Posted: 4/21/2008 9:11:57 AM EDT
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First, I would like to thank you guys for all the useful info posted in this forum. Truthfully, I never thought about SHTF, BOBs or emergency plans with my family before reading all the info here. It really got me thinking about preparing for the unexpected. My wife and I are expecting our first child this week and I would like to be more prepared, should SHTF. Now... onto my question (and I hope it's not too general). I have begun to stock some canned goods and water, which I keep in my basement. I also threw a small bag in my car, which contains some granola bars and bottled water. I don't know where to go from here. What should I should concentrate on? Bigger and more comprehensive BOB? First aid kit? More bulk food reserve? When you guys started preparing, what are the first things that you bought or did? This might be a good "beginners" post. I did some searching, but couldn't find any posts regarding beginners. Thanks for all the past info and the future help. |
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Before you do anything else, you neecd a PLAN. This will save you untold amounts of miney and gray hair. Make a list of possible SHF events, and a list of responses. It goes something like this: Threat Likelihood Response Winter storm 70% Bug in, alternate heat & light You may have RR tracks nearby, if so, add the Haz-Mat incident to your list. At some point you will see whether or not you need to bug out or bug in. Then sotck up accordingly. Don't forget to plan who gets the kids from school and when. What youwill find out is that food, water, heat, light, shelter, and defense conver 99% of events. Pepare for the most likley scenario first. Welcome to the forum! Ops |
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no one can answer that better than YOU. Think before you buy. What do YOU feel is the most likely SHTF that will hit you and your family? Where do YOU feel deficiant in preparing for the above answer? Fill that need first. Above all, remember, training/brains are always better than a ton of expensive gear/preps that you don't know how to use. Don't feel you have to do it all at one time. It can easily get overwhelming and you may very easily into it like a lot of us are and still be preping years and years from now  PS Welcome to the ranks of non-sheeple. |
ops speaks the truth, although i have no idea what "miney" is.  as ops stated, first figure out what you're most likely to encounter and how you'll respond to the shtf event. second, begin preparing accordingly. for example, for me tornado sits on top of my most likely shtf events. we have a shelter, so if one occurs, we bug in. shelter has food, water, radio, flashlights, etc., but in small quantities. another example, freeway and rail lines are close to us, so in event of chemical spill, we bug out. each member of the family has a bug out bag. we have 3 days food, water, clothes, etc. in our bobs. if you break each event down, then you can decide to stay or go and what you would subsequently need to respond. the forum can give you excellent ideas, once you determine what you need. for example, look for ragnar's thread on his bug out back - simply incredibly well thought out and thorough. |