Practice makes perfect

It's an old adage that can be applied to thousands of situations. I remember my mom always telling me to practice the violin between lessons because "practice makes perfect." It's the reason why sports teams practice and workout every day between games. It's what separates the best from the average- the amount of practice.

So why do preppers not practice for an emergency?

You can have all the right gear. You can have the knowledge of how to use it and how to survive in the back of your mind. But when the time comes when you actually need to use it, how are you going to do it if you haven't practiced?

Know where your control panel is and
how to use it.
Image courtesy of
www.homestoriesatoz.com

What do I mean by practice for an emergency? Good question.

Make a plan, gather your supplies, then go out and use them.

Last year my family tried to go without power for a weekend. We shut off the electricity to our house, turned our phones off, and did not use the toilets. We set up a privacy shelter with a portable toilet in the backyard. We hung up a portable shower and used that to rinse off. We made Mountain House freeze dried meals for lunch and dinner. We played games by candle light instead of watching TV. It felt alien to not use all the things that we do on a daily basis.

But it was good practice.

Try it for a weekend. Turn off your power, put away your phone, break out the candles and the card games. See how long you can last without appliances you take for granted day to day- including the toilet, refrigerator, and TV.

More than all that though, make sure you practice using your gear.

A lot of freeze dried food is suprisingly good, find what you
like and don't like.
Photo courtesy of www.shtfplan.com

Cook your freeze dried food to find out which recipes you do and don't like. This will also help you cycle through them. Try getting water out of your 55 gallon barrel. It's harder than it looks, and it might taste like plastic. This is why I recommend having a Royal Berkey filtration system in your home. Check it out here- http://www.prepandsave.com/water-storage-and-filtration/water-filtration/berkey-3-25-gallon-water-filtration-system.html

This is also important- use your water filters. Whether you have the Royal Berkey, the LifeStraw, the Sawyer, or some other filter- it is essential that you know how to use it. The Royal Berkey is a simple gravity fed system- practice using it so you will know how long it takes to clean water. The LifeStraw will filter almost any water- but you have to suck in really hard to get water out. The Sawyer is a squeeze filtration system, but it is imperative that you pre-filter the water to get the maximum life  out of your Sawyer. Practice pre-filtering with all your water, it will catch a lot of stuff and extend the life of every filter. Use a T-shirt or a coffee filter to do this.

Figure out how to set up and use your 55 gallon barrel.
Photo courtesy of www.sajewilliams.com

You should also practice using your tent, sleeping bag, paracord, knives, hatchets, camping stoves, and various other camping tools. How long has it been since you've been camping? How quickly could you set up a tent if you needed to? Could you do it by yourself? Is your sleeping bag warm enough? How many cans of propane can you carry? Do you really need that many knives? Do you have the right kind of knife? These are all questions you will ask yourself and answer when you practice using your gear. Make sure all your gear can fit inside your bug out bag and that you can carry it comfortably for several miles.

Knowing how to perform CPR is literally a lifesaver.
Photo courtesy of  www.miramarsailing.com

Do you have a first aid kit? Do you know how to use anything inside it besides the bandages and hydrogen peroxide? It's harder to practice first aid because most people don't get physically injured that often. If you do get hurt badly, make sure to go to the doctor. But if it's just a minor cut or scrape- practice using your first aid kit. Look up videos of how to use a splint or an ACE wrap. Take classes on how to perform CPR and other basic first aid. If you don't have a first aid kit at all, this has everything you will need and more for an emergency- http://www.prepandsave.com/nurses-response-bag.html

Make a checklist of what you have and what you know how to use.
Photo courtesy of www.business2community.com

Write down all the gear you have, then put a check mark next to the items you know how to use. If you don't know how to use it, learn how, by looking it up online or going to your local survival store and asking the product experts there.

One of the most important things is physical fitness. Make sure you are healthy and your body is ready to walk several miles a day with a heavy backpack.

Practice all of these things so that when the real emergency comes, you'll be prepared.


Check out all the products mentioned in this article and more at www.prepandsave.com