Looking at the state of the world, it is more important than ever to be prepared. Terrorism is mounting around the world. As their stability fails, Rogue states like North Korea become more dangerous – and North Korea has nuclear weapons. The neglected US power grid is vulnerable to a solar flare that could wipe out electricity for a decade throughout most of the country. The climate is changing – calm down, it has been constantly changing for 4.5 billion years – and that could lead to major storms or disasters of even greater scale. Imagine the confusion when the US wheat crop has been destroyed by a freak rainy spring. That’s a real risk; it’s happening right now in France – but France can replace their crop with imports. We just can’t.
Danger and uncertainty surround us and it would seem frankly strange not to be prepared for the worst. Unfortunately, on the internet there are plenty of flimsy prep tips floating around. It is exciting, but shallow.
Here are a few more in-depth suggestions on how to begin the planning.
#5 Sort the basics first
Most to-do lists seem to start with “Go to Walmart and purchase a truckload of rice.” Why is not very obvious. What are you going to do with that when you get it home? The first thing you need to do is to prepare to be prepared. Identify a food storage, somewhere that is secure, sheltered, dry and cool. Some people prefer storing food in a cellar or dugout, which is nice to conceal but makes storage more difficult. Make sure your store is safe from rodents. Set up a storage system in there-ideal for strong shelves. It is important to keep your food store organized: you will need to recycle products, use and replace older pieces. The more organized you keep the less waste you will have and the more ready you will be.
Related: 12 Essential Food to Stockpile Before It’s Off the Shelves
#4 Go to Walmart and buy a truckload of rice
Now that a proper food store has been sorted out, you can start to store it. As for life and bulk storage, dry goods are supreme. You can store canned or packaged foods worth a few weeks, but you can easily be self-sufficient for months or even years with dry goods. Start your food reserve with 20 pounds of rice and 20 pounds of dried beans (white will last longer in storage). Between them, these two will give you a solid carbohydrate and protein reserve, and you can use them as a basis for a whole range of recipes supplemented with seasonings, canned or dried ingredients, and food that you have harvested from nature.
The next things to add are powdered milk, cooking oil and rolled oats. Add some bulk herbs and spices-you can use what’s already in the kitchen in an emergency, but it’s also good to have a proper reserve. Don’t forget the main seasoning – salt. Get at least five pounds of that. You can add pasta, dried vegetables (this is a perfect excuse for having a dehydrator and vacuum sealer), and of course more rice and beans as you push on.
Related: 7 Ways to Use Rice in a Survival-Type Situation
#3 Don’t forget the water
If law and order break down, forget to rely on your faucets for water. It will continue to flow for some time, but would you trust it for drinking and cooking? You have no idea whether it is still being treated properly and it could even be intentionally compromised by terrorists or lunatics. Aim to be as independent as possible.
The bare minimum is keeping a drinkable water supply in containers. The recommendation is a gallon per person per day for survival situations and once you allow food and washing that is not a generous amount. Get some five gallon containers-at least four-and fill them. Fill them and periodically refill them.
Next, look at ways in which water becomes more self-sufficient. If you’ve got a well already you’re sorted. Otherwise, consider a catchment network of rainwater. When you have a nearby stream or river you might create a large water filter and run a pipe from the stream to it, providing you with a constant supply of filtering. Be adaptable, but find something – without water, your shelter is unsustainable.
Related: Top 20 Places to Hide Your Survival Water Stockpile
#2 Sort out your toolkit
Most of us have some kind of toolkit around the house, but you need to make sure it’s ready for anything if you want to be prepared. You will need a good carpenter’s hammer at least, a heavier ball peen hammer, wood saw, and hacksaw. Other essential elements include a monkey wrench, tape, square and level measurement. Cordless drills are great, but it’s also good to have a hand drill – what if your generator goes away and you have to make a replacement part? A set of good screwdrivers is vital as well-don’t rely on an electrical one. Make sure you have wrenches on your vehicles and equipment to suit all the bolts, too.
Stock up on basic materials, as well as equipment. Any plumbing fittings are nice to have-pipes, joints, etc. A few electrical cable spools can be used for repairs or projects, and if you need fine wire, you can even stripe and detach the cores. Also support are basic lighting fittings, switches and other components. Stock up on timber; 4×2 and plywood have many uses.
This may seem obvious but many preppers are neglecting their tools. They’re not as exciting as guns, but the chances are you’ll use them much more often in a long-term disaster scenario.
Related: Five Emergency Survival Tools
#1 Think defense
Yet guns are also important. You’ll need to be able to hunt, possibly control predators and defend your property, stores and lives against looters or desperate refugees in the worst-case scenario. That means you can count on weapons, and the supplies to keep them running.
There is no particular point in having lots of guns – and they become an enormous liability if they are in different calibers. Get the weapons you need, then spend the money on ammo or reload parts instead, if you’re tempted to buy another one. A gun can be maintained and repaired; it has gone away once ammunition is fired. Reloading is a great idea and can stretch your supplies, but even then it will not last forever for your reserves or propellants, bullets and primers. You need to start to get a lot of ammo.
If you can afford just one firearm, get a 12-gauge pump action. The Remington 870 is always a popular choice – its reliability is valued by military around the world. A shotgun is the most versatile weapon you can own, as it can handle a wide variety of games as well as being an awesome weapon for home defense. It is far superior to a small-caliber rifle like an AR15 for preparation.
A good hunting rifle is supposed to be your second weapon. Bolt or semi auto is perfect, and the ideal caliber is .308. Ammo is cheap and widely available, since you can also use 7.62 mm NATO. It also gets enough punch to take down almost any game. A pistol is a lower priority but it’s convenient to have. If you are buying one, go for a high-capacity 9 mm semi. Again, the ammo is NATO standard and easy to find.
Related: 15 Best Guns for Preppers
Magazines are a weak spot in any weapon that uses them. They may get lost or damaged and eventually springs weaken. This is one advantage of pump shotguns and bolt action rifles – they are not as dependent as semi autos on magazines. Get as many good quality magazines as you can, and take good care of them for any guns that need them. Then get some spare guns. All good things to have are firing pins, springs, and backup sights. A chipped firing pin will turn any weapon into junk-to replace it, you need the parts, tools and skills.
Focus on building up stocks of ammunition. Following a big collapse ammunition would be more precious than gold, so you probably don’t want to run out of this. Get a selection of shells for the shotgun, from bird shooting to rifled bullet. Quantity is the most significant factor in rifle and handgun calibers; inexpensive military surplus beats expensive ammunition, simply because you can purchase more. The difference in the goal effect between cheap and fancy ammunition is marginal but it is an extra shot.
