10 Things I’d Do If I Were Starting Prepping From Scratch in 2026
If you are brand new to prepping, or maybe you have been thinking about it for a while, but feel a little unsure about where to start or even “am I doing it ‘right’,” I want to begin by taking some pressure off.
You don’t need to have everything figured out! You don’t need extreme gear and you definitely don’t need to turn your life upside down to feel more prepared.
Preparedness, at least the way I think about it and the way I live it, is really about peace of mind. It is about being able to look at a power outage, a storm, or some kind of short-term disruption and think, “Okay, this is miserable, but we’re going to be fine.”
If I were starting my preparedness journey over today, knowing what I know now, these are the ten things I would focus on first. They are not flashy or dramatic. They are practical steps that actually help you feel calm and capable when real life throws something unexpected your way. 01.08.26 - 10 Things I'd do
Start by Deciding How Long You Want to Be Prepared
The very first thing I would do, before buying a single supply or making a single list, is deciding how long I wanted to be able to stay home comfortably if something happened.
That one decision helps clarify what to do and how much you actually need to feel confident.
Instead of standing in a store or scrolling online wondering what you should buy, you suddenly have a filter. You are no longer preparing for “everything.” You are preparing for a specific amount of time.
For most people, I really believe 72 hours is the right place to start. Two weeks is a solid goal that gives a lot of breathing room. Anything beyond that can absolutely come later, but trying to jump too far too fast is often what causes people to feel overwhelmed and give up altogether.
Think about realistic situations. A power outage that lasts a few days. A storm that makes roads messy and stores crowded. How many days would you want to stay home without feeling stressed or rushed?
Once you know that number, everything else starts to make sense. You know how much water you need. You know how much food is reasonable. You stop guessing and second-guessing yourself, which is a huge relief when you are getting started.
Think in Simple Buckets Instead of One Giant Checklist
When I first started preparing, I did what a lot of people do. I read every book I could find, watched a ton of videos, downloaded every checklist I came across, and started buying things without really understanding how they all fit together.
Looking back, that approach probably wasn’t the best approach (or the most affordable!)
As I’ve grown through this process, I now like to think about prepping in simple buckets, or pillars. The name does not matter. What matters is that they give you structure, which can take the overwhelm out of a lot of decisions!
Water always comes first. Once you know how many days you are preparing for, figuring out water becomes fairly straightforward. You decide how much you want per person per day, and you store enough to match your end state. You do not need complicated systems to start, and you do not need to overthink it. This is one of the simplest wins in preparedness.
Food is about comfort as much as it is about calories. I always encourage people to start with the food they already eat. Shelf-stable meals, pantry staples, simple foods you know how to cook and enjoy. When stress is already high, familiar meals matter more than people realize. You can absolutely expand into longer-term food storage later if that makes sense for you, but starting with your everyday pantry keeps things easy.
Household supplies are unglamorous, but they are definitely a must. Think toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, cleaning supplies, or anything like that. Having a little extra on hand means fewer last-minute trips and less stress when stores are crowded or deliveries are delayed.
Medical supplies also matter more than we think in short-term emergencies. A well-stocked medical kit allows you to handle minor injuries and everyday issues at home, and knowing exactly where that kit is makes a difference when time matters.
Organization is often overlooked, but it plays a huge role in how calm you feel during an emergency. Knowing where important information is, having documents together, and being able to grab what you need without digging through drawers all help keep things from feeling chaotic.
Communication is the final bucket. Staying informed and staying connected helps people feel grounded. An emergency radio, a simple plan for checking in with family, and a way to keep phones charged go a long way.
When you think about prepping this way, it stops feeling scattered and starts feeling more structured.
Build Out Your Pantry Before Anything Else
This is an area where I see a lot of people feel unsure, especially early on.
It is very easy to get excited about specialty food storage. Buckets of freeze-dried meals and ready-made kits. Those things can absolutely play a role, and I use them too, but they are not where I would start.
Your pantry is probably already doing a lot of the work. Expanding it with foods you already eat is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to feel more prepared without changing how you live day to day. The beauty of this is it takes the pressure off of you to come up with new ideas for meals.
And don’t forget, comfort foods matter! We underestimate how much familiar meals can help keep us feeling calm. Especially during stressful situations, having food that feels normal can make a huge emotional difference.
Put Together a Get Out Now Bin
This is one of those things that I put off for far too long, mostly because I was focused on other parts of prepping and honestly I didn’t really think about needing to get of the house quickly.
And then I watched someone I knew experience a significant house in a fire.
What really stuck with me about that experience was not just how fast it happened, but how little warning there was. They went to work like any other day, their kids went to school, and within hours their house was up in smoke. There was no time to gather things or think through what mattered most. They just left with what they had on them.
That was the moment I realized I had done a lot of preparing for situations that unfolded slowly, but not enough for something that required immediate action.
A get out now bin is simply a container that lives somewhere easy to access, like under a bed or near the garage, and it holds the basics you would want with you if you had to leave your house quickly.
This is not about camping gear or long-term survival. It is about getting through the first hours with a little more ease. Copies of important documents, backup information, and a few essentials that would help you take the next steps if you were suddenly displaced.
Most of the time, staying home is the safest option, and that is where I encourage people to focus first. But having this bin quietly in place in the background brings a surprising amount of peace of mind, because it answers a question you hope you never have to ask, but would really want answered if the moment came.
You do not need to overthink this. You do not need to make it perfect. You just need to know where it is and know that if you had to grab one thing and walk out the door, you would not be starting from zero.
Keep Important Papers in One Place
This is one of those things that does not feel urgent until it suddenly really, really is.
When people hear “emergency binder,” they sometimes picture something complicated or time-consuming, and that tends to make them put it off. In reality, this is just about giving yourself one reliable place where the important information in your life lives, so you are not trying to remember where things are when you are already stressed or distracted.
Think about the kinds of documents you would need if you had to deal with an insurance claim, replace identification, or make decisions quickly. Insurance policies, copies of IDs, financial information, emergency contacts, maybe a basic home inventory. All of those things usually exist already, they are just scattered.
An emergency binder simply brings them together.
Some people like having a physical binder they can grab. Some people prefer digital copies stored securely. I personally like having both, but there is no single right way to do this. What matters is that you know where the information is and that you can access it without digging through drawers or scrolling endlessly through files.
If you already have something like this set up, consider this a gentle nudge to review it. Make sure phone numbers are current. Make sure policies still reflect reality. It does not need to be perfect, it just needs to be usable.
Give Yourself Permission to Slow Down the Shopping
This is one of the biggest mistakes I made early on.
When you first start preparing, it is easy to feel like you need everything RIGHT NOW. You hear about a product, you add it to your cart, and you hit buy because it feels productive. I did that for a long time, and while I learned a lot, I also spent money I didn’t really need to spend.
What worked much better was being more intentional and creating a prepping budget.
Picking one shopping day a month completely changed how preparedness felt. Instead of reacting, I was planning. Instead of impulse buying, I was choosing things that actually supported my end state and fit into the bigger picture.
Sometimes it’s good to remember that prepping is not a race!
Cover the Power Outage Basics Early On
If you look at the kinds of emergencies most people actually experience, power outages are at the top of the list.
When I think about preparing for outages, I always come back to three things. Light, because a dark house feels creepy. A way to cook, because warm meals change the entire mood of a situation. And a way to keep devices charged, because staying informed and connected matters and because I want to read books on my iPad!
This is an easy win. Think flashlights or headlamps, a propane grill with an extra bottle of propane, and a small solar powered battery bank. Don’t make it too complicated.
Focus on Practical Skills That Match Real Life
There are a lot of skills you can learn in the prepping space, and some of them are super interesting and fun.
When you are just getting started, it makes sense to focus on skills that show up in everyday emergencies. Basic first aid. Cooking without power. Simple water filtration.
These are the skills that actually get used and that build confidence quickly.
Build Your Plan Around Staying Home
I know there is a lot of talk about bugging out (cause it’s what the cool preppers do!), but for most situations, your home is the safest and most comfortable place to be.
Your supplies are there. Your routines are there. You know the layout and where things are. That familiarity matters.
There are times when leaving is necessary, but early preparedness works best when your primary focus is on staying home comfortably for a few days.
Get Support Earlier Than I Did
This is the part I always wish I had done sooner.
I waited a long time to talk to other people about preparedness, and trying to figure everything out on my own cost me time and money I did not need to spend.
You do not need a big group or a public community. You just need one or two people you trust to talk things through with.
Preparedness is easier when you do not do it alone.
Keep Taking Small, Consistent Steps
Preparedness is not about checking boxes or reaching some imaginary finish line.
It is about how you feel when something unexpected happens.
That steadiness is built over time, through small, consistent actions. Adding water storage. Organizing a drawer. Making one intentional purchase. Learning one practical skill.
Those things add up.
If you keep showing up, even slowly, you will build real confidence. And that is the whole point.
