# start up help



## greenleaves (Nov 17, 2015)

My husband and I have always talked about being more prepared... It hasn't happened yet. So I'm planning a Happy Prepper Christmas, if you will. We live up north, with 30 acres of woods.. we also have a little one, so I'm focusing more on "bug in" items. Looking for advice on good items to give him as gifts to get us started in our hopefully new prepper lifestyle. Thank you!


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

greenleaves said:


> My husband and I have always talked about being more prepared... It hasn't happened yet. So I'm planning a Happy Prepper Christmas, if you will. We live up north, with 30 acres of woods.. we also have a little one, so I'm focusing more on "bug in" items. Looking for advice on good items to give him as gifts to get us started in our hopefully new prepper lifestyle. Thank you!


Some basics are;

Shelter
Water 
Food
Security
Medical

Each of these subjects are important and there are many items available to help you achieve your goals. Good Luck and welcome.


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## Logout (Nov 11, 2015)

.....


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

Everyone has to start someplace. At least you on the right path now. Welcome aboard.


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## Montana Rancher (Mar 4, 2013)

Stocking stuffer is a cool fire starting kit.

Main present is a 12 gauge shotgun and 100 rounds of ammo.

Merry prepper Christmas, not the fun really starts.

Good Luck


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## pakrat (Nov 18, 2012)

Depends on what he already has and what he’s into. 

Hunting/defense: Large blade knife, a bow of some type (recurve, compound)

Cooking/food prep:Rocket Stove, wood-fueled smoker

Communication:Hand-crank radio, 12vdc scanner

Information:Books on gardening, water filtration, solar, medical prep.

Subsistence: Propane stuff: camp stove, lantern, heater


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## Gunner's Mate (Aug 13, 2013)

Ok, Does he Shoot, Hunt, Fish or Trap any Equipment or related books such as firearms, reloading equipment and manuals, fishing gear or traps, 

Gardening equipment and related books 

Food processing equipment, such as vacuum packer, meat grinders, canners, smokers ect

Tools of any sort ? mechanicss tools, carpentry tools ect, electrical tools, plumbing tools, knife sharpening tools, ect 

Blades / Axe, hatchet, knifes ect 

Survival Equip / Fire starting / Water Purification / Multi Tool / Radios, ect 

PM me if you not sure about any Brands or Manufactures


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Start with a water and food sustaining plan, then light, heat, cooking,.......assuming you have shelter. Can you defend your location or planned stores?


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## pheniox17 (Dec 12, 2013)

Well you started, look up the LDS prep manual... Print a copy....

To the delima at hand, focus on existing hobbies and skills, the sas survival guide by "lefty" (cant remember the authers full name) a good stocking stuffer

You will have lots of questions, feel free to ask  lots of good fokes in here


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## Stick (Sep 29, 2014)

Can never go wrong with guns and ammo.


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## XMULE (Nov 8, 2015)

Well, he already has a partner who is into it, that's a present right there.

Manual food prep items, nice ones, like a wall mount dicer or something. Im getting one for my GF this christmas, to take some of the hand work out of vegetable prep (she is a vegan).


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## greenleaves (Nov 17, 2015)

You guys rock. So glad I came to this site, so much great information... I am so excited to get started! We already have quite a few guns already and I'm asking for another for christmas  we also have a chainsaw. I was thinking to start, water storage and food. Love the fire starter idea for stocking stuffer. Thanks for the info guys!


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Search the many past threads and continue to ask questions......... *Mods another call here to make a sticky on the beginner prepper info posts *that have been offered up by MG and paraquak as well as others...... I have them if you need some help


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

Welcome to PF Greenleaves. I have a few questions before I make any recommendations. Do you plan on bugging out or in? Do you have GHBs (get home bags)? Do you have animals? Does he like reading? Is he a hunter or trapper? How long have you been prepping? Are you two young, middle aged or ...? Do you have children?


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

Read this for ideas: http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/general-prepper-survival-talk/14970-where-begin-new-prepper.html and this for antibiotic ideas: http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/...al/19118-seven-antibiotics-stockpile-why.html

Here is a fire starter that is awesome: Ultimate Survival Technologies Strikeforce® High Performance Fire Starter New | eBay

Yo Yo fishing reels for your bug out bag: Amazon.com: 6 Mechanical Fisher's Yo Yo Fishing Reels -Package of 1/2 Dozen- Yoyo Fish Trap -(FLAT TRIGGER MODEL): Sports & Outdoors


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

An electronic library: Preppers Electronic Library Medic Patriot Homesteading Survival | eBay


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## greenleaves (Nov 17, 2015)

Bugging in. We have a 3 month old and are both mid 20s. We both hunt, and have never trapped before. We do not have get home bags. As far as prepping we are just getting started. No animals.. yet. I'm trying to talk my husband in to them. We live in northern michigan, so I'd imagine it'd be a challenge with the harsh winters and many predators.


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## greenleaves (Nov 17, 2015)

Stick said:


> Can never go wrong with guns and ammo.


Agreed. Last year I got a shotgun for christmas from my husband.. I was pregnant at the time so everyone thought we were crazy. Lol but I couldn't have been happier. Although, I had to wait til my son was born shoot it ofcourse. This year I'm asking for a gun to protect against bears. Not sure what kind yet.. but guns really are the greatest gift if you ask me!


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## greenleaves (Nov 17, 2015)

Auntie said:


> Welcome to PF Greenleaves. I have a few questions before I make any recommendations. Do you plan on bugging out or in? Do you have GHBs (get home bags)? Do you have animals? Does he like reading? Is he a hunter or trapper? How long have you been prepping? Are you two young, middle aged or ...? Do you have children?


Bugging in. We have a 3 month old and are both mid 20s. We both hunt, and have never trapped before. We do not have get home bags. As far as prepping we are just getting started. No animals.. yet. I'm trying to talk my husband in to them. We live in northern michigan, so I'd imagine it'd be a challenge with the harsh winters and many predators


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

Start slow and cover all your bases. It is easy to get overwhelmed when you first get into prepping. Your first goal in my opinion should be to prep for an extended power outage from the blizzards yall get up there. You'll need at least a couple weeks of food and water. A safe way to cook and heat with no electricity. Don't forget the fuel. Battery powered radio that receive weather, flashlights and lanterns. Don't forget the extra batteries. Good luck and welcome to the forum from Texas.


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## greenleaves (Nov 17, 2015)

Arklatex said:


> Start slow and cover all your bases. It is easy to get overwhelmed when you first get into prepping. Your first goal in my opinion should be to prep for an extended power outage from the blizzards yall get up there. You'll need at least a couple weeks of food and water. A safe way to cook and heat with no electricity. Don't forget the fuel. Battery powered radio that receive weather, flashlights and lanterns. Don't forget the extra batteries. Good luck and welcome to the forum from Texas.


Great advice. It is definitely overwhelming


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Welcome to our little corner of the web.
Northern Michigan? Are you Yoopers?
My late son in law was a Yooper, y'all talk funny. :joyous: But good, solid people.

There have been good solid suggestions so far. Do you read, or have you heard of, Backwoods Home Magazine? If not, you should check it out. They do have a website with some articles, but to get them all you have to buy the magazine. But it is money well spent.
They also have a forum on their site which covers a wider range of topics than most. Everything from farm implements to guns to livestock to building things.
self-reliance | homesteading | canning | backwoods | magazine Everything is self explanatory, on the left margin are links to go into more depth. Massad Ayoob is the gun guru, Jackie Clay is food growing and prep, the forum button is there, and so much more.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

greenleaves said:


> Great advice. It is definitely overwhelming


Food Storage can be overwhelming but certainly great insurance.

A few extra items per shopping trip will soon turn into emergency preps that as long as you rotate, will not cost much more money;

Canned goods are an easy way to start and have a relatively long Best Used By Date. We buy canned goods and store them in Rubbermaid bins marked with the Best Used By Date then rotate them accordingly.

Dried Foods (Think Beans, Rice, Flour, Pasta etc) are cheap and can go a long way if stored correctly. We use Mylar Bags with Oxygen absorbers and store them in 5 gallon food grad buckets.

Long Term Food Stores from company's such as Mountain House, Auguson Farms, Wise Foods. They are expensive but as an additional insurance policy they may fit into your plan.

A few Extra Gallons of Water or extra cases of water per month adds up. Its always nice to have some extra water to drink just In case. Your next goal is to have some sort of Purification System and larger volume storage but that takes some time and more money.

A few extra hygiene items like soap, toothpaste, deoderant, dental floss, etc also is nice to have and you can pick them up at the Dollar Store every month or so pretty cheap.

Take it slow and you'll be OK.
Don't forget Toilet Paper! We have been buying an extra case per month for a number of years and store them in the attic between the joists in a tightly sealed garbage bag or in a plastic garbage can with a seal tight lid.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Everything I could say has already been said so, I just say welcome to the group from AZ. 
Most of us had to start somewhere, only a few of us were brought up preppers by our parents.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

I would recommend the backyard homestead books, there are a few of them. If he doesn't have a nook or kindle you could get that and load some books on it. There are some really good books out there that would come in handy for learning how to do certain things. If you are just starting out then I would recommend a couple of rabbit cages and rabbits. They are quite yummy and easy to raise. If he is a book reader then One second after is a great book and you will learn some things about what could happen. If you have a larger budget then perhaps some tools that he doesn't have. 

Since you don't have GHBs then that would be a good gift too. Especially where you live, getting stuck away from home is not a good experience if you are not prepared. That is not something I ever want to experience again.


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## Urbanprepper666 (Apr 19, 2015)

Lots of people touched base on this and everyone's advice is great you just have to pick an end to start on and work fro there. With having property and space I would suggest starting a garden in the spring start small and work from there. try your hand at canning growing and canning is a Very cost effective way to begin storing up emergency food. water collection filtration is another big one. Raising rabbits and chickens for meat and eggs if you have the stomach for it. having that kind of space these are two things that can really help you survive through most SHTF situations. Security is a major factor, what's all the food and water in the world if you can't defend it. shot gun is a great starting point but if you aren't big into guns I would start with something smaller in caliber and work your way up. also whatever weapons you have train with them practice get use to them make sure your confident and familiar with any weapon you decide on.

medical supplies are something you research and put together slowly. wise food storage's are good as a supplement with canning and raising food. then looking into supplies like wood burning stove, smokers, crank radio stock up on solar chargers flash lights batteries. Sharp knives are valuable worth their weight in gold. paracord of course. 

hope this helps.


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## Oddcaliber (Feb 17, 2014)

Welcome from Louisiana, I find plenty of used Coleman stoves and lanterns at flea markets. Cook books are another good prep item.


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## DadofTheFamily (Feb 19, 2015)

Presents for him: Guns and ammo, knives, 300+ lumen tactical light. 
Presents for both of you: Water-Bob, Life Straw, Chainsaw, Dehydrated Foods with balanced nutrition (protein, carbs, fats, greens, Non-GMO), Non-GMO Heirloom Seeds.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

greenleaves said:


> but guns really are the greatest gift if you ask me!


Sniff .......as I wipe a tear from my eye. A woman after my own heart. Welcome aboard. There are many people you can learn from here. Just jump on in.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Start preparing, take it slow and within your budget, but start NOW. Be very diligent and within a *pre thought out plan *that fits you, and your location. and...... continue to enjoy living while you are at it.


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