In the past people who were considered preppers or survivalists were considered crazy, always planning for something that could not happen. The Corona virus has changed that view some, as people are now looking at preppers and survivalist as smart in being ready for something most of us did not expect, or even consider happening.
I will be honest and say that I do have things prepared for disasters and unexpected emergencies, BUT, I never even considered a pandemic being an emergency that would actually occur. I was not as prepared as I could have been to navigate the changes that came as the number of cases began to rise.
I did do an assessment on my foods and can goods and made a trip to stock up on these items before things got really crazy as I did see the potential of a mad rush to the stores possible as the virus arrived in the States. I was right in this happening, but I did not expect the rush on toilet paper.
To this day I still do not understand this reasoning.
I will say that after the Presidential election results, I think we may see another lockdown and I am again making purchases to ensure I have canned goods on hand for this. If you do not have enough food in your home for a minimum of two weeks, change that now.
You Do Not Have to Become Prepper Crazy
Ensuring you have what you will need for your family to survive any disaster or emergency does not make you crazy. This makes you smart. You do not have to go prepper crazy, you just need to make sure the basics are in place. The skills and gear that you see most acquire is not necessary in the beginning, yet something you will want to consider as you become accustomed to thinking in a way that allows you to ensure the survival of your family and not thinking someone else will meet your needs.
You will not become a prepper in this sense, you will become self-reliant. You will be the one making sure your family has what they need to get through difficult times, and you will not put their safety and well-being in jeopardy.
This is easy to accomplish, and it will become second nature before you realize. It is as easy as going to the store, yet while there purchase a few more items of each and you will easily have enough food for a month in no time.
We never know what the future will bring us now. We have seen a disastrous hurricane season during a pandemic making evacuations and recovery a challenge not faced before, as well as destructive wild fires happen. Waiting until the last minute to plan and gather is not possible, yet people have been doing this for years. Leave this way of thinking, and become one who plans for what can happen.
Prepare for What Can and Will Happen in Your Area
Live near a volcano that hasn’t erupted in your lifetime? What’s stopping it from happening tomorrow? Surrounded by fault lines but never had the big one? Why won’t it happen soon? Near a nuclear power plant without incidents? What’s protecting you from that unforeseen moment?
You know what nature can bring to your area where you live and work, so understand what you will need. If you have been lucky in the past and not affected by a natural disaster or emergency in your area, how long do you think that luck will hold out? Would you take the spare tire out of your car just because you have been lucky and never had a flat tire? Would you throw out the fire extinguisher in your kitchen just because you have never started a fire while cooking? (If you don’t have one in your kitchen I recommend getting one).
The concept behind being prepared is the same as that spare tire in your trunk, and the fire extinguisher in your kitchen. We may not know what will happen, but we can make the aftermath easier by having what we may need during that time.
Start With the Basics
When I say the basics I am referring to food and water. If you are forced to leave your home also consider shelter in the basics. This is what you need to survive. You can move on from this and grow your needs once this is secured. I would add lighting, matches, and a first aid kit to your basics, but start with the most basic needs first. It is useless if you have matches and can make a fire but you do not have food to eat or water to drink. Start small and build.
It is Easier to Get Started Than You Think
As I mentioned earlier, you can increase your food that you have on hand by purchasing a few additional items each time you shop. This will easily give you the amount you will want slowly and is cost effective. Do not waste money on goods that your family does not like, get what they will eat. Food does have a shelf life, make a plan to rotate your goods as you purchase more.
If you would like to start gathering items other than food that will benefit you during these emergencies you can purchase entire kits that are already made that you can just grab and go, or you can take the time to purchase items and build your own kits. There are also subscription services from a few different companies that will ship you a box each month with gear in them. One great company that does this is BattlBox. (Company review) This takes the thinking out of getting the gear you may need, but may not get you the gear you could really use. I love getting my box each month and cannot wait to see what is inside when it arrives.
I will mention one other thing that you can consider, I am actually considering this myself, and that is getting the prepackaged meals that have a long shelf life. There are many different companies that offer these types of meals. The one reason I am considering going to this option instead of keeping my normal food supply up is space. I am limited on the amount of dried and canned goods I can store, and I am unable to truly get the amount I want on hand with my limited space. I have put these items in different places in my home thinking and not keeping everything together, so I would forget what I had and where things were. I did have things expire and go bad that I ended up throwing out. This is not cost effective or smart. The long term foods can be stored in closets where I can keep the boxes together until I need them, and they last usually up to 25 years, so I will not have to worry about them going bad in just a few years like canned goods.
You may also be thinking that your family and friends may think you are crazy for doing this, and my advice is don’t tell them. I say this because they may think you are crazy, but they will also be the first ones knocking at your door in an emergency looking for you to help them as well. You want to keep what you have safe so that you can use it during emergencies, you do not want to have to protect it from others risking the safety of your family.
Conclusion
Don’t think of preppers as crazy, we are people who want to be able to protect our loved ones and keep them safe at all cost. We do this by making sure we have what we may need to get through emergencies, ensuring the survival of those closest to us. If you want this for your family then you can easily get started, and seeing how we have entered a pandemic that many of us thought not possible, now is the best time to move forward.
There are many different resources about this topic, and I am trying to gather as much as I can here for you to make things easier as you move forward, as well as help you make decisions if you are unsure if you need to do certain things.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, they are always welcome. I am here to help any way I can
As always, Happy Prepping!!
