― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Many months ago I was in a position where I could start prepping and stocking up on dry goods, essentials and some survival gear. It gave me a sense of security and I felt good about it as I felt it was progress and I was heading in the right direction.
Unfortunately the landscape that I was working within changed and with it went my good start at prepping. I knew that with moving house and changing careers there would be a fair amount of adjustment and changing location meant that I would have a finite amount of gear that I could carry with me. Once my car was packed with my animals, plants, clothing, and work stuff, I only had enough space for one esky (cooler box) of frozen food - so I chose to take my meat with me instead of the dry goods.
Prepping is always going to be subject to change and the most difficult aspect of it is security. Did I have security when I purchased those preps? The short answer is no. The long answer is sort of - I can still go and fetch some of them as they're with a family member who luckily doesn't eat most of those foods anyway.
So I'm now thinking about this whole concept differently because one of the main issues of security is longevity. You get the preps that have the longest shelf life possible without needing refrigeration for a reason and as long as you have somewhere to store them safely, then you're good to go. But this in itself presents a range of problems.
The first time that I had to rely on my preps was after a water mains burst and flooded the area. It meant that any basement storage areas were under a foot and a half of water. I hadn't been storing anything below the ground level so it didn't affect my preps, but it made me realise that basement storage is highly susceptible to water ingress. I have seen so many people that prep from the ground up in basements. It's the most natural way to do it of course. Does it take into account flooding though? Probably not. Lesson one taken note of.
It also meant that there was no access to tap water for the day while repairs were under way. In a grid down scenario, the water pumping systems that keep our taps flowing would cease to work and the taps would inevitably run dry. Luckily that time I had store-bought water that I could use for drinks and cleaning. Lesson two - store more water than 10litres!
So this brings me back to starting again. I've got to get back into the habit of buying preps as part of my usual shopping routine. If something that can be stored safely and for a long period is on sale, it's a good idea to buy an extra one that gets put away, but what's most important to start with?
I have decided to go with a rotation. Water, food, survival gear in that order. That way I can prioritise which foods I think should be purchased first, then I can do the same with the gear and work my way through the lists. It may not cover everything but at least then I know that I've got a stash of some things in each category according to importance.
Have you had to start your prepping over again before? If you had to start your prepping from scratch due a disaster scenario, how would you go about it? Let me know in the comments.
