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The blackout can wrap up warm – I’m a prepper now
Once the domain of preppers, emergency stockpiling has now become mainstream. Also with me.
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In the past, preppers were often smiled at. Stockpiling for emergencies was considered excessive. But the times are over. I also take precautions – and not just with food.
The other night there was a dress rehearsal: I sat in the kitchen with my crank radio and cranked it. And lo and behold, after a few minutes, the device started making noises and creakingly playing a Sting pop song. The sound was tinny. But that doesn’t matter. Because the question was: Does the radio keep what it promises and does it work without electricity from the socket?
The reassuring answer is yes. If you put it in the sun, it works with solar. And the radio can also charge a mobile phone.
My new multifunctional crank radio is part of my precautionary strategy against possible power failures, which I talk about every day. But an essential one. Because in the event of a blackout, information is important. After all, they want to learn from the news that the electricity has failed over a large area. Or listen to Sting for peace of mind.
I will never think snidely about Prepper again. Promised.
Up until now I haven’t been the precautionary type and would rather throw things away than hoard them. And I, too, used to look down with some amusement on preppers – i.e. people who arm themselves with all sorts of provisions against all sorts of catastrophes. But Corona has changed that. Just before the lockdown, didn’t we all doubt that there could be a lockdown? Situations that used to be considered completely improbable suddenly seem possible.
Back then, during the Corona lockdowns, I refused to hoard toilet paper. And nobody really needed it in large quantities at the time.
But this time the case is a little different. It’s not about hoarding something, it’s about precaution. For a possible emergency, I have bottled water, rice, pasta, chocolate, canned goods (even peaches in syrup), a sleeping bag, tea lights, and charcoal.
My pride and joy: a packet of matches
I’m proud of my packet of matches. The last time I owned one was when I was secretly smoking when I was 15. Last week I had to search the shelves in the drugstore for a quarter of an hour before I found the packet of matches. But now it’s in my blackout prepper closet with the rest of the stuff.
I’m not the only one who’s concerned about this. The stockpiling is also discussed among neighbors and friends. Only a friend recently had nothing to do with the topic. She “still has a can of kidney beans from the pandemic,” she said. Which ended the debate for them.
In the event of a major power outage, which I hope we will never experience, she will be glad to have this canned food. Or she comes to visit me and we eat canned peaches in syrup together – and listen to the radio.
As you can see in the photo series: Electricity in Germany is expensive, saving energy is worth it. But there are many myths circulating on the subject – we have compiled the ten biggest misconceptions.