Anyone Else Feel Like It's Almost Impossible...

[1Admin]

Ahhh I see now...

Who gives a damn where anyone else is with their preps?

We need to be really careful of trying to keep up with the survival Joneses. Who gives a rip if someone else has 15 years of food, 500 rifles and 6.9million rounds of ammo. I honestly don't.

Stop comparing yourself to others.

That was one of the other reasons I never have done any "here's my preps, yippee I'm so awesome!" videos on youtube. A LOT of knuckleheads get a half room full of food and supplies and want to post it to the world to validate themselves. Video of garden areas, orchards, etc. isn't the same thing as showing rooms full of food and pounding your chest about it.

The problem is that's really stupid from so many angles-
1. An opsec issue
2. Your really not impressing anyone when you put up videos or talk about your "massive preps" that will take a "train" to move. Actual paraphrase from something a knucklehead said on another forum LOL
3. Not only does it not impress anyone, in our current "culture" all it does is make people jealous of you and make them hate you. Let's be truthful, this is America, it's 2011 and 99% of the "preppers" and survivalists out there watch a lot of TV, this attitude DOES prevail.

If people need to make videos showing neat rows of cases of Mountain House to make them feel good about themselves, I'm guessing they are feeling a little inadequate in other areas of life.... LOL

Don't worry about how you compare to ANYONE else. Don't even fail into the "well I'm better off than most sheep" trap. While you shouldn't get complacent about where you are with your preps, you shouldn't get into comparing yourself with others.

Unfortunately with our current culture, it's almost a natural thing to "compare" ourselves to others.

Apathy is a major problem but envy ranks pretty close to it. We don't need either of them!

[Lacey]

Hi, 1Admin. I can freely admit to being envious when I see people's rooms full of preps. I am also trying to be practical and organized with my preps. I was making my lists of things I needed, want to/should learn, and I was looking at a few videos and checked out some sites which just made me realize how much I need to do, etc.

I watch videos to learn how to do things like canning, dehydrating and storing veggies, how to make jerky, gardening, etc. I got really overwhelmed at the thought that I will never be able to get all the stuff I need, have so much to learn, have to deal with storage space issues, have to get over my fear of guns (childhood incident), have to get enough money together to pay for it all,etc., along with all the time and effort it will take to do so.

I got a little frazzled! LOL!

Thanks again for all the great responses!

[barfife]

When i share those weekly prep e-mails with you it's to show the small things I try to accomplish. Most are not major purchases nor are they stored in a fancy manner. I work on different catagories each week as I see needs. Small things add up quickly. Skill building, reading etc cost nothing. Stay small, share your experiences and you will see how much better you do feel about things.

Obewan strikes again!
Grasshopper

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Obewan strikes again!Grasshopper

hahaha ur burned up! No Obewan here, just a guy tryin to stay afloat and hopefully motivate others around me to as well.

[WiseOwl]

Lacey,

I think I can relate to you. I started getting into "prepping" i.e water, beans, bullets and band-aids, about 8 months ago.
I have always thought TSW going to hit The Fan in the next decade or so, so I started learning knowledge and skills about 6 years ago...like building, construction, small engines, gardening, weather, tracking, backpacking, hiking, and a ton of other stuff. I think knowledge and skills can keep you alive a lil longer than someone without them. I can admit, I don't make enough moolah each payday to even spare $20 sometimes for preps but I will tell you what I lack in "stuff" I make up for in knowledge. For instance, I would love to go out and spend $100 every payday on one item....like water one week, food the other, ammo another and so forth. But at this time I cant, yeah its frustrating because if it was to all go down tomorrow, I would have 1 months worth of food and water...maybe 6 weeks if we stretched it. But, I have the skills to find water, to hunt or catch food, to stretch my ammo for defense. My wife is on board but not 100%....but once she graduates next spring and FINALLY starts bringing home a paycheck, then daddy is finally going to "catch up".....
One thing we do is refill all water bottles and 2 liters and store em. I have rice and noodles for days and they are always cheap at the store. I have good backpacking gear with a filter for water and I also store bleach. I know how to boil water and make it not taste like smoke water......etc.
Keep learning and living...thats my motto. I have a 3 year old son and another boy due anyday ( I will keep all the S&P folks up to date) so I have to think about their future over mine.

If you ever want any info or links or pdfs....I know Matt has sent me some great stuff (Thanks as always Matt) and I have some too I can email you....I dont mind sharing....

Dont get discouraged.....it only drags you down.....

AHO

Wise Owl

[protus]

I hate list.
One reason is breeds the sense of " Ohh no..i dont have xxxxx" and discourages people.

So many these days want list's, heck i could write a list. doesnt mean it will work for you.
Like our BOBs(bug out bags) what we stock,how much etc depends on your plan. What i stock may not work for your , see!


Dont try and keep up with the pogues showing their preps. Its normally some guy who's tossed some cash at the problem, but is still in debt...........but hey he is prepared right????
Hope you see my point.


now, step away from the sheeple cliff of doom...and go do somethings sporadic with the family or friends... in other words go "live" for a day....then focus on what you need....not what others say you need on a spread sheet!!

[TyrannyUnleashed]

When i share those weekly prep e-mails with you it's to show the small things I try to accomplish.

Weekly email?
How may I get on that email list. As always, any good information is good.

[Sulfur]

I think 1Admin got it right; 10 years worth of water, food, fuel, and toe nail clippers is nice, only if you never plan on leaving your location. The only problem is you will never know what is going to happen. You think the people currently involved in one of the floods, wild fires, droughts, occurring in the U.S. knew last year it was going to happen? Skills help improve ones self esteem, willingness, ability to survive what ever is thrown at them. If you know that you “have” to boil untreated water before you can drink it, then technically whether you have one million gallons of water in storage, or access to a lake you will have water that you can drink. The question you should ask is what are these people going to do after there 2 year supply for there entire neighbor hood is used up are going to do. I will tell you "the same thing as you will from day one" if you know what you’re doing. The only difference is they will have 2 years of comfort food, water, etc, that they have to stay in one place to protect. Pioneers traveled across this country years ago with no help from any one else, and “some” made it, those that did had skills and a willingness to survive!

[monkeybird]

Survival should be a family affair. It seems from remarks made on several forum, it's not. I am the prepper in my family. My husband says nothing about what i do or spend. He thinks it's a good idea, so long as he doesn't have to be involved. It makes it a lot harder, the only out of the home information comes from you guys on the forum.

I'm a whiz at food storage, cooking and all the things that go with it. I knew what i needed to buy to prepare the food. I knew I needed a gun and to learned how to shoot it. I'm teaching myself gardening. All that's fine and good. I don't the necessary information or supplies from a man's point of view. And, that important. Believe me, never in a million years would I have known how to dress a chicken!

Even with the best list in the world, if I don't know what the item is for or how to use it, what good is it.