GF thinks I'm NUTZ!!!

[Icarry2]

Please let me know any suggestions on how to explain to my girlfriend of two and a half years that I am not nutz for starting to prepare for SHTF or other natural disaster.

I already asked her how would we be able to stay in the house we rent with no power?

I already asked her how long could we survive on the food that’s in the house?

I already explained that no power = no water without a manual pump, we are fortunate to have a well even though we live in town.

It all started because I became a legal resident of Indiana a few months back, I was a legal resident of the communist state of Illinois before that. I used to be a resident of Indiana when I went to college and had a LTCH back then. I recently reinstated my LTCH and have started to carry all the time now.

Like an idiot I had let my first ex-wife convince me to disarm for the most part so with a LTCH I had to go out and purchase a new carry weapon, I now carry a Ruger SR9c w/10 rd mag all the time.

It took her a while to get used to it but she isn’t going to stop me from being armed and being able to defend us. She is convinced she lives in a safe place and that nothing will ever happen to her. On the other hand I was robbed at gun point once when I was in college and don’t want it to happen again.

What I am being “poked at” now is working on organizing an effort to become prepared for a natural disaster and or SHTF day….

To start I am armed and always carry a Kershaw Leek in my pocket, a spare 17 rd mag for the Ruger and a flashlight on my belt at all times. She said I look like a robo cop guy now..

My truck has first aid, blanket, some sort of food and usually a bottle of water in it most of the time.

My work truck which I spend most of my time in has much more in the way of survival if I get stuck somewhere.

Now I am looking into long term food storage and other home issues. Problem is I rent and at this point the best case scenario is to pack up everything useful and head back to my families farm in Illinois. Easier to defend and better equipped.

Over all my being prepared the little that I was up to know has been handy for her, like simple handy wipes in the truck for when her kids make a mess or need to wipe off…

Anyway, I am looking for some thing to assist me in opening her eyes to what she doesn’t understand and that is how unprepared we actually are. God for bid we ever have SHTF or have an ice storm knock us out of power or any sort of terrorist attack or biological crap happen..

 

[Que]

Shut everything down over the weekend and tell her it's a test. If she goes to someone else's house, that will not help. But, if she stays and tries to really take in what could possibly be your lives for a few weeks, she may learn something and give you the motivation to continue your preparation.

 

[flagtag]

Remind her of the mini-earthquake you had there earlier? The tornadoes that ran through southern IL around the same general time? Go online and review some of the news stories of those events and ask her to watch then comment on what she might do?

Just keep on doing what you are doing and explain "why" with each purchase. Even if she never gets on board, you will have (hopefully) what you need. But, it WOULD be better if you could find a way to convince her to join in. Do you know anyone in your area to is "stocking up" for a snow event, power outage, etc? Someone she can talk to? (With or without your input at the time)

 

[grunt soldier]

Shut everything down over the weekend and tell her it's a test. If she goes to someone else's house, that will not help. But, if she stays and tries to really take in what could possibly be your lives for a few weeks, she may learn something and give you the motivation to continue your preparation.

very good suggestion if you can convince her. all you can do is keep talking to her about it and show her how helpful it is period. reiterate that it could also come in very handy if god forbid one of you lost your job too. you could easily sustain while looking for a new job. that was a big one for my wife especially once she couldn't find work as a teacher. if you search back a couple weeks on here you will see where people were stranded all over the roads when that snow storm came, show her stuff like that and just keep easing her into it.

 

[HandK]

Shut everything down over the weekend and tell her it's a test. If she goes to someone else's house, that will not help. But, if she stays and tries to really take in what could possibly be your lives for a few weeks, she may learn something and give you the motivation to continue your preparation.

This^ that is great advice Que!

 

[sj kahr k40]

Shut everything down over the weekend and tell her it's a test. If she goes to someone else's house, that will not help. But, if she stays and tries to really take in what could possibly be your lives for a few weeks, she may learn something and give you the motivation to continue your preparation.

Great idea, I may do this when it's spring

 

[00BlasterResto]

Mine thinks I am nuts also, but when SHTF I figure she will be singing a different tune.

 

[singlesix]

Show her the FEMA website. FEMA recommends at least three days worth of supplies. FEMA knows it will take, at best, three days for an affective response to any wide spread event.

 

[Archbishop]

I explained that it's more than planning for the world. It's planning for what to do for more simple "realistic" events. No power, gas whatever. She was OK with that that. I also explained that buying a lot a certain food while it's on sale actually saves money. Assuming you'll eat the food and it's not something that will go bad. Once you have a decent supply of canned foods for instance then you don't buy them again until they're on sale. Same with other food or survival items. (Toilet paper, etc.)
A while back our gas got turned off because a mix up in billing. It took them a couple of days to get it turned back on. No problem I went to the garage got the right stuff out and life went on. Propane cooking stove, and propane hot water shower. (This was before it got cold out.) My wife commented about how nice it was to have that kind of stuff ready. I was then able to tell her this is why I stock this kind of stuff.

 

[woowoo2]

The Ice / Wind storms a few years ago made my wife a believer.
Just don't talk about zombies....

 

[toddk]

Give her a book to read on the subject.

I recommend One second after I got my wife to read that and now she understands why I do what I do.

She finished the book and she left me a note that said something like this...

Hon,

I finished the book, and cried my eyes out for the last two chapters.

Now I am terrified of an EMP attack, and we need to stock up on food, ammo, and Antibiotic ointment.

Love you,
Me

PS, there's laundry in the drier.



Another one could be Alas Babylon.
Or if you are into e-books Lights out.

I'm sure that others could recommend some good titles that would make her thing without seeming to "Tactical" or Military influenced.

Good Luck!

 

[TiminMishawaka]

Just tell her, "It's a man thing baby." And then wait for a situation for you to show off the skills of your man thing.


The purpose of preparedness is not for us to be prepared to acquire the acceptance of our wives/girlfriends.

 

[DHolder]

State it very simply... even the Boy Scout motto says "be prepared". I advise getting her involved in the process. have her be the one who is responsable for picking up an extra can of tuna. She may well think your idea of being prepared, is to stock up on guns and knifes.

Being prepared, is going to the store for a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread before the next snow storm. It should be a team effort, with each of you working toward a common goal. Discuss what she thinks warrants a need for prepping, and build on that. My wife thinks guns and ammo are silly, BUT she has no problem with a well stocked pantry

 

[PistolBob]

Go here:

FEMA Online Family Emergency Plan Tool

Toss a couple of steaks on the grill, some spuds, and a bottle of her favorite wine...then sit down together and read the site and create the plan.

Suggests how much food, water, coin, etc etc you might need per person in the event of disaster.

Good luck and have fun with this.

 

[dudley0]

When the ice storm hit a few years back we lost power to the house for quite a few days. I have a small gas fired generator that we were able to use to keep the well and furnace going. Big enough to run the fridge for a short time each day.

Didn't stock as much as we do now, but cooking was easier with my few supplies and the gas grill outside. Oh and all those scented candles smell like crap when you burn five of them at one time for light. We still have I think a million of them, but she hasn't gotten any new ones since then.

Last year there was a gas main break in the area so we had no gas supply for two days. Furnace and water heater were out. Had K1 on hand and used the burners short term each day to keep the cold out. Have since gotten a couple electric heaters that I can use.

I have a little more buy in than before, but I still get an odd look when I come home with an arm full of extra supplies. Do it either way. If she hasn't come on board just buy small amounts with your money. I had to use my allowance for ammo until I got up to where I felt a bit more comfy.

Oh and explain that zombies is a term referring to bad people... that helps a lot.

 

[moischmoe]

Remind her of the mini-earthquake you had there earlier? The tornadoes that ran through southern IL around the same general time? Go online and review some of the news stories of those events and ask her to watch then comment on what she might do?

Yup, do this.

 

[4sarge]

Try this: Family Survival: The Spouse

 

[Icarry2]

Thanks for the information, I haven't thought of alot of those suggestions but I have talked quite a bit about the needs and different senarios.

I sent her the link to this thread, we will see what she says..

 

[nova512]

in most peoples eyes (mainsteam)liberals or what have you,you will be looked at as a crazy untill the shtf for real,nothing will stop these people from their oh im safe i dont need a gun the police will protect me way of thinking.do what you need to do if she doesnt like it to bad.lol

 

[shibumiseeker]

Well, if she reads this thread, that's a good start. Here's my words to her:

I've been involved in emergency response for over 2 decades now. I've worked with the Red Cross, SEMA which is now IDHS, FEMA, and the county EMA, and and the recurring theme I see is that the people who create the most problems in a disaster are the people who don't even take the most basic precautions to prepare. All of those people clog up the emergency response and take away resources from the truly needy.

There is nothing tin-foil-hat paranoid about making sure you are prepared for an emergency, especially emergencies are are likely to happen here in Indiana. Doing so will not only ensure you are better prepared to survive a disaster, it also helps you help people around you when there's a problem.

Whether Icarry2 is nutz or not I'm not qualified to say, but his desire to prepare for emergencies is a good one.