The Habit of Preparedness

The Habit of Preparedness

Are you ever done?  We think of Preparedness as a checklist. Its something we talk about being “done” with. But are we really ever “done with” being prepared?

Take your survival kit for example. You race to finish it for National Preparedness Month last year. Check! Guess what it’s obsolete already. Had a new baby? Now you’re missing a person. Your kids grew, now the clothes don’t fit. Haven’t rotated your food? I would recommend you take a look, with a trash can handy. Even gaining weight can make you kit obsolete.

Preparedness is like Laundry and Dishes

I know no one really likes them but they are necessary and we all love the feeling of accomplishment when they’re done. BUT it doesn’t take long before they need to be done again. When looking at the checklist for emergency preparedness it’s that same overwhelming feeling as 3 loads of unfolded laundry that have taken over your living room and the pile of dishes overflowing out of the sink. How on earth do you accomplish all of it!?! Getting or staying prepared can feel overwhelming or even impossible. We can let it pile up or we can do a little bit consistently and stay on top of it.

Preparedness is a Habit

It’s a habit of thinking ahead and making plans. The key is making it a part of your life, just like rinsing your dishes after eating and putting them in the dishwasher. The simple habit saves you all the time and effort of scrubbing pots and pans and soaking dishes. When we incorporate preparedness into our daily lives it becomes effortless. Using your food storage every day, filling a bottle of water each day, and having a monthly drill are all little steps that put us and keep us on the path of preparedness.

How to Adopt the Preparedness Habit

1. Pick 2-3 preparedness principles that you’re weak in.
2. Write them down
3. Now assign one simple thing you can do each week to work on getting prepared in that area.

• Buy an extra hygiene item each week
• Buy twice the amount of regular family favorite foods
• Purchase an item for your survival kit each week/month
• Fix one home hazard a month

It’s the tortoise and the hare. Slow and steady wins the race!