Often times you may think you’ve gone off the deep end. Don’t worry fellow prepper, the movement is growing:
…there is a posse of self-sufficient men and women out there who make it their goal to be prepared when disaster strikes. They call themselves “preppers.”
From natural catastrophes to economic meltdowns to nuclear blowouts, the preppers’ collective goal is quite simple: to carry on as usual, even when catastrophe strikes. Think backyard fallout shelters of the 1950s or Y2K shenanigans — only circa 2010.
The whole prepper movement may seem pretty zany. So zany, in fact, that you’d think only a miniscule amount of people would actually be partaking in it. Wrong.
Over recent years, a huge community of preppers has developed. Perform a simple Google search and you’ll turn up plenty of prepper-related stuff, including the Web television portal Prepper TV, survival blogs, podcasts (such as DoctorPrepper and PrepperPodcast), and forums that cover everything from a woman’s perspective to recycling to how to handle dead bodies.
There’s even a rash of YouTube videos offering tutorials on such topics as how to construct your own nuclear bomb shelter, what firearms you should own, and how to earthquake-proof your stored food.
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I’ve been meaning to buy a pallette of that Chef Boy-Ar-Dee ravioli. It’s got a whole serving of vegetables in every can. What kinds of vegetables? I don’t know, and they’re not saying. Â The three things I’m going to miss most after TSHTF are coffee, chocolate, and cheap gasoline.
Yes I would agree Prepping / Noe-survivalism is going mainstream. So much so that I’ve thought of opening a store in some of my empty back offices. In Training I was tought to survive with nothing more then a OV-1 vest, knife and .45. Its not pleasent. Though over the years I’ve aquired many items that can be used for survival, I was not a prepper.
Actually I thought prepper people were a little off their rocker. Today with all the signs of the times, I can count myself as a little off my rocker. So some people think. Now a days when people, even my wife look at me cross eyed I just tell them that’s my view from under my tin foil hat. As with most of my friends and family when bad things happen I’m always their first call or the one they want to be around.
Many don’t understand or think it can’t happen. Many more today are looking at the facts and setting things aside for a rainy day. That’s prepping.Â
The rule of threes – you can live:
3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter (in situations of hypo/hyperthermia)
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
Â
(averages, of course; affected by situational differences)
Â
Just-in-time inventory methods mean food supplies in cities are sufficient to feed their population for 3 days. Ever heard the phrase, “we’re 9 meals away from a revolutionâ€?  Can you think of any scenarios that could interrupt the fragile, interdependent supply chain? If you can’t or if you believe “the government will help meâ€, don’t prepare. It’s prudence, not end of the world doom-and-gloom, that motivates most preppers. Almost all of what is stored is rotated and consumed, not wasted. If nothing happens, I can still use my preparations. If something happens, I’m prepared to sustain myself without outside assistance. I have home owners insurance, health insurance, auto insurance, etc. Given what happened in Haiti, Louisiana, etc., having food insurance, water insurance, shelter insurance, cooking insurance, etc. seems prudent. It brings peace of mind.  Expect the best but prepare for the worst.  Learn, train, prepare – and enjoy life!
I saw the movie THE ROAD when it came out last fall. A truly awe inspiring tale of a man and his son trying to survive the aftermath of an extinction level event. The only reason they survived as long as they did was that the man was a prepper. It appears that the situation gradually went from bad to worse over the course of ten years, determining the timeline by the age of the boy.
I didn’t start taking prepping serious until I moved to Florida years ago. I’ve seen with my own eyes store shelves being emptied of water, bread, canned food and batteries after warnings of a hurricanes projected course.Anyone who doesn’t take emergency preparedness seriously, in my opinion, are fools.
What part of Florida Wheedle? I’m in NE Fl.
@ Patriot One
I live about 20 miles from St Augustine. In 2004 our home was without power for two weeks during August.( At the time I didn’t have a generator, I do now. )Â It was tough for us but many had it a lot worse. My inlaws lost their home in Clearwater. It took six months for them to get back to normal.Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and the ‘ what ifs ‘ of Y2K got me to thinking about preparedness.
Comments…..As a long time prepper, I viewed the above video, and while having food available, I wouldn’t necessarily have an over abundance of dried beans because they take a lot of water to cook them. I would also recommend getting a solar cooker, there’s plans on the internet to make your own. Also, the top ramen soup he recommends is loaded with sodium which is not healthy. I buy a lot of canned goods because they require no cooking, or use of precious water, and the shelf life can be years beyond the expiration date. I have cases of whole chickens so protein won’t be a problem. Learn to grow your own veggies, and for fresh veggies learn to sprout. It’s easy and nutritious. Have a 5-gallon bucket available to use as a toilet. There’s info on the internet on how to compost human waste. Also, where there’s a lack of hot water available, there’s solar water bags available at WalMart in the sporting goods section. They hold 5 gallons of water. There’s nothing wrong with taking every precaution you can to be somewhat prep. Never depend on the government for help as we have seen in disasters like Katrina and Haiti. You will have a much better chance of surviving IF you are prepared and dependent on no one.
Wheedle
Have Mac forward me your email behind the line. I don’t want to put my email up in public. I’m At my BH in ST.A. and my RH is in GCS so we must be close.
I’ve done a couple hurricanes down here in Texas. Our biggest issue was power. Gas for generators seemed to be impossible to find as no gas stations had power for the pumps. I modified my generator for tri-fuel applications with a kit from http://www.propane-generators.com/Â Gas lines run underground and we have never lost gas pressure from any storm. I was able to save all the food in the fridge, have lights and air conditioning. In a SHTF situation, you’d stick out like a sore thumb, but for short term problems you can’t beat it.
Wheedle,
My wife laughed when i first started to make preparations, and creating plans of survival and evacuation. she also got mad 6 years ago, when i used some of our savings to buy gold.
Today she stands next to me when buying supplies, and has learned all safety precautions. Now she sees that the system is falling apart, and understood what i was telling her all these years.
She doesn’t want to touch my mossberg mariner though, because she is afraid of weapons.
The “road” was inspiring for me too, even though a bit depressing
Be safe everybody,
Yo Manos ~
Your Mosbrg might be a bit intimidating for a woman, especialy if it’s a 12 ga. Get he to try a 20 ga.’snke-charmer’ or a Ruger 10/22 .22 cal. rifle; less noise & less recoil. Every woman needs to know how to use and be willing to use a firearm. Begging; “Please don’t hurt me and my family”, isn’t going to cut it.
@ Patriot One
Looking forward to exchanging ‘ tin foil hat ‘ theories & info. 🙂
@ manos
My wife has no desire to shoot shotguns, but she enjoys shooting here .22 revolver and quite good I might say.
As you may have read my earlier comments, I started taking hurricane preparedness serious back in 1999. It wasn’t until I started watching DEMCAD youtube channel, and going through his resource information, that I came to realize an economic collapse could occur.That was about a year ago.Been trying to prepare for that by beefing up the hurricane preps I already have.Economy is real bad in this area, as well as the whole country.
Google Search,,,map of a recession by latoya,,,gerald celente worse economic collapse ever on youtube,,,imf chief warns of riots in response to economic crisis,,,marc faber lateline business interview august 26, 2009 on youtube,,,.
I’m sure many of you have already viewed this info.
That first search is,,,,the geography of a recession by latoya egwuekwe,,,,. I need to write these searches down.
@Manos,
MadMarkie was dead on…..My wife was practicing with a friends Ruger 10/22. He has the youth model which is like a bb gun with a red dot sight on it…….she’s sold…………
MadMarkie and Wheedle,
Thanks for the tip. A smaller caliber, probably something in32 auto, would be appropriate.
I kinda like the colt 1903 pocket pistol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Model_1903_Pocket_Hammerless
A good solution would be some caliber for both a revolver and a semi-auto, in order to have a better control of inventory. I’m not sure, is there a 9mm revolver?
If we preppers are off our rocker, then so be it. I’ve known, seen it coming for decades by the grace of God. Gives me a bit more hope to see others starting to wake up and smell the coffee to where things are headed. The US is ticking off too many people, and living too far beyond it’s means for too long. It can’t go on too much longer, something has to give, and it will.
The next time that someone sarcastically calls you a “survivalist”, ask them if they wear their seatbelt,when they say yes,say that they are one too.
Well it is the end of 2012. Folks Laughed when I went solar and converted my gen units to natural gas and stocked up on ammo and food (MREs and Other foods with long shelf life) Past summer a Electric co transformer went up in smoke. Gas stations had no juice to pump gas with. Many who thought they were OK with a Gasoline Gen unit found out the hard way. My NG unit kept us up for a week. Then power came back up. They forgot about it. Then Sandy hit the East cost. No Gas and the crowds yelling at the COPs on account of it. Got lots of interest now. Too much. But I have noticed my neigbors and kin seem to have woke up. I mean Wide awake now. All the jokes have gone an reality is sinking it. Prepare Food water ammo family and Christ. Good luck folks