Prepping for absolute beginners

Search "prepping for beginners".

I use DuckDuckGo, but Google will work too.

Results will keep you busy for hours.

Thank you!

Avoid MREs
Stuff marketed to “patriots” is over priced
Water and heat first
Use choices that have long term benefit in the real world
Don’t buy stuff you won’t be using anyway
Look for redundancies
Look for stuff that saves you money like wood heat, insulation
Black out curtains and solar landscaping lights are good

Thanks for your answer!

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Do you think sth like this is good? I've never used gas, so I dont even know how many gas bottles to store.

the above is great advice! I'd give you green ac444, if I could.

"Pooka" has some good info

Thread: Practical Prepping Protocol even if Poor

Oh cool:) Thank you very much!

You need the internet to tell you what you need to survive? make a pot of coffee and sit there while you think and make a list of things you may need if running water and power are out for 6 months. Gold, silver, food, water, water filtration, batteries, flashlights, condoms, first aide supplies, camping gear, basic tools including saw and axe, strikers, several packs of bic lighters, candles, and whisky. There, I gave you a starting spot.

Suggested easy to store

Water purification (lifestraw)
Antibiotics and how to use them ( amoxicillin, penicillin, doxycycline and dosages)
Maps ( to avoid using major roads)
Firemaking

Dear ac167,
I didnt need internet to tell me what I need. I wanted to hear from you guys what's your experience.

And when you start searching there will come up so many things that I dont know where to start. That's why I asked.
Peace;)

Prepping can get to you mentally...so I use this to "reset" my thinking if I get overwhelmed.

Your NEEDS for survival are:

Shelter
Water
Fire
Food (in that order).

Everything else is a want...not a NEED.

This is an excellent thread that deserves your attention. The best advice I can give you is to get your list together, but don't try to buy everything at once. It will overwhelm you. For instance, my wife and I spend $20 at a discount grocery store every other week for our stockpiled food supplies. We have 90 days worth right now and we're doubling that to 6 months. But we're not buying it all in one go. Pace yourself and you'll be surprised at how quickly you can stockpile supplies.

Keeping warm...

Indoor Debris Shelter.

Last winter when the temp reached 30 degrees below zero, I began wondering how I would stay warm if the power went out.

I came up with the INDOOR DEBRIS SHELTER.

Start by pushing 2 couches together...if you don't have 2 couches you could place chairs against one side of the couch, or place chairs around your bed on both sides...if you don't have enough chairs, push your bed against a wall and place chairs on the other side of the bed.

Next start throwing everything that can keep you warm onto the bed or couches (cloths, jackets, pillows, couch cussions, blankets) pile it all up, the chairs or backs of the couches will hold it all together in a pile. Cover the whole pile with a blanket, tarp, plastic sheet, or shower curtain (it will act as a roof to help hold the heat in).

Worm your way into the bottom of the pile & that should be enough to keep you warm. Keep in mind you need an opening for your head so you can breathe.

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Use the bath tub as a heat source.

If you have a gas water heater, it should still work when the electricity goes out.

You could make up a bed in the bathroom and shut the door (to keep the heat trapped in the bathroom.

Run the faucet in the tub until the water is coming out hot and then put the stopper in the drain & fill the tub with hot water only.

Don't get in the tub...you are only using it as a heat source to keep the bathroom warm.

When the water cools, let the water drain & fill the tub with hot water again...as long as the bathroom door is closed, the heat will be held in the bathroom & you should stay warm...but you will get damp from the steam...so have a change of cloths ready and waiting for you OUTSIDE OF THE BATHROOM! When you leave the bathroom it will be cold and you will be damp from the steam...you will want a set of dry cloths right there to change into IMMEDIATELY! A towel wouldn't hurt either.

Thank you all so much for your advice and for this link!

Study up on foraging. You gotta know what you can eat that can't be bought at a store, but, rather, grows everywhere. Most of it is medicinal, as well.

Guys above did a great job of breaking preps down into most simple terms. Many folks overcomplicate.

Many folks do not realize how simple food preps can and should be. Food reduced to most simple terms is Macros... Carbs, Fats, Proteins.

Carbs: 25 and 50lbs bags of rice. It is already dehydrated and stores for years. Very inexpensive. I prefer Jasmine Rice.

Fats: Coconut oil is inexpensive and stores for years. Stash some ghee too. Olive oil is great but does not store too long. Fats are very important as they are the most caloric dense energy source out there at 9 calories/gram. Carbs only provide 4 calories/gram. A pound of fats/oils provide 225% the energy of carbs. Fats also help keep you warm. Over 4,000 calories per pound of Fats/Oils, and under 2,000 calories per pound of carbs.

Proteins: Far more expensive. Dehydrated meats and ammo to hunt. Gelatin protein powder is an expensive long storing protein with many health benefits.

Why don't you begin slow & each time you go to the grocery store pick up an extra 2 pounds of dry pasta & a jar of peanut butter.

Not too expensive, long shelf life & it'll get you started with a food stash.

When I moved out to the country we lost power for a few days and I LOVED having my Homesteading books. They had recipes, substitutions, info on how to can, how to raise livestock, how to purify water etc. Get a couple of these. Just google Homesteading Books and take your pick.

Here's what became really useful to us when we were without power:

solar pack that you use to charge phones and laptops and walkie talkies. We used this camping and on the long distance walks we do so we had one and it was a godsend.
hand-powered tools--didn't even know how to use some of them but I learned and it gave me something to do as well.
powdered milk (we had plenty of food but I loved the powdered milk for making creamy sauces for pasta and over meat. Surprised myself that we used so much of it.)
camping stove with gas cylinders and charcoal for the barbecue
a camping shower--one that is a big bag that heats up in the sun and gives you at least a warmish shower.
camp towels--the others took forever to dry.
dutch oven for making casseroles over a campfire
lighter fluid or stuff to get that fire going fast
solar lights for the garden. We brought them all inside to use at night
Oil lamps
good flashlights and batteries, batteries, batteries
5 gallon buckets for hauling water from the pond for ourselves and for animals.
chlorine for water purification
clothes pegs for everything!
Rope for everything!
Card games, board games, books.
Solar powered radio.
Walkie talkies
Big cauldron-like thing for heating lots of water over the fire. Helped enormously when it came to washing clothes.
Clocks that run on batteries. We didn't have power but the rest of the world did and we still had to get to work.

and or this
Thread: I ADVISE YOU TO CLICK THIS! It has begun. FOOD SHORTAGES.

You are all great thanks you

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