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Prepping has seen a surge in popularity in recent years, and it’s no surprise why. The past few years have highlighted just how vulnerable our supply chains can be, along with the challenges of being stuck at home without access to essential supplies.
While prepping is all about staying prepared for the unexpected, even seasoned preppers can develop habits that work against their goals. These habits can weaken your overall preparedness and make your efforts less effective when it matters most. Here are 15 bad habits every prepper needs to break.
1. Overbuying Without a Plan
Stockpiling random items without a strategy leads to wasted resources and clutter. Break this habit by focusing on essentials and building an inventory based on your actual needs. There are inventory sheets you can download online to help keep you organized and give you a plan to follow.
2. Neglecting Skills Training
All the gear in the world won’t help if you don’t know how to use it. Make time to learn practical skills like fire-starting, water purification, first aid, and self-defense. These skills should be practiced regularly.
3. Ignoring Physical Fitness
Being a couch potato can leave you unprepared for the physical demands of survival. Regular exercise is vital to staying agile and capable in emergencies. You can’t go from sitting on the couch to walking ten miles and not suffering some serious side effects. You risk serious injury if you try to do this.
4. Relying Too Much on Technology
High-tech gear is convenient, but it can fail when you need it most. Ensure you have low-tech or manual backups for critical tasks, such as maps, compasses, and hand tools. A fancy GPS tool or anything that requires batteries or internet should be avoided.
5. Forgetting to Rotate Supplies
Letting food, water, or medical supplies expire diminishes your preparedness. Regularly check and rotate your stock to keep it fresh and usable. When you go grocery shopping, put your new food in the back and pull out the old stuff. First in, first out is the rule of thumb.
6. Not Practicing Bug-Out Drills
Failing to rehearse your emergency evacuation plan can lead to chaos when disaster strikes. Conduct regular drills with your family to ensure everyone knows what to do.
7. Storing Water Improperly
Improper water storage can lead to contamination and wasted supplies. For example, using non-food-grade containers can compromise your water’s safety. Always choose containers specifically approved for water storage and keep them in a cool, dark location to maintain quality.
Avoid common mistakes, like using milk jugs—they degrade over time and can cause leaks. Similarly, never store plastic containers directly on a cement floor, as chemicals from the cement can seep into the plastic and ruin your water supply.
8. Focusing Only on Short-Term Disasters
While prepping for immediate crises is important, ignoring long-term scenarios can leave you vulnerable. Prepare for extended disruptions with sustainable food, water, and energy solutions.
9. Neglecting Mental Health Preparedness
Stress and fear can impair decision-making in emergencies. Practice mindfulness, stress management, and mental resilience to stay level-headed under pressure.
10. Overloading Your Bug-Out Bag
A heavy bag slows you down and makes evacuation more difficult. Regularly assess your gear and prioritize lightweight, multi-purpose items. The goal of your bugout bag should be ten percent of your body weight. Anything more than forty pounds and you’re doing yourself more harm than good.
11. Hoarding Instead of Sharing Knowledge
Prepping isn’t just about personal survival. Build a community plan by sharing knowledge and skills with neighbors, friends, or like-minded groups. You cannot be a jack of all trades and a master of none.
12. Ignoring Everyday Prepping
Prepping isn’t just for catastrophic events. Failing to apply your preparedness mindset to everyday situations like power outages, car breakdowns or Mother Nature’s wrath limits your overall readiness. It’s not always about the zombie apocalypse.
13. Skipping Medical Training
Stocking a first-aid kit without knowing how to use it is a wasted opportunity. Take basic first aid and CPR classes to maximize the usefulness of your supplies. Have physical books on hand that will walk you through how to handle emergency situations.
14. Not Accounting for Pets
Many preppers forget to include supplies and plans for their pets. Ensure you have food, water, and a plan for their care during emergencies. You’re going to have a hard time letting Fido die. If you plan on keeping your pets with you, make sure you plan for it.
15. Procrastinating
The biggest enemy of preparedness is putting things off. Start small but take consistent steps to build your supplies, skills, and plans. It’s so easy to just assume you have time. Nothing will happen. Unfortunately, that’s exactly when things go wrong.
15 Essential Things Preppers Should Stockpile Besides Food And Water
Here’s a list of 15 things you should start stocking up on now, beyond just food and water, to stay prepared and ready for anything.
15 Essentials Things Preppers Should Stockpile Besides Food And Water
19 Survival Items You Should Stockpile from Dollar Tree
Stockpiling can get expensive, but Dollar Tree offers affordable items that can help you stay prepared without overspending. With plenty of useful options, Dollar Tree makes it easier to stay ready for anything. Here’s a list of 15 essential items you can find at Dollar Tree to start building your stockpile today.
