Many of us passed those lessons on to our own children. Or tried to. Some of them weren't very receptive. For those kids who took the lessons to heart...good for you! You probably weren't out hoarding hand sanitize and paper towels. For those kids who thought their parents were being conspiracy theorists, doomsayers, and general whack jobs...how's your supply of toilet paper holding out?
If recent events have made you see the light and you have decided not to be caught unprepared again, now is the time to get started. Just follow these steps:
1. Conduct a risk assessment. Depending on where you live and your family makeup, you and I could have very different needs. Do you live in an apartment? A house in the city? A suburban home? Country home? Are you living the van or RV life? Each of these could situations could prevent a very different set of needs.
What are the risks associated with your situation? Are you at risk from natural disasters? Which ones are most likely? Based on your geographical location are you at risk for floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, blizzards, or even volcanic eruptions? How close are you to a city? Could you be in danger from civil unrest? In the case of the current pandemic, are you far enough away from others that you minimized your risk of infection? Is your location defendable, if necessary? Are there children or elderly family members that will have special needs? Family members with health conditions or disabilities that will make them more vulnerable? Do you have pets that will require care or that could make you more vulnerable?
Carefully and thoroughly assess your situation. Be objective. Do not let emotions cloud your judgement. As much as I would have liked to believe otherwise, if my dad were still alive and living with me, he would be a huge risk factor and all of my plans would have to take that into consideration. If you have pets, are prepared to assign valuable space and resources to their care or will you turn them out to survive on their own? (Mine are family so yes...we will care for them. We are well able to do this.)
2. Once you have determined your most likely risks, it's time to start to prepare. Looking at the results of your risk assessment, determine what you would need to survive in the event of occurrence. Obviously, the top three are food, water, and shelter. But depending on the situation, you may need one more than the other. For example, the current pandemic has not impacted my ability to shelter or access fresh water. It has impacted the ability to obtain food as store shelves quickly emptied and there are signs of further disruption of the supply chain. Examine the most likely risks you will face and determine what you would need to have access to in order to survive. I recommend being prepared to survive on your own for 3 weeks. I know some other preppers say 14 days. Some "official" sites say 3 days. I say 21 days. As we have already seen, government response isn't all it's made out to be. Better to be overprepared and not need it, than to need it and not be able to get it.
- Water - if your supply of water was disrupted, how much water would you need for your family to survive for 3 weeks? The rule of thumb is one gallon per person per day. How and where will you store it? Do you have pets that will require water? How much will they need each day?
- Food - if you are unable to buy food, either because you are cut off from stores or because of disruption of the food supply chain, how much food would you need for your family to survive for 3 weeks? This should be non-perishable food that is easy to prepare. How and where will you store it? Do you have pets that will require food? How much will they require?
- How will you survive for 3 weeks if you lose power? Will you need an alternate source of heat or air conditioning? Do you have family members that need medical equipment like CPAP machines? Do they require electricity?
- How will you survive for 3 weeks if your primary shelter is destroyed or damaged? Do you have family with disabilities that will have trouble moving to an alternate shelter if necessary?
- If you or a family member requires regular medication, do you have a 3 week supply on hand? Do you have enough first aid supplies to last 3 weeks in the event of injury or illness?
- This last question may be a bit touchy for some people, depending on your personal beliefs. Are you prepared to defend yourself and your family until help arrives? If you think I'm being melodramatic, remember the guard that was shot at a Family Dollar simply because he turned away someone who wasn't wearing a facemask in compliance with statewide orders. There are people who are not prepared that will see that you are and may decide they want what you have. Are you prepared to defend yourself if necessary?
4. Now that you know what you need and you have storage for everything, it's time to start acquiring supplies. Fortunately, the easiest things to acquire are also the most necessary - food and water and prescription medications. Acquire your 3 week supply of these first. Once you have them, then you can work on alternate sources of power, shelter, and whatever else you determined you will need.
5. Get the necessary skills. A first aid kit is useless if you don't have basic first aid knowledge. If you decided to purchase firearms to assist in the defense of your home and family, then training to learn how to properly use and care for them is vital. Evaluate what skills you and your family already have and then learn the ones you need.
Yes, there is much more you can learn. More you can do to be ready. I can survive for many weeks on my own if necessary. But these 5 steps will get you off to a good start. Once you have the basics to survive for 3 weeks, you can work on the rest.
