With all the conflict in the world and the strain on supply chains, it’s no surprise that you’re worried about the future. You want to ensure you and your family have the means to survive if you can’t count on modern conveniences.
You aren’t alone in your worry, either. Reports show that the number of preppers in the United States is expected to reach 10% of the population.
Are you concerned about the future and think becoming a prepper is your best option? Use the guide below to learn how to handle survival preparedness successfully.
Start Slowly
It’s easy to go overboard when you begin prepping. You want to prepare as soon as possible, so you buy as much as possible. However, doing this is a mistake.
Be sure to start slow when you start disaster prep. You may make mistakes in the beginning. You want to be able to find these quickly and avoid paying more for products you don’t need.
As time goes on, you’ll gain experience and be able to spot the best products and ways to prep. This process is more straightforward when you don’t have many bad products to manage.
Prep for Different Time Periods
There are different amounts of time you can prep for. In today’s world, you’re more likely to go without basic resources for shorter amounts of time. That’s why the most common way for preppers to get by is to buy products for a few weeks.
If you want to go further, you can prep for extended periods without infrastructure. The next step up is food and water for around one year.
After that, you can prepare for even longer periods for cases when society breaks down. In cases like this, you’ll need to build systems that help you sustain yourself instead of relying on stocking up at the store.
Create a Bug-Out Bag
Unfortunately, you may not be able to stay in your home if things get too bad. You can experience a natural disaster or another problem that requires relocation.
It’s not always possible to plan these departures in advance. They happen quickly, so you have little time to prepare everything you leave.
That’s what a bug-out bag is for. This bag will contain all the necessities required to eat, drink, and stay protected when you aren’t home. Prepare one for everyone in your family.
Keep these in a location everyone knows, and be sure it’s cool and dry to protect the bag’s contents.
Protect Your Things
Even if you don’t have access to many resources in disaster scenarios, that doesn’t mean you don’t have access to anything. You may still have access to phone lines, the internet, and other modern conveniences. You need to protect these things at all costs.
Be sure you have protections in place for these things to avoid losing them.
Take your phone, for instance. If you need to leave your home, you don’t want it to get damaged in the process. You can purchase protective cases from websites like supcase.com to get an extra layer of protection.
There are many other things you can do, so explore all your options.
Learn Core Skills
Since you may not be able to rely on local resources in an emergency, it’s critical to learn how to take care of yourself. Your food and water supplies may not last long enough, so you’ll need to fend for yourself in the meantime.
Here are a few skills that are worth learning in case of emergency:
- Hunting
- Fishing
- Shelter construction
- Fire starting
- Water collection and treatment
- Gardening
These will take some time to learn, so create time every week to learn and practice these skills. You can even use some of them outside of emergencies to reduce your reliance on local resources and save money at the same time.
Build a Network
You can handle a lot on your own when you prepare. However, that doesn’t mean you need to stay on your own when there’s an emergency.
In bad situations, connecting with others is one of your greatest strengths. The more people you have, the more hands you have to accomplish tasks more quickly.
That’s why it’s important to connect with your local community. Get involved in town to make friends and learn what other people can handle. From there, you can create community networks that help people in bad situations.
If you get enough of these local communities set up, you can network with other communities to create aid networks that will help everyone get through trouble.
Invest in Power Generation
Unfortunately, some of the things you purchase for prepping won’t do much good if you don’t have power. You may be able to get by with manual tools. But you’ll make things much easier for yourself if you create a way to power tools.
One of the easiest ways to do this is with a generator. These devices will help you power many appliances at once, such as refrigeration and charging tools. Those alone are enough to provide comfort when the power goes out.
You can also invest in solar panels or solar-powered devices. This will reduce your reliance on the grid and still allow you to use electronic devices.
You’re Ready to Become a Prepper
It’s not easy to look at everything happening in the world. You see constant conflict and issues arising from people not getting along. It’s no surprise that you want to protect yourself in the future.
Luckily, there are some things you can do when prepping for disasters and political disarray. Use the guide above to become a prepper to protect yourself when a disaster happens.
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