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So lets keep this civil..right from the get go.

Do you prep?
Why?
How much?
How?

I believe that being prepared, to a certain extent, is a good and prudent thing.

My certain extent is: food "stuff", water, flashlight/batteries, radio, med kit.

I would like to hold a discussion for and against extensive prepping.

 TheMeanDM wrote:
So lets keep this civil..right from the get go.

Do you prep?
Why?
How much?
How?

I believe that being prepared, to a certain extent, is a good and prudent thing.

My certain extent is: food "stuff", water, flashlight/batteries, radio, med kit.

I would like to hold a discussion for and against extensive prepping.

I keep a small amount of supplies (food, batteries, spare roof tiles etc etc ) for power cuts and flooding, which is a real risk where I live, but nothing on the scale of surviving a zombie invasion, or fighting off giant cockroaches, after I emerge from my bunker to confront a nuclear wasteland.

I think most people would agree that having a first aid kit, spare batteries, candles, etc etc in your house and your car, is a sensible thing.

When I was in Japan we all had little earthquake survival kits containing some tins of bottled water, a torch, a radio, some food, a first aid kit and so on.

Bakc in the UK such elaborate preparation isn't necessary. The problem here is how to stay dry, not how to get water (I live 5 minutes walk from the Thames.) I have a couple of first aid kits and some basic camping supplies.

This isn't prepping in the normal sense, though. Prepping means filling your cellar with a five year supply of corned beef and things like that.

As a crazy old man I used to know said, "It's better to be looking at it, than looking for it."

I don't prep.

I keep a go bag, which is mostly a small duffle bag with some bottled water, canned food, first aid kit and a few other odds and ends.

The thing with prepping is that I think there's kind of a line between being prepared for a disaster, and living out a disaster fantasy.

 Kilkrazy wrote:
When I was in Japan we all had little earthquake survival kits containing some tins of bottled water, a torch, a radio, some food, a first aid kit and so on.

Bakc in the UK such elaborate preparation isn't necessary. The problem here is how to stay dry, not how to get water (I live 5 minutes walk from the Thames.) I have a couple of first aid kits and some basic camping supplies.

This isn't prepping in the normal sense, though. Prepping means filling your cellar with a five year supply of corned beef and things like that.

You count the Thames as a source of water? I thought it was runny toxic sludge.


I have a first aid kit, but the last bad event that happened here was the storm in 67. So I have no worries.

Thames water + boil = fine.

Got to have tea.

I personally spent a couple of million buying a doomsday shelter because of the Mayan calendar prophecy /s

No, but I should. I keep some stuff (blankets, motor oil, radiator fluid, etc.) in my car for break downs, but no Doomsday stuff.

I do some prepping, but not in the frankly bizarre "the world is going to end, society is going to collapse" scenarios that seem popular in some corners. My prepping is towards a natural disaster where normal services might not be available for a week or so. If it's longer than that I'd have to leave - my house has some quirks that make it a poor choice for an extended stay.

Anyway, I have canned food, water, candles, some lifestraws, wool blankets, regular flashlights and batteries, one of those emergency flashlights that you crank and it charges a phone, that kind of stuff.

Thanks for the reaponses so far.

We have a friend who's ex is starting to go off the deep end when it comes to prepping...like...he spouts that there is going to be another civil war, great depression, end of times...(his words to her). Her anxiety is quite high due to this talk from him.

I would like to reassure her that some basic stuff is all well and good (we do get floods and tornados here)...but to go over oard is just...overboard.

Ugh, yeah, that is someone taking their disaster survival fantasy and inflicting it on others. In my experience, it isn't about them being prepared, it's about their dominance, and the fact that he is bringing his ex down with it is just a clear sign of that.

The bottom line for disaster preparation is that you prepare for your region. Preparation for disaster is very different in Seattle than it would be in the middle of North Dakota. And in effectively all good disaster survival bags, a big gun and weapons are not there, just period.

 TheMeanDM wrote:

My certain extent is: food "stuff", water, flashlight/batteries, radio, med kit.

This. I've been on the south end of enough storms, outages, and natural disasters to know a week's supply of food/water and such are good things to have on hand.

Anything past that, though, really depends on your environment and what sort of disaster you're prepping for.

I figure in a gak Has Gone Sideways scenario I'll just loot what I need.

 TheEyeOfNight wrote:

 TheMeanDM wrote:

My certain extent is: food "stuff", water, flashlight/batteries, radio, med kit.

This. I've been on the south end of enough storms, outages, and natural disasters to know a week's supply of food/water and such are good things to have on hand.

Anything past that, though, really depends on your environment and what sort of disaster you're prepping for.

Indeed it would not be sane for anyone living on the US GUlf Coast to not have a week's worth of canned goods and potable water. When Ike hit there were areas that were out of power for two weeks. That included the gas stations.

I figure in a gak Has Gone Sideways scenario I'll just loot what I need.

Hey thats how we got Texas!

 curran12 wrote:
Ugh, yeah, that is someone taking their disaster survival fantasy and inflicting it on others. In my experience, it isn't about them being prepared, it's about their dominance, and the fact that he is bringing his ex down with it is just a clear sign of that..

Knowing the guy like I do (he had been a friend of mine until stuff happened) I would say that your arm-chair psychoanalysis is extremely spot on!

 Frazzled wrote:

 TheEyeOfNight wrote:

 TheMeanDM wrote:

My certain extent is: food "stuff", water, flashlight/batteries, radio, med kit.

This. I've been on the south end of enough storms, outages, and natural disasters to know a week's supply of food/water and such are good things to have on hand.

Anything past that, though, really depends on your environment and what sort of disaster you're prepping for.

Indeed it would not be sane for anyone living on the US GUlf Coast to not have a week's worth of canned goods and potable water. When Ike hit there were areas that were out of power for two weeks. That included the gas stations.

I figure in a gak Has Gone Sideways scenario I'll just loot what I need.

Hey thats how we got Texas!

True. Frazzled, although we are often on differing ends of opinions, we can both agree how awesome Tejas is.

As far as prepping goes, I live by a saying. It is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Fantasies of doomsday can be harmless, as long as they do not lead to illegal activity or hurting loved ones. Personally I see no harm in it. No different than the numerous boxes my neighbor has of unopened models. If he never bought another model, it would take over a year, by my estimates, to assemble and paint everything. I know many here have the same issue.

Let them prep, let them live in the fantasy, because sometimes fantasies come true.

If you are sensible, you build up a six month stock of tinned corned beef, then you buy a new week's supply every week, put it at the back of the pile and eat a tin from the front.

You've wasted a bit of money by sticking it into corned beef instead of the stock market, but it's not that big a downside.

The main problem is the amount of storage space you need for a six month supply of lots of things.

I think the sweet spot for preparedness is about a week or two. It doesn't take much of a disaster to loss power and/or water for a week, and having something to fall back on is wise.

And part of prepping is being aware of how well your region handles common events, but also rare but possible ones. I lived in Cleveland, Ohio for 18 years, but the worst blizzard I've lived through was this winter in Baltimore. Between the severity of the storm, and the limited ability of the city/county to deal with that much snow, we were basically stuck indoors for five days. Luckily we kept power and water, but we were cooking from scratch and eating cans of soup to get through those five days.

Basic disaster kit for me and the family
not remotely close to doomsday shelter.

if i need anything else il just do the LA thing and loot it

Fantasies of doomsday can be harmless, as long as they do not lead to illegal activity or hurting loved ones.

That assumes you are not spending a substantial portion of your income on it, and gearing your life around prepping. There is of course the whole group of people who also wish to be off the grid-but I'll leave that as a separate discussion.

On the whole though I agree and support people doing what they want to do.

I have prepped about as much as anyone should who is living in areas prone to Tornadoes, blizzards, and ice storms:

- Food for a week for all of us
- Water for a week for all of us
- Kerosene heater with enough fuel for a week
- various light sources (glow sticks, flashlights, and a Coleman lantern). The lantern runs on coleman fuel. I need to upgrade to one that runs on kerosene, I didn't have the heater when I purchased the lantern many years ago.
- Enough tarp to cover windows and the roof if needed.
- All important papers in a flame resistant lock box.

Stuff I have anyway, that might count towards prepping even though that's not the reason I have it:

- guns to keep the evil looters away.
- some silver, just because I like having shiny silver.

I've got a couple flashlights, some spare batteries, a palette of water and some canned food and a first aid kit in case I get stuck for a couple days or go on an ersatz camping trip, but nothing more extensive than that. Where I am there's not much in the way of natural disasters I have to worry about thankfully.

It doesn't take a lot to prep. Around here, people buy a few extra cans, or an extra case of canned goods, or other types of long term storage foods, bi weekly or monthly when they go to the store and just rotate it in with the regular food. The same is true with buying iodine, aspirin, and other such items.
Over time a pretty good supply can be built up that I have seen get families through times of unemployment.

 Frazzled wrote:

Fantasies of doomsday can be harmless, as long as they do not lead to illegal activity or hurting loved ones.

That assumes you are not spending a substantial portion of your income on it, and gearing your life around prepping. There is of course the whole group of people who also wish to be off the grid-but I'll leave that as a separate discussion.

On the whole though I agree and support people doing what they want to do.

Go ahead and start that conversation, that is something I can definitely identify with.

I don't know enough about it to really discuss it in detail.

Me neither, I just identify with the desire.

And its a continuum thing. Some are just into more self reliance and better food with less pesticides etc to full on "you'll never find me G MAN!" living in the deep woods with no plastic 'cause thats what the aliens can detect level off the grid living.

On the one hand you have almost a new age hippy lets get back to nature, and on the other end you have...the unabomber.

I think there comes a point where many feel inbetween. I myself was pretty disheartened with people in general for a few years. I was very inward, lived in the world of Azeroth and only came out to go to work. Once I got myself unfethed I still had the same feelings, just dealt with it better. I can definitely empathize with someone who feels the need to just say, screw you im outta here. But you need to come in to town at some point, gotta get provisions, it is very difficult to be 100% reliant on yourself and nature for a long period of time.

there are extremes in everything, and we are all guilty of hitting one extreme or another at some point. The reasons for each person who chooses this are, im sure, varying.

If I hadn't married a big city girl from WA and raised 3 beautiful princesses who can't be away from wifi and AC I would even consider it.

Even if you don’t go totally off the grid, you can be less reliant on it.

Passive-solar house design. Solar/geo for electricity/heat. Plant a vegetable garden a/o some fruit trees or berry bushes.

You still are going to spend some cash on the electric bill and at the grocery store. But not as much as someone relying entirely on the grid. One problem is the up-front costs are often higher then the potential returns. For example, if you over insulate your house, you will save on your energy costs. But it might take 50 years to reach the break even point.