Fredrick M. Woods - Survival Guide: The Book All Survivalist and Preppers Need

Chapter 1: Preparedness Basics

While the idea that some form of major change is on the horizon is constantly gaining steam when it comes to public acceptance; there are still those who have seen the reality of the situation but do not yet know the best way to go about ensuring they and their family are prepared when the other shoe drops. Emergency food is the key to long-term survival which is why those who want to be ahead of the game are preparing now by stockpiling food.

Stockpiling food isnt something you can do in a weekend however, it takes plenty of planning and the right types of preparation to ensure that the food and water you set aside will be there when you need it. There are plenty of options when it comes to getting started but knowing which to choose and how to avoid spending an arm and a leg while doing can make the process so confusing that many people give up before theyve even started. Luckily, following the steps listed below can help put you on the path to proper prepper preparedness.

Determine your priorities

Regardless if you are preparing for the type of natural disaster that is common to your region or are interested in preparing against a wider barrage of threats, the first thing you need to do is determine how much of the essentials you need to survive. Remember the average person can go up to three weeks without food, three days without water, three hours without shelter and three minutes without air.

While air and shelter will (hopefully) be easier to come by, both water and food will easily run dry in most well-populated areas within a day or two at most. With that in mind you need to ensure that you will have the food and water your family will need to survive for at least six months. If you think that seems like too long of a time, remember Hurricane Sandy, that was a (relatively) minor hurricane and some places took up to a year to get back to normal.

Water

While being able to store enough water to last six months is beyond most people, FEMA currently recommends that you keep enough water for 3 days on hand at any given time, just in case. This means 1 gallon per person, per day. This includes water for cooking and cleaning as well and should be upped during the summer months. If you are interested in truly preparing for the unknown a better rule of thumb is keeping enough water around for a two-week supply. For a family of 4 that means 56 gallons of water.

When it comes to storing water, many people will find they dont have as much space as they would like. Some basic fixes for this are to purchase bulk water storage options. A 50-gallon water barrel doesnt take up as much space as you might think and there are also a wide variety of 5-gallon stackable storage containers available. More information on ensuring you have enough water is can be found in chapter 3.

Food

Less than 100 years ago it was still common for most people to have their own gardens and canning and preserving your own food was a given. Over the past 40 years however, our reliance on processed foods means that most people would struggle to last for a week with what they currently have in their homes. This goes the same for the grocery stores themselves and it doesnt take much of an imagination to come up with a scenario where all of your local grocery stores are out of food in about the same amount of time.

Ensuring that you and your family have enough to eat in the event of an emergency doesnt have to break the bank. The first step is to make sure that your pantry is as fully stocked with long lasting food as possible by purchasing a few extra long-lasting items at the grocery store each time you go, along with your regular list. When doing this it is important to write down the dates for individual items and rotate foods out as you dont need them anymore.

This is all well and good but if you are interested in storing food to ensure you are ready for a longer period of time, then it really comes down to a few options. First, you can purchase a variety of more expensive foods specifically designed to last for longer periods, often by being treated with a variety of chemicals. The second, you can invest in the tools to can and preserve your own items for a fraction of the cost. If you are really interested in preparing for the long-term it is important to ensure you have a mix of both short-term and long-term foods always available. More information on canning and preserving can be found in chapter 2.

After you take the time, money and energy to stockpile the food you need it is important to store it in such a way that all of your effort will be for naught. The worst case scenario in this situation would be to open up your food stores when you finally really need them only to find everything inedible. It is important to take oxygen levels, moisture, light and temperature all into account even if you are store things that you canned and preserved yourself. A good rule of thumb is that the cooler and more stable you can ensure the storage space stays the better. Colder areas make it more difficult for mold to grow and temperatures between 72 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit is considered ideal.