Here’s How 30 Preppers Have Adapted and What They Foresee Happening Next

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Author of The Blackout Book and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted

There’s a lot more crazy and a lot less money than usual, and as I’ve written before, the face of prepping has changed. It’s a lot more difficult (and expensive) to go out and stockpile as we did a few years ago, and the event we’ve faced has been a slow-burning SHTF event that has slowly and insidiously taken away financial security from hundreds of thousands of Americans.

I wondered how others have changed the way they prep to adapt to these times so I asked the folks in our Me-We group if they’ve changed how they prep and if so, what changes they’ve made. If you are interested in joining the group, go here, answer four questions, and be sure to change your profile picture from the Me-We basic images. We don’t care what you change them too, we’re just trying to avoid “bot” traffic from prowling through our group.

Here’s how readers have changed the way they prep.

With some of the comments, I’ve added a comment or a link in italics for more information.

Eileen:

I am working on doing even more with even less. I was laid off at the beginning of Covid. Hubby’s paycheck is down a bit. We have been watching the cost of regularly used items skyrocket, yet again. Teaching myself to grow more long term food items this year. At this point, Daisy, just not giving up feels like prepping, even if it’s just to get up tomorrow and try again.

Here’s an article on how to keep going when things feel hopeless.  ~ D

Lynn:

We are getting ready to move. I am using my food preps to see what we really need and what has been hard to use up. Mostly pertaining to food and household essentials. Saving the money to buy fresh preps after the move. We moved a year ago and I had a huge stockpile that had to be moved twice in two months. I think it is better to use it up than move it and then replace it with fresh food and water.

This is a great way to rotate your stock and always have fresher products available. Just pay attention to the things that are in shortage or difficult to acquire. You may not want to go through that supply just yet. ~ D

Jeff:

I have been building up at least a year’s supply of essential items like laundry detergent, shampoo, hand soap, toothpaste, etc. I will be using the stimulus check to add to my freeze-dried food inventory (mostly protein) since I have 1k lbs of dry food stored away. I don’t know if hyperinflation, war, or another pandemic may hit but if it does the goal is to be able to go at least a year without leaving the house.

This is a fantastic goal!

Tami:

After the Texas snowstorm, I’m prepping mainly for life without electricity. I’ve lived off the grid before but had stopped so I’m going back to it. I also realized my need for more stored water .

Here’s an article about preparing for longer-term power outages. It’s a great place to start if you’re new to prepping or if you simply need to make sure you have the things you need. ~ D

Christina:

Prepping mainly for economic upheaval. We kicked up food storage (have a working pantry) January 2020, but it wasn’t an issue to grocery shop in my area, so I slacked off a bit. August of 2020, we put together 6 months of food (again a working pantry I use and replenish), paying off debts, saving money, buying silver, ammo, guns, etc. Anything that will aid us as food and fuel prices goes up or our income goes down. So far, our income has increased since last year, but you never know. I’ll add my pantry includes HH / personal items too.

Stocking up on things other than food is really important. Here’s a list of non-food stockpile items that may inspire you to add to your own supplies. ~ D

Vicki:

We are prepping for civil unrest and skyrocketing inflation. I’ve been watching the groceries I normally buy going up a lot. We are planning to grow more veggies and put in some more fruit trees. We are also making sure we have extras of the tools we use, and enough supplies to fix things(tools, machinery, plumbing, electrical, etc.) that might break. Lumber has also gone up a huge amount, so we are buying extra of that too.

Having spare parts for tools and essential equipment is a vital and often overlooked prep. ~ D

Diane: Everything I can think of from food to security.

Keeping your preps balanced and not focusing too specifically on just one aspect is advised. Toby talks about the vital balance in this article. ~ D

Max:

Building out networks and relationships. Human terrain not “stuff”.

Here’s advice on building community even during a pandemic and be sure to check out Selco’s on-demand webinar about community building. ~ D

Susan:

I think hyperinflation and the possible dollar collapse is more possible now than ever. I am adding canned and dried food stocks to my preps especially items that are predicted to become exorbitantly expensive like corn and coffee. I am also eagerly watching my garden waiting for it to thaw out. Most of the snow and ice is gone except in the woods.

Here are some things you can do right now to get ready for garden season and here’s some advice on how to start planning your garden. ~ D

Sheri:

I’m turning more of my yard into vegetable/herb gardens and will preserve most of the produce. Adding to non-perishables when I see a good sale. Learning basic survival and self-sufficiency skills. Moving toward a simpler lifestyle, so living without modern conveniences will be less of a shock.

This is precisely why my preps are low-tech. ~ D

Stacy:

Survived Texas without blaming the governor or president for leaving me in the cold. We need more stored water. Had enough but saw that I needed more for cleaning. Need larger pots. Fed 7 people easy as my house was only one with gas cooktop. Need cookware to feed 20…and preps to make my own soup kitchen. Need back up potty! Do I have 100 candles? More lamp oil. The little tealight under flowerpot did help to make room cozier. Store for this. A way to wash clothes. A way to take warm shower and wash hair. Prepare a menu, recipes, and storage for meals on the stove top. Prep to share with family. (I live on 20 member family compound.) A way to charge phone. Size c batteries to listen to CDs….more CDs. Hootch. OTC

Awesome learning experience. I can definitely help with instructions for this off-grid kitty litter potty for humans. ~ D

Ezra:

We are working on paying off debts (Dave Ramsey) and materials for life without electricity. We lost power for 4 days during the winter storm here in Texas

Here are a couple of articles you may find helpful regarding debt (one is directly from Dave’s strategies) and here’s an ebook about dealing with power outages. ~ D

Lynn:

We are focusing on our garden this year. Our goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible in regard to produce. I want to save seeds from the garden for the future. We aren’t growing grains, wheat, and oats, though. That is a future project.

Here’s our favorite source for seeds – you can also get a free garden planner at that link and it is a small, family-run business. ~ D

Rob:

The money hasn’t changed for me in the Great White North. I’ve realized, though, that prepping for an event like an EMP is trying to play apocalypse lottery; better to consider the consequences of whatever it is you worry about and prepare for those. It stops you from making assumptions. (Makes an ass of U and umptions). I.e. instead of prepping for an EMP, I’m prepping for a collapse of communication and transportation of goods like food, no matter the cause. I’m expanding my EMP-proof storage still but I’m more prepared to handle, say, a food shortage whereas before my food plans only involved getting out of the city and joining a full farm.

I think there’s a lot of wisdom to what you said there. A lot of folks hyperfocus on just one thing when in fact most disasters are an entire series of bad things. Some useful links might be this one about making a Faraday cage, this one about a communications collapse, and this one about the strain on our transportation system for goods.

Bestsmall country:

Hi Daisy, I’ve been watching everything since early 2018, and the most striking thing is the correlation between Q and the Bible!! I did most of my prepping back then. Long-life food, seeds (I learned how to grow veg). All done under the radar, especially Crypto and PMs. Skills will be the REAL asset. I’m hoping a local viewer of my channel will ‘kidnap’ me because the idiots that wouldn’t listen will be banging on my door

OpSec is more important than ever! Here’s an article that might help others who are thinking like you about doing things under the radar. ~ D

Kamay:

Not much change, if any. Been prepping for the collapse of society, food shortages, and the possibility of a grid failure. We try to do all farming, gardening, preservations without the use of electricity and fancy gadgets. We recycle, upcycle, make do and live outside the box.

Simplicity is key! I like your style :). ~ D

Letia:

I need to get ready for a garden! Strawberries will come back, and I’ll start canning again. I need to check my jars. I have some cases but need to check in case folks are back to normalcy or still canning. I need to practice shooting! I need to work on security with more cameras and change the button lock on my back door. ????

DEFINITELY practice shooting. It’s a perishable skill. Here’s an article about creating a safe room at a reasonable price that might be helpful for the security aspect. ~ D

Kris:

Taking care of my animals and plans to raise more meat chickens – so more to feed. Buying feed in bulk and pricing out different feed options, etc.

Have you checked out the fodder method? I took a class on it when I lived in California, but did not set up my own system because we were moving. Here’s a really good article about it. The guy I took the course from had chickens strictly on fodder and free-range. ~ D

Roxanne:

We’re pretty much preparing for our retirement. Then we’ll be on a much lower income. We’ve paid off all our debt except what we use on our credit cards which we pay off every month. We’ve sold off a lot of things which we didn’t need to get rid of the debt. We’re thinking we could be looking at another depression or some other economic troubles. I’ve been trying to grow different vegetables to learn how to do it well. I also have been dehydrating what I can and vacuum sealing them in large mason jars. I plan to learn to pressure can this year so I can take advantage of any sales at the stores on meats and vegetables which don’t grow here.

Here’s an easy how-to for pressure canning, and if you happen to have a glass top stove, some pressure canning options that will work for you.

Heather:

We of the Down Under are keenly aware that we no longer matter with your particular ruling family’s politics. China is now a far more serious threat in the Pacific area. We also no longer refine fuel here, much of it comes from Singapore. We are prepping for blockade/ interruption to supply lines as this would pretty much cripple the country. We have gardens, fruit trees, and are stocking up a bit more on canned goods. We aren’t allowed to store more than a couple of jerry cans of fuel. Also, I have been sure to keep medical checkups and dental checkups very up-to-date for the family as you never know when these things just won’t be available.

You bring up an excellent point with regard to medical and dental care. During the past year of Covid restrictions many people saw health issues getting far worse because they were unable to seek preventative care, or even take care of conditions that arose.  Handling these things while we an is vital. ~ D

Shannon:

I prep for hyperinflation, power grid issues, (due to natural disasters), and civil unrest. I live in the PNW, so we’ve had our share of rioting, unrest, and fluke weather. Prepping food, supplies to deal with no electricity, trying to learn how to cope without electricity. We sold property in Ca. and moved up here and bought property with land.

With the changes you’ve made, you are most likely looking for some suggestions on becoming more self-reliant with the land and new resources you have available. Check out the self-reliance manifesto here. (Some links are no longer working – we’re striving to keep up!) ~ D

Kate:

We’re planning to buy a house/property in the next few years, so we’ve been saving wherever possible. Luckily the covid didn’t affect our income. Cutting back on trips to town. Waiting for the garden to dry out and also waiting for my seeds to arrive. Going to grow mostly for cellar storage this year….potatoes, squashes, carrots, turnips, etc. Jar lids are really hard to find here on Vancouver Island…hopefully, by the fall, I’ll be able to can sauce and V8. Keeping up with buying hard copy books on natural medicine, crafts, foraging.

I’ve really lucked out and gotten some used books on those topics at yardsales. I once spent $100 at a yardsale buying every book the person was selling because her deceased relative had been into food preservation and herbalism. Talk about a motherlode. Another potential goldmine for you is Thriftbooks, which has millions of used books for sale. If you are new to root cellaring, this article may be helpful. ~ D

K:

I’ve spent the last year really focusing on smaller potential SHTF situations (a week to a month type). I feel like I’m in decent shape as far as that goes. Now my focus is more long-term. I want to get sustainable food production set up and keep hounding my kids about the likely change to digital currency in the next few years along with a rise in inflation. I have preached for years that our reliance on food from outside of our areas is going to be a problem in the future. That’s my focus now.

A couple of articles on two topics you mentioned are this one about how our everyday lives would change in a cashless society and this one about why preppers need to localize their food sources. ~ D

James:

Economic misfortune, (job loss, economy downturns) civil unrest, power grid/natural disasters. I am set for two years monetarily, approximately 6 months for comestibles, and a decent self-defense set up although still working on hardening the house. I am also to a lesser extent prepared to bug out home if things really go to s**t, however as I am currently OCONUS I am probably screwed on that part.

That definitely makes things difficult. I think what I would focus on in your shoes is making certain that your family members are able to hang in there for a period of time while waiting for you to make it home. You don’t want them to be in a situation where only you know how to do something important. Redundancies are essential. ~ D

Rita:

We have concentrated more on being self-contained and self-sufficient. We source our needs locally as much as possible. A LOT quieter about accomplishments and acquisitions. For the most part, we no longer have strong public opinions about much of anything. We are becoming more internalized and grey. As we get older, the fighting spirit is still there, but reality says to stock up and shut up. We see civil unrest, and difficult times, if not out and out economic collapse and civil war. The USA is a powder keg right now and some dumba** is going to light the match

Surviving this crazy time does have a lot to do with keeping your thoughts more private. And sometimes the fight you win is the one you don’t participate in. ~ D

Valerie:

Economic collapse is my greatest concern. We are planting a larger garden and stocking up on nonperishable food. I plan to can more this year. In fact, today I scored a lightly used All American 910 canner at the goodwill. $5.99. Scratch that off my bucket list!

Oh my gosh, what a SCORE!!!!!! I’m sure a lot of us reading that are positively green with envy. And the good thing about the All American is there are no parts or gaskets that might need to be replaced. ~ D

Rosemary:

I can’t shake the feeling that we will have a grid-down situation in the near future, so getting prepped for that has been my top priority. Next is food shortages and hyperinflation. Bigger garden & more canning is on my list for this season. I wanted to buy heating mats & lights too this year but didn’t have the extra funds, so I am trying Winter Sowing in gallon water & milk jugs. I have 20+ jugs done so far with lots more to do. Fingers crossed it’s a success!

I’ll be really interested to hear how your Winter Sowing goes! Please keep us posted. Here’s a link to my book on Amazon, Be Ready for Anything. It goes into a lot of detail about long-term power outages in both summer and winter. ~ D

Martha:

Although my area doesn’t normally see really low temps, it does get cold in the winter, and after seeing what happened in Texas, I’m adding a portable heater (either propane or kerosene) to my list of supplies  ASAP.  Just wish AC was as easy to prep for if the grid goes down.  Looking at doing solar with battery backup to keep fridge, freezer running too, and even 1 window ac unit to keep the house at least bearable when it 115 in the summer.

Wow, that sure sounds like some miserable weather to lose power in. Here’s an article about handling hot weather power outages, an article about how to calculate how much power you need to be able to generate, and the off-grid heater I recommend. ~ D

Laura:

In light of the recent hacking into MULTIPLE national security systems, I think the grid down is the biggest threat. Financial collapse would be second after that. I’m using some of the stimulus funds to buy larger ticket items. A respirator/gas mask is next on my list. Additionally, I bought heating pads and fluorescent lights for seed planting this year-going well. Also just bought five 55-gallon water barrels that need washing and set up. Busy time for me trying to keep up with all this.

Here are some thoughts on preparing for a major cyber attack and an article on respirators and gas masks – I hope you find them helpful. ~ D

Daisy:

Yep, it’s me. The thing that I have changed over the past year about my preparedness is paying attention to the local governments and how they’ve responded. I’ve lived in 3 different places over the course of the lockdowns and each place has managed the response to covid very differently. It’s important to understand how your own local government reacts to things because once you do, you can begin to predict what they’ll do in a different situation. I’ve also gotten a lot better at getting information from others without them realizing I’m doing it, and making friends who can be helpful in a variety of events. (Read more in this article.)

Traveling from place to place, I’ve learned to prep fast and I’ve learned how to make due with what’s available, instead of being so choosy. I plan to continue working on my adaptability levels, for I believe that is my most important skill. My primary goal is to avoid trouble in the first place and my secondary goal is to survive if I can’t. I foresee more restrictions after a brief reprieve and a lot more difficulty for those who just want to be left alone to do so without jumping through hoops.

What about you?

How has prepping changed for you? Are you preparing for something different than you were previously? Did anything happen over the past year or so that was a wake-up call for you? Are you looking for advice? Share your thoughts, suggestions, and questions in the comments.

Picture of Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther

Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites.  1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty on her website, 2)  The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived, and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. She is widely republished across alternative media and  Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses. You can find her on FacebookPinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.

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  • FIRST!

    Added a 3rd Plum tree to our property. Plan on 4-6 more Blueberry bushes next week added to the berry patch. Looking for 3-4 Florida King peach trees also.

    Spring garden growing well. Onions, cabbages, beets, broccoli.

    Looks like the Radical “Wokeniks” have taken over the political system. I expect mucho gun control and spending bills to come.

    Commander of Chinese Military says war with U.S. enviable. Can’t say why ? , as they already have their stooge in the White House.

    • Diane Feinstein last week introduced her newest gun grabbing “Assault Weapons Ban of 2021,” it bans all semi automatic handguns, rifles and shotguns a total of 250 firearms by manufacture. If you own it before the Bill is passed and signed into law plus 90 days thereafter your grandfathered. The House passed a firearm Registration Bill that is over at the Senate awaiting floor action and 6 “Republicans” voted with the Democrats to pass the House Bill. If history teaches us anything firs comes the ban, then Registration the Confiscation. It is coming folks.

      • “If you own it before the Bill is passed and signed into law plus 90 days thereafter your grandfathered”

        good time to sell a gun.

  • Hey Daisy

    Having retired in September and with the change in administration and the grid failure in Texas, my biggest worry is power in the extremely hot summers in Florida. Humidity and heat with no AC is a recipe for black mold growth. I saw it during the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, on category 5 storm that directly hit our town. Plus living in the extreme heat heat with a lack of trees (decimated during the storm) makes it almost untenable.

    Looking at a whole house generator that will run on propane but it is costly.

    Most of my preps are food and water. Looking more into energy but not sure what to do. The current administration is not making it easy.

  • I am concerned with hyperinflation. Grocery prices are going up like crazy in my area (Maine). Gas prices too. Pet food aisles are slim pickings in some stores.
    Have lots of canned food in pantry – store and home canned.
    Going to use Uncle Joe’s stimulus to stock up on gas, canning jar lids and feed for our chickens.
    Make my own laundry soap so will be getting more ingredients for that.
    Need new tires for the truck and wood for the wood stove…

    • Do you have a butcher shop? i buy a case of “dog bones” for six dollars (about 20lbs) from our butcher. My dogs love the bones, but on the larger bones I make a bone broth. I give my dogs a bowl of bone broth every day. This offsets my dog food bill. The ducks and chickens love to peck at the fat on the bones also. My neighbor use to hunt rabbits on his property and feed it to his dogs. However he is dealing with two packs of coyotes that are decimating his rabbit population.

  • I’m continuing with general preparedness at an increased pace.
    Anything that we do direct energy towards in the next few years we probably won’t mention due to our current environment.
    Self evaluation and assessment is called for so your not wasting time, energy and resources

  • IIRC, the WHO use the figure of 600lb of wheat as being adequate to keep body-and-soul together for one year. I think that this is for a typical adult.

    That’ll give you about 100g of protein every day, and 2,500 calories. But, you’d need vitamin supplements.

    And it would be phenomenally dull.

  • What I see here is a lack of understanding. If you get hyper inflation, a major crises or the like, our current economy can not withstand it.
    It will result in looting, riots and Civil war conditions.
    So what will you do when you have to flee and leave all that stored up food and goods behind?

    Unless you live ( literally in the middle of nowhere, like in Alaska), you will not need a years worth of food.
    A month of economic chaos will result in SHTF, with gang wars, looting, population migration and such.
    Including with in a year, a gigantic reduction in the total national population.
    Chances are you will either be dead or driven from your homes by the chaos, long before the year is up.

    A projection on Deagel.com for 2025, projects the US population at 99 million. Down about 200 million people, from our current roughly 300 million population. Why? No one knows.
    But most of the Western countries will also see major population losses according to that site.
    They must foresee an event that we do not.

    So with that in mind, Something pretty bad may be coming. So unless you are developing a way to take it with you while you are bugging out, it is next to worthless.

    You need to be looking at what grows naturally or wild in your area and how to utilize it for food or find other resources besides just stockpiling food, that will probably end up in someone else’s belly.

    • Why would you trust Deagel when it doesn’t explain why the population drops so dramatically? What the sources for their prediction are? They may be right but I’d need some proof of that before I’d cite them.

    • “A projection on Deagel.com for 2025, projects the US population at 99 million. Down about 200 million people, from our current roughly 300 million population. Why? No one knows.
      But most of the Western countries will also see major population losses according to that site.
      They must foresee an event that we do not.”

      that event might be called “covid-19 ‘vaccinations.'”

      • Without proof and citations, I remain unconvinced. I could put up a website and call it The Luther Report and say anything I wanted on that site. It doesn’t make it valid. If someone could explain their reasoning I’d be extremely interested.

        • Mr Deagle has recently died. In some form of obituary I read earlier today, he was military intelligence in some form. Coincidentally, whois lists him as the owner of “above top secret”website. This makes me wonder if the website was a psy-op.
          That being said, in addition to all the eugenics stuff in place, we are having an aging crisis, and i think a lot of the decrease has to do with normal aging and dying of the Vietnam era generation. The cancer-virus-containing polio vaccine was given to people of that age group as well. I barely dodged that bullet!

        • Daisy, I think Roberta may be on to something. Check out Dr. Sheila Tenpenny on YouTube or on the more open video sites. She is an established Trauma doctor in Ohio and strikes me as very credible. She has done hundreds of interviews on a possible explanation, but YT deletes them as fast as they appear. And Roberta is also right on point that it’s not a vaccine, it’s gene therapy.

      • You may be right- a doctor is of the opinion that most people that get the injection will be dead or incapacitated in 4-14 months..and any survivors will be sterile. Yesterday there was an article published which stated that prion disease (the so-called “mad cow”) is thought to be a future problem. 8 European countries have made the Astra-Zenica injection illegal. I do not used the “v word”, as this is gene therapy.

    • While you may be fleeing, pulling your garden cart behind you with your limited supplies, with the hundreds of others on the road (look out, some of those with even less supplies might look at you as a easy target), those of us who already live in rural areas, will be tending our gardens, livestock, cutting and splitting wood . . . pretty much what we do now.

      Oooo! Scary website, that reports open source defense news, claims of population reduction without any context, sources.
      IF you believe that, then I have an oceanside condo for sale you might be interested in . . . in Oklahoma.

      • Negative Ghost Rider. That Pattern Is Full.
        All Oklahoma beach front is already sold. No room at the inn.

      • “those of us who already live in rural areas, will be tending our gardens, livestock, cutting and splitting wood . . . pretty much what we do now”

        only you’ll have a lot more company and tons more neighbors.

    • Granted foraging is the best. If you are not in big blue areas you just may be able to shelter in place, defend a large part of your community and weather the storm, hence storables & seeds will work. I laugh if you are not already farming/composting/ etc. you are not going to just pick it up and have a thriving garden.

      • “you are not going to just pick it up and have a thriving garden”

        planning on helping anyone with their gardens? otherwise they might just pick up yours.

    • No one knows what the future will hold nor how that future will effect each of us individually. We can certainly agree that it looks dark. I’ll just keep on keeping on, thank you, in my efforts to ride out any unpleasantness as best I can. Thats one reason God gave me and all of us a brain. I try to use it responsibly. As of today I have successfully made 70 trips around the sun. I have planted my flag on this hill and here I’ll stay. Flee? Where to? No. My intention is to make it very expensive for whoever decides they like what I have and want it for themselves.

  • Prepping for us has been a ten year accomplishment, we live in an area with like minded people.walkie talkies and being able to can the food in your fridge and freezer. Be prepared with work gloves and boots and hand tools, you’ll need to fix plumbing and other essential nessities. We live near a fast running stream, water storage is most important for life. Good to hear others ideas for self subsistence.

  • Grew up living off grid with an outhouse, spring, large garden and wood stove but now am starting to upgrade since I’ve moved back to childhood home. Bought two 40 foot shipping containers- one for tractor/rototiller, tools and such while the other, buried 10 feet below it, has 2 50 gallon drums of diesel, dry food storage and a safe room. With nowhere to go all winter, it was the perfect time to cut 3 years worth of fire wood. Found an old timer who was willing to teach me how to sharpen my antique cross cut saws. He also taught me how to make crab traps and gave me a few of his old books on eating weeds. Will be working on an ice house this summer to fill next winter so I need not worry about frozen food spoilage. Volunteering at my local soup kitchen, it’s amazing how much of the (quality) food they get for free each day is thrown out (which I take home). People seem to prefer the processed sandwich meat and cake to the veggies. Lived mainly off beans/lentils, rice and popcorn/nutritional yeast for a month to see if I could stand it. Not the best, but good enough for an emergency.

    • Hey Mike, with your beans/rice/lentil & popcorn/nutritional yeast experiment, did you have an adverse effects? need for additional vitamins,etc?

  • We downsized drastically last year (wife lost job). Sold the house and we moved to a property we bought the previous year. Lots of work had to be done to it in order to make it live-able. Paid off 2/3 of our debt. We have prepared for a long time so we had a lot of the major areas covered, but we went completely off grid including rain water harvesting and solar. We have learned how to build: chicken coop, fencing, outhouse, firewood splitting/storage, fire pit, planter boxes, raising bees, framing for a metal building, permaculture.
    Literally all weekends go into working on the property. The literal moral to the story is you have to be willing to mentally make the switch for if it’s going to happen to when it’s going to happen. It changes/forces you to put the effort in to doing the work. The research and the practical application! Small victories: getting fresh eggs, see the garden growing, fruit trees budding. The agony: bad battery in the battery bank, bad contractors, erosion, etc. you learn and keeping pushing forward! Yes you are going to be tired, but in the end…it’s justified. Live simply and be willing to suffer and triumph!

  • I think that the most important way to prepare is to become a member of a trusted community of like minded people and to have skills that will make you a useful member of the group. A degree in sociology or experience as a stock broker won’t help much. If the situation does get bad having lots of stuff, even guns and ammo, will be no guarantee that you will survive. Desperate and dangerous people, including government authorities, can and will just take what you have if you are dependent on yourself alone. Conditions could change rapidly and you might be caught away from your refuge so you need to be adaptable. Learning how to grow food or hunt are skills that take time to develop. Simply having a rifle or a store of vegetable seeds won’t cut it if you suddenly can’t obtain food.

    • “become a member of a trusted community of like minded people”

      think you might be infiltrated?

      “Simply having a rifle” …

      … and 30 days of food is some people’s sole plan. they’ll do well.

  • In Texas there was an 8 day period without electricity. You can’t run a generator for 8 days. I remember an article in Mother Earth News from the Sixties about an off grid couple. They bought a junkyard car engine, a military surplus generator, and a used forklift battery. Their home had 12v lighting and used 12v appliances from an RV store. It took 30 minutes a day to charge the battery to supply the house for a whole day. During that 30 minutes they would run the washing machine. The exhaust from the engine went through an insulated water tank and supplied a day’s worth of hot water. They had propane heat, but they could have had any other type and used an inverter for the furnace. I thought it was a simple but elegant solution.

  • “goal is to be able to go at least a year without leaving the house”

    if you have to stay in that long will that be long enough?

  • “OpSec is more important than ever!”

    anything you’ve ever typed on the internet has been data-mined and data-based for later action.

  • “aren’t allowed to store more than a couple of jerry cans of fuel”

    some of the new electric bikes are rather good, maybe you can rig up a solar panel and a charger.

  • We’ll be placing a lot more attention on the garden. Already started, in fact. Spinach, kale, carrots, turnips, and beets in the raised beds. Planted two 65′ rows of Yukon Gold potatoes today. #50 of Kennibecs waiting to go. If the crop comes in its a lot more potatoes than we will need. I hope to be able to share with some area families that could use some potatoes.
    Predators have whittled our hens down to only a few, so I will be seeking to increase the flock. I really would like to build a simple smoke house, and you know what else? An outhouse! Not that we need one now, but that could change one day and sanitation will be extremely critical to stay healthy.
    I read over the news daily. Not that it helps my mood any, but I think its important to have a sense about whats going on and what might directly affect me. Unfortunately, the largest threat to us currently seems to be our own government. Sad.

    • I live without power now. Phone charges either in the car or on a small solar panel with USB cord from Harbor Freight. It could also charge my camp lantern and a laptop. Its slow but does the job. I have solar battery chargers for AA and AAA batteries for small bright LED flashlights and a radio. Older path lights also charge AA batteries.

  • I kicked my preps into high gear in February / March of 2020. Plan A for most things is to hunker down since I live in a rural area and outside of town. Plan B is to go more rural.

    I already had a lot of dehydrated food in #10 cans, so I concentrated on canned goods and protein. Keystone meats makes some great products in cans so those became my protein. I hunt and have multiple chest freezers so I have several hundred pounds of meat there. As long as we have power or it’s winter that meat will last a long time.

    I made sure to have at least a year supply of soap, tooth paste, vitamins, toilet paper and the other daily essentials. I have a couple of years worth of food at this point and have recently been working on some Mountain House pouches, enough for a month or two

    I put everything into totes to make them easy to organize and easy to move if Plan B is invoked. I’ve bought more seeds and have them stored in the freezer and will continue to buy more.

    As usual I hope for the best but plan for the worst.

  • While I continue to stockpile what I’ve always chosen, now I’m leaning more towards natural products, like baking soda instead of shampoo. . Prices are up on most everything where I live. Living where I do, the ability to walk to stores supports my dual goals of fitness & using as little gas as possible. Have to keep reminding myself to become more “gray” during these turbulent days.

  • For me, the change was to get serious about getting into physical shape. I’m partially disabled, kept me out of the military back when the war was over there. But now I expect the war to come here, and it won’t care if I’m out of shape. So I joined a gym and hired a trainer to do physical therapy for my disabilities. While I see definite improvements in what I can do, I don’t expect a 100% cure though I keep working at it.

    Having been poor much of my life, I’ve learned about repairing instead of buying new, or going without. Cooking from scratch is so much cheaper, plus I usually prefer the taste. But trying to prep in a household that doesn’t believe in it is somewhat of a challenge.

  • Since being sick last spring stopped all gardening for the year I’m starting seeds indoors, and enlarging the garden plus adding edibles to naturalize.
    We had food for over 12 months but with a vehicle down we’ve eaten up some of that stored food. Sill I buy what I can when I can so we can eat and are starting to replace some as well.
    Almost ready to hook up a new solar array or to be more exact several smaller arrays.
    More water storage would be helpful but we are doing pretty well on that. We have more than a years worth of homemade applecider vinegar and perhaps 2 years of laundry soap. A new toilet plunger and 3, 5 gallon buckets are the launry set up. Another plunger or two set back would be good. I have 3 drying racks so I can dry laundry inside or outside. No dryer hooked up here. I should sell it. Its a nice one but I just don’t use a dryer anymore.
    We use baking soda for deodorant and tooth paste. More of that put back would be good.
    We’re both retired and we watch as buying power diminishes each time we go to town.
    Garden plants are getting started. Weeks till planting time here.
    Doing OK as long as we can stay home. Hubs not able to bug out any longer. Mental and physical health are gone for him. Alzheimers is nasty stuff but we are ok.
    Still pretty much ok for a year or more here. Lost our helpful neighbor to covid months ago. That means I must do more. I work on my health and staying fit.
    No place for a saferoom in the tiny mobilehome. Just right in size for two of us. One bedroom and one bathroom. A daybed and air matresses for rare company. I carved a space for a pantry from the open living space. I used bookcases to divide up the room. Lined the space with used cabinets. The 4×9 space holds food for over a year with fruit and soups on hallway shelving.
    I hope to have a root caller or buried barrels if nothing else by fall.
    My son suggested cutting in an egress through the floor to under the mobilehome. There is a 4′ clearance under most of the floor. It isn’t a bad suggestion but I’d want to be sure I can seal it first.
    We have 7, 330 gallon water containers in metal cages plus 30 gallons in the kitchen with a hand pump for the containers. The big containers aren’t insulated so not practical for the coldest part of the winter.
    Chickens run loose. Rabbits in a shed. Ducks awaiting a new pen. Grain grows scattered about during most of the year.
    I dry and can from the big garden, and scattered growing beds. Young and old fruit trees are here. Berries going in new this spring. Medicinals scattered wild and in garden beds. Flower beds are a good portion edibles and or medicinals.
    Not an easy life, but its a good life.

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