# Preps for starters



## nephilim (Jan 20, 2014)

OK, so you have a person interested in prepping, what things would you suggest to help them slowly become a prepper (dipping their toes).

So far I have this.

Guttering (squared preferable) for growing! In 3ft of guttering, you can grow lots of herbs. I grow Basil, Parsley, Thyme, Oregano, Mint, Rosemary, Coriander, Curry leaves, Chives, Dill, Marjoram and Tarragon. Pick the leaves every couple of days to encourage new growth, water lightly every day with a spray bottle, top up soil once every 2-3 months with good soil, they were planted 3 years ago, not needed to plant anything since. 

MedBag - Contains plasters, in a variety of different sizes and shapes, small, medium and large sterile gauze dressings, at least two sterile eye dressings, triangular bandages, crêpe rolled bandages, safety pins, disposable sterile gloves, tweezers, scissors, alcohol-free cleansing wipes, sticky tape, thermometer (preferably digital as they're quick, but regular oral ones are fine also), skin rash cream such as hydrocortisone or calendula, cream or spray to relieve insect bites and stings, antiseptic cream, painkillers such as paracetamol (or infant paracetamol for children), aspirin (not to be given to children under 16), or ibuprofen, cough medicine, antihistamine tablets, distilled water, for cleaning wounds and as an eye bath.

My first point will help a person get into the growing frame of mind, and will realise fresh is invariably better than dried (and kept like this, is always available).


----------



## vandelescrow (Nov 17, 2012)

I would first ask what are you prepping for? 

I think no matter what the SHTF scenario is, our food distribution is what will be the most missed. With that said you need to learn how to gather your own (what edible plants are in your area, hunt/fish etc). Then think about a water supply (survival skills for gathering water). 

To slowly build up a small stash of food so you are not completely dependent on hunting gathering right at the start of a situation (this time will be the most dangerous to go out), when ever you go shopping grab a few extra things that will stay good for a long time (canned food, dried food like beans, rice). 

How will you cook it? yes you can learn how to build a fire but if an ice storm knocks your power out for a week your not going to dig up your back yard and build a bonfire. I have a gas grill with an extra bottle of propane.

I think that will be a good start and get the person thinking in the right direction.


----------



## pheniox17 (Dec 12, 2013)

advice for a really noob prepper

1 KISS (keep it simple stupid)
1a don't overwhelm the new prepper with overly complex information 

2. water is life

3. change in shopping habits, minimal start weekly food shopping 

4. government advice, fema websites, (au info, DONT DISMISS, we have a lot of disaster experience and invested a lot of money to reduce casualties) ses, rural fire service (any other relevant international source anyone knows please add)

4a download a bushfire survival plan (provided by any state rural fire service) even if no chance of being effected, play with it...

4b the "3 day advice" a lot of disaster management sources agree this is a minimal requirement to increase chances of survival

5 start on self reliance (as you have touched on)

6 revisit bushfire survival plan with bobs in mind 

if still really into it at this stage (by now it can get in the too hard basket)

7 defense (firearms combined with martial arts)

8 seriously think about joining a disaster response volunteer agency (extra training) 

9 a very important note, HAVE FUN, and keep it enjoyable or human nature will kick in


----------



## pastornator (Apr 5, 2013)

Examine your frame of mind and frame of reference.

Most people do not take preps seriously, even those beginning to have their eyes opened up, because they don't REALLY think that they may one day have to rely on what they prep now.

Big question to start with is, "What if I could never again do/go/buy this; what would I do next?"


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Good advice all.

I would add; Set Small Attainable Goals. Sometimes getting started can be overwhelming. You're probably not going to immediately retro-fit your house with solar or build your retreat on 30 acres in a week. So add an extra gallon of water or a few extra cans of food per week, a few extra candles, flashlights or batteries. An additional box of ammo at payday or an extra propane tank for emergencies. Small attainable goals usually keep you interested and motivated and before long you will have a nice inventory or emergency stores. Then you can focus on larger items or projects. 

Good thread.


----------



## The Resister (Jul 24, 2013)

pastornator said:


> Examine your frame of mind and frame of reference.
> 
> Most people do not take preps seriously, even those beginning to have their eyes opened up, because they don't REALLY think that they may one day have to rely on what they prep now.
> 
> Big question to start with is, "What if I could never again do/go/buy this; what would I do next?"


I had a similar thought in mind when I began reading this thread. We tend to think in terms of Bug Out Bags, weaponry, gardens, etc. But, we forget to figure out what we're going to prep FOR. You see people buy a lot of weaponry without a clue as to how they intend to use it once the firearms are outlawed. That story about the small farmer being raided is still ringing in my ears. All this prepping and many people are being taken out of the game as fast as we can begin influencing someone to start simple preps.

If you want to begin prepping, begin with a clear vision of how you view the future and what you hope to accomplish (i.e. mere survival, resistance, or just a hobby.)


----------



## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Security
food and water
Rest
keep improving all 3


----------



## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

nephilim said:


> OK, so you have a person interested in prepping, what things would you suggest to help them slowly become a prepper (dipping their toes).
> 
> So far I have this.
> 
> ...


This is a brand new prepper????? I would be overwhelmed already.

Starting slow you need to ask them first of all if you can not leave your house for one week and the water and power went out what would you need?

have them figure out what they will eat for that week, what they will drink. how will they cook the food, how will they stay warm, how will they bathe and clean their living space, where will they use the bathroom?

These basics are what will kill people first. you have nothing to eat or drink, no way to cook it, freeze in the cold, get sick from poor hygiene and you wont last long. once they have figured out what they need for a week then they can start looking at the big picture of finding solutions to not going with out. 
Food=garden, livestock, fishing hunting etc
water=need several ways to acquire and store. one source is asking for trouble. 
cooking and heating=usually the best is fire. bbq grill, camp stoves and propane, wood stoves (wood cook stoves are even better) solar 
toilet and cleaning= sound like more water


----------



## Moonshinedave (Mar 28, 2013)

The very first thing I would tell someone starting out prepping, is food and water. Doesn't have be MREs, store up on can foods when found on sale, they will last a long time, just be sure to rotate them out when using them normally. Have some extra water on hand, bottled water is ok for a start. Dry goods like rice and beans also a must. Also the radio, candles.... and such.
My thoughts are if you try to overwhelm them all at once, they will reject the idea all together, having some extra food and water on hand isn't a bad idea for anyone, let them decide to take it to the next level on their own.


----------



## Smokin04 (Jan 29, 2014)

Great advice thus far from all! You can tell the people here know what they're talking about. 

For me, when I started, my first prep ever was a case of MRE's. I took real comfort in knowing that those 12 meals was about a weeks worth of food for me. Not only that, but I could afford comfortably a case every week or two. After 4 or 5 cases (2 months or so) of food, you begin to shift focus on the other things. I think the MRE's signify the beginning of the "prepper" journey. Once the food is stored and available, the comfort of knowing you're better off than your neighbor sets in. That begins to transform the mindset into "longer" preps like water, power, renewables, etc. You have to start somewhere, and since most already have guns/ammo (at least a little), IMO MRE's are the best place to develop the prepper mindset because that's what worked for me.


----------



## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

Smitty901 said:


> Security
> food and water
> Rest
> keep improving all 3


Since I am adding to all the other posts, in the UK you need to have MONTHS and MONTHS of water

You can't live more that 3 days without water, but you can live 40 days without food.

#1 you need to get a system that you and get "GROUND WATER" for the rest of your life.

Trust me if you do this ONE PREP you will be able to trade for all the food you need.

#2 is defense of your water supply which sucks as you have no firearms, but not really a suck as you can easily exchange "water" for local protection

Just saying in an area as small as the UK if you own the water you will rule the .... island. (sorry rule the world was not in there)


----------



## nephilim (Jan 20, 2014)

weaponry in the UK is not a problem, ammo is the problem. You could legally own 50 shotguns and rifles if you wanted, its the ammo sales for said weapons which are heavily regulated (and all firearms in the UK have their ballistics profile registered).

As for water, we have hundreds of thousands of streams and interconnecting rivers, so fresh water isn't an issue for many people (its just people would drink stagnant water and thats where they would get issues).

But thanks for everything so far guys. Need to give him some useful pointers he can do at home, to start moving away from buying things to growing things and preserving things and storing things.


----------



## 2000ShadowACE (Jan 14, 2014)

#1 priority is security. Arm yourself. All the prepping in the world will not help you if someone takes it away from you at gun point.
#2 Water and food. Putting up a gallon of water each week is easy and it ensures a supply even in the event of a simple natural disaster. Food stuffs such as rice and beans can be easily vaccumed sealed and put up for a very long time.
#3 learn to grow your own. Start a small garden and find an edible plants book.
# 4 Form alliances. Find people you can trust. This does not always mean family, especially if the family is not committed to prepping. They will become free-loaders.
*** Above all else come up with a series of plans as to what to do in various scenarios. Where will you go in case of a SHTF scenario. Will you dig in or seek shelter elsewhere? Are you in a flood plain? Are you in an area prone to severe storms? What are the escape routes from your location to a safer place? How will you get from work to your preps? Etc.


----------



## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

Cover the 3B's (beans,bullits,bandaids) first. Prep for local disaster. I live in the New Orleans area. Does Katirina make one think? Start small and work up to what you think is a comfortable level for you. Then get more stuff.


----------



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

One thing that convinced me to prep was to pay attention and watch world events and try to read between the
lines. That's scary and prepping helps you feel like and your children might have a chance.

And remember even if you are just starting to prep you are better prepared than most


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Good point budgetprepp-n,

You don't have to spend a lot of money. We have one bin of stuff that contains inexpensive items that you can buy at the dollar store. Kind of a catch-all storage container. We probably don't have more than 50 dollars tied up in it but its got extra pairs of scissors, nail cutters, bic lighters, cheap candles, toothpicks..stuff like that. Just In Case items or Utility Room stuff. Just an idea.


----------



## The Resister (Jul 24, 2013)

2000ShadowACE said:


> #1 priority is security. Arm yourself. All the prepping in the world will not help you if someone takes it away from you at gun point.
> #2 Water and food. Putting up a gallon of water each week is easy and it ensures a supply even in the event of a simple natural disaster. Food stuffs such as rice and beans can be easily vaccumed sealed and put up for a very long time.
> #3 learn to grow your own. Start a small garden and find an edible plants book.
> # 4 Form alliances. Find people you can trust. This does not always mean family, especially if the family is not committed to prepping. They will become free-loaders.
> *** Above all else come up with a series of plans as to what to do in various scenarios. Where will you go in case of a SHTF scenario. Will you dig in or seek shelter elsewhere? Are you in a flood plain? Are you in an area prone to severe storms? What are the escape routes from your location to a safer place? How will you get from work to your preps? Etc.


Just when you think you've found the beginning point, someone happens along and makes a remarkable statement. Security would be the most important concern. If most people do not prep, they will want what you have. A firearm is good for defense, but we've all got to sleep some time.

Once you've found your beginning point, I'd like to offer something that I did many years ago:

After figuring out what I was prepping for, I started out simple. A Bug Out Bag and a plan for living out of that bag for 72 hours was developed. It could have been inclement weather that forced me out of a home or civil unrest. But, the challenge was (and is to this day) is to maintain a bag that can be carried without making you hyperventilate and give you all the essentials for three days. Once that hurdle was over (not to mention the evacuation and rendezvous plan to get out of the house and out of Dodge if necessary) came the next hurdle.

Once you can sustain yourself for three days, shoot for living out of what is inside your home for thirty days. If / when you get there, keep extending the time limits. Don't forget all the other stuff that was talked about in this thread as well: food, water, medicine, self sufficiency, etc. should all find a way into your plans.


----------



## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

One thing that gets me, is that you are not prepping for three days of survival, you are prepping for three days of normalcy.

People can survive three days no problem without anything, what matters though is day 4 through 18.

While people can survive a week or two without water if not being very active and no eating, after about a week you won't want to not be drinking water, as you get more and more pasty, and your organs start kicking you to drink water.

Fact is, in warmer, hot climates water is far more important.

While storing water is great, also consider a water filtration device, or learn how to make charcoal and make a charcoal grass mud filter.

food is also important, but many can survive quite long without food, this doesn't mean you want to.. and likewise if you need energy and strength food becomes important.

You don't need guns to be safe but if you have the money laying aroud why not.. but if you arn't in an area you can hunt seasonally then you won't get the most bang for your buck.

Bows are an alternative to look into. Some people fear crossbows as much or more than guns if they know what they do.
Personally I have more comfort getting shot by a 22lr than a 240lb test.


Real preppers will be well hydrated every day, they will have a gallon of water in them and on them every day.
Real preppers will know not to skip breakfast and they will have a treat for a diabetic on them, or to boost their own blood sugar. They may even carry an MR or a couple thousand cals on them.

Hardcore prepper will also have a concealed carry and multitool/knife.

probably also some type of communications system such as cell/uhf/vhf/ems radio etc...

If you arn't prepped as much or better than your local police, you arn't prepped well enough.


Oh and food for thought.. in order for WROL / super shtf the local agencies have to be broken or overwhelmed.. that means what they have isn't good enough....

or their methods arn't sufficient..

If you know us declaration cog systems, first local then state, then national gaurd, then federalization of taskforce... if it goes beyond federalization, then it is SHTF and it means being prepared for a flood will not be enough, it is a start but you will need to have better operations than the federal gov. or assist them.

There is a question of how DHS fits into all of this as it appears it trumps the DOD escalation system to be incident response for catagorical issues of federal matters?

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)	Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA is part of DHS

It seems that DHS is concerned with three areas

Shit happens
Illegal Aliens/unwanteds
Federal infrastructure.


So if federal infrastructure is not involved... and there is no hazmat, will DHS be involved. It seems their role may be more to secure the borders, and protect critical infrastructure as opposed to removing the issue...
so it means police, national gaurd, and then the military is ineffective to resolve the issue,

my gosh what would that mean?

If the US military can't restore order in the US is there any hope for a prepper?


----------



## selfeducator (Mar 18, 2014)

I believe that #4 is very important. A group of people will always fare better than one man regardless of how well prepared or heavily armed he is. Plus, with several people you can join the specific skill sets of each to form a powerful unit. Planning and practice is also important. If things go south some people will lose their heads.


----------



## selfeducator (Mar 18, 2014)

Something he can do is find like minded people in his area and form alliances. A group of people will always fare better than one man regardless of how well prepared or heavily armed he is. Plus, with several people you can join the specific skill sets of each to form a powerful unit. Planning and practice is also important. If things go south some people will lose their heads.


----------



## Chris (Nov 25, 2013)

I would suggest learning basic survival skills before buying any gear. A trained mind in the best tool.
1. Finding and purifying Water
2. Finding and preparing food
3. Shelter Building
4. Fire Building
5. First Aid


----------

