Food storage, emergency kits, and medical supplies, oh my!

When you first start your prepping journey it can be completely overwhelming.

Once you start googling ideas for how to prep you’ll be inundated with lists and suggestions on what you need to do to get prepared. The good news is there are tons of great resources out there, the bad news there are tons of good resources out there.

All of this information can lead to a lot of confusion and overwhelm.

The good news is that you can take some simple steps to help you get organized from the beginning. You won’t have the time or the money to do everything you want to from the start. It takes time and consistency to become fully prepared.

Create these 3 Lists for Your Prepping Efforts:

1. To Buy - this list includes all of the items you think you should buy to support your prepping efforts. These could (and probably should) include things like a water filtration system, food dehydrator, and medical supplies.

2. To Do - Your to-do lists includes all the things you need to do to feel prepared. This may includes things like, stock up on two weeks worth of water, build your everyday carry kit (EDC), or create your master list of prepping supplies so you can get organized. This list will most likely be the longest.

3. To Learn - This list includes all the things you’d like to learn on your prepping journey. Some examples from my list are learn wilderness first aid, learn to compost, and learn to use a Ham radio.

Your to buy, to do, and to learn lists will become your guides for how you want to start on your prepping journey. They will keep you organized and if used correctly, they will help you stay focused on what you want to work on each week or month as you move through your prepping journey.

Why You Need These Lists

First, let me just say I love lists.

There is nothing that makes me feel quite as accomplished as putting something on my to-do list and then being able to cross it off…I’ve even been known to add things to my list AFTER I’ve done them just so I can cross them off (please don’t ask!)

Even if you aren’t a fan of lists like I am, the reality is they can help us get organized and help us get more focused on what we really need to get done.

The lists will help you from buying supplies that don’t really contribute to your plan. And will cut down on the time and energy you waste on skills you don’t really have an interest in learning.

I’ve also found that lists give me encouragement on the days that I feel like I have SO FAR to go.

I know what it feels like to be a little overwhelmed by the enormity of our prepping efforts. My lists help me know what needs to be done and from an emotional perspective give me a little boost when I’m able to check things off.

When you get into prepping, you’ll always find more things you feel like you should buy, do, and learn. Add things to your list and then be diligent about taking small steps to move forward.

These lists will become your guide for what you should focus on as you start and move through your prepping journey.

Organize & Edit Your Lists Regularly

Okay, so here is the tricky part. It’s important to organize and edit your lists regularly. You get to decide how often you want to review them, but I recommend no less than once a month.

I have found that sometimes I add things that I think are REALLY important, only to decide a month or two later that what I added doesn’t really fit my prepping goals.

It’s okay to take things off your list, or move things down in priority as you get more clear about what you want to accomplish and how you want to move forward on your prepping journey.

I also recommend that you keep your lists somewhere you can review them regularly.

This may mean keeping paper copies of your lists in a binder (which is how I started) or keeping them electronically on an app on your phone (I’m currently using To-Do app on my i-phone).

I have a slight preference for my digital list because I can move things around on the lists as I reprioritize tasks based on what I want to do, what my budget is that month, and or how much time I have to dedicate to learning a new task.

It doesn’t matter how you organize your lists, just find a way that works for you and stick with it. And if you’re like me, celebrate just a little every time you cross off an item from your list!

What are you going to put on your list this week?