Prepping / Survival boredom
Posted by spec-test@reddit | preppers | View on Reddit | 39 comments
been learning about it since I was in Ukraine in 2022, now the honeymoon of learning Prepping / bushcraft / Survival is over, how do you stay motivated to keep learning and dragging all this gear along your trips to the local tesco?
vlad1492@reddit
When the apocalypse just keeps on not happening it is hard to stay motivated.
Been doing in one degree or another for several decades now.
Checklists help. Where are we on communications, energy, transport, pantry, etc. Limiting myself to x hours a week on prep related chores helps. Calendar reminders to check this, rotate that. Cruise mode vs burnout.
Having specific achievable goals is big. X gallons of water, x days of food, x hours of backup power etc. Hit the mark and then stop, shift that category from growth to maintenance mode.
The mental energy to be hyperalert all the time is exhausting and unsustainable.
A camping trip, a road trip, a weekend with the power shut off are all motivators when thought of as training maneuvers. What was done right, what could improve.
Choosing a baseline of readiness as a core function and then adding 'hobbies' on top seems to work for me.
A great big mental turning point was realizing that all these efforts and expenses are probably mostly wasted and being ok with that. This is an investment sure but we are hoping for small infrequent returns, not the big one.
The next big turn was lightening up. Less doom news. Change the channel on the media consumption. Smaller stash of x,y,z. Stripped down the EDC gear from 'camp in the woods a month' to no more than 5kg in one bag that travels with and then 50kg in two totes in vehicle.
Virtual-Feature-9747@reddit
"When the apocalypse just keeps on not happening it is hard to stay motivated."
I kinda wonder about this too. What do preppers who have been at it for 20 or 30 years have to say? Seems like the problem has always been just around the corner and the collapse has always been imminent.
To be clear, I feel like the world situation is as dangerous now as it has been since 1945. I recently ramped up my preps this year but I'm in a comfortable place now.
vlad1492@reddit
My preps over the last 30 years have been handy more than a few times.
Overall the sky didn't fall. When it did, my preps were useless. I'd been preparing for the wrong disaster.
On the whole, I am very glad to have been so wrong, so often about where the world was heading.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
even 5kg seems too much for me to edc now
mind you I was watching some vids on outback-bigboy last night and know what I want for birthday
vlad1492@reddit
5kg is the satchel that follows me around. Water bottle, FAK, some food bars, phone charger, beanie, work gloves, shemagh, headlamp, bug spray, phone charger, misc other fiddly bits.
Not what is in the pockets.
That is a big little saw!
I like these
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JFPZZY
spec-test@reddit (OP)
why a saw in your pocket
vlad1492@reddit
Handy for clearing smaller obstructions.
Quieter than a hatchet.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
thx
MadRhetorik@reddit
What’s a tesco?
spec-test@reddit (OP)
Where we go to buy overpriced food
Eurogal2023@reddit
To all this excellent advice I would add:
Pare your edc down to fanny pack size, leave the rest in your car. If you need a weapon in a shopping center you could turn almost anything into a weapon, or even grab the nearest glossy magazine and roll it up as a baton. You know the joke about secret agents, "knowing 15 ways to kill with a rolled up newspaper."
Get into foraging and either guerilla gardening (also often called gorilla gardening, lol). Either find someone who does shared farming, or learn the basics of permaculture and start working on your BOL. If you don't have a BOL you now have endless stuff to work on, like looking for land with a well or at least a good water source, consider if you get this place together with others if your finances allow buying a plot of land in the boonies, then buying an old camper to park there. If he place has a cave, bingo, you have won prepper gold, get started storing stuff there for building a more permanent place to stay.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
bol?
Eurogal2023@reddit
BOL means Bug Out Location. Your grandma in the sticks, or, if you are a Scandinavian, your family shared holiday home stocked up with food and so on, or a secret hideaway you go to when the zombie acopalypse shows up.
Some preppers already live at their BOL, but mostly those people also have some other place stocked with some kind of backup for in case the BOL is compromised/has burned down.
For a very funny explanation of what I mean with "family shared holiday home" here is a very NSFW video with a song by the Norwegian band Ylvis:
spec-test@reddit (OP)
thx
SweetBrea@reddit
How do you get motivated to take your wallet and phone everywhere. You don't. It's just your routine, right? Same thing.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
ah ok
Mountain-Status569@reddit
I don’t drag my gear. I put useful things in what I already take with me. I keep emergency blankets and extra water in my car. I keep spare medicine in my purse. I’m new to prepping but I feel like this is a good way to go. I’m not adding extra bags to my daily mix, just being more intentional with the things I already use.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
good tactics
GreyBeardsStan@reddit
You don't put prepping in a box. Learning is never over. Mors Kochanski is a great example of acquiring and refining techniques even in old age.. Build skills. Can you work on your car? Can you navigate financial markets? Can you fix your home and do basic repairs? Can you garden or be self-sufficient towards food? The list is endless.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
real talk
WelcomeKey2698@reddit
Let the mission drive the gear train.
An example I have: I met some “EDC” types at an industry gig awhile back, and two of them pulled out their pack. Then started playing an episode of “What’s in my pack” which had myself and a mate (both of us ex-infantry, he’s done a bit of “special” stuff) shaking our heads.
Their packs were “get-home” bags. And weighed in excess of 15kg’s. Pry bars, full accessories for laptops, emergency rations, a stove that twigs and sticks could be burnt in, power banks, and a heap of other stuff to “help them get home”. There was no basic safety equipment that I would consider essential. No first aid kit. No water bottle.
Neither of the “EDC” lads were fit enough to carry that load across broken terrain.
The lads asked about my load. The first thing I told them: Distance to my home, right now is 10klicks. I can do that on foot in under 2 hours in ideal conditions, or up to 8-12hrs in E&E conditions. My normal work daypack, has a water bottle, a first aid kit and my lunch. On my belt is a pocket knife, a small torch and a pen. The most important item I’m carrying is my house keys, so I can access all my really cool toys and tools.
I say again: Let the mission drive the gear train.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
good points, i do always have a basic first aid kit and water bottle
GovernmentHovercraft@reddit
You have the wrong state of mind. It’s not some fun hobby you engage in when your have free time. It’s genuinely preparing yourself & your family.
Pick one avenue & problem solve.
How will you get fresh water when your bottles run out? Fresh food when the cans are gone? Antibiotics for strep throat?
It’s also not doom & gloom prepping. It’s prepping for as many scenarios as possible. Are you financially prepped for if you lose your job or your house? Do you have savings?
What if you get a flat on a country road with no spare? You got stuff in your car to last a few hours until help arrives?
What if there’s another pandemic? You got enough toilet paper?
You really gotta reframe how you view the whole prep thing.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
solid thx
mattie-ice-baby@reddit
How do you financially prepare for losing job and hosue? If I lose my house then that means my finances are and have been toast for some time
Virtual-Feature-9747@reddit
I would say it's more than just savings. Responsible spending - living below your means. Debt management.
Career management: Are your skills marketable? Are you indispensable at work? How quickly could you find a new job? A new career?
mattie-ice-baby@reddit
I understand stand all that, the savings part was just interesting to me. If I have a couple mortgage payments left in the basement, I’m not gonna default on my home.
GovernmentHovercraft@reddit
Savings. Stash away money like you stash away other prep materials.
NumberSuspicious9947@reddit
No in-between? Losing a whole lot of people there.
OnTheEdgeOfFreedom@reddit
This is the way.
WelcomeKey2698@reddit
I can’t upvote your comment enough. Good post.
Arlo1878@reddit
Remind yourself that you never want to be forced to go to a FEMA- type camp, or to a shelter like the Astrodome in Houston during Katrina. NO WAY.
Traditional-Leader54@reddit
For me personally my goal is to one day live on an off grid homestead where I can be as self sufficient as possible. Not that I would avoid the outside world but just that I could do without if it came to it.
Virtual-Feature-9747@reddit
Safety and survival isn't motivating you? Well, it's not mandatory... don't do it.
Andr1yTheOne@reddit
I don't understand what you mean about Ukraine and prepping
thunderblade95@reddit
This is just a guess but I assume it's from the news showing all the Venezuelan migrants taking over Colorado apartments while highly armed. And the shootout that would happen. It's just a guess but the fact that he said ukraine and prepping makes me think how they're still fighting the Russians invasion
MrHmuriy@reddit
Apart from the war and the daily missiles, Ukraine is otherwise quite safe - there is virtually no armed violence on the streets or in the suburbs, perhaps because the population owns a lot of guns and knows how to use them, and there are very few migrants from troubled countries, because the population is quite hostile to the idea of letting them in.
Adol214@reddit
You may want to build dedicated bags or pouch which stay in your vehicle, home and office.
Only EDC things you need on you at all time, that is things you would not or cannot walk 5min to get would you need them.
Also, adapt to your activity. Trekking and shopping expose you to different risks.
spec-test@reddit (OP)
great points thx