Survival is anticipation, whether it is equipment, materials, supplies, even how to head off morale crushing moments before they happen.

You must think ahead and the following advice will leave you much better prepared.

Bugging out vs. bugging in

The decision whether to bug out or bug in (hunker down) depends on the nature of the emergency as well as your physical location. A few scenarios:

Riots are hitting your urban area: Stay indoors, barricade doors and windows, and hunker down. Do not draw attention to yourself.

A Category 5 hurricane is approaching your low-lying coastal property: Gather your grab-and-go kits and get out.

An economic crash has plunged our nation into a severe depression and resources are scarce: There is no easy answer to this situation. Bugging in (staying in the city) will only work until your supplies are gone or your safety is compromised. At that point, bugging out may be your only option — if you have someplace to bug out to.

Hunkering down (bugging in) is a legitimate option for many people under a number of emergency circumstances. But that doesn't mean you just lock your doors. Hunkering down means you create your bug-out retreat right there at home. That means having your Seven Core Areas stocked and ready.

You're not Rambo either

A popular whimsy among some male survivalists is the Rambo fantasy. They have vague thoughts of gunning down any and all threats to their survival. Let a starving mother with a crying toddler knock on the door and plead for a bowl of cereal, and Mr. Rambo will threaten to blow her away rather than treat her with compassion.

This kind of hyper-machismo is asking for trouble. I firmly believe part of being prepared is being suitably armed, but if you'll pardon my French, don't start talking from your balls. Be sensible in your defenses.

In my aunt's case, after hearing about a number of these home invasions, she refused to answer the door at all. Other people answered the door while fully armed. All I'm saying is, don't go looking for trouble. Just be prepared to handle it if it arises.

Practice, practice, practice

No matter how fully prepped you think you are, you won't know for sure until an emergency arises. But the least you can do is make sure (a) you know where all your emergency supplies are located; (b) your equipment is in working order; and (c) you know how to use it. (You'd be surprised how many people panic-buy generators before a hurricane but don't have the faintest notion how to hook them up.)

If the power goes out, the last thing you want to do is grope around in the dark trying to find your flashlight, only to find the batteries are dead because the kids were playing Spook. Know where your equipment is and make sure it's in working order.

Once you feel you've thought through every contingency and you're reasonably prepared, the best possible thing you can do is shut off the power for a week and prove it. There is no finer way to discover your weaknesses and vulnerable spots than to stage an “emergency.” That's why professional emergency services stage drills.

Operational security

This is advice we ourselves have not taken because of our rather public involvement in teaching Prepping and self-sufficiency, but I suggest you practice Operational Security (OpSec). In a word, shaddup. Keep your preps quiet and low-key. Don't talk about it. Don't brag. Don't announce to the world what kinds of firearms you possess and how much food you have stored.

The reason is, there will always be somebody happy to liberate you of your supplies. Nuff said.

Strike anywhere matches should be a top preparedness item. Right now they're cheap, but how priceless would they become if they were no longer available?

The Seven Core Areas of Preparedness

I've listed below what I call the Seven Core Areas of Preparedness. I need to stress that this list is by no means comprehensive. However, if you're prepared in these seven areas, then you can focus on achieving other, more tailored preparations to suit your particular circumstances.

Food

This is obvious. I don't mean you should stuff your freezer with TV dinners, either, because if the power goes out, they're gone. Consider purchasing staples you enjoy eating (rice, beans, oatmeal, etc.) and learn to store and prepare them. These have the added advantage of being dirt cheap. If you want to take the next step, learn to can. Properly canned food lasts years without refrigeration, and canning is a valuable skill as well. Alternately, buy lots of commercially canned food.

Along with storing food, you should have the means to prepare it. Your options will be more limited if you're in an urban high-rise apartment (where you can't install a wood cookstove, for example), in which case your food will have to be pre-cooked (such as MREs) or otherwise edible without cooking. Eating unheated soup or beans right out of a can might not be the most pleasant meal, but at least you won't starve.

Water

Without water to drink and wash, you'll be miserable (or dead). At all times you should have a minimum of 20 gallons stored in your home. Look for options to secure larger quantities of water (roof runoff? storage tank?) as well as ways to sterilize surface water such as bleach, iodine, or filtration.

If you're preparing for a minimum of three months, then your storage space for water will be huge and will probably take up far more space than most people have available. That's why you need the means to purify water. A non-electric water filter (such as Berkey) might be part of your water storage efforts.

Heat

We live in rural north Idaho not far from the Canadian border. Heat is a major concern for us. How can you heat your house if the power goes out? Everyone's circumstances are different – you probably can't install a woodstove in a Manhattan apartment – so think through the alternatives that will work for you.

Be careful about ventilation when considering your heat sources. Endless people have been asphyxiated due to carbon monoxide poisoning because they chose the wrong option to heat their living space. Some buildings have windows which will not open, and this must be considered when thinking through your heat sources.

Lights

You don't want to be in the dark, do you? Everyone can afford an oil lamp or two. Don't bother with those pricey containers of scented lamp oil, either. A gallon of kerosene is less than $10 and works just fine.

While flashlights and batteries are nice (and necessary), you'll go through your battery supplies very quickly if you depend on them exclusively for lighting. Remember your Rule of Three: plan to have backups to your backups. You should have candles, oil lamps, perhaps battery-powered LED lamps, or other light sources.

If you're “bugging in,” consider blackout curtains for your windows that will block light. Alternately, a roll of black plastic and duct tape will work (as well as being useful for other purposes). No sense advertising how prepared you are (OpSec!). But remember, sheeting your windows in plastic will trap carbon monoxide, so be careful.

Sanitation

What happens if you can't flush your toilets? If you run out of diapers or feminine hygiene products? If you don't have toilet paper? Think about what kind of reusable alternatives you can substitute for pricey disposable items.

Find reusable versions of disposable sanitary items. Cheap washcloths from the dollar store can act as reusable toilet paper. Use cloth instead of disposable diapers. Try washable feminine napkins instead of disposable. Of course, these reusable versions require a means to wash them, so think through your options. For short-term preparedness, it might be better to stock up on disposables.

If you cannot flush your toilets and an outhouse isn't possible, a five-gallon bucket lined with heavy-duty trash bags and a toilet seat may be your next best option. Wood shavings, sawdust, or ash can be sprinkled in the bucket after each use to help control odors.

Don't forget such things as sewing notions. The day may come when we need to hand-sew clothes.

Medical

Can you doctor yourself for minor injuries? Do you have a good stock of your prescription medicines? It doesn't cost much to pull together a comprehensive first-aid kit. It might be harder to stockpile prescription medications, so this is something worth discussing with your doctor.

Now may be the time to take a refresher course for basic first aid. You might also stock up on medical items you may not otherwise consider — burn dressings, tape closures, compression bandages, and lots of over-the-counter pain killers.

Being prepared for a survival situation or SHTF moment is a state of mind, but it is enhanced by anticipating and addressing as much as you can beforehand.

By following these tips you give yourself an edge and while you will not think of everything, tailoring your strategy to this advice vastly reduces the chances you will overlook or forget something.

For more information on anticipating survival needs before you miss them, please visit Back Woods Home.