Carving Order from Chaos: The Commanding Case for Prepping
Look at all the natural disasters that have happened in this country over the years and all the people that have been displaced, and you should be asking the question: Is prepping a good idea for us?
I try to research all the worst-case scenarios and disaster preparedness actions for keeping my family and pets safe and fed no matter what type of crisis comes my way. I hope you realize that prepping is and should be on your mind before a crisis comes crashing down.
Is It Worth Prepping?
I realize it’s a lot of thought and work, but it is worth it.
Many ‘nay-sayers’ out there will try to convince you that prepping wastes time and money. “Don’t worry; the government (FEMA) has your back!”
Is that your solution? Getting on the FEMA line? Good luck with that!
This year, in this country alone, millions will be forced to leave their homes and businesses due to some natural disaster.
What will you do if one of those people is you, your spouse, and your kids?
Whatever you do, don’t get discouraged; you are making progress by learning what steps will help you prepare for the worst and take action. You’re already much better off than you started a few months ago. Just think of where you’ll be after a year!
Navigating Uncertainty: The Bold Blueprint of Master Preppers
You will have some setbacks, but don’t let that discourage you.
Making decisions on what to and what not to get, how much this will cost, it is all worth it are valid questions to ask yourself.
Making mistakes is part of learning anything, and it’s better you do it now than in a crisis scenario when every decision may become a life-or-death situation.
Here are ten prepping mistakes some make (and I have) so you don’t have to:
1. Talking too much about what you’re doing
There seems to be a natural desire within all of us to share what we are doing. The urges get even worse when we’re excited. We want others to know about our lives and share what we are doing.
Now is the time to be a little selfish.
The problem with letting others know what you are doing is that those people might become your worst enemies in a crisis. If they haven’t prepared and their kids are hungry, they’ll remember that you have stockpiles aplenty and come knocking on your door.
Trust me; I’ve already seen it happen. I tried convincing my family and some close friends that they should be prepping, too. Their reaction was to say, “I know whose house I’m going to when things get bad.”
Are you expecting company???
Remember, things are going to be bad for you, also. Do you want to share your kids’ food with some lazy neighbors?
I can’t stockpile enough to care for my family and everyone else; neither can you. So be careful who you share with.
2. Obviously, fortifying your home
There’s a lot of prepping information out there that talks about fortifying your home in the case of an attack. Unfortunately, too much of it is written using the wrong assumptions. They either expect the power to be on or everyone to be blind.
What would you think if you saw a house surrounded by a ten-foot-high cement wall dotted with security cameras? There couldn’t be a more obvious sign that you are turning your home into a fortress. That must mean you have something inside that’s worth guarding.
Like talking too much, fortifying your home makes you a target.
You should fortify your home, but do it in a way that isn’t obvious. That way, you won’t be inviting the curious.
3. Having a conspicuous bug-out vehicle
Some bug-out vehicles that people are coming up with are rather funny. Oh, they’ll probably work out fine … that is, they’ll work fine until people realize what’s going on. Then they’ll invite an attack.
Take, for example, an armored car that someone made out of a Chevy Suburban. It even had a cattle catcher like the old train locomotives. That bug-out vehicle looked like it could take on anything.
Then again, that cattle catcher doesn’t do them much good if people park a dozen vehicles in the middle of the road. They might be able to push one aside, but there’s no way they can push a dozen aside.
So keep a bug-out vehicle, preferably one that you drive every day. Just don’t make it look like a bug-out vehicle.
Just have your ready-to-go bug-out bags already in the trunk of your plain-looking vehicle.
If nobody in your city has a four-wheel-drive truck and you do, your preparedness will be a bit obvious.
4. Not having a bug-out plan
Lots of preppers are planning on staying put instead of bugging out. I agree with that. You have more resources in your home to help you survive than anywhere else.
Even so, you still need a bug-out plan. There may come a time when it’s impossible for you to stay at home. When that time comes, you need a plan so that you can get out, and you need a place that you can go to. Otherwise, your family may end up in a ‘bad way.’
5. Buying equipment but not learning how to use it
Really? What good does that fancy equipment do you if you never learn to use it? I’ve seen this happen. Some preppers like to brag about their fancy equipment … that’s still in the original wrapping.
And then the power goes out, and three days later, they do not know how to start that generator.
If you’ve got it, then learn how to use it. I don’t just mean trying it once but becoming truly proficient. You need to be able to use it without thinking about it; that’s proficiency.
6. Not training
This may seem like a duplication of the last one, but it isn’t. Learning how to use things is one thing; having a plan of action and practicing it is another.
Take firearms, for example. There are lots of people out there who have guns but rarely shoot. They must think that shooting is instinctive or something. When faced with an adversary, they won’t know what to do.
And that is the number one reason I do not condone firearms ownership. Most people will not properly train themselves and make the gravest of mistakes.
7. Forgetting Plan B
If you need something to survive, you need a backup. The backup doesn’t need to be the same – and probably shouldn’t be. But it needs to be something that will accomplish the same goal.
Take water purification, for example. What will you do if your fancy water purification system goes down? You need something else you can use should the worst happen.
Critical equipment is just that: critical, Which means you absolutely have to have it. But survival gear can fail like anything else designed and built by man. When it does, you need something else that you can count on. Otherwise, you might not make it.
8. Not including your family in their prepping
Prepping needs to be a family activity. When the crisis hits, and there is confusion and fear in the air, your whole family must work together to survive. If you’re the only one who knows how to do anything, you will have a hard time and quickly lose your patience.
Spread the workload around and get everyone involved. That will also help them overcome the shock that often sets in when things go bad.
9. Planning on going it alone
Unless your name is Rambo, you can’t make it alone. You need to find other like-minded individuals and make plans to work together.
Houses burn down, flood, and have roofs blown off.
That might mean you or your neighbors must abandon homes and gather together to find other means of shelter.
Survival is an all-consuming game. There’s a lot you’ll need to do. On top of that, you’ll need to be able to defend yourselves. Having others by your side will make that much easier to do.
10. Waiting for a “better time” to get started
Let me answer this one… there is no better time!
The time is now.
The longer you wait, the worse things will be. So the only good option is to start now.
Well, there you have it, the top ten mistakes preppers make. I hope you haven’t made any of them, and I hope this letter will help keep you from making them.
So, how is your home? Is it ready for a catastrophe?
