A prearranged plan is easier, safer and more effective than reacting “from the hip” in what is by definition a life-or-death situation – especially in a multi-person household or business.
Without a plan, you may have people going in as many different (and opposing) directions as you have people going. Because of this, making a disaster plan is vital to good preparedness.
Tips for a Family Disaster Plan
Just working up a plan may cause you to consider something you wouldn’t think of in an actual emergency. For example, a person blindly fleeing a fire might fling open a door; a person who has planned and drilled will know to feel the door for heat first.
Your community may have suggestions, probably even a plan; will you have time to review and follow it during an emergency, and to make sure your plan meshes into the community’s?
Today’s planning may lead you to action that later saves lives later. Which is more likely, that you wake up one morning and decide to buy a fire extinguisher, or that you wake up one morning and decide to work up a plan, which leads you to buy a fire extinguisher?
This attitude may also lead you to larger preventive actions, like a building inspection that shows potential safety hazards – which you can then eliminate.
When you know where to go, you’ll get there sooner. Even a split-second taken deciding where to go adds at least that split-second to the time that passes before you’re there, safe.
You should leave most “response” to professional responders, but simple first aid and CPR are skills everyone should learn.
Have an emergency kit in your home, and another smaller version in your vehicle.
People become separated in disasters; have a contact each of you will try to reach as soon as possible after your life is no longer threatened.
Why is no plan provided here? Each home and business is unique; only you – in consultation with experts like your insurance agent – can write a truly effective plan for that home or business.
Like having a disaster plan, having an emergency kit is as crucial as it is a function of common sense. How long does it take to throw together a couple of dozen items – versus grabbing a bag from a planned spot?
Basic staple #1, food: at least a three-day supply of water (i.e., a gallon per person per day) and of non-perishable food that does not require cooking.
Basic staple #2, shelter: you may either lose your home or access to it for some time. Your home won’t fit in your emergency kit, of course, but you can include a list of places you can go instead – homes of family/friends or pre-identified community shelters; using the former eases the problems of the latter.
Basic staple #3, clothing/hygiene: at least one change of clothes per person, as well as shoes, bedding and toiletry supplies. As for what you’re wearing, remember that many disasters happen at night – you may be wearing your pajamas.
Address any special needs in your emergency kit. Examples: spare eyeglasses, medicine (or, to prevent loss through spoilage, a list of prescriptions you can fill on the run) and baby and pet supplies (remember that many shelters will not accept pets).
Power and information are often in short supply in disaster, so take them with you: batteries, flashlight, battery-operated radio.
Some small tools – a rope, a wrench, pliers, a hammer and nails – may prove useful.
Even in disaster, it’s hard to live without cash. In fact, without access to your own kitchen, it might be better to say “especially” in disaster. Keep some cash or a credit card in your kit.
Once sheltered, you may be surprised at how quickly you become bored. Some reading material in your emergency kit is more important than it seems.
Keep a smaller version in your vehicle. Why smaller? Not only is a car is smaller than a house, if you are in your vehicle you are usually mobile; if so, logic dictates you will go somewhere safe – eliminating the need to live out of the kit.
Any person who has begun to seriously prepare has had to make compromises between current wants and future needs, how much to spend on preparations, and how many people to stock supplies for. If you’re married, you need to have a spouse that shares your concerns or you’re going to fight over every no. 10 can the mailman delivers.
I don’t need to go into detail on how much you should store, or how to store it or what makes the cut on your list of lists, as survivalblog.com has visited this issue in depth.
The purpose of this article is to help communicate the need to prepare with those in your family that you want to help without alienating them, or downgrading your own preparedness plans. Learning how to deal with family that doesn’t understand prepping is as important as learning how to prep
I am a professional firearm instructor, and am also employed full time as an emergency management planner. Due to my job, my hobbies, and my personal beliefs, my former mother-in-law delighted in trying to insult me by calling me “Sgt. Tackleberry”. She was unreachable, and not worth my effort to try to convince her of the importance in prepping. She would rather buy timeshares of vacation property than spend money on a basic 72 hour kit. That works for her, and I cannot judge her, but she would not be “come live with me if it ever did happen” as she believed. Other members of my family have thought my preparations were a “phase” or some harmless idiosyncrasy.
Those family members did not have a negative view of my preparations. Historically my family looked at my preparations with amusement. They tolerated my teenage experiments with wild foods or earthquake kits. As I have grown older, and they have seen things on the horizon that personally touches them, they have begun to ask me for my opinion on coming winter storms, or should they buy gold or guns.
It’s like being a firearm instructor and people asking you which gun to buy. If you do your homework and build credibility people respect you more. If you take the long view and work diligently these members of your family could be “converted” with patience and work. While I cannot assume responsibility for them and make them prepare for disasters, I can be a role model and sounding board to help them understand the issues at play so that they can build a plan that works for them.
If the world as we know it collapses, it’s not only about survival. Once your survival needs are met, you’re going to have to rebuild, your going to have to continue with your life. Having your loved ones with you makes that a lot easier. The problem is that each person I add to my retreat lowers my safety margin IF MY SUPPLY AMOUNTS REMAIN FIXED, but if those people I add to my retreat bring their own supplies with them it dramatically increases my safety margin. To me it is definitely worth it to help your family prepare. Getting your family to understand prepping is vital to long term security.
I have a few concepts that I use when dealing with family that doesn’t understand prepping.
My first precept of dealing with family is not to preach. My preparations are based on my needs and the things that I believe are important. Each person has their own priorities, and preaching that you are right and they are wrong only pushes them away from the direction you need them to go.
My second is never to prepare for a particular event. I am sure there is still a lot of rotting food out there that was bought in bulk specifically for Y2K and some of those that bought it are convinced it was a waste of money. I tell my family that my food storage can be used for Y2K, Armageddon, TEOTWAWKI, Pandemic Flu, Nuclear Winter, Job loss, or when I just don’t feel like cooking. By having an all hazards approach and building capability and skills rather than building for specific events my planning work gets more bang for the buck. The first time I read of the Deep Larder was an “Ah Ha” moment for me and changing my terminology has worked well in changing the response I get from my close loved ones.
My last precept of helping my loved ones see the need to prepare is that if I have limited resources and time (and that’s a given) that is better to foster an appropriate mindset than concentrate on gear acquisition. I could buy my mom a Springfield Armory M-14 and 10,000 rounds of match ammo, but it would be much more effective to get her to go with me to the range a couple times with a .22 and help foster a desire to shoot and then help her choose a firearm that fits her needs and desires.
Whenever the family conversation gets around to disaster preparation I bring up concepts like “buying car insurance is considered a responsible action, but you don’t have any tangible benefit from buying it, if you never get into an accident. With having a deep larder, even if zombies never attack, I still have the food.” Or as Dave Grossman has said you never hear of elementary schools burning down but they all have fire extinguishers. My favorite is “Noah built the Ark BEFORE the flood”. I try to break everything down into manageable bites rather than cram it in and have them tune me out. All this is is disaster insurance.
The best case scenario is that your loved ones see the need to prepare for themselves and begin planning and preparing on their own, therefore augmenting your plan. You cannot out argue someone into adopting your position. As Dale Carnegie said “Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.” What has worked for me is a quiet and consistent approach.
I love my family and want what is best for them. The best way I know to do that is to help them become more aware of the need to prepare. My goal is to foster a since of self sufficiency and personal responsibility, and to help mentor them through the beginning steps of basic preparedness.
Imagine how overwhelming it was when you first began to prepare, there is a LOT to learn, and even more skills and equipment to acquire. We know that we cannot stock everything needed or prepare too much. The process of preparing is every bit as important as the items you acquire.
Researching and prioritizing is mental prep work so that when a large disaster occurs we are not comatose with emotional overload. If I coddle my loved ones and try to remove the responsibility to prepare for themselves from them then I am doing them a disservice, and when the hard times comes they may not be emotionally ready to deal with the collapse. What’s worse is that making them dependent on my charity would cause strain on otherwise healthy family relationships.
Because of this, I feel it is worth supreme effort to work with my loved ones to prepare so that we can grow together in adversity and make our family bonds stronger.
This Christmas I had my breakthrough, my parents asked me what they could do to prepare, and we had a very long discussion and came away with a workable plan. Their location is more favorable for a long term retreat than my own, and they are going to provide the location and storage space for most of my preps. We both win in the end. Shortly after that discussion our town had an unusually long cold spell. In the days before it we talked more about our short term plans and communication protocols and procedures. While we did not have to evacuate to my parents, it was nice having all the details ironed out in the event we had to.
All things considered being part of a Family That Doesn’t Understand Prepping is difficult, but if you are consistent, calm, and show (not tell) that you are doing this because you love your family then eventually they will understand.
Don’t let your prepping cause you to loose the reason you are prepping in the first place.
You might have seen this list floating around the internet. I don’t know who first created it. Nor do I know when. However, I thought it brought up some interesting points.
I took the liberty of reformatting it when I found it skipped items 14 and 15. Additionally, I added a couple to make 100.
One way or another this list of 100 things to disappear first is a good starting point when deciding what types of things you need to store in the event of a catastrophic disaster.
It also lets you know the types of things that everyone else will try to horde or grab during that last panic shopping trip.
Next, I also deleted some comments about how to use a few of the items. Mostly, because they were not detailed enough to be practical.
This list is not meant to be a purchasing guide. Rather it is to help you realize that when disasters occur, you might not have time to run to the store. Especially when everyone else is grabbing up these 100 items (and anything else they need).
Take this list with a grain of salt.
Please comment with any other items you think might disappear off the store shelves in an emergency.
Here is the List
Vitamins
Chocolate/Cocoa/Tang/Punch
Milk – Powdered & Condensed
Flour, yeast & salt
Garlic, spices & vinegar, baking supplies
Tuna Fish (in oil)
Honey/Syrups/white, brown sugar
Rice – Beans – Wheat
Vegetable Oil (for cooking)
Canned Fruits, Veggies, Soups, stews, etc.
Soysauce, vinegar, bullions/gravy/soupbase
Graham crackers, saltines, pretzels, Trail mix/Jerky
Popcorn, Peanut Butter, Nuts
Teas
Chewing gum/candies
Generators
Water Filters/Purifiers
Portable Toilets
Seasoned Firewood. Wood takes about 6 – 12 months to become dried, for home uses.
Lamp Oil, Wicks, Lamps (CLEAR oil is best)
Coleman Fuel.
Ammunition
Guns
Hand-can openers, & hand egg beaters, whisks.
Hand Tools
Charcoal, Lighter Fluid
Water Containers
Propane Cylinders
Survival Guide Book.
Mantles: Aladdin, Coleman, etc.
Baby Supplies: Diapers/formula. ointments/aspirin, etc.
Washboards, Mop Bucket w/wringer (for Laundry)
Cookstoves (Propane, Coleman & Kerosene)
Propane Cylinder Handle-Holder
Feminine Hygiene/Haircare/Skin products.
Thermal underwear (Tops & Bottoms)
Bow saws, axes and hatchets, Wedges (also, honing oil)
Aluminum Foil Reg. & Heavy Duty
Gasoline Containers (Plastic & Metal)
Garbage Bags
Toilet Paper, Kleenex, Paper Towels
Garden Seeds (Non-Hybrid)
Clothes pins/line/hangers
Coleman’s Pump Repair Kit
Fire Extinguishers
First aid kits
Batteries (all sizes)
Big Dogs (and plenty of dog food)
Matches. {“Strike Anywhere” preferred.)
Writing paper/pads/pencils, solar calculators
Insulated ice chests Workboots, belts, Levis & durable shirts
First, by knowing the 100 things to disappear first you can either ensure you have what you need
Secondly, you can have extras to set your self up with the resources to trade.
Lastly, If you decide to go the trading route, remember that when people have nothing, they may be willing to try to take from those that have something. Also from a bartering perspective small and portable is more useful than large and bulky.
In conclusion, when I first got into disaster preparedness, I stocked up on small 100 ml bottles of liquor – it was small and portable, large enough to be valuable, but not so large as it was expensive.
Personal preparedness means different things depending on who you are and what your situation is. To an inhabitant of the Florida Keys, preparedness means having items to outlast a hurricane. To a city dweller, preparedness might be having a can of mace in her purse. To a survivalist, preparedness might mean having a semi trailer loaded with M14 rifles buried in the back yard. Depending on the situation, any of these definitions might be appropriate. Whatever your situation, cultivating a personal preparedness mindset is the key to thriving in times of adversity.
Personal preparedness is simply knowing what dangers are likely to befall you and taking reasonable precautions to avoid or survive them. In today’s modern world, insurance is a required item. No one laughs at a car owner that buys a full coverage policy for his or her car. As a matter of fact, a driver that fails to insure their car is looked upon as irresponsible, sometimes even criminal. The same thing can be said about homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, life insurance, and health insurance. Today people take out money for retirement in the form of IRA’s, 401K’s, mutual funds and the like. No one faults them. Why is it then that someone who has a pantry of stored food, candles, a rifle or two, and ammunition for them is considered crazy or dangerous? Isn’t it a logical extension of the doctrine of insurance? After all insurance is merely a device to lessen the extent a disaster has on your life. If having an extra insurance policy for break-ins is smart, then the idea of someone breaking into your home is possible. If it is likely that someone might break into your home, then having a means to protect yourself is justified.
Each year natural disasters occur in the United States. When these occur, the news media rushes to the scene. It never fails that they show a relief organization van at the disaster site. Usually there is an interview with someone who is standing in line looking for help. The site is common; a desperate parent with a hungry child waiting for someone to give them some milk for their infant. Ratings soar and people feel sorry for this poor child. Consider this, areas prone to natural disaster are known. Floods happen on a regular basis. Places like Tornado Alley have been recognized and named. If the choice is made to live in an area like this and the basic precautions are not taken, then pity is not the logical emotion. Irresponsibility on the part of the parent caused the child’s pain; it only takes a few extra seconds to grab a couple extra bottles of formula. Why didn’t they take this simple precaution? They probably paid the cable bill. Does that expense outweigh the measly cost of a gallon of bottled water?
Organizations like the American Red Cross and the Office of Homeland Security suggest that each family have a few days of essential items to get them through an emergency. Doing this is not hard nor does it have to be expensive. No one says that preparedness means having a years supply of freeze dried steak in a concrete storage bunker. Simply buying a can or two of extra food every time you go shopping is enough. Buy an extra box of garbage bags, some extra toilet tissue, or any item you have to have. Store it in a box under the bed, or in the closet. In hardly any time at all, you will soon have a store pile that will give you not only an added measure of security, but also a sense of well-being. Rotate this stock out. As you eat a box of macaroni, buy another. Forget that you have four boxes on your kitchen shelf. This causes you not to feel over burdened financially to support your prepared lifestyle. It also keeps your store fresh. An added benefit is that your safety net is familiar to you. In the stressful time of disaster, you don’t have the added stressor of eating unfamiliar foods chosen not by your appetite, but by their shelf life.
It is easy to lecture on what items are needed. Lists of essential items depend on lifestyle and location as much as physical needs. It would be irresponsible to dictate what equipment your family would need to survive without knowing you or your situation. You must sit down and decide what your family’s priorities are, and from that list correlate your family’s needs.
It is not important what others say or think of you. It is not even recommended to tell your neighbors you find the need to be prepared for life. Does it matter if they think you are crazy for stocking up added groceries? Will it matter if your children or spouse suffer because you want to keep the good graces of the people 2 doors down?
Any person who has begun to seriously prepare has had to make compromises between current wants and future needs, how much to spend on preparations, and how many people to stock supplies for. If you’re married, you need to have a spouse that shares your concerns or you’re going to fight over every no. 10 can the mailman delivers.
You might have seen this list floating around the internet. I don’t know who first created it. Nor do I know when. However, I thought it brought up some interesting points.
Personal preparedness means different things depending on who you are and what your situation is. To an inhabitant of the Florida Keys, preparedness means having items to outlast a hurricane. To a city dweller, preparedness might be having a can of mace in her purse. To a survivalist, preparedness might mean having a semi trailer loaded with M14 rifles buried in the back yard. Depending on the situation, any of these definitions might be appropriate. Whatever your situation, cultivating a personal preparedness mindset is the key to thriving in times of adversity.