or a summer flood, you'll be 10,000% more prepared than the genpop of something like a comet hits DC, or a volcano sprouts up under DC or Ebola zombies begin spreading (from DC).

A car jump pack will recharge your cell phone (assuming they work at all!) An unbelievable number of times. They should just equip cell phones with those batteries in the first place.
 
garandman said:
Most of the "preppers" I've met have enough guns and ammo for a year, enough food for a month, enough water for a few days, and enough first aid supplies and knowledge for 30 seconds....
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Many are also fatasses who couldn't run a mile if their life depended on it. Getting in shape should also be part of the plan for anybody concerned about a breakdown of civilization as we know it.
 
Fat asses ...

Not a nice phrase but it makes a serious point. If you're overweight you're doing it wrong.

I am not overweight , but I'm not as strong at 50 as I was at 35. So I've started training again.
Back in April or May I began twice a week martial art practice. Two weeks ago I started early morning 2 mile fast walks , Mon thru Fri.

People like to start "prepping" by building a Bug Out Bag. Planning to carry stuff if you can't is a bad plan.
 
Archilochus said:
I don't see how either of those could cause any real problems.

I guess if your preparing for one huge celebration, you might need more beer & chips [rofl]
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LMAO.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk Pro - typos are from the GD auto correct unless they are funny substitutions those I'll take credit for.
 
Simple and easy way to put your mind at ease in short order - more is better, but this will get you past most short term stuff. Prep Short Term first (most likely), then medium, then long term, then Road Warrior.

Emergency Essentials - 1 Month Freeze Dried in #10 Cans, they go on sale regularly and last for 20 years if stored properly.
GOOD water-cooler style bottles - 1 Gallon per person per day. 6 of the 5 gallon jugs will get you the same time as the food.

Medical - what you have on hand - as long as you have at least a real first aid kit, not just some junk in the medicine cabinet.

Have 1 case of of TP & paper towels ; many uses - indefinite storage.
 
I use the Reliance 7 gallon jugs with spigot for storage. If I have to carry them (like camping) I only fill them to five gallons.
 
Where to start:
Be proactive. Take care of yourself and your possessions, so you are in the best condition if something bad happens. Simple stuff like regular dental care, a fitness program, maintaining your vehicle, will all increase the odds against you being a victim in need of someone elses charity or worse yet, a casualty statistic.
As far as stuff like food, the typical American household has only two weeks of food on the shelf. Start buying an extra can or two of stuff every week. make a list of what you use on a regular basis and just keep buying that stuff, only more of it. Sooner than you realize you'll already be ahead of your "typical" neighbors with their two weeks of food.
If you've ever had SHTF stuff in your life like power outages, hurricanes etc, prepare for those. Look at the mistakes others routinely make in such situations. Don't be that guy ahead of the storm cleaning the store out of bottled water and D cell batteries because you haven't planned ahead or done anything since the last incidence of a regular event in some parts of the nation like a hurricane or winter storm.
Acquire new skills. It helps you have more of a marketable skill set both in good times and after a disaster. It also keeps you young, as its been shown that an active brain and body are better for you than a sedentary one.

If you prep for the "routine" disasters, you're already ahead of the game. If the "un-routine" disaster happens, you're already ahead of the game even if you didn't specifically plan for it.
 
namedpipes said:
To put it in context, the colonials that built this country were de facto preppers.

Think about what it took to live on a farm 100 miles from anywhere. Buy/make/grow that.
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While they did practice what we might call prepping because they had to, the very early colonists were not generally 100 miles from each other.
The New England colonists actually discouraged being isolated from the main body. Theologically they believed that staying on the moral straight and narrow required that you be around the Common where everyone else could keep an eye on you for your own good.

Once the push out to the prairies started you did have more isolated farms but even the majority of those were not 100 miles distant from each other.
Even the guys we idolize as being rugged individualists, the mountain men, relied on outposts and meets to resupply and trade goods and services

Ops question:
Places to start in order are


Food
Water
Medical supplies
Knowledge
Proper clothing for extended manual labor or outdoor time if you tend to be a suit and tie suburban guy
Tools specific to your anticipated needs in an emergency

Take the above and expand on it. It's a list only to start.
The initial food,water and medical preps can be expanded once you have the knowledge to do so in an informed manner ( that's why knowledge is where it is ). Once you have the knowledge you start your other preps in an informed manner as to what you need to buy so you aren't wasting time and money

The list from there is endless depending on your situation. Long term you'll need to think communications near and far, food production, security, transportation.
What each of those entails will depend on your budget and skillset and local situation.
 
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bringing back this thread. Wise is having a buy three get one free special. Figured this would be a good way to start with prepping for the zombie apocalypse. Enjoy.
 
A1850 said:
bringing back this thread. Wise is having a buy three get one free special. Figured this would be a good way to start with prepping for the zombie apocalypse. Enjoy.
Click to expand...

I hear really bad things about Wise. I'd stick with Mountain House.

I finally got a Solo Stove, was waiting on a deal.
 
Most people seem to have different ideas but it gets down to stay put or bug out. I guess it would all start with a plan as to what you are going to do.
 
New England frontier/early settlements were weird. Down South in the Appalachians there were a lot of lonely cabins strung out all through the hills - here in NH even in very rural country you can have have six neighbors each with a 40 acre plot - and the houses are all built right up within a few hundred feet of each other. Not much of a culture of privacy. :/

That said - having solid neighbors makes a world of difference. :)
 

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