How Do I Get Prepared?

The following is a comment from our very own ‘NRP’ here on the blog who was responding to an article that I wrote awhile ago entitled, “Getting Started With Survival Preparedness”

I felt that his comment was perfect for a subsequent article, especially geared towards those who may be just starting out in prepping / preparedness. So here it is:

What Are You Preparing For?

I believe the very first thing that’s needed is to understand what one is preparing for. What do you think is going to “get ya”.

Then make a list of the concerns you have.

Such as: an earthquake, hurricane, power outages, storms, EMP, nuke war, economy, social unrest, pandemic, job loss, and so on. And please do not say “everything”.

Then prioritize your “get ya” list and decide what is the most likely to happen.

FYI, if preparing for an Asteroid Impact; best of luck with that one.

Decide What You Need

After you have the “get ya” list, then start to determine what it is you will need to outlast that particular threat.

It will be very easy to see that some threats will be covered with preps for other threats, but not always.

Yes, we all know Water, Food, Shelter, and so on, but what specifically will you need to make it through a Pandemic or a JIT (just-in-time) food catastrophe, earthquake, or whatever? Obviously you will not need a Bio-Hazard suit for an economic crash (probably not).

So figure out what scares the bejeebers out of you as more likely to happen, and work on that first.

Search this blog for countless ideas on your concerns. There is some great content here and there are great comments to help you along for deciding what you might need or do for preparedness.

Your Location

The next thing I suggest; is think about where you are; City, Burbs, rural, and so on.

What will it take to outlast others around you? What will be the threat if you “hunker down” or instead decide to Bug-Out?

What about your family, do you have small children or elderly parents? Can you “Bug-Out” with 2-4 kids and a 90 year old tagging along or would you be better off hunkering down?

Most importantly if you Bug-Out do you have a place to go, do you have more supplies at your BOL? DO NOT think you will survive “in the woods” it will NOT happen, PERIOD.

Plans

Once you have a good idea of a “plan” than you need to start on your Skills/Supplies/Location.

Please do NOT underestimate having a plan and follow that plan. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I know plans change all the time, but at least have a good solid plan for prepping, with a timeline.

Modify the plan if needed, but have a direction, a checklist. Not only of water, food etc. but of skills, a travel plan, BOL, and so on.

Without a good plan you will be floundering around buying this and that. Prioritize what you need to do, and be smart about it.

Lastly, if you’re first getting started, start from the beginning not from step 4 or 5.

I believe more in living the “lifestyle” than just buying a lot of “stuff”.

Live the lifestyle, enjoy the “old ways” of doing things, become more in touch with nature, and mostly figure out what’s truly important to you and your family.

-NRP

[Ken adds]: How do you get prepared? One step at a time…

Check out our Survival Library for more ideas.