Anyone else suddenly become a 'prepper'?

Prepper videos on YouTube are heavily monetized by snakeoil companies preying upon people's anxiety. Or made by people with various belief systems in conflict with reality. Theyre not effective, either.

1. You will never have a "bomb shelter". Dropping a crate in the ground is a good way to die from carbon dioxide poisoning and offers no bomb or bullet protection. At that point just have a house with a basement. Actual bomb shelters are a nightmare and do not last long. Metal rusts, the earth moves, and if someone wants to they'll plug your exhaust anyway.

2. Most foods, even canned, do not last that long. If youre canning yourself you have to add preservatives, even. Water does not stay good sitting, again, you'll have to have a method to treat it. However if you live in the country you already have a well. No you do not want short well. Think about how to deliver 240V30A for short periods for the well pump. The electrical systems to do this are expensive.

3. If you are actually having to live in a basement on limited food and water you're already dead. There is no scenario that you will have to do this and come out alive. If the world becomes post apocalyptic and people want your supplies they will get them. Doesn't matter if you have a giant vault. Play a bit of fallout to see what I mean. If nukes are dropping you're dead in months anyways.

Focus mainly on real, independent solutions to being self sustainable. Solar power, solar greenhouses, self defense, farming methods. Don't buy into rhetoric or belief systems. Have math lead you.

When it comes to construction people on YouTube are terrible. They build all sorts of things that will not live long.

A 3 month supply has always been the sensible position. It came in handy when the pandemic hit. It came in handy the last time gas prices went so high that supply lines were threatened. It comes in handy if you lose a job and need to curtail spending for a few weeks. It even comes in handy if you get a surprise visit from family and need to whip up a meal 3 times the size you thought you would need that night.

There are many reasons that having some surplus can stabilize your life, and they are not all about societal-level disruptions.

This is also why it is such a problem that so many people do not have the resources to do this.

In Switzerland (formerly preper heaven, the government would even pay on your foundation if you put in a shelter) it used to be normal for everyone to have a specific amount of supplies in case of an emergency. From Iodine pills to water. This fits together with the bomb shelters that every one has access to.

Now a days many are completely oblivious and have no clue although the government provides a handy guide to what you should keep [1] . Most have iodine pills at home as they are sent in the mail if you are close enough to a nuclear reactor. Everyone else can get them for free at the pharmacy.

In fact many don't know where their bomb shelter is, if it's not part of their home. Every home used to have a yellow plak which stated where the shelter is but because people are very mobile today the government will inform the public where they should shelter when an incident occurs. Also many of the bomb shelters are now used for other things such as storage. I remember as a kid when we bribed the inspector to come back later so we could clean out the shelter for inspection so we would not be fined. The shelters have active air filters and other requirements that were regularly inspected. At least you can now use them for storage and other things as long as you can clean it out in 24-48 hours.

Sirens are tested once a year and usually will freakout tourists which is entertaining to watch.

For anyone visiting or living in Switzerland I highly recommend downloading the Alert Swiss app [2] which will let you know what is going on like if you should close windows because of a chemical fire or if there is a siren test.

[1] https://www.bwl.admin.ch/bwl/en/home/themen/notvorrat.html

[2] https://www.alert.swiss/

I think the proper way to prep is not individually but communally. See if your local government has any disaster preparation programs and get involved with those. YouTube videos are mostly for driving ad revenue and selling you garbage after making you anxious and don't solve the underlying problem of fragile global supply chains and supply shocks.

The main thing currently that no one seems concerned about is the reduction of grain production from Russia and Ukraine because of the war. This is going to have a global impact and will increase food scarcity that a 3 month individual supply can not do anything about.

Russian here. No, I'm not prepping in the traditional sense of the word (e.g. a bunker, a stockpile of canned food and ammo, iodine, books on survival etc.).

All my prepping is Russia-specific: making sure that my commercial VPN is paid for 3 years in advance, my self-hosted VPN is up and running, a European friend's credit card is added everywhere as the billing method, etc. My next work PC will run on Linux (normally I'm a Windows guy), and we had a lot of discussions about what we can do if our Internet "suddenly" becomes "sovereign".

No idea what to do about bricked iOS and Android phones yet.

Yes, you've read my mind, somehow. I've gotten into prepping.

The pandemic, supply chain issues, an increasing rise in authoritarianism, climate change, and now the war in Ukraine have all evidenced the fact that the assumption that 'progress is inevitable' is, in many ways a delusional idea - at the very least, to be in a state of denial of world events.

In my view, being a prepper, these days is a 'normal' and very rational reaction. Not being a 'prepper' is perhaps to be being in denial of what's been happening int the last 5-10 yrs.

My grandma who had survived the Great Depression, used to have a huge pantry in her house filled with canned foods. As kids, we were bewildered by it. Now, I completely understand it - as she had lived through many of the things we are living through now.

As others have mentioned, it's easy to get swept up in the panic of preparation. I've had the conversation with my wife that no matter what you do, you will not be able to prepare for everything. (Jokingly, I'm reminded of the couple in Tremors with their underground bunker that a Grabboid bursts into.) You will likely be unproductive if you're trying to plan for every contingency.

I recommend starting slowly. Build up a week, then a few weeks. Buy ingredients and foods that you like and will eat. Avoid buying a "food supply" and instead increase your pantry that you rotate food out of in the course of a normal week or month. Make sure you also build up a relatively liquid savings. It's far more likely that you personally will face an economic hard time than it is for us all to be facing apocalyptic dystopia.

My church recommended for a long time having a year's supply of food for security. I think many people thought it was a forewarning of coming global destruction, but as I've reflected on it, it's much more about personal hardship and caring for oneself, family and community.

Not a prepper in the prepper-you-see-on-youtube sense, not at all.

I do however get a few weeks to few months supply of things like TP, water, canned foods.

Not because I'm afraid of war, at this point I'm more afraid of shortages.

Suddenly? Not really, I've always maintained a deep pantry as an adult because that's how my parents live because that's why their parents lived. But, after Hurricane Harvey I got serious about natural disaster preparedness (I live in SoCal, so it's earthquakes here) and now have a 2-3 month supply of treated water (I rotate ~1/4 of it every 3-4 months), first aid supplies, etc. And we became more conscious as a family in disaster planning. We have get-home bags in both cars. More practical things like that, as opposed to going full in in grinding my own wheat berries, etc.

Depending on where you are you need different plans.

When you are in an urban setting / high density population center in eastern or central Europe ATM, do not prepare to shelter in place, better plan out your escape: where to, with whom, via which route and most important when is your trigger moment? You need to get out such that you can reach your destination before the rest of the population also decided to move. Otherwise highways are blocked, gas stations overrun and you are stuck. You need a community to survive. Talk to relatives / friends now. Have a bag packed, the gas tank full to leave with the hour and a diversity of cash (swiss franc, Norwegian or Czech crown, etc).

In a rural setting, educate your self about sustainable agriculture practice. Fertilizers are a thing of the past now. Move away from mono cultural cash crop. Look for poly cultures that can feed you and your community. Be prepared that refugees from cities will come in masses.

In any case, use the remaining time to learn valuable skills. Get healthy and fit. Learn to cook. Do a first-aid course. Especially as a software dev, learn Handy work so you can be of tangible help in your community. Learn self-defense (to which extreme you wanna take it, is up to you).

I'm prepper, but I've been following Joel Skousen since 2005 who has been predicting ww3 with China + Russia vs the West, his geopolitical analysis on Ukraine makes everyone else look foolish, its not free, but you can get a free sample. https://www.worldaffairsbrief.com/ Also prepper tip, buy SPAM at Aldi its lie $2 for 1200 cals of meat.

This is one of the best parts of having a chronic illness and not having more than a couple months of life-sustaining medication on hand. No need to prep!

I’m very gently getting some stuff prepared. Just picked up a tiny battery-powered radio (AM/FM/SW/NOAA Weather/aviation), likely gonna start building a small emergency bag over the coming weeks. I live in an earthquake-prone area, so being prepared for those is my more long-term use.

I don't see the point of it even though I live 50kms from the border of Ukraine

- You need a self-sustaining (for at least weeks) nuclear fallout shelter otherwise I think the whole thing is pointless. This takes a lot of money and time to build.

- I can't legally own a firearm in my country

It's a common and rational response, but my philosophy tends to be slightly different:

If the world becomes the kind of place where those preparations are necessary, it's no longer the kind of world that I'd like to exist in. Buying from fear-mongers is only going to hasten the onset of a world like that, so I'm going to try to relax, have a bit of fun, and enjoy myself while taking care of others as best possible (which in my case, isn't always particularly well).

(I'm hyperfocused on the conflict too, although I guess our responses to the situation are different)

I haven't gone really hardcore into it, but am slowly collecting a "stash". I've been stocking up on extra cat food and litter for a while. I am also gathering canned goods and recently brought 3kg of rice, a first aid kit (and an extra one for the cats), duct tape, and a half-mask with a reusable particle filter. I'm aiming to have ~4 weeks of supplies on hand; next on the list is water. I also want to get a battery powered radio and some solar chargers.

I've become more relaxed recently, but here's the less crazy resources I used:

* https://archive.ph/Dt5rs which is now released in a book https://lcamtuf.coredump.cx/prep/

* https://theprepared.com/ which is still a bit crazy

I recommend this account of someone who survived a year of lawlessness and breakdown of society during the war in former Joguslavia in the nineties:

https://lulz.com/surviving-a-year-of-shtf-in-90s-bosnia-war-...

His biggest conclusion was IMO that, to survive, as long as you live in the city (or suburbs), you need to be a part of a group of people who support each other, and that group needs to be a family or VERY close friends [1]. If you don't have a group like that, then no matter how many guns and prepper gear you have, you're likely to die due to one of many possible threats. It might be somewhat different in rural areas, because of on the biggest sources of danger (other people) is much less present there - but, on the other hand, there's also much less people there to barter with, which makes suriving more dificult.

[1] Looser ties don't count, because in life or death situations, they'll choose the life of their family or close friends over yours.

I think its highly dependent on where you live.

I personally think the best thing you can do to prep is to be ready to change your country of origin and to try out many different cities to get a feel for them and whether you could live in them long term.

I think the issue is that perhaps people are not prepared to leave their familiar surroundings (myself included) and therefore wait too long and therefore risk becoming refugees as a result.

There is not going to be a third world war or anything similarly catastrophic in the short timeframe, as far as I can see. But for a long time I have been predicting that it will come within 20 - 40 years - if we don't do something. The currently renewed armsrace and polarization between various imperialist blocs that henceforth will ensue clearly points at a single catastrophic outcome.

People have so far generally not proven willing to face this danger explicitly, it has been (perhaps understandably) barred by some sort of collective mental block which spills over into prepperism, dreams of New Zealand or other planets. But none of this will likely help when a nuclear war between two or more global alliances is unleashed.

Perhaps now, when the nuclear nations are readying their warheads, people might finally realize the direty of the situation, this mental block might lift somewhat and we can start making plans for global peace instead of thinking of escape routes that lead nowhere or worse: "victory".

But I have to tell you, it doesn't look good.

First of all forget about what popular media tells you. And yes that includes the "Threads" film, which somehow keeps popping up when people think "realistic post-apo".

Second, evaluate your risk. Depending on where you live your danger might be extremely limited, or enormous. But just like during the first wave of the pandemic, location is the key. Is your country threatened by a neighbor? Is it isolated? Is it rich or poor? Do you live close to military or other strategic infrastructure?

Finally, you can start preparing. But only after the first two.

In my case when the corona started spreading I've bought couple of packs of masks, latex gloves, vitamin supplements and antipyretics (reduces fever). And when the first emergency was announced (about 9 days later) I was fine.

I didn't waste money on stuff that remained plentiful, I didn't buy expensive toys like a fallout shelter. I was calm and evaluating my risk before doing something.

You should too.

Most preppers live in a fantasy. It’s mostly an excuse to buy toys.

If you’re really interested in being able to handle situations, join the ultra-light crowd. They mostly beat preppers at their own game. It’s harder, less toys, etc, but if you look at people in situations where fuel (and thus cars) is a luxury, the first thing people do is shed weight.

We stocked up to one month of supplies in January '20 due to pandemic fears. At the time we were concerned that we wouldn't want to go to a grocery store or that there would be a run on the markets. Our stores are currently at about 50% now. I intend to go up to 3 months of stores in the next couple weeks.

My main concern is grain and fertilizer. I expect food price spikes and shortages. I don't expect shortages in the sense of starvation risk, more like - they won't have the brands or types of food we're used to. The stores are mainly protection for if goes worse than I expect.

Regarding nuclear, I've looked at what installing a bomb shelter would cost, but it's a nonstarter with my wife. Instead, we've just decided on where we'll go and what we'll do if we get the warning on our phones. Luckily, I still think nuclear exchange is highly unlikely.

welcome friend!

you must be specific and stay in scope. prep for things you can manage and survive. doomsday preppers are neurotic idiots.

to me, prepping means hanging a water tight canvas bag in my tornado cellar (hung so critters dont get to it). there is food and water to survive in the cellar for weeks if we are inside and the house falls down on usm medkit too, amongst other things. my prepper expansion plans include a generator, solar panels, garden and chickens. do not fool yourself into homesteading - that is a full time job by itself. but you can pareto yourself into a much smaller reliance on outside support.

the bottom line is you won't survive a disaster by yourself. the wilderness might support you, but it wont support you and all your neighbors. true prepping means setting roots into your community and creating antifragility for everyone.

We were lucky that the recent tragic Marshall fires in the Boulder Colorado area didn't directly affect us, even though our home was near the boundary of a pre-evacuation area. But I have two colleagues who lost everything, and had almost no warning when the fire swept through their housing developments. So I finally put together a go-bag, a second go-bag just for our Beloved Feline Overlords, and put all our really important documents in a portable fire safe with a handle. I hope I never have to test this scheme.

For me it's hunting and long range shooting. Being able to hunt, accurately shoot 1000 yards, having 1000 ammo pieces and handloading set, 150 lbs of frozen and/or dried meet (a small deer weights that much). Hunting gear is a great survival gear as well.

Besides that fireplace, solar panels, heat pump, well insulated house, something for water, maybe add some knowledge about local flora and you can survive many years on that.

The most likely outcome in a world where you need to use all your prepper supplies for a lengthy amount of time isn't that you (smart, prepared, ahead-of-the-curve) get to live while your neighbors (short-sighted, ignorant, arrogant) starve; people stronger and more ruthless than you are going to take your prepper supplies (over your dead body, if necessary) without thanking you for your foresight.

I think you’re right that you’re probably just neurotic.

One thing I've been curious about for a while now is exactly what sort of food goes into a three month emergency supply. I don't generally eat canned/preserved foods, so I can't just buy a three month supply of the food I usually eat, and my impression is that most canned food has best-by dates of a couple years; do you have to renew your emergency supply every few years?

What if prepping is an over correction against our increasing detachment from nature and the fundamental skills of living? In this case, preppers would be better off hiking, hunting, fishing, gardening, and learning homestead skills for the psychologically grounding effects, not some imagined protection from an unlikely and uncontrollable disintegration of society.

A week or two is what I was always told a household should be prepared to manage without food/heat/water etc.

So I finally started and got some water storage etc.

I’m not prepping to live months in a shelter. I’m prepping so I wouldn’t be a burden on society at least for a week or two after a disaster.

I have stockpiled some food, after seeing the crazy supply chain and gas issues, but that’s about it

This is a good read on why its not a bad idea: https://hwfo.substack.com/p/the-surprisingly-solid-mathemati...

I'm not a prepper, but I have some supplies. I think it's pretty responsible to have a 30-day supply of water and preservable food in the house.

Rice, beans, water, propane stove. Nothing major, but I could shelter in place for a month or so, if I had to.

In the words of Robert F. Kennedy: "Those who survive will envy the dead."

Kind of.

I’m genuinely interested in slowing down and easing into homestead kind of lifestyle but mostly because building sustainable systems is just an interesting engineering problem to me.

The debt free/prepper aspects just add to the fun a bit.

Good luck to keep your 3 months of food supplies for yourself after the society has a few days without food. Have you planned to hide for months?

Got some potassium iodine for my kids and got supplies to ground my car... that's about it.

not really, though i have been considering long term repercussions for big purchases.

Small renovations on house are now a bit bigger with the idea that my kids will live with us late into their 20's early 30's due to the price of housing.