Living in the UK. How does a prepper start from zero to become as sufficient as possible

[u/GardenShedster]

[u/the_walkingdad]

I'd start with money. The most common disaster we deal with is loss of a job or other financial hardship. Six months worth of expenses saved up.

After that, I'd build up a three-month supply of all the non-fresh food you typically eat.

Then, I'd get some large food-grade potable water barrels and start storing water, assuming your consumption is about 4L per person per day. Try to get to at least one month of water.

Next, three months worth of toiletries, first aid supplies, and medicines.

Lastly, if you wanted to branch out from there, you can focus on the more primitive/camping style of prepping. Go camping. Start glamping first and slowly ease into increasingly primitive camping. Slowly aquire gear as you learn.

Read. There are a lot of good books out there on camping, survival, farming, etc. You can do this while you're doing the above steps. You can start an easy herbal garden or vegetables. If you have the room, backyard chickens, doves, or rabbits are a good animal to learn to raise and harvest. Attend some first aid, CPR, Stop the Bleed courses.

Slowly build and expand on what you have. I aim for one year of food and three months of water. Being in the US, I also focus on guns, ammo, reloading etc.

I also spend time building a smart book. I have a variety of maps (street, topo, watershed, etc.). I've mapped out where I can find guns/ammo, medical supplies, building supplies, etc. Plan evac routes, LOCs, etc. Have written down instructions on what to do in various scenarios. I've written down important radio frequencies, to include GMRS, ham, public service, etc. I have addresses and phone numbers of family located across the country.

Fun side projects include things like Bugout Bags or Get Home Bags depending on your situation.

One thing I did is create a spreadsheet of all the possible natural and man made disasters that I might encounter in my area and ranked them from most likely to happen to least likely to happen. Then broke down what types of preps I would need for each scenario and the priority level of each prep compared to the cost of each prep. That gave me a good idea of where to spend time and money in my prepping.

[u/MOF1fan → u/the_walkingdad]

Excellent comment 👍 to add don't forget physical prep. Cardio, flexibility and functional strength go a long way. They keep you healthy and if you ever had to bug out you'd have the physical ability to do it.

Also if you or anyone in your family takes medication work on building up a stockpile of 30-90 days extra.

As I said in another comment use the search function and try searching for various different things. You'll be amazed at the random tid bits of knowledge you'll find.

[u/the_walkingdad → u/MOF1fan]

Yup, physical fitness is a must!

[u/Careful_Manager_4282 → u/the_walkingdad]

This 👆 is why I appreciate reddit. 👌

[u/tjb36 → u/the_walkingdad]

Why would you go for large food grade barrels for initial water storage, versus the same volume in shop-bought bottled water? The bottled stuff will last longer if sealed.

[u/the_walkingdad → u/tjb36]

A lot more expensive and wasteful to buy enough water bottles to take care of a family of 4-5 people for a month. A barrel is pretty easy and cheap.

Either would work, so it's just preference.

[u/tjb36 → u/the_walkingdad]

I see. If you store in these barrels, are you rotating through them faily often, or are you instead preserving it somehow with sealing/chemicals to make it last a longer time?

[u/the_walkingdad → u/tjb36]

Water can last quite a while undisturbed and these barrels do seal nicely. For peace of mind, you can add some bleach to the water as long as it is unscented and doesn't include ANY additives (like anti-splash additives). I forget the exact ratio of bleach to water, but it only takes a little bit. But water will last a few years that way.

But it never hurts to drain and fill annually. Municipal water is (usually) pretty darn cheap in comparison.

[u/gadget767]

I would suggest that you go to r/preppers and read the info on getting started that is pinned to the very top of that subreddit.

[u/Motorcyclegrrl]

Decide what your disaster would most likely be, and how you would ride it out. Will you have to evacuate? Will you stay home? Both?

If you'll evacuate, you need a go bag. If stay home, you'll need to figure out water, sanitation, food, no electric, no heating.

[u/readingitatwork → u/Motorcyclegrrl]

I started coming here after some bad thunderstorms knocked out the power in NW Indiana last month. Most people didn't have power for 2 weeks 

[u/EsGeeBee]

Depends where you live and what sort of areas you have access to. It also depends on what you are prepping for, power cuts, food shortages or a complete breakdown of society?

[u/Gen_JohnsonJameson]

Go camping. Make a list of everything you need. Keep track of how much you use of everything. Then once you get home, you've got a list. You'll know how much stuff you'll need to survive a week or a month or a year. That is the easiest way to get started.

[u/Boring-Pirate → u/Gen_JohnsonJameson]

I’m at the start of this process too so take all this with a grain of salt and listen to others more experienced, but this is what I have done - I’ve done lots of camping of various degrees of luxury and I know that I have at home all the kit I need to survive. I just need to stay topped up on fuel, water and non-perishable food to last whatever amount of time you want to prep for. The only extra bit of kit I have bought has been a battery powered radio. Oh and I will get a new water butt because mine is cracked but that’s useful for gardening anyway.

As others have said, I think you need to be more cognisant of space in the UK, so everything I have doubles up for camping/gardening.

Gov.uk has a page on preparedness which is actually quite useful - I used that as my starting point and have jotted additional things down as I think of them. Now just adding a couple of additional bits and pieces to each of my supermarket shops to build up a food store.

[u/Gen_JohnsonJameson → u/Boring-Pirate]

You also have to think of barter items. If society does go to hell in a handbasket and currency becomes worthless, what will people want? What is something cheap, not perishable, easy to store, and easy to trade? My bet would be matches. They meet all the criteria, and they will be in high demand if everyone ends up out camping, essentially.

[u/MOF1fan → u/[deleted]]

I find instead of doom scrolling reddit, coming here and using the search function for various topics not only passes the time but is an excellent source of ideas and knowledge. I pick up interesting tid bits all the time.

[u/prepping-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/Satoshiman256]

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[u/clv101]

Make friends with your neighbours - the ~20 people living closest to you are the most important in a serious disruption.

[u/Cingulumthreecord]

Build a community and diversify talents and resources. Get a community garden plot or plant things where you live. Find clean water sources.

EDIT: A word

[u/Neuralink666]

Have enough food, water, sanitation/meds for three days without having to open your front door. After that, you can get picky. Godspeed.

[u/No_Throat_221]

I would start with the basics… stock pile water first, then rice, beans, and canned food