Wise words!

 

Keep on prepping, and keep on keeping it to yourself, Swissy!

 

I do the same thing. I've tried to bring the subject up to family but they refuse to discuss it. Since we don't get along well anyway the last thing I want is to have them showing up to my door looking for goodies! I've got one prepper neighbor that I know of but she has an OCD husband so I hesitate to trust her too much too. So, stealthy prepping it is. Too many ghetto types down here anyway. The last thing I want to do is advertise.

 

In laws know I prep and one sis in law caught on after watching Doomsday preppers.
Youngest niece and husband get it too but they are way far away.
I am pretty much alone here.

 

So am I, which is why I've been trying to feel out other members of the community. I have no place to bug out to and no way to get there since I don't drive. So the general plan is to keep a very low profile, form as much community as possible with like-minded folks, and stock up on ammo in addition to my other preps of course. I can certainly help other people with seeds and gardening skills, but depending upon the time of year getting garden goodies might be a good year. Even good people can degenerate into bad behaviors when they become desperate.

 

While I work with a lot of people who see the way the country is going, and most would be preppers if they had more money, I don't talk about what I have stored. Yes, they agree with being self-reliant but none of them has anything stocked - and so even though they are like-minded, I don't want them banging on my door when things hit bottom and they're stuck there with no ladder out.
I might be willing to take a couple in depending on the length and type of SHTF - one is a ham radio operator with good firearm skills, the other knows a lot of construction and mechanical.
But for now, everything I do is stealthy - the only one who really know my preps is my roommate (little hard to hide it since I dedicate a whole room to stores) but she's also a prepper even if she's not quite as prepared. I am not looking forward to the day my parents show up to their house in the summer (I babysit their house) and I have to explain it all to them

 

Time to tell those friends



...to start dumpster diving. If they think they too good for that, then they are a risk to your saftey.

 

Stealthy is the correct way to do it.

That's where it's really messed up on Doomsday Preppers. In order to get on to that show. You disclose where all your supplies are, where your secret shelters are, etc.

 

Only an idiot would agree to go on Doomsday Preppers.

 

Smart move, I know a lot of people around me are kind of on board, but I just keep me and stockpile topics come up among them.

 

Firstly, good on you

the prepping items i started with were 'Camping Equipment' ...

i have a large family and the preps for all of them tend to be a little noticeable ... but wife is on board and she is the only one that opinions matters to me ... people can call me crazy ... i will survive and they will die ...

 

Jay is right, if your spouse/significant other/life partner is on board, everyone else can go F themselves. Take care you, them, and yours.

 

I managed to get my folks on board by not ever using the term prepping, per se.
l
To them Doomsday Preppers looks like a bunch of paranoid wack-jobs. BUT - by showing them how useful having a deep pantry, or an emergency evacuation kit/plan could be, they got with the idea and are mentally filing it under 'prudent'.

By slowly getting them to incorporating prep behaviour and sensibilities into their daily lives, they are prepping without labeling it such. Small preps and baby steps.

 

Welcome to prepping!

It's addictive and expensive and your preps can vanish in the wink of an eye. You'll make many purchases you'll regret and eventually be outed as paranoid and insecure no matter you're subtlety...muuhhhuaaahhaaaa!!!!

Allow me to give you some newbie prepper advice. If I could start over again I would do many things differently (should make a thread on this topic) but I'll spare you 75% of my soapbox sermon. Here's the other 25%

Prepping is an attitude, then a skill and LASTLY stock pile of material goods.

Attitude: You've seen the light and got the attitude, congradulations

Skill: Purify water with household items, build a solar oven, trouble shoot a engine and so on are far more valuable than 200lbs of rice and beans; start learning and practicing

Material assets. Only you can decide what you need but let me say this; everything I have purchased has since presented itself for free during the subsequent years, including firearms. I've had to let go of some items, usually at a loss. And I will never forget the time in my mid twenties when I told my father about my prepping goals and theories. He bust out laughing and said "I remember when I stocked up on...and started..." He was positive and for good reasons SH!% was going to hit the fan on several occasions over the decades; and there he was chuckling at me. I did construction for many years and uncovered several stashes in old widows homes that once belonged to their deceased husbands. I scored some awesome stuff but it's collecting dust and likely to be discovered many years from now by a young contractor. When you see older preppers and all their efforts come and go your perspective changes.

Start small and prep slow. Don't jump on good deals in the fervor of a born again prepper. By keeping your eyes peeled and patiently waiting items will present themselves and you will aquire what you need with very little money.

 

While I have a sizeable core of neighbors in my building who prep to one extent or another, it's a completely different story with my girlfriend of 15 years.
Her idea of being prepared for a natural disaster or emergency situation is getting an extra cat carrier for our three felines.

I do all of my prepping on the sly: stashing my supplies in a spare closet, purchasing extra ammo whenever I have to make a Walmart run & working on my gear in the spare bedroom that serves as my "machine shop" --- stuff like snipping the baby-carrier safety straps off of discarded shopping carts & sewing them onto my BOB to lash down gear.

While I wish she would get involved, as she has many valuable skills that would be immensely helpful, I've also resigned myself to going it alone.

 

Doomsday preppers tend to give the community a very bad name as they are a far extreme wing of it.

I watched that one guy in texas that said he spent 2 million on his preps with what I'd assume to be a very strange cohort and planned to bug out 300 miles from autin or dallas. Planned to be hardcore scouting his property from a hunting platform. During their live fire his special friend shot a gun from inside the blind and the guy went into shock because he wasn't wearing any hearing protection.
Those are the kind of people who are featured on that show. Prepping is their life, but I think most are out of touch with reality.

As for prepping in secret. It really depends on how you want to go about it. Have a closet or a corner of your basement would be something I'd consider reasonable. If your family disapproves, I'd just keep it low-key. Don't discuss it and don't go overboard with extravagance.

 

You can discuss it in terms of recent or serious disasters, "Gosh, too bad those people on Long Island didn't have some food or fuel put away" or in my case, "Wow, it's almost hurricane season, guess I'd better check the pantry and the batteries. Remember after Katrina, some people didn't get help for weeks!" Where I live, conversations like that are commonplace.

 

Yep. Same deal down here in South Florida.
If you didn't learn your lesson from Hurricane Andrew in '92, you'll be caught with your pants down around your ankles AGAIN wondering WTF happened?

 

Hurricanes are the main reason i started prepping. During Hurricane Isabel we were without power for 2 weeks. That was a valuable lesson and a kick in the tail for me. Being able to provide for my loved ones in those types of situations.

Sorry kinda off topic.

My dad and i are the preppers in the family. My wife supports my efforts but is not active. When we have family get togethers we keep it low key but it's not really a secret.

New to the forum btw and nice to meet ya'll.

 

That's what I do too when the topic comes up. I discuss prepping in terms of documented disasters and our government's documented lack of response. Talking in terms of economic collapse or some of these other very specific scenarios that are featured on DP won't get the point across because I just look too crazy. I find it important and beneficial to speak in a language the mundanes can understand and relate to. I also find it important to keep perspective and realize that I might have the same 20 gals of kerosene in my garage a few years from now. Yes I added Stabil.

 

Where does the stealthy part come from?

 

Rember that not all preps need be out of place. For example, your BOB is your hiking pack that your too lazy to fully unpack. Your case of MREs you take to eat while hiking and its cheaper to buy in bulk/ when its on sale.

You can hide a suprising amount in plane sight like this and when you have it like this people don't think twice about it. OpSec forfilled.

Hope this helped

Cheers
Killzo

 

Your first prep might to move you and your family away from England. Find a country that actually allows you to have guns. If you can't defend yourself...

 

I used to roll my eyes at some of the lengths people would go to for OPSEC. I've been reading and learning a bit about prepping here and there for a few years, and I kept thinking "those people are too paranoid". And then I finally began prepping...

One thing we did with our tax return money this year was stock up on canned/dry goods. I was happy about this until one night at dinner with friends my wife mentioned "we have about a month's worth of groceries other than meat and milk". A week or two later at dinner with the same friends as well as some others, someone mentions winter storms and grocery stores only having 3 days of food on hand. The husband who had dinner with us prior says "No problem, if we get hit I'm going over to Jon's house - he has a stock pile of food". Now, he's joking, but suddenly at least 4 adults and 2 kids (on top of the 6 people in my house) are aware I've got something at home that they don't if things get bad. And suddenly OPSEC (and secrecy about preps in general) isn't something I even slightly roll my eyes at.

Keep your secrets. If anyone asks you about anything, just say it's for camping or there was a really good sale on some food type you like.

 

My main priority at the moment is acquiring & stockpiling more ammo.
I've got six calibers (.25 ACP, 9mm, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, .30-30 Winchester & 12 gauge) to keep topped off --- something I never thought twice about during outings to the range, until the current panic-buying has now depleted the shelves at stores & online vendors.

Suddenly, having what I considered a decent start-up selection of SHTF weaponry has become a nightmare to keep well-supplied.
I know the shortages will eventually pass, but my well-founded fear is that this will be replaced by the new reality of heavily-taxed ammo.

And, NO, I'm not letting anyone know how much I do or don't have on hand.
Jon1971's commentary is a perfect example of why keeping your preps on the down-low, even from family members, is THE way to go.

 

My main priority at the moment is acquiring & stockpiling more ammo.
I've got six calibers (.25 ACP, 9mm, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, .30-30 Winchester & 12 gauge) to keep topped off --- something I never thought twice about during outings to the range, until the current panic-buying has now depleted the shelves at stores & online vendors.

Suddenly, having what I considered a decent start-up selection of SHTF weaponry has become a nightmare to keep well-supplied.
I know the shortages will eventually pass, but my well-founded fear is that this will be replaced by the new reality of heavily-taxed ammo.

<snip>

No kidding! I just saw a 1k round box of 9mm on bulkammo.com for $800! Yowza! 80 cents per round for 9mm! This is the first time I've seen my .45 ammo cheaper than my 9mm. I'm taking a refresher firearms class in a couple of weeks-guess which gun I'll be shooting more!

 

The rules....

The FIRST rule of prepping: You DON'T talk about your prepping.
The SECOND rule of prepping: You DON'T talk about your prepping.
The THIRD rule of prepping: You DON'T talk about your prepping.
:headshake:

 

The FIRST rule of prepping: You DON'T talk about your prepping.
The SECOND rule of prepping: You DON'T talk about your prepping.
The THIRD rule of prepping: You DON'T talk about your prepping.
:headshake:

You can talk about your prepping - just don't go too far into specifics and and use language that doesn't make you sound paranoid (ie - don't scare the mundanes). Anyone with half a brain who's gone through a natural disaster will get it.

As for stealthy prepping, you can keep, even broadcast some of your preps - for example, learn how to can food or the like. Then your canning preps can be written off by others as a hobby and they won't think twice about it.

 

Too funny --- I was wondering how long it would take before the 1st "fight Club" reference reared it's head. : : : : : :

 

Common sense, and take stock of what is around you. Just because some scenario happens doesn't mean all of a sudden we are back to living in grass huts and using flints to hunt.

Where, in the city, does the water main dip down in a valley before heading up again on the other side. Those places will still have residual water when the places on hills run out.

Where in the city is there a supply of wood, stoves, etc., that one can procure after the fact when that is all one has to do?

If you have to leave, where will you go, and can you cache or make preps/investigate that area now?

What will do double duty as a prep and for life right now, for instance, living from one's constantly re-stocked pantry, solar charged whatevers, backup plans for heat, power, etc.?