Lifestyle
By guest writer Nathan Schubert Jr., life-long resident of Burien and recently Tukwila
When you hear the word “prepper,” you might think "doomsday, bunkers, or hiding from the world." But it is actually so much simpler and far more practical than that: recapturing the kind of capability that used to be taught in middle school or high school. The classes that showed you how to cook, mend, budget, and take care of yourself. Basic life skills like emergency preparedness, and making things yourself instead of paying for services every day.
In a day when anything can change your circumstances unexpectedly, like loss of a job, illness, a personal or local or national emergency or pandemic, sometimes being prepared can make the difference in a life-or-death situation you find yourself in.
I speak from experience.
I work 40 hours a week, and for the most part, things are okay — but one unexpected visit to the mechanic for truck repairs can cost thousands of dollars. That one expense can stretch a grocery budget to the breaking point.
When I first started prepping or reclaiming lost skills, a lot of my pantry was filled with convenient and perishable foods — the kind that come in bags, boxes, or cans and promise “fast or easy.” But over time, I realized I wanted something better: healthier meals, without the preservatives, and without spending extra time. That curiosity pushed me and my family to learn how to make our own basics — bread, sauces, even simple snacks. And let's not forget cookies — from scratch. Potatoes, flour, eggs, rice, butter, oil, and a handful of vegetables became the foundation of nearly every meal I made.
Prepping isn’t just about what you buy — it’s about what you know and what to do with it. You don’t need fancy ingredients but knowing how to turn them into dozens of meals is the real power.
Maybe that feels daunting if you like the convenience of ready-to-go food, but there is good news! Knowledge is everywhere and right at your fingertips! With hundreds of Facebook and Reddit groups, TikTok channels, YouTube communities, cheap cookbooks, and yes, even your grandma’s recipes, there are dozens of ways to connect with people and share lost skills and know-how. Learning to cook for yourself can easily cut your food costs in half, and once you know the basics, the possibilities are nearly endless.
Affordable Everyday Comfort: The Coffee Lesson
It’s not just meals — even small daily habits add up. A cup of coffee at a gas station can easily run $3–$4, roughly the same price as a gallon of milk or a dozen eggs. And that’s for a single cup. Instead, you could buy a bag of ground coffee ($7) and a creamer ($3–$4) and make an entire pot at home. That’s enough for multiple cups a day, for at least a week. You’re not just making one cup — you can pour yourself several and even take some to go in a thermos. The same quality, the same flavor, but at a fraction of the cost.
So Where to Start?
You don’t need a fully stocked pantry to start. In fact, you can do a lot with just ten versatile staples, some that have a longer shelf-life when stored properly:
- Flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
- Eggs
- Butter or oil
- Potatoes
- Rice
- Beans or lentils
- Milk, cream, or another dairy/plant substitute
- Pasta (or make your own with flour + eggs)
- Frozen or fresh vegetables
- A little sugar (because, hey....America)
With these staples — plus water, heat, and a pinch of creativity — you can make dozens of meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, even simple desserts.
Learning to combine these ingredients yourself is the essence of prepping. You can almost feed yourself for a month on what it costs to buy dinner for your family at a restaurant.
Lost Life Skills: Reclaiming Independence
With each rising generation, skills, trades, and basic life-sustaining knowledge haven’t been taught in schools like they used to be, like the long-lost home economics or shop class. Cooking, basic budgeting, and meal planning are no longer guaranteed skills. That gap doesn’t mean people are lazy — it means they weren’t given the chance to learn.
Prepping, in its simplest form, is reclaiming those lost life skills.
The Drive-Thru Lesson
The point isn’t sacrifice. It’s empowerment. It’s buying capability and freedom, one meal at a time. When you understand that most meals are combinations of a starch, a protein, a fat like butter or oil, and a vegetable, suddenly the pantry becomes your toolkit, and the grocery store becomes your workshop. You already have everything you need to begin — and the skills to put it all together are more accessible than ever.
Prepping doesn’t require fear or extreme measures. It’s about learning to take care of yourself with what you already have, and building habits that make life simpler, cheaper, and more resilient. It’s about turning ordinary staples into meals you enjoy, making your coffee at home, and reclaiming the independence that used to be taught in schools.
You don’t need a bunker, a stockpile, or specialized knowledge. You just need a few staples, a little creativity, and the willingness to learn. Because prepping, at its heart, is covering the basics. So when times get tough, it's not devastating.
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