Posted on 05/12/2022 10:41:48 PM PDT by blam
A storage room stacked with food is seen at a preppers ranch in Mathias, West Virginia, on March 13, 2020.
Most people don’t bother to prepare for uncertain times until it’s too late. It’s the “ant and the grasshopper” parable written on a human scale.
“The problem is that while fear is a great motivator, it isn’t conducive to smart decisions,” said Diane Vukovic at Primalsurvivor.com, an online personal preparedness website.
“No matter how terrified you are about a certain event happening, you still need to go about prepping in a calm, logical way,” Vukovic told The Epoch Times.
Once considered a fringe “conspiracy theory,” the idea of preparedness has gone mainstream as global events unfold. Many online “preppers” have said that only a small percentage of Americans prepare for potential food shortages and civil unrest. However, the concern among would-be preppers on a limited income is the cost of preparing in an inflationary environment.
The good news is that prepping is still relatively inexpensive to do, Vukovic said.
“Chances are you don’t need an expensive gas mask, bulletproof vest, or other hyped-up survival gear. You’ll see that most preparedness supplies are very cheap,” Vukovic said.
Rule number one is don’t buy out of fear or panic.
“I suggest writing a list of the most likely disasters for your area. For most people in the United States these will be earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and power outages. Then, make a list of what items you would need to be prepared for these disasters,” she said.
What’s On The Menu?
Prepperwebsite.com host Todd Sepulveda recommends budget-minded preppers start with a menu of necessary items such as dry food and canned goods, which are still plentiful at the grocery store.
“People trying to prep their food storage sometimes go to the grocery store and start buying random items. Later, they have to try and figure out how it will all work together and put dinner together,” Sepulveda told The Epoch Times.
“Starting from a menu takes out all the guesswork and ensures that you won’t buy unnecessary items at the grocery store.”
Sepulveda advises making a one-week menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner of what your family usually eats, making a grocery list, and keeping a clean copy for the following week.
Empty shelves for pasta are seen at a supermarket on Jan. 13, 2022, in Monterey Park, California.
“If you want to stock up a month’s worth of food at one time, just quadruple your list,” Sepulveda said. “You can bring more variety to your family food storage if you make a two-week menu and double that. That way, you are not eating the same foods every week.”
Food storage isn’t hard and doesn’t have to be expensive—”you just need to plan it out,” Sepulveda said.
Other websites that cater to preppers of all experience levels include Graywolf Survival, Apartment Prepper, Bioprepper, Mom With A Prepper, The Prepared, and many others.
These sites cover a full range of topics on disaster preparedness—from creating emergency kits and bug-out bags, medical and first-aid supplies, water filtration, cooking without electricity, solar power, and living off-grid.
“Even if you have zero money to spend, you still have a budget—it’s just zero. And, yes, it is possible to prepare with absolutely no money,” Vukovic said.
She said once you have a list of everything you need, prioritize the items—trash bags and buckets, for example, are inexpensive or even free.
“To make sure you don’t forget anything important, divide your list into categories. As you buy supplies, make sure you get items from each category.
The critical supplies categories include food and water, water purification, health and hygiene, heating, lighting, electricity, disaster cleanup, personal safety, and emergency radio communications.
Live Within Your Means
Even if you have no money for prepping, you’ll need to know about wilderness survival and how to make supplies even on a shoestring budget.
“For example, you can get free buckets from local stores. In an emergency, these buckets could then be used for things like collecting rainwater or making an emergency toiler, which is incredibly important but something a lot of people forget about,” Vukovic said.
If you have a small budget, divide your list into expensive items: propane camp stove, propane heater, personal safety, and inexpensive items such as canned food, tarps, tape, and bleach.
“Buy a few inexpensive items every week and set aside a certain amount of money each week or month to go towards pricier items,” Vukovic said. “Consider shopping at thrift stores, flea markets, and yard sales for lower prices on gently used items.”
For those fortunate to have a large budget, Vukovic recommends that beginning preppers resist the urge to buy “fancy” or “cool” gear and supplies at the outset.
“Instead, do your research and invest in quality items that have good reviews [or] come highly recommended by those who have used the item. Otherwise, you might find the item you bought is unsuitable for your needs and have to buy another,” Vukovic said.
It’s also important to back up all essential documents in a significant life-altering event, she said.
“Having backups of your important documents might not be a life-or-death issue, but it will make the aftermath of a disaster much less stressful,” Vukovic said.
“For example, if your entire home is destroyed in a fire, knowing your insurance policy number and having a list of valuables in the home will make it easier to get a refund.
“Likewise, if your children had to switch schools after a disaster, you’d be grateful you backed-up copies of their school records.”
Backing up your documents can be done cheaply or at no cost, she added.
“You can put them on an encrypted USB and keep this in a bank safe or other secure location. There are also some secure cloud storage platforms you can use,” Vukovic said.
“While you are at it, back up all of your family photos. If your home is destroyed, at least you won’t lose all of your children’s baby photos and other memories.”
Interesting
Too bad ... seems they are Out of Stock
I wish I could say I was surprised :(
Their inventory was hit-or-miss even before covid, so hopefully they’re just waiting on a shipment. But with things going on, they’ve probably had a huge increase in demand.
It might be worth keeping an eye on them to see if they get more stock.
IMHO, basic prepping is food storage and a ceramic water filter. Wilderness survival is advanced, well, survivalist stuff. Depends on where one draws the line between prepping and being a survivalist. Most on FR probably aren't in physical shape for the survivalist thing. 90+ degrees and the woods are loaded with ticks right now here. After about 100 tick bites, you'd lose your mind. Being a hunter-gatherer also takes some expertise and stamina.
I had no desire to bug out to the woods and forage for food so I bought a hunk of woods 10 years ago and have a garden, laying hen and a few meat goats.
...What I did over the years was to go to yard sales and buy the 20 gallon cylinders
That's me this year. Six varieties of tomatoes with four being cherry. Starting from seed, Tappy's Heritage tomato which is a red slicer but meaty enough for canning, is doing awesome and Rosella cherry also doing well. I'll probably be growing lots of multipurpose Tappy's next year. Will have to see how they finish out.
Also trying some things I've never eaten before, mostly greens type stuff. Never had chard before so I'm growing some of that. Trying four different types of peppers, mostly hot and all varieties I've never had because the stores don't sell them.
Got three types of watermelon and all will get the same treatment so we'll see how they grow and taste for us. Either one will be a winner or we'll try some different ones next year.
Everything is open pollinated so next year or the year after, if I want to grow a single variety and save seed, I can.
http://the-knowledge.org/en-gb/lewis-dartnell/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knowledge%3A_How_to_Rebuild_our_World_from_Scratch
Author has done some video presentations as well; https://duckduckgo.com/?q=The+Knowledge%3A+How+to+Rebuild+our+World+from+Scratch&iax=videos&ia=videos
His website had a link to a youtube channel called “How To Make Everything”!!!! Awesome!!!
I’m not going to get much housecleaning done today.
I also didn’t realize the author was that cute. Probably a good thing I don’t know him in real life. With the way his mind works, judging from his books, that would develop into a serious crush.
(Thank you for the links!)
That would have to be a long distance relationship since he’s from the UK.
You're correct, thanks.
Well, I took the obvious way out, in light of a rigged election - last year I worked all year and built a modest independent solar system. I spent most of my Soc Sec and it will only do so much... but a prepper knows how to ration power usage.
It's never too late!
Of course if you have a full time flowing stream on your property or live in a windy mountain pass, that's a potentially quick solution also. And - the stream offers modest refrigeration!
The FDA tested rice samples from all the rice growing region in China. They all exceeded the USA standards for allowable arsenic levels.
Stay away from food from China is my recommendation.
They also put melamine in their baby formula. Chinese living all over the world routinely ship baby food to China. The UK passed laws to put some limit on this practice a few years ago.
I’m woefully unprepared for what’s coming, I’m afraid, even tho I have much more than my adult children as far as extra food, ammo, etc. I’m slowly trying to rectify that, in the hope that it’s all for naught.
Ms Jen Psock puppet. :)
Thanks for the ping.
Every time I look at these threads they cost me money - LOL.
Finally broke down and bought a rocket stove.
Tomorrow I plan to put some rice up in canning jars with some oxygen absorbers.
Rice is not the only source of niacin. It’s not even the highest source of niacin. A cup of potato flakes has 3 times the niacin of a cup of dry rice*. A cup of buckwheat has almost 4 times as much. A cup of corn flour has roughly the same niacin as rice, but make it hominy and the niacin becomes more bioavailable.
(*I’m using potato flakes for this comparison rather than a fresh or cooked potato, because the water content changes depending on how it was cooked. And dry flakes are closer in moisture content to dry rice, making for a more accurate comparison.)
you mean ULTRA MAGA KING don’t you?
I bought a lot of dehydrated potatoes about a year ago when they were a buck a piece...now, they're closer to two bucks...
I could give up pasta and rice, but potatoes are my go to fill up food any day of the week.
The ‘northern perimeter’ of our property is the only weak link in the set-up. I can see anyone coming from any other direction. ;)
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