This article has been generously contributed by Kent Arnspiger from Off The Grid Ready.

Becoming prepared for emergencies, natural disasters and social unrest can be an overwhelming task when you first begin. I know it seamed that way to me when beginning the emergency preparedness process for my household. First of all, my wife, son and some family members thought I was crazy to be so worried about such things. Second, was learning what to acquire, how much to store and where to acquire these items. Third, was not having enough money to purchase everything we needed, especially in a short timeframe and with limited waste. So, to help you with your preparation plans we are providing a few ideas to help you and your family with this important exercise.

In my personal situation, my immediate family still thinks I’m a little crazy and go a little overboard when it comes to preparing for emergencies. Although after a snow storm knocked out our power for three days from the heaviest snow fall that our area had experienced on record, convincing my family became a little easier. We were able to remain in our home with little discomfort and were able to regain emergency power with a generator. The house was kept warm enough with mobile propane heaters that our water was still flowing and cooking was achieved with a camp stove cook top. We even had Internet access, lighting and a running refrigerator. It became a relatively fun experience instead of a miserable event by having enough to sustain ourselves without having to rely on family, friends or emergency services. Hopefully, you will have an easier time of convincing your loved ones that being prepared is smart and worth the time, money and resources without having to experience a major emergency prior to accumulating what you need to be prepared. We have covered some of the items we recommend adding to your survival kit in previous writings and plan on covering more of this topic in the future.

Unfortunately, this article will not be able to cover ever resource available to you in survival preparedness, but learning what to have, how much to buy and where to acquire these items can become overwhelming in itself. So, in the beginning, shortening your learning curve can be achieved through some of the following resources. One of the best places to begin is obviously the Internet by doing searches for key terms like emergency preparedness, survival kits, survival food, emergency essentials, water filtration, water purification, etc. There are also numerous books available to help you in the preparedness process and these can be acquired online, at book stores or checked out at your local library. One of my favorite resources for books are several used book stores in my area. Another great resource is to join the numerous online forums that can also be discovered through your Internet search efforts. In a future writing we will cover some of our favorites and if you have any suggestions, please send them our way.

The final area we want to cover is having enough money to gather what you need to be prepared for disasters or other emergencies. Obviously, in the tough economic environment we are facing, having extra money lying around is not a common occurrence for most of us. Our recommendation is to acquire what you need as a regular process and potentially in smaller quantities. Another way of using your dollars wisely is to purchase ready made kits that have been professionally design to help you survive most emergencies. You may also purchase survival food supplies that have been designed for the correct amount of meals, proportions, and balanced variety. These meals have also been packed in manors that allow for an extended storage period, some as long as a twenty-five year shelf life. The fact these meals will last, will also help you conserve money by not having to throw out expired food because of a short storage life. Wasting food in this manor is not a good emergency plan.

Preparedness can be a moderately short process for you or it may become a lifestyle depending upon what you are anticipating to occur and your belief the event will be for an extended period of time. Being prepared can be achieved with few mistakes, time efficiency and lower amounts of money by relying on experienced people and gaining the right knowledge from reliable resources. We are here to help you in this process and appreciate hearing from you with your ideas and your tips.

About Off The Grid Ready:

Off The Grid Ready (http://www.otgready.com) has the Emergency Preparedness, Survival Gear and Emergency Survival Kits you’ll need for going off the grid. We also carry Survival Knives, Disaster Kits, Emergency Food Storage, Water Filtration, Water Purification and Camping Gear.