If you are new to the idea of Preparedness, there can be a lot to learn. There are all kinds of levels of Preparedness, from the small (having 3 days of emergency water on hand) to the medium (having a well stocked Pantry with a few months worth of food) to the large (having a few years of food on hand) to the extreme (building a panic room fully equipped with gas masks, weapons and enough ammunition to wipe out any Zombie).

Have you ever watched “Doomsday Preppers”? I watched it for the first time last week, when I found it while channel surfing. To me, those folks are extreme in their thinking. That being said, when a huge crisis hits, they’ll be sitting back with plenty of food and weapons on hand. They’ll be eating their MREs with one hand while picking off zombies with the gun in their other hand. Now that I think about it, do you need special bullets to kill Zombies? I am not sure.

Prepping has got a bad rap amongst a lot of people and it’s not helped when tv shows like DP are on. Of course, they choose the extremest folks they can find, in an effort to boost ratings. Prepping has its place and frankly I wish a lot more people did some prepping! Why people look only to their government to help them in times of crisis is so shortsighted in my opinion. Stop looking to others to help you out of your emergency and be proactive and look out for yourself!

If you agree with the idea of Peak Oil, surely you must agree with the general principles of Preparedness. Even if you disavow Peak Oil, how can anyone go wrong with being somewhat prepared for emergencies?

Ever had a power outtage that lasted a week? Has your community ever gone through a “Boil Water Advisory”? These are just two examples of events that can, and do, happen. The farther you live from the city or even a town, the higher your chances of having extended power outtages. Well, I guess that is true only if you live in an area where there are lots of trees to take down the power lines.

Way out here in the Cariboo bush, we have had power outtages lasting over a week. Having a generator certainly helps, not that we run it all the time. Having a full pantry and Cold Room helps a lot as well. If you have full freezers and the power goes out, what is the best thing you can do to keep your food from thawing out? DON’T open the freezers AT ALL. Not even once. Throw a thick blanket or comforter over the freezer and leave it alone! Only if the outtage lasts for more than 3 days, will you need to fire up the generator a couple times a day for an hour each time.

Perhaps the most beneficial thing to us in keeping food on hand is that we simply don’t have to go to town. To go to town is a 40 minute drive each way for us – we make the trip once a week, basically so I can get the weekly newspaper, pick up our mail, and go out for lunch. When we’re in town, we pick up anything we may need for the following week. If we get home and realize we forgot something, too bad. It goes on the list for the next week’s trip.

There is nothing we love more than being at home. We have plenty to do around here and that keeps our days full and active. When we start to run out of things to do, we go fishing and usually end up planning the next project while we’re out on the water. Being prepared for us means that we have more freedom than most people. We can do what we want, usually when we want. Well, except for golfing, it’s pretty hard to do that in the Cariboo winters.

We don’t worry about having to go to the grocery store or convenience stores to pick up processed crap that really we shouldn’t be eating anyway. Hungry? Open a jar of home canned Lamb Stew or make a pizza with home canned sauce.

So, there are lots of reasons why people can really benefit from being a Prepper on some level. Now if you do believe in Zombies, you probably need more detailed information that I can provide. There are lots of websites out there, just do a Google search.

This book, the Prepper’s Long Term Survival Guide is a fantastic resource you will use over and over again. Keep a hard copy of this book!

• Bare minimum storage requirements
• Principles of preparedness
• Common Mistakes in Food Storage

and so much more. 

When an Emergency strikes, be prepared! You can slowly start building an inventory of food, medicines, lighting and all of that. Just start thinking about it and every month, add something to your Preparedness supplies. Emergencies do, and will, happen and the more prepared you are, the better you and your family will be.

So, how prepared are you? A little, a lot or not at all?