Preparedness baby steps…….

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Visiting some websites you can get the feeling that if you do not live on a huge farm, off-grid, 3 years of food storage, massive garden, farm animals, and military platoon ready for action – that you are not prepared.

This might be true if Earth is being invaded by an evil alien force.

It just makes sense to have “extra stuff” on hand to help with different situations. Kid gets cut outside playing? No problem – you have a well stocked first aid kit. Money running a little tight? The vegetables you picked from your small 4′x8′ foot garden will help. Can’t make it to the store and you are in need? Just go pull some toilet paper from your extra supplies.

If you cannot afford to go buy a years supply of food at all once as well as a few AK-47′s – just take baby steps. Small purchases will add up over time.

Here are a few suggestions:

Every trip to the grocery store – buy a couple extra cans of “something”.
Every trip to your local department store – spend that .67 cents on a gallon of spring water.
Look on Craiglist for FREE or very inexpensive stuff like water barrels, plant pots, gardening tools, freezers, wood stoves, grills, etc. You may be able to find some really good supplies that would be useful additions to your preparedness stockpile – for FREE.
Check yard sales for good deals on tents and other camping supplies in good condition.
Learn a skill. Spend some time on YouTube and other sights learning about gardening, hunting, fishing, how to use a compass, etc.
Wanna stock up on some .22LR ammo? Buy a box a week.
Buy some bleach – which is very inexpensive – can be used for a variety of things such as disinfection and helping to make water safe to drink.

My point here is do what you can. A little at a time is MUCH better than nothing at all.

Rourke

Tags: survival planning

Supplies, Survival & Preparedness | Rourke June 25, 2011

5 Comments to “Preparedness baby steps…….”

By Badvoodoodaddy, June 25, 2011 @ 9:04 am

Very well put Rourke. I think that some poeple get a little overwhelmed by some of the sites out there. Starting out is usually the hardest part because you kind of have to train yourself into the survival/preparedness mindset. Once you understand that it is for the health and safety of your family in hard times then it almost becomes automatic. Great post and very good info for the beginner. Also a great reminder for those of us that have been doing it for a while too.
By dj, June 25, 2011 @ 10:59 am

You are absolutely right John. As long as you are marching forward, thinking ahead, preparing for the worst, and living within or below your means…you are doing the right thing. Like many on this webpage we believe in preparing, we know that our country is facing a serious economic crisis and like good, liberty free loving people we want to take personal responsibility for ourselves, family and friends. We know that our government is NOT the key to our survival or success.
Again, you are doing great things to get people started and it should be done with “baby steps” so as not to bankrupt ourselves like our government is doing to our country!
Thunder 7
By Ben, June 25, 2011 @ 12:17 pm

Excellent post Rourke.

Another good item to add to the list is bartaring. You would be surprised how many people will barter with you for services. This past week I hauled away some stuff for an elderly neighbor and he paid me in firewood. I drove about a mile or two to drop off some items at a Goodwill and he gave me enough wood to fill up half of my Ranger pickup. I told him it was not necesary but he insisted so I gladly obliged. I think I got the better of the deal but he was glad to get rid of his “stuff”. Another example would be trading goods for goods. Like anything, bartering is also a skill to work on and learned. If you get good at it, you will be surprised at what you can accompllish with this skill. I am quite certain we will need to learn how to do this in the near future.

Ben
By Robert, June 25, 2011 @ 12:58 pm

It helps to remember that no single prepper was born with a stash of supplies. We all had to start at some point, and we all had to start at or around zero.

Don’t compare yourself to people who have a six month, or even a ten year head-start on you. If one is consistent, you’ll make progress. After six months, you’ll be that much more ahead of someone who is just starting out themselves.
By JeanneS, June 28, 2011 @ 3:25 pm

I needed this reminder right now! My husband is freshly out of a job today (another is lined up, but we don’t know exactly when he’ll start working there) and I’m pretty nervous about us making it on my paycheck alone while still being able to put back anything at all for preparedness. We have some decent food storage, and a very small garden, but I don’t feel as though we are anywhere close to being as prepared as we should be. I guess I need to focus on just buying an extra package of toilet paper with each trip to the store, and start checking Craigslist & yard sales again. Thank you, Rourke!