1.  What is Prepping and Why Should I Become a Prepper?

 

Preppers are people who spend a lot of time and sometimes money preparing for an unknown disaster or problem. 

This disaster or problem will occur at an unknown time.

The duration is unknown.

The seriousness of the event is unknown.

 

Truthfully, ‘preppers’ have been around since the dawn of time. 

Farmers grew food in the summer and stored enough to eat until the next year’s harvest. 

Merchants bought supplies when available.

Doctors got their traditional medicines when it was time to harvest them.

People saved money ‘for a rainy day’.

 

Preppers are really just people who take being prepared seriously.  They want to be prepared for next event whether it is a meal, a fun activity, or something unexpected.  They want to be prepared for normal events and unexpected events.  Most people have a little bit of prepper in them even if it is just a game plan on how to avoid a difficult or obnoxious co-worker or neighbor.  Most people take it a little farther than that and make an effort to at least schedule and plan some immediate things to make them go more smoothly.

 

Today when you hear about a prepper it is likely referring to someone who is trying to be prepared for something big that is out of the ordinary.  This could be a flood, fire, storm, economic collapse, job loss, or anything all the way up to anarchy.  In this book I want to start with the basics.  Prepping should start by making your daily life go more smoothly and efficiently.  In prepping for today and tomorrow you can begin to get a handle on pepping for big events.  Prepping for each day is something that everyone should do.  Prepping for the next week in advance is the start of prepping for longer times and bigger events.  Being as prepared as possible is a good way to live your life. 

 

 

 

Preppers want to be ‘self-reliant’ instead of ‘government-reliant’.

 

It is fully true that the government is also prepping. 

They have ‘stuff’ stockpiled so they can rush in and help people who have had their lives disrupted by a disaster.  Take for example the devastating hurricane named Katrina that hit states in the Southern United States a few years ago.  First the hurricane hit and then disaster number two hit.  The levees broke and flooded the area. The government stepped up to the plate and made things even worse.  Well, you may not believe that, but you at least have to admit that disaster relief was slow in arriving. 

Baptist churches have disaster relief teams who usually beat the government to the victims of most disasters.

 

The people who are two steps ahead of the game are those who have prepared as best they can in advance.  Even if they do wind up using government assistance, they have had a more comfortable existence than those who have nothing but time while they wait on the FEMA teams to arrive. 

 

Everyone has a little bit of prepper in them.

For instance, it is common for most people to prepare for the next day the night before.  People lay out clothes they will put on in the morning. At least they set the alarm clock! A common Monday morning for a working family would include proper clothes for the day set out the night before, coffee available to make, something handy for breakfast, and something to make a reasonable lunch for anyone who needs a lunch that day. 

 

Whatever the morning schedule for anyone, chances are very good that at least most of the time some effort has gone into preparing things ahead of time that will make the morning go as smoothly and quickly as possible.

 

The same goes for meals throughout the week, clothes, shopping, worship, recreation, and rest have a planned schedule.

 

Most people have back up plans for at least some situations.

For instance, there is usually someone on call in case a child cannot be picked up at daycare or school on time.

Even a tiny savings account is an attempt to be prepared for the unknown such as needing a new tire or something equally necessary but expensive for a small budget.

Extra food in the pantry is prepping for bad weather or a way of buying that new tire without spending that tiny savings account.

 

Prepping just takes it a step farther.  It goes into the unusual and unexpected.

The purpose of prepping is to make any event that takes a person or family out of their routine and/or comfort zone more comfortable and less disrupting.

 

For instance, recently there was a wildfire in an area of my state.  In fact, there have been wildfires all over the country this year.  Many people had to leave their homes.  Some people left their home for the last time because their home burned to ground while they were gone.  This was definitely not their fault.  They definitely had no control over this event.  It still happened and their lives were definitely disrupted.

 

Let’s consider the people who evacuated, spent three nights away from home, and then returned home.  They had three days of uncertainty and inconvenience.  They had no choice in the matter, but IF they had done some basic preparations they were much better off than people who hadn’t done anything at all to prepare. 

 

Then, consider the people whose homes were lost in the fire.  They are definitely in a different category regarding their future.  Those who made some general preparations for such a disaster are better off than those who made no preparation.

 

You cannot honestly be fully prepared for an unknown event that will hit you at an unknown time.  However, there are a number of things you can do in order to be better prepared for whatever happens.

 

I suppose I became a prepper when I was about ten years old. I began to carry a ladies handbag.  I was a child with an extreme case of near-sightedness.  Every night I put my glasses in my cheap little handbag, and I slept with the handbag right by my bed.  I was terrified of being without my glasses because that would put me in the category of ‘severely vision impaired’.  It was bad – I couldn’t even read the big E on the eye chart.  I progressed to keeping some cash in the handbag.  Next came makeup, a hair brush, and a hanky.  Then as I got older I needed over the counter pain medicine, allergy medicine, eye drops, band-aids for ‘just in case’, and things like that.  Eventually I had to make a decision regarding just how big my handbag was going to be allowed to get.  Honestly, the happiest time of my life was when my kids were little and I carried a diaper bag.  You can get a weeks worth of ‘stuff’ in a nice diaper bag.  I mean if I could fit a change of clothes for two kids in there, why not put in a clean shirt for me in case one of those angels barfed on me?  When my youngest was six I had to get back to reality and start carrying a smaller handbag.  Now I still tend to go with a much larger bag than I really need for daily stuff, but I can’t help it.  You never know when I will need something that doesn’t actually fit into normal fashionable ladies handbag.  I still throw all my change in the bottom of the handbag.  When it starts weighing more than a one year old child I dump out the change, have my husband count it, and then we spend it on something.  Or, if we need money for something we will count my change out while I can still lift the handbag with one arm.  (Ladies, if you are still thinking that a handbag is a fashion statement you may need to do a reality check.)

 

Prepping is nothing more than making a thoughtful attempt to be prepared for the unexpected and unknown.  There is a story regarding the Pilgrims who came to the shores of North America on that tiny ship called the Mayflower.  For some reason one of the men put in a very large jack.  I am sure he was some fellow like my husband and a lot of other men who love their tools.  His wife probably had to leave something at home so he could fit in this jack.  Eventually a beam that was crucial to the structure of the ship began to break.  The jack was put under the beam, cranked into place, and held the beam securely for the remainder of the voyage.  Providentially they were prepared for an unexpected problem at a place where no help was available.  I would like to encourage you to spend some of your time, energy, and even money making preparations for events that are not clearly on the horizon.

 

Before you rush out to buy ‘things’ like a giant jack, there are some things you should consider to begin with.  The first thing is to set down with yourself alone and consider who you are exactly and what options you would have in if your life took an expected turn.  You need to determine ‘Who you REALLY are’.