Mods, if you want to sticky, I can reply to all incoming requests for preparedness as they come in, time allowing.
You can prepare for a few weeks easily, you don't have to go crazy.
Water:
- If you will be on the move, "Bugging Out", you might have time to get lifestraws lifestraw.com -You may still have time to order a water bob. Great if you have an extra bathtub and are not in control of your water situation(as opposed to those with a private well), otherwise just fill your tub without and boil the water if you are concerned -https://waterbob.com/
- You can sanitize questionable water with bleach, https://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cphl/Practice/water.htm
- Remember, you will need quite a bit of water for drinking, cleaning, batheing
- Get some paper cups and papers, cuts down on water use cleaning dishes
- Do all your laundry ASAP so you have a full closet of clean clothes
Food
- Don't go crazy on LTS(long term storage food), if you aren't eating it now, don't go get it. You can start looking into it, but not necessary. Too expensive per calorie at this point.
- Double and Triple up on the canned goods you already buy on a regular basis, adding canned meats to replace fresh/frozen meats.
- If you can, get a small generator to run your fridge or freezer. Worst case scenario, the outside temps in many places are good for freezing or cooling food. Hurricane hit folks get the need for this
- Buy larger bags of rice from costco if you can, filling and keeps well
Meds
- Vitamins, bandaids, stock up what you use on a daily basis, toothpaste, new tooth brushes, pain killers, contact your doctor to see if you can get a month ahead on Rx meds(important!)
Electronics
- LED lights and batteries are a must, candles can't hurt either, you can cook a can of beans with a candle
- Consider getting an emergency radio with crank recharging.
- Get those cell phone batteries and charge them up, have them at the ready
Heating
- Kerosene heater if you don't have a fireplace
- If you have a fireplace you don't use, get some wood and clean out the fireplace, you might need it, hopefully not
Please ask questions here, I've been a prepper since 2008, I'm sure there are more here.
I suggest survivalblog.com for much more in depth info.
Prepper terms you might come across in your reading:
- BOB is a Bug out bag, basically, if you think your current location is dangerous, it is a bag packed with the things you would need to grab and go. If this is ready ahead of time, you get on the road before everyone else even thinks to flee
- BOL bug out location, a planned place to flee to
- LTS long term strorage, mostly for food
You can pick up some cheap solar lights - charge them outside during the day and use them inside at night instead of candles.
remember to get a manual can opener if you normally use an electric.
Your water heater holds quite a bit of water... if you run out, remember there is some in the tank.
You might want to pick up some Mountain House or other freeze dried meals - they are super easy, just add hot water, you can eat straight out of the package. We lose power for 5-7 days every time a hurricane comes through (every 5 or so years) and it is nice to have super easy meals for the first few days. No clean up makes life much easier.
You can use powdered pool shock as an alternative to bleach if you can't find any. Look online for the ratios you need. Liquid bleach has a very short shelf life, but powdered bleach or shock will last a long time as long as it stays cool & dry.
hypochlorite will mess up most containers over time, I've heard that long term glass on glass containers are best for LTS