5 Prepper Resolutions for the New Year

by James L

Every year, hundreds and thousands of people decide it is time to make changes to their lives. Hence the whole “New Year, New Me” saying. And while their hearts are in the right place, their good intentions don’t always last too long. I know this because I see the number of people in my gym swell every January. I joke with a few other gym regulars that by the beginning of February, gym parking won’t be so hard to find anymore. It is a bit sad sometimes, as many of these resolutions would have a major positive impact if folks just stuck with them.

It made me stop and think about resolutions I could do to help build my preparedness back up to an acceptable level. I’ll admit that in the past few years, life has kicked my ass at times. As a result, sometimes my preparedness levels are not where I would want them to be.

So with the new year upon us, I thought I would look at some areas where almost all preppers could find ways to step up their game, and make some improvements. No matter how advanced (or new to prepping) you are, you can always improve. The key here is to make goals that are reasonable and achievable with just a little bit of effort and dedication.

Get in shape/Be more physically active

No amount of gear, skills, and/or abilities will do you any good if you do not have the health and physical well being to use them. So many people do not realize just how physically taxing a SHTF event could be. I mentioned in my Physical Fitness for Preppers article about working part time as a mail carrier. I talked about walking 16 to 18 miles a day in weather conditions that were less than ideal…ie cold, icy, and rainy. I did this while carrying a mail sack that was probably 25 to 30 pounds. It was incredibly taxing, and that was not in a life or death event.

I was in “reasonable” shape during that time. And I learned the hard way just how exhausting hard, physical labor out in the elements would be. So being in shape (or even better shape than you are currently) is certainly a prepper resolution you should have.

The secret is to set fitness goals that are fairly easy to attain. When you reach that goal, set another small goal just a little further out. For example, I go to the gym fairly regularly. But I could still stand to lose another 10 pounds. So my goal for 2020 is to drop that last little bit of weight, and get my cardio back up. I can run a mile and a half in about 14 minutes or so. I want to be able to do it in under 12 and half minutes. So my first goal is to get to a mile and a half in under 14 minutes. Then under 13 minutes and 40 seconds. And so on.

Pace yourself with realistic and obtainable goals, and by the end of the year you will be amazed at just how far you have gone!

Learn a new skill

You have most likely heard the saying, skills weigh nothing in your bag. The more skills you have, the less equipment you will need to pack. So I would encourage you look over the prepper skills that you need to learn or brush up on, and pick one or two this year to improve.

You didn’t learn to ride a bike by watching videos on it. You had to actually do it. The same is true for prepping skills. So you need to practice these skills often enough that it becomes second nature to you.

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If you are wondering what sort of skills you should look over, here is a by no means complete list of some top prepper skills you should know. I have included links to help you explore these skills further:

As I said, this list is by no means complete. So if you see a skill not on this list, please be sure to mention it in the comments section below.

Meet other preppers in your area

Most preppers realize that going the “lone wolf” route is a recipe for disaster. During a prolonged disaster, you need folks you can trust to help you through a dangerous situation. Everyone has to sleep eventually. And even when you are awake, in a SHTF scenario you want someone watching your “6”. So now is the time to find those folks you can trust, and begin developing plans with them.

I mentioned in a previous article about setting up a Neighborhood watch in your neighborhood. This helps to provide more security while also helping you to assess what your neighbors may (or may not) bring to the table in a crisis situation. Click here to read it.

You can meet like minded preppers on social media. There are local groups all over the country on places like Facebook. I’ve also found prepper groups and classes online by using sites like Google and Craigslist. Finding and joining one or more of these groups could be very beneficial. You could find new members for your prep group. Even if you do not build a team with the folks you meet, you can trade ideas and learn/teach new skills with other preppers in your area.

Just be sure not to talk too much about your preps. Obviously prepper groups are about being prepared. Unfortunately, not everyone out there is trustworthy. So do not divulge too much to someone until you know you can trust them. For more on OpSec, click here.

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Find a weakness in your plans/preps, work on it specifically

I always encourage new preppers that the very first thing you should do is come up with a plan.

Start off by sitting down and figuring out what your plans would be if you have an emergency or disaster. Making plans now will help you to not feel lost or overwhelmed, and helps to calm fears should a catastrophe strike. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Hope is not a plan!

Once you have plans in place, you are not done. You need to revisit those plans from time to time. Things change. Situations change. Your plans should change and adapt also. It is during this time that you should be looking for holes or weaknesses in your plans and in your preps. Maybe your neighborhood is not as safe as it used to be. Maybe there is now major construction in your area, which would directly impact your ability to bug out or get home in a major disaster. Always be aware of your surroundings, and what is going on in your area.

In addition, identifying areas in your preps that need to be improved. Maybe you have plenty of food set back, but realize that you to improve your stored water. Maybe your security plan needs to be updated? It could be that your bug out bag is packed and ready to go, but you haven’t opened it up in almost a year. Could some gear be broken? Maybe your batteries are dead? Find these things out now, before a crisis hits.

Over the past few years, my situation has changed somewhat. I know that I need to update my communication plan. I also am going to work on learning more about ham radios. That is one of my prepper goals for this year.

Spend more time with family

Let’s face it, at the end of the day, you prep to keep you and family alive and safe. All the time and energy you put into prepping is because of them. If they are that important, shouldn’t you be spending more quality time with them?

If you can incorporate them into helping you prep, that is a great start. For example, I took my sons out camping. I taught them fire starting/building. They learned how to purify water. I took them to the gun range and taught them gun safety. This in turn caused them to become more prepared on their own. This is important because they are now adults and out on their own. But I still make it a point to spend time with them. Or at least communicate with them several times a week.

For this year, I vow to take it up a notch. Since most of my family live within a 30-40 minute drive from me, we plan on having family dinners at least once a month. We have family group texts where we all chat many times a week. I would encourage you to make that effort, and to reach out to your family and friends. If you are not an active part of their life, try to become so. The motto I live by is this, at the end of the day, sometimes all you have is family!

Do you have New Year’s resolutions as a prepper? Tell us about them in the comments section below.