Ten Practical Survival Tips

Television survival experts are always ready to eat grubs and collect water from animal dung. The prepper community emphasizes the importance of being prepared for disasters large and small and on being ready to live self-sufficiently in times of long-term societal disruption. Online discussions often focus on equipment like survival knives, flashlights, and firearm selection. However, many of the basic survival preparations people make are practical, mundane, and easy for anyone.

1) Buy A Bigger, Safer, Car. Car accidents are the most common family disaster in American life. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an estimated 33,963 people were killed in 2009 in car accidents. These tragedies can often be avoided simply by driving safely and choosing a crashworthy car. Crumple space, airbags, anti-lock brakes, and vehicle mass can save your life. Even Uncle Sam wants you to drive a safer car and sponsors websites to promote automotive safety and provide valuable safety information for car shoppers.

2) Maintain Your Car. Once you've got a car, you've got to keep it in tip-top shape. If you need to evacuate in the torrential rains preceding a hurricane, you are going to want to plenty of good tire tread, you are going to want belts that don't slip or break, and you are going to want to be gassed up and ready to go. While you can select the perfect bug out vehicle, you can just get your current vehicle ready to bugout. Car maintenance can help you avoid dangerous break downs on the freeway or in remote areas.

3) Stay Off Of The Roads And Away From The Bars Late at Night. Popular Atlanta-based talk radio host Neil Boortz has often said that nothing good happens after midnight. He's right. Of the 34,000 people killed each year in car accidents over half are the victims of drunk drivers. If you can avoid being on the roads when the drunks are out, you greatly reduce your exposure to drunk drivers. If you watch the news, you'll also notice that many homicides are also committed near bars in the wee hours of the morning.

4) Change Batteries in Smoke Detector. If you've prepared for ninjas to drop from your skylights and you've prepared for meteor to wipe out half the continent and you've prepared for a worldwide global economic collapse, then you might just consider preparing for a fire in your home. Having a fire escape ladder and a charged up fire extinguisher are among the simple things you can do to make your home safer and more secure.

5) Burglar proof your home. Can the world see your 53-inch flat screen HDTV from the street? If so, it might be time to burglar proof your home. Blinds, alarms, strategically placed shrubbery, and a charley bar (like the Master Lock Dual Function Home Security Bar) might be a good way to ward off burglars and potential home invaders.

6) Eat Healthy. Sure, it's fun to prepare for an army of zombies that might attack your house, but the more realistic threat is cholesterol clogging up arteries. If you eat right, you can ward off obesity, heart disease, and cancer.

7) Get 30 minutes of exercise per day. Healthy eating works hand-in-hand with healthy exercise. Walking, biking, aerobics and other routine exercise will get the blood pumping and better prepare your body to handle the stresses of daily life. There are cheap ways to improvise exercise equipment and get a good workout. Even walking the dog can be a great form of regular exercise.

8) Get regular check ups. Preppers are often interested in do-it-yourself (DIY) medicines, herbs, battlefield medicine, and home remedies. Yet, many are inclined to shrug off aches, pains, and illnesses that are the precursor to serious health issues. If you are serious about surviving disaster, you need to be serious about surviving everyday life and get regular check ups and adequate medical care.

9) Keep your home clean. A clean home offers a reduced number of places for viruses, bacteria, and germs. Regularly wiping down counters, using disinfectants, and practicing good hygiene can greatly reduce the chances of contracting a food-borne illness. Good sanitary routines are vital for creating a healthier home. Basic cleaning and decluttering can reduce the chances of trip-and-fall injuries and can reduce the amount of combustible materials present in case of a fire. If you want to life a healthier and happier life, you need develop the habits to stop being messy.

10) Learn CPR and First Aid. If a disaster does strike your household, it's most likely to be in the form of a heart attack, motor vehicle accident, or freak household incident. If you are prepared to perform Cardio-Pulmonary Recuscitation (CPR) or administer first aid, your family will be more likely to survive a serious health incident or accident.

Finally, there is no doubt that every family need to be prepared for disasters. Start with the family or local disasters that are most likely to happen and increase your preparedness from there. Get a kit for emergencies. You should have a bug-out bag with the supplies you need for a quick evacuation. You should make a plan for an emergency and communicate your plan to your family. There are lots of things that you can do to be prepared without eating or drinking anything completely gross.

Sources:
"A Brief Statistical Summary: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2009" NHTSA, DOT HS 811 291, March 2010 (http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811291.PDF)