What's Prepping and How to Do It

March 7, 2024

Prepping.  Have you heard this term before? 

It's a term that often gets laughed at. One may think of someone preparing for the zombie apocalypse or the end of the world.

One may think of some tin foil hat wearing, conspiracy theorist moving to a remote island.  Or someone building an off-the-grid cabin in the woods.  Or someone creating a bijillion-dollar bunker on Maui.

There are various levels of prepping that range from having basic needs met to being prepared for years. How long someone wants to prep for depends on their motivation and assessment of risk.

Know this thought: It’s not doom and gloom thinking.  Simply said, it's planning for future hiccups on the road of life.  It’s planning and thinking ahead in case of an emergency or a mini or large disaster.

In my life, I have experienced a couple of emergencies of large proportions.  There was a 7.2 earthquake in the San Francisco Bay area in 1989 where the area was shut down with minimal power and water.  I vividly remember my Friend and I filling up any and every pot, pan, and bucket that we could with water in case our pipes ceased to deliver it.  We were fortunate as our power and water continued to work and we are able to access food. I am not sure that all of the near 6 million people in the Bay area at the time could say the same.

In the spring of 2023, the town where I work was mass evacuated at 11 pm because a wildfire became out of control and was bearing down on the town.  I was able to go to my clinic and take what was valuable to me because I had already determined in my mind what would make the trip if I had to bug out quickly.  I put it all in my vehicle and got into the line to head the one way out of town that was available.  My fuel tank was nearly full and I didn’t have to get in line with the ones who were at the fueling station.

While those are more extreme cases, there are the gentler examples of prepping that you probably partake in regularly.  You are a prepper and you didn’t even know it!   Think savings account or throwing a blanket in the car when you travel when the weather is more brisk. 

You are planning for the future.

Here’s another example why prepping is worthy of your consideration:

A couple of months ago, my province had an emergency alert that the power grid was at risk of not meeting the demand and that if the people did not cut their consumption, there would be rolling blackouts.  Oh, and it was minus 40 Celsius.

There would have been many people in serious trouble if they lost power for an extended period of time in those conditions.

I think often we are spoiled with the amenities of life and don’t pay attention to how precariously our luxuries of power, natural gas, water, and electronic banking balance on the spectrum of “I have access” versus “I don’t have access.”

Prepping is the mindset of being more self-reliant.

If you this sort of thinking is new to you and you feel overwhelmed with where to start with this, I offer this basic advice:

Look around you and prioritize what is important for you to consider in the self-sufficiency realm.

If you couldn’t access food at the store, do you have enough food on hand that you could feed yourself and your family for a few days? A week? A month?

If water didn't flow from the tap, do you have access to water?

If you didn’t have power, do you have flashlights (with working batteries!), candles and maybe a generator (with fuel) that you can use for your house?

If you didn’t have natural gas for heat, do you have an alternative source of heat if needed?

If you didn’t have access to your bank, do you have a way to buy things you need?

These five questions will give you direction on how you can prepare for a glitch in what is often taken for granted.

Taking steps to cover the blips in the above would be considered basic prepping in my opinion.

Everyone will have to look at their own situation but here are some ideas for being prepared at a basic level:

Have extra provisions on hand

One of my favourite mantras is “it’s better to be looking at it than for it.”

I do not mean buying twenty years' worth of food and storing it in the pantry…and then throwing it out.  What I do mean is perhaps buying extra canned or dried goods and cycling them with your regular use.  Buy things that you will use.  I have a dozen tins each of black beans, chickpeas, navy beans, and tomatoes that I rotate in the pantry.  I know that if I can’t get to the grocery store for whatever reason, I can subsist on these for a while.  I also have a very large bag of basmati rice that I work through.  I have dried beans on hand. These sorts of things could come in handy in a pinch.

Some people I know dehydrate their food or can it. Both have a long shelf life. I have tried it and it is yummy.

Water

Is there a river or lake close by that you can get water from? In the rainy season, can you collect rain water? With those alternative water collection ideas, having a way to purify your water will be a good idea. These range from very simple to more complex. I use a Berkey.

Alternative Power Source/Heating Source

Put some thought into how you could manage without power or heat. Would a generator be a good idea in your situation? Do you have working flashlights at your disposal? I have solar lights that I keep charged. There are many options if you look around.

Do you have a fireplace that you don't use but are ready to use if need be because you have firewood available?

Money

Depending on your comfort, it may be worth considering having cash on hand in the event you can't access your account. If you think this can't happen, it can. Some people also have bitcoin or tangible gold or silver. I am not advocating doing a bank run but what I am suggesting is that you consider how you would operate without access to cash in a pinch.

There are other ways to be a prepper. Here's some ideas:

Take a first aid course/CPR course

Knowing what to do enables you to care for an injury or respond to an event.  If you are told to stay away from the hospital (does this sound familiar?), you should be able to help yourself as best as possible if you have a problem.

Educate yourself.  Have supplies on hand, whether it be medical supplies or herbal remedies. Be able to help yourself. This is a good idea whether you think "prepping" is a good idea or not.

Have a cold weather bag in your vehicle when travelling

Included here is dressing appropriately for the weather and if you are caught in it. I am talking to my fellow Canucks here. I think there is far too much reliance on travelling with a cellphone than common sense. Even if you make the call that you are broke down in cold weather, you still need to be able to keep warm until help arrives.

Be a Master of Food

Grow a garden. Do you have any interest or space for chickens? Can you learn to hunt and fish? While this may seem daunting to some, there is an upside to being able to do these things in the self-sufficiency department.

There are many courses that will teach you about hunting, fishing, gardening and keeping animals to harvest.

Taking a firearms course is also a good idea.

Get physically fit/healthy

This act makes you less reliant on the healthcare system and you will be able to do things that you may have to do if something goes wrong. Pack water. Start a generator. Help others.

Find like-minded people

Knowing who you can count on when things go astray is important.

PAL

In Canada, this is the licensing course that is required to acquire a firearm. Whether this is for protection of your property or to hunt, it is a worthy consideration to take the class.

I hope that you can see that being a prepper isn’t something you do as some paranoid freak.  It really is about being prepared for a small or large glitch. How you want to structure that is on each individual. 

If you think that I am full of it, please at least put a cold weather bag in your vehicle when travelling in the winter.

You're welcome. ;)