How do you classify yourself as a prepper?

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  • Oneto1

    Plinker
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    Seeing this sub forum sparked my curiosity. I've seen people prep to the extreme, building underground bunkers on the Discovery channel. How do you classify yourself?
    Are you prepping for a power outage or two? Grid shutdown for a week? Zombie apocalypse? Rather not say? :):
     

    Leadeye

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    I prep for the power being out for an extended period of time. The rest of the stuff may come if the power stays off a really long time, but I'm more interested in staying ahead of weeks instead of months or years.
     

    d.kaufman

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    I try to maintain enough food and water, and a means to prepare the food, for at least 1 month for my family. This includes toiletries, medical supplies, and food for my animals as well. Not going to get into the other prepping aspects, ie. Guns, ammo, bartering tools, alternative money, etc. But these are very important as well.
    No bunkers or anything to crazy, but if i had the financial means, and location for it, i would definitely give it consideration.
    I am mostly worried about 3 events, but there are others as well
    1) Extended power outage(Emp, natural disaster, etc.)
    and this goes hand in hand with #2, but not mutually exclusive.
    2) We live extremely close to the New Madrid fault which has in the past and can be in the future a major catastrophe that would/could cut off the East from the west. Extensive power outage with this event, but even more so the supply chain cutoff to stores. Shelves in stores will be bare within 3 days at most. This would be way more severe than say a localized tornado cutting off power.
    3) Financial collapse. Not many, if any countries have lasted as long as the US without financial/currency collapse. Ever since getting away from the gold standard and having a fiat currency basically backed by nothing, i feel this is a real possibility as well.


    Any way you look at it, its always a good idea to have at least some type of plan in place and extra water and food stored in reserve
     

    churchmouse

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    Refer to post #3.
    30 days support for 4 adults and 3 children. With some serious rationing we could easily go longer.
    Space limits much more than this. Water being the limiting factor.
     

    Thor

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    Just being prepared makes you a prepper; no matter what time frame you're prepared for. We decided some time ago to be ready for whatever. We can go 6 months if needed...maybe a year with rationing. That should take us well past most folks ability to survive; and we are also prepared to defend it.
     

    churchmouse

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    Just being prepared makes you a prepper; no matter what time frame you're prepared for. We decided some time ago to be ready for whatever. We can go 6 months if needed...maybe a year with rationing. That should take us well past most folks ability to survive; and we are also prepared to defend it.

    We have enough water to hit that 30 day mark. With more we could extend that time out pretty far and yes we are ready to defend it.
    Water is the key.
     

    rhino

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    I prep for anything that might significantly affect my lifestyle or interrupt the flow of the resources we need to sustain our lifestyles. That could be anything from a tornado to an accident to losing a job. In other words, having a little extra of everything we need plus as broad of a knowledge and skill base as possible helps me be ready for "tough times" just like the way pretty much everyone lived until the last 25-30 years.
     

    Usmccookie

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    I would classify myself, underprepared. Add generic excuses. I like post #3. That would be my goal once life settles down enough to do so.
     

    Expat

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    I have enough food in the basement to get by for 6 months probably... we are on a shallow well that comes up in the basement. I have everything needed to plumb in a hand pump in an emergency.
     

    Thor

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    We have enough water to hit that 30 day mark. With more we could extend that time out pretty far and yes we are ready to defend it.
    Water is the key.

    Lack of water is probably the first thing that is likely to kill you. Air, water, food (familial relations) are things that take on a much greater meaning when you aren't getting any. Currently we have the water answered with a 1/4 acre pond 30' from the house and an artesian well. 30 days will still get you to the 1% of folks who will survive a general disaster, after that options would open up most likely.
     

    Phase2

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    Any preps are insurance against possible disasters, from the short-term and personal, up to the longer-term and large scale. The good news is that any preps for the former tend to help with the latter. For example, take the basics of food/water. They can help you if you are locked in for three days during a major ice storm, or help carry you economically if you become unemployed, or give you options if there is a larger SHTF event.

    d.kaufman's list (post #3) is good, but I'd add some items: medical supplies, community, and skills.

    Being friendly with extended family, neighbors, in your church and others in the area, means that you will have useful contacts for information and support. Be nice to them and they'll tend to do the same for you when you need it. Our society has largely drifted away from this, particularly with all of the engrossing technology available. Why get to know your neighbor if you have hundreds of channels of TV and constantly available internet on your cell phone? Having good community relations will pay off whether or not you encounter any disasters.

    Developing skills will also pay off whether or not you encounter disasters. Medical/first aid, self-defense/firearm, carpentry/plumbing/electrical/automotive, gardening, wild crafting/foraging/hunting/camping and many other skills can be helpful in normal life and be necessary/life-saving in emergencies. You don't have to know everything, but knowing some makes you more helpful and valuable and with community, you should have access to people who know other skills.

    Underground bunkers are one extreme (expensive/narrow use case) solution for potential disasters. For many, a bug-out location might be better. One possibility would be a second home or cabin where you also vacation/hunt/etc., but is sufficiently far away to avoid most large-scale disasters that might affect your home. These are some of the most expensive prepping options out there and not for everyone. Most preps are far cheaper or free.

    Prepping gives you greater peace of mind. You can handle lots of problems that would leave others scrambling. You would not be just another person in line hoping for handouts from a slow-to-arrive government in the case of a larger scale disaster. You have the option of helping your neighbors/family who need assistance. You can afford to be more charitable. When you have some food approaching expiration dates, why not give it to the local food pantry. They will utilize it quickly and you haven't wasted the resource.

    I like the Survival Podcast's tagline: Helping you if times get tough, or even if they don't.
     

    Old Bear

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    Try to maintain 30 days supplies for 3 adults and 2 small children. Most likely needed because of weather related issues such as ice storm or tornados. No plans for end of the world scenario but reasonably well protected from wandering zombies and such.
     

    Lt Scott 14

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    Mar 18, 2018
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    I like to say Secured and Ready for most SHTF. Had a !0'x10' Shed stocked and prepped for Y2K. Never used on that. To rotate and store most preps, it is a 24-7 job. My shelves have been condensed to an upright Pantry Cabinet, and few flats of bottled water. Have batteries, weather radios, defense tools, vent free fireplace (N-Gas of course). I keep tools handy, plastic and tarps, duct tape, many BOBs. Have survived 5 day power outs in winter, blizzards, spring storms. Wasn't fun but did ok. Yes, was knowledgeable to react if needed. No serious storm shelter, Wifey isnt going into crawl space until funnel cloud shakes house, sucks windows out and ..... you know. Keep your basics up, try to keep 5-7 days preps handy, rotate, and add as $ allows. 30 days is a great goal. Think and plan. Easier than spending 1K$ to rotate and toss if years out of date. (Plastic seal tubs is the trick. Label with stock/dates) Good Luck.
     

    longbow

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    Watch the movie "When Worlds Collide". I'm working on being able to prepare for that event.

    I have some 10 year old mre's minus the fig newtons and shortbread cookies. They were really good. There are some other goodies around, but I have to go looking for them. When shift, I'll use that free time to get organized.
     
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