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

joe coworker, classmate, family member approaches you and says hey I was thinking about preparing for.. global warming, civil unrest, societal collapse. What kind of advice would you give this person?

I ask because I am a member in a handful of survivalist/prepper boards and almost always the sheer volume of information thrown out would make someone who is unsure of dipping into this rabbit hole to run for the hills.

We all have a habit of trying to fire hose the information on these people and I think we all need to step back and answer my initial question as simply as possible.

I know my normal is for people to kill power (if able) to their domicile for a weekend and take notes as they realize what they cant do and can take notes and make adjustments for the next time. Then if they enjoyed the exercise then slowly go deeper into the rabbit hole rather than jump straight into the deep end.

So what simple advice would you give?

Simply start by buying freeze dried meals in the 5 gallon buckets. Forget about 55 gallon drums lined in mylar filled with beans and all that. Simply start by with one or two buckets of some freeze dried meals.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
joe coworker, classmate, family member approaches you and says hey I was thinking about preparing for.. global warming, civil unrest, societal collapse. What kind of advice would you give this person?

I ask because I am a member in a handful of survivalist/prepper boards and almost always the sheer volume of information thrown out would make someone who is unsure of dipping into this rabbit hole to run for the hills.

We all have a habit of trying to fire hose the information on these people and I think we all need to step back and answer my initial question as simply as possible.

I know my normal is for people to kill power (if able) to their domicile for a weekend and take notes as they realize what they cant do and can take notes and make adjustments for the next time. Then if they enjoyed the exercise then slowly go deeper into the rabbit hole rather than jump straight into the deep end.

So what simple advice would you give?

Truth is, bud, if we here in the Western World ever reach such a point, it will be close to how *some* societies in Sub-Saharan Africa (or indeed some parts of the Indian subcontinent) currently function.

It'll be bad, but now that bad.

Life will still go on. If you want examples of "the post-apocalyptic world", just look at some functioning nations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Irregular power cuts, unrest over food and water and resources and gas etc - but the society still kinda functions and life still kinda goes on.

a reply to: Irishhaf

This is what I recommend, yummy!!! Food for your body and soul.

a reply to: Irishhaf

Learn to grow your own food! Even if you don't have much room you can grow vegetables in pretty much any kind of container that will hold soil. I have a very small wooden deck (about 4x10- we live in an apartment) and I have all sorts of veggies growing in flower pots, plastic containers from the dollar store, etc. I utilize the wooden rails surrounding the deck for climbing vegetables (beans, cucumbers, etc.) The entire deck is a garden jungle!

You can store food but eventually it will begin to run out and if you haven't started growing some of your own you're going to starve- just later than most. Packets of seeds are cheap and can be stored in a cool, dry place in ziploc bags.

Just convince your neighbor to start prepping, that way you save money and if the SHTF your supplies are just one murder away.

originally posted by: Quantumgamer1776
Just convince your neighbor to start prepping, that way you save money and if the SHTF your supplies are just one murder away.

That's where a lot of initial fighting starts. Folks who didn't prep then target folks who did prep and try to steal supplies etc, then gunfights and massacres occur...

originally posted by: AnakinWayneII

originally posted by: Quantumgamer1776
Just convince your neighbor to start prepping, that way you save money and if the SHTF your supplies are just one murder away.

That's where a lot of initial fighting starts. Folks who didn't prep then target folks who did prep and try to steal supplies etc, then gunfights and massacres occur...

It's going to take a lot more than stored food to survive a real shtf event.

Disease will spread like wild fire, because there will be nothing to keep it in check. Dead animals and people will be perfect breeding ground for some very nasty deadlies. Bad water and the accompanying dysentery will kill more people than starvation or bullets. If you don't have a good supply of antibiotics, all that stored food will be worthless. It will be a Glorious cleansing, long over due.

The only way to start is to read, and spend time thinking about how the things you take for granted won't be there if things go badly.

Take any scenario, really, and think it through for your current location.

Where I am, I'm a good ways away from the city- but nowhere near away from the people.

The easiest scenario I can think of is an extended power outage. No power, for 1/3 of the country- and you're right in the middle of it. Figure it's going to last three weeks for the point of the exercise... but you don't know that going in.

The first thing you'll notice is the lights are out. No big deal, most of us have experienced this.
If you have a radio (you should) you'll be able to tune into the local radio stations. They'll tell you not to panic, etc... but they might also give you an idea of how much time you're looking at being out. Maybe not- if it's as bad as this scenario, they might outright lie to you to keep people calm.

Rather than describing the hows and whys of each timeframe, I'm going to give my estimates for my area:
(assuming the outage happens mid-day on a weekend, to keep it simple)

0:01 lights go out
0:10 people start going outside to see if its them or the whole street
1:00 people start driving to the nearest gas station to see if they know the extent. Might fill up if the generators are running
8:00 people start to worry. word comes in from farther and farther that the grid is down. Batteries are running low.
24h one day in, you can hear generators across the neighborhood. One of the three local gas stations is out of fuel, the other two are accepting cash only.
48h all local gas stations have been depleted of fuel. grocery store is running on flashlights accepting cash only- but they're out of fresh food and rapidly running out of whats left
72h all stores are closed. No fuel or food is available to purchase, some people are going door to door asking for drinking water

(now you can see it's getting pretty bad- just in time delivery plus a little bit of panic will cause this)

7d The hum of generators is few and far between- you know whoever is running them is doing it only to recover fresh well water. by now people are less willing to give it away to those in need. Half the neighborhood is without food or water, and people are gathering to talk.

14d By now, very few people have food. hunting parties have decimated the local wildlife- the pets aren't safe. Most fuel is depleted. Diesel trucks and generators are still heard from time to time, using heating oil as fuel (plentiful around here, not uncommon for a house to have 150+ gallons in reserve at any time)
Looting and robberies are common place. Most people are armed, but bands of looters from the big cities are going area to area setting up raids.

Just two weeks in, murder isn't uncommon. If it's summer time, some will die of heat stroke. If it's winter, many will freeze (most heating systems rely on electricity to function, most people aren't smart enough to figure out a way)

What can be learned from this exercise?
-Live farther away from other people.
-have and know how to use a means of defense
-have a way of generating power
-know how to make your heating system work in a bad situation
-have some food stored- even if its rice and dried beans in mylar bags in 5 gallon buckets...
-Keep some CASH on hand. It will be VERY useful in the 5-10 day range. People will sell their last bottle of water for enough cash- then they'll die from dehydration. Greed is incredibly powerful.

To me, the most important thing you can tell someone new is to think through a scenario, and pay close attention to resources. What's available, what isn't, and most importantly what are the savages around you going to do.

Remember you can prep and not have it be for a true shtf scenario... if you are unprepared and get hit with a freak snowstorm, or a major ice storm, or severe flooding and be in dire straights if you have not prepared.

I would caution the would-be prepper that Y2K & 2012 both passed with nary a catastrophe event overwhelming the modern world of civilization

I would offer the seeker the idea that instead of a violent mega-collapse of our G20 kind of world...instead it will be a slower/steady slide into anarchy/tribes/warlords/dystopia for the fortunate groups


the actual repeating cycle of 12,068 year long period of steadily deteriorating 'Nature' conditions as the Sun itelf cycles into a Micro-Nova explosion of a quickly formed 'Shell' around the Sun for no more than 3 Days of Darkness..


this micro Nova event is scheduled to repeat in year 2046... which will 99.9% depopulate the planet of all life
the ~Gleissburg Cycle~
diehold foundation, micro-nova, govt secret of 12068 year cycle with poles reversal &/or crustal plate dislocation/ ice age... possible in the ELE timeline



www.youtube.com...

www.youtube.com...

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!

a reply to: lordcomac

Thanks for that. I enjoyed reading it, and believe it to be realistic. Ugly, but very realistic.

originally posted by: Quantumgamer1776
Just convince your neighbor to start prepping, that way you save money and if the SHTF your supplies are just one murder away.

This is equivalent to the idea in the zombie apocalypse you only have to run faster than the guy next to you.

originally posted by: St Udio
I would caution the would-be prepper that Y2K & 2012 both passed with nary a catastrophe event overwhelming the modern world of civilization

I had a friend in the 90s who was really into prepping. In died 10 years ago. My theory is everyone reading this post will be long dead and gone before the second coming of Jesus, financial collapse, rapture, or the apocalypse!

a reply to: olaru12

lol

all you senior citizens will be the first to die in SHTF

no meds.

epic lulz.

Talk about Glorious.

a reply to: Lysergic

I know you were joking, but far to many people over look that danger..

We have plenty of food, we live on a mile long dirt road on top of a mountain in a town with a population of under 3000.

We know our 3 neighbors well, we all work together during the winter to keep our private road snow free.

We have a wood stove and two years of wood culled from our 20 acres sitting in the wood shed that we cycle through.( dried wood makes more heat)

We have a generator..

But

If the supply train breaks down long enough, I fear for my parents, I cannot chop down heart meds..




Respectfully,
~meathead

a reply to: Mike Stivic

Might be able to barter for some, Teeth will be the new currency.

I'm going full blown cannibal, fair warning.

a reply to: Irishhaf

Do you have car insurance?

Do you have home owners insurance?

If so, why?


Only an idiot would not have hunger insurance in the form of LTS food, especially in this time of dirt cheap food.

a reply to: Lysergic

Another good point even if you don't take this topic seriously.

Not just stockpiling supplies, but barter stock..

A few cheap things that will become valuable in a supply chain break Down,that will store well,would be:

Cans of roll your own tobacco. (A can of Drum tobacco rolls a carton of cigarettes,costs 35 bucks)

Vodka or grain alcohol.(obviously the cheapest possible brand for trade)

.22 ammunition. (Cheapest round available,and a lot of rural homes have them)


See, even when you troll, your helpful


Respectfully,
~meathead