So let’s take a look at some of the main steps for how to protect your home and survive a SHTF crisis. You’ll probably find a calm and analytic approach may even save your life, if you do your planning well in advance.
1. Start by Assessing What You Need
If you haven’t made an inventory of what you might need in a crisis situation, it’s never too soon or too late to do so. Evaluate your needs, and see what you don’t have. Do you have enough batteries for radios and flashlights, got yourself a hand crank lantern? Do you have a portable generator in case the power goes out? Have you prepared a place to stock up on food rations and water?
All these considerations have to be kept in mind. Make a list of all the necessary survival tasks and supplies, and then do your best to check every item on that list as soon as possible.
2. Get Your Home Ready
Installing new strengthened windows, strong metal doors and a sturdy fence can be among the best means of keeping your home safe in a SHTF situation. Additionally, you will want to replace all outside locks with some heavy-duty deadbolts and prepare a few secret hiding places that friends or family members can use, if they find themselves outside at a bad time, possibly even having to run away from an angry mob.
3. Top Up on Supplies
When it comes to food, make sure you get supplies that will last for a long time. Cans of soup and meat are a great idea, and you should also get stocked up on cans of peas, beans, pickles and other vegetables. If possible, avoid buying large quantities of white bread and food that tends to go bad after a shorter period of time. Instead, consider getting your own flour and preparing survival bread by using one of the numerous recipes you can find online, although truth be told, if you cannot get by without bread when you have ample other foods stored, then you are going to struggle!
4. Instruct Your Friends and Family Members
Even if you don’t have all the supplies and weapons you need, you can gain a great deal of assurance simply by instructing family members and friends on what to do in an emergency.
Consider setting up a code for easy communication or a special knock to avoid opening the door to looters. Also, instruct your children to stay in areas you designate for their safety. They should keep away from the windows. Teach them to communicate immediately if they hear strange noises.
5. Keep Up with the News and Emergency Broadcasts
You’ll need to have a minimum amount of electricity allocated to radios and phones. It might be the case that your phones are not working and the likelihood of an internet connection will be slim at best.
However, an emergency radio can be great for keeping up with emergency broadcasts and getting the scoop on what’s going on outside, when you have to sit tight, and when it’s safe to go out.
Before a crisis happens, always check the most important local and nationwide news bulletins. You can even set up a Google alert on your phone. That way you’ll be alerted if a SHTF situation is at hand.
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.