Although there's nothing wrong with that if it's what you prefer.
I'm no expert, but I'm willing to share what I know and hope you'll do the same.
Prepping is serious, but it can also be a lot of fun.
There's no goal to reach; you're never finished prepping. It's a way to live and a way to see the world. Not as a dangerous scary place, but as an opportunity to do something that can make a positive difference for your future-- even if the "S" never hits the fan.
Not only is it fun to think of a possible need and find a way to prep for it, but it's also fun to be able to use your preps in non-emergencies.
Several times over the years my preps have smoothed out a minor crisis. Either the water got turned off or there was a power outage. I look at these events as an opportunity to test my preparedness-- and it is honestly kind of fun. These practice runs can help you see where your preps need some work, which is better than discovering the "holes" once it's too late to do anything about them.
The skills you'll learn can also come in handy in mundane situations.
Once, many years ago, before I carried an EDC (every day carry) kit with me at all times, my extended family was having a cookout down at a state park, and we realized no one had any matches. I said I could get a fire going anyway, and set to work making a bow/drill set. (I am embarrassed that I didn't think of using any of the car cigarette lighters that were undoubtedly present). No one had confidence I could do it and my brother-in-law drove back to town for matches. But I had a fire going before he returned. That was fun.
Prepping is serious. It protects you and your family from unnecessary hardships. But it is also fun if you let it be. That's just as important. If you don't find the fun in it, you'll have a harder time keeping it going-- and you need to do so.
One of the more fun things (to me) that qualifies as prepping is stocking up on ammo.
While prices are better now than they have been in a while, I was still having to travel an hour and a half to find prices that made sense. Locally, ammunition was 2 or 3 times the price that I could pay in the bigger city 90 miles away.
Fortunately, that situation has recently changed, but I found a great way to deal with it before the change, and I'm sticking with it, too.
It's a business called Ammo Squared. You sign up and subscribe for a set dollar amount and they set up an ammunition account for you. Then you can have it shipped to you.
If you use my link-- https://ammo2.me/dullhawk --and spend at least $20 in the first month, both you and I get $25 in free ammo. That's a pretty good deal. Then, after you've set up your account, you can share your own link with your friends and both of you can get free ammo the same way. It's kind of awesome.
If you wait until you have an account value of over ...
Every little bit adds up.
Due to medical situations, I've found myself without money to spend on larger projects such as firewood-- which might be a problem-- but there's always something you can do to prep.
A recent project for me was getting all my oil lamps ready to go. That's not the only alternative lighting I have, but it's my favorite.
I checked and changed the wicks (where needed), cleaned off any dust that had accumulated, and topped off the kerosene. You may prefer liquid paraffin since it stinks less, but I have gallons of kerosene on hand. I only broke one chimney, and I had a spare. (Note to self, keep an eye out for more chimneys at thrift stores and yard sales.)
I also decided to try to address a minor problem with the lamps. If you have oil lamps that you don't use all the time you'll know that the oil evaporates. This time I did something I hope will slow that process.
I covered the wick slot (don't know the technical name, but look at the photo) with aluminum foil I had...
