Being prepared is pretty important at our house. I’m not talking about zombies, either. Being prepared is no joke. You never know what type of emergency or disaster will suddenly rock your world and change things forever.

I think I started with prepping years ago when my kids were younger. We seemed to have very little food and I always worried about being able to feed them. Often, I had to depend on handouts from food pantries to help my kids have enough to eat, and I really hated that. After a while, I got very good at buying, and stocking up, on the cheap. We may not have had much, but I would always have food for my kids.

That experience was part of my motivation to start a homestead. True, I always wanted a farm from the time I was a child, but the concept of homesteading was unknown to me until I found a copy of Countryside & Small Stock Journal. It’s still my favorite magazine today.

When I read that first issue, I was amazed at what people were doing and that other people wanted to do what I wanted to do. I didn’t feel like such an oddball. Okay, so I’m still an oddball. But at least there are other oddballs like me.

Today, even though my kids are mostly grown and I am well provided for by my husband, I am still driven to become more and more self-reliant. That’s why I raise animals and have a garden, etc. But there is more to preparedness than homesteading.

Coming up on April 30th, the US will have the first National Day of Action. The purpose of this day is to find ways to be more prepared for natural disasters like tornadoes, wildfires, floods and hurricanes. The campaign’s goals is for more people to understand which disasters are most prevalent in their communities, know what to do to be safe and minimize damage, take action to increase preparedness and participate in community planning.

Even if you don’t want to commit to being a part of the PrepareAthon, I urge you to learn more about the natural disasters that could affect your family and community. Then start thinking about how you can be better prepared to handle these types of situations.

Have an emergency kit with food, water, extra meds and other essentials. And don’t forget supplies for your pets. You are responsible for them in a disaster and they will be depending on you. Create a family emergency plan and practice it, so when disaster strikes, you know how to handle it as a family.

Learn more about what you can do to be better prepared by visiting Ready.gov and FEMA. Both have tons of valuable information that could save your life.

Image courtesy of FEMA/Jennifer Lynette