Welcome!
You’ve decided to prepare? Congrats on the decision to become a prepper! It is a choice that will change your life for the better! I could not be more excited to share the journey with you. Now, it is extremely easy to become overwhelmed. It is exciting that you’ve decided to prepare!
Because there is not only a ton of information out there, everybody who preps has an opinion on what is the best, and it seems like it will destroy your bank account faster than a drunken sailor on shore leave in a bar if you’re not careful. With a plan and a direction, you can tackle it without having these issues.
Where to start
So where to start? My advice to anyone is always start with water. Water is life. Literally, water is life. Water is absolutely essential for survival. FEMA recommends a gallon of water per day, per person, for a minimum of 3 days. Now, I don’t drink nearly that much water.
To put it in perspective, a gallon is 128 ounces. That is a lot of water to consume! I drink roughly 48-64 ounces of water per day, and I really have to push myself to drink that much. So think about how much water you drink daily, how much exercise you do, and just take your lifestyle into account.
Pets
Do you have pets? Fido and Whiskers need to drink just as you do. I always keep that in mind as I am prepping. I have to give my furry munchkin water. Which is one more thing to take into account as you are prepping. It is also difficult to explain to a pet why their water dish isn’t being magically refilled. This can add to the stress of an emergency situation, and nobody wants that. I prefer to have the basics covered and my pets are a basic part of that.
Once you have determined how much water you need to store, the next question is, how are you going to store it? There are cans of water you can purchase (just like soda cans), or small/individual bottles in packages, or gallon jugs. Collecting rainwater could also be an option. All of these have advantages and disadvantages, and I will be talking about that in a later post.
Storage
Where are you going to put it once you have purchased it? I personally keep mine in the back of a closet, because it stays cool, the packaging isn’t being damaged, and it is easy to stack. This is why my preference is individual bottles in a large package, as they are easy to stack up. Your preference or what works for your household may be different, and that is great.
Questions to Ask Yourself
It is up to you to determine what will be the best thing for you and your family, which is why I always recommend asking yourself the questions I went through above before you go to the store. Never ever be afraid to have a differing opinion! Your house is probably laid out differently, the amount of space you have, and many more factors.
You may also elect to spread your storage out to multiple places. Remember, prepping is a very individualized process for everyone. Unfortunately, many seasoned preppers have very strong opinions on what is right and what is wrong. I try not to approach it that way because every situation is different.
Start Small
Once you have decided what works best for you and your family or household, it’s time for purchasing. I purchase a single case of water each time I go to the store, and slowly stock up as I go. I don’t make extra trips, and I don’t buy it all at once. That’s a very expensive trip to the store!
Or, set aside $20 or whatever amount you choose, and watch store sales. They may have a limit on the number of cases you can purchase at once and still have the sale price, but it could easily be worth the wait. I love good sales, and it makes me feel even better about my prepping when I can find great deals, and my wallet thanks me as well.
Food
The next thing to be thinking about is food. There are levels to a well stocked pantry, which I will be discussing in a future post. Another question is, how will you prepare the food you’re stocking up on? There are many things to think about, and I will definitely be continuing this discussion as I go. But, at least you have a place to start with becoming more prepared.
I know I have given you a lot to think about before you go running to the store and emptying your bank account on prepping. I hope this is a good start for you, and I look forward to continuing on the prepping journey with you! It is exciting that you’ve decided to prepare!
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Both seem like great places to start. I need to stockpile some water for sure plus I have a basement and plenty of room so there really is no excuse. I’m wonderign if it’s necessary to rotate stock out on water as I recently drank some bottled water that had been in my garage for while and it tasted terrible. I guess in the event of a catastrophe it’s better than nothing. We can usually get cases of water on sale for like $3-$4. Something I will start doing immediately.
Yes, you should be rotating water just like you do food.
I like the individual bottles also. It makes it easy to rotate out a case when needed. I did purchase some gallon jugs of water to use for other things. Looking forward to the food storage post. That’s definitely an area I need help with.
Stockpiling water is something that I’ve been thinking about lately. We’re on severe water restrictions here in Australia and you never now how long the water supply will last. Thankfully we’ve had some rain in the last few days which is promising.
Water is certainly vital. We can survive without food much longer than without water. I’m glad that you didn’t forget to count in the pets. Thank you for the good tip on stocking up gradually rather than buying it all at once. But what kind of emergency situation should we be preparing for? Shouldn’t we save extra water for cleaning the wounds, for example?
I actually never thought of being a prepper until I stumbled upon your website. It is definitely something I should think about given the fact that I live in hurricane territory! Unfortunately, I really don’t think of prepping until the news tells us we need to start preparing for an oncoming storm. And even then, I am so busy and my mind is so full with appointments and things my kids need that it usually takes my brother making a phonecall and listing off everything I need. It’s great having a brother who is so willing to help!
great post: simple, short enough and definitely inspiring! Thanks for that, I will show it to my sister as your advise is definitely better than mine
I love this. I completely hear you on this one, I am an organised and prepared person too xx
Canada has 2 million lakes and the most fresh water than any other country. Sometimes i feel bad about how much water i use on my grass. I have never thought about storing anything until i read this article. But i do agree we need to always have something stored just in case of emergency. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Saving up water is a great idea and I love how easy to understand and inspiring post this is. I can’t wait to learn more about being a prepper.
Having lived through the massive (and lengthy) 2003 Northeastern blackout, and another one just a few years ago, I can attest to the value of having a stash of water around. Not just for you and your fur babies, but don’t forget about flushing the toilet! And cleaning dishes, water you may need to prepare food, etc. I know the FEMA recommendation sounds intense, but we use water for so many more things then we realize.