So, over the next few weeks, Lisa and I will be doing a series of podcasts and articles that will go through getting started prepping & the basics. Something that seems pretty simple on the surface can get a little confusing the more we get into it.

When we first come to the realization that preparing ourselves and our family is important, it can be a little scary and a little exciting all at the same time. It can be scary because usually one thing or another leads us into preparing.

It could be something that changed our lives personally and uncovered areas that we need to improve in, or it could be the fact that everywhere we turn now we hear about someone or something that could do us harm.

SPP249 Getting Started Prepping & The Basics

This week Lisa and I went through the very first steps that we should take we are just getting started with prepping. Our first reaction is that we need to buy a whole bunch of prepping supplies, but that is not the case.

We will be going over all the supplies we need in the next few podcasts, but it’s important to understand what you need, and why you need it, before you go out and spend a lot of money. Over the next few weeks we are going to go over, bug out bags, everyday carry, first aid and all 6 areas of preparedness.

Building  Preparedness Foundation

This could be just me, but I think it’s a little exciting also because I know I have the opportunity to increase my chances and insure the safety of my family as much as I can. Excited might be the wrong word to use, but it does give me a feeling of satisfaction and security knowing I did what I could, and every day I am making my family stronger regardless what happens.

In the beginning it can be frustrating though. You start out by stocking up on some extra food, storing some water and buying a few supplies, but as you dig deeper into preparedness you begin to realize that to become completely prepared you need to do more than you thought you did. Pretty soon you have a little of this and a little of that, but you really aren’t prepared for anything.

I say it all the time but it’s true, prepping is like building a house. You need a good foundation to build on before you start putting up the walls and the roof.  A quick shelter will protect you from the elements for a little while, but eventually it will come crashing down. Building a strong fortified home will protect you and your family for years to come.

I remember when I first started, I stocked up on some food and water, I got my bug out bag ready and started working on adding to my supplies. The excited feeling I had quickly turned to an uneasy feeling as I learned more about preparedness and realized that while I was “kind of” prepared, I wasn’t “really” prepared for anything.

When you are building the foundation of this preparedness house it’s not about how pretty it is yet, a foundation is an ugly slab of concrete that needs to be put in place to insure that everything you put on top of it stays where it should be for years to come.

It’s really easy to start getting pulled in every direction and forget what your main goal was in the first place. We have natural disasters like tornados and earthquakes, we have bigger disasters like EMP’s and terrorism and all of these could lead to Martial Law or a grid down event.

Everything I would read about these different events would tell me about something else I needed to be prepared for that event. Pretty soon my brain was swimming and I didn’t know which direction to go first. At this point I only saw two options…

* Rob a bank and buy everything I could.

* Stop getting pulled in every direction and focus on one area of preparedness at a time.

Because prison didn’t fit into my preparedness plan I decided on option 2. I decided that instead of trying to juggle 5 balls at a time, i would get the basics down,