Don’t Get Discouraged—It’s Not Too Late to Prepare
I recently spoke to a neighbor who said that she had been planning to do Prepare in a Year and had saved the information from our series of monthly articles but that she had so far not done any of the preparation activities. I told her it didn’t matter that it was October; she could still start now. Doing anything, I said, is better than doing nothing.
In the emergency prep world, that is a saying we are always sharing with one another. That plus, Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The fact is that emergency preparation can feel overwhelming. There are so many things to do, you might think, that I don’t know where to start.
That’s why we created our Prepare in a Year program with simple activities and prizes to help motivate people. But even that program may feel like too much, especially if you’ve let January through September go by without taking any action.
I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. It’s not too late. The best thing you can do is commit to something, one thing, right now, today, and do it. Here are three easy options to get you going. Choose only one.
Start with the October activity, which is preparation for earthquakes. It’s pretty easy and it coincides with the Great Shakeout (October 17 at 10:17 a.m.), so it has a nice thematic resonance.
Start with gathering a water supply because that is the most important supply you can have. You can simply buy bottled water at your favorite grocery store. Or head over to Bay Hay and invest in a long-term water storage solution. This is the best option since it will end up costing you less in the long run, and the supply should last you five years if you use the water treatment kit.
Start with creating a communications plan. This is a relatively simple activity, and it can give you that quick feeling of accomplishment. Plus, it’s really important!
I guarantee you will sleep better at night if you just take a step, no matter how small. The key is not to overwhelm yourself into doing nothing. It can help to involve your family in the process—you can all keep each other on track.
