Prepping with the Rule of 5’s

By Ditch Doctor

Don’t be discouraged when starting to prep since prepping can be overwhelming, confusing, and expensive.  I started prepping using the “Rule of 5’s”.  Here’s the list I started with and then expanded it when I reached my goals.  Get your family involved but remember to have the quantity end with five.  This can be fun for your kids as well.

-15 lbs propane

-15 candles

-5 boxes of matches

-5 lighters

-5 flashlights

-5 radios- AM-FM, weather, CB, shortwave (battery, hand crank, solar)

-25 batteries (sizes that you will use)

-5 lanterns or hurricane lamps (battery, hand crank, solar, kerosene)

-25 hand warmers

-5 gallons of gasoline

-15 days if firewood

-25 gallons of drinking water

-15 gallons of non-drinking water

-55 lbs of food

-$555 cash on hand (different denominations and coins)

-5 bottles of medications (aspirin, Ibuprofen, Imodium, Tylenol, decongestant)

-15 rolls of toilet paper

-5 emergency tarps

-5 rolls of duct tape

-5 bottles of hand sanitizer

-25 band-aids

-5 blankets

Your list may be different depending where you live and your family size.  I live in the Midwest, so as you can see I need to stock items to keep my family warm.  You can shop at the dollar store, warehouse food store, or discount home improvement store and take it one day at a time.  It took me four months to achieve my initial goals but now I have raised the bar and have new goals.  We have a saying on the fire department, it’s better to be proactive than reactive.  Protect your family and start prepping today.

Ditch Doctor is a former Police Officer, retired Fire Lieutenant, and currently works as a Flight Paramedic on an air medical helicopter.

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