Are You Paying Lip-service to Survival?

[window2watcher]

For me so much of what is not done is because I don't know how---extra water drums in the basement but the hand pump to empty it I bought needs to be mounted on something and I can't read how to put the blasted thing together anyway.

But the biggest part is the lonliness of doing this alone and getting older which makes it all harder. Simple things like opening up my 5 gal buckets is almost impossible now. I hang on to the almost with a life grip and am putting alot of the stuff in jars so I don't have to wrestle the buckets.

 

[Wise Owl]

We moved away from cities almost 7 years ago. Live in a small cabin and have what we need to grow our own garden, have wild game that comes in the yard. no way to have chickens with the coyotes and now the cougars...but I have a LOT of powdered eggs put back. We seldom eat eggs so it will last a couple years.

Yes we could use more as could probably everyone but we did get out and away.
We can do it if we don't lose the cabin for some reason. You can plan it all out but you don't really know what might make you have to leave.

But we are as away from it as possible and have what we think we will need. We have tried for years to get our families to prep with no luck. You all know the stories and the reasoning so I won't go there.
Most of our neighbors are pretty self sufficient and reliable when problems happen like bad storms and such and we feel like the Lord put us in the right place. So whatever comes we will deal with it like we always do.
We have each other and we work together well. The rest of the world we pray for daily........not much else to say at this point. Getting late in the game and it is coming hard and fast.

Best advice that I can give is do your best now and get right mentally and spiritually because in the end it will be the Lord who will be your savior.

God bless and keep you all........

 

[Splicer205]

Window2watcher, my heart goes out to you and wish you lived closer. Between all of us, maybe we could read those directions and figure out that pump. Before it's over, many of us may be on our own, without a partner or someone we depend on. If that's the case, you'll have a head start on knowing how to do things on your own.

From pm's I've talked with some people here who have a partner, but feel alone. Either the partner has no interest, complains about it, or lacks skills to do or help with things. If there's anything worse than being alone in times of trouble, I'd imagine it would be with another person and still feel alone.

It would also be real lonely nursing a loved one, watching as they worsened, knowing there's nothing more you can do, and your time is limited. We're all going to face challenges, and many of them will be hard to do alone, but many will be hard, and in some cases, maybe harder, with a loved one.

It sounds like you've found good ways to compensate for things you're not able to do alone, like using jars instead of buckets. Those little details could make a big difference in whether or not we survive. And I bet you survive and pass on a wealth of information and become a sought after resource. Just make sure they know how to put that pump together.

 

[LilRose8]

From pm's I've talked with some people here who have a partner, but feel alone. Either the partner has no interest, complains about it, or lacks skills to do or help with things. If there's anything worse than being alone in times of trouble, I'd imagine it would be with another person and still feel alone.

I fall into this catagory except that my husband is leaving me, and I will be forced to live in a small apt. Post traumatic stress syndrome post-Katrina has taken a wicked toll on him and he can't cope with his own feelings or life, never mind mine.
So, I am faced with having plenty of preps and will have no where to store them. And no one to turn to if TSHTF. None of my friends are preppers and my family is 3000 miles away.
I still don't know what I am going to do about this situation. I looked at condos today and they were so far out of my price range I gagged. Land here is out of the question and to leave a good paying job seems ludicrus these days.
I take prepping very seriously but find myself in an awful situation.
I hope my TBK budddies will send prayers and good thoughts my way.

 

[Charlie]

IMHO less than 5% of the posters here are "preppers".

Delete Delete Delete what I really think about most who post their prepping BS here. I stick around to learn from the 5%. It makes being a member here worthwhile despite the other 95%!

 

[barb43]

Praying for you, LilRose . . . That really sounds like a pretty tough situation.

 

[okie medicvet]

lil, you got mail.

and Charlie, what are you talkin about, you would be bored stiff in a heartbeat if not fer us.

 

[Tweakette]

Ok, I've been thinking about this since you first posted it and while this may be difficult to read I need to say it. It's directed at Todd and to some extent, Charlie.

I truly respect the hell out of what you guys have accomplished with your preps and your homesteads, but to be honest your posts often make me feel like you're applying some sort of "Prepper Purity test" and everyone but yourself and maybe a few select others are continually found wanting.
The attitude seems to be one of judgement and of "if you aren't doing it my way, you're not doing it right".

Well, to be honest, not everyone shares your view that total societal collapse is imminent. Different apocalyptic beliefs need different prepping strategies, and if you interview 50 different board members you'll find 50 different views on what they think will happen. The opinions here run the gamut from "3 months of pain then things work themselves out" to something the scope of "Lucifer's Hammer".

IMHO what is most important is that one's prepping strategies match what your beliefs about TSHTF are. It makes no sense to put aside only an extra 6 pack of Ramen noodles if you believe in total societal collapse. It also makes no sense to chuck your entire life and head for the hills if you truly believe that the pain will be
of short-term duration measured in months.

As Alan Hagan always says, "prepare to be wrong". This includes the possibility that the S won't HTF in the way you expect, or at all. If TS doesn't hit TF, I would much rather not be living like I'm Amish (though I like the Amish and have a lot of respect for how they manage, too) and would rather be reaping the benefits of modern life such as retirement funds, money for good medical care, and health insurance. Will I regret not going Full Amish if TS does HTF in a spectacular way? Probably. Will I regret going Full Amish if TS doesn't hit TF? Also probably.
Thus a lot of us end up trying to keep one foot in each world, with varying levels of success. I've done ok this way, with a strategic rural lifestyle and location and a city-sized paycheck. But not everyone has been so fortunate.

And there are a LOT of other reasons people cannot or won't do the "Full Prep Monty" and I find it kind of tiresome that these are continually dismissed as stupid or invalid.
I realized the other day that it makes little sense for me to prep for myself more than I have asthma meds for, because if TSHTF completely I'm a dead woman when they run out. DH is on his own .
Other people also have family, particularly elderly relatives, in less than optimal locations who they can't leave and who refuse to go with them. The list is endless.

I'm going to wrap this up by saying this: If TSHTF in a truly spectacular way and the whole thing collapses, don't worry that I'll come knocking on your door begging. Part of being a prepper is acknowledging one's responsibility for one's own life, and if it comes to the point where my preps were insufficient and I'd have to beg from the uber-preppers I'd shoot myself first.

If you really want people to prep, and not just to feel superior about how far you've gotten and how little they have, then I suggest dropping the judgement and continuing to post how-to information, which is always excellent.

Rant off.
Tweak

 

[angelight]

Thank you Tweak-
al

 

[Safecastle]

Well, as Tweak and perhaps others have mentioned, I would be of the view that there is no right or wrong in the specifics of prepping. Personal circumstances are as different as there are people inclined to pursue preparedness.

More importantly, my opinion is that prepping is really about peace of mind. Historically, a relatively small percentage of people who prepare for crisis ever have to actually fall back on their preps. But does that mean it is a losing venture? Of course not. Because all preppers feel much better about their possible futures when they have at least some of the bases covered.

As for total and sudden collapse of society ... well, odds are pretty long against that happening even in the most extreme scenarios. On a global scale, oil crises, pandemics, nuclear warfare, etc., etc., do not portend an instant return to the stone age or wild west. In fact, even though we may very well live to see some of these trigger events, it may be that our grandchildren will be the ones to ultimately see the bottom of the curve, not us. Meaning I do not expect to have to live out anything resembling a Hollywood disaster script.

Does that mean I don't qualify as a prepper? Well, I guess it depends on who's formulating the definitions, but I can tell you this much ... I have invested more time and money and career in prepping than 99.9% of the folks on this board. And I remain as prepped as I care to be today ... to the point that I am now investing myself in helping others prep to whatever extent they are comfortable with. To my way of thinking, it is that cooperation toward whatever productivity and sense of community that is the key to our future.

 

[LilRose8]

If you really want people to prep, and not just to feel superior about how far you've gotten and how little they have, then I suggest dropping the judgement and continuing to post how-to information, which is always excellent.

Rant off.
Tweak

Thanks for speaking for the rest of us Tweakette......not all of us are in circumstances that enable us to be uber doomers.
I appreciate Todds enthusiasm but dislike feeling I am not doing enough. 'I am dancing as hard as I can'

 

[Crawlingtoy]

I fall into this catagory except that my husband is leaving me, and I will be forced to live in a small apt. Post traumatic stress syndrome post-Katrina has taken a wicked toll on him and he can't cope with his own feelings or life, never mind mine.
So, I am faced with having plenty of preps and will have no where to store them. And no one to turn to if TSHTF. None of my friends are preppers and my family is 3000 miles away.
I still don't know what I am going to do about this situation. I looked at condos today and they were so far out of my price range I gagged. Land here is out of the question and to leave a good paying job seems ludicrus these days.
I take prepping very seriously but find myself in an awful situation.
I hope my TBK budddies will send prayers and good thoughts my way.

Your not alone Lilrose. I'm going through the same situation.

All you can do is find your innerstrength and do the best you can. Divorce is truly a SHTF scenario IMHO.

 

[Dinghy]

Well said Tweak!!!! And LilRose, I hope things start looking up for you soon. Not everyone can pack up and move to the boonies and be self sufficient, for various reasons. I don't appreciate those who can gloating and looking down on the rest of us. We all do the best that we know how, and we come here to learn not to be ridiculed. We don't all have the good health or skills that others seem to have who "live off the land". You can read and learn all you want, that still doesn't mean everything will come together for you. We prepare as well as our finances and other abilities allow us to. No matter how underprepped that may seem to some, we are still way ahead of most people we know.

 

[Roxann]

Your not alone Lilrose. I'm going through the same situation.

All you can do is find your innerstrength and do the best you can. Divorce is truly a SHTF scenario IMHO.

We singles do the best that we can. Lilrose, why are you staying in California?
You might do better if you moved.

I usually do not rant but I am so tired of members who state that perhaps
only x% here are real preppers . What is the criteria used for a real
prepper. I am very proud of what I have been able to accomplish all by
myself. Am I a real prepper?

 

[Todd]

I'm sorry some of you feel as you do.

Todd

 

[lynnie]

Todd reminds me of myself and the discussions I've had locally about fallout shelters, and what is required for a true Soviet strike ( 100-200 nukes on CONUS).

People want to come up with a lesser option, and there is none. Just the waterbed on top won't work. Just a basement with plastic over the windows won't work. Just the last minute stack of books won't be enough.

For certain scenarios there are certain scientific necessary precautions.

This also reminds me of some "earth changes" posts and the implications of a yellowstone blow for example. For some things, such as where harvests are non existent for a few years, you need years of food stashed.

It isn't about if we will have a Russian strike or Yellowstone will blow or if Todd is right about what he expects. It is that if Todd is right, you need to be doing what Todd is doing, or be ready to live as a feudal slave, or be ready to die.

I have enormous repspect for Todd and am not living as he does, but I am, I think, mentally ready both to die and also to live like a third world person in a cardboard shack does.

Bill P posted a while back about friends being at the top of the list. The hardest thing for me is longing for likeminded local friends. All the ones I know are at least several gallons of gasoline away. My comfort is a hope that when the day comes, we will have friends nearby ( bike or walking distance) and be in this together.

 

[Dinghy]

I'm sorry some of you feel as you do.

Todd

Todd, my comments weren't directed at your post. It was in response to someone else's. Most of us would like to be prepped for every thing that might happen. Unfortunately not all of us can, but we're trying our best and appreciate any information we can find. To have our efforts called "BS", as they were a few posts back, is insulting and one of the reasons why I don't post very often. There are many new people here and they can't be expected to be on the same "level" as someone who has been prepping for years. If one of them posts info that I've seen 100 times before, I don't care, because it may be new and helpful to someone else.

 

[rolph]

As Alan Hagan always says, "prepare to be wrong".

Amen to that. It's called "balance".

There are preppers where prepping and using those preps for lifes uncertainties, is a way of life. Then there are the collectors of stuff they might need, but never put it to the test. Another group of preppers might throw money at the problem and stock up on everything imaginable. Those are usually panic preppers that like to live on the edge (real or imagined) and flinch at every news headline as TEOTW. They usually have enough $ to fund their habit, so no harm done. It's the ones that end up in divorce over spending what they don't have for panic buying that have a real problem.

For me, it's always been a way of life. I can do with luxuries, or without. Either way, it's perfectly ok. Adapting to circumstances is half the fun of being a survivalist. I

've never been prone to bunker mentality, because there will always be a boogey man around the next corner to get spooked by. The older I get, the less I fall for it

 

[Splicer205]

I thought this was a good thread. Now, it's even better. I'm ashamed to say I probably haven't given enough thought to the situations of others. We tend to look at it from a "protective" viewpoint rather than a helping one. But, many of us here feel a responsibility and pleasure in helping those who are alone, in less fortunate circumstances. It's the ones who sneer, criticize, and pursue a self centered egotical lifestyle with little or no regard to or for others that make it hard for me to have the amount of compassion that I should have.

LilRose, I'm so sorry and it has to be especially hard for you because I know how important prepping is for you, and to be in a position that you can't do as much as you'd like has to be saddening, frustrating and challenging.

Tweakette, I appreciate your post, but as I said, many are wiling to help those who help themselves. I have asthma pills and inhalers. I seldom use them, but when I do, they're real nice to have. Though I'd be uncomfortable for a while, I'd gladly share them with someone like you, who simply can't do without them. There are priorities, and if my being uncomfortable for a while was weighed against your life, I'd gladly be uncomfortable to help you.

Also, Tweakette, the comment you made about trying to feel superior about how far some have gotten and how little others have. Wow. That really cut me. I try so hard not to do that. I've been alone, and been in less than desireable circumstances, and I've really tried not to do that to anyone. But, the way it cut me, evidently I've been guilty of that, or it wouldn't have bothered me that much. It's good of you to point it out and I know many will try to remember that in the future and would like to be reminded if they forget.

Crawlingtoy, finding innerstrength is as important, if not more important, than any amount of goods and items. All the items in the world won't help if a person doesn't have the inner stregth to survive for as long as possible for whatever good they may do. And divorce is a SHTF scenario and a true survival situation. So, in addition to being a prepper, you're a survivalist.

Dinghy you're another one that's admired for all you do, and helping the rest of us. You're one of the first to offer info on prices rising, current sales you've gotten, new recipes, dealing with family hardship. And you're appreciated and I hope you never feel "underprepped" because I think you're far more prepped than you give yourself credit for.

Roxann, you're another one, who is not only a "real prepper" but a survivalist. To accomplish all you've accomplished is no small task. And you're another one that tips us off to sales, better prices, and remembering our pets. I've often admired you when you speak of the amount of dog food you got. I've unloaded those big bags, bales of hay, bags of grain, and it's no small task.

I hope I didn't miss anyone who posted about this. If I did, I hope you all know how much you're admired, and respected. I hope you know that when some speak of their accomplishments, it's because of the hard work, the determination, the sacrifice that they've put into it. As have each and every one of you. When these threads come up, I hope you'll contribute as you have on this thread, and let us know the hardship, determination, and sacrifice. You all have more of an "atta boy or girl," than people who simply accumulate objects that they may or may not be able to take with them when/if things get real, real, bad.

 

[Dinghy]

Thanks Splicerswife, you're great!! The people on this board are the only ones I can talk to about prepping. I don't know anybody around here who believes in it. I'm grateful for all of you who boost our confidence, and share in our problems. Just like real life, you learn who you can count on to be your real friends!!

 

[Roxann]

I also want to thank you, Splicerswife . You made me feel better. I take my
prepping very seriously and am constantly trying to better my preps. Last year, I began using rain barrels. This summer, I will build my first solar panel.
Do I know how to build a solar panel?. No but I will by the end of this coming
summer.

Todd, my apology to you. Actually I wasn't referring to your post. We all do
the best we can under different circumstances. Your posts are interesting
and educational, IMHO.

 

[LilRose8]

Splicerswife....as usual, you are the consummate 'calmer of waters'.

It is nice to know that some folks appreciate how hard it is for the rest of us. Especially when life throws you a fast ball and you don't duck fast enough! All of us here, rich or poor, smart or dimwitted, fanatical or plodding.....we all have the same goal in mind. Protecting ourselves and the ones we love. How we manage it and how well we accomplish it are determined by so many variables that none of us can be in the same level as the others.
But, being appreciated for our efforts are important to everyone here.
This has been a good thread all in all.

 

[Deena in GA]

Todd is one of the best resources on this board. I'm glad that some of you have stated that you weren't referring to him, as I was becoming very defensive of him and don't want him so offended that he would leave. The board would be much poorer without him.

Splicerswife, thank you so much for all you said. It's always great to read your posts.

I think each of us who are doing the very best we can in our individual circumstances are true preppers - whether you have the ultimate bug out place or can live forever with no help from anyone for months or years or if you just have as much food and other stock as you can afford. It's knowledge that is our strength - the Lord even more so. Knowledge is what we are seeking on this board.

 

[CherylOK]

"I'm a Prepper,
You're a Prepper,
He's a Prepper,
She's a prepper,
Wouldn't you like to be a Prepper, too?"

(Oh, wait. It's "Pepper"!....Sorry.)

 

[Jef]

Well said Tweak....

 

[hummer]

For me so much of what is not done is because I don't know how---extra water drums in the basement but the hand pump to empty it I bought needs to be mounted on something and I can't read how to put the blasted thing together anyway.

But the biggest part is the lonliness of doing this alone and getting older which makes it all harder. Simple things like opening up my 5 gal buckets is almost impossible now. I hang on to the almost with a life grip and am putting alot of the stuff in jars so I don't have to wrestle the buckets.

Hi w2w......you hit on two really painful and important points......the loneliness and the getting older. After my divorce, even though I was surrounded by good neighbors and family that, at times, were able to come up and see us, the loneliness I felt was almost insurmountable. And only by the Grace of God and the fact that I knew I could never leave my children am I here today. But that is another story. As I look back on that time in my life I feel that I hit my own "The End Of The World....." then. And many of us here are hitting our own TEOTWAWKI on a daily basis......divorces, health problems, little or no $$$, no affordable place to live, no one to share this idea of "prepping" with, getting older with our bodies not being able to do what they did 2 years ago, depression, fears.....etc.....for some of us on this board society has already collapsed around us. But as I read I feel that we all are doing what we can... with what we have... in the given moments and circumstances that we are in. We are doing the best we can at the moment. And that's what is important............ And talking about this darn getting older!!!!!! What a pain in the damn butt!!!! I know what you mean by not being able to get those buckets open. I had to give up on the 2 like that I had....I use them now for paint. I also have gone to jars.....and vacuum sealing, and then bins. I am lucky.....I have a friend who stays here at times to visit and she helps me as she can.........but damn.....she is 82 years old!!!! Talking about the crippled leading the crippled! Some days we are just a hoot trying to get things done... ....yup, that's us. Hang in there w2w.....I wish so many of you lived closer.....As I said in my previous post on this thread......I really appreciate the board....and especially threads like this one.....and all of you. ......There I go rambling on again. hummer

 

[Charlie]

To Tweakette and others beating up on me. We have 3,000 PLUS members now. It is not like the old days. When I say there are only about 5% true preppers here, I really feel that way!

By preppers, I mean anybody doing to the best of their physical and financial ability to take the time to arrange for their own future survival. I am NOT trying to diss anybody here just because they have not achieved ZEN PREP. Sometimes I certainly come off that way, but it is not what is in my heart.

If you just started and are trying to set yourself up to simply survive for a week or two in a SHTF scenario I consider you a "prepper".

5% of 3 grand is 150 (if I did my math right) Think about it. How many preppers post really useful advice here?

Maybe I will up the number to 10%, but that is about it. The rest of the membership for the most part blather on and on about political crap, unexplained crap, conspiracy theories, etc.

Anyhow.....just trying to clear up any misunderstandings, but I stick to my guns that the ratio of preppers to non-preppers here is huge.

 

[Splicer205]

I'm so humbled by all your kind comments, that I don't know what to say. I hope you all look in the mirror, and say those things to yourself, because that's the way I see each and every one of you. When TSHTF, the ability to pass on kindness, uplift another person, give them encouragement and hope, will be more valuable than food, money, or any material possession.

I think Todd said it well when he said, "Folks, you are better then 99.999% of the people and you should hold your heads high and be seen as beacons of light! And, I'm serious about that."

How right he is.

 

[Chronicles]

uplifting image.

tough butt kicking cat.

 

[Splicer205]

I LIKE you Chronicles. You are funny!

 

[barb43]

Divorce is truly a SHTF scenario IMHO.

Let me add some perspective from having gone too far the other direction. Having a spouse die is truly a SHTF scenario too. When my husband died, shortly after Desert Storm in fall of '91, i went into a panic. That's when i became something of a prepper, i guess, tho' i really had no clue what i was doing.

I stocked up the freezer, the kitchen cabinets, bought extra clothes, bedding, flashlights, batteries, first aid gear . . . I was 34, with a 2-yr. old on my hip; we were living 15 miles out of town in the mountains, and i was terrified that i wouldn't be able to get through it (it = the winter, the next week, the next day, raising this baby alone . . . "it" was anything and everything in the future). I had no family here, except for my elderly mil, and we were very close, but she wasn't a lot of help (i took care of her for the next 3 years until she passed away).

As it turned out, i had gone way overboard. A 2-yr. old wasn't going to eat like an adult, and i had bought enough food for a family of 4-6, and a lot of that was perishable or at least had some kind of a shelf-life. The kiddo and i weren't home till late a lot of evenings anyway, which made cooking difficult. I ended up giving away a lot of the meat so that it wouldn't end up suffering from freezer burn and having to be tossed out. I also gave away some of the extra clothes, after about a year, and then held a couple of yard sales. After that, things began to settle down, even out, and make more sense.

When we started prepping for Y2K, i did a lot of long, hard thinking and praying beforehand, because i didn't want to be in the same boat as before. We did better that time - I didn't stock out of desperation; there was a written plan of sorts that we were working from; and things made more sense. We still eventually took a few bags of food like Hamburger Helper and pancake mix to the foodbank because we were never going to eat it all up.

So, my point is, it can be lonely to do this -- and it's easy to stock up on things that won't be eaten, used, etc. . . .

 

[SmartAZ]

A large part of the problem is that very few people have any clear idea about what to prepare FOR. I occasionally ask on various forums what "TSHTF" means to people, and the responses are not enlightening. Gun nuts carry on about guns, survival nuts carry on about camping equipment, homebodies carry on about toilet paper, and so forth. Nobody has any clear idea what they should prepare for.

It's fairly easy to prepare for a small scale local calamity, such as obliteration of your city. I have found one site that presents a clear description of actual collapse. It is The Coming Dark Age. They offer a free book and many smaller explanations. There are some differences to consider. A local calamity happens suddenly and you will probably lose everything you have stored, but there likely will be some sort of help from other people. A collapse might go on for decades or centuries and your ties to family and community become the most important parts of your life, strangers being excluded as enemies.

Download the book. It will tell you a lot of things you need to know to plan your preps.

 

[Guy_Incognito]

I prep to be hopefully be flexible enough to be able to adapt to conditions as they change, with some in reserve if things change quicker than I can adapt.

I don't "live for prep". I've plenty of other things that - in the society and lifestyle I lead - require my attention, time and money. But I believe that the most important thing to have is the right attitude, and that will help get you through tough situations the most. Of course, there's nothing like some good info and the company of like-minded people, which is why I'm here.

The fact that people are here posting - even just debating political stuff - is an indication that they're part of the population that's aware of the need to do something. That there's only 3000 members is a disturbing reminder of the great mass of people out there who simply have no idea of the old boy scout motto "be prepared".