I just recently started prepping and I am in need of some ideas.
Need some ideas
- Thread starter TheDrake
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Get books. Like the SAS survival guide.
Ok thanks I will
start a garden when growing season starts up.and then start canning food that you and family (WILL) eat.that is if you dont already.store water.good shelter where you can bug into,or bug out to.look into life stock if you have the property for it.the needed clothes for each season.weapons and ammo..first aid kits.meds even if its just for pain relife and head aches.diffrent ways to start a fire when needed..if you live in the country.then look into diffrent ways of filling in the gaps open spots along the property line to hide your home. with trees and under brush of the area in you live.
Get your BOB together, there are tons of discussions on these, just find what you would need to survive. I'm personally looking into making a biosand water filter after school lets out, not expensive but have been proven to be very effective
Personally I started with reading online. I still do for most of my stuff. On thing though with any skill: PRACTICE. It is pointless to know how to light a fire with 2 sticks if you can't do it. "I know how to I just can't" isn't an excuss after. Learn many skills and use them. Do you have the ability to take a tarp and make a shealter? Just don't forget to PRACTICE. Fancy gear won't last but your skills, knowledge and experiences will. Don't rely on anything that you can't live without. Remember, if the power goes out than some does your access to the internet. Print off pdf books, memorize them word for word and PRACTICE the skills they teach you.
Last thing PRACTICE makes perfect.
(I think I got my point to PRACTICE across)
Last thing PRACTICE makes perfect.
(I think I got my point to PRACTICE across)
Start small. Don't feel you have to be fully prepped immediately. It won't happen that way.
So, assess the priority.
1. BUG OUT/GET HOME BAG
First, probably best to focus on a Bug Out/Get Home Bag. This can be as simple as a backpack with some water, some food (that doesn't require cooking and will keep for a while), some basic first aid supplies, and anything else you need to get home (as a SHTF event may happen when you are not at your home base). If you have no home base, then a Bug Out Bag (vs. a Get Home Bag) will need a bit more gear (such as hunting/fishing gear, fire-making gear, shelter supplies, etc.).
2. WATER - Easy and cheap to stockpile, and the NUMBER ONE item on any prep list. Best to have a way to replenish this, like rain barrels for example. Still though, whether bottled or just filling up some old milk jugs, it is an easy prep.
3. FOOD - Just buy a little extra each trip, and put it away. Canned foods can keep for a couple of years, some others can be kept for a decade or more (if you store them properly, like mashed potato flakes, dried beans, dried corn, rice, etc.) Learn what is around you. Insects, frogs, birds, fish, snakes, etc. Many food plants grow naturally also, just be sure to learn these from a pro (as some poisonous ones can resemble edibles). Stick with the more obvious ones (like fruits) for your area.
4. WEAPONS - Firearms are ideal, but any weapon is better than none.
5. MEDICINE - If you don't take them regularly, stock up on Over The Counter ones. If you can get any others (old prescriptions, etc.), not a bad idea to keep at least. Medicines lose potency over time, but something can be better than nothing.
6. SHOES - This was mentioned above, but having some good shoes that last a while is often overlooked, but very important. While a survivalist could cobble some shoes out of just about anything, nothing beats the comfort of a well-engineered professionally made boot. Expensive, but may want to have some spares.
7. VISION AIDS - If you wear glasses or contacts, having spare ones is a great idea. zennioptical.com has some really cheap ones (cheap price, but well-made, and I mean CHEAP). I got my entire household glasses from there, and no complaints.
8. BARTER ITEMS - Think of something you don't need/use, but that could be valuable to others. For me, this is cigarettes.
So, assess the priority.
1. BUG OUT/GET HOME BAG
First, probably best to focus on a Bug Out/Get Home Bag. This can be as simple as a backpack with some water, some food (that doesn't require cooking and will keep for a while), some basic first aid supplies, and anything else you need to get home (as a SHTF event may happen when you are not at your home base). If you have no home base, then a Bug Out Bag (vs. a Get Home Bag) will need a bit more gear (such as hunting/fishing gear, fire-making gear, shelter supplies, etc.).
2. WATER - Easy and cheap to stockpile, and the NUMBER ONE item on any prep list. Best to have a way to replenish this, like rain barrels for example. Still though, whether bottled or just filling up some old milk jugs, it is an easy prep.
3. FOOD - Just buy a little extra each trip, and put it away. Canned foods can keep for a couple of years, some others can be kept for a decade or more (if you store them properly, like mashed potato flakes, dried beans, dried corn, rice, etc.) Learn what is around you. Insects, frogs, birds, fish, snakes, etc. Many food plants grow naturally also, just be sure to learn these from a pro (as some poisonous ones can resemble edibles). Stick with the more obvious ones (like fruits) for your area.
4. WEAPONS - Firearms are ideal, but any weapon is better than none.
5. MEDICINE - If you don't take them regularly, stock up on Over The Counter ones. If you can get any others (old prescriptions, etc.), not a bad idea to keep at least. Medicines lose potency over time, but something can be better than nothing.
6. SHOES - This was mentioned above, but having some good shoes that last a while is often overlooked, but very important. While a survivalist could cobble some shoes out of just about anything, nothing beats the comfort of a well-engineered professionally made boot. Expensive, but may want to have some spares.
7. VISION AIDS - If you wear glasses or contacts, having spare ones is a great idea. zennioptical.com has some really cheap ones (cheap price, but well-made, and I mean CHEAP). I got my entire household glasses from there, and no complaints.
8. BARTER ITEMS - Think of something you don't need/use, but that could be valuable to others. For me, this is cigarettes.
well, I think the ones before me said a lotta good stuff I full agree with, but, to add to it/say some over again (lol): you can find damn near anything and everything online, if you don't understand whats written, YouTube it, theres a grip of videos on everything....BUT you might not know WHAT to look up, well imagine everything that you use and need right now. imagine how you would need them in a DD situation without the luxury of actually having that convenience in home. for example: you use a stove to cook, well, post-SHTF you wont have a stove soooo what would you use instead? fire? how would you start a fire? now that you've prepared for making a fire, decide how you would make a fire without having whatever you decided to take to make that fire. take everything down to base form. like: I have a lighter, but lighters only last so long, so I have matches, matches get wet, so I have waterproof matches, matches don't last forever, ill run out, so I have a magnified glass, that could get scratched or broken, so learn different techniques to start a fire with sticks, electricity, batteries etc. learn many different ways to develop the skills to make the comforts you have now out in the wild......BUT (LOL) before you do that, realize the environment you will be bugging out to. understanding your environment will be a very much a key element. plan your bug bag to the elements you plan to live in. then, as said above, go out and practice! take only your bug bag out to your location and see if you could survive a few days beforehand. doing that will show you what you need, and importantly, what you don't need in your bag. if all else fails, don't be afraid to ask people here for help! oh, and since this is under the teen part, if you're under 18, remember to talk to your parents before doing....well quite a bit of stuff, like heading out on your own camping lol. iif you have any questions I personally can answer, or you may need answered, feel free to hit up my e-mail in my sig line.
don't overwhelm yourself or you will burn out and give up... search with keywords like prepping, homestead, bushman skills... blogs, pinterest.com and this forum are good places for info. learn one skill at a time and become successful at it, but if you fail try something else and come back to that skill later. I have a pinterest board DIY prepper on pinterest but there are lost of prepper boards on there so get inspired. always look and research before you leap.
From everything that I have read about the subject, the most over looked prepps are clothing and shoe's / boots.
Forget about what is in style and concentrate on what will keep you warm and what will cover your body and what will last the longest.
Good insurance towards the future would be to buy some insulated Carhartt clothing if you live in a cold environment. some decent boots such as Lacross and some good hiking boots - in case you have to bug out.
Communications is key to survival.
Anyone with good communications skills is always an asset towards a prepper community.
Find someone in your neighborhood that is a real ham and ask them about their radios and antenna's and learn as much as you can about how radio works and what it takes to put an actual station on air.
Then find the ARRL or Gordon West license manuals and take the tests and get the licenses = which will put you on the road towards being radio savy.
Join a Wireless club and participate in club activities.
You might find that those people are more dedicated towards emergency communications then most prepper groups.
There is a lot to learn from your elders.
Most young people do not take the time to look around them and interact with people outside of their own age group, which does not prepare them for the future.
My grandparents lived during the depression and raised large families on nothing but potato's and what ever they could forage.
My parents lived during the depression and were exposed to this kind of environment and learned how to survive by being frugal.'
Most prepper communities will fail within the first 5 months because they will have a surplus during the first couple of months and will be inclined to feed food to their animals and throw food away when they should have been working more towards putting more things away for the really hard times - 6 months to 3 years...
This is the reason why most prepper shows only gives preppers 4 months to one year on their survival skills and food supplies.
BEYOND THAT, there is not much you can do without a disposable income.
Forget about what is in style and concentrate on what will keep you warm and what will cover your body and what will last the longest.
Good insurance towards the future would be to buy some insulated Carhartt clothing if you live in a cold environment. some decent boots such as Lacross and some good hiking boots - in case you have to bug out.
Communications is key to survival.
Anyone with good communications skills is always an asset towards a prepper community.
Find someone in your neighborhood that is a real ham and ask them about their radios and antenna's and learn as much as you can about how radio works and what it takes to put an actual station on air.
Then find the ARRL or Gordon West license manuals and take the tests and get the licenses = which will put you on the road towards being radio savy.
Join a Wireless club and participate in club activities.
You might find that those people are more dedicated towards emergency communications then most prepper groups.
There is a lot to learn from your elders.
Most young people do not take the time to look around them and interact with people outside of their own age group, which does not prepare them for the future.
My grandparents lived during the depression and raised large families on nothing but potato's and what ever they could forage.
My parents lived during the depression and were exposed to this kind of environment and learned how to survive by being frugal.'
Most prepper communities will fail within the first 5 months because they will have a surplus during the first couple of months and will be inclined to feed food to their animals and throw food away when they should have been working more towards putting more things away for the really hard times - 6 months to 3 years...
This is the reason why most prepper shows only gives preppers 4 months to one year on their survival skills and food supplies.
BEYOND THAT, there is not much you can do without a disposable income.
Youtube -subscride to Dave Canterbury's channel /Swissarmyzippo's channel and prepairedmind101's channel all very good sources and will give you some great 10c's and survival bag ideas but like always everyones needs are different so you start with the basics of the bag then custimize it to your needs!
As for clothing you want to swap it out according to the time of year ofcoarse! for winter - Hiking army boots are great and any clothing that is wool is great yes! it itches sometimes but it retains 80% of its insulation value when wet so it will always keep you warm wet or dry! and dont forget gloves,face, and head cover a shamagh is great for head and face cover amongst other things.
TheDrake you said you are new to prepping, what got you concerned and interested in doing so?
Before you start going crazy and buying stuff, look at what you have already. Surely you have a backpack laying around, camping gear, clothing even band aids!
What you want to do is ORGANISE! Make things accessable.
Start list of what you have, what you use daily and what you need for short term and gradually for long term. Dont forget the little things, ie; toothbrush/toiletries and TP!
Before you start going crazy and buying stuff, look at what you have already. Surely you have a backpack laying around, camping gear, clothing even band aids!
What you want to do is ORGANISE! Make things accessable.
Start list of what you have, what you use daily and what you need for short term and gradually for long term. Dont forget the little things, ie; toothbrush/toiletries and TP!
Although I list a Glock 17 as my favorite weapon, it is not my only weapon. My family and I all have areas that we are better in than others. My area of specialization is weaponry. Everyone is giving you good ideas about how to begin prepping. My comment would be in the area of weapons. Research and find weapons that you are comfortable with and then practice. If you are most comfortable with knifes, machetes, axes and other bladed weapons, get the best you can and practice with them. For a knife, if you can find a good K-Bar. scoop it up. If you are using longarms or pistols, find some that you are comfortable with and spend as much time practicing with them. I might recommend a Mossburg 500 pump shotgun in 12 gauge if you can handle it or 20 gauge if the 12 is too strong. Find a good hunting rifle chambered between .223 and .308. Look for a pistol that will provide good self defense. 9mm and .45 acp are the best in my opinion. Finally look for a semi-auto rifle such as an AR-15 or AK-47 clone. This allows you to bring more rounds into your defense without having to change magazines as often. MOST IMPORTANT. Practice. If you do not use it, you will lose it.
