Are You Tired Of Being A Crazy Prepper?
Are you tired of being a crazy prepper? Some people give me a blank stare if I mention “prepping.” I don’t want to be a “crazy prepper.” If you don’t know what I am talking about when I say prepper, let me explain. When I used to hear that word, I assumed it was someone like me who is preparing for the unexpected.
I’m a grandma, mother, sister, and aunt who loves to store food for a rainy day, disaster, or unforeseen emergency. Of course, I want to store water as well in order to survive if water lines are disconnected or the water is contaminated in some way.
Just a note here, I will not use any tap water anywhere, nope, I will not. There are too many bacteria elements/spores in the water that I don’t want to drink or cook with. Mark and I use reverse osmosis in my home to purify it to 99.99% bacteria-free. We try never to buy bottled water because we really don’t know where the different companies get their water. But, hey, if I’m on the road, I may have to buy a bottle or two.
Let me explain why I am writing today’s post about being a crazy prepper. I started teaching classes on food storage and emergency preparedness in stores and in my home, years and years ago. I couldn’t get enough people in my neighborhood to come on board with me, so to speak, so I started my blog, Food Storage Moms in 2012. I wanted to teach the world about how important it is to be prepared for the unexpected.
Crazy Prepper
Here’s the deal, I feel like NOW there are what I would consider crazy preppers out there doing things they consider important and reasonable. Please tell me what you think. It seems like many people are becoming survivalists, that’s not me.
I’m just a chick in Southern Utah who wants to know how to survive a disaster or unforeseen emergency. Or a HUGE disruption in our power grid. If you haven’t read “Lights Out,” By Ted Koppel. You need to, as soon as possible. Our country is not prepared at all to repair or replace our power grids. “Lights Out”
Gas Masks-N95 Masks
I’m not purchasing gas masks, I do store N95 masks because I learned we needed those when Mark and I took our C.E.R.T. classes. I do recommend buying N95 masks in case of a pandemic or if you may be in charge of helping others after a disaster. 3M N95 Disposable Masks
Face Masks
I also store these in case of a blood or human saliva splash: Face Masks with a shield.
It would be nice to have child-size ones as well: Children’s N95 Masks
Is it just me or are some of these preppers or preparedness people becoming a military type operation? This might include storing hundreds of weapons/ammunition, living in a bunker or metal Quonset hut, storing food and other items in metal storage containers located on property in the mountains, not being neighborly since they don’t want others to know what they are doing or storing.
Crazy Prepper or Not?
One family, I know about has built a 20,000-square-foot home with four-foot concrete walls with a 12-foot solar run fence to ward off any scary people/offenders. The house has its own “grocery store” for their family. To you, these efforts may make total sense, but it seems a little over the top for me.
Crazy Prepper Bunkers
Others have built “bunkers” under the floor in their garages during initial home construction. We have one community not far from here where families are digging enclosures on the side of hills where they plan to live or at least secretly store items to be used in case of disaster. What are your thoughts?
I’ve really struggled lately with what I am seeing on blogs, FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram as some preppers try to justify what they are doing, maybe in hopes of convincing others to do the same. I’ve actually had to take a step back from FaceBook for a few months. Yes, I still look at FaceBook, but I’m quickly scrolling through some of the garbage people are spitting out.
Crazy Prepper Soapbox
Sometimes, I think, really, people do you REALLY want to say that in public via social media? Yikes, I feel like I’m on a soapbox. Yes, I love learning from people I respect, but wow, some of the stuff on FaceBook is not acceptable to me. You may say, just get off FaceBook. That’s not going to happen. I have expenses to run my website, I must keep my business FaceBook page. I hope you as readers can understand where I am coming from today.
I started this blog to teach people about food storage and to learn the skills to survive a disaster and not have to depend on the government. Because, as you know, the government cannot take care of everyone. They can’t. Period. This is why I recommend buying an extra can of food each week and storing water as your budget allows you to purchase the necessary containers.
Keep Your Gas Tanks 3/4 Full
I write sometimes to remind myself, oh yeah, Linda get a couple of one-dollar bills this week and stash them for emergencies. Please remember to keep your gas tank 3/4 full now compared to the 1/2 full I suggested a few years ago.
The reason being when we lose power we may not have access to get gas for our cars to get out of the city if our community is evacuated. Were you aware that gas pumps do not work without electricity? Just a friendly reminder if you haven’t heard that before. If you live out in the country where the gas pumps are hand powered you are the lucky ones.
Prepper Doctor
I have a really awesome prepper doctor, I love him, so let me tell you that upfront. He is a bit over the top to me, but I do respect him for being prepared. He has a 5th wheel totally filled with emergency preparedness stuff, and a trailer is attached to the 5th wheel ready to take water, and food up into the mountains.
I have been to his house a few times and I LOVE seeing what he has planned. It’s a bit too much for me, but at least he is prepared. He has a double cab truck and is ready to flee when the time comes. My friend is not a survivalist with military-type actions intended. He is teaching people in his church to be prepared for the unexpected.
I wish I lived in his neighborhood. The sad thing is, he said he teaches a preparedness class monthly and only 3 or 4 people show up. It’s frustrating to him because he believes as I do that we must all be prepared for the unexpected. This is so frustrating to him.
This is why I will occasionally write a post about getting to know your neighbors. Hopefully, you live by like-minded prepared people. Where I live, I am extremely worried for some of my neighbors. I can count on one hand how many people realize how critical it is to be prepared within a three-mile radius. I’m not saying I want some crazy prepper living on my street, but a few prepared people would be awesome.
Final Word
Thanks for following me and giving me your input. Are we crazy preppers? I think not. I want to teach the world to be prepared and learn tips from my readers. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for following my blog. May God bless this world. Linda
