We should just forget about TSHTF. Just plain forget about it.
Yesterday I mentioned survival gurus who make our heads spin with elaborate, daunting, expensive advice. Newbies — and too many non-newbies — read this stuff and simply freeze: “If preparedness is that hard, I can’t do it!”
But the head spinning isn’t all the gurus’ doing.
Watch: Any discussion of preparedness among ordinary, aware people is likely to leap rapidly to this assumption (I exaggerate only slightly): “The S hits the F. The zombies attack. If you don’t have your own private Maginot Line, you die. If you survive you have to eat dehydrated fruit galaxy and/or protect your home-grown string beans from marauders for the rest of your life!”
You see it time and again. In thinking about preparedness, people leap straight from kits and plans for routine emergencies to the zombie apocalypse. Boom! Nothing in between.
And of course, preparing for the apocalypse is more than most of us can handle. People love to speculate about it. But as a motivator for practical planning, it’s usually a distraction.
So let’s just forget the you-know-what and the fan and the zombies and all of that.
—–
The first questions in setting preparedness priorities are:
1. “What bad things are most likely to happen to me?” and
2. “What do I need to cope with that?
We often think quite sensibly about short-term emergencies. We can wrap our brains and our budgets around making plans and building kits to deal with hurricanes, winter storms, fires, vehicle breakdowns, earthquakes and such. Even governmental advice can be helpful there.
We’ve talked about bug-out bags, vehicle emergency kits and such before. Blessedly, more and more people are getting wise to the need for such things. It’s after that that preparedness falters.
So what’s the next most likely problem we need to prepare for — after prepping for short-term emergencies?
No, clearly it’s not the arrival of zombies on our front porch. It’s not the need for picking off starving city dwellers with a .308 or hand-to-hand combat to keep our neighbors from raiding our veggie garden.
Hm. What might it be …?
- We lose our job and can’t find another
- We get sick and can’t support ourselves or our family
- We get sick and can afford to support ourselves, but the budget hurts
- Food prices double
- We have to take in grandchildren or other (expensive) relatives
- Our old car breaks down and we don’t have the money to fix it
- A drought or a season of excess rain or some other unknown limits our income
- A strike somewhere makes certain goods hard to get
- Fuel prices triple
- A natural disaster has harsher or more long-lasting consequences than we anticipated when we built our three-day kits or our one-week kits
- We have to make an urgent, unexpected trip
- A nationwide depression is here to stay
You can probably think of dozens more life difficulties that fall between one-week kits and zombies. Something happens that makes life just a little — or a lot — more difficult than it presently is. We face the need to cope. Those are the things most of us should focus on preparing for.
And how do we prepare? I hate to disappoint the drama-gurus, but as often as not the biggest part of the solution (and certainly the beginning of the solution) is something as simple as: Look around. See what you need to maintain a decent existence even when things go slightly south. Gradually build up a supply of everyday essentials. Get out of debt. Set aside an emergency cash stash.
Oh my, that is nowhere near as exciting as going out and shopping for that Super Whiz-Whacker 3000 long-range rifle. But it’s also less daunting. And less difficult than many of the uber-cool solutions the gurus present us with.
Re-roof your house with metal so you can better collect rainwater?
Only if your house needs a new roof. Otherwise, there are less elaborate ways to handle water supply.
Move across country to some “safe” redoubt?
Only if you already know you don’t want to be where you are or have specific, realistic reason to believe you’re in unacceptable danger in your present location.
Build a bunker?
Only if you want a bunker or really, really, really think a bunker will help you get through a situation you’re likely to face.
Buy 40 off-grid acres?
Only if you’re pretty sure you really want to live like that. (Been there, done that, and while it has its virtues, it’s not as easy as online yammerheads say.)
Collect military weapons?
Terrific if you happen to like military weapons.
Elaborate, expensive, high-tech, uber-paranoid preps are fine. I have nothing against them for those who have the time, the money, the desire, the skills, the inclination, the degree of alarm, or whatever else it takes. If I were a bazillionaire, I’d live in a bunker, too. Surrounded by 50,000 acres of woods and an electrified fence with razor-wire on top.
But first things first. If you are a newbie to preparedness or a person with a low income or a lot of existing obligations and commitments, believing that you need to do a thousand fancy, expensive things is likely to keep you from doing the dozen or two things that would give you some modicum of security and comfort in tough times.
We need to stop focusing on planning for the worst, most scary, most intimidating eventuality.
We need to begin putting our money, energy, planning and time toward the most realistic eventualities.
—–
Basic preparedness can be done anywhere. It can be done on virtually any budget.
It can be done with some simple home canning. Buying in bulk. Making a hunting trip that puts venison in the freezer. Spending $5 extra on canned goods every time you go to the grocery store. Or squeezing $100 a month out of expenses to pay a little extra toward the credit cards or stuff into an envelope.
It can be done by buying a generator just big enough to keep your freezer running a few hours a day when the power’s out. It can be done by keeping a few 5-gallon containers of gas around (treated with Sta-Bil and rotated, of course). It can be done with monthly trips to the dollar store, where they have low-cost bags of nuts, emergency candles, $1 jars of pickles and condiments, first-aid items, soaps, shampoos, bleach, vinegar, and cleaning supplies. It can be done by gardening. By taking advantage of two-for-one sales.
It can be done by making sure your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are working. By installing a couple of security cameras.
It can be done by taking the old, unfancy pistol or shotgun you already have and making sure it’s ready to use and that you and everybody in your family knows how to use it.
It can be done by being a good neighbor and knowing who’s likely to be a good neighbor to you.
All those things will get you farther than longing after some of the big, cool expensive stuff recommended by the more out-there “experts.”
Do those things fight zombies? No. But then, what are the chances you actually need to fight zombies? Or live the rest of your life off #10 cans of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods?
I’ll tell you, it takes a heck of a lot to reduce society to that level. Even during the Black Plague in Europe, that kind of savagery was rare. During the Weimar hyperinflation, life went on (as Erich Maria Remarque — who was there — described in The Black Obelisk, a not-great novel but a vivid picture of how people in Germany went about their daily business as they struggled to recover from war and their economy collapsed around them).
Prepare first for what you’re most likely to experience.
Once you get into that habit, you’ll have a better basis for preparing for anything else.
—–
Tomorrow: The Rule of Threes and why our individual priorities may be different than what somebody else considers “obvious.”
Yay! Exactly! *bows to Claire*
Y’know, when I started getting into “prepping”-damn, I hate that word!-it was because my Hubby was getting lay off notices just before Yule. For 5 years his company did this to us…wait until 2 months before, send out a round of lay off slips, and most times(4/5) rescind mere days before his last day of work. So, no money lost, but a lot of anxiety over the potential job loss. After the 1st time, I decided that *I* was in control, and *I* wasn’t going to let these bastards screw us up. So, the garden got bigger, more canning happened, extra non perishables were bought, and bits of cash were tucked away for the fresh stuff needed, like milk and cream for the coffee…now, when we get the annual lay off, we don’t sweat it. Hubby’s resume is ready, I have work on my table that will cover any bills, and the Kid happily eats her beans sprouts-all year long, so she doesn’t equate them with no money coming in.
What I find fascinating, though, is, as a *insert Hubby’s work here* Wife, I’m one of a very small group that does this stock up, be ready to ride out the no income phase…some of us get together for “hen parties” and I have found that the standard for most of the families is to up the line of credit, or to re-finance the house and take out the equity in cash, and none of them curb their spending. I just wonder how they plan on paying it all back!
Stop making so much sense! Don’t you know that spreading Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt is not just a favorite pastime of many a keyboard kommando, but self-justifies their irrational purchases or (depending on which side of the transactions their on) promotes their livelihood?
Frankly, most of the things on your “Next-Most-Likely” list are things we many of us should probably prepare for BEFORE we worry about 3-day bug-out bags and emergency prep kits in every car.
It wouldn’t surprise me that most people will lose their jobs three or four times in their life, and may never have to deal with a serious hurricane, earthquake or other natural disaster. If we can’t get people to make common-sense prep (e.g. don’t be in debt, have cash in the bank) for THOSE, how are we ever going to get them to take steps for things like being stranded in a blizzard in a broken-down car, much less what to do if the trucks stop bringing food into their city for a week?
Big point: never let the gurus tell you what to preapre for. Think for yourself.
Personally, I’ve never been laid off or fired (but I’ve quit a whole bunch of times). On the other hand, I’ve lived through a no-power three-day blizzard, three hurricanes, and a divorce. Some disasters require physical preperation and others are more mental and/or emotional. I need to continue to work on all of the above.
Life can get exciting!
“We need to stop focusing on planning for the worst, most scary, most intimidating eventuality.
We need to begin putting our money, energy, planning and time toward the most realistic eventualities.”
For my family, our personal SHTF event is so much more real than zombies. We’re waist deep in the brown stuff. Daily. Dirt Road Girl only has 5 more radiation treatments and one chemo!!! – so they tell us. With her no longer working, we prepare according to what one income provides. I’d love to have a lotto windfall, but it’s very unlikely. So we keep doing the stuff we’ve always done, just more creatively.
Right on time Claire!
Excellent advice, as always Claire. Individuality and independent thinking are always the key to this sort of thing. Just think of all of the disasters the world has seen because people listened to the “experts.” They have their place, of course, but without the individual thinking they are often worse than nothing at all.
Claire,
The Zombie Apocalypse is just “extremism” on the prepping scale. Belief in prepping has something in common with belief in government and belief in religion: that our fellow men are “flawed”, but can be “improved,” either through I-Got-Mine-Selective-Thinning-Of-The-Human-Race, kicks and cuffs, caging, Sunday sermons, or a double tap.
The prepper concept of “tribes” is as close as anyone seems to get to thinking about cooperating with fellow humans. Sad.
Dave
Beautiful article and great responses. I’ll be trying to get more people to look at it … heck, I started doing that yesterday.
Putting things in priority order, paying off bills is at the bottom!
Your debts are all denominated in fiat currency – that is unbacked paper currency whose value has already been stolen by the central bank and now rests on the false assumption it will continue to be accepted in exchange for goods.
BUY GOODS instead of paying off debt. Stay current on your bills, but don’t pay any more than you must to do that. The dollars you owe are becoming worth less every day. Their decline in value is mirrored by the increase in value of EVERYTHING ELSE, particularly useful things like food.
The designers of the dollar collapse are profiting by buying things in exchange for owing paper promises. You can run with the big boys on this one.
I am definitely NOT saying debt is good, but getting out of it is definitely a low priority when you do not have A LOT of beans, bullets, bullion and barter stocked up.
Thank you for the positive responses. I admit I woke up this morning apprehensive about how people would react.
Slideman — Getting out of debt is definitely one of those areas where there’s room for a lot of viewpoints. I still think that, for people who are struggling, reducing debt is a good start on both independence and preparedness. For people who are more comfortable, I see your point.
Carpenter — I hadn’t thought of it that way, but yeah … there is a lot of “the ‘sheeple’ will get their punishment while the elite survive to form a new society” thinking. Ugh.
Todd — OMG! I hope DRG (and you) get through your trials just fine.
All — World’s greatest comment section. Attaboys for bringing added wisdom and experience to the blog.
Thanks for this one, Claire. Realistic and doable. As has been said before, it’s not about surviving, but about thriving – and this advice will allow us to thrive under stress. I’m two-thirds there.
Had forgotten “The Black Obelisk”; maybe I’ll re-read it.
Even before Katrina and 9/11, I always kept a well stocked pantry and freezer. I always figured it was just part of rural living. Personal circumstances do not always allow me the opportunity to visit the grocery regularly, so I keep 30-40 lbs of chicken, 40-50 lbs of fish, 10-20 lbs of butter and bacon, 100 lbs each of rice and flour on hand. I was keeping enough fuel on hand to power my gen for a week. Last year we had a power outage that lasted 9 days, so I bought more cans and now I keep a 10 day supply, which I could stretch to 20 or more if dire need arises.
Like many of us, my ultimate goal is to rely on needing nothing that I cannot provide for myself. Having survived many “disasters” like hurricanes, floods, blizzards and extended power outages because I was prepared, I have to wonder if prepping for a zombie apocalypse and striving for self-sufficiency and self-reliance (rural living) are all that much different?
ccc — Interesting point on doing other preps before bug-out kits/car kits. I wrestled with exactly that issue while writing this. Where I came out is that kits are good practice for everything else. You’re right that having a month’s worth of canned goods may actually be more useful. But creating kits is a good exercise and a good way to simplify thinking about problems.
ADDED: Also, a one-week kit can be helpful at home, while a stock of canned goods and a pantry full of toilet paper can’t be grabbed in an emergency.
Two best lines:
“Something happens that makes life just a little — or a lot — more difficult than it presently is. …
We need to begin putting our money, energy, planning and time toward the most realistic eventualities.”
Like tornadoes, winter power outages, summer power outages, floods and job loss. Happens all the time around here.
Lots of muggings in the big city nearby.
How realistic is an eventuality(ies) such as described here?:
The Yellow Fever Economy
“In 1873, a quarter of the residents of Shreveport, Louisiana died from it.” …
http://lewrockwell.com/north/north1014.html
I keep looking at Greece and think, that’ll be here soon… somewhat, for some more than others.
Some People might say, look at the officially calculated odds, you’re more likely to get in a car wreck than any of the above, so focus on that..
However; those odds do not factor in drivers who are the type who do not pay attention, do not drive defensively or are just plain stupid.
Drive defensively (or move to where the traffic is not as bad and there are fewer clovers) and the odds change in your favor. Prepping is the same.
I imagine this is why People develop their own individual threat matrix to calculate/weigh the odds.
So, I can tell anti-preppers their calculator is broken or needs batteries. ha. Nah, I won’t say anything. Hints! I only drop Hints, nowadays.
I liked this line too:
“Look around. See what you need to maintain a decent existence even when things go slightly south. Gradually build up a supply of everyday essentials. Get out of debt. Set aside an emergency cash stash.”
Six months of cash expenses is a lot, and truly tempting to spend.
One more thing (no, two) I really like the, get out of debt, idea. On the other hand there’s this:
The Myth of Debt-Free Living
“I am a great believer in getting out from under the burden of consumer debt. But I am not a believer in getting out of debt. There is a reason for this.” …
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north969.html
Dave wrote, “The prepper concept of “tribes” is as close as anyone seems to get to thinking about cooperating with fellow humans.”
That’s not true, the concept of bartering, and being able to, is very prevalent. Trading with People is cooperation with fellow humans. That’s how you can build UP trust and become closer from there, if desired.
Unfortunately I’d have to hide any preps I do from my other family members, a situation I’m just not able to change in the immediate future, as any concerns I have is considered pure fantasy by them. Not even the most innocuous of prep is safe from criticism. I just brought a big buddy heater and one mentioned that I am not using it in my home. All because of all the warnings printed on the box it came in. Even though it came with a safety sensor shut-off and I would be willing to adjust to ensure ventilation and safety.
I am trying rearrange my living situation to better able to do my preps the way I see fit. I don’t have much in the way of debt, just a mortgage that’s being re-fi’d for a better rate now, otherwise I need to do some serious savings for the next while. I’m doing what I can.
You said it, Claire..for me, prepping is for what is most likely to happen-and that’s weather related disasters-I try to keep enough stuff around to last a few weeks, and rotate it. Canned food and a way to cook it ( a camper’s stove), extra batteries, sheet plastic, duct tape, and so on. there’s more to it than that, but I don’t have a vault labeled “Prep Stuff”. A lot of it is “everyday” emergency prep-enough for a tank of gas, candles in the freezer(they don’t get squishy in summer-candles store well, and don’t go stale like kerosene), and a lot of small-scale stuff-manual can openers, Zippo,a Swiss Army knife, and so on. See canned peas on sale? Get a dozen cans-that sort of thing. Sort of constant, small scale stuff, rather than building bunkers that can survive a nuclear near miss.
Ride a bike, go for long walks-easy ways to keep in shape. Learn new things, buy how to books/magazines, experiment..make it something that can easily be incorporated into you daily life.
Two words: Realistic Risk Assessment. Okay, fine, that’s three words. Followed by realistic plans for minimizing or removing those risks. Observation, discussion, analysis, thought … Not to mention good old fashioned “outside the box thinking.” As Claire and her Commentariat Posse point out, not every problem is going to be the Zombie Apocalypse. Job loss. Health loss. Natural – or unnatural – disasters. All more likely than La Vida Mad Max. And recognize that the rules of economics are not suspended just because you’re preparing – taking a class on defensive handgun use costs money that isn’t put into, say, a community college class on canning and alternative food preservation techniques. On the other hand, most home intruders are not terribly deterred by being threatened with a swollen can of tomato puree (you only got a C- in the class on canning, after all). I live in a small town, making maybe 1/4 of what a typical Big City Attorney in my age/experience bracket is pulling down – but I also have plenty of time for hobbies and community, something that the guys at the Big Portland Firms don’t see so much of.
Prepping is usually presented in Typical American Consumerist Fashion. If you just buy the right toys, everything will fall into place, after all! Personally, though, I think you’re better off with a small community that is “poor but solid” than most of the glitter and glitz you see pushed. Prepping is the “trendy” of the moment – and sales are good. But good neighbors will get you through bad times FAR better than good toys will. If you can find “Life After Doomsday” by Dr. Bruce Clayton, though it’s geared to a post-nuclear war environment, a lot of the sociology in it makes sense. In one of his later writings he realized that for the price of a couple rifles, accessories, and ammo he could stock enough basics to feed his entire neighborhood … and so would be less likely to NEED so many guns to try and hold onto what he had. So while filling your pantry is good – filling your community is even better. Not to say that you shouldn’t work on both, though.
I’ve been busy this week, but great points! Love getting what I call “rational” advice for preparedness. One of the key points that Emergency Managers stress is mitigation. You make a risk assessment, then do things to mitigate the risk or mitigate the damage from risks you can’t mitigate.
Example, you have a risk of fire in the home. You can mitigate it by putting in smoke detectors, which gives you early warning of a fire. You get a fire extinguisher to help put out fires that are small that you got early warning of. This does not prevent fires, but reduces what damage happens.
There are a lot things people can do, and often they end up not doing anything or trying to do everything. the key thing is to do something. Don’t worry if it is “the right thing to do” as much as it is to “do a right thing”.
For the generator, a low cost one is something most people have one or two of right now sitting in their driveway! Your car is a generator!
Steven Harris of http://www.solar1234.com has a list of recommended inverters you can hook up to your car and run as a generator. does it work as well as a China diesel 10,000 kWh one? no, but it will keep the deep freeze cold.
Excellent Claire, this is an article I’ll show to Noobs without hesitation. Many people are getting interested in this subject and almost always they migrate to the worst case scenario. Forgive me for repeating myself endlessly (Not enough time in life to have too much experience in these events, which should also tell us that these events are rare), but people in Greece are doing fine, if worried, and things will stabilize quickly enough. Greeks are people who can grow their own food, butcher livestock (many Greek men, “dispatch”, butcher and roast their own Easter Lamb, even in the heart of Athens) and generally have the institutional knowledge to survive long term hardships. I know people in Zim and Argentina and they all had preps. This served them well and left them in great shape when things returned to normal, despite living in unfree Socialist $#!tholes . In other words their preps allowed them to continue with a life worth living. Looking at the worst case scenario, which would be something like a Sarajevo or Zim type event, they both lasted about one year. However, these are rare events indeed and mostly we need to prepare for much shorter durations of hardship. And preparing to thrive is the goal, not preparing to sit in your bunker and opt out of life until they finally come for you. Since someone mentioned fire extinguishers I have to mention my buddy Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch. He’s said many times that you are far more likely to need a fire extinguisher than a gun, but very few people have extinguishers… plus you can also use the extinguisher to beat someone to death should the need arise. 😉 Reasonable threat assessment is definitely the way to go.
With food preps, keep in mind how your body responds to various foods. For example, rice is on just about every list as a great food to stock up on. But, if you eat a meal in which rice is the main carbohydrate, do you feel as full as if you had the same amount of, say, pasta? Some will, some won’t. For those who won’t, pasta or other grains might be better than rice, because they satisfy better.
If you or someone in your household has a muscle or joint condition, it might be worth checking to see what would be involved in installing a set of pulleys in certain spots in the house. Or not having carpet in the hallways so it’s easier to roll things through when needed instead of carrying them. I can’t even imagine trying to get a 50-pound sack of anything into the house right now, I’m doing good to carry a gallon of milk!
Buying a piece of property with an apple tree mature enough to still grow apples is a pretty good “prep.”
I learned to make risk assessments based on combinations of most likely, least likely, most dangerous and least dangerous. I know where I live most natural disasters are pretty rare. So those, although dangerous are less likely. Long term power outage is a most dangerous because without electric pumps, water doesn’t reach my house (city water). So, I have to prep for short term and then long term loss of water. Wild fire is highly likely and highly dangerous, and difficult to deal with. Fortunately I don’t live belly up against untended wild lands or in/on terrain that fires would naturally follow. I do keep 3 day kits and vehicle kits. 3 day kits are because that is how long it would take worse case to make it to a fall back position. Vehicle kits because I travel in the desert and mountains summer and winter when a vehicle break down can become deadly.
My daughter just experienced a short duration event when the electricity to her apartment was turned off (not her fault). Turned off friday afternoon, not back on until Monday evening. Because of the insistance of her Mom and I she had candles and oil lanterns. Open windows and screen door on the balcony let what little air there was to blow through. Even though they lost their refrigerated/freezer goods they still had water and canned goods. The best of all is they had family and freinds in the area to turn to if the had really needed it.
Prepping 101:
A. Learn first aid.
B. Learn how to build a wood* fire.
C. Learn how to build a shelter around your fire.
D. Learn how to prepare a meal on the fire in your shelter.
E. Learn how to put out your fire, dismantle your shelter, and clean up your meal so you leave the area better than you found it.
* Or whatever natural fuel you can pick up locally.
EN, at first, when you say, “these events are rare” … are you talking about financial collapses and such? If so, ‘rare’ doesn’t quite fit, imho.
Big list of financial disasters:
Hyperinflation Around the Globe
http://lewrockwell.com/orig13/hewitt-m1.1.1.html
EN wrote, “people in Greece are doing fine, if worried, and things will stabilize quickly enough.”
That’s what the big banks say too. I wonder what makes you so sure things will stabilize quickly? Or maybe I should ask, what does ‘stabilize’ mean?
EN wrote, ” in Zim and Argentina… when things returned to normal”
I was under the impression things were not quite back to a normal in either place,… what does normal mean in this instance?
20% inflation with 30%-40% unemployment?
Surplus agricultural exports with low food costs?
EN wrote, “Sarajevo or Zim type event, they both lasted about one year. However, these are rare events indeed and mostly we need to prepare for much shorter durations of hardship.”
Again, the Hyperinflation Around the Globe list comes to mind. More than a few were much longer durations.
EN wrote, “sit in your bunker and opt out of life until they finally come for you.”
Where did you pick up that interesting response? Reminds me of the big goberment digs against those who opt out of flying,.. or voting, etc…
It also implies, getting off the grid isn’t a life at all. … interesting pre-caffeine reading..
“I wonder what makes you so sure things will stabilize quickly?”
Clarke, I have friends there and as always happens in these cases the economy is moving away from the banks and government. Fuel and food is beginning to move through alternative sources. As in the Soviet Union the government may have some interesting ideas about taxes and such but for all but the highest levels of government they still have to live when they go home at the end of the day. And even at the highest levels of government they have family that lives on the “other” economy. The EU and Greek government can’t win this battle.
“20% inflation with 30%-40% unemployment?
Surplus agricultural exports with low food costs?”
What this means is the alternative economy springs up. Banker numbers become worthless.
“It also implies, getting off the grid isn’t a life at all.”
I’ve seen a number of people do this in the last 40 plus years. The results have been less than satisfactory for all concerned. Life does go on and “most” people seek other humans because societal cooperation tends to create a much better life. Living off the grid is not for many from my experience.
“sit in your bunker and opt out of life until they finally come for you.”
Personal experience here. I know three men, all single eventually, who made prepping their life and the end result was a trailer in the middle of nowhere and a lot less food storage, fuel and other equipment than they started out with. Having preps (at least for me) is all about weathering storms so that our lifestyle and levels comfort can continue, not diminish as time goes on.
Did you actually advise leaving out the zombies!!?!!?! Next you will be telling me it is overkill to be taking copious notes while watching Walking Dead! Where will the madness end!
While I am disappointed about your bias against zombies I do have to agree your advice is good and makes a lot of sense for the average Joe. Do I see the writing of another Claire Wolfe Book in the offing here?
Now if you will excuse me I have to get back to sharpening my Katana and getting my crossbow ready, no really.
Marlene Dietrich lived through the Wiemar Republic hyper-inflation when she was in her twenties. Many years later someone asked how she coped with it. She said she really didn’t notice it. Grin.
>>See what you need to maintain a decent existence even when things go slightly south. Gradually build up a supply of everyday essentials. Get out of debt. Set aside an emergency cash stash.>>
When you are looking at prepping for everyday problems, there is a really low threshold of effectiveness. Almost anything you do, if reasonably thought out, will make you better off than doing nothing at all.
If one wants to encourage others to start prepping, you can’t start them with Lucifer’s Hammer scenarios.
First, they have to accept the concept that relatively minor, relatively common, problems like power outages or blizzards can happen to them, and, second, that it is worth at least some effort to be prepared for them.
Maximalist prepping just makes their eyes glaze. They shake their heads, and go back to the TV.
One 5 gallon bubbler jug (water fountain jug) from Home Depot stashed in the closet or basement is a giant improvement over no stored water.
Boxes of ugly candles from TJ Maxx or Ross’s Dress For Less cost very little, but you won’t use them except in an emergency because they are ugly. Throw some matches into each box and you have at least minimal light. One good LED flashlight (or a MagLight two-pack from CostCo or Sam’s) and a pack of batteries for each from ditto and you have light and at least a minimal club.
Increasing the stock of canned and dried food you normally eat costs nothing because you would have spent the money anyway. Gradually works just fine.
Got an iPad? You can get free first aid aps for it, and they are good. My wife is an elementary school Special Ed teacher and when she found them, she installed them on every iPad in her department. Now, when they take kids on day trips, all the teachers have first aid instruction with them. Free. She has them on her personal iPad, which we take camping and on other trips. Probably will never need the first aid ap, but if we do, it’s available. No Internet needed. No cost.
And having some cash, small bills, set aside is a great idea for when the ATMs don’t work but the stores are open. Twenty bucks is a lot better than nothing. Fifty is better still. And so on.
I think the biggest hurdle is getting people thinking “We should do this. We can do this. It isn’t that big a project.” Later they may beef up their preparations, maybe not, but at least they will have started. And they won’t think people who are better prepared are so weird.