Readiness

Readiness Watch is a weekly publication intended to provide current, relevant, and actionable readiness information to people determined to be ready for whatever comes next, and especially for those people who are just starting their journey down the road to readiness. Readiness Watch will include observations, commentary, advice, links to resources, and related news.

I always welcome input from my readers, especially tips on information or ways to make this publication better. Feel free to contact me with information, advice, or tips or for ways you can support this effort.

Readiness Watch for the week of 20 June 2011

Previous Readiness Watch posts.

DLH

Be ready now is a weekly post about things you can do right now to get ready for whatever might come next courtesy of Dennis L Hitzeman’s Readiness Weblog. You can find other posts in this series in the “Be ready now” category.

This week’s theme: Establishing self-sufficiency

• Immediate: Make a list of all of the things you depend on in order to provide yourself and the people to depend on you with necessities. Such a list will likely include things like your source of income, where your food, clothing, and shelter come from, and similar things. Next, make a list of how you could provide for the same necessities if one or more of the things you currently depend on become unavailable. Finally, make a plan for how to implement each change will take place.
• Intermediate: Consider replacing things you depend on others to do for you by paying them with things you do yourself. If you are unable to do them yourself, seek out the most local source for the thing you are paying for. Pay special attention to the sources of your most basic necessities.
• Long-term: The best way to establish self-sufficiency is to surround yourself with people trying to do the same thing. Typically, such people gravitate to small, rural farm communities, and they do so because of the lower population density, the access to arable land, and the general tendency for rural people to be more self-sufficient than city dwellers. Before undertaking such a task, carefully consider what you can add to such a community–that is, what are you going to do to be self-sufficient yourself that would compliment what others are already doing.

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact meabout ways you can support this effort.

DLH

Readiness Watch is a weekly publication intended to provide current, relevant, and actionable readiness information to people determined to be ready for whatever comes next, and especially for those people who are just starting their journey down the road to readiness. Readiness Watch will include observations, commentary, advice, links to resources, and related news.

I always welcome input from my readers, especially tips on information or ways to make this publication better. Feel free to contact me with information, advice, or tips or for ways you can support this effort.

Readiness Watch for the week of 13 June 2011

Previous Readiness Watch posts.

DLH

Be ready now is a weekly post about things you can do right now to get ready for whatever might come next courtesy of Dennis L Hitzeman’s Readiness Weblog. You can find other posts in this series in the “Be ready now” category.

This week’s theme: Rendering aid

• Immediate: In the case of many kinds of emergencies and disasters, the most immediate kinds of aid needed are going to be of the medical variety. Having the people involved in your plan trained, as a minimum, in first aid and CPR is a must. Consider extending that training to basic medical care and field medicine. Make sure to have fully stocked medical kits available.
• Intermediate: In an enduring disaster or emergency, after medical care, the next pressing needs will be water, food, clothing, and shelter. Carefully consider how you will provide for those needs for anyone involved in your plan and how you might be able to share aid with others in need.
• Long-term: In a long-term disaster scenario, eventually every kind of thing will be needed. Consider accumulating the kinds of skills and resources necessary to provide specific kinds of goods or services. Trade skills, especially those involving the use of simple tools, will be in high demand.

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact me about ways you can support this effort.

DLH

There will be no “Be ready now” or “Readiness Watch” posts this week.

DLH

Readiness Watch is a weekly publication intended to provide current, relevant, and actionable readiness information to people determined to be ready for whatever comes next, and especially for those people who are just starting their journey down the road to readiness. Readiness Watch will include observations, commentary, advice, links to resources, and related news.

I always welcome input from my readers, especially tips on information or ways to make this publication better. Feel free to contact me with information, advice, or tips or for ways you can support this effort.

Readiness Watch for the week of 30 May 2011

Previous Readiness Watch posts.

DLH

Be ready now is a weekly post about things you can do right now to get ready for whatever might come next courtesy of Dennis L Hitzeman’s Readiness Weblog. You can find other posts in this series in the “Be ready now” category.

This week’s theme: Minimum skills

• Immediate: At a minimum, everyone involved in your readiness plan should be trained in basic first aid, CPR, and rescue breathing. Other useful minimum skills can be fire-starting, use of basic clearing tools such as saws, chainsaws, and breaker bars, and orienteering.
• Intermediate: At least one person involved in your plan should have some level of training in the following areas: medical care, knife sharpening, sewing, shelter-building, skinning and butchering game animals, small engine repair, large engine repair, and weapon repair.
• Long-term: Long-term readiness skills include raising food and livestock, construction of weatherproof shelters, finding sources of fresh water, negotiation, and self-defense.

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact meabout ways you can support this effort.

DLH

Readiness Watch is a weekly publication intended to provide current, relevant, and actionable readiness information to people determined to be ready for whatever comes next, and especially for those people who are just starting their journey down the road to readiness. Readiness Watch will include observations, commentary, advice, links to resources, and related news.

I always welcome input from my readers, especially tips on information or ways to make this publication better. Feel free to contact me with information, advice, or tips or for ways you can support this effort.

Readiness Watch for the week of 23 May 2011

Previous Readiness Watch posts.

DLH

Be ready now is a weekly post about things you can do right now to get ready for whatever might come next courtesy of Dennis L Hitzeman’s Readiness Weblog. You can find other posts in this series in the “Be ready now” category.

This week’s theme: Immediate Readiness Response Checklist

Many things may need to happen at the moment a disaster occurs, but it is important to keep track of your immediate readiness plan:

• Where is everyone involved in your plan? Is someone missing? Does anyone know why? Where was the missing person last known to be?
• Is anyone present injured? How badly? Does the injury require first aid? Can you or someone nearby perform that aid? Does someone need to call or go for assistance?
• Is the place you are safe? If not, can you get to someplace safe? If you can’t get to someplace safe, can something be done to make where you are safe?
• Once everyone involved in your plan is cared for and safe, are others in need of immediate assistance?

Several things to consider in the wake of a disaster:

• If possible, shelter in place.
• If sheltering in place is not possible, evacuate to your predetermined rallying point.
• If evacuating to your rallying point is not possible, follow your contingency plan.
• Be sure that you have as many of your immediate readiness supplies as possible given the circumstances.

Do you find this information informative and helpful? Feel free to contact me and let me know. You can also contact meabout ways you can support this effort.

DLH

I’ll try for the weekly readiness posts Wednesday.

DLH