5 Prepping Things You’re Not Doing That You Should Be

Today, it’s all about 5 Prepping things you’re not doing that you should be. Sometimes it’s the smaller details in life that we miss that can come back and bite us the most. That’s because we make the mistake of spending little time thinking about them because we’re busy focusing on something we think is of much more importance. Even experienced preppers can fall into this trap and think that they have all of their bases covered.

Yet even for them, an emergency situation could throw a wrench in their prepping plans such that they wouldn’t be prepared because they didn’t take the time to consider such a possibility. Here are a few things that you may not be doing that you would end up regretting if an unforeseen emergency did happen in your area.  I’m updating this post based on some observations I’ve made from recent disasters in the news. In case you missed this post, 30 Items You Need To Survive A Pandemic

5 Prepping Things You’re Not Doing

1. Trusting that Your Gear Will Work Without Ever Testing It

What kind of soldier would ever think about heading into battle without first ensuring that his weapons and other equipment worked properly beforehand? We all understand that the soldier who isn’t prepared, including checking out his equipment, has slim chances for long-term survival.

Getting comfortable with how to load, aim, and fire weapons quickly and accurately take hours of practice. This is one of those prepping things you’re probably not doing that you should be. All your equipment items are important to check and test too, like your flashlights, water filters, cooking gear, generators, and more.

The other three aspects of this issue are to do an inventory to make sure you know what you have, know where each item is located, and also know how to use it. Nothing is more frustrating than to need to operate a unit and realize you’ve never run it before and don’t know the first thing about its operation. User manuals are great, but you don’t want to be reading them in the middle of an emergency!

Getting back to our soldier illustration, I know many of you are teaching others to practice loading, cleaning, and shooting. I applaud you. This is one area I’m personally lacking, but do want to get up to speed soon. Thank goodness for the Second Amendment, I better leave it at that. This is my new favorite flashlight: Olight Flashlight

Getting too Comfortable

But that’s exactly what some preppers do when it comes to their emergency supplies. They feel they have them ready for an emergency, but they never test them out by actually using them so that they can get truly comfortable and confident with them when the real deal happens, let alone see if it’s going to work as expected and advertised. 

Practice Cooking 

It would be smart on your part to practice cooking dinner with your backup camp stove every once in a while, or getting your family on board by cooking some of those meals you have set aside for emergencies. How about going camping with your tent sometime to make sure that you know how to put it together?

Not only does the cooking practice help you better understand the equipment, but you can take advantage of learning which food items you enjoy most, which recipes are the easiest to prepare, and how to approach your next prepper food shopping trip.

The same holds true for all of your other emergency supplies and equipment. Don’t wait to use them when the situation arises, only to find out you don’t know how to work them properly or you are missing some parts or ingredients.     

2. Avoiding the Uncomfortable 

Unless you have an unusual insensitivity to pain and discomfort, you’re probably one that doesn’t like running into challenging situations. No, you and I prefer the easier path in life that has the least amount of resistance. I mean, who wouldn’t? Yet when we try to live our entire lives entirely problem-free, and with all of our modern comforts and luxuries, always avoiding that bump in the road, it puts us at a huge disadvantage in an emergency situation since we may not understand how best to respond.

I’ve always stressed the need to perform those home evacuations, and discussing the location and travel routes to your meeting place since family members could be scattered due to school, work, play dates, daily workouts, etc. Getting the whole family involved in your gardening project can also illustrate how being self-sufficient can bring the family together for common goals.

3. Don’t Avoid the Uncomfortable 

A disaster scenario would be no picnic. Being thrown into an undesirable environment would be tough for anyone. You may no longer be able to take a hot shower or have the convenience of driving your car wherever you need to go. 

It may even come to a point that you have to eat food that family members don’t particularly like just to survive, or sleep among obnoxiously loud crickets night after night in a very cold environment. It’s best to work through some of these discomforts and roadblocks now. That way you will be able to keep your morale up and not be lashing out at those you care about when things get tough.  

4. Not Focusing Enough on Survival Knowledge

Most preppers have spent countless hours planning and gathering emergency supplies, many of them spending a small fortune in the process. But guess what, without the right knowledge, your survival gear will only get you so far, and more than likely, you’re not an expert in the necessary aspects of prepping when it comes to survival.

It would be smart to get some books and spend time with all family members going over what needs to be done before, during, and after the emergency. The old adage, Knowledge is Power certainly applies to prepping plans and execution.  

Focus on the Right Knowledge 

Another thing to think about is that if you’re ever caught in a major disaster, you may not have Google and YouTube that you can fall back on to help you where you are lacking information and training. Without the internet, who would be there to answer any questions you may need help with? Here’s where “networking” with friends and neighbors really comes in handy. Work on projects together and glean what you can from others’ skill sets. 

Stock Up on Survival Books 

This is why you need to be stocking up on survival books right now, but don’t just own them. Putting them on a bookshelf to collect dust will be doing you absolutely no good when things get tough. It would be a huge mistake to wait around and read your survival literature after the crisis has taken place. It could possibly cost you and your family their lives. So actually take the time to read and study them in order to help you in areas where you are weak. If you don’t have it already, consider purchasing my book “Prepare Your Family For Survival” and “Buggin In”

5. Disconnecting from Technology Every Once in a While  

Can you imagine a world, or at least a very large region, that was forced to go completely cold turkey from all electronic devices at the same exact moment? You may find yourself shaking just thinking about it. These devices can certainly come in handy in many situations, but we need to learn how to be self-sufficient in case they aren’t available.

Get Used to No Technology 

People would literally start struggling and wouldn’t have any idea how to cope without their mobile devices to entertain them all the time. To be blatantly honest, it’s really sad that we’ve found ourselves so dependent and attached to them in the first place. 

Disconnect Sometimes

Choosing to disconnect from all electronics from time to time, not only will positively impact your life now, but it will also help you learn to deal with the experience of waking up one morning and not being able to update your social media or connect with the outside world at large.

The biggest challenge is the loss of power which normally is a part of a disaster scenario. That’s why I think solar flashlights and crank radios make sense as part of your prep planning. 

No Tech Challenge 

I’d encourage you to take a day out of the week where you set your phone down, turned off your tv, and avoid the urge to shop on Amazon with your laptop. Instead, go out and spend the day getting some fresh air, whether it’s taking a walk at a park, riding a bike, or maybe tending to your garden. We’ve lost the habit of visiting or writing family, friends, and neighbors. Give it a try, you’ll be surprised how pleasant it can be.

If you’re invited to dinner, please leave your phone off. If you go to a restaurant with family or friends, put your cell phone away. This way you are letting them know THEY are important to you more so than your cell phone. I’ve seen people go crazy if they have a message. I’ll get off my soapbox now. Life is good when you have good conversations face-to-face.

Prepping Things You’re Not Doing That You Should Be    

Final Word

The famous inventor Thomas Edison once so wisely said, “A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result.” That being said, you may already have most of your supplies stockpiled that you would need for an emergency, along with every good intention. But if you don’t implement some of these practices in your daily life now, you and your family will have an incredibly tough time adjusting when a major disaster takes place. Can you think of any other areas where preppers are still missing the boat? What are some prepping things you’re not doing that you should be? May God Bless this world, Linda.