What bothers or frightens me the most about prepping.

[Aerindel]

we won’t be the first target which should theoretically buy us a little more time to assess the situation and develop a plan.

In many ways, you can boil down at least half my prepping strategy to this.

Because I think I'm fairly smart.....I think as long as I'm not the FIRST target, I will have time to figure out what to do, even if I didn't see it coming years in advance and was able to perfectly prepare for it.

Nothing I do I think will make me perfect.....I'm just trying to buy time to do what I do.....figure solutions out when faced with the problem.

 

[Dave2001]

Bless your heart.

My Sheriff and I are good friends, he told me to call him and he will send Coroner to pick up whats left if i have a problem!

 

[Sourdough]

As one "Spawns Out" there as fewer options available. At some point there is only one, when fully "Spawned Out".

 

[elkhound]

As one "Spawns Out" there as fewer options available. At some point there is only one, when fully "Spawned Out".

keep spawning !

 

[Steve_In_29]

thats their problem, they wont survive for long post SHTF.

Unless they are your neighbors. Then it's something you will have to deal with one way or another.

 

[Steve_In_29]

Yep, I've kept a lot of my old textbooks for the same reason. Livestock production, soil science, horticulture stuff. I'm not going to remember everything I've learned off the top of my head when I need it.

This is key.

Too many younger preppers have their knowledge base stored on electronic media or the cloud. Some have never read an actual book to look something up in their lives,

 

[RJ2019]

This is key.

Too many younger preppers have their knowledge base stored on electronic media or the cloud. Some have never read an actual book to look something up in their lives,

If given the choice between an ebook textbook or a hard copy I always choose the hard copy if the price is doable. Some of my textbooks are crazy expensive though. This quarter I got a shiny new hard copy of my agribusiness management book.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

I can prep for what life has thrown my way. Snow, Ice storms, Power outages, Atmospheric rivers with mudslides,Wildfire Evacs (5). I know what I did or didn’t do right for each of these.
If something comes my way that gets me, so be it. I know I can’t or wont be perfect. But I am am probably better off than most people,

 

[Morgan101]

There is probably only one subject where I would consider myself and expert, and that subject is meaningless in the prepping realm. One thing I have learned over the course of my adult life is how much I DON'T know. On more than one occasion I thought I knew a lot about a subject, but when I was really immersed in it, I found out quickly how much I didn't know, and how much I had to learn

That said I was fortunate to have the mentality to always want to learn, and always want to improve. I will watch everything I can find on prepping and survival hoping to catch that one nugget I might have missed or overlooked. Much of what I see is repetitive at best. I don't see much new info, or find things I haven't done, but I always keep an open mind, and try to learn. We all run into situations every day where something happens that we have not experienced; something new from which we can learn.

I go back to a quote from Abraham Lincoln that has become a true guiding principle in my life. "If you are going to be something, be a good one." IMHO that applies as much to prepping as it does to the rest of your life.

 

[morgaineotm]

what bothers me the most is my husband has loose lips! Its bad enough they all know we have water tanks- no way to hide 1000 gallon tanks arriving on your property - but why talk about anything and everything else?!?!?!

 

[Hardcalibres]

what bothers me the most is my husband has loose lips! Its bad enough they all know we have water tanks- no way to hide 1000 gallon tanks arriving on your property - but why talk about anything and everything else?!?!?!

Yes that is a bad thing.

Poor OPSEC is one of the few things you can do connected with prepping, that can actually shorten (rather than extend) your life expectancy in a severe crisis. It can create insoluble problems. It can get you and the people you blew your OPSEC to, both killed.

Some personality types are motivated by bragging and "I told you so" conversations.......but those can be a death sentence if things get rough.

 

[RJ2019]

Yes that is a bad thing.

Poor OPSEC is one of the few things you can do connected with prepping, that can actually shorten (rather than extend) your life expectancy in a severe crisis. It can create insoluble problems. It can get you and the people you blew your OPSEC to, both killed.

Some personality types are motivated by bragging and "I told you so" conversations.......but those can be a death sentence if things get rough.

Someone once told me, "the less people know about you the better".

Very true, to an extent.

 

[Haertig]

Someone once told me, "the less people know about you the better".

Unless you're unconscious, they're doctors, and they're trying to save your life.

 

[Steve_In_29]

While innovation and trying new things "can" have benefits, people have been prepping for hundreds of years (LONG before it became a thing) and have found certain ways of doing things to work best.

So in many cases the off the shelf solution is perfectly fine.

 

[montanabill]

While innovation and trying new things "can" have benefits, people have been prepping for hundreds of years (LONG before it became a thing) and have found certain ways of doing things to work best.

So in many cases the off the shelf solution is perfectly fine.

200 years ago people prepped and the average lifespan was around 45 and infant mortality was 50%.
I am entirely open to ways of living that do not include working myself to death or dying from a infected scratch.
I try to take the best from various times..

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Early-A...58400&sprefix=eric+sloan+books,aps,162&sr=8-6

https://antibiotics.jasemedical.com/emergency-antibiotic-guide

 

[Steve_In_29]

200 years ago people prepped and the average lifespan was around 45 and infant mortality was 50%.
I am entirely open to ways of living that do not include working myself to death or dying from a infected scratch.
I try to take the best from various times..

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Early-Americana-Dover-Books/dp/0486498085/ref=sr_1_6?crid=1L3T72ML8JC2G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MZsT2arCFuub5KI8Ds5CH-tK6Mae1KbdNOsoZfeB3iHYsrMfuxqLpaBQtoiG-uyjGNN7mfcVvA1AYnDzt_ycfOLrRDFIzdqIsmUNORYHsyb25DLL1M7ECMSGoxSrx8lT8lC2eS41tEprc6rRB9i_Xne-40jh-olYn3ozakxwCvRk4Hpp95u8ao98tZFU76rs9RE-NXpk-zFvTjcoRAC_ODX2A1w6H6A3UeHTTEnO59o.mhJU2_ugLUSODETVLE-SQ5g6ukZdKbyBJE55F4FwxIU&dib_tag=se&keywords=eric+sloan+books&qid=1736958400&sprefix=eric+sloan+books,aps,162&sr=8-6

https://antibiotics.jasemedical.com/emergency-antibiotic-guide

I in no way meant to imply that people should ignore modern innovations and live like it was 200 years ago.

Just that much of what is established prepping practice now is because people have winnowed the wheat from the chaff on what to do already. And that everyone doesn't need to try to reinvent the wheel.

 

[montanabill]

I look at a few sources and "experts" and it is rather confusing. People go on and on about surviving ultimate TEOTWAWKI and they are located in a major city.....

We relocated, invested in real goods and equipment, grow and process food including LTS, spent time and money on protection and am still searching.

I guess I have a hard time picking out what really works in my particular situation and then finding and associating with others who have even a remotely similar future view of what could happen in a week or a year...

Being on forums like this one is great for info.

 

[Morgan101]

There is anoher thing that frightens me, not just with prepping, but with life in general: OLD AGE.

I applaud everyone who is truly self sufficient, and able to grow crops and raise livestock; live a farmers' rural life. What happens when your physical skills or health won't allow you to do that? My wife and I are not that old, but we no longer have the physical skills to live a rural lifestyle. Everything is diminished. You can't lift what you used to. You can't see like you used to. You can't walk as long or as far as you used to. It is an endless list. Things like arthritis can become almost crippling. We just lost Bacpacker to a heart issue. It is a standing joke that when you drop something when you are young you bend over and pick it up. When you drop something when you are old you look at it and think 'How badly do I need that?' When you get down on your hands and knees, getting back up can be a real chore.

We have taken a different tack to prepping. We buy and we store. We don't produce. If things really went South, TEOTWAWKI or WROL this will be our Alamo. I don't know how long we would last without maintenance medication. I know our supplies and deep larder will far outlast our medications, and we are well prepared to defend what we have. Have you all thought about how you will prep in your old age?