Planning & Documentation for Prepping & Preparedness
Level 1 Prepping & Preparedness
I have added this segment “Documentation and Planning” to the Level 1 Prepping & Preparedness series.
Why? Because it’s not only helpful but it’s important to plan. Documentation will also serve as a reference source for useful information and actionable items.
Planning for Preparedness
In previous segments we talked about food & water, kits, First Aid, dealing without electricity, cash on hand, seasonal issues, safety & security, consumable supplies and gear.
It’s one thing to read or talk. It’s another to “do”.
Level 1 preparedness is easy. That said, most everything is easier said than done. In other words, you should make a plan and then put that plan into action.
Since Level 1 is simply acquiring enough supplies to prepare for up to one week disruption, I suggest that you re-read each segment and jot down on a piece of paper the things that you need to do or get.
Write it down!
Seriously, if you write a plan of action on paper it will probably be more effective. There’s something actionable about a written list…
Examples:
Food (build a caloric supply)
– a case of beef stew
– buy a dozen cans of chicken breast
– buy 2 large Jif peanut butter
– etc..
Water
– buy several cases of water
– several water storage containers
– buy a good water filter !important
Kits
– list the specific items that you need to get for your 72-hour kit
You get the idea… Plan and document what you need to do.
Note: Most all of this for ‘Level 1’ is simply buying more supplies. It’s not until we get further into prepping & preparedness where skill sets and other issues become more important.
Important Documentation
Even for Level 1 preparedness for temporary disruption, I still recommend keeping a hard copy printed list of important contact information. If you are in a situation where electricity is out for up to a week, your cell phones will lose charge.
Most people keep ALL of their contact information in their smart phones. And nowhere else. Few people remember the phone numbers of their contacts because there’s no need to anymore.
You may know from memory your primary friends and family contact information, however you might look at the list and write down others which may be important. Just keep it in a drawer or wherever makes sense to you.
Personally, I like organizing some of my documentation in binders. You might consider starting a binder for preparedness.
[ Read: Disaster Preparedness Binder ]
[ Read: Preparedness Level 1 – 4 Series Overview ]