Here are my favorite resources that I use to physically prepare for the tribulation ahead.
Recommended Books:
The Prepper’s Blueprint: If you only get one book about preparedness, get this one. It’s comprehensive and practical.
2. The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, by Carol Deppe.
There are thousands of gardening books, but I keep coming back to this one. Its message is simple: There are five crops you need to survive and thrive:
- Potatoes
- Corn
- Beans
- Squash
- Eggs.
3. Butchering: Poultry Rabbit Lamb Goat Pork, by Adam Danforth. This is my guide when I process chickens and livestock on my homestead. The same principles apply to processing wild turkey, quail, and deer.
Free PDF Preparedness Manual
I don’t subscribe to Latter Day Saint (LDS) theology. But, with that said, I respect the Mormons for two things: (1) their family emphasis, and (2) their preparedness mindset.
There’s a lot of really-good preparedness information in this LDS Preparedness Manual. You can read it here or download it using the link below.
Recommended Websites:
https://www.ediblewildfood.com
https://revelationtimelinedecoded.com/prep
https://www.theorganicprepper.com
Preparedness Overview
- Using the resources above (or resources like them) create and implement your preparedness plan.
- Your plan should address all the areas below:
Community
When our 21st Century electric grid goes down, either due to a solar flare or a hostile action, everyone’s daily workload will increase dramatically.
Imagine your life with no refrigeration, electric heat or air conditioning, no lights, and no power to pump gas, or use an ATM. According to this US Government report, up to 90% of Americans could die in the first year after such an event.
Successful people will form agricultural communities, similar to the Amish, helping each other and pooling skills and resources. You need other people for:
- Division of labor. Everyone has different skills and abilities.
- Spreading the workload: One person can’t do it all.
- 24/7 Security, if necessary
- Mutual support and friendships
Shelter
- Our bodies need protection from rain, snow, wind, and cold.
- Privacy.
Water
Most of the deaths after a grid down scenario will be caused by water-borne illnesses. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people are dependent on public water systems, so they’re totally unprepared to process their own drinking water.
For the last 7 years, we’ve filtered 100% of our family’s drinking water through a ‘Berkey Light’ water filter. Berkey is ‘the gold standard’ for daily family use. It’s a little expensive up front, but over time it’s a lot cheaper (and more dependable) than buying bottled water.
Sawyer Mini water filters are small but powerful. And, they cost 1/10th as much as a Berkey. They filter out 99.99999 percent of all bacteria, protozoa, and microplastics from dirty water. One Sawyer Mini filter can process up to 100,000 gallons. Everyone should carry a Sawyer Mini in every vehicle, and in every bugout bag, and should know how to use it.
Food
I recommend having a minimum of one year of stored food for your family. This stored food isn’t your long-term food plan. Your homestead is your long-term plan. The purpose of your one-year’s food supply is to get you through winter until your garden and livestock can provide for your needs.
So, you need to know how to produce food. That means learning how to garden, raise poultry and livestock, hunt, fish, and safely forage the abundance of wild plants growing everywhere around us. There’s a learning curve for all these, so don’t wait. Start now, even if you’re in an NYC apartment, do what you can.
Hygiene, Health, and Medical
- Be physically fit, and stay current on routine medical and dental visits
- Stock up on personal hygiene items
- Assemble a first aid kit. Get first aid training and skills.
- Many places have a volunteer fire/rescue squad, with EMT and advanced paramedic training available to the public at a low cost (or 100% free if you volunteer to pull shifts)
Security
- If you live in a city you need to have an alternate location (away from cities) to go to in case ‘rule of law’ breaks down after a disaster.
- You should invest in the tools and skills required to safely and morally defend your life.
Tools
- Water filtration (e.g., Berkey, Sawyer mini, etc.)
- Gardening
- Butchering
- Wood cutting and splitting
- Washing and laundry
- Hunting and fishing
- Livestock fencing
Off-grid Electric Power
- Decide what you need if the power goes out.
- For example, we don’t plan to run any appliances, HVAC, water heater, etc., if the grid goes down longer than our generator’s fuel supply lasts.
- We have some small solar panels and batteries to power an RV water pump, a HAM radio, and to charge batteries for lights and communication devices, etc. Otherwise, we’ll be experiencing what life was like for thousands of years before 1900. We’ve planned for that, with the tools listed above, and practicing the skills to use them.
Transportation
- If you can’t use a motor vehicle due to fuel nonavailability, EMP, etc., do you have a sturdy bike?
Communications
If telephones won’t work how will you communicate?
- The optimum solution is a solar-powered HAM radio and the knowledge to use it
- Walkie-talkies are cheap and easy to use, but range is very limited
- AM/FM/Short wave radio is receive only, but it’s good to receive news, weather, music, etc.
Barter
- Central Bank Digital Currencies will enable governments and bankers to freeze your bank accounts and control what you can and cannot buy. As a result, start bartering now.
- Build relationships with farmers and other local suppliers
- Make contacts at your local farmers market
- Start now. Ease into it.