Living Life in Rural Iowa

I am fortunate to live in an area that doesn't have major natural disasters. Yes, we are at risk for tornadoes. Blizzards hit once in awhile during the winter. We are rarely without power and we are not down for long when bad weather hits. Droughts can be a problem, but never really for long. However, we have no major flooding (in my area), no earthquakes, and no hurricanes. Wildfires are a rarity. In watching the hurricane coverage and listening/watching/reading first-hand accounts, my observations are all over the place. For my prepper friends, they learned a lot. They learned what they needed, what they were missing, and what they needed to stock up on. They learned what supplies they had were valuable and what was junk. Most would agree they were very happy to have their preps. Some of them were even able to help their neighbors, friends, and family with their preps. Some people were not exactly prepared, but they got food, water, gas, and other supplies when they heard

Habits can be good or bad. They can be a wonderful thing or a curse. However, I believe in having good habits as a prepper. We need to be diligent in our personal growth as preppers and habits do this for us. Habits keep us accountable and help us to become better preppers. Some of these habits may seem a little different, but I see prepping as a personal thing to improve us as well as make us better people in general. Ten Prepping Habits You Should Be Working On! 1. Organization. Being organized is only for your advantage in prepping. In an emergency or crisis, you will know where everything is. That is key for good emergency management, good response time, and good decisions. You will be able to see what you have and what you need to replace. You won't have to guess where everything is. You can tell someone where to find a key item and get the item quickly. I can not stress being organized enough. 2. Being Proactive. You want to be a proactive prepper. You want to se

The end of August and beginning of September this year has taught us a few things. Being prepared is not only crucial, it is purely survival for those who have been or will be caught in the hurricanes and the wildfires. Living where I do, I get complacent about bug-out bags and having things together to be ready to evacuate. Many people in Texas and now Florida are wishing they had listened to the warnings. They are wishing they had everything together in one place and ready to go. They are wishing they had food and water for a month. They are wishing they had their bug-out bags together and a secure place to go to. This is why I do the Five Prepping Things To Accomplish each month. I want you all to be ready for the natural disasters as well as the life events that could change your life in a minute. While you get warnings to get ready most of the time, finding the supplies or the important documents at the last minute (or even week) could mean life or death for you and your fa

Inevitably, after every national disaster, riot, or crisis, we hear about looting. People without morals will steal other people's things for their own gain and profit. They will steal anything that looks to be valuable. They will steal from stores, storage areas, and homes. The looters will probably be in groups and, more than likely, armed. They will believe they have the upper hand and will use that to their advantage. Can you stop someone from looting your home? I believe you can with some advance planning and training. Some situations will be unavoidable such as having to evacuate your home. However, there are ways to make sure you don't make it easy for them to loot your home. If you have to evacuate your home, do what you can to seal it up. Please realize that flood and water damage from natural disasters will weaken the structure, but you need to do what you can. Most people know when they will have to evacuate so take the time to do these steps: Board your w

Being prepared has different meanings for different people. Many people might prepare for the same things, but most of us have different circumstances. One person might try to prepare for everything possible while the next person just wants to get through the next crisis. September is National Preparedness Month. This is a good time to assess, evaluate, test, and plan your preps. We have some national disasters happening right now and potential crisis coming on the horizon. As we are seeing, people have had to prepare with a plan to stay home and a plan to evacuate. Many people thought they only needed food and water for three days and now they find out they need it for a week or longer. Grocery store shelves were cleared a few days before the hurricane hit and prices rose for products in demand. What does National Preparedness Month mean to me? It means I need to assess and evaluate my preps. Some of the questions I will ask myself are these: Where am I with my water storage?