An earlier article discussed five prepping mistakes to avoid and while there can be hundreds it is this articles’ intent to point out some of the more common ones, and so, here are five more mistakes to avoid.
You can, if you like, call them “a failure to plan for certain situations” instead of mistakes.
The problem with mistakes many times is that you do not know you have made one until it is too late. Gaining knowledge and knowing what you can expect to some extent may very well save your life one day.
1.) Focusing Too Much On Supplies and Not Enough Focus on Certain Skill Sets
A Chinese Proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day”. “Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Having enough supplies on hand to see you through the crisis and having enough so you have time to develop other sources for your essentials is important. However, you have to assume that your supplies will run out regardless of the amount, and typically, they will be depleted sooner rather than later. In other words, no matter how carefully you calculated your calculations could be wrong.
Spoilage, damage, friends, neighbors and even strangers can deplete your food and water sources. Some, if not many people, may not account for these situations as they begin building a food and water supply.
Before doing anything ensure you have a complete understanding of just how much food and water your family needs for a specific period. This takes careful calculations and being able to foresee certain problems that can arise that will have an effect on your inventory.
You have to have the skill sets to develop your own food and water sources. You simply cannot stockpile enough to last for an indefinite period. You do not want to be down to your last can of beans and franks before you start practicing your hunting and gardening skills.
Too many people just naturally assume the crises will end, but what if it does not, what do you do and if you do know what to do, do you have the physical capability and the skills to do what is needed to survive.
2.) Sanitation
People today are so accustomed to indoor plumbing and flush toilets that they still use them during a crisis and this has caused some rather serious problems in some households, when the water supply is disrupted. Sewers can flood or become inoperative during certain situations, which will create problems inside your home if you do not have a plan.
Those households that use a septic system must have enough stockpiled water to flush the toilets. Water during a crisis is a precious commodity, so at some point you may not be able to use it for toilet flushing. Therefore, you need a plan do you have one, and do you know where to begin. If not you better develop one because poor sanitation practices in centuries past did, in some cases, dramatically reduce the human population because of the spread of diseases caused by human waste that was not properly disposed of.
3.) Where Is Your Mind At
People tend to live in the moment. If their lives are controlled by smart phones and computers, they just assume they will always have some sort of access regardless of the situation. Many people today simply do not know any different. Some may not be able to see the relationship between infrastructure capability and technology.
There is simply no technology as it is defined today, when the power grid fails or there is an energy crisis or any number of other calamities. Technology relies on to many factors that are out of your control so essentially you are controlled by technology.
You cannot handle problems as they arise in a crisis. Students today are trained in how to gain information using technology instead of hands on training. For example, in years past schools had home economics classes where students learned the basic art of cooking and managing a home, typically this was for female students. The male students had agriculture classes and farm and home classes where they learned the basics on raising livestock and growing foods.
If you think, you can gather all of the needed skills and information using technology during a crisis you may not survive. Essentially, you have to develop new learning skills. You will have to learn by doing and not by surfing the Internet.
You have to prepare yourself to survive with only what you know now, because you will not be able to gain the needed information during a nation or worldwide catastrophe.
4.) Isolation and Paranoia
Building a fortress around you is dangerous. Paranoia sets in and soon everyone is considered an enemy. People do get a “bunker or siege mentality” when isolated from others. Imaginations are allowed to run unchecked because you simply do not know what reality is and what is in your mind. You have to interact with others; you need communication with other humans. You need the skills that others may possess and in turn, you may have skills they can use.
5.) Energy Sources
Unless you burn wood as your sole source of heat and for cooking, you may not understand the amount of wood it takes to keep a home warm and provide heat for cooking. The typical home that burns wood for heat can expect to use between 12 and 15 cords of wood a winter. The two cords you have out back for emergencies would not last long. This is a start but along with the bags of charcoal and propane for the gas grill, you need more, you need a plan and an energy source.
Consider pellets stoves as well propane appliances. Both fuel sources will run out but in the mean time, you can be gathering wood or even coal in some cases to burn for energy. Consider alternatives such as solar, wind, and use the other sources as backup energy.
That small stand of trees you can see from your kitchen window will not last long when the entire neighborhood is out there harvesting the wood during a crisis. Having an adequate energy source is an important part of survival. Failure to have a source or the ability to gather a source to see you through an extended period can be deadly.
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