by Sarah Latimer, Survival Blog:

If you are reading this, you are probably like many people trying to get a grasp on “prepping” and a general idea of what you need to do or not do to start prepping. If you’re reading articles in this blog then you are doing one of the first steps in the “prepper” lifestyle. You are educating yourself. Make no mistake, that is one of the most important steps. Now I’m no expert by any means, but I have been down this road. I’m going to give a few tips to at least help get you started in the right direction.

Knowledge

Again, if you are reading this you are well into this step. There is truth in the statement that knowledge is power. There are books, articles, YouTube videos, and blogs on any range of topics that you could remotely be interested in. So, finding information on weapons, medical issues, and homesteading is available. Well, you get the idea. Any special skill you want to learn is out there. There is no excuse for not getting the information you need. Don’t forget to research what has happened in areas where disasters have happened, like Katrina.

Situation

What is your current situation? Where do you live? Are you in the city or the country? Are you married or single? Do you have kids, or are you childless? You need to take a good thorough look at your situation and then start asking yourself some hard questions. Remember, before you can make the lifestyle changes you need to, you must answer those hard questions honestly. These are questions like, “If a Katrina-style disaster happened in my area, will my family and I survive?” If the answer is “no”, then the obvious follow up question is “What do I need to do to change that?”.

Shelter

This is an obvious follow-up to the last question. Is your current living arrangement where you want to ride out a major disaster, such as an EMP. I use the EMP scenario as an example, because disaster is really a broad term that can mean most anything. Again, this is where hard questions and truthful answers are critical. If your current living arrangement is not where you want to ride out a disaster, then I suggest you start working towards finding the type of shelter you think you would need now. What a single individual might require is going to be completely different than what someone with a family of eight would require.

If you determine that you would need to relocate to a different place once a disaster happens or “Bug Out” as the saying goes, you need to plan that out now while it is calm. I do have a tip for someone that is planning on bugging out and is already placing caches between there starting point and end. I have walked many a mile on trails and have found many Geo Caches that someone thought they had cleverly hidden. If you hide it, you need to learn to camouflage it.

Medicine

Again everyone’s situation is different. You must look at what your family needs to make it. Is someone in your family on a feeding tube? How about diabetic or on dialysis? How are you going to be able to take care of them in the event of a disaster? What special meds will you or your loved ones need? This is frankly one of the harder questions that you will be asking, because in the event of a major disaster you may end up watching someone you love die in front of your eyes. Or worse, you may find yourself dying and leaving some kids to fend for themselves.

Food and Water

If a disaster hit now and you needed to make it a week on the food you currently have at your home, could you make it? For a month or a year, could you make it on the food you have? How about water? If the water suddenly stopped flowing, could you make it with what you have stored up? When considering the last question, remember that toilets flush with water. It really surprises me how many people forget.

A little over a year ago the water plant was shut down twice due to flooding in my area. Both times, the national guard brought potable water for the community. When I heard that the plant was going to be shut down, I went out and bought a brand-new trash can and lid. I filled it with water before the pressure ran out, so I would have water to flush with. Thankfully, in both cases the plant wasn’t out too long and my family and I were okay.

Hygiene Needs

There are so many areas that this one subject covers, but I will only name a few to get you to think about your needs. Does anyone in your family need diapers? Do you have enough feminine products on hand to make it a couple of months? What about soap, shampoo, toothpaste, et cetera. What about toilet paper? At my house, we currently average a roll a day, and it will only get worse. (I have four kids.)

Cash on Hand

This one is short and obvious, but many people really don’t keep cash on hand any more. If the power went out in your area for a week and you couldn’t use your cards, do you have enough cash to make it?

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