What have we gained from “Prepping”?

[Lightspeed]

I am submitting this thread in the hope of encouraging anyone new to the prepper philosophy, and to balance the Cost of prepping thread that Scythe recently posted, which we feel might put people off? (I know that was not your intent though Scythe )

For sure there is a perceived cost to prepping, but actually it is not cost, but investment. Investment that is made wisely, we will surely recoup with interest even if ctastrophy does not thake place.

We have always been an outdoor, and rather independent family. Because of our life experiences, we have always had a preppy kind of mind set. We just never realised it, and certainly didn’t put a label on it.

A few years ago we were approached by a person who was already well into prepping; They sounded us out and eventually told us about this site. (if you are areading this, congratulations, you are already on the right path!) We are eternally grateful for this pointer as reading the huge resource that the SUK site and forum represents, we have learned a great deal, and our eyes have been opened to real issues that we had not previously not considered.

In the few years since we were first introduced we’ve come a long way, although at significant cost both economically and also in terms of investment of time and energy. But the word cost phrases the position wrongly. These have not been pure costs, they are investments. Almost everything that we put into prepping we will recover. Prepping is just building a kind of supplies based bank account and knowledge bank.

So what have we gained?

Understanding

Understanding that the world we live in is unsustainable, that it is politically and economically unstable.

Understanding that there is considerable potential for a collapse that is beyond the power of individuals nor national governements to prevent.

Understanding and taking personal responsibility for the well being of ourselves and our families / communities both now and in an uncertain future.

Understanding of the importance of, and reliance of others to supply water, drainage, electricity, gas.

Understanding that these resources are finite, and their delivery systems are both fragile and a huge lever upon our lives economically and politically.

Understanding the fragility of the commercial supply chain delivering food to the shops and fuel to the petrol stations, and again understanding the huge political and economic leverage they hold over our lives.

Understanding that we are not alone in considering it necessary to put a little aside for a rainy day, and that there is a community of like-minded people out there. What’s more, most of them are level headed, and perfectly sane individuals, not the gun wielding paranoid maniacs that the media and entertainment industry portray.

Understanding that we need to adjust our lifestyle.

Understanding the value of adjusting our garden to provide fruit, veg and maybe ultimately to keep some livestock.

Understanding that what at first appeared weapon fixation among the seasoned prepper community is in fact a sad but true reflection that if we are to build up stores in order to overcome future crises, that we have to have the means to defend those stores and ultimately replenish them from the wild, and that means weapons

Knowledge and Know-how

Knowledge and know-how are the key things we have gained from embracing the prepping mind set more fully.

Knowledge and know-how of our water supply system works . Adapting it for possible future alternative sources

Knowledge and know-howof our home's electrical systems

Knowledge and know-howof our homes drainage systems

Knowledge and know-how of our homes heating system, and cooking facilities.

Knowledge and know-how of our home's construction and accumulating somponents and tools with which to maintain it in the long term.

Knowledge and know-how of why off-grid capability is important and developing methods to achieve this objective

Knowledge and know-how of security and defense of our home.

Knowledge of Opsec issues and unseratnding that we must keep this in mind at all times


Health

In the last two year our personal health has improved no end.
Physical Health: Fitness and stamina have improved.

I have personally stayed around the same weight but traded fat for useful muscle that has been put on as a result of hard labour in construction and gardening for food. There is a hard financial cost to this though…..I’m back to the waist size I was in my 20’s so all of my jeans and trousers have had to be replaced!

Our diet has improved. We eat far more seasonal fresh food sourced locally and from-the wild . The water we drink is cleaner as is the air we breathe.

Mental Health: Psychologically, crossing the line to an understanding that looking after our future wellbeing ourselves is not paranoia, its logical sense has been a big relief. Many here have spoken about the difficulties of getting partners on board. This is a psychological hurdle that drains energy I found. At first my wife though me slightly eccentric, but came round quite suddenly, and without too much persuasion. Now we are both pulling in the same direction it’s a lot easier.

Lifestyle

Well for us it became apparent that our lifestyle was not sustainable long term. Certainly if a major collapse occurred we were in a very dependent position.

We’ve made big changes. Its been and continues to be hard work, and likely to become even harder the more self sufficient we become. But we are back in tune with the natural world, and our local environment.

Slowly but surely we are regaining control of our lives .
We sleep easy again at night, and wake early each morning with aching muscles but far happier state of mind.

Sustainability , independence and resilience have become our lifestyle of choice, and we don’t regret it for a moment. Embracing the Prepping world was a game changer for us and one that we feel we will never regret.