March Challenge #29 TEOTWAWKI

Today's challenge is to prepare for TEOTWAWKI (The End of the World As We Know It).  While many preppers and survivalists hold this possibility as the "Holy Grail" of their prepping activities, in reality, this is one of the very least of your prepping concerns.  You have about a 99.999% chance of NOT experiencing TEOTWAWKI and about a 99.999% chance of experiencing very mundane and boring disasters like a personal financial crisis, a winter storm, a medical crisis, a job loss, or a natural disaster during your lifetime.

But since we want to be prepared for everything that could happen, giving some thought to TEOTWAWKI is something everyone should do.  Here's some things to consider:

The scenario: total social collapse, roving gangs, no law enforcement, marginal if any medical care, shortages of everything, money worthless, no jobs, pensions/welfare/Social Security are a thing of the past, your investments are worth nothing...you get this idea.

What would you do?

• Would you stay in your home or go elsewhere?
• If you bug in, how will you protect yourself and secure your home?
• If you bug out, where will you go and how will you get there?
• What will you do for food (for an extended period of time with no grocery stores available)?
• Will you be a 'lone wolf' or band together with others?  Who will these others be?
• What if someone gets sick or injured and medical care isn't available?
• How will you acquire and store water and ensure that is is safe for drinking?
• How will you acquire the material goods that you need?
• What will you do for electricity if the power grid is down?
• How will you keep looters and others away from your stuff and your family?
• How will you communicate with others is common communication systems are down?
• How will you survive the weather (extreme cold, extreme heat) without common ways to heat and cool your home?
• What will you do for entertainment without the usual forms (internet, video games, etc) available?
• How will you transport yourself, your family, and your stuff from one point to another when gasoline isn't available?
• What will you do for sanitation if city sewer doesn't work/is backed up/etc?
• How will you keep your pets fed?
• How will you deal with people when all social constructs are gone?
• What will you do in the event that whatever group climbs to power institutes martial law?

These are just a few things that will need to be considered in the event of TEOTWAWKI.  Like any other survival scenario, the ability to prepare and pre-plan for such an event will leave you far ahead of the masses when the worst happens.