What’s Your Biggest Prepping Regret So Far?

[MarigoldBreeze]

Looking back, my biggest prepping regret is not rotating my water stores often enough. Lost a few barrels to contamination that could’ve been avoided with regular checks. Anyone else run into similar issues with water or food storage? What’s the mistake you wish you’d caught sooner

 

[CrimsonWren145]

Anyone else run into similar issues with water or food storage?

Absolutely ran into similar headaches, especially early on with water storage. Those plastic jugs from the store started leaking after a year, leaving a sticky mess in the closet—lesson learned! Now I rotate my water every six months and only use food-grade containers. Food-wise, I underestimated how fast pantry items can expire, so I keep a log and actually cook with my stores more often. Makes for fun, creative meals and fewer surprises.

 

[PrepperLinda65]

Lost a few barrels to contamination that could’ve been avoided with regular checks. Anyone else run into similar issues with water or food storage? What’s the mistake you wish you’d caught sooner

Lost some canned goods to rust once because I didn’t realize how much humidity crept into my basement—felt silly tossing out all that hard work. Regular checks would’ve saved me too, MarigoldBreeze. As for water, I stuck with glass jugs for a while but they’re heavy and not practical long-term. Wish I’d switched to proper food-grade barrels sooner. It’s a tough lesson, but messing up just once makes you pretty diligent after!

 

[OrbitJazz21]

Biggest regret? I went all in on a solar battery backup system without first figuring out how much power I *actually* needed for my essential gear. Ended up underpowered and had to run a noisy old generator way more than planned—so much for peaceful, off-grid nights under the stars! Now I always calculate power needs before upgrading anything and keep stuff like my electric instruments and radio low-wattage, just in case.

Also learned the hard way that vacuum-sealing dry beans doesn’t keep weevils out forever if you don’t freeze them first. Lost half a year’s supply to those little pests—felt like a rookie mistake but you only need that to happen once. Kind of a bummer watching that hard work (and money!) get tossed

 

[EchoTangoFox]

Biggest regret for me was not getting serious about backup power for my comms gear early on. I used to focus so much on stocking radios and antennas, but during a big windstorm, the grid went down for three days and I realized fast that my little AA stash wasn’t gonna cut it. Ended up having to rotate through what charged batteries I had, keeping radio use to a minimum, and it felt like

 

[OrbitJazz21]

Wish I’d paid more attention to battery shelf life early on—thought I was set with a huge stash of AAs for flashlights, radios, even my old keyboard. Turns out a lot of ‘em were half-dead after just a couple years in storage. Had a power outage during a cold snap and suddenly I’m scrambling, picking through batteries, hoping for enough juice to get a few hours of music in by candlelight. Now I rotate batteries like crazy and moved toward rechargeable with a solar charger setup—makes a huge difference, even for small stuff.

Also, underestimated just how much power my ‘essential’ gear really pulled. Figured my solar panels would be enough for everything, but once you add up instruments, basic lighting, maybe a little hot plate for coffee, it eats through batteries faster than I thought. Had a few cold breakfasts early on, I’ll tell you that.

Anyone else get tripped up trying to balance creature comforts (especially stuff you *love*, like

 

[MeadowWhisperer]

Those plastic jugs from the store started leaking after a year, leaving a sticky mess in the closet—lesson learned! Now I rotate my water every six months and only use food-grade containers.

That sticky mess sounds all too familiar—those cheap plastic jugs just aren’t worth the headache. I’ve switched to food-grade buckets and glass, and I’m much happier (and drier) for it!

 

[BlueMarigold]

Biggest regret by far was thinking my freezer could be my backup for everything I canned and dehydrated. I used to feel so clever, stocking up my deep freeze with garden extras and bulk buys. Then we had a storm that knocked power out for four days—lost a mountain of food I’d worked on all season. Gutted doesn’t even cover it. Canning and dehydrating saved some of it, but seeing all that effort literally melt away pushed me to refocus on shelf-stable, low-electricity

 

[MeadowWhisperer]

Lost half a year’s supply to those little pests—felt like a rookie mistake but you only need that to happen once.

Those little pests are merciless—had a similar fiasco with weevils in my flour once. One mishap with food storage is all it takes to become meticulous about sealing and rotation!

 

[CrimsonWren145]

Ended up having to rotate through what charged batteries I had, keeping radio use to a minimum, and it felt like

Having to rotate batteries and cut back on radio use sounds stressful, especially in the middle of everything else that happens during a crisis. I’ve been there—underestimating how many batteries I’d really need, or thinking rechargeable ones alone would cover me. Turns out, if you forget to rotate or keep a few different sizes on hand, you’re left juggling what little power you have left!

Honestly, for me, my biggest battery regret was not storing them properly. Lost a whole stash to corrosion one summer because I had them in a drawer that got too warm and humid. I also used to forget which gadgets took which batteries, so I overbought some and ran out of others—frustrating when you need that radio or flashlight to work right now. EchoTangoFox, how do you keep track of what needs to be rotated or recharged? I started putting reminders on my calendar so I don’t get caught off guard again.

It’s such a balancing act—being prepared without constantly worrying about expiration dates and battery levels.