Preparedness Overload Reality Check Needed.

Anyone else feel overwhelmed with trying to keep up with BOBs, car kits, household disaster supplies, first aid kits, EDC gear, etc?

I feel overwhelmed with "stuff".

My wife just emptied the trunk of the car of all my emergency supplies to make room for a girl scout cookies/supplies for a booth sale, and I looked at this pile of "stuff" in my kitchen and thought "man, this is ridiculous".

Then I think "what if this happens or that happens" or "this happened once before and boy was I glad I had "X" on hand".

It seems that it's never enough sometimes.

There's got to be a simpler way of me to do this.

Hurricane season is approaching and I know better than to do nothing but I don't know where preparing becomes overkill.

Reality check anyone?

It never rains when you carry an umbrella . . . until it starts raining. You need to decide when it's wise to increase readiness and when you can relax. Hurricane season, winter . . . things change.

That said, I keep a lot of stuff in my truck because it's always earthquake season. When wildfire season strikes I have time to really fill the truck.

Hi Samhain,

The reality check is that you looked at it and started analyzing what you have and started thinking again about the probabilities and likelyhoods of issues happening to you and yours.

Look at the glass as half full. The stuff has been used for its rightfull purposes in the past and it will again (if it is present at the time). Don't get wound up second guessing yourself.

Take the opportunity to check for expired items, items that can in reality be replaced with something better in a practical manner given the resources at your disposal and move on.

When it is needed (again) you will feel much better about having stayed the course.

HTH

Regards,
Comanche7

You can never have too much stuff. As long as you have room for it, know how to use it, and it isn't expired, you are good to go...

The task is daunting and never ends. I get 1 area up to my standards and then start working on another. When everything has been brought up to that minimum standard, I raise the standard and start all over again. I also have to replace expired items while keeping track of what has or is about to expire.
THEN something happens and these supplies are needed and used. My wife and family has weathered the worst in relative comfort and I feel like the wisest man in the world. In between, I prepare and prepare and prepare. I don't do without and I don't try to do everything at once. I'm too stupid to quit doing what I know is the right thing! Take heart.

Look first for the things that are overly redundant (do I need a deLorme book plus the state road map plus quad maps for the country, or can I get by with the deLorme maps?).

Then look at the stuff you can consolidate with a multipurpose item (do I need a bivvy bag plus a poncho plus a box of 55 gallon bags, or can I get by with just the 55 gallon bags?).

Then look at the seasonal items (do I need the -20 sleeping bag, or can I get by with the 20 degree bag?) and the modular items (do I need the 20 degree bag, or can I get by with the 40 degree one and a spare blanket and the spare beenie and sweatshirt I've got in the car)?.

And the items that aren't needed, but you put in just in case, and ask if those cases have existed in the past five years (do I need a snake bite kit in Ireland?).

And remember, duct tape, brass wire, paracord and a mix of various sized of zip ties can fix almost everything.

My wife and I spent a good deal of yesterday getting rid of the junk stuff in our house to make way for valid stuff. Examples -

50 or so pieces of tupperware was overkill, now 20 pieces of tupperware is plenty and probably overkill too...

Placemats, seasonal adornments, mixing bowls (convinced my wife to whiddle the number down to 11!), and the list of junk stuff goes on and on...

Now we have room for good stuff, like more food, water and gear...

If you need a check, as the wife. I would never be able to argue another flashlight, but she has been all about food prep lately.

I too, work on a few different areas at a time - Food, Water, First Aid, Gear, and home saftey/defense. Food and water lately because of affordability but I am about to shift to home defense (tax refund and 3 checks in May, hurray!)

You can never have too much food or water stored. Concentrate on food and water for a while as you reasses your situation. It is cheap and you can never have enough.

If you are a pack-rat, GET RID OF THE PACK-RAT MENTALITY. Donate overlyredundant gear and get rid of the clutter to make way for meaningful equipment.

As time goes on we acquire better gear:
Example- The MnM's candy propaganda auto-scan FM radio becomes a Coby AM/FM radio becomes an Sony AM/FM/TV radio which becomes a Grundig crank AM/FM/SW with light and cellphone charger accompanied by Cobra walkie talkies with NOAA WB capabilities. So get rid of the autoscan, the coby and possibly the sony.

Also, try to incoorporate the Concentric Rings theory and eliminate some of the redundancy for better capability...

And one last thing - your family, neighbors or friends might be looking to you when TSHTF...

Just some random thoughts...

Yep, it is real easy to go overboard ain't it. I try to think in terms of what I can comfortably carry on my person should the need arise. I think something on the order of a small cheap backpack or duffle bag full of essentials is the max for day to day transit situations. If you know you are going to be in a situation with an elevated risk factor, then augment your basics with what makes sense, but still think in terms of minimalist.

That said, have a BOB that is more robust yet easy to stow, so that if TSHTF situation comes up you can grab it and go, but you don't have to have it with you or in the vehicle otherwise.

I keep a daypack sized backpack with my semi-EDC goods in it with about 2 cubic feet of stowage max. This is not encumbering in the trunk of a car, and is easily donned and transportable should I need to go afoot instead. Let's face it, if I can get by for two weeks with a 50 lb pack out in the nasty wilderness, then a 10-12 lb daypack full of essentials ought to do me well enough for a few days. The BOB in my garage has the other 40 lbs of gear, and the 4 water jugs sitting next to it take care of what's left if things got really bad and I had to run away.

I look at it like this; I can put a full ton of gear into my rig for a two week stint in the Cascades in winter and have a home away from home. If I can find a water source near where I can pitch camp, I can be there all winter if I want to, save for maybe running out of food, which one elk in the pot would resolve. Of course, I've spent two weeks at elk camp with 50 lbs of gear and a rifle, too. It can go either way.

I'm also facing the same problem. In the year that I've been active on this forum, my survival equipment/EDC/FAK has grown like a 200% Now I'm trying to slim it all down again. The worst problem are all the items that expire. I found that the key is making scedules of when to replace it all.

Good luck!!

I think what we need is a modular system. We dont have to carry eveything all the time. That is definitely an overkill.

My preparedness philosophy is a combination of modular BOBs plus CACHES (pre-deposited items) in areas I frequently visit. In normal times, I only carry the smalllest EDC, the car has a small BOB. Office has a Cache (which you can call another BOB but is different in contents), and that way you dont feel like carrying a ton of stuff in your car all the time.

Split the stuff and be reasonbable. Split it in differenmt areas you could visit, and also split it among the family members who are old enough to know what it is for.

And of course, if you are continuously seduced to buy toys .. er.. survival equipment, let your wife keep the wallet for you. At least that way someone else is blamed for wasting the family money. HAHA HAHA

Its easy to get too much stuff, doesn't matter if its gear or tools or something else. The trick is to keep organized. Don't fall into the trap of running out and buying a bunch of stuff or grabbing whatever Walmart has on sale, in the long run you will end up with a bunch of crap that gets misplaced, lost, or broken.

Start out by taking an inventory of what you have. I created a few spreadsheets, one for my EDCm one for my Bob, one for the kit in my truck, one for the gear in my garage, etc. You will find out that you have a lot more than you thought you did once you list it all down somewhere.

Then categorize all your items, I took a bunch of different "10 essentials" lists and consolidated them down to a basic essentials list and then grouped/categorized all my gear accordingly. Then I was able to count the gear for each category and see if I had too much of one and not enough of another.

Then decide on how you will store/carry all that gear. I make it a rule that before I buy something it has to have a place, be it a bag, box, shelf, etc if I don't know where to put it then it doesn't get purchased. See the shiny new knife, hmm, where can this go in my bob, maybe the side pocket, check the spreadsheet, I have three knives in tha bob already do I need another, maybe this can replace two of the others, if so then I'll buy it, if not then I pass.

So by my organizational scheme every item must justify its self in how it fits into the essentials and plan I have set forth and where it will be kept. This prevents me from buying a bunch of gear and then having to find somewhere to put it and prevents me from buying a bunch of stuff that I either have plenty of or don't need.

My essentials spreadsheet is sort of a master plan besides listing the essential groups of gear I list ideas and a direction I want to go which helps with future gear purchases.

I've gone from carrying a fairly massive load of stuff to a relatively tight set of "the basics" and a lot less of the "ifs"

The expression that I've heard is "the more you know, the less you need" - and the experience I've had in emergency situations has been pretty good, as far far people willing ready and able to help out. Look at this video I made: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8247617796963879054&hl=en

And you'll see lots of people helping out in an emergency.

That said, as I've said before, the most critical tool you have in an emergency is your mind.

Most of my camping gear is in the garage too, I built a row of shelves one year so I could clean up my garage. All the tools sit on one shelf, then oil and filters and such on another and the camping gear on the top. If I actually did need to evac then its a simple matter of tossing everything from the shelf in the back of the truck and going, the organization is such that the gear is stored pre-staged and ready to go.

Organization certainly helps, especially for the storage aspects such as Eugene practices.

A while back Chris made yet another profound statement. He noted that equipping for survival should be similar to how you would dress for varying weather conditions. It should be done in layers. Several smaller layers are better than one big one. He was referring then to the difference between EDC and BOB and such, but the principle is global. I try to tote aroudn as little as possible, and keep stashes of supplies at my regular locations, such as work and home, of things I might need less often. I figure that the point of my EDC ought to be to get me to a location where I can equip further, and the point of my stash is to help me either get by where I am or make it to somewhere safer. I would only keep in the car what I am able to tote on my person, except for specialty items for specific planned or expected circumstances, which would rotate in and out as the need changes. I keep my bug out supplies in good order at home and use them once in a while just for an equipment check and so I can stay familiar with the lot.

Thanks gang,

I knew I could count on y'all for honest feedback.

I've got a series of excel spread sheets that I've tried to catagorize/prioritize what stuff needs to go where, but I think I've been trying to cover too many bases too haphazardly.

I like the idea of risk assessment to narrow down the focus and layering/staging of coverage.

On my shift today I was reminding someone of the nursing model we follow then it dawned on me; go with what you know.

My battle plan so far based on the feedback I've gotten from y'all:

Assess:

1) Inventory what I already have.

2) Assess most likely hazards/events to deal with.

3) Assess what gear would give me the most bang for the buck (or space)to cover hazards?

4) Assess where would supplies need to be during said hazard?

5) Coordinate with my wife on how would this fit into our overall plan to simplify our lives? (she's the wisest person I know).

6) What do I need to cover most likely hazards?

7) Where are my loved ones and myself most vulnerable?

8) Where to store/stage goodies?

I like the idea of using my backpacking gear as part of the family BOB. It doesn't make sense to have duplicate gear in all places which is where I felt like I was heading.

Plan:

1) Make a specific disaster plan. (I already have the basics of one with meeting places, etc), and incorporate it into the family control log my wife is building. I'm carrying too much of this stuff in my head.

2) Make Shopping / improvising list to cover what I don't have focusing on quality.

2) Schedule rotation schedule for expiring supplies (already have a semi-routine for hurricane season).

Intervention:

1) Pick only one area to work on first.

2) Add one element per paycheck to add.

3) Get out and go more places (my in-laws are the most prepared folks I know outside of this group. They lived in their RV for a while traveling around).


Evaluation:

1) Ask my beloved and child for feedback. Is this something you would use? Are you feeling cluttered?

2) Reassess threats as needed.

3) Reassess inventory (did I use this during the year, is it taking up space that could be better used for something else?

4) Use the gear from time to time. (does it work as planned, does canned ravioli taste ok cold, etc ?)

Thank all of you again.

I am continualy trying to learn new skills so I can drop some of my gear. there is some that is just so handy to have but you have to really want it and ask yourself is it really worth the extra weight?

Bingo.

Seriously - it's warm shelter, water, food. In that order. The rest is extra.

Sounds like your on the same track I am. Make a new blank spreadsheet (I use OpenOffice instead of Excel but thats a whole different thread) for your overall plan. This is where you take a step back and think things at a high level. Instead of knife or flashlight your thinking EDC/BOB/etc
I like the idea of using my backpacking gear as part of the family BOB. It doesn't make sense to have duplicate gear in all places which is where I felt like I was heading.



I work in IT so Disaster Recovery is a common thing. I made a personal/home DR Plan. Much like the ones I see at the office that say what if this regional processing center or data center goes down mine says what if I have to leave my house or what if my house is destroyed.



Not only quality gear but make sure it fits in with your master plan, for example don't buy a camping trailer if you don't have a vehicle to tow it with or don't buy gear you don't plan on learning to use.



I found spreadsheets work well here too, make rows with each todo and then make columns of weekly, monthly, yearly, etc times. I used to use a calendar with todo's and such but it was too easy to snooze those reminders. I now will open the spreadsheet when I get a chance and do everything that needs done.



I try to buy gear each paycheck but don't hold your self exactly to it, let yourself splurge on something fun every once and a while so you don't get depressed from gloom and doom.
We take trips to state parks and places like that. I'll get up on a Sat morning and the weather will be nice so I'll pick a park and we'll throw the camping/portable/bugout grill in the truck and take off and spend the day somewhere new. I applied my same standards to the fun stuff, got a bag and put in bathing suits and towels and sunscreen so its packed and always ready to go so if the park I picked has a lake were good to swim.


How old if your child? If old enough and enjoys the trips to places then buy him/her a small colorful backpack and have them pack it for a travel bag. Put in a change of clothes, book, game, etc and anything else he/she might use when your out at parks and such. Then when you get up one morning and say "hey lets go to lake _" they can just grab their 'go travel' bags and hit the road.
We managed to make a real camping trip last summer and have another this summer so all my gear was packed and taken.

Yeah, we all go throught this. It helps if you think of your 'stuff' as tools and camping gear. And, on the plus side, its still a cheaper hobby than golf...:)

Teacher

Better to have it and dont need it. Then to need it and dont have it.

good book to read is Lighten up, by Don Ladigin