Tag Archives: Preparedness

Prepper Burnout

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This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

The Signs
The following are signs of prepper burnout. Prepper burnout is the becoming frustrated, tired or wanting to give up prepping for various reasons.

Sign 1: They only read pessimistic new articles and ignore an encouraging outlook.
Sign 2: They don’t see the beauty or pleasure in daily life, being focused on the end.
Sign 3: They spend all their money on securing goods and nothing for themselves or their entertainment.
Sign 4: They visit preparedness websites daily which can slowly reduce their optimism and outlook.

Resolutions
These are some simple ideas on how you can fix prepper burnout if you see it occurring.

Resolution 1: Realize that the world ending tomorrow is possible but not very likely.
Resolution 2: View prepping as a hobby and the skills you gain through it. Hobbies should be worked on in your free time and generally aren’t thought about every second of every day.
Resolution 3: Find a healthy balance between prepping and enjoying life.
Resolution 4: Focus on buying food and gear you will use in daily life and which won’t be just stored on a shelf.
Resolution 5: Take a break and focus on other activities or a skill that has links to prepping such as archery.

Prepping Deficiencies

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This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

Becoming a complacent prepper is one of the pitfalls of prepping. The following will discuss a few reasons we can become complacent and how to prevent them.

No Urgency
When things are going well we may tend to overlook the fact that anything bad could ever happen to us. We just have to turn on the news to see how much of a delusion this could be, especially today. Just because things are going well in your corner of the globe doesn’t mean the violence on the other side can’t affect us.

Expecting Disaster
A lot of preppers are so ready and expectant for a disaster to occur that they actively want one to happen in the back of their mind so they can finally use their preps. They spend so long researching disasters and looking at the worst of humanity that they forget to enjoy life and have fun while the going is easy. Don’t forget to take time and enjoy the world around you while it’s intact.

Ebb and Flow
There’s a natural cycle between hard times and times when a disaster is the last thing on your mind. Sometimes we have to look past the best times and keep on prepping, as well as not becoming fearful if the worst looks like it will happen.

Attention to Detail
Always keep in mind the big picture as well as the small things such as remembering to have breakfast. You won’t be very effective without keeping yourself running smoothly. In a similar way keep checking the basics of preparedness to ensure you aren’t missing a critical area, or forgot you borrowed your gas stove when camping and forgot to put it back.

Self Interest
Preppers can get so caught up preparing for themselves and their family that they forget there will be a lot of other people such as friends and family who won’t be prepared in a disaster. When one does strike, these people will be looking to anyone and everyone on how to proceed in these tough situations. Without any assistance they may have to resort to theft and violence to be able to stay alive which is the last thing you need from your neighbours and friends.

Besides preparing for ourselves we should think about putting together a small collection of gear for our neighbours, friends and family. Not only will this help ease their survival situation, but it could turn a potential threat in a disaster into an ally. You could include long life food, water purification equipment, a torch with spare batteries or candles, some firelighters, a radio, a bible as well as a few survival guides both on a USB or physically printed. You don’t even have to make contact with them on your way to bug-out, just drop it off at their door, ring their doorbell and then bug-out.

The Easy Life
We’ve had such an easy life compared to the other periods of time and regions where nearly everyone sees death, violence and theft daily. Very few of us have lived through a world war or any war for that matter and with other countries boosting their arsenal we should stop being complacent and prepare like these events will happen. Although America is beginning to wake up from this easy-going lifestyle lately with a potential downfall of their entire constitution in the future.

Crying Wolf
Often we’re sure a collapse is imminent or it looks like a disastrous cyclone is heading right for you but then dissipates before anything happening. After these events we can often question our preps and ask ourselves “Is this really necessary?”. We should always remain steadfast in prepping and can’t change our minds because of false warnings. But when you’ve let your guard down is potentially when disaster could happen, and then you would wish you never did.

Local Disasters
We often focus on the large scale world-changing disasters and end-times scenarios but tend to focus less on the common local disasters such as job loss, financial difficulty or the loss of a family member. We can’t lose sight of preparing for the smaller things life can throw at us when we tend to only focus on the large scale disasters.

Situational Awareness
Throughout our often mundane lives are fixed patterns of repeated actions which we often automate because we do them so often. This generally happens at work when we have fixed tasks to complete over and over again and sometimes we take these actions home with us. We often don’t pay attention to our surroundings during these times as it’s a normal, dull day, but keeping an active mind will ensure our situational awareness is always active and alert for any trouble coming our way.

Health
We can easily become complacent about our health which may slip out of our control when we aren’t taking note of what we’re putting into our bodies or how much exercise we’re getting. This will definitely affect our ability to survive in SHTF when the time does arise, and a person with poor health will be a risk to their prepping group and themselves.

Overconfidence
When you’re sitting on a mountain of preps, months of food and enough guns to arm a small country. You may feel the need to sit back and survey the mighty empire you’ve constructed and become overconfident with your prepping. You may think you know it all, but I can guarantee there’s always more you can learn and more research to undertake to improve your skills. Often the more you learn about preparedness the more your BOB changes. Don’t let your number of possessions halt your prepping or your desire to learn.

Types of Preppers

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This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

These are the different classes of preppers you may encounter on your preparedness journey. You may fit into one class perfectly or be split up over a few different ones to help shore up some of the weaknesses. Some you want to avoid and others you should aspire to, but they all have their advantages and disadvantages.

The Sheeple
A person who doesn’t prep but can be considered a prepper at level 0. They believe that no large scale disasters will happen to them and that electricity, food and water will always be available on demand.

Pros
● Less worry and stress
● They save a ton of money
● A swift death

Cons
● Thirst/Hunger
● No skills
● No knowledge
● Limited gear
● Potential death during disasters
● May have to join a gang to survie in times of complete disaster

The Hoarder
A prepper who simply stockpiles supplies such as weapons, food and water, neglecting most other things.

Pros
● Tons of supplies
● Ability to share their supplies with others
● May be able to barter their supplies

Cons
● Requires constant stockpile rotation
● Limited skills
● Limited knowledge
● A theft target
● Costly

The Accidental Prepper
People with a natural tendency to be prepared such as INTJs and related personality types. They often prep short term and for multiple scenarios without realizing it.

Pros
● Wise in general
● Prudent thinkers and planners
● ‘Accidentally’ ready for disaster

Cons
● Not prepared for long term disasters
● Not prepared for ‘rare’ disasters
● Limited, or no bug-out plans

The Typical Prepper
Someone with a BOB, a Bug out Plan, a stockpile for a few months and home defences. They watch other preppers online, buy useful preps and take actions to shore up their preparedness skills.

Pros
● Solid baseline for preppers
● Knowledge of a lot of preparedness skills
● Keen interest in survival

Cons
● Still a way to go to learn all the essential skills required
● May suffer from prepper burnout after realizing they are only at the start
● May lose interest in prepping
● May find it hard to spend money on prepping vs entertainment items

The Survivalist
These preppers have honed bushcraft skills and can live off the land if the situation calls for it. They can find wild edibles, craft shelters and purify water with only what they have around them. They are often solo but this helps to greatly increase their stealth and speed up their journey.

Pros
● Can survive in the woods
● Plant/Animal Identification
● Medicinal plant experience
● Natural plant remedies
● Stealthy when solo

Cons
● Loneliness
● No stocks of food
● Plans to only bug out
● No comforts of home
● May not survive in a widespread, nature killing disaster

The Homesteader
They own a house, land and usually a farming plot and animals for self sufficiency. They are self sustainable and can grow, manufacture and recycle what they need at home.

Pros
● General homestead skills
● Surrounded by family
● Can save money
● Self sufficient
● Not dependant on civilization
● Ample storage space
● Can produce what they require

Cons
● Costly to set up
● Large area of land to protect
● Hard work to maintain
● Not inclined to bug out
● Crops can easily be stolen/destroyed
● Cold winters can eradicate their food source
● May not have access to news

The Self-Defence Prepper
In good shape, knows hand to hand combat and is concerned about smaller daily disasters. They have, or are in the armed forces and have military experience.

Pros
● Very fit
● Can protect themselves
● Great at stealth
● Great at teamwork
● Knowledgeable about combat

Cons
● Lacks preps and stockpiles
● Weak against guns
● May not trust others

The Minimalist
They keep their stockpile to a minimum and focuses on skills to further reduce the weight of their pack. They may drill holes in their toothbrush…

Pros
● Spends less money on fewer items
● Great skills
● Light and fast travel
● Knowledge replaces gear
● Can leave their old life easily

Cons
● Spends MUCH more money on ultralightweight gear
● Lack of gear when bugging-in
● May spend a lot of money on their quest for knowledge

The Know-It-All
Gains knowledge about prepping but doesn’t do much to actually prepare. They can spend hours watching YouTube videos getting ideas but rarely puts any of them into action.

Pros
● Good knowledge on prepping
● Can lead others
● Can assist others

Cons
● Unprepared
● Few items
● Needs real world experience

The Economist
Focused on protecting their wealth via precious metals and stockpiles for barter in SHTF. They may also aim to profit from a disaster by bartering essentials for precious metals to sell afterwards.

Pros
● Can barter what they need if SHTF without stocking up on anything
● Only have to worry about stocking up on one type of resource.

Cons
● Neglects other preparedness areas such as knowledge and skills
● They rely on the fact that metals and tradables can be used as money and that people will be honourable

The Doomsday Prepper
Prepared for a complete global collapse for an extended period of time. They are often armed to the teeth and occasionally have a heavily fortified castle, bunker or BOL.

Pros
● Prepared for anything
● Comprehensive bug out plans
● Huge stockpiles
● Lots of time to prep
● Rehearses often
● Completely off-grid

Cons
● Costs an absolute fortune
● Often seen as paranoid
● Ridiculed
● Fixated on prepping and not enjoying life
● May quit their job to prep

The Tactical Prepper
Sees the world from a tactical perspective. They have likely been in the army and have planned very carefully for disasters and an attack on their home. They acquire a lot of tactical preps and focus on defence and stealth.

Pros
● Good defence from technology
● Has detailed Topographic maps and other military equipment
● Tactical Gear
● Can survive harsh environments
● Has some survival knowledge

Cons
● May be too tactical
● May not trust people

The Religious Prepper
Committed to their religion and often focuses on religious disasters such as the rapture and armageddon. They generally have goodwill to everyone else and will assist others in need.

Pros
● Community and shared beliefs
● Cares for others
● May share resources
● Won’t take the lives of others

Cons
● Narrow view of potential disasters
● May be taken advantage of due to their goodwill
● May run out of supplies quickly

The Gun Enthusiast
A prepper who focuses on guns and weapons training. They have multiple guns and explosives and a variety of other weapons stockpiled. Generally they will stay and defend their land at all costs.

Pros
● Great gun skills
● Has a ton of ammo stockpiled
● Great marksmanship
● Advanced tactics
● May be able to make their own ammo

Cons
● Often ignores other skills
● May become looters when they run out of supplies
● May kill others unnecessarily

The Getaway Prepper
A prepper who will leave their usual home in the face of any danger. They have a BOL with extensive detailed plans to reach it no matter the scenario. A BOV is at the ready at all times.

Pros
● Always ready if they need to bug out
● Usually physically fit
● Not attached to physical possessions

Cons
● BOL may be looted or destroyed
● Bug in may be more beneficial
● Few supplies at home
● Weather may not permit leaving home

The Defensive Prepper
Believes in defending their home and has taken the necessary steps to stay inside no matter what type of disaster they may face.

Pros
● Extensive stockpiles
● Plenty of weapons for defence
● They know their surroundings well
● They can set up strong home defences and booby traps

Cons
● May not have a BOL
● Possible death if the disaster is heading towards them
● No supplies if they are forced to leave
● Expensive to prep for a hurricane

The Fearful Prepper
A prepper who expects something bad to happen every day and sees the negative in the world. They check the news daily or hourly. They could possibly be into conspiracy theories.

Pros
● Keeps an eye out on the news
● First to know any breaking news and therefore can bug out quickly
● Can see the driving forces behind the world

Cons
● Puts life on hold to prep and doesn’t plan for a regular life
● Always worried about disaster or embraces it and wants it to happen
● Can’t see the good in the world

The Compassionate Prepper
A person who preps for the good of mankind, stocking up on knowledge, resources and skills solely to help others in disasters.

Pros
● Shares resources
● Helps those in need
● Builds great relationships
● Often great leaders

Cons
● May be taken advantage of
● May run out of resources quickly
● May be attacked or mugged

Levels of Preparedness

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This is an excerpt from my PDF ‘The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE)’.
Download the PDF Version Here

This is a classification of all preppers and gives a general idea of how prepared they are, what skills are known and their commitment to prepping.
A lot of assumptions are made such as the amount of space the person has and that they have a job.

Level 0 (Sheeple)
A prepper, but someone who doesn’t participate in disaster preparedness at all. At most they have three days of food in the pantry for power outages or strong storms.

Level 1 (Wannabe)
A person who has been impacted by a disaster, TV series or other media and thought prepping is a good idea and they decide to take a few minor steps and stock a few extra items. At this stage they either fall away from prepping or pursue more information. Generally this stage is about reading, watching and understanding what preparedness is.

Level 2 (Beginner Prepper)
Someone who has a weeks or so worth of food, a BOB and some action plans for disasters. People at this level are starting to get serious and often just buy, buy, buy to fill their BOB and pantry.

Level 3 (Prepper)
This type of person is becoming quite invested in being prepared for disasters with a BOB, skills and knowledge in survivalism and a month to 4 months worth of food and water per person. Usually people at this stage overfill their BOBs and generally have some simple plans for bugging out.

Level 4 (Confident Prepper)
This stage marks an increase in food and water again to around 6 months per person and they are looking into alternative bug out plans and may have a vehicle for it. They look at items critically and only keep what they need. People usually start to spread out into alternative bags such as INCH bags and GH bags. These people spend a lot of their free time preparing.

Level 5 (Hardcore Prepper)
Preppers at level 5 have usually branched out into a working prepper pantry where they use the items they are stocking and replenish every week, have a complete lightweight BOB and extensive plans for bugging out in multiple types of disasters. They still have a job but spend most of their free time preparing.

Level 6 (Devoted Prepper)
These people spend almost all of their free time prepping and have extensive knowledge about most aspects of preparedness. They have a stockpile of food and water from 6m-1y per person and are slowly consuming it and adding to it. They may have a plot of land and a building for a BOL stocked with some food but they definitely have multiple plans to GOOD in a SHTF situation.

Level 7 (Doomsday Prepper)
An extremely prepared person who devotes every waking second to prepping, they often have a job related to prepping or have quit their job to pursue it full time. They have many years worth of food per person, vast amounts of experience and often have bunkers or BOLs filled with supplies and often have family drills for SHTF situations.

Where are you at on your prepping journey?

The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE) – Version 8

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The seventh version of The Preparedness Encyclopedia has been released! You can find it at the link below.
Download TPE Here

If you’re not sure what it’s all about:
“The Preparedness Encyclopedia is a comprehensive and portable collection of crucial information designed exclusively to assist in your survival from any catastrophe that may arise, and to help in the rebuilding of society afterwards.”

I’ve been working on this personal preparedness guide almost every day since June 2017 when I started prepping and wanted a collection of information in a single document on my phone. It has grown substantially over time and now contains over 3.45 million words, so I decided to share it with the public. I designed the PDF to easily be put on a mobile device and forgotten until needed and can be searched for any particular needs during disasters.

Version 8 features the conversion of the rest of the guide to the new, larger and easier to read style. A title page was added to make it feel more like a book. There are also major updates to the INJURY, ELECTRICITY and LOCATIONS categories and a smaller update to the Pandemic section in MAN-MADE DISASTERS alongside lots of minor fixes and changes throughout the guide.

The guide is constrained to a size limit of 100mb but it’s currently well below that at about 55mb. It’s also designed to be fast and to be read on your mobile device by any PDF reader while you’re on the go, which will make it easy to use during any disaster (as long as you have power). It can be read on phones, tablets, laptops or desktops and easily be transferred between them based on your needs.

For details on what’s new in this version, see the “UPDATES” section in the guide.

The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE) – Version 3

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The third version of The Preparedness Encyclopedia has been released! You can find it at my website via the link below. Yeah, I forgot to write a post releasing the second version, thus the jump straight to this version.
Download TPE Here

If you’re not sure what it’s all about, I developed a one sentence elevator pitch of its purpose:

“The Preparedness Encyclopedia is a comprehensive and portable collection of crucial information designed exclusively to assist in your survival from any catastrophe that may arise and to assist in the rebuilding of society afterwards.”

The guide is constrained to a size limit of 100mb but it’s currently well below that at about 35mb. It’s also designed to be fast and to be read on your mobile device by any PDF reader while you’re on the go, which will make it easy to use during any disaster (as long as you have power). It can be read on phones, tablets, laptops or desktops and easily be transferred between them based on your needs.

For details on what’s new in this version, see the “UPDATES” section in the guide which is the very last category.

MOBAC .bsh Map Files

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Lately I’ve been downloading maps of my region for bug-out planning and redundancies if the internet goes down. It’s been extremely helpful so far especially when camping in areas without internet access as well as marking points of interest on Alpine Quest for future reference.

However it wasn’t easy to find usable maps to download, especially when I have to “code” the .bsh files myself to make the maps downloadable via MOBAC.

I have uploaded some map files usable with any MOBAC version that can read the .bsh files which is typically version 2.0.0 onwards. This lets you view and download any portion of the map. All you have to do is place them in the “mapsource” folder of MOBAC and restart the program (if it’s open already).

Note: Don’t download more than you need or these services may block all connections from MOBAC and then nobody can download any maps. MOBAC has a built in limit of 500,000 tiles as it is and that already seems a bit too large for people’s needs.

The “z__” number in the file name is the maximum zoom level of that map. So Google Terrain only goes down to zoom level 15, where Google Maps goes to z20.

The map files are as follows and have an example image from Sydney showing what that map looks like:

Google Maps
• Max Zoom: Zoom 20
• Map Extent: Worldwide
• Map Type: Detail Map
Download Google Maps Bash File

MOBAC bsh Files
Fig1. – Google Maps. (Detail Map)

Google Terrain
• Max Zoom: Zoom 15
• Map Extent: Worldwide
• Map Type: Topographic Map
Download Google Terrain Bash File

MOBAC bsh Files
Fig2. – Google Terrain. (Topographic Map)

Google Hybrid
• Max Zoom: Zoom 20
• Map Extent: Worldwide
• Map Type: Hybrid Map
Download Google Hybrid Bash File

MOBAC bsh Files
Fig3. – Google Satellite Hybrid. (Satellite w/Place Names)

Google Satellite
• Max Zoom: Zoom 20
• Map Extent: Worldwide
• Map Type: Satellite Map
Download Google Satellite Bash File

MOBAC bsh Files
Fig4. – Google Satellite. (Satellite wo/place names)

Open Street Map – Transport
• Max Zoom: Zoom 18
• Map Extent: Worldwide
• Map Type: Transport Map
Download Open Street Map – Transport Bash File

MOBAC bsh Files
Fig5. – Open Street Map – Transport. (Transport Map)

Open Street Map – Humanitarian
• Max Zoom: Zoom 18
• Map Extent: Worldwide
• Map Type: Specialist Map
Download Open Street Map – Humanitarian Bash File

MOBAC bsh Files
Fig6. – Open Street Map – Humanitarian. (Specialist Map)

Queensland Topo
• Max Zoom: Zoom 15
• Map Extent: Australia – Queensland
• Map Type: Topographic Map
Download QTopo Bash File

MOBAC bsh Files
Fig7. – Queensland Topo Map. (Topographic Map)

If you’d like me to make a .bsh of a mapping service found on the internet let me know the site and I’ll give it a go depending on how busy I am.

Insulating Camping Pot Handles

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Have you ever been camping with a new pot and burn yourself on the metal handles due to the lack of heat insulation rubber? Or perhaps you go to grab it and discover it’s extremely hot and you drop your meal all over the ground?

DIY Project
Fig1. – The results of heat shrink wrapping the handles.

Well not any more! I recently devised an elegant solution to partially fix this issue using heat shrink electrical wrap as an insulation material on the handles. Not only does it look slick and fits extremely well once shrunk but it can come in a multitude of colours and it’s almost impossible to get wrong!

To get started all you need is:
• Metal pot handles, which should be between 0-4mm thickness and may be difficult to remove
• 1m+ (3ft) of any coloured 6mm heat-shrink wrap (Depending on the thickness of your handles)
• A heat gun or open flame (Maybe an oven?)
• Scissors to cut the tubing to size
• Pliers to hold the hot handles

You can buy different thicknesses of the shrink wrap but 6mm is the best bet because it shrinks down to 2-3mm diameter. This is also a good choice for size because you need to be able to get it around any bends that may be in the metal unless you want to do some blacksmithing.

DIY Project
Fig2. – Sizing the tubing for the handle. This was a test so don’t actually put the tubing over the hinge!

Once you’ve removed the handles, measure the tubing by eye and cut pieces to size. It may be easier to do it in a few sections if there’s multiple sharp bends. You can then simply overlap the sections to provide thicker coverage. Once you’ve got a few cut sections of tubing you now have to slide them up the handles into position. You can be rough with it as the tubing is resilient and it may be difficult to get it around some bends.

DIY Project
Fig3. – The first application of the tubing complete.

Once a section is in position you can heat it up to shrink it. You shouldn’t do overlapping sections at the same time in case the outer wrap shrinks first and distorts the inner one – but instead finish one layer at a time letting it cool between layers. Use the heat gun until it’s snugly fit around the metal and don’t forget to use pliers to hold the metal. An open flame is harder to control and provides variable heat output so be careful not to put it too close to the flame. Even if you put it in the flame, nothing happens if you pull it out quickly, however if you leave it in the tubing will start to form bubbles.

A point to note is the direction that the text on the wrap is facing. If you wish to try and hide it, ensure it’s facing down. You can see on Fig7 where I got it wrong and the text is facing up, but overall it’s not terribly noticeable.

DIY Project
Fig4. – Shrinking the tubing.

(Yes, I did mine indoors over an open flame, but as I said it’s pretty hard to get wrong if you follow some basic guidelines. I’m sure it would be even easier with an actual heat gun)

When you’ve got it looking how you want let it cool down before applying any additional layers as adding the tubing while it’s still warm may start to shrink it early. You can dip it into water if you’d like to help cool it faster, also known as quenching in blacksmithing (but that’s a little different). If you use the water method, ensure it’s dry before adding more layers. It’s cool enough when you can hold the handle without burning yourself, at which point you can begin to wiggle the next layer of tubing into position.

DIY Project
Fig5. – Cooling the handle faster than air drying.

Then simply repeat the heating step again until you’ve got a handle with a lovely looking layer of wrap over it.

DIY Project
Fig6. – The comparison between un-shrunk tubing and shrunk tubing.

You can apply the same method for any and all of your camping pots with metal handles although some are extremely difficult to remove the handles on such as my stanley pot below (fig.7) which also had a sliding mechanism I had to remove.

DIY Project
Fig7. – My stanley cup with the tubing completed.

Results
Now for the results which is quite a fair improvement over just bare metal. You can definitely hold the handle for longer and feel about a 40% reduction in heat leaving about 60% heat. So with an additional layer you will feel about 36% of the heat down from 100%. You could probably add up to 5 layers if you wish, but each layer will become harder to slip on, but after so many layers I’m sure you won’t be able to feel much (if any) heat. Additional layers will also ass a bit more weight if ultralight backpacking is your thing and where every gram counts.

Below is an estimate of heat felt compared to number of layers:

• 0 Layers: 100% Heat
• 1 Layer: 60% Heat
• 2 Layers: 36% Heat
• 3 Layers: 21.6% Heat
• 4 Layers: 13% Heat
• 5 Layers: 7.8% Heat

If you wish to remove the tubing all you have to do is get some scissors and slice it up the side and peel it off. It won’t leave any sticky residue (Unless you melt the stuff over an open flame) and you won’t be able to tell it was even applied.

DIY Project
Fig8. – Letting a handle cool prior to putting them back on.

I only tried this on stainless steel and aluminium but it should work exactly the same for all other metals including titanium, copper, brass etc. Let me know what you think and if you tried this on your pots.

The Preparedness Encyclopedia (TPE) – Version 1

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This post is out of date. Check out the latest version of TPE below:
Download TPE Here

As you may already know, we live in an extremely fragile world where reliance on the government, nature, water systems, electricity, internet, sewage, trucks etc, etc, etc, can all be disrupted so easily by events such as natural disasters, wars or simply bad luck. Humanity in general has had life pretty easy since WW2 ended with an explosion in technology and countless inventions to make life just that little bit easier. Unfortunately all this dependence has made us less reliant on ourselves and more on these fragile modern networks which are so delicately balanced. Over the years we’ve seen horrific disasters occur in other parts of the world and think that it will never happen here for various reasons, but eventually every region has their disaster and global disasters in particular are ones that nobody can hide from.

TPE Picture
Fig1. – The PDF version of TPE on a smart phone.

That’s where TPE comes in. Giving you that vital knowledge to help you survive WHEN disaster strikes on basically every field related to preparedness or survivalism. This however is only the first step in being prepared, knowledge is about 10% of the battle and practise being the other 90%. So don’t think this guide will instantly give you all the skills needed to survive WW3 in the future, you have to start now.

TPE Picture
Fig2. – The categories found in the spreadsheet.

The official release of The Preparedness Encyclopedia which I started back in June 2017 is now open to the public. It contains vital information on every conceivable subject related to survival and preparedness which should be of use when the worst does happen whether it’s a local or global event. The guide currently comes in two different formats:

1. The first being the mobile/portable version which is designed to run as fast as possible on handheld devices. It’s a PDF file coming in at about 32mb at the moment.

2. The second type is the file I edit the guide with being the Excel file (.xlsx). It’s much slower than the PDF counterpart and it may lag, or not even open on mobile devices. However this version is editable and has hyperlinks to make it easy to transition between different sections.

(All images can be clicked on for the full size, and then zoomed in to even more)

TPE Picture
Fig3. – The start of the preparedness section.

Getting Started
To get started with TPE all you need is:
(For using the PDF version)
• The guide itself
• A smart phone/tablet/pc
• Any PDF reader app

All of these can be obtained free of charge assuming you have a phone already!
Although donations towards the meticulous crafting of the guide are welcome too, where how to instructions can be found under the contact page on my website.

Downloading
You can find TPE on my website by clicking “Main Website” up the top left of this page, and then using the navigation bar to find “TPE” under the “Resources” menu. From there you can download any of the versions I currently have.

Or Click Here

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Fig4. – Some great preparedness resources can be found listed in the guide in the MEDIA section. Contact me if you’d like your resource to be added.

Categories
There’s 4 primary headings in the guide which can be seen on the far left of any of the images of TPE. Content is divided between these sections to make reading and navigation easier. The first column is the section type such as “MEDIA” in the image above. Then in the same example it goes into “YouTube” > “Other Videos” > Then for this example there’s a blank category because I didn’t need to go any deeper, however other sections make use of all the sections. You can think of these divisions as folders, so inside the “MEDIA” folder are the “YouTube” and “Books” folders, and inside the “YouTube” folder are the “Prepping”, “Survival / Outdoors”, “Gear Reviews” and “Other Videos” folders.

Image Detail
Below is a comparison of screenshots from my phone showing the detail in the map which could come handy in a wide array of opportunities if you don’t have access to internet.

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Fig5-7. – A side by side comparison of the quality of imagery in TPE zooming in each shot.

Below are more images to help persuade you to give it a try:

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Fig8. – A screenshot of the navigation section.

In the NAVIGATION section you will learn about using compasses, magnetic declination, navigation using the sun, stars and your watch, reading maps and more.

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Fig9. – A screenshot of the entertainment section featuring crosswords and many other puzzles.

Lots of entertainment to help keep your mind occupied and in a sane state. If you’re worrying about everything that’s going on around you all the time you will adopt a very negative state of mind over time and that’s exactly what the entertainment section aims to counter, regardless if you’re bugging out alone or have your family with you – there’s something for every situation.

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Fig10. – Codes and ciphers can be found in the COMMUNICATION section.

It may be of benefit to communicate in code sometimes so the government or others don’t understand your message and that’s where the COMMUNICATION section comes in handy. It can also be used to decipher codes of others if required and contains most of the commonly used codes today.

Are you convinced to download it yet? Follow the link below or keep scrolling until you are!
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Fig11. – The natural disaster section detailing volcano explosivity indexes.

The Volcano subsection is housed within the NATURAL DISASTERS category of the guide. This section discusses any and all types of natural disasters from earthquakes to a tsunamis and how to prepare for them and what to do if they occur.

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Fig12. – An excerpt from the fire lighting section found under FIRE. Note: “o” indicates that there’s no information in this cell yet.

The FIRE section is obviously about how to start fires with various methods, tools and equipment, how to extinguish fires and finding natural tinders in the environment. There’s also information on fire types, flame colours and their effects and what is required to start a fire.

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Fig13. – Details about landform types and their advantages and disadvantages.

Looking for a location to set up camp or to bug out to may be a challenge when also faced with the overall intensity of a disaster, so this section is aimed at giving pros and cons of each environmental position as well as any hazards you may not realize prior to calling it home.

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Fig14. – Signals for communicating with aircraft if you wish to be rescued.

For those times when you’re lost and you need to communicate with rescuers who are unable to land in your area. Also shown on the picture above is a list of ground signals which hikers and other trail-goers may leave for others to take note of, but these are generally used in situations where you want to be found.

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Fig15. – Details of types of preppers and their scale on the preparedness index.

An interesting little list which can be fun to try and place yourself on as a prepper as well as understanding the other levels of prepared people out there. Higher is not always better!

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Fig16. – There’s an entire fictional novel also included.

The entire novel of Robinson Crusoe is also included as a distraction from the disasters that may be going on around you to try to ease your mind. The entertainment section is arguably one of the most important sections as it can boost your, and your parties morale greatly in those hard times.

Hopefully by now you’ve decided to see what all the fuss is about and download TPE to your device as a “Just In Case” method to help safeguard your existence against end of the world. You will have much greater chance to survive a disaster if you read and hone your skills prior to any disaster happening, so start reading it today! One thing is fact, and that is that you never know when disaster is around the corner…

The Conflict Between Preparedness and Minimalism

By | | Minimalism, Preparedness Blogs
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Is it possible to be both a prepper and a minimalist? At first glance it doesn’t seem like it. Preppers often stockpile mountains of food, water, barter items and supplies which they believe will be required in a time of disaster. This flies directly in the face of minimalism where people try to have as few possessions as possible – typically under 100 items or a single backpack of gear.

Minimalism is about leaving behind a materialistic lifestyle where we live pay-check to pay-check irrelevant of the amount we’re making. Because we’re making more money on promotion we take this new found financial opportunity and stability to upgrade our household items faster, getting that new TV we’ve been waiting to buy and storing the other in another room for the kids. Eventually over a few years of this most families end up with countless electronics, furniture, heirlooms and toys and this is where the minimalism lifestyle comes in.

It seems like two incompatible lifestyles, but I’m giving it a try anyway and logging my findings over multiple posts as I learn more via experience. My theory is that if I have a single backpack of preparedness products I can count that as a single minimalist item, especially if stored out of sight and mind but still easy to reach.

This is where things get a bit difficult as a few of the items included in the BOB may have some overlap between daily use ones such as cutlery, portable stoves and utensils. You’re trying not to double up on items you own, but you also want everything in one backpack which is quick to grab in the event a catastrophic disaster arises. It’s a real pain to take items from the bag, use them, wash and dry them then return them to the bag every use, not to mention that you may have to do some digging to find them in the first place. Due to this I’ve chosen to keep a duplicate item in the backpack so I can just grab it and go if needed and not waste precious moments looking for what I’ve taken out – which could be the difference between life and death.

The ultimate aim of minimalism is to spend less and have the freedom to travel more without being weighed down by all your “stuff”. Therefore if you own something but aren’t attached to it and are prepared to give it up at the drop of a hat you can just abandon it and re-purchase a new one when you’re at your new location. This is the loophole I’m going to use, and as long as they’re neatly stored away they shouldn’t be included in the minimalism item count. Out of sight, out of mind.

Currently it’s only me living alone so I’ll only need enough food for myself to last about 2 months – which is 8x 12.5L decor storage containers. Each of these has on average 18 cans of food in them coming out to about 2.5 cans a day. In a tiny house this will be fairly easy to conceal within a pantry. Having a farm can drastically reduce the amount of food you require if your house is your Bug Out Location (BOL), just be sure to have enough stored for the harsher months.

Water is a little easier especially if you have a quality water filter which has a long lifespan and a river or lake nearby. There should be at least a week of drinking water on hand or a large water tank nearby.

Nothing can replace knowledge in a disaster and knowing how to acquire food and water during a disaster is vital to keeping your item count to a minimum. More Knowledge = Less Things.

There will have to be some form of compromise between prepping and minimalism. You can’t have that huge underground pantry with every type of food imaginable, not only is it more vulnerable to theft and disasters but you become attached to it and won’t want to leave if the situation demands. At least with a few storage boxes of food and portable water you can load up your vehicle and get out within 15 minutes. You can’t just grab a pantry shelf and throw it in the car, you’d have to put everything into boxes first and then load the car.

Preppers can also have a BOL in another part of the country stocked with food and other resources which they flee to in a disaster. This is another plausible idea which demands less carried survival items on you all the time. You just need to have enough food, water and fuel for 3 days to get you to your shelter – as you can get almost anywhere in a country (by car) in 3 days if you’re determined.

A final solution similar to the BOL would be storing smaller caches underground at various locations around the country with about a weeks worth of food and water inside. Or perhaps you could hire storage locations and fill them with supplies. Even if they are broken into pre-disaster, who would want to steal 1,000 cans of food and water? You could also offer your family / friends some money to keep some supplies in a corner of their house for you, you don’t even have to tell them what you’re storing if you wish – as long as you express it’s not illegal substances and that the items aren’t worth much.

Being prepared doesn’t mean “having a lot of stuff” stored for use in a disaster, that’s only a small part of the equation. The other parts of preparedness is preparing mentally, preparing physically, having contacts and like-minded people, gaining skills, gaining knowledge and gaining experience. It’s a culmination of these things that creates the ultimate prepper. The unskilled, unintelligent and ill-prepared people who need spoon feeding from pre-stocked cans of food, the real preppers can acquire all these from the wild foraging, farming and hunting.