Prepping Mindset is Individual-Focused A necessary prepping mindset begins with each of us as individuals. To become a solid prepper, we need to become more situationally aware. We should also work on improving our preparedness skill level and decision-making abilities. As you become more proficient with your prepping mindset and skills, you will be able…

Prepping Mindset is Individual-Focused A necessary prepping mindset begins with each of us as individuals. To become a solid prepper, we need to become more situationally aware. We should also work on improving our preparedness skill level and decision-making abilities. As you become more proficient with your prepping mindset and skills, you will be able…

There are 9 components to successful preparedness planning to ensure that your strategies work when it really counts. To create a plan that will work for you and your family, you need to take some time to figure out the information below so that you have all the data you need to increase your likelihood of success.

Preparedness Planning Steps

You've probably heard that saying, "How do you eat a whole elephant?" with the answer "one bite at a time." Well, the same holds true with preparedness planning.  The steps below seem really simple, but this helps to take the overwhelm out of something as huge as potentially saving your family member's lives.

Step 1: Make Time to Plan

You need to set aside time to make the plan. Write it down on your schedule like an appointment, and stop putting it off. You need to treat this time seriously and focus completely on what you're doing. You may be doing all the planning by yourself, or you may be coordinating with your partner, so be sure to accommodate their schedule too.

Not doing so can cause you to rush or wait until the last minute. If you do your preparedness planning while the event is unfolding, you’ll increase the possibility of making mistakes at the worst possible time.

Step: 2:  List Who and What You Are Protecting

You will need to decide on who and what you can protect. You can’t protect everyone and everything. You’ll have to decide who and what is most important to you personally and for survival. While you might want to save the entire neighborhood, it may come down to just being able to save your family.

So take some time to prioritize. Obviously, your family comes first. You may be able to include some close neighbors or friends in your plan. Put it all in order.

You may be planning to protect things as well as people. Your home, garden, and vehicle might all be on your list of things to protect. For example, if you live in hurricane country, boarding up your windows helps protect your home from storm damage.

Remember, protection isn't just about violence. It's about a multitude of potential threats, which leads us to the next step.

Step 3: What Do You Want to Protect From?

Now, think about what threats you are the most likely to be facing.

For some, the main focus of their preparedness planning is directed toward natural disasters like tornados, floods, hurricanes, or earthquakes. Perhaps you live near a nuclear or chemical plant and worry about an industrial incident.

Or is your plan directed towards knucklehead terrorists or a random auto accident?

Think about what is most likely for you, not about a more far-fetched Mad Max scenario.

Step 4: What Are Your Resources

What resources do you have available? Resources can include many different things, such as

time

money

supplies

food

housing

skills

storage space

natural resources (water source, etc.)

vehicles

equipment

secondary location

You’ll need to analyze what you have, whether you have enough, and if you need to add resources.

Step 5: What Is Your Daily Life?

Disasters and bad guys strike at different times and are unpredictable. You need to think about different scenarios and how to handle them based on your daily schedules.

Where will you and your family members be at certain times of the day? Do you have a central meeting point? A plan for picking up the kids?

Preparedness planning needs to be able to be flexible and keep up with your changing life.

Step 6: How Long Will You Be Required to Execute the Plan?

You will need to have an idea of how long you are going to be in and executing your plan. Obviously, disasters are rarely isolated events,

Pre-Planning Pre-planning is preparing yourself to plan. All plans need information, and things sorted out to make them effective. Take the time ahead of the plan to figure out the information below. Doing so will help a lot when working on your plan.   Pre-Planning Steps Step 1: Make Time to Plan You need to…

Prepare Your Mind We prepare for stressful situations by planning logistically, strategically and tactically. We buy long term storage food and plan routes to safety. But, how often do we train and prepare our mind? Don’t Forget Emotional Self-Care (ESC) is an often forgotten and neglected tool for your brain. What is Emotional Self-Care It…

To identify the greatest threats you may face, you need to know how to create a risk profile.

So, how do you develop your own risk profile? You simply ask yourself the following questions and create an honest assessment of your vulnerabilities.

How to Create a Risk Profile #1) What Do I Have to Protect?

You ask yourself this question, so you know what your most important assets are based on your situation.

People - Family, friends, etc.

Hard Assets - Home, car, stereo

Animals - Pets, livestock

Consumables - Food, cash, etc.

Intellectual Property - Wi-Fi, Computer files, etc.

The list of things to protect will be different for everyone.

How to Create a Risk Profile #2) What Do I Need to Protect It From?

You’ll want to protect your assets from either Mother Nature (natural disaster) or human threats (intentional and unintentional actions).

What are the natural disasters that are most likely in your area? For example, you may want to install hurricane-resistant glass, create a storm cellar, or look into securing your belongings better in an earthquake-prone area.

When you create a risk profile, you'll want to research your local crime statistics, so you understand the current threats in your area. When looking for this information, check with the local police or on the web. The website CityData can be an excellent resource for this type of research.

How to Create a Risk Profile #3) What Do I have to Protect It With?

There are many possibilities for keeping the people and things you are protecting safe from the threats that you have identified while you create a risk profile.

Depending on your risks, consider:

Alarms

Installing storm shutters

A dog

Locks

Fencing your property

Building a storm shelter

Firearms

Cameras

Gates

Also, consider CPTED – Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.

This is the use of natural and visually appealing man-made features to provide security options. An example of this is all of the planters around federal buildings. While they are nice to look at, they are meant to keep vehicles from attacking the building.

The Next Part of How to Create a Risk Profile Focuses on Solutions.

Focus first on the threat. What does the threat want from you? Does the threat want to harm you? Steal from you? Kidnap your child?

Your research and threat assessment can aid in identifying this. For example, you own a blue Honda, and the local police tell you thieves are stealing blue Hondas. This gives you a specific target to protect.

Define Your Perimeter

Your perimeter is not necessarily the outside skin of your home. You may have to expand your “perimeter” past your house or even past your property line to deal with actual threats.

Your threat assessment and research will help you determine where your security perimeter should begin.

Physical Security Protocol

The 5 Ds of home security are Deter, Detect, Asses, Delay, Respond, and they are the basis of a physical security protocol.

Deter

You can deter criminals by making your neighbor’s home look like a more natural target. No, you're not putting up any signs pointing to their house.