CRP's Blog

A Few Tips on How to Prepare for the End of the World

By Tea Krulos

So the world as we know it has ended. What a bummer! While working on my new book Apocalypse Any Day Now: Deep Underground with America’s Doomsday Preppers, I talked to a wide range of people who think we are close to a doomsday scenario about what they are doing to prepare to be a survivor. I picked up a few tips here and there and thought I’d share some of my takeaways with you on the whole staying alive thing.

Learn the Art of Building a Bug Out Bag

Most people preparing for end times start with creating what’s called a “bug out bag,” a backpack full of supplies that can be grabbed at a moment’s notice as you head for the hills. Putting together a bug out bag is a great exercise in thinking about what you would need to survive if you were stuck with just your backpack. Common things you’ll find in bug out bags: water filters, first aid and cooking supplies, tools, a tarp, emergency food like protein bars, gloves and socks, and knives, among other things. After you’ve got your bug out bag put together, take it for a test run by camping out in the woods.

Master the Essentials

In chapter 7 of my book, “Survival,” I describe attending an Escape the Woods weekend survivalist training camp. While there I learned about some of the essentials to keeping yourself going: fire starting, water filtering, shelter building and finding food. If you can learn how to master those basic skills, you’ll be a step ahead of the hordes of helpless people in the end times. In addition to a wide range of survival skill schools, many cities have meet up groups or classes oriented toward these skills. You’ll learn something new and maybe have more peace of mind.

Unplug Once in a While

One of the frightening things I learned while working on the book is finding out just how fragile our electrical grid is. Like most people I know, I rely on electricity daily. I think it’s worth thinking about what you would do if the internet and the electrical grid crashed. Do you have any good old-fashioned paper road maps? What about books with useful information? Can you interact with people outside of Facebook? Sometimes it’s a good idea to put your phone away and check out the world around you.

Assemble a Kick-Ass Crew

One of the interesting experiences I had was attending Wasteland Weekend, an annual festival that takes place in the Mojave Desert. “Wastelanders” pretend they’re in a post-apocalyptic setting and the whole place, including the attendees, looks like a Mad Max movie. An important aspect of Wasteland is finding your “tribe,” a camp of likeminded individuals that stick together. Some of the tribe names at Wasteland included Dukes of the Nuke, Road Rash, Rain Dogs, Tooth N’ Nail and Dead Crows, among many others. Surviving the apocalypse is no fun alone. Get a group together so you can have each other’s backs.

Don’t Descend into Doomer Fatigue

“Bugging Out” is a chapter of my book in which I talk about the mental toll worrying about the end of the world can take. Thinking about the world ending can be some heavy stuff and it leads to what has been labeled “doomer fatigue,” a depressing feeling of dread that our days are numbered. I think it makes sense to be prepared for disasters so that you aren’t helpless with no food or supplies if you’re stuck at home for some reason. But don’t worry too much about it—we’ve been told the world is going to end over and over again, but we keep spinning along.