Top Prepping Mistakes to Avoid

When a disaster strikes, are you ready to save your family and yourself? Have you ever considered prepping? The process of becoming ready for an emergency or disaster is known as “prepping.”

Despite the fact that we as a species have survived from the beginning of time and have endured unfathomable tragedies, there is no clear and simple method/approach/guide to preparation that takes into consideration all possible circumstances.

Everything must be taken into consideration in the realm of prepping. When it comes to preparation, there are a lot of details that need to be accounted for. Food, shelter, tools, and training are only the beginning of the list, so it is simple to understand how some items might be overlooked here and there, as well as how mistakes can be made. It is essential to double, triple, and even quadruple-check your list to ensure that nothing has been overlooked and that you are as well-prepared as possible. 

However, even the most diligent prepper might experience failure, and when catastrophe comes, they may find themselves forced to pay a high price for their oversights. In light of this, we have gathered the most frequent mistakes made by preppers and how to avoid them.

1. Failing To Develop a Comprehensive Plan 

parents explaining to their children the emergency plan

The most common error made by preppers is failing to develop a comprehensive plan or failing to prepare at all. This first mistake can lead to a lot of problems with planning, but it’s a very important first step that you should take seriously if you think of yourself as a real prepper. When you, as a prepper, fail to plan, you fail to be prepared, and you fail to perform your duty as a prepper. Making a checklist is a good method to ensure you have thought of everything that may be needed in an emergency. Begin by considering what you genuinely need as a prepper and work your way through your checklist day by day. Make sure you accomplish the items on your list, stressing that this list contains all you need to do to be prepared. Keeping a journal and/or checklist is a wonderful approach to stay on track and continue the planning process so you don’t fall short.

2. Not Implementing Your Plan

Simply gathering the things you’ll need or doing extensive study on a strategy isn’t enough. You should also make sure that you and your family rehearse your plan in various scenarios so that you are prepared for any emergency event. It’s practically certain that things won’t go as planned or go wrong when this kind of circumstance arises. To react appropriately when things don’t go as planned, practice is essential. If anything goes wrong, you’ll already know what to do since you’ve planned for the unexpected. If you want your plan to work best, it’s important to make sure that everyone in your family is on the same page about the details and any updates to the plan.

3. Not Remembering Important Documents

People are so preoccupied with getting new things that they neglect to take use of the vital documents they already possess, such as their birth certificates and wills.

A watertight and fireproof container is required for the safekeeping of these things. A box with a carry handle is preferable since it is easier to transport.

4. Depending On Gear Instead of Skills

starting fire

In a survival emergency, knowledge and experience always win out over material items. Gear is great, but it doesn’t help much if you don’t know how to use it or don’t have any. 

Take, as an example, the ability to make a fire, one of the most crucial survival abilities. The majority of people are familiar with how to start a fire using conventional fire starters like a lighter, matches, or a magnesium flint striker. But now consider this scenario: what if you don’t have any of those supplies on hand and you urgently need to start a fire? Building a fire is necessary in a survival scenario for a variety of reasons, including staying warm, having light, cooking food or boiling water, and other things.

Knowing how to create a fire without fire starting instruments (like the fire bow drill technique) is more valuable than possessing those fire-starting devices themselves, and this is just one example of why having abilities is more essential than having gear.

5. Insufficient Water Supply

One of the most common mistakes that preppers make is not having enough water. This usually happens because they don’t think about how much water each person will need. The significance of a sufficient supply of clean drinking water cannot be overstated. The human body can go without food for a far longer period of time than it can go without water. Experts advise keeping enough water for two weeks’ worth of use at home, or at least two gallons per day per person. Because of the weight of water, it is impractical to carry significant quantities in an extended (72-hour to two-week) bug out scenario; thus, you will need the ability to gather and purify drinking water. You might also want to think about hiding water along your escape routes if you have the money. Make sure to store water only in containers that were made for that purpose.

6. Insufficient Food Supply

food pantry

Even though it’s important to have a good supply of staple foods like beans, flour, rice, sugar, and salt, it will be miserable to try to live on those foods alone. You need a wide range of foods to stay alive, because your body will have a hard time adjusting to a diet that only includes the most basic foods, like the ones above. After eating only those foods for a while, your body will get “food fatigue.” This means that even if you’re hungry, the foods you have won’t taste good at all, and you’ll have to push yourself to eat simply to get some fuel into your system. The greatest chance of surviving is to gather a range of foods that are adaptable and can be used to make a number of different meals.

7. Food And Water Are Not Rotated

As part of our emergency preparation strategies, we should all understand why food and water stockpiling must be a major priority. However, water and the majority of meals are likewise perishable, necessitating frequent rotation.

Plan to rotate out your water supply at least once every six months as a basic rule of thumb to prevent germs from contaminating it. Because the shelf life of each product varies, it is important to carefully read the packaging and rotate it out as needed.

8. Neglecting Essential Supplies

It’s important to make sure you have enough food and water, but it’s also important not to forget about other things you and your family will need to survive (and thrive). Along with the obvious necessities like food and water, you’ll also want to make sure you have things like a first aid kit, cooking supplies, clothes, weapons, sleeping bags, and any necessary prescription drugs. Don’t forget essential necessities like toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, and toilet paper.

9. Neglecting Pets, Children, and Elderly

A lot of preppers forget about what their pets, kids, and older family members need. Each of these groups has needs that are different from those of a healthy adult.

Remember to take into account their needs while making bug out or defense preparations, and don’t forget to stock up on food and medication, too.

10.  You Do Not Consider Sanitation

When getting ready for a disaster, not many people think about the fact that sanitation standards will drop a lot. Diseases will spread rapidly if waste is discarded in the street. There will be a dramatic decrease in the general availability of personal hygiene products including soap and shampoo.

This is why sanitation and cleanliness must be maintained even in the direst of circumstances. Protecting oneself against contracting an illness or disease requires that you maintain the highest standards of personal hygiene possible. 

Diseases have the potential to infect more people during times of crisis. This is why it’s crucial for preppers to have a stockpile of necessities like soap, toilet paper, shampoo, and toothpaste.

11.  Only Preparing for End-of-the-World Scenarios

Sure, we want to be prepared for the worst-case situation, but in reality, we should be equally as (if not more) prepared for natural catastrophes.

While you may have equipment to combat zombies, you will also need resources to survive a flood or fire.

12.  Sharing Resources or Information to Everyone

be quiet

Survival situations are one instance in which it is acceptable to be selfish. As exciting as it may be to get new survival gear or a large shipment of equipment or food that may be useful in the future, it is imperative that you do not discuss this information with curious neighbors or passing acquaintances who could take advantage of your readiness. Even though being selfish or self-centered isn’t a good thing most of the time, you need to do what’s best for you and your family right now because, in many situations, it’s every man for himself. 

Your neighbors or community may be as kind as ever under normal circumstances, but you have no way of knowing how they would react in a scenario in which you have resources and they are battling to live. Things might get dangerous; therefore, you should only trust your close relatives and those you know for certain would never hurt you. Sharing comprehensive preparation knowledge outside of your close network might make you a target in some situations; thus, keep this information to yourself to provide you and your loved ones the greatest chance of survival and the lowest risk of harm.

Final Thoughts

You can expect to make some mistakes when you get started. Believe it or not, even the most seasoned preppers made some rookie mistakes when they first began stockpiling supplies for emergencies. What matters is that you learn from your mistakes. Continue to study, upgrade your gear, practice your survival abilities, review your stockpile on a regular basis, and teach your family the fundamentals of survival and preparation.