How would you advise someone that wants to start prepping...

I'm not sure I'd ever suggest people buy bulk freeze dried foods, especially if starting out. Too many people buy this "crap" and it sits in the back of a closet, in the basement or garage, for decades until it is no good. Is this food that you would normally eat? If not, then I suggest you not buy it b/c you won't want to eat it if it isn't used before the date, even if it is a long time (10-25 years).

I'd suggest that you buy extra of what you normally eat, like pasta. If you normally keep 3-6 boxes of pasta around, and you eat 10-20 boxes a year, then maybe buy 20 boxes of pasta and then, whenever you eat 5 boxes, buy 5 more and rotate the stock, so the newest product will be used after the other 15 boxes. Do the same for stuff like tomato sauce, flour, canned goods, etc. Dried goods are always a good thing to have extra of. If you use 50lbs of flour a year and you buy 5lbs every month, then buy 10, 5lb bags and replace them as you use them - placing new stock in the back.

The best advice is to not buy food that you don't like to eat. If you HATE peanut butter, then don't buy it only b/c people say it's great as a prep food b/c of high calorie/fat content. If you do like it, then by all means, buy lots of it (a kind you like).


Also if you want to prep it is good to buy food that you can donate to food banks if it isn't needed. So you buy 100lbs of prep food in January and if it isn't used by December then maybe you donate it to a food bank and tell them it's 12 months old, so they know to give it out or use it ASAP. Then replenish the food with new food for your prep supplies. Much of the food has "sell by" or "use by" dates and some food banks really follow these dates while others don't. I've found that food is usually good for at least MANY months past these dates, if not years past it. Processed foods (like graham crackers) can go bad, very bad tasting like rotten cardboard, after a while on the shelf.

I can't emphasize too much how important it is to buy foods YOU or others will eat, especially if you are going to donate to food banks. If you aren't going to eat it, or don't like it, what are the chances other people will want it and it will end up going to waste at food banks.


I suggest doing the same for drinks, water, and even ammo. Use the oldest first and replace as it is used. This way when you build up your inventory, you will always have a decent supply/stock of what you use. It's like a savings account but one that doesn't loose value like $$ savings accounts and if it is REALLY needed it will have a lot more value than any $$ in a savings account.

First question to ask yourself is if you have any major health conditions that require prescription meds for survival. If the answer to this is yes then your best prep is to have a relatively painless method to off yourself in such a situation. People who depend on modern medicine to live would be done if anything major interrupted the normal functioning of society. As an epileptic, I might be able to live without medicine but it would be a life of pure hell.

My neighbor is a prepper or was till he sold and moved somewhere else out west. Had mountains of firewood, probably 10 500 gallon tanks of fuel 40 100# propane tanks and a few generators. House was nice but another person bought it and sold everything off thinking it was worth a lot of money. Fuel tanks full of water and empty propane tanks along with a whole room of nearly rotten food. I moved soon after and they were still looking for him. The firewood was all piled around bales of straw to make the piles look huge. Scammed someone good. Buyer beware

a reply to: Irishhaf

Know how to get to, or to make clean water.


Once you know that you'll be able to survive a lot.

First place to start I thin would be a "Bug-out-Bag"

I havent created one yet but I plan on it.

Mine would probably be:

-Waterproof, submergeable backpack
-9mm Handgun with 3 magazines, and a box of ammo
-Zinc & Flint firestarter
-Lighter
-Waterproof Matches
-Lifestraw, & Water purification tablets
-Penicillin, Amoxicillin
-Painkillers
-Gas Mask
-Trash Bags
-Mutiple Paracord Bracelets
-High Calorie Survival Bars
-2 Knives
-Space Blanket
-Socks
-Flashlight
-Spare Batteries
-Hand crank generator
-Compass
-Gloves
-Hat
-Sunscreen
-Gauze Pads
-Bandages
-Tourniquet
-Passport
-Cash
-Gold
-Phone Number/address Book
-GPS Device
-Water bladder
-Duct Tape
-Iodine and Iodine Pills


Thats going to be the start of mine.

Start small think a week. Southerners and tornado alley people this should be a natural thing. Then how afraid are you of what?? That will help a lot. Me I have a nuke plant 4 miles away. I'm not afraid but I have a motorhome 30 miles away that is always full of fuel and a plan with the wife if something happens. Lessor things I light on Lake Michigan so food and water shouldn't be an issue it's all those Chitcongo people. Beyond that I have a place north and family coast to coast.



To add working on a sewer pump system or the motorhome between typing.

a reply to: Irishhaf

If your going to store food nutrition is important but so is taste. Food does you no good if you wont eat it.

Learn the routes to all surrounding forests.

Learn where nuclear power plants are located for deciding where your base is going to be.

Get hard copy manuals on how to do things. Like how to filter water. How to make primitive traps. How to spot disease in the animals you eat.

Start preparing now.

a reply to: dfnj2015

I used to be homeless. That's why I prep.

I make good money now but who knows what my future will bring.

Storing food means even if I lose my job I wont go hungry right away and that frees me up to search for more work or make a plan.

I also live in the south and my city has been destroyed a few times by storms.

originally posted by: schuyler
My advice would be to first THINK about what you are trying to accomplish. What are your goals? Are you trying to prepare for a supply disruption that will likely be temporary? Or are you planning for a total break down of society in an apocalypse? Are you preparing for the power to go out for a couple of weeks (happened to me twice when the arctic express came through and knocked down power poles) or a couple of years? They are different solutions.

So start out slow. Get a generator. Store (and rotate yearly) some gas. Ensure you have a water supply. Stock up a pantry with canned food, maybe buy a few boxes of MREs. Make sure the BBQ works and you have some extra propane. Do the things you need to do to prepare for a temporary lapse first. No need to go crazy. Then as you begin to see how this would work you can expand. That might be firearms, if you need to defend yourself, or just for small game. So buy 10,000 rounds of .22's for the critters. None will be available during a shortage.

And if you live in the city, move!

The above post is realism.

a reply to: Irishhaf

First , get a Gun .
Second , Get Lost .

I would advise them not to, because you cannot predict the future.

Chances are very good that whatever occurs, all preparations will probably have been a total waste of money, as well as create needless fretting and worry. The whole 'prepper' mentality is a crutch used by many; even the so-called zombie apocalypse is something preppers think about, because it is an abstract concept that allows them to take action NOW for something that will never occur. This mentality is a psychological salve that is--at its basic level--"doing SOMEthing is better than doing nothing."

Of course you want to have a 'go kit' for you and your family in the case of a weather event, extended power outage, etc. "Bugging out" from a metropolitan area will be a very bad plan, because the roads will become choked and you'll be limited by the resources you have with you in your vehicle. And people in gridlock will become desperate and violent. It's better to shelter in place at home.

The best advice is to live life to the fullest. Each one of us is here a very short time and we're all a long time dead.

Do something meaningful and unselfish as often as possible, without allowing others to take advantage of you. This is the pathway to fulfillment and happiness. Worrying is wasted energy.

originally posted by: TheTruthRocks
I would advise them not to, because you cannot predict the future.

Chances are very good that whatever occurs, all preparations will probably have been a total waste of money, as well as create needless fretting and worry. The whole 'prepper' mentality is a crutch used by many; even the so-called zombie apocalypse is something preppers think about, because it is an abstract concept that allows them to take action NOW for something that will never occur. This mentality is a psychological salve that is--at its basic level--"doing SOMEthing is better than doing nothing."

Of course you want to have a 'go kit' for you and your family in the case of a weather event, extended power outage, etc. "Bugging out" from a metropolitan area will be a very bad plan, because the roads will become choked and you'll be limited by the resources you have with you in your vehicle. And people in gridlock will become desperate and violent. It's better to shelter in place at home.

The best advice is to live life to the fullest. Each one of us is here a very short time and we're all a long time dead.

Do something meaningful and unselfish as often as possible, without allowing others to take advantage of you. This is the pathway to fulfillment and happiness. Worrying is wasted energy.

This!!!! ^^^^^

I've also thought of this. In a SHTF I don't think any amount of prep would do any good either. Nobody would be safe. Now having said that, I do have some prep for bad winter storm or severe cold snap. In the dead of winter, we get some gnarly weather in Wisconsin. The house I bought a few months ago is my first place with a fireplace. So in the event we lose our electric, I wouldn't freeze. I stock extra groceries in case we get snowed in for a few days. Never know when that will happen.

Make sure that you have a minimum stock of food to last at least one month for your family. Make sure it is food that you normally use, rotate the stock. If there is a lot of freezer stuff, then a generator should be considered necessary, and of course gas to last a month minimum for the generator.

The highest risk we have around here is power outages that could last a week or more on occasion, but months is also possible. So, backup heat in winter is necessary for survival. You do not need to heat the whole house, just a couple of rooms. Making sure to have basic meds is also important.

Essentially...

Make sure the basics are covered, food & water and more water, (purification & filters, don't forget containers), shelter and heat/fire. Have a way to make shelter if aren't transporting one, tent a hammock even tarps etc.

If buying freeze dried or dehydrated foods is an option, buy the freeze dried foods and also buy a dehydrator w/vacuum sealer. That way can stock up on 6 months of each, per person if able.

Primarily, will want to grow or hunt, fish and trap your food for main supply. Don't depend on the stocked up freeze dried and or dehydrated foods.

Those are for when you can't bring in any game, or crops.

Additionally, prepping is based on short, intermediate and long term durations. Figure out your need for each, and build them up. Short assists intermediate and intermediate assists long.

Each are separate preps and assist with the next durations prep. Short term preps are best as an add-on to a vehicle emergency supply.

Or a get home bag etc.

Those 72 hour kits, are not enough and I suggest building them up to a one week minimum. You're going to need more than enough water to cook meals with them, and for drinking plus sanitation use.

Also, I really recommend taking your gear camping.

Really use it, test it and try to push it to it's limits, before you life depends on it, and it very well may.

Once it is tested, figure out if it's going to last.

No one wants to be depending on something unreliable then have it fail, and it is best to learn the equipments failures before it's too late. Then replace it with something superior. Upgrade!

That is why you always take your preps camping and test them. Don't even have to take it all with, could bring that fancy compact pocket stove. Then cook everything with it, btw those fuel tabs, are fire starters or kindling, don't use them all up for burning, add wood and ration/conserve those resources.

Trust me, once those fuel tabs are gone, you'll understand my reasoning if ya don't already.

Intermediate preps are the bridge that gets one from short term to the long term. These are the caches and stored goods which are ready to go.

Such as MREs & cases of water which is stashed at the parents house, or that camp site you manage to get every year and buried a cpvc capsule and so on.

You'll be surprised in an emergency, how far that jerky and Gatorade can get you, especially if there's clean dry socks thrown in.



Additionally, we aren't camel's and can't possibly carry every single thing we want, but one can carry every thing they need.

Need vs want, thats what it comes down to.

Long term prepping, my advice is to look into homesteading. I like to look at long term prepping as an indefinite prep. At that point it's just a way of life and should be a routine in the daily life

Consider a hand pump well, an underground storm shelter with pantry and living accomodations like plumbing and sleeping quarters. Don't forget the water table, any underground structure must be above water table. Especially for storage.

Finally, none of us can know everything and it's always best to keep learning from each other.

Calculate goods into your preps for a barter and trade option.

Coinage will be worth more than paper currency, and could be considered. Yet on other hand other's may suggest bullets or lead, because it can be used for more than a coin and will be worth more in emergencies.

Last but not least, stay alert & stay alive.

a reply to: AnakinWayneII

What I'm talking about

a reply to: Quantumgamer1776

hahaha - or your neighbour convinces your wife that you're the problem. He gets the food, your wife and your chocolate.

Something I see the majority simply don't do , would be advancing physical health. I see so many peppers getting all these supplies for emergencies, but their bodies are in horrible shape. What good is prepping if you could drop from health issues in an instant? First and foremost should ALWAYS be to improve your health as much as possible. Regular fasting, balanced diet, and something I found to be the best superior out there with the longest shelf life =SEA MOSS
Stock up on it

originally posted by: TheTruthRocks
I would advise them not to, because you cannot predict the future.

Chances are very good that whatever occurs, all preparations will probably have been a total waste of money, as well as create needless fretting and worry.

First sentence: no one can predict the future.

Second sentence: predicts the future.

More about your assumptions than about being flexible to deal with the largest number of scenarios.

I guess it saves you the effort of having to prepare for bad times. Which is fine, since bad times never happen to anyone, ever.

If you're prepping, I think that it might be a good idea to start bushcraft camping as much as possible to get used to the idea of having to head out and fend for yourself. That would assume that you don't want to try to fight it out in the city. If you don't know how to use a gun, then educate yourself and get used to that, too. Stockpiling ammo might be a good idea, but if things get really bad, your ammo will eventually run out, so you also need to know some basic hunting and trapping.

Watch those YouTube videos about finding water, starting campfires, and setting up solid shelters relatively quickly. Start looking for a good bug-out site with enough fresh water and food to keep you going. Avoid going way out into the desert or the north woods. Don't make the weather another obstacle to overcome. There is plenty of wilderness still around to find a place to hole up. It might get a little more crowded after "the event," but you gotta start somewhere. After a while, you'll meet people you can trust and then you can start building a more solid encampment/village.

Hopefully the trigger isn't a virus, because in that case, after you've gotten on your feet and feel sustainable, you're going to get pretty lonely. But you'll be alive. For what that's worth.

Here's a good article that mentions a few different ideas and also mentions something discussed here. Physical fitness, and how more of it is needed

6 Lessons is an article that made me think of this thread, and I just wanted to share.

a reply to: Blue Shift

Speaking of, since you bring up a very valid point.

Ever watch the naked and afraid?

Yeah, yeah I know it's not a normal survival situation but an extreme one that's self induced.

None the less, they are really good at it, and some things I've noticed are two key items almost all contestants bring. A machete and also Flint & steel

Or a chopper and fire starter, these key items have proven essential. I suggest multiple items, like layering, as mentioned above in 6 Lessons.

A lighter, water resistant matches and then the firerod etc.

Each of these can be kept in separate sealed ziplock or vacuum sealed, and also packed together, in multiples.

One set in the glove box, one set in the go bag, another in the camping supplies, even one set in a fannypack if one is used. Why not get further and have two sets one for barter if needed, etc.

Same can be done with water filters and containers. I advise at least one metal container.