by Daisy Luther, The Organic Prepper:
There are TONS of lists of must-have preps and things that are essential to survive X disaster, but what about the things you actually don’t need? What about the things that are a waste of money, energy, and space?
I’m coming at this from the perspective of a person on a strict budget who has limited space and who lives in a family with no serious health concerns. I’ve always had a very low-tech prepping style. This was initially due to budget, and then later because I think with low-tech, there are fewer things that can go wrong.
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As well, I’ve also seen that tons of gadgets aren’t really worthwhile. The prepper industry has tried to fill every single need, and often, they end up preying on the inexperienced, whether they mean to or not. Don’t get me wrong – there are some awesome companies out there. I’m talking about the large, corporate businesses run by non-preppers who are just trying to cash in on the lifestyle. Those are the folks responsible for 90% of the items I’m about to write bad things about.
Also, keep in mind that everyone’s situation is different. What works for my family and me may not work for yours.
Here are some of the preps that I just don’t find worthwhile. In fact, I think you might as well just light your money on fire to stay warm. This is pure opinion, and you may completely disagree with me. It should make for an awesome conversation in the comments.
Whole home generators
I know, I know. Cue the chorus of people who are really unimpressed with me right now. The ones who say, “I stopped reading as soon as you wrote bla bla bla…”
Generators are really nice to have. I lived in a rental once that had a whole-home genny wired in. It was great during a blizzard that took out the electricity. I have a small solar one that will power my coffee maker, a fan, and a laptop indefinitely. It’s awesome.
But I don’t need it. It’s a luxury item. At least, it is for me.
If you have a family member with a chronic health condition who requires electricity to live, then you may have an entirely different opinion on whether this is a luxury item. For you, it may not be. (Note that a teenager who swears emphatically that she will die without her phone is not actually someone who requires electricity to live.)
A gasoline, propane, or diesel generator that will keep your home operating as normal is very, very expensive. We’re talking about an investment that starts at around 5K and goes up from there. If you can afford this, more power to you.
It’s also important to note that your generator is only good for as long as you can fuel it. Once you’re out of gasoline, propane, or diesel, you have a giant and costly paperweight.
If money is tight, think about how much food you could buy with that same five thousand bucks. I like to play the odds when it comes to prepping. I focus nearly all of my energy and money on the things that are most likely to happen and the things that I can’t survive without.
I’ve long said that our most likely disaster is a personal financial SHTF. Unless you live in an area prone to a specific alternative disaster, money trouble is probably your most likely crisis too.
Ask yourself these questions if you’re debating getting a whole-house generator:
- Can I still afford to prep otherwise if I buy this?
- Do I have to use credit to buy this?
- Does anyone in my house require electricity to live?
- Do I regularly experience power outages that last longer than a day or two?
- Do I have the capacity to safely store large amounts of fuel?
If the answer to any of those questions is no, you might be better off spending your hard-earned money on other preps.
Storebought Faraday cages with duplicate electronics
If you don’t plan to survive with electricity created by your own generator, you’re probably not going to have tons of electronics that need to be protected.
If you do want to put a few things in a Faraday cage, there are loads of how-tos out there in Internetland to help you make one inexpensively.
A lot of folks stock large, storebought, and tested Faraday cages as well as duplicates of their normal electronics to store in the cage. That’s a LOT of money, particularly if this is mostly for entertainment purposes.
If you’re one of the people mentioned above who need power for the safety of yourself or a family member, then consider duplicate medical equipment stored in a Faraday.
Collapsible emergency stoves
These things are the freaking WORST. Nine times out of ten, they’re too small and flimsy to actually support a large cooking vessel full of water. Lighting a fire in one can be a nightmare, with you laying on the ground blowing into a teeny little whole trying to encourage that tiny spark to life.
When I took Selco’s survival course for women in Croatia, this was among the most frequently-abandoned item that we found was not worth bringing back home with us on the plane. (Here are the products that did and didn’t work for us.)
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