Any long term Preppers actually in shock something is happening?

[MsMeNz]

I have been a prepper since I was a teen, too many end of world novels I think 😬😁 so I've where ever possible kept 2-3 months of stuff and have bug out bags, get anxious if I run out of batteries etc.
But no so far as many hard core people go.

But even though I have always been prepared-ish I actually find myself in awe and a little freaked out it's actually now needed. Anyway one else feel like that? Like you prepped for years but now something is really here it's all a bit surreal? Or am I the only one? 🙄😁

I'm in shock that there's a pandemic - I imagined that if I needed my stash it would almost certainly be weather related.

No, I feel the same. Have always had a stash of supplies, I think largely due to childhood memories of being snowed in for 10 days. DC has cough & was off school today - now we’re at home for a week. Don’t really need the supplies yet, but it will be strange to actually use them. Weird times.

I mean no you aren’t the only one! Yes, it is surreal.

DH is always on at me - and to some extent I see the need but I would rather have the means to sort food out than necessarily have the food now - so know how to kill and defeather, know how to grow veg & Salad and so on.

About 3 months ago DH looked at my stash and said "well at least we will be clean" he now reckons I knew something no one else did... its not massive but just one or two extra of most cleaning stuff and storecupboard basics

Currently in 2 weeks iso day 2 down 12 more to go DH is the one driving me mad - nothing else

For me I guess i thought more about oil disputes and disruption to the supply chain etc. If I think about why I prepped. Also I think growing up poor I get scared of running out of the basics.

But yes I think after each scare of MERs swine Flu, SARs etc. I kinda figured "they" would always get it under control. So Pandemic has me by surprise. But I have to admit I bought masks in early Jan when I started looking into the outbreak more. Friends actually laughed at me and asked if I was serious.....

I watch a few North American YouTube prepper channels with sensible voices (mostly women ) and their is clearly a different tone discernible. We're all human.
I think the universe owes us some emotional time off. We've done all the main thinking on how we'll get fed in a crisis etc - even if there are gaps here and there when you stress test hypotheticals (and that's ok). Some people are completely new to this thinking and it's horrible.
Let's promise ourselves we'll spend a bit of time on Not Being Preppers. Find a tv programme or a book or something that is total escapism. Try identifying the birds in your neighbourhood even if that identification is "that one's called Dave".
You owe yourself.

Hi @bellinisurge, I really enjoy reading anything you post, as your advice is always measured, practical and pragmatic. I'd love if you could share your recommendations for which preppers to watch on YouTube. I think anything endorsed by you would be the kind of practical advice we're all looking for, and would help us to avoid all the apocalyptic, scaremongering doomsday prepper stuff that is so prevalent on YouTube. Thanks in advance

Goodness. That's very kind of you. For practical common sense and reassurance, I watch Prepper Pot Pourri. She's based in Michigan, I think.
All the other Preppers, including the shit kicking men seem to hold her in high esteem. Not sure if it's a mother thing .
Another one I like is Prepper Princess. She's very much about being on a budget. She's based in California.
Obviously they are US based and have a US voice.
More a homesteader than a prepper is Lisa Sutton on the channel Sutton's Daze.
More of a survivalist/bushcraft kind of person is Survival Lily who is Austrian. I'm not really much of a bushcraft-y type . But it's an interesting perspective.
Of the blokes: Praxis Prepper . He's currently got a homestead building project that he jokingly called Little House of Quarantine when he started several months ago. This followed on from a successful Alien Invasion Movie that he made in different episodes. He's a cameraman or something in real life and used to just do a bunch of prepping related vlogs but did this kind of black comedy movie thing that was very popular amongst prepper las. He had "guest stars" such as the two American women mentioned above. He's a funny bloke and doesn't take himself too seriously .
One of the other "guest stars" he had was a bloke called Canadian Prepper. He kind of plays on the doom and gloom stuff in his thumbnails for vlogs. But he seems quite a switched on guy if a bit of a "he man" type. He has prepper business now selling "gear" so obviously he's got a certain "angle " in his stuff. A bit pompous and a fan of the psychological side of stuff. He's actually looked a bit shaken in recent vlogs by actual bad stuff happening.
City Prepper and Urban Prepper are two others I watch.
For a change of pace and again, more bushcraft type stuff, I recommend "Simon, a bloke in the woods" who's based in Norfolk. It's just a nice relaxing world to dip into.
For a slightly more sweary, annoying early twenties type lad bushcraft channel, Alfie Aesthetics. He hasn't done any for ages but he makes me laugh in a "thank god I don't know him in real life" kind of way. He does voice overs rather than pieces to camera and Many bushcrafty things he does are "like a bitch" or "like a motherfucker".
Another nice place to be is Liz Zorab-Byther Farm. She's such a lovely person and her gardening and homesteading videos are a nice place to be.

Thank you bellinisurge. Will check them out.

Very very much so. I bought facemasks on a whim in 2017 and threw them up in the cupboard. Still kind of in shock I may actually have to use them

I'm not a prepper but I admit I have always thought this was all a bit extreme but you know I am going to say, you guys were right!

I feel like we're living out that theory that when the SHTF it happens quickly and without much warning!

The last week - the panic buying, the rationing, the hand sanitser at £30 etc has played out just like greater preppers than I have always said it would!

I've prepped for about ten years now, but again mostly for supply chain issues. I've got a broad spectrum of stuff in hand but found myself buying masks in January when this looked like it was approaching and quite a few little extras this week - like an extra mask for the nebuliser so both my partner and I can use it without contamination! So I feel like perhaps we're never fully prepped!

I think it's always been a hobby for me more than anything but with a vague feeling of security should anything happen - didn't think it would be now!!

Must admit, at the supermarket today I did think, 'oh shit, it really happened just as we thought.'
I wondered what other people were thinking.

It is weird to now be counting down the loo rolls instead of stocking up.

It is still not real.

I feel really relaxed and a bit smug. It's quite soothing.

Never thought I’d see the day, but here it is.

I’ve always been a prepper and keep a good stock of things I use in a regular basis. My daughter regularly comes to do her ‘shopping’ just from my stocks.
Think it stems from my childhood. My mom always used to keep around 30 bags of sugar in stock. None of us took sugar in our drinks so it was rarely used

I've always prepped in case of bad weather or hardship (learnt from my DM!), but stepped it up a bit with Brexit. We are good for a month or so. The only thing I've 'panic' bought is entertainment stuff for the kids eg board games, crafty bits, new video game. I didn't factor being house bound for a prolonged period (and possibly being well enough to get bored) into my planning.

I did feel a bit smug doing my normal weekly shop today whilst many others around me were clearly panic buying, and then instantly felt very guilty for feeling smug. It does feel strange to be starting to use some of our prepped stuff though. I feel like I'm losing our safety blanket.

I'm not a prepper but always read a prepper thread when it appears in my active list. I'm always amazed at how well organised you all are. Something must have rubbed off on me as I've been buying a few extra bits and bobs over the last couple of months and storing them in my under stairs cupboard. DD always made fun of me but has now changed her tune and is worried that we don't have enough.
We might not have stocks like you proper peppers but I still want to say thank you for pushing me in the right direction.

I’m in a similar boat - some things I had stepped up recently as I had let some stocks drop back. So I quietly restocked a few staples in the food and medical cupboards. I have a high normal stock of loo rolls (instead of a 9 pack, I got a 24 pack in weekly shop - but that’s not unusual for us) but no stash outside the normal spot.

My freezer is quite full with meat for a few weeks when I had intended cleaning it out over the spring - so a change there.

But I am kicking myself that I ordered masks in February but delayed it a week or so from my initial thoughts of doing it - that have now been dispatched but not due to arrive for another 3 weeks for the masks and 5 weeks for the washable replacement filters from today still. I reckoned washable versions for both were the most sensible. I have a handful of regular surgical masks from a previous trip where we had a fear my asthma might be triggered by smog- but not the proper N95 type.

But while everyone here is talking about 2 weeks, I suspect it may be for a lot longer and will see more restrictions before it gets better. So I am not yet going headfirst into the stash - using up what’s fresh and being more careful about re stocking the fridge, and having a mental shopping list for that day.

In light of the reactions this week, it will be straight out to whatever shop (local supermarket or the M&S near work) for (in order of priority) milk, fresh fruit and veg, 2 dozen eggs, meat (a large roasting joint, a large bacon joint, and 2-3 days of things like chicken/mince/chops/steak - whatever is on shelves), a loaf of bread (not multiples), more cheese, juice and cream. Aiming to be completely self sufficient for the period and taking pressure off other services.

But seeing the shelves as I was doing some small amounts of normal shopping this week was quite an eye opener. Even with major weather events it never got so depleted.

It's unbelievable. People have always spoken about preppers - true preppers, not just those with a few extra tins of this and that in the cupboard- as though they are completely bonkers, paranoid and laughed at them. Yet here we are!

I have been a bit of a lacklustre prepper compared to some, but it was nice to find I had 3 bottles of hand sanitiser in my stash. I also have 6 months worth of toilet paper and I've bought a travel bidet which will stretch that to twelve. But yes it's a bit of a surprise to see the empty shelves even though it looks like a lot of people will have bleach and toilet paper to see out armaggedon and maybe a weeks worth of food.

I'm not as into it as I was when the DCs were small, as I went to uni and that took over a bit. I prepped for brexit, then let it dwindle a bit but restocked back in January as I became aware of the pandemic potential.
Will admit to a few smug moments but generally just feeling Oh Shit it's actually happening. A little anxious that I'm using up the loo roll stash now too!

Yes, it is surreal. My stock has always been a bit of an academic exercise for me, so I'm getting a bit twitchy about dipping into it as a necessity rather than a convenience.