Your Best and Worst Preps of 2019!

[Proud Prepper]

Tell us your your Best and Worst Preps of 2019. Come on be honest, there's no shame.


I think my best was my manual water pump in case the electric pump doesn't work. I just drop the 100' of PEX tubing down the well and even an 7 year old can pump water out.

My worst was letting my brother in law learn more about my preps after he started asking questions about things happening in the world. He agreed that things could get bad, but didn't want to invest in any preps, said it was a waste of money right now. Seemed to think he could just buy whatever he needed and come here if something really bad happened.

 

[Brent S]

Best, probably the well installation. Even with two creeks, you can’t have too many water sources. Right up close to it were the freeze dried foods added to the pantry. With the 35yr shelf life I will never have to worry about rotating or expirations for the rest of my life. I also upgraded to a really good 4wheel drive vehicle. I have never thought that being out on the roads during an emergency was a good idea but if you have to be it’s better with a capable all terrain vehicle. Adding a camper as a secondary shelter was a big positive this year too. Sure it is for fun too, but was a toy that was easily justified as a prepping asset. So, we managed to accomplish a lot this year. There will always be things that didn’t get done yet, like solar panels and batteries for the house, but there is always next year. The worst preps, I really can’t think of anything that was a real waste. I guess that’s a good thing.

 

[user 6493]

well I got rid of a AR in 223,,,cheap round but to light if you ask me,replaced it with a 300 Blackout,replaced the old Dodge with a Ford ranger,picked up a small generator ,also bought several coleman lanterns and a cook stove to boot,,,the bad I bought a bunch of rabbits for extra income,I don't eat rabbit and they will never pan out or even break even,,,,,,,,,,,I like the little ***** but they are a pain in the butt

 

[Maverick]

My worst, I didn't properly prepare the pump house generator causing it not to auto start in February this year during power outage while we were a sleep causing substantial damage to the well head from freezing.

My best prep, I haven't done much this year from being laid up due to injuries, so with that said, I would have to say my best prep is that I'm actually listening to the medical folks and behaving. I should be back on the horse late spring of 2020.

 

[DrHenley]

My best and worst were both knives. One exceeded expectations and the other fell short.

 

[user 7704]

My best was probably getting new firearms and tools (grinder, saws, files, etc).

Worst was buying this damn stove before doing PROPER measurements fornthe pipes.

 

[Brent S]

well I got rid of a AR in 223,,,cheap round but to light if you ask me,replaced it with a 300 Blackout,replaced the old Dodge with a Ford ranger,picked up a small generator ,also bought several coleman lanterns and a cook stove to boot,,,the bad I bought a bunch of rabbits for extra income,I don't eat rabbit and they will never pan out or even break even,,,,,,,,,,,I like the little ***** but they are a pain in the butt

Yeah, I raised, cleaned and cooked rabbits for a while too. I honestly don’t like the taste of rabbit but think the learning experience was great. At least I know I can raise them if times get tough. I’m sure when your really hungry rabbit starts tasting much better.

 

[DrHenley]

Country fried rabbit and gravy is good.

 

[GaRp58]

BEST PREPS: making contact with this forum, making a second BOB, the finishing touches on my BOL in Hungary.
WORST PREPS: ????.............hmmmmm....still thinking.....................nope; nothing! Happy New Years again all. GP

 

[Brent S]

Country fried rabbit and gravy is good.

Almost everything fried is better!

 

[lonewolf]

I prefer roast anything or stew.

 

[DrPrepper1]

My Best: I bought a quality spring load knife at a gun show.


My worst: I am still focusing on saving money. It has been difficult because we had a roof leak and we had to get a whole new unit for our A/C. And some medical bills.

 

[Brent S]

My Best: I bought a quality spring load knife at a gun show.


My worst: I am still focusing on saving money. It has been difficult because we had a roof leak and we had to get a whole new unit for our A/C. And some medical bills.

Getting financially focused isn’t glamorous or fun but is probably the most important prep you can do. Life will always have unexpected expenses and if your wise with your finances your able to handle them a lot better.
A friend of mine in Fla had his AC die in the middle of summer. AC isn’t a luxury in July down there. Anyways, he had no savings so the air conditioning company sold him on financing an entire new unit with high interest of over 7k. It will take him years to pay it off and he will be lucky to have paid 10k by then. In comparison I knew my AC was getting older, about 11 yrs ish. So I shopped around on line and bought a unit when it was on sale for about 3k. By being good about saving you not only increase how much your dollars go but more importantly you lower your stress levels.

 

[GaRp58]

My God do I have it good!!! The 20 inch thick cob walls of my Hungarian BOL are soooooo cool. We had 43 degrees Centigrade outside, the first hallway with curtains and windows had 34 degrees and in the house itself, around 20 degrees. My wife came in from working in the garden and put on a sweater! A ceiling ventilator is moving on its slowest speed at night and that is all we need... Boy am I lucky. GP

 

[user 7704]

My best was probably getting new firearms and tools (grinder, saws, files, etc).

Worst was buying this damn stove before doing PROPER measurements fornthe pipes.

After hours of questions, sketches, etc. the stove is drawing as it should. No smoke out the front. It's still not perfect and a specialists would probably laugh, but I'm thrilled the stove goes into the positive now. Until I burn down the house.

 

[lonewolf]

My God do I have it good!!! The 20 inch thick cob walls of my Hungarian BOL are soooooo cool. We had 43 degrees Centigrade outside, the first hallway with curtains and windows had 34 degrees and in the house itself, around 20 degrees. My wife came in from working in the garden and put on a sweater! A ceiling ventilator is moving on its slowest speed at night and that is all we need... Boy am I lucky. GP

When I lived on Dartmoor-our local national park- I lived in a small 1-2 bedroomed stone cottage, the walls were about 3ft thick, the only heating was an open log fire, 2 pick-up loads of wood was all that was used in the Winter, I wish I was still there!!

 

[user 7704]

After hours of questions, sketches, etc. the stove is drawing as it should. No smoke out the front. It's still not perfect and a specialists would probably laugh, but I'm thrilled the stove goes into the positive now. Until I burn down the house.

Ive had the stove going for about 3 hours. No smoke when I open the door, etc. I'm so happy.

 

[Wiredog8]

BEST: Got a new job that pays exceedingly well, which will allow for better choices and options for prepping purposes.
BETTER: Planning/ procuring supplies for long term water storage capabilities.
GOOD: Have begun to parse down my large gun collection and focus on reliable/ sensible choices as per prepping needs.
OK: Rotated food stores ( I don't think I can eat another MRE this month, ugh, lol.) Investing in freeze-dried products from now on.
BAD: Still haven't won the lottery, so I still cant afford that private fortified island I want.
WORST: I'm beginning to feel my age.

 

[BillMasen]

Tell us your your Best and Worst Preps of 2019. Come on be honest, there's no shame.


I think my best was my manual water pump in case the electric pump doesn't work. I just drop the 100' of PEX tubing down the well and even an 7 year old can pump water out.

My worst was letting my brother in law learn more about my preps after he started asking questions about things happening in the world. He agreed that things could get bad, but didn't want to invest in any preps, said it was a waste of money right now. Seemed to think he could just buy whatever he needed and come here if something really bad happened.

Best preps of 2019 doing a Mega Recce (recon) in great depth of this area and identifying and recording the location of many more useful assets / resources and usuable travel routes that I had previously been unaware of.

Next was upgrading my security preps and completeing the migration from Rifle to Carbine to Bullpup which has meant my arthritic hands can still shoot usefully as the shorter and lighter Bullpups put much less strain on my joints.

Biggest want but cannot have is a compressor to recharge the dive bottles that power my air rifles with.

I need to improve my radio recievers
I need more 5vdc solar power kit.

Worst prep ?? Probably to bad batches of Energiser Lithium batteries that went flat in storage

Lesson learned ? There are very very few other preppers in the UK who think and prep in the same American style that I do.

I dont have enough treated fuel stored
I dont have enough fire wood stored

 

[lonewolf]

that's great Bill, but there will always be some differences between what our American cousins may experience in the way of events and what we do here in Britain.
for instance we don't have tornado's or Hurricanes and earthquakes are few and far between and always very small, mostly confined to where Fracking is going on.
i'm more looking at things that will cause "societal collapse " than any big natural disasters, EMP/solar storm, economic collapse, power failure/collapse of the electrical grid and everything that goes with that, including no food in the stores and no water in the mains, mass civilian panic, etc.etc.

 

[DrHenley]

there will always be some differences between what our American cousins may experience in the way of events and what we do here in Britain.
for instance we don't have tornado's or Hurricanes and earthquakes are few and far between

The tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes keep us on our toes and serve as reminders of why we need to be prepped. Well SOME of us anyhow.

 

[lonewolf]

I wonder why anyone lives in "tornado alley", seems a good place to avoid.
when we moved here 10 years ago we didn't pick it out of the blue, we added up the pro's and con's of living here, plus we knew the area well.

 

[DrHenley]

Chances of getting hit by a tornado in Tornado Alley are much much lower than a lot of other hazards bigpaul, like being in a house fire, automobile accident, accidental drowning, falling from a ladder, etc.

It's just that the tornadoes make the headlines while injuries and deaths caused by the more mundane things don't.

 

[Brent S]

Chances of getting hit by a tornado in Tornado Alley are much much lower than a lot of other hazards bigpaul, like being in a house fire, automobile accident, accidental drowning, falling from a ladder, etc.

It's just that the tornadoes make the headlines while injuries and deaths caused by the more mundane things don't.

Good point. Driving in a car is the most dangerous thing we all do, by far.

 

[tmttactical]

Biggest want but cannot have is a compressor to recharge the dive bottles that power my air rifles with.

Bill, Check out this compressor. More affordable and has very good ratings. Yong Heng Air compressor. Ebay listing.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/YONG-HENG-...=283270753885b728206844ac468e9986e180ceb30275

 

[KateMTx]

My best preps of the past years wasn't really one specific thing. Rather, it's been developing more of a focus and a plan, and successfully getting a couple of my siblings involved who are taking it seriously as well and working together with them.
My worst prep I think is more short term - I'm bad with saving money. But I can say that it was better this past year than the year before.

 

[tmttactical]

Best prep --- I converted my step son into a gun person and a moderate. Good first steps.

 

[lonewolf]

Chances of getting hit by a tornado in Tornado Alley are much much lower than a lot of other hazards bigpaul, like being in a house fire, automobile accident, accidental drowning, falling from a ladder, etc.

It's just that the tornadoes make the headlines while injuries and deaths caused by the more mundane things don't.

all I see is the people running to the hardware store 24 hours before the storm is due to hit, if its that often you'd think they'd have the stuff already.

 

[BillMasen]

FYI
The United States has the most tornadoes of any country, as well as the strongest and most violent tornadoes. ... However, the UK has most tornadoes per area per year, 0.14 per 1000 km², although these tornadoes are generally weak, and many other European countries have a similar number of tornadoes per area.
Tornado climatology - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Tornado_climatology

 

[lonewolf]

never seen a tornado in England, all tornado's that come across the Atlantic are downgraded to severe storm by the time they get here.