Thank you Saeed for starting this forum!
If you are a “Prepper” or a prepared person or a self sufficient individual or perhaps a homesteader or just a person interested in learning, chime in and let’s learn from each other. The outcome will be greater than input but I hope to have great input. let’s post here to have a kind of roll call and give a level of experience you may have. I myself am somewhat in the middle with supplies, skills and tools but love self sufficiency.

Whenever this subject gets brought up I always joke that it's not prepping if you have to do it all the time!

However, before I go off let me explain what I mean. This is a pic taken around this time last year from the county where I live:



Last year both the Mississippi and Illinois rivers flooded and lasted several months that way. Many people who commuted to work had to stay somewhere else, either renting or sleeping on a couch at a relatives house and getting groceries was a half to all day adventure. Most of the phone lines were underwater so landlines were out for 3-5 months in most cases (also, if you did not call in and specifically state your phone was out you were billed the entire time! I had called mine in and for the time mine was out I was given a $40 credit as they had marked repaired earlier and he no record of the service ticket numbers I was given that I didn't write down- never again!)

Anyway, to me the whole concept of "prepping" is not about seeing how many rounds of ammo you can stash in your house but finding the happy medium of living your life to the fullest extent you can and being as self reliant and responsible as possible. Of course a lot of that goes against American Consumerism but you need to look at the big picture too.

And yeah I can talk about generators and wood heat and chickens and gardening and all that other stuff too but IMHO "prepping" is not about living somewhere surrounded by guns, ammo and food but about being aware of who you are and where you are and making responsible decisions constantly on how to best live your life, and possibly making the world a tiny bit better place at the same time.

A couple more pics:

Mark: I absolutely applaud your view of prepping being based on the study of self-reliance and responsibility.
Thank you for your post.

For me it is simple.

Tea and tobacco are vital to me so I have a huge supply of tea, sugar and powdered milk and of course tobacco. Also a heap of Whey Isolate protein and heaos of 2 multi vitamin/minerals.

I fought through the COVID zombies busy hording toilet paper and bought two cases of The Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak Scotch, another case of Bombay Sapphire, one case of Robert Craig Affinity Cab, one case of The Prisoner Cab (for obvious reasons), and a case of Prisoner Cuttings. Doing my part to keep small business alive through these difficult times.

Should get us through next week - if we cut back a little. Difficult times, difficult decisions.

I like the cut of your jib.
Alcohol is needed for long periods of seclusion.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
I fought through the COVID zombies busy hording toilet paper and bought two cases of The Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak Scotch, another case of Bombay Sapphire, one case of Robert Craig Affinity Cab, one case of The Prisoner Cab (for obvious reasons), and a case of Prisoner Cuttings. Doing my part to keep small business alive through these difficult times.

Should get us through next week - if we cut back a little. Difficult times, difficult decisions.

Agree Mark! Prepping is local in terms of what you need is different for where you live.

Ammo, as well as liquor, is a great barter material.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
Ammo, as well as liquor, is a great barter material.

I used to think this but discovered it is wrong. The people with the knowledge to use things such as guns usually have thought a tiny bit ahead and also have some self discipline. If you want to know what the really desirable things are think of Coffee, sugar, CIGARETTES!!, booze as you said, and instant meals. Most items that require some self discipline to learn or use, those people have already thought about the "what ifs" already.

And regarding toilet paper, just buy a couple packs of cheap washcloths, walmart sells 36 for around $10 and keep a bucket with some salt water by the toilet. Wipe your butt then toss the washcloth in the bucket of saltwater. When you run out of washcloths dump the bucket in the washing machine and wash them.

Dont laugh but about 4 or 5 years ago I bought a 50 pack of those red shop towels from Harbor Freight just for this purpose but they're still in the wrapper. However it's always nice to have a plan for eventualities and I do have to say I did a double take when the Great TP Panic of 2020 hit.

good to know

quote:

Originally posted by Mark:
And regarding toilet paper, just buy a couple packs of cheap washcloths, walmart sells 36 for around $10 and keep a bucket with some salt water by the toilet. Wipe your butt then toss the washcloth in the bucket of saltwater. When you run out of washcloths dump the bucket in the washing machine and wash them.

Dont laugh but about 4 or 5 years ago I bought a 50 pack of those red shop towels from Harbor Freight just for this purpose but they're still in the wrapper. However it's always nice to have a plan for eventualities and I do have to say I did a double take when the Great TP Panic of 2020 hit.

True Mark, Coffee + cigarettes have always been at a premium on the black market. When my little sister was in the missionary service in Czeck in the 90s I would send her cartons of Marlboros as they were worth more than money for services required.