Prepping And Bugging Out

[CraftyCath]

For a while now my son's have been talking about 'Prepping' and 'bugging out.' Now I had never heard of these phrases before but my son's explained that it was a method of preparing for an apocalyptic event.

Prepping involves having enough supplies to survive an apocalypses and Bugging Out involves having a safe, secure, defensible place to stay - to 'bug out.'

Today my boiler broke down leaving me with no hot water and no heating. My main oven is broke and I can only use the small top one. I am overdrawn in the bank but had a little cash for essentials so what could I do? I began to think about what my sons had said.

Now we might not be facing a zombie apocalypse any time soon but things are definitely getting worse.

For a while now my sons have been suggesting putting some stuff aside - non-perishable food, water, medication; so we began that a while ago. Due to our financial situation we haven't done too well but I have bought reduced food and stocked the freezer up for leaner times such as this. We have some tinned food, dried rice and pasta and bottled water. We went through what we had including my husbands old military ration packs (honestly, my kitchen looked like we were trying to sell something very illegal with all those little packets of white stuff - milk powder, sugar etc!). Then we rooted out some of the food from the freezer so we could use that instead of having to get a big shop in.

So am I mad to be doing this? I don't think so. It may seem strange to some in the UK as we seldom face hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes but we have been forecast 100 days of snow mid December to March and with the rise in energy prices and the shortage of fossil fuels we are expecting fuel shortages and have been warned to expect power cuts. I live in the middle of no where with no shops for 2.5 miles. If we get power cuts or bad weather I may not be able to get to the shops so having supplies in makes sense. Apples from my tree are cooked and in then freezer, plums that were reduced to just a few pence are also cooked and in the freezer. I freeze herbs, bread, coconut milk, extra portions of food etc.

There might not be a bunch of zombies at the door but there are other problems happening right now so should anything crazy happen here at least we will have some food to tide us over.

When something happens like my heating and water being off and not having enough for shopping it sure makes you think.

So do you store food and supplies away for leaner times? What preparations have you made?

 

[DMerish]

I don't think you're crazy at all, CathyCath - ;)

Remember - PTSD sufferers don't trust others : -)

My grown sons and I are sort of nature freaks - we've all attended survial school. Fight like a brave
don't be a slave
no one can tell you
you've got to be afraid Two of my three sons "live off the grid" on acreage. Their properties hold fruit and nut trees, and veggie gardens (which are primarily my responsibility), and are located along a river that is home to salmon and near a forest. My sons also raise chicken and cattle from time to time Yes, we store food - frozen, canned and dried, water, soap, etc. etc. and and extra car and bicycle parts too! I could go on, but I won't.

We're not paranoid; we're prepared.

 

[CraftyCath]

That is what my lads want to do DMerish, they want their own land and to escape from the rat race. I would be quite happy living a simpler life. I would still like to be on the Forum but I think I could survive without it. Where your sons live sounds amazing!

Wow a survival course sounds great - wish we could afford to go on one. At least my lads are studying up on it.

Thanks for sharing, I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks we need to be prepared.

 

[Britt.f7]

Well I don't really. I buy extra things, mostly staples, when they are on sale, but we don't have a freezer.

My sister, however, she does. I think she has an extra fridge and they just bought this huge contraption especially made for cans of stuff. They do have a garden, they live on a farm, but this year they didn't produce much. She has gone as far as recently buying chickens. They buy their cows and have them butchered when needed. Heard it is the best way to save money and get good meat. I live too close to the city, though I could buy a cow with her. I just don't have the needed on hand cash. Which is another reason we don't have a freezer.

I don't think you are crazy in the least.

 

[KP the nut]

I over stock to a certain extent.

Although I live in England, our town is notorious for power cuts. So much so that when we moved from our last house (within the town, the house was all electric), I insisted that although I like an electric oven, I had to have a gas hob.

One evening, our power was off. My neighbour (whos power was on) came around and offered us an electric extension, from his property. He looked around our lounge, the gas fire was on, the radio was playing (thanks to Batteries), I had loads of candles lit and my daughter and I were playing a board game. He commented that we looked really cosy.

I have 2 free standing gas heaters, charcoal for cooking food, an independent gas wok and wood for the chimnea. I have food, water, batteries, candles and torches.

The freezer is stocked and although we would lose electricity, we could cook food within it.

but we have been forecast 100 days of snow mid December to March

Oh no. That is when we are due to fly to Florida.

 

[DMerish]

That is what my lads want to do DMerish, they want their own land and to escape from the rat race. I would be quite happy living a simpler life. I would still like to be on the Forum but I think I could survive without it. Where your sons live sounds amazing!

There's so much info now on the internet about how to go about it, it's amazing. The cost of property and wanting still to be able to access internet services have been the two biggest difficulties - there's no WiFi in the forest, so location is important. It took my eldest about seven years to make the switch and have a stable life out in the boonies. My youngest son learned a lot from his older brother. It only took him three years.

 

[Rumors]

A freezer is only good if you have power and gas cooking is only good if you can replenish it. ;) Water barrels, dried food, and a stock of weapons to fight off the zombies is a must! Lol! I am fascinated by the theory, but hope I am ground zero if a catastrophic event happens. I am not sure a world post appocolypse would be worth living in.

 

[amethist]

I bought a chest freezer and filled it, when I stopped working, for those leaner times.

It has come in handy a couple of times over the last few years, and today is a the day we are sorting it out to see what we have.

I heard about the snow too Cath. Candles are to hand and blankets at the ready, just in case. Plus we have a camping stove that runs of mentholated spirit, so we will be able to have hot soup if the gas goes off too.

 

[CraftyCath]

There's so much info now on the internet about how to go about it,

I think this is where they are learning it from and from watching prepping programmes. It's funny but it seems quite normal in the US but some people are getting more interested in the UK while others are complacent. It is the old 'it will never happen to me' thing. They are looking at location and land prices and fancy Scotland.

A freezer is only good if you have power and gas cooking is only good if you can replenish it.

We use the freezer just for those lean times when we have no money to buy food, like recently but we have military ration packs, dried food, tinned food, bottled water (there is also a stream nearby). One of my sons has his rucksack packed with 72 hours of supplies and equipment and a bug out point planned. We need to stock up on more of everything, especially medicines.

a stock of weapons to fight off the zombies is a must!

Hey Rumour, weapons are indeed stocked. :tup: We cannot have guns in the UK but my sons have swords, bows etc. all legal.

@KP the nut I've seen your stock of candles - you've got more than Ikea! :roflmao: You sound like you have lots of good stuff. Tins and chocolate are a must! I hope you don't get the snow; you deserve your holiday. :hug:

@amethist Thank god you had some stuff in the freezer, it really helps doesn't it? I buy lots of reduced stuff for those lean times. We have a couple of camp stoves too but keeping warm is going to be a problem. If the worse happens, we can disconnect the gas fire and open up the grate. There's lots of wood local we can cut so we can get some of that. If I had the money I'd have a wood burner installed. We also need more blankest so I think we need to write a big list!

Keep prepping!

 

[CraftyCath]

I am not sure a world post appocolypse would be worth living in.

I have had the same thought Rumours. My sons are young, I am 50. I would love to live a simpler life but my age and my health are against me. For them, there is a life after, one which they would love. For me I think it would be very hard indeed.

My eldest son has just told me that when people laugh at his prepping he tells them, 'you have house insurance but you don't expect your house to burn down. Prepping is just another form of insurance - you might not need it but you are prepared.'

He also said that people always assume you are talking about a zombie apocalypse but they don't understand that it could just be civil unrest or financial collapse. We have already had riots and looting in the UK, it wouldn't take much to push it further.

I have catalogued what we have in and checked dates etc. and am now we are making a list of items we need and are going to buy storage boxes to put evrything.

 

[intothelight]

Its funny, but the same thoughts have crossed my mind, not so much in preparedness for a disaster, but more so for a lifestyle change. I would love to live somewhere rural, have a garden, some land to ride my horse on, and a place that was just slower. A lot slower.

I know where I'd like to be and in my head I have built my home, the small barn, laid the garden, pastures, etc. Not a reality right now, but just fun to dream about just the same. :)

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Being prepared is not a bad idea.

What IS a bad idea is going on some lame reality tv show to tell everyone just how prepared you are. I think these people must do it for the money. Or are incredibly stupid. Do they realize that they've made themselves into targets? Yes, they may have prison-like security around their homes, but do you really think that'll stop people who know you've got the only clean source of food and water for miles around? Nope, it won't. And as such all that prepping....down the drain!