Single Parents Are Excellent Preppers

Single parents are excellent preppers. They already have the basics down. Juggling schedules, child care emergencies, and are very resourceful. If you're a single parent and think you can't do it because you don't have the time or the money, think first about the consequences if you don't start prepping.

We'd all like to think that we are safe from a disaster, but that's not always the reality. Just look what happened in Atlanta with the snow and ice or in southern West Virginia with the water crisis.

In both cases it sent families of all types scrambling for resources and help. Parents had children stranded on buses or at school in Atlanta. West Virginians were searching for ways to bathe, drink, cook and clean safely. Adding a few activities to your life can help you begin prepping on a new level for any emergency. Once you are comfortable with these steps you can start incorporating more intricate prepping strategies into your life.

Taking it to the next level in just a few easy steps can help any single parent start off on a prepping adventure and be ready to handle a bigger emergency.

1. Buy in bulk or purchase more than you need. During your next grocery shopping trip don't just buy what you need for that week or the next two weeks. Start adding a few extra items to your grocery cart. Start small and use coupons to help with the budget. You need to pick items that are easily stored. Here is a very short list to start with, trust me there are plenty of items you can add and those will be covered later. This is just to get you started.
• Canned Goods
• Bottled Water
• Granola and Cereal Bars
2. Plan ahead and discuss with your children what you will do in all types of emergency scenarios. Ask the following questions
• How will your family communicate and come up with alternative communication methods if phone lines and internet is down.
• Where will you meet and how will you and your children get there?
• When will you meet and what to do if they can't reach the meeting point?
• Who can your children go to if they can't communicate with you or reach a meeting location?
3. Get some basic prepping supplies for your home and car. You might already have some of these items in the house but make sure that you have them in a central location that you can find in the dark.
• Flashlights, battery operated is okay but what do you do when the batteries run out? Make sure you have 2-3 hand crank or solar powered flashlights. Put one in your car and the rest for the house. Even better, get one of the solar/hand crank emergency radio flashlight combinations. Trust me, your kids will be fascinated with it and want to learn to use it.
• First Aid kits that are always stocked for both your car and your home. You can build your own or purchase full kits that have everything you need.
• Propane stove and propane. There are single burner stoves and multi-burner stoves that are relatively inexpensive. Keep at least one single burner stove in your car and a single or multi-burner stove in your home. Make sure you get the propane too!

Now start practicing. Don't wait until you need it. Practice using the new flashlights or even the hand crank emergency radio/flashlight combo. Start cooking with the propane stove, use it a couple of times to get used to how it heats the food in the cans. You wouldn't want to try to read the directions using your new flashlight for the first time would you? Read about and practice first aid techniques, we will cover some here later, but until then check out Red Cross for some basic first aid tips. Most importantly practice with your family the plans you've discussed for when an emergency happens.

Yes, these are really the basics and if there are any Preppers out there who wish to comment and add suggestions, please do so. Let's show anyone new to prepping what being a part of the Prepper community is all about.

Plan, Practice, Prepare