5 Easy Things You Can Do in One Weekend to Become Better Prepared

Posted on July 31, 2013 by aptprepper

Getting started with preparedness can be overwhelming. Most people immediately focus on how much gear they need, and how much they don’t have. Then you worry about how much this is all going to cost and where the money is coming from. It does not have to be like that.
Here is a list of five easy and free activities you can do this weekend, and you will instantly be a lot better off in terms of preparedness than your were last weekend:
1. Go “shopping” in your own home. Take a small box or laundry basket with you and go through your home. Look at all closets, and boxes in the garage. Pick up all items that will come in handy for the next emergency. Find flashlights, matches and lighters, camping lanterns, sleeping bags or even just extra blankets, old battery operated radio, extra toilet paper, trash bags, etc. Even forgotten gift cards with a few cents left can help with your prepping efforts. All too often, people forget what they already have lying around. When going through this exercise, I myself have discovered items I had forgotten about including gifts I may have received, gift cards I could actually use then next time I need something.
2. Clean empty soda bottles and start filling them with water. To disinfect a bottle, just add a teaspoon of bleach to a gallon of water. Rinse the soda bottle with this, then rinse well with tap water. Fill it up with tap water, use a permanent marker add a date on the bottle. This way you will remember when the bottle was filled. You can also partially fill some of the bottles (leaving a few inches room for expansion) and freeze them. You will have ice to keep the freezer cold at the next power outage.
3. Backup your Cell Phone Address Book with a Hard Copy I used to store all phone numbers in my cell phone, except for a few that I had memorized. One day I was talking to my brother and the cell phone ran out of battery life (I know, I wasn’t very prepared that day). I wanted to call him on a land line when I realized I could not remember his phone number, and the cell phone would not turn on until it was sufficiently charged. Luckily it was a short term situation. I backed up all my contact numbers into an old address book the next day. I know it’s a chore but one day you’ll be glad you have it.
4. Plan multiple routes out of your city and write them down. Most people rely on the phone for directions, or on GPS devices. In an emergency, you may not be able to access the electronic maps. Why not plot out various emergency routes out of your city or town now, while there is nothing going on. Find routes via car, or on foot or bicycle. Get familiar with the street maps and write down directions to get out. Or better yet, try and get a free paper map from your auto insurance or roadside assistance company. Keep the maps in your car’s glove box or emergency kit.
5. Choose one survival skill and practice doing it. You can try filtering and disinfecting water, making a fire, assembling a tent, learning CPR by watching an instructional video, etc.
There are lots of things you can do to be prepared that are not too time-consuming or expensive. It just takes a willingness to learn and a commitment to prepare consistently.