I love the mom's point of view here. We guys to tend to forget much of this because we have relegated it to our "better half" Being Mr. Mom. I've come to understand these ninja skills that moms have. :-)

Very true, It's a delicate balance and requires a lot of cooperation to make it work. Something we all have taken for granted but is being brought back into view as we eye the current world situation. What concerns me is that many are not waking up to the task at hand. We have learned to not be diligent because we didn't HAVE TO. Someone always there to take up the slack but it a real dire situation these people will suffer for lack of any kind of preparation. Even if you have to money to stock up on food, you can at least go to the library and educate yourself and that would/could save your life.

I can't think of a single "worst" piece of advice. I do see a trend though and probably one of the biggest problems I see is a real lack of insight and how things apply. It reminds me of software books from the old days; they would describe every command but not how those commands worked to solve a problem.

Ray Mears does a great job of teaching how to make just about everything you need from natural materials but if poo hits the fan we won't have time to acquire 20 years of bushcraft knowledge.

I think knowledge and understanding how it can put to use in different scenarios is much more beneficial. You can't just read up on it though; it must be practiced.

In the first Rambo movie; where he just about destroys the town has some lessons, although the movie is sometimes panned. What he did was never pretty but it was effective. He didn't have to think through every decision, he was trained. I should say I'm not advocating the violence simply the quick methods he used to get things done.

Another problem I find is in my own advice. I realize when I finish a post that someone else has probably covered it better and that the advice/review should be much longer to give the reader the true perspective.

Preparedness, Survival or whatever you call it; is a work in progress and no one knows for sure how it will play out. All we have are educated guesses. I still think it's important to do because to not plan is a guarantee of failure.

As others have said; education is a must. Read all you can about different survival/disaster scenarios. This education in turn will lead you to making plans and purchasing of gear appropriate to your situation. Ask questions and question what you learn in order to better understand; there are lots of "viewpoints" out there. Work all of this into your daily living and attitude. If you are a Christian you should consider that Jesus provides the ultimate survival. None of us can be sure that all of our plans will work out.

Just let me camp along that little stream..!!!

Excellent advice. I especially like the planning and making lists; that forces you to slow down and watch what you're doing. I think invariably there will be some scenario that "we" aren't prepared for and that's where the ability to adapt and improvise on the fly will prove invaluable.

When you put in down on paper and prioritize it's easy to see where the gaps are and that helps with the budgeting. The cost of all this preparing can add up to quite a bit. Food is probably the easiest to start with but when you get into the "gear" area it can amount to major dollars especially if you have to equip seven people.

Great post because lists help us focus. I would add buy some appropriate maps for your needs and learn how to read them and orienteer.

This one really makes me smile. I found my self nodding my head as I read the post and the subsequent comments. Lots of ill prepared folk running about in the woods is a recipe for disaster. Fortunately our neighbors are the cows but even the thought of walking to the back of our property and spending the night is met with zero enthusiasm. We lived off the grid when I was child, [ actually I don't think there was a grid back then ] I can tell you I have no desire to go back to that anytime soon. I doubt very many people are mentally prepared to live that way.

Of course my parents had all those pioneer skills, I'm brushing up on those but hope I don't have to use them. Also something I've not heard mentioned is if you're bugging out over hill and dale, you might be going through someone else's property. That could prove dangerous in some cases. If you stick to the roads you might be stopped or worse... Surviving during a meltdown situation will be a lot more complicated than having a well stocked backpack and some MREs.

Excellent post Lisa. Very well done video and the four links below include tons of great information. I didn't know the FireFox books were online. Everyone should bookmark this post to review over and over. As I posted recently, food and water are probably the most essential things to prepare for. Tools and other gear can be found or improvised.

hmmm.... Tornadoes for sure. Heat is a problem; 106 today and we're good on water unless the lake goes dry. The real problem is winter. Not all the roads are paved and there is no way to go to town without negotiating a hill. Easy to slide into a ditch, with spotty cell coverage you might be there for awhile. Good exercise. :-)