Family Comes First

The right balance between fear and preparedness.

A major challenge, perhaps THE major challenge, in preparing for survival in a disaster is balancing your daily life with rational preparations for survival.

Too MUCH preparing can get your family operating in fear. Too LITTLE preparing, and you run the risk of disaster, and forever after asking yourself why you never did what you knew you could have done. Worse, your children may ask the same question.

We share plenty of details about being prepared. But here are the basics, as far as we are concerned.

A family plan means peace of mind.

1-A plan starts with communications.

First, of course, you’ll be  concerned about the other members of your family. So start with a family communications plan for emergencies. Here’s an article with suggestions to get you started.

2-Next step is emergency supplies.

You probably already have a basic checklist for emergency or disaster preparedness supplies.  If not, get our complete Emergency Supplies Checklist right here.  (It’s pretty comprehensive, since we’ve been working on it for years.)

3-Every plan requires ongoing awareness. 

Real preparedness means knowing more about the risks you face, knowing smart habits you can develop, and what you can do around the house to give you a higher level of protection.  It means engaging neighbors and co-workers to raise THEIR level of understanding.

Emergency Plan Guide is aimed at helping you achieve that balance between daily life and rational preparations for emergencies and, in the event of a disaster, for survival. We do it, in part, through our weekly Advisories — articles that cover the spectrum from Attitude to Zombies and lots in between!

Here are five recent Advisories aimed at family preparedness, to give you an idea of what to expect. There are more Advisories listed under the Family menu item at the top of this page.

• What to do after someone dies — A checklist for Emergency Plan Guide readers
• Lost – and Found, thanks to what3words
• “All I could think was, stop the bleeding!”
• How safe are your emergency flares?
• The 2024 Preparedness Pie

I hope you’ll subscribe to receive ALL the Advisories. You can sign up right here: