Guest Post by Dan Sullivan from Survival Sullivan.com The Layered Approach to Prepping Series. Part 1: Prepare for Everyday Events

Some people say prepping is easy, others say that it’s hard… so which is it? It can be easy as long as you take it one step at a time and one of the best ways to do that is to think in terms layers. The first layer (the focus of today’s article) is all about personal emergencies while the others (prepping for 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months and 1+ years) will be the topics of subsequent writings.
Let’s leave zombies and asteroids aside for a moment and focus on more realistic events. As you are about to see, dozens of thousands of people die every single day from unfortunate accidents. Folks just like us who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Here’s a small list of events that are most likely to affect you or a member of your family: house fires, rape, assault, car, motorcycle and bike accidents, swimming accidents, hiking accidents, spider bites and even a job loss. It’s a little scary seeing them all in one place, isn’t it? But that’s not the worst part. The things that really make reading this article a must for everyone are the actual numbers of casualties. For example, 2 million people are injured in car crashes and 37,000 of them die each year on U.S. soil. Globally, the death toll is a staggering 1.3 million (source), 500 die each year from carbon monoxide intoxications (source) and on and on.

And let’s not forget other critical events that don’t necessarily put your life in danger, such as pick pocketing or your car breaking down. We need to be prepared for all of these before we start thinking about others like economic collapses or EMPs.

The first and obvious first step is, of course, to be more careful. Sounds trivial but there’s a lot more to it and it has to do with raising your awareness. It’s one thing to drive slowly and it’s another to always pay attention to the cars and other possible obstacles you may encounter. It’s one thing to avoid going to crowded places and another to instinctively be aware of all the exit routes wherever you go.

Awareness, unlike tools and gear, isn’t something you have, it’s something you do and all you need is practice. Here are some of the things you can do starting right now:

 Start noticing people on the bus or passing you by and try to figure out whether they are troublemakers or if they have a gun. Notice the way they’re looking around, their anxiety levels and if they’re making strong eye contact.

Whenever you walk into a building, notice all the exit signs and visualize yourself quickly heading for them the moment something is wrong.
When staying at a hotel or any other building, stick to the ground level or at the first floor so you can quickly evacuate in case of fire.

Avoid watching or being part of protests, even peaceful ones that have the potential of turning into riots in a matter of minutes.

Avoid dark alleys and bad neighborhoods but if you have go, take someone with you. Avoid crowded spaces and always make sure you keep your wallet and valuables in pockets on the inside of your jacket or coat.

Last but not least, as you’re doing your daily chores, try to stay focused and aware of your surroundings. Most people aren’t in the present moment and this alone can kill their reaction time in case of an emergency.

Did you practice some of the things I just mentioned? Great. Now it’s time to talk about gear. People love to buy stuff and that goes double for preppers, which is why I left this towards the end of the article because I wanted to focus on yourself first.

The things that will assist you in these personal emergencies are the ones you have on you. No matter how well-equipped your bug out bag is, it’s useless if you can’t get to it. All these items are commonly referred to as your everyday carry kit and you can keep them in your pockets or in various everyday carry bags such as laptop bags, purses and belt packs.

Some of the things to consider having with you at all times include a mini flashlight, a tactical pen, a folding knife, a handgun, chapstick, a lighter, a spare phone battery, paper clips, a mini first-aid kit and some cash. If you have the room, think of adding even more such as a solar phone charger, bandages, water purification tablets and even a bottle of water.

As you’re getting these items one by one, try to imagine then they might be useful. For example, if there’s been a terrible fire and people who made it out alive are lying on the street next to the venue, you can use water and the bandages to cool off their burns until the ambulances get there.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and you should only take my advice for information purposes only. It’s best to talk about first aid with your doctor or even take a first aid class. Speaking of classes, you should also consider taking self-defense and, of course, to start getting into shape because physical fitness is very important in emergencies.

Final Word:
A good strategy for you to prepare for these tragedies is to do some research on your local news websites, dig up old news of tragedies that happened in the past in your town or city and figure out which ones are worth prepping for.
There’s actually a side-benefit to doing this besides the obvious one. When you talk to people about prepping and survival, giving them hard facts and figures of innocent people that’ve died just a few miles away from where you’re standing is the best argument. You’ll not only avoid looking crazy for prepping but, who knows, maybe you’ll convince them to join you.

For more information from Dan Sullivan visit Dan at Survival Sullivan.com

*As with any post at Lil’ Suburban Homestead – our disclaimer is always seek any medical or health advice from your medical professional.  Any information shared here is never meant to replace what your medical professional shares with you.