Readiness

Readiness: Plans, Kits and Checklists

Gear is only half of being ready. The other half is knowing who does what in the first twenty minutes, where the documents are, who calls whom, and which neighbor gets the first knock.

These guides turn that into checklists you can print: the first-hour plan for a power outage, a supply calculator, the 72-hour stay kit, car and first aid kits, a communication plan, an emergency binder, plans for pets and cash, and a seasonal calendar that spreads the work across the year.

All readiness guides

A handwritten first-hour checklist in a plastic sleeve on a kitchen counter, beside a lit camping lantern, a marker and a battery radio

Readiness What to do when the power goes out: the first 20 minutes, the first hour, the first days Most of what decides an outage happens before anyone knows how long it will last. Here is the order to do things in.

A walk-in pantry with its door open, shelves of canned and boxed food, a kitchen scale on a shelf, and a butcher-block table in front

Readiness How much food and water to store for an emergency: a calculator for people, pets and days Every number below comes from one stocking table that fits inside a pantry door. Put in your household and the math is done.

A spiral notebook open to a pencil sketch of a neighborhood block with handwritten notes, next to a pencil and a coffee mug by a window

Readiness How to make a neighborhood emergency plan in one evening The houses within a hundred yards of yours are the closest help you have in a long outage. Most people have never written down who lives in them.

Laminated contact cards with names, phone numbers and a reunion point on a wooden table, beside a red emergency radio and a smartphone

Readiness How to make a family emergency communication plan that works when the phones don't In a regional emergency, the call across the country often connects when the call across town cannot. Plan around that.

An open zippered binder of documents in clear sheet protectors on a workbench, with a black USB drive lying in front of it

Readiness Emergency binder checklist: the documents to copy before you need them After the storm comes the paperwork. A binder of copies that leaves the house in ninety seconds turns weeks of rebuilding records into an afternoon.

Two clear plastic tubs labeled 72-Hour Kit on a closet shelf, holding bottled water, cans, flashlights, a radio, a first aid kit, blankets and cash

Readiness 72-hour kit checklist: what goes in a three-day emergency kit at home Most of a three-day kit is already in your house. The work is pulling it into two labeled tubs and leaving it alone.

A spiral-bound handbook and a printed five-phase build-order plan on a workshop bench, next to a coffee mug, loose screws and wood shavings

Readiness Off-grid living for beginners: where to start, and in what order The first steps to self-reliance cost little and need almost no equipment. The panels come later.

An open car trunk holding a canvas backpack with a water bottle and calorie bars, a rolled wool blanket, a jump pack, a tool roll and a paper road map

Readiness Car emergency kit list: what to keep in your car, and the two habits that matter more One strapped-down tub in the trunk, a fuel habit and a paper map close the gap between your home systems and the car you spend hours in.

An open plastic first aid box labeled Family First Aid with a CPR card in the lid, on a kitchen counter beside zipped bags labeled Car Kit and Outdoor Kit

Readiness Home first aid kit list: the Red Cross basics, what to add, and why the course matters more A real household first-aid station is a well-stocked box, a few satellite kits, and at least two people who have taken a course.

A dog lying on a mat in a garage workshop beside a bench holding a bag of dog food, a water jug, a pet carrier, a leash and a folder labeled Vaccination Records

Readiness Pet emergency preparedness: the kit, the water math, and where your animals will go Animals need their own kit, their own water numbers and their own exit plan, decided before an emergency starts pulling attention elsewhere.

An open gray cash box holding small bills and coins on a wooden desk by a window, next to a handwritten October budget note and a white envelope

Readiness How much cash to keep at home for emergencies, and why the bills should be small When the power goes out, card readers, ATMs and payment apps go with it. A small envelope of cash is infrastructure, like stored water.

A clear plastic bin holding rolls of plastic sheeting labeled 6-mil plastic sheeting shelter and several rolls of duct tape, beside a portable radio and two gallon jugs of water on a basement workbench

Readiness Shelter in place kit: how to stage a sealed room before you ever need it Sealing a room against outside air is a ten-minute job, but only if the plastic was cut and labeled long before the siren.

An open binder on a wooden workbench showing a hand-drawn build-order year wheel, with an October wall calendar and a coffee mug behind it

Readiness Winter storm preparedness checklist: the house, the car and the calendar that gets it done The system that has to work in January gets built in October. Here is the list, and the yearly calendar that makes it happen on time.

The book behind the Journal

The Off-Grid Handbook

Every guide in the Journal is built on one project from a single printed book: 75 projects across water, power, food, heat and readiness, each one built, tested and photographed by hand by Garrett Dalton, former U.S. Navy SEAL, before it earned a page.

Cost, time and difficulty at the top of every project. A photograph for every step.

See the Handbook

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