Tips for New Preppers with Guest Des MuthaPrepper - Ep12

Urban and Suburban prepping with Des from MuthaPrepper. Des works full-time as a mom and full-time outside of the house as well. She lives in CA with her family and gardens in the suburbs. Join us for this guest conversation about her journey to preparedness, tips for new preppers, and more.

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https://www.muthaprepper.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/MuthaPrepper

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome to this Prepared Life podcast where homestudying and the apocalypse meet. I'm Allison, your host. Hi, welcome to This Prepared Life. I'm Alison, your host, and I am so excited to have a guest on for you today. Des is someone I have just come to adore online. We have never met in person, but I hope to one day do that. Des is a parent with a young child. She's a full-time employee and a full-time student. And if she can find the time to prep, anyone can. Thank you so much for joining me today on the podcast, Des. Thank you. It's good to be here. I am really excited to just hear your journey and your story today. Um, why don't you start by just telling us a little bit about yourself, your family, where you live?

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Yeah, um, we, my family and I, we live in Northern California. Um, I spent the most time in my adult life in the Bay Area, and we'd recently relocated out of the Bay. Um, so it's a little bit different. It was a it was the right move for us as a family. I, you know, live with my husband and my toddler, who is gonna be three uh very soon. I can't believe how fast time flies. And then I also have a stepdaughter who um is in college, so it's a big gap between my kids. Um, but yeah, we are really just kind of taking every step to just be more prepared and you know as self-sustaining as possible.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Tell us a bit about your prepping journey. Like, what does that look like? How long have you been prepping? What are you prepping for?

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Oh man, there's uh the list of things that anyone can say they're prepping for is is vast, and it's really subjective too. So, you know, I live in uh, if I didn't say it earlier, I'm sorry, I live in a suburban area, so it's very cookie-cutter homes, starter homes. So I don't have vast amounts of land, even though that's the dream. Um, I that's just not a reality for my family. So, you know, we've we've uh we relocated to a suburban area and the around 2017, um, in our area, there was heavy rains one year. And just uh although we're far from the you know, the river and the levee in our immediate area, there was really the concern that the rains and the flooding would really break break the levee and it would actually overflow into some of the other neighboring um groups of of homes and completely flood them. And so I was not even in my prepping journey at the time. I just moved into our house. I'm just trying to figure out like how to paint what to paint my walls, and then natural disasters like this are kind of around us. And my husband and I, we didn't have kids, uh, we didn't have our child, we had my stepdaughter, but we realized we were not prepared at all. Like if we suddenly had to flee, we had nothing. We had like maybe a fourth of a tank of gas at that. So we just really realized that um if an emergency strikes, even if we had ample time to react, we just wouldn't have the things necessary to really um be ready or even start a fire or even have a change of clothes in the car. So that kind of prompted us to really look into um ways to just be more prepared. Um, little things here and there. It wasn't like this big, you know, let's let's spend thousands of dollars up front and uh, you know, get ready right now. It was really just through the weeks and the months. Um and I still feel like I'm very junior on this prepping, prepping journey. I say that all the time to some of the people I meet online in the prepper community, but it really is uh a journey. Um, and there's no like fixed point where you're you're done. I'm prepped. Uh there's no that doesn't exist. So it's this constant forward thinking of okay, if this situation happens, how would I be prepared? And around us, uh our our most um our biggest concern for a disaster is actually grass fire. So, you know, I'm not in a space where we have tornadoes or, you know, earthquakes or immediate flooding. Grass fires probably our our biggest threat where I live, where grass fires they move fast, but they're able to be extinguished a lot quicker. But that just, I mean, the sheer speed of how fast grass fires can move is is really scary because they can engulf houses, whole neighborhoods in 10 minutes. So it's it's uh it's something we realize we need to be able to be prepped to either hunker down in our home or to flee. Like those are the two things we really need to look at through a lens of how ready are we for these two situations.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

I have heard you call yourself a junior prepper, and I sometimes call myself a baby prepper. So I relate to that. Um tell us how you started prepping. When you talked a little bit about the flooding and that it was just a slow journey. Um, where what did that look like and where did you gather information and how did you process that? And just give us more.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

This is gonna sound so silly. Um, this is like typical suburban mom. I went to Pinterest and I was like, Pinterest, tell me what list I need for a bug out bag. I feel like a lot of people who start this prepping journey, one of the first steps is a bug out bag, right? Because it's one of the first things you're like, okay, let's grab and go. So for me, that really was true. I I started with planning bug out bags for my individual family members, and I just found some really like basic, cheap backpacks. I'm like, okay, this is a bag, I'll fill it with stuff. And so I quickly realized that it is such a subjective uh prepping like consideration for each family member. You have to really think about okay, let's say in our minds, if we're separated, like on trail or something, does everybody have what they need for themselves? And so I realized that the bags that I had were quite small, so I had to upgrade halfway through. But that's kind of the the forward-thinking process that really just gets started. But for me, you know, I started with bug-out bags and I was able to find a list that I, you know, found on Pinterest, and I found a few more lists, and I took a look at what I was missing and things that would be relevant for my family and just continued to build from there. And I really found it so much fun. It was kind of like a treasure hunt, like, okay, what prep items can I find to include in my bug out bag that I don't already have, and then bonus round if I can find them cheap, right? And then I remember I did like a dollar store haul and I was like, this is a gold mine. It's just I remember being so excited in the dollar store, and they're like, ma'am, are you ready with your cart? So um it's it's a you can have a lot of fun with it, I guess, is my my point.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

So you bringing up bug out bags brings up something a little funny that you don't know about. So I don't know if you want me to share this. Um so you did a reel, I think it recently, um, where you were talking about bug out bags and it was to, I think it was the little mermaid Ursula. Um and I cracked up laughing, like how loud laughing my family thought I was insane when I saw that, because just the day before, Kem, the preppy redhead, and I were joking about designating each of the women who prep collaborators with a Disney character. Oh my gosh. And then not even 24 hours later, I'm like, oh, well, I didn't see her as Ursula, but we're gonna go with this. Perfect. So, listeners, if you did not catch Des Reel, go scroll back through and find it. It is hilarious, hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

So funny, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Um, so you mentioned you live in a suburban area. One of the questions I get a lot, and I'm sure you do too, from women who are just getting into prepping but live in the city or live in a condo is storage. What does prepping look like for you in your house, in your space when you do not have, you know, you can't add a container storage unit somewhere. You have to work with what you have.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Yeah, that is my biggest gripe because there's so many things I want to do. I mean, I know you and the Preppy Redhead are really big. You guys actually just had an amazing um IG live about freeze dryer. And I'm like, man, I wish I had one, but I wouldn't even know where to put it. Um, so space is is absolutely one of the biggest things that I struggle with. Um I feel like every inch of my home uh it has been spoken for. And and mind you, I I'm I try to find the balance between, okay, where can I put stuff that has a place and it's designated spot without it feeling like I have too much stuff. So that's a I feel like that's an anxiety trigger for me. If I just see a pile of stuff, I'm like, must clean, must organize. And so there's there's that constant battle. But for me, I have found that I really have to take a look at, okay, what are the things that I'm storing? What are the most appropriate places for it? Um, and I'll be honest, like this was actually an awakening I had recently because when I first started storing like canned goods and things like that, I was like, ah, the garage is a good place, right? It's not, but my garage gets to like 120. So I'm not really thinking of how I want to store my food long term, if I'm just putting it in an appropriate space because the heat will, you know, affect the food that you store. And so I feel like if you are able to simplify your life uh in many of the things that you keep in your household, like do you need do you need 36 towels? Maybe not. Like maybe you cut that down to what your family needs for towels and then use your linen closet for an additional pantry or an additional layer of food storage. But um, I think it because I have so little space, like I don't have a basement and I don't have a workable attic. I have like neither, so I'm very jealous when I see you guys post like I'm in, I'm in my basement. I'm like, oh must be nice. Um so but I you have to you have to actually really think about what does my family use that I need to keep because if that frees up frees up space for me, I want to be able to utilize that for other purposes that are important to my family. So you really and I I think you do a great job of really getting this message out there, you need to think about what's important for your family. Like, is the additional bookcase necessary, or could that space be for where your Berkey goes and your spare filters, you know? So um it forces you to really think about what you do actually purchase uh for your your home and how to maximize space. But for me, I think my biggest one's gonna be water. I still haven't quite figured that out about how to store large amounts of water. Um, because it's for me, it's likely gonna have to be in the garage or outdoors, but because it's so sunny and so hot here, that makes it tricky with like algae growth and exposure to the elements. So I gotta, I gotta think through that. But for me, I like I I can't keep vast amounts of canned goods because when it's heavy um and it's cylindrical in shape, so it's not like they stack perfectly. Um, so that's tricky. Uh what I have found helps my family the most is being able to purchase freeze-dried food. Again, I really wish I had a freeze-dryer, but since I don't, my second best option is to find freeze-dried foods that fit my family's, you know, diet and budget so that those can store really long term, but in a lot, you know, very flat in some cases, like they're in bags, or just they're not as heavy because all of that moisture and stuff has been taken out. So freeze-dried food for our long-term uh layer has been kind of a good go-to for us as we build our additional layers. So long-winded answer, but I feel like you can see the like the 37 tabs open in my brain at any given time. So that's that's what's going on here. So long-winded answer for your question.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

That's awesome. Um, I feel so blessed to have our basement. We did not have a basement in our old house, so our stuff was in our garage. But because we're in Washington, we're not, it's not getting hot in there. And it was a garage that was on the bottom half of a daylight basement. So it was half underground. Um, but yeah, I hear you. Storage space is so hard, and I feel so blessed to have the ample space that I do have here. Um, water storage is so hard for so many people. Um, so I know a lot of a lot of women are gonna relate to you saying, I just don't know what to do with that. Yeah. You talked a little bit about your um your storage and your long-term layer and freeze-dried food. What does your system look like and your layers?

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Actually, it's changed in the, you know, since we, you know, since women who prep really started to take off um beginning of this month and even a few weeks before that, I realized that the system I had thought I had in place, although it was better than nothing, needed work. And so I was able to really lean on a lot of the, you know, the women that prep and these different perspectives on how to pre how to prepare food and the the idea of this layered approach, right? So your short-term, you know, your midlayer, and then your long term. So, you know, what it what's in your pantry, what can you store for like the next couple months, and then what's like really long term if if things get really bad. So I started to really think about the layered approach and how my food, my food preps and my water preps are, and it has really helped my family um build out kind of a plan of what we want to do. Because I'll be honest, you know, right now we're seeing crazy prices, we're seeing things out of stock. I mean, all of those things. So even if I wanted to, I can't just go out and say, like, let me spend thousands of dollars and build my layers. I don't think that's economically feasible for any one person. It kind of and also kind of defeats the purpose, um, unless we have like news of any kind of like imminent doom. But for most people, I found that they're casual preppers, as I am. You know, you bat you get an extra bag of rice here, some extra crayons here, and that all adds up. But through that process, my my husband and I are really much more intentional about like, okay, what can we add to our grocery list today that's gonna serve a purpose in our pantry storage, in our midlayer, and possibly our long term? So it's kind of taking what we have and and organizing them in a better way so that we're we're better prepared and we have a good system that incorporates all the good habits we want to do, like you know, food rotation and really only buying what you know you're gonna cook. Like if you don't like to can't, if you don't like artichokes, why are you buying canned artichokes? You know, so really being intentional about our preps and about our habits and about the things that we purchase because those habits, they actually bleed into a lot of the other aspects in in our life. I found that my husband and I, when we want to make a purchase for something, let's say it's for the house or like some renovation I'm doing in the around the house because it never stops, you know, we want to ask ourselves like, is there a purpose? Like, does this give our does this give our family utility utility? Like, is this something that we should be investing in? It, you know, when I lived in the Bay, that was not my spending habit. Let me just say that. So it's really helped our family change and be super intentional about where we invest our time, money, and our thoughts. So again, long-winded answer.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

Long-winded is great. It means I am talking less. Um, you have mentioned your husband a couple times. Um, is your husband also a prepper? Is he supportive of you being a prepper? What does that look like in your relationship? I know you can't see me, but I'm like smiling and laughing to myself.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

Because in most situations, I feel like that I've seen, you know, online and social media, it's very much like, well, what parties are like in, right? And like, let's prep together. That's not us. I um, you know, I am a planner and project manager by trade, so it kind of and OCD. So it just very much bled into my life of what I I want to do as far as the planning aspect of it. And bless my husband for being a very like, okay, what whatever makes you happy, let's do it. But through time, I'm like, I'm so blessed. He didn't fight me any which way. Um, but it did get some questionable looks when I was like, we need a Berkey, you know, and a Berkey, um, for those who aren't familiar, you know, it's a an amazing water filtration um system that you can actually use in your home or um outdoors, but it's it's not ten dollars, it's quite it's an investment up front. So I think when I started to really be intentional about purchasing things that had like multi-purpose and utility that we could use in emergencies, he really started to see the value in that um as my my partner through this journey because um, and that I feel like that made this whole thing a lot easier. I can't imagine situations where you're trying to build um better self-reliance for your family, and your partner's like, no, I want a Ferrari, or you know, something quite opposite of what your journey is. And I can't say that that was my experience. I'm I'm blessed to have a husband who wants to support me, and it bet it was like a win-win, I guess he would describe, you know, I'm happy and we're doing stuff for our family, so that's cool. So he's you know, he's been a huge supporter of this, and he'll actually now send me like uh links to some cool gear. He's like, Do we have this? Do we need this? This is cool. And I'm like, honey, that's a flamethrower. I don't know if we're there yet, but that's that's cool. So we'll pin my we'll pin that.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Oh, that's so funny. Uh, we actually, Joe and I have a slightly similar situation. Um, so we just got a wood stove, and um, you know, he he was totally cool through the whole process. And because of the weirdness of our roof of our house, it ended up being a lot more expensive than we thought it would be. Um, and so, you know, he expressed some maybe we shouldn't do this. And I'm like, here are all of these reasons why I think we need to do this. And he's he's like, well, maybe we need, you know, for backup heat, maybe we need solar. Let's come up with some other plan. And um, but so cool. He went with it. And two days ago, he's like, I know I don't say this very often, but thank you for pushing me on this because this was the best investment ever. And I was like, Yep, I know.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

That's awesome. Just relishing that moment because of the rest. You see it now.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Yeah, because sometimes, like, oh my gosh, the price tag on some things when you're looking through proper gear or proper, okay, what am I gonna do if this happens in a long-term scenario? It's not cheap. And, you know, like you were saying earlier, it does require us to go, okay, am I getting that Ferrari or the Windows? I mean, not like they're comparable, but um case. Um, let's talk about community a little bit and how does community play a role in your prepping? You're suburban. Do you have neighbors who prep? Are you part of a community? Just what does that look like?

SPEAKER_02 21:03

Yeah, I I feel like I'm consistently trying to build that network in that community. I'm in the space right now where just creating awareness is I feel like the effects of that are creating a community. So I'll be honest, when I first started, I made completely separate Instagram for my prep stuff that I had just just accumulated over the years. I'm like, I'm sure someone could use this. Because I when I first made my post, it was during fire season of 2019, I think, uh, or 20. The years have just really blended together. Um but I had made a post around a really it was fire season for us here on the West Coast. And um it it caught attention of like the the people in my inner circle, so my colleagues and my friends, and it kind of just went from there. And I feel like I have a good amount of people that are near me that are on board, maybe the They're not as um into like the casual preparedness and prepping along the way as as I am, but we have so many conversations all the time. I'll go outside sometimes and I'll say hi to my neighbors that kind of know have been following this prep journey of mine. And they'll ask me, say, hey, I was thinking about this, getting this for the family, or a brookie, or you know, like how are ammo prices? You know, so conversation topics just happen to, you know, really gravitate to the you know things I'm familiar with in my prep journey. So building community is is super important. I feel like there's not too many people that have taken um, you know, preparedness and that prepping journey serious in my immediate area just because I mean I came from living in the Bay Area, big, dense city. And I'll tell you, no one's prepping really in my circle that I that I knew then. Um, but the more you just have conversations, just very matter-of-fact conversations about hey, if the power goes out, like do you have a way to like keep your fridge, you know, cool in your freezer? Or hey, if you like, you know, do you know what meals you could cook on the grill? So you don't, you know, have to rely on DoorDash. So having just very open conversations about backup plans and and their readiness, I think have really helped people come to the same conclusion I did a few years ago that like I don't I don't have much to say, hey, I'm ready or prepped. I don't even have like you know, water. Like, what would I do? And some people don't even think to turn on the tub and fill the tub if they have a fear of water is gonna, you know, run out or the pipes are gonna burst or something. Um, I remember when I first came across that tip, I was like, oh my gosh, this is like life-changing. These are gallons and gallons of water that I could store in my tub that I already have that I didn't even think about. So I think creating a community is is vital uh and spreading that awareness because the whole purpose, I feel like I started this journey along for my own family was to change the narrative of what prepping is because I feel like when people think, oh, you're a prepper, they they think I have like some bunker in my backyard. I'm like, I wish it's not big enough. Um you'd have storage then. I know, I'd have finally got my storage. Dang, I should really start digging. Um, or you know, they think that you just have this, you know, just hole in the mountain where you're gonna coop up. And that's that is so far from I'm sure those people exist, but it's so far from the vast majority of people who are just taking extra steps to be prepared. I think I wrote a post on this, you know, we we buy insurances, we buy extended warranties, we buy all these risk, you know, can um ways to mitigate risk. Why is prepping not thought of in that well? So it's kind of just changing. I feel like the work that we're seeing with women who prep and families who prep um is really changing the narrative uh of what preparedness and readiness looks like. And that's an amazing thing to witness.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

Yeah, I totally agree. Um, so you mentioned your Instagram account um and that you started that in 2020. Can you tell us more about just your passion for sharing that with others?

SPEAKER_02 25:27

Um yeah, um, I feel like I was so when I would search for things to, you know, include in my bug out bag or ways to preserve food. Um I somehow I always like started on either Pinterest or Instagram. But as I was learning these things, I remember feeling like, oh my gosh, this is so helpful. Like I came across some random list of what to throw in my car for a car kit before I really like dove into the prepper community. And I feel like this was so helpful for me. If I can share what I'm doing and encourage one other family or one other person to think, just stop and think about like if if things happen and you're in your car and you don't have any of this stuff, like what's that gonna be like? So if I could, you know, um just try to get one person to think about prep, you know, readiness and preparedness a little differently, then I'll I'll feel like you know I've contributed in a positive way. And it it continues to be something that I'm passionate about. Like I'm I'm just here, I I see this quote at work, I'm like, I just work here, but I'm just here to try to share what I'm doing to encourage people to maybe just think about this, uh, forward thinking and be prepared because I am feel very junior still in my prepping journey. And a lot of what I've learned and adopted, I've learned from other people. And I love that about this community is we're all here to help other people succeed and thrive. And we want to see that, you know, it's not like this competition. Well, I have the most beef jerky in my town. Like nobody's saying that. Everybody is just trying to make sure that their neighbor is taking steps to be ready and more self-reliant, you know, in the absolute worst case scenario that something does happen.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

Uh, listeners, for those of you um who are maybe unsure of what does means when she keeps saying this women who prep community, um, right now, the day that we are recording this podcast, it is September and it is National Preparedness Month. And there is a group of women who prep on Instagram that have banded together with the hashtag women who prep. And we are just encouraging people to post and share their tips. And we are posting daily posts on specific topics for women who prep. But for this past month, um, it has just been beautiful watching all of the women interact and learn and share and encourage one another. So that is what she means if you are not on Instagram or don't know what um she's talking about. So it's okay. It's so hard doing this because you know, some people are podcast only and some people are Instagram only and some people do both. And um I love your Instagram. I don't remember when I found it, but um you were just hilarious. So talk a little bit about the impact being a prepper has had on your life.

SPEAKER_02 28:41

Um, yeah. Um I feel like in the beginning I got a lot of crazy questions and and looks. And I I was just like, well, I don't care. So I'm gonna do this for my family. Your looks don't pay my bills. So I'm really not interested in in the uh negative opinions of people who think that I'm I might be going overboard with it. And so, but what's interesting though, and tell me if you've experienced this, you know, when I started this journey, uh, this continued journey, and looking for tips and ways to you know get prepared and stay prepared, the some of the negative um questions or people saying, like, you're wasting your time quickly, quickly turned into, well, you know, what's in your bug out bag? Like, can you help me? And well, what's the difference between life straw and Brita? I'm like, ah, I've piqued your interest. So it's it's really evolved, and um, you know, not to say that any person on their prepping journey is like not open to questions or involving other people, but I feel like it has impacted my relationships, moreover, in such a positive way. Um, I do get a lot of questions from people in my immediate circle that, you know, um specifically around questions like home security. Um, one of the things I'm super, super passionate about is uh women taking their safety and security into their own hands and really taking steps to be um to know like situational awareness and to really look for things and to be aware of their surroundings. That I have daughters, so let me just preface that. And I'm a woman, so I feel like my perspective is very unique, and that drives on my my passion about um women just being very responsible for their security and feeling empowered to do so. So I get a lot of questions around, you know, just ways to be more personally secure, but also prepping for, you know, bug up ads and things like that. It's it's really impacted my friendships and my relationships in a positive way where I can just be the catalyst for these conversations that are happening around readiness and security and that personal responsibility for you and your family. So it's it's been great.

SPEAKER_00 31:08

Yeah, we actually did not share with anyone that we were preppers until we moved. And now, so anyone who knows us personally that now knows because like maybe they were friends with me on Facebook and now they follow me on Instagram. Um, we don't live in the same state anymore. So um I have not had that same experience, but only because when we lived in Washington, we kept it very well hidden. Um, so yeah. Let's talk about um your prepping journey and what do you feel that you did well? What do you feel you would do different? Um, just in the beginning when you were starting out.

SPEAKER_02 32:00

Yeah, I think in hindsight, I would have organized my food preps a little better because now I'm in the now my kind of um processes, I'm I'm trying to revamp what I have. And so I think it would have just been easier to say, like, okay, layers, here's here we go, instead of let me, you know, I'll I'll be honest, I was part of that panic buying for some things. I I did not do toilet paper, let me just make that very clear. Um or paper towels, but you know, I bought a few, you know, cases of spam and stuff. So looking looking back now, I would have honestly would have started earlier and I would have built these bet these good habits um in the beginning. But you know, hindsight's always 2020, and a lot of what I've learned has really helped change my perspective and the lens of of you know how I'm looking at my preps, and it's all been positive, but um, you know, besides how I would strategically plan my food preps, I think I would have planned the space of how I'm storing these a little bit better. Um, because I know I mentioned I kind of just put everything in the garage because that's the space that we had, and I feel like if I'd done just a little bit more um, you know, research into what that's gonna look like through the the seasons in the West, um, I would have quickly learned that it gets to be 120 in some some of these spaces. So I probably would have just planned where I'm storing these a lot better. It would have probably saved me some time and some money, but luckily we're still able to eat, you know, the food and we can rearrange things in the house. It's just more of an effort now than maybe it could have it could have saved me that time.

SPEAKER_00 33:49

Uh, you bring up kind of an important topic, um, at least in my opinion. Um, a lot of people get kind of frozen in the beginning and they're just like overwhelmed and they don't know what to do, and they want to just come up with a plan, plan, plan, plan, plan. And I am a planner, and it sounds like you are a planner. Yes. And we can probably plan the crap out of anything. Um, what do you say to someone who is in that overwhelmed and frozen, uh, what do I do? State.

SPEAKER_02 34:24

Yeah, um, that's a big one because I feel like that impacts everybody. I'm I've had those times too. Um, you know, and um I think what you're describing is the analysis, I'm sorry, the um analysis paralysis. There we go, where you're like just so in the thick of planning and it's kind of this tall order and it's kind of intimidating, and you're just like stuck, you're frozen. So it's easier to just not do anything. I I felt like that in the beginning too, because it's overwhelming, right? You think of like you see all the natural disasters that are happening, you see what was unfolding in 2020 in different parts of our country. You still see the ramifications today of a broken logistics system, right? Uh logistics system in like, for example, with our grocery stores. So all of that is out there and it's overwhelming. Um, so I would say to anybody that kind of feels like they're in that space is just to start small because all of these great accomplishments in in prepping, they really are an accumulation of smaller steps that have been taken. What I mean by that is, you know, take a look at what you do have in your house already. You know, do you have, you know, older bags or backpacks that your kids don't use anymore? Has your have, you know, do you have um, you know, a jacket that you don't really wear anymore and don't like? Could that be in your bug out bag as your your you know, um jacket and your clothing items in there? So take a look at what you have and start small and have these conversations as a family. I think it's even harder to do if it's one person, like a dedicated one pre prepper in the family that's taking on this weight and responsibility for everybody in the family. It truly should be um a family conversation because not only is the buy-in stronger that way, but so is the shared interest and responsibility. Um, you know, so I I think if you take, if you break it down to smaller tasks and smaller things that you can incorporate into your you know daily life or weekly grocery run, uh that'll give you that'll kind of relieve a lot of this weight of like I've gotta get prepped now. And you know, it'll get you one step closer to where you want to be. You know, I I knew um I knew somebody who kind of wanted to start this journey and it just felt very, very daunting. And, you know, the sheer um the sheer practice of you know picking up an extra thing of uh you know canned goods or or rice or taking the sh her running shoes that she doesn't want anymore, but are still really good and putting that in a go bag, that got that already is getting you closer to where you want to be. So starting small.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

That is so important. Um, and you know, like you mentioned earlier that you are currently revamping and changing your system, I think that is huge because a lot of times we make these plans and then it's not working, but we feel stuck in it. And I think it's important for everyone to realize that you may go into something with the grandest plan possible, but if it doesn't work for your space or your house or what you are doing, you need a new plan. And I think prepping just needs to be this fluid thing because our lives change all the time, and our plan needs to change with that.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

Yeah, that is so critical. I I I feel like a lot of people, there used to be an infomercial, I think it was like a toaster oven where it's like set it and forget it. And like, that is not that's not how this works. You know, it's it's not because and it's super easy for people that are getting into this, you know, and starting this prep you know prep journey to feel that way. They're like, I bought 68 cans of spam, I'm good, right? Not quite. You know, it's it is a fluid thing, it is a constantly evolving thing. Um you're you're you know, the the natural disaster threats around you may change, right? You may find yourself that you've moved, you're in a different, you know, space now. Maybe you have, you know, another, you know, had another baby. That is completely different than than somebody who doesn't have you know young children in the house to prep for it, you know. So there's these complexities that come with every situation, and it is highly subjective and so unique to each family and each season that the family is in. Um, so I I think it should be a continued conversation at the family level and the community level, but even something as small as, you know, having a conversation about gardening. I know that's another big thing. I I started my garden for the first time last year and was my um this this past spring and summer was my first grow season. And I don't think that would have really been possible without the encouragement of my my family and also the community and really showing the benefits that come with that. And it's a great way to be self-sustaining and to further your prep journey because guess what? If the society collapsed and you suddenly have to grow your own crops, it's not gonna go perfect the first grow season. It takes time to know kind of what you're doing, and you could go into it with the best plans and best intentions, and you read every letter on the back of that tiny seed packet and you did it. Guess what? It's not always gonna work out the way you think. And that's that's just gardening. That doesn't, you know, the there's the whole thing of prepping that is such a um continual learning journey that you have to account for. So the fluidity of this journey and the is so spot on. I'm so glad you brought that up.

SPEAKER_00 40:21

You were just doing amazing, and all of your answers bring up like another concept, and this is great. I don't have to do any work because you're doing it all for me pain by the word. So you just talked about skills. Um, and I know a lot of people think about prepping, and they think about oh, prepping is stuff, and I need to buy stuff, and I need to buy food, and I need to buy the stuff from my bug out bag, and I need to buy ammo. Um, I don't believe that. What do you believe just in regards to prepping and the culture of prepping and mindset and skills?

SPEAKER_02 40:59

Yeah, that's a big one. Um, I will say the first couple weeks and months that I really started to get serious about prepping, it felt like why am I buying all this stuff? Uh, I'm buying a lot of stuff, I'm buying a lot of food, I'm buying a lot of things. And, you know, not to discount that you want to have the right tools for the right job, right? So you want a bug-out bag that's gonna serve you best and your family member best. And that takes time, that takes effort, and it takes, you know, many cases a financial investment. Um, it doesn't have to be a million dollars if you know how to how to plan it and you're leaning on the you know, the community for some tips and guidance there, but it initially felt like a lot of stuff. Um, and I think that's uh is is very like a common thought, but it really has to do a lot with knowledge and skills and practice, and that is something that is honed over time, you know. I um one being, you know, gardening. I know I just brought it up, but gardening is such a skill that you know you see people post their very lush gardens on Instagram and like, wow, this just happened overnight. No, what you don't know is this these people have been tending to their garden day and night and pest control in the right soil and also understanding what growing zone that they're in and knowing what to grow for their their family. Um, so there's a lot of effort that goes into these skill building um activities. I know some amazing, you know, women are doing like archery, and I'm like, that is awesome. I wouldn't even know where to start, you know. Um that's something I want to do. And you everybody starts at like this base level of their knowledge of things and this skills skill building. Nobody is like born with like amazing archery skills and like the the greenest thumb. Nobody starts there. Um, but you have communities to lean on to help you get there, which is great. But a lot of this is you could have, gosh, let's think of it this way. Um, you could have ammunition and a firearm, but if you don't know how to safely operate and responsibly use your firearm, you are just as much as a danger. So, you know, you have to really take full responsibility for these skills that you want to develop and home because when you are in the situation where you're going to lean on that, it's just you, right? If, for example, with archery, if if you don't, you know, if you don't know how to use your bow, um, and you're in a situation where your family needs to eat. I mean, this is like a wild situation, I'm sure, but like let's say you you need to find food, that's gonna be your best bet to get you know dinner to your family. Um, so the skills development is completely underrated. Um, I know it feels like a lot of buying stuff in the beginning. Um, you know, I would encourage to make sure you have the things that you need along your prep journey, but don't don't sleep on the skills building because that's what's really gonna help you thrive and survive in some of these situations.

SPEAKER_00 44:14

Uh, fun question. What has been like your most fun skill that you've learned?

SPEAKER_01 44:20

Oh, fun skill. Hmm.

SPEAKER_00 44:23

Or exciting or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 44:25

I know. I'm like, what's exciting in my suburban life? Um, let me think. Um, you know, there's two that have been really helpful for me. One is firearms training. Um it just is so empowering. Oh my goodness, if I can afford to get into the range with ammo in the way it is sometimes, it's just I feel like I am so empowered to own the responsibility of my security, right? Because I feel like so many people um can fear the firearm. And it's uh it's a it's a tool. And the worst thing I would, you know, the worst situation I can think of is having to need to use your firearm, unfortunately, and and not feeling confident to do so. You know, so so that is one firearms training, which again is continued practice, continued education is that's paramount. And I think the other thing that has been, you know, so eye-opening for me and interesting has been gardening. Um, I I of course I couldn't find beds that fit the size I want and the height, so I had to build them. So that was one. I was like, wow, this is hard. Um, and then on top of it, being able to really watch something grow from like a seed to a seedling and to see the plant mature and to pour your love into it. And weeks of water for one tomato, you know. So it's like a it's a labor of love, but it I'll tell you, I ate that tomato and it was fantastic. And I made sure everybody in my family tried it because I was like, I made this, we made this, guys. We have to, we have to really enjoy this. So being in the garden has been so um helpful for me to really have an appreciation for food and those that have really got it down for self-reliance and have a garden, um, and just a just great appreciation for the agriculture um industry that's in place today to just put food on our table because it's not easy, guys. Um it's not. And I know you know, you're constantly in your garden and you have to deal with wild things like frost. We're over here in the West Coast, we're like, what's frost? So it's just you know, it's it's it's wild, but it's been very meditative for me too. So when you know, I know you mentioned in the opening I work full-time, I'm a full-time student, I'm a mom, I live on coffee, and so sometimes to turn my brain off because it's some things are the world's overwhelming sometimes. I'll go into the garden and there's a no phones policy when I'm out there and just being with the plants, watering the plants, and you know, um, that's so serene and healing in ways that I didn't even anticipate when I like started gardening.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

Yay for gardening. I was so uh I don't have to worry about no phone in the garden because as soon as like I get away from my house, I have I don't have enough service. So oh my goodness, it's all built in. I'm never doing lives or anything in the garden because I don't have enough service to do it. Um you just talked again about you know that you work full-time and you're a student. How do you, you know, find enough time for mom, employee, student, and prepping?

SPEAKER_02 47:48

I think it just goes back to being able to have the conversation with your family about what's important, what are our priorities? And I think a lot of the actions and habits are dictated by that. So if you make prepping part of that priority list, it just naturally becomes part of your your daily and your weekly to do, right? So when we go grocery shopping as a family, I know extra things I need to get for what layer. Um, if we want to do, you know, a pizza night at home, I'll challenge our family to try to make this out of things that we already have in our in our in our prep layers, right? In our food, um, food layers. See, like, can we do this if you know we didn't have what we needed? And so it's it takes a lot of um conscious decision making to say, like, I'm gonna split up, you know, I'm gonna, as far as time management, I'm going to plan things so that we can make sure we are on top of what we need to do for our preps or skills building or um just learning about different things that would prove useful if we suddenly didn't have power or heat or water. So I think it just takes intentional decisions, but they all start with conversations on the family level. And it really has to be it would be easier if it was a joint effort. I'm you know, I'm sure there's people out there who are kind of feeling like they're pulling the weight for the entire family because not everybody's on board. But I feel like as you kind of share how this would be beneficial, like let's say you invest in a Berkey, right? Okay, uh, there are places in our own country where there are not there's not clean water coming out of those pipes. What would you do? So I think just kind of illuminating the fact that this is kind of the world we live in right now, and how do we better prepare ourselves for that today? I think that will create buy-in um for those who feel like maybe family members aren't quite on board. Not to send a PSA out there, I'm sorry, but it's just that has been my journey. You know, you're not here. I don't feel like I don't have the experience where I've had to like really bend somebody's arm to convince them to really start thinking about preparedness. I think that actually just it happened by itself because you're just you're you're pulling out the facts of the world and you're putting it in front of them and you're saying, here's what's happening, here are ways for us to become more prepared and less reliant on convenience items. What do you want to do? I mean, the the choice is pretty obvious from there.

SPEAKER_00 50:29

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 50:29

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 50:30

Um, you may not have an answer to this, but what would you say, or how would you encourage someone who, you know, does that and their husband still is not on board?

SPEAKER_02 50:44

That's a great question because I feel like the um the driver of that disconnect is so much deeper than just prepping. Because I think that also, like, let's say I I've come across a few people have reached out to me where they just have completely different schools of thought on spending versus savings. And um I know you've talked about this too, where um like your food storage is a savings account, right? Um, let's just look at how much the price of um, you know, vegetables and meat has really gone up um over time, not to mention the scarcity. So I feel like you can do what you can. Um, if you know you have to obviously, you know, buy um a water filter, maybe pick the one that can serve more purposes than just, you know, uh one that is only a singular in purpose. And I'm thinking more of like some of the water filters that require electricity that are maybe just as expensive as a Berkey. And I keep going a Berkey because I feel like that's like the um rite of passage for every prepper.

SPEAKER_01 51:55

Oh, great, you brought a Berkey, you're in, you know.

SPEAKER_02 51:57

So um, but I mean that's kind of just one example, uh, but it really the people the I feel like the families or the people that might have disconnect with their with their partners or other family members on this topic, I think it's um maybe a gap of um really just trying to communicate the reasons why this should be a conversation. Because every time that I've I've encouraged maybe an you know peer or a friend to just have an open discussion about planning, because again, I view it as insurance, I view it as warranties, and that's not a dirty word in today's, but somehow prepping is sometimes, you know. So um if you force yourself to look at it in this lens, it kind of destigmatizes that whole prepper thing and it and helps you realize okay, maybe there's ways for us to just like make sure we we we have like matches and candles and stuff, right? So my best advice is just to continue to hold space for these open conversations around prepping and self-reliance so that the information can kind of the benefits will will convince the people who really see the value in it. I don't think you really when in the in terms of prepping and and self-reliance, I don't think it should really have to be a push, come to shove type of conversation or urging somebody to get on board, it should really be super evident as you plan for your family. And maybe that's my perspective, but you know, uh everybody's journey and situation is completely different.

SPEAKER_00 53:37

That is so true. We all get to make our own choices and our own decisions and choose what prepping looks like for us. Um so I only know you online, I do not know you in person. Um, what do I not know enough about you? Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_02 53:57

Well, first I get paid by the word. So there's there's that. Um I feel like I completely a different person than I was in my early 20s because when I was, you know, you know, working in the Bay Area, working in a predominantly male industry, you know, um, I think there was, you know, I see a lot of women attacking other women in toxicity online, and I think that's evident in a lot of things. And I I shudder because that used to be something I did. Oh, I know. But going We still love you.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

I know I'm like, oh, who is this person?

SPEAKER_02 54:42

I think something you don't like that most people don't know is I've gone through this such this personal transformation over the years because what used to what I used to just completely live this very superficial life, right? Defined by material things, just so um such a people pleaser, such a person that wanted to be accepted. And that was, you know, super important to me. And I think as through time I've really grown to um view life through a different lens, and maybe that's a part of moving completely out of that environment or becoming a mother or really just having the time to reflect. But, you know, I feel like we rise by lifting others, and so I'm so proud of the work that the community and has done and this effort around women who prep because I feel like so many mothers, women in general, have been thinking about how to become more prepared, how to take their security, you know, and make that their responsibility and feel more empowered. I feel like this is um such a time of awakening for so many people and and women especially, because I think we've kind of all seen the writing on the wall where 2020 threw us all for a loop, and we really realized how fragile things like the logistics system is, and um it just opened a lot of eyes. And so, and the reason I started with saying like I used to be this person is because now I see how unnecessary that that type of behavior is because when women are empowering other women, it's such a beautiful thing because you know, working in a male-dominated industry, there's already, you know, then there's already a lot stacked against women in their climb to, you know, self-awareness andor career or ambition, you name it. There's already, there's already a lot. We don't need more reasons to feel inadequate about our journey. Meaning, like, we don't like it. You know, some other women saying, Well, you're not doing this right. It's like we already we already have enough of that negativity. Why don't we focus on ways to uplift each other and empower each other? And even if you know your perspective's different than mine, and vice versa, it's it's we're still there's still commonality to lift each other up and try to see that in a positive light. So that transformation has been so um helpful for me because now I just feel like it's completely like a giving back effort. Anytime I try to share information that I have found helpful, or if I learn something from somebody else, I'm like, hey, this was a cool tip that I learned. Here's you know, here it is. So that journey has been so great for me on a personal level, and I love seeing that really just um amplified so much more in what's going on with women who prep and just that whole journey.

SPEAKER_00 57:49

And that's it. Podcast is done because you just said it all right there. Sorry. I'm just sitting here getting all mushy. I'm like, oh yes, I agree. Oh um, we just have a couple minutes left. So why don't you um and thank you so much. I know that um I don't know if that was super comfortable for you to share that, but um, I think a lot of women are gonna relate to that because a lot of us have been there, you know, in our younger years or are still there, and I just really appreciate your vulnerability from that. So thank you. Yeah. Um, why don't you share where people can find you online if they have questions or they just want to find out more about what you're doing?

SPEAKER_02 58:36

Yeah. Um, I live online on Instagram. Uh it's my handle is Mother Prepper. So it's M-U-T-H-A-P-R-E-P-P E-R. And sorry, I was like spelling, it's hard. Um uh I would love to say that I have uh YouTube and I do, but I don't because I'm not great at YouTube, so I'm sorry. I Instagram is what I'm familiar with. I will try better at YouTube, but I'm on um I'm on Instagram primarily.

SPEAKER_00 59:10

Awesome. Well, everyone, you can go find her there. And um I I feel like a rapper when I say your name, I'm like mother rapper.

SPEAKER_02 59:20

I you know, um, you know, hey, that's really good. Can you do it again?

SPEAKER_00 59:25

No.

SPEAKER_02 59:26

Um I it's kind of um, oh geez, it's kind of an inside joke, I guess, because um the people that know me in real life, I'm I talk like a sailor. I can't sorry, I can't help it. So I'm just very that what you hear is kind of what you get. So I'm very much like this in real life. It's consistent, goofy. Um, I say bad words. And so uh I'm also you know, child of the 90s when like rap was up and coming. So it it's definitely been a huge part of my background, and this is just more of my my personality. So um when I when I chose Mother Prepper, I'm like, oh perfect. The people that know me know that is very much in line with how I talk every day.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:15

Okay, favorite rapper. For goodness sakes. I'm serious. Spill it.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:23

Oh I can't. There's so many. There's so many. No, you have to pick one. Okay, for me Tupac. I mean, I'm Oh, for me two. I'm so impressed. Tupac. We're so old. You know he's alive, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:46

So sad. I remember, like, yeah, anyway, okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:53

I'm so impressed, and I feel so much closer to you. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:57

People like I think people have a mental picture of me that is not at all who I am. And so when I like roll up somewhere in my minivan and I've got my mouth, they're like, what is this? Oh like this is me.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:14

You are dynamic, you are multifaceted. So they'll they'll just need to catch up.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:20

Yeah. Um, just one more question and then we'll close. Is there anything else that you want to share?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:28

I just want to encourage people to really reach out if there's questions. I feel like um it's easier said than done. People might feel like they want to start this self-prepared journey and don't know where to start. And I'm telling you, one of the best things about prepping is having the prepping community um available because they all want to see you thrive. We all want to see you like do amazing things. So just to reach out.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:54

Awesome. Well, thank you, Doz, so much for joining us today. And listeners, thank you for listening and have a great day. Thank you. Thanks for listening today, and until next time. Remember, every little thing matters, and a goal without a plan is just a wish. If you have any questions, feel free and find me on Instagram at this prepared life. You can also visit this preparedlife.blogspot.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, I would love it if you would leave a review on Apple Podcasts.