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Thread: Prepping Dynamics

  1. #1
    Crotch Rocket


    mitunnelrat's Avatar
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    Prepping Dynamics

    I read a post on a non-prepping website a bit back, and it got me thinking, so I have a question. Where would you all say you fall within the dynamic and spectrum of prepping? The member elsewhere referenced the difference between doomers and homesteaders, and how the latter seem more stable than the former. Or something to that effect anyway. Its been a bit and we all know how my memory is.

    I know I myself have wandered a path from fearful doomer to content homesteader, with a stop somewhere in the middle that placed prepping as an all-consuming definition of who I am and what I do. These days? Not so much. I still plan. I still prioritize, but I'm also not going to forgo a sale on the biggest damn tv I can afford (for instance) if I decide I want a new one because I don't have "x" amount of beans, bullets, or band aids. My choices today all largely consider and integrate prepping for tomorrow as much as possible, but I have decided not to forgo living well now because something "might" happen then.

    Sufficient for the day is its own trouble, and all of that.

    Anyway, I don't think we have anybody at the "no luxuries allowed" end of the spectrum, they're pretty easy to spot. I have a pretty good idea on some of you, and at least one has already self-identified as a survivalist in the past, but some of you aren't quite as clear.

    There is also more than simple curiosity spurring my question, but I'll get into that more after I get my thoughts better organized and have given time for some responses here.

    TIA
    Consilio et animis

    Essayons!

  2. #2
    I have still yet to grow a brain
    Vodin's Avatar
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    For my self it has become a way of life. I am comfortable with my position. More is always needed and more will be gained but I understand you can not plan for everything.

    Doom was the outcome if one didn't prepare. Now that one is better prepared doom is no longer to be feared. Rather it will be dealt with via the mental and physical attributes one has collected / acquired over a period of time.

    The unknown creates the need to prepare. Knowing you may not have what is needed causes the fear. Having skills allow you to create resolutions. It may not be the perfect result but it will allow you to take the next step.

    Since we are all members of this web site I can safely say we are not living in a state of fear. We just need to have the mental tenacity to take the steps needed to move toward the intended goal.

  3. #3
    For the Love of Cats


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    Interesting preposition...

    I plan for everyday emergencies, first and foremost. storms, floods, blizzards, tornados, etc... and as a total SHTF as a secondary. I feel if I can be prepared for blizzard after blizzard after... blah blah blah... I can be prepped for anything.

    I prep because it makes sense. If I can buy 20 chickens from the hutt's for the price of 6 at the store and it takes me a half day to process them... that's money well spent.

    I buy ammo when it is on sale, or I arrange group buys to benefit me both for storage, and because I want to shoot it. 30 boxes cost the same as a case of 3000... do I buy box by box... no, I save up for the crate.

    Am I planning for zombies? maybe, but I am prepping for practice and fun.

    Do I hunt fish and trap because of zombies? no... that's what I do for fun, for meat, and the skills are invaluable! I would bet on me to shoot a deer, gut it, skin it, debone it, cut and bag it faster than anyone on this site... why, because of our seasons and the practice I have had... is that a apocalypse skill??? of course it is... but more importantly it is a daily life skill!

    I don't preach doom... I preach life skills! Even if you think you may never have to eat cat or dog, or rat... can you skin one out, gut and trim off the meat? I Can! Can you identify a dozen wild plants around your OA? I can! and not for SHTF, because I am harvesting them for regular use!

    I can buy a fist size bunch of any herb for $5... I can grow 200 fist sized bunched for the same $. uh duh!

    Prepping, to me isn't about the zombies (them bastards will get theirs), but about sustained living... for life!

    IMO
    Give a man fire, and he'll be warm for a day!
    Light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life!

    Cat's are food... not friends!

    If you're going to fight, then fight like you're the third monkey on the ramp into Noah's arc... and brother, it's starting to rain.

  4. #4
    I'll most likely shit myself



    bacpacker's Avatar
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    Well Vodin hit the nail on the head. Well stated.

    For me, due to how I was rasied (Parents and both sets of grandparents farming. Grandparents going thru the depression in the 30's), I guess no surprise I would fall toward the homestead side of things. I continue trying to learn as much of the old ways as I can. But my time backpacking and spending time in the woods has instilled a healthy respect and desire for the survival life as well.

    Good thread MIT. I look forward to the post coming in this thread. I'll see how close I get on everyone's thoughts.

    Edit: To me homesteading is about living the life. And being able to deal with pretty much whatever comes up along the way.
    Last edited by bacpacker; 01-27-2015 at 02:01 AM.

  5. #5
    Wants you to "look at what he's holding tonight".


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    I am more of a homesteader, but because of dealing with hurricanes for years I became prepared. Now I feel like i am pretty set up, never fully prepared, but can survive fairly well. Since we don't buy meat from the store, I can and do kill and prepare all my own food. I will eat just about any animal out there if need be. Buzzards are about the only thing that crosses my mind that I would pass unless actually dying. I know the edible plants on my place, and surrounding areas. If I can afford a solar powered well, and then get my fridge and freezers on solar I will be set up really well.
    "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes DUTY!" - Thomas Jefferson

  6. #6
    Do NOT mess with him while he's pumping gas.

    ak474u's Avatar
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    I'm focusing more on skills, and sustainability these days. I've been out of work for 5 months, so while we still prepare with stuff, we've been canning, organizing, expanding the garden, etc. We've got rainwater collection coming soon as well.
    Common sense is so rare these days, it should be re-classified as a super power.

  7. #7
    Senior Member

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    Thanks Mitunnelrat, for the thread. This topic is an important one to me in how I edge my wife along into this lifestyle. We are urban. Always have been. My wife came from the Philippines when she was young. She remembers what life was like without western comforts, and as such, respects and thoroughly enjoys what many of us urbanites (and rurals) take for granted. When I suggest (yet another) change to aspects of how we live her first response is 'I came from that, I don't want to go back to it!' That's when I explain how Prepping can help us avoid 'going back to it' if something were to happen. That's when she gets it and thanks me for all the work, study and time I invest into ensuring the preservation of our life style by learning traditional ways of living.

    Like Sniper, a good portion of our efforts are directed to nature's fury: blizzards, storms, floods. Apocalyptic scenarios, while respected, are not the driving force behind our efforts. Identifying what is important to us is the driving force: health, family time, peace of mind, responsible comfort, and respecting Mother Earth. By working to satisfy these needs and wants, in the past 7 years we have been transitioning from a consumer lifestyle to a homesteader mentality. Urban Homesteaders, but homesteaders none the less.

    Have we abandoned western luxuries? No. We still use an electric oven over a wood burning one, we still buy bookshelves instead of building them. I still use a charcoal bbq instead of solely cooking on an open fire. The difference between me and, say my brother or my coworkers, is that if needed, I have acquired the skills and knowledge to DO these things if need be, and continue to practice these skills in the regular. Hunting, foraging, gardening, wood working, bushcrafting, life hacking.... Becoming self reliant. That is our goal.

    Are we preppers? Sure. Are we homesteaders? Slowly but surely, yes.

    In the end, it's not a title, it's a lifestyle.

    Thanks again Mit. Great post!

  8. #8
    Senior Member

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    @ak474u that is exactly what got me fully integrated into this lifestyle. Being out of work for two years taught me how to survive without, and how to prepare so that we will never be without again.

  9. #9
    Do you have a robot?
    realist's Avatar
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    I guess I am a product of my environment, my mom lived through the depression and WWII. Then there was all the wars afterward along with the Cold War. I grew up with the nuclear menace, we had the duck and cover drills. Our home had a basement with stored food and clothing. In 1963 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, we went on an impromptu vacation to some friend’s ranch. It was great for us kids until mom turned on the TV and said, “Let’s see if there is anything left of the United States?” That needless to say scared the shit out of this little kid.

    So for me it is a way of life. I do not have a chain link fence topped with barbed wire around the homestead (the wife drew the line on that one). My shelves are stocked with whatever I need. I drive my wife crazy by buying two instead of one. “Why do you have two of this or three of that???” Because.

    Years ago I was a commercial reloader so my stock of ammunition and firearms is ok. Having been in law enforcement gave me my training in tactics and went further as a trainer. I feel bless in having been in a situation which gave me such outstanding training, which continues today. All this is further enhanced as being a college instructor. I am a firm believer in education which has been imparted on my kids, one graduated and the other is still in college. I got my son involved in scouting at an early age and he went through to become an Eagle Scout. My daughter is a knucklehead and won’t listen to me is probably going to be a cop too. She too is into the outdoors and has got hooked on wilderness first aid.

    Then there is my wife, who tolerates me and doesn’t believe in prepping…………However we garden together, can fruits and vegetables together, and recently started dehydrating what we grow. She sews crochets and knits too. We cook fantastic meals. So don’t anyone tell her but I think she is in denial….She does accept the fact we have earthquakes out here and could cause problems. She too is in public safety, a dispatcher. So when it comes to knowing what it going on we have a direct line, which is comforting.

    We do have a beautiful home which we have worked hard to get. We don’t have the boats and toys other people have. We did not flip house after house and be so over extended we were underwater. We have lived in the same place for the past 25 years and hope to eventually have it paid off. We live on the outskirts of a medium city which is alright. We don’t believe in having a bug out location, we just have a vacation location. For now it is vacant 114 acres, two hours away high in the mountains very secluded. This is another one of those things given to us kids from my mom, bless her heart. This summer I am finally building a small cabin. If things work out right then my wife and I will build a small two bedroom house later. This would be a vacation home the kids bring their kids over the summer. There were five of us in the family but I am the only one using the property now. My nephew who is a cop wants to build a Tiny home to get away, which would be a nice addition.

    Obsession, no, just a way of life.

  10. #10
    Walking on Sunshine

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    Great post MT. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. As I've said before I too am a product of parents who were Depression babies . always had things set aside for emergencies. When things got really bad and one brother lost everything it got me to thinking, what if that happen to DH and me? But when I went looking for a site that could help me store the 40 lbs of sugar and flour I had acquired (for Christmas baking with DIL's and SIL before Pop died) I came across a couple of sites that intrigued me. In reading further I started to ask questions and learning and was invited to this site.I don't feel I'm crazy, but I feel that something BIG is going to happen that isn't good for the world. Da Hubs thinks I am "over reacting" but I can't shake this feeling, especially now that my straight arrow, no nonsense, It's black or white, logical brother has done a complete 180 about prepping. He used to make fun of preppers and the Doomsday Prepper shows. My SIL told me about a year ago they started about the same time I did but didn't say anything till I asked about the dehydrator she got and the stand he had made for her. I came right out and asked her if they were prepping. she said yes, I said great I'm not the only crazy person in this family and I asked her what changed, She said my brother came home one night and sat her down and told her The S**T IS going to hit the fan in a few years and they had daum well be prepared for it. Now mind you they had lost everything a few years ago, (year before Pop died),and were digging themselves out of it, not prepping just trying to make ends meet. I can't go into what changed his mind because I haven't been able to pin him down and ask for certain what changed his mind (he won't talk about it on the phone or in emails or letters) but what ever extra money they could and can scrape together they have put towards preparing. He bought her the dehydrator, "sucky" machine and started adding water and ammo to the food they are storing. They have been prepping for about two years now and he's now talking about going off grid permanently.He and SIL are loaning our niece their house this year for the family reunion so I'll be able to talk to him privately about his why. When we were there in Oct it was only for a few hours on Sunday and we were too busy having fun with the kids , meeting the new additions to the family and catching up for us to talk privately.

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