New to the idea of prepping and looking for advice

[GeordiePrepper]

Hi All,

I am new to the forum and haven't yet started prepping but feel now would be a good time to start. I'll be honest I'm a bit like a fish out of water and I am looking for advice on where to start and what equipment is absolutely essential, Also any good supplier recommendations would help. Anyway that's me, look forward to hearing from you

[Yorkshire Andy]

Start with the absolute basics don't initially go mad on gadgets

Water. Lots of it and ways to purify / collect it...


Food tinned and alternative cooking facility s eg camp stove and fuel

A battery radio and batteries or a wind up version

Extra blankets et all

Torches and lanterns (be aware of the fire risks using candles and gas lanterns)

First aid kit and the list goes on smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide alarm won't became bad idea

Search the web for the govrnments preparing for emergencies booklet there is a half decent list in there


Ultimately it depends what your preparing for but without water your screwed in a couple of days without food a couple of weeks



Check pound shops / home bargains type places / supermarket

[preppergb]

Start prepping by making a plan is often popular, IE

What are you planning to prep for ? Unemployment, old age, power cuts, natural disaster, war etc
How many people are you planning on prepping for
For how long do you feel you need to prep for after an event

Then the logistics

Food
Water
Heat
Light
Medical kit
Transport
Security
Maintenance
Leisure
Reference
etc

Can you reduce the risk by moving home, changing lifestyle, going more off grid, changing jobs

Eitherway the normal routine is to make a plan to suit your families own needs then take it from there.

FYI the American red cross have some good PDFs you can download to help set you off, I got mine from here http://www.armageddononline.org/disaster-prep-help.html

They are listed in the PREPAREDNESS >GENERAL > then the docs marked ARC

there is also a couple of good family disaster plan PDFs in the same section.

Good Luck

[GeordiePrepper]

I believe and have done so for a long time that ultimately there is going to be an outbreak which will result in a breakdown of society. I have had this worry for a while now and it was heightened by the Avian flu outbreak a few years back. Obviously current events unfolding in today's news sees the Ebola virus on the rise which is pretty frightening so much so that David Cameron wants to issue a cobra meeting, something which is not done very often.

[featherstick]

Good to plan for the global, but you need to think about the local. As preppergb and Andy have noted, make a plan. For me, that includes a needs assessment.

How many people?
What ages and special needs do they have?
What are the local hazards - chemical plant, flood, motorway getting blocked?
How would you prep for those?
Are your critical documents safe or copied? e.g. insurance, passports, birth certs, marriage certificates, education certificates etc. etc.
How are your finances?
Is your computer backed up?
What skills do you need? e.g. cooking, First Aid, gardening, fixing things
What do you need to do to the house to make it more prep-friendly/doomstead? eg water butt, security, garden with a bit of veg,

Redundancy and house-fire will be the most common personal SHTF events in most people's lives and yet many people prep for a post-zombie-apocalypse, with camo nets, bivvy bags and machetes. It's easy to get sucked in to the romance of living off the land but it's not going to be the case for many of us, thank God.

[Stasher]

Good to plan for the global, but you need to think about the local. As preppergb and Andy have noted, make a plan. For me, that includes a needs assessment.

How many people?
What ages and special needs do they have?
What are the local hazards - chemical plant, flood, motorway getting blocked?
How would you prep for those?
Are your critical documents safe or copied? e.g. insurance, passports, birth certs, marriage certificates, education certificates etc. etc.
How are your finances?
Is your computer backed up?
What skills do you need? e.g. cooking, First Aid, gardening, fixing things
What do you need to do to the house to make it more prep-friendly/doomstead? eg water butt, security, garden with a bit of veg,

Redundancy and house-fire will be the most common personal SHTF events in most people's lives and yet many people prep for a post-zombie-apocalypse, with camo nets, bivvy bags and machetes. It's easy to get sucked in to the romance of living off the land but it's not going to be the case for many of us, thank God.

True, there's nothing romantic about it But there is a lot of poo!

[Jeggie]

Hi there.
One hard-won piece of advice that I can offer is regarding the quality of items you may obtain for your kit.

"Anything you put into your kit should be corrosion resistant, sturdy enough to be dropped without breaking and suitable for the task you intend it for."

This may sound obvious and simple, but it is surprising how many tools I have had to throw away after a winter in my garage, or after falling off the table, or that have broken whilst in normal use.
A while ago, I wondered why wealthy people used the same camping equipment for decades and then it struck me:- they bought solid gear from the get-go and never had to replace it!

Cheers

Jeggie

[Hamradioop]

Newcastle preparedness advice http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/environment ... -newcastle