Prepping vs Hoarding

 

Disclosure: When I first started prepping I was extremely unorganized. It took time to get everything in its own place. And I am sure that a lot of preppers are a bit unorganized at some level; but there is still a difference between hoarding and being an unorganized prepper.


My hoarding vs prepper encounter

I was asked this by a family member that came to my house to help me with a mold issue. 

And saw my stockpile. I asked him is it not all on shelves and organized?  Yes, look at the dates on the cans are they out dated or old? No..... then why would you call it hoarding?

I already had my answers in my head because I knew it was coming the moment I asked for the help

I told him that a hoarder was a person that compulsively  collected stuff along with that collecting they are unable to get rid of stuff.

I how ever am a prepper. When you come to my house did you ever think that I had all off this stuff stashed??  NO,  you did not because my living areas are livable. I have shelves in the basement for all my stuff. I have the closets packed to the brim but  they to are organized. 

I then said do you know why? 

I live in the city and if something happens all this stuff will have to be ready to move to YOUR HOUSE :) Which is the truth he would be the first person I would call. and or go to.

We had a great talk. I explained to him look at the stuff I have. Really.... lets take a look and I gave him a little tour of the shelves and the empty bins on the side ready to haul the stuff out. I showed him my medical stash and my little mini emergency kits for storms and power outages. My generators and my drum grill with all the parts inside it to convert it into a heating source.  I walked him in the yard and pointed out my reg garden and then I showed him my hidden garden growing among the brush. We had our coffee and got our white suits on and masks (which I had already because I am a prepper). And got to work on the mold.

Why am I sharing this.
Well because I have spoken with other preppers that get the same lines. Preppers are really hoarders, preppers are crazy paranoid people and the list goes on. But sometimes having the right answer can  change a persons views on it.And may even add another prepper to your community of preppers.

We are all preppers deep down inside.
I have found that a lot of people have a bit of prepper in them and never even realized it. From the housewife that clips coupons to save money and buys extra when it is on sale. To the "Green" people who reuse, recycle and garden or the recreational camper or fisherman. We all are preppers in our own ways, it is just sometimes called something else.




Helpful tip to educate people
I also find it is helpful to inform people that every state has a preparedness site. Click Here for that list with links. And when you look though these sites they more or less confirm that we are doing the right things. (well maybe on a grander level).

I have a few other suggestion on how to educate people about prepping here. Click Here

Sometimes having a few of these printed out helps Click Here   PDF Basic Preparedness 34 page booklet to help and teach people how to prepare. From FEMA's web site.

And here is a fantastic PDF book I came across to share with those who are skeptical 
How to Handle a Crisis PDF  Click Here
 This is a great PDF because it talks about simpler things like auto accident, hotel safety to chemical spills and attacks. I think it is a pretty neat book and it shows how being prepared should be part of every day life for so many unexpected reasons.

I plan on doing a post about how I did get organized. Hopeful it will have some helpful cheap hints. 


Ok the song for this post has to be AC/DC- Are you ready?

Monday Movie -MegaQuake Could Hit North America

UPDATE 01/16/2015: Connecticut has now had 12 earthquakes in the past 2 weeks. An unheard of thing around here.

Ok first post in a long time. And it is Monday so I am starting with a Monday Movie. I choose this one because in the past week my state has had 2 earth quakes. And the New England region is not known for having them.

MegaQuake Could Hit North America - BBC

  U.S. fears overdue 'megathrust' earthquake will trigger tsunami and decimate unprepared cities on north-west coast

Cascadia fault line has lain dormant for 300 years
Eruption could trigger tsunami, devastating seaside communities - and reach as far as Japan
The north-west coast of the U.S. could be devastated by a huge movement of undersea plates known as a 'megathrust' earthquake, scientists say.
A review of the dangers posed by the Juan de Fuca plate released in the wake of the Japanese quake has raised fears that the Pacific seaboard could be similarly ravaged.
The horrifying possibilities have been brought to light by data researched by the Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Laboratory at Oregon State University.

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I am almost back (under construction)

I have been away for awhile. Still prepping! And I got an email from the blogger site about an issue with the site. I came here to fix it and realized that I really miss sharing everything that I have been doing. So I am hoping that the issues that they had are now fixed.

But because of those issues I lost all the tabs that directed you around the site. 

So once I fix all of that I will be back up and running with new posts and what I have been doing! 

 

 

So as always I have to share a song related to the post and I am going to go with

 

Pink Floyd

Coming Back to Life