The Easy Way to Start Prepping (for Non-Preppers)

A member here messaged me and suggested that others may be interested in more info on basic preparedness.

Don't get overwhelmed by articles or videos saying you need a year's worth of food, water, water filters, solar panels, a small arsenal with thousands of rounds and the ability to make more etc...

IMO the simplest way to start prepping is to have short time oriented goals that are easy to meet without a lot of effort or expense. When you reach your goal you have a sense of accomplishment and peace of mind since you know you are set for ___ days and that sense of accomplishment encourages you to do more.

Goal #1 -- 72 hours

Store the supplies you would need if you lost power for three days and you could not leave the house. Keep the supplies in a closet or wherever so they are all in one place and you don't deplete them via regular use.

Water -- Buy bottled water or fill used bottles. Store it in a dark place to prevent algae. If you are totally out there is usually a fair amount in the hot water heater. Even if you are on city water and expect an unlimited supply it can become contaminated and unsafe to drink. Figure 2 gallons a day per adult (one for drinking, one for washing).

Food -- Store foods that can be eaten cold and last a long while such as canned tuna, peanut butter, crackers, canned fruit, cereal, powdered or evaporated milk etc... Only store foods you like and regularly eat (no untried mystery meat even if it is on sale). Cans/bottles of coffee, ice tea, or even soda may be helpful for a caffeine fix. Rotate your supplies every 6-12 months as needed (i.e. crackers may go stale or become bug infested).  Remember to store supplies for your animals as well, dry dog food goes bad after several months (fats go rancid) so that has to be rotated regularly even if it looks okay.

Lighting -- Flashlights, book lights, candles, lanterns etc... If you haven't bought a new flashlight in a few years you will be blown away by even the really cheap LED flashlights ($5 or so on ebay).

Batteries. If you don't have a landline phone you may need a small battery charger for your cell phone.

Basic Medical Stuff -- Bandaids, aspirin/pain killers, cold meds etc... If you are on crucial prescription meds make sure to have a few days on hand as well.

Emergency Radio -- Lots of options out there using solar, hand cranks etc...  I prefer a small walkman radio with a headset (good sound quality plus 50 hours of runtime on one AAA battery). While a cell phone may provide news and contact with the outside world (if cell towers are working) a radio is a good backup. Even three days without news/updates can be very unsettling not to mention boring.

(Up next -- One Week Goal)

Goal #2 -- A week's worth of supplies

Small Single Burner Propane or Butane Camp Stove -- These little stoves fit right on your kitchen counter and set up in 3 min or less using the 1 lb fuel bottles. You can pick one up for under $30. Choose one with a stable platform/base that can easily and safely hold a fairly large pot of water (to heat water for washing).

More Food (Hot/Cooked) --  Rice, pasta, instant (fat free) mashed potatoes, canned veggies, soups, pasta sauce, chili, chicken/ham, ramen, instant hot chocolate/coffee/tea, etc... Start off by cooking/eating the food in your fridge and then the freezer before it spoils. Don't buy one of those 30 day emergency food buckets and call it done. In a power outage/emergency your life will be hard enough as it -- eating really awful tasting food for days on end only makes a bad situation worse.

More Water and/or a water filter for folks on city water. A $30 Sawyer water filter is an easy an inexpensive option plus it is small.

Paper Plates -- the cheap/thin kind to use as plate/bowl liners. You don't want to waste water on dirty dishes.

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Additional items to add as time/money permits, some are are optional and others may be urgent depending on your needs:

Off-Grid Heat Source -- Small kerosene or propane heaters are a good option even for apartment dwellers.

Home Defense -- Shotgun, machete, etc... If you get a machete use it in your garden to chop down weeds/brush so you become proficient with it.

Additional Medical Supplies -- Gauze/bandages, rubbing alcohol, vet wrap, blood stop powder, gloves, benadryl, extra prescription meds and fish antibiotics etc... Venomous snakes are risk where I live so I keep Prednisone on hand (a snake bite when the roads are blocked by down trees could be a death sentence). If you have a good relationship with your veterinarian they can really help you out.

Mylar Bags with Oxygen Absorbers -- An easy and inexpensive way to keep your dry goods shelf stable for years with no worries about them going stale or being infested by insects. The one gallon bags hold 2 boxes of pasta, 4 lbs of flour or sugar etc... Only store foods with very few ingredients and no fat (like pasta, oatmeal, plain crackers, etc...) The 5 gallon bags can hold 50 lbs of wheat/rice/corn which is great for large families and chickens/other livestock.

Generator -- Portable generators are great for keeping the freezer cold or pumping well water but IMO they should not be relied on for necessities such as cooking and heat.  They are loud, finicky and they eat up a lot of gas.

Books and Board Games especially if you have kids (their survival may depend on it if you are locked in the house with them for days on end).

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These lists are by no means perfect but they will get you off to a good start -- often getting started is the hardest part!

That's a great list to start from! Sometimes the list of survival needs are long and complicated, and you've boiled them down to essentials. It looks doable, even for those of us in tiny apartments. So thank you!

I have mentioned this elsewhere, but if your electrical needs are modest, a few deep cell batteries on a trickle charger might meet your electrical needs. With an inverter, the system should run a small fan, led light, and charge a cell phone and computer. of course, crunch the numbers in advance to be certain and allow a good fudge factor for error and waste.

I live in western Oregon, where the threat of a major earthquake leaving people stranded, without food, water, gas, shelter, or useable roads for weeks to (in the worst case scenarios on the coast) years is a valid concern. Our local public radio makes an effort each year to highlight earthquake risks and offers ways to be prepared and resilient. One major thing that I do to be disaster-prepared is having a Go-Bag that's easily accessible and has all the basic things I need for immediate survival. I have a backpacking pack that also doubles as my Go-Bag and contains:

- Down feather sleeping bag rated for 20F/-6C (zipperless quilt-style, because zippers break but a sewing kit can fix most rips in a quilt-style bag)
- GOOD sleeping pad (the ground can suck out your heat at night)
- Tent that can fit two people snuggly
- Hydropack
- Water purifier straws (allows for drinking from even small puddles)
- First aid kit
- Splint set
- Biofuel burner (doesn't need any canister fuels, just whatever flammable organic material I can find, and it can create enough energy to charge a phone)
- Utility tool
- Cat hole shovel & toilet paper ( I learned the miserably hard way that if you're sick in the woods and there aren't any thimbleberry leaves on hand, swordfern will uncomfortably do, but really you want toilet paper)
- Solar lantern (charge it up during the day, and can also charge your phone)
- MREs that I've taste-tested and know I can eat (as mentioned by Anderson, having food that you actually like is really a game changer)
- Headlamp
- Extra batteries
- Wind-up radio
- Simple mess kit (Let's face it, two pots, a mug, spoon, and knife are really all one needs for making and eating food)

I went with ultralight gear to make sure I can include as many supplies as possible, and I keep my Go-Bag in my car. I've also been encouraging and helping build up the Go-Bags for my friends and family. It's important to be able to be mobile if necessary. If your house burns down, or you're away from home when emergency strikes, it's important to be both mobile and able to shelter in place. If anyone is interested, I can go through my Go-Bag specs and let you know specific brands or whatnot.

But perhaps the best thing you can do to prepare for emergencies is... get to know your neighbors. A lot of studies show that violence decreases during disasters, particularly in areas where communities are strong. We are a social species that has spent the vast majority of our 1.5 million years of existence cooperating in tightly knit social groups. Get to know your neighbors and, if you can, encourage them to be prepared for disasters. The more people you can include in your community, the more skills and help will be at everyone's disposal and the greater your chances of survival.