Do you want to make sure you are always prepared for any kind of emergency event? While you may never know what is going to happen, it is often best to be prepared for the worse just in case you do end up in a serious situation that would cause you to be without water and food for quite some time. There are a few simple steps you can start taking to ensure that you are prepared for anything that comes your way.

1. Purchase Items That Have a Long Shelf Life

It would be a waste to purchase foods that are going to go bad in a few weeks because an emergency may not take place within the next few weeks. Instead of wasting your money on foods that will spoil quite fast, consider purchasing items that have a long shelf life. Did you know you can buy canned water? It has a shelf life of around 50 years. If something were to happen, having canned water would come in handy because it would keep you hydrated during an emergency situation.

Although canned water is something you should consider purchasing, there are plenty of other items that have a longer shelf life than usual, including containers of peanut butter, protein bars, kidney beans and canned meats. Stocking up on these items now could help you out in the future if you were to ever find yourself dealing with a situation where food that you would normally eat becomes inaccessible.

2. Pack Comfort Items

Comfort items may not seem like a huge necessity for an emergency, but they certainly can come in handy. Some of the comfort items you might want to consider packing include pillows, thick blankets, and sheets. If you were to find yourself dealing with cold, harsh temperatures and no access to heat, it would help to have blankets that are thick and heavy to wrap around your body so that you could attempt to stay as warm as possible.

3. Collect First Aid Essentials

There are a number of first aid essentials that could be put to good use in the event of an emergency. You never know if someone will be injured and in a lot of pain without access to a hospital or doctor. It would be best to collect several first aid items, including bandages, gauze, rubbing alcohol, burn ointment, antiseptic wipes, and tweezers. You may want to pack some pain medication, cotton balls, and soap with your first aid essentials, too.

Being prepared for an emergency is wise. It is nearly impossible to predict what will happen in the future, but you may feel comfortable having enough food, comfort and first aid items stored away for any possible event. Companies like Koontz Hardware can provide additional emergency items to stock up on.