Becoming a prepper is not just about buying some extra canned food every time you go to the store, it is a project, an ongoing lifestyle change.
As an early stage prepper I found the most difficult part of the journey is getting started. First, I bought a few books, then I started reading online articles.
Soon I found myself studying long term food preparation, storing water supplies, home defense, types of disasters to prepare for, etc… It became a bit overwhelming. All of this research put me in a state of analysis paralysis and I wasn’t sure where to start.
As I started to make a list of all the things I would need for each disaster scenario, I began wondering where I would store all of these supplies. Living in a standard sized 3 bedroom family home in the suburbs with my wife and boy, with one room dedicated as a office space was limited.
So where did I begin? First I started by focusing on making room and establishing designated storage areas. Just the act of reorganizing my house got me moving on the project and excited about the upcoming steps.
From there I prioritized the disaster scenarios that could impact my family in order of likelihood according to my beliefs. For example I live in central Florida, so hurricane preparedness was at the top of my list; so I focused on preparing just for that first.
The first step was to make a list of essential items to have to protect my family and home during a hurricane. Then create a list of supplies to have on hand after a hurricane, in case there are extended power outages or water shortages, or injuries. Assuming that time and money are both factors to be considered in your preparedness plan, start by obtaining the essentials first and expand from there.
Selecting a single disaster to prepare for and focusing on that, allowed me to get started. Ultimately repeating this process for the next disaster scenario on my list came much more natural and the journey to become a suburban prepper began.
Keep these thoughts in mind as you start your journey towards becoming a prepper:
1. Select a single disaster scenario to prepare for first and focus on the essentials.
2. Don’t let the fear, doom & gloom of considering these scenarios get you down. It is important to remember preparation is simply a safety measure.
