Episode-483- 20 Simple Steps to Basic Preparedness

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Perhaps these could even be called baby steps and even so I bet even a few veteran preppers could do say 4-7 of them to improve what they have already done. I figured it was a good time to back up before I roll out with the RV for a long vacation and give people concrete action. Don’t worry there will be shows Wednesday, Thursday and a guest host on Monday, Friday this week is still sort of up in the air. By the way these steps are not in a defined order other than the first three which will help you immensely with the other eighteen.

Join me today as we discuss….

Step one – keep a food log
Step two – keep a spending log
Step three – perform a risk assessment on your life and geography
Step four – build a basic black out kit
Step five – build a basic first aid kit
Step six – start copy canning
Step seven – cut two expenses, just two of your choosing
Step eight – Build a basic 72 Hour Kit – BOB
Step nine – buy some source of back up power – any source
Step ten – get some source of back up heating
Step eleven – build two 7.5 gallon tubs or four 5 gallon buckets emergency food
Step twelve – store a minimum of 50 gallons of water, more if you can
Step thirteen – acquire a minimum or two emergency radios
Step fourteen – acquire some means of back up communications
Step fifteen – build a basic documentation pack
Step sixteen – build up a 30 day supply or commercial long term storage food for your house hold
Step seventeen – learn at lest 2 methods of food storage
Step eighteen – find a local farmer’s market and visit often, learn about seasonal opportunities
Step nineteen – learn to cook 5 items you have never eaten before with storable items
Step twenty – store up a reasonable amount of COH (cash on hand)
Step twenty-one (bonus) – affirm your right and responsibility to survive

Resources for today’s show…

Members Support Brigade
Join Our Forum
Common Sense Prep – (sponsor of the day)
Western Botanicals – (sponsor of the day)
Ron Hood’s Survival.com Magazine

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

I’m glad you did this show because even if you’ve already worked through most of these steps, revisiting this topic always shows new results for me and my family. We have eliminated a lot of debt and with this windfall of improvements in our finances, we let out a big sigh of relief.. then we did what we thought we wouldn’t do.. we started to spend more money- or I should say WASTE money. We had been so tight with the cash for so long, just having a bit of relief felt so good. Now that we’ve recognized the pattern we are falling back into, we are going back to square one.. journaling our spending and looking for ways to cut back on wasteful spending.

RE: My Documentation book is ever evolving. My latest addition is a roster of all of my neighbors’ names, addresses, phone numbers, some basic info about them like if I have an elderly neighbor who might need extra help in emergency situations, etc.. This might shock some folks (or maybe not these days) but I was able to collect a wealth of information off of the internet through our Tax Appraisal records that are posted online included who owns every piece of property in our county. I’ve also added notes about my closest neighbors like who likes to garden, people with specific useful trades, folks that I know are fellow hunters/fishermen/gun enthusiasts, those who have extended family who may join them in the event of an emergency such as children/grandchildren. It may seem trivial, but I feel like knowing this info in advance would be helpful if we were to have some type of breakdown of society.

RE: Right and Responsibility to survive – wow that hit me hard! I always felt I had a responsibility to survive for the sake of my family, but the right to survive for myself had totally escaped me. Thanks for the reality check.

Comments

Episode-483- 20 Simple Steps to Basic Preparedness — 4 Comments

Dr. Richard on July 28, 2010 at 10:19 am said:

Beer on hand is a great concept that I have used in the past to get help. I also stock bottles of Baccardi Rum and Jack Daniels bourbon. I’ve traded a bottle of Rum for plumbing help from a friend who is a master plumber.
Ray on August 1, 2010 at 8:20 am said:

Thanks for this episode, it’s helping me get back on track with my prepping. I just added a bare bones, but durable can-opener to each of my food bins, saving us from having to find one if/when we need to grab the bins and go.
Dene Brock on August 9, 2010 at 4:58 pm said:

I’m glad you did this show because even if you’ve already worked through most of these steps, revisiting this topic always shows new results for me and my family. We have eliminated a lot of debt and with this windfall of improvements in our finances, we let out a big sigh of relief.. then we did what we thought we wouldn’t do.. we started to spend more money- or I should say WASTE money. We had been so tight with the cash for so long, just having a bit of relief felt so good. Now that we’ve recognized the pattern we are falling back into, we are going back to square one.. journaling our spending and looking for ways to cut back on wasteful spending.

RE: My Documentation book is ever evolving. My latest addition is a roster of all of my neighbors’ names, addresses, phone numbers, some basic info about them like if I have an elderly neighbor who might need extra help in emergency situations, etc.. This might shock some folks (or maybe not these days) but I was able to collect a wealth of information off of the internet through our Tax Appraisal records that are posted online included who owns every piece of property in our county. I’ve also added notes about my closest neighbors like who likes to garden, people with specific useful trades, folks that I know are fellow hunters/fishermen/gun enthusiasts, those who have extended family who may join them in the event of an emergency such as children/grandchildren. It may seem trivial, but I feel like knowing this info in advance would be helpful if we were to have some type of breakdown of society.

RE: Right and Responsibility to survive – wow that hit me hard! I always felt I had a responsibility to survive for the sake of my family, but the right to survive for myself had totally escaped me. Thanks for the reality check.
Kent Arnspiger on October 22, 2010 at 4:15 pm said:

excellent steps to disaster preparedness. Some other items to include are water filtration units to create drinkable water for long term needs. Also, the idea of getting a few buckets of food storage is great as well. But, I would keep adding to this on a regular basis. Grabbing a few extra canned food items during your grocery store trips will soon add up to a significant reserve. Another step is to purchase pre-assembled survival kits. Please visit our online store for most of your emergency preparedness supplies (http://www.otgready.com).