This post is a part of the 30 Days of Preparedness Round Robin with Prepared Bloggers! Thank you for visiting!

I love prepping lists! I have so many printed out and filed in a binder so I can look at them. I get motivated by them and finds all sorts of ideas to get things done!

I am offering you today a list of 10 totally free prepping things to do. Some of the things will take only a few minutes to do, some will take a few hours, and some might take more time than that. You can do these things with your family or invite your friends over to do these things. The only thing that might not make this totally free is canning jars. However, I am assuming most of you have jars on hand!

10 Totally Free Prepping Items To Do

1. Learn to get around your house in the dark. Think about the days when you were a teenager and had to sneak in and out of your house without your parents hearing. 

You didn’t do that? Oh. Moving on…

Learn your escape plan and be able to get around in the dark in case of no power or someone strange being in your house. This might mean you will have to clean your floors and move furniture so you can get around safely. Also, be sure your bag, purse, keys, phone, wallet, etc. are in one, logical place for you to find in the dark and get out safely.

2. Inventory your things. Do you know what you have? Where is it? What are you missing? You need to make an inventory of your prepping supplies and things with where the item is located. If the items can be easily located, you can respond to a situation or emergency much, much more quickly. This inventory should be for food, ammo, supplies, first aid supplies, etc. Everything should be inventoried.

3. Organize your food. Put your food together in logical groups: baking, vegetable, fruits, meats, spices, condiments, sauces, etc. Get even more specific than that – put all your salt together in one place, for example. Put items in plastic bags in glass jars so the food will last longer. Write the expiration dates clearly on the food items so you know to grab the oldest food first. Organize your food to have the oldest food in front and newest in the back or on the bottom. With everything organized, you can send your kids to get the food items you want without the stress of telling them 30,000 times where it is!

4. Can your meats. Look in your freezer and look at the meats that are easy to can. I like to can chicken, stew meat, ground meats, and turkey. If you lose power for multiple days, you can still have a good supply of meat to feed your family and reduce the waste of what you might lose. Meat is too expensive to waste!

5. Make a family preparedness plan. This is a good thing for the whole family can participate in. You need to decide where to go, where to meet, what to grab, how to act, and what to do. You need to make multiple plans in case Plan A doesn’t work, your family knows what to do otherwise. Make sure you also include emergency contacts, medical records, and an inventory of your household goods and keep them ALL in the same place.

6. Write out your priority/wish list. This one is my favorite to do and it keeps me focused! What do you want to get done around the property and house? What do you wish you could do or buy for your preparedness goals? Write down what you need to buy or make. Take this list shopping with you or keep it buy the computer in case you get a little money for those items. Dreaming and planning cost nothing!

7. Practice your skills! Practice those skills which you feel you need refining. Practice makes you better! If you feel your target shooting needs some practice, set up some cans on a fence post and start practicing! Fill a feed sack or a pet food bag with grass clipping or dead leaves. Get the bow and arrow out and start practicing! Need to get more comfortable with sewing? Get some material out and make a pillow while practicing making a straight seam. The possibilities are endless!

8. Complete projects! I have projects that I have all the stuff I need for the project, I just haven’t done it. I have started projects and I haven’t finished them. I have total confidence I am not the only one! Get your projects done!

9. Organize, clean out, put together your Everyday Carry (EDC) Bag. This can be your purse, a tote bag, backpack, or whatever you feel comfortable carrying with you in the car or everywhere you go. Everyone carries different things with them and most of what you carry depends on where you are at in life (baby, kids, no kids). I like to carry extra cash, flashlight, personal items, knife, scissors, pens/pencils, food, small first-aid kit, small sewing kit, gloves, hat, and other things I might need. This bag is what would be your go-to bag as well as your bag you grab if you need to walk anywhere due to car breakdowns, emergencies, etc.

10. Clean out your vehicles and check their fluids and tires. Anytime is a good time to vacuum out the vehicle and get the trash out of it. Wipe down the surfaces and organize what needs to stay in the vehicle. When you get down with that, check the fluid levels in the vehicles and check the tire pressure. Top off what needs to be topped off and pump up the tires if needed. Your vehicle needs to be ready to go anytime you are!

With winter and the weekend coming, now is a good time to get these things done! You will not spend any money if you don’t want to. If you find yourself in a position where you might, see if you have anything that might work in its place! Be creative!

If you have anything to add, please comment below!

September is National Preparedness Month and The Prepared Bloggers are at it again!

It’s safe to say that our ultimate goal is to help you have an emergency kit, a family plan, and the knowledge to garden, preserve your harvest and use useful herbs every day – without spending a ton of money to do it. Luckily that’s obtainable for every family and a journey we would love to help you with. This year we have posts about food storage, 72-hour Kits & Bug Out Bags, and every aspect of preparedness, from water storage to cooking off grid. You’ll also find many ideas to help you be more self-reliant. Look for information on the big giveaway we’ve put together for later in the month. Be sure to visit our sites and learn as much as you can about being prepared. We’ll be using the hashtag #30DaysOfPrep for these and many other ideas throughout the month of September, so join in the conversation and make 2015 the year you become prepared.

Food Storage

Self-Reliance

72-Hour Kits or Bug Out Bags

Preparedness

Thanks for reading!
Erica

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