21st May 2013
By Gaye Levy
Guest Writer for Wake Up World
One of the excuses used for not prepping is that it takes a lot of time. True enough. Anything that you pursue with passion and intensity is going to take some time. On the other hand, there are plenty of prepping activities that can be undertaken in just five minutes.
Come on. I said just five minutes. And five minutes a day over the course of a year? That 30 hours with a whole lot of prepping going on. Today I am sharing some preparedness projects that can be accomplished in just five minutes. So if you think you don’t have time to prep, think again.
Shall we start? Here are some 5 minute projects, listed in no particular order.
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5 Minute Prepping Projects for People with No Time
1. Purchase a prepping notebook or binder where you can accumulate information you need in the event of an emergency.
2. Wash out empty juice jugs, swish with a bit of bleach and fill them with water for an emergency. Be sure to date them so that you that you can rotate them on an annual basis.
3. Place a pair of shoes, socks, work gloves, a whistle, and a light stick or flashlight with batteries under your bed for use during or after an emergency.
4. Talk to family members about how you will re-unite with each other following a disaster.
5. Choose an out-of-state contact person that is willing to be a relay point for information after-the-fact to your other family members and loved ones. (Following a disaster, telephone lines to an out-of-state location may work when local calls do not.)
6. Introduce yourself to a neighbor you have not met. Exchange emergency telephone numbers.
7. Purchase a manual can opener on your next visit to the store.
8. Fill empty milk jugs or other plastic containers with water and store them in your freezer. The frozen jugs will keep your food colder for longer in the event of a power outage. The water can also serve as a backup source for cleaning or sanitation purposes.
9. Read Food Safety When the Grid Goes Down and print out the food safety charts at the at the FoodSafety.gov website. Attach them to the inside of a cupboard door so you have them handy after a power outage or disaster.
10. Mark your calendar with a date one year from now so that you remember to rotate your canned goods out of storage.
11. Purchase extra canned goods each time you visit the grocery store.
12. Locate your utility shutoff valves and review the instructions for turning them off. Place a shut-off tool by the door nearest to them
13. Test your smoke alarms.
14. Make a list of all of your prescription drugs along with dosages and keep the list in your emergency kit.
15. Take digital photos of each room in your house. Take five minutes for each room and do you best to capture as much as you can. This will facilitate any after the fact insurance claims.
16. Write down your insurance policy numbers and your agent’s phone number, and put them in your wallet and in your emergency kit.
17. Add $1 a week to your emergency cash fund. If you can afford it, add $5 per week (or more) to the fund.
18. Make digital copies of your important documents and store them on a flash drive.
19. Make a backup copy of the data on your computer hard drive and give it to a friend or relative to store for you. In computer terms, this is called “off site backup”.
20. Locate a source of water outside of your home such as a lake, pond or stream.
21. Learn to cook a pot of rice.
22. Download free prepping, survival and homesteading for e-books from Amazon as they become available. Check the Backdoor Survival Facebook page for almost daily announcements of books that are currently available – often for just a day or two.
23. Call (800-480-2520) or email FEMA ([email protected]) to order a free copy of their excellent print book “Are You Ready Guide to Preparedness”. For more information about this publication, see Free for You: The “Are You Ready Guide to Preparedness”.
24. Practice starting a fire using a bit of dryer lint, a cotton ball soaked in petroleum jelly or a flint and steel.
25. Sow some seeds, fruits and veggies that is.
26. Visit one of the websites in the article Special Report: The Best Prepper Websites.
The Final Word
So there you go, 26 prepping projects that will take only five minutes each. Have some ideas of your own? I would love to have you share them in the comments below.
Preparing for a disaster or crisis or even an economic collapse does not have to be an insurmountable task. Breaking tasks down in to manageable chunks will make the job less chore-like and less of a burden. As a bonus, when you are done, you will feel the sense of satisfaction that comes from knowing that you have done something to secure your safety and well-being if it all goes to heck.
One thing for sure, you need to make every day a prepping day!
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
Recent articles by Gaye Levy
- Embracing Phytochemicals for Health and Survival
- Growing, Grinding and Cooking Wheat
- 28 Ways to Use Coffee Filters for Survival
- The 10 Commandments of Survival
- 10 Simple Steps Toward Self-Sufficiency
- City Farming with Backyard Quail – An Alternative to Raising Chickens
- Creating a Healing Garden – 9 Healing Herbs You Can Grow Yourself
About the author
Gaye Levy, also known as the Survival Woman, grew up and attended school in the Greater Seattle area. After spending many years as an executive in the software industry, she started a specialized accounting practice offering contract CFO work to emerging high tech and service industries. She has now abandoned city life and has moved to a serenely beautiful rural area on an island in NW Washington State. She lives and teaches the principles of a sustainable and self-reliant lifestyle through her website at BackdoorSurvival.com.
At Backdoor Survival, Gaye speaks her mind and delivers her message of prepping with optimism and grace, regardless of the uncertain times and mayhem swirling around us.
You can find Gaye through her website at Backdoor Survival, on the Backdoor Survival Page on Facebook, and as Survival Woman on Twitter.
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