I keep wondering how I can think I/we will be prepared with things that keep happening in this Great Country of ours. COVID and the shortages now the great Texas Blizzard of 2021. I always looked at preppers as kinda weirdos with too much time on their hands.

Some are still strange but I have started looking at things we as a family need in times as these. For one, some sort of freeze dried foods. My gas grill came in handy and saved us during the storm. Looking at it now some of the MREs or the like would have been the food item to have. A jet boiler to boot and we would have been in business.

Am I going to hoard? Not like crazy stupid but yeah may keep an extra 86 roll of TP around just in case. I have slowly started to list things to get and have. The crap just keeps getting worse and not better. In the last 2 yrs of my lifetime I have really started to think way ahead of the game and it has crept up on me. I never imagined how stupid this could get.

I have freeze dried but still decided boiling hot dogs sounded better. My experience with the freeze dried stuff is it’s super salty and I’m not a big fan of salt.

You can live off of peanut butter and uncooked rolled oats mixed together. For dessert, add a few tablespoons of Nestle's Quick powder and mix thoroughly.

Oh....and if you buy can goods make sure you have a manual can opener NOT an electric one. That’s the most commonly overlooked item at times like these. The P38 can be had for $.50 and fit on a key ring.

It’s not a bad idea to be prepared, I learned my lesson over a decade ago when we went without power over 3 weeks and once you do it you will never be unprepared again, at least anybody with a lick of common sense won’t lol. Personally we keep MRE’s in plastic totes and rotate all of our can goods we have throughout the year, 20 5 gallon water jugs we rotate the water in occasionally and our other OH Crap type stuff in vacuum sealed bags inside totes. We bought an RODI water system that I use to keep our water jugs filled and rotated with..

Their is a fine line between hoarding and being prepared

We usually have a month's supply of canned goods. I only buy the one's with the pull top lid's, so no worries of needing a can opener. Our generator is dual fuel, and while it won't run our entire home, it'll do enough to keep us comfortable.

The other thing we keep stocked, is dog food.

Well said old timer. Well said.

Got one on my key ring, for the last 40 years............(john wayne).............

I have several.

One month non perishable here; 200 gallons propane in the shop

no comment.

I can open a can with my pocket knife, and it’s always in my pocket.

it's amazing how much we rely on stability. The slightest change from normal historical variances disrupts everything. Kinda scary.

Over the last year, I have been thinking how over populated this planet is, I see a big difference from 40 years ago. Vacation we took to Pensacola FL this year, bumper to bumper traffic from one end of the island to the next, not a place to take your dog to piss, no where other than 2 small dog parks. Sad. Every time I got on hwy 70 this year in Colorado, bumper to bumper every time, it didn't use to be that way.

I don’t consider myself a prepper just a little more prepared than the average guy I was able to help some of my neighbors who were not ready for the blizzard of 2021

Since i got home from the service I've always been the guy who people come to when they are in a predicament, I'm no hoarder or prepper it just seems I have the right tools for the job if the job pops up. I'm a telecom/ It tech but also the mechanic, plumber, carpenter, and tire man. I always have some kind of snack in my truck in case you forget your lunch at home. I feel blessed that I was made this way and I ignore the people who make dumbarse comments and help them with a smile when the need arises.

I have always kinda been a prepper before preping was cool. Spare water, batteries, basic foods, etc. Work took me all over North Texas before there was a Walmart and HomeDepot in every town, so being prepared was a constant.
Rule 1 was... Having one is same as having none.

After 2020 and this week, time to step up my game.

My knife has a can opener on it.

Now I can’t get this picture out of my mind of two skeletons holding cans of beef stew with an electric can opener sitting on the counter. Ignoring all the knives, hammers, screwdrivers, etc. in their utility room drawers.

Pampered Chef makes all kinds of manual tools for cooking, including a manual can opener, which will impress the cook in your house as well as provide during emergencies. Pricey but worth it

Don't forget a couple of cases of those hand warmers.