What Will It Take For You To Be Prepared?

I’ve seen the writing on the wall for a long time.

 

From the housing bubble years ago, to the 2008 economic crisis.

 

Wide spread flooding in our area twice in less than five years.

 

There have been wildfires, flooding, and earthquakes.

 

Now it’s the pandemic (which I think they (gov’t) are going to drag out for as long as they can), then another huge hurricane in Southeast Texas and Louisiana (where I live), and more wildfires in the west.

 

I don’t know about you, but I am DEEPLY concerned about our future, and I want to be ready.

 

Do you?

 

If feels as if all of these events are  culminating as a sort of test to see how prepared we are for something bigger to come.   Each event should be a lesson on what one needs to change and do better to be prepared for the next natural, economic, or any sort of crisis or disaster.  Really, one can never be FULLY prepared for something because you never know how it is going to play out; but you want to be as close as you can.

 

I believe that preparedness has instilled in me from the get go as a child and I have my parents to thank for that.  After all, my Grandmother always told me to have on clean underwear in case I was in an accident.

 

All kidding aside, I know my mom often reads my blog posts, so if you are mom, I am eternally grateful for the skills you and dad instilled in me.  From gardening, animal care, canning, saving money, to a myriad of other things; y’all done good.

 

Hurricane Laura is the latest for us.  We have continuously been preparing for some sort of disaster, whether that is economic or natural.  This time we had to basically evacuate a homestead, not an easy feat.

 

I promised y’all I would give you some pointers on how we got prepared to do this.  Some of these are for evacuation, but in this day in age, who knows what the world might bring us.

 

So here goes: 12 tips to help you prepare for your next emergency 

 

1. Make sure all your laundry is done-Who knows when you will be able to clean again.  It’s all fun and games until you have to wash your clothes in the tub.
2. Fill up water bottles and clean, empty containers with water to freeze-These can be used in your cooler as ice to save money and then as they defrost, you can drink them.
3. Charge all battery operated tools and flashlights
4. Fill up all cars and gas cans-My dad has always told me that I shouldn’t go past ½ tank. Unfortuetly, I don’t always follow this advance, but I filled up days before evacuation.  A lot of times there is a run on gas stations before an evacuation.  There is a chance that they could  run out of gas.  Plus, if the disaster is bad enough, trucks may not be able to get into deliver more gas.
5. Have cash on hand-I would say at least $1000 if you can. We both had car trouble when we got to where we were evacuating to.  My car AC went out and my partner’s check engine light came on.  Luckily, we had cash.  Sure you could use a credit card, but what if there is no internet or power.  Plus, you want this cash for when you return.  The power and internet was out in several places upon getting back, and businesses were asking patrons to use cash when possible.
6. If you have animals, buy a month’s worth of feed for them-I know these sounds like a lot, but you never know what the situation is going to be like when you return. The supply chain could be broken, or trucks may not be able to get into your area.
7. Bring medication not only for people, but also pets-I had a basket full of herbal and homeopathic remedies. You may not be into this, but makes sure you have at least a first aid kit and things like aspirin, band-aides, and Neosporin.
8. Pack guns and extra ammo-There are crazies out there, NUFF said.
9. If you are pretty sure power will be out when you return, empty all freezers and fridges-You DO NOT want to return to a freezer with thawed meat that has been sitting for days. It’s just GROSS!  Plus, you may have to throw it (fridge/freezer) out because you can’t get the smell of death out of it.  We bought a huge cooler and saved all the food we could.  Everything else was tossed.  It killed me, especially since I had frozen goat milk for soap making and chickens and ducks we just butchered.
10. Have a predetermined place that you will go– You DO NOT want to be scrambling for a place to go, especially if you have animals. Hotels will fill up fast during an evacuation, and you may end up going further and paying more for a room than you would like.   We made arrangements with family about 4/5 hours away that had a farm where we could keep the animals.  We even waited till the last minute to determine if we were going to leave.  Having this predetermined place helped us to feel more secure if/when we decided to leave.  If you can’t take your animals with you, make sure you know of someone or some place you can safely leave them.  We had to leave some animals behind, and you may have to also, I get that, and you will not receive judgment from me if  you ever have to do that.  I did a Facebook LIVE helping you prepare your chickens and livestock to weather the storm if you have to leave them.  You can watch that HERE.
11. Want to save some of the meat in the freezer?-I knew a few days in advance that we might evacuate. I cooked up several whole chickens and made some soap that I froze.  This all went into the cooler.  You can also cook up your ground meat and freeze. These can be defrosted and used as meals later on.
12. Have a bug out bag ready to go-This bag is made up of at least 3 days’ worth of food, clothing and toiletries for each member of the family. It’s intended to be ready to grab and go at a moment’s notice.  This way, you are not scrambling to pack or forget anything.  It’s true that you may be able to get supplies where you are going, but then again, you may not.

 

There are some skills I have learned over a lifetime, others I have had to learn on the fly.  Here are a few that I HAVE learned and continue to learn.

1. Learn how to use a chainsaw-I used to go with my dad to cut wood as a kid, so I learned how to use a chainsaw pretty early on. It sure has come in handy with all the down trees after hurricanes.  Yes, ladies, you can learn to use the chainsaw to help out.  Believe me, it feels good to be a badass sometimes.
2. Learn how to use basic tools like a saw, screwdriver, hammer/nails, etc.
3. Learn how to preserve foods-dehydrating, freeze drying, canning, freezing….we do all of these here on the homestead.
4. Learn how to use herbs and wild botanicals medically.
5. Learn other medicines other than conventional medicine, like homeopathy– I have just started getting into learning this side of medicine. It has been around for centuries, but hasn’t been widely accepted.  I have come to realize that there may be a time and place that I just can’t get my family to a doctor or animals to a vet.  Around here, there are no vets that specialize in goats, so a lot of diagnosis is left to me.  It’s time we take our own health and the health of our family into our own hands.  I am by no means saying that we should NEVER go to a doctor, but we must be prepared for a time when that may not be an option.

 

Don’t think that you have to learn everything all at once, that is way to overwhelming.  Take a skill, learn it, use it, and move on to the next thing.

 

 

Most of all do not let fear or uncertainty take hold.  This is a mindset skill that we will all have to work on.  Our thoughts lead to actions.  If we act out of fear and/or uncertainty, we will not make the best of decisions.  We will all need a clear mind when a crisis arises.

 

This  is by no means an exhaustive list of what we do, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you.  If you would like to know other things we do, just let me know.

 

Do you have any skills or things your family does to get ready for a disaster or for when the SHTF?

Comment below and let’s have discussion.