Start Prepping Here – The “Why” You Do The Things You Do

Everyone has reasons for everything that they do, even when they don’t know what those reasons are.   Sometimes people may even know why they are doing what they are doing, but they can’t even express it in words.  Our prepping has reasons behind it too.

Why We Do What We Do Defines Us

There are so many reasons that we could prepare! Let’s explore some of the reasons to start prepping.

(1) The people you know and love – or at least those who know what you’ve got.

I am going to guess that the very vast majority of the people who find themselves on this website have people that they care about.  Most of us have families.  Some of your families may only consist of two people.  Either you haven’t had kids or you are empty nesters, but that doesn’t mean that you and your spouse are the only ones that you may want to prep for.

Do you have neighbors that you know would need help if a difficult situation happened to them?  I’m not LDS, but I was recently speaking with one of my blog readers who is LDS.  She said that their church is now saying that people should store food in order to be able to help out their neighbors in a crisis.

If there was a crisis would people from your church show up on your doorstep needing help?  It’s not too hard to have opsec (Operational Security i.e. not telling people what you have) when you don’t speak with some people constantly.  My neighbors, I don’t believe, know what we have in our basement.  People from church who helped move us in, on the other hand, know pretty much exactly what I have in our basement.

(2) You don’t trust the government

In my estimate, there are very few people who trust the government today.  I didn’t vote for our current president, and I didn’t vote for his main competitor.  I don’t trust what’s being done, and I am just as concerned by what could have been if Hillary had been elected.  And I know I’m not the only one.

Whether you lean left or right there are things about this country that get your dander up.  No matter who is controlling the Senate or the House of Representatives or is in the oval office, things are not going to be exactly what anyone wants.  Being prepared for something REALLY not going the way that you want is only a smart move.

(3) You live in an area prone to natural disasters  

No matter where you live in the country, you probably live in an area prone to some kind of natural disaster.  Those that live in the Northeast are prone to terrible winter storms.  Those that live in the coastal south or the east coast, you’re in for a hurricane at some point.  If you live in or west of the Rockies, you may be in for wildfires.  In the west, in the Rockies, there are mudslides.  Those in the middle of the country aren’t don’t get out scot-free.  They have to contend with tornadoes.

(4)  You’re just hard-wired that way

The more I learn about myself, the more I realize that while I have other reasons for prepping too, being prepared is hardwired into me. The following was written about my personality type:

ESTJs can be surrounded by disaster and disorder and pull everything together in a practical, no-nonsense way. They can easily see a goal, fixate on important details, and lead everyone in the most efficient direction. They are no-nonsense, practical, and have strong leadership skills. According to the MBTI® Manual, ESTJs ranked first of all 16 types in using cognitive coping resources. These leaders can keep a level head and maintain control even when the world is going haywire.

Another article says about my personality type:

You Are Always Prepared

When the ship is capsizing or someone is trying to foil your plans, you have a contingency plan. In fact, you probably have contingency plans for your contingency plans. You have an agenda, a plan B, a plan C, and the determination and confidence to surpass whatever obstacle comes your way.

What are you prepping for?

Once you understand why you’re preparing, then you need to tackle the what of your prepping or what you are prepping for.  Don’t just assume that you are prepping for TEOTWAWKI – the end of the world as we know it.  If, as a new prepper, everything was geared toward that, you’d get too overwhelmed too easily.

Ask yourself:  What is most likely to happen to me in the next year?  Start there and don’t worry about the next steps yet.

There are so many things that can happen to each of us in the next year.  Let’s start with something that’s a very short-term event.  1-5 days.  What could happen to you that would keep you from getting out and around or buying supplies?

Here are some suggestions:  

• Winter storm
• Flood
• Wildfire
• Tornado
• Severe thunderstorm
• Hurricane
• Unexplained water outage
• Electrical outage

These things will only take your regular services out of commission for, generally, 1-5 days.  So, which are the most likely to happen to you this next year?  Choose 3 of these and label them 1, 2, and 3; in the order that you believe is the most likely to happen to the least likely to happen.

Each of these natural disasters come with their own difficulties and preparations, but several things are common to all of them.

(1)  You need to stock a minimum of 5 days worth of easily cooked or not needing to be cooked food.

(2)  You need a minimum of 5 days of water.  Plan for 1 gallon per person per day.  If you have 5 people in your family, then you need 5 gallons per day or a minimum of 25 gallons.

(3) You need a way to see in the dark.  Do you have multiple light sources?  If you plan to use flashlights, do you have batteries for them?

(4) You will probably need a way to heat food.

(5) You will need a way to use the restroom and wash your hands because several of these can knock out your water supply.

(6) You may need a way to heat or cool your house.

(7) You will need things to keep yourself or your kids busy.

 Emergency Specific Items:

Flood  

Do you live in a floodplain?  If you do, and you know that you do, you need to have a way to take care of your family if you get hit by a flood.  It could be as simple as a canoe (not that a canoe isn’t expensive – just simple).

Wildfire

If you live in an area prone to wildfires, you may want to invest in an air filtration mask for each member of your family.  It might sound severe, but it’s important for everyone to be able to breathe.  You also need to be able to see.  There are expensive wildfire goggles or you could get goggles much less expensive that would work just as well.

Hurricane

If you live in an area prone to hurricanes, then you need to to make sure that you have plywood cut to fit your windows.  You also need to make sure that you have screws or other fasteners to affix the plywood to your window frames.

Tornado

Make sure that you have a shelter.  This is more tricky because normally you can’t just ‘buy’ a tornado shelter (at least not without thousands of dollars).  Find a place in your house that is at the lowest level.  Preferably a room without windows at the center of your house.  Do what you can do to provide yourself with these minimal things.

What About You?

What is your why?  Do you prep specifically for people or maybe because you live in a disaster-prone area?  Do you have the basics to cover your family in those seven areas for up to five days?  I’d love to hear.  Leave a comment below and let us all know your thoughts!

Remember knowledge isn’t just knowing something.  It’s living it!

There are links in this post.  Some of the links may be affiliate links.  Some of the links may not be.  My promise to you is that I will only recommend the most economical version of the best quality of items to serve you. These are the items that I buy for my own family.  You can feel free to use my affiliate links, of which I will get a small amount in compensation, or you can choose to search out your products on your own.