Tips
Preparedness tips: quick wins, myths and common mistakes
No time for a long guide? Start here. Each of these takes a few minutes to read and leaves you better prepared than before.
Guides
- Emergency kit The reasonable prepper How to prepare for emergencies without fear, obsession or spending a fortune: real risks, basic needs, buying gradually, rotation, skills, discretion and a simple family plan.
- Emergency kit Checklist 52-week preparedness plan An emergency preparedness plan split into 52 weeks: one small, affordable, easy step each week, ordered by season. By the end of the year your household is ready for two weeks.
- Emergency kit Urban survival skills Urban survival is not about fire and stick shelters but knowing how to shut off the gas, find water in your building, walk home, give first aid and work with your neighbours. Ten skills to learn now.
- Emergency kit 12 beginner mistakes From stockpiles nobody eats to go bags too heavy to carry and generators run in the garage. The mistakes almost every beginner makes, and how to avoid them.
- Emergency kit Survival and preparedness myths The doorway in an earthquake, the "triangle of life", alcohol to warm up, butter on burns, rubbing frostbite with snow: common emergency and survival myths and what experts actually say.
- Water Hidden water at home Where to find water at home when the taps stop: the water heater, your pipes, the toilet tank, ice cubes and liquid in canned food. How to get it out safely and which water you must never drink.
- Food Canned food after the date The difference between 'best before' and 'use by', how long canned food stays good past the date, the warning signs that mean a can goes in the trash, and how to store cans so they last as long as possible.
- Energy How long a power station lasts Real-world examples of using a 500, 1,000 or 2,000 Wh power station through a day without power: summer with the fridge, a winter evening with the heating, working from home. How to calculate, what the station itself uses and how much a solar panel adds.
- Emergencies Earthquake away from home What to do if an earthquake hits while you're outdoors, driving, on the subway, in a store, at work, in the mountains or in a wheelchair. The rules that differ from being at home, and the mistakes that injure most people.
- Emergencies Stuck in an elevator What to do if an elevator stops between floors: how to call for help, why you shouldn't force the doors or climb out through the hatch, how to help children or someone panicking, and what to do in an earthquake or fire.
- Health Choking and the Heimlich maneuver What to do when someone is choking on food or an object: how to recognize choking, back blows and abdominal thrusts for adults and children, the technique for infants and pregnant women, and what to do if you're alone.
- Money When cards stop working What to do when card payments, banking apps or ATMs stop working because of an IT outage, a cyberattack or a power cut: what still works, how to prepare and how to avoid the scams that follow.