If you haven't given much thought to how you would prepare for a shelter-in-place situation, natural disaster: earthquake, tornado, blizzard, flood, health epidemic, etc.; man made crisis: city, county, state or country riots, financial crash or any other type of situation that might keep you home-bound for any length of time.
There are several things you need to have on hand no matter what... water, light/heat source, food and sanitary preparations.
Water
Did you know that you can store tap water for long term right out of the tap? You can store it in 2 liter plastic bottles, water barrels, plastic bladders or many other water storage devices.
To store tap water you want to wash out the 2 liter bottle with very hot water and let it dry before storing any water in it. When the bottle is dry, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of standard chlorine bleach to the bottle and then fill it up with tap water and place the screw on top on tightly. If you can store the water bottles in a cool dry place it will be best. You should plan on 1-2 gallons of water per day per person, this is for consumption only. You will want to have a source for sanitary uses, toilet flushing, cooking, cleaning the dishes off as best as possible. If you don't use 2 liter bottles, ask friends if they use them to save them for you or you can purchase them from many sources on line.
Water barrels are a great way to store large quantities of water, these can be used for cooking, cleaning and sanitary uses. Water barrels can be purchased in several sizes and should also be stored in a cooler dry place. Try not to stack the water barrels on top of each other, they are not designed to support that much weight.
Water is great to use for bartering during emergencies, I wouldn't recommend you let anyone know how much water you have stored, keep it out of site and use it to your advantage.
If you shop at the dollar store or other discount types of markets it is a good idea to stock up on toilet paper, either buy in bulk or a few packs at a time, you never know when you will be very glad you have extra on hand. You can also purchase large quantities on line if you want to purchase large bulk numbers and have it delivered. It's important to have a place to store your supplies on site, a basement, attic, or garage. Like water, toilet paper can be a great bartering tool.
Candles are a good source of light, and easy to make at home. It only takes three things to make tin can candles. Paraffin, wick and the can. You can get the paraffin, and wicks at a hobby or craft store, you can also order these items on line for delivery directly to your home. The tin cans you can save in your own home after meal preparation. You will want to wash the can very well and let them dry thoroughly before making the candles, you might even want to run them through the dishwasher before making the candles. If you want to add essential oils to the candles, you can also purchase the oils at the hobby or craft store. To make the candles, there are a number of sites on line to give you the exact instructions.
If you haven't given much thought to being prepared for an emergency or crisis, you might want to now before the crisis happens and you aren't ready.
Happy prepping!