Prepare: Getting Started Part One

I just finished reading an online preparedness fiction story. It went the usual way..

Man wants to get prepared. Has a retirement account, savings, inheritance, great credit and regular income. He makes a list of things needed for a fallout shelter, weapons, food and other supplies and within two years, is ready to ride out a nuclear attack which fortunately happens right when he completes his project.

For normal folks like us, this sort of story is depressing. I don't know about you, but I don't have fifty thousand dollars for an inground, sixteen hudred square foot shelter. I don't have five thousand for a year supply of LTS food for two. I don't have ten thousand laying around for a Springfield M1A, a fifty caliber sniper rifle or thousands of rounds of ammunition.

If I were new to prepping, and found a survival themed forum and read one of these stories, with it's over the top American Safe Rooms doors, Canning Pantry canners, or Slumberjack sleep systems, I would feel compelled to turn off the computer and invest in some cyanide for the Big Day.

If this sounds like you, don't run out to the hardware store for some rat poison yet. Like the saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", prepping is the same way. One step at a time.

Survival, in any situation, can be broken down into small pieces. For instance, food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, protection and medical. Each of these can be tackled reasonably as long as there are reasonable goals set. Jumping off the couch to make a one time purchase of food for five for one year is simply not doable for most of us. However, anyone can successfully stock one week of food, two weeks of water, or four working flashlights with batteries without going to too much trouble.

So, get ready to begin the journey of a thousand miles, one step at a time.