Maybe This Is the Year You Finally Become a Prepper

Every January, people decide who they are going to be.

They are going to eat better. Exercise more. Be more organized. Finally deal with that thing they have been ignoring since October.

Somewhere in that ritual is a quieter resolution. One that rarely makes it onto a list.

Maybe this is the year I finally get a little more prepared.

Not because anything is happening. Not because the world is ending next week, darn the luck. Just because it feels like a reasonable year to stop thinking about it abstractly and start thinking about it in concrete terms.

The Prepper Resolution Nobody Announces

Preparedness rarely starts with dramatic moves. I'll talk about work briefly here and say most experts agree: Stage 1 incident response planning is, well, preparedness. If you guessed that, you deserve an MRE. Or maybe a life straw.

It does not begin with bunkers or off-grid fantasies. It usually begins with a vague sense that you should probably have your act together a bit more than you currently do.

This is the year I finally try a small hydroponic setup.

This is the year I put together a real bug out bag.

None of these are commitments. They are intentions. The same kind people make when they buy a notebook and decide this is the year they will write. Or buy shoes and say this is the year they'll run a marathon. You get the idea.

The Hydroponic Garden Phase

The hydroponic garden always sounds sensible.

It is practical. It feels responsible. It sits comfortably between hobby and contingency plan.

You tell yourself it will be useful. You tell yourself it will be efficient. You tell yourself it will be a good skill to have if things ever get inconvenient. You spend more time than you should looking at systems like Gardyn. (Spoiler alert, the monthly app will stop working in the event of an apocalypse!)

Then you start reading.

Lights. Pumps. Nutrients. Timers. Space. Maintenance. Failure modes you did not know existed.

You bookmark a few setups. You learn just enough to respect the effort involved. You decide you will revisit it later.

That still counts as progress.

The Bug Out Bag That Gets Lost In The Back Of The Closet

Then there is the bug out bag.

You probably already own a backpack. That feels like momentum.

The bag itself is easy. What goes in it is not.

Every list disagrees with every other list. Everyone has strong opinions. Nobody agrees on priorities.

You add items to a cart. You remove them. You decide to research further. You conclude that the perfect bag is a moving target.

The bag remains incomplete. But now it exists as an idea with a shape.

That is usually enough to keep it alive for another year.

The Gear You Absolutely Do Not Need

There is always at least one piece of gear you do not need.

You know you do not need it. You are not confused about this.

But it represents something. Readiness. Competence. The version of yourself who already figured all this out.

You do not buy it. You just look at it occasionally.

That is fine.

Preparedness is as much about identity as it is about equipment.

Preparedness As Self Improvement

This is where prepping overlaps with every other New Years resolution.

It is not really about the outcome. It is about feeling slightly less exposed to randomness.

Preparedness gives anxiety a structure. It turns vague unease into manageable thoughts.

Instead of worrying about everything, you worry about a few specific things and then stop.

That alone has value.

A Completely Harmless Resolution List

If this is your year, it does not require a transformation.

This year you might:

• Read a little more about preparedness without spiraling

• Organize what you already have and feel oddly accomplished

• Replace batteries you forgot existed

• Buy one genuinely useful item and then stop

• Accept that being prepared does not mean being alarmist

None of this causes anything. None of this accelerates anything. It is just maintenance.

The Quiet Reality

If you look around your house, you probably already have more than you think.

Extra food. Flashlights. Power banks. First aid supplies. Tools. Water filters you bought during a storm and never returned.

Not because you are a prepper. Because life taught you a few lessons and you listened just enough to adapt.

That is what most preparedness actually looks like.

In my case, I have about 2 months of non-perishable food, water filtration and storage things, and sure, a few flashlights. Batteries, though? I should probably check on that...

Another Year, Probably Normal

Most years are not the year.

Life continues. Work continues. Updates install. The garden does not get built. The bag stays unfinished.

And that is fine.

Preparedness does not have to be dramatic to be real. It does not have to justify itself.

So maybe this is the year you finally get started.

Or maybe it is just another year where you know exactly where you would begin if you ever had to.

Either way, welcome back, and Happy New Year!