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In my years of experience as a survivalist instructor, I have found the following post is an excellent way to start assessing just where your family is on the preparedness spectrum. If you do not know where you are in your level of preparedness, and you don’t know where to start in preparing for a disaster.
Start by considering your preparedness plan for your family by asking yourself these questions and what would your responses be to each?
1. To what is the likely hood of a disaster, either by a person, natural, or a situation where you could be vulnerable? How can you eliminate them or mitigate their negative impact on your family’s life and lifestyle?
To what extent does one believe he/she can endure severe survival events? Is it best to stay in or have an all-out bug-out SHTF situation? One must really consider and take time out to effectively plan for both and at the same period so that you are able to have it in place when the time comes to take action.
2. Image there was no more running water for you and your family. Do you have water inside or outside that could be utilized to make it drinkable or for cooking? How much? Do you have more than one source? Is it safe to drink? Are you able to purify the water?
3. Inventory your refrigerator, freezer, kitchen cabinets, cupboards, pantry, closets, or under your bed––wherever you keep your supply of long-term foodstuffs. What are you owning for these types of food below:
• canned & bottled foods?
• packaged foods?
• dehydrated, dried, & freeze-dried foods ?
Now, what is in your residence that is of nutritive value, which could sustain you for a few days or weeks, even months? For how long could your entire household feast if the meals in your pantry and refrigerator or freezer stood as the only food available to your family?
• 1 day
• 1 week
• 1 month
• longer
4. Perhaps you will need medication that could be life-saving, ask yourself “how long could my existing reserve last?” So, what about basic pharmacy medications, for example, vitamins, minerals, supplements, medication for headaches, etc.? What do we do for our cuts or scrapes, what about infection? Once you have asked yourself these questions then one more thing to consider, when would it all be fun out deeming it empty?
• 1 day
• 1 week
• 1 month
Not every medication is essential or even life-sustaining. Checking with your doctor or local pharmacy can help to provide all the essentials you will need.
5. Would you know which foods to purchase, in what precedence is given priority, and the portions of each food item, as well as where to purchase them considerably economically?
6. Are you able to prepare your saved pantry foods, increasing their overall shelf life, taste, and nourishing qualities for the long term?
7. Do you know how to sprout seeds to provide “live” nourishment for essential vitamins and minerals when there’s a lack of fresh vegetables?
Do you have the equipment and extra stored water to do so? There are techniques for sprouting, and changing water is important. Get the equipment now, and learn how to use it now before you need it to survive.
8. Do you have the wisdom, skills, and resources such as tools and equipment, gardening resources like seeds, and an area to start your own garden producing food for your family?
9. Are you able to preserve food? particularly speaking about the event of having no more electricity or gas available.
Do you own the gear to keep foods preserved? Pressure cooker, cold pack caners, food dryers, both solar and electric? and Additionally importantly, do you hold the recipes and wisdom on how to use this gear? Do you know how to jerk meats, or get them ready to be dried, and do you have the formulae and spices to complete this?
10. Given your current situation, if you could no longer obtain water, food, vitamins, medication, and money in a routine manner, how long could you sustain yourself and your family without access to these necessities?
11. What type of job(s) could you qualify for if your current employment were terminated? What education or training do you need to acquire so you can be a viable candidate for future jobs?
Jobs like a shoemaker, repair, plumbing, carpentering, farming, leather work (harness making), seamstress, hatter, blacksmith, mason….these trades will be just as valuable for a time as high-tech jobs.
Look at the late 1800s and pick one of those trades, and be ready to provide needed assistance for that era for a time to outlast. The tech job’s intention most surely comes back in time, but for a time a needed trade will be indispensable for your home survival.
12. Where would you live for the following year or two if a disaster occurred in your home in the next 60 minutes?
13. Think you are able to live, or better yet, survive for 12 months on your existing saved funds?
14. Are you having the required survival skills to prepare for unknown disasters one day they happen to occur?
Mental toughness will be the greatest strength of a survivor. Get in the mindset now, and get your family in that mindset. You will be working, eating, and living in conditions that you have never imagined. Only the mentally prepared will survive.
15. Are you inclined to take the jump to start learning about investing in your family’s well-being by start taking action today?
1 Take the time to learn how to properly prepare.
2 Define a bullet-proof preparedness plan.
3 The energy it takes to accomplish it?
If these questions, or rather, the answers to them make you uncomfortable, then this is an opportunity for you to start to work on the answers that will make you more comfortable! Resolve these questions, and many others you may have about being prepared by reading, studying, and utilizing available information.
Starting right now would be the appropriate time to start forming a plan, and storage ideas at your residence to begin. If you’ve prepared for your family’s security with emergency supplies and have long-term storage provisions in your possession, you could turn what might be a life-threatening situation into a manageable problem!
Setting Your Personal and Family Goals
For Example, your family’s fundamental goal in mind could be to create an effective plan so that you can able to live in more comfortable conditions with family with the right resources for an unknown period of time and nonetheless of external conditions. For this to take place, the entire-family will have to:
Obtain a good supply of
- water
- food
- clothing
- shelter
- heating and fuels medications
Commit to the 4-M program (Money, Materials, Manpower, Minutes )
Work towards financial freedom, beat debt down and the ultimate goal is to have funds of $__*____ for troubles that may arise.
Most will say that 3 months of available cash should be saved and if you have any other resources like gold or silver, coins, or even crypto, the skill to barter (of course this is not financial advice), it is just a rule to go by or at least a starting point.
