To Prepare To...

A town in the mountains went without power due the wind and snow storm that we had last week. I want to share some things about this not to make this a post about a local story, but a post on how we should prepare for anything and everything.

Losing electricity during storms is a common occurrence nationally, but could you go without power for a week, or more? The folks in Cloudcroft, NM had to do just that as they were without power for several days. Sadly many ended up going to hotels, or coming down the mountain and living in a shelter set up in Alamogordo, NM. Crises come in all shapes and sizes and not every crises should require you bug out to another locale.

But ill preparedness does require leaving and most likely with no plan or direction.

Not every situation a prepper prepares for is of rogue government takeovers or the likes. Preppers prepare for things that naturally occur in their regions too. In fact, this should be your number one thing to prep for because each year we deal with the natural weather situations such as hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, and such. These will do more damage to more people annually. So this is the time to prepare.

Do you live where blizzards are a risk to you? If so, why not invest in a woodstove, as if you have one then you can stay in your home even without power. You can heat water to sponge bathe, cook, and heat the home. You will not have pipes freeze if your power goes out, and the family is not shaken up with the crises. It will not define you if you can maintain normalcy in your home.

Suppose you are on vacation to a resort island. Do you understand that tsunamis are a risk? If many a few years ago understood that a receding water line is NEVER something you should go out and see, the numbers of dead would have been less. The tourists were the ones that did this, as most did not live near coastlines and were ill prepared for what to expect if a natural disaster occurred.

Where I live, because of a construction site east of us(near the base of the mountains) it seems like we are going to have to deal with flooding because of man diverting a natural arroyo(wash). So preparing next year began this year. The animals are not going to be at risk like they were last year. We are planning for what we know as this is what prepping should be about. We should ascertain what is possible in the regions we live in and study resolutions and prepare for them. Basements are a must in the band of the country known as Tornado Alley. For those on the coasts- hurricane prep is a must. Not the week it is heading your way, but today, when hurricane season is over- this is the time to buy the plywood and materials to cover your windows.

Does this make sense? We must prepare for all situations that we are exposed to, first. Then we must have a few bug out places to go to if in a crisis we have to leave our homes.

As to having a bug out place chosen if all heck breaks loose and our economy tanks- well this is something entirely different. This is something that if you must do, prepare for now. How you prepare is not about how much you have in food storage or preps, but how you will adapt to leaving all you know to head to an unknown. Can you preserve foods? Can you grow foods? Can you butcher an animal? Can you build a structure? Can you find water? Can you protect yourself? These questions are critical to prepare for now. If you cannot do any of these things than you are ill prepared for a situation that may be a national crisis. The reality is that if a situation arises where you will be facing a meltdown nationally-you will need as much moxie and skills possible. I recommend that you prepare now by reading as many books as possible about the above listed items, and then trying to apply them in simple training lessons. I will write more later.

Jennifer