The possibility of another world war erupting soon cannot be ignored any longer. Relations between global superpowers have deteriorated to levels not seen since the Cold War. The Doomsday Clock gauging our march towards annihilation ticks closer to midnight each year.
Are you prepared for the chaos, violence and deprivation World War III may unleash? Modern societies have become so accustomed to stability that few recall the extreme hardships previous generations endured during periods of global conflict.
When the bombs start falling or cyberattacks unleash technological and financial collapse, our comfortable way of life could unravel literally overnight. Grocery shelves will be stripped bare within hours. Looting and violence will erupt as panic spreads. And that‘s before we deal with potential fallout drifting down after cities are vaporized by thermonuclear weapons.
This guide covers key areas you need to focus on today to maximize your family‘s chances of successfully navigating World War III:
Stockpile Essential Supplies
Modern commerce relies on complex trade flows and infrastructure vulnerable to breakdowns during global conflict. When supply chains seized up early COVID, stores emptied out in days. In World War II civilian populations like Londoners endured years of deprivation as naval blockades cut off imports of food, fuel and goods.
Use the calm before the storm to stockpile critical supplies:
Food
Stockpile at least a 3 month supply of food for each family member. The Provident Prepper recommends a deep pantry able to feed a family for 12 months as even better protection.
Prioritize non-perishables with long shelf lives offering dense nutrition. UC Davis conducted a study ranking foods like white rice, wheat flour, pasta, oats, and beans highest for meeting daily nutrition requirements across 2600 calories utilizing #1 rated criteria like protein content and shelf life.
Canned vegetables, fruits packed in juice (not syrup), peanut butter, dried fruits and nuts are other smart choices less prone to spoilage.
A supply of Multi Vitamins helps cover any nutritional deficiencies in the stockpile.
Rotate stockpile by consuming older food first to keep it fresh. Place new items at back, use from front.
Water
The average person needs around one gallon of water daily for drinking, cooking, cleaning and hygiene. Multiply by each family member and number of days to arrive at the stockpile volume required.
Consider extra reserves for pets or livestock as well.
Acquire heavy duty water jugs, barrels & filtration systems to harvest rainwater as a sustainable supplementary source. Learn purification techniques like distilling or using water purification tablets.
Medical Supplies
Stockpile essential over-the-counter medications, antibiotics like Amoxicillin, Ibuprofen etc. for illness and injuries not needing hospitalization.
First Aid kits from American Red Cross contain basics like bandages, antiseptic, latex gloves.
Rotate stock of medications to keep freshest supplies on hand.
Fuel
Maintain at least a 1/2 tank of gasoline in vehicles at all times.
Stockpile additional reserves stabilized with products like PRI-G to extend storage life. Fuel shortages disrupted civilian life for years after WWII.
Store alternative fuels like propane, diesel for generators and heating.
Invest in solar collectors, batteries and charging equipment to tap renewable energy.
Hygiene & Sanitation
Stockpile toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, detergent and disinfectants required for household cleaning and personal hygiene.
Menstrual products needed for feminine care will also prove invaluable.
Equipment & Tools
Useful items like flashlights, radios, batteries, matches/lighters, solar chargers, sewing kits support tasks ranging from reading at night to emergency communications and repairing damaged clothing.
Stockpiling hand tools, knives, hatchets and camping stoves facilitate essential chores from food preparation to fuel gathering.
Barter Goods
Tradeable goods retaining intrinsic value like liquor, tobacco, coffee, precious metals, jewelry or gemstones will be useful for future exchange.
Live More Self-Sufficiently
Reduce dependency on today‘s vast infrastructure networks prone to failure when WW3 strains overwhelm systems or cyber attacks unleash chaos.
Adopting self-sufficient living aligned closer to nature makes you less vulnerable. Take inspiration from homesteaders and preppers thriving off the grid.
Grow Your Own Food
Convert portions of your property into vegetable gardens based on tactics perfected over centuries. The average 0.10 acre yard yields enough food for a family when intensively managed.
The Slocum method specialized for urban plots relies on raised beds, vertical structures and succession planting to increase yields 500-600% over traditional approaches.
Greenhouses allow cultivating fresh produce year-round. Installing solar panels provides renewable electricity for equipment like heaters regulating interior climates.
Free online Permaculture Design Courses like Oregon State University‘s teaches design principles mimicking natural ecosystems for abundant and low maintenance harvests.
Backyard orchards filled with dwarf and semi-dwarf fruit trees produce nutritious fruits for decades with minimal care.
Livestock & Alternative Proteins
Rabbits and chicken flocks in backyard coops provide regular harvests of meat and eggs to supplement diets during periods of scarcity. Their feed can be fully grown on small farms.
Raising Tilapia fish in Aquaponics systems has become a staple technique to provide sustainable protein without land constraints. Their waste doubles up as fertilizer for hydroponic crops.
Foraging for edible plants, hunting games like deer or trapping small mammals are time-tested strategies when conventional food becomes unavailable.
Insect farming for protein is an emerging field that may rise to prominence when global meat production declines. Many bugs like crickets and mealworms can be bred in small bins with household waste. They offer more protein than livestock pound for pound.
Water Independence
Install gutters, pipes and collection tanks to harvest rainwater from rooftops during wet months. Water gathered in this decentralized manner stays buffered from municipal supply issues.
Hand pumps and gravity designs allow extracting water without electricity. Have purification mechanisms like settle tanks and rudimentary sand filters in place.
Drilling new wells tapping underground aquifers utilizing hand tools is feasible at household scales when executed carefully. Leverage ancient techniques like water divining to detect reserves beneath the topsoil.
Renewable Energy
Solar panels linked to batteries storing excess electricity for lean times provide a personalized energy grid immune from wider disruptions.
Wind turbines can supplement solar infrastructure. Pedal generators hooked to equipment convert physical exertion into useful watts during emergencies.
Gasifiers transform wood and agricultural waste into combustible syngas firing conventional generators when fuel depletes.
Prior investments into renewable energy yield dividends when conflict reverberates through hydrocarbons trade.
Food Preservation
Master time tested skills like canning, pickling, fermenting and dehydrating to make freshly harvested produce last months or years while retaining nutrition.
Curing, smoking and salting preserves meat.
Store preserved foods in root cellars utilizing stable underground temperatures for natural refrigeration without electricity.
Hone Survival Skills
While our gadget filled lives grow increasingly convenient, these treasures of science leave us disconnected from Self-Reliant basics needed to confront upheavals like war.
Relearn the lost wisdom relied upon by common men and women making it through humanity‘s darkest chapters before.
Emergency Medical Skills
Take First Aid classes focusing on stabilizing trauma, treating infections, suturing wounds, assisting childbirth etc. Local Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) prepares civilians to provide medical assistance when professional help is delayed.
Stockpile reference books like Where There Is No Doctor as accessible primers for practical techniques.
Herbal medicine and tinctures made from locally available plants supplement pharmaceutical stocks vulnerable to interruption when factories convert for military clients.
Hunting, Foraging & Trapping
With stocks of canned goods finite, the ability to supply meat through hunting & trapping ensures ongoing nourishment.
Learn skills like tanning hides and utilizing all portions of harvested animals.
Foraging provides Vitamins and Minerals from wild edible plants, mushrooms and even edible insects.
Nuclear fallout zones see rises in attacks from hungry predators – so self-defense may be required.
Bushcraft & Survivalism
Staying alive with just your trusted gear and wilderness skills can sustain you when occupied territory offers no succor. Prioritize abilities like:
- Natural Navigation techniques using the stars, landscape features etc allow escaping dangerous areas
- Improvising essentials like weapons, shelters, fire etc boosts self reliance
- Concealment, stealth and counter tracking prevents pursuit by hostile forces
- Traversing extreme terrains to reach safer refuge destinations away from population hubs
Communications
When telecom networks and electrical grids malfunction, traditional modes like HAM radio allow broadcasts over significant distances to stay informed and coordinate with allies.
Old-school semaphore signaling via flags or mirrors enable short range or line of sight broadcasts.
Psychology Of Survival
Maintaining mental clarity and emotional resilience is crucial when faced by loss of everything familiar like home, community and loved ones. Finding strength by focusing on what matters, what remains under your control defines the Survivor mentality rising to overcome Severe Trauma.
Regular meditation, self reflection and spiritual practice equip you with tools to process hardship in constructive ways without totally relinquishing to despair.
Make Contingency Plans
Chart out contingency strategies accounting for different WWIII scenarios from nuclear detonations and radioactive fallout to bioweapon pandemics, violent unrest and foreign invasion.
Under Nuclear Attack
Mark nearest underground car parks, subway stations, basements or cellars offering shielding against initial blasts waves and heat.
Streaming services cache location info for over 210,000 registered fallout shelters nationwide, searchable via zip code on desktop and mobile. Find yours now.
If caught outside, utilize concepts like duck and cover to maximize chances.
Potassium Iodide pills taken at first warning signs flood thyroid glands with safe iodine minimizing absorption of radioactive variants hazardous to health.
Biological Events
Stockpile P100 masks, nitrile gloves, Tyvec suits creating isolation shields against contagions when infected numbers overwhelm hospitals.
Plan procedures to safely decontaminate members or supplies exiting contaminated areas before entering homes.
Violent Unrest
If chaos and mass panic spread through urban zones, timely evacuation to countryside bug out locations arranged beforehand preserves safety and sanity.
Fortifying and concealing such sites is imperative so fleeing groups cannot easily follow or overwhelm.
Occupied Territories
Understanding historical tactics of resistance movements is prudent if your land falls under puppet regimes or foreign management.
Methods like asymmetric warfare encapsulate powerful strategies the weak leverage utilising their environment and psychology to defeat seemingly stronger establishments ruling through force alone.
But living to fight another day may prove the wisest choice rather than pyrrhic victories.
Maintain Health & Resiliency
Robust health and immunity reduces reliance on healthcare systems strained to breaking point when society faces crisis. Fitness grants strength to provide, build and endure.
Follow commonsense strategies like:
Diet & Exercise
Adopting traditional diets rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and anti-oxidants boosts cellular vitality and natural immunity.
Combine with strength training, cardio and flexibility exercises tailored for your body and constraints.
Stress Resilience
Cultivating stoicism and mental toughness inoculates against paralyzing anxiety or depression.
Activities like breathwork, mindfulness meditation and yoga calm turbulent emotions so logic can guide urgent decisions.
Foster communal bonds and social circles to affirm life has meaning through darkness.
Skills Training
Pursuits like martial arts, hunting and overlanding train both body and mind while equipping survival capabilities.
Conserve Today
Practice thriftiness and sustainability now to ease adjustments later when lean times arrive.
Reduce household energy and water requirements through actions like:
- Line drying laundry instead using dryers
- Limiting time spent showering
- Installing water saving faucets and toilets
- Unplugging appliances not in active use
- Using non-LED bulbs only when required
- Consolidating trips requiring automobile travel
- Carpooling or walking for short distances instead
Repair and mend worn items whenever feasible instead of replacing them.
Eat seasonal produce to align closer with local agriculture cycles. Freeze surplus harvests from periods of abundance.
These habits from past generations who knew scarcity as the norm realign us to timeless wisdom for living modest, meaningful lives.
The Time To Prepare Is Now
While conflict seems unimaginable given the comforts we are accustomed to, global experts observing today‘s charged climate are sounding alarms.
Tensions are undeniably rising among powerful nations across flashpoints like Taiwan, Ukraine, the South China Sea and elsewhere. Military buildups accelerate as alliances solidify. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 2023 Doomsday Clock maintains we are just 90 seconds from midnight signaling annihilation.
We all hope WWIII never comes. But conditions mirror the fraught years prior to WWII – an overly optimistic generation disillusioned by carnage of the previous war. Yet crisis engulfed the world again, and inflicted horrors far beyond any expectations.
We cannot afford to be similarly complacent by ignoring the warning signs and hoping things simply continue as they have in the long peace since the Cold War.
Now is the time for individuals and families to implement prudent steps securing basic necessities, tools and skills to sustain your way life when the wider world descends into turmoil. Waiting carries grave risk as critical items disappear the moment trouble erupts.
Building resilience across essential fronts is needed today to mitigate how severely global ripples in the coming months impact you directly.
Stay vigilant to fast moving geopolitical undercurrents. Prepare not just to endure World War III but to fearlessly uphold all that makes existence meaningful – creativity, community, compassion and hope.