Be Aware and Prepare - Part 5 (The Preparation)

Through the last 4 part in this series, hopefully, you got a glimpse of what's coming. Whether you believe it or not, it is coming since wheels have been set in motion long ago and the momentum is only too strong for it to stop.

In this part, I will highlight certain things that you can do while you have time and resources. This list, by no means, is complete and neither there is a point where you can say "yup, I am all set". This is a constant endeavor especially the mental makeup of preparation which we will discuss later in this article. I encourage all the readers to google the material on the internet and develop your thought process. There are plenty of good websites and articles on the topic. The write-up here is meant for urban living and not skewed towards off-grid living which is the best strategy but difficult to follow with all the constraints that we have.

The first phase is PLANNING.
In simplest terms, planning is having access to Beans, Bullion, and Bullets.

Let's talk about each:

Beans - It means that you have enough food stocked up to survive the initial shock and awe and the disruption in the supply chain. What you stock is important. First of all, it should be what you are used to eating, have a variety and should provide the nutritional value or calories. For example, while sugar may not have any nutritional value, small amounts of it can provide enough calories for the day. Variety is important so that you are not bored of eating the same thing every day. The choice of food is also important from the point of view of how long can the food survive. For example, the shelf life of ground flour is just 6 months, whereas the shelf life of wheat grain is longer than 10 years.
Water is an essential element of the preparation. On an average one person should be drinking 0.5 gallons of water every day. So for a family of four, it means about 750 gallons of water for a year of supply. It is nearly impossible to stock up 750 gallons of water within the house. So instead, think of investing in gravity fed water purification system which can provide 1000s of gallons of pure water without having to change the filter. These kinds of systems are commonly used in disaster-hit areas, are proven and cost just a fraction of what it will cost to stock bottled water.
If you have a green thumb, you should be having a seed bank as well. It is going to be difficult to grow grains but growing greens such as spinach, kale, lettuce should be pretty easy and quick.
When stocking food, don't forget to stock the spices as well. They don't take much space, don't cost much but a lack of it can certainly make you miserable. Even salads need some dressing or at the bare minimum some salt and pepper

This category also deals with non-food items such as toilet paper, wood chopping ax, Zippo hand warmers, extra blankets, matches, rocket stove, printed maps etc. etc.

Bullion - When I say bullion, I include in the definition the objects that have purchasing power. So while physical gold and silver are certainly recognized as money, equally important is to have a bit of cash at home in case the banks declare a bank holiday. More recently cryptocurrencies are also becoming acceptable at many places. Most notably is Subway. Cryptos, however, need to be in the form of paper wallet as more likely than not, the internet will be affected. During initial days of collapse, hard cash can be very valuable but as demand-supply balance changes, inflation will erode the value of hard cash. Last but not the least, items that are good items for bartering falls in this category. You may not be an avid lover of alcohol but that is most sought out item at the time of crisis and can easily be exchanged with food items that you need. Seeds also can be used very effectively for bartering.

Bullets - This section deals with defense. Defense from the external threat but at the same time defense from diseases. So guns and ammunition can help you in the event of intruders but band-aids, medical kit and emergency medicines including herbs will go a long way should some harm come your way. If possible, some antibiotics should help as well.

Next phase is PREPARATION.

Preparation phase deals with two aspects: Physical and Mental. For example, you got the food stock up but do you know how to cook, do you also have things that will be needed to prepare the meal for example matches, lighters (in the event of grid failure)? Do you know how long does it take to prepare a meal? Through this phase, you are simulating the experience and would realize what additional items are needed. Those should be procured and stocked up.

The second aspect of preparation is to know how to use the gun or other defense mechanisms that you have stocked up. If you haven't used a gun before and you wield a gun to the intruder, chances are that you will be giving the intruder the advantage over you.

The third aspect of preparation is to prepare mentally and develop a survival attitude even if it means turning away some of your acquaintances. You should develop a group of like-minded people and ensure that members of the group don't have some sort of addition to either cigarettes, alcohol or even colas. Anybody having any addiction is soon to become a liability fairly quickly. If you don't have a group then you are better off preparing alone instead of "trusting" some smooth talker. Trust is something that should be struck off from the vocabulary in the turbulent times.

The last but not the least is to know your terrain. You should be familiar with areas where there is access to flowing water and wood. You should have access to printed maps of your and nearby area and should know how to read the maps and compass.

The last phase is PRACTICE.

As the saying goes, "I am not afraid of a thousand techniques that you practice once but of one technique that you have practiced a thousand times".
Practice also means that you are actually living off of your stocked items and replenishing them as they are consumed. This technique is called food rotation. It also means that you are regularly practicing your weapons and developing your daily routine such as dead-bolting the doors when you come in, checking the windows and doors every day, ensuring that your emergency phones are charged, ensuring that your family members know what to do at the time of crisis (sort of fire drill), ensuring that your vehicles are on full tank (or near full tank) all the time and are in proper condition, walking around the periphery to spot unusual activity, ensuring that motion detecting lights are working etc. etc.

In summary, there is no knowing when the crisis will hit and how long will it continue. There is a wide spectrum of opinions on the topic but the consensus that seems to be emerging is that we are going to have crisis taking shape around September/October of this year (2017) and the initial crisis will probably last six months. The financial crisis is likely to last for a decade. Yes, a decade!

URLs for previous blogs:
Part 1: Military War - https://steemit.com/war/@ajain/be-aware-and-prepare-part-1
Part 2: Economic War - https://steemit.com/economy/@ajain/be-aware-and-prepare-part-2
Part 3: Psychological War - https://steemit.com/propaganda/@ajain/be-aware-and-prepare-part-3
Part 4: The Impact - https://steemit.com/economy/@ajain/be-aware-and-prepare-part-4-the-impact