You need a plan to work from.
Bill Masen - February 16, 2021You need a Plan to work from, but it must be flexible
Many people drawn to prepping may be able to muddle through for a while but eventually they will need to develop a working plan to follow that will help them get better prepared and with the right kit and facilities in the best location.
First you need to consider your location!
Are you going to:
STAY WHERE YOU ARE and adapt your current home (Urban or Rural)
STAY WHERE YOU ARE whilst developing a remote bug out location
RELOCATE NOW or ASAP to a more suitable location
PLAN ON RELOCATING in the near future
Or perhaps choose a mix of the above, it is your choice but either way you need to have a working plan with options and alternatives.
What are you preparing for?
Pandemic ( like the Global Covid 19 outbreak)
Terrorism
Natural Disaster
Economic Collapse
Recession
Unemployment
Ethnic Unrest
Extremist Government
Power Cuts
Extreme Weather Events
Societal Collapse
or all of the above or something else.
You may be planning on surviving a specific threat and base your plans around that threat. Let’s say just for example you plan to survive in your present home from a risk from a massive terrorist attack. But what happens if you focus all your attention and resources on protecting yourself from that terror attack but before it occurs a natural disaster hits your country? Many of your preps may be wasted or lost as the natural disaster overtakes you because you did not have the right resources in place to deal with it and they were designed only to deal with the terrorism threat.
Ideally you really need to direct your preps in a general manner but with a focus or bias towards the specific threat you are most concerned about. Make your plans more generic and flexible so you can rapidly adapt to as many threats and risks as possible. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket or all your survival supplies in one location.
Resources
The logistical aspects of prepping can be very complicated but roughly speaking you need to consider the following:
What do you want?
What do you need?
What have you already got?
What can you adapt?
Where are you going to keep it?
Where can you get it from?
How long do you want it to last?
How long will it actually last?
Where will you get more from?
Can you make some more?
Does it do what you need it to do?
Can you get something better suited to do the job?
Can you afford it and can you afford NOT to have it?
Will it do the job you want it to?
How can I make it work better for you?
Is it in the right location(s)?
Is it safe and secure?
Is it legal?
Can you get to it in a hurry?
Who else knows you have it?
So what do you need?
A safe and secure place to live so a HOME / RETREAT is normally the first item, be it a house or apartment in the town or the countryside, how can you make it safer, more secure and more self-reliant or do you need to move home?
Once you have gotten as far as you can in the property choice department you need to consider issues like:
Food supplies (and food production if you deem it necessary)
Water supplies, purity, filtering, storage, transportation and security
Medical supplies including prescription medicines
Heaters, Cookers and Lights plus fuel supplies to provide heat and light and hot water, you need a heating and lighting system that is independent of the mains utilities and supplies / stores of fuels kept safely and securely to power the cookers, heaters and lights.
Clothing, you will need a range of suitable clothing and footwear of good quality and durability to keep you warm and protected from the worst weather your region can throw at you.
Tools and Materials to help you repair maintain and keep secure your home after the disaster strikes. You will need everything from flashlights to shovels, prybars to weapons to help sustain your family. You may also require tools and materials to allow you to start producing your own food supplies if the crisis is prolonged.
Transport, you may find that you need to maintain some sort of transport to enable you to bring in more food, fuel or supplies, and also be able to use it to escape in if your homes safety becomes unsustainable. You will also need fuel for your transport be it petrol for your car or hay for your horse, and a goodly selection of spares as well from fuses, bulbs, belts and tyres, to reins, tack and harnesses.
Communications, you most certainly need a few multi power sourced AM / FM / SW radios to listen for news broadcasts from the authorities or other survivors. And CB / Amateur radios if you are working with neighbouring families of preppers.
Energy, Consider a backup generator or micro wind turbine or solar panels or a combination of all three.
Books and Manuals on various subjects from improvised medicine to DIY repairs to growing your own food are wise investments.
Start now and make yourself a plan of action.
Special skills for preppers (or not)
Heinlein – Specialization is for Insects
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
Pops
Bob