Proper preparation of basic necessities is of utmost importance for any prepper. Food may last several weeks without refrigeration but water supplies must always remain available at all times for survival.
Therefore, it is vitally important to prioritize the four core survival priorities. We advise keeping an up-to-date checklist and making regular reviews so as to stay on top of supplies and stay prepared.
1. Water
Water is one of the most essential prepper items to stockpile; it’s used for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene – without it you’d only last three days without support from others.
Preppers typically aim to store enough water to last them two weeks in an emergency situation. This is an excellent goal and should serve as motivation.
However, water storage can be a daunting challenge for beginners. It can be costly to purchase enough small bottles to last an entire month without running out, while keeping large volumes in milk jugs may leach bacteria into your drinking water supply. A more reliable option would be an emergency water storage system which you can fill up with tap water from your tap and store on either your roof or basement.
2. Food
Preppers must stockpile at least three months’ worth of food supplies should the grid go down, depending on personal preferences and needs. When planning for disaster, not just bulk foods like rice and beans should be stockpiled but tasty items with long shelf lives such as canned fruit and peanut butter powder should also be considered as viable solutions.
Prepper pantries are designated spaces in which you store supplies – typically food – in preparation for emergencies. By having one, it helps protect you and your family against events that could disrupt grocery store supply chains and lead to shortages of essential items such as food, water and toilet paper – creating an emergency preparedness plan is an invaluable way to remain safe.
3. Shelter
Have sufficient food and water is a fantastic start, but without proper shelter you could face imminent peril. Preppers frequently refer to this rule of threes – you can survive three minutes without air but only three hours in poor shelter conditions.
Preppers typically begin by creating a bug out bag (GHB). These emergency kits are intended to be packed and used immediately in an event of disaster, often including sleeping bags or blankets, food and water supplies, first aid kits and important contact numbers. While basic designs exist for these packs, these bags can easily be customized according to your location and risks.
4. Hygiene
Hygiene is an integral component of prepping. We often take for granted our modern lives – things such as clean water, sanitation and hygiene services being reliable – which we rely on when grid power and distribution systems fail. If this were ever to happen again we would need our own supplies of these things in order to stay alive.
Be sure to pack a bug-out bag or survival backpack with hygiene items like soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, feminine products and an effective soap bar – these will be essential in an emergency. Additionally, include a first aid or minor trauma kit with medical tape, antiseptic, band aids, moleskin, liquid stitch tape tourniquets and pain relievers in case something happens unexpectedly.
Don’t forget communication tools like walkie-talkies and CB radios when planning for disaster.
5. Safety
There’s plenty of prepping misinformation out there that muddles the waters and distorts rational preparedness with extreme predictions and doomsday scenarios, creating tunnel vision in beginner preppers who often miss the most critical aspects of preparation. This “loud minority” mentality often results in them foregoing crucial parts of preparation altogether.
Some prepping basics depend on your location and needs; however, core items like a bug out bag, two weeks of supplies and an emergency shelter plan should apply universally.
An essential set of tools should also be part of any prepping plan. Collecting these items can be fun, but in an emergency they could save your life – including: knives for multiple uses; fire starters and standard hammers as well as whistles, first aid kits, contact lists written down, whistles etc.
