Don’t you miss the old days when you used to be worried about a global pandemic and lockdown restrictions?
Now we are watching the global supply chain stutter, the Russians decimate Ukraine, NATO running headlong into a larger conflict, China licking its lips, The Great Reset taking shape before our very eyes.
As the public wakes up and realizes something is rotten in Denmark, they are looking around their neighborhoods for who might be a prepper.
What are some things you should never say if you find out someone around you is a prepper? I will also give you a simple answer for each if you are a prepper and you are confronted with these kinds of questions.
“I Am Not Prepared For Anything”
If you want a prepper to avoid you like the plague, then let this bombshell out in front of them. Preppers are going to look at you as an extreme liability.
Related: The 5 Tactical Levels Of Preparedness – What Level Are You At?
You can no longer be willfully blind to the situations around the world. The headlines are everywhere!
Instead, they are going to assume you are a lazy and disorganized person who would rather do anything but deal with the threat of an uncertain future. That doesn’t make for a good survival group members or a good survivor in general.
Just stay quiet and start storing more food and consider some kind of self-defense.
Build a base of preparedness.
The Prepper’s Response: “Start buying a little extra food at the supermarket. Keep it simple but get prepared.”
Never Tell A Prepper Where Or How To Find Food After SHTF
Most preppers get their start storing food. It’s one of the first things most prepper’s do.
I would highly recommend you do the same thing. It is particularly important right now because we are dealing with potash and fertilizer shortages worldwide.
Preppers have put a lot of thought into NOT STARVING TO DEATH so when you tell them that you know where or how to find food you might just be wasting your time.
The other thing to consider is that you might not be talking to a good prepper. If you tell them where you plan on getting food they might take you up on that advice and take it all before you can get there!
“I Am Coming To Your House In A Disaster”
Preppers hate it when people tell them that they are going to come to their house in a disaster. What you have to understand is that good preppers have been thinking this over for years.
Related: How To Deal With Neighbors And Friends That Come Begging For Food At Your Door In A Crisis
From the time they first realized that there are people who will try to come to their home, they have been formulating how to deal with it.
For a long time, it was such a contentious topic that many preppers would say they could only care for their own family and everyone else would have to leave the property OR ELSE!
Don’t be the guy who asks that question to your local prepper, or you are going to be met with immediate grief and the person you are asking will also lose respect for you.
The Prepper’s Response: “Be prepared to work.”
Create a list of SHTF duties around your home and community and be prepared to assign those who might show up to work that will make a difference. Security should be high on that list as well as daily cooking and cleaning.
“I Will Just Take What I Need”
Unfortunately, in 2020, I had these kinds of conversations with several men who were doing work for me.
The worst part was that up until that moment they seemed like decent guys who were just trying to provide for their families.
When a prepper hears you say that you are just going to “take” the things you need then you are immediately plugged into the very worst category: THREAT.
Even if you don’t really mean it, a prepper is going to forever look at you as a threat in SHTF. That means if you come to see them for help in SHTF you might “take” some extra lead home with you.
Related: What To Do If The Biggest Civil Unrest Of Our Time Hits Your Town
People will get desperate, and no one can really say what they will or will not do.
However, if you are prepared to hurt people for what you need now, then you will have no problem doing it when you are hungry. That is a weakness not a strength.
The Prepper’s Response: “Just remember that bullets go both ways”
Never Tell Preppers They Are Overexaggerating
It takes some pretty serious convictions to start prepping. It is not really a thing that you just do on a whim.
Once you see behind the curtain there is really no going back. I cannot think of a prepper who was really dialed in and then somehow went into retirement from prepping. Doesn’t really happen.
When you tell a prepper they are exaggerating, it’s a complete and total waste of breath. There are several positions that are nearly impossible to negotiate a person away from. Being a prepper is one of them and preppers are dug in deeper than ever given the state of the world!
“I Am Going To Go To The Woods When It Gets Bad”
Unless you are a seasoned woodsman and bushcrafter then you are going to die in the woods during a collapse.
Any prepper who has thought over feeding his family, sheltering them in bad weather and cold seasons and dealing with things like good hygiene is going to see your plan is a bad one.
When a prepper hears that you’re bug out plan is to go to the woods they are going to know how far down the path you are. They are going to know that you haven’t thought through much of your plan.
Related: 12 Things You Need to Know Before Choosing Your Bug Out Location
Yes. In the woods you will be away from the immediate threat of people who might wish to do your family harm. However, you will have a whole new battle to face and that will be meeting your daily caloric needs and preparing for lean times like winter and early spring.
Treating injuries and illness in the woods is no fun either.
The Prepper’s Response: “Do a mock bugout for a week in the woods with your family.”
I will always be proud to be a prepper because of websites like Ask A Prepper, podcasts, YouTube Channels and other forms of prepper “infrastructure” that has been built over time by communities just like this one.
When people get nervous about the world around them, they have this great wealth of knowledge that has been mostly gifted to them for free. If you are new to the prepping world, then you might think the best thing to do is find a prepper and pepper them with questions.
Chances are there is an article written here or a video somewhere on the same topic you are looking to explore.
In my experience the prepping community is incredibly polite and accessible. However, we really like it when you bring something to the table. Barter, if you will.
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I am going to come to your house when SHTF fan.
That is the most common awnser said to me.
Some of my friends do prep, but not to the point that I do. So they think that just because I have more, dose not mean that you can prep less.
Most people that are real preppers, do have more then they need, that doesn’t mean that I am the food savior for you and your family just because.
I very rearly tell people that I prep.
Sad that we will have to use deadly force to protect our food preps.
Can you watch someone starving, when you have food. Yes, it will be very hard.
I have been making up Mylar bags with food in them. I will not hand them to you but I will leave some on there porch when I can. Just to show some kind of compaction to those less fortunate then I am.
Will you become more evil or less evil when that time comes.
Good luck…
Well your house gets raided then. You showed them you have so much food you can give if away.
People just need to be dumb and quiet vet the people they meet. Then again you need more people for jobs and security then most pepper’s understand. It’s why any fireteam will stomp a mudhole into every pepper’s home. They got no security against a poorly trained 3 man group
If my house gets raided. Then I show them how much food I have to give away.? ” What ” can you reinterate on what you mean.
Raven:
You have a YouTube channel that teaches prepping basics, right?
So now EVERYBODY knows you’re a prepper, plus they have a pretty good idea of what your house and property look like. Not to mention, people in your community who know you as ‘Joe Blow, who lives behind the Texaco on Mill Road’ know you’re a prepper and worse, know your family, friends, where you work and shop, etc
Maybe you can trust these people implicitly, but if it’s their family or yours, trust will go out the window. And, sorry to say, putting yourself out there in YouTube land is not going to help you stay off the radar.
what about it kitty. Not concerned people know what I am. We literally have 40 people on our 250 arce compound. And 40 more who plan on bugging out here.
Ya miss kitty. With the info that raven has put out on the internet.
You could find his location easaly.
There is enough on him that “he put out there”. I could find him on goggle maps.
Expert… Humm. @ giving out your location.
He means that by leaving food on the porch, it reveals that he has enough to give away. Even if he does have enough to give away a small amount, people won’t think that way. They will think ‘ah, this is a place I can steal food’.
okay.
If you read what was posted. It says, I would not hand it to you. But under a way that no one would know it was me that left it there.
It’s okay to give.
We all will face a senior that will be nothing like anyone else is going thru. Prep for that.
Exactly, while we thought hard about charity. It’s difficult to to give unless your willing to become their support. More reasons it’s easier to get people to work for the food or donations.
People will talk about your generosity and now your a target
And…he has just fallen prey to ‘the stray cat syndrome’.
Dam. do y’all read anything before you comment.
The generosity that will be givin. is givin under night fall and I surly would never give up what I have. Just like YALL won’t.
You took that out of context and made something bad out of something good. You need to read the post three times then comment.
Seams that everyone is an expert at what I am going to be facing. Humm…
Info is givin and takin and made to fit my senior, not where you are. But where I am…
He said “On their porch” which I inferred meant an anonymous donation. Big difference from leaving food on oneown porch.
Red Ant:
IDK why everyone is attacking you for being kind – I figured that you were planning on going full Santa Claus and sneaking the rescue packets onto THEIR porch, not yours.
Did I read you wrong?
Why would anyone go full Santa Claus. not me…
I was saying that I would be willing to give some of the extra food that I have. ONLY IF I CAN DO IT WITH OUT ANYONE KNOWING. and Only then. I’m not a dummy. If I can’t I surly won’t…
It Surly will not be coming from my preps, but from extra food that GOD has givin to me. I have been very blessed to receive such an amount of food and life saving things. The bible says to fill your storage house up in time of plenty. I did just that and still am doing just that.
When you grow with God. He will bless you with all you will need and more then you will need. so give back, just as was givin to me…
One more thing if you give you just might receive something good. back.
That goes along with “hoarding is a sin, god will take care of me”
Red Ant:
By “full Santa Claus” I meant that you would be sneaking in under cover of darkness and leaving little presents of food. That’s all.
Helping out other people anonymously is a wonderful thing, but it does carry a risk of being discovered and followed home. It also carries the risk of being shot by the very people you are trying to help, if they think you are trespassing with evil intent.
Just be very careful, please.
Miss Kitty
Thank you. yes, I’m sorry that it sounded like I was being loud. Just anoied.
Yes, I see that you were right in saying that.
I think it would be a challenge. What better way to train. but yes I would never jeopardize any part of my survival.
Only if can in a way that can not be detected in any way.
if we can’t show some kind of, being still humem, even in a SHTF senerio, what’s it really worth then.
Good has become evil and evil has become good. but not for all.
Thank you and hope you are doing good. I do pray for you and your ma.
Did you mean “compassion,” or were you going to run them through the garbage compactor?
So, did you actually find Raven?
“Things You Should Never Say To A Prepper”
On… A prepper site. ?????
Now here’s a guy that when he runs, he goes faster. John Madden.
I think this article is geared toward the beginner or the curious. I hope they see it.
I’ve had people tell me that they’ll come to my house when shtf. My answer, “No, you won’t because I won’t be there and if I am the coroner will find you there after I’ve left”. That includes family that I’ve been telling they need to prep for years, I have enough to feed my immediate family, and thats it, no more. I have a place in the woods, and I have 20 real friends who’ve been prepping for years that will be there with me, all of whom have military training and aren’t afraid to do what it takes to protect what we have.
Exactly. I’m not starving my family to death for anyone.
I liked this article, gave some good ideas. Made me wonder, how do you talk to people afterwards with all the risk? Black Markets spring up AFTER the initial burst of worst, so how would you conduct yourself? Or reach out to neighbors in a new area, etc.? I did a search to see if this site wrote about it but didn’t see it come up, although this article was number 3 in the results.
First and foremost…OPSEC. Unless, you have a small group or a ‘close’ friend that you trust…’with your life’…mum is the word. Remember…”Loose lips sink ships.”
My answer to most of these, I’ve had a few of these come up, is…a smile and…”Well, bless your little pea-picking heart.” At that point the subject becomes moot.
Would I help someone? I would have to weigh that situation, when/if it happens, very closely. I can’t predict what I would actually do, but there are a couple situations when I might/ would, but that is a subject that is so full of ‘what-ifs’, I don’t want to address it right now. Just remember…the ‘stray cat syndrome’.
Dave! Thank you! I just opened this article and was scrolling through the comments and I’m glad to see someone finally posted OPSEC, a primary concern, along with COMMSEC, and both should already be in effect and maintained forever by anyone who is serious about protecting and providing for themselves and their families, and a very few select others they truly trust and care for.
I keep a wary eye out for people that show an interest in what I am buying. I usually have a built in deflective answer when they are curious if I am a prepper. It is not the everyday person that I am most concerned with, but the acquaintances and family that I have identified as non-preppers. I was raise on the “no worky, no eaty” lifestyle. If someone comes for food, if I am able to help, I will offer them a chance to work for their food. If they are unwilling to work, I am unwilling to help.
If I have offered a bit of getting prepared advice to people, and they chose not to prepare with the rising prices and shortages going on, then I will be less likely to offer them work, because I will already have seen their lack of desire. They may work for an hour or two, but will then try to figure out how to take more than that which was bartered for.
I have been laid back most of my life. I have an easy going personality, and as such, I have had people trying to take advantage of me for a long time. When times are tough, I will no longer be laid back, because sustainability will require great effort. I will protect me and mine, and I won’t hesitate to hurt someone’s feelings or physical body.
My standard reply is, “what is prepping, you mean like for a week of electricity loss after a storm”………..Never hurts to play dumb. We refine that talent in the South intentionally………..
Hide your light under a bushel.
Good, sound advice.
‘Different’ type of ‘light’.
You do bring up a good point, though, for those that consider themselves to be Christian. I am and I said earlier, that there were a couple situations if/when that I might/would, but there are so many ‘what ifs’ that I wouldn’t go into detail. That being said, if I would ‘not’ be placing myself, family or group, I might belong to, in danger, there is a good chance I would…’after’ I’ve done all I can to rule out the danger of the particular situation. The first might be a freebie, but anything else would have to be worked for and that if they started bringing a ‘friend’ or two…everything just might stop. Again, though, that is a ‘what if’ and ‘what ifs…never end.
Being a person that identifies as Christian, I would gladly help those who were unable to do for themselves…widows and orphans. Able bodied folk that did nothing to prepare…maybe not so much!
A bit long winded here…
There is so much here to digest. I spoke with my bride and she said there is little thought about prepping even with preppers. Most preppers seem more likely to be homesteaders, dabbling with canning, camping and light gardening, nothing too serious and they honestly believe that they are preppers. I will admit the area we are very weak is gardening, gardening and gardening. We try but lack good soil in our area. With that said we have answered as we see the questions… or statements we don’t really want to hear.
“I Am Not Prepared for Anything”
That statement tells me to keep away from them. The last thing we need are people that have no desire to help themselves that think others or the government will support them. I just keep walking away.
Never Tell A Prepper Where Or How To Find Food After SHTF
If someone is willing to let me know where supplies will be that I can access without depleting my stock I am very welcome to. It doesn’t change the fact that I won’t be dolling out my stock to the ill prepared.
“I Will Just Take What I Need”
These people may just be the most dangerous you could find. The mentality needed to drive a person to take as they see fit scares me to no end. My wife and I both hold CCPs and train monthly with hopes we will never use the weapons, but as my wife is former law enforcement and I am former Army infantry we are comfortable with the possibility of defending ourselves. We know who in our neighborhood will fit this bill so we keep them well in view. It is the unknown lone wolf that concerns us.
Never Tell Preppers They Are Overexaggerating
This is one I have heard over the years. I’m not saying this is our time as I have higher hopes for humanity. Natural disasters however, are the events that worry me. Katrina, Hugo and other hurricanes along with tornados and freak weather storms show that we need preparation moreover for local challenges. We have shown by example that the need to be ready isn’t an over exaggeration.
“I Am Going To Go To The Woods When It Gets Bad”
This is non sequitur. Going into the woods in a disaster is getting bad. This of course is based on the premise that there is not a cabin or area to rally in. Leaving the security of your home is a huge gamble as it is safer to defend a place that is warm and dry easier then a place that is cold and damp. Also, the probability of your house being a random target is just that…. Random.
Back in the mid 80’s a movie called ‘the day after’ about a nuclear attack which destroyed a lot of the planet. Very realistic. A good watch.
Just my thoughts.
The goal should be Homesteading. Let’s just try and think what are you prepping for…. everything you need to do is in the end what Homesteading is about. Most peppers evolve into Homesteads because you can’t live off stores of food forever.
this is a fair adjustment… in my state, homesteading has a completely different meaning…
Go on back to the 60s and find a movie titled “Panic in the Year Zero.” Good movie.
Pretty good movie actually.
A few years ago, I was talking to someone who had no thoughts about being prepared. If he has enough beer and his little cigars for a few days, he is happy. He told me that if it looks like I am not losing weight like everyone else around during a disaster, it will be a clear signal that I have more food than most and he will be knocking on my door. So, either I lose some weight before hand or prepare a wardrobe of baggy clothing for later.
Be the ‘Gray-man’ in all situations, if you can. Don’t stand out.
Lin, grayman techniques are good but also be ready to just shoot him until dead if/when the time comes. If the situation is so bad everyone is losing weight, like say Poland during WWII, and someone like that is spying on you and comes looking for your supplies because he “thinks” he can take from you, do everyone a favor and kill him right then and there. If anyone comes around asking why, you always say he threatened to kill you and you believed him, so you shot him for it first. You may even have others thanking you for getting rid of the jerk that has been threating and mooching/stealing from others and they were too timid to do what was needed.
Think of it as killing a raccoon or coyote that might be carrying diseases and is getting into sheds or garages, or is raiding everyone’s chickens or rabbits, then you kill it, doing everyone a favor by removing the threat to their livestock, pets, and kids. I would think others would be glad you removed the problem for the benefit of the community, even if the community is just a few people you trust.
Sage: I have a closet full of clothes too big for me. Most are definitely good rags, repaired, but old. Be blessed! Something you might like. niio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPyXO-DWUFs
Red,
Thank you for the link. I appreciate Mary’s style. It is very genuine.
I have been working on my veggie garden and have some veggie starts under a grow light. After listening to this video, I am more motivated to expand my garden area.
Blessings to you.
So why even tell others that you are a prepper?
I’ve been “hoarding” food for yrs and my husband thought I was nuts. Now he’s starting, maybe I should call him nuts.
The only person I ever let know I was prepper: my friend and I were talking about canning and he looked at us as if we were nuts (again w/the nuts). Then he looked at us and he says: Oh, I get it. You’re preppers. I haven’t seen him since.
Good thing he’s gone. Hope he doesn’t remember you when it’s convenient for him.
JoAnn: My wife, now passed away, hated when the kids (all adults) and I were canning. “No-buddy does that anymore!” I asked if her mother had any spare European canning jars. No, her sisters and sisters-in-law took what Oma didn’t need for herself. Right now, I’m using those forever lids and like them! niio
Red, are they Weck jars?
I know Canada had some gem jars, but they have stopped producing them. I have several old canning jars with the glass lids and found some of the rubber rings to go under the glass tops. I haven’t tried canning with them yet. I do have an old cookbook that shows the steps using them, so might give it a whirl.
To date I’ve only canned using the two-piece metal lids and bands.
When I was growing up, a kid in my neighborhood set the kitchen on fire when he was melting paraffin. By the time I was making jam, most had gone to using the metal kids and bands rather than using wax. I shuddered thinking about Mrs. J’s kitchen in flames and never used wax to seal jelly or jam.
I have a couple of European flat tops, but most are American Ball and Kerr dome lids. The Euros are older ones with a bail lock, like the domes have. Most jars are ring and lid, but we’re using harvest guard forever lids and rings. https://canninglids.com/ Lids are supposed to be good for about 27 cannings, and rings can be reused 3-4 times. These rings are narrow and I had some failures trying to use them with dome lids. But, I have used them with used steel lids and they worked.
Old bail lock jars are for acid foods like most juice and pickles. There, they shine. Remember when canning keep the top wire on the dome, but not locked or the jar might crack. Man, look at the price for them, today. And how many I helped haul to dumps as a kid when people cleaned out their basements. Check the inside rim for rough spots. Those would be in older jars, pre-40s. As long as the wide rings look good, we reuse them. Rings would be sold at Amish and Mennonite stores. A dozen cost as much as steel canning lids, but as said, are reusable.
Ya, we had a nice black spot on the ceiling over the stove from wax catching fire. Double boiler or not, it happens. Hey, at least it made the chunks of steel from the pressure cooker that blew up look interesting. That was well before my time and according to rumor, the little old lady who did it was stoned on wild woods weed and too much homemade peach brandy. But, that’s hill folks.
Happy summer. niio
I have some long term food that is not prime any longer. It won’t hurt anyone but the nutrient level is most likely degraded. I do know people who have not prepared and that food would be better than nothing but, as Dave commented above, the stray cat syndrome can be very real.
This is a good article by Jame Walton. Well written.
Quote: “I am not prepared for anything.”
My response: “Wow! Not for anything?”
Quote: “I know where to find food after a disaster.”
My response: “Really? Can you give me a list?”
Quote: “I am coming to your house…”
My response: “I will get you the list of what you will need to bring and the jobs you will be doing. Where should I send that?”
Quote: “I will just take what I need.”
My response: “Noted.”
Quote: “You are just overexaggerating.”
My response: “Could be. I guess we will see eventually.”
Quote: “I am going to the woods when it gets bad.”
My response: “I understand that a bunch of people are going to do that, too.”
I have been doing this for over 50-years and there is not much I have not heard. Much of it has been statements like those stated in the article and some of the responses. Although I have been on the government’s radar since 1980 or 1981, my memory is bad and I cannot remember the exact year. I was investigated by the FBI for ‘unAmerican activities’ after a county Civil Defense Director did not like me asking for so many publications that he did not want to get for me. Turned out fine. The two FBI agents showed up in the small town where I lived, talked to a bunch of people that knew me, and left. Never heard a word from the FBI, but my friends that were questioned were more than happy to tell me all about it.
And, because I have promoted Civil Defense, back in the day; being ready to survive many different possibilities back before survivalist was demonized; and finally offering ideas, suggestions, and opinions to people that expressed an interest in prepping, on forums, blogs, and interviews for TV, radio, and magazines, plus publishing more than a hundred stories about prepping, I have been in the public eye as a prepper.
People that know me or recognize me often not only make the kind of statements we are talking about, but also ask some very probing, very inappropriate questions. So, I have developed a set of answers to most of them.
I never try to argue anything, try to convince anyone that they ‘have to’ prep, or anything else that is the least confrontational. I have found that a grunt, one- or two-word response, ignoring the statement or question when possible, walking away, or playing dumb (which I am very good at doing, by the way… lol) is a much better way to handle things for me than really engaging the person or persons.
I learned in my late teens not to try and help anyone that was not willing to actually listen, study, research, and simply do. If there was even the slightest hint that they were expecting me to do it for them, I distanced myself from them. At least as far as prepping went. There were a few that did not take it well, but I learned and that has not happened in several decades.
Some might not take the article too seriously, as some of the things seem just a bit silly. However, I can tell you, when it comes down to it and people begin to get desperate, these kinds of things can turn ugly, even deadly. Think about the statements listed and then think about others that you have heard or heard about, even if not directed to you. Formulate some stock answers that can be modified to fit the particular situation and person. You will glad you did, I believe.
Just my opinion.
I saw that movie just before having my 4th child. It scared the shit out of me. I started looking into what I could do to protect my family then. I’m still doing it today.
did me too…..
Here are my two cents:
1. Only hang with or associate with people that are open to prepping or to at least growing some of their own food. Don’t associate with people that you can’t trust. Don’t talk to people about prepping unless you are going to be able to get them into serious prepping. I am helping several people get started with prepping, gardening, etc. I have known these folks for a long time and found them to be dependable before even letting them know I want to be prepared. These are a few people or families that I would help in a crisis, and they would also help me.
2. Work with your neighbors to prepare the whole community for a crisis, or if your neighbors are not like minded and probably won’t work together, then don’t discuss prepping at all. Maybe it is better to live where there are few neighbors, like I do. It took me over 10 years of knowing my few neighbors (living spread out along a mile of country road) and other people with whom I closely associate before I ever talked to them about their preparations. I let them bring up the subject and start the conversation. Even now they do not know the extent of my preps, and I don’t fully know how prepared they are. I do, however, feel good about their willingness to work together and with me in a crisis. There are a few of us well armed people scattered along my rural back road. that would defend our local community from anyone trying to get our supplies. If worse comes to worse, we might have to drop some trees across the road to further isolate the homes of the few families living within a mile and a half of each other in our small community.
“I can not save you.
I can’t even save myself!”
Do NOT come to my house. It’s really small and there’s only room for one idiot, and that’s me.
Movie quote..
” Don’t get to cocky my boy. No matter how good you are, don’t let them see you coming. You gotta keep yourself small.” You really think your trusted neighbor or any of your 40 like minded friends won’t cut your throat to save himself or his family.
We are family and not your boy
During the Cuban missile crisis one of my work colleagues told me in the event of a missile attack he was going to head up to the mountains ringing Los Angles. I think I made him think a bit when I asked him how long he had a hunting license and how many deer he had taken in the past ten years.
He didn’t reply so I puked on and said that in my opinion going into the mountains around LA would get him stuck in a bigger traffic jam than existed on the first weekend there was skiable snow.
He didn’t reply to that either. If you are planning on bugging out to “the wilderness” the first question you have to ask yourself is how many other people in your locale do you think have the very same idea?
In the SoCal area, every clump of five trees will have at least one family camped in it starving slowly. Every tree in the Angeles National Forest will have an erstwhile “prepper” behind it. Everything edible and a lot of stuff no so edible will be gone in three days — maybe sooner.
I’ve identified several people who certainly appear to be preppers. The doctor on the corner has a veritable farm on his little plot of land. He even has cherry tomatoes growing in his front yard. The guy across the street is into drying the fruit that grows in his yard because we have exchanged dried persimmons. There is a guy a couple of blocks away that has a couple of original Toyota Land Cruisers complete with right hand drive. He may just be into antique cars but they both run and I am sure there is nothing miniaturized on either one. He’s an interesting candidate. Just keeping my eyes and ears open.
In a really big shtf situation, everyone’s going to be trying to get out of the urban areas and into the wilderness. So about a month in, the national parks, camping areas and woodland areas are going to be wastelands of abandoned camping equipment and vehicles, garbage and human waste everywhere, and starving, desperate people who are going to start killing each other for the little supplies they have left. Then they’ll likely start eating each other. The game that hasn’t been hunted out early will probably migrate to the suburbs to get away from the people, but we’ll be lucky if there’s enough to have breeding stock to replenish the herds. Then winter will set in and finish off most of the rest of the hordes that thought themselves clever enough to live off the land or their fellow humans.
The biggest problem anywhere is going to be drinking water. Municipal water supplies are either not going to be available at all, or it won’t be properly treated and will be contaminated. Stored water will see you through a few weeks, maybe, but then what? Getting a good filter system should be a priority for anyone who has access to any kind of “wild water”, or getting a property with a good well if you can afford it. But with real estate prices going up, that may not be possible for a lot of people. Someone said in a post on another article that cities have plenty of water around, and it may be true if there’s a lake or river, but don’t forget that a lot of treatment plants and industries will just dump their untreated water into the rivers if there aren’t enough workers or supplies to cleanse the waste water. This will hold true in a shtf situation – who’s going to want to spend a shift at a sewage plant if they want to leave town with their families? They’ll likely throw open the overflow pipes and walk out, or the overflow will engage automatically after two or three shifts. Then the water will be contaminated with pathogens and chemicals. There have been times in our history when rivers were so polluted that they caught fire or simply killed everything that the water touched.
If you have property, especially in a suburban or rural area, check to see if you can sink a well, even if you are on municipal water now.
Older buildings may have old wells on site that can be reclaimed. You don’t necessarily need to get permission to dig, but check your local requirements. Dig Safe is a program in Massachusetts that requires the utility companies to check for underground pipes, and the fines are heavy for violating it.
If you live in the suburbs you will just die.
Women love me and Men want to be with me.
if you’re dumb enough to advertise yourself, your homestead, and family by posting videos on YouTube you are not smart enough to survive when the real hunters are out “foraging”.
Plus you compermized your whole group and BOL location.for every one in your group. Wonder if they know the BOL, is know compermized…
And He calls every one else stupid. Humm…
Red Ant;
And I pray for you and your family as well.
And you are right – if we are so focused on our own survival that we can see starving children stumbling down the road and not do anything to help, we are no better than the people who say “I’ll just take what I want”. Both the takers and the watchers are guilty of selfishness and cruelty. Just as in the parable of the Good Samaritan, when the robbers left their victim for dead, and the priests and scholars of the Temple passed him by out of fear of becoming victims themselves, or of being ritually contaminated by a dead body. If we are too afraid of losing what we have to the point of ignoring human suffering, then what sort of existence are we trying to preserve? And when our lives end, how will we answer for our actions?
Sneaking food to the needy may not be a perfect solution, but it’s a start.
Miss kitty
The good Samaritan has also came and helped me when I was down and laying on the ground. It is my duty to give back, just as was givin to me.
A warrior for Christ. As we love for Him, He also will love form us.
Remember who Jesus came for. One was for the hungry…
Trust in Jesus.
Thank you also…
A good part of my prep is helping a few close families with prepping. I gave one a pressure canner. Old but works fine. Taught him how to use it. Then gave a few dozen jars. I’ve been giving another home canned goods to set back, gave that home some 22LR. I have stuff enough for me for a while and seeds for years of gardens. I set up three families with heirloom seeds for a garden this year. Gave one family a tiny chicken coop, 2 hens and a rooster and a cage and pair of rabbits. They need to get another cage and accessories. I have a coop for 6 chickens almost repaired for the other home. I have some garden starts to share at planting time. Usually mid May here. They are working on preparing but on an almost non existent budget. Also working with a few others in my tiny rural community. I live in a very small home so I can’t store for those families. I’m helping them get what they need have to store back things. But most have no clue what I and a few friends have or do.
Clergylady, your neighbours are blessed to have you nearby.
In my neck of the woods, most prep in some fashion for winter, so people having carts loaded with stuff doesn’t really draw attention.
I had one guy tell me he was a prepper, and he told me because he saw my Sun Oven outside and wanted to know more about it. He was delivering heating fuel to my house, which is how he came to see the Sun Oven in the back yard. It was the first time he saw one irl, he explained, which was why he had so many questions. And, he was a prepper.
I smiled and told him the truth. That after the early snowstorm a year or so earlier that really whacked the county leading to a county-wide power outage that lasted a while–at my house three days but other places were out for a week or more–i decided I was going to stop my 20-yesr drooling over one and get one. The price had always held me back before. And, I wasn’t going to have it just sit in the shelf waiting for the next outage. I decided once it arrived, if use it on every sunny day, so I could know what it would do. Because if I learned anything from that outage, it was figuring out what to do next was easier when you had muscle memory of how to do something.
Here, he nodded vigorously and we both agreed that bad storm was a wakeup call for many. That we had become too complacent.
I have no doubt he remembers my Sun Oven and where I live. I’d be able to recognize him, too. He’s on a different route these days, so I don’t see him anymore.
After the snow stopped falling from that storm and the power was out, I used my landline and called a few of my elderly neighbors. I wanted to be sure they were all right. They were, and we’re glad I called because they were worried for me, knowing that I was by myself.
Power lines were all over the road, so it was safest for everyone to stay indoors and let the power crews do their thing.
I realize that’s not quite what many would consider a shtf situation, but in 24 hours we went from business as usual to 18 inches of the heaviest snow I’ve ever shovelled and telephone poles snapped like twigs. Power lines lying in the road. No nearby stores or gas stations open. No internet access. The usual spotty cell phone coverage now nearly nonexistent. The snow was too wet and heavy for snowblowers. Some had plows for their pickups and cleared their driveway and maybe a neighbor’s if the lines were cleared from the road. I did most of mine manually because my plow guy couldn’t get through.
It was a good test for me, as it was for many. Some things I got right, some things I needed to work on, and I’ve been working off that list ever since.
Mbl, that storm you experienced and the correct actions you took during it is exactly the type of SHTF situations we prepare for, some for short duration, some for longer. And afterwards you took what you learned and made even better advanced preps, great example of how to do it right.
When I was a lot younger, few people still canned or froze anything. The we ran into the Carter Depression and you couldn’t find jars or a freezer. After memory of that disaster faded, we picked up several hundred jars and rings very cheap. The price of freezers dropped and we bought some.
Right now, we’re looking at a disaster that made FDR’s depression look sane. We have freezers, but also have to build another dehydrator in case we lose power. Dried is better than spoiled! A solar dehydrator can be built in front of a window that gets plenty of sun. Plans are all over the net, so get to work, Townies! niio
and you can dehydrate purchased produce just as easy as what you grow yourself, although growing your own is much better.
dz: when we can, we buy dented cans, often #10s. Contents can be frozen or dried. We just finished the last of the roasted peppers bought 4 years ago that had been uncanned and frozen. niio
Back to the original comment. If you come to my house,prepare to work. However,I would NOT put such people on a perimeter watch. If you come to TAKE just what you need, you will go home with a copius amount of lead in you. All other comments are irrelevant.
Friends here know I can and sun. dry food. They know I garden. Yet most have no idea what I actually do or don’t have. They know I don’t obviously have much money. Let’s keep it that way. I share how to knowledge for growing, drying, canning, seed saving, and sewing. I even give away an old but pretty sound running car quietly now and then. Few know I bought or repaired those or that my hands won’t do that again. Fewer know I get almost 100% of my food from either my garden or a community pantry. It’s not anyone’s business. The fact that a well filled grocery cart is more than I need is lost on all but the pantry manager. She knows I can all excess or pass it on. She invited me to pick all the apples on two dwarf trees. That yielded 12 quarts of applesauce, 3 quarts of pie filling, 2 gallons of ACV made from the trimmings and a few spoiled apples. Now anything extra I’m often given extra. I have 20 more little acorn squash and canned baby eggplant with Italian meat balls ect from the bags not everyone gets. Many picking up food give away their lentils or split peas and red kidney beans. I’ll take them or my son will. I use some now and can or put back the rest for storage. I’ve canned 12 quarts of real butter. I have 18 lb more to can and I’ve shared 15 lbs at church. If you’re giving away you excess no one figures your putting back a lot. My pastor and his wife know, my kids know but everyone else figures I use a lot of what I get and share the rest.. or they have no clue what I get from anywhere. There is one bookcase by the table full of canned vegetables, soups, canned milk, and some canned fruits on top. That looks like all the food there is to be seen and it might last a month or two. I work out of that shelf. Cycling in from other areas.
I have a small sun oven left from a class I did at my school over 20 years ago. I have 2 pressure canners and 3 water bath canners in a garden shed with the empty jars. I have saved an abundance of garden seeds. I gave away enough to plant three good sized gardens. I still have an abundance for my garden for several years ahead.
I live quite comfortably without power. Curtain rods over open sumner windows hoId wet toweIs on miserable days. Other days just opening windows to create drafts is enough.
I’ve replaced the coyote and dog killed chickens with 27, 4 week and 2 week old chicks. Dead rabbits are being replaced but I still need a male rabbit. New coop and pen. Son is adding chickens, rabbits, and bees to his area. He wants to add goats also. I’ve taught him to pressure can, gave him My mother’s old pc and he’s found one and now has added two waterbath canners. I’ve we shared jars and he’s been buying jars also. Playing quick catch up since being widowed, had to move back out here, and been awarded 50% VA disability. So we are working together. Finally some help! He’s rebuilding his old home that has sat empty for years. More storage in the pantry, master bath, and perhaps in the hallway walks. 🙂
Still no to anyone other than family.
Really good article. For those that say they are going to the woods to live with their family. Take a look at the Show on the History Channel called “Alone”. These are self-proclaimed survivalists. They are each good in their own right. However, when dropped into an area or traveled to an area that they do not know, well you watch and see. You will see what happens during lack of food. Not only the physical but also the mental. You will get a lot of ideas on living arrangements and such, but these guys live this life normally and they struggle. This also goes a long way into your lone wolf ideas as well. Just a thought. I use this show as a real life look at what it would be like when the SHTF. Just thinking out loud.