Prepping isn’t just for Doomsday, anymore. The reality is, you could learn a lot from a prepper without the stigma of actually having to be one.

Mention the word “prepper,” or “prepping,” in your circle of friends and the phrase “Tin Foil Hat” or the popular “Doomsday Preppers” reality TV series may come to mind. But prepping, or, making preparations for the unforeseen, isn’t just about underground bomb shelters, 20-year food supplies and living off the grid.

In fact, prepping is fairly common to most Floridians. If you have a generator, a pantry stocked with shelf stable food, extra meds, water, flashlights, batteries and a weather radio, you join a legion of Florida pros who know how to weather a storm. 

For the less familiar, prepping isn’t just about what’s on your shelf. It’s also about what’s in your head. Pardon the old cliche, but we live in interesting times. It goes without saying that the pandemic, for instance, fundamentally changed the way we work, live and play. And all the while this was happening, the hardcore peppers were taking copious notes.

This blog isn’t about hoarding supplies, buying cool gear or boning up on frontier survivalist techniques. This is about learning a preparation mantra to help guide your thinking about what things you need in your world to prevail through the unexpected while maintaining some sense of the comforts of home.

For now, we’re going to leave behind all the standard hurricane preparation planning, because that information is already out there. In fact, we’d bet dollars to donuts that there is a handy guide on the refrigerator magnet in your kitchen right now. (If there isn’t, there should be.)

So let’s dive in.

1. Everything Preppers Do Is Based On Lessons Learned, What Works, And What Doesn’t.
If the pandemic taught us anything, it was that compromised supply chains, distribution channels and supply sources lead to undesirable consequences. Off the top of your head you can probably reel off two, three, maybe even a dozen or more things you simply couldn’t find anywhere at any price. There’s probably still at least one everyday staple you cherished that you can’t find to this very day. 

Prepping is about work arounds to both challenging and common everyday problems. The more important something is in your life, the more creative you’ll get at preserving it. Hold that thought.

2. “Two is One and One is None."
You probably don’t give a second thought about carting around a spare tire in your trunk and those extra buttons sewn into your shirt. But what about all your other important stuff? Do you have two cell phones, two radios, two flashlights with extra bulbs and extra sets of batteries? Ask some preppers where they’d be with only one flashlight and they’ll likely tell you, “moments away from total darkness.”

Take a look around you and all the things you use on a daily basis. Now imagine if each of these things went away or suddenly ceased to function. Would that impact your safety, security, comfort or productivity? If you answered “yes” to any of those items, time to consider a backup.

On the other hand, having a second generator might prove to be impractical, if not impossible. But you can always stock adequate spare parts and supplies to sustain the one you have. Being truly prepared is about thinking outside the box. Or in this case, just simply having two boxes.

‍3. Think Like A Pioneer, Then Be One.
In our commodity-driven lifestyle, it’s easy to take everything for granted. After all, anything you could ever want is a car ride, phone call, text or click away. Until it isn’t. 

Survival, to a hard-core prepper, means self sufficiency in every respect and failure to be so comes with a harsh consequence. 

Before there was Amazon, Instacart, Door Dash and everything else brought life right to your living room, there was the old fashioned way. The old fashioned way was farming, hunting, fishing, canning, tanning, dehydrating, smoking, candlestick making, bee keeping and a whole host of other seemingly forgotten prairie skills on which people lived quite well. Taking up just one of these crafts can go a long way in being prepared for a disruption.

If nothing else, think of the wholesomeness of a trip to the local farmer’s market and the harvest of organic fruits and vegetables that can be canned and/or dehydrated for long term storage. Better yet, start your own garden and experience the entire farm to fork experience for yourself. Our family roots come from farming and keeping these skill sets alive has generational value and meaning. 

Besides gardening and food preparation, check out the how-to guides available at instructables.com. You can browse hundreds of projects, including food recipes, home made housewares and everyday electronic gadgets commonly found in the everyday prepper supply kit. 

Hunting, fishing, and gardening isn’t your thing? Not to worry. There are some good sources for shelf stable foods and preparedness tips. In addition to water, everyone should, at a minimum, have 72 hours of food on hand for each person. Most professionals would recommend much more. Try 4 Patriots or Ready Wise on Amazon. Ready Hour even has Gluten Free meal kit options, if desired.

Bonus Tip
Also consider the value of a group of like minded friends, family and neighbors who offer complementary preparedness skills and how that could sustain the community in an extended disruption.

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