You Don't Have To Be A Prepper To Be Prepared - 7 Everyday Tips To Be Ready For Emergencies

These days, between civil unrest and strange weather, I think preparing for emergencies is even more important than ever. You don't have to be a prepper to be prepared but you do have to start. I will share some of the ways I prepare for emergencies. Plus, September is National Preparedness Month so a good time to focus on readiness.

If watching the news doesn't motivate you to at least get a couple days full of supplies going, then maybe nothing will. But here is how we started several years ago to get prepared for disasters and the whatevers. Like I said in this post, we had no power for three days due to just a Mylar balloon but boy was I happy to have a generator and lots of lanterns and battery operated lights.

Easiest Way To Start Getting Prepared For Disasters

1. Start with water. I talk about free ways to store water here.

    Buy a case of water every time you shop and store in your house until you have enough. If you have     a large family you will need more, but a single person will not need as much.

2. Have some source of light. Walmart has small led flashlights for 99 cents. Get a few. Keep one near       your bed, one in your junk drawer and another in your car. We have solar lanterns and battery                 operated as well and one oil lamp.  I want to get another one. I also store lots of candles. Don't

   forget some extra matches.

3. Easiest and cheapest way to stock a deep pantry, one that will feed you for a couple of weeks, is to         start buying two of your common shelf stable foods you eat weekly. This is how I started to stockpile     and you can read about it here on How To Stockpile When You Have Very Little Money.

4. Never let your gas tank go below half a tank. Heck, these days 3/4 of a tank might be smarter but           imagine you are 40 miles from home and something happens? You want to be able to get home if gas     is not available. This is the hardest thing for me to convince my girls to adhere to. Awe, youth!

5 Situational awareness is so important. We all need to pay attention to where we are out in public at all    times. Know where the exits are. Watch for crowd situations that may be unsafe and leave if you need    to before the situation becomes urgent.

6. Keep an eye on your kids. Let your kids play and have fun when you are out but you be the eyes           watching what is around them. Increasing homelessness in our state has made parks and other areas       visited by more than just kids. Many mean no harm, but often some are unstable and drug abusers         and you have to watch them.

7. Carry some pepper spray our mace with you. Our gun carry laws are strict where I currently live but      you can bet my girls and I all have pepper spray on our key chains. I have it ready in my hand often      in most parking lots. I no longer will give folks the benefit of the doubt if I feel threatened. Sadly, it        is not the world it was even 10 years ago.

This is the exact one I carry with quick key release.

You Can Call Me Paranoid - That's Okay

Does not hurt my feelings if folks call me names. I am too old to care, but what I do care about is my family and friends and fellow citizens trying to get by and prosper in this life. For me, being prepared and smart means peace of mind. It's easy once you tick things off your list of preparedness tasks, to start feeling a sense of accomplishment and peace of mind like I said before. None of these things costs much if anything to just be a little smarter these days to deal with our changing world.

There are so many more topics to cover and I will share as I continue to update and tick things of my to do list.