Why I prepare

Throughout my life I have been caught unprepared several times and while nothing seriously bad happened, it easily could have. I have been lost hiking. My car has broken down in very bad neighborhoods – twice. I have been close enough to riots that I feared they would spread to my neighborhood, been in earthquakes, been too close to wildfires, been stuck in a blizzard, and have been without power and water for several days after a hurricane. I managed to get myself out of each situation, thanked God, and tried to learn from my mistakes. I could have avoided these situations or made them much less unsafe and worrisome if I had been more aware and prepared. I have also tried to learn from the mistakes of others so as to not learn everything the hard way. One group I assisted was a two hour drive into the mountains, out of gas, wearing tee shirts, and had empty water bottles (at least they kept them) (I have made each of those mistakes but not all at the same time).

I aspire to be more prepared the next time. My preparedness includes many different aspects. In my opinion, the most important thing I have done is to learn as much as possible about what to expect and how to deal with those situations. The other important thing that gives me some piece of mind is that I carry and stock away water, food, ammo, books, and other tools and equipment that should help me survive a bad situation. Be prepared!

The other inspiration for my preparations is my family. Seeing my family suffer from lack of water or food would be very hard for me, especially if some easy and cheap preparations could have made a big difference. Recently, a few friends and family have asked me about my preparations and how they might prepare. I didn’t have a good short answer because I have spent years learning and stocking away. I thought of myself as more of a student than a teacher in this area, but now I think I do know enough to give some basic advice and refer them to good sources for more. Hopefully, they (and you) can learn from my mistakes without having to waste time, energy and money on things that don’t work. Of course, I haven’t been through every situation or disaster but I have made it through a few tough spots without losing my head. My advice is based upon what I know to work and also what sounds like it would work with the minimum fuss. I always prefer the cheap, easy, home-made solution, but sometimes it is worth the cost to get a quality item that is just too hard to improvise or where the manufactured solution is much better (such as a knife). Keep it simple stupid (KISS) when you can. With persistence you can get a lot done $20 at a time.

The purpose of this document is to give an overview of preparedness and the first steps to take. I focus more on the why than the what so that you can tailor your preparedness to your own situation and budget. I will also cite the best sources I have found for more information. There is a lot of information out there in books, classes, web sites, and forums. Most of it is good but it is also really repetitious and overwhelming. This document is only about 15 pages printed out (you are printing important information (not necessarily this) aren’t you – since in an emergency you may not have power and need to take the information with you). I try to keep my important preparedness documents in an expandable file folder with a tie inside a plastic crate.