- I found your site and love it. I am brand new to prepping and have basically nothing ready for anything. Where do I start? (Tim)
First off…Welcome! Glad to have you aboard even if you are a little late to the party 😉
OK, now…”Where to start?”
I will believe you when you say you are “brand new”…so let me start you at the very beginning.
Full disclosure: some folks have different opinions than I do…but most of them don’t have the training, skills, or experience that I do and they don’t have an organized approach to learning the necessary and required prepping knowledge. So, I am methodical, organized, and deliberate in my approach learned over the better part of 4 decades of professional emergency management 
experience and nearly 50 years of prepping.
First four steps are learning steps, learning the principles of preparedness. This prevents a haphazard, disorganized approach to prepping. It also ensures you more fully avoid HUGE mistakes that many folks make as they prepare. Each step, except the first, will have articles…read them all before moving on. Watch for the “next” button at the bottom of articles. Also, it might be a good idea with you read the “Related Articles” in each posting as well before coming back to the next step.
#1 – Who are you? That is a purely rhetorical question. Do you know yourself, do you have principles, ethics, morals, and do you have foundational beliefs? Why and how do you want to survive emergencies, disasters, and grid-down events? If not, solidify those first. I suggest you write them down.
#2 – Learn Risk Identification and Mitigation.
# 3 – Learn the 7 Common Risks/Threats to all emergencies, disasters, and grid-down. Then learn how to “layer” to mitigate those threats.
#4 – Make a plan to start prepping.
This is your plan! It needs to be singular to you and your family. Lay it out any way you want…but I suggest you write it down. And I insist that it be based on “layering”…or you won’t be a successful as you could have been. You will have wasted your time, money, and resources if you don’t layer.
Next comes the actual prepping Step #5…
Now start accomplishing your plan. You can multi-task as you go. Meaning, you can buy a pistol at the same time you are buying food, OTC medicines, and ammo…while you identify a potential bugout location and start storing water correctly.
Layering is vitally important. Example: You start storing water before you have a way to filter/purify it. 
A problem develops and water shuts off. You may have 100’s of gallons of water stored but not be 100% sure if it is safe to drink and no way to filter/purify it. But, if you have correctly layered then you have a filter/purifier and can make virtually any water safe to drink.
Let me be more clear…each of the 7 Common Risks/Threats have specific layers to them. Each layer is unambiguous in what needs to be done. Work from the inside out using each layer as a “step to take”.
IMPORTANT – while carrying out the practical aspects of prepping (i.e. acquisition of resources) you also need to learn how to set priorities and also learn what Situational Awareness is. You do that by reading and studying SA & LIPS while carrying out your new plan.
Once you have read those articles and you are working your plan of acquiring and organizing your 7 
Common Risks/Threats mitigation resources you could start testing yourself…and learning more along the way by reading through the series “Days of September – 9/1/2019 Opening” <click here>
To help you out…while you get started on learning the “principles” why don’t you go to your pantry, find the 10 foods that you use the most, then go buy 2 cans of each, continue to do so for the next 3 weeks. That will be some immediate gratification and get/keep you motivated to keep going.
So why do I have you learn the “principles” first? Why do all that reading? Why not just get started and do stuff?
Well, that would make you like many, maybe most, other preppers that are inexperienced, 
unorganized, untrained, unskilled, and chaotically going about preparing…or rather, thinking they are preparing. To be truly successful at prepping it is vitally important that you understand the big picture, then important bit and pieces of that big picture before you start spending your hard earned money and time.
I will send you my personal email, let me know how you are doing…or if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you and lend a hand if I can.
Now, a serious message from me to you…You are late to the party, meaning you are behind the curve on preparing. But, you are not too late…not too late at all. But you have to get moving and get stuff done…don’t delay or procrastinate. As I said in my article “Intensify” we have fallen as a country…it’s over. I lay out the case clearly in my article “The Fall of the U.S. Empire“. Don’t get me wrong…our country has not ceased to exist…and our people won’t…and the Constitution will continue to be a guiding document for those dedicated to the principle of a Constitutional Republic.
The Roman Empire didn’t simply vanish after its fall…it degraded and then over the course of some 1600 years it morphed into present day Italy, the socialist democracy it is today. Same with the British Empire…it too didn’t simply vanish…it shrank to a fraction of the size it once was and then became the socialist democracy it is today (i.e. Britain, England).
The USA will follow, is following, the same path as all empires…unless the globalists make their final move. So you have time to do a lot of prepping…probably more time than you think…so no need to panic. But time is of the essence. There are two major resources at your disposal; 1) time, 2) money. If you have enough money you can go do everything you need to do in a short period of time. If you are not wealthy then you will have to use your time wisely in acquiring that which you decide you need…and it will take longer to adequately prepare.
A final thought for now…Do you plan to shelter in-place or bug-out? The answer to that question will really make a difference on how you prepare and for what. Answer that question soon, very soon. Here are some articles that might help you decide that answer:
Try to avoid stupid mistakes…
For anyone that can’t or doesn’t want to make a “comment”…use the form below to send me questions, thoughts, concerns, issues, or ask for help. If you would like me to respond to you directly and confidentially just tell me when you send the form.
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A.H. Trimble - Emergency preparedness information for disasters and grid-down 
Hey Saber,
Thank you for posting a reply. Now, let me address your issues…
1) I didn’t miss anything that you pointed out. I followed the entire situation closely and wrote about the violent left, etc. back when it occurred…and before with a warning to avoid it. This post was not intended to be a comprehensive regurgitation of anything…only the “effect” at the 60,000ft level. There are plenty of other websites and talking heads who prattled on endlessly, and still do, about this situation.
2) Yes, had the police and others in leadership done their job there would not have been the violence. Once again, failure of government and communities. But they didn’t do their job and there was this debacle of rioting and criminal behavior. None of that excuses the rioters and their ridiculous behavior…or rather the situation’s manipulation by the radical left. And that had nothing to do with the focus of my post.
3) There is NO “manufactured outcome” if you are referencing the Kyle Rittenhouse issue. He acted, the government acted, the justice system acted, the jury acted, he was acquitted. Nothing “manufactured” about that. Predictable perhaps based on the players but hardly manufactured, especially the outcome or they would have never prosecuted him. Now, the original violence and riot…that was “manufactured” by the usual players on the left…as I predicted and warned about.
4) Private citizens are right in protecting their property whenever they or their property are threatened…in my opinion. It is a God-given right and a Constitutionally guaranteed right. However, a minor -a child- on his own, should not have taken up arms, traveled to another city, and appointed himself, by himself, a protector of someone else’s property. And his mother should never have allowed that or enabled that. That is just plain stupid and wrong by any measure on both their parts.
5) As I stated above I didn’t miss anything…especially the felon aspect on the part of those who were shot. I was aware of the charges, convictions, and prison time of the attackers. And if you notice the post was not about them or their actions beyond that it justified self-defense. The fact that 3 were shot and 2 killed is of no concern of mine, and it was not the focus of the post. Besides, the world is probably better off without them…rather harsh…but my opinion at this time. I am sure their families miss them, I am sorry for that, but they were criminals and participating in community-wide violence. It would have been better for all had the justice system dealt with them appropriately.
6) I don’t care about the bricks, forklifts, or anything else regarding what was to happen in that city this weekend or any other time. It is a local matter for the locals to deal with. And it certainly had nothing to do with my post…as intended.
7) I identified “tribalism” because it is a much, much bigger threat to the US than any of the other issues surrounding this matter…in my opinion. There are lots of people who like to focus on small, albeit sometimes important, details. The purpose of my post was to clearly explain an issue that goes far beyond the shootings, the people directly involved, or the court case. Call it the “big picture” if you will. I am past the small crap going on in our country today…it is the bigger stuff that is of most importance and what I try/tend to address and bring to light so folks can deal with it.
8) If you had read and understood my post and the graphics at the bottom of the post you would have understood I was pointing out “purposefully being divided”…which is by definition – tribalism.
Finally, “…actors who want to destroy the [USA]. And they are doing a grand ol job of it.” We agree 100% on that…and that was the intent and purpose of my post…we are being divided and they are winning. They are winning because we are complicit and foolish…it is our own fault.
AH