Preparing for a disaster is daunting. First, it feels like the long-ass list of things to do and items to procure just feels like too much when taken in all at once. Second, disaster preparedness can bring up anxiety and fear about the disaster in question. We know exactly the daunting-ness of disaster preparedness. This section is meant to provide you with a step-by-step toolkit on preparedness. But first, one must get into the right mindset. That’s were week one comes in!

You know the cliche: water is life. Well, it’s not cliche for nothing because it is absolutely true. We cannot survive without water. A healthy adult can live up to three weeks without food, but only about three days without clean water. So focusing on water first is essential to your health in a disaster. This guide will walk through the steps and what to consider when storing water.

Whole books (and courses!) have been made about building up your preparedness food storage. If you want to build your dedicated food storage (which is a separate kit from your everyday pantry), the best way is to think in terms of meals. Plan 3 full meals, plus snacks (and maybe dessert!) for every person in your household. Note all dietary restrictions and preferences. A disaster is not the time to force your stressed out five-year-old to like black beans. So think about what you and your family like to eat on a regular basis and stock up accordingly. There’s a lot you can do with canned foods!

One of the things that has a lot of folks anxious about disaster preparedness is preparing for injuries or illness. In an emergency, medical care might be delayed or unavailable. Having the right tools (and training!) to address basic concerns at home could make the difference for survival. This guide is designed to give you the basic tools for first aid and medical care to equip you in case of an emergency.

In Week Five we are tackling the monumental task of planning for when we lose our electrical grid. It’s a system we take for granted, but truly fuels our modern lifestyle. From lighting to heating to cooking, having a plan to manage these essential resources will set you up to survive when the power is out.

In Week Six, we’re getting our finances and documents together to grab and go in an emergency. It’s one of the less “sexy” aspects of preparedness are addressing your finances and documents, but it’s important!

One of the biggest keys to surviving a disaster and resilience post-disaster is knowing your neighbors. This workbook walks through how to organize your neighborhood community around emergency preparedness.

Talking about preparedness can be a tricky subject. Either it’s too overwhelming or it’s too “strange” for the person. But talking about it with others, esp. the ones you care about, is important. This section has tips on how to talk about this tricky subject.