Lessons From Aging Y2K Preppers

Yes, you should prepare for emergencies. No, not that much. Learn something from Y2K preppers whose apocalypse never materialized.

Imagine being so consumed with an impending societal collapse like Y2K that you buy over 600-acres of land far from most of civilization to wait it out. It must be nice to have that kind of cash on hand to bug out in such a major way! Now, you’re pushing 90-years-old, still waiting for something to go down, living over an hour from medical care, and you’ve been unable to sell that acreage for seven years.

Kudos to the guy who did a grand job stockpiling his “nonperishable” foods. He has an entire shop stacked to the rafters with plastic totes of decade-expired food supplies. Yum! Brown and red Ragu layered in the still sealed jars like parfait. He’s ready to relocate and finds himself throwing away the tens of thousands of dollars he invested in his post apocalyptic lifestyle. If that collapse happened two years ago, what in the world would he have been eating?

You can be well prepared without going full doomsday cult or joining a militia. FEMA has an excellent guide to preparing for most situations.

This winter, Texas illustrated how a little foresight can help you have just what you need on hand. Maybe you’re a pro at tornadoes and/or hurricanes. Good for you! How about that winter blast that crippled infrastructure and killed people who had not considered a multi day freezing event?

If you do not have a secondary heating source, that may be a perfectly reasonable preparation to make. If that’s out of your budget, or you rent, consider portable, and indoor safe propane heating options. These saved our pipes during a long power outage in Fairbanks, Alaska. Be sure to explore products like Mr. Heater. They have surprisingly affordable options in their Buddy Heater line.

Are you new to prepping?

In addition to the FEMA book, here are a few sensible, basic steps to consider as you make your unique plans that don’t have to include large plots of land or stacks of shipping containers in your yard.

• Do you know how your dwelling works i.e.: toilets, valves, crawl spaces, utility shut offs? Does everyone in your household? How about safely using the secondary heat source?

• What if the disaster or emergency happens away from home? Have you considered packing “bug out” bags for you and your family? Be wary of pre-packed bags with old products or overpriced cheaply-made unnecessary gadgets. How is your vehicle’s maintenance, spare tire and emergency kit?

• How’s your cardio? No, you don’t have to be a runner or anything exhaustive. It would help to be able to walk a few miles if you had to. If you’re in a position to seek medical help or otherwise get started on this mobility goal, you may want to do that. Use the specter of your family being consumed by fire because they physically couldn’t flee to motivate you to get out for a walk a couple times a week. The West Coast has demonstrated that can happen. If you experience mobility issues, you definitely need to plan for that and keep your ear out for advance evacuation warnings.

• Talk directly to people who have experienced natural disasters and other emergency situations. Find out what they think they could have done better. Did they personally experience violence from other people during that experience? Does it make rational sense to have firearms, ammunition and combat the central focus of your efforts?

Do you find yourself still feeling underprepared for lengthier situations? You do not have to buy a giant farm. Everyone will be underprepared for that. Even the guy in his bunker trying to eat 10-year-old rotting Ragu parfait. Some things we just have to figure out as we go.

Don’t despair! There are things you can do to be proactive in your preparation for this possibility, too. Learn how to do, make, fix, grow things. Everything. Maybe something will strike your fancy and you will do it exceptionally well. All people can learn to knit, preserve food, sew, fish, forage, garden, keep chickens, bush craft, make soap, learn medicinal plants, repair broken stuff etc.

How prepared you are, and believe yourself to be, directly relates to how much effort you put in.

Maybe, you’ll feel inspired to sell it all to relocate to some far flung corner of the planet with absolutely no amenities to wait out the rest of your life surrounded by Connexes filled with rations that expire as surely as the years of your life you spend waiting for “the big one.” That’s okay, too.

Be sure to read some of my survival fiction stories and helpful articles about pooping in the woods and swimming holes and stuff.