The idea of this post is due to an unfortunate common line of thinking that keeps coming up here on the board. it is spawned by the idea of "be prepared!". How do I prepare, what can I do!11??!!, panicky and snarky comments then follow. We've seen many examples of SHTF in the past few years, the water problem in MS, the power issue in central TX, not to mention all the antifa rioting, and the recent situation in NC also gave me reason to revisit this topic. How many are prepared for things in general? Can you deal with no power for a few hrs if a storm hits, can you stop the bleeding from an accidental laceration, do your kids know who they can go to in the event you had an auto accident and no one can communicate with them? Simple questions, but in our easy access, amazon delivers tommorow society, things have become easy, made people soft, and forget skills and plans they should have. So I am not talking about welding 1/2" steel sheets inside your house to prevent incursion, nor inferring you having 50k rounds of ammo. I am speaking about being prepared in general. How resilient are you, are you self sufficient or how much do you depend on others? Something said in a video by a former SERE instructor lays the crux of what I am saying here, no one is coming to save you....
Using my first example, the power goes out, police, fire, EMS will sort out things by priority, the power company will more than likely have their hands full trying to figure out what happened and then get it fixed. If you stubbed your toe in the dark, guess what my friend, you are on your own. Probably on average, the time a first responder gets to you from initial call is 12 mins, If you do not have a plan of response, you might be in a bad way. In the simplest, you might lose the food in the fridge or freezer, worse case...who knows. Do you have a relative with medical needs that lives with you or at home alone, and a long term power issue might be cause for concern? In the various Q drops, it was expressed not to worry, fine don't worry, but don't rely on others to make preparations for you, or tell you everything will be alright. Sure, this post to some will sound like redneck prepper deluxe, I leave that decision up to you. Think about how you prepare for common, everyday events, you buy extra soap for the dish machine, you have toilet paper, you have extra beer...in case, you have 3 bags of doritos b/c you simply can't run out. But are you prepared for things that can actually affect you in a serious way?
Some of the points below repeated for emphasis:
Q/cabal specific:
What do you know that others don't about what is coming?
Have you told anyone you know about what is coming?
Are you going to tell anyone what is coming?
If so, are you explaining things to people?
In general:
Do you have an emergency plan if the power/water/etc go off? (and not b/c you didn't pay your bill)
Do you have a rendezvous plan with family/friends if things go sideways for a few weeks?
Are your vehicles maintained and is there extra fuel? Can you repair your own vehicles?
Do you have enough supplies to last for a while >3 weeks? (you need to figure out what you need)
Do you have a network with neighbors, family, friends, i.e. communication chain, and I don't mean with cell phones.
How self sufficient are you, do you have the ability or capability to help others who aren't?
Do you have any basic fieldcraft skills?
Can you use a P-38 can opener, do you even know what that is?
Can you cook for yourself w/o electricity or a microwave?
Do you have a working flashlight...that is fully charged, and do you know where it is?
Do you know any level of basic first aid or have an IFAK?
Are you in shape, can you run a mile in an emergency, can you lift a 200# piece of furniture off someone?
Have you laid out a venn diagram of who can do what between family/friends/neighbors?
That should be a good starting place for most. No offense, but people need to unplug from the world's influence once in a while(including here) and actually think things through without interference. Engage the logistic side of your brain and start planning things. Freaking out and panicking when trouble hits is NEVER how you deal with things. It's fine to pause and let the emotions loose afterwards, but during a crisis only induces more problems. When you control yourself, you can more easily function in any situation....calm, cool, collected.
Last few things here. This is about asking yourself if you are ready, please do not start posting how much of X you have, and so forth, who the hell knows what kinds are lurking this board, don't out yourself. Second, whatever gear you have, use it, practice with it, you can $50k of the finest camping/survival gear but if you are not familiar with it, it doesn't mean a damn thing. Same goes for being in shape, if you are a 300# fatbody and you need to get up a ladder quickly, is your heart going to stop you or the flood water rushing towards? Chance favors those who are prepared.
As a 72 year old boomer, I have lived many decades understanding that all the so called conveniences are held together with smoke and mirrors. I moved to a remote place 35 years ago, I have been a natural born prepper.. I can answer most of your questions yes, and I have raised my son with the sense of what is needed for survival, and what is not. Our only issue would be water, as the well is over 300 ft deep with a submerged pump, attached to our power. From my research, there is no way to get a generator on that, but have to research more. We have fresh clear water all around us though, and I store water also, and have water purification tablets. For able bodied folks living in cities, it is good to have a good pack with a tent, and a good bike, pedal or e. To scout the areas outside of the city to bug out in. Use empty detergent bottles , bleach bottles, etc for storing water for washing up. I heard stories about people saving canned goods, come only to find out, all they had was electric can openers.
I don't have one, but I know there are large capacitor sets you can get to help with the initial load on startup. It would go between a generator and your pump power so you don't need as large of a generator.
https://www.rpssolarpumps.com/recommended-solar-pump/
Easy enough to get power to the pump. Just need a generator capable of handling the inrush. You shouldn’t need anything ridiculously large, but need to know the pump horsepower. Most electricians can help you with that.
Easiest thing to do to begin is to simply buy extra food (non-perishable) & store it away every time you go shopping. 10% more than you need until you have a 3 months to a year extra.
Also stock up with meds/goods. If you run out of aspirin/Tylenol/ibuprofen/bandages/alcohol/allergy meds/deodorant/toilet paper/matches/lighters/batteries/etc... Buy 2 every time you run our of 1.
Very, very well said. Make the sacrifice if needed to get extra every time. Have a place to put the "backstock" and deem it untouchable. The only reason to be in these supplies is to rotate the new foods in and eat the foods getting close dated. Batteries as well to some extent.
F.I.F.O.
Prepping is a very individualized endeavor, and most on this board should be already prepped to hunker down for an adequate period of time. You bring up good points and reminders and scenarios to think through. So if you're here and haven't taken prepping seriously, you would be well advised to start and to do so very quickly.
What’s the formula for dealing with those entitled gimmedats that don’t prepare and hunker down? I ask honestly because this angle is often missing from these discussions.
Help the helpless, the clueless are on their own.
2nd Amendment
5.56
X = Shotgun for in-home + 5.56 if outdoors/at range + handgun if options 1 or 2 run out
Carry the 1.
I foresee a lot of people having to do some hard labor to make up for their lack of planning.
I am in the camp of not being “Captain Save a Hoe” the vast majority of people I encounter DO NOT WANT TO WAKE UP. At this point the people who are awake are awake and the people that want to know the harsh truth have started on that path. The others will have to be forced to be awake. If someone asks me about the stuff I will tell them but I don’t waste any time trying to red pill people anymore. And quite frankly a lot of the NPC leftists don’t deserve to be saved.
I am only focused on myself and my tribe. The analogy I have been using lately is this. We are on the Titanic. A time traveler has come and told us with evidence that in 3 hours the Titanic is gonna hit the iceberg. This is where society is currently economically, morally and socially. This ship is gonna hit the iceberg. Running around trying tell people the ship is gonna sink is a complete waste of time and energy. People will think we’re crazy, insane etc because they can’t comprehend that the ship will sink.
Being awake though is like having that 3 hr head start from the time traveler. Right now we need to loot the ship for all the food and valuable items we can load on and some life rafts and get off the ship. We do not want to go down with the NPC’s and normies.
Currently normies are too comfortable to wake up. The ship has not hit the iceberg yet. Until the iceberg hits and the petro dollar collapses and/or vax issues become undeniable we’re just wasting our time with normies. Their denial, cognitive etc. will only be removed once the comfort is disrupted by hitting the iceberg.
I know that we’re supposed to help wake people up but currently I just don’t think things are bad enough yet. If some of you want to try then go ahead but I am focused on loading up my life raft.
Your post reminds me of the fable of the grasshopper and the ants. If only people would listen, and you're right, most don't. Too bad for them.
There was a Twilight Zone episode where the earth was moving too close to the sun, and I remember one scene where a guy is offering a lot of money to catch a ride to the northern latitudes where conceivably it would be cooler, and another tells him "Your money isn't good anymore!" How prophetic.
Can’t save them all. The normies and NPC’s of this country don’t understand how fiat money works so they cannot comprehend or understand what will happen if the BRICS nations and others trade oil outside of the petro dollar. For me to explain this to them they would need the general curiosity to want to understand which they do not have. So therefore it is a waste of time and energy to even try.
Like I said they will not even begin to understand until the ship hits the iceberg and they feel it. People like you and me will have already left the ship in our life rafts. They will be fucked but whatever they made that choice.
My life raft has guns, food, ammo, medical supplies, silver, cash, survival equipment etc. and I will watch the ship sink and while my situation won’t be luxurious at least I am not drowning or freezing to death.
"Nobody is coming to save you" - and do you REALLY trust FEMA to be fast and effective? Best case they'll show up in three days - and it gets worse quickly. You have the responsibility to care for and protect your family and yourself.
I have done most of what has been described. Not because I'm afraid of the fabled "Zombie Apocalypse" or "Mad Max" but because stuff happens. Not IF it happens but WHEN. Severe weather happens - poser is out, trees are down and roads are blocked, Car wrecks happen. Sometimes someone else's car wreck means lost power. Lost jobs and wages happen all while prices are on a rocket ride.
This is NOT fear porn or doom and gloom - not advocating living in a bunker for a year on MREs and lifeboat bars, just some small common sense steps. This is insurance against things that are most likely to happen - just like car, home and medical insurance that you hope your will never have to use.
FEMA is the entity that will put the boot on your neck.
Posers are the worst.😬
The wife, myself, two little dogs, 1.5 acres, food, water, ammo and a generator. Think we've got it just about covered, at least for a little while.
It looks like my hobby of collecting and restoring Coleman lanterns and stoves, will turn out to be an asset.
I work for a "non" profit and carry the keys to the warehouse where we store "20 yr" MRE's/disaster supplies plus live in FL where fresh water abounds.
That said...
Trust the Plan. Patriots in control... gonna love how this ends.
Never live in fear, you're only feeding [them]
If it gets that bad I am looting as much grain as I can from the brewery I work at. 55LB bags of flaked oats will go a long way.
My rule is never lay up what you don’t mind losing to someone bigger and stronger or more determined. Being an ant is smart….there are grasshoppers unfortunately.
"Do you have a rendezvous plan with family/friends if things go sideways for a few weeks?" That has been our biggest priority - in the hope that having each other is what counts. Although also well aware of the distance problem for this
I don't really have friends and have zero family in the area, so I plan to stay put.
I lose power for 5-6 days a year because I live in an area that has many tall trees. My neighbor kindly let me borrow his generator last year. A generator still isnt in the cards for me this year, but I am looking to build a small power system to run my (natural gas) heater if we lose power again. It really only takes 200ish watts to run the heater ignitor and fan. My heater is already wired to a plug, and plugged into an outlet in my garage. What I plan to do is find 2-3 car batteries and wire them in parallel. Then, use an inverter (1000w) connected to the batteries to convert the voltage to 110. Then I turn off the circuit breaker, use a male to male cord (make sure you know what you are doing if you do this) and plug it into the same outlet my heater is plugged into. Power! Then, I can use the car and a battery charger to charge the batteries furing the day (or just run the inverter off of the car) and then run on battery power through the night. Not a generator, but better than freezing.
I was amazed at how much power a lithium phosphate battery would hold compared to the lead acid & how quickly they charge on a couple of panels.
Not a perfect system, but works in a crunch & will power all my family needs in a camper if the worst case happens.
I have heat in one room that doesn't require electricity at all. It's propane with no blower. The room is over 400 sq. ft., so there's room to stay in it indefinitely.
Tall trees...install a wood burning stove. Never worry about batteries for heat.
Wife and I are offgrid outside a small town. We've now got long term food storage that should keep us fed for 9 plus months. Water is from a shallow well that we hoist and haul by hand. Power is from small-scale solar with small generator for winter doldrums and running power tools. This doesn't mean we've got nothing to worry about, just less. Things could very easily go south for us depending on the scenario we encounter. Fingers crossed.
ALL prepper chats, videos etc list material things you need, homesteading type skills you must have, camping tips and tricks, but none of them focus on what is the most important: the training of the mind to achieve control over your own body for survival when you have nothing.
Start super training your mind.
When you are properly self-trained, you stop being so freaked out about having nothing. Whatever you have can be taken, then what.
I appreciate your response.
I ran out of all my 10 days of darkness food again.
Water wells. Geo-Thermal. & Solar…. Completely off grid communities could be set up w/ the Quickness…
We happen to live between the main power transformer site and the hospital, so if the power goes out, our road is among the first to have electricity restored. If it snows hip deep, we can stay home indefinitely. There's nowhere we have to go, since we're both retired and have plenty of things stored. We have alternate heat, but we can survive without heat completely, although it won't be fun.
I was thinking about this today..all the food I have stored and wondering if and when I would need it. I know all about asking for time frames, but I’m asking for your thoughts. I hope it’s not this winter.
YES, that is all.
Physical overhaul... start here
https://www.movnat.com/beginners-guide-movnat/
I also like the "convict conditioning" books and the "you are your own gym" book as well.
Good post
I'm moving out of my family home. I have 21 boxes of food ..but not the time or money to take it w me. I wish I could just stay here. But I gave up battling the nursing home. So distilled down to 5 ammo is good. Have a water bob for potable water and 3 big water jugs for non ingesting use.....box of sterno canisters just need to get more medical and TP. Hoping its enough..going to miss the high ground and proximity to the woods here......I wish this would just blow already.
I am offgrid partially due to going through these sorts of questions years ago. Because the grid itself is a choke point. But for those who go this route or at least move more in this direction, always look for the additional choke points in your own plans and systems. Basic redundancy and resiliency that you incorporate is more critical than specific product brands, gadget versatility/convenience, or amazon reviews.