5 Easy Ways to Get Started on Emergency Preparedness

Getting started on emergency preparedness can sometimes feel HUGE!  So much so, that many people want to get started, but don’t.  And that ultimately, is the purpose of my website – to help those people get started on emergency preparedness.

It doesn’t have to be hard and overwhelming.  In fact, I actually personally believe that you will be more successful in the long run by consistently doing small things than you will be making some crazy huge effort.

Emergency Preparedness Checklist | 5 easy ways to get started on emergency preparedness | Emergency Preparedness Printables

I got the idea for this post as I’ve been reading the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson this week.  (On a side note, I highly recommend the book).

The basic idea is that true success doesn’t come from BIG acts or changes.  Instead, success actually comes from small acts/changes performed consistently over time.  Because they are small and simple, these acts/changes are things that are easy to do – or easy not to do.  Success comes (over time) when you commit to doing them consistently.

How to Start to Prepare for Emergencies?

So, I decided to apply this idea to emergency preparedness – I asked myself: “What are small things that those new to emergency preparedness could do consistently?”  That is how I came up with the following 5 ways to easily get started on emergency preparedness.

#1 Way to Easily Get Started On Emergency Preparedness:

Read one article about emergency preparedness every week.  

Think about it!  One article won’t take you more than 5-15 minutes to read.  Anyone can find that much time!  It is easy to do!

And if you do it, you will have read 52 articles by this time next year and you will have a significant amount of increased knowledge about emergency preparedness.

So . . . what are you waiting for?  Decide right now when you will read your article each week.  Schedule it on your calendar.

If you are on my email list, I will send you an article to read each week (once you finish the intro evacuation course)!

#2 Way to Easily Get Started On Emergency Preparedness:

Use coupons at the grocery store and put the money you save into an emergency fund.

Print out just a few (3-5) coupons HERE each week before you go grocery shopping.  Keep track of how much you save and then put that much cash into an “emergency fund” envelope that you can use in case of a power outage when credit card machines aren’t working.

Finding and printing the coupons won’t take you more than 5 minutes each week.  It is easy to do!

If you save $1-$3 each week, you will have over $100 in your fund at this time next year.  That will bring peace of mind that even if you can’t use your credit cards for a bit, you can still provide your family with the essentials for a time.

#3 Way to Easily Get Started On Emergency Preparedness:

Buy one extra item each time you go grocery shopping.

If you consistently add just one extra bottle of spaghetti sauce or one extra package of pasta etc. when you go grocery shopping each week, your budget will hardly notice.

But your pantry will slowly but surely get a bit fuller, and you will know that you can feed your family for a time even if you can’t get to the grocery store or the shelves are bare.

#4 Way to Easily Get Started On Emergency Preparedness:

Fill juice and soda bottles with water each week.

If you buy juice (like apple juice or grape juice etc …those types of bottles) or 2-liter soda, you can store water in those containers and build an emergency water supply for FREE!

Simply drink your juice/soda.  Put a few drops of bleach in the container and fill it halfway with water.  Shake it up for a minute or so.  Dump the water.  Refill halfway with JUST water and shake it up again.  Dump the water.  Refill it to the top with water, put the lid on, and store it in a cool, dark place.

Two minutes total and you’ve started an emergency water supply!

Do this every week and you’d have 25+ gallons of water stored for your family after one year!  (The recommended minimum is 3 gallons per person which would be 18 gallons for my family of six)

*Important Note – if you are storing water in these containers, I highly recommend you rotate it every 6 (if stored in a warm-ish place like a garage) to 12 (if stored in a cool, dark place) months.  To rotate, just dump the water and repeat the process with the bleach, then re-fill it.  I wouldn’t refill them more than once or maybe twice for a solid juice bottle.

#5 Way to Easily Get Started On Emergency Preparedness:

Complete one quick emergency preparedness project each week.

Commit to spending 10-15 minutes on an emergency preparedness project each week.  10-15 minutes isn’t much and most everyone can find that time.

You can find a list of 10 min (ish) projects on my website HERE.  You can also find a large number of emergency preparedness quick tips on one of my friends Jane’s Pinterest websites HERE.  None of these will take you very long and all of them are easily doable!

Do one a week and you will have completed 11+ hours worth of emergency preparedness projects by this time next year!


Did You Get Started on Emergency Preparedness?

Do all 5 of these things consistently, and within just a year’s time, you will do far more than just get started on emergency preparedness.

You will have a small emergency fund, water supply, and food supply!  You will have completed 52 mini-projects and read 52 articles to increase your knowledge and skills.  Then, you can step it up the next year and choose additional small, simple things that you can do consistently to continue getting better prepared!

In order to help you do this effectively and really commit to it, I have created a printable checklist.  Print it out by clicking on the image below and make sure you check off each task every week!

5 easy ways to get started on emergency preparedness worksheet

PIN THIS NOW TO SAVE IT FOR LATER:

Get started on emergency preparedness today in these 5 simple ways
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Becky is a wildlife enthusiast and pet and livestock care expert with a diploma in canine nutrition. With over a decade of experience in animal welfare, Becky lends her expertise to Simple Family Preparedness through insightful info about pets, livestock, bee keeping, and the practicalities of homesteading.

4 thoughts on “5 Easy Ways to Get Started on Emergency Preparedness”

  1. We have also started cleaning out and saving our 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon syrup containers to put water in too.

    Or, buying ingredients for 2 meals in stead of one, to be able to store the extra.

    Reply
  2. I have been using 1 gallon glass bottles I get Apple cider in localy. Storing them in a cool place.

    I also am stocking lentals, beens, rice, I find on sale. Next will be shelf stable milk, and freezdried products I can get localy.

    Reply
  3. I store my juice bottles of water next to the deep freeze. When a spot in the freezer empties, I pop in a water bottle. This keeps a store of ice in there in case of electric outages. Leave a few out because you don’t want to wait for some to thaw in a water outage.

    Reply

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