# If you could tell a new prepper one thing, what would it be?



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I was just thinking. If you had some one come to you and ask the #1 thing they should know, what would I tell them?

I think I would tell them to learn all the old ways they could.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Don't go off the deep end. Prep for natural disasters first instead of prepping for the end of the world as we know it. Zombies and the end of the world have a lot in common. You can't count on either. You won't be disappointed if you prepare for Mother Nature.

If in doubt read about Y2K.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I&#8217;d say take inventory of what you buy, what you eat, and what you use. For real. Go through the cupboards, be realistic. If you don&#8217;t eat beans, then don&#8217;t stock up on beans until you have learned how to cook them so your family thinks beans are a treat. Any food you will be stuck with during a scary time should be giving your family a feeling of comfort.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

learn to rotate stored food, only store up what you really eat, not 10000 pounds of rice and nothing else because you think thats all you need to eat. other wise you just waste your money. I had 4 months of no income and I am glad I had my stored food, but I had alot of things I eat but not enough things the kids will eat. ie kids dont eat Spam. And store dry goods in jars so no moisture can get to it. And store in smaller portions in vac bags then in glass or cans so mice dont get it. I had stored in zip lock bags and vac bags but put them in under bed plastic storage boxes and mice chewed holes in that plastic storage boxes and then into the vac and zip lock bags. And it was not years since I stored it. store extra empty clean jars and bags. Matches salt/pepper paper products trash bags cups paper plates. bleach. think no power, how will you cook, clean ect. wash clothes. feed pets and critters.


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## oneraddad (Jul 20, 2010)

Plant fruit trees today !


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## gweny (Feb 10, 2014)

1) That life is short and not to worry and stress to the point that they don't enjoy each and every day. What's the point of surviving if my life isn't worth living? 

2) have fun with it! Learning old but new to me skills is a lot of fun. I find joy in every task and a sense of accomplishment in every filled and sealed 5 gallon bucket. 

OK that's 2 things, but they are basically the same message.


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

This is what works for me, and it's never failed me yet. Considering the ton of seriously hard knocks I've had in the past 50+ years, that's saying a mouthful, f'sure.

The best advice I can give is this:

Living a simple lifestyle now can help you to keep things in perspective: _Don't prepare to survive hard times, prepare so that you don't even notice them._ That way you can view preparedness not as a means of hiding from the storm, but learning to make the best use of the "wind and rain" until the sun shines again...however long that takes.

Of course it makes sense to prepare and to hone your skills/knowledge base for the most likely scenarios first. Once those bases are reasonably covered, then prepare for the worst. And if the worst catches me the least bit &#8220;short-handed&#8221;, I won't be terrified (Heb. 13:5-6; Isaiah 41:10, 13, Deut. 31:6-8). Adversities have lead to the discovery of strengths that I did not have before (2 Corinthians 4:7).

I believe true survival depends more on what is inside my head and heart than whatever gear, supplies or physical strength I may (or may not) have. 

Having a positive mental attitude and good spiritual health means I have the right tools I need to cope with anything, to endure anything. But my endurance is not completely dependent on personal strength. Through prayer, my best friend Jehovah God abundantly supplies endurance, and also valuable wisdom from the Scriptures, from which I can draw from to deal with any difficulties. (Romans 15:4,5; James 1:5). 

Highest on my list of preps: Learning and mastering (through regular use) as many self-sufficient skills as I reasonably can, and acquiring broad-spectrum knowledge, which includes a diligent and continual study of the the Scriptures, and closely following its principles. The Scriptures are much like a complete &#8220;owner's manual&#8221; that covers&#8212;in principle&#8212;every make and model of human tribulation. Along with any problem anyone could possibly encounter, a time-tested solution is given.




.


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## Tex- (May 18, 2014)

Slow down. It is impossible to prep for every eventuality.

Take an assessment of what is most likely to happen in your area and prep for that.

Do not feel as if you have to get everything tomorrow. 

It is very easy to get overwhelmed, so don't be afraid to go at a slow, but deliberate pace.

Don't forget to live.




Tex


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## countrytime (Sep 23, 2012)

Teach your children everything you can to live simply, build things, garden, can, raise and process meat animals, hunting, etc... for they are the future and nothing is more important than for them to learn. They may never need these skills, but one never knows what the future holds, and they may come in handy or even be a life saver at some point in their lives.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

First thing I would tell them is "you're late!" You should have started prepping before you even knew what it was!You don't have to know everything but you do need to know how to find out anything!Gather an abundance of information,all tangible,hard copy material. The internet may not be there.Learn to do without NOW,so you won't have to do without later.


Wade


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

you can not live long without water...be able to filter rain water , or have some other source.


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

CajunSunshine...nice to see you posting again....:dance:


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## Glade Runner (Aug 1, 2013)

One stop at a time, slow and steady wins this race.


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## TripleD (Feb 12, 2011)

Get out of DEBT and stay out !!!!!


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## Oggie (May 29, 2003)

The end of your world is far more likely to come about through the long-established natural process of life (and death).

Remaining fit and healthy as long as possible into your senior years is probably far more valuable then 200 cases of canned meat.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

The safest place is in the center of God's will. We are told to store up treasures in Heaven, not on Earth.

I feel that many will be judged harshly for passing by the hungry when they had their pantries full of food stored against some future personal calamity.


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## NJ Rich (Dec 14, 2005)

Don't try to prep all at once. Think about how you will cook if the power or gas was off. Do you have the items you need to remain healthy and clean in any event? Do you have a plan to move away from danger such as a huge storm. Do you have a family contact plan? In the event of a large scale outage cell phones maybe jammed by callers trying to reach loved ones. Does your family have a prearranged meeting place.

These are few things to think about. Some are just planning. Some are prep guides and there is a lot of info here on HT. Preparing cannot be done quickly and planning will help you through it.

Never be afraid to ask questions here. This forum has most of the answers and people are ready and willing to help. I know that was a lot more than one thing..... LOL *Plan your work and work your plan...* NJ Rich :cowboy:


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

Follow the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). Start slowly. Learn first buy second. Step one - cooking from scratch will help you stretch your grocery budget which will in turn allow you to afford to buy preps. Then learn to garden, process food (can, freeze, dehydrate, store), do home repairs, sew, knit, shoot, fish, hunt and anything else you can think of that might help you should the SHTF. 

Read various view points on prepping and decide where you fit. 

Keep a running list of equipment and supplies you want/need and watch thrift shops, garage sales, auctions and end of season sales for these items. Tell friends and family members what you're looking for and maybe someone will have what you need and gift it to you. Do not go overboard with buying equipment before first thinking long and hard about how much it is needed, will be used, etc. Gardening is a good case in point -- you can spend a fortune buying gardening equipment when in fact a basic spade, shovel, spading fork, plus a couple hoes and trowels is all you really need to get started. If you really need to use a tiller, rent one.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

Go read SEP on HT
then
:run:


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Ignore all the doom and gloom salesmen that are more interested in taking your money than teaching you how to prep the right way for the right reasons.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

you can't buy prepping , you can buy food , you can buy supplies , but you can't buy the sense and knowledge to put the parts together , so think and learn and test , rethink - learn how everything you can works.

oh and eat what you store and store what you eat


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Sinse I'm not really a preper, but a homesteader I look at things- learn how to do things for yourself to save $, buy the things you can't make yourself. In there somewhere you will find you won't be so lost if you have to do without "store" stuff.


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## bigjon (Oct 2, 2013)

learn to cover your tracks,and your own butt


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## Aintlifegrand (Jun 3, 2005)

Eliminate debt especially any on your home first before anything else


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Be gentle with yourself when you make mistakes, learn from them and keep going. Never stop learning, don't stress over the big picture - take small manageable projects and master them before moving on. Don't get overwhelmed with trying to learn and do it all because it takes years (decades, even) to get a homestead and all the needed skills in place. And the work will never be done. Make friends with like minded people, especially older folks who have been doing this for most of their life. Simplify your life - your finances, your needs, and your schedule. And don't be discouraged by the MANY people you'll meet who think homesteading is silly or that you can buy cheaper than growing/canning/butchering/making it yourself.


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## biggkidd (Aug 16, 2012)

You need land before a cart or horse.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

7thswan said:


> Sinse I'm not really a preper, but a homesteader I look at things- learn how to do things for yourself to save $, buy the things you can't make yourself. In there somewhere you will find you won't be so lost if you have to do without "store" stuff.


Your statement about not being a prepper, but being a homesteader has a lot of merit. Before "prepping" and "survivalist" there were old fashioned farmers and homesteaders. Our great grandparents just lived it, but didn't call it anything but Country Life.


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## Win07_351 (Dec 7, 2008)

live simply as much as possible.


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## montysky (Aug 21, 2006)

Make sure your family is on board, makes things a lot easier.


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## NJ Rich (Dec 14, 2005)

montysky said:


> Make sure your family is on board, makes things a lot easier.


Members of your family may not agree with your prepping. But be assured they will knock on your door if things go bad.

My oldest son says, "Nothing is going to happen Dad". He recently bragged he had more than a weeks worth o food in the house. "Oh... Really"!

My wife is on or off preparing depending on the day. I have food she doesn't know about. LOL :nana:

When Hurricane Sandy hit us she gained a better understanding of how prepared I was. Since the electric was out for almost 13 days the only thing she didn't have was TV. "Oh poor girl will you live"?

Don't wait for approval from your family members. If you want approval come here among friends. Do what is right for your own peace of mind and safety. You will sleep much better. :zzz:

Best to ya, NJ Rich


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

The most important thing to start, Patience! with yourself the world your situation. Getting frettful just burns excess energy stying loose keeps you open to new thing and possible steps ahead!
Dutch


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## CountryCabin (Mar 8, 2007)

All the above is excellent. 

My advice? 
Don't go and broadcast it to everyone around of what you have put back. 

Gossip has a way of traveling extremely fast, mainly if trouble is afoot.
There maybe be panic first, until their 'light' comes on. 
Ah ha! so and so told me, they had food, water, etc. stashed away.

Remember the old saying? 
Loose lips sink ships.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Hold the things of earth lightly and the things of Heaven tightly.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Deep breath

Read, read and read some more on any topic that crosses your mind

Go slow, we all did. Even though it sounds like we "have it all" know that it took us YEARS to get to where we are, don't even try to "catch up" in 3 months!

You'll never be done....once the "door is open" it will never be closed again, lol.


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

Never bring home any animal that you do not have an adequate way to house, hold, feed and water. I have seen many people be given a free whatever (pig, goat, horse, etc.) and bring it home without anything in place to deal with it. Then they end up putting it in substandard housing, cages, or fencing and it gets loose all the time so they have to go chasing it around the countryside and paying for damages it causes. It may also eat stuff it shouldn't in the substandard housing/pasture and get sick, creating a big, fat vet bill. The new owner may have to haul feed or especially water a long and inconvenient distance every.single.day to keep the animal alive.

All of which can wear out your enthusiasm for that particular species rather quickly, to the point where you are willing to take a loss on that supposedly "free" animal, just to get rid of it. On the other hand, if you wait until you do have a bit of decent pasture and an adequate shed/barn/house and fencing ready, with good facilities to store feed nearby and a good supply of water easily accessible, that very same species of animal may become a true pleasure to you and joy to own.

Same animal, same owner, different circumstances. So don't let your enthusiasm cause you to jump in where you are not ready. It can really ruin you for a particular animal. (As I type this, I am remembering the neighbor who kept a mule in her garage for a time. He ate the seat off her new John Deere tractor, got sick from eating various other hardware and plastics and required a vet call, tore up the mechanism for the garage door somehow, and she had to haul water a looong way for him. She ended up hating that mule with a passion.)


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Rather than prepping a lot of dehydrated or freeze dried stuff, fill your pantry and eat from it, rotating as you go.

That way you are storing what your family eats and and eating what you store.


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

I focus a lot on "self-insuring"; by this I mean the simple steps that can catch us empty handed...Such as: have extra house/car/equipment keys so you don't need a locksmith ever, have working jumper cables and other small tools, keep some cash in small bills somewhere you can reach and use during/after a hurricane/storm when ATM machines and banks are shut down. Simple things first. Get backups for everything you need and use regularly, as a start.


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## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

FIFO.

First In, First Out.

Think it all the time, all the way through, only this 'til it's done, and act on it.

Money. It means "get out of debt, stay out of debt".

Food. Store what you (and yours) eat, eat what you store, FIFO.
Goods. Store what you use, use what you store, FIFO.
Energy, fuel, and cooking. You can't get out food if you don't first put in energy. No firewood=no eat.
Money. Store what you use, use ONLY what you've stored.
Water. First principles. You must have water before just about everything else.
Assurance. Put in the resources you need, when the bad times comes draw them out.
Knowledge. What you learn pays you tenfold. What you want, you must learnt first.
Community. You want friends? Make friends.
Et alia.


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

The best advice I could give would be to keep your mouth shut about what you have.


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## pinfeather (Nov 12, 2006)

Pick a place to start and begin prepping. Don't freak out at every new end of the world story. Just start.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Y'all have come up with a truly amazingly complete list (although Oggie must have missed something about prepping for cat-astrophe).

Not the first thing I would mention, but in finances and in felling trees there is an axiom of always having at least three different ways out. Focusing upon one type of preparation to the exclusion of the others limits your options when things do not go as expected. Expect mistakes and learn how to minimize their negative effects.


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## Oggie (May 29, 2003)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Y'all have come up with a truly amazingly complete list (although Oggie must have missed something about prepping for cat-astrophe).



You can't really prep for a cat-astrophe.

You can only gird your loins, guard your soul and hope that, by some stroke of luck, it will pass; leaving you unscathed.


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## ronron (Feb 4, 2009)

Get out of debt, get in shape it is amazing how much more energy you have and how much more you can get done. learn to fix stuff learn to build stuff.. When I first started stocking up on things, when ever I purchased something I commonly bought I purchased seven of them, depending on shelf life of course, I didn't know why seven it was just a manageable number that didn't break the bank.. (seven within the bounds of common sense).. After doing that for a while I discovered what I was having to replace quickly and purchased more of that particular item... From that point I stepped out and started adding other items, now I have enough food to get through a year, and I shop way less its usually at fruit stands for fresh foods... Now I am working on a two year plan... Good luck


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## badlander (Jun 7, 2009)

Remember that disasters happen in all shapes and sizes. So don't let yourself slip into a state of complacency. 

Just because you turn on the faucet and water comes out of it doesn't mean you are never going to need those containers of water you have stored in the basement. All it takes is a burst water pipe in the winter to teach you that. Then those jugs of water are worth their weight in gold.


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

Don't prep for one "event", do like I do, prep for tomorrow.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

I'd tell them to bookmark http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/survival-emergency-preparedness/
 
and read it faithfully throughout the week.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Learn skills first.... don't pass up learning any skill, learn them all....

All the goods in the world, can be lost or stolen... can't take away skills.


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## CraftyLady (Jul 18, 2014)

I didn't read all the posts - so apologies if this has been said.

Rotate your perishables. I've lost many foods because I didn't get those _____ rotated.


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## Sunbee (Sep 30, 2008)

Keep your preps in line with your, and your family's, skills. Don't buy preps you don't/can't use. It does no good to have 500 lbs of wheat berries if you don't know how to use them or can't eat wheat. It seems like a lot of people want the 'easy' route of the kit off the shelf of the big-box store, at least around here. (Here being where I live, not this forum.) But the beginning prepper who doesn't know how to cook anything more complicated than ramen is better off buying ten cases of ramen, because that, they know how to turn into dinner, and ninety-nine percent (or more) of life's emergencies don't involve modern society vanishing.


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## campfiregirl (Mar 1, 2011)

Sunbee said:


> Keep your preps in line with your, and your family's, skills. Don't buy preps you don't/can't use. It does no good to have 500 lbs of wheat berries if you don't know how to use them or can't eat wheat. It seems like a lot of people want the 'easy' route of the kit off the shelf of the big-box store, at least around here. (Here being where I live, not this forum.) But the beginning prepper who doesn't know how to cook anything more complicated than ramen is better off buying ten cases of ramen, because that, they know how to turn into dinner, and ninety-nine percent (or more) of life's emergencies don't involve modern society vanishing.


Yep. Buying expensive #10 cans, then storing them in your garage that isn't climate-controlled isn't going to feed your family if needed for _any_ reason (economic woes, illness, natural disaster, war, etc.). Went to a garage sale last weekend in Boise and saw several dozen cans dutifully lined up on the garage shelves. Frustrating to see that money wasted, because obviously they really don't care to be prepared - they are just going through the motions so they can say they've done it.


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## Seeria (Jul 21, 2006)

Definitely would be to learn skills before bothering with all the 'purchase this and that' crap that businesses get into.


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