Prepare Your Home
Prepare Your Home for Disasters
“Prepping” isn’t about conspiracy theories or foil hats, it’s about the peace of mind that your family can make it through life’s challenges. Isn’t that why we wear seatbelts? Why we have a savings account? Bad things happen, and we get through them. Prepping can give your family a new sense of confidence, that no matter what happens, you’ve got it covered. Prepping is about being a good parent or guardian. Being prepared is good for your family, your friends, your community. Being prepared isn’t crazy, it’s wise.
The following pages are taken from my book “When All Else Fails.” I wrote this book because finding practical information and real-world experience about family preparedness is getting harder and harder to find. The book is a down-to-earth, pragmatic approach to family preparedness, without the dogma.
Prepare Your Home
In most disasters, your home is the best choice to hole up in an emergency because it is full of the supplies you have prepared. More importantly, it is surrounded by a network of familiar places and faces. A properly prepared house can keep you safe, warm, and fed for long enough to get through most emergencies. The other option, to “bug out,” may be necessary in some cases. The good news: if you cover both options—Shelter or Evacuate—you’ve got a good plan going, and you can rest easy at night knowing your family will be safe through almost anything.
Supplies
A home should always have:
A few tarps, a few sheets of plywood, some lumber scraps, plastic sheeting, basic plumbing and electrical repair materials, buckets, and other useful materials for site cleanup, demolition, and renovation.
Duct tape, adhesives, caulk, nails, screws, glue, and other fasteners.
A saw, a drill, screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, measuring tapes, levels, a socket set, and other basic tools.
Candles, flashlights, lanterns, blankets, firewood, A first aid kit, a hand-crank radio, 30 days’ worth of medications, and other comfort and subsistence supplies.
Insurance
Insurance is a fundamental component of continuity, because it’s a vital part of recovering. Without insurance, you likely won’t return to “normal,” and your struggles will be just beginning when the situation is stabilized. This emergency plan that you’re building is designed to bridge the gap between imminent danger and long-term recovery. Long-term recovery usually consists of insurance claims and reconstruction/relocation.
Homeowner’s Insurance is a must, whether mortgaged or owned property. Renters’ insurance is a good idea, vehicle insurance, health insurance…the point is this: getting your life back together after an emergency isn’t just about the first few days of turmoil, it’s also about replacing your home, your possessions, your clothes, your toothbrushes, your socks…your routine. Warranties on vehicles and equipment can bridge the gap until financial savings are sufficient to absorb occasional mechanical failures that can’t be fixed at home.
Safety
The safety of your home must be taken into account, especially in an emergency because small accidents can have major consequences in a situation where self-sufficiency is necessary and medical response is not available. An extremely cautious approach is necessary to help mitigate the risk of injury. In the event of an emergency take the following steps immediately:
Turn off utilities
Turn off the gas to the house at the meter
Turn off the electricity at the main breaker
Turn off the water at the main, drain pipes
Turn off water heater
Fire
Keep flammable materials far away from the fireplace
Keep candles at least 24” from any flammable material
Keep fuel in a different room from any ignition source
Turn off the gas supply into the house before lighting any candles or lanterns
Keep firewood away from the house
Disease
human waste must not be allowed to collect in the vicinity of water or food sources
maintain personal hygiene
cover exposed skin from biting insects when outdoors
Climate
Hanging blankets will contain heat in open areas with a fireplace
Even a slight movement of air will react with sweat/water to cool the body
General
Injuries can lead to infection quickly without medical attention
Weigh all risks with possible reward and likelihood of success before attempting any risky behaviors
Basic Security
While securing your home in an emergency is a priority, it does not require massive amounts of monetary investment or military grade weapons and operations. Some very simple solutions can provide peace of mind and allow you to sleep at night. The following are concepts and considerations for efficient home security solutions.
Security is about deterrence and detection. The first response of security is to warn others. Never respond to a security threat without letting someone else know what’s going on.
Second, the point of an effective security operation is to negate the need to use deadly force in reaction to threats. The need to respond with force is seen by most security professionals as a failure of all other systems, and is always a last resort.
Third, security operates best in layers. The more layers you can provide the better. Here’s how:
Perimeter security (Initial Line)
Realize that the security of your home does not start at your fence or at the property line; it starts at the border of your neighborhood. We are all familiar with those people that live in the neighborhood with us, whether we are friends or not. We are familiar with the vehicles they drive, the neighborhood children and even the stray cats.
Perimeter security (secondary Line)
Your property line serves as an excellent secondary security perimeter. Once an unfamiliar person crosses your property line, their intent is easier to ascertain. Keep in mind that it may be a stranger in need of help, but once someone crosses the secondary line, you should change your security posture to an alert and be ready to defend your home.
Perimeter security (final Line)
Your home boundary serves as the final line of security. Once a stranger enters your home, their intent is clear, an action must be taken. The objective when defending against an intruder is to prevent damage or loss to your household at all costs. Prioritizing between safety and loss will make your defensive option clear: if preventing material loss from an overwhelming force, evacuation is an option. To prevent injury or death to your family, you must defend. If you must attack, do so with all available effort; strong, fast, and unrelenting until the threat is negated. The military defines this as “violence of action.” The concept is to overwhelm the threat completely.
Deterrents
Deterrents are fundamental to physical security, and are the most effective thing you can do to protect your home. It is always better to deter a threat than have to react to a threat.
Animals
A dog is the single best deterrent against criminal activity at your home. Not only does a dog provide protection, they provide an unmatched ability to alert to danger.
Barriers
You can deny entry to thieves by simply planting certain shrubs underneath the windows outside of your home. No-one wants to have to climb through a prickly holly bush to get into a window; they’ll just go to the next home. The same goes for the fence line around your property. Plant a few prickly bushes beside the outside of your fence to prevent people from climbing over it.
Change the screws in your door hinges and locks to longer screws. A 4 inch screw can be driven through the door frame and into the framing of the house, making the doors much stronger, and all but impossible to kick in.
Cameras
You can get a set of cameras for a few hundred dollars that can provide invaluable information if deployed correctly. Cameras are considered “Force Multipliers” by security professionals: They deter activity, alert you to activity, and allow you to track trends and anomalies over time.
Lighting
Having a few lights around your home can deter criminals the time they need to break through your defenses while hiding in the shadows. Exterior lighting (as well as a well-maintained exterior) also shows ownership and care for the property, deterring other criminal elements from interest in your property.
Site Hardening
Another important aspect to consider is that your house doesn’t need to be like a bank vault. Your house just has to be more secure than the next house. Criminals use the cost/benefit analysis when deciding which homes are worth their attention, so your job is to help them see opportunities elsewhere.
Window A/C units are a common point of entry for burglars. They can simply kick the unit into the house and get in. Don’t run an A/C window unit when you’re not home, the sound is a tell-tale sign of an easy break in. Avoid placing A/C window units in windows that are easily visible from the street. Remove the window unit if you’re away on vacation.
Never put the packaging for large, expensive purchases on the curb for trash pick-up. This advertises opportunities to steal valuables to criminals. Break down packaging, and consider recycling it at the county landfill.
Same goes for personal information in the trash. One can find plenty of useful information about the occupants of a household from their discarded mail and files. Shred any paperwork or mail that can provide personal or financial information before it goes into the outside trash bin.
Water
Storage
Water procurement and safety are paramount to survival. Adequate water storage is fundamental to preparing for emergencies. Authorities suggest storing one gallon of water per person, per day for drinking and sanitation. This may seem like a lot of water, but water goes quickly and is essential for life. Running out of water will force you to relocate and risk water-borne illness. I choose to store 2 gallons per person per day.
At least 1 gallon per person, per day
Drinking water, factory sealed
Collection
Rainwater collection is an effective practice for gathering and storing non-potable water. This water can also be made potable in a pinch, and is a renewable resource that takes very little investment and even less work. Simply re-route your rain gutter runoff into a covered collection barrel with a spigot installed at the bottom. Uncovered, a rain water collecting barrel will become a breeding ground for mosquitos, which carry a whole host of infectious diseases.
Water purification
Almost any liquid can be purified and made into potable water, even urine. A few methods are effective, listed in order of most effective to last effective:
Boiling
Boiling water makes it biologically safe, while retaining mineral content, so it is the preferred method of water purification. A basic filter (t-shirt, piece of cloth, coffee filter, etc.) can be used to remove debris, dirt, and sand from the water before boiling.
Sterilize a collection container
Bring water to rolling boil, maintain for 5 minutes
Ensure the clean water does not touch any surface of the vessel used to collect the water from the possibly contaminated source.
Filtration
Water filtration is effective at removing most contaminants from water. A backpacking/camping water filter is most effective; it is a good idea to have one in the house with the stored water in case the water supply runs out. The gravity filters, usually a gallon or more, have the best flow rates, and require the least amount of effort. If a water filter must be made, it will be vastly inferior to commercially available filters, but will provide relatively clean water. When using makeshift water filters, boiling the filtered water may still be necessary to ensure the biological safety of the water.
Food
Preparing your home with an adequate supply of food is a necessity, but is relatively simple. The first step is simply to buy items with a long shelf life, such as canned foods, rice, beans, etc. I store about 14 days’ supply of these types of food at home, enough for everyone in my family plus a few more.
Also important to food consideration is the ability to cook the food. A fireplace is excellent in this regard; I don’t even have to go outside. A backyard grill is excellent as well. Any renewable source of heat works here; just be careful not to use fuel in an enclosed space to cook food.
Practice
As mentioned before, regular practice is critical to the success of emergency preparedness. The good news is that practicing these techniques and testing your preparations is easily done in the comfort of your home. Ask each member of your family to purify water. Conduct regular fire drills. Make them actually go to the established meeting location with their gear. These drills are the best way to ensure everything goes according to the plan when you’re all under stress. “The amateur practices until they get it right. The professional trains until they can’t get it wrong.”
Supplies
The materials needed to be prepared for such a wide range of possibilities is inextricably linked to the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities of the individuals preparing; one dependent upon the other. The principle of “the more you know, the less you need” is foundational to investment into preparedness supplies. This principle reinforces the KISS filter, and should help whittle any monetary investment (and material items) down to the affordable essentials.
I’ll give you a few lists from different sources, to get you started thinking about how best to materially prepare your family. No single list is a catchall, they are designed for different audiences, and ranges. Use these lists as examples and build upon them for your specific situation.
Officials’ Supply List
Emergency Management Officials publish the following list of household preparedness as a general rule:
Water—one gallon per person, per day
Food—nonperishable, easy-to-prepare items
Flashlight
Battery powered or hand crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
Extra batteries
First aid kit
Medications (7-day supply), other medical supplies, and medical
paperwork (e.g., medication list and pertinent medical information)
Multipurpose tool (e.g., Swiss army knife)
Sanitation and personal hygiene items
Copies of personal documents (e.g., proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, and insurance policies)
Cell phone with chargers
Family and emergency contact information
Extra cash
Emergency blanket
Map(s) of the area
Extra set of car keys and house keys
Manual can opener
Medical supplies (e.g., hearing aids with extra batteries, glasses,
contact lenses, syringes, or a cane)
Baby supplies (e.g., bottles, formula, baby food, and diapers)
Resources
FEMA has a great wealth of knowledge available for family preparedness, including preparedness lists, practices, and resources.
https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan
Buy the Book
If you found this article useful, please consider browsing our selection of publications at our website:
