Think prepping all the way thru to completion
Been a while since I've written an article here but after viewing many, less than
helpful youtube videos, I thought it was time to address a major prepper issue.
While there are many quality videos on many subjects, most stop before putting the information into play
in real life. But let's start with just a basic outline of what you should be looking at
even before putting prepper things away. In short, a basic "What you need" list.
This list will depend completely on your situation but will apply to most preppers.
So, let's start with just a basic list and go from there.
Food
Water
Cooking
Shelter
Heat
Power
Lights
Protection
The list seems pretty straight forward and many are already well ahead of the game
with their preps but have you taken the next logical step in being prepared?
I'm not going to hit each individual thing on the list as there are chapters on
this web site to address those items but lets just take a couple and think it thru.
Cooking:
Seems simple enough subject but is it?
Do you have multiple ways of heating food? Do you have adequate fuel for the long term?
Does your stored food require a lot of energy to cook? Rice is probably the most energy wasting food there is.
(Minute rice is the exception)
Look at your stored food and think about just what you'll need to cook each item. How much fuel it
will use to heat.
A can of chunky soup can be heated over a simple sterno heater. A few ears of corn will require lots
of heat for a long period of time.
20lbs of rice sounds like a great idea for long term storage but only if you can cook it.
Using a propane stove to cook a can of soup when a sterno can will do it is wasting energy
best used for something that requires it.
Have at least 3 ways to cook in mind.
The point is look at your preps with a critical eye as to how you'll actually prepare the foods you've stored.
More info on cooking can be found at Cooking Ideas
Power and Lights:
I like to relate the story of someone who went out and purchased a generator to power his
home and well.
Only to find out the generator he bought did not produce the 220 volts his well needed. 110 volt only.
Even worse, even if he'd purchased the correct generator, he had none of the cords and connectors
he needed to use it.
In a disaster you're not just going to run out to Home Depot and pick up parts.
This is a prime example of thinking an item completely thru before knowing you're prepared.
AND putting it into practice to see if there is a flaw in your plan.
While generators are almost a must have for prepping, they do require fuel.
There are other options so you can limit
their use sucn as solar or inverters.
I have a generator dedicated to just running the well
for a short time to replenish my water supply.
Other wise I use a low wattage 110 only geneator for small items
or recharging batteries.
I use a 750 watt inverter to charge my laptop and cell phone and a couple of low watt LED lights.
For more info see Generators and Inverters
The point of this post is take each individual item on your list and make sure your plan
is fool proof.
Don't make the mistake of thinking, "that could never happen". If you've left a hole in your plan, you'll know about it soon enough.
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