Getting started
The old handbook, in order.
Planning for the difficult… while it’s still easy. The Prepared Family site was meant to help us stay connected and get better prepared. This is that handbook, rebuilt: the old menu, the family Drive, and a plan you can actually print.
- Day 1
Write the people page
Names, phones, out-of-area contact, two meeting places. Print the binder cover.
- Day 2
Water you can count
One gallon per person per day, more in July. Date the jugs.
- Day 3
A bag by the door
One 72-hour kit per person. Shoes, light, copies of IDs, a little food.
- Day 4
Medicine and OTC
Seven days of prescriptions. A labeled OTC shelf. Glasses extra.
- Day 5
The car and the radio
Program FRS to your Ivins channel. Put water and a paper map in the car.
- Day 6
Food you already eat
Buy extra of what you cook. Rice, beans, oats, peanut butter. Label a bucket if you are ready.
- Day 7
Tell the household
Walk the rally points. Kids recite the out-of-area number. Then go back to ordinary life.
The Prepared Family menu
Inner pages were never archived. These are household versions of the same list. Firearms instruction is not on this site.
- Getting StartedSeven days. Then stop and live.
- MembersNames, phones, meds, rally points.
- Objectives72 hours, two weeks, and a line in the sand.
- MeetingsFamily council and a 20-minute porch talk.
- BindersCover, plan, lists. One three-ring binder.
- List of ListsThe master checklists.
- Bug Out BagGrab-and-go, plus the two-week pantry.
- Bugging InMost events, you stay home.
- First AidKit, meds, and a real class.
- OTC MedicineWhat to keep on the shelf. Follow the label.
- Freeze Dried FoodBuckets, rotation, and freeze-dried meals.
- Meal PlanningMeals you will actually cook in the dark.
- Vehicle PreparednessThe car kit for desert heat and a closed highway.
- CommsOut-of-area number, FRS, NOAA, licensed ham.
- LibraryFEMA, medical books, radio manuals.
- MissionaryWhen someone is serving and the household still has to run.
- Line in the SandWhen we stay. When we leave. Written down first.