Some Basic Preparedness Questions

1. How much potable (drinkable) water do I have in storage and how long would it last me and my family if all other sources of water were gone? Ideally, you want to have 2 gallons per person per day. If most of your stored food is freeze dried or dehydrated, raise this amount to 3 gallons per person per day.

2. What chemicals and/or devices do I have to make non-potable (non-drinkable) water fit to drink? Chemical treatments include chlorine, iodine, and hydrogen peroxide. Devices may include equipment to boil water, charcoal filters, reverse osmosis devices, ultraviolet light system, and distillation apparatus.

Most everyone has the ability to boil water. Boiling will not remove the particulate matter in non-potable water, but it will generally kill most micro-organisms. Boil the water for 10 minutes.


3. How much stored food do I have and how long would it last if all outside sources of food were gone AND all sources of electric power were gone? HINT: This means all frozen food and foods requiring refrigeration are GONE. (Freeze-dried food is the best for long term storage, but it is expensive relative to other foods for storage. Canned goods are the option many people will have to use.)

4. How much essential medications do I have on hand and how long would they last if all sources of them were gone? (Essential medications are over the counter and prescription medications you take on a daily or near daily basis.) If you take a lot of prescription medications, this may be a very important issue for you. For Prescription medications, most insurance companies will pay for only a month’s supply at a time. There are ways around this I will address in a future issue.

What about over the counter medications you use on a regular basis? How long would your supply last if you were cut off from all sources of these medications?

5. Do you own any firearms? If yes, do you know how to use them? Are they reliable? Guns that have not been shot in 50 years should be considered unreliable until proven otherwise. What about ammunition? How much of it do you have?

With regard to preparedness I CONSERVATIVELY estimate that for every 1 person who is prepared, there will be 199 who are not prepared. When a crisis comes (and it will), those who did not prepare are going to come to those who did and try to get help. Some of those seeking help will ask. Some will not be so polite and they will try to take your preparedness supplies. That is why firearms are so important.

Understand the following and understand it well. You are under no moral obligation to help those who could have prepared but decided not to prepare. Perhaps they spent all their extra money on SUV’s, etc. YOUR PRIMARY DUTY IS TO YOUR FAMILY.

WHEN THE UNPREPARED COME TO TAKE THE SUPPLIES YOU STOCKPILED FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, YOU MAY HAVE TO USE DEADLY FORCE. THIS IS WHY FIREARMS ARE SO VERY IMPORTANT IN ANY SURVIVAL PLAN.

Some will no doubt say that such a stance is un-Christian. If you believe such a stance is un-Christian, I suggest you read 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 8.

One of the best recommendations I can give you is to keep your preparedness efforts secret. Tell your other family members, including the kids, to keep your preparedness efforts secret. That way, when a crisis comes, you may not have to worry about the unprepared trying to beat down your door.

6. What supplies do you have for energy? Generators are good, provided you know how to use them and they are reliable. What about natural gas? Do you have cylinders or tanks of it and heating devices that run off it? There are a lot of fuels you can use for energy-gasoline, diesel, kerosene, propane, methane, liquid propane, and white gas. Each fuel type has its own advantages and its own disadvantages.

You have 3 main areas of concern here:

1. Energy to run essential electric and communications equipment.
2. Energy for cooking and for some water purification systems.
3. Energy for heating and cooling.

Generators are a great investment if you can afford them. Many experts agree that the most reliable generators for long term use (day or weeks) are the diesel kind that run at 1800 revolutions per minute. When choosing a generator, you want to get as much power as is needed to the degree your money will allow. However, don’t plan to run everything in your house during a crisis. Plan to run only the essential items.

Don’t get me wrong. If you have a lot of money you can buy a generator system that will run EVERYTHING if the power goes down, but you are going to spend a good amount of money to get such a system.

One of the best investments you can make for cooking is a wood stove, provided you live in a region where wood is abundant. The Coleman Company also makes a wide variety of cooking devices that run off small, portable propane cylinders or Coleman fuel. These cooking devices are so small even an apartment dweller can store them.

Energy for heating does not have to come from electricity. Many companies make space heaters that run off propane or other gases. Your main area of concern when using these systems indoors or in areas that are not well ventilated is the buildup of carbon monoxide gas.

7. How much CASH money do you have on hand?

In a crisis, you can work off the assumption that checks and credit cards will not be honored. The more severe the crisis, the more this will be the case.

Start putting back a little bit of cash every month. Even if it is only $5.00 per month or less, that is a start. Put it in a secure place and in a place where it is safe from fire. In a crisis, this stockpile of cash will come in handy.