September is National Preparedness Month. Use these challenges and tips to help prepare your family for emergencies all month long!
All of the information, the how-to’s, the lists, and all the websites can be overwhelming. I’m here to help make it a little easier on you! I’m going to share a few of the National Preparedness Month links and challenges to help you narrow down your focus of where to start, how to proceed, and what you need to do.
Don’t Wait. Communicate.
Ready.gov and PrepareAthon sponsor a focused campaign of preparing the nation for disaster, be it local weather disaster, terrorism, etc.
2015’s Focus for Ready.gov is Seasonal & Common Emergency Risks. Do you know your risks and do you have a plan?
- Floods
- Wildfire
- Hurricanes
- Power Outages
You can start off by getting your own Emergency Checklist from Ready.gov. And don’t just make it for yourself – but share it with your family so that everyone knows how to best be prepared for any situation, whether you’re with them or not!
If you’d like to get a jump start and create a Family Emergency Binder (aka a grab and go binder), you can get started here
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30 Days of Preparedness 2015
It’s safe to say that our ultimate goal is to help you have an emergency kit, a family plan, and the knowledge to garden, preserve your harvest and use useful herbs every day – without spending a ton of money to do it. Luckily that’s obtainable for every family and a journey we would love to help you with.
This year we have posts about food storage, 72-hour Kits & Bug Out Bags, and every aspect of preparedness, from water storage to cooking off grid. You’ll also find many ideas to help you be more self-reliant.
Be sure to visit our sites and learn as much as you can about being prepared. We’ll be using the hashtag #30DaysOfPrep for these and many other ideas throughout the month of September, so join in the conversation and make 2015 the year you become prepared.
Food Storage
The Prepared Pantry: A 3 Month Food Supply | PreparednessMama
How to Wax Cheese for Long Term Storage | Perky Prepping Gramma
Dispelling the Canned Food Expiration Date Myth | Self Sufficient Man
6 Canning Myths You Must Know | Melissa K. Norris
How to Dehydrate Cherries | Mom With a PREP
How to Dehydrate Milk for Long Term Storage | Perky Prepping Gramma
Self-Reliance
Survival Tips from the Great Depression | Self Sufficient Man
The 5 best crops for Self Sufficient Gardeners | Our Stoney Acres
Butchering a chicken | The Homesteading Hippy
Self-Sufficiency Simplified | Blue Jean Mama
3 Small Livestock Preparedness Tips | Timber Creek Farm
Essential Oils for Preparedness | Mama Kautz
Farm First Aid Preparedness | Timber Creek Farm
72-Hour Kits or Bug Out Bags
How to Build a 72-hour Go Bag | Art of Manliness
10 Essential Oils You Need in Your B.O.B. and at Home | Blue Jean Mama
Preparedness
Create a 72 Hour Emergency Kit or Go Bag  |  Mom with a PREP
5 Things New Moms Can Do to Prepare for Disasters | PreparednessMama
10 Most Important Items a Female Prepper Should Have | Living Life in Rural Iowa
Why Natural Health, Exercise and Whole Foods Play a Role in Survival | Trayer Wilderness
10 Totally Free Prepping Things to Do | Living Life in Rural Iowa
‎21 Prepper Tips I Wish I’d Heard Before I Started Prepping | Urban Survival Site
Is Homesteading Like Prepping? | The Homesteading Hippy
What You Should Consider When Fire Is A Threat | Trayer Wilderness
11 Ways to Cook Off-Grid | Melissa K. Norris
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30 Days of Preapredness 2014
This was my favorite challenge that I’ve been a part of. The challenge was designed to walk you through 30 days of preparing your home and family for whatever life’s emergencies popped up, in a step by step manner. You’ll learn so much going through each of these challenges! I dare you !!!
Take one post each day, learn as much as you can about the topic and make it a part of your preparedness plan.
Day 1 – Ready, Set, Get Prepared! Welcome to 30 Days of Preparedness from PreparednessMama
Day 2 – The Family Meeting Place and Escape from Laughingbear Adventures
Day 3 – I’m Safe! How to Communicate with Family in an Emergency from PreparednessMama
Day 4 – Does Your Family Have a Fire Escape Plan? from Home Ready Home
Day 5 – Preparedness For Pets from The Busy B Homemaker
Day 6 – The Escape Exercise from Laughingbear Adventures
Day 7 – It all Falls Apart Without Mental Preparedness from PreparednessMama
Day 8 – It’s a Matter of Emergency Kits from A Matter of Preparedness
Day 9 – Nine Great Emergency Light Sources Other Than Flashlights from Food Storage & Survival
Day 10 – Cooking Without Power from Mama Kautz
Day 11 – The Importance of a Shelter & Staying Warm and Dry from Trayer Wilderness
Day 12 – The Importance of Having The Right Tools In Your Pack from Trayer Wilderness
Day 13 – Practice Living Without Electricity from Food Storage Made Easy
Day 14 – How We Choose The Right Gear – (including the MultiFlame Tool) from Trayer Wilderness
Day 15 – Water Storage & Purification from The Busy B Homemaker
Day 16 – Food and Water for a 72 Hour “Go Bag” from Homestead Dreamer
Day 17 – 8 Foods You Should Be Storing and How from Melissa K Norris
Day 18 – Planning Your Pantry from The Organic Prepper
Day 19 – Stocking Up on Non-Food Items from Living in Rural Iowa
Day 20 – Dutch Oven Cooking: Off-Grid Before Off-Grid Was Cool from The Backyard Pioneer
Day 21 – Pressure Canning the Harvest from Timber Creek Farm
Day 22 – Personal Protection & Awareness from Living in Rural Iowa
Day 23 – KISS First Aid from Herbal Prepper
Day 24 – Mommy, I have to go Potty! from Mom With a Prep
Day 25 – Fire Starting 101: The Why and How of Lighting a Fire for Survival from Food Storage & Survival
Day 26 – How to Filter and Purify Water from Prepared Housewives
Day 27 – How To Make A Shelter from Trayer Wilderness
Day 28 – Put Your Preps to the Test with 24 Hours Unplugged from The Organic Prepper
Day 29 – What Is Char and Why You Should Have It To Start A Fire from Trayer Wilderness
Day 30 – How To Utilize Bushcraft Skills and Forage From The Wild from Trayer Wilderness
Katy Willis is a writer, lifelong homesteader, and master herbalist, master gardener, and canine nutritionist. Katy is a preparedness expert and modern homesteader practicing everyday preparedness, sustainability, and a holistic lifestyle.
She knows how important it is to be prepared for whatever life throws at you, because you just never know what's coming. And preparedness helps you give your family the best chance to thrive in any situation.
Katy is passionate about living naturally, growing food, keeping livestock, foraging, and making and using herbal remedies. Katy is an experienced herbalist and a member of the CMA (Complementary Medical Association).
Her preparedness skills go beyond just being "ready", she's ready to survive the initial disaster, and thrive afterward, too. She grows 100% organic food on roughly 15 acres and raises goats, chickens, and ducks. She also lovingly tends her orchard, where she grows many different fruit trees. And, because she likes to know exactly what she's feeding her family, she's a seasoned from-scratch cook and gluten-free baker.
Katy teaches foraging and environmental education classes, too, including self-sufficient living, modern homesteading, seed saving, and organic vegetable gardening.
Katy helps others learn forgotten skills, including basic survival skills and self-reliance.
She's been published on sites such as MSN, Angi, Home Advisor, Family Handyman, Wealth of Geeks, Readers Digest, and more.