Helpful Info. How to Make a Prepper and Find other Preppers

[Liv4today55]

Do you wish a certain friend would start prepping? Are you the only prepper, that you know of, in your area? Are there people who are essential to your end of the world plan that are not preppers? How do you approach the subject? Is it possible to influence a people who are completely unprepared to become serious preppers? In this article I will explain how I have spent the past year setting up the preppers I need, so that I can survive when SHTF.

It started right after I returned from my second contracting job in Afghanistan. I had a little bit of spare money to beef up my supplies. I picked up a few thousand rounds here and there, some bulk food stuff and everything else that I could think of. As I gathered, inventoried and prepared my supplies, I realized that I was missing a key element. I could bug out or bug in and survive for years without ever talking to another soul, except for my two sons. That’s not living, that’s just surviving. I don’t want to just survive.

I unfortunately tried to start out large and loud. I told my friends, their friends and complete strangers about why prepping was a great idea, how I had prepared and even what I thought they should do. This was one of the biggest mistakes I could have made. It pushed people away from me. I made myself look like a crazy person. The most common line I heard was, “I’ll just come live with you if anything happens.” It made a lot of people unhappy when I said that I am going to turn away anyone that shows up. I finally realized that I was spreading the idea the wrong way.

Over the next couple of months, I started picking out certain people who I had regular interaction with. The lady that runs the daycare my children go to. My boss and two veterans in my workplace. My former squad leader, who now owns his own construction business and has a very close group of employees and is also a leader at his church. The last one is one of the most important, for discretion we will call him John. I knew these people were rational and would be the right ones to have around, after SHTF.

You may wonder why the lady at my sons daycare. I want to make sure that my sons are cared for, in case the initial disaster takes my life. Over a few months of talking, I was able to get the daycare lady to start thinking about some of the disasters happening around the world. Then I started talking about theoretical things that could happen. She one day commented about how scared she was of something happening in our area. I asked if she had anything put aside for an emergency. She did not. I mentioned that I would be glad to give her some advice on putting some things away.

I started her off with a general list of standard, long-term foods and water. A few weeks later she proudly announced to me that she had “enough food to care for her family for a full month“. I acted very happy and congratulated her. On my way out, I casually asked if she had enough lights for a month. I don’t know if she figured out what I was doing or just decided that she liked feeling prepared but she finally asked for my advice on everything she would need for a disaster. I went all in. Her list included first aid supplies, a firearm, radios, fuel and everything I could think of. Then I asked the question that made me start turning her into a prepper. I asked what she would do if some of the parents don’t show up to get their kids after a disaster. Will she kick the kids out? Will she keep ten extra kids for three months? She admitted that she has started asking herself that same question. As of now, she has decided to attempt to keep every child as long as they need a place to stay. It was what I wanted to hear.

Why my boss and two coworkers? My boss used to have his FFL. He collected and sold firearms before moving to Gatlinburg. He was an obvious choice to talk to about being ready. He likes the idea of short term prepping but not long-term. He says that he keeps enough to last three months but he doesn’t want to have to keep going any longer than that. I’ve tried talking about this but he’s set on it. I’m hoping that he will change his mind when the time comes. The other two at my work are both veterans, like myself, and they both have seen how bad humanity can be. They were really easy to sell on the idea of prepping. One is a single father that loves his child and the other really loves life. Together, the four of us have made some very large bulk purchases. Pallets of food, thousand round packs of bullets, bulk firearm purchases and bulk first aid purchases. Our work is a ‘gun free zone’ but we all four carry. The only ones that know are us. Why would my boss turn us on when he is one of us? They have all brought up things that I never thought about and have greatly helped me prepare for when SHTF.

Last but certainly not least is John. John lead me through two tours in Iraq. He runs a very successful construction business and influences a lot of people. He was one of the easiest and hardest people to convince. John is very religious. He originally thought that as long as his soul was prepared then he wouldn’t need anything else. We discussed so many different scenarios and past events. The point that finally got him thinking was the Christians that were killed in Iraq. We met some of them. We recognized one of the neighborhoods that it showed ISIS killing people in. It showed him that he wasn’t as ready as he thought he was. The thought of his fellow Christians be slaughtered motivated him beyond what I expected.

He went full prepper in less than a month. He started stockpiling ammunition and multiple weapons. He boughtseed vaults, literally hundreds of pounds of freeze-dried food, canned meat and enough stuff to filter water for years. The crown jewel though is his house. He’s so proud of the way he changed it. His house still looks normal. However, he has made complete safe areas. It would take a serious, sustained assault to get through. The entire place has been made as fire safe as possible. His basement was just for storage. Now he has ten sets of shelves that are each three high. These are meant to be used as beds. I would bet that sixty to eighty people could shelter in his house, barn and garage for at least four months. He said that his whole church will be safe with him and he has started talking to other senior people at his church as well as his employees. I did not expect John to go as far as he did. He showed me two things. He showed me that a single, childless, sober man can save a lot of money and that the deaths in Iraq affected him in ways I will never truly grasp. I’ve never seen someone as motivated as he has become.

Creating this group of preppers has made me feel not only confident about some of my friends but I also feel rewarded. I believe these people will be ones that not just survive, they will thrive. If something ever happens, I have people who I can count on and who can count on me. Most of us are pushing each other to be more prepared. One of them will build a can rack that rotates oldest to the front whenever a new one is dropped in. This normally gets another of us to either build the same thing or try to make something better. We share books, tips and email each other videos. My attempt to create some more preppers has turned into my prepper community. We are now a tight knit group that is ready for when SHTF.

 

[bigpaul]

I wish it was that easy, but its not, I have met people who call themselves preppers but I soon got to realise they are nothing of the sort. I have only met one worthy of the name and we meet several times a year to "brain storm"-his words not mine.

 

[Gazrok]

Great story!

I started really small (as far as revealing, etc.). In the truck, I keep what I call an ELB (Everyday Life Bag). Besides me, it's the wife, my daughter, my son, and a friend in the house (she takes care of the animals, etc.). So, when we're all out, invariably, someone needs something.

Old Boy Scout motto, always be prepared. So, this small bag that goes behind the truck seat, has all kinds of things that I've found helpful. And, in turn, I got them all suggesting things to go in it.

Could be OTC meds like we're at a restaurant, and someone wants some gas or nausea meds. Or one of the gals gets a run in her stocking and needs another pair, or someone gets a small cut and needs minor first aid supplies, etc. Wet wipes, a lighter, I couldn't even name all of the stuff in it without actually looking. But, if we ever needed it while out, it's in there now. (sunscreen, insect repellent, etc.)

This is what I use as the catalyst for discussion. Similar to folks with babies.... They are like preppers. Those baby bags have anything a young parent needs when out with the kid. Same idea. Different application. But, it gives folks a frame of reference. It isn't prepping for the end of the world, it's just about having something you may need, easily at hand. Just common sense, not the crazy guy in the woods.

My wife used to call me crazy when I had my GHB in the truck. Now, she insists I don't leave home without it! Most of the family started out indulging me in it, but now, they have benefited from readiness enough to be more on board with it, and even make suggestions themselves for prepping.

 

[jontte]

Inspiring story,I know one of my class mates prep,the difficulty seems to be in combining our efforts together,I talk stuff with him,he talks with me,we share info but getting this into one seems to be difficult,don't know why..
no one in my family knows I prep,some see the present danger but still they think that nothing will happen and my younger brother seem to rely on me if something do,which is kinda odd as he was the street smart and though one when we were younger.
I've tried to get him to keep atleast some essentials in food at home ( yup,it's a few packs of pasta,oatmeal and rice) well better that nothing...
but forming a working group that's only in my dreams for now (none here where I live are something I would trust or rely on).

 

[Rob Painless]

Great write-up, Liv! That's how I approach the subject with folks too. Many years ago I would mostly get sideways looks from the people I mentioned it to, but now almost everybody is open to the possibilities of 'bad things that may come' and the whole idea of a prepared lifestyle. In fact, as often as not, the people I bring up the topic to are generally very likely to already be making plans or stocking up on necessaries. I want to be like John, in your story......but he must have more money than me!
Oh well. Bit by bit... Thanks for the story!!

 

[Maverick]

I have always been ready (prepared) one way or another but on the original note it was getting ready for the upcoming season primarily winter and being raised in the era of the red scare it was nuclear war, the generation after me called it 'survivalist' incorporating much of the older 1930s/1940s bushcraft in the 70s and 80s and part of the 90s where as prepper more or less adopted the boy scouts and the red scare preparedness mentality. My Wife never heard of the red scare (cold war), civil defense, survivalist movement nor did she know the meaning behind the boy scouts motto 'be prepared' (originally 'always prepared') much of what she learned was will into her college years. When we met she never understood why I kept thing fully stocked for humans and animals, once we married and moved in with me on the mountain she come to realize why I spend all year preparing for winter and for the following year, she has come to appreciate 'getting ready' My wife learned in short order what it was like to use a out house in the dead of winter or without power for weeks on in or the ability to leave the house in months, living on smoked meat and canned goods from the garden. Until one truly experiences this they will never truly understand the motto 'be prepared'

Today, people prefer not to waste their time nor spend money on 'what ifs' it's an inconvenience they prefer not to deal with. On the other hand the few groups I have visited with, gone to meeting with was of the same mind set of the individual self preppers I ran into here, the discussions that taken up most of the time at these meets and individual one on one discussion was on and about their arsenal! arsenal's are fine and needed Lord knows I'm set but that doesn't make one prepared if that's the focus of these group settings or individual then no need to be involved as far as I am concerned, it does nothing but makes the group and individual foolish and dangerous in a post-shtf, unfortunately that's my experience in these parts. Learning one's land and learning to forage and gardening is far far more valuable than learning to handle a firearm, learn what will keep you alive before graduating to firearms, you find a group like that than that's a group to know and perhaps join, if the group is about arsenals and politics Walk-Away-From-It

 

[Brent S]

I have always been ready (prepared) one way or another but on the original note it was getting ready for the upcoming season primarily winter and being raised in the era of the red scare it was nuclear war, the generation after me called it 'survivalist' incorporating much of the older 1930s/1940s bushcraft in the 70s and 80s and part of the 90s where as prepper more or less adopted the boy scouts and the red scare preparedness mentality. My Wife never heard of the red scare (cold war), civil defense, survivalist movement nor did she know the meaning behind the boy scouts motto 'be prepared' (originally 'always prepared') much of what she learned was will into her college years. When we met she never understood why I kept thing fully stocked for humans and animals, once we married and moved in with me on the mountain she come to realize why I spend all year preparing for winter and for the following year, she has come to appreciate 'getting ready' My wife learned in short order what it was like to use a out house in the dead of winter or without power for weeks on in or the ability to leave the house in months, living on smoked meat and canned goods from the garden. Until one truly experiences this they will never truly understand the motto 'be prepared'

Today, people prefer not to waste their time nor spend money on 'what ifs' it's an inconvenience they prefer not to deal with. On the other hand the few groups I have visited with, gone to meeting with was of the same mind set of the individual self preppers I ran into here, the discussions that taken up most of the time at these meets and individual one on one discussion was on and about their arsenal! arsenal's are fine and needed Lord knows I'm set but that doesn't make one prepared if that's the focus of these group settings or individual then no need to be involved as far as I am concerned, it does nothing but makes the group and individual foolish and dangerous in a post-shtf, unfortunately that's my experience in these parts. Learning one's land and learning to forage and gardening is far far more valuable than learning to handle a firearm, learn what will keep you alive before graduating to firearms, you find a group like that than that's a group to know and perhaps join, if the group is about arsenals and politics Walk-Away-From-It

Well put mav.! I agree, most that I've talked to focus on all the firearms they have, and 90% hate Obama. I guess gardening and canning just aren't manly enough! I really don't give a crap about politics, as I think both sides are equally to blame for our economic and other problems. As far as guns, yes, unfortunately they are a necessary tool, but are only one in a whole group of skills needed. I like learning new things, and with prepping there's thousands of skills involved, so I'm always being challenged. Over the last year I've been collecting books. I think having hard cover information on hand will be almost as important as stored food.

 

[FLPrepper]

I have taken the approach of telling only those terribly close to me or who are a part of my business. That's it. Now, that doesn't mean that I am not preparing on behalf of those not on the aforementioned list - when SHTF they will be welcome into my home and I will protect them. Just don't want to take any chances on them knowing ahead of time as you just don't know who THEY will tell even if by accident.

 

[Silent Earth]

I play safe, I dont try to enlighten anyone, I dont try to recruit anyone, I dont try to persuade anyone, I only seek out other preppers who have come to understand the need for prepping and survivalism through their own deductive reasoning and thinking. I seek out those who are instinctively situationally aware of their enviroment, local society and global current affairs. If people have not already realised that society is going to hell in a hand basket on their own then I dont think they will be astute enough when TSHTF.

Its the people who on their own look around themselves and see just how insecure and vulnerable our society is for EVERYTHING, Power, Water, Food, Transport, Energy, Medicine and set out with a purpose to either reduce their reliance on the system or to insulate themselves from a possible collapse of the system

 

[Maverick]

While I have the property to accommodate people I don't have the supplies or resources to go beyond the folks I have planned for, in other words freeloaders need not apply, with that said I am the final word on my own property.

 

[Silent Earth]

While I have the property to accommodate people I don't have the supplies or resources to go beyond the folks I have planned for, in other words freeloaders need not apply, with that said I am the final word on my own property.

Hah Try again and this time be honest.

 

[Silent Earth]

Come on Maverick, fess up..................... Final word my ###......................... I will tell HER.
You are entitled to your own opinion providing you run it past her first.

 

[Maverick]

BUSTED... ok the Wife is the final word now that the public knows that I'm so embarrassed

 

[Silent Earth]

Thats more like it, I've been married nearly 40 years and the only time I get the final word is when she is away from home.

 

[Silent Earth]

Folks this is Mavericks wifes favourite song

 

[Silent Earth]

I said to my wife " Darling what is the greatest thing I could give you? " she paused a while, thought a bit and said " A Widows pension"

 

[Maverick]

Bahahaha yep

 

[Maverick]

Come to think of it, she runs the house (took over the house I built by force) nice to my kids (turned them against me) adopted my horses (stolen them) and what takes the cake... My dogs adore the hell out of her (mans best friends my axx) DEPRESSED

 

[Silent Earth]

Wife to Maverick " I dont care if the world in ending, society is collapsing and Russia is invading New York you will wash the dishes, walk the dog and put the car away before you go out to play with your survivalist friends!"

 

[Silent Earth]

I am the final word in this house ............................. Funniest thing I've heard for years from a dude who is married, My late dear friend John from KS was 6ft2 200 pounds ex forces ex sheriff hard as they come, but when his wife said jump he said how high. Next you will be telling us that YOU decide when to spend money on guns etc. As for the Kids, Dogs and Horses do you not know " What is yours is hers, and what is hers is her own!"

Married with Children / Al Bundy is a DOCUMENTARY.