How to Be Prepared Before You Need to Be
I have been prepared for just about any SHTF scenario for most of my adult life. When COVID-19 happened, I was able to survive without going to the store every week. Part of why I started my blog was to help you to be prepared before you need to be.
When you are prepared, you don’t have to stress or be worried when something happens. So, today, I am going to share with you some great ways to start being prepared!
Be Prepared Before You Need to Be
Life happens and we don’t always know what is going to happen. The key to being prepared is thinking ahead. Here are some ways to start doing that!
What Could Happen?
The first thing you need to do is think of reasons why you would need to be prepared. Each person is going to have to prepare differently depending on their circumstances, where they live, and what could happen in their area.
For example, I prepare for several situations that could happen which include: fires, flooding, earthquakes (I live in an area where they are frequent), and pandemics. Maybe you have wildfires, earthquakes, or blizzards where you live.
Think of the things that can happen where you live, and check out my blog to help you with preparing for different scenarios. Here are a few good posts you may want to check out:
- How Can You Be Prepared for a Tornado
- Things to Stock Up On Before a Hurricane
- How to Emergency Prep for a Winter Storm
- When the Power Grid Fails: Things You Will Need
Start Preparing!
Once you have figured out what you need to prepare for, start doing it! No matter what natural disaster or SHTF scenario could happen, you will need some basic necessities, such as food and water. If you haven’t started prepping, I would encourage you to read my post “Prepping For Beginners: A Guide to Get You Started.”
Be Prepared with a Garden
Another great way to be prepared for the inevitable is to be self-sufficient. Right now you can buy things all day long at the store, and you can have a year of food and water saved up, BUT what happens if you can no longer go to the store? You have to know how to grow at least some of your own food.
Start learning how to get that Green Thumb! If you haven’t grown your own food before, I would suggest reading “The 8 Easiest Vegetables to Grow for Beginners.” Additionally, you look at what food grows best where you live by month and zone. I have done all the work for you in these posts:
- What To Plant In January
- What To Plant In February
- What To Plant In March
- What To Plant In April
- What To Plant In May
- What To Plant In June
- What To Plant In July
- What To Plant In August
- What To Plant In September
- What To Plant In October
Be Prepared With Water Sources
The truth is, we can have water stocked up and stored and have enough for several months or longer, but if we can’t purchase more, we have to know how to get it on our own. If you are just starting out, read “How to Store Water For Drinking and Cooking.” In addition to storing water, you need to know how to find water sources and how to make water safe to drink. To be prepared before you need to be, I suggest reading the following posts:
- How to Make Water Safe in an Emergency
- How to Find Other Water Sources in an Emergency
- Emergency Water Storage How to Store It
Don’t Forget to Stock Other Essentials
Food and water are what you need to stock first! You can’t live without food and water. However, you also want to be prepared with other things you may not think about. Here is a list of other items I would recommend having a stockpile of for any SHTF scenario:
- Personal Hygiene Items: This includes toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, condition, soap, and for women pads or tampons.
- Cleaning and sanitizing supplies: Bleach is number 1! Not only can you clean anything with bleach, but it can be used to make your water safe to drink.
- First Aid Kit: You may not have access to a doctor, which means you need supplies to stop bleeding or even some surgical supplies.
- OTC Medications: You probably aren’t a chemist and wouldn’t know how to create these medications. So, it is important to stock up on medications like Benadryl, fever reducers, and cold and flu medications.
- Paper products: If you can’t wash dishes, you will want things you can burn or throw away. Things like paper plates, plastic knives, forks, spoons, and cups are good to have on hand.
- Toilet Paper: We all know how quickly the stores can be wiped out of toilet paper. That is often the first thing to go in an emergency. So, stock up now when its available! Also, learn to make reusable toilet paper.
Think about Bartering and Trading
This year, we have seen a coin shortage which tells me, we may be trending towards a cashless society. I always keep cash hidden and out of the bank for any SHTF scenario, but that doesn’t mean that at some point it will be useless.
Therefore, it is always a good idea to think about ways you could barter or trade to get what you may need without cash. Please do have cash hidden somewhere in case you can’t get cash out of the bank. But, also, know how to barter and trade. Here are some posts to get you thinking:
- How to Survive in a Cashless Society
- 10 Ways to Save Money Using Cash
- How to Barter with Food and Water
- Top 50 Items You Need to Have in Order to Barter
How to Be Prepared Before You Need to Be
Final Word
When it comes to being prepared, we may not think of everything, but the more we prep, the better we will be in any situation. Being prepared isn’t just about preparing for a major disaster or collapse, it’s about being prepared even for situations that can come our way, such as a job loss, personal health issues, death of a loved one, etc. Remember, luck favors the prepared. May God Bless this world, Linda
Copyright Images: Beneath the Asphalt Deposit photos_49226117_s-2019
Good morning All. Great post, Linda! We all need to be reminded to prepare for whatever can happen in the area we live in. I need to be working on our list of what we have and what we need.
Hi Deborah, we do the best we can, right? One step at a time. Linda
Yes, one step at a time. One hour, one day, one week, etc.
This year is a tutorial about why we need to be prepared. My mother knew this, she grew up in the great depression. She was living with me, when my friend and I were putting things together for storage. She asked what we were doing, and I answered “We are putting things up in case there are bad times”. She sure understood this.
It is arrogant to think that we couldn’t have something that would cause us to be, (at least temporarily) without things we need.
Thank you Linda, for all you do to help us be prepared!
Hi Janet, I went to Costco yesterday to pick up a prescription, oh my gosh. I had Mark go get the prescription while I walked to the back to see how supplies were holding up. Oh my gosh, it was comical! They limited the toilet paper, paper towels, and kleenex to one package per member. Well, I parked my cart to observe, and what a show I witnessed. One guy was yelling at another guy that he couldn’t have two packages of TP. You don’t need that much to wipe your butt but he didn’t say butt. Wow, I saw some anger management issues right before my eyes. I can laugh about it because I have plenty of TP. I live in Southern Utah by the way. Just FYI. I would hate to see what would happen to that guy if he didn’t have food for his family. I think a few people are starting to understand about being prepared. This is why we prep ever so quietly. Stay safe, Linda
Another good article, Linda. My husband went to our local Sam’s Club last week to pick up a couple of grocery items and walked back to see if there was any TP. We don’t need any but he was checking. There was NO toilet paper and NO paper towels. That whole area was completely empty. I have noticed people being a little more panicked when they shop for groceries. I ran in to get milk last week and there were several at my Wal Mart who had grocery carts heaping full of food. One woman was pushing a cart AND pulling one, both piled with groceries. People just seem to be uneasy about the future…
Hi Paula, I agree with you on the uneasiness of the future. It’s interesting to see these empty shelves. Crazy times, Linda
Uneasy about our future!! So true. I just watched a video put out by the governor of Washington State. We are now again limited to what and where we can go, size of groups outside our household; stricter self isolation/quarantine, etc. These new restrictions are not nearly as stringent as they were back in March 2020 but stronger than they were a couple of months ago. Sure hope he gets a post in Washington DC with the next president’s cabinet (it is a good possibility!).
So, with all that being said, I am feeling secure in what I have stocked up on. Oh-I want to get some things to make holiday candies and other goodies (I have some but want to get more!). I don’t need TP/paper towels/tissues. As for tissues, I have some paper but I also made reusable handkerchiefs a couple of years ago so I am not worried about getting tissues and I cut up several old t-shirts and hemmed them on my serger for rags so I don’t feel the need for paper towels. I can also use those rags for a substitute for TP if needed. I also have a good supply of cloth napkins. I am trying very hard to cut down on the number of disposables that I use – not just because of the pandemic though.
I have also stocked up well on cold/flu necessities like herbal teas, cough drops/syrup, vitamin C and Zinc. So I feel well prepared for that.
HI Leanne, I’m leaning more and more toward cloth products. Several years ago I bought cloth paper towels that work out great. We use them as napkins as well. I kept a lot of my cloth napkins in case we want to use though as well. You and I are about as prepared as we can be. Now we need this election stuff over. God bless this Country! Linda
I saw that video by your govenor-who-would-be-king Leanne, and it sounds like he and Cuomo are studying the same playbook. Our hope is to send Cuomo to Washington if God forbid, the worse happens. Our pantry is in good shape and short of some Christmas candy to complete the advent calendars, I am half done with the Christmas shopping, and hope to finish in the extra week, if I can get my kids to co- operate and let me know what they want. I am secure and content with where our preparations are at this point. Stay safe and healthy everyone.
Chris ~
The frightening thing is if our governors (make that many of the governors of the US) all go to Washington DC, that might leave us with even more distressing state leadership! to say nothing of the federal leadership. Perhaps it would be best to keep the devil we know about and not have to worry about someone worse!
Christmas gifts for my grandkids will be here early next week so I will be done with Christmas shopping once they arrive.
Prayers go out for all of you in New York!!