12 Tips Old Preppers Can Teach New Preppers
Sometimes finding out the hard way is the best way we learn, but it can be painful. For all you old preppers out there, I’m sure you have a number of instances where you look back and wish someone had been there to tell you how to do things differently. This is why I’m here to help new preppers, in order to help save them time, money, and so many headaches. Instead of letting you find out the hard way like I’ve had to on a few of them, here are 12 tips that old preppers can teach new preppers.
Related: 10 Things They Don’t Teach You in School
12 Tips Old Preppers Can Teach New Preppers
1. Find Ways to Lower Your Monthly Costs
Most people these days are strapped with their finances, giving them very little room in their budget for prepping. You may even argue with me that there’s no money left over at the end of the week to be put towards prepping. What you need to do is to try to find ways to start living beneath your means. Right now!
Are there things that you could give up, or have your bills lowered so that you have a little extra that you can set aside? Maybe you need to say goodbye to cable television, or call and see if your cell phone company will work with you to get you on a lower monthly plan. You could also stop eating out as often, or spending as much on entertainment. In case you missed this post, How to Live Below Your Means
2. Prepping is about Being Patient
When preppers first start out, many of them try to gather as many supplies as they can in a very short amount of time. This can be expensive, and you may discover that you wasted some of that money. You may later find out that it’s something that you didn’t necessarily need. Prepping is about being patient. Do your research beforehand to find what works the best for you and your family, and also so that you can get your supplies at a cheaper cost.
If you need help on what to buy, please check out my book, “Prepare Your Family For Survival” by Linda Loosli. I would really appreciate a review of my book if you have time after you have purchased and read it. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Click on the link above and it will take you to the place to do a review.
3. Don’t Just Store Canned Food
There are certain individuals who only stock up on canned food that they will use following an emergency. Don’t be one of those people. Not only will you get tired of eating it, but there’s a lot of extra sodium that your family shouldn’t have every single meal. Also stock up on dried foods, jerky, protein bars, and nuts. Just remember to stock up on food that your family actually eats. This is especially important if you have children. It won’t hurt to have some of their favorite comfort foods as well. In case you missed this post, Canned Foods I Highly Recommend You Store
4. Stock Up On Plenty of Water
You can survive for a longer period of time without food than you can without water, so don’t be caught without it. On average, each person drinks and uses (sanitation) about 1 gallon of water a day. At the very minimum, you need to have enough water stored to last for at least 72 hours (3 days). So if you have four people in your family, that’s 12 gallons. I’d encourage you to go well beyond that. You don’t have to rely on buying bottled water. You can also store your own water in large water containers so that you can have a larger supply.
Please keep in mind, I recommend storing 4 gallons of water per day per person. In case you missed this post, Water Storage-How Much Do You Really Need
5. Hygiene and Sanitation are Important
Hygiene and sanitation are usually the steps that rookie preppers tend to forget about, but they’re actually pretty important. Keeping your body clean and making sure that your waste is properly disposed of will increase your chances of not getting sick. The last thing that you want is to be sick under these circumstances. You could actually die when there aren’t any hospitals or doctors that can see you. Have plenty of baby wipes, hand sanitizer, and trash bags set aside. Please read the book, Five Days at Memorial, it will change your life, it changed mine.
In case you missed this post, Personal Hygiene-How To Survive Without Power
6. Agree on a Place Your Family Can Meet Up
Natural disasters can happen anywhere and anytime. There’s the possibility that it could happen while you’re at work and your children are at school. Be sure to come up with a place that your family could meet up should you all be separated when it takes place. If you have younger children, just encourage them to stay where they are until you can come to get them. Just do so without giving them too much information that might scare them.
In case you missed this post, How to Put an Evacuation Plan Together
7. Have More Than One Survival Kit
What are you going to do if the survival kit that is in your house is completely destroyed or lost during an emergency? I’ll tell you what you need to do. Have other prepping items set aside in a different location not far from your home, in your bug-out location, or possibly in your car. The car may seem a strange place or storing the kit, but think about storing at least some of the critical items in your car in case you have to evacuate quickly.
In case you you missed this post, How To Make Your Own Emergency Car Kit
8. Keep In Shape
Imagine if you were required to hike a great distance with your family while carrying all of your supplies with you. Once you got to your location, you’d also have to make a shelter, fire, a meal, and so on. It wouldn’t take too long before most of us are burnt out, and that’s just day one. This is why it’s crucial for you to start getting into shape and staying fit so that you’ll be able to do the required tasks that are demanded of you.
It also helps to have others with similar interests get together and plan organized efforts, whether it’s to “bug in” or “bug out.” That way people can share in the steps necessary and spread the assignments over the broader group of people.
9. Have a Backup Plan
Just like with everything else that you prepare for in life, it’s good to have a plan B and not just plan A. Who knows what kind of emergency you could be dealing with? You simply don’t know if you’ll be required to bug-in or bug-out, so I’d encourage you to be ready for both options.
10. Be Careful Who You Tell about Your Prepping
By telling the wrong sort of people about your prepping intentions, it could put you and your family in grave danger. Once a disaster has occurred, those people will remember you telling them about your underground fortress of supplies and pay you a visit. As mentioned above, foster friendships with individuals with common shared vision, goals, and priorities when it comes to preparation.
11. Learn New Skills Besides Prepping
Prepping is more than just stocking up on supplies, gathering enough food, and storing water. You’re also going to be needing several skills as well. These survival skills will be important to have following any type of disaster. Some of these may require training and hours of hands-on experience so that you can properly use them when the time requires them.
12. Take Baby Steps (Tomorrow is Not the End of the World)
I already kind of mentioned this, but prepping is about taking small steps. After all, hopefully the end of the world isn’t going to take place tomorrow. There’s no reason that you should ever panic and freak out your family members. Remember to enjoy your life in the present, but continue to prepare for disasters in a patient manner. This is something that all old preppers need to teach new peppers.
12 Tips Old Preppers Can Teach New Preppers
Final Word
Has there ever been a moment in your life where you were new at something and it would have been nice if someone had given you a few pointers to keep you from making a big mistake? I know I’ve been there. For all you new preppers out there, I insist that you use these 12 tips to get you started and help you from making simple mistakes that many new preppers make. What are some other tips that new preppers should also know about? What is something new you hope to learn about as an old prepper? May God Bless this world, Linda
Copyright Images: Dollar Bills in Bag and Jar Deposit photos_11249605_s-2019
Great post today, Linda. A lot of good information for young and old preppers.
Hi Deborah, thank you so much! We are seasoned like Harry mentions!! LOL! Linda
Linda,
Watch what you say, calling us “OLD” preppers. We like to be called “SEASONED” preppers. ROFLOL!!!
Hi Harry, now I have the giggles, we are seasoned, not “old”!!! Seasoned sounds better!! Love it! Linda
Oh Harry! I like how you think! I’m almost “Seasoned” to perfection. LOL Gotta love us Seasoned people.
Sorry Harry. No disrespect meant by the “old” comment. I only meant that we’ve been doing this longer than the newbies. LOL
Harry –
My first thought after I started reading this post was “OLD?” I am NOT OLD!!! Well, yes I am but…!!! LOL!
Seasoned, yes, experienced, yes but OLD?
Get outside your comfort zone in training. No one want’s to be bad at what they do, look foolish and be “that guy” but it’s going to happen if your pushing the limits. Be willing to set the ego aside and just become better.
Anytime someone says “how did you get so good at that?” I say it’s because I sucked at it for a long time till I got there.
And yeah I’m old but it’s nothing the hot tub and Motrin won’t fix. LOL
Hi Matt, you nailed it on that statement! We kept doing whatever it took to be better at the goal we set. The hot tub and Motrin are the best! LOL! Linda
Linda ~
I am one of the members saying “I am NOT OLD!!” Anyway, it got a few of us writing back to you!!
I think one of the main things I hear people say is, “I am on a fixed income, or I just don’t have enough $$ in my budget, to prep.” To which I say, it is relatively easy even on a fixed budget to add one or two additional items to your shopping list. A couple of cans of this or a box or two of that and it can be done fairly quickly even on a fixed income.
The prepping item that I find the most difficult is having cash on hand. I have too much of a tendency to dip into it when I am running short during the month!! I have tried sealing the cash in envelopes and into my BOB but I know it is there! and if I run short in a month, I have been known to dig out those envelopes! I am not as bad as I was when I first started prepping and I do think hard before doing that now but it is still in the back of my mind.
I agree with Matt that we do need to get outside our comfort zones and learn new things and keep at it until we know that “thing” like the back of our hands. If/When “it” hits the fan, those $$ we have been setting aside may not have much if any value. What will be valuable will be our skills.
Hi Leanne, I turned 70 this year and I do not feel old compared to some of the people in my neighborhood. LOL! It’s all about “seasoned” and “experienced”. Oh well, the cash is a big one for me as well. The price of groceries keeps going up, I don’t shop often but I like to keep on top of the prices. We have skills we can barter with, we will survive. I totally agree with you on people can get an extra can or two whenever they go to the store. It’s all about priorities. No excuses, even low-income people can get food stamps and stash a can or two in the pantry. Linda
Linda, as usual another round of great information! #8 is really important but, #10 must be pretty strictly adhered to or else you will not have any preps or much of anything left before the event is done!
Sharing expertise and info is a great thing but…be careful what you say and how you say it.
(stay safe) Bill
Hi Bill, I’m working on #8, I’m trying to get a bit more fit. It’s hard, very hard, but I must. As far as #10, it is what it is. I’m an open book, but if people think they are coming here, they better think twice. Let me just say that! LOL! They will be stopped in their tracks, literally. Stay safe, Linda
First off, let me say that I’m old. I’m 69. However, I do not feel that I am old. My mind and body are doing just fine and I hope they will stay that way for some time to come. I’ve already been through my second childhood. And my third, fourth, and so on. As a matter fact, I don’t think I ever got out of my first one. It’s just been perpetual! Keep your mind and body (as much as you can) active and you will be just fine. Ok. I’m stepping off my soap box. Live Long and Prosper!
Hi Karl, I turned 70 this year, I may seem old, but I too do not feel old. You have been through your second childhood, and a third and a fourth!! I LOVE it! You have a great soap box, we are only as old as well feel. Great comment! Linda
NUMBER 10 !! FOR REAL ! I see these people sharing their pics on fb !! NO !
WORLD WIDE WEB !
Hi Daphne, I understand what you’re saying. I’m an open book, so I just roll with it. My house will be the last one they will want. Trust me. Linda
I’m always looking for ways to lower our expenses. Our cable bill just keeps going up and up an up. It really irritates me. We are lucky enough to have a smart TV so we got rid of traditional cable TV, all the boxes, etc. and went to the very basic streaming we could find. I canNOT live without my HGTV! I like to watch the local news so that meant I could have a total of 10 channels. Totally doable. I did end up getting Philo for the DIY network (soon to be Magnolia! Yay!) and UPTv. It’s $20 a month and has a ton of channels if I feel I need something else to watch.
We also have a woodstove. Our power company bill (gas and electric) is $150 a month. Yes, the wood costs alot but I like the heat better and it’s great when the power goes out in the winter.
Copy-canning is a wonderful way to stock up on canned supplies, personal hygiene supplies, even cleaning, etc. Just buy one extra when you buy something and put it in storage. You’d be surprised how things grow quickly. It worked wonders for me as a single parent back in the day!
My other big go-to is my clothesline. I don’t like using dryers so I always hang my clothes unless they need to be shrunk back into place, etc. Now, in the snowy weather where clothes won’t dry outside, I have 2 racks from Lehman’s and I dry all my towels and such on them. Ikea has these little “octopus” hangers that’ll hold 16 items so all the light-weight stuff, socks, undies, etc., go on those in the laundry room and dry in hours. I miss the sunshine getting things so white but it works great for the winter!
I know this sounds silly but alot of TV shows on several of the Discovery channels have shows that are fun and interesting; can teach you things you may not know or have thought of. Granted, it’s alot of scripted hype and may not be useable in your area but some are good. Homestead Rescue with Marty Rainey is pretty good. I think he’s kindofa pompous ass at times but he’s got some good information and goes all over the US in different areas. Just a suggestion and maybe worth looking into, especially if all we have to do is watch TV!
Learning new skills is always a good thing. Sewing is an art that has gone by the wayside. I sew, alot! AND my kids and grandkids bring me their clothes to repair! Haha! The girls just never were interested in learning but now I’m teaching my 9 yr old granddaughter to sew. She’s the only one who was interested. It’s a good skill to have. Still, to this day, Linda, I can’t thank you enough for helping me perfect my bread making! My husband appreciates it, too! ;o)
Merry Christmas everyone!
Hi Robbie, yay for making bread!!! SQUEAL!! I have a clothesline outside that folds up when not in use. Then I have one wooden heavy-duty one from Lehmans. Best purchase ever! I have two sewing machines and I love to sew when I have time. My grandkids are little now so I don’t sew the twirly skirts anymore. I have two granddaughters who took sewing classes. I usually mend any clothes or items the kids bring when they visit. Merry Christmas! Linda
Thank you so much for always writing such great and informative articles. 🙂 #3 is such a good one! It is so important to have a variety and I recently noticed how much sodium is in the cans of Progresso soup that we have. Are they trying to kill us or something? Lol.
Hi Katie, thank you for your kind words. I got the giggles over your statement “are they trying to kill us?” LOL! I totally agree with you, they may not want us dead but they want us sick so we use BIG Pharma! LOL! I keep watching for low-sodium canned items, they are very hard to find. But I can always rinse the canned beans, but not the soup!! Merry Christmas! Linda
I would rather not say how old I am, so let’s just say we have been married 46 years. My pantry has been more revolving than long term. Up until this year, I would start to rebuild my pantry in June, as the fresh fruits and vegtables came into their seasons, thru fall and adding turkeys, ham, roasts and baking supplies, as the sales dictated. Since our biggest threat has been old man winter, I would cook thru my pantry into April and May, empty the upright freezer, clean it, and start again in late June. Now I have to reset my thinking, to keep the pantry stocked year round. This is a whole new way of thinking.
Hi Chris, I totally agree with you. Now we can’t count on the stores having what we need. I remember someone asking me if I had seen Tapioca in the stores. Well, I hadn’t really looked, so I went to see if I could get a box and mail it to her. No Tapioca in our town. Weird things, but this year has been quite different. It really is a whole new way of thinking. Linda