Getting started... what is prepping and why should I prep?

Prepping is, as mentioned before, the 'art' of preparing yourself for an disaster and giving yourself a fighting chance to survive if something bad happens. For instance, 'preppers' may stockpile food and other supplies in their houses in case they get cut off during an earthquake, they may ensure their car has enough food and water if they get stuck somewhere becuase of a flood or it may be something as simple as carrying a first aid kit in case they come across an injured person. They also learn skills that will help them if something bad does happen and many preppers provide a service to their community through, for example, joining volunteer agencies such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent society or local Emergency Radio clubs, both to add additional skills and from a want to help others who are less prepared.

But why should you prep? The simple answer is that the world we live in is unfortunately not a very stable place. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, riots; these are all examples of large scale disasters that can turn our lives upside down. And the trouble is, they can happen at any time of the day, anywhere and anyhow. Look at Japan recently; a developed nation torn apart by a disaster that was over in seconds, that no one expected to happened to them and that took the lives of many, destroying the lives of many more it didn't kill. The Boxing Day Tsunami a few years ago? Some communities never recovered from that tragedy. Earthquakes and floods in Pakistan? Again, devastation on a huge scale. How about, just these few weeks, the huge tornadoes in the USA? Again, lives ripped apart by an act of nature that no one can control.

You may not be able to control nature, but what you can do is control your survival once everything goes upside down. Contrary to popular belief, and please correct me if I am wrong, most casualties and deaths from a disaster are not from the disaster itself, rather they come in the days and weeks that follow as people die or get injured trying to survive in their shattered communities. You can prevent this by preparing yourself should this happen to you. And let's be blunt here, it can happen to you.

But prepping doesn't have to be all doom and gloom, it can be, dare I say it F-U-N. Yes, really! You can integrate it into your life and make the most of it, it can become a very addictive hobby. For instance, lots of prepping is about making sure you have the skills to survive, for instance first aid, repair skills and so on. You can easily take an interest you already have and add it to your prepping adventure. For instance I love first aid, biulding electronics and fixing stuff so I've spent time learning how to look after casualties, maintain a radio set and fix car engines, all of which will be useful skills should my community be hit by an earthquake. Prepping also involves a lot of outside stuff in many cases, so if you're that sort of person it's defiantly for you. And even if you are not, plenty of preppers chose to spend their time inside, maintaining stockpiles or learning skills. There is, I think, something for everyone.

So, join me on our little prepping adventure, I'll try and keep it fun, you can all laugh at my stupid mistakes and we can all learn something that, just maybe, will save our lives should the worst of the worst happen.

Jack