#me trying to collect every empty bottle possible so i can buy a toy at the thrift store: what

[grandwretch]

reading about other ppl's disco elysium experience is so funny bc when i played i didn't even consider doing drugs. idk why but when the game was like oh btw there's drugs that make you better at being alive i was just like oh well obviously we aren't doing that. electrochemistry would try to talk me into it and i would just be like "oh that's nice dear" and get distracted by something else. i was playing on hard mode and refusing to even recognize it

[90s-2000s-barbie]

I wanted to post my more in-depth thrift tips.

I had an ask a while ago asking for my advice on tips. And I’ve had this in my drafts for a while just to make sure I really added everything I wanted to. So I’ve been going to thrift stores and garage sales my whole life but really picked it and collecting up as a hobby in 2009. Starting with basics. When I personally thrift, I go to local flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales, church sales, goodwills, any place near by that re sells used items. It��s cheaper in person than looking online. 100%.

My Main Rules:

Never pay full price. This stuff is USED and older for that matter. I don’t care if people think it’s rare, it’s used. Some things are on their last legs of life. I can’t tell you how many times I bought a vintage item or even clothes and they break, tear ex as soon as u get home, test it out, wear it then it breaks! It happens!) always keep that in mind. I also like to keep E6000 clear glue around just in case it’s something I can fix. (If u also try E6000, make sure to follow instructions on bottle exact and it will hold up forever. I glued heavy glass and it’s still together years later)

Only possibly think of spending a little more if the item is in a box and old stock or if it’s super meaningful to you. BUT if u use my tips, u can find old stock in boxes cheap even or decent priced when thrifting. I only pay little more or seek something out if it’s meaningful to me or extremely sentimental. (Old favorite toy or I got rid of and want back, something I always wanted and can now cause I’m 30! Ex….) 😂 otherwise, I don’t buy if the price isn’t right.

If you aren’t sure if it’s actually vintage, look for the year on the item, tag ex, or if u have a phone, look it up, look up the brand! Some super old stuff don’t have years on them too so keep that in mind, helps to use google.

I feel like if u go thrifting enough, u will find whatever you are looking for eventually so if the price isn’t right, don’t buy! You will probably see it again eventually and if you also do this as a hobby, u have a lifetime to come upon it again. lol

Go when u can afford it or really want to. I use to go WEEKLY, I would find things every week cause they constantly have different stuff. lol but now I have bills now and things are expensive, so it’s just not realistic for me anymore. I go once or maybe twice a month if I’m lucky. BUT I will admit, u will find a lot of items if u go weekly and can get first dibs but it can get pricey as it all adds up of course.

Leave no stones unturned. So when I go to the thrifting, I look EVERYWHERE. I spend HOURS. lol Sometimes u find the best stuff in the weirdest spots! I found a ADULT Powerpuff girls sweater from 2000 in the kids xl section! I’ve found vintage bedding on random clothing wracks. Sometimes things get moved, you will be surprised on what u will find.

So this use to be one of my rules when I had a better phone plan lol but if I feel like I’m questioning a price on an item, I use to look it up on eBay or google. (If you use eBay, their is settings they show what items actually sell for and not just what they r listed as. THIS HELPS. Sometimes people put insane prices but they definitely aren’t selling for that much! Helps to see the actual value if u need to.)

If u go to garage sales or flea markets, don’t be scared to ask for prices or make offers. If u like it, ask! If the price isn’t right, just say thanks and go on ur merry way. Key is always be nice and respectful if they don’t budge on price. You’ll probably see it again. lol. Least u asked! I use to be too shy to ask and I’d regret it! Also I’d go home empty sometimes cause of it. But now, I seem to really connect with people and try to be nice, talk to them like a potential friend! Sometimes the interaction makes my day and I can get a laugh out of some people. Even sometimes being nice and funny person can go a long way with others. One time I went to a small town and it was the last day of garage sale weekend and people just seemed so nice and liked me, they gave me stuff for free it kept happening throughout the day! lol Sometimes people won’t budge on prices though and that’s fine. And other times, people just want stock or items gone! lol They want money, they don’t wanna take the junk back inside their home and I get it! lol for example, one place gave me stuff for free cause she was trying to get rid of kids toys, her kids had so much she gave me stuff for free, some powerpuff girl plushies for 25 cents! One time, I had a guy tell me a doll I was looking at was worth $200. (Which He was right they sold for that much in box, I looked it up when I got home) he said was worth $200 but he was asking $20 cause he wanted it sold. He had no attachment and needed extra cash as he kept buying to resell but hasn’t sold much. I told him she’s cute but idk. I kept looking at his other items. Finally when I walked away, he shouted $10! I bought her up! lol One day, I bought a giant box of McDonald’s toys, (second photo from top right above the TMNT bag) for $2 for the entire Box!! Completely full! Was a family at the flea market that was just having a garage sale so to speak, they were moving so they didn’t want anything! lol Also an example too of the opposite scenario, an older lady was selling all spice girls dolls in box for $80 dollars all together (at the time the whole lot was cheaper on eBay, they were $45 for the lot and this stuff wasn’t popular so it just wasn’t selling at the time.) I asked price of baby spice alone and she wouldn’t split the band. I said ok thanks and went on my merry way! I later in life got 3 of the girls for $10 to $6 a piece in box. lol

HAVE FUN. This is my hobby. I’ve been doing this as a hobby since 2009! Of course it takes a while to get as much as I have. But I really only recommend thrifting if u REALLY enjoy it and collecting. You really have to enjoy it and to keep going! It’s like a treasure hunt to me! I do it as a collector cause it’s a blast. I‘ve met such interesting people, I’ve seen such cool things even if I didn’t bring it home and couldn’t afford the item. It’s fun! It’s so exciting to find something on a shelf u haven’t seen in years. Also fun to find things u forgot existed or just speak to u personally! I literally buy anything that just feels like it belongs with me anymore. I fall in love with the moment I look at it. I use to think, oh people will think I’m weird? and I still remember those items I passed up YEARS later and say why did I leave that behind? lol 😂 It’s such a cool hobby. I can tell u what I paid for just about everything! 😂 I remember it all cause I really do love it and I LOVE deals.

Also, all the pictures above are mine and things I thrifted, do not steal! If u have any questions about how much I paid for some of these items, or have any questions in general, don’t be afraid to ask. If u wanna know tips about thrifting on toys, clothes, ex, please ask! I will try to help to the best of my knowledge. The 2nd photo, 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th photo are perfect examples cause it’s everything I got at ONE flea market or thrift store, just one stop. Sometimes I find full collections! Each photo are from different days but are definitely good examples. Also if I forget anything I feel is super important to add, I’ll probably post another part 2 or something. ❤️ hope this helps someone.

I think it it would be cool, if any followers decided to thrift or if you use any of my tips and find some cool stuff, to make a post and tag me! Show me ur cool finds, what tips helped the you the best if u feel like adding that.

[brownskinsugarplum76]

Eye of the Storm, Ch 5

So, Maggie and Robert have made it home! There are lots of tender moments and a little smut. The full smut experience will come in another chapter or two.

Catch up on the story here. This is probably also a good time to reiterate that this is an AU story - - Robert is single, but I'm trying to hold on to as much of the rest of the LZ story that I can.

Thanks to @firethatgrewsolow for doing her excellent beta thing! ❤️❤️❤️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This really is paradise...” Maggie exited the car and marveled at the vividly colored flora before her and the rhythmic crash of the ocean that could be heard from behind the house.

She admired the sprawling, modern ranch with white walls and ceiling-to-floor windows that Robert had been calling home for quite some time. She decided she could get used to the stark, sunny house that sat in the middle of so much natural beauty.

Robert grabbed Maggie's bags. “Indeed. Coming here was the best possible decision we could've made for our tax exile hideaway. Abundant sun, the ceaseless roar of the ocean, and a short drive away from my favorite American playground… Paradise, that.”

They walked to the door. “Hold a tick, would you, love?” Robert walked the bags into the house.

“Thank you for agreeing to live with me for a fortnight… Or longer?" He asked when he returned, his voice full of hope. "I want to do this properly.” Before Maggie could ask him to explain what he wanted to do, or his mischievous grin, he lifted her into his arms and carried her over the threshold. He kicked the door shut behind them.

Maggie was all smiles and feeling like a queen. She settled on that description, quickly dispatching all of the bride and groom thoughts that tried to form in her head. Robert had yet to marry, and she expected that he wasn't the marrying kind. She didn't exactly mind, though, because she questioned whether it was the path for her. She wondered if living with Robert would change her mind, or if he would set her against marriage forever.

He lowered her to standing. With her back to the door, he caged her in his arms. Then he littered her with kisses, both delicate and rough.

She wound her hands into his hair and was thankful for the feel of his fluffy curls to ground her in reality, despite how hard Robert was trying to make her spin away into romantic dreams.

He caressed her face and backed up a few steps. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

“I must say, I do like the door to door service. Is that the custom here?” She was still too intoxicated from Robert's kisses to focus on the surroundings. A private chance to take a good, close look at him after so many months apart kept her mind occupied, and she didn't mind one bit.

“What's in it for me?” Robert stepped toward her again. He placed his hands on her shoulders and then let his fingers trail slowly down her arms.

“I think you remember, don't you?” She gazed into his heavy-lidded eyes and willed him to kiss her again.

This time their lips connected in a slow, rambling dance that made Maggie tingle from head to toe and purr contentedly. It wasn't the excited reunion kiss at the park, or even one of the lazy, familiar kisses they shared in the car. This intimate exchange was filled with warmth and romantic serenity and seemed capable of going on forever.

It was, however, over far too soon, when the phone on the coffee table started ringing. Robert sighed at the breaking of their spell. He ultimately chose to ignore the interruption in favor of Maggie, but in the jarring cacophony that separated them, she turned her attention toward the living room while the phone continued to ring.

She brushed her lips against Robert's one more time and walked out of the foyer. "So, what do we have here?" As much as she enjoyed his embrace, a chance to take stock of his current domestic habits was too good to pass up.

She expected there to be disorder that would reflect Robert's vagabond approach to life and the jumble of diverse thoughts that he always seemed to bandy about in his mind, but there was order and simplicity. She admired a glass coffee table and end tables, a navy set of sofas and love seats, and a wood-panel, floor-model television with a stereo perched on top. Albums making up a respectable record collection rested against the wall. A bookcase to one side of the room contained books on everything from early blues artists to Welsh mythology and a Fodor's guide to Morocco. A Persian area rug brought a little exoticism to an otherwise visually nondescript room.

“I see the look on your face, Mags." He closed the space between them and caressed her shoulders while lightly kissing her on the neck. "There's a housekeeper who comes by once a week. You have her to thank for the orderly Architectural Digest vibes that you see before you.”

“It looks fantastic.” She walked past the dining room, which had the same color scheme and was just as neat, save the bottles of a few different kinds of spirits at varying levels of use that greeted her on the table.

“How about meals?” She opened the refrigerator. “Have you gotten beyond boiling water?” She noticed takeout and some Tupperware containers that were half full.

“I have the best help that money can buy for that, too,” he responded, sitting on the couch and groaning as he extended his legs for a much needed stretch. “There's a lovely cook who comes by twice a week, bless her. She reminds me of my mum, which means no mayhem until she leaves.”

“The high priest of debauchery has adopted some decorum?” Maggie asked, returning to the living room and flopping down next to Robert.

“It appears that I've slowed down a bit. Blame the morphine for that…” He chuckled. “No, a little time away from the scene has given me much-needed perspective on life… Oh, speaking of Miss Betsy, the cook, I should mention that she and Miss Ellen, the housekeeper, have their own keys to get in. Cole and Benji, too.”

“Last but not least,” he said, “remind me and I'll give you a key of your own. I have a duplicate or two in the bedroom. It was easier to give people keys when I was resigned to wheelchair transport, you know? And I'll also get you the spare key for the Rover.”

“Thanks, Robert.” She was still having trouble believing that she would be living with Robert, but she had to admit that it was beginning to feel like home.

“Right. Let me put your jacket away, and then we'll get on with things, yeah?" He helped her shrug out of her coat and hung their outerwear in a foyer closet.

"Next on the grand tour are the beds and baths. We'll walk by Benji's bedroom, too. He doesn't live here, strictly speaking, but he's been around enough over the past several months that it made sense to give him an official place to crash.”

They kept walking. “Then there are a few other empty bedrooms for guests, and bathrooms for them to share.”

He paused at one room. “And this,” he said, opening the door, “is where the magic happens. Most of the time, you understand. For songwriting, uh, and more…”

Maggie entered the room and walked around while Robert opened the windows.

Much to her surprise, there were no piles of clothes or shoes on the floor. An ironing board rested against the wall next to the closet. He had more respect for the sanctity of his own bedroom than he did for the rooms he slept in on the road. She'd always guessed that there were two sides to Robert's life, and the peaceful, orderly nest that he'd shared with her was the clearest indication yet. She wondered what other surprises she'd encounter as she got to witness his life off of the road.

Though the room was tidy on the whole, she smiled as she began to recognize telltale signs of Robert's presence. There was the unmade bed, with his latest song notebook and a pen still in place from morning writing. A teacup sat on the nightstand. Just outside, on the patio, an overflowing ashtray sat on a small wrought-iron table. A  cluster of earrings, necklaces, and rings sat on the dresser, along with a feather roach clip. She'd seen him wear one in his hair before; she didn't know if the clip was for function or fashion, but either way, she knew his prized bundle of Acapulco Gold and its necessary accouterments would not be too far out of reach.

Also on the dresser were a wooden brush and a few different bottles of cologne. She imagined Robert standing at the dresser looking in the large mirror and toying with his locks. She had helped him with the task many times when his hair was too tangled, and she wondered who had done that for him most recently.

She noticed that the mirror faced the bed and was thankful for a reason to stop the line of thinking about his most recent conquests. She chuckled, knowing the mirror placement wasn't coincidence.

"What's so funny?" She turned around and saw Robert staring intently at her while he sprawled across the bed, on his side.

"I'm laughing at how you arranged things so that you can watch yourself in the mirror when you--"

"--Now, now, Maggie, I remember that you enjoyed it once or twice yourself, at some of America's finest lodging establishments. I'll be expecting a rousing 'you're welcome' from you, for said mirror placement, before we leave for the tours."

Her laughter turned to silence and blushing. "You're right," she admitted, approaching the bed. "It is hard to keep my eyes off of you."

"I feel the same about you, darlin'..." He stared up at her, beaming an affectionate smile. He crooked his finger and wiggled it at her. "I'm feeling a little lonely over here on this bed. Come join me, will you?"

Maggie climbed on and lay down, facing him.

"Ah, that's much better… A view that is only in competition with the splendor of the beach. But you get my vote for my favorite wild, beautiful territory to explore…" he murmured as he tenderly brushed a lock of her hair out of her face.

"It's a place I know well and love… Every mountainous curve, every flat plain, and especially that hot spring in the center of your world…" He trailed a couple of his elegant fingers down her neck, before letting his hand alight on her hip. "God, I've missed you, Maggie." He sighed as he leaned in closer. "I was a bloody fool to have kept myself away from you."

He nestled his other hand in her hair and drank in her essence by melding his lips to hers and letting his tongue  meander in her mouth. She gracefully yielded to his familiar, easygoing passion.

They both purred as the kiss continued. Maggie's fingers traipsed gently in Robert's hair, and one of his hands crept under her shirt and made its way north, traveling the distance with a slow, feather-light touch.

Maggie's breathing hitched and she shuddered as a tidal wave of carnal memories were triggered by Robert's kisses and caresses. Each private second of their time together, on and off over the past four years, came to life in her mind and her body once more. Without a visit from his irrepressible manhood she was still lost in the wake of the euphoric feelings that he stoked in her body with ease.

Her back arched as Robert made it to a nipple and brushed and tugged at it until it sprang to life. She moaned as heat and wetness began to pool inside of her.

"My sweet, sweet Maggie…" He rasped his proclamation and searched her eyes, still toying with her nipple, still not in a rush to do more.

"I've missed you so much," she sighed as her hand trailed down his back.

"I can't wait to be yours, Robert..." Her voice trailed off as he started to work on the button on her jeans.

"You already are. Mine. Only our tours will separate us now, darlin'. You have my word." He rose above her on all fours, kissing her and sending her zipper down its track.

She lifted her hips and he peeled the denim off her shapely brown legs. He palmed her between her legs and growled softly when he realized she was soaked through her panties. She felt his manhood begin to stir, even behind the sturdy fabric of his Landlubbers.

Robert rose to his knees and was about to take his pants down when a cacophony of animal noises started on the beach.

"Dammit, Strider," he muttered, instantly knowing what had happened as the chorus of excited dog barks and seagull cries continued.

Maggie shared Robert's love of animals, but in that moment, the chaos on the beach hit her like the cruelty of an alarm jolting someone out of a beautiful, lucid dream. She gazed in Robert's eyes, trying to make sense of what was going on. "Is everything OK?"

Robert sighed and then laughed. "Mags, I hate to interrupt, but I must subdue my precious canine, who enjoys the company of seagulls a little too much."

He stood, located her pants, and handed them to her. "Makes me wonder if this is his payback for no introduction between you two yet…"

"Sounds like he's used to special treatment, after you went and wrote a song about him," she said as she got dressed again. "That means his behavior is all your fault," she teased.

Robert grabbed Maggie for another deep kiss. "You'll soon find my blue-eyed boy has a mind of his own… But I never hold that against anyone who truly cares for me." He winked at Maggie, explaining how he felt about Strider and her in one simple quip. It made Maggie wonder if any of his songs were about her, or if any might be in the future.

"OK, ready to meet the furriest member of our family?" He linked his arm with hers as they headed for the sand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of my stories are here, or search for the hashtag #brownskinsugarplumlibrary

[apocalypticvalraven]

Ladies of Murderous Repute: Cracking the Seal

“Fucking ingrates...” Captain Nasturtium muttered as she slithered through the waterfront district of Greyhawk on tendril-roots under her skirts, her loyal cohort Rampant, or Rammy, striding along beside her, polished wooden body distracting many sailors due to polish being the only thing on it, aside from the darkwood chest she carried on one shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Captain, I cannot exert any actual control over the ship,” she said.

“Not your fault, love. It’s the damned crew. I knew we should have replaced them with skeletons... it’s just so expensive...”

Captain-Princess Nasturtium Majus was under the impression that her crew had deserted her while she was away from her ship, her father’s ship, the Rhododendron Rampant, on a land adventure. In reality, while the only two particularly capable members of the crew, herself and Rammy, incarnation of the ship, were ashore, a local royal navy had found the ship and smashed the fuck out of it. The only things left were as follows-

A chest of darkwood, bound in rune-enscribed iron, with a skull-shaped latch, within which she kept her father’s hat and Jolly Roger

A pouch of humanoid leather, within which were letters of mark, signed by Hell, magically enchanted to appear as if they were signed by any mundane ruler desired

A key, grown from coral, which unlocked a chest long sunk and lost in the sea

Her collection of exotic sex toys

This was partially why she believed her crew had deserted her. It was quite believable to Nasturtium that while they were prepared to mutiny, albeit in the most cowardly way possible, they were not about to steal anything which she was particularly attached to. The first three things, however, defy destruction, being marks of her status as pirate royalty, and will only leave her possession if another claims the mantle of King of Pirates, namely by killing her. The last only survived because the chest had an enchanted volume and it was a handy place to keep her sizable collection.

The other reason she believed her crew had deserted her was the simple fact that though they were accustomed to the weirdness that followed her, that didn’t mean they liked said weirdness, and she was quite aware of that.

“I need a drink, damnit.” Nasturtium muttered, idly picking up a suddenly-appearing bottle of rum with one root tendril and lifting it to her hand.

“Captain... you have a drink.”

“I mean a drink in a tavern! This magic booze is fine and all, but it doesn’t help me find a new crew.”

“...Captain... can’t the key raise a skeleton crew?”

Nasturtium turned to Rammy. “Look, I know I just said I should have replaced the crew skeletons for the reliability, but skeletons are just... so dumb. Like, really, incredibly dumb.”

“Fair,” Rammy replied. “So. Where do we go, then?”

“Well, we’re in the docks district, and there are roughly twenty taverns just that I can see from here. So... help me find the cheapest looking one.”

“That one has a mummified orc’s head held together with twine, and empty chains where a sign should be,” Rammy pointed out, to their left and slightly ahead.

“Yeah, but this one over here just has a tankard with no bottom hanging from where it should have a sign or racist trophy, and the windows have been filled with reclaimed barrel slats and pitch,” Nasturtium pointed to the other side of the street.

“Is glass that expensive?”

“When you’re a cheap bar owner, anything you have to buy is too expensive. The watered down ale is probably just water put into old kegs.”

The pair crossed the street and walked through the doorless doorway. Nasturtium noted the nearby table with chains hanging from the underside of it and the fist sized holes to either side of the door that said chains were probably threaded through when the tavern closed. They scanned the inside of the tavern, eyes sweeping over the dregs of the dock population who had probably floated here after spending all their money at better, more expensive bars. Nasturtium slithered over to the bar, where the owner was busily wiping a tankard- not to clean it, of course, but to try to salvage any lingering drops of possibly, faintly, homeopathically alcoholic liquid to wring back into the keg.

“I’m going to be your favorite customer. I am going to give you five entire gold coins, and you are not going to bother me about the fact that I am drinking my own booze in your tavern, rather than the ‘booze’ you sell that is probably about as acquainted with alcohol as my cooch is with your dick. Which is to say ‘never going to be’.” She set down a small stack of the aforementioned coins, which were quickly swept up by the man, only seen because immediately counted them. Twice.

Nasturtium sat down at a handy table, and lifted a bottle of rum that had appeared in her hand. “Ok, Rammy. Look for anyone who is just slightly too good for this place.”

“Other than us?”

“Other than us.”

Almost on cue, a large woman, seemingly carved from strangely soft-ish stone, stumbled into the doorway, loudly ranting about ‘fucking godsdamned racist bastards.’

She was a half orc, which explained a lot about her. It explained her broad shoulders, her wide hips, her biceps that were larger around than some farm animals. It did not, however, explain her wrapped fists, the large, spiked metal things, something like helmets without eye holes, or gauntlets for an ogre who had no need of their fingers, that hung from her belt, or the complete lack of any obvious weapons on her. Of course, every orc and half orc was themselves a weapon, at least in so far as the common human townie was compared, but usually they augmented their weapon-ness with manufactured weapons of the bladed or heavy and metal variety. The half orc bee lined to the bar. “Wine,” she growled in a voice that one does not usually associate with growling. Or orcs. It was quite feminine.

The bar owner looked at her, and frantically tried to figure out in his head what the fuck he was going to give this woman who could crush his head by curling her arm.

Nasturtium simply waved to her, and beckoned her over with a large bottle of red liquid.

The half orc turned without giving the bar owner a second glance and walked over. “I prefer roses.”

Nasturtium quickly picked up another bottle, containing a clear pink liquid, and handed it over. “Glad you could have a drink with us. I am Princess-Captain Nasturtium, and this is my first mate, Rampant.” She held up her bottle of rum to toast her new friend.

“Phereinkrata,” the half orc said, lightly clinking her bottle against Nasturtium’s. “I may decide you can call me Phoe, if I like you. Conjuring alcohol is a good way to get me to like you.”

“And I may decide you can call me Nast if I decide I like you,” Nasturtium replied, “There are a lot of ways to get me to like you. Rammy can make her own decisions about what you get to call her.”

The wooden woman simply nodded her head to the half orc.

“So. Fancy hat, accompanied by a nude, wooden woman, captain, conjuring alcohol... I’m going to guess you’re a pirate.”

“Why, yes, yes I am. However, my crew recently mutinied, so I’m in the market, as it were, for new compatriots. I’m going to assume, by your manner of dress, the large, I’m guessing, weapons, hanging from you hips, and the general racist nature of humans, elves and dwarves, that you’re what is known as an adventurer? A sword for hire, so to speak? A murderhobo, as we often get called when no one thinks we’re listening?”

Phoe cracked a grin, “That is correct. Only honest job I ever had was in an arena, and I wasn’t that honest. Got a job?”

“Well, I would like to hunt down my crew and make them suffer for stealing my father’s ship, but I have to find something to busy myself with until then. So, perhaps we can find another charming woman of murderous repute or two, and look for work together?”

Phoe finished her bottle and chucked the empty behind her, where it lightly beaned another patron into shallow unconsciousness, and smiled, her tusks standing out against her full, dark green lips. “I’d love to.”

[electricoutdoors]

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping

How to Get Started Prepping

One of the questions that I get asked the most is, “How do I start prepping?” One of the biggest secrets about prepping is the fact that there aren’t any big secrets. Everyone does things differently and everyone has a unique situation that needs to be addressed when you’re prepping.

Here are some of the best tips I found from around the web on how to get started prepping.

Tip #1:

The single most important step to prepping is to just start doing it. This may seem easier said than done if you are on a tight budget but it’s true.

The most important and difficult thing for people to do is to just get started doing something.

Source: Tactical Intelligence.net

This tip goes well beyond just getting started with prepping. If you refer back to my article on How to Stop Bleeding this is my number one tip there as well. Just getting started will help you out. Too many people get caught up in the “planning” phase and never get into the “doing” phase. Get out there and get started!

Tip #2:

The foundation is, obviously, essentials like air, water, and shelter. Once you’ve got those covered you can then think about the next layer, and so on. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization, which means things like enjoying hobbies and “finding yourself.”

Source: The Prepared

Starting with the basics is the best place to begin. Once you have the very basics covered, then move on to other items.

Tip #3:

The way of our past has simply been forgotten by the convenience of our current economy. Start collecting bottled water. The first item on your prepping checklist is to get water because you won’t be able to survive more than three days without it. Head to the dollar store or the now for some cheap finds in bottled water, but take heed of these bottled water warnings. Later you can get fancy with water storage tanks and water filtration methods.

Get water. Buy a few gallons of water starting with at least three gallons per person in your household. Buy water at the dollar store for $1 a gallon. You can’t live more than three days without water. It’s a precious resource. It’s just a start, but a good one.

Source: Happy Preppers

You should start out by storing water. You’ll need water than you think and you probably won’t be able to store all the water that you need. A good water filter like a Big Berky is a great investment! This allows you to gather water from outside sources without worrying about any possible contaminants.

The first step in filtering water should always be to pour the water through a clean cloth or even a coffee filter. This removes a majority of the large sediment from the water and will extend the life of your water filter.

Confused about which water filter to buy? Make sure you read our article How to Choose the Best Survival Water Filtration System to figure out what you should look for in a quality filter.

As always, be careful with water that is potentially contaminated with gas or other petroleum products. Most filters cannot remove this form of contamination from the water.

Tip #4:

Concentrate on bugging in, especially when you’re first starting out. Later, you can work on a bug out plan, but if you don’t have enough to bug in for long, that’s where you should be concentrating your efforts. Chances are high that you will not be driven out of your home by intruders; and unless you live in a place that may be hit by really terrifying natural disasters (very bad hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, etc.), it’s a pretty safe bet to make that you’ll be able to be at home when an emergency happens. Home is quite frankly the safest place to be unless there is a direct threat anyway – things are where you put them, you have access to a lot more goods and supplies than you can carry with you – there are so many advantages to bugging in so that, if it’s an option, I would recommend bugging in over bugging out.

Source: More Than Just Surviving

Many beginning preppers focus on bugging out when they first get started prepping. Bugging out should be your last resort. All of your preps are at home so try to stay there for as long as possible. The only real reason to bug out is if staying in your home is unsafe.

Tip #5:

Disasters can strike quickly and without warning. What that disaster is, depends on where you live. Knowing what type of disasters could affect the area you live in will help you plan more thoroughly for an event.

Deciding on the type of disaster to prepare for will also help to determine the type of survival gear that is needed. If you are new to prepping, you should start by planning for the disaster that is most likely to occur in your area.

Source: Humans Are Free

When you’re first starting out, it makes the most sense to focus on the most likely disaster you could face. As an example, if you’re worried about something like an EMP but live in a flood zone start out by getting things that will help you in case of a flood as you build toward your end goal of prepping for an EMP attack.

Tip #6:

Food – We can last about 4 weeks without food, making food priority number two. The best approach is to stock up on foods you and your family eat on a regular basis, but keep in mind you probably won’t have electricity for refrigeration. An easy approach is… every time you make a trip to the grocery store, pick up an extra can or two of meat, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter, boxed crackers, and a few packaged treats. You can add to this list as you go, but the first goal is to build up a 3 week supply of food and water as soon as you can. (Don’t forget Fido!)

Source: The Survival Gene

Once you’ve stored your first few days of water, add some food to the mix. I often suggest that people work back and forth between food and water until they have about a month’s supply of each.

Tip #7:

You probably won’t be able to learn everything you need to know before the next disaster strikes. And if the power is out or the Internet is down, you won’t be able to Google whatever you need to know, so buy some books or print important articles and put them in a three-ring binder.

Source: Urban Survival Plan

Knowledge is everything when it comes to prepping. Try to learn something each day, even if it isn’t something amazing, it could prove useful in the future.

I really like Urban Survival Site’s suggestion of building an old-school library. The internet most likely won’t be as reliable (or available at all) in many disaster situations.

Tip #8:

Job loss is a risk everyone faces, even if you are self-employed. Does your family have provisions to get you through a hard time? I have heard people talk about losing work and going home to bare cupboards. How do you choose what to spend that last paycheck on? Will you get work fast enough to continue paying your bills?

Source: The Tiny Life

Prepping helps in all kinds of disasters. Job loss is something that people often don’t consider when prepping. If you need an extra reason to get started prepping this may be it.

Tip #9:

Do not go into debt preparing, but gather a little at a time. There is much you can do that will cost you little and that is gaining knowledge. Investing in preparations today is an investment in your family’s survival in the future.

Source: Preparing for SHTF

Prep as much as you can afford. Don’t go crazy buying hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of food and gear if you can’t afford it. Too many of us get caught up with shiny new toys and forget that prepping is supposed to get you out of trouble, not get you into it.

Tip #10:

Flour: Grab about 20 or 30Lbs of flour. Even if you don’t use much flour today, you would be surprised at how quickly if goes when you are making bread and pancakes. Flour is also a great way to extend your food supply if you happen to get unexpected house guests.

Sugar: Grab 10Lbs of sugar. Sugar is another staple of baking and can also be used to sweeten many other bland food. Coffee, tea or cool aid? You’re going to need sugar if you plan on drinking something other than water.

Salt: Pick up 5lbs of salt. Our bodies need salt to survive, although too much can be bad for your health. Salt also makes some of the bland foods we might be eating a little more palatable.

Source: Survivalist Prepper

Stocking up on basic staple foods can be much more cost-effective than buying piles of freeze-dried foods. In fact, many staple food items like rice, bean, salt, and sugar will outlast other long-term storage foods.

Tip #11:

Lately, these fear ramblings largely focus on what will happen in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. (I know there are other things to worry about too, maybe even more pressing, how about you not tell me about them in the comments.) And while I’ve always laughed at the doomsday preppers who build bunkers and stockpile guns, I’ve recently started to consider that they might be on to something. Not for an apocalypse, necessarily, but for a disaster on an ordinary American scale: Hurricanes Katrina or Sandy, September 11th, even the 2010 blizzard with its empty grocery shelves and no clear routes to the hospitals. In my early-morning panics, I ask myself, how on it do I think the Trump administration will be? Will Trump’s FEMA be a fast, organized, efficient machine?

Source: LifeHacker

This is really two tips in one, well one observation and one tip. First, the observation. Prepping has become mainstream. When places like LifeHacker are covering how to start prepping, you can know two things. Prepping has made it to the main stage, and the people prepping aren’t the same old demographic that most people would expect.

Now the tip. No one can go it alone forever. With more people prepping now than almost any time in history, it’s very likely that there are others in your area that prep. Making contact with them, before disaster strikes could potentially result in an ally when you need them most.

Tip # 12

Get the mental attitude – understand what your specific challenges will be and make a plan to be safe in those instances. Do you need to prepare for earthquakes, wildfires and civil unrest? How will your family communicate if you are separated? Once you have a plan you can buy or make the things you need.

Source: Preparedness Mama

Having the correct mindset goes even farther than understanding your situation. This is perhaps the most important tip of all of them. Having the mindset to survive, no matter the opposition will take you farther than almost any other item you can store away!

Conclusion

Getting started prepping can be a daunting task. Just get started as soon as you can and focus on the basics. You’ll be more prepared than you ever thought you could be in no time.

Be sure to check out our other preparedness articles for more information on where to go from here. Our article on 40 great prepping tips is a good place to start.

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping was first seen on: readylifestyle.com

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping published first on https://readylifesytle.tumblr.com

[thecoroutfitters]

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editor’s Note: This post is another entry in the Prepper Writing Contest from Kena K. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.

Everyone has different reasons for prepping. For us it was the combination of hearing about the increasing devastation of more natural disasters in the U.S. and abroad, and seeing how many people lost their jobs and homes during the economic recession. Initially, our thought was just to have some extra food in the cupboards in case I lost my job. We started by emptying out the closet in our extra bedroom, which allowed us to get rid of some of the extra “stuff ”we all seem to accumulate. Next, we purchased a few shelving units on sale, and secured them to the wall inside the closet. From there, we researched food items with longer storage lives like beans, instant rice, oatmeal, pasta, instant potatoes, honey and sugar and then started buying a little extra food each time we went to the store, focusing on sales to keep things cheaper. Once home with the the food, I wrote the “use by” date on the labels of the food before storing them in the closet so the items that expire soonest would be used first and those with the later expiration dates would be placed behind those to be used later.

//

As time went on our food storage grew and became more diverse. We began to compare our closet to a savings vault and the more food we put in it, the richer we felt. Coincidentally, the more we collected, the more interested we got in the whole prepping concept. I organized the food according to categories like beans, rice, oatmeal, canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned fish and meats, boxed meals, spices, baking items, drink mixes (coffee, tea, hot cocoa, hot cider, instant milk, Gatorade, Tang, Kool-Aid, etc.) and so on. We not only thought of ourselves, we also planned for the possibility that other members of our family might have to leave their homes, so we downsized more of our “junk” to create more space, and collected more food.

The biggest challenge for me was storing water. I didn’t want anything to be so heavy it would fall on our heads, collapse the shelves, or worse to leak and ruin our food, so I boiled water and stored it in glass quart jars that I had saved from empty juice containers, and then dated the jars and placed them upright, underneath the shelving units where lucky for me, they fit perfectly. I also purchased and stored some plastic drinking water bottles. Since the minimum recommendation is to save one gallon of water per day, per person and pets, and since water is life, I found it difficult to determine how many days we should save for and where to find enough space to store it all. Eventually, I got creative and found other places throughout the house to store more water and we kept empty 5 gallon water containers with our camping gear so we could use them to gather more water, as needed.

Prepping isn’t a new idea – What is new is the idea that you don’t need to prepare.

At some point, we began to expand our storage items from just food into thoughts of our pets needs, first aid, extra indoor and outdoor clothes and shoes, towels and blankets, soap, shampoo, lotion, toothbrushes, toothpaste and the like, again purchasing items on sale. We started going to garage sales to look for things like oil lamps and camping items. We made Bug Out Bags for ourselves should we need to evacuate at a moments notice and I even stored a few emergency items in my purse and in our vehicles. We have a camp trailer so we also got it ready with extra sleeping bags, food, hygiene items, books, puzzles, cards, and toys for the grandkids. It became a game to us, always thinking of things we might need and how to purchase them without spending tons of money. We bought things like tools, personal protection items, backpacks, cooking and camping gear for each other for our birthday and Christmas presents. During the winter when the weather was too bad to go outside, I used my time to copy our important papers, put family pictures in a small photo album, and wrote down their addresses, phone numbers and birthdays and anything else of importance I could think of (scars, blood types, etc). We stored some state and Forest Service maps in the glove box and our backpacks in case we had to travel or use the back roads. I also started collecting recipes for ways to use the freeze-dried foods we’d purchased.

In the spring we expanded our garden area and mostly planted food that we could freeze, dry or can. We felt really good growing our own food because we kept it organic and knew it would taste so much better in the winter than grocery canned foods. We read articles on sprouting and bought seeds so we could try it. Since we owned an acre of land outside the city limits we figured we should utilize our property to help us survive, so instead of a yard full of grass and ornamental trees, we opted for edible landscaping by planting a few fruit trees, berry plants, rhubarb and herbs. We even raised our own chickens for eggs and meat, and had rabbits and turkeys for awhile.

Keep in mind that none of this happened over night by any means. It was something that we started that grew over time. It grew because we saw the importance of it, turned it into a game and then had fun doing it.

What could possibly go wrong?

As our adult children came to visit they began to notice all the food we were collecting and they laughed saying if the Cascadia Fault line acted up, they would just bring their friends and come to our house since we were already so stocked up. I had read an article about someone who opened his property to a few friends who ended up bringing other friend after the Katrina hurricane in 2005 but no one brought anything to contribute towards the cause and soon the years worth of food that he had saved for himself was gone because he had to share it with everyone else. Remembering this, I told the kids that they were more than welcome to come and to think about what they could bring to contribute (food, bedding, towels, etc), and that we had indeed planned for them to stay with us if need be, but then I had to let them know that we did not have enough for their friends, so they would have to prepare for themselves or plan on going someplace else. I felt like I was being a bit mean, but when the SHTF, we all have to decide who can enter our domain and who can’t…and what we are willing to do in order to back that up.

Major cities affected by a disturbance in this subduction zone include Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon.

That year for Christmas, I gave the kids a mini survival bag for the glove box of their cars that included things like a metal cup with a bit of food, a pocket knife, flashlight, fire starter, and hand warmers and a tiny address book that I wrote our address and phone number in, thinking that in an emergency they may not have cell service so it would be helpful to have important numbers written down with the hope they might be able to use a land line. I told them it was just a starter kit, and encouraged them to add to it.

After some time, I noticed it seems the kids have been paying attention. They have started to collect extra food in case the power goes out or they get sick and can’t go to work or get to the store. My 80 year old mother recently had to rely on the water and food she had stored for just such an occasion when she was unable to leave home due to a heavy snow storm. Fortunately she didn’t lose power, but if she had, she would have been OK because she had candles, a flashlight and an indoor propane heater on hand that we had given her. She had extra blankets and winter clothes too, all things we had given her or that she had gotten for herself. It was a big relief to know she was prepared as we do not live in the same town and are in fact divided by a mountain pass that may have been impossible for us to go over during the storm. Fortunately, she also has a kind neighbor who helped keep her walkway shoveled and some folks from her church who stopped by to check on her. I would prefer that we lived closer so we could help her more, but for now at least, that is not the case.

Whatever your reason, I hope this article inspires you to begin your prepping adventure. Keep it simple, make a game of it, and don’t spend a ton of money upfront if you don’t have it. Second-hand stores, Dollar stores, garage and estate sales, all have great deals. Online stores and military supply stores are great places to look for backpacks, camping supplies, military clothing and a whole host of other items without paying an arm and a leg for it like you might at a specialty-type store. There are numerous prepping articles full of great advice and helpful lists of whatever you might be interested in, like what to put in your first aid kit or your bug-out bag for example. There are also plenty of prepper-type stores online to buy freeze-dried and dehydrated food if you choose to go that way, and they tend to have different items on sale every month, which is how I am building up our freeze-dried and dehydrated items. You can even find a limited supply at some stores like Walmart. So, there are lots of options, and the more you get into it, the more you will want to do. Perhaps you can get others to join you – encourage your family, friends and neighbors to have extra supplies on hand “just-in-case” explaining you never know when you might get sick or when the power will go out. Let them know they don’t want to be the one stuck without gas, food or water. They wouldn’t want the power to go out and be sitting in the dark without some sort of light, heat, or a way to cook and clean. Invite your friends to go to a garage sale with you as a fun way to get started.

There is still so much I want learn like emergency first aid, tying knots, identifying edible mushrooms and wild foods. Reading books and watching survival-type shows is a fun way to be introduced to different ways to build shelter, make fires, use weapons and just live off the land, but of course nothing prepares you for this type of survival like taking a class and practicing your skills and I look forward to it all. I hope you do, too.

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from The Prepper Journal Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

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Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping

How to Get Started Prepping

One of the questions that I get asked the most is, “How do I start prepping?” One of the biggest secrets about prepping is the fact that there aren’t any big secrets. Everyone does things differently and everyone has a unique situation that needs to be addressed when you’re prepping.

Here are some of the best tips I found from around the web on how to get started prepping.

Tip #1:

The single most important step to prepping is to just start doing it. This may seem easier said than done if you are on a tight budget but it’s true.

The most important and difficult thing for people to do is to just get started doing something.

Source: Tactical Intelligence.net

This tip goes well beyond just getting started with prepping. If you refer back to my article on How to Stop Bleeding this is my number one tip there as well. Just getting started will help you out. Too many people get caught up in the “planning” phase and never get into the “doing” phase. Get out there and get started!

Tip #2:

The foundation is, obviously, essentials like air, water, and shelter. Once you’ve got those covered you can then think about the next layer, and so on. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization, which means things like enjoying hobbies and “finding yourself.”

Source: The Prepared

Starting with the basics is the best place to begin. Once you have the very basics covered, then move on to other items.

Tip #3:

The way of our past has simply been forgotten by the convenience of our current economy. Start collecting bottled water. The first item on your prepping checklist is to get water because you won’t be able to survive more than three days without it. Head to the dollar store or the now for some cheap finds in bottled water, but take heed of these bottled water warnings. Later you can get fancy with water storage tanks and water filtration methods.

Get water. Buy a few gallons of water starting with at least three gallons per person in your household. Buy water at the dollar store for $1 a gallon. You can’t live more than three days without water. It’s a precious resource. It’s just a start, but a good one.

Source: Happy Preppers

You should start out by storing water. You’ll need water than you think and you probably won’t be able to store all the water that you need. A good water filter like a Big Berky is a great investment! This allows you to gather water from outside sources without worrying about any possible contaminants.

The first step in filtering water should always be to pour the water through a clean cloth or even a coffee filter. This removes a majority of the large sediment from the water and will extend the life of your water filter.

Confused about which water filter to buy? Make sure you read our article How to Choose the Best Survival Water Filtration System to figure out what you should look for in a quality filter.

As always, be careful with water that is potentially contaminated with gas or other petroleum products. Most filters cannot remove this form of contamination from the water.

Tip #4:

Concentrate on bugging in, especially when you’re first starting out. Later, you can work on a bug out plan, but if you don’t have enough to bug in for long, that’s where you should be concentrating your efforts. Chances are high that you will not be driven out of your home by intruders; and unless you live in a place that may be hit by really terrifying natural disasters (very bad hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, etc.), it’s a pretty safe bet to make that you’ll be able to be at home when an emergency happens. Home is quite frankly the safest place to be unless there is a direct threat anyway – things are where you put them, you have access to a lot more goods and supplies than you can carry with you – there are so many advantages to bugging in so that, if it’s an option, I would recommend bugging in over bugging out.

Source: More Than Just Surviving

Many beginning preppers focus on bugging out when they first get started prepping. Bugging out should be your last resort. All of your preps are at home so try to stay there for as long as possible. The only real reason to bug out is if staying in your home is unsafe.

Tip #5:

Disasters can strike quickly and without warning. What that disaster is, depends on where you live. Knowing what type of disasters could affect the area you live in will help you plan more thoroughly for an event.

Deciding on the type of disaster to prepare for will also help to determine the type of survival gear that is needed. If you are new to prepping, you should start by planning for the disaster that is most likely to occur in your area.

Source: Humans Are Free

When you’re first starting out, it makes the most sense to focus on the most likely disaster you could face. As an example, if you’re worried about something like an EMP but live in a flood zone start out by getting things that will help you in case of a flood as you build toward your end goal of prepping for an EMP attack.

Tip #6:

Food – We can last about 4 weeks without food, making food priority number two. The best approach is to stock up on foods you and your family eat on a regular basis, but keep in mind you probably won’t have electricity for refrigeration. An easy approach is… every time you make a trip to the grocery store, pick up an extra can or two of meat, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter, boxed crackers, and a few packaged treats. You can add to this list as you go, but the first goal is to build up a 3 week supply of food and water as soon as you can. (Don’t forget Fido!)

Source: The Survival Gene

Once you’ve stored your first few days of water, add some food to the mix. I often suggest that people work back and forth between food and water until they have about a month’s supply of each.

Tip #7:

You probably won’t be able to learn everything you need to know before the next disaster strikes. And if the power is out or the Internet is down, you won’t be able to Google whatever you need to know, so buy some books or print important articles and put them in a three-ring binder.

Source: Urban Survival Plan

Knowledge is everything when it comes to prepping. Try to learn something each day, even if it isn’t something amazing, it could prove useful in the future.

I really like Urban Survival Site’s suggestion of building an old-school library. The internet most likely won’t be as reliable (or available at all) in many disaster situations.

Tip #8:

Job loss is a risk everyone faces, even if you are self-employed. Does your family have provisions to get you through a hard time? I have heard people talk about losing work and going home to bare cupboards. How do you choose what to spend that last paycheck on? Will you get work fast enough to continue paying your bills?

Source: The Tiny Life

Prepping helps in all kinds of disasters. Job loss is something that people often don’t consider when prepping. If you need an extra reason to get started prepping this may be it.

Tip #9:

Do not go into debt preparing, but gather a little at a time. There is much you can do that will cost you little and that is gaining knowledge. Investing in preparations today is an investment in your family’s survival in the future.

Source: Preparing for SHTF

Prep as much as you can afford. Don’t go crazy buying hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of food and gear if you can’t afford it. Too many of us get caught up with shiny new toys and forget that prepping is supposed to get you out of trouble, not get you into it.

Tip #10:

Flour: Grab about 20 or 30Lbs of flour. Even if you don’t use much flour today, you would be surprised at how quickly if goes when you are making bread and pancakes. Flour is also a great way to extend your food supply if you happen to get unexpected house guests.

Sugar: Grab 10Lbs of sugar. Sugar is another staple of baking and can also be used to sweeten many other bland food. Coffee, tea or cool aid? You’re going to need sugar if you plan on drinking something other than water.

Salt: Pick up 5lbs of salt. Our bodies need salt to survive, although too much can be bad for your health. Salt also makes some of the bland foods we might be eating a little more palatable.

Source: Survivalist Prepper

Stocking up on basic staple foods can be much more cost-effective than buying piles of freeze-dried foods. In fact, many staple food items like rice, bean, salt, and sugar will outlast other long-term storage foods.

Tip #11:

Lately, these fear ramblings largely focus on what will happen in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. (I know there are other things to worry about too, maybe even more pressing, how about you not tell me about them in the comments.) And while I’ve always laughed at the doomsday preppers who build bunkers and stockpile guns, I’ve recently started to consider that they might be on to something. Not for an apocalypse, necessarily, but for a disaster on an ordinary American scale: Hurricanes Katrina or Sandy, September 11th, even the 2010 blizzard with its empty grocery shelves and no clear routes to the hospitals. In my early-morning panics, I ask myself, how on it do I think the Trump administration will be? Will Trump’s FEMA be a fast, organized, efficient machine?

Source: LifeHacker

This is really two tips in one, well one observation and one tip. First, the observation. Prepping has become mainstream. When places like LifeHacker are covering how to start prepping, you can know two things. Prepping has made it to the main stage, and the people prepping aren’t the same old demographic that most people would expect.

Now the tip. No one can go it alone forever. With more people prepping now than almost any time in history, it’s very likely that there are others in your area that prep. Making contact with them, before disaster strikes could potentially result in an ally when you need them most.

Tip # 12

Get the mental attitude – understand what your specific challenges will be and make a plan to be safe in those instances. Do you need to prepare for earthquakes, wildfires and civil unrest? How will your family communicate if you are separated? Once you have a plan you can buy or make the things you need.

Source: Preparedness Mama

Having the correct mindset goes even farther than understanding your situation. This is perhaps the most important tip of all of them. Having the mindset to survive, no matter the opposition will take you farther than almost any other item you can store away!

Conclusion

Getting started prepping can be a daunting task. Just get started as soon as you can and focus on the basics. You’ll be more prepared than you ever thought you could be in no time.

Be sure to check out our other preparedness articles for more information on where to go from here. Our article on 40 great prepping tips is a good place to start.

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping was first published on: Ready Lifestyle Blog

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping published first on https://readylifesytle.tumblr.com

[electricoutdoors]

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping

How to Get Started Prepping

One of the questions that I get asked the most is, “How do I start prepping?” One of the biggest secrets about prepping is the fact that there aren’t any big secrets. Everyone does things differently and everyone has a unique situation that needs to be addressed when you’re prepping.

Here are some of the best tips I found from around the web on how to get started prepping.

Tip #1:

The single most important step to prepping is to just start doing it. This may seem easier said than done if you are on a tight budget but it’s true.

The most important and difficult thing for people to do is to just get started doing something.

Source: Tactical Intelligence.net

This tip goes well beyond just getting started with prepping. If you refer back to my article on How to Stop Bleeding this is my number one tip there as well. Just getting started will help you out. Too many people get caught up in the “planning” phase and never get into the “doing” phase. Get out there and get started!

Tip #2:

The foundation is, obviously, essentials like air, water, and shelter. Once you’ve got those covered you can then think about the next layer, and so on. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization, which means things like enjoying hobbies and “finding yourself.”

Source: The Prepared

Starting with the basics is the best place to begin. Once you have the very basics covered, then move on to other items.

Tip #3:

The way of our past has simply been forgotten by the convenience of our current economy. Start collecting bottled water. The first item on your prepping checklist is to get water because you won’t be able to survive more than three days without it. Head to the dollar store or the now for some cheap finds in bottled water, but take heed of these bottled water warnings. Later you can get fancy with water storage tanks and water filtration methods.

Get water. Buy a few gallons of water starting with at least three gallons per person in your household. Buy water at the dollar store for $1 a gallon. You can’t live more than three days without water. It’s a precious resource. It’s just a start, but a good one.

Source: Happy Preppers

You should start out by storing water. You’ll need water than you think and you probably won’t be able to store all the water that you need. A good water filter like a Big Berky is a great investment! This allows you to gather water from outside sources without worrying about any possible contaminants.

As always, be careful with water that possibly contaminated with gas or other petroleum products. Most filters cannot remove this form of contamination from the water.

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Tip #4:

Concentrate on bugging in, especially when you’re first starting out. Later, you can work on a bug out plan, but if you don’t have enough to bug in for long, that’s where you should be concentrating your efforts. Chances are high that you will not be driven out of your home by intruders; and unless you live in a place that may be hit by really terrifying natural disasters (very bad hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, etc.), it’s a pretty safe bet to make that you’ll be able to be at home when an emergency happens. Home is quite frankly the safest place to be unless there is a direct threat anyway – things are where you put them, you have access to a lot more goods and supplies than you can carry with you – there are so many advantages to bugging in so that, if it’s an option, I would recommend bugging in over bugging out.

Source: More Than Just Surviving

Many beginning preppers focus on bugging out when they first get started prepping. Bugging out should be your last resort. All of your preps are at home so try to stay there for as long as possible. The only real reason to bug out is if staying in your home is unsafe.

Tip #5:

Disasters can strike quickly and without warning. What that disaster is, depends on where you live. Knowing what type of disasters could affect the area you live in will help you plan more thoroughly for an event.

Deciding on the type of disaster to prepare for will also help to determine the type of survival gear that is needed. If you are new to prepping, you should start by planning for the disaster that is most likely to occur in your area.

Source: Humans Are Free

When you’re first starting out, it makes the most sense to focus on the most likely disaster you could face. As an example, if you’re worried about something like an EMP but live in a flood zone start out by getting things that will help you in case of a flood as you build toward your end goal of prepping for an EMP attack.

Tip #6:

Food – We can last about 4 weeks without food, making food priority number two. The best approach is to stock up on foods you and your family eat on a regular basis, but keep in mind you probably won’t have electricity for refrigeration. An easy approach is… every time you make a trip to the grocery store, pick up an extra can or two of meat, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter, boxed crackers, and a few packaged treats. You can add to this list as you go, but the first goal is to build up a 3 week supply of food and water as soon as you can. (Don’t forget Fido!)

Source: The Survival Gene

Once you’ve stored your first few days of water, add some food to the mix. I often suggest that people work back and forth between food and water until they have about a month’s supply of each.

Tip #7:

You probably won’t be able to learn everything you need to know before the next disaster strikes. And if the power is out or the Internet is down, you won’t be able to Google whatever you need to know, so buy some books or print important articles and put them in a three-ring binder.

Source: Urban Survival Plan

Knowledge is everything when it comes to prepping. Try to learn something each day, even if it isn’t something amazing, it could prove useful in the future.

I really like Urban Survival Site’s suggestion of building an old-school library. The internet most likely won’t be as reliable (or available at all) in many disaster situations.

Tip #8:

Job loss is a risk everyone faces, even if you are self-employed. Does your family have provisions to get you through a hard time? I have heard people talk about losing work and going home to bare cupboards. How do you choose what to spend that last paycheck on? Will you get work fast enough to continue paying your bills?

Source: The Tiny Life

Prepping helps in all kinds of disasters. Job loss is something that people often don’t consider when prepping. If you need an extra reason to get started prepping this may be it.

Tip #9:

Do not go into debt preparing, but gather a little at a time. There is much you can do that will cost you little and that is gaining knowledge. Investing in preparations today is an investment in your family’s survival in the future.

Source: Preparing for SHTF

Prep as much as you can afford. Don’t go crazy buying hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of food and gear if you can’t afford it. Too many of us get caught up with shiny new toys and forget that prepping is supposed to get you out of trouble, not get you into it.

Tip #10:

Flour: Grab about 20 or 30Lbs of flour. Even if you don’t use much flour today, you would be surprised at how quickly if goes when you are making bread and pancakes. Flour is also a great way to extend your food supply if you happen to get unexpected house guests.

Sugar: Grab 10Lbs of sugar. Sugar is another staple of baking and can also be used to sweeten many other bland food. Coffee, tea or cool aid? You’re going to need sugar if you plan on drinking something other than water.

Salt: Pick up 5lbs of salt. Our bodies need salt to survive, although too much can be bad for your health. Salt also makes some of the bland foods we might be eating a little more palatable.

Source: Survivalist Prepper

Stocking up on basic staple foods can be much more cost-effective than buying piles of freeze-dried foods. In fact, many staple food items like rice, bean, salt, and sugar will outlast other long-term storage foods.

Tip #11:

Lately, these fear ramblings largely focus on what will happen in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. (I know there are other things to worry about too, maybe even more pressing, how about you not tell me about them in the comments.) And while I’ve always laughed at the doomsday preppers who build bunkers and stockpile guns, I’ve recently started to consider that they might be on to something. Not for an apocalypse, necessarily, but for a disaster on an ordinary American scale: Hurricanes Katrina or Sandy, September 11th, even the 2010 blizzard with its empty grocery shelves and no clear routes to the hospitals. In my early-morning panics, I ask myself, how on it do I think the Trump administration will be? Will Trump’s FEMA be a fast, organized, efficient machine?

Source: LifeHacker

This is really two tips in one, well one observation and one tip. First, the observation. Prepping has become mainstream. When places like LifeHacker are covering how to start prepping, you can know two things. Prepping has made it to the main stage, and the people prepping aren’t the same old demographic that most people would expect.

Now the tip. No one can go it alone forever. With more people prepping now than almost any time in history, it’s very likely that there are others in your area that prep. Making contact with them, before disaster strikes could potentially result in an ally when you need them most.

Tip # 12

Get the mental attitude – understand what your specific challenges will be and make a plan to be safe in those instances. Do you need to prepare for earthquakes, wildfires and civil unrest? How will your family communicate if you are separated? Once you have a plan you can buy or make the things you need.

Source: Preparedness Mama

Having the correct mindset goes even farther than understanding your situation. This is perhaps the most important tip of all of them. Having the mindset to survive, no matter the opposition will take you farther than almost any other item you can store away!

Conclusion

Getting started prepping can be a daunting task. Just get started as soon as you can and focus on the basics. You’ll be more prepared than you ever thought you could be in no time.

Be sure to check out our other preparedness articles for more information on where to go from here. Our article on 40 great prepping tips is a good place to start.

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping was first seen on: www.readylifestyle.com

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping published first on https://readylifesytle.tumblr.com

[electricoutdoors]

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping

How to Get Started Prepping

One of the questions that I get asked the most is, “How do I start prepping?” One of the biggest secrets about prepping is the fact that there aren’t any big secrets. Everyone does things differently and everyone has a unique situation that needs to be addressed when you’re prepping.

Here are some of the best tips I found from around the web on how to get started prepping.

Tip #1:

The single most important step to prepping is to just start doing it. This may seem easier said than done if you are on a tight budget but it’s true.

The most important and difficult thing for people to do is to just get started doing something.

Source: Tactical Intelligence.net

This tip goes well beyond just getting started with prepping. If you refer back to my article on How to Stop Bleeding this is my number one tip there as well. Just getting started will help you out. Too many people get caught up in the “planning” phase and never get into the “doing” phase. Get out there and get started!

Tip #2:

The foundation is, obviously, essentials like air, water, and shelter. Once you’ve got those covered you can then think about the next layer, and so on. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization, which means things like enjoying hobbies and “finding yourself.”

Source: The Prepared

Starting with the basics is the best place to begin. Once you have the very basics covered, then move on to other items.

Tip #3:

The way of our past has simply been forgotten by the convenience of our current economy. Start collecting bottled water. The first item on your prepping checklist is to get water because you won’t be able to survive more than three days without it. Head to the dollar store or the now for some cheap finds in bottled water, but take heed of these bottled water warnings. Later you can get fancy with water storage tanks and water filtration methods.

Get water. Buy a few gallons of water starting with at least three gallons per person in your household. Buy water at the dollar store for $1 a gallon. You can’t live more than three days without water. It’s a precious resource. It’s just a start, but a good one.

Source: Happy Preppers

You should start out by storing water. You’ll need water than you think and you probably won’t be able to store all the water that you need. A good water filter like a Big Berky is a great investment! This allows you to gather water from outside sources without worrying about any possible contaminants.

As always, be careful with water that possibly contaminated with gas or other petroleum products. Most filters cannot remove this form of contamination from the water.

amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "scp0ab-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_design = "enhanced_links"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B002Z63U8G"; amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "df14d79c046b5524b7a9feaeb2532f1d";

Tip #4:

Concentrate on bugging in, especially when you’re first starting out. Later, you can work on a bug out plan, but if you don’t have enough to bug in for long, that’s where you should be concentrating your efforts. Chances are high that you will not be driven out of your home by intruders; and unless you live in a place that may be hit by really terrifying natural disasters (very bad hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, etc.), it’s a pretty safe bet to make that you’ll be able to be at home when an emergency happens. Home is quite frankly the safest place to be unless there is a direct threat anyway – things are where you put them, you have access to a lot more goods and supplies than you can carry with you – there are so many advantages to bugging in so that, if it’s an option, I would recommend bugging in over bugging out.

Source: More Than Just Surviving

Many beginning preppers focus on bugging out when they first get started prepping. Bugging out should be your last resort. All of your preps are at home so try to stay there for as long as possible. The only real reason to bug out is if staying in your home is unsafe.

Tip #5:

Disasters can strike quickly and without warning. What that disaster is, depends on where you live. Knowing what type of disasters could affect the area you live in will help you plan more thoroughly for an event.

Deciding on the type of disaster to prepare for will also help to determine the type of survival gear that is needed. If you are new to prepping, you should start by planning for the disaster that is most likely to occur in your area.

Source: Humans Are Free

When you’re first starting out, it makes the most sense to focus on the most likely disaster you could face. As an example, if you’re worried about something like an EMP but live in a flood zone start out by getting things that will help you in case of a flood as you build toward your end goal of prepping for an EMP attack.

Tip #6:

Food – We can last about 4 weeks without food, making food priority number two. The best approach is to stock up on foods you and your family eat on a regular basis, but keep in mind you probably won’t have electricity for refrigeration. An easy approach is… every time you make a trip to the grocery store, pick up an extra can or two of meat, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter, boxed crackers, and a few packaged treats. You can add to this list as you go, but the first goal is to build up a 3 week supply of food and water as soon as you can. (Don’t forget Fido!)

Source: The Survival Gene

Once you’ve stored your first few days of water, add some food to the mix. I often suggest that people work back and forth between food and water until they have about a month’s supply of each.

Tip #7:

You probably won’t be able to learn everything you need to know before the next disaster strikes. And if the power is out or the Internet is down, you won’t be able to Google whatever you need to know, so buy some books or print important articles and put them in a three-ring binder.

Source: Urban Survival Plan

Knowledge is everything when it comes to prepping. Try to learn something each day, even if it isn’t something amazing, it could prove useful in the future.

I really like Urban Survival Site’s suggestion of building an old-school library. The internet most likely won’t be as reliable (or available at all) in many disaster situations.

Tip #8:

Job loss is a risk everyone faces, even if you are self-employed. Does your family have provisions to get you through a hard time? I have heard people talk about losing work and going home to bare cupboards. How do you choose what to spend that last paycheck on? Will you get work fast enough to continue paying your bills?

Source: The Tiny Life

Prepping helps in all kinds of disasters. Job loss is something that people often don’t consider when prepping. If you need an extra reason to get started prepping this may be it.

Tip #9:

Do not go into debt preparing, but gather a little at a time. There is much you can do that will cost you little and that is gaining knowledge. Investing in preparations today is an investment in your family’s survival in the future.

Source: Preparing for SHTF

Prep as much as you can afford. Don’t go crazy buying hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of food and gear if you can’t afford it. Too many of us get caught up with shiny new toys and forget that prepping is supposed to get you out of trouble, not get you into it.

Tip #10:

Flour: Grab about 20 or 30Lbs of flour. Even if you don’t use much flour today, you would be surprised at how quickly if goes when you are making bread and pancakes. Flour is also a great way to extend your food supply if you happen to get unexpected house guests.

Sugar: Grab 10Lbs of sugar. Sugar is another staple of baking and can also be used to sweeten many other bland food. Coffee, tea or cool aid? You’re going to need sugar if you plan on drinking something other than water.

Salt: Pick up 5lbs of salt. Our bodies need salt to survive, although too much can be bad for your health. Salt also makes some of the bland foods we might be eating a little more palatable.

Source: Survivalist Prepper

Stocking up on basic staple foods can be much more cost-effective than buying piles of freeze-dried foods. In fact, many staple food items like rice, bean, salt, and sugar will outlast other long-term storage foods.

Tip #11:

Lately, these fear ramblings largely focus on what will happen in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. (I know there are other things to worry about too, maybe even more pressing, how about you not tell me about them in the comments.) And while I’ve always laughed at the doomsday preppers who build bunkers and stockpile guns, I’ve recently started to consider that they might be on to something. Not for an apocalypse, necessarily, but for a disaster on an ordinary American scale: Hurricanes Katrina or Sandy, September 11th, even the 2010 blizzard with its empty grocery shelves and no clear routes to the hospitals. In my early-morning panics, I ask myself, how on it do I think the Trump administration will be? Will Trump’s FEMA be a fast, organized, efficient machine?

Source: LifeHacker

This is really two tips in one, well one observation and one tip. First, the observation. Prepping has become mainstream. When places like LifeHacker are covering how to start prepping, you can know two things. Prepping has made it to the main stage, and the people prepping aren’t the same old demographic that most people would expect.

Now the tip. No one can go it alone forever. With more people prepping now than almost any time in history, it’s very likely that there are others in your area that prep. Making contact with them, before disaster strikes could potentially result in an ally when you need them most.

Tip # 12

Get the mental attitude – understand what your specific challenges will be and make a plan to be safe in those instances. Do you need to prepare for earthquakes, wildfires and civil unrest? How will your family communicate if you are separated? Once you have a plan you can buy or make the things you need.

Source: Preparedness Mama

Having the correct mindset goes even farther than understanding your situation. This is perhaps the most important tip of all of them. Having the mindset to survive, no matter the opposition will take you farther than almost any other item you can store away!

Conclusion

Getting started prepping can be a daunting task. Just get started as soon as you can and focus on the basics. You’ll be more prepared than you ever thought you could be in no time.

Be sure to check out our other preparedness articles for more information on where to go from here. Our article on 40 great prepping tips is a good place to start.

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping is courtesy of: http://www.readylifestyle.com/

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping published first on https://readylifesytle.tumblr.com

[electricoutdoors]

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping

How to Get Started Prepping

One of the questions that I get asked the most is, “How do I start prepping?” One of the biggest secrets about prepping is the fact that there aren’t any big secrets. Everyone does things differently and everyone has a unique situation that needs to be addressed when you’re prepping.

Here are some of the best tips I found from around the web on how to get started prepping.

Tip #1:

The single most important step to prepping is to just start doing it. This may seem easier said than done if you are on a tight budget but it’s true.

The most important and difficult thing for people to do is to just get started doing something.

Source: Tactical Intelligence.net

This tip goes well beyond just getting started with prepping. If you refer back to my article on How to Stop Bleeding this is my number one tip there as well. Just getting started will help you out. Too many people get caught up in the “planning” phase and never get into the “doing” phase. Get out there and get started!

Tip #2:

The foundation is, obviously, essentials like air, water, and shelter. Once you’ve got those covered you can then think about the next layer, and so on. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization, which means things like enjoying hobbies and “finding yourself.”

Source: The Prepared

Starting with the basics is the best place to begin. Once you have the very basics covered, then move on to other items.

Tip #3:

The way of our past has simply been forgotten by the convenience of our current economy. Start collecting bottled water. The first item on your prepping checklist is to get water because you won’t be able to survive more than three days without it. Head to the dollar store or the now for some cheap finds in bottled water, but take heed of these bottled water warnings. Later you can get fancy with water storage tanks and water filtration methods.

Get water. Buy a few gallons of water starting with at least three gallons per person in your household. Buy water at the dollar store for $1 a gallon. You can’t live more than three days without water. It’s a precious resource. It’s just a start, but a good one.

Source: Happy Preppers

You should start out by storing water. You’ll need water than you think and you probably won’t be able to store all the water that you need. A good water filter like a Big Berky is a great investment! This allows you to gather water from outside sources without worrying about any possible contaminants.

As always, be careful with water that possibly contaminated with gas or other petroleum products. Most filters cannot remove this form of contamination from the water.

amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "scp0ab-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_design = "enhanced_links"; amzn_assoc_asins = "B002Z63U8G"; amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "df14d79c046b5524b7a9feaeb2532f1d";

Tip #4:

Concentrate on bugging in, especially when you’re first starting out. Later, you can work on a bug out plan, but if you don’t have enough to bug in for long, that’s where you should be concentrating your efforts. Chances are high that you will not be driven out of your home by intruders; and unless you live in a place that may be hit by really terrifying natural disasters (very bad hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, etc.), it’s a pretty safe bet to make that you’ll be able to be at home when an emergency happens. Home is quite frankly the safest place to be unless there is a direct threat anyway – things are where you put them, you have access to a lot more goods and supplies than you can carry with you – there are so many advantages to bugging in so that, if it’s an option, I would recommend bugging in over bugging out.

Source: More Than Just Surviving

Many beginning preppers focus on bugging out when they first get started prepping. Bugging out should be your last resort. All of your preps are at home so try to stay there for as long as possible. The only real reason to bug out is if staying in your home is unsafe.

Tip #5:

Disasters can strike quickly and without warning. What that disaster is, depends on where you live. Knowing what type of disasters could affect the area you live in will help you plan more thoroughly for an event.

Deciding on the type of disaster to prepare for will also help to determine the type of survival gear that is needed. If you are new to prepping, you should start by planning for the disaster that is most likely to occur in your area.

Source: Humans Are Free

When you’re first starting out, it makes the most sense to focus on the most likely disaster you could face. As an example, if you’re worried about something like an EMP but live in a flood zone start out by getting things that will help you in case of a flood as you build toward your end goal of prepping for an EMP attack.

Tip #6:

Food – We can last about 4 weeks without food, making food priority number two. The best approach is to stock up on foods you and your family eat on a regular basis, but keep in mind you probably won’t have electricity for refrigeration. An easy approach is… every time you make a trip to the grocery store, pick up an extra can or two of meat, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter, boxed crackers, and a few packaged treats. You can add to this list as you go, but the first goal is to build up a 3 week supply of food and water as soon as you can. (Don’t forget Fido!)

Source: The Survival Gene

Once you’ve stored your first few days of water, add some food to the mix. I often suggest that people work back and forth between food and water until they have about a month’s supply of each.

Tip #7:

You probably won’t be able to learn everything you need to know before the next disaster strikes. And if the power is out or the Internet is down, you won’t be able to Google whatever you need to know, so buy some books or print important articles and put them in a three-ring binder.

Source: Urban Survival Plan

Knowledge is everything when it comes to prepping. Try to learn something each day, even if it isn’t something amazing, it could prove useful in the future.

I really like Urban Survival Site’s suggestion of building an old-school library. The internet most likely won’t be as reliable (or available at all) in many disaster situations.

Tip #8:

Job loss is a risk everyone faces, even if you are self-employed. Does your family have provisions to get you through a hard time? I have heard people talk about losing work and going home to bare cupboards. How do you choose what to spend that last paycheck on? Will you get work fast enough to continue paying your bills?

Source: The Tiny Life

Prepping helps in all kinds of disasters. Job loss is something that people often don’t consider when prepping. If you need an extra reason to get started prepping this may be it.

Tip #9:

Do not go into debt preparing, but gather a little at a time. There is much you can do that will cost you little and that is gaining knowledge. Investing in preparations today is an investment in your family’s survival in the future.

Source: Preparing for SHTF

Prep as much as you can afford. Don’t go crazy buying hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of food and gear if you can’t afford it. Too many of us get caught up with shiny new toys and forget that prepping is supposed to get you out of trouble, not get you into it.

Tip #10:

Flour: Grab about 20 or 30Lbs of flour. Even if you don’t use much flour today, you would be surprised at how quickly if goes when you are making bread and pancakes. Flour is also a great way to extend your food supply if you happen to get unexpected house guests.

Sugar: Grab 10Lbs of sugar. Sugar is another staple of baking and can also be used to sweeten many other bland food. Coffee, tea or cool aid? You’re going to need sugar if you plan on drinking something other than water.

Salt: Pick up 5lbs of salt. Our bodies need salt to survive, although too much can be bad for your health. Salt also makes some of the bland foods we might be eating a little more palatable.

Source: Survivalist Prepper

Stocking up on basic staple foods can be much more cost-effective than buying piles of freeze-dried foods. In fact, many staple food items like rice, bean, salt, and sugar will outlast other long-term storage foods.

Tip #11:

Lately, these fear ramblings largely focus on what will happen in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. (I know there are other things to worry about too, maybe even more pressing, how about you not tell me about them in the comments.) And while I’ve always laughed at the doomsday preppers who build bunkers and stockpile guns, I’ve recently started to consider that they might be on to something. Not for an apocalypse, necessarily, but for a disaster on an ordinary American scale: Hurricanes Katrina or Sandy, September 11th, even the 2010 blizzard with its empty grocery shelves and no clear routes to the hospitals. In my early-morning panics, I ask myself, how on it do I think the Trump administration will be? Will Trump’s FEMA be a fast, organized, efficient machine?

Source: LifeHacker

This is really two tips in one, well one observation and one tip. First, the observation. Prepping has become mainstream. When places like LifeHacker are covering how to start prepping, you can know two things. Prepping has made it to the main stage, and the people prepping aren’t the same old demographic that most people would expect.

Now the tip. No one can go it alone forever. With more people prepping now than almost any time in history, it’s very likely that there are others in your area that prep. Making contact with them, before disaster strikes could potentially result in an ally when you need them most.

Tip # 12

Get the mental attitude – understand what your specific challenges will be and make a plan to be safe in those instances. Do you need to prepare for earthquakes, wildfires and civil unrest? How will your family communicate if you are separated? Once you have a plan you can buy or make the things you need.

Source: Preparedness Mama

Having the correct mindset goes even farther than understanding your situation. This is perhaps the most important tip of all of them. Having the mindset to survive, no matter the opposition will take you farther than almost any other item you can store away!

Conclusion

Getting started prepping can be a daunting task. Just get started as soon as you can and focus on the basics. You’ll be more prepared than you ever thought you could be in no time.

Be sure to check out our other preparedness articles for more information on where to go from here. Our article on 40 great prepping tips is a good place to start.

The blog post Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping is republished from: readylifestyle.com

Prepping 101: 12 Tips to Help People Start Prepping published first on https://readylifesytle.tumblr.com