Countdown to Preparedness, week by week planning and preparing

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Weedygarden

Weedygarden

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I've been into preparedness for many years. It doesn't mean I was always even a little prepared, or more. I keep researching, reading, trying to fill the gaps in my preparedness.

I recently found this week by week preparedness guide giving tasks each week for a year for guidelines of preparing for whatever might come our way. It is in PDF format, and is 155 pages long. It would be a good guide to get printed out and spiral bound with a sturdy cover. Things like this seem to eventually disappear, and for that reason, I would like a hard copy and to go through it week by week as a group. I know that not everyone is interested in doing that, but it could be helpful especially for the new preppers.

This guide also covers all the topics of preparing for disasters: food, water, shelter, power, and more. There is a guide for what to purchase every week, for setting a few dollars aside for a disaster fund, for tasks to do to help be better prepared.

https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceaac2y25oesj6wr5c7vc367hmc6y5l3pbcvm24zcscahtyy3rrj36
At the OP's request, a note to say the link is no longer working.
 
Thanks @Weedygarden , I down Loaded it and placed a copy in my Emergency Preparedness folder. I started looking through it and it appears to start very basic but it also seems to progress into more complex subjects (Like HAM radio). The early goals seems modest enough (save $20 for later more expensive preps, start water storage...). I think it would be a fun challenge to try to go through the whole list...
 
Looks like a great book. Just scanning through the table of contents it looks very thorough. Thanks for sharing.
 
At Urbanhunter's suggestion, I'm going to start at week 1! I should have thought of that!

WEEK 1
Lists, Lists, and More Lists
To move forward, it’s best to know where you are now. After all, it’s difficult to give someone directions if you don’t know where he or she is starting out from, right? Your first assigned task on your journey to preparedness is to make lists of what you already have in your home or is otherwise available to you. Some folks prefer to handwrite such lists in a spiral notebook. Others may choose to make some sort of spreadsheet on their computer. Heck, for all I know there may be apps out there for smart phones that will do this as well. I suggest going the pen-and-paper route. This way, you can still access the information during a power outage. Here are the lists I want you to make.

FOOD STORAGE Go through every cupboard, shelf, and even your fridge and freezer. Mark down every single edible item in your home, from individual spice containers all the way to that turkey you bought on sale before Thanksgiving. Next to each item on your list, write down how old it is, estimating as needed. Be diligent in your efforts; don’t overlook anything. The idea here is, what if a disaster hit and what you have on hand is ALL the food you have for your family? No emergency runs to the grocery store; all crops you may have are pulled. Naturally, this list is in flux, since it’ll change as you prepare meals and such. That’s OK, don’t worry about it. Just write down everything you have on hand at the time you’re making the list.

SAMPLE FOOD STORAGE LIST
❑❑ 4 cans of beans
❑❑ 10 cans soup
❑❑ 2 lbs flour
❑❑ 1 lb sugar

WATER STORAGE

Next, list how much water you have stored. Include water bottles you may have scattered throughout the house and in the fridge. Find out the capacity of your water heater as well as your toilet tanks. If you have rain barrels and they’re holding water, go ahead and add them as well. If you have water-purification equipment, such as a Berkey filter or purification tablets, list them here too.

SAMPLE WATER STORAGE LIST
❑❑ 10 gallons of bottled water
❑❑ 50 gallons of water heater water
❑❑ 30 gallons of rain catch water 13
❑❑ 30 water-purification tablets

FIRST AID/MEDICAL SUPPLIES

Adhesive bandages, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, gauze, over-the-counter medications, anything medical-related should all go on this list. For things that have an expiration date, such as meds, add that to your list.

SAMPLE FIRST AID/MEDICAL SUPPLIES LIST
❑❑ 3 boxes (100-count each) adhesive bandages
❑❑ 4 tubes antibiotic ointment
❑❑ 5 packages rolled gauze
❑❑ 1 blood pressure cuff

HYGIENE:
Here, I want you to include how many rolls of toilet paper you have, how much soap, shampoo, and other basic necessities. Sure, humans survived centuries without deodorant, but it sure is nice to have, isn’t it? Especially if you have teenage boys in the house. Don’t forget toothpaste, toothbrushes, and floss.

SAMPLE HYGIENE LIST
❑❑ 6 bars of soap
❑❑ 2 bottles of shampoo
❑❑ 2 packages of baby wipes
❑❑ 34 rolls of toilet paper

TOOLS Forget all the battery-operated or electric power tools. Just list hand tools—hammers, handsaws, screwdrivers, crowbars, that sort of stuff. Yes, duct tape is a tool and should be included. Other types of tape? Um, not so much.
SAMPLE TOOL LIST
❑❑ 1 curved claw hammer
❑❑ 1 straight claw hammer
❑❑ 3 pliers (standard)
❑❑ 2 pliers (channel lock)
❑❑ 6 slotted screwdrivers (various sizes)

MISCELLANEOUS
Here’s where you list the odds and ends. Include anything that you feel will be an asset during or immediately after a disaster and that wasn’t covered previously. Things like batteries, camping equipment, propane grills, that sort of thing.

14 SAMPLE MISCELLANEOUS LIST
❑❑ 1 gas grill
❑❑ 2 propane tanks for grill (1 filled, 1 empty)
❑❑ 2 bags of charcoal
❑❑ 1 tent

Please realize that making these lists isn’t something you can accomplish in just an hour or so. Like anything else, to do the job right takes time and effort. Once these lists are complete, take a well-deserved break. The next step is to determine the shelf lives of what you have on hand. With some foods, that’s rather easy. But for many items that can be difficult to figure out. And I’m not talking about the “best by” dates printed on the packages here either. I’m referring to how long the items will actually last. One great web resource for this is found on the Organize Your Life website (www.organizeyourlife.org/expiration.htm). This site lists just about everything you can imagine, from foods to household cleaners. Using that website or another source of information, go back through your lists and determine as best you can when the items you currently have will no longer be viable. Obviously as you acquire more supplies, you’ll be using the current items first.
 
WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENTS TASKS

Create your master lists—Food, Water, First Aid, Hygiene, Tools, Miscellaneous. Keep them handy and add or edit them as you go along in your daily life. No, you don’t have to jot down a note every time you use a teaspoon of garlic powder. But as you use up supplies or add to them, adjust the lists accordingly.

SAVINGS Start your Prepper Savings Account by setting aside $20.
TOTAL PREPPER SAVINGS ACCOUNT: __________

WATER STORAGE

Begin storing water for emergencies. Either purchase a case of bottled water or fill two empty 2-liter soda bottles (2 liters is roughly a half gallon) per person. Put them in the back of a closet or in the basement, somewhere cool and dark, to inhibit the growth of bacteria, mold, and other nastiness on or inside the bottles. TOTAL WATER STORAGE:_____

GROCERY LIST
■ 3 cans vegetables, your choice
■ 2 cans fruit, your choice, but stick with those packed in water or juice, rather than syrup
■ 2 cans meat (tuna, chicken, beef), your choice
■ 2 cans soup, not condensed (they require water)
■ 1 canister oatmeal or one box of flavored instant oatmeal
■ 1 treat, such as a bag of chips or hard candy

WEEK COMPLETED Date:_____________
 
I'm wondering about what kind of notebook or binder would work best for this project. Any ideas or suggestions? A 3 ring binder would allow for additions, but pages tear out too easily. I think a notebook that is bound and would allow for individualization would be good. Maybe a composition notebook?
 
Definitely an interesting project, would very much need individualized attention. Looking forward to checking it out, though!

With regards notebooks, I’m a big advocate of 3-ring binders with sheet protectors. Then you can take the pages out, write on them, put them back in, and they’re still protected.
 
jishinsjourney said:
Definitely an interesting project, would very much need individualized attention. Looking forward to checking it out, though!

With regards notebooks, I’m a big advocate of 3-ring binders with sheet protectors. Then you can take the pages out, write on them, put them back in, and they’re still protected.
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I do have a bunch of sheet protectors. That is a good idea. I need to set up a 3 ring binder. I've been using a spiral bound hard back notebook for many years, but I think it is time to upgrade that and redo my inventory.

I'm looking for a food inventory list online to start week one. I know that there are several out there. Yes, we could each create our own, and we will need to individualize. I'm going to search for options. It may be that I will want to create a new spreadsheet and save it as a PDF that can be shared here.
 
Week 1 Assignments Report:

Completed Inventory: Using my phone I took photos of food storage shelves to allow me to make quick counts and easy data entry at the Computer (Spreadsheet). I printed a dated copy of the Food Storage Inventory for my Prepper Journal.

Prepper Journal (3 ring binders, printer paper with hole punch, sheet protectors (200)).
* Placed the Journal on wife's cook book shelf - that way she can use it for weekly shopping to fill the working pantry

Prepper Savings X

* In envelope in prepper Journal

Water Storage X

* Added 8 gallons for toilet use
* Added ceramic water filters (4 black, 4 white for Berky system) 2 as kits with spigots

Grocery List X

* Substituted Frozen Vegetables

Treat X (low sodium crackers and sugar free hard candy)
 
UrbanHunter said:
Week 1 Assignments Report:

Completed Inventory: Using my phone I took photos of food storage shelves to allow me to make quick counts and easy data entry at the Computer (Spreadsheet). I printed a dated copy of the Food Storage Inventory for my Prepper Journal.

Prepper Journal (3 ring binders, printer paper with hole punch, sheet protectors (200)).
* Placed the Journal on wife's cook book shelf - that way she can use it for weekly shopping to fill the working pantry

Prepper Savings X

* In envelope in prepper Journal

Water Storage X

* Added 8 gallons for toilet use
* Added ceramic water filters (4 black, 4 white for Berky system) 2 as kits with spigots

Grocery List X

* Substituted Frozen Vegetables

Treat X (low sodium crackers and sugar free hard candy)
Click to expand...
So awesome! I have my long term stuff in the basement. It is accessible by going outside and through a different door. I haven't been there in a while. I have that inventoried and in my hardbound notebook.

I'm not home currently, so some of these things are not accessible for me now. I have been so busy lately with dog and house watching that I have had to turn down several jobs. One of the jobs was with my favorite client, but the first person who requests dates on my calendar gets them.

I am thinking that once a week I am going to make a trip to WM, just to fulfill the weekly list, and maybe no other, or little other shopping for that trip. That way I know I'll cover the weekly list, and I'll be better able to track the expenses. Taking a photo of that on my phone will also help with the shopping list.

Canned vegetables versus frozen vegetables: that is a dilemma for sure. Freezer space is always at a premium, and I really prefer frozen over canned. Frozen have a more limited shelf life. For canned veggies, I am thinking tomato products (Ro-tel, paste, sauce, pasta sauce, pizza sauce), and canned potatoes. The thing about things like canned carrots, corn, peas, green beans is that while I am not a fan of eating them, they would be easy to heat up and eat if fuel is limited and could go into a soup or stew.

How the lists are organized, I was thinking that every 4 weeks is a flat of veggies if a person buys 3 a week, times 4 = a flat. Fruits would be a flat every 6 weeks.

I like the idea of putting savings in an envelope in the journal. I will set that up.
I wondered about what to do for treats. I considered doing butter a few times, which is technically not a treat, but something I would value in a SHTF time. I don't think I saw it in the lists.

I went to a yard sale yesterday and got two 3 ring binders in excellent condition for .25 each. One of them is going to be my journal. The other will be for recipes for prepping items organized by category, such as beans, rice, spaghetti, pizza. I also print out labels for jars for food items. I label what is in the jar, and whatever directions I might need for cooking. Sometimes it is recipes, but on small labels. I keep them in a bag that I can keep in a plastic page in the journal.
 
I think that it would never be the wrong time, or too late to join this thread and participate. Anytime someone wonders how to start prepping, they can start at the beginning of the thread, and build up their preps week by week.

For those of us who have been prepping for a while, we can use the guide to build up our current situations with food, cash, tools and other aspects of preparedness, filling the gaps. I like the idea of the weekly suggestions being like homework. Each one can be printed out, and written on as tasks are completed. As I go about my days, I will be thinking about my tasks for the week. I am thinking about my notebook, inventories, and purchasing the first weeks supplies.
 
Week 2

I'm wondering how many of you are interested and going to try to do this challenge? I understand OPSEC! You might participate in the challenge, but never post about it. I know that some of the things in this challenge are going to kick some of us in the pants, but it might be what we need. Or some of the ideas, but not all, might be things to help you/us move up in preparedness.

I am going to try to get this moved up so that each week starts on Sundays. I know week 1 was just started last Wednesday. I have barely begun! I have my notebook, and I have the $20 cash, but I have done nothing else from week 1.

I go home later today from my current house sitting job and will be there for almost two weeks. I will be busy though, because I will be boarding one of my favorite dogs as well as seeing another for dog park visits and feeding a cat twice a day. I will be focusing on getting my shopping for week 1 done tomorrow and setting up my notebook.

WEEK 2
Out with the Old Most of us would agree that most of us have . . . way . . . too . . . much . . . stuff. Clothes, books, movies, gadgets, paper clutter, the list goes on and on.

The typical American home is just swimming in stuff we don’t need, don’t use, and could easily get rid of without ever missing it. This week, you’re going to start purging.

See, preps not only require investments of time and money, they require space. Having a year’s worth of food on hand is wonderful, but do you want all of it sitting in boxes in your living room? This is one assignment you won’t likely be able to accomplish in just one week. You’d quickly become overwhelmed trying to do that. Instead, make this an ongoing project and work on it a little at a time.

Start with your coat closet. My own rule of thumb when it comes to clothing and outerwear: if I haven’t worn it in the last year, away it goes. Naturally, you may have some specialized gear, and you don’t need to get rid of that. But you don’t really need six different winter parkas, five light jackets, and four pairs of boots.

That vacuum cleaner that stopped working three years ago? Either fix it this week or get rid of it. The bags for the vacuum cleaner you owned ten years ago and don’t fit what you have now? Bye-bye.

From there, move through the rest of the closets in your home. If the clothes don’t fit right now, toss them in a box. The only exception should be if you have kids and you plan to pass down clothes from one child to another. Otherwise, get rid of them. The clothes, not the kids.

Eventually, you need to go through every closet, every drawer, every shelf in your home. Think about it like this—if you get rid of something, you no longer need to dust it, store it, or deal with it. Supplies for a hobby you gave up years ago? See ya later! Movies you’ve seen and realistically don’t plan to watch again? That’s precious shelf space right there! This goes double for those of you who still have VHS movies but don’t have a working VCR!

Books? OK, this is the one I struggle with the most. I have tons of books I haven’t read yet. I have boxes of books I’ve read and hope to read again someday. I also have shelves and shelves of books that I should get rid of. And I’m doing so, but very slowly. And, should any of my faithful readers be looking for a home for any books featuring some sort of end-of-the-world plot, please drop me a line. What do you do with all this stuff that you want to go away?

Movies, books, and other things that are still in decent shape you might consider selling on eBay or Craigs-list. If you go that route, take whatever money you make and put it toward preps. Stuff that isn’t quite as good, you might think about unloading at a rummage sale in a couple of months. But promise yourself that anything that doesn’t sell still has to go, one way or another. Things that might not be worth much money but still have a lot of use could go to someone in a local Freecycle group.

FREECYCLE
Freecycle is a great way to get rid of stuff you don’t need and sometimes to acquire stuff you do. The system works via e-mail. Go online and surf over to www.freecycle.org. There, you can search for active groups in your local area. Once you’ve joined a group, you’ll receive e-mails from people who either have stuff they want to discard or are looking for specific items. If you see something that interests you, send the owner an e-mail to discuss it. When you have stuff to donate to someone else, you’ll send an e-mail to the group with that information, then wait for replies. Generally speaking, the system works fairly well. These groups are full of great people. Occasionally, you’ll run into an administrator who takes his or her role entirely too seriously and rules the group with an iron fist. This person will demand that you follow a certain format and admonish you if you so much as forget to cross a t. Gotta take the good with the bad. Whatever is left can go to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or the trash (which is probably where much of it truly belongs).
 
WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENTS
TASKS
Begin wherever you like in your home and start purging.
Get rid of the stuff you don’t need to make room for the stuff you do.
Be vicious and cutthroat.
Sell what you can and put the money toward prepping. If it won’t sell, it goes to Freecycle, thrift stores, recycling, or the trash.

SAVINGS
Add $10 to your Prepper Savings Account.
TOTAL PREPPER SAVINGS ACCOUNT:_____

WATER STORAGE Two 2-liter bottles of water per person or one case of bottled water for the household.
TOTAL WATER STORAGE: _____

GROCERY LIST
3 cans vegetables, your choice
2 cans fruit, your choice, but stick with those packed in water or juice, rather than syrup
1 can chili or stew, your choice
1 package or jar of gravy mix, your choice
1 jar of peanut butter (if allergic, substitute an allergen-free version such as SunButter)
1 box of granola bars, protein bars, or equivalent
1 gallon cooking oil (vegetable oil is preferred, for longer shelf life)

WEEK COMPLETED Date:____________
 
Tommyice said:
I’m not participating to the letter but am pulling useful parts from it. For instance, the purchase of the canned goods I would only be doing if the are on sale since I’ve got a pantry full already. The savings portion I’ll be doing.
Click to expand...
We are similar. But I will still be checking for updates.

Ben
 
ClemKadiddlehopper said:
I am reading this but not participating. I absolutely do not agree with the purging. In my case, it does not compute.
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I get this to a point.

After I retired from teaching, I worked a lot on going through files and all of my stuff. I worked on it in the garage a lot. I would fill up the trash cans (4), and then wait until the trash was taken away. I have gone through lots, but have more to do.

I also sell used books online. I get boxes of books here and there, and then have to go through and see what is worth selling and what is not.

I sew and craft. I can go through my fabrics and sewing supplies and purge and re-organize.

Am I the only person who has this much stuff to purge? And I do keep plugging away at it!
 
Weedygarden said:
I get this to a point.

After I retired from teaching, I worked a lot on going through files and all of my stuff. I worked on it in the garage a lot. I would fill up the trash cans (4), and then wait until the trash was taken away. I have gone through lots, but have more to do.

I also sell used books online. I get boxes of books here and there, and then have to go through and see what is worth selling and what is not.

I sew and craft. I can go through my fabrics and sewing supplies and purge and re-organize.

Am I the only person who has this much stuff to purge? And I do keep plugging away at it!
Click to expand...

I purged sewing supplies once, a long time ago, during a move. I have regretted it ever since. Fabric stores have dissappeared and stocks are very limited compared to the olden times. I was a sewer of clothes, not a crafter so the needs are different. Fabric is very expensive now and of poorer quality with a much more limited selection. It's my age showing.

Same with books. Big regret.

Hard copy books are getting rarer and more expensive by the day and books are being censored at an unbelievable rate. Think hard before sacrificing books. Sure, if you have old files, purge away, but it depends upon what's in those files.

My hubby has a large filing cabinet of hundreds of advanced physics papers that are irreplaceable now. He has cabinets of technical books that he cannot find replacements for or new books on the subjects. Science has fallen a long ways and is being censored as well for the little people. Information should not be on the chopping block.

I buy things because they have a use. I buy things in multiples because of such use, and not being able to run to the corner store. I don't tend to buy baubles, so that doesn't leave me with much I am willing to purge although I have a crap ton of stuff. I left a lot behind on my last move. I have hindsight regrets about that as well and I still have stuff coming out the wazoo.

Never again will I fall into the trap that if I haven't used it in a month, I don't need it. To me, that is the anti thesis of being prepared.
 
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SAMPLE FOOD STORAGE LIST
❑❑ 4 cans of beans
❑❑ 10 cans soup
❑❑ 2 lbs flour
❑❑ 1 lb sugar
It is a small, but good list, I have more beans than soup, soup is easy to make. I have 24 cans of beans, 4 cans of soup & roman noodles.
Never less than five pounds of flour, more than one kind.
5-10 pounds of sugar, honey is better, it has shelf life of forever.
Glee, spices, salt.
 
@Weedygarden and @ClemKadiddlehopper I too have plenty of sewing supplies. I also did a purge once on that when I wasn't doing much sewing and have pretty much replaced everything I had sold. Right now the biggest lot of purging I need to do is in the clothing area. I have a closet full of clothes for a life I no longer have (nor fit into but that's a different problem).
 
For many years China had the best dressed farmers and construction workers.

Somebody screwed up in the factories and made crazy amounts of 3 piece suits. They solved the problem by pricing them way cheaper than other clothing types. It was bizarre seeing workers in fancy suits, up to their knees in muck, planting rice.

The point is, if you feel a depression coming on, and funds are limited to prepare, don't throw away stuff that can be repurposed. Wear a 3 piece suit in the garden and buy more beans.

I am derailing this thread though, and will shut my trap and get with the program.
 
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joel said:
SAMPLE FOOD STORAGE LIST
❑❑ 4 cans of beans
❑❑ 10 cans soup
❑❑ 2 lbs flour
❑❑ 1 lb sugar
It is a small, but good list, I have more beans than soup, soup is easy to make. I have 24 cans of beans, 4 cans of soup & roman noodles.
Never less than five pounds of flour, more than one kind.
5-10 pounds of sugar, honey is better, it has shelf life of forever.
Glee, spices, salt.
Click to expand...
It is a sample of an inventory. Yes, it is small list. This list would hardly get a person through a week. 14 cans between the beans and soup? Two meals a day? A week's worth of food. Flour could be made into bread, and the sugar, I don't know. I use so little of it. That is around a years worth for me.

I too have many more beans than soup. I have many more dry beans than canned. I totally get how canned anything will be easier to cook or heat up than something like dried beans. I have some flats of cans of potatoes and other veggies. I haven't eaten canned potatoes in a long time, but given that they are already processed, heating them up is about all it takes to make them more desirable to eat.
 
ClemKadiddlehopper said:
For many years China had the best dressed farmers and construction workers.

Somebody screwed up in the factories and made crazy amounts of 3 piece suits. They solved the problem by pricing them way cheaper than other clothing types. It was bizarre seeimg workers in fancy suits, up to their knees in muck, planting rice.

The point is, if you feel a depression coming on, and funds are limited to prepare, don't throw away stuff that can be repurposed. Wear a 3 piece suit in the garden and buy more beans.

I am derailing this thread though, and will shut my trap and get with the program.
Click to expand...
You are not necessarily derailing this thread. I think this is the kind of thing to discuss.

I have a room full of sewing stuff--fabrics, zippers, buttons, thread, patterns, machines, etc. I need to go through and do some organizing. I used to sew almost all of my own clothing, but also curtains, quilts, and other useful things.
 
Weedygarden said:
A 3 ring binder
Click to expand...
Perfect! Remember to get a hole punch so you can use heavier sheets like presentation covers to put graphs, maps and visual aids on!
 
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