Questions to Prepare with for Difficult Days

Twitter user EnochPowell (no relationship to Servants and Heralds) has been posting a series of questions aimed at helping people prepare for the difficult days he believes are on the horizon.

If you are similarly persuaded that difficult days are ahead and have been looking for a way to get started preparing to meet them then you might find his questions a helpful checklist.

One more note – it’s daunting but the first step is to read, let that help you get your head around your needs, and go from there (more on that at the bottom of the list).

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Here is what he has asked:

Are you set up to produce at least half of the calories you and your need to survive, if you needed to? And where do you live?
Do you have a water source that is not dependent on water mains or the electrical grid? (generator for water well counts as independent).
If anyone in your household has critical medication, do you have at least a 6 month supply?
Do you own a semi automatic rifle and at least 200 rounds of ammunition?
Do you have a method for traveling 30 miles that is not reliant on gasoline, diesel, or the electrical grid?
Do you know the names of at least 4 separate people/families that live within walking distance of your house?
Do you have a method of keeping your house at a livable temperature that is not dependent on the grid or regular deliveries?
Do you have the medical knowledge to set a simple fracture and stitch a simple flesh wound?
Do you have skills or can produce something that would be a tradeable good if the power grid was down?
Are you experienced at haggling and making deals?
Do you have the knowledge and tools to slaughter and butcher a 300lb hog?
Do you personally know more three or more Law Enforcement officers in your area and could contact them if phones did not work?
Do you know which gangs/criminals/etc are active in your area?
Do you have a plan for preventing your house from burning down if there is a spreading fire, no fire department response, and the water mains are unpressurized?
Would your house be safe from flooding if there was a once in a decade flood and the storm water pumps were non-functional?
Is there any significant barrier stopping a group of people on foot from approaching your residence?
Do you have motion detecting floodlights around your house?
Do you have reinforced deadbolts or a similar device (including a barred door) on the external access points on your house?
Would your neighbors respond in a useful way to the sounds of a gunfight coming from your house in any way besides calling the police?
Are you trained and fit enough to win a hand to hand fight?
Do you have any first hand experience with violent death? [Same question for] Warfare, accident, murder, self defense, etc?
Have you ever gone more than 72 hours without food?
Could you navigate to the nearest hospital or medical facility without a cell phone, GPS device, or stopping to find someone who knew the way?
Could you stabilize someone (until help arrives) with a femoral artery bleed and someone with an intestinal puncture wound with what you have with you when you’re driving your car?
Have you checked to see if your spare tire was pressurized in the last 3 months? ( I will also accept having a way to inflate it kept in the car, always)
Could you take in a family of four (assume they’re your friends) who showed up suddenly with nothing but the clothes on their back and a car with a half cup of gas left?
Do you have a police scanner (that is not your cellphone)?
Do you have a physical map of your area?
Do you carry a pistol on your person as often as you’re able to?
Could you fell a 40 ft pine tree without injuring yourself or ruining the tree?
Can you weld and do simple machine repair?
Do you understand why you shouldn’t let a diesel (especially an older one) run to empty and how to fix it?
Do you have access to a source of Vitamin C that isn’t reliant on shipping?
Could you power an internal combustion engine with a material and tooling you could source locally?
Would your house be liveable in during the hottest days of summer without Air Conditioning or electric fans?
Do you know how to preserve food without electricity or new canning lids?

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If you found that list daunting here’s a better reaction than throwing your hands up:

a. Divide the list up into categories:

Can Do
Can Do Soon (example: #4, #20)
Long Range Goal (example: #3, #33)
Maybe Someday (#30, #34)

b. Pick something from the Can Do Soon list and write down the first two steps toward being able to move it into the Can Do list.

c. Get started!

Also: The same account has been going through the poll results attached to each question. In some of the replies he has suggested how to meet the goal behind each question. If you want more reading that would be a good place to start – warning, though: some bad language is salted in along the way.