What Is Your Backup Plan?
“Be prepared” is not just the Boy Scouts’ motto. It’s a philosophy we should all be living under in this day and age. The future is more uncertain than it’s ever been. In fact, the only thing we can really count on is that things are going to get a lot messier… probably in the near future.
I realize I’m preaching to the choir here, but I want to bring something a little different into the conversation this time. I’m hoping that by now a vast majority of us are prepared for a crisis situation with an emergency food supply, plenty of bottled water, a packed and ready-to-go bug-out bag and a number of other essential items such as flashlights, batteries, knives, cordage, etc.
But what’s your backup plan? For example, what are you going to do if the power in your home goes out for an extended period of time? What are you going to do if a storm levels your home and destroys all the food and water you’ve stockpiled? What are you going to do if the only available water out there is contaminated?
The best prepared people in the world are not those with a five-year food and water supply at home. They’re the ones with a substantial food supply at home and additional food stockpiles in one or two other locations.
The best prepared people in the world are not the ones with 500 gallons of bottled water in their basements. They’re the ones with 50 gallons of bottled water in their basement and a reliable water purification system.
The best prepared people in the world are not those with 25 flashlights and 50 batteries at home. They’re the ones with five flashlights and 10 batteries at each of two or three different locations, plus a portable solar generator.
The lesson here is that isn’t enough just to be prepared for the type of emergency you anticipate. It’s crucial to be ready for the type of disaster that could cut power from your home for a lengthy period of time or chase you from your home.
Here’s how to do it. Think about every precaution you have taken in order to be ready for the coming crisis. Now ask yourself, what’s my backup plan for each one? Yes, be prepared with emergency food and water in your home, but 1) keep some in secondary locations, 2) get yourself a reliable portable generator and 3) acquire a reliable water purification system.
I learned this lesson when my house burned down. It just happened last September so we still have a lot to do to recover, but I’ve definitely changed my course of action since living through a real life emergency. Our new house is an ICF house with a full hidden basement, so I don’t plan on bugging out, but I have some provisions at two other locations just in case. Also, we have our go bags that go everywhere with us. My wife had an additional emergency the day our house burned down. She is diabetic and she might have had enough insulin to get her through her day without the phone call telling her our house was on fire. That was the thing that caused my wife to get on board with preparing for the unknown. Now she brings things home to help almost every time she goes someplace. Having an active participant is much easier than trying to secretly take care of everything by yourself.
Everything we do to prepare is a guess. We’re guessing what to prepare for, and how to prepare for something that’s never happened before in a world like the one we live in now. All we can do is prepare for the worst, and hope we’ve guessed right.
Good luck, and I hope you’ve guessed right.
P.S. on the bright side, if nothing bad ever happens you can still eat your long term food, and shoot at paper targets.
I live in area that water is awful. I have used the Waterwise Distiller for 30 years. Drinking and cooking. Shower filter. I need a water filter that’s non-electric.
I have the Berkiblie filtration system
I used to tell friends and colleagues that my Survival Kit consisted of a cell phone, a credit card and a pen. Thank you for helping me take my Realm of Knowledge to the next level, sir!