A guide to being a practical prepper: Don’t make French toast during the apocalypse.

I promise I’m not trying to click bait you with this title. Being a practical prepper will make sense. I recently asked a question to many of my friends about the stigma of prepping for a future blog post. What I wanted to know was the good, the bad, and the ugly. What people thought it prepping, what their fears were, what they thought of others prepping. The main point of what I got from this information was that people thought prepping was a good idea, but didn’t know was how to get started. The idea of prepping can be overwhelming! There are so many questions that need to be answered before jumping into building that foundation. But what is that foundation made of? This post will help you outline what you need and why! Let’s start with paperwork first.

This is the most practical aspect of prepping. It’s also one of the easier aspects! It is vital that you have all of your documents in place in case you need to leave your home in a hurry!

You can read all about getting all your documents in order by making a Prepper Binder, HERE.

The start of any good foundation is knowledge on how to build. What’s the biggest issue in your area? Is it weather? Perhaps you live in tornado alley. Civil unrest or protests (do you live in a huge metro)? Do some research about common natural disasters in your area. Check with your local law enforcement office about what types of crime are prevalent in your area. Read prepper blogs! There are many of them, my blog included. I find that the most common deterrent of prepping and survivalism is fear. It is a scary thing to dive into, but necessary. Knowledge, training, and faith combat fear. Every time.

SHELTER:

 

First, Shelter. Make a foundation out of the four vital things needed for survival. Shelter. Fire. Water. Food. In that order. These four things are the corners of the foundation of prepping and survival. I know that shelter is before making a fire and that is contrary to some schools of thought. Think of it this way. There is no point in having the ability to make a fabulous fire if it’s raining out. The shelter is important. This simply means having a tent, tarp with 550 cord, a camper, a vehicle, a house, or the knowledge of using brush to make a shelter. Check out THIS POST on hardening your home for a shelter-in-place situation. An example of shelter-in-place is a blizzard in which the power goes out for multiple days at a time. Stop by your local bookstore and get a book on building shelters. By doing this you have a non-electronic resource that you can take with you.

 

FIRE:

 

Second, having multiple ways to build a fire. Redundancy is essential here. This can be a simple process, though. Grab a lighter the next time you go to the gas station to buy a coke. Get a little sparkie fire starter and some wetfire fire tinder. These are very small and can fit in the tampon pocket of your purse, or a back pocket easily. Waterproof matches are also key items to have here. A book about starting a fire wouldn’t be a bad idea here either!

 

WATER:

 

Third, water. Lots and Lots of water. Water is vital. It’s a pretty common rule of thumb that each person in your home needs 1 gallon of water per day. Start with just getting two weeks of water on hand. Seems like a lot, but you’ll be so thankful you did! To ease you into the survivalist mindset I would start with getting two weeks of supplies on hand. Ideally, you should have 3-6 months, but that takes time to build!

 

FOOD:

 

Fourth, you need food. Nonperishable food that is. Have you noticed that when there is a big store coming that people rush to the grocery store to buy three main items? Do you know what they are? Bread, milk, and eggs. YOU CAN’T MAKE FRENCH TOAST DURING THE APOCALYPSE. Or any other disaster for that matter. Bread, milk, and eggs are perishable. If anything, you need canned foods, top ramen even, MRE’s or other emergency foods. Don’t forget the batteries and a can opener either!  Each adult needs roughly 2000 calories a day. Granted some women need less and children need even less than that. However, if you have a family of two adults and two kids, just plan for 2000 calories a day person. This roughly equates to 1 MRE meal per person per day. You might have extra and that’s always better than not enough. Start with two weeks-worth of food here too. You can order emergency foot on Costco, amazon, or a variety of other companies. For an easier start, go down the bulk food items aisle and grab the bulk food cans. You will end up with an odd variety of foods, but an odd variety is better than no variety!

In conclusion, prepping doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be born from a place of fear. It needs to be born from a place of protection of one’s family and practicality. You don’t have to be like the crazy people on TV who make bunkers in their basements, faraday cages in their garage, and have enough food for all of America for the next 15 years! Having two weeks’ worth of supplies will put your mind at ease that you can take care of your family during the slightest of issues up to the most catastrophic of circumstances. Remember, if you need to run to the store for supplies, focus on the nonperishable items that will last for a while. And don’t make French toast during the apocalypse!

 

Cheers,

Nila