Active New Top (30 days) Compact Card Masking little kids nosname - July 12, 2020 Will your smallest children wear masks? Have you found particular products (either masks or faceshields) that work best for little kids? How about motivational techniques to help kids want to wear masks? In many places, mask mandates apply to kids over age 2. When schools try to reopen in the fall, they are also likely to require masks, but it’s unclear which products are best for kids or how to get them to comply. Read More 14 4 AdviceGear Preps of shame? SeaBee - July 8, 2020 So, I was loading three empty 5 gallon gasoline jerry cans into the back of my Toyo last night, strategically pre-placed so that, should I need to GTFOH, I can quickly double my range with 15 gallons of extra fuel from the corner station before we slip away towards the horizon as NYC goes all Snake Plissken in my rearview. Amaze-balls, right? But then I had this thought, “Um, maybe this is overkill? Or even misguided? Am I killing too much gear space for potentially unneeded fuel? Am I just dumb?” And then I had this idea for some chuckles in the middle of all this insanity. Hence, this thread. So, what has been a prep of shame for you? Something you thought was initially unbelievably amazing but, upon reflection, feels, um, not so great. Let’s keep it light, funny and sharing some good-natured fun at our own expense, despite all our best, logistical intentions. Read More 28 32 Recommendations for Worksheets or Planning Sheets? brekke - July 8, 2020 I admit it, I’m a list person. I like writing everything down and having it neatly organized in a binder. Logically, I know that apps and spreadsheets (which are totally my work life) are more efficient and more easily updated, but still, I get a thrill from actually checking a box or writing out a plan. Before I go all Type A and recreate the wheel – does anybody have recommendations for good preppier printables? Checklists are easy to find, but also looking for scenario evaluation and threat assessment. Something along the lines of “I live in this area, my threats are xyz, threat y has the highest probability, threat x is less probable, but also requires less prep, threat z has low probability, but requires high prep effort.” Read More 11 11 How to help normalize general preparedness? Rich DCContributor - July 4, 2020 I find myself circling around the topic of “what can I do” to help educate and/or convert others as this global pandemic is a sort of a near perfect case study in why it’s not “crazy” to prepare at least a little. To share my personal time-line: I started paying attention to the “new virus” around January 17 when it showed up on The Prepared on a couple of blog entries. On January 27 I started modestly stocking up on some supplies like hand sanitizer, wipes, etc. As February unfolded I started shoring up non-perishable foods and other shelf-stable consumables. But, and I’m not proud of this, I didn’t start prodding my nearby family with “do you have everything you need” hints and “hey, I noticed all the lysol wipes were gone at the grocery store” hints until March 3. I didn’t suggest to a subset of my facebook friends they might want to start paying attention until March 5. March 12 was when my employer granted more liberal telework, and then people started swarming the grocery stores near here on March 13 (that was a weird weekend…). By then I was plenty prepared… but i was also wishing I had “warned” more people a little louder and a little sooner. I didn’t do more because I didn’t want to come off as an alarmist, I was unsure of the urgency/impact, and I was perhaps slightly worried about being judged harshly by some peers (I shouldn’t care but I’m human). As luck would have it most in my circles are largely fine but if things had turned out worse i’d be kicking myself that “I didn’t do more.” So, along the lines of the blog post here ( https://theprepared.com/blog/warm-not-smug/ ) about welcoming newcomers, any thoughts on how best to spread the word without being too heavy handed? Even silly stuff like the 2-weeks of food and water [FEMA guidelines?] that i bet 70%+ of the population completely ignores. Things like having a decent roadside emergency kit in your car. I feel like that’s the kind of stuff parents tell their kids to do and hearing it from adult peers risks coming off as condescending if you do it wrong? Have you found good ways to bring up this topic without getting ridiculed or dismissed, even in measured ways? Read More 16 10 Advice Advice/suggestions on tents? NewbiePrepper - July 3, 2020 Hi everyone, I am about to start researching tents for a camping trip. I would like it to be dual purpose so I can include it as part of my “prep supplies”. Anyone have any advice on specific brands, what I should consider as I look at tents, etc? Thanks in advance!!! Read More 11 13 Advice Concealed carry while wearing a backpack? Friend of the Pod - July 3, 2020 I’m just about done with my level 3 BOB, and as I’ve been thinking things through I realized I have no idea how I would carry a concealed pistol while wearing a pack with a hip belt. The only thing I can think of that seems practical would be to carry it in a pouch attached to the hip belt itself, though presumably that would severely limit my ability to draw the gun quickly, even with a pouch designed for concealed carry. Stowing the pistol in the pack itself strikes me as a no-go. What do you guys think? Does anyone have experience with a situation like this? I’m curious to hear whatever solutions the rest of you in the community have come up with. FWIW, my carry gun for a bug out scenario is a Glock 19, for which I have both IWB and OWB holsters. Read More 15 25 How do you (safely) access the water in your water heater in case of outage? Jonnie PekelnyContributor - June 29, 2020 When talking about water preparedness I always hear that we should take into account the 30 or 40 or however many gallons of water stored in our water heater. I mean that if the water goes out we can drain the water heater for drinking, washing, and whatever other vital uses. But for a person like me, who’s not very handy or knowledgeable about repairs, I have no idea how to drain my water heater except in the normal way, by running the hot water in my faucet. Can anybody provide any guides or links to guides where I might learn? Read More 15 8 Skills Emergency radio MrsG - June 27, 2020 I looked through the gear recs and didn’t see one specifically for an NOAA radio/charger. I did see the information on Ham radio. But if someone’s not there yet and would like an emergency radio in their kit, any specifics ones people like? Read More 18 13 Gear Turns out an old wives tale about magic soil from an Irish church was real Essie Carroll - June 24, 2020 Found this while looking for positive stories, haha. Since the early 1800s, the people in a town in Northern Ireland called Boho thought the soil from a nearby church had healing powers. They would put some dirt under their pillow when they were sick, and the folklore was that it would heal you. A scientist tested the soil a few years back and it turns out to have strong antibacterial properties. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-46651702 It got me wondering if there are other examples of survival folklore actually being true? Read More 9 9 News If you just started gardening or raising chickens/rabbits, how has it gone? Mike Hill - June 22, 2020 It’s been on my prepper wish list for a long time, but I haven’t done it yet. I saw the news stories about how covid caused a lot of people to suddenly jump into growing or raising their own food. I’m guessing it’s not as easy as people might have thought when they rushed into it in a panic. So I’m curious… if this was you, how is it going? Read More 16 19 Advice My EDC – what am i missing TP_X5 - June 22, 2020 I need a holster, a belt, sunglasses, maybe some tactical shoes? Prefer made in USA, of course. Read More 9 5 Hobby farm or homestead? squidvicious - June 22, 2020 My wife and I have been talking about “doing something else” for a couple years (she quit her job, mine seems to be reaching a natural point of exit). The time seems to be ripe for actually following-through! I have convinced her we should add hobby farm/homestead to the mix. Assumptions… 1. Want to move north. Like, New England. Would consider upstate NY part of the acceptable geography. 2. One of us will continue to work for income, benefits, etc. 3. We have a 6 year old. No homeschooling. So, proximity to town/schools, etc. is still going to be important. (i.e. not too remote) 4. I enjoy, but have no allusions about adopting, the mythology displayed on all those Alaska shows (I’m pretty grounded as to the reality of small farm operations) Questions… 1. Any tips on finding a property? Anything specific to look for (or not) up north? 2. We aren’t young… I mean, we’re young enough to have a 6 year old but we’re not 20 or 30 somethings. Does our age matter in terms of actual labor required? In terms of finding a property that is “turnkey” vs “needs work”? 3. Any key indicators to look for? Anything you wish you’d known before? Or that you would do differently? 4 How ridiculous an idea is it? Dick Proenneke is good inspiration, for the challenge he took on as a middle-aged person. But to be clear, we are definitely not going all remote-cabin-in-the-woods. Read More 16 12 AdviceSkills What were your best COVID-19 preps? Josh CentersContributor - June 21, 2020 We’ve had threads on prepping mistakes learned from COVID-19, but I’m curious about what you did right? As for me, I’m pretty happy that I: Moved to a small farm outside the city limits with arable land and other natural resources Raised chickens, even if they aren’t laying as well as they once did Stocked up on disinfectants, toilet paper, and paper towels *just* before the panic-buying started Had a 3M respirator on hand Started a small salad garden in early March. We haven’t been to a store in three months, but we’ve had fresh salads a couple of times per week. Already worked from home and homeschooled my children Read More 13 12 Hello world! Why we’re launching a forum The Prepared - June 21, 2020 Hello! For the first post in the new Prepared forum, we wanted to say welcome and share our thoughts on why we’ve created “yet another survival forum” and some plans for the future. Most importantly: No company can “build” a community. Only people can do that. So while we’ll keep the lights on and the spam out, it’s up to you — the rational people out there who want to see a better preparedness forum — to create the kind of party you want to hang out at. Step up! Part of why we started The Prepared in the first place was because existing social forums/groups weren’t the best way for people (especially beginners) to get routine information. Other forums/groups are too often polluted with repetitive questions like “should I buy a Lifestraw?” or “how do I get started?”, for example. That kind of information is better kept in a linkable, well-researched, and professionally-written article that you can actually trust (unlike the random comments you’d get elsewhere). That’s why we started with the permanent reviews and guides in the main part of this website — and we’re still ramping up that investment even more. Discussion forums are better for open discussions — things that aren’t easily captured in a single broad article or video. Put another way: articles are great for building the roots, trunk, and main branches of a tree, while community discussions fill in the spaces with smaller branches and leaves. So we think of articles and community discussions as a one-two punch. Each one is valuable on its own, but together, they help more people learn more stuff in the best way possible. Raising the bar on moderation and quality Another common problem in online prepper groups is the noise and nastiness that comes from bickering about hot-button topics like politics and other generally bad behavior. Many of you have been asking us to launch this forum just so that you had a nice place to hang out that wasn’t ruined by that noise. So that’s another reason why this forum exists: not to censor, but to create a place where anyone can talk about prepping — not where preppers can talk about anything. Even though this is still a young project with a small team, through the support of community donations we’ve been able to hire a community moderator to show how serious we are about making this the best place on the web for meaningful preparedness conversations. You can read more about our moderation policies and goals here: https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/community-rules-moderation-policies-and-faq/ What kinds of people and topics will be here? There’s no way our staff can know everything about prepping, keep up with the latest gear, write about every personal scenario you might be facing, and so on. That’s where you come in. Thankfully there are so many knowledgeable and helpful people in this community! Thank you to everyone who’s offered to contribute to developing the main knowledge base on this website. We hope this forum is not only a place for people to learn, but also to share: If you bought a product and want to share your thoughts, do it! If you grew up fishing in a harsh climate and have advice that general fishing guides might skip, share it! Curious about how to power a CPAP machine while off-grid in the Pacific Northwest where solar exposure isn’t great? Ask! Do you work in a relevant job (such as a power plant engineer) and want to explain the weak points in the system? Preach it! Crafted a neat DIY 3-D printed project? Show it! Not only will excellent posts and comments be rewarded, people who are either verified experts or show they are great community members will get extra labeling so you have more context about the people you interact with here. We’ve also hired writers that were found in the community and/or will give credit for any information that helps improve the main knowledge base. We’re so excited to hang out with and learn from you! Cheers, The Prepared Team Read More 30 6 Meta Services to help you prep? David Krueger - June 21, 2020 Are there any existing companies that exist to help people prep? Read More 7 2 AdviceMeta What to expect when buying a quarter of beef Olly Wright - June 13, 2020 Read More 11 5 New guy here. Dan Rose - June 12, 2020 Hi people I am a new guy here my name is Dan. I live in a small apartment with my mom and cat no kids. I live in a rural area of NE Indiana. I am into prepping but only can do so much since I live in an apartment. I have building some preps. I want to setup some defense. My mom is against firearms and my apartment rules are to. I do have my Indiana CCW permit. I am stuck on what to do next for setups. Read More 13 3 Advice Avoiding freezer burn when storing meat Jay ValenciaContributor - June 10, 2020 My smart wife grabbed a chest freezer a few months ago before they all sold out. So we’re starting to store meat for the long term, which I’ve never really done before. The few times I did, the meat would get freezer burn not long after. Maybe a few weeks. Not all of it would be ruined but enough that I didn’t make long term storage a habit. But I get the sense that I’ve been doing something wrong if so many preppers are keeping meat for months. What do you recommend to avoid this? Read More 11 12 Advice Good guide from WHO for making your own hand sanitizer Dragoon - June 9, 2020 I read the blog post about the Force Of Nature machine that makes disinfectant at home. So I started googling for similar gadgets that could make hand sanitizer. There are a ton of low-effort posts around the web because of covid. Found this one from WHO which seems to be trustworthy and easy, thought I’d share (PDF): https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_Local_Production.pdf Read More 14 4 Skills Video series on butchering a hog Paulino Martin - June 5, 2020 Found these videos on Reddit that show how to butcher a hog at home. Not for the faint of heart but it’s something worth knowing how to do the right way. Especially if the meat shortages are going to last a while. I couldn’t figure out how to put one of the videos here but they’re all on the page if you scroll. https://www.rusticmillingandcraft.com/blog/categories/home-butcher-educational-videos Read More 8 1 Skills Does anyone have any experience with the Kelly Kettle Trekker stove? Haus Monkey - May 29, 2020 I’ve come across the Kelly Kettle Trekker for the first time today. Has anyone ever used one, or have any experience with it whatsoever? Here’s a link: https://www.kellykettleusa.com/trekker-small-stainless-steel-kelly-kettle From what I gather, the Kelly stoves are those kind of fast-boil stoves that use wood, twigs, an almost anything to burn. The Trekker is interesting to me because it seems like a combination of a Firebox-style camping stove, and a boiler pot. In a kit. Like a wood burning JetBoil if it makes sense. Any insights, thoughts, or experiences with it would be extremely helpful. Thanks. Read More 13 3 Gear Phone apps to save power in a crunch? Liz Klein - May 26, 2020 I have a newish Samsung and was wondering if anyone knows of a good app to increase the battery life? In an emergency situation where I would need to use it for longer, I would love to be able to squeeze more out of the battery. I’ve looked up a few and I think there are built in settings but does anyone know of a good one that I should try? Read More 14 9 Advice How do you feel about “we care” COVID advertisements? Conrad B - May 25, 2020 How do you feel about the way brands are making ads for a COVID-19 world? I’ve seen the words “we are all in this together” at least 800 times in the last week. Something has been bothering me about this and I can’t decide if it’s icky, genuine or just smart marketing. Here’s a supercut of examples that show how similar they are: And an example from a website: Read More 15 11 < Prev 1 2 3 … 57 58 59 Recently Active Has anybody blood tested the Oroweat keto tortillas? - 5 days agoNews for the Week 2024-04-22 - 5 days agoNews for the Week 2024-04-15 - 7 days agoWhat is the best camp stove for an emergency power outage or camping? - 1 week agoChickens for preppers: Important considerations - 1 week ago RULES This forum is heavily moderated to keep things valuable to as many people as possible. Full community policies are here. The basics: 1. Be nice to each other. 2. Stay focused on prepping. 3. Avoid politics, religion, and other arguments. 4. No unfounded conspiracies, fake news, etc. 5. Debate ideas, not people. FILTER Show all Advice Gear Meta News Scenarios Skills

Masking little kids

nosname - July 12, 2020

Will your smallest children wear masks? Have you found particular products (either masks or faceshields) that work best for little kids? How about motivational techniques to help kids want to wear masks?

In many places, mask mandates apply to kids over age 2. When schools try to reopen in the fall, they are also likely to require masks, but it’s unclear which products are best for kids or how to get them to comply.

 

Read More

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4

AdviceGear

Preps of shame?

SeaBee - July 8, 2020

So, I was loading three empty 5 gallon gasoline jerry cans into the back of my Toyo last night, strategically pre-placed so that, should I need to GTFOH, I can quickly double my range with 15 gallons of extra fuel from the corner station before we slip away towards the horizon as NYC goes all Snake Plissken in my rearview. Amaze-balls, right?

But then I had this thought, “Um, maybe this is overkill? Or even misguided? Am I killing too much gear space for potentially unneeded fuel? Am I just dumb?”

And then I had this idea for some chuckles in the middle of all this insanity. Hence, this thread.

So, what has been a prep of shame for you? Something you thought was initially unbelievably amazing but, upon reflection, feels, um, not so great. Let’s keep it light, funny and sharing some good-natured fun at our own expense, despite all our best, logistical intentions. 

Read More

28

32

Recommendations for Worksheets or Planning Sheets?

brekke - July 8, 2020

I admit it, I’m a list person. I like writing everything down and having it neatly organized in a binder. Logically, I know that apps and spreadsheets (which are totally my work life) are more efficient and more easily updated, but still, I get a thrill from actually checking a box or writing out a plan. Before I go all Type A and recreate the wheel – does anybody have recommendations for good preppier printables? Checklists are easy to find, but also looking for scenario evaluation and threat assessment. Something along the lines of “I live in this area, my threats are xyz, threat y has the highest probability, threat x is less probable, but also requires less prep, threat z has low probability, but requires high prep effort.”

Read More

11

11

How to help normalize general preparedness?

Rich DCContributor - July 4, 2020

I find myself circling around the topic of “what can I do” to help educate and/or convert others as this global pandemic is a sort of a near perfect case study in why it’s not “crazy” to prepare at least a little.

To share my personal time-line:

I started paying attention to the “new virus” around January 17 when it showed up on The Prepared on a couple of blog entries.

On January 27 I started modestly stocking up on some supplies like hand sanitizer, wipes, etc.

As February unfolded I started shoring up non-perishable foods and other shelf-stable consumables.

But, and I’m not proud of this, I didn’t start prodding my nearby family with “do you have everything you need” hints and “hey, I noticed all the lysol wipes were gone at the grocery store” hints until March 3.  I didn’t suggest to a subset of my facebook friends they might want to start paying attention until March 5.  March 12 was when my employer granted more liberal telework, and then people started swarming the grocery stores near here on March 13 (that was a weird weekend…).

By then I was plenty prepared… but i was also wishing I had “warned” more people a little louder and a little sooner.  I didn’t do more because I didn’t want to come off as an alarmist, I was unsure of the urgency/impact, and I was perhaps slightly worried about being judged harshly by some peers (I shouldn’t care but I’m human).  As luck would have it most in my circles are largely fine but if things had turned out worse i’d be kicking myself that “I didn’t do more.”

So, along the lines of the blog post here ( https://theprepared.com/blog/warm-not-smug/ ) about welcoming newcomers, any thoughts on how best to spread the word without being too heavy handed? Even silly stuff like the 2-weeks of food and water [FEMA guidelines?] that i bet 70%+ of the population completely ignores.  Things like having a decent roadside emergency kit in your car.  I feel like that’s the kind of stuff parents tell their kids to do and hearing it from adult peers risks coming off as condescending if you do it wrong?  Have you found good ways to bring up this topic without getting ridiculed or dismissed, even in measured ways?

Read More

16

10

Advice

Advice/suggestions on tents?

NewbiePrepper - July 3, 2020

Hi everyone,

I am about to start researching tents for a camping trip. I would like it to be dual purpose so I can include it as part of my “prep supplies”. Anyone have any advice on specific brands, what I should consider as I look at tents, etc?

Thanks in advance!!!

Read More

11

13

Advice

Concealed carry while wearing a backpack?

Friend of the Pod - July 3, 2020

I’m just about done with my level 3 BOB, and as I’ve been thinking things through I realized I have no idea how I would carry a concealed pistol while wearing a pack with a hip belt. The only thing I can think of that seems practical would be to carry it in a pouch attached to the hip belt itself, though presumably that would severely limit my ability to draw the gun quickly, even with a pouch designed for concealed carry. Stowing the pistol in the pack itself strikes me as a no-go. What do you guys think? Does anyone have experience with a situation like this? I’m curious to hear whatever solutions the rest of you in the community have come up with.

FWIW, my carry gun for a bug out scenario is a Glock 19, for which I have both IWB and OWB holsters.

Read More

15

25

How do you (safely) access the water in your water heater in case of outage?

Jonnie PekelnyContributor - June 29, 2020

When talking about water preparedness I always hear that we should take into account the 30 or 40 or however many gallons of water stored in our water heater. I mean that if the water goes out we can drain the water heater for drinking, washing, and whatever other vital uses. But for a person like me, who’s not very handy or knowledgeable about repairs, I have no idea how to drain my water heater except in the normal way, by running the hot water in my faucet. Can anybody provide any guides or links to guides where I might learn?

Read More

15

8

Skills

Emergency radio

MrsG - June 27, 2020

I looked through the gear recs and didn’t see one specifically for an NOAA radio/charger.  I did see the information on Ham radio. But if someone’s not there yet and would like an emergency radio in their kit, any specifics ones people like?

Read More

18

13

Gear

Turns out an old wives tale about magic soil from an Irish church was real

Essie Carroll - June 24, 2020

Found this while looking for positive stories, haha. Since the early 1800s, the people in a town in Northern Ireland called Boho thought the soil from a nearby church had healing powers. They would put some dirt under their pillow when they were sick, and the folklore was that it would heal you.

A scientist tested the soil a few years back and it turns out to have strong antibacterial properties. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-46651702

It got me wondering if there are other examples of survival folklore actually being true?

Read More

9

9

News

If you just started gardening or raising chickens/rabbits, how has it gone?

Mike Hill - June 22, 2020

It’s been on my prepper wish list for a long time, but I haven’t done it yet. I saw the news stories about how covid caused a lot of people to suddenly jump into growing or raising their own food. I’m guessing it’s not as easy as people might have thought when they rushed into it in a panic.

So I’m curious… if this was you, how is it going?

Read More

16

19

Advice

My EDC – what am i missing

TP_X5 - June 22, 2020

I need a holster, a belt, sunglasses, maybe some tactical shoes? Prefer made in USA, of course.

Read More

9

5

Hobby farm or homestead?

squidvicious - June 22, 2020

My wife and I have been talking about “doing something else” for a couple years (she quit her job, mine seems to be reaching a natural point of exit).  The time seems to be ripe for actually following-through!   I have convinced her we should add hobby farm/homestead to the mix.

Assumptions…

1. Want to move north.  Like, New England.  Would consider upstate NY part of the acceptable geography.

2. One of us will continue to work for income, benefits, etc.

3. We have a 6 year old.  No homeschooling. So, proximity to town/schools, etc. is still going to be important.  (i.e. not too remote)

4. I enjoy, but have no allusions about adopting, the mythology displayed on all those Alaska shows (I’m pretty grounded as to the reality of small farm operations)

Questions…

1. Any tips on finding a property?  Anything specific to look for (or not) up north?

2. We aren’t young… I mean, we’re young enough to have a 6 year old but we’re not 20 or 30 somethings.  Does our age matter in terms of actual labor required? In terms of finding a property that is “turnkey” vs “needs work”?

3. Any key indicators to look for?  Anything you wish you’d known before? Or that you would do differently?

4 How ridiculous an idea is it?  Dick Proenneke is good inspiration, for the challenge he took on as a middle-aged person.  But to be clear, we are definitely not going all remote-cabin-in-the-woods.

Read More

16

12

AdviceSkills

What were your best COVID-19 preps?

Josh CentersContributor - June 21, 2020

We’ve had threads on prepping mistakes learned from COVID-19, but I’m curious about what you did right? As for me, I’m pretty happy that I:

Moved to a small farm outside the city limits with arable land and other natural resources Raised chickens, even if they aren’t laying as well as they once did Stocked up on disinfectants, toilet paper, and paper towels *just* before the panic-buying started Had a 3M respirator on hand Started a small salad garden in early March. We haven’t been to a store in three months, but we’ve had fresh salads a couple of times per week. Already worked from home and homeschooled my children Read More

13

12

Hello world! Why we’re launching a forum

The Prepared - June 21, 2020

Hello! For the first post in the new Prepared forum, we wanted to say welcome and share our thoughts on why we’ve created “yet another survival forum” and some plans for the future.

Most importantly: No company can “build” a community. Only people can do that. So while we’ll keep the lights on and the spam out, it’s up to you — the rational people out there who want to see a better preparedness forum — to create the kind of party you want to hang out at. Step up!

Part of why we started The Prepared in the first place was because existing social forums/groups weren’t the best way for people (especially beginners) to get routine information.

Other forums/groups are too often polluted with repetitive questions like “should I buy a Lifestraw?” or “how do I get started?”, for example.

That kind of information is better kept in a linkable, well-researched, and professionally-written article that you can actually trust (unlike the random comments you’d get elsewhere). That’s why we started with the permanent reviews and guides in the main part of this website — and we’re still ramping up that investment even more.

Discussion forums are better for open discussions — things that aren’t easily captured in a single broad article or video.

Put another way: articles are great for building the roots, trunk, and main branches of a tree, while community discussions fill in the spaces with smaller branches and leaves.

So we think of articles and community discussions as a one-two punch. Each one is valuable on its own, but together, they help more people learn more stuff in the best way possible.

Raising the bar on moderation and quality

Another common problem in online prepper groups is the noise and nastiness that comes from bickering about hot-button topics like politics and other generally bad behavior.

Many of you have been asking us to launch this forum just so that you had a nice place to hang out that wasn’t ruined by that noise.

So that’s another reason why this forum exists: not to censor, but to create a place where anyone can talk about prepping — not where preppers can talk about anything.

Even though this is still a young project with a small team, through the support of community donations we’ve been able to hire a community moderator to show how serious we are about making this the best place on the web for meaningful preparedness conversations.

You can read more about our moderation policies and goals here: https://theprepared.com/forum/thread/community-rules-moderation-policies-and-faq/

What kinds of people and topics will be here?

There’s no way our staff can know everything about prepping, keep up with the latest gear, write about every personal scenario you might be facing, and so on. That’s where you come in.

Thankfully there are so many knowledgeable and helpful people in this community! Thank you to everyone who’s offered to contribute to developing the main knowledge base on this website.

We hope this forum is not only a place for people to learn, but also to share:

If you bought a product and want to share your thoughts, do it! If you grew up fishing in a harsh climate and have advice that general fishing guides might skip, share it! Curious about how to power a CPAP machine while off-grid in the Pacific Northwest where solar exposure isn’t great? Ask! Do you work in a relevant job (such as a power plant engineer) and want to explain the weak points in the system? Preach it! Crafted a neat DIY 3-D printed project? Show it!

Not only will excellent posts and comments be rewarded, people who are either verified experts or show they are great community members will get extra labeling so you have more context about the people you interact with here.

We’ve also hired writers that were found in the community and/or will give credit for any information that helps improve the main knowledge base.

We’re so excited to hang out with and learn from you! Cheers,

The Prepared Team

Read More

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6

Meta

Services to help you prep?

David Krueger - June 21, 2020

Are there any existing companies that exist to help people prep?

Read More

7

2

AdviceMeta

What to expect when buying a quarter of beef

Olly Wright - June 13, 2020

Read More

11

5

New guy here.

Dan Rose - June 12, 2020

Hi people I am a new guy here my name is Dan. I live in a small apartment with my mom and cat no kids. I live in a rural area of NE Indiana. I am into prepping but only can do so much since I live in an apartment. I have building some preps. I want to setup some defense. My mom is against firearms and my apartment rules are to. I do have my Indiana CCW permit. I am stuck on what to do next for setups.

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Advice

Avoiding freezer burn when storing meat

Jay ValenciaContributor - June 10, 2020

My smart wife grabbed a chest freezer a few months ago before they all sold out. So we’re starting to store meat for the long term, which I’ve never really done before. The few times I did, the meat would get freezer burn not long after. Maybe a few weeks. Not all of it would be ruined but enough that I didn’t make long term storage a habit.

But I get the sense that I’ve been doing something wrong if so many preppers are keeping meat for months. What do you recommend to avoid this?

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Advice

Good guide from WHO for making your own hand sanitizer

Dragoon - June 9, 2020

I read the blog post about the Force Of Nature machine that makes disinfectant at home. So I started googling for similar gadgets that could make hand sanitizer. There are a ton of low-effort posts around the web because of covid. Found this one from WHO which seems to be trustworthy and easy, thought I’d share (PDF):

https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_Local_Production.pdf

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Skills

Video series on butchering a hog

Paulino Martin - June 5, 2020

Found these videos on Reddit that show how to butcher a hog at home. Not for the faint of heart but it’s something worth knowing how to do the right way. Especially if the meat shortages are going to last a while.

I couldn’t figure out how to put one of the videos here but they’re all on the page if you scroll.

https://www.rusticmillingandcraft.com/blog/categories/home-butcher-educational-videos

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Skills

Does anyone have any experience with the Kelly Kettle Trekker stove?

Haus Monkey - May 29, 2020

I’ve come across the Kelly Kettle Trekker for the first time today. Has anyone ever used one, or have any experience with it whatsoever? Here’s a link: https://www.kellykettleusa.com/trekker-small-stainless-steel-kelly-kettle

From what I gather, the Kelly stoves are those kind of fast-boil stoves that use wood, twigs, an almost anything to burn. The Trekker is interesting to me because it seems like a combination of a Firebox-style camping stove, and a boiler pot. In a kit. Like a wood burning JetBoil if it makes sense.

Any insights, thoughts, or experiences with it would be extremely helpful. Thanks.

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Gear

Phone apps to save power in a crunch?

Liz Klein - May 26, 2020

I have a newish Samsung and was wondering if anyone knows of a good app to increase the battery life? In an emergency situation where I would need to use it for longer, I would love to be able to squeeze more out of the battery. I’ve looked up a few and I think there are built in settings but does anyone know of a good one that I should try?

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Advice

How do you feel about “we care” COVID advertisements?

Conrad B - May 25, 2020

How do you feel about the way brands are making ads for a COVID-19 world? I’ve seen the words “we are all in this together” at least 800 times in the last week. Something has been bothering me about this and I can’t decide if it’s icky, genuine or just smart marketing.

Here’s a supercut of examples that show how similar they are:

And an example from a website:

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