The Habit of Preparedness

Preparedness Is More Than a Checklist

I’ve been at the business of being prepared for quite some time. Its something we talk about being “done” with. But are we really ever “done” with being prepared?

Take your survival kit for example. You race to finish it for National Preparedness Month last year. Check! Guess what it’s obsolete already.

Had a new baby? Now you’re missing a person. Your kids grew, now the clothes don’t fit. Even gaining weight can make your kit obsolete.

Haven’t consistently rotated your food? Take a look, with a trash can handy, you’ll probably find something that should have been used long ago.

Preparedness is like Laundry and Dishes

Most people do not like doing laundry or dishes, (just ask your kids), but they are a necessary part of life and we all love the feeling of accomplishment when they’re done. BUT it doesn’t take long before they need to be done again. You just finished but now there are 3 loads of unfolded laundry that have taken over your living room, and a new pile of dishes overflowing out of the sink.

Looking at a checklist for preparedness can give you that same overwhelming feeling. How on earth do you accomplish all of it!?! You can let it pile up or you can do a little bit consistently and stay on top of it.

Preparedness is a Habit

It’s a habit of thinking ahead and making plans. The key is making it a part of your life, just like rinsing your dishes after eating and putting them in the dishwasher. The simple habit saves you all the time and effort of scrubbing pots and pans and soaking dishes.

When we incorporate preparedness into our daily lives it becomes effortless.

• Using your food storage every day,
• Making purchases with every shopping trip,
• Filling a bottle of water each day,
• Gathering the family to have a monthly evac drill,
• Dehydrating or preserving small batches of produce when you can purchase it at a good price.

All these things, and many more are little steps that put us, and keep us, on the path of preparedness.

How to Adopt the Habit of Preparedness

1. Pick 2-3 preparedness principles that you feel you are weak in.
2. Write them down
3. Now assign one simple thing you can do each week to work on getting prepared in that area. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Buy an extra hygiene item each week. The dollar store is great for these items.
• Start your 72-hour kit. Even if you are just collecting items into a family tub at first, you’ll still be able to grab it and go if needed.
• Buy additional amounts of regular family favorite foods. I purchase 2 cans of beans every week so we always have extra on hand.
• Purchase an item for your survival kit each week/month. Upgrade a flashlight, add a headlamp  pack additional batteries or add leather work gloves. All these items are less than $10 at Amazon.
• Fix one home hazard a month.
• Make an underbed earthquake kit. Put a few preparedness items in your car or make an office emergency kit.
• Start gardening in containers or make raised beds.
• Make a first aid kit from dollar store items.

It’s the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race. The tortoise will eventually get to the finish line and you can be comforted in knowing that your habit of preparedness will help you win the race too.

What are the small steps you are taking to add the habit of preparedness into your daily life? Share your ideas below to help others know how they can get prepared too.