Am I Wrong? You Tell Me

Prepping is confusing, if you allow it to be.  Prepping is overwhelming, if you allow it to be. Or, it can be simple and rewarding.  Which are you going to be? This is one of those time that you are in total control.  Take advantage of it.

In order to make some sense of what I want to say here, I have to go a bit backwards.  That already does not make sense but, be patient with me.

That being said, my second point is - What exactly are you prepping for, if you are prepping at all?

Look at this definition of 'disaster' -
A disaster is a natural or man made hazard that causes significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment.



This means anything that effects your daily life, and includes transportation networks, power grid systems, and water availability and quality. 

 Take a look at this list -

Flood
Fire
Hurricane
Tornado
Earthquake
Drought
Tsunami
Extreme weather - heat blackouts and loss of utilities due to severe freezing
Communication cut off
Act of terrorism

I am sure there may be more to add to the list but this is a start.

Read this list and tell yourself - what is most likely to effect you in the next year.   Myself, extreme weather or a forest fire is what I may face.  Those are my biggest concerns.  My first and foremost concerns.  Obviously, September 11, 2001 woke up the fear of terrorism in all of us.  In the back of my mind, I always think about the fact that in my life time I may still see the United States suffer from a major terrorist attack. This is a fear that existed long before 9-11.  When I was a child in the first grade, we had fire drill in school.  And we had bomb drills.  The fear of an atomic bomb drop had us training to hide under our desk or in the large shelving, at the sound of an alarm.  Does this make me a bit numb to the situation?  No at all.  But does it make me more realistic?  Maybe.  At my age, I am more likely to have to deal with Mother Nature.  She has had me evacuate a couple of times in the past 15 years.

Back to the beginning - my first point is - could it be that the term Doomsday Prepper concept is effecting the common sense of the general public?  I think it could be. Here's is why.

Last week, again, for maybe the 4th time in two months, I had someone who laughed and said, "so you're a Doomsday Prepper?!", and got a pretty good laugh out of it.  I then proceeded to explain that I am NOT a Doomsday Prepper.  (right about now, I am not crazy that show, of the same name, because it has gone to such extremes)  I tell these people that I consider myself a 'reasonable prepper'. I would generally not take the time to explain my actions to any body.  I think age sort of plays a part in that attitude, but - I can only hope that by explaining why I do my little bit of food storage and have a little bit of extra camping equipment, and have 100 gallons of water in storage, that they may see how they may benefit by doing the same.  

Following me yet?

 

So - I still say - read the list.  Get prepared for the natural disaster that is most likely to hit you, where you live, and then expand from there.  Think of the people of Colorado who just last month lost so much.  If they didn't loose their homes completely, they lost their utilities and communication abilities.  At least a dozen states had evacuation due to flooding in the past 6 months. California and Idaho, just to mention a couple, evacuated thousands of families due to wild fires.  The east coast suffered the wrath of Hurricane Sandy.  And then New Jersey saw disaster again with a huge fire on the boardwalk. Even a large fire in a business area could cause you a lose of power that would result in loosing refrigerated food and the discomfort of no lighting, for days.  I wonder how many of these families were prepared for Mother Nature.  How many could stay in their homes or could return because they had what it took to survive until life could return to some sort of normalcy.

Prepping is nothing new.  Food and water storage has been practiced by the Mormans for 'maybe ever'; I have not been able to find when this began.

Don't let yourself be overwhelmed by preparing for the absolute worse, all at once.  Make a plan that you can live with.  Make a plan that you can stick to.  Make a plan that you can start right away.  There is no kind of disaster that is going to wait to happen until you are ready.