Emergency Preparedness - Get your home ready

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The first thing we need to focus on when prepping is our home. This could be a house, apartment, RV; any place you call home. I think people focus too much on "Bugging Out" when they should be focusing on "Bugging In". I really don't like those terms anymore but I will use them since people will relate to them more. First, we will focus on shelter, water and food since they are the most important elements in survival.

Shelter
By default this area is already accomplished since you are protected from elements. Survival time frame without shelter is 3 hours (General rule).

Water
Survival time without water is 3 days. The general rule is that a person needs 1 Gallon per day. That is for hygiene, cleanliness and consumption. Now for how much you really want to store is going to be very different for each person. People that live in dessert environments will want to keep a lot more on hand then say people who live in areas were it rains often. Also how many days worth you should have is going to be a personal preference. Me, personally, I feel very comfortable with a month's supply. If things aren't back to normal in a month's time then they aren't going to be.

Water Storage
If you have a permanent residence, I recommend getting 55 gallon or higher water storage containers. For my apartment, I use 7 gallon water storage containers and cases of bottled water. Also I highly recommend a tub bladder. If you think the water is going to shut off you put it in your bathtub and fill it up. It will hold over 100 gallons of water and comes with a pump. As for treating water, tap water should already be treated. You can boil water to disinfect it or purchase products that will accomplish that.

Food
Survival time without food is 3 weeks. Note: after the first couple days without food your going to experience significant decreased functionality. So even though you wont die you will be having a rough time without any food. Calculate 2,000 calories a day per person when creating your stockpile. Again, how many days worth you should have is going to be a personal preference. I keep a month's supply of food on hand.

Food Storage
An important note when stocking away food is make sure it's food you eat on a regular basis or at the very least you eat it occasionally. Some good choices are rice, pasta, tomato sauce, tuna fish, canned meats and peanut butter. I didn't mention soups because they contain so much sodium. I tested my food stock once I had a month's worth to see how I would feel going off only that for the most part. Trying to eat soup just 2 times a day really messed me up. So it's a good thing I tested it and no longer keep soups on hand. It's the same with peanut butter but I still choose to keep some handy since it is so delicious and packed with lots of protein. The rice, pasta, tomato sauce and tuna fish worked great for me. Storing this type of food is extremely easy. You can just make sure you pantry is jam packed. If you don't have a large pantry then I recommend tiered shelves from a hardware store. They have so much to choose from. Me personally, I bought large 4 tier that's around 6'x6'. Completely full it easily holds a months supply of water and food. A very important note here, make sure you have a means to boil water and cook food that doesn't require electricity but at the same time not being able to have a fire. An alcohol stove is the perfect solution.

Security
I have mixed feelings about this area. The reason is if you decide to be on the advanced side of this it will change you way of life. For example; do you really want to be the guy who has a fortress as his home with booby traps, 60 guns and a hundred thousand rounds of ammo? Maybe, but then society will look at you as a nut case. Plus now you are living a dangerous lifestyle. I prefer something like having one defensive and offensive firearm (Pistol and Rifle) as well has firearm training and compliment it with martial arts. Also, even though I'm not a dog person, they are a great companion and provide early warning alerts.

First Aid
A good place to start is to purchase any first aid kit. I'm so into first aid kits it was like I was collecting them. Then I finally broke them all down and made custom ones. The main things that they don't have and that I add are elastic bandages (After burning my hand and not having them I find these work the best for protecting wounds and are very comfortable), Flu mask (N95 and N100 are better) and blood clotting agent. Me, personally, I have a large storage bin full of supplies. Most came from first aid kits and a trauma kit I purchased. I added more band-aids, bandages, gauze rolls, N95 and Flu Masks, pain relievers, antibiotic ointment, hydrogen peroxide (#1 for cleaning wounds), 91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol, elastic bandages, blood clotting agents and a premade Pandemic kit . Also make sure you have some sort of first aid manual and training. If you take prescription medicine made sure you keep extra. If you wear glasses keep a spare pair. Also it is a good idea to have antibiotics handy. If you can't get a prescription for them then look into fish antibiotics. From the research I did they are the same exact thing and you can buy them without a prescription.

Emergency Supplies

  • Pets (Make sure you have spare water and food for your pets too!)
  • Blankets and warm clothes (100% wool work great. Also I have lots of space blankets. They are cheap, compact and work great as well. Make sure you have warm clothes even if you live in a hot zone).
  • Sanitation (Keep spares of everything you use daily for personal hygiene. For example; I have shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, wipes, hand sanitizer, and pain relievers in a storage container. Any time I run out I go to it instead of having to go to the store. Next time I'm at the store I replace that item.
  • Light (Flashlights, extra batteries, glow sticks and lighter. If you have candles that's fine but I really don't like them).
  • Radio (Hand cranked emergency weather radio)
  • Fire Extinguisher (To put out fires)
  • Tools (Any premade tool kit will do just fine)
  • Duct Tape (Multiple uses)
  • Garbage Bags (Put waste in)
  • Plastic Sheeting (Can be used to cover broken windows)
  • Zip Lock Bags (Multiple uses)
  • Cash ($300 in small bills)
  • Important documents (Keep your important documents somewhere safe and in one location. I keep mine in a fire proof box. I also have digital copies of them and back them up).

Final thought

The information mentioned in this article is at the core of what you should have. There definitely is more you can possibly need or want. I'm going to be posted very specific articles in the future related to these topics. In those I will be mentioning more advanced techniques and gear. Although, if you stop here you will be more prepared then 60% of everyone. You will be surprised the amount of people that don't even have 3 days worth of food or water, no duct tape, flashlight or first aid kit. Think about this, stop and picture yourself at home right now. The electricity is out and the water is turned off. Both are not coming back on for days. This is the same scenario within a 100 mile radius and the roads are gridlock because of people trying to get out of town. Do you even have water to drink?