Do you know any preppers?

[Anonymous]

My mother became a Prepper a few years ago, and I’ve joined a few Prepper groups on FB and Reddit, just to try to understand the mentality. However, outside of my mother I don’t know
of any other preppers in real life. Do you know of anyone who is relatively “normal” who lives in a suburban area who is a Prepper? And by Prepper, I don’t mean just prepping for a hurricane or blizzard, but prepping for some kind of nefarious end of civilization type of scenario.

[Anonymous]

I’m a prepper. Or more accurately, our family is. All of us. We’re not very exciting though. Meteorological analyst for the FAA and MoCo high school teacher, plus 2 kids in HS. We’d make for a really boring TV show.

“Nefarious end of civilization type scenario” ?

What do you envision? Hoarding guns? Explosives? Small unit infantry tactics? Is that the kind of nutty stereotypes you’re talking about?

If we did have an end of civilization type scenario, most of you will all be dead from lack of potable water and basic sanitation within a few weeks anyway. I’m guessing very few people here on this forum have any means at all for making water safe to drink, so you’ll spend the last few days of your lives incapacitated by diarrhea.

[Anonymous]

I know a lot of LDS/Mormon families who are prepped without the prepper label. It takes so much storage space.

Is anyone a prepper who doesn’t have a garage or basement and lives in a smaller house who can give me tips? We struggle with having enough space to store supplies as well as timing rotation of stuff in and out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of LDS/Mormon families who are prepped without the prepper label. It takes so much storage space.

Is anyone a prepper who doesn’t have a garage or basement and lives in a smaller house who can give me tips? We struggle with having enough space to store supplies as well as timing rotation of stuff in and out.

There are lots of articles like this... https://www.amodernhomestead.com/bulk-food-storage-for-small-spaces/

[Anonymous]

We are preppers and I know I'm insane.
If I don't have it you probably don't need it. I have extra in case family ends up here. Our garage freezer is full and so is our in house freezer. We are not religious or end timers, nor paranoid hermits. Just regular people that saw the writing on the wall during the covid hysteria. There are only two things we need at the store at any given time, eggs and milk. Other than that I do think we could last a month or two maybe more if we had to. Even if we share. If we go down we all go together.
I cleaned out our hall closet and put a rolling metal shelf in there. All paper goods are stored there along with storage bags and garbage bags. Paper bowls, plates, plastic utensils, napkins.
I put another metal shelf in my walk in closet, double wide rolling shelf and filled that with long shelf life foods. Our bathroom cabinets have quart size containers filled with medications we buy regularly. Enough to last many many months. Every time I ordered any I always bought one extra.
Same with food. I buy two at a time of everything when it needs replacing. I don't let food go bad. New goes in the back shelf and older goes up front to use. Our walk in pantry had wasted space up top so my husband put up extra shelves. I keep a crockpot, electric skillet, mixer, blender, extra pet food up there and use the other shelves for can goods. Buying bulk is the way to go. Keeping a list of things helps too.
No one I know in my family does this and I do not tell anyone what we do except here. Anonymity is important. Not that the government or stores don't know because they do, sorry ass spies, but I like keeping my s... close to the vest KWIM ? If I showed family I think they would laugh or be scared. But really I don't care. It's my hobby right now.

It does not take a lot of space. A blank wall, a metal shelf in a bedroom, works. Those plastic shoe boxes are cheap and great for bandages and small food storage, batteries and flashlights. Cereal keepers and bread keepers are great also. Anything stackable works. We have a garage, no basement. We have an outside freezer. Huge water jugs for the toilet should we need and propane bottles filled are stored in the garage. Couple of Mr. Heaters just in case. Last year our power was out so we slept in the living room and lit the fireplace. We cooked and heated water in the garage. We're all electric so prepping helped. it.

Hope this helped. To make it all work you have to be committed but it is worth

[Anonymous]

I knew one, but he committed suicide a few years ago. His kids had to sort through a lot of stuff when he died.

[Anonymous]

My husband was a general hoarder until Covid, when he specialized in shelf-stable food. Thank goodness our house is tiny, otherwise it would get really bad. I've persuaded him to reduce his food hoard, but we still have lots of cans and pasta and rice, etc. Can't do anything about the rest, it's literal garbage in the basement that he swears he'll sort through and never does.

In his mind, he's a prepper. But he's actually not: he's not organized, doesn't keep a list, hyperfocuses on certain things (food right now) and doesn't buy medication or other supplies. He's pretty obviously of a hoarding mentality, and has the ADHD/ASD profile that so often goes with it.

[Anonymous]

I recently procured iodine tablets

[Anonymous]

My stepdad spent thousands on weird freeze dried food in the 80s. It was stored in the basement.

I would like to be at least a bit "prepped." Especially living in this area. Tempted to google some stuff now, lol, and/or read the link someone posted above.

[Anonymous]

You will be looted in like 4 days OP so don't bother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You will be looted in like 4 days OP so don't bother.

Not PP. And not to sound crazy but ... I think that is where the guns come in ...

[Anonymous]

I am not opposed to prepping but skills and planning makes more sense to me than hoarding anything or trying to make a safe place.

[Anonymous]

Just TP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a lot of LDS/Mormon families who are prepped without the prepper label. It takes so much storage space.

Is anyone a prepper who doesn’t have a garage or basement and lives in a smaller house who can give me tips? We struggle with having enough space to store supplies as well as timing rotation of stuff in and out.

I'm a prepper in a small house. Was a kid when USSR collapsed. My prepping mostly involves hoarding plants in the back yard. We have 8 types of fruit, and within each different varieties in case of plant disease, some will be more resistant. We have medicinal plants also. And many plants and habitat just for wildlife, for a healthy pollinators population. Small yard, NOVA

[Anonymous]

I know a few and would qualify as one but only if you used a really loose definition. Like, for instance: one family has a panic room, extra guns/ammunition in each house, whole house generators, and water storage + purification tablets. But, they don't have stockpiles of shelf-stable food, a garden or chickens or any way to get food like that, or even an extra freezer.

Another family does the family homestead thing with a garden, chickens, some canning, and dad hunts. They could stay fed for a while and have at least some basic weapons, but no water or medicine set back for emergencies.

We have a big garden, the ability to hunt, extra freezer full of meat, lots of shelf-stable food (and canning supplies) and a reasonable though not TLC-worthy supply of paper goods. We also have storage for water so if a hurricane or something was coming we could "prepare" for a situation where we'd be on our own for a week or less. But we don't have medicine set by, any chickens or livestock, a surplus of guns/ammo, or water treatment.

Basically to be a real "prepper" you have to be really dedicated with your time, your money, and your lifestyle choices. No one I know is on that level, but I know a lot of people who have made a choice here and there with an eye toward bad times.