Both a prepper and a minimalist?

[ZanaHart]

If I got out the checklist I started a few months ago, I probably wouldn't even call myself a prepper at all, as there are a lot of basic things I really should get. (More dish soap, for example).

But I'm too much of a packrat to be a drastic minimalist.

And I'm too much of a sort-of-prepper that the idea of just keeping what brings you joy, a la Marie Korlo (if I have her name right) makes no sense to me. How much joy do I get from extra toilet paper? Not much though I can imagine being mighty glad to have it someday.

How do others combine or not-combine these two approaches?

[bae]

I find that the best way of prepping is investing in personal skills, and building social capital. This takes very little space.

[ZanaHart]

Well put! I'm good at the social capital, fair on personal skills. I really should be able to tie knots, after all I could when I was a girl scout in the 1950s.

[Gardnr]

Minimalist: we've gotten rid of as much as we want...compared to the average American we are seriously minimalist. By pure definition we are not.

Prepper: We can easily go a month on food, personal care, home upkeep, if we have electric and gas to cook and heat. We don't have water storage nor a generator so today we'd be without both and it's freezing outside.

[Tybee]

Not a very good preppier or a good minimalist. My dh did buy an extra coffee maker carafe at a garage sale yesterday for a dollar. My mom used to have duplicate small appliances from garage sales, and I like to do that, although I haven't since we've been talking about moving.

I have too many extras, generally speaking.

[Teacher Terry]

I don’t buy duplicate stuff. We now have only 3 sets of sheets for 2 beds. As they wear out 2 will be enough. We have also stopped going to garage sales because it’s a great way to add stuff you don’t really need.

[sweetana3]

We found the simple act of not going shopping unless there is a real need with a list to be our biggest saver and way to eliminate clutter. We spent decades going to garage sales and thrift stores since hubby ran a small ebay business. Even going to the grocery store causes impulse buys so we try to have a specific list and stick to it.

That said, we still fall for sales and just bought a box of $6 ice cream bars that was .61 cents.

[ZanaHart]

Nice diversity of approaches here.

We do have water -- a hot tub in our greenhouse could provide a lot of water and we have a Berkey water filter and a couple of other portable ones. Food, not everything I'd want but a decent selection of rice and beans at least. And a solar oven. As for a bathroom we have a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet-seat top, plus plastic bags and cat litter.

[catherine]

I'm not much of a prepper. During Hurricane Sandy we used my BIL's emergency radio, and I was thinking I should buy one right after the hurricane was over, but I never did. I also don't have an emergency generator.

I do have a rain barrel. In terms of stocking food, I stock cases from Costco of: diced tomatoes, beans, tuna, and some other random vegetables--and I have a huge bag of rice. We keep a cord or so of wood for the wood stove, and I have a subscription for Who Gives A Crap bamboo TP that I have forgotten to adjust so I have about 70 rolls of that. We even gave it away as joke party favors at our 4th of July party.

Oh, and you reminded me that we do have a boat potty that we could use.

[Teacher Terry]

We have enough food for a month. Our only risks would be fires or earthquakes. Neither are a huge risk here. I would take dogs and medications and drive away.