Welcome to the Keep and Bear, LLC 30 Day Preparedness Challenge! We are on Day 3. If you are just joining us, please go to the intro post to learn more.
The purpose of this ‘challenge’ is to provide a paced and measured plan to fulfill some basic family preparedness needs. These needs are real-world, and applicable to the average family.
The below headings are the main survival priorities.
Positive Mental Attitude
In the Day 1 post, the task was to pick a book relating to positive mental attitude. To expand on that, it can be a book on success or mental improvement, such as the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (a great resource), but it can also be about developing mental tenacity. If you haven’t already, google “books on positive mental attitude” or “books on success” and pick one you are interested in.
TASK: Read at least one chapter in your PMA book.
Air
No tasks for Air today!
Shelter
Remember, we are most concerned with Shelter At Home. But in some conditions, we will need to fortify and repair the home so it can continue to shelter us.
With our tools assessed (but not yet ordered, it’s just on your To-Do list), we need materials. The average homeowner should have a reasonable supply of 2×4’s, a few sheets of plywood, and a supply of screws and nails. Look over the stuff you have laying around. Could you board some windows, make some repairs, rig something up?
TASK: Assess the threats you face (hurricanes, tornados, etc) that would affect your home and the steps you want to mitigate them. If it’s boarding up windows, start accumulating the plywood or other materials to do so. Figure out how they will attach to the house, and what hardware you will need to do so. Use FB Marketplace, Craigslist, or other used sources to get these materials cheaply.
Pro tip: Carpenter’s screws that use a Torx bit rather than a Phillips head are far easier to work with and do not strip out like a Phillips screw does.
Hydration
We are going for 1 gallon of potable water per person per day for up to 7 days. That means with a family of 4, we need 28 gallons. This is a bare-bones amount suitable for average exertion in temperate weather. If you’re dealing with high exertion and hot weather, double the requirement.
TASK: Clean and fill at least two 2-liter bottles.
As a heads up, we will be filling two 2-liter bottles each weeknight for the entire challenge. If you would rather knock this out in one fell swoop, go for it!
Nutrition
Assess your family’s eating habits. What has short shelf lives (like bread)? What has longer shelf lives (like boxed mac n cheese)? What has nearly indefinite shelf lives (like dehydrated foods, canned goods, or dry goods)?
TASK: Continue putting together a list of typical meals and their ingredients that consist of short, long, and indefinite shelf life items. Identify completed recipes that use at least long-life ingredients.
Rescue/Mitigation/Repair
While we are sheltering at home, getting home can be very important. Furthermore, being able to find a family member who may be stranded is also important.
For today’s task, we’re going to develop a set of maps that the family references. If you have the means, DeLorme atlases are excellent, but it is just as easy to print (yes, hardcopy!) maps these days.
Print one set of maps for home, and one for each driving-age person or vehicle.
First, identify where your home is, as well as workplaces and all other frequently visited places (such as your kids’ school, daycares, family friends, etc). DO NOT MARK THESE ON YOUR MAPS, rather, mark a major intersection near them. If the maps fall into the wrong hands in an emergency, you don’t necessarily want to give the locations of an obviously well-prepared family away.
In math, when a value is shifted, the ‘prime’ symbol is used. so value X would become X’. With the tick after. We’ll use that nomenclature here.
Mark HOME’ on the map, as well as WORK1′, WORK2′, etc. There are lots of businesses and it may be hard for someone to anticipate where you’re at. For schools, do NOT use school’, just use generic waypoint names, such as WAYPOINT’, and have a nearby main intersection marked.
On the map, draw out your normal route to that location. Label it SPOUSE1ROUTE 1, SPOUSE2ROUTE1, or some such.
TASK: On your normal way to work (Route 1), observe the route for natural hazards such as low areas, high traffic intersections, and other known issues. Also, observe for potential resources such as hardware stores, bike shops (if your vehicle becomes inoperative and it’s a long commute), water sources, and shelter areas. Note them on your maps.
Training
The rescue section is also the training for today!