What does prepping mean? When it comes to survival, prepping refers to the preparation you make before an emergency situation happens. It’s crucial to be as prepared as possible so that you and your family are ready when disaster strikes. People who don’t prep in advance often find themselves at a loss during crises. Preppers, on the other hand, are typically far better equipped to handle whatever life may throw at them because they are proactive about preparing their supplies and honing needed skills beforehand.
Prepping means to take steps to be prepared to deal with a (typically) undesirable situation such as a natural disaster or economic hardship. Just think of the Boy Scout’s motto “Be Prepared” and realize it means to take steps to be ready to handle anything you can anticipate.
Today, we’re going to go over what prepping really means and how you can start getting ready right now!
Prepping for Any Occasion
Whether prepping for a storm followed by a likely power outage or getting ready for a potential cataclysmic event, there are steps you can take right away. Chances are, you are already a prepper and just don’t realize it. For example, here in the US…
If you live on the east coast, you probably know enough to stock up on batteries, candles, extra gasoline, and possibly have a power generator ready for the next tropical storm or hurricane or snowstorm. On the west coast it’s common to anchor furniture from falling, run family earthquake drills and have go-bags ready for everyone including the family pets. In the mid-west people know where the closest tornado shelters are and make sure they have basements and cellars stocked with plenty of canned goods.
Unfortunately, most people stop there. They know the importance of prepping for the most common things they’ve seen their whole lives, but they just can’t imagine anything bigger. Hopefully you can and are ready to take the next step.
But before we get into that, please don’t assume you have to spend a fortune and stock up on 1,000 of freeze-dried food or buy a machine that will turn urine into drinking water. Prepping can be as mild or extreme as you feel necessary. The best way to ease in is to stock up on essentials you know you can use even if the apocalypse does not happen.
Blast From the Not-So Past
Who else remembers April of 2020? There were near riots over toilet paper, masks, and disinfectant wipes. Talk about a crash course in prepping! How about today with the supply chain problems keeping goods rotting on freighters off the coast while we can’t get the things that we’ve grown accustomed to in stores. It’s not Armageddon, but it’s certainly worth stocking up on the items you want and need while you can still get them.
Important Items for Prepping
To ensure you have enough supplies to last you through any impending disaster or unexpected emergency situation, we highly recommend stocking up on 30 days’ worth of essential items as a start.
- Drinking water (1 gallon per day/per adult)
- Canned food; mix of carbs, fats, and proteins is my choice (2,000 calories per day/per adult). And don’t forget pet food!
- A good first aid kit (containing antiseptic, bandages, ibuprofen, tweezers, gauze, and butterfly stitches)
- Potassium Iodide Tablets – Potassium iodide is used to block radioactive iodine from being absorbed by your thyroid gland and prevent hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid).
- Cash in small bills
- Some type of defensive weapon (just in case)
Obviously, you want more than one month’s worth to live on, but that’s a great start. If a month’s worth is too much to commit to, for any reason, how about one week?
Know Your Area
It’s a good idea to keep tabs on whether your home is in an area that could potentially be struck by natural disasters. If it is located in an area where a catastrophic event could occur, make sure you’re prepared for it with as many of these essentials as possible. After any serious injury it is important to stay calm, clean and move very carefully in order to avoid worsening your injuries.
Think Safety
In addition to personal hygiene products, disposable nitrile gloves are also great for first aid kits because they are non-allergenic and offer better protection against contamination than latex. Make sure to pick up home safety items, such as fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors. In addition, paper towels are great for clearing out small messes like grease fires and are easy to throw away when they become soiled.
Urban And Rural Preppers
People who live in urban areas-whether it’s a big city or a smaller town-are more inclined to prepare for potential emergencies. Rural residents typically have access to a land base that may have resources, such as hunting and farming; however, these methods of preparation are risky during extreme weather.
If you live in an urban area, there are many ways you can prep for emergencies. For example, if you have pets at home, consider boarding them at your local vet before evacuating, so they’ll get cared for in case of emergency.
In case you live near public transportation, think about how evacuation routes will be affected and develop backup plans in case travel becomes impossible during a disaster. Besides protecting your loved ones from harm, prepping could help keep communities together and safe after natural disasters strike.
Do You Need to Be a Prepper?
There are all kinds of preppers-from food to shelter, from money to self-defense, and all kinds of things in between. If you think it might be time for you to prep, take a moment to think about your own individual needs and situation. Maybe it’s time for you to buy a few supplies and make sure you’re prepared for any potential disasters that might come your way. But potentially prepping isn’t something you want or require right now.
Instead, maybe you should start with learning what prepping means. We’ve put together a quick guide on everything you need to know. Keep reading to learn more about what does prepping means, how do I get started as a prepper, and why you might even consider becoming one.
How To Be a Successful Prepper
Being a prepper is an enormous responsibility. This means you need to put lots of effort into learning about prepping and how it can benefit you and your family. Once you’ve learned everything, then make sure that you practice prepping every day, so that it becomes second nature to you.
If something happens, then you’ll know exactly what to do. If not, no worries – at least you’re one step closer to becoming a successful prepper! We don’t suggest that you stock up on tons of food and water because, in reality, you probably won’t use them all. Instead, we recommend starting small with just enough for a few days; then add more as time goes on. Keep It Relevant There is always something new to learn in prepping, which makes sense because situations change over time too.
Final Word!
Although preppers will agree that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to preparing for uncertain times, some basic guidelines have emerged. The number of people who are getting prepared is growing. As time goes on, it seems more and more of us are interested in at least supplementing our emergency supply with a few extra essentials. It’s not just survivalists who are concerned about SHTF scenarios anymore.
This isn’t hype; you really see more preppers out there now than ever before. Whether they admit it, even diehard non-preppers know something bad could happen someday, so they want to be ready if/when that day comes. In fact, some surveys suggest that up to 50% of Americans believe we may live through or headed toward an economic collapse right now-or soon-and many others believe terrorism or natural disasters could strike their neighborhood soon.