Dealing with Family Non-(Prep) Believers....

[stormryder]

I would look at it in terms of what can they contribute to my continuing health/survival to let them in my home.

I am in the process of stocking up on food, aquiring a water tank w/filter to hook into my downspouts, and better securing my home.

 

[Libertarian01]

Very good question. I think some problems can be solved by just thinking about this case.

For me I only have my parents to consider. My sister and her husband are in the Carolinas so in a true SHTF scenario my immediate concern would be three (3) people.

To help with this I have planted some fruit trees. I already have a lot of nut trees and some woods to go hunting.

A lot will be determined by the potential events that lead up to a more chaotic society. If things start to go slowly but noticeably downhill you will have an easier time convincing nonbelievers. If it is a sudden drop they won't have time to react.

I think you may want to think about how long you can support your own family for and stock to that point. After you have attained your stocked-up goal for yourself, perhaps stock a smaller amount for those whom you love to give them breathing room.

Example: You stock enough for your family for six (6) monthes. Then you stock enough for the "nonbelievers" for one (1) month. This will give your family the support you believe you need while at the same time doing something for loved ones. If your loved ones do not turn to you in the crisis you have extra food. If they do turn to you then on day 1 you tell them you love them very much, here is your monthes worth of rations but that is it. They now have 30 days to consider alternative options. This gives you and them breathing room, but they also understand that they cannot leech off of you indefinitely! They will understand that your gracious generosity will come to an end and they will need to do something to support themselves.

This won't mean that you will not be able to work together to survive, but it will mean that the pressure is on them to quickly think about alternatives to living off of your planning.

I also like the idea of taking into account exactly what they own to benefit you! There would be nothing wrong with cooperation to survive. If you have all to basic planning and they have some tools or equipment you know would be useful, consider those part of your "groups" survival mode.

If they have nothing of value consider that whatever happens probably won't happen overnight but could get really bad really fast. If you see that happening make a list of things they could buy at the last minute that won't necessarily be what "everyone is going for!" That way they can contribute with a quick influx of cash to get those last minute thingss that you can't afford to buy right now.

This prearranged list will save you and them a LOT of time and headache.

On the off chance that this occurs and they won't even buy what is on the list then you will have to consider them in total denial and determine exactly what kind of hindrance they will be to the survival of your family.

If you are married and your spouse thinks similarly to you spend some time talking about it. How much do you decrease your families chances of survival for those unwilling to open their eyes?

Not a decision you want to make, so make it beforehand so that your emotions don't override your intellect.

Regards,

Doug

 

[jpo117]

The more I think about this, the more I think that if your sister won't get on board then it is not only your responsibility but also in your best interests to provide for your family. Let's be honest, preps aren't about making sure you have enough chicken noodle soup for the apocalypse--they're about ensuring that you can survive the transition between our lives and what our lives could become, and to make sure that we are well-prepared for that new life. Like someone else alluded to, consider your investment into your sister's preps as a down payment on services rendered. That period of intense trial will probably require significant manpower to get through. I know that if the S ever HTF, I'll be counting on my friends and family to help me get through it--even if I have to sacrifice some Hormel chili and two-ply buttwipes to bribe them into action. Think of it as paying wages, if nothing else.

 

[infidel]

To start, many of the folks here have the money to spend more on a knife than I've ever had to spend on a gun (my fault - not yours). So, I'm starting from a lower level than many. I'm doing what I can to accumulate enough to save my family for a period of 3-4 weeks on short rations (8 people) and that's still a huge amount of food.

Rice and beans. Easy and cheap.

 

[darinb]

non prepers

I am in a little different position since all members of our families live at least an hour away,so we dont have to worry about family coming to us. Our friends all live at least 10 miles away and even our neighbors due to the position of our home the neighbors are not close and not to mention that they leave us pretty much alone.

 

[Beau]

I am in a little different position since all members of our families live at least an hour away,so we dont have to worry about family coming to us. Our friends all live at least 10 miles away and even our neighbors due to the position of our home the neighbors are not close and not to mention that they leave us pretty much alone.

I dunno but I think you might be kidding yourself. If your family knows you have preps expect them to come a knocking. If things even look like they might go south in a hurry I think you could expect them to show up before hand.

Then again.

 

[Z350Godfather]

I hear your pain. My wife is completely in the dark about this SHTF stuff. She's not even open to thinking that the possibility of anything happening. It's so annoying! It sucks because I have to sneak around to buy extra food and bug out gear behind her back. I hate doing it, but I have her and my little girl in mind. Beats me...

 

[stormryder]

My plans got shot down.
My wife keeps saying there are more important things to invest in.
Like improving (redecorating) the house because her mother suggested it.

 

[ghunter]

My sisters are not in the frame of mind that I am. They are a bit more mainstream. I've tried talking to my mom and dad about just having 3 or 4 days of food in case of a hurricane (they're on the east coast). I don't think they'll do much more than that. Some people don't want to think that things will go bad.

 

[Indy317]

Christmas is coming up - go to BePrepared.com and buy her an emergency kit as a gift. (different sizes/contents) At least she will have SOMETHING if anything happens. They also have educational books for sale: "Emergency Preparedness Made Easy" and "Emergency Essentials' Tips For Preparedness" just *might* make her think about taking care of herself and her family. (Maybe)

Excellent idea!

Horrible idea, horrible waste of resources. Don't buy people stuff they won't use, or would laugh at.

As far as storing food, I buy in bulk anyway. I do this mostly because I don't want to have to go shopping every week. I also do it if things are on-sale. I have the space to do this. And lastly, I want to have enough food on stock to not have to worry about eating if I get snowed in, or there is a spring/summer/fall power outage or supply chain disruption....basically I have enough food in my home to last me about a week, but there are only two of us. I usually buy three or four boxes of cereal at a time, plus about eight chicken breast at a time, plus six to eight pizza crusts at a time, etc.. So at any given time, I would say I have a week of food. If we had kids, obviously would be only a few days.

I don't worry about food so much as I do other things. Food will be around, even if we lost electricity for very long periods. People will go back to doing what has been done for centuries: Localized farming. Look how many acres have homes on them, but the land around the home grows nothing but grass (or for those of us who refuse to get our yards sprayed: Clover, weeds, etc.!!). There are literally millions of acres that can be made tilled that currently aren't used. People would quickly find out how to grow their own crops. Plus, folks would be able to eat as much anyway, which would be a good thing given the obesity epidemic in this country.


As such, I believe preps should more be focused towards things that will be much harder to come by:
Firewood/fuels for cooking and heating (in the snow/freeze belt), solar ovens for cooking, tools, guns, ammo, communication devices, ways to provide electric power to electronic devices (batteries, solar panels, etc.), first aid items (people need to become 1,000x more safe in such a world, as something that would be considered a minor injury now could be deadly if only minimal health care was available).

 

[Beau]

Horrible idea, horrible waste of resources. Don't buy people stuff they won't use, or would laugh at.

As far as storing food, I buy in bulk anyway. I do this mostly because I don't want to have to go shopping every week. I also do it if things are on-sale. I have the space to do this. And lastly, I want to have enough food on stock to not have to worry about eating if I get snowed in, or there is a spring/summer/fall power outage or supply chain disruption....basically I have enough food in my home to last me about a week, but there are only two of us. I usually buy three or four boxes of cereal at a time, plus about eight chicken breast at a time, plus six to eight pizza crusts at a time, etc.. So at any given time, I would say I have a week of food. If we had kids, obviously would be only a few days.

I don't worry about food so much as I do other things. Food will be around, even if we lost electricity for very long periods. People will go back to doing what has been done for centuries: Localized farming. Look how many acres have homes on them, but the land around the home grows nothing but grass (or for those of us who refuse to get our yards sprayed: Clover, weeds, etc.!!). There are literally millions of acres that can be made tilled that currently aren't used. People would quickly find out how to grow their own crops. Plus, folks would be able to eat as much anyway, which would be a good thing given the obesity epidemic in this country.


As such, I believe preps should more be focused towards things that will be much harder to come by:
Firewood/fuels for cooking and heating (in the snow/freeze belt), solar ovens for cooking, tools, guns, ammo, communication devices, ways to provide electric power to electronic devices (batteries, solar panels, etc.), first aid items (people need to become 1,000x more safe in such a world, as something that would be considered a minor injury now could be deadly if only minimal health care was available).

A week of food isn't much. I'm not saying it's all you have but other than the cereal you'll need refrigeration to keep the other stuff cool. Some pizza crusts will keep on the shelf but what about the stuff that goes on it?

A weeks worth of shelf stable is a good idea for power outages. What if the outage is longer though? It doesn't even have to be a power outage. Hyperinflation could drive food costs up. Having a few months stored away could help you through.

God forbid a SHTF event but if it happens your weeks worth will not help you much. Yes there is land that could be planted. It will not do much good if it's needed in the middle of winter. Where will you and others get seeds if you don't have them already?

I think all things need to be given equal attention. Why take the chance of planning more in some areas and less in others?

 

[ocsdor]

Since it was brought up, here is a classic example of a woman in denial (of the obvious SHTF moment):

@ 2:10 and 7:40 -- the farmer's wife.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7vKF0V-A9Y&feature=PlayList&p=F3A87A9F41FFC64E&index=5]YouTube - The Day After Part VI[/ame]