There are many steps that we can take which will advance our preparedness. However, there are also many things that we can do which are counterproductive to the point where we are putting our lives at risk.
It is just as important to be mindful of what not to do as it is to actively do the things that will advance us in our journey to self-reliance. I have broken down here five things that I have noticed some preppers do that you should never do.
Have All Your Supplies In One Location
We all have heard the expression, ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket.’ This is true of our supplies as well. Ideally, we would all like to have a bugout location, several caches along the route, and a well-stocked home.
Unfortunately, the reality is that a tiny minority of us have the financial means to achieve a setup like this. Most of us keep all our preparedness supplies in our homes.
When all our supplies are in a single location, if something were to happen to that area of our home, such as a fire, collapse, theft etc., we could lose our entire stockpile. To avoid this situation, we must distribute our supplies in various locations around our homes.
Keep bugout bags in each bedroom closet, distribute water and food in as many separate locations as possible, and, if possible, store some supplies in a secure location away from your home. Avoid storing supplies in vulnerable areas such as sheds and garages or in crawl spaces which may become cut off due to damage or collapse.
Disclose The Full Extent Of Your Preps
Unless you are a part of a prepper group with whom you have an extraordinary level of trust, there is no reason why anyone outside your household should know the extent of your supplies and preparedness plans.
Related: The 5 Tactical Levels Of Preparedness – What Level Are You At?
Your neighbors, friends, and family can be aware that you are a prepper and survivalist but should not know the true extent of your supply situation.
Always downplay how prepared you actually are, and definitely do not go on any reality shows bragging about how ready you are for the apocalypse.
The more people are aware of your preparedness state, the more people you will find on your doorstep come SHTF.
Disregard The Importance Of Cyber-Security
I think robust cyber-security is probably the Achilles heel of many preppers and survivalists. Technology changes so fast that it can be challenging to keep up.
Especially when we are focusing on building a stockpile of supplies and skills to use in the event of an SHTF situation. But, with so much of our personal information being online, we need to take its security seriously.
Related: If You Own A Mobile Phone This Is What The Government, Google & Facebook Know About You
One of the first things we can all do is start using unique and secure passwords for everything. This is a royal pain in the butt but is an essential step to hardening ourselves from cyber threats.
Avoiding the use of password managers is also a good step to take.
But if you decide to use one, be sure that you are using two-factor authentication.
It is also a good idea to use two-factor authorization whenever possible to increase your security.
The next thing is to limit our reliance on smart home devices. These devices can be hacked and used against us. Smart plugs, thermostats, cameras, security sensors, garage doors, etc., can all be accessed by cybercriminals to gain access to our homes or our personal information.
We also need to be very cautious about what we post on social media. Every picture or video we publish needs to be vetted before we put it up for everyone to see.
Take a close look at the background and check for anything that may betray the extent of our preparedness or the security of our homes. Definitely never post anything that may indicate that your house is vacant.
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Lastly, we must keep all of our devices up to date to patch any vulnerabilities that pop up from time to time.
We also need to be aware of what we are downloading onto our devices and what emails we are opening. Staying up to date on our malware scans and anti-virus software is also essential.
Even though it seems like cyber-security is the last thing you should be worried about when prepping for a grid-down scenario, failing to exercise vigilance very well could result in personal SHTF for you and your family.
Go Into Debt To Fund Your Preparedness
Being prepared for emergencies is an investment in your future. Preparedness requires us to spend our hard-earned money to acquire supplies we may never use.
Also, many of the most important items we can get are some of the most costly, and most of us can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars to get these big-ticket items.
It is tempting to take on some debt to purchase the more expensive items. The problem with this is that going into debt only results in you paying more in the end.
Not to mention, owing money to a bank or credit card company is not a good start to self-reliance.
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The better option is to find savings in your household budget to put aside for these expensive items. Freelance work, creating a side-hustle, upgrading your skills for a better paying job, etc are a few other ways to acquire the money to upgrade your preparedness.
Be A ‘Lone Wolf’
I don’t care what the movies say; being a ‘lone wolf’ is going to lead to nothing but trouble. There is a good reason why human civilization has always gathered in groups.
There is not only strength in numbers, but many hands make for lighter work. When you are alone, all the tasks related to your survival fall squarely on your shoulders alone.
Related: 18th Century Skills That Will Become Life-Saving When SHTF
On the other hand, if you are in a group of like-minded individuals, the workload is now divided among several people. Prepping as a group also has the advantage of each person has unique skills that will benefit the whole.
A group of people also brings with it added security since everyone will be watching out for each other.
Many times throughout the day, we are vulnerable; if we are alone, that vulnerability can be fatal. We need someone to watch out for us while we sleep, eat, prepare food, use the washroom, etc.
There is strength in numbers and being a ‘lone wolf’ is no way to approach SHTF.
Knowing what to do is only half the battle; we all must also know what not to do as well.
Being aware of what we should avoid doing as preppers is an essential step to keeping our preps safe, secure, and hidden until the time that we need them.
I know that most think that the Lone Wolf ideology is not a good idea, but in its defenses, I fill that we all are lone wolf’s until we find the group that you wish to be in.
So being a lone wolf might not be a bad thing, at least it will give you time to find the right kind of people to get with, if you wish to do that or you can wait until you find a place to call home, but you are a lone wolf until that time.
What I am saying is to look at your-self as a Lone Wolf, because you just might find your-self in that situation, so you need to train and learn your-self to be that way. What if you get cut off from your group, yes you are still part of a group, but now you are alone. Lone Wolf…
Now you have the capability to survive with the knowledge of a lone wolf.
Remember lone wolves are not a dumb animal or person. They are survivors just waiting.
I agree. I feel the anti lone wolf sentiment contradicts the ‘don’t disclose your preps’ to a degree. It’s going to take time to find a group you can trust as well as try to vet to be sure that they’re of the same preparedness mindset as you and not just faking it to get ‘in’ and then take what you’ve got
We are fortunate enough to be isolated from neighbors, my closest neighbor is a half a mile away, but they are like-minded preparation type people, on both sides. They are self-sufficient and almost Homesteaders. My neighbor just passed me still logs with mules! We live 6 miles from a small town, in an area that sparsely populated. Our main road is lightly traveled, which is why we chose this area for our subterranean, on 40 acres. when choosing a location I believe it’s just as important to find out what kind of neighbors you would be moving next too!!!
I agree Red Ant. I am and will remain a loner. I do not know how people put complete trust in anyone, especially in a shtf survival event.
You should not be a lone wolf there is strength in numbers and you must not try to be all alone. Sometimes it takes a leap of faith to trust others. The people you hold dear to you. They can help you in time of need and you can help them in their time of need. Working together is much better. I have very good neighbors. Some of them hunt and they are kind and sharing. I know when the going gets rough that we will all hang together for safety in numbers. You might go nuts if you try to go it alone.
Like minded people are hard to find. My best bets are extended family members and long time generational friends from church. Over the years, we have all continually demonstrated on many occasions and on many levels who we can depend upon, who we can turn to in a time of need, who has our best interests at heart, and who we can definitely put our trust in without hesitation. One has to choose wisely.
I moved out of the city and left many brothers and sisters behind. Then I lost my wife to Alzheimers. There is little doubt that we are in the last days but hard to find those of a like mind. This should be the church’s finest hour. True believer in the Black Hills.
You have the right idea!
You need to be able to survive as a “Lone Wolf,” before you even think about becoming part of a group. NEVER scatter your “possibles!” Strangers cannot stab you in the back, only someone you trusted! How are you going to tote all your belongings if you “bug out,” as opposed to “bugging in?” I have an acre of land in Colorado, but it is not a good site to bug out to. No way to get everything up there. I have 8 acres at the end of a road in the Big Thicket.. Plus our home here, with a spare lot dedicated to gardening and chickens. I am not a “prepper,” but I do plan to survive, if GOD wants me to!
I agree Sir finding people to trust is hard . TRUST IS THE REAL COMMIDITY NOT MONEY LIKE WE ARE LED TO BELIEVE
Our group is called the lone wolves
We work together as a team
Yeah thanks horseplay X-Spurt.
X-spurt, are you hanging your horse to age it before butchering? Did you sacrifice it to your Elohim Cult beasties?
The Weil Hung Horse,
That’s BS. Insane asylums don’t allow deranged lunatics to work together because the multiple personalities might hatch
some violent plot.
I’m sorry that the shock treatments haven’t helped you any.
Phrenology might be an option though.The doctors might go
for it since nothing else has worked
Say hello to nurse Ratchet.
I’m sure that the gov. does NOT like lone wolves. What does that tell you?
The Government doesn’t like any independent thought. They require group think to control the masses.
I don’t think the government actually likes anybody. They have gone after single families (Ruby Ridge), and groups (Waco). Nope… I don’t think anybody is safe from the government.
You’er right. In utter desperation, they raided Mar-a-Lago.
I see a lot of comments against the lone wolf statement. I think the way to look at this is that you should have a group, or at least a couple, like minded people BEFORE SHTF happens. These people can be your support group and help each other after SHTF. Knowing them and their skills before had will make it easier to reach out to them when you need to. For example, a member of my group is great with gardening, another is the best fisherman I have ever known. I, myself, have a vast knowledge of herbal medications and cures. We have plans in place before hand so that when SHTF we’re ready to deal with it. Oh, and 3 of the group members have HAM systems we can use.
Something to consider.
Stabal
If only we could have all the things that everyone else has, then we would not need anything but what we have.
Not everyone can have that, that you have. So be thankful that at least someone has a good place to have to survive the end times. Some have nothing or at best something very precious and nothing else.
stay sharp.
Stabal, perfect situation, well maybe not perfect, but certainly ideal. I wish I was near you. I would say good luck, but sounds like you have the bases covered.
Spreading out your supplies is a great idea and one I practiced until now. I had a trailer (sleeps 6 and powered by nat gas) fully equipped with food and water at a 35 acre property owned by a friend of mine is the Apps–I found it raided and trashed a month ago with all my water and freeze-dried food stolen and the filter systems and solar arrays gone as well.
I had a second site of about 90 acres where I had several thousand dollars worth or freeze dried food stored in a small barn there (this was really remote and deep into the Appalachians, only 7 acres are cleared and it’s right in the center of the 90 acre lot, two running streams, but no other water or power even close to the location). After my trailer was ransacked I went to check on the second site and sure enough all the meat buckets, milk buckets, and fruit buckets were gone and the sugar buckets had been gone through (took about half my inventory)
The first group were just vandals, the second group, well, I hope they we’re in need of food and just did what they had to do. I’m down about $19K total counting the trailer (not insured–it was insurances…) but not a big deal–no one to blame but myself for not checking on them regularly (had not checked on either for about 8 months). So, if you spread your preps out, check on them regularly or they might not be there when you need them, no matter how safe you think they are
I just moved to a more rural area, SC Vs. MA. I feel at least here as a woman I can easily own a gun and have the rights to use it more easily.
It’s also the first time I can afford to have a home with a yard with a shed vs. a condo. (Its condo world in the north east of MA as they seem desperate to chop all trees down.
The wind has grown quite intense the last 2 years daily I hear everyone commenting.
The climate where I now reside is warmer, longer being more conducive to a longer growing time. But, for all my skills and better amenities allow, I don’t know how to really find these like minded people. Tho I’ve only been here less than 3 months, I feel time is something I can never have enough of.
Dulasiri, start gardening or other outdoor activity and be seen doing it by others in your area. That can be used as a conversation starter with others around you, simple questions like “I would like to grow some of my own vegetables and learn how to can them, do you do any gardening or canning?” Many people around me say no, but a couple have chatted about what they grow, how to deal with pests and diseases, where they get their supplies, and what they have experienced. I kept mental notes that these are people to chat with a little more when I see them, ask them about things like home repairs, if they like fishing and where to go, things like that. Get to know them slowly while they get to know a little about you, but not too much, trust is precious and must be earned.
DZ,
Great approach. Find a few things you are interested in and talk to people about them, find some common interests to socialise over. Gradually get to know each other before you even think of talking ‘prepping’. You might someone with great skills and be sitting around having a cuppa one day and they let slip that they “can’t wait for their parents to die because they deserve the inheritance” and you think “hrm… not sure this is Prepper Pal material” suddenly – great skills, but a callous disregard for even their own parents. Hrm.
So take your time. Earn trust on both sides, and plan for the long game. Prepping is a marathon (hopefully) and not a sprint. You won’t run a marathon without starting doing some 2-5km runs first, then 10km. So to put this as an example you might grow a few veggies, then join a local community garden or growing group (2km run) and scale up a bit and learn from each other (5km run). Eventually you start growing everything you eat (you are now at 10km) and then you add in canning (20km/half marathon), and then you add in animals (chooks) and then processing the chickens yourself (now you are a marathon runner!).
Take your time, learn how to do something by experience, and meet others who are doing it. You’ll also find people who when you have a cold offer you fresh lemons and honey from their own yards, and who share seeds with you without any need for you to compensate them. Foster these friendships – in Prepper worlds the rule is “what do you bring to the table” … and “never show up empty handed”. You want to find people who are already living this philosophy, and be equally generous yourself.
sounds to me that it was an “inside job” >> you actually think it was a coincidence that both locations got raided and the prepper oriented stuff was ripped off ….
you had an OPSEC breach and better have that fixed before you bother with a re-supply …
“Loose lips sink ships!” and lots of other stuff too! Here in the big city anything not nailed down, can and will be ripped off. Keeps us on our toes!
It really seems too coincidental that both your stashes got hit. Sorry you went through that.
i.e. Who do you trust?
IF It’s an inside job it had to be someone you thought you could trust….
Put all your eggs in one basket, then WATCH THAT BASKET
WJBN sorry to hear it! Interesting that both your caches were raided. Do you think it’s someone you know who worked it out, or opportunistic thieves at both locations?
What can you do in future for better protection?
Have you considered some kind of invisible storage? Buried chests? Animal proof boxes then covered in several loads of fire wood? Hidden cameras that can at least tell you who has been and stolen stuff?
It’s interesting that only half of your second stash went. Are they planning come back for more later or do they feel guilty about stealing from you, or were they just passing through and that’s all they could carry. Don’t you wish you could ask them!
Negative thought for the day: if the SHTF we’re all going to have a really rough time no matter what anyone has in preps. In the city you won’t be safe; in the county you won’t be safe. Any generators, running vehicles, bicycles, livestock, etc that you have will make you an instant target. So will sitting on your porch with a shotgun. You’d best get right with God and pray for his wisdom and guidance. We’re gonna need it.
I don’t get all the prepper experts who advise not going into debt.
When TSHTF, dollars will be worthless. And if I’m eating beans & rice and guarding my compound with an AR-15, I’m not going to be too worried about what the bank says about my credit card.
First, it is dishonest to enter into a debt while having no intention to repay it. My value system does not allow it, and I hope that I wouldn’t violate that no matter the circumstances.
Second, prepping is a long game and none of us can predict how events will play out. I personally believe that our world will steadily become more and more gray and dark, rather than falling apart suddenly due to a single SHTF event. There might be plenty of time for banks and government to operate (and enforce the collection of debts) at the same time that life is becoming harder and harder, and marauders are growing in number and boldness.
A very concept that along with cannot survive is propaganda on top of the propaganda of being a pepper. If you are not already living a lifestyle where you are aware of your surroundings, speak little of the truth of what you have and provide no information on the internet then All Is Lost for you. Being a lone wolf is the only way many of us can survive in the early days. Placing yourself in a position where you need a large group to defend a large compound or a neighborhood watch group is going to make you a large Target for roving gangs and I personally believe these gangs are going to be military police. Being a lone wolf gives you maximum Mobility my advice for you of charge with no cookies or pay requirements is it if you have a group you begin training them to survive on their own. Travel on their own and work by themselves this way they can arrive at the designated location from multiple directions giving valuable information on what is moving through the countryside. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter whether you are prepared or not accidents and illness are going to take a high toll observing your surroundings will prevent that that’s the secret to being alone wolf.
Someone once said to me that they would put extra food, clothing, boots, ammo etc. into plastic barrels and bury them in different locations. As well as make PVC caches with other stuff like heirloom seeds for future food growing. (Just be sure to properly store in vacuum sealed jars or mylar bags). And if you have a lake, pond take either a barrel or PVC pipe cache and weigh it down several yards offshore. Not many people think or want to get wet looking for supplies in water. (Especially in winter) Also they said, try and plant a garden not so organized. Plant root plants among flowers and shrubs that are messy looking, or overgrown. Often veggies are overlooked mixed in with plants that don’t look edible. And planting a thorny plant and shrubs in forest or dense overgrowth on the lines of how in Africa the farm animals, i.e., cattle and goats are kept in center of thorny branched trees, (Boma?) So predatory animals can’t get to them as easy. So, making like a maze of thorning bushes winding until center clearing where small garden is planted. Makes it harder for deer, elk, … to eat at your crop. Rabbits, smaller animals will need low wire dug 10-12 ” into ground following base of thorn bushes. Also keeping birds, deer etc. busy if you plant black berries, blue berries etc. several yards in all directions helps keep them more interested/distracted and away from your other growing food sources. Humans too. Don’t know if these ideas suggest will work, but if more than one is placed throughout your property, if one or two are left unfound then it’s a small win. Can even put back a small store of food/water (few canned food/ bottles of water) in previous looted places; hopefully they take and move on, and totally leave hidden caches further back off property away from the main road or track road that led them to it first time. Move the trailer to different location that is farther away from food stores hidden or the food being grown more interior of property. And to make it more troublesome at trailer etc. put in ground traps (for them to step into) all around the place. Booby trap window/doors. It’s a more drastic option, but people think twice of coming back again.
Hear HEAR!!
That is the right attitude to have as a survivalist. Very different from a prepper. These articles that add goofy fear-mongering onto a decent and thoughtful prepping/survival article is not doing anyone any favours. My favourite stupidity is- Why you should NEVER bug-in… is just ludicrous in some of the comments. IMO, ANY prepping/survival topic is perfect for you as a lone wolf or a group as long as you follow smart and common sense practices AT ALL TIMES.
i.e. Who do you trust?
IF It’s an inside job it had to be someone you thought you could trust….
Interesting that the majority of the comments are about the last item in your article. IMO, a Lone Wolf has a lot on his/her shoulders b/c that person needs to know that when/if they are on their own, they can live and survive quite nicely without any help. If there is a situation where they hook-up with a like-minded small group then they can contribute greatly.
The main problem that I see is there is ALWAYS some dummy who is getting under the skin of most people in the group and in the end they just basically need to be jettisoned or put down to “fit in” better. Unfortunately Hollywood has many examples of the wingnut who turns into a bitter, seething with anger outsider that destroys all that the group has built-up. Sad really.
The wing nut is an issue. I get torn between group dynamics and the assumption that a group will always have a leader, followers, critical/analytical thinkers and so on, and if there isn’t an obvious person in the role someone will step forward and fill it… and the alternate – that people are intrinsically who they are and always step up to the same sort of roles, which can lead to conflict when more than one person wants to wear a specific hat.
In the first the idea is that every group also has a ‘caring helpful’ person and a ‘noisy talker’ and a ‘idiot risk taker’. But that’s not true. There will always in a group be one person who is the least (and the most) risk taking. Everything can be scaled thusly.
Then look at how we’re all being trained into echo chambers by social media – the whole algorithms thing is filling our heads with more and more of the same voices. If you have a group of people all with the same group think, the same compass guiding them it sounds great – but is it? The lost opportunities in learning new things, taking considered risks etc are tremendous when everything comes down to the wire in a survival situation. Personally I’d rather a few stones in my shoes that make me second guess myself sometimes.
I have a rather annoying kid. He really is. He’s loud, he’s brash, he’s energetic and he’s taken the ‘asking 100 questions’ well beyond the norm. My other kid is calm, quiet, does what he’s told, hates dirt and is ridiculously hard to convince to do anything stupid. If I have to hike ANYWHERE guess which kid I am taking? The annoying one. He drives me nuts, but he does stuff. And his many small risks have paid off in great ways. Now if I need to move silently, at night, the quiet one is better by a long shot. But during the day the noisy one will carry more, do more helpful things, with enthusiasm. His incessant chatter will drive me bonkers, but he’ll get us there so much more efficiently. I can also send him on missions and know he’ll think sensibly and come back in one piece. The other kid refuses to engage with life enough to have half the common sense.
Choose your group mates wisely, but don’t fall into the ‘group think’ trap. I’ll take a wing nut in, so long as they aren’t actually dangerous to the group – no homicidal risks. But only if they will actually work. Every spare set of hands is needed. But I won’t take in someone manipulative, greedy, controlling or dominant or who is going to go psycho and kill us all. The line to there from “I just don’t like how they talk all day” is very very very wide. In a true survival situation we’re all going to have to man up a bit and work with who and what we have too.
One other thought on the whole “who takes who in” for a group.
Are we actually “taking people in”? That implies we have a leadership role and decide who is in the club and out.
I suspect that using a group consensus decision making tool will be more effective over time.
And I say this as a person who is qualified to be the leader in that I will own the assets and resources and have done the setup for a SHTF bug out that can accept people, but ownership in this situation will be tenuous and a really soft diplomatic approach with a side arm if needed is probably required. We don’t ‘own humans’ and they aren’t something we get ultimate control over (pretty sure the US folks fought a war over that!, and the Aussies are apologising profoundly for similar), we need to be careful of our own mindset as we put these groups together. It’s a two way interview, a partnership.
people talk about groups because they have been programmed over the years to think like that, the herd instinct.
I’m a lone wolf, by name, upbringing and belief, I trust no one.
most if not all pre SHTF groups fall apart long before any event happens and post SHTF is definitely not the time to start trusting strangers.
the only group that works is the family unit and even some of them dont.
unfortunately my family is all deceased and I am the last in my line.
lone wolfs only have one person to worry about and only one person to consult.
most so called preppers try to make survival too complicated, keep it simple is my motto and my philosophy.
At Lonewolf, i completely agree. I’m an empty nester now, but still young enough to be fully physically capable of living after SHTF. I know that i’m not as fully prepped as i need to be, but i’m plugging holes as fast as my budget will allow. So many people talk about their bugout bag and if you live in the city, especially a big city, a bug out bag is an absolute must along with a solid place to bug out TO. Once you reach your bug out place, you are then, by definition, BUGGING IN. I’m 100% in tune with what you say about the lone wolf philosophy. I live in a rural area, 9 miles “out in the sticks” as they say, on 80 acres of land. In an SHTF scenario of the worst type, i intend to stay put on my place for as long as needs to be to ride out the storm. Large groups do provide a lot of people power to get things done, but also at a large cost in the way of food, water, housing, waste disposal, etc. One or two people can live a long time on a relatively much smaller amount of food. How much food and water does a group of 10 or 20 consume each day? A LOT. I actively plan and have built some “special features” into my domicile to help protect me and mine from outside forces.
If you bug out;What’ll happen to the site you’re leaving?
More Amer. preppers need to study the “GREY MAN” concept:
1) Do NOT publicize that you’re a prepper.
2) DISCRETELY purchase stuff for your stockpile.
3) Do Not tell outsiders that you own firearms. Discretely store firearms in your house and car.
4) If you own a bug out vehicle; do not make it look like one.A jacked up 4×4 will look stupid if you live in a large city.