# tips on how to get my wife into prepping



## jbrooks19 (May 22, 2014)

Anyone have any tips on how to get my wife into prepping? She thinks I'm paranoid and it's stupid.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Put together a "storm" pack for everyone in the family. The schools require one for each student - it makes sense to have one at home for everyone. Three days of rations (food), water, flashlight, snacks and games or reading material. Get her involved it that and then set up a meeting place or two that family members can get to to meet with others. Set up a family call system so that if one phone is down you can contact family members through a close friend or relative. Once she sees that you are just preparing to keep everyone safe then she is likely to be more ready to join in. Talk in terms of the kinds of storms and disasters that have happened in your Area before. That way you won't sound crazy or paranoid - if it has happened before it is likely to happen again.


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## pheniox17 (Dec 12, 2013)

lots of tips, but one I got informed of that works

woman by nature don't want to think about such things, as a man its your role to think of long term survival

but its now most likely too late to convince her, just follow disasters and do everything in little steeps (so you don't have to "raid" the store for supplies when a warning is issued


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

Do not try to "get her into prepping". Just quietly put back some supplies - food, flashlights, first aid, etc. Being in Indiana, you will almost certainly have a storm or two this summer where you lose power for a few hours or a few days. When that happens calmly break out the flashlights. I do not know how common it is in Indiana, but in Minnesota in the winter it is fairly common to have a water main break and be without water for a few days. Just be ready when those opportunities come up to show her the value of your plan-ahead strategy. 

Note, I called it "plan-ahead" not prepping. Those nitwit reality shows about preppers have convinced everybody that we are all a bunch of cellar dwellers that are planning to overthrow the government.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Change terminology. Such as extended pantry instead of emergency stores. 

Women understand economics. What does it cost in time, gasoline, etc for trips to the store for things you can have stored like extra milk & bread in the freezer?


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## pheniox17 (Dec 12, 2013)

Inor said:


> Those nitwit reality shows about preppers have convinced everybody that we are all a bunch of cellar dwellers that are planning to overthrow the government.


what you're saying we are not?? lol


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## Inor (Mar 22, 2013)

pheniox17 said:


> what you're saying we are not?? lol


At least not overtly...


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2014)

the best thing to do is avoid trespassing on her territory with the preps and don't spend more money than you can afford on it..then there is no reason why she would think it is dumb. I made the mistake years ago of buying about 50 gallons of water and storing it in our closet in a small apartment. she was not happy ill just leave it at that, so i learned and moved it. 

One thing I do is say it is a hobby and i read a lot on the subject. my girl at first thought i was crazy for stocking up on supplies but now she is used to it and she even will watch "the last frontier: alaska" with me lol.

Another thing you can try to do is note what she likes to eat and store it, also store feminine hygiene products for her. it will look like ur thinking about her well being and happiness. If she is not into "prepping" I'm in agreement with the other guys that you should avoid using terminology to alarm her or scare her.


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Excuse me, Pheniox, but in our house, it is the _woman_ who is looking out for the survival and long-term welfare of her family.

I have helped legitimize my preps by showing hubby all the "official" sites (CDC, FEMA, Homeland Security, American Red Cross, Allstate Insurance, Pima County) that tell people how to prepare for emergencies and disasters. Now our own governor has signed a law that requires all Arizona citizens to be informed about the threat of an EMP event, along with supplies that everyone should have on hand to take care of themselves (ie: the government is not coming to the rescue). Being prepared is rational, logical, and intelligent (appeal to left brain).

I also appeal to his sense of compassion by reminding him that extra supplies will enable us to help others who may not be prepared when disaster strikes.

I also remind him that prepping is nothing new. We would not be here if our ancestors had not stored up for winter and laid up supplies to last through tough times. In this day, people store up for the future by laying aside money in retirement accounts and investments. Our ancestors just used a different commodity. Having a bit of both is wise and prudent.

I remind him that our electronic age living is a novelty. In just two generations we have become completely dependent on an invisible infrastucture that runs every aspect of our lives - from pumping our water into our homes, fueling our electronic vehicles, communication, finances, and procurement of food. We are living in a house of cards which can collapse in an instant. Even a local outage from a bad storm demands preparation.

Finally, I feed him! Using my sun oven, parabolic cooker, and Dutch ovens fueled by dry horse manure helps him to see how practical prepping can be. Delicious food at no cost to cook. He will be even more impressed once I have my methane generator going, as that will enable cooking on a gas grill for free. I also make dry poo logs for the fireplace. Again - free fuel to heat the house. He likes it when he can see some kind of payoff for the bottom line.

He is NOT so sure about my store of ammo. I just have to do that quietly on the side, a little at a time.


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## pheniox17 (Dec 12, 2013)

rn, as sexist as it sounded, it was the best way it was described to me, why in our little slice of civilization males are the dominant population.

and you would notice the male dominated side of our life choice??


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Yes, I have noticed the male dominance, but...... I attribute a lot of that to the guns/ammo/weapons aspect of this forum. And that is fine. I'd be more than happy to let the guys shoot it out while I focus on livestock, gardening, gathering, food prep/storage/cooking, safe water, health, and energy alternatives. You shoot it - I can dry it, can it, and cook it a dozen ways - without electricity, gas, or wood. I can also stitch both clothing and wounds, set a broken bone, pull a tooth, and deliver a baby. Not that I can't handle a gun, but it's not the passion that is seems to be for a lot of the men here.

So there you go - when it gets down to the bare basics of survival, the genders really do compliment each other. I think most women preppers (this is very generalized) would like to discuss details of how to make life work post SHTF. Once the dust settles, and the guys are done shooting each other, there will still be cooking, cleaning, and children. You do the bullets, I'll do the beans and bandages.


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## redhawk (May 7, 2014)

I am a blessed man, my wife supports the "be prepared" movement. She takes an active part in our prepping!


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

My wife used to look at me like I was a little off but she would put up with my idiosyncrasies. I stopped trying to convince her that what I was doing was a good idea and just quietly did it. The past couple of years though she has started asking me things like how much ammo do "WE" have stored and should we get more, do we have enough firearms for our whole family, and she has started pushing for us to start growing a garden and long term food storage. 

I think that what started her thinking about it seriously were shows where every now and then you see that the Government advocates having emergency supplies stored for anywhere from 3 days, mostly a bug out bag, to 2 weeks. I think that if you check out FEMA they have something that tells you what you should have stored. Then we have seen some documentaries about possible disasters where people are basically on their own for long periods of time. I did point out that for some of the past hurricanes it takes not weeks but months for Fema to actually start feeding and housing everybody, and how much chaos there was, and how much worse it would be if things were more wide spread.


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## The Resister (Jul 24, 2013)

I was "_prepping_" years before such a term existed. I got a lot of family members started in the right direction by avoiding terms like prepping. Instead, I found practical ways for them to use the skills and adapt to them. For example:

A nearby hurricane, tornado, house fire, etc. could get your family interested in being prepared for that possible emergency. That gives you an opportunity to teach Evacuation and Rendezvous plans, communicating if the grid goes down and establishing Rallying points. An ice storm this winter that crippled this area got a lot of people willing to plan for the power being off for a couple of days... so flashlights, lanterns, a few days food supplies, etc. were not an extremist idea.

One idea is to find other uses for your gear. My Bug Out Bag gets a lot of use. For example, this afternoon, I will leave for an overnight trip. I don't have to pack to go. It's already done. I grab a change of clothes, my bag and done. I have family members who saw the wisdom of the Bug Out Bag, without me calling it that, and now they have some basics already squirreled away for their week-end jaunts.

Use entertainment as a means to begin the educational process. The Mel Gibson flicks _The Patriot_ and _Braveheart_ are good ways to get your point across covertly... especially if followed up by a discussion of the movie once you've watched it with the person you want to educate. If you watch a good SHTF flick, always pose the question (at some point) where you imagine it was you and your family in that predicament and ask what would the family do in such a circumstance. Remember: that's not the first question to ask. The educational process has to be covert.

Once you've established every-day practical uses for preps, the idea begins to take root in the other person's mind. The more practical use they find for prepping, the more self evident it becomes that it is wise to prepare.


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## pheniox17 (Dec 12, 2013)

rnprepper said:


> yes, i have noticed the male dominance, but...... I attribute a lot of that to the guns/ammo/weapons aspect of this forum. And that is fine. I'd be more than happy to let the guys shoot it out while i focus on livestock, gardening, gathering, food prep/storage/cooking, safe water, health, and energy alternatives. You shoot it - i can dry it, can it, and cook it a dozen ways - without electricity, gas, or wood. I can also stitch both clothing and wounds, set a broken bone, pull a tooth, and deliver a baby. Not that i can't handle a gun, but it's not the passion that is seems to be for a lot of the men here.
> 
> So there you go - when it gets down to the bare basics of survival, the genders really do compliment each other. I think most women preppers (this is very generalized) would like to discuss details of how to make life work post shtf. Once the dust settles, and the guys are done shooting each other, there will still be cooking, cleaning, and children. You do the bullets, i'll do the beans and bandages.


  ::clapping::


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## pastornator (Apr 5, 2013)

Years ago, people thought I was a luny conspiracy advocate and more than likely a John Birch Society member (remember those guys?). I was ahead of the curve on a LOT of what is now happening. Even more recently, I published a list of a dozen things that the Obama administration would enact, enforce, or stop enforcing in order to create a socialized central government. So far each one in turn has come about.

The upshot is that now much of the family has discovered the truth of what I started saying back in Nixon's day and they're all now trying to conver me to their position. Ironic and humerous, and I'm still ahead of the curve in politics and the philosophy that is driving that forward to no-man's land.

In any case, I said all that to also say that I began "prepping" in the late 1970s by learning how to be sustainable, not by hoarding. Yes, I do stock some items that will be difficult to procure, especially right away when or if transportation ceases, but for the most part, I've majored my efforts on self-sufficiency on a parcel of land and have done that rather seamlessly so that my wife is not only on board, but actively a participant in the process. She also sees where we're going, politically, and is capable of speaking out to others on the subject -- a far cry from where she began when ANY conflict was undesirable. Turns out we LIKE living our preps. It tastes better, is better for us, and gives us something tangible to do other than watch television. I've never actually sat down and had a "we are preppers" sort of conversation with my wife or with anyone else (apart from forums of like-minded individuals). I'm just "practical" and "thrifty" and "skilled at repairing, re-using, or re-purposing things that others cast off.


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## sparkyprep (Jul 5, 2013)

When my kids first asked me about being "preppers", I asked them, "Aren't we already preppers? We store water, food, flashlights, and camping supplies in case of a hurricane. We prepared ourselves for events that we know are a risk in our area."

It was like a lightbulb went off. Many years ago, (before I was born) everybody prepped. It was common sense to be supplied and have the knowledge to be able to take care of ones self and family without relying on someone else, or the government to care for you. Somehow, this common sense was lost, possibly due to the explosion of the economy in the 80's, and the increase in the "ultimate consumer" lifestyle.

Now, those of us who were raised with this old fashioned common sense, and those who are learning to go back to those ideas, are considered outside the mainstream. We were once the mainstream, and anyone who didn't have the means to care for themselves were considered indegent. The term "prepper" was invented by the media, who has a constant need to label everyone. Society, for some reason, has a need to group and label people into manageable little sub-sects.

Not all preppers have underground bunkers, a hundred AK-47's, and millions of rounds of ammo. Some just wish they did.:twisted: Seriously, just remind your wife that as long as you are not putting your family in financial hardship by doing so, it is not "stupid" to have the means to take care of yourself, and your family, in the event that something bad should happen. It's just common sense.


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## pheniox17 (Dec 12, 2013)

The Resister said:


> I was "_prepping_" years before such a term existed. I got a lot of family members started in the right direction by avoiding terms like prepping. Instead, I found practical ways for them to use the skills and adapt to them. For example:
> 
> A nearby hurricane, tornado, house fire, etc. could get your family interested in being prepared for that possible emergency. That gives you an opportunity to teach Evacuation and Rendezvous plans, communicating if the grid goes down and establishing Rallying points. An ice storm this winter that crippled this area got a lot of people willing to plan for the power being off for a couple of days... so flashlights, lanterns, a few days food supplies, etc. were not an extremist idea.
> 
> ...


wow just wow, I keep saying resister is a nice guy at heart, now I have evidence to prove it thanks


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Pastornator and Sparkyprep,
You both hit the nail on the head. It's called sustainable living and some of us have been doing it for decades, building life skills over time that will be critical for survival in a post TEOTWAWKI event. I never want to depend on the government for anything that affects my survival. It is a lifestyle and a mindset. I have prepper friends who have stored all the right stuff, but are going to have a very steep learning curve when it comes to actually using what they have. (For example, storing seeds does not equal a productive garden. What happens when the squash plants all bloom profusely but never set any squash? Will many people know that the male blossoms open first and will dry out in hot, dry weather before pollinating the female blossoms? Will they know how to pollinate the female blossoms? That info doesn't come with a packet of seeds.) Storing up 3, 6, or 12 months worth of food simply means that someone can eat for 3, 6,or 12 months - not survive past that. Heck, their kids won't even eat green vegetables - a steep learning curve, indeed.

What has changed for me now is the threat of complete societal breakdown when the grid goes down from threats we never faced before. Morals are down the drain and people will do anything to get anything they want. During the depression, men looked for work and might stop by farm houses to ask about a meal or a place to sleep. Chop some firewood, and a meal was coming. There was still a sense of decency to help a fellow, and a sense of obligation to work for food. Now it is more about just kill for food. I never stocked up on ammo before, or felt the need for a concealed carry permit. That has changed. My lifestyle is the same, but I've added the defense element.


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## jimb1972 (Nov 12, 2012)

Explain the amount of shopping and number of sales and "great deals" involved.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

RNprepper, you bring up some good points as always.

My other half her deceased husband had taught her how to shoot a handgun. "If I'm not with you you best be able to handle whatever." So, once a month its to the range & she shoots one cylinder & I shoot half a magazine. She was afraid of the 12 gauge & AK at first. I shot both one handed & the fear was gone. She likes the AK now. She has her own 12 gauge with LOP matched to her. Our plan is whatever happens she is my backup.

I swear she can grow anything. But had always frozen surplus. I had basically always bought from a farmer's market & canned what I bought. That includes meat on sale. And after trying some canned meat I had done she was hooked on the convenience. So I help her with the garden & she helps me with the canning. We are a team & enjoy working together & what we accomplish.

We are both of the mind that if we can't see the food prepared we would rather not eat it so we eat out very little. We take turns cooking. And sometimes a meal is half & half. Such as I will do all the prep work & she will do the actual cooking.

We are both of the mindset to rely on ourselves. We both have our own incomes so most of hers goes to the house & cosmetics of the house while most of mine goes to preps.


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

HH, It's great that you have such a great partnership. I am totally with you on the food thing. You have to practice what you need to do. It would be very hard to learn canning from a book when a crisis occurs and you lose your primary fuel source. I have friends who have a closet full of canning jars, lids, a pressure canner, ...and the Blue Book. Could I pressure can over an open fire - yes, but it would be challenging. For someone who has never canned, it will be a disaster.

One of the biggest issues I think about is how much mental stress there will be for most people. The event will be traumatic enough, but if someone has never practiced the actual skills, the emotional toll is going to be devastating. Stress leads to illness, chronic fatigue, shingles, psychosis, and all manner of things. But if alternative cooking methods, gardening, animal husbandry, energy, water safety, sanitation, first aid, shooting, etc, are already in the skill set, those things will be welcome sources of familiar comfort rather than crisis learning curves.

I make my family eat strange and unusual things from time to time. It's all part of taking away the shock of newness. They have eaten anything and everything that grows - no problem there. But they also have tried different organ meats, and different types of meat such as venison, buffalo, rattlesnake, packrat, and protein bars made with cricket flour. I make them help me cook with the sun oven and Dutch ovens. My daughter is now a very good baker with the Dutch ovens. They also help me gather native foods that grow practically outside our door - mesquite beans, paloverde beans, prickly pear fruit, cholla buds. Doing this without getting stickers is a learned skill, and much better to learn it now than when those hands will be needed for so many other things.

Just getting young people to give up their social media for a camping weekend is a great survival challenge! Getting girls to use a squatty potty or go without a shower for a few days is another. But these are the ways to build resilience and confidence. When the SHTF, I hope my family will be mentally together - because they've already practiced a lot of this stuff. They are preppers and they don't even know it!


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Solar showers work great & teach you have only limited amount of water to take your shower. We have 5gal solar showers as backups.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Great advice from you all.

I can't stress what Inor, RN and others have said...so in my own way I'll suggest YOU DROP the word "Prepping". 

To me its a damn turn off for many people and it doesn't scratch the surface of what most of us doing. Self-Sustainable living is what our goal is. We may never get to 100% self-sustainable but I'm here to tell you that over the past many years, the less I depend on others outside my family, the better I feel. 

I've posted this before...Sit your wife down when the kids are gone or asleep, turn off phones, TV, computers etc., get an adult beverage (if you are so inclined) and have a real heart-to-heart talk with your wife. 

Two are better than one I'm here to tell you. Mrs Slippy and I actually have some good fun with our self sustainability projects. Sure we sometimes disagree or even argue (our sons call it "Bantering Back and Forth") but we get over it and work the plan. At the end of the workday, we can sit on our porch and know that we're one more day better off than we were yesterday. 

And like some have said, many women like the Bullet part of "Beans, Bullets and Bandaids"...Mrs Slippy has probably bought twice as much ammo over the past year than I have. She often will come home from a routine shopping trip to show me the extra .22lr or 9mm that she scored at one of the sporting goods stores.

Anyway, good luck.


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## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

Just sit her down and firmly but gently inform her that, as of this instant, she is a prepper. Once you give her that command, it's important to break eye contact so she understands that the matter is settled.

Later, you can give her a list of her new duties so she knows how to spend her time. Inspect her progress on a regular basis and devise fair but stern punishments when she slips up. You may be tempted to praise her when she does a good job, but do so in moderation because as the husband, you should let her know that good performance is expected and no reward is necessary.

Once she divorces you and takes half your stuff, you will have much more room for your preps.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

Force feeding is never a good idea.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Turn on a real news station for a couple days


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## tirednurse (Oct 2, 2013)

RNprepper said:


> HH, It's great that you have such a great partnership. I am totally with you on the food thing. You have to practice what you need to do. It would be very hard to learn canning from a book when a crisis occurs and you lose your primary fuel source. I have friends who have a closet full of canning jars, lids, a pressure canner, ...and the Blue Book. Could I pressure can over an open fire - yes, but it would be challenging. For someone who has never canned, it will be a disaster.
> 
> One of the biggest issues I think about is how much mental stress there will be for most people. The event will be traumatic enough, but if someone has never practiced the actual skills, the emotional toll is going to be devastating. Stress leads to illness, chronic fatigue, shingles, psychosis, and all manner of things. But if alternative cooking methods, gardening, animal husbandry, energy, water safety, sanitation, first aid, shooting, etc, are already in the skill set, those things will be welcome sources of familiar comfort rather than crisis learning curves.
> 
> ...


I have to agree with all you have said on this topic. Nothing irritates me more than to hear the boasting of Preppers who have stashed away tons of rice beans, garden seeds and ammo that seem to be the first line of prep items, but they have no idea what to do with them. I made a comment on this forum once asking people how they use their preps now in preparation for when they would actually have to rely on them and received so many negative comments accusing me of being a snob and acting better that they because they could only stock up on their Top Ramen noodles. I'm sure several of you long termers can remember this conversation that went on for several days. 
In any case I will still stand by my ideas that to stock up is never enough. You need to know what to do with what you store, have a back up plan and a back up for the back up, as well as a plan for long term solutions to maintaining our survival which may include a garden, animals, a BOL or what ever. 
I whole heartedly agree that having a bucket of seeds sitting in the closet waiting for TSHTF isn't going to do most people any good. It takes a long time and a lot of work to get a successful garden. It isn't going to happen the first time you try and maybe not the first 5 times. 
Although we do have our weapons and plenty of ammo in stock, and have our family practice sessions, these things are not the most important to me. I could care less about what happens outside my yard but will stop any one trying to take what is mine.
What I feel is important is eliminating as much of the chaos associated with any event. Weather, flooding, droubt, and the big one these days-unemployment. We have power outages all the time here, that means well goes out too. No water in the pipes means I am hauling water for hundreds of animals every day until it gets turned back on. Not to mention what is needed for the humans or for the gardens in the summer. Chaos! We prep to take care of ourselves and what is ours for what ever circumstances arise, not just for Zombie invasions.


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## Reptilicus (Jan 4, 2014)

I have been blessed with a wife that I didn't have to convince about this. She has been on board from day one. And she loves GUNS! Good luck whatever you do!


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## pheniox17 (Dec 12, 2013)

well lots of good advice as usual

my "better half" has always been behind me, not overly happy about it, and always questions my motives 

but, to focused skills, she has a lot of "prepper" skills without even knowing about prepping

let's goto when we were getting prepared for anything (I had no idea about the term prepper until I seen it on TV and their actions were a little more extreme than what we were doing) 

first major point was a major city flooded (Brisbane) this was a massive event for here, some areas were without power for over a month (unheard of here) 

water was unsafe in Brisbane (I wasn't living there)

food stores empty

evac centres stuffed

no "government" food

I was not directly effected by this event at all

but it was very close to home (gold coast, I have since moved on  )

but with what we had seen, it was in our best interest to build up a few weeks worth of basic supplies and research government agencies response to this disaster and others

there have been many other disasters since then, that help fuel research and now forums

but back to the misses, every time she is "convinced" I'm wasting time/money something happens (short month, power outage, lack of xyz food item at shop) and my preps seem to be grate

to her skills, focus on hobbies, dose she sow?? or knit?? can she Cook?? (get off the grid or pre 1980s cook books) what else can she do?? and support developing skills more

I like the idea of resister, have a movie night, and I like dawn of the dead as a talk topic, but disaster movies (like 2012) are great, but don't run a marathon of those movies, mix them up, with any genre and talk about all of them (but not what would you do) you want to be serious without been over bearing


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

duhhh-

hide coach and Michael kors purses behind the canning jars- and or/put a 50 dollar bill in the seed inventory... and storage rooms in random places. if she finds them she can spend them.

why do I have to think of everything?


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## Reptilicus (Jan 4, 2014)

You are just too AWESOME Shot Lady!!!


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## Dalarast (May 16, 2014)

If your significant other reads you can also introduce her to some novels on the subject. Obviously _One Second After_ would be my first recommendation.... She'll cry at the end but it worked to really get my wife on board.

As others mentioned use her existing hobbies and passions to fuel her support for having a just in case plan. My wife likes to coupon and also likes to complain about wasted vegetables or fruit we pick... Solution give her items to coupon for and a pressure cooker and dehydrator for storing food long term. Waste not want not.

Oh... And as mentioned hide money or purses works but I gifted the dehydrator and pressure cooker and she loved it.... But so did I


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## DennisP (Mar 3, 2014)

I've quietly encouraged my wife to start doing things that she's been interested in. She now dehydrates, cans, has a pretty large garden, has an Illinois Firearms Owner ID card (FOID), buys ammo when she sees good deals, is thinking about getting her concealed carry permit. She sometimes looks at me strange when she finds toilet paper rolls filled with dryer lint, or I purchase something else for my BOB/GHB. Whenever we head to bass pro, cabelas, walmart, etc. I get her into the camping section and explain to her how much I would like to try pack/primitive camping. (shes coming around to that idea). I've explained my desire to learn to hunt turkey, which will likely extend into other game in the future. She is on board with that too. NEVER do I call any of it PREPPING. We're nowhere near the readiness that I'd like to be, but we're quietly on our way. She doesn't even know she's a prepper. :lol:

Dennis


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## Arizona Infidel (Oct 5, 2013)

Inor said:


> Do not try to "get her into prepping". Just quietly put back some supplies - food, flashlights, first aid, etc. Being in Indiana, you will almost certainly have a storm or two this summer where you lose power for a few hours or a few days. When that happens calmly break out the flashlights. I do not know how common it is in Indiana, but in Minnesota in the winter it is fairly common to have a water main break and be without water for a few days. Just be ready when those opportunities come up to show her the value of your plan-ahead strategy.
> 
> Note, I called it "plan-ahead" not prepping. Those nitwit reality shows about preppers have convinced everybody that we are all a bunch of cellar dwellers that are planning to overthrow the government.


I read as far as Inors reply. I agree 100% when my wife asked me why I did things I just explained to her how an EMP works. I told her their were two ways it could happen, a nuke from an enemy, or the sun could throw off a solar flare which would cause an EMP, and I told her it's happened in the past and it will happen again. It's no big deal, but we should have some things ready if it does happen. I think since we are accustomed to losing power for a few hours here and there during monsoon season she understood and was on board. 
But then too, I'm not into prepping as deeply as most folks.


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## Guest (Jun 16, 2014)

DennisP said:


> I've quietly encouraged my wife to start doing things that she's been interested in. She now dehydrates, cans, has a pretty large garden, has an Illinois Firearms Owner ID card (FOID), buys ammo when she sees good deals, is thinking about getting her concealed carry permit. She sometimes looks at me strange when she finds toilet paper rolls filled with dryer lint, or I purchase something else for my BOB/GHB. Whenever we head to bass pro, cabelas, walmart, etc. I get her into the camping section and explain to her how much I would like to try pack/primitive camping. (shes coming around to that idea). I've explained my desire to learn to hunt turkey, which will likely extend into other game in the future. She is on board with that too. NEVER do I call any of it PREPPING. We're nowhere near the readiness that I'd like to be, but we're quietly on our way. She doesn't even know she's a prepper. :lol:
> 
> Dennis


im gonna use your idea on dryer lint. thanks for the hint


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## pastornator (Apr 5, 2013)

A little update...

I took a week of vacation last week. We traveled down to Kentucky to spend time with the kiddos and grand kids. On Monday, I get a phone call notifying me that our firm lost the contract for the facilities I manage. I'm out of work July 1. Bam... Just like that. 8 years with the same firm and now I'm done. They have spots open for me but they involve re-locating to Chicago and managing that horrid public school system. Won't do it because to flee TO a city like that right now is more deadly than living off the land where I currently reside. (I'm advocating for folks to bug out of big cities NOW while you still can!)

What does my wife say? "Don't sweat it honey... You're good. You'll find something and if not, we'll just live like we always do." THAT is a wife ready for anything becasue she's already been through most everything. She's not worried because the garden is coming in, because we can eat a lot of fish for free, and because I always find something that we call "meat roast" because it is generally better to not identify it out of season. 

I do have a job, BTW. I was hired back by the competing firm, but at a drastic salary reduction, horrid hours that will have me in the crime district of Milwaukee after dark every night, and a job that I hate, but I'll hold it until I can find the next good thing. I like living off preps totally, but it does get radical at times and if I can draw a paycheck that is definitely better. We have two other incomes, so we're not destitute, but the GOOD JOB was the farm we were working up to owning... Yup. Sucks. And it will be worse if things continue in the same direction.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

pastornator said:


> A little update...
> 
> I took a week of vacation last week. We traveled down to Kentucky to spend time with the kiddos and grand kids. On Monday, I get a phone call notifying me that our firm lost the contract for the facilities I manage. I'm out of work July 1. Bam... Just like that. 8 years with the same firm and now I'm done. They have spots open for me but they involve re-locating to Chicago and managing that horrid public school system. Won't do it because to flee TO a city like that right now is more deadly than living off the land where I currently reside. (I'm advocating for folks to bug out of big cities NOW while you still can!)
> 
> ...


Hang in there Pastornator, I know you will!
That goes without saying because from many of your other posts, you good folks have lived a life of ups and downs before (like a lot of us) but came back strong! I can tell that your attitude is one of the best and it'll take more than this to knock you down. We'll say a prayer for you and Mrs Pastornator. Keep us informed if you can and God Bless!


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## pastornator (Apr 5, 2013)

Garden looks good and I ordered a fermenting crock yesterday...

Salmon on the grill this weekend... We get some nice 20-30 pound fish from Lake Michigan.


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## GTGallop (Nov 11, 2012)

jbrooks19 said:


> Anyone have any tips on how to get my wife into prepping? She thinks I'm paranoid and it's stupid.


If you are prepping for zombies, or aliens, or the apocalypse - she's right. Is it possible that all that will happen? Yes. In your lifetime? Yes - absolutely! Is it probable? Very definitively NOT. The possibility of these happening is so remote you'd have better odds winning the lottery every day for a month. But there are other events...

There are two types of events that you should have on your radar for prepping. Life Ending and Life Shifting
Life Ending doesn't kill you or end YOUR life - it ends life "as we know it." This is the apocalyptic end that I was referencing above. The one in a bajillion scenario. When this happens you are already dead. All your preps do is determine how comfortable you will spend the rest of your days be they weeks, months or even years. I find that most people - especially women - don't like to think about these or even consider this as a possibility. Considering the rarity, I say you let it go. If you prep for the other type of event, it will help you out here.

Life Shifting or Life Altering events are local or regional events that happen and cause you to adjust on the fly. Hurricanes, Earth Quakes, Wild Fires, Flooding (Mississippi right now), or like my state where No-Bama is dropping off hordes of illegals and now we are having issues with diseases once extinct in the US. This could even be as local as a neighborhood if you have a chemical leak or explosion or if like California a few years back, your area has rolling blackouts.

In a Life Shifting event the focus is on FAMILY-CONTINUITY. You shift your behaviors, or surroundings, or both to ensure the continuity of your family unit. In this aspect, prepping is VERY MATERNAL. The supplies you need are setting you up to watch over your family like a Mamma Bear. Somewhere, right now, for some family, the shit is already hitting the fan. And I don't mean in some third world country where they live under a perpetual Aero-Shit Redistribution System. I'm talking about here in the Good Ol' US of A.

Just a quick Google search tells me that you have wrestled with Natural Gas Explosions, Floods, Fires, Tornadoes, and that your winter lows run sub freezing have the potential to run sub zero. I'd say you have a high likelihood of needing *SOMETHING *out of a prepper cache in the next five years. Maybe just to help make it through the night once or twice or maybe to make it through two weeks of no power during an Ice-Mageddon Blizzard until they can patch the power lines.


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## SquirrelBait (Jun 6, 2014)

Ask her for suggestions, Just don't spring the "P" word on her at first. 

Example "Honey, What do you think of this (Name a product), compared to this (Name another like product)?" Ask her what she would like to have if something happened (Weather, Natural disaster, Other related.).

Take her replies seriously and make her feel like she has a stake in the preps too. 

When a woman feels heard, And like she's a part of something important she'll put her heart into it. 

Be patient.


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