Preparedness Goals

2017! Time to take off that 10 pounds I’ve added from the holidays. And this time I’ll keep it off! How many times does the New Year come and we make new goals? Hopefully, you’ve learned the importance of setting, and achieving goals in your life. This is not an article on goal setting. But it is about setting Preparedness goals.

Here are suggestions for starting the year off right.

Look at and adjust your preparedness plans.

Life has a way of changing, sometimes dramatically. These changes can and will affect your preparedness plans. Review or start a preparedness plan for your family. Don’t forget to include a security plan.

Review your go bags or get home bags. I try to rotate out the food every few years. I also maintain a list of things to look at closely in my bags such as food and medications. Put yourself on a schedule for this review. It’s best to review at times that are easy to remember. I usually use Conference weekend as a time to drain my water storage and refill and retreat. You can do the same say the first weekend after your birthday or something easy to remember like that.


Schedule camping with your family.
Camping is a good way to test gear, practice skills, and have fun. Don’t get so caught up in the preparedness stuff that you don’t make memories with your kids and family.

Schedule a drill in your home.
This can be simple or a little more elaborate. I would suggest 1 per ¼. Mix them up. Fire drills, black out drills, medical emergencies, pandemic drill, home invasion. These are only limited to your imagination. Include your whole family in planning these drills.

Learn a new skill or practice one.
Skills trump gear. Most of us can get the food and gear it takes to be prepared but that’s only a portion of it. Knowing how to use the gear and having the skills needed to thrive instead of survive are necessary. Many skills, like shooting, are perishable. Learn new ones and practice what you know. Your drills and camping are good places to practice. Involve your family. I find others with skills to teach my family. I can do a lot of things, but sometimes it takes someone else’s perspective to teach us more of what we think we know.

Update your important information.
You should have a collection of important information to take with you if you needed to evacuate. Insurance policies, birth certificates, and other important documents you should have with you and in a place other than your home. The info should be updated occasionally and at least inspected annually.

Start, or plant something new, in a garden.
I’ve heard preparedness equated with the parable of the 10 virgins. 5 were not prepared and wanted oil from the 5 that had bought ahead of time. Those prepared 5 could not give of their oil lest they would not have enough. The 5 unprepared were shut out of the wedding because of their lack of preparedness. Gardening is like that. I can’t give you the skill of gardening. We’ve struggled and toiled with our garden until we have found things that work for us, and things that don’t work. I could share my experience and try to teach you to garden but really, it is something that must be done to learn. When the need of a garden comes, it’s too late to fit in several seasons of experience, you need food THIS season.
Gardens come in many varieties. They can be small or large. Find a garden that will work for the area you have to devote to it. Do it now so that you will be able to take advantage of it when it’s needed. Canning and preserving are linked to gardening.

Review your security plans.

Review your ammo storage.
I keep a total of my stored ammo but not the ammo I use to train with.

Plan or practice with a safe room.
A safe room doesn’t have to be a fortified room with electronics and food. It may just be a defendable position with an exit, means of defense, and communication with help.

Learn a new defense skill or a skill that supports your defense.
Using guns, stun guns, knives, wands, and pepper spray takes training and practice. So does hand to hand combat. A support skill would be maybe ammo reloading.

Your goals should be attainable. Maybe break up the kits that need checking.
Make sure you document what you do and when so you will know what was done and what needs to be done.
Inch by inch life is a cinch, yard by yard it’s very hard.

Setting and attaining preparedness goals is not difficult, but can get you far in a short time.

Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn