How To Survive An At Home Quarantine

Home Quarantine Prep List

Okay, I never really thought I would have to write this prep list but alas here we are!. With most of the country sheltering in place to help stop the spread of the coronavirus we are faced with the challenge of having to slow down and spend 24-7 with our loved ones. When we were stuck in our daily grind this idea seemed one of fantasy only to be achieved in our dreams. Let’s face it, it can easily turn into a nightmare of repetition, kids fighting, and absolute total boredom!

Well, this is why as preppers we need to change our mindset and come up with a plan and fast! Discipline and structure become crucial to not only surviving but rather thriving during a quarantine! So let’s pull up our bootstraps and get down to business. The next few weeks at home will be your biggest prep to date if you take advantage of this tragedy and turn it into opportunity!

Personal Prep List

Let’s first take care of you and get you engaged. Most of your frustration will be self-created so you have to look inward first and ask the following questions:

1. What projects have you been putting off around the house?

2. What skills have you wanted to learn

3. What books can you read that will help you grow?

4. What skills can you teach someone?

5. What preps need to get organized?

6. What would you like your daily routine to look like?

7. What’s one selfish thing you can do for yourself every day?

Write out a list of your responses and don’t self-edit your lists let them flow! This is your opportunity to get shit done!

Create a Family Schedule

A routine is crucial to help with breaking up the day, giving people focus, and ensuring that you actually accomplish something every day. It’s the old adage in the military that you start off every day accomplishing something with the simple act of making your bed. Schedule your time to help you achieve the goals from your personal list.

Here’s an example schedule:

• 7:00 am Wake up, Personal time: coffee, news, social media, email check

• 7:30-8 am Breakfast for the family

• 8:30- 9 Family work out time

• 9- 9:30 Showers

• 9:30-10:30 School time for the kids- Set up a lesson plan for Mon-Friday Switch it up daily

• 10:30-12:00 Project Time: Work outside in the garden, organize preps, clean a room in your house, clean your guns…get it done!

• 12- 12:45 Lunch Time

• !2:45 -1:45 School Time: Create a lesson plan for Mon- Friday switching it up

• 1:45 -2:245; Free time- Continue on projects, iPad time, play outside, basic chores, reading

• 2:45-3:45 School time for the kids: Switch up the lesson plan!

• 3:45-5:30 Structured Free time: Create a list of projects and activities and assign them throughout the week. This is a great time to check in on family and friends, prep for dinner

• 5:30-6:30 Dinner with Family

• 6:30-7:00 Bath time for kids and Pj’s

• 7:00-8:30 Family Time: Watch a movie, a documentary, play board games, outdoor fire pit, get creative!

• 8:30 Kids bedtime & Parents free time to include multiple cocktails!

Pro Tip:

Parents, it’s important to break up who is running the school lessons so you can divide and conquer. While one is leading a lesson the other parent can get another project done, cook the next meal, watch tv, work out, or just get some general work done!

Prepper Projects Suggestions

1. Plant a garden- Take part in your food supply even if you have limited space with Square Foot Gardening

2. Take a food inventory: Prioritize your dinner menus to eat non-shelf-stable foods first

3. Inventory and organize your gear- Organize your preps, your hunting gear, and your pantry

4. Create a reading list that will help you develop your skills: Knowledge weighs nothing! Suggested reading

5. Create a list of skills you need to work on: fire making, shelter building, making bread or making cheese, gun maintenance, Knife sharpening, or even how to tie knots!

6. Food Preservation: Learn How to Can and Jar food

7. Family Camp out in the backyard

8. GET IN SHAPE!!! Your body is one of your best preps invest 30 minutes a day into it! Take the push-up challenge, go for a walk, stretch, just get moving!

These are all suggestions and it’s up to you to decide what’s a priority for you and your family. Take advantage of your time together to improve yourselves and the world we live in. This is not the time for doom and gloom, rather a time for optimism. In a survival situation, one’s attitude and mindset are one’s best tool for making it out of alive. Negative thinking can destroy the toughest of individuals. I am not suggesting to not take our current situation seriously, I am not saying that our economy isn’t in a bad way, I am merely suggesting that it’s time to embrace the suck and overcome.

Stay Safe and Stay healthy out there!

What preps are you going to work on? Comment below!

Prepper Project: Organize Your Storage Areas

ORGANIZING YOUR STORAGE AREAS

• Take out all your preparedness items from the area they are being stored in.

• Thoroughly clean the area you are storing your preparedness items and food.

• Ensure that the area you are choosing to store your food is free of the enemies(natural elements and insects).

• Label each container, bucket, tub or package with its contents, pack date/year and any necessary instructions.

• Assign locations in the storage area helps to keep items more organized (Med. Supplies, Baking, Sanitation, Breakfast, Canned Goods, etc.).

• Grouping items that are used together can be convenient. For example, keep baking needs such as flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, etc. next to one another for easy access.

• Place goods with the longest expiration date in the back and work forward to the closest expiration date.

• Systematically rotate and organize your storage.

• Food storage inventory should be checked every 6 months to make sure that food items are properly rotated and are used within their expiration date.

CREATING A MASTER LIST

• Use Excel or a spreadsheet software program to better organize and categorize your preps.

• List everything! Nothing should be exempt from your inventory list.

• Add the location of where the prep items are stored.

• Alphabetizing your gear and including the location of where it is stored can be helpful when you’re in a pinch.

• Store your Master List in your Emergency Binder, in google drive, or in your safe. Remember computers won’t work when you have no power!

As you have found in the last 30 weeks, preparedness involves acquiring a lot of gear, tools, and food. Knowing what you have, how much you have and where to find it is imperative in keeping track of your preparedness supplies.

To learn more tips for organizing your emergency preps, click here.

SUGGESTED PROJECTS

1. Take all of your preparedness items out of the storage area and thoroughly clean the area.

2. Organize your preparedness supplies.

3. Develop a master list of your inventory supplies.

4. Store the master list in your Emergency Binder.

PREPS TO BUY TO COMPLETE THIS PROJECT

• Three Ring Binder (the larger the better)

• Dividers

• Printer Paper

• Highlighter Pen (optional)

• Label Maker if you want to be fancy

• Pens

• Labels

• Plastic containers or bins or under bed storage containers

• Shelving units

• Food style storage containers

Prepper Project: How Do I Decide What To Prep For?

Before You Start to Prep Figure Out What You Are Prepping For:

Prepping is a personal journey and folks tend to f=do it for a lot of different reasons. Some of those reasons are influenced by our geographical location, changes in weather patterns, and or personal beliefs or concerns. The media tends to portray preppers as folks that are only preparing for the end of the world or total chaos. This is not a total truth by any means. A lot of preppers just want to become more self-reliant and to be able to make it through small disasters that can hit at any time. When you are starting out it is easier to focus on reaching small goals and you can always build from there.

Here are a few questions and lists to get you started:

1. List #1: Create a list of what natural disasters happen in your area? What other possibilities out there have you concerned: loss of job, terror attacks, urban riots due to economic collapse, etc.

2. Out of list one what of those items really have you concerned? What do you think will most likely affect you and those you love?

3. Now ask yourself, how long are people usually affected by those types of disasters or situations historically? For example, if you are concerned about hurricanes how long are people usually without power or help? 3 days, two weeks or maybe a month? If so you should set a goal to have enough food, water, and medical supplies to last you for that time period.

4. List # 2: What problems do people face when dealing with those types of disasters? Write a list out of these problems such as No water, no power, broken windows, down power lines, smokey air, etc.

5. List #3: Create a list of items that you would need to have on hand to help address the issues you outlined above. Go all in and try to think of everything. You will fine-tune this list over time just write down everything you can think of. For example:

• if there’s no power you may want a generator or solar chargers for your cell phone.

• If windows tend to break you may want to buy and cut plywood ahead of time so you can cover your windows up.

• If it takes two weeks you should build a two-week water and food supply

• If phones go out you may need a ham radio

• Candles, blankets, waterproof boots, etc, etc

How to use your List & Fine Tune Your Goals:

Okay, so we have established why you want to prep, what tends to happen in those situations, and what you might need in order to live through them! You have accomplished a ton and as you learn more and go through this process you can always refine and add to these lists at any time. These lists need to help guide you through the prepping process so you stay focused and on target.

For now, we need to focus on List 3 and do a once over before moving forward. You should divide this list into three categories:

1. Items you have already on hand

2. Items that are essential and need to be obtained first

3. Wish List: These are items that maybe you can not afford currently or are more of a creature comfort than an absolute essential survival item

Now take the list of the items you have on hand and do a physical inventory. Do not assume that you actually have it on hand as you might have used it or lost it. Find the items and inspect them.

• Are they in good shape?

• Are they the best quality item for the task at hand?

• Do you have a replacement or back up item?

• Make a note of where you have it stored. (You do not need to go on a scavenger hunt when SHFT Happens)

Next, let’s organize the items you listed as “essential” and make sure you have all the basic needs covered. This will help you to prioritize your purchases. For example, if all you have is food and no water you are going to be in trouble. So I suggest buying preps that satisfy each of these areas and continually rotate through that list.

1. Water

2. Food

3. Shelter & Warmth

4. Health

5. Security

Use these five categories and write them next to each item on your needs list this will help you to identify that all your basic needs will be met, what areas you may need to focus on adding preps too, and what areas are you overly focused on. For example, if you have 10 items on your list and 7 of them are focused on the water you may want to balance that out a bit. Use this list every-time you decide to buy a prep so you can check it off your list and stay focused and balanced in the preps you buy.

“One is none and Two Is One”

You need to live by this quote as a prepper it is vital to your plan being successful. Things break and get lost all the time so you should always have backups to these vital prep categories. You should have multiple ways to filter water, start a fire, stay warm, cook food or help to treat a wound. If you come across a good deal or can buy in bulk do so! Just follow your list and stay on track don’t get lost following the next best gadget there is plenty of time for that when you get to your wish list. this is about building a balanced foundation!

Perfect you are now ready to start prepping and you can rest easy that you at least have a plan to get you started. You have a clear understanding of what you are prepping for and a rough guideline of items that will help to give you the best chances to survive and thrive! Now, let’s start getting you prepared!

Prepper Project: How To Build A Prepper's Pantry

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Pantry Prep List

Building your food stores is a crucial prep and one that needs to be done carefully.  Remember that you can easily build your pantry up by buying a few extra items every time you go to the store.  Just bring this list with you and add a few items on every visit.  This will not sustain you for long periods of time it is merely the base of your food storage preps.  This list contains crucial items that you need to have in your pantry.  When building your inventory be sure to buy things you and your family will actually eat.  If you hate canned salmon and vegetable soups then don't buy them it will be a huge waste of money!

Let's GET STARTED

 The nice part about your pantry essentials is that you actually use them on a daily basis when you cook. By stocking up on these items you won’t have to take last-minute trips to the store for small items. Also, prices rise and fall daily so by buying an item today you lock in today’s price and it can save you money down the road.  

Be sure to keep an eye on your inventory levels as you could wake up one morning and find that something you want is gone. You need to set up an innovatory system with basic pars as a guideline for when you need to buy more.  For example, I always have 3 bags of coffee on hand so every time I open one I buy one more on my next visit to the store.  The pars should be set up by how often you use something and how important it is to you if the SHTF happens.

Build slowly over time and you will be surprised how fast your pantry will fill up. Remember your pantry is not the same thing as your long-term food supply. This should be a month or two worth of food that your family rotates through on a regular basis. Once you start prepping your pantry you will become more comfortable with your budget and the idea of buying extra products for your pantry.  

PANTRY ESSENTIALS Shopping List

CANNED GOODS

• Canned corn

• Canned salsa

• Refried Beans

• Black beans

• Kidney Beans

• Chili

• Soups

• Canned meats- ( Tuna, Chicken, Spam, Salmon, etc)

• Diced Tomatoes

• Tomato Paste

• Tomato sauce

• chicken stock

• beef stock

• veggie stock

ESSENTIALS

• Olive Oil

• Flour

• Sugar

• Brown sugar

• Vinegar

• Red wine Vinegar

• baking powder

• Boullion cubes

• Crisco

• Mayonnaise

• Spices: Start with the top 10 spices you use

• Honey

DRINKS

• Tea

• Coffee

• Ensure

• Powdered Drinks- Gator aid, rehydration drinks, orange drink

TREATS

• Protein Bars

• Granola Bars

• Beef Jerky

• Peanut butter

• Chocolate

• Hot sauce: This is a treat when you’re on day 5 of rice trust me!

PASTA

• Mac N Cheese

• Spaghetti

• Penne

• Orzo

• Any dried Pasta of your choosing

DRIED GOODS

• Nuts and seeds

• Rice

• Oatmeal

• Pancake Mix

• Top Ramen

DRIED BEANS

• Lima beans

• Soy Beans, Dry

• Split Peas, Dry

• Lentils, Dry

• Dry Soup Mix, Dry

• Chickpeas, Dry

• Black beans, Dry

• Navy Beans, Dry

WATER

• Enough Water for each person for three days

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How To Get Your Significant Other On Board:

1. This will save us money in the long run

2. No Need For Last minute trips to the store

3. Saves gas

4. It’s not dehydrated food it’s stuff we use

5. It’ gives us options to switch up dinners

6. Fema Suggests to have 3 days of food on hand at minimum

7. Once your home store pantry is up and running it is easy to connivance them of the need for “Just a month or two” of long-term food supply.

8. Prepping is about taking baby steps!

Pantry Links & Resources

1. Pantry Calculator Spread Sheet- A Big Thank You to Guildbrook Farm for this spreadsheet

2. US Emergency Supply:

3. Azure Standard: