Preppers
The First 3 Steps to Practical Prepping
One of the most common questions I get asked from new preppers is how to get started. Real, practical prepping isn’t about breaking the bank preparing for a single event but instead is about preparing for all the stuff life throws at us both big and small. Today we’re going to go over a new preppers list that outlines the first 3 steps that a new prepper should begin with to start down the road to self-reliance on the right foot.
Step 1 Financial Preparedness – $1000 Emergency Fund
The first step in our preppers list is financial preparedness. Now this isn’t as exciting as tactical training with firearms, growing a couple acres of food or learning 999 ways to make fire without matches. However, financial preparedness is a very important aspect of practical prepping. A financial emergency can happen at any time. Unexpected medical bills, vehicle repairs and job losses are a lot more common than even localized natural disasters, let alone the big disasters like pandemics and EMPs. $1000 may not get you through every financial disaster, but it will get you through most of them. Since these small financial disasters are the most common type of disasters you’re likely to encounter, getting to this $1000 reserve quickly is important. Evaluate your monthly spending and decide what expenses you could live without for a while. Yes it might be a pain to give up going out to eat; cutting the cable bill and doing without some of the daily conveniences, but you’ll raise that $1000 and be a lot more prepared for a common financial disaster. Once you have this cash raised, it’s a good idea to keep it stashed away in cash in a fireproof container in a secure and hidden area in your home in case there is a disaster that may require cash on hand.
Step 2 Food Prep – Get 30 day of food and water
The next step in the preppers list is becoming sufficient for 30 days. Although 30 days might not seem like a lot (and it’s not) having at least 30 days of food and water stored will get you through most disasters. It doesn’t matter if it’s a localized natural disaster, job loss, a pandemic or the zombie apocalypse stored food is the foundation to preparing for any long-term disaster scenario. Storing 30 days of food is actually easier than most people think. Take a look in your kitchen; you probably have at least a week of non-perishable food items already, so getting to a month will be easy. Remember to store the foods that you normally eat. Radically changing your diet can cause dysentery. You will not be very helpful in a disaster situation if you are running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Here are several ways to go about this, but I find the easiest way is to just start out with common canned goods. Whenever you go to the grocery store, buy a day’s worth of meals in canned goods for everyone in your family and put them away. You will need 2500 calories per person per day minimum. Find things that are simple to prepare. Canned soups, chili and canned meats and veggies are cheap and will store for a minimum of a year or two. Although you will want to eventually diversify the types of foods you are storing this is still a great start and will get you through pretty much anything we’re likely to come across.
Storing a months’ worth of water is also fairly easy, but you do have to plan out how much you need. The very base minimum you should be storing is 2 gallons of water per person per day. We’re not going to go into procuring water from other sources, purifying it and all the other wilderness survival types of skills for this because I think it’s important to have at least 30 days of water stored so that you don’t have to worry about procuring water for at least that amount of time. One of the easiest ways to start storing up water is to simply clean and refill common 2 liter bottles and gallon jugs with tap water You will not need to treat it because tap water has already been treated. If your water supply is from a well you will need to treat it. About 6 drops of bleach per gallon will do fine.
Step 3 Make a Communication plan
There are a lot of agencies out there that suggest that you make an Emergency Communication Plan for your family in case disaster strikes but unbelievably, a lot of them don’t tell you how to actually do this, and the ones that do are woefully inadequate. Here are some things to consider:
· Create a family communication plan so you can get in touch with family members. Give copies of contact information and meeting locations to everyone in your family
· Options are available: telephones, cell phones and e-mail are all great ways to get in touch with family members.
· Make sure you know the emergency plan at your child’s school.
· Make a decision about where you will meet in case you can’t get home during an emergency.
· Understand that it may take time to get through to everyone. Try to be patient.
· Needs of your pets should be kept in mind. Keep a pet carrier for easy transport.
· Inform yourself. Watch news broadcasts, read online news updates or listen to a battery-operated radio for official guidance during an emergency, but also prepare in advance.
· Copies of your emergency plan should be in your emergency supply kit in case you need to leave in a hurry.
· Ask kids to discuss their concerns and feelings. Do they understand the family plan?
· Take the kids to visit the “meeting spots” so that they are familiar and feel comfortable finding them on their own if necessary.
· Emergencies take many forms. Categorize different types of emergencies and discuss the level of concern related to each and how that is reflected in your family plan.
One of the most common questions I get asked from new preppers is how to get started. Real, practical prepping isn’t about breaking the bank preparing for a single event but instead is about preparing for all the stuff life throws at us both big and small. Today we’re going to go over a new preppers list that outlines the first 3 steps that a new prepper should begin with to start down the road to self-reliance on the right foot.
Step 1 Financial Preparedness – $1000 Emergency Fund
The first step in our preppers list is financial preparedness. Now this isn’t as exciting as tactical training with firearms, growing a couple acres of food or learning 999 ways to make fire without matches. However, financial preparedness is a very important aspect of practical prepping. A financial emergency can happen at any time. Unexpected medical bills, vehicle repairs and job losses are a lot more common than even localized natural disasters, let alone the big disasters like pandemics and EMPs. $1000 may not get you through every financial disaster, but it will get you through most of them. Since these small financial disasters are the most common type of disasters you’re likely to encounter, getting to this $1000 reserve quickly is important. Evaluate your monthly spending and decide what expenses you could live without for a while. Yes it might be a pain to give up going out to eat; cutting the cable bill and doing without some of the daily conveniences, but you’ll raise that $1000 and be a lot more prepared for a common financial disaster. Once you have this cash raised, it’s a good idea to keep it stashed away in cash in a fireproof container in a secure and hidden area in your home in case there is a disaster that may require cash on hand.
Step 2 Food Prep – Get 30 day of food and water
The next step in the preppers list is becoming sufficient for 30 days. Although 30 days might not seem like a lot (and it’s not) having at least 30 days of food and water stored will get you through most disasters. It doesn’t matter if it’s a localized natural disaster, job loss, a pandemic or the zombie apocalypse stored food is the foundation to preparing for any long-term disaster scenario. Storing 30 days of food is actually easier than most people think. Take a look in your kitchen; you probably have at least a week of non-perishable food items already, so getting to a month will be easy. Remember to store the foods that you normally eat. Radically changing your diet can cause dysentery. You will not be very helpful in a disaster situation if you are running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. Here are several ways to go about this, but I find the easiest way is to just start out with common canned goods. Whenever you go to the grocery store, buy a day’s worth of meals in canned goods for everyone in your family and put them away. You will need 2500 calories per person per day minimum. Find things that are simple to prepare. Canned soups, chili and canned meats and veggies are cheap and will store for a minimum of a year or two. Although you will want to eventually diversify the types of foods you are storing this is still a great start and will get you through pretty much anything we’re likely to come across.
Storing a months’ worth of water is also fairly easy, but you do have to plan out how much you need. The very base minimum you should be storing is 2 gallons of water per person per day. We’re not going to go into procuring water from other sources, purifying it and all the other wilderness survival types of skills for this because I think it’s important to have at least 30 days of water stored so that you don’t have to worry about procuring water for at least that amount of time. One of the easiest ways to start storing up water is to simply clean and refill common 2 liter bottles and gallon jugs with tap water You will not need to treat it because tap water has already been treated. If your water supply is from a well you will need to treat it. About 6 drops of bleach per gallon will do fine.
Step 3 Make a Communication plan
There are a lot of agencies out there that suggest that you make an Emergency Communication Plan for your family in case disaster strikes but unbelievably, a lot of them don’t tell you how to actually do this, and the ones that do are woefully inadequate. Here are some things to consider:
· Create a family communication plan so you can get in touch with family members. Give copies of contact information and meeting locations to everyone in your family
· Options are available: telephones, cell phones and e-mail are all great ways to get in touch with family members.
· Make sure you know the emergency plan at your child’s school.
· Make a decision about where you will meet in case you can’t get home during an emergency.
· Understand that it may take time to get through to everyone. Try to be patient.
· Needs of your pets should be kept in mind. Keep a pet carrier for easy transport.
· Inform yourself. Watch news broadcasts, read online news updates or listen to a battery-operated radio for official guidance during an emergency, but also prepare in advance.
· Copies of your emergency plan should be in your emergency supply kit in case you need to leave in a hurry.
· Ask kids to discuss their concerns and feelings. Do they understand the family plan?
· Take the kids to visit the “meeting spots” so that they are familiar and feel comfortable finding them on their own if necessary.
· Emergencies take many forms. Categorize different types of emergencies and discuss the level of concern related to each and how that is reflected in your family plan.