Less Overwhelm for Beginner Preppers

Maybe you just typed in “Prepping for Beginners” and realized the idea or practice of prepping can seem very overwhelming! A friend of ours encouraged us to begin prepping years ago, and while the idea seemed obviously smart, there was a zealousness to it that I didn’t think I had the time or money for. My kids were little and pretty much consumed both. Being a beginner mom and a beginner prepper seemed like too much.

I had a common mindset; bass-ackwards. Because the funny thing is I was ALREADY prepping in ways. I was already a beginner prepper and I just didn’t know it. Had I considered it that way, I might not have been so overwhelmed with the idea and just taken my current efforts a little further. And the most important thing I should have realized was that we didn’t have to become “the friend”. We just needed to prepare for our family. See how you can easily prepare yours! Follow along here with the Checklist of Beginner Preppers.

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Your First List!

So before we dive into what might help your family with the usual Beginner Prepper To-Do List, let’s take a second to inventory what you’re already doing with a Ta-Da List! (Ta-Da Lists are great to use any time you’re feeling overwhelmed). Either grab a piece of paper or make a mental list and include things like

“I already have or do…”

• Some food storage in a pantry, extra refrigerator, or deep freeze
• Emergency money tucked away in an account or safe
• Camping gear that includes a tent or sleeping bags or a cookstove
• Gallons of water
• An emergency kit in the car
• A fire-safe box with all our important documents in it
• Grow a garden, compost, can, freeze, dry foods
• Emergency escape routes planned out
• Weapons to protect yourself and your family
• Workout regularly building stamina and strength to help in emergencies
• Back up generators or fuel
• Energy efficiency to keep bills down
• Use coupons and shop deals or meal prep

Ta-Da! You’re already awesome! I could go on with more awesomeness, but you get the picture and you’ll see this even more as you research. So every time you research, add a task or item you already have or already do to your mental Ta-Da List and march on! You got this!

Next Steps in Prepping for Beginners

Now that you see how awesome you are, the next steps should be easier. Start super simple: 

• Get a notebook and binder big enough to hold it and printouts. This will be your journal. 
• Buy (preferable) or check out a few books on things you need to know (water, food, finance, overall prepping) and some fun options (canning desserts and making wine or beers or whatever you fancy). Putting books on a kindle or jumpdrive with a solar charger is a great idea too. 
• Join a couple of beginner prepper groups, online and in-person to see what people in your area are doing since even a distance of 50 miles can mean preparing for different emergencies.
• Create a list of possible emergencies you should prepare for based on your area, family demographics and health, and financial situation. This should include emergencies that are related to weather, health, income, environmental, technological, weapons & war, and economic and government-related. Examples:
  • Our area isn’t known for serious earthquakes but while on a camping trip, sleeping on the ground, we felt an earthquake that radiated up from Oklahoma. Earthquakes are now on our radar.
  • The floods that hit the Midwest a few years ago didn’t hit our home but devastated nearby towns and majorly impacted incoming and outgoing supplies. 

Become Adaptable

That’s a good start. Once you complete these few tasks, you’ll be ready to begin the next level. It’s important to remember that this is a lifestyle so, not to alarm you, but the lists won’t end as you go from “Beginner Prepper” to “Prepper”. Even the best preppers will admit that there is always something more to learn, that as you age and your family grows and the world changes, you will always be adapting. That is the main lesson: Become adaptable. But it can be fun too! You can experiment, practice while camping, and make new friends too!

Levels of Emergencies and Prepping

You’ve likely come across the next lesson in movies or in your research: Emergencies come on different levels. The movies are naturally about the highest level of emergencies. But by embracing the prepper lifestyle, you’ll also be prepared for everyday emergencies. There are varying opinions on how many levels of preparedness you can employ. Some say three, some say five. Again, it might depend on a number of situations. I’ll describe 5 below:

• Level 1-Everyday preparedness like meal prepping, home maintenance, daily exercise, and building emergency funds. Emergencies might include short-term illness or injuries, appliance repairs/replacement, or a flat tire.
• Level 2 Bugging In-Prepare for possible long-term illness, divorce, birth, death, or unemployment
• Level 3 Bugging In-Prepare your house with provisions needed due to weather, pollution, or economic failures 
• Level 4 Bugging Out in Vehicle-Prepare to leave your home in your vehicles for possible weather and natural disasters, pollution and contamination, house fire, and evacuations
• Level 5 Bugging Out on Foot-Prepare for any movie scenario that’s included a volcano, earthquake, or war which are all real-life situations where you can only take what you can carry in your bug-out bag. 

Don’t let the Levels confuse you. We go deeper into Levels of Emergencies here.

Prioritizing Your Next Moves as a Beginner Prepper

Now that you have an idea of where you’re at, what could possibly happen, and a few resources to get you acquainted with the prepper lifestyle, you can start prioritizing your next moves. Yours could be different than your neighbors. Even my husband and I prioritize differently. He’s in charge of income and protection right now. I’m in charge of water, food, and medical needs. Each of my kids is in charge of their own physical stamina and daily health needs making sure they eat, sleep, drink and move well. 

Water

Since we can suffer from dehydration in a matter of hours or days depending on wellness (esp. nursing moms and the elderly), having enough water on hand for each person in your family could very well be your first priority. Experts recommend a gal per person per day. Your first goal might be 3 days worth, then a week’s worth, then two weeks. There are a variety of ways to start storing water. It can be as simple as adding a few gallons to your grocery list or purchasing containers to fill yourself. A water purification system should also be on your list in case you have to bug out and leave the water you’ve stored. Knowing where the nearest water source is is a good idea too. 

Income 

We want to prioritize our income in two different ways: 

1. Emergency funds
2. Funds for prepping

Based on our friend’s descriptions I was very unsure where the money for prepping would come from when we were already struggling. We had two or three choices: increase our income, decrease our expenses, or both. But honestly, it could be as simple as replacing a bag of potato chips with a bag of flour to add to food storage, a night out replaced with a tower of water storage containers, and a new purse swapped with a bug-out bag. Priorities, my dear 😉 And mindset! Picking up an extra shift here and there to bolster your emergency fund could be worth it. Does this mean obsession or overzealousness? No, just add in here and there where you can when you can. If it’s a concern, find a way to add more. 

Food Storage

This is where some people can get hung up and overwhelmed. The best idea is to just start with your next trip to the grocery store, buying a few extra things until you can read up more on strategy. (This post isn’t going that deep) It’s a combination of finding space to rotate out a variety of foods that store well, are healthy, that you like (a treat for each family member too!), some that travel well, and that you can afford.

It could be a combination of foods you make and store yourself plus foods that you can’t grow or source in your area. We cannot fish for tuna in the midwest, but we can grow and can all the tomatoes we want. We have a freezer full of meat and such but if the power goes out, it will require a backup generator. And if we bug out, we need portable food as well. 

Food Storage Mistakes

A beginner prepper can get overwhelmed with food storage mistakes and fail to research or even start. Keep labels and/or Sharpies and a manual can opener nearby to mark the dates 6-12 months out so you know when to start eating them up and replacing them. First in first out. Some people will purchase for long shelf-lives, like 10-25 years. It’s up to you. Do what feels right. Don’t let a stranger (not even me) pressure you into making purchases that don’t jive right. One expert said not to worry about flour right away, stick with premixed items to make it easier. As a baker, I literally bought flour first. Live and learn.  

If you have teens, make it clear that this isn’t their personal vending machine! Nor is it “too tired to cook” backup unless it’s falling into one of the above emergency Levels. Similar rules to an emergency credit card. 

First Aid and Medications

Most people have at least one first aid kit. Take an inventory of what’s missing and add it to your grocery list. We have multiple first aid kits; one in each vehicle, our house, and our hiking bags. You can add more items as you learn more. This leads me to CPR/First Aid classes. Even if you don’t need to be certified for your job, it’s wise to take a class to be prepared for any medical emergency your family might encounter whether it be in your home, on the playground, in the grocery store, deep in the woods camping or when SHTF.  

Keep an extra supply of medications on hand and up to date. For everyday preparedness, see if there is any way to reduce and get off any medications as well. Learn which natural substances can replace medications too. In a recent FB post, a mom was asking what alternatives she might find for her daughter’s asthma inhaler. The group had lots of suggestions. Clear this with your doctor as well. 

Batteries and Flashlights

Another simple thing to add to your grocery list! Keep them all over the house, in your vehicles, in your hiking or bug-out bags. There are a few things that are very comforting in times of emergency and a flashlight is one of them, especially for kids. (If your kids are like mine, maybe get a few extra for them to play with so that your emergency flashlights are working and where they belong 😉 I keep a tactical flashlight on me that will not only break glass but also blind an attacker. They come in all varieties, but for now, just get a few simple flashlights to store in various places. 

Toiletries

After the last toilet paper scare, this one is probably self-explanatory. But don’t be the gal/guy that just wiped out the TP aisle at Target. Purchase an extra TP or personal hygiene (including feminine products) here and there to grow your supply. Also, consider other methods such as cloth, and steps you would take in case plumbing is out (temporarily and long term).  

Comfort Items

The first things my kids would grab when they heard the tornado sirens were their stuffed animals and blankets. We are creatures of comfort and can go without for a time, but too little too late, and our morale starts to decrease. We mentioned including a few treats in Food Storage above. You might also include your favorite beverages, some snuggly blankets, coloring books, or novels. We keep our sleeping bags downstairs in case a tornado siren goes off at night, we can still sleep comfortably. Include any small version of these items or others in your bug-out bags (BOB) as well. Maybe find a leash that attaches stuffed animals to the BOB too. When everyone starts rushing around, these things will already be in place.

Physical Fitness

One post-rainy day the kids and I went out puddle jumping. We would walk until we saw a great big puddle and splash until we drained it and then moved on to another. My son had outgrown his mud boots so went barefoot. He found a rock in the puddle and it had lodged into his heal. We couldn’t get it out where we were and he couldn’t walk so I ended up carrying him the whole way home. At the time, it wasn’t much of an effort with him only being 5 or 6 years old. But consider the people in your family and if you would be able to pick them up, carry them, or get them to safety. 

A beginner prepper considers everyday preparedness…Being physically fit reduces the chance of injury, illness, and disease, and increases overall energy levels increasing efficiency and reducing time lost from work, school, and family. 

In more serious emergencies you want to be able to get yourself and your kids to safety, be able to carry your BOB, and possibly help someone who is trapped or hurt. Maintaining your peak fitness levels will help tremendously. Do this by keeping your family active with fun hiking trips, any kind of rowing activities, and body weight or weight lifting. None of it has to be work. It can be fun doing family mud runs or rucksack relay competitions too. 

Home Protection

I know this isn’t everyone’s favorite topic, but it’s just as important. There are levels of home protection so hear me out. Home protection includes everything from your fire and security systems for your house (keep records of your valuable belongings) to self-defense to weapons and ammunition and weapon safety. If you’ve spent any amount of time storing up provisions or getting your family to safety, it’s only yours if you can keep it, whether you’re bugging in or bugging out. If you’re worried, focus your efforts on safety classes and practice with your weapon of choice. 

Bug Out Bag or Get Home Bag

Emergency Levels 4 & 5 will require a portable survival kit known as a “Bug Out Bag” or BOB. Again, depending on your time, money, and circumstances, there are a few choices when it comes to obtaining and preparing Bug Out bags. You can purchase a complete kit from companies like Yeti and small businesses or consultants. Or you can build your own. Either way, having about 72 hours’ worth of supplies is the goal. It will include only necessary items like water, shelter, food, and more, but this topic requires its own post to make a good list.

“Get-Home Bags” or GHB will include similar items and might be part of your emergency car kit. While we often think an emergency specialist will be there to help us in the case of a car accident, it’s wise to consider an event where you may not be the only person in danger and the services are stretched thin. In our area, we often hear radio and news announcements stating that emergency responses are only limited to serious injuries until further notified. This is when you’ll want to make sure you can get yourself and your family to safety or have the supplies to hunker down until rescuers can arrive. 

Communication Plan

Your kids’ school keeps a detailed list of emergency numbers. We had a very specific route for our kids to walk home from school NO MATTER WHAT. Let’s just take this idea a couple of steps further. 

In a time where we have become highly dependent on cell phones and the internet, adding 2-way, HAM, or CB radios to your list might be a good idea, in addition to various chargers for cell phones. Some radios will reach up to 300 miles. My sister lives roughly 4 miles away but my parents and inlaws are closer to 20 miles away. In an emergency, these are the people I need to communicate with (along with local authorities, of course). Building an emergency plan with them and my teen drivers is a priority. Who would be in your immediate circle and how would you communicate with them? 

Act Now!

Yep! It’s time. You could keep reading “Beginner Prepper” post after post (and bloggers would generally encourage that), but you’ll stay in overwhelm if you don’t start acting on your plans. If you’re like me, you might keep reading and reading until you drown in information overload. In case you haven’t already downloaded the easy-to-follow Checklist for Beginner Prepper, you can enter your email here. If you’ve jotted a few items down, very quickly prioritize them without overthinking to get you moving!

Checkity, check, check, check! Your awesomeness is glowing!!! Looks good on ya 😉