Bug Out Bag Preparedness Lessons from the BEAVER: Chip away at it!

As some of you know, there is a sizable creek (Killbuck Creek) which flanks the Willow Haven property. It was named after Chief Killbuck of the Delaware Indian Tribe. Well, just down a ravine from the front door of the lodge lives a Beaver with a very impressive work ethic.

He is constantly chewing down choice saplings to further his domination of the lower swamp-lands. Mostly, I don’t really mind his efforts. It’s actually fairly entertaining. However, he is starting to get quite a bit more ambitious as of late. As you can see in the photo below his newest project is a monster tree with about a 16″ diameter at the base. I mean SERIOUSLY – what is he going to do with this thing once it falls??!

It’s really interesting how he has tackled this new project, though. He isn’t trying to do it all at one time – or even one weekend – or even one month. He works at it for a few hours here and there – almost as if not to feel overwhelmed by the daunting task. He continues to cut down other smaller ‘projects’ in between his shifts of working on this monster tree. He’s been working on this thing for a few months now but has not given up. I’m sure I will have to clean up the mess but I’ve found myself almost rooting him on – hoping he will not quit until he succeeds.

So why am I sharing this story with you?

Because, just like the Beaver, I am rooting you on and I don’t want you to quit until you succeed.

I receive a lot of e-mails from people with questions about where to start with their preparedness efforts or how to start building a Bug Out Bag. The theme for many of these questions is a general feeling of being overwhelmed by the thought of starting such a big project. My answer is always the same – chip away at it a little bit at a time – don’t try to tackle the whole project in one day or one weekend. Like the Willow Haven Beaver – pace yourself and work on it a little bit at a time.

Especially to someone who is just starting out, building a Bug Out Bag can seem like an overwhelming project. Where to start? What to buy first? Learning to use the tools?

For this reason, I divide the Bug Out Bag Building process into the 12 supply Categories below:

Water & Hydration
Food & Food Preparation
Shelter & Bedding
Clothing
Fire
First Aid
Hygiene
Tools
Lighting
Communications
Protection & Self Defense
Miscellaneous Supplies

Tackling ‘the build’ one supply category at a time will help. Each category is a mini-kit all it’s own within a BOB. Breaking it up into chunks also helps you to keep the process more organized – physically and mentally. So this post is more of a word of encouragement than anything else.

BTW – I’m trying to get the Beaver on film to show you.