Thus far we have discussed the most common reasons to get prepared and the frame of mind that is needed to start preparing. This week we will begin forming your priorities list either in your mind or on paper.
There are at least two lists that I want you to think about. List one is which emergencies you are statistically more likely to face. Here in Alabama the most common emergencies are tornadoes, snow/ice storms, power outages, drought, and even hurricanes. These are just the things that are naturally occurring. Personal emergencies can include job loss, sickness, injury, or death in the family.
A priorities list whether mental or written will help give you devise an action plan. The plan will be to take simple steps to getting yourself and your family more prepared. You have already taken two important steps if you have been following along. You realize that there are reasons you should be getting more prepared and you have at least started working on a survival mindset.
Now I hope you have started thinking about the most likely emergencies that you could face. When I first started writing this post, we were under a tornado watch. The watch turned into a warning and I actually wrote part of the article while in the local tornado shelters. Due to some technical difficulties the original article was lost. That is the reason that the post is going out a little late.
General Priorities list
I would like to take a moment and introduce you to the rule of three.
A priorities list whether mental or written will help give you devise an action plan. The plan will be to take simple steps to getting yourself and your family more prepared. You have already taken two important steps if you have been following along. You realize that there are reasons you should be getting more prepared and you have at least started working on a survival mindset.
Now I hope you have started thinking about the most likely emergencies that you could face. When I first started writing this post, we were under a tornado watch. The watch turned into a warning and I actually wrote part of the article while in the local tornado shelters. Due to some technical difficulties the original article was lost. That is the reason that the post is going out a little late.
General Priorities list
I would like to take a moment and introduce you to the rule of three.
In a dire situation you can survive three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food.I know that there are extenuating circumstances that will change the above statement, and that each person will be a little different, but the point is still valid. These are the basic things you need to stay alive. I also believe that if you cannot breathe, instincts will take over and try to rectify the situation.
Water, shelter, food, security, and transportation are needs that require thought. We all know that we need water, food, and shelter but security is one thing that a lot of people never think about. The reason that so many people never even consider security is because as long as nothing Bad ever happens a person can live a very long time and never have to worry about security.
I am also not going to go into shelter because if you are reading this you most likely have shelter.
My Priorities
My priorities will line up a little differently.
- Getting to my family. Depending on what happens and when. I may need to either make it back home, meet at a pre decided location, or go to where my family members are. I tend to be the one who stays calm no matter what is happening. My wife might argue too calm. My First objective is to get to my family alive and well and to make sure they are alive and well also.
- Food. I know according to the list above that water should be first. Let me explain to you why it is not first for me. First, where we are there are water towers so even if the power is off and for some reason the backup generators are down, there will still be several days of water. We also have a well on our little homestead, I can make a way to get water.
- Basic Energy. Basic energy can be anything from flashlights to a whole house generator. But if you are like I am you don't have $10,000 to drop on an emergency system. Right now for us our backup energy consists of a propane camping stove, charcoal grill and charcoal, battery powered lanterns, flashlights, and oil lanterns. I am sure I have left something out.
- Water. You must have water to survive. Plain and simple.
- Security. I must be able to keep my family and our property safe.
- Transportation. I know that transportation is covered some in Getting to my Family, but we also live an hour outside of a major metropolitan area. If things get real bad I want us to have a way to get out of here with everything we need.
I know I haven't covered any of these topics in depth, but over the next several weeks we will.
I hope this series makes it easier for you to have:
Rural Dreams and Homestead Wishes
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