Like most people who get involved in preparedness I went after the fun and cool parts of the checklist first. Credit Card sized survival tool, check. Tent, check. Weapons and ammo, check. Water filter, check. Solar battery charger, check. Enough food to last three days with a way to cook it if things get hairy? Well um… that’s not the fun stuff dude!

Until today that’s how I’ve been operating. I know, I know not smart, but after I trip to a big blue box store I am now I am meeting the Government’s basic suggestions on disaster preparedness. for a little over $60 I got 3 days worth of freeze dried food for 3 people and a 6 gallon water jug.

12362642_200925283581781_53171965_n — Peep that Best by date

Storing this food is as easy as, DON’T OPEN THE BLOODY THING! The pail is sealed with the food, camp stove, and fuel ready to go. No reason to mess with it. Once opened the self life goes from 25 years to 5.

The water on the other had takes a little, and I mean little more work. You must clean the canister and add a little bleach to the water. A rough guide is 1 teaspoon per gallon, and it should be rotated every 6 months.

Is this everything I need? Nope. but it is a bloody good start. You can find more info at ready.gov and redcross.org

I know this seems outside the scope of Martial Arts/Self Defence and Fitness. And it is, but I think Preparedness is still Kung-Fu. I became interested in preparedness after a personal disaster. I was evicted from my home and lost my job in the same week. This was actually the culmination of a year of suicidal depression. I decided this was never going to happen again. The stress was just too much.

This post is not starting from the beginning. Fire, Shelter, Water, and Food need to be covered first. These are just some cool ideas I saw on Youtube and thought I would share. Stay tuned for more posts on this topic.

Perimeter Alarms are a good way to create a little piece of mind when you could use it the most. Even out camping sometimes just knowing nothing was rooting through your camp can help you sleep at night.