Rule of 3

Whether it’s a tornado, hurricane, EMP or some other event, it’s thoroughly important that you have prepared your family to stock up on the basic necessities of life. I’m not going to be able to cover every item your family will need but I hope to offer some basic direction towards helping you get set up.

Preparedness Rule of 3 :
3 Days ( B.O.B )
3 Weeks (Storage Bins)
3 Months (Closet & Freezer)

3 Days (Bug Out Bag) – Ideally, this is a bag that you keep in your car that contains a variety of items that should last you for 3 days if you’re stranded somewhere. Some will remember a few years back that snow in some areas was so bad that it caused individuals to be stranded on the highway where it took days for people to get rescued. I live in a hot environment, so ideally you want to modify your B.O.B. with whatever temperatures will be most intolerable. My children carry a modified B.O.B. that contains a change of clothes, forms of entertainment, water bottle with clean water and snacks. If you don’t already do it, get a few jugs of drinking water and keep them in the back of your vehicle, they come in handy should your vehicle run hot or you need water to hygiene.

3 Week Storage Bins – Living in Florida puts my family in danger from around June to November because we have very active hurricanes and tornadoes that seem to target the whole state. The absolute last place you want to be in, is the individual who goes to the store at the last minute while chaos erupts. Only you will know how much food your family will eat within three months time but you will ideally want to select a variety of canned soups, canned beans, applesauce, fruit cups, canned tuna fish/chicken, SPAM, chipped beef, oats, rice, cereal, canned vegetables, crackers, condiments, vienna sausages, nuts and any of shelf stable items. Don’t waste money on junk food, you need nutrient dense foods, not empty calories from potato chips.

3 Month (Closet & Freezer) – You’ll need an entirely empty closet and preferably a chest freezer to save up enough for this stockpile, perhaps even more depending on how many individuals are in your family. Take the items in the 3 weeks list and add to that frozen vegetables, frozen fruit, frozen meat, dried soup mixes, freeze dried fruits/vegetables, gallons of drinking water, multi-vites (for adults and kids), dried beans and any other long term foods you’ll need. In case you think you won’t need 3 months worth, consider how long it takes for a town to recover after being hit with a hurricane. If you currently are taking any prescription medications you need to talk to your doctor about ordering some emergency back up supplies. I wanted to find out ideally, how much food I should plan to store for 12 months due to all of the hot weather out West, driver shortages, floods and other horrendous weather. You should at least sit down and have an honest look at your supplies with your spouse so your family can become prepared for anything.

As always, please PM me or shoot me an email at suburbanhomesteadingtoday@protonmail.com and we can get started on your suburban homesteading journey. I offer assistance over the internet and phone due to COVID concerns as well.

Happy prepping!