It is great to be preparing for that life altering survival scenario, but the reality is most of us will not ever be in that position.

What we will face, however, is the aftermath of a blizzard or hurricane, severe thunderstorm or localized power outage; to help prepare for those, here is what you should have.

Food

One of the first things I did was to make sure we have a 3-month supply of food in case of emergency or in case of a quarantine. In case of a power outage, I made sure I have many shelf stable foods. I also bought a butane stove so that I can still cook indoors.

As far as the food in your fridge and freezer, avoid opening your fridge as much as possible as this will extend the life of your food. Keep ice packs frozen so that you can move some of your stuff into a cooler if you need to.

Water

We all know that water is way more crucial than food. You should store 1 gallon of water, per person, per day.

Light

We bought a bunch of LED flashlights and we keep them by EVERYONE’s bed. We also have some camping lanterns that are battery operated. We also have some solar lights. Trust me, life will get really interesting if you don’t have any light.

Warmth

If the power goes out and it is winter, you are going to need to stay warm somehow. Make sure you have warm sleeping bags, and some sort of heat source, whether by generator or a propane or kerosene heater that is safe for indoors.
In case of emergency, it’s also good to have an emergency radio so that you can get updates on weather and other info.

A massive disaster could strike at any moment – so could an asteroid hit the earth and wipe out humanity or a super volcano could reduce most of us to cave dwellers in a dark, dystopian struggle.

But for the vast majority of us, what we will face is a more common survival situation – a power outage or compromised water supply or the aftermath of a storm and those demand preparation, but are much less intense in terms of immediate needs.

To learn more about how to prepare for these types of survival situations, please check out Mother's Niche.