Post by SA Hunter on Jul 20, 2015 21:40:53 GMT 8
thesurvivalmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/The-Quick-Start-Guide-to-Getting-Prepared.pdf
There’s just no telling when Armageddon will occur, nor is there a date scheduled, yet, for a zombie invasion.
Many people who have done very little to prepare and are wondering, “Is it too late?” You’ll know it’s too late
when your pantry is empty, right along with grocery store shelves, no water comes from your tap, there’s no
electricity, and fifty zombies are coming up your driveway. Until then, you have time to prepare! Here is The
Survival Mom’s Quick Start Guide for getting prepared in a hurry.
Step 1: Decide what you’re preparing for. This step will help clarify your focus and help you set priorities.
Step 2: Examine your financial situation. How much money do you have to spend on preparedness? If you’re
in a hurry to improve your family’s odds of survival, you’ll need a healthy amount of money on hand. Survival
Moms (and Dads) who have been at this a while have been able to spread out their expenses over many
months and years. Do not go into debt in order to be prepared. You don’t want to face an uncertain future
with credit card bills arriving every month. Do what you can with what you have.
Step 3: Food storage will be one of your main goals, regardless of what happens. Prices at the grocery store
are rising, containers are getting smaller, and it’s the consumer who is losing out. Do a quick inventory of your
pantry and see what you already have that can be set aside toward a one-month food storage goal. (One
month is the minimum storage goal.)
Step 4: Make a list of simple breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The ingredients should all be items that do not
require refrigeration in case of a power outage. These recipes should be simple and easy to prepare. In the
face of the apocalypse, do you really want to be slaving over a hot stove three times a day? I think not. By the
way, there’s nothing wrong with planning on eating the same meals over and over again. There’s also nothing
wrong with deciding that eating canned soup for lunch every other day is a good thing. You’re establishing
your back-to-the-wall food storage supply. The Famine Menu can help you stock up on the bare-bones basics.
Step 5: Make a grocery list of all the ingredients you will need to make your set of recipes to cover 31 days,
that would be Month #1, and then go shopping. If you can get your hands on coupons and can check the
grocery store ads for discounts, so much the better.
Step 6: Besides food, you’ll need cleaning supplies, laundry soap, extra prescription and over-the-counter
drugs. Your pets will need their own food and supplies. Print out a copy of my Costco TEOTWAWKI shopping
guide to help you decide what other supplies your family should have on hand.
Step 7: Decide how you want to safeguard your finances. The prices of gold and silver have been rising
steadily as the value of the dollar declines. Do you want to take a portion of your cash and purchase gold and
silver? Do you want to have cash on hand in case of a bank holiday or some other disaster that would prevent
you from using ATMs, money transfers, and other convenient bank services? Are you adequately insured? It’s
hard to tell how a national financial crisis would affect insurance carriers, but with a policy in hand, you’ll have
some recourse in case your home is vandalized, your car is stolen, etc.
Step 8: Water is vital to survival, but it’s unlikely that a chaotic economy would necessarily shut down water
treatment plants. All the same, if you feel you need to store water, you should store at least one gallon per
person per day. A family of four needs at least 28 gallons to meet their needs for a week. You can buy a few
cases of bottled water, but sturdier water containers are better. My own favorite is the lowly 2-liter soda
bottle, cleaned out and refilled with water.
Step 9: Make a plan for keeping your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter without the use of
electricity. Again, chaos in Washington D.C. doesn’t mean our power grid is in danger, but many natural
disasters and extreme weather events cause power outages. If government regulations cause energy prices to
rise drastically, most of us will be looking for ways to use a lot less electricity, even during a heat wave or
blizzard. You should have alternate ways of staying warm and cool, as well as ways to cook food and heat up
water.
Step 10: Don’t take the health of your family lightly. Increased turmoil will cause more people to seek help
from hospitals and doctors. Make sure you have a well-equipped first aid kit, have downloaded or purchased
a good first aid book, and, preferably, have recently taken a course in CPR and first aid. In a medical crisis, you
and your family might be on your own, at least for a while.
Step 11: We take transportation for granted, but you should have a secondary way to get around town. I
recommend a bicycle with either a small trailer or baskets. If roads are blocked, the price of gasoline
skyrockets, or an EMP renders your car useless, you’ll be glad you have at least a bike to get where you need
to go.
Step 12: Consider some worst-case scenarios. What if a financial crisis causes a drastic increase in crime?
What if riots and protests erupt outside your home or workplace? What if desperate family members show up
at your door in need of shelter and food? It doesn’t hurt to let your mind run wild and picture these scenarios,
and others, as long as you continue thinking and planning how you and your family might cope.
Step 13: You can’t learning everything there is to know about survival in just a few days. Check out my list of
30 survival must-have books and make a trip to a bookstore or the Amazon website. A good survival library is
worth its weight in $1600-an-ounce gold!
Step 14: How do you propose to keep what you've stockpiled? In other words, do you have a security system
planned? This could be an actual security system installed in your home, but those aren't fool-proof. Firearms
make sense, but do not purchase a gun unless you are trained in its use or are committed to taking training
classes and can frequently practice at a gun range. At the very least, your family should have a shotgun (12-
gauge is most popular although a 20-gauge will have less recoil) and a handgun (preferably 9 mm, .40 or 45
caliber). I cannot stress enough the importance of training and practice. How much ammo should you have
on hand? As much as you can afford.
Even if the end of the world doesn’t happen in the next few days, these Quick Start steps will turbo-charge
your preparedness and put you in a solid position to continue on. No one is every so fully prepared they can
afford to stop. There’s always something more to learn, one more thing to do. Be sure, though, to let your
mind be at peace, knowing you’ve made some important strides toward preparing your home and your family.
There’s just no telling when Armageddon will occur, nor is there a date scheduled, yet, for a zombie invasion.
Many people who have done very little to prepare and are wondering, “Is it too late?” You’ll know it’s too late
when your pantry is empty, right along with grocery store shelves, no water comes from your tap, there’s no
electricity, and fifty zombies are coming up your driveway. Until then, you have time to prepare! Here is The
Survival Mom’s Quick Start Guide for getting prepared in a hurry.
Step 1: Decide what you’re preparing for. This step will help clarify your focus and help you set priorities.
Step 2: Examine your financial situation. How much money do you have to spend on preparedness? If you’re
in a hurry to improve your family’s odds of survival, you’ll need a healthy amount of money on hand. Survival
Moms (and Dads) who have been at this a while have been able to spread out their expenses over many
months and years. Do not go into debt in order to be prepared. You don’t want to face an uncertain future
with credit card bills arriving every month. Do what you can with what you have.
Step 3: Food storage will be one of your main goals, regardless of what happens. Prices at the grocery store
are rising, containers are getting smaller, and it’s the consumer who is losing out. Do a quick inventory of your
pantry and see what you already have that can be set aside toward a one-month food storage goal. (One
month is the minimum storage goal.)
Step 4: Make a list of simple breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The ingredients should all be items that do not
require refrigeration in case of a power outage. These recipes should be simple and easy to prepare. In the
face of the apocalypse, do you really want to be slaving over a hot stove three times a day? I think not. By the
way, there’s nothing wrong with planning on eating the same meals over and over again. There’s also nothing
wrong with deciding that eating canned soup for lunch every other day is a good thing. You’re establishing
your back-to-the-wall food storage supply. The Famine Menu can help you stock up on the bare-bones basics.
Step 5: Make a grocery list of all the ingredients you will need to make your set of recipes to cover 31 days,
that would be Month #1, and then go shopping. If you can get your hands on coupons and can check the
grocery store ads for discounts, so much the better.
Step 6: Besides food, you’ll need cleaning supplies, laundry soap, extra prescription and over-the-counter
drugs. Your pets will need their own food and supplies. Print out a copy of my Costco TEOTWAWKI shopping
guide to help you decide what other supplies your family should have on hand.
Step 7: Decide how you want to safeguard your finances. The prices of gold and silver have been rising
steadily as the value of the dollar declines. Do you want to take a portion of your cash and purchase gold and
silver? Do you want to have cash on hand in case of a bank holiday or some other disaster that would prevent
you from using ATMs, money transfers, and other convenient bank services? Are you adequately insured? It’s
hard to tell how a national financial crisis would affect insurance carriers, but with a policy in hand, you’ll have
some recourse in case your home is vandalized, your car is stolen, etc.
Step 8: Water is vital to survival, but it’s unlikely that a chaotic economy would necessarily shut down water
treatment plants. All the same, if you feel you need to store water, you should store at least one gallon per
person per day. A family of four needs at least 28 gallons to meet their needs for a week. You can buy a few
cases of bottled water, but sturdier water containers are better. My own favorite is the lowly 2-liter soda
bottle, cleaned out and refilled with water.
Step 9: Make a plan for keeping your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter without the use of
electricity. Again, chaos in Washington D.C. doesn’t mean our power grid is in danger, but many natural
disasters and extreme weather events cause power outages. If government regulations cause energy prices to
rise drastically, most of us will be looking for ways to use a lot less electricity, even during a heat wave or
blizzard. You should have alternate ways of staying warm and cool, as well as ways to cook food and heat up
water.
Step 10: Don’t take the health of your family lightly. Increased turmoil will cause more people to seek help
from hospitals and doctors. Make sure you have a well-equipped first aid kit, have downloaded or purchased
a good first aid book, and, preferably, have recently taken a course in CPR and first aid. In a medical crisis, you
and your family might be on your own, at least for a while.
Step 11: We take transportation for granted, but you should have a secondary way to get around town. I
recommend a bicycle with either a small trailer or baskets. If roads are blocked, the price of gasoline
skyrockets, or an EMP renders your car useless, you’ll be glad you have at least a bike to get where you need
to go.
Step 12: Consider some worst-case scenarios. What if a financial crisis causes a drastic increase in crime?
What if riots and protests erupt outside your home or workplace? What if desperate family members show up
at your door in need of shelter and food? It doesn’t hurt to let your mind run wild and picture these scenarios,
and others, as long as you continue thinking and planning how you and your family might cope.
Step 13: You can’t learning everything there is to know about survival in just a few days. Check out my list of
30 survival must-have books and make a trip to a bookstore or the Amazon website. A good survival library is
worth its weight in $1600-an-ounce gold!
Step 14: How do you propose to keep what you've stockpiled? In other words, do you have a security system
planned? This could be an actual security system installed in your home, but those aren't fool-proof. Firearms
make sense, but do not purchase a gun unless you are trained in its use or are committed to taking training
classes and can frequently practice at a gun range. At the very least, your family should have a shotgun (12-
gauge is most popular although a 20-gauge will have less recoil) and a handgun (preferably 9 mm, .40 or 45
caliber). I cannot stress enough the importance of training and practice. How much ammo should you have
on hand? As much as you can afford.
Even if the end of the world doesn’t happen in the next few days, these Quick Start steps will turbo-charge
your preparedness and put you in a solid position to continue on. No one is every so fully prepared they can
afford to stop. There’s always something more to learn, one more thing to do. Be sure, though, to let your
mind be at peace, knowing you’ve made some important strides toward preparing your home and your family.