Prepping for Down Range

While skills trump gear, there will always be a little something you’ll need to buy. Many of the items we buy may not be expensive on their own, but when looked at as a whole, the tally can really add up. If you’re like me, then over the years you have bought quite a bit of things that you either found were not quality or didn’t serve the purpose you needed. Prepping can be an expensive endeavor. Some of the items we buy may be very expensive. It is very important that the items we buy meet a certain criteria. The various items we buy need to be made to fulfill a certain purpose and they need to be quality made. It is very rare that I come across something that meets these two criteria and is not expensive (at least in comparison to other similarly made items). An example of this would be a machete I bought several years ago. At first, I thought it was inexpensive, maybe $12-15.00. One of the first times I used it, it bent. Turns out, it wasn’t inexpensive, it was cheap. By trying to save a few dollars, I ended up wasting more money having to buy another better made machete at a much higher cost. There is an adage that I heard a long time ago that I have come to learn is quite true. “Buy once, cry once.”

With so much information available on the internet, it is fairly easy to find countless reviews by people with personal experience with nearly anything you can think of. Put those reviews to use before you buy something. Keep in mind though that there will always be a few people that say item “X” is the absolute greatest thing that has ever graced planet earth. Conversely, there will always be a few that say that very same item is the worst curse to befall mankind. Weed out the few “extremist” on either end and dive into those in the middle. Make sure to research any item thoroughly. The more you know about the item the less surprises crop up later. These online reviews can really help find the items built with quality.

Another adage to keep in mind is, “too good to be true.” If something seems like an amazing deal that simply never comes around, there’s probably a reason that deal never comes around. If it seems too good to be true, it likely is. In my experience, those amazing deals I thought I found turned out to have a catch. Use good judgment when looking into “deals”.

Price does not always equal value either. I’ve come across several different hatchets online that have had great reviews and cost anywhere from $75-125.00. If you want to run out and buy a gold-plated $1,000.00 hatchet, be my guest but don’t expect it to do anything more for you than the $100.00 hatchet. Keep in mind too that the more extra money you spend on an item needlessly is less money that you can put toward other preps.

I’m sure we all know at least one person that believes that some insanely expensive piece of gear is what will solve all the problems they have that are preventing their skills from shining through. If some guy is a terrible shot with his $400.00 pistol, he blames the gun. He goes out and buys some $2,500.00 custom made pistol and goes to the range only to still be terrible. Now that gun is the problem. Gear is meant to augment skills. If you don’t have the skills, the gear won’t make the skills magically appear. Learn how to use an item before blaming the item.

Another way to maximize your gear is to buy gear built for the intended purpose. If you use gear for something other than what it is intended for, you could either break the item or cause yourself to work far harder. I’ve got a backpack that I have really liked. A couple of weeks ago, I took that backpack on several days of mountainous hiking. I decided very quickly that before my next real hiking excursion, I will be getting a hiking pack. While the pack I have is great for day-to-day needs, it was terrible for hiking. That was not the purpose for which it was built, and it showed.

Find the items that fit your purposes. Then, figure out which ones are really quality. From there you’ll have to decide which ones are in your price range. If you have to save up for awhile to get it, then start saving. Don’t settle for something cheaper. Don’t buy something you’ll regret later. Make your purchases worthwhile. It will take time. It will take patience. It will be worth it. If it is built for the purpose you need and it is quality made, then the value will be there.

In my area the high temperatures are consistently in the 90s and the lows are in the mid-70s. The heat index can easily add another 10 degrees. Point being, it’s hot outside. I work outside and have a very physical job, lawn care and fencing. I am self-employed and I work alone. It is very important that I stay hydrated. I face risks such as dehydration and heat-stroke. There is no-one around to help me if I have either of these issues. That being the case, I keep a fairly large supply of water nearby at all times. I keep an ice chest in my truck with roughly 15-20 bottles of water and 3-4 Gatorades either on ice or very cool water.

It’s my understanding that even a relatively inactive person should drink one half gallon of water every day, minimum. Add in some moderate exercise and that number should increase to closer to a full gallon. The more active a person is, the more water is required to stay hydrated.

Many prepping sources suggest that you keep one gallon of water for each member of your household for three days. Count the members of your household, multiply by three, and that’s how many gallons of water you should have on-hand. That is not how much you should drink from until it is gone and then refill. This supply is to be kept in reserve in case there is some interruption in supply. This could be caused by anything from the much-feared End-Of-The-World-As-We-Know-It to a simple breakage of a water main that supplies your home. Keeping a supply of water is just a good idea. My personal system is to keep several cases of bottled water stacked in my home. While I would like to have a nice filtration system, for now, this is the best I can do. I get 45 count cases of 16-ounce bottles of water from the local Sam’s Club for $0.08 per bottle after taxes. That’s really not that bad of a price. Each case of water holds roughly 6 gallons of water. That’s nearly one week’s worth of water for one person in each case for about $4.00. the cases stack nicely as well.

As for your day to day though, what can you do to stay hydrated? As for me, part of my morning routine is to rink 16 ounces of water with my morning vitamins. That’s 1/8 of a gallon already in my system. Throughout the remainder of the day, drink about a cup of water an hour and by the time you get off of work you will have drunk ¾ of a gallon of water. Get into the habit of carrying a water bottle with you and you’ll always have some water on-hand. Many different companies make plastic bottles that will last for years and can be refilled throughout the day. Some even come with a carabiner clip if you want to be able to attach the bottle to a bag or pack. It’s really not that complicated. Be careful keeping water in your vehicle on hot days as that can not only heat up the water but also release BPAs from some bottles into the water. I’m no scientist, but from what I’ve read, it’s not good for you. Keep a small cooler in your vehicle and you’ll have cold water wherever you go. If you work in an office, keep a small supply (a few bottles) tucked under your desk or in a drawer. As I said before, I keep several bottles in an ice chest in my truck at all times.

In a future post, I’ll cover a few ice chests and my thoughts. For now, stay cool and hydrated.

A couple of posts back, I was talking about Getting Focused. In that post I used the example of a ripple on a pond and the different stages of preparedness that those ripples could represent. The pebble that created those ripples, though, was you. Today I’m going to cover a topic that is very specific to “you”. You are the center of your own personal prepping efforts (Sorry, not the universe. I know that may upset some people but it’s still true.) So, since you are the center of your own prepping, it only makes sense to look at how you are personally geared up for your days.

The term Every Day Carry, abbreviated to EDC, refers to the items that you carry with you every day. Now don’t get super literal with this, sometimes these items change depending on circumstances, but generally, they will be the same. These can be items that a person has found that they need on a regular basis, items that are not regularly needed but are convenient to have on-hand, items that are required for work, health, etc. It really is very subjective to your own life. Today I’ll break down my own EDC and explain how these items got their place.

As for my day-to-day life, I am not hindered by workplace restrictions and the laws in my area are not overly restrictive either. I can more-or-less carry whatever I like. So, in addition to the clothes that are on my body, what else is there? (These are in no particular order.)

Wallet – Of course I carry a wallet. I’m a grown-up. Even the contents of my wallet are limited though. Included in the wallet are: my driver’s license, concealed carry permit, debit card(s), health insurance and blood-type cards, and usually a small(ish) amount of cash. For the most part, all of the contents are pretty well self-explanatory. Cash could be debated. Many people see no need in carrying cash as so many purchases can be made electronically or with cards. I get it, it’s easier… until the power goes out. Cash works without electricity. Some people see a need to carry large amounts of cash, in the hundreds of dollars. I do not. I do like to have a relatively small amount of cash on hand just to be safe. The amount fluctuates but I can say that it would rarely get over $100.00 and sometimes it’s only about $20.00. It just depends on how much I regularly need.

Pocket knife – This is one of those items that I always seem to need when I don’t have one. It is also multi-purpose. For the most part, I use my knife to open packages. I have never had to use a knife for self-defense but it could serve that purpose as well.

Flashlight – As with the pocket knife, I always seem to need one when I don’t have one. The light I carry is fairly small. It takes a single AAA battery and puts out a good amount of light. It is small, and light, enough that I don’t even notice it’s on me. But, when the power goes out or I am walking across a dark parking lot, it is a great tool to have.

Holster, Pistol and Belt – I am a firm believer in the legal concealed carry of a firearm. I also believe that your own personal safety is your responsibility. That responsibility extends also to your loved ones and anyone that depends on you for their safety and security, i.e. your spouse and children, and anyone else whom you care for. It is also your responsibility to take the necessary steps to do so legally, safely, and proficiently. I’ll go into more detail on concealed carry in a future post, but for now, we are simply covering EDC.

Hat and sunglasses – The majority of my time is spent outdoors. I work outside and will get headaches if the sun is beating down on my head and the bright sun is in my eyes for long periods. The sunglasses can double as safety glasses while working or while shooting.

Watch – It’s nice to be able to tell the time. I don’t always wear a watch but do have some method of being able to tell the time; my truck I work out of, a watch if worn, or my phone.

Phone – With all of the different things a smartphone can do these days, your phone is an increasingly valuable tool. Not only does your phone afford you the ability to contact people and services as needed, the apps that are available for download onto your phone can put vast amounts of information at your fingertips. There are scores of apps specifically geared toward prepping, first aid, etc.

For many people, their daily attire is dictated by the jobs that they have or the environment they work in. In my experience, some clothing can be very prohibitive to not only the things that you can carry but also your own mobility. There are more and more clothing companies that have been geared toward “tactical” clothing for years but are now offering clothing that is on the dressier end of the spectrum while very functional and practical.

Your EDC will certainly be very specific to you. It has to fit your needs and your lifestyle. Remember, you EDC is not meant to get you through the end of the world. It’s also not meant to be the gear you rely on to get you through a disaster. EDC is simply the gear that you carry on your person (or in a backpack, purse, etc.) on a daily basis that allows you to tend to the tasks that you run across frequently or that give you an immediate edge in a situation. There is quite a bit of other gear that has its place. Despite the importance of some of that gear, that place likely is not in your EDC. Keep it simple. Keep it practical. Don’t load up a 40 pound pack and think you’re going to carry it around every day. We’ll get into other gear, loads, purposes, etc. in future posts. For now, focus on working out your EDC.

This will finish up the posts on the four basic principles. You’ve calmed down. You’ve gotten focused. You’ve developed a plan. Don’t stop there. I know several people that will theorize on different topics. Some will debate the pros and cons of various things. Some will read and study something to great extent. But that’s where it ends. There are no steps toward actual, physical productivity.

What you will find is that knowledge and application are two vastly different things. Take driving for example. Many, many people have read the driver’s manuals for how to operate a vehicle and they take whatever version of driver’s education is required in their state. Now, think about how many people you see out on the road that absolutely should not be allowed to operate a vehicle. The read the book, they “passed” the test, they got their driver’s license. But they do NOT know how to drive. The same principle applies to prepping. Knowledge is not enough; it is a start. What you will find is that repeated practice is the only way to become proficient at something. It takes practiced application to become comfortable with a task.

With prepping, you can actually accomplish more than one thing at a time. For instance, prepping takes money. Even if you are very economical about it, money will have to be spent. That money must come from somewhere. Frugal living is more than a habit, it is a skill. Knowing what is worth an expense, where to find the best deals, refraining from frivolously spending money on luxuries, all are part of financial skill. A big step toward your progress will be to determine exactly where all of your money goes each month and deciding what is wasted spending. Cut those items out immediately and you could free up a decent amount of money that can be put toward your prepping efforts. One comforting thing (at least to me) about spending money on prepping is that that money is actually not being wasted on more stuff, but is being applied toward things (items, skills, knowledge) that can get you through bad times. It’s a sort of safety net. Through focus and planning, you can optimize your spending and efforts to making you more resilient with less stuff. Another way that you can prep at the same time is to clean house. Getting rid of things that you don’t use not only frees up space, but, if you are able to sell those items you can gain back a little of that money to put toward prepping or other goals. Neither of these two preps costs you any money.

There is a wealth of information available at nearly no cost. Between the internet and public libraries, a person can learn as much as they want about anything they want. Libraries provide exhaustive information on any topic and the internet can provide videos showing step-by-step how to do anything I can think of. On top of that, men and women of the older generations have a wealth of practical knowledge that they are generally more than happy to share. I know a man in his 90s that has done “everything”. His methods may be out of date, and newer and easier means may exist, but his way still works. So, after talking to him and watching a few videos and reading some literature I know multiple ways of accomplishing a given task like building an irrigation system for home garden. Once you have some knowledge in a specific area, go out and put that knowledge to use. I built an irrigation system for my garden this year for less than $40.00. And I’ll be able to use this system for many years if I take proper care of it. More on that in a future post.

There are ways that you can prep every day. Many preps are free: like gaining knowledge. Some preps are relatively cheap: like buying packs of water. Other preps cost more money: taking classes or buying larger gear. Start where you can and build from there as you are able.

Now that we’ve covered principles one and two (Don’t Freak Out and Get Focused), we’re going to move onto principle #3 – Develop a Plan.

Once you’ve gotten focused and know what your goals are, you’ll need a plan for how to accomplish those goals. If you start out without a plan, you’re going to waste quite a bit of time, effort, and money. I suggest that you keep a plan as simple as possible. There is no need for your plan to be complicated. The more complex of a plan, the more likely something will go wrong.

As an example of the prep we are going to focus on, let’s use water. Everyone needs water. Water is essential to our lives. A general rule is that a person in a survival situation can survive for three days without water. Another general rule is that a person needs one gallon of water every day for adequate hydration. So, obviously, water is a core piece of our survival (there are a few others that we will address in future posts, but for now we are talking about developing plans).

Now, without a plan in place of how to go about satisfying this prep, there are many different directions a person could go. Most of them look like really good preps (and they are when the time is right, just not right now). There are water purification tablets, water filters for home and for backpacks, boiling water, catchment systems for homes, and on and on. While all of these different methods serve a great purpose, they all lack one very crucial thing. You still have to actually have water to use them. Running out and buying all of the gear and not having the actual thing you need to use said gear does you no good. You still need water. Start with water.

It is far too easy to satisfy your immediate needs for water without having to buy extra gear and take extra steps. This applies to all sorts of preps. The same processes carry over to everything else. Keep it simple; you need water, get water. There are a few options for immediately acquiring, and storing, large quantities of drinkable water; gallon jugs, packs of bottled water, etc.

My chosen method of storing water is the pack of 16.9 ounce bottles of water. Now I know there are pros and cons to those, but for me, they are the best option. These rectangular cubes of bottled water are uniform in size, easily stackable, easily transportable, easily storable, and small amounts of water can be removed at a time without compromising the whole supply. Better yet, they’re cheap. At the local big-box-store, I can get a 45-count pack of 16.9 ounce bottles of water, tax and all, for less than $4.00 each. When you break it all the way down, there are just under six gallons of water in each pack. Six gallons of water for one person is nearly a week of drinkable water, ready to go. No extra gear purchased, no extra steps to take. Simple and affordable.

The plan also, is very simple. Determine what you need: water. Determine how much you need: one gallon per day. Determine the most expedient and cost-effective way of obtaining what you need: packs of bottle water (at least in my case). Determine a timeline for how long it will take you to fulfill this need: next trip to the store, next pay check, etc. (the more expensive or extensive the prep, the longer it will take to accomplish). Determine how to store what you need: stacked in a corner, closet, store room, etc. Move on to the next step.

The other gear has its place. In future posts I’ll go into different water related gear and how it’s used. But for now, we are just looking at the simple plan for obtaining one particular prep, water.  Start simple and stay focused. Right now though the main concern was water for one person, you, to survive. Now that prep can be spread out further to the next stage of preparedness.

In the next post we will look at the last principle – Start Making Progress.

In the last post, I went over some thoughts on the principle of Don’t Freak Out. In this post I’ll dig into the second principle – Get Focused.

Focus is where I’ve seen so many people fail, myself included. In my early days of prepping, I would get a thought in my head and there would be an almost incontinent response. This could be anything; spending a bunch of money (at least in comparison to my income) on stuff I had no idea how to use, reading a blurb on the perfect survival tool and ordering one only to realize it was some cheap knock-off, or binge-watching zombie movies to determine the most effective way of dispatching a zombie, you know, because that WILL be the most likely survival scenario you’ll find yourself in. Without some sort of focus, you’ll waste lots of time chasing down random ideas that often times end in more confusion. To get focused, you have to start small.

Think of a pebble thrown into a pond. When the pebble hits the water, it creates ripples that continually spread out bigger and further away. This is your preparedness meter. The ripple way out at the edges of the pond is that big EMP you are worried about. You are the pebble. There are a LOT of stages in between. Start with the pebble. Some people may say “That’s just selfish. You’re only thinking about yourself.” It’s not selfish at all. You cannot take care of someone else if you cannot take care of yourself. You are either going to be an asset or a liability. Choosing to be a liability to someone else is selfish. Make yourself an asset. Start by taking care of the things that immediately affect your own survival and preparedness. Then, go to that next ripple, your immediate family. Then the next ripple, and the next, and the next. You decide what those different stages include. Who you want to include and what you want to accomplish at each stage is entirely up to you.

Don’t start preparing for the looming zombie apocalypse. Start with the life-events that effect your life regularly. For example, In 2020 a couple of big things occurred that made me realize the my own prepping had gotten a little out of focus from where it had been the year or two before. For starters, the Great COVID Toilet-Paper Shortage started early in the year. I had several rolls (probably around 12) at the house when I stated hearing about toilet paper becoming rarer than a unicorn. I thought it was ridiculous, there’s no way toilet paper would disappear before other essentials. Oh how wrong I was. My supply got scarily low before I could start finding small, rationed packs of the cheapest toilet paper made. Lesson learned, as soon as my chosen brand became available I built up a backstock to keep in reserve. Then, later in the summer came the hurricanes in the gulf coast. Despite living well off the coast, these storms had major impacts to my area. I was without power for nine days just from the damage to power lines in my area. Although there was no direct storm damage to my house, there were plenty of other effects that had to be dealt with; frozen foods had to be relocated and refrigerated foods were lost. Pets had to be taken care of daily despite having to travel 25-30 miles from where I was staying until power returned. Stores ran out of fuel for days at a time and lines were LONG when a store actually had fuel to sell.

2021 continued the lessons to be learned in big ways. The ice storm that pounded the south in February confined me to my house for an entire week. Road conditions prevented anyone without a 4-wheel drive vehicle with knobby tires, or those with an atv from getting out on the roads. The only reason grocery store had any food on the shelves was because very few people could get to them. Stores were closed because employees couldn’t travel to work. I made a nearly 20 mile round-trip to the store to pick up a few small items and just to see what the “world” was like. Fuel storage became a standing practice.

These are just a few examples of the things that can directly impact a person’s life. Start with the issues you deal with daily (weather, food, transportation, etc.), then weekly, and so on and so on. Start looking into your own personal protection, your own fitness, your own financial preparedness and get them in order. There are simple things you can address RIGHT NOW that will have you better prepared for tomorrow than you were yesterday. Other things will be ongoing processes. Once you have dealt with the things that directly impact you, step out to the next “ripple” and work toward doing the same for those in your immediate family. Don’t get caught up on the possible, work on the probable.

In the next post we will build on the third principle of developing a plan. I hope you’ll continue reading. Please feel free to leave comments.

In the last post I listed out four principles for beginning preppers. In this post, I’ll dive a little further into the first one, Don’t Freak Out.

It is easy to get spun up into a fearful, panicky state-of-mind. We are surrounded by doom and gloom. News media tells us how vulnerable we are to everything. Social media (along with news media) spread misinformation, and disinformation, like wildfire. Information travels so quickly nowadays that there is very little “fact” being put out to the masses. When the facts do come to light, it is either too late to reverse the flow, or it’s old news and no-one really cares to deal with getting the story straight. But I digress.

So many people see or hear how the world is going to end tomorrow from some threat that they don’t understand and they run out and impulse-buy a bunch of stuff that makes them feel like they have gotten themselves prepared. They haven’t. Operating out of emotion can be dangerous. Fear is an emotion. Fear can be good or bad. It is perfectly good to be fearful of a grizzly bear charging at you while alone in the wilderness. This fear lets you know that you are in danger. This fear tells you that you need to do something to get out of danger and to protect yourself immediately. However, if you live in the desert and you’re deathly afraid of being attacked by penguins, this would be an irrational fear.

A couple of things to consider: 1.) if it is out of your control, there is no point worrying about it because there is nothing you can do about it; 2.) If it is in your control, you can do something about it, so do something about it and you won’t have to worry about it.

I know this is much more easily said than done. A big benefit of prepping has to do with mitigating fear. The more effort and progress we put toward preparedness for a certain event, the less fearful we are if and when said event should occur. If you’re afraid of freezing to death, learn how to make a fire. In the next post I’ll get into the Getting Focused principle. This is where you’ll be really making so inroads into what you’re preparing for and how to start off with a realistic focus.

In my mid-20s I began slowly easing into prepping. With no clear direction, I made no real progress. Now, I am in my mid-30s and quite a bit has changed. So, over the past 10 years or so, what did I learn that I wished I had done differently in the beginning? What could have helped me to get off to a better start and save myself the grief of so many mistakes? (As an aside, I firmly believe that many of life’s best lessons are made through mistakes. But, try to learn from my mistakes instead of making them yourself.) As I break down some of my basic principles, please keep in mind that I can only share my opinions and experiences. I’m not a life-coach or survival guru. You may see something that could have been done better. If so, please comment and share. The prepper community is all about helping one-another out. The next few personal principles will not be exhaustive and I’ll go into each one in more detail in following posts. That being said, I’ll get started.

Lesson #1 – Don’t freak out. Don’t get caught up in the fearmongering that is so prevalent in our society. Don’t get caught up in impulse-buying the mystical save-all survival items. Relax, take a breath, and take care of the things that you can take care of. Outside of that, it’s out of your control anyway.

Lesson #2 – Get Focused. Now that you’ve calmed down, it’s time to sit down and really figure out what it is that you’re trying to accomplish. At this point, a lot of people jump way ahead and say “I’m preparing for an EMP” or some other major event. Well, you can’t really prepare for the “major” if you haven’t prepared for the “minor”. That missile silo in Kansas that you bought and stocked is going to do you absolutely no good if you don’t have a way to get there from your house in upper New York in the dead of winter. Start small.

Lesson #3 – Develop a plan. It doesn’t matter what you want to accomplish if you don’t have a plan. Without a plan, you won’t know what to do to get from point A to point B, to C, to D, and on and on. This plan can be very simple and concise, or it can be very detailed. I suggest you start with a simple overall plan from start to finish and then go back and fine-tune said plan. That way you at least have a general idea of what you want to do before you get hung up on the intricacies of one step and can’t move to the next.

Lesson #4 – Start making progress. Thinking things through will only get you so far. Reading will only get you so far. Don’t get hung up on the academic side of getting prepared. Start taking practical steps toward your preparedness. Once you have developed your plan, put it into action. In the next post I’ll expound on some of these lessons in more detail. I’ll let you know where I went wrong and what I have learned that has better served my own preparedness.

The preparedness/self-reliance/survivalist community is vast. There are countless blogs, channels, sites, etc. geared toward preparedness. The are books on off-grid living, situational awareness, and everything in between. Members of the preparedness community are not all crazy people people living in the woods preparing for armageddon (there are a few of those out there, I’m sure). It is my opinion that the prepper community is very down-to-earth and it’s focus is fairly simple; 1.) taking control of as much of their lives as possible, 2.) working toward a level of preparedness that will not only allow them to survive the various disasters that occur in life, but to thrive, and 3.) sharing their experiences and knowledge with others in the hopes that they will do the same.

In my experience, prepper’s love to help others by sharing what they know. That is why there are so many resources on preparedness. They are all trying to share that knowledge. Some of that knowledge is free on blogs, sites, etc and some of it is not; including, books, dvd series, training courses, etc. And, much of the time that information is very similar. So, why do we need ANOTHER one? Each prepper’s journey is unique. Prepping is very much an individual endeavor. After reading 100s of blogs, watching 1000s of videos and talking to different people to learn and get advice, each and every prepper will somehow fine-tune their focus, goals, and gear to what fits them the best. There are different philosophies on why to prep, where to start, and for what you should be prepping. No matter how much of one person’s prepping will resemble another’s, there will be differences; maybe not in gear or tactics, but in mindset or purpose.

I have been a prepper on one level or another since my mid-20s. I have made mistakes and had big “wins”. I will share experiences and the lessons learned. I will give reviews on the gear I have used. It is my hope that by sharing my prepping journey that I can be a helpful part of your’s. In the next post I will go over where to start and the steps I think are necessary to develop a plan. Please feel free to leave comments and ask questions.