I know people are still having trouble in Louisiana because of Hurricane Ida, and I realize it’s too late to prepare for that, but it got me to thinking: What would I do if I had to prepare for a disaster in a weekend? Not necessarily a hurricane, but just to have something.
At first, I dismissed the idea because, as a long-time prepper, I say you simply can’t prepare properly in a weekend. When you really stop to think about it, there’s a lot to be done. In fact, I once had a brief conversation with a guy about it that went something like this…
Man: “What do you do for a living?”
Me (hesitantly, because I know where these conversations inevitably go): “I write books and blog about preparedness.”
Man: “Oh, that’s neat. You been doing that for long?”
Me: “At least a decade, but I really consider it a lifestyle.”
Man: “Yeah, that’s something I need to take a weekend to do.”
Me (I smile, and shake my head on the inside): “Right.”
The End.
Yup, conversations either go something like that or they fizzle out because I assume people assume I want to live in a bunker and eat MREs all day long. I’ve been doing this for long enough now that people either get it or they don’t.
Perhaps the only “good” news about all the troubles we’ve been having lately (ala COVID and hurricanes) is that new people want to prepare themselves, but I’ve noticed many tend to do some preparedness activities only to stop. I try not to get frustrated with them, at least they’re doing something which is more than I can say for most Americans.
Okay, enough ranting. So what would I do to prepare myself, if I only had a weekend?
The first thing I would probably do is to hit the grocery store and buy up as much of the food suggested in my book on the topic of food storage. Yeah, I know it’s a shameless plug, but it’s probably the easiest way to get the info across. Basically, buy as much of the shelf-stable foods as you can, especially canned foods (e.g., meat, vegetables, fruits, soups, stews), breakfast cereals, and ready-to-eat pastas. Add in some snack foods (like potato chips, pretzels, nuts, and more–and, no, I’m not kidding) and you’re off to a good start. Avoid foods which need refrigeration such as the milk and bread that most people buy just in case the power goes out.
Next, if you happen to have a LDS cannery nearby, give them a call and see if you can make an appointment to stop by and purchase some of their bulk foods (e.g., beans, rice, oats, granola, pancake mix, etc.). They’re about the best price you can find on such food. Some are open on Saturdays, but you’ll want to call ahead to be sure they’re open. FYI, Don’t purchase wheat because that will take a special grain grinder to process; buy a case or two of flour instead.
There’s more you can do, such as purchasing MREs or freeze-dry meals, and even buying a lot of products on Amazon, but I suggest you stick with foods you’re accustomed to eating, which means shopping at the local grocery store.
I would also look for supplements (e.g., multivitamins) and other “superfoods” to boost your food stores. I discuss nineteen of them in my survival foods book, but I would simply focus on a quality multivitamin and protein powder if you’re short and time…and you are.
Water is crucial too. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to bulk store water without having the proper containers, and you don’t want to be storing water in the wrong containers (like milk jugs or questionable buckets) so it’s off to the local farm and garden supply store where they often have 55-gallon barrels (or something similar) for reasonable prices. Don’t have one nearby? Try Craigslist.org or Facebook Marketplace. Search for “water storage barrels” or “IBC totes” or something like that. You’ll usually have to hurry to get them before others do; and you’re almost better off not even trying if there’s an impending disaster.
Store as much water as you reasonably can. I’m serious! But if you must have a number put on it, I suggest roughly five gallons per person per day which is enough for drinking, cooking, and minimal bathing. For a family of four, that’s twenty gallons per day or about 280 gallons for two weeks… or roughly five 55-gallon water barrels… or one IBC tote… you get the idea.
We can talk about water procurement, a variety of treatment options, and the like, but I would simply purchase a Berkey water filter system on Amazon and hope it shows up in a day or two. Yes, I know they seem expensive and I know you can DIY the idea if you buy just the filters, but a quality gravity water filter is great to have for day to day use regardless of circumstances; we’ve used our for several years and wouldn’t be without one. If that won’t work, then buy a bottle of bleach and know how much to use.
[FYI, I keep a bunch of water-related resources here, including a lot about rainwater harvesting, greywater usage, and more which may be of interest.]
That’s just the basics of keeping you alive. You’ll want plenty of extra batteries for whatever flashlights and lanterns you have. Don’t have any? Just buy the LED kind as there’s no need for kerosene or propane options; get them at Walmart if you must, though there are far better options to choose from (links to a list of my preferences) if you can wait a day or two for shipping.
Lots of people think you have to cook food, but that’s rarely the case with store-bought shelf-stable options, especially canned goods. Sure, you may prefer your soup warm, but you can eat it cold. Don’t like that idea? Okay, buy a simple camp stove online or at Walmart or a sporting goods store and ensure you have plenty of fuel to go with it. Or, better yet, learn how to build a campfire safely or make any number of DIY stoves. There are tin can stoves that are relatively easy to make, several brick rocket stove options which are fun to build and useful, too, or you could, I guess, just purchase some Sterno cans to warm the canned food up a bit. The sky is the limit if you use your imagination.
Remember to keep warm if the power goes out. Sleeping bags, extra clothes, warm socks, stocking caps, and gloves all go a long way to staying warm without having to heat the house. If you live somewhere it gets remarkably cold during the winter months, you probably already know how to heat with a woodstove, so have plenty of wood stockpiled and the tools to acquire more, as necessary. If you still need something, these Mr. Heater portable propane heaters are good for heating small areas, but they eat through cannisters of propane.
Of course, ensure whatever you purchase is safe for indoor use and, for goodness sake, NEVER use anything meant for outdoor use indoors to heat or cook with. That means you MUST leave the BBQ grill and generator outdoors (not even to be used in a partially ventilated area).
While I’m thinking about it, there’s no reason to use candles for light or heat–they’re just fire hazards–and you should ensure you have working battery powered smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. That’s just safety 101, IMHO.
You’ll want to keep cool in the summer, too. I assume you know where the coolest part of your house it, that’s a great start. Do you also know how to get a cool draft going through the house so you don’t bake? If not, figure that out. Note: even a personal battery-powered fan is better than nothing.
Remember to keep the hot activities outdoors (e.g., cooking/heating food), perform laborious tasks when it’s coolest during the day, and have plenty of water to keep hydrated because sweating is the body’s natural coolant. Here’s some more thoughts on staying cool, and the comments section is good to read as well if you want more ideas.
We haven’t talked about sanitation yet. Let’s hope the toilets keep flushing, but if they don’t, here’s one more reason to have water on hand as you can use water to flush a toilet if need be, though I would certainly hate to use potable water to flush a toilet. Use water from a pool, hot tub, or wherever else if at all possible. Can’t do that? Urinate in a 5-gallon bucket and dump outdoors well away from the house, garden, pets, water sources, etc. Defecate in a trash bag-lined bucket and bury; keep the lid handy to control smell.
Have a good amount of first aid supplies on hand. Just go to Walmart and buy the obvious first aid supplies on the shelf, including medications. This survival first aid checklist should be more than enough to get you started. Granted, there’s more to first aid than stuff. I suggest you purchase both The Survival Medicine Handbook as well as The Prepper’s Medical Handbook since they’re both written by very knowledgeable doctors who come at the topic from a prepper’s perspective. I own both and encourage you to as well.
There’s also no harm in running by the gas station to top off the cars and filling up gas cans, if possible. You never know if you’ll need to bug out (I write about how to make that happen in my book on the topic) but the real reason to ensure you have a ready-made generator. Didn’t know your vehicle can be used as a generator? Well, it can, but only if you have an appropriate inverter to power the refrigerator or freezer. You’ll need one that’s at least 800-watts, but more than 1,200-watts is usually overkill for this purpose; this 1,000-watt inverter looks good for the price, but I don’t own this specific brand.
[Please, for the life of me, don’t go out and buy a generator at the hardware store last minute. Most people never actually use them and wind up trying to return them only to find out the store won’t take it back. Then they end up selling their never-used generator on Craigslist.org for cheap. Don’t be that guy.]
Look, that’s pretty much it if we’re just talking about having the stuff most of us need to survive during a disaster. If you’re tight on money, focus on grocery store foods, bottled water, minor first aid supplies, and a way to keep the lights on. If it gets cold where you live, have plenty of clothes and blankets, and maybe look for inexpensive sleeping bags if there are garage sales nearby. Spend some time understanding how to DIY your survival needs, like makeshift water filters and cook stoves, and use an inverter instead of buying a generator.
I will say that true preparedness really isn’t something you can do in a weekend. In fact, preparedness isn’t only about having things. It is very much a lifestyle that requires consistent upkeep, such as rotating food storage or water storage–not to mention every other supply you have stockpiled, like batteries or medications–as well as continually working toward greater self-sufficiency, including grinding your own flour, power generation via solar or wind, or collecting your own rainwater.
And that’s to say nothing of the knowledge involved. For example, just because you have a bunch of first aid supplies and equipment doesn’t mean you have any idea of how or when to use it…and when NOT to use it. You can watch all of the YouTube videos you want, but until you actually “get your hands dirty” by doing and trying, well, there’s often a lot of nuance involved that’s lost until you actually do it.
Ultimately, having the supplies and desire to prepare is good. Preparing yourself well before something happens is better. But only living the life of a prepper is best if you expect to have the greatest chance of survival when the worst happens.
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