I started “officially” prepping about two years ago simply based on the way things were starting to turn bad with the economy and for fear that a real depression was coming. As I studied and read what other preppers were doing and the reasons they were prepping I came away with some useful knowledge and information that changed my perception of prepping.
My early experience found me gathering supplies helter-skelter and after several months I had no idea what else I might need to focus on. Back in my younger day from backpacking experience, I knew I could make some one pot stews, start a fire, and live in the great outdoors for a week or more. Just the same, that was a long time ago and I have much to learn. In my early prepping I gave no thought to medication, first-aid, or other essential things that are typically taken for granted but need to be a part of a real prep plan.
I found it wise to reevaluate from time to time the how’s and why’s of my prepping needs and priorities. What I mean is that as things change, it is important to know why I am prepping, how I am going about doing it, and if the anticipated event were to occur tomorrow, would I be ready enough to weather it out.
Then I have to ask myself, if an unanticipated event were to occur tomorrow would I even be close to ready for the event that I didn’t plan for. If the goal is to prep for a seventy two hour event as some government agencies recommend and a two week event occurred that would be a bad place to be.
With that in mind, I found it is useful to make a list of events which could likely occur that would cause a condition where I have to rely on the supplies that are stashed away. This list should include any possibility that it is believed could happen and then rate each item by the severity it might affect you and the likelihood that it could occur.
Much of this of course would be very speculative, but the list is for personal prep purposes. This should help set priorities on what supplies are most important and how much of each necessary item it may be wise to accumulate. An example would be if a flu pandemic is at or near the top of your list, then food, medicine, and sanitation supplies (including N95 respirators) are must have items. If you determine that for this event you would want to quarantine the household for maybe three to six weeks then you have a measure of how much stuff you might need.
If you realistically have a list of possible events with say five to ten items on it, then you can start preparing for the worst case scenario starting with the top item on your list and work your way down as you get that done i.e.; dollar collapse, pandemic, earthquake. You may find that once you prepare for the first item or two, you have the rest covered.
Of course I say this based on my own situation and your mileage may vary by a great distance. Personally, in my circumstance, living in a suburban setting with no real good rural retreat option, I don’t consider it necessary to have more then about six months of supplies. If any SHTF event that is considered worse then a few months of Schumer flying past that whirly device, it may be next to impossible to protect. In that type scenario, within just a week or two the Golden Horde will be out in hungry force and it will be like the “Return of the Zombies”. Defense of course is a key component for any prepper, but without a group of armed and prepped neighbors to help defend the suburban castle, a family would be quickly overrun or simply burned out. In a grid-down condition, it would be just a few days before the first visitors looking for handouts will very likely by the unprepared that live near by. It would only go downhill from there, but I digress.
With an honest and real evaluation, you will now have a good idea of what and how much in the way of supplies you want to have on hand. Next you need to determine if your prep plan is realistic and doable. For example, what if I have an EMP attack near the top of my list? What if I had it listed with a high probability of occurring and expect that it will affect the entire country with a grid down time of two to seven years?
For that situation, I would want to be out in the boonies in a fortified underground bunker with enough food and other resources to last at least five years and a good source of water available. Not to mention a well supplied and heavily armed group of dedicated defenders to keep it secure. Of course in reality, I would not be able to do this based on my current responsibilities and financial resources. I’m fairly certain that at least ninety five percent of the population is in a similar posture.
The point is that you can only do what you can do but it’s best to be realistic while doing it. At the top of my list is the collapse of the US dollar. A pandemic or other natural disaster such as an earthquake and a terrorist attack (false flag) are also high on my list. These are things that I can realistically prepare for in my suburban setting; at least to some degree.
If something thing worse were to come along (EMP, CME, comet hit) at least there could be survival for the early stages but in my view, the average person can’t be ready for these extreme events. This is not to discourage anyone from prepping for worst case scenarios but these type events would most likely result in a “Mad Max” scenario in short order.
The main point is that you should determine what situation you are prepping for. Prioritize the list of items that are needed and start stocking up. As you make progress, reevaluate from time to time and make sure that it’s not all beans and bullets stashed away.
Start with priorities such as water (including filtration and storage), and of course food. Then add the hygiene and sanitary supplies, first-aid, medicine, vitamins, money (silver, gold), security and branch it off from there based on any of the umpteen lists that are out there. Be sure to include in your budget firearms training as a part of your security. In my view if you go to all the time and expense of prepping you better know how to defend it if it comes to that, but that is just me.
I suggest that you work on the list of critical supplies in two week intervals. This is just to avoid blowing the entire monthly budget stockpiling just one item. This would be especially true if you are in the early stages of prepping. Hopefully this will ensure that if an event occurred you aren’t stuck with just rice and tuna to eat but have no water, toilet paper, or sanitary supplies available.
It is possible that for some things you may have to use the entire budget on one type item (such as gold or silver), just be sure to prioritize. Again, I have to emphasis that water needs to be at the top of the list including a way to store and sanitize it.
It is also a good idea to keep a detailed list of these supplies as you accumulate them with a purchase date and expected shelf life. Be sure to rotate for freshness, especially as the stock grows and you get close to topping it off. Of course when you get to the top off point you should be making every effort to use the food supplies for family meals as a part of the rotation. You could even start this early on to a small degree. This will give you a chance to get accustomed to what it would be like preparing and consuming the foods you stored. Use your propane cooker or whatever other method you plan on using. Maybe even make it a point to do the prep with a lights out condition to get a real feel for it.
In conclusion, in order to ensure that you are staying on track with your current prepping needs, revisit your reasons for prepping from time to time; at least every six months. Make a realistic list of the possibilities and reevaluate your reasons for prepping; assess your needs and priorities as conditions change. Keep a detailed list of the supplies you’ve gathered with a purchase date and expected shelf life. Be sure to rotate for freshness, especially as the stock grows and you get close to topping it off. Finally, make an effort to utilize some of the food stores routinely, especially as you rotate and top off.
Just remember, you might not be able to do it all at once, but even the tortoise gets to the finish line while the spectator just waits and watches.