Adventure Outdoors Magazine Summer 2016 | Page 88

SURVIVAL&SAFETY Doomsday Prepping 101 After you’ve got the majority of your prepping done, think ahead. Don’t keep everything all in one place. if the area is compromised by outside forces or a natural disaster, then you won’t have anything left. Make sure you divide your stockpile up and store it in several locations, so that you have options available when seeking those valuables out as needed. Store from heaviest on bottom to lightest on top and do not store chemicals near your food and water. In a disaster, things may get shaken about and broken, and if your chemicals get into your food, it’s no good. If you store heavy cans and buckets on the top shelf, instead of blankets and paper towels, something may fall and injure you or a family member. Although the act of “doomsday prepping” may seem silly to some, and wholly necessary to others, there is a happy medium. Always have a few items on hand that will keep you prepared for anything. The age-old phrase, “it’s better to be safe than sorry,” holds strong significance. So, if you have never considered prepping or stockpiling, you don’t have to go into the idea full-force, but you should at least consider the benefits of having these items ready-to-go. If the clock ever does strike midnight, you’ll have the tools necessary to survive. If the clock stays stagnant or reverses, then you’ll have the knowledge and the resources to say that you were ready, which is comforting in an ever-growing, ever-changing world. 86 Summer 2016 Adventure Outdoors