Northeast Preppers?

[Rancho]

I have been prepping over the last year and I am finding it difficult as I am met with a lot of resistance (wife) because of ignorance or maybe it's just fear and denial.
I can't even talk about it . It took some convincing just to get a months worth of storable food seeing as though I would very much like to have at least a years worth.
Ammo, guns, and supplies like water purification and other sundry articles needed aren't difficult because I have them already from being an avid hiker and outdoorsy type.
My friends think I am insane (well I may be a little nutty), even though all the signs are right in front of them they seem like they'd rather bury their heads in the sand or just ride the train til it derails, than be honest and realize we are headed for some heavy stuff.
I guess I am just wondering who else out there is like minded and prepping that I can talk to and learn more I feel kind of alone in this.

 

[TimMcG74]

I am trying but it's hard. My wife is on board more and more all the time and is actually starting to get excited the more she sees our panrty fill up. Still, I don't think she sees the larger threat; that we could be on our own with no income or connection to services for a substantial amount of time. Some of my perperations I just choose not to bring up.

 

[coastie]

How are you approaching it with your wife? Are you telling her that the world is about to end and you need 4K rolls of TP and 10 tons of wheat to survive the coming comet/ economic/ alien super doom scenario? If so change your approach. Look at natural disasters etc. Point to things like the tornadoes and floods. SAme for your friends. I used local power outages and ice storms to drive home that point to several of my friends in the last couple of years. Several bought generators, extra food and 2 installed alternate heating.

Try using that tactic that you can save money by buying in bulk. have her read the book One Second After. That has scared at least 2 people I know into prepping more.

Realistically if you have a solid months worth of food and supplies you are ready for 99% of what is coming down the pike. We all imagine that the world is going to suddenly end and we will be on our own forever. It hasnt happened yet and has been predicted for a very long time.

As for questions ask away in this forum. There are a lot of smart people here.

 

[drgrant]

How are you approaching it with your wife? Are you telling her that the world is about to end and you need 4K rolls of TP and 10 tons of wheat to survive the coming comet/ economic/ alien super doom scenario? If so change your approach. Look at natural disasters etc. Point to things like the tornadoes and floods. SAme for your friends. I used local power outages and ice storms to drive home that point to several of my friends in the last couple of years. Several bought generators, extra food and 2 installed alternate heating.

+ a billion.. Stay away from all the tinfoiler bulls**t and your message will get a lot further.

-Mike

 

[coastie]

I am trying but it's hard. My wife is on board more and more all the time and is actually starting to get excited the more she sees our panrty fill up. Still, I don't think she sees the larger threat; that we could be on our own with no income or connection to services for a substantial amount of time. Some of my perperations I just choose not to bring up.

Ber careful hiding preps. If something were to happen to you, how would your wife know about the preps that you hid? They wont do you any good but they might save her life.

 

[speedy]

Get what you want and need slowly. Soon she'll begin to ignore you. Do not anounce to just anyone, or advertise what you have. You'll be a target if things go crazy. Everyone will know where to go to get "their share", LOL. Have fun.

 

[TimMcG74]

Good point.

 

[Gak44]

I wish we knew how much time we have until everything goes south.

 

[Polibious]

If your prepping for relatively short term, much of what you store can be things you normally use i.e. experation dates of 1 year. Stockpiling can simply mean buying a little extra on every shopping trip and rotating your products as they near experation. Your wife might see this strategy as beneficial as your ensuring you don't run out of normal products; your not making her think she is going to be eating MREs. This is how I built up (gradually) 3 months of food and water. Depending on your medical conditions, don't overlook your rxs. If you can switch to mail order you can usually get a three month supply. Also, most rx programs let you refill your monthly orders one week prior to one month. If you delay switching to mail order for a few months, you can stockpile one month of rxs by consistently filling them one week early then, when you switch to mail order you will actually have four months of rxs.

Good luck!

 

[drumenigma]

My girlfriend makes fun of me a little bit for stocking up on things like water and fuel sources but I always throw out examples like the tornados that happened recently and other past events that weren't TEOTWAWKI but definitely threw off the balance of daily life for people. Those are the types of events I want to be prepared for at the very least. Ideally I would like to be good for at least a month as far as food and other supplies but I am not sure I will be at that point anytime soon.

 

[pernox]

I took the slow approach with my wife, and she got right on board. See if you can get her involved; if she's on a shopping trip, get her to look for the "24-hour" candles, if she's doing groceries, ask her to look for a good buy on dry beans. Talk about bad things happening; Haiti disaster, Japan quake, Katrina, the '08(right?) ice storm.. Get her to be a part of it and it won't seem so broad and all-encompassing.

And as Timber said, don't let her hesitation stop you from doing what you need to do. It's still your job, even if she doesn't want to see you doing it.

 

[BigAce74]

I started out talking in big SHTF/TEOTWAWKI scenarios at first with my wife which just kind of got weird looks from her. It wasn't until I started talking small & realistic situations (unexpected unemployement, natural disasters like floods, tornadoes, etc.) that she began to see the importance of prepping. The recent tornado in western mass helped the discussion as well.

 

[excoastie]

My wife and friends thought that I was crazy until the recent tornado hit Sturbridge. Then, when there were trees down on power lines, and trees on people’s homes and trees on the roads, suddenly I was the go-to guy! It is MY tarps that are on the roofs of my neighbors protecting their belongings because they were not prepared. It is MY ropes holding MY tarps on their roofs again, because they were not prepared. It is my freezer and refrigerator that was still running and could keep their foods properly maintained because they were unprepared. It was my chainsaw ripping through the wood to clear the roads and homes. See a pattern?

Let them think that you are crazy! When the human feces strike the oscillating blades, you will be the only one prepared. And that is why you own brass!

BTW, the wife now buys extra food for storage. And we can meat. Dehydrate and seal foods. We are buying barrels for long-term water storage. So, time will prove us right!

 

[mis4mike]

Gardening is a good hobby and victory gardens are a proud American tradition. Ammo is cheaper in bulk. Wheat berries from 5 gallon buckets are delicious (or so I've been told)...

As far as prepping, I agree with everyone who said ice storms - those are the most threatening natural disaster we have up here. TEOTWAWKI has yet to strike, but empires collapse as surely as they rise. My mom went to Russia when I was a kid and brought back stories about people boiling leather suitcases for food. These things do happen.

Tell your crunchy granola friends you're ready for climate change. Tell your right-wingnut buddies the fed is going to cause another great depression through hyper-inflation. Look at the economy RIGHT NOW: unemployment, financial insanity, sovereign debt crises - Gold and silver are fine, but the best hedge against anything is a deep larder.

 

[Duxprep]

Anything can happen at any time.

Ask your girlfriends/wives/friends if the residents in Japan near Fukushima woke up that day thinking there would be an earthquake, Tsunami and a nuclear disaster. People who give me crap about prepping I ask, " do you own a fire extinguisher?, Do you have homeowners insurance?, do you have car insurance, do you have life insurance? Prepping is another form of insurance - Food Insurance, heat insurance, light insurance, cooking insurance, and a great hedge against inflation. Over the past 50-75 years most of us have lost nearly all skills to be self reliant. Our ancestors knew how to grow food, raise animals create a pantry for hard times etc etc etc. The beauty and fun of prepping is re-learning these lost skills, teaching them to my children and becoming more self reliant in the process

 

[SheepDog_B]

Prepping! Sheesh. You folks ARE crazy! Barry would never let that happen! Besides, if there is a natural disaster like New Orleans, they'll just send the national guard to give us food, water, shelter. They'll hold you preppers at gun point, take you're guns, generators, water, food and supplies to distribute among the unpaired all while keeping the peace...

 

[Rider]

First, don't discuss prepping with most folks except 'ha ha ha - zombie apocalypse - ha ha ha'. That way they will know you are joking...and you will find that there are a lot of people who seem to know quite a bit about prepping.

Second, actually do go to the CDC zombie apocalypse web site. I'm not kidding. This site explains how to survive a zombie apocalypse, and they mention that their suggestions are also helpful for more common natural disasters.

While you're at it, maybe have your wife check out the NASA disaster preparedness web site. They have a program whose goal is to have all NASA employees and their families be prepared for a disaster, to include three day rations, bug out bags, bug out plans/routes, etc. Pretty good thinking if you live in Florida, but still, it makes you wonder, if the rocket scientists are prepping...

I'm not really sure how to bring your wife on board, except to say that there are a lot of very rational people, and government organizations, who recommend that you have some level of disaster preparedness plan. If you start out slow, get the basics, and go from there, maybe she'll see the wisdom in it. As another poster pointed out, you really don't need MRE's. A larder or shelf in the basement with a few packs of soup, chili, stew, pasta, and beans from BJ's is cheap, and you can rotate it into your regular cooking.

One problem excoastie highlights is that if you are the good citizen in normal times, should you experience a SHTF scenario, everyone knows where to go for food/shelter/guns/etc. It's not easy to balance being a good neighbor and having good infosec when it comes to prepping.

Disclaimer: I'm not a prepper, don't know anything about it, got no supplies at my house, move along. Also, take my opinions or leave them.

 

[mikecrom83]

Thanks to the boneheads in Washington, convincing a once resistant girlfriend has become much easier. I'd almost put her at joining/encouraging state.

 

[atmay]

With my wife, it was easy once we moved to where we live now. I started with "but hunny, we have well water. If the power goes out, we should really have a whole bunch of water on hand, since the well pump won't work". It also worked out well that the tap water tastes like bigfoots dick anyway, so we drink bottled water anyway.

After that, picking up a can of spam here, a jar of sauce there kinda slides by her, and the pantry keeps filling up further.

 

[digitaldon37]

I am trying but it's hard. My wife is on board more and more all the time and is actually starting to get excited the more she sees our panrty fill up. Still, I don't think she sees the larger threat; that we could be on our own with no income or connection to services for a substantial amount of time. Some of my perperations I just choose not to bring up.

This. It helps to get the wife on board. Having been through a job layoff and drastic cuts to the family budget helped convince her that we need to be ready for the worse.

My wife has been buying a little extra every time she does grocery shopping. We have (1) month set aside; next goal is (3) months.

 

[MrsWildweasel]

Use natural disasters as a way of getting her on board. Power outages for extended periods, etc. We've been prepping for awhile and while my ultimate goal is at least a years worth of food, etc.
We also have our own garden so I can and freeze all of our vegies for the year. We have our own chickens, and I would also like to raise a pig or 2 again.
My mother lives in the middle of tornado alley, and literally has her head in the sand. My brother and I have been trying to bring her around.
There were wild fires earlier this year and she had to evacuate her apartment. She took nothing with her,not even knowing if she would be able to go back in. So we have at least gotten her to keep a BOB with some of her meds, and some clothes. My brother made her a 72 hour kit when she first moved to TX. She thought it was a joke.
She's been kind of surprised at how much my brother and I do prep for and some of what we have on hand. With her it has been baby steps. With some you can see the way the economy is going and realizing something needs to be done.

 

[Rancho]

Thanks a lot for the replies , I was away this weekend in maine.
I have been pretty much following most of what you guys mention.
Not using the doom and gloom approach and pointing out the real things that can happen in a disaster and such. Seems to work well.
One day we (wife and i) were talking and I mentioned precious metals.
She replied with "you know what you can keep your pound of gold when disaster hits and I'll keep my pounds of food" . that was exactly what I wanted to hear , she's getting the idea that it's not such a crackpot practice to stock up ..
Even some friends are seeing it as a smart thing to do after the 08 ice storm, the floods and quakes and natural disasters all over the world.

Oh btw one of the major issues I have is room. I literally have no room to store a larger amount of food than maybe 3 months worth.

 

[Twigg]

If friends, neighbors and relatives think you're crazy stop talking about prepping with them. Convince then it was just a passing "thing" and complain about how there's never any food in the house.

Otherwise if the SHTF even a little , everybody's gonna be heading over to your place.

 

[KMS]

I wouldn't discuss prepping with anyone outside of my household.

 

[excoastie]

MrTwigg, the funny thing is that I never spoke to any neighbors about being a prepper. My home has just been the home that everyone in the neighborhood comes to whenever they need anything. I always have the ladder, the wood, the special tool and whatever else they need. So, when the tornado hit, they all came here for tarps and rope and other stuff. I couldn’t tell them ‘no’, so my stuff is all over the neighborhood. And, since it’ll probably never come back, I need replenish my stock.

I have questioned myself as to how far my generosity would go if the SHTF in a serious way and life as we knew if changed overnight. Is it my responsibility to feed the entire neighborhood because they are too lazy, too shortsighted or too stupid to prepare? I hope that question never gets asked in reality.

 

[FrugalFannie]

I have questioned myself as to how far my generosity would go if the SHTF in a serious way and life as we knew if changed overnight. Is it my responsibility to feed the entire neighborhood because they are too lazy, too shortsighted or too stupid to prepare? I hope that question never gets asked in reality.

No. It is not your responsibility. It is your responsibility to provide for you and your family - food, shelter and safety. If anything endangers that, don't do it.

 

[In God We Trust]

My wife is very tolerant of my prepping. I am not real serious about it because I don't think the world is going to end anytime soon. If I were you, I would spin it like this:

Tell her about inflation and how it makes sense to buy a lot of the stuff you will need in the future. Canned goods, TP, Socks, soap whatever. It is cheaper to buy a bunch now in bulk than to get it next year at a higher price. With the volotility of the stock market and the crappy interest rates banks are offering for savings and CD accounts, PLUS the added factor of inflation, you are losing money by saving money in the traditional sense.

When you buy bulk ammo and other commodities, you are actually investing. Once you have a good stock of everyday items, you will be spending less money and have more to save.

By the way, don't even tell your closest friends that you are prepping. Instead mention the concept of prepping to them and try to get them to start. If you tell them about your preps, they will almost certainly say "well, if TSHTF, I will just come to your house". Tell nobody and instruct the family to do the same.

 

[Rider]

I have questioned myself as to how far my generosity would go if the SHTF in a serious way and life as we knew if changed overnight. Is it my responsibility to feed the entire neighborhood because they are too lazy, too shortsighted or too stupid to prepare? I hope that question never gets asked in reality.

You've probably already seen it, but survivalblog.com has a lot of really good information on it, including(because the premise is that you are a Good Christian) dealing with the moral and ethical issues around dealing with friends and neighbors when the SHTF. For Example...

In my admittedly limited reading, this blog has more to offer on so many subjects that I recommend anyone even remotely interested in prepping read it. You really need to know what you are in for, or may be in for. The scenarios, the skills...this site gets past the apocalypse fantasy(remember, Mad Max only became the Road Warrior after his family was slaughtered) and gets into storage, farming, infosec, opsec, aggressors both civilian and otherwise, etc.

The challenge that you have, because you have identified yourself as a Good Neighbor, is that everyone will come to your house looking for handouts, and it will become your task to deal with those people, taking into account that every day's ration you give away is one day less that your family has.

The flip side is that in a rebuilding effort, you would be pretty well positioned as a person very important in the community, as long as you can keep the idiots from ruining your chain saw or wasting all your gas.

 

[Rancho]

I pretty much keep the prepping between me the wife and one close neighbor who has as much to offer as I do we take care of each other. Liek I said though wifey is coming along and now with the current destruction of the economy she's seeing in her terms financial failure (she's and accountant).
As for talking with other people about it I really don't this is the first time I really opened up if you can call it that. I just want to meet more like minded people like you guys.
No I do not think the world will end but I definitely think we're about to go for a rough ride and I do want to be prepared for anything.
I've got survival skills and am willing to learn more...

I have a question for all of you.. What about storing fuel (gas diesel propane) I have small propane tanks for the cook stove. I need a good way to store fuel for the generator.
I'd liek to complete this year with buying coms and maybe a solar backup system

 

[In God We Trust]

I pretty much keep the prepping between me the wife and one close neighbor who has as much to offer as I do we take care of each other. Liek I said though wifey is coming along and now with the current destruction of the economy she's seeing in her terms financial failure (she's and accountant).
As for talking with other people about it I really don't this is the first time I really opened up if you can call it that. I just want to meet more like minded people like you guys.
No I do not think the world will end but I definitely think we're about to go for a rough ride and I do want to be prepared for anything.
I've got survival skills and am willing to learn more...

I have a question for all of you.. What about storing fuel (gas diesel propane) I have small propane tanks for the cook stove. I need a good way to store fuel for the generator.
I'd liek to complete this year with buying coms and maybe a solar backup system

This stuff will keep your gas good for a year. http://www.goldeagle.com/brands/stabil/default.aspxJust make sure you dump the old gas in your gas tank and refill the cans when it gets close to a year. A gas generator is a short term solution to a short term problem. No matter how much gas you store, sooner or later you will run out. A wood stove is your best bet for short and long term heating. Solar is expensive and also limited, but probably the best bet for long term power failures.

As far as turning away friends in an emergency, I have very few real friends, but they would always be welcome at my place. I store more stuff than I would ever need for any common emergency just so that I would be able to help out my few close friends and neighbors. Even if I am prepped for a year or 2, the day is going to come when the chef boy ardee runs out. I would rather have a couple of close friends to watch my back and take a turn on watch while I sleep.

Long term, you will be hunting, fishing, gardening, foraging, building, hauling water, fighting off looters, etc. Thats a tall order for one guy and his wife. A small group with varied skills would be more valuable than another couple cases of MREs.