Sometimes prepping seems pretty straightforward, but it can get confusing the more we get into it. The most significant piece of advice I can give is RELAX. Preparing can seem daunting at first, and there is no end to the fear tactics to get you to "buy now" or "You won't survive if you don't do this."

When we first realize that preparing ourselves and our family is important, it can be a little scary and exciting at the same time. It can be scary because one thing or another usually leads us to prepare.

It could be something that changed our lives personally and uncovered areas that we need to improve in, or it could be the fact that everywhere we turn now, we hear about someone or something that could harm us.

This could be just me, but it's a little exciting also because I know I have the opportunity to increase my chances and ensure the safety of my family as much as I can. Excited might be the wrong adjective to use, but it does give me a feeling of satisfaction and security knowing I did what I could, and every day I am making my family stronger regardless of what happens.

In the beginning it can be frustrating though. You start out by stocking up on some extra food, storing some water and buying a few supplies, but as you dig deeper into preparedness you begin to realize that to become completely prepared you need to do more than you thought you did. Pretty soon you have a little of this and a little of that, but you really aren’t prepared for anything.

I say it all the time but it’s true, prepping is like building a house. You need a good foundation to build on before you start putting up the walls and the roof. A quick shelter will protect you from the elements for a little while, but eventually it will come crashing down. Building a strong fortified home will protect you and your family for years to come.

I remember when I first started, I stocked up on some food and water, I got my bug out bag ready and started working on adding to my supplies. The excited feeling I had quickly turned to an uneasy feeling as I learned more about preparedness and realized that while I was “kind of” prepared, I wasn’t “really” prepared for anything.

It’s really easy to start getting pulled in every direction and forget what your main goal was in the first place. We have natural disasters like tornados and earthquakes, we have bigger disasters like EMP’s and terrorism and all of these could lead to Martial Law or a grid down event.

Everything I would read about these different events would tell me about something else I needed to be prepared for that event. Pretty soon my brain was swimming and I didn’t know which direction to go first. At this point I only saw two options…

1. Rob a bank and buy everything I could.

2. Stop getting pulled in every direction and focus on one area of preparedness at a time.

I decided on option two because prison didn't fit into my preparedness plan. Instead of trying to juggle five balls at a time, I would pick one and drop everything else until I was completely done with my first goal. To do this, I had to become comfortable that it was impossible to get everything done right now, and doing what I could was better than nothing at all.

I have had quite a few people ask me what they need when they first start prepping, so this course will list general supplies you should begin with. There is no "one size fits all" preparedness plan, but if you start by getting the basics taken care of, you can personalize your supplies as time passes.

This sounds strange, but to do this you must completely forget about all these different disaster scenarios and focus on the basics. Trust me, this is easier than it seems, and you won't get blindsided, even though it might feel like it.

Remember when you first started learning how to read? Nothing made sense; everything looked like Chinese, and you would never get it. As time passes, you begin to put some words together and soon read a Dr. Seuss book. The same goes for prepping; you can't expect to be able to read War and Peace if you can't even read Green Eggs and Ham.

My point is, don't set unrealistic expectations for yourself. If you set the bar too high, you will never get there. If you take the time to build a ladder and take it one step at a time, you will get there in no time.

The first step you need to take has nothing to do with supplies; the first step is to figure out a prepping budget and determine what you can spend without going into debt.

When you are building the foundation of this preparedness house, it's not about how pretty it is yet. A foundation is an ugly slab of concrete that needs to be put in place to ensure that everything you put on top of it stays where it should be for years to come.

The Six Areas of Preparedness

Everything you do from now on, whether preparing for a week or a year, needs to include the six areas of preparedness; these are...

- Food
- Water
- First Aid
- Shelter
- Security
- Sanitation

These are the building blocks of any good preparedness plan. How you prepare in these areas will depend on your personal situation, but they must be included in every preparedness plan.

Stockpiling food and forgetting about water puts a massive hole in your preparedness plan and makes it ineffective. Having food and water without a way to secure it also puts you at risk. Having all these supplies does no good if someone can take everything you have without any repercussions.

While it's impossible to protect everything we have, we can take steps to make it harder for someone to take advantage of us. Criminals are opportunists and will take advantage of the easiest targets first.

The Rule of 3's

This might seem obvious, but it must also be in your mind when creating a preparedness plan. The rule of 3's in any extreme situation is…

- You can go three weeks without food
- You can go three days without water
- You can go three hours without shelter
- You can go three minutes without air

Again, this might seem pretty straightforward, but it's just as important as the six areas of preparedness. Without water, it doesn't matter how much food you have.

As I said earlier, focus on things other than disasters first; get your affairs in line and start working on a foundation you can build on. 

As you climb this ladder of preparedness, you will find that in just a few months, you will be more prepared than you ever dreamed of. You might even find that you are more prepared now than you thought.

Some of you might be further along than others. For the sake of making sure everyone gets the most out of this course, I am going to start from ground zero. 

If you are further along, this will be a good refresher; if you're beginning, this will be just what you need.

Get In Touch

As always, if you need anything or have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with us. And If you still need to do so, make sure and join the online MAG (Mutual Assistance Group) we set up for members of The Bug Out Location.