Ready for Life

There are tons of tips, guides, diy articles on survival and preparation on the Interweb. I even list a few on this site. They come in all flavors. Find what works best for you and your level of needs as YMMV (Your mileage may vary) for each set. Below is a practical approach to planning for everything from economic hardship to tougher natural disasters such as my hurricane prone Southern states.

1. Don’t believe everything you read. Check that at the door. 90% of the information you read is good but every once in a while something goes around that is just complete fanaticism or unresearched rumour and if you apply any of the information you could get into serious trouble or unintentionally cause harm.

2. Be frugal or conservative in your spending. If you don’t have a need for an expensive item or any knowledge how to use that fancy piece of gear, then you don’t need it. There will always be something better that you could use that will cost a lot less and may be easier to use. Do you need the latest roof-top car rack for driving in inclement weather or will an inexpensive set of straps and water-proof garbage bags inside old duffel bags work in a pinch? If you HAD to make do, would you figure something out or leave it behind? I imagine most of us would figure something out. So, buy when it is necessary, not just cool.

3. Start small and work up to the large scale planning. As you gather some stuff and knowledge, you will know what you need and what you don’t. Start with an easy walk out the door backpack or basic supplies if the power went out for a day. The initial cost to your budget is minimal. I managed this in an easy weekend and rummaging through my house and garage for most of it. Once this was done I had the minimum of what was needed. Then you can start on items for a longer period of time.

4. Make all of your plans work for you and your family. If your spouse and children are not 100% on board than you may have to think of their needs and prepare for them. Not fun. Especially if it involves children in a stressed situation. Try to engage them by making preparations fun. The first time you have a major power outage or severe storm and everyone is in a panic, calmly break out some of your basic convenience items and assure everyone it will be okay and to stop worrying. You will have quietly won the battle for future steps.

5. Make friends. You can’t do it alone no matter how prepared you think you are. Knowing who you can count on will be worth their weight in gold. Know your neighbors and take the time now to introduce yourself and learn their habits. Can they be trusted to return a shovel on a regular weekend? Can you trust them when the power has been out for three days to work side-by-side to clear the street of fallen trees after a storm? Knowing ahead of time will make it easier on all involved.

Local businesses are also valuable allies when crunch time comes. This can make the difference when it comes to getting that needed item that you neglected to get when things were good. Be generous with the shop owner and render any help he or she may need. Never ask for anything in return for your help. People who are grateful will thank you and will remember you. A lasting impression goes along way when the time comes when you may need the help.

6. Lists, lists, and more lists. You will go insane trying to keep track of everything without a list. If you are an electronic list maker, print that stuff out! If the power goes out or the hard drive gets damaged, it won’t do much good. Label boxes with what is in them by tools, first aid or such. Not everyone knows what’s in a bag or box if they didn’t help pack the bags or boxes.

7. Assemble a good Library. One of he best places to find what you need is all of those used book stores. Don’t be snubbing old books because of the print date. Some of the classic books teach proven principles on repairing homes, plumbing, basic first aid, basic gardening, etc. Some ideas don’t really change.

8. Check your RSS feed daily. I can’t say enough about this one. Just trust me on this one, it is a must. You can’t visit every site to see what is updated every day. Stay on top of information or it will control you. Even missing it a couple of days and you will be sitting in front of your computer for a few hours trying to catch up on your reading. This will cost you time when you could be doing other things.

9. Take each day and read, study and apply your practical and planning knowledge. Read a book on any subject that can help you to survive or learn more. Learn a skill and perfect it, so you can use this skill. Learn things for practical everyday living, not just how to start a web 2.0 business.

10. Learn what you need and use what you learn. Practice, practice, practice makes perfect. Go camping for a weekend in your own house. What is it like to live without electricity for a weekend? What did you need that your forgot? What did you think would be a life saver and you never unpacked it? You won’t know until you put yourself and family through the pace. Practice.

There is more and other lists. As mentioned, there are even more lists and guides on this site. This is just a basic approach to thinking about planning. Follow it, apply it or change it and make it work for you and yours.