I often get asked what one should do to ensure they are prepped for an emergency. They often look puzzled when I say that no one could ever be ready for an emergency. The answer isn’t as simple as putting together a list and then sitting by while waiting for a disaster to strike.
The fact is, there are way too many variables to take into consideration with disasters to ever be fully prepped. That’s where a simple set of questions comes into play.
Questions you should ask yourself, to make sure you understand what you are prepping for. There are many questions you could ask yourself, but for me, the following are enough to answer the first question.
What is Prepping?
Probably the easiest of all the questions to answer is what prepping actually involves. The answer is one I often answer with 3 simple words. To be prepared. That’s it.
It’s to make sure that when a disaster strikes, you have the necessary skills and tools to come out the other side with you and your family intact.
The other side of prepping is understanding everything that’s needed to survive. Part of this is understanding the “Survival 3’s”.
- 3 minutes without air
- 3 hours without shelter in certain conditions
- 3 days without water
- 3 weeks without food
While the first one may not seem like a viable solution to prep for, the other 3 certainly are. The water, the food and the shelter you and your family need to survive a disaster come down to your own particular needs and locations, so this is something you’re going to have to figure out.
But there are plenty of places to start looking, including here.
And one thing many preppers often forget is that prepping never ends. There’s no final solution. It’s an always-active continuation to make sure you have the best possible supplies for whatever mother nature throws at you.
Who Am I Prepping For?
This will depend on your own unique situation, but my first guess is yourself. You are the number one person you need to prepare for, because if you fail, so will those around you. Consider those close to you, like your immediate family.
Obviously, you’ll want to include your partner, your children, and possibly those living with you. Your pets will also need certain help to survive, including being given tools like this.
Next, you’ll want to decide if other people will need your help, like neighbors who may not be able to look after themselves. Friends of your family may also prove helpful in emergency situations. Don’t forget, it’s not all about “lone-wolf” survival here.
Why Am I Prepping?
You want to prep because you have something that not everyone else shares. While television shows, books, and some online sites may feel as if prepping is because people hope for the apocalypse to start, or maybe hoping for a disaster to hit, the answer is much simpler.
And that is because people often choose to look at the dramatic side of prepping, rather than the obvious.
You want to prep because you want to survive. Your survival instinct is what drives you to prepare for emergencies. With my experience in search and rescue, I know how strong people’s instinct to survive is.
If given the right tools, most people would come out on top. Unfortunately, many don’t have the tools, nor did they take the time to prepare the right tools, leaving themselves vulnerable to whatever the disaster brings with it.
What Do I Need to Be Prepped?
Despite what you may have heard elsewhere, the first thing you need to start prepping doesn’t cost you a single cent. Nothing. It’s free.
Because the first thing you need to start prepping is a plan. It’s pointless purchasing survival gear, rations, and water if you have no idea where you’ll store it, how you’ll use it and how to store it correctly.
A plan is vital if you want to be a prepped successfully. And the plan you’ll eventually concoct is one that is only suitable for you. It’s pointless me writing you out a plan because I have no idea about your own unique set of circumstances.
Prepping plans take several important things into consideration, including where you live, what you live in, your family members, you and your family member’s individual needs, your financial position, and many other things.
But you know your position better than anyone else and that means the only person qualified to write your prepping plan is you. It won’t take much and doesn’t take long. Once you have the basics, you’ll know which way to head.
If you take nothing else away from this article, take this. A plan gives you a starting point for being prepped, and starting is the most important step of all.
