Why I Prep
If they make us wear capes, my life will be complete.
I’ve talked about it before, including my recent blog post on the current pandemic - I do prepping as a way to protect myself and my family. It shouldn’t be a surprise for someone involved in Infosec to think this way. Prepping is a personal extension of what I do for a living, which is basically risk assessment. For some, they learn about assessing risk with computers and it tends to influence their thinking. For others, they were always worried about something bad happening and trying to figure out what to do to protect themselves, and then took a job in IT and discovered information security. I was probably a bit from both of those columns.
I’ve joked about saying I prep because it sounds better than saying “I hoard” but in actuality it is about prepping. Yes, buying in bulk is cheaper, and having it all delivered to my home is so much easier than dragging myself out and driving to a store - and that was my attitude before the pandemic and sheltering in place.
I’ve had the “prep” conversation with family, friends, and co-workers. A popular thing I am asked is “what are you doing and why?” so I thought I’d pass on a few things to get you started. The links and whatnot I will include are for the most part politically neutral, so don’t think I am sending you down a partisan path that will offend or trigger you later on - I am taking the logical and fact-based approach.
Sources of Information
A great YouTube channel for general prepper talk, equipment reviews, and personal organization is Cliff from The Urban Prepper. It’s a somewhat light-hearted and family-friendly approach to the subject. I’ve bought a number of items he’s recommended, and many things I’ve purchased for myself he’s ended up reviewing.
Another great channel is City Prepping. While not nearly as light-hearted, it is still vastly interesting and very informative. I truly appreciate the fact he provides an emphasis on logic and reason over emotion.
Both of those YouTube channels tend to focus on urban environments, but if you are more interested on someone off the beaten path in a remote setting, I highly recommend Guildbrook Farm. I’ve probably watched nearly every video they’ve put out, since I’ve watched them from nearly the beginning.
For you Infosec pros out there, you will find it interesting that the prolific and industry smart guy Michal Zalewski has a rather fascinating write-up on his website called “Disaster planning for less crazy folk” which is a great resource, and highly detailed. For you non-infosec folk, you don’t have to worry, no coding requirements needed.
Quick Tips
The main tips I personally give out are the following:
Get a decent supply of food so you you could go a few weeks without leaving the home or getting deliveries. A three week supply is a good baseline, a three to six month supply if you’re anticipating rough times ahead. No prepper foods either, just regular food you normally eat, so if you don’t need to shelter in place, well, you have food you can eat for a while.
Bottled water on hand is a good idea. A standalone water filtration system like a Berkey is also a good idea - you could take rainwater or water from a creek and make it drinkable.
Worrying about PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) such as gloves and masks should not be too much of a problem, or at least not now. You can buy or make a few decent masks and buy several pairs of work gloves, and then just rotate through them as needed. Most viral infections die after a few days on a contact surface, so setting a mask and some gloves you used on a Monday outing for reuse on Friday is fine. If your mask is washable (with a removable filter) you can wash it if it gets dirty.
Work with your doctor’s office and make sure you have plenty of medicines on hand. If it is possible, try to get more than a 90 day supply of your prescriptions. Remember that many pharmacies will offer delivery services, and some will even get supplements to you as well. Vitamins and other supplements that help with immunity are highly recommend (ask your doctor for advice and recommendations). Also, don’t forget the small chain pharmacies as well. Sometimes they will stock all kinds of items that are hard to find otherwise, like hand sanitizers and even PPE.
A first aid kit is a good thing to have on hand. And not just a box with few different-sized bandages, but an actual decent first aid kit including trauma items.
Offline entertainment is nice to have. A collection of books, board games, a deck of cards - all fun. It is also something that could bring a bit of sanity to being cut off from others.
It’s Not Too Late
Some of my friends are apprehensive. They are concerned that they have too much to prep for during a time where they can’t get a number of goods at all. But there is still plenty you can do if you are so inclined.
Take things in small steps. Get what you can, and adjust your priorities to fit your situation. Are you considered at risk? Focus on the medicines and PPE. Family needs to eat at home more, no more takeout? Get your food supplies first. And remember that the current crisis will come to an end, and you can get back to some semblance of order - and be better prepared the next time.
If you’ve been laid off or you need to get a better job to make things happen, I cannot offer much help outside of this web page. Scroll down and you’ll find a long list of all-remote or remote-first companies, many of whom are hiring.
Finally, as I write this we are facing both a pandemic and civil unrest. By taking the steps we have taken, we felt that we were prepared for both. So another thing you should consider is to ask yourself which first step is going to make you feel better. That might not seem logical, but if you reduce some of the stress you feel, you’ll have a slightly clearer head for the next steps. And that is probably the most important thing of all.
I hope this helps, and let me know if there are other resources or advice you might recommend.
