Preppers Learn From The Lockdown

If you got to the store and it looked like this, you waited too long to prepare.

In a piece I read over the weekend, a group of particularly prepared people known as preppers were asked about how the pandemic lockdown made them feel about their readiness. As it turns out, not all of them were prepped as much as they would have liked.

These planners observations can be useful for what is likely to be further disruption, because what isn't being disrupted these days? People are predicting a Greater Depression by mid-decade, not to be depressing.

Something we will need to get used to is the fact that we are all preppers now, Greater Depression or not.

We usually prepare for things that we don't want to happen, rather than for things we do. That is why it's called emergency preparedness and not recreational preparedness. It is essential if one wishes to survive, which in nature, is never a sure thing. 

We can improve our odds of surviving, and even thriving, by learning from each other. The following are are a few observations that 75 "official" preppers interviewed shared about what they learned during the lockdown.


Things Preppers Learned From The Pandemic Lockdown

"I was very surprised at how strongly the isolation hit me." 

"I learned my plan of being stocked up and shopping only for replacements is a great system. For example I have 3 jars of mayo on the shelf, when I open one I put it on the list to purchase next time and replenish." 

"I underestimated how short in supply durable consumer goods would be."

"Desiccants, oxygen absorbers, Mylar bags, food grade buckets, canning lids, canning jars, and food saver bags are all likely to become harder to obtain as food prices rise and more people become aware of how to grow and preserve foods."

"I learned that my preparations allowed me some measure of peace and calm that others didn’t have. It allowed me to enjoy family time at home." 

"Mental and emotional resilience is what got us through when we realized this was a marathon and not a sprint."

The most important ones I read were probably:

"That things happen really fast. If you act when things happen it is too late. Act now."

and

"I learned not to ignore that nagging little feeling of “Something’s coming”. 

And the one I related to most was:

"It was surprising to learn how few times I truly need to go anywhere ever."

In our house, the thing we learned is that we have a long way to go in our preparedness program. Having said that, we have also celebrated the steps we have taken over the years that have made riding out this pandemic comparatively painless.

We have changed how we buy our food and how we stock our pantry, something I hope to share in another post on this topic.

What have you learned over the past few months about your emergency preparedness? 

How are you doing things differently now that you are officially a prepper?