Hey there! 🌟 It’s always wise to be prepared for any unexpected calamity or even the unlikely event of war, without going all-out “prepper” mode. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry, right? 🤷♀️ So, let’s dive into some practical tips that your average person and family can follow to be ready for any unfortunate situation! 💪
1️⃣ Get an emergency kit ready: Think about essentials like non-perishable food items, water, a first aid kit, flashlights, batteries, and a portable radio. 🎒 You can also include some comfort items like blankets or games to keep spirits high during tough times.
2️⃣ Create a family emergency plan: Sit down with your loved ones and discuss what you would do in case of an emergency. 🗺️ Identify escape routes, designate meeting spots, and assign responsibilities to each family member. It’s all about teamwork! 💑
3️⃣ Stock up on essential supplies: It’s always a good idea to have some extra supplies at home. Consider having a stock of canned goods, toiletries, medications, and any other necessities for at least a few weeks. 🛍️ Just like squirrels gathering nuts for winter, you’re prepping for the unexpected!
4️⃣ Stay informed through trusted sources: Knowledge is power, my friend! Follow credible news channels, emergency services, or government websites to stay updated about potential dangers or risks in your area. 📰
5️⃣ Learn basic survival skills: Let’s take it up a notch and prepare ourselves with some practical skills! 🏕️ Learn how to purify water, start a fire, or even perform basic first aid. You’ll feel like a superhero, ready to conquer any situation!
6️⃣ Connect with your community: Having good neighbors and a support network is crucial during tough times. Get involved in community groups or local emergency preparedness organizations. 🙋♂️ Helping and supporting each other will always be a rock-solid defense!
Remember, having these preparations doesn’t mean we’re living in fear. It’s just about being smart and taking care of ourselves and our loved ones. Together, we can face any adversity that comes our way! 🌈
EDIT: Wow! So much useful info! Hope none of us ever needs it. Let’s be excellent to each other. 🤝🌍
the average person should probably keep an emergency kit in their trunk.
Stock up on canned foods and manual can openers.
Start simple.
If bad weather, hurricane, wind fire, earthquake, whatever happened…
How would you (your family) comfortably survive the weekend where you are. No electric, no water, no sewer, no public utility gas lines. So no refridgeration, no gas/ electric stovetop or oven. No heating/ cooling.
… and go!
Get to know your neighbors and learn what resources exist in your area. If you know 10-12 people within walking distance who are willing to help you out, your odds are much better (and so are theirs).
Edit: “Neighbors” doesn’t necessarily mean just the people who live on your street. In many disasters, having folks you can rely on a mile or two away is actually more useful because it increases the chances that you will have someplace to go that is unaffected, or at least less affected.
Vote the extremists out.
At one point I made a bit of a study on this, and built a kit. It really comes down to exactly what you’re really trying to prepare for. Bad weather? Environmental disaster? General shortages. SHTF?
The conclusion I came to is that the super-prepared types probably won’t be very mobile with all their stuff, or if they go the ‘cabin in the woods/bunker’ approach that presumes reasonable forewarning, or at least passable roads, which may not be a given. Closest I’ve ever thought that was practical would be a big version of a ‘bug out’ bag, like a stocked trailer you could take at a moments notice.
But that’s a not insignificant amount of money involved, with a rather uncertain payoff, if at all.
What I settled on was something in the range of 72 hours to a week of supplies at most.
Water, storable food, medical kit, tools, backpacks to carry things. Perhaps some cans of chafing fuel to cook short-term.
The big part being ‘short term’. If everything really fell apart, I figure we’d end up banding up in small groups like the old hunter-gatherer days, not playing citadel in mountain fortresses, and trying to prepare for a social collapse on the resources of a single family is mostly an exercise in wasting time.
I like to refer to the FEMA go bag suggestions.
https://www.ready.gov/kit
Cheap emergency bag:
In a small nylon drawstring bag you should keep the following stuff if you can get it. A physical map of the topography of your surrounding area, a couple small LED flashlights, a water purification bottle (or survival straw) and iodine tablets, a small first aid kit, a couple mylar blankets, a couple plastic rain ponchos, a box of tampons, a Bic lighter, and a big roll of duct tape.
Get to know your surrounding area by walking it regularly (if safe to do so). Be ready to walk. Know where the closest source running water is. Know the fastest way to the nearest hospital, emergency room, or veterinary clinic. If you have the money/ space, prep a second bag with a pair of water shoes for everyone, a multi tool, and a quick dry blanket.
Live somewhere that no one cares about that doesn’t have any major resources. And very far away from any military installation.
If you live somewhere volatile, then having enough money for a flight out at the first sign of conflict is world’s better than thinking you can prep enough to hold out for any meaningful amount of time.
If shit really does go down, it doesn’t much matter what prepping you’ve done. It’s a fantasy.
If it’s some ‘normal’ type of catastrophe (like a hurricane) then some prepping could make you more comfortable for a couple days while aid is delivered. But the best bet is still to simply go somewhere else when you know something dangerous is about to hit. Hurricane coming? Leave. Wildfires? Leave. etc.
It’s kinda like those silly people on fighting subs dreaming up all the ways they might be attacked and if they should learn BJJ, MT, or Boxing or whatever, when what they should do is learn how to deescalate interactions, followed by cardio and running. Cause not getting into a fight is literally the best option every time.
I bought cheap smallish (20l) dry bags for the family. Each one has a small travel towel, a cheap rain poncho, a baggie with a small tube of toothpaste and brush (in mine I included a baggie with $100 in cash, a hand crank recharger with a multi cable, and a flashlight (batteries in a separate bag)). I told them to put an old change of clothes and to seal the bag up and put it in the closet.
It won’t be anything enough for an apocalypse, but if there is something like a major fire or natural disaster we can evacuate the house in 5 minutes and at least not be completely without anything.
Have the same precautions you would make for a hurricane. Have a weeks worth of bottled drinking water, first aid kit, foil blankets, energy bank for charging phones, battery operated radio, some tinned food.
Frankly, any home should have these in case of black outs, natural disasters etc.
I think one thing that often gets overlooked is that if it’s really bad, there won’t be internet. I purchased a survival book in hard copy specifically for this reason.
Probably iodine tablets.
That’s a sliding scale, and people have different ideas on what’s extreme, both the scale of the disaster and how to prepare. I don’t live in earthquake or disputed territory; the worst disasters I’ve experienced were the northeast blackout (2003?) and the ice storm about ten years ago. No electricity for three days is a different problem from, say, wildfires up north/in California.
We know our neighbours well enough that we could ask each other for help, which I think is the biggest benefit. You don’t have to share that you have three months of food stashed – that’s how you get looters – but intimate knowledge of a skill is one of the few things you can’t just grab.
I think the average person can stockpile enough food for a few days. Canned stuff, granola bars, apples, bottled water. Things that don’t need electricity (including a stove, fridge, or barbecue). Keep some stuff at your workplace locker, your vehicle, etc., because your prepper stuff doesn’t mean shit if the disaster happens and you’re five miles from home.
Have a first aid kit. Bandages, wipes, that antiseptic stuff. Get some first aid training.
Have copies of your ID and other documents in a safe place.
Study some survival stuff in your spare time. YouTube has countless channels on how to pick locks, identify wild plants, preserve food, Morse code, etc. Play that in the background of your day-to-day stuff and you might retain something.
Pick up your own survival skill that could make you indispensable if SHTF. If all of the above is inaccessible to you, there is always a demand for scouts and scavengers willing to leave the safety of the home territory, so do your basic cardio.
Clean Water supply
– bug-out bag
– Several gallons of water
– Canned foods, ramen, etc
– medical supplies (bandages, gauze, medical tape, sewing supplies)
– Print off facts on local flora
– cheap solar panel charger for phone (add a 12v battery and $15 converter, and it’ll work for computers too)
– a good knife/machete
– plenty of lighters (useful trade item)
– a rifle and plenty of ammo
– HAM radio
– toilet paper
– saw, hammer, nails
– extra clothes, blankets, pillows
– cash
– deck of cards
– flashlights
We have a few months worth of vacuum sealed rice, beans pasta. SCanned meats. Soap. Portable wood stove. Guns and ammo. Duct tape to seal door and window gaps. Plywood to cover doors and windows. Rope. Medical supplies. Water purifiers. In my BOB I carry a little food, utensils, water purifier, book. And a gun. My family knows I’m always coming home. You can go nuts prepping and put up years of food. Water will be your main concern. Be able to clean your drinking water. If SHTF for real, you’ll only need a few weeks worth of food and protection to outlast 90% of the population.
“The first 72 is on you.” It generally takes three days for emergency agencies to ramp up. So have enough bottled water (2 gallons or 8 litres per person for 3 days) and canned food to last that amount of time. Have flashlights. Have warm clothes and wet weather gear. Make sure everyone has a good pair of hiking boots. Have a good size first aid kit.
A plan is the most practical thing your family can have. Most tools that you need you’ll find in the homes and pockets of the dead.
And a lifestraw.
Get fit and keep fit. Your only way out of danger may be your feet.
Know how to make shelter, thats more important than food, sooner.
Keep some money, documents, and passwords accessible offline. Backup your phone and computer regularly.
Have a supply of vital medications on hand. Rotate to keep them fresh.
Keep in contact with people outside your area. They may be a vital resource in emergencies.
If you’re eligible for any other passports, get them. It’s always better to have more than 1.
Pack a first aid kit with at least a week’s worth of your regular medicine, painkillers, bandages, water purification tablets, antiseptic cream, antiseptic wipes, isopropyl etc.
Stock up on bottled water, canned food, small tent, sleeping bag, small gas stove and a couple gas bottles. Power packs + batteries, plus a solar charger. Also, a USB with a fucktone of media on there. I want at least 2 full long running shows, Breaking Bad + Game Of Thrones for example plus some kids shows incase you end up in a group with kids.
Pads + tampons + baby wipes. If I don’t need them someone else might.
I want to stack up on something to trade, I was thinking alcohol or extra painkillers would generally go down pretty well as well as a couple hundred dollars.
Controversial, but firearms. One for hunting and one for defense.
First aid kit. Specifically the ones they make for EMTs. Any injury you can live through in a disaster where there is no help will be covered by items in that bag. They run a few hundred bucks to a grand depending on how wild you want to get with it.
Learn how to navigate with and without a compass.
Learn how to source and sanitize water.
Learn how to hunt with a bow. You can make arrows and bows, guns break down and need maintenance and ammo goes bad after a while.
Learn how to build and start a fire. The amount of people who are clueless without a lighter is astounding.
Learn how to garden. Really garden. No store bought nutrients or soil, learn to use what’s around you. Learn to properly store it, learn how to breed or clone your plants. Learn what plants have medicinal value, antibiotics and other meds are going to run out/get looted first.
Learn how to build a shelter. Buying a good tent isn’t a bad idea but plan for it to be not there for you when you need it.
You need a good knife. You can make anything you need with it. You’re almost doomed without one.
Be in decent physical shape.
Learn a martial art. Ignore people who tell you that you need a specific one. Whatever one you have fun doing and will actually go to will defend you against just about anyone you’ll run into. Most people are not trained MMA fighters, any understanding of how to deal with violence will benefit the average person.
Buy medical textbooks, farming textbooks, books about preserving food and butchering. Remember google will be gone. You’re going to need access to that type of information sooner or later.
Last but not least, a few decks of cards. Sounds crazy but people need entertainment. Always have and always will. A deck of cards is very small and there’s a variety of games you can play with them, even alone. Boredom kills the human spirit, you’ll need to counteract it sooner or later.
There’s not a lot of point in being a “prepper.” Problem with having a bunker with a ton of supplies is that you’re counting on being able to stay right where you are. Maybe that land gets wiped out in the first few minutes of a disaster and all your supplies are gone. You need to be self sufficient, not relying on your mini grocery store in the basement.
Knowledge.
Collect all your important documents like birth certs and passports and such and keep them together in a small folder or water tight container.
Get yourself a simple home first aid kit.
Have a stock of 2 weeks’ worth of any medications you or your people take. Add this to your first aid kit.
Get some small handheld flashlights and lots of batteries.
Get some handheld radios. Also, more batteries.
Try and have at least $1000 in cash if possible. When SHTF, Cash is king. Especially in the event of a power outage, large-scale EMP, total financial shutdown, or anything else preventing you from using your plastic.
Put all of these things in a small carry bag or a backpack and keep it somewhere safe and easily accessible. (Under your bed, in your car, etc…)
Next, consider your vehicle, maintenance, and possible modifications. Has it been serviced recently? Does it have reasonably new tyres? Would it be appropriate for offroad use if the situation arose? If not, could a simple modification like changing the ride height be enough?
Make sure your loved ones have also made similar preparations. Is your mother and / or father elderly? Would they need help to evacuate in an emergency? Do they have a stock of important medications? Do they have a reliable vehicle?
Finally, have a plan. If you haven’t got one, THINK OF ONE. NOW. TODAY.
It doesn’t have to be set in stone. It just has to be a basic outline of what you will do and where you will go.
“In the event of a SHTF Scenario, I will go to X location and meet X family members.”
or
“I will go to X military base”
If everyone did this, society would be better prepared:
– Vote for people/parties that will protect the environment, cooperate with other countries, and make incentives to maintain resources.
– Get to know your neighbours, and be actively involved in some type of community group
– Raise your children, if you have any, to be good citizens and make a positive contribution to society
– As much as possible, keep yourself well and physically able, and learn how to be as self sufficient as possible, including how to cook, how to forage, how to deal with people, how to repair things
– Make ethical choices about your consumption
If you do none of the above but “prep” yourself with weapons you are not trying to avoid or survive a calamity, you are provoking a calamity but planning to survive it by stepping on top of other people. I personally choose not to celebrate that mindset.
You can [download Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Database_download), like the entire site worth of info, and load it onto an e-reader or tablet. For any situation where the internet goes down for an extended period of time, or forever, the info in that wikipedia dump can be lifesaving.
From growing plants, to repairing XYZ, or getting water in unlikely places, or trying to diagnose something… you never know.
Information is power.
Work on your people skills. There hasn’t been a single time in history when knowing how to get along with and work with others has not been an important skill. There will always be community, there will always be people in need, there will always be the need to work together and protect each other. A major disaster isn’t going to change that. When your stockpiled ammo and canned food runs out, you’re going to wish you made some friends.
Also, learn to sew.
South African here. My country is going through an electricity crisis, so I have a bit of experience here.
Not a lot of people realise how fragile the electrical grid really is and as Ukraine and my own country has demonstrated, reliable electricity is one of the first things to suffer in a crisis and that can really screw with you. So having redundancy to power supply can be crucial. Solar panels are great for this as a sustainable option, but can be expensive. For something cheaper, you can get a large inverter that you can set up to power your lights and WiFi. Inverters are great for intermittent power shortages, but will only last a few hours at a time. A generator with a few cans of petrol can last days and serve as a good medium-term solution. Even buying a large 40000mAh power bank can make a difference as it will allow you to keep your phone charged for multiple days without power.
Having access to water is an absolute must. Investing in a 1000L – 5000L or larger outdoor water tank can make you water-independent for weeks.
Food. Having non-perishable food in storage can be good. Having the means to cook that food is important. Maybe try to buy a mini stove that can run off a propane tank. If you live in a cold climate, having multiple propane tanks that you can use for heating is great.
Honey will keep people alive with very small amounts. And it wont go bad. Honey all they way.
Dried beans are cheap.
Water. Or maybe water filters.
Bic lighters would be gold if mass production of supplies came to a stop.
A lot of people are saying bottled water. Don’t buy bottled water: buy canned water. After a couple of years, water stored in ordinary plastic bottles can pick up odours, especially if it’s stored somewhere musty like a cellar or garage. If you’re buying water that you’re not going to use until an earthquake hits and the water is out, a slab of cans is a better choice.
My friends always laughed at me when I’d mention my bug out bag. They weren’t laughing when my house caught fire and they arrived and saw me with my bag and my dog.
Just a short list in case of a short term disaster
* Back up of all your documents stored waterproof
* Back up supply of water
* Bag packed ready to go with clothes
* Heavy rain gear
* Waterproof shoes
* Sleeping bag
* Tent
* First aid kid, that is kept up to date.
* Maybe a luxury, but a full charged powerbank (Recharge regularly as they lose power over time)
* Flashlight, maybe both a batery powered one, and one of those wind up ones.
* Batteries
* Camping gas stove with some non-perishable meals
* Axe, shovel. Sturdy knife. Scissors.
* Water filter or purifyng tablets. Shelter and water. Two things you absolutely will need.
* Basic toiletries. Soap, toothpaste, Toilet paper. Female hygiene products
* Strike anywhere matches/lighter.
* Plastic tarp. Rope.
* Vitamin pills (Your food won’t really be nutritious for a while)
* An easy way to transport all this. Because you’ll have to Move fast when the disaster comes, and a car isn’t always an option.
Things like the tent and all might seem like overkill, but even if you have to ride out the disaster in your own house, a tent makes the space you have to heat a lot smaller when the heating/electricity goes. Just put up the tent inside and snuggle up.
physical fitness, be able to go miles on foot
Know your neighbors. Have a social safety net in place. Lots of people think through the “stuff” angle, but human power is always critical.
Know what is and isn’t edible in the surrounding area. We lived in the backwoods for 30 years and my mother was also raised 100 miles from the nearest hospital. So we know what’s edible and how to forage, how to dress a kill, how to build snares and deadfalls, make a shelter, start a fire without matches/lighters, just basic survival stuff. Also, in the event of an EMP, it’s always wise to know which neighbors have horses. They would quickly become the best form of transportation if vehicles were rendered obsolete, if you don’t know how to fix all that stuff. My husband does but I don’t. We also know how to handle basic injuries in the event a hospital ain’t an option.
Edit: it’s also a good idea to have purifying tablets if you’re forced to drink groundwater.
Live closest to the largest, most important city you can.
The trick here is to be vaporized by the nuclear strikes, rather than to live as a ghoul with peeling skin for weeks, scavenging for non-irradiated water.