How to Start
Create A Plan
Create A Plan
Summary
What To Do and When To Do It
Inventory of Gear
Practice Using Your Gear
Too many people make preparedness too hard. We don't need to spend a lot of money buying fancy equipment or be "preppers" to be prepared. Basic preparedness relies in part on common sense. Preparedness means different things to different people, and emergencies come in all shapes and sizes.
To be sure, we live in an area that would experience a significant amount of damage - both short and long term - if a large earthquake happened near us here in Cottonwood Heights. And preparing for such a large scale event is wise. But what about the small events that tend to happen more frequently? The most common "emergencies" we have in Cottonwood Heights are power outages. Granted, power outages rarely last more than a few hours, but many current residents of our city can remember outages that lasted several days in the past 10 years. Not city wide, but neighborhood wide.
Having a plan is the first step to being prepared regardless of the emergency or situation. But a plan is not a plan. A plan for a family of six with two dogs and a gold fish will look much different from a plan for a 70 year old retired couple. Like emergencies, plans come in all shapes and sizes.
A plan should be a carefully thought out document that outlines what to do and when to do it. A detailed inventory of the preparedness gear we have and where it is stored should be an integral part of our plan. Make sure every family member is familiar with the plan and knows where everything is stored. And make sure everyone know how to use every piece of gear that will be relied upon. FEMA reports that many people have a lot of gear but very little of it has ever been used or tested before it is needed.
As an example, a plan (including gear needed) for how to deal with a power outage might contain four stages, with details for what action should be taken depending on the length and severity of the outage (for details, see Power Outage Plan Stages):
Stage 1 - Implement within the first 3 minutes of a power outage.
Stage 2 - Implement if the outage lasts 2 hours.
Stage 3 - Implement if the outage lasts 8 hours.
Stage 4 - Implement if the outage lasts 18 hours.