This friendly and highly accessible guide introduces the most important, practical steps your whole family can take to ensure survival in short- or long-term emergencies. The next severe storm, power outage, or financial meltdown could hit at any time. Having a household contingency plan and being part of a strong, resilient community could mean the difference between life and death. Critical information is presented in 40 achievable tasks, ranging from simpler ones such as creating a preparedness notebook and repackaging store-bought food for storage to more involved preparations like learning to collect rainwater and building a solar oven.