Prepping can be approached from many perspectives, and you are welcome to yours. We’re not here to tell you what is right or wrong — it’s a big tent — but simply share our prepping philosophy so you know where we are coming from.
After 25 years of prepping, here’s our philosophy:
- Some people spend $250 or $2,500on food and some camping gear and consider themselves prepared, but prepping is a journey, not a destination. It is many small steps taken over the years.
- At some point on your preparedness journey, you will find that you have committed to the prepper lifestyle. You will know this when you make sacrifices that move you forward on your prepping journey but are questioned by people who are not preppers.
- Anyone can prepare, but not everyone is a survivalist. Prepping is about supplies. Survival is about attitude. In a SHTF situation, it helps to have both.
- You can buy gear, but you cannot buy wisdom. You can read instructions and watch videos, but experience is more valuable than theory. Practice. Use your tools. Embrace the preparedness life by living it, even if it is only for one weekend a month.
- You can prep anywhere, but it is easier to survive outside the city than in an urban environment. With a few acres, some knowledge, and some preps, you can supplement your stored provisions and feed your family in a TEOTWAWKI situation. Avoiding crowds eliminates many problems.
- The best way to avoid trouble is to avoid places where trouble occurs. The next best way is to avoid attracting attention to yourself or your preps. Keep a low profile. Don’t advertise your preps.
- Many homesteaders are not preppers by intention but are prepared as a result of their lifestyle. A garden, livestock, orchards, and off-grid lifestyle give them an enviable degree of self-sufficiency. While preppers do not have to be homesteaders, they can teach us a great deal.
- It is good to have a retreat. Living at your retreat full time is even better, but is difficult to achieve. If you can’t live in your retreat, do everything you can to make your current home your retreat.
- Bugging out to your retreat is a great option. Bugging out when you have nowhere to go is not so good. In that case, be prepared to bug in, if it is safe to do so.
- While you cannot eat bullets, neither can you defend yourself with a bucket of rice. Preppers need to strike a balance with their preps. You may like guns, but you need to learn how to garden. You may enjoy bushcrafting, but you also need to be able to assemble the solar panels and charge controller.
- Specialization is good if you are in a group, but individual or small-group preppers need to be well-rounded generalists. It is better to do many things well rather than a few things perfectly.
- Whomever first said “Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best,” must have been a prepper. It’s good advice!
- You may be offended by some of the content of this website if you are anti-gun, vegan, or a socialist. While anyone can be a prepper, not eating meat, an unwillingness to defend yourself, and a lack of belief in personal rights and responsibility will make your personal survival more difficult during a long-term TEOTWAWKI scenario.
