75 More Prepper Tasks That You Can do in 15 Minutes or Less

Simple, Helpful, Effective Prepper Tasks

Sometimes we know we need to accomplish preparedness tasks, but we don’t know where to start.  Today’s blog post is simply about helping give you ideas to start moving your preparedness journey forward again in case you’re stuck.  All of them should be able to be done – or at least learned about in less than 15 minutes!

Prepper Tasks Category:  In the bathroom

Inventory the following items in your bathroom.  How much do you have?  How much do you need for 2-3 months?:

• • Bandaids
  • Self-cling wraps
  • Rubbing Alcohol
  • Peroxide
  • Neosporin
  • Feminine supplies – if you use more than one kind – inventory both kinds
  • Shampoo
  • Conditioner
  • Bodywash/soap
  • Hand soap
  • Toilet paper
  • Kleenex
  • Q-Tips
  • Astringent
• Learn how to make your own toothpaste.
• Learn how to make your own hard lotion sticks.
• Learn how to make your own lip balm.

Prepper Tasks Category: 

In the Kitchen and Garden 

• Inventory spices
• Check into Azure Standard for bulk spices
• Start seeds to grow your own spices – you can grow these indoors this winter.
• Research manual appliances and choose one or two to add to your purchase list
• Develop a list of Dutch oven recipes and their ingredients – 12 breakfasts that can be cooked over a fire (Make sure that you have a Dutch oven to cook them in.)
• Develop a list of Dutch oven recipes and their ingredients – and 12 dinners that can be cooked over a fire (Make sure that you have a Dutch oven to cook them in.)
• Plan a vegetable garden.  If this is your first year, gardening, choose 2-3 vegetables to try the first year.
• If this is not your first year gardening, strategize on ways to improve your harvest and add one new vegetable to your garden next (this) year.
• Ask around for cuttings from Mint plants and berry bushes to add to your yard.
• Walk around your yard with the PlantNet app looking for edible or medicinal plants in your yard.
• Learn how and when to make a tincture.
• Learn how and when to make an herbal infusion.
• Learn how and when to make a decoction.
• Learn how to make extracts for flavoring.

Prepper Tasks Category:  Infrastructure

• Learn how to turn off your water in the event of frozen pipes.
• Learn how to light the pilot light on your furnace?
• Learn how to thaw a frozen pipe.
• Do you have enough rope so that you could hang clothes out to dry if you don’t have a clothesline?  Or do you want to put a clothesline in that doesn’t take much space?
• Have you ever washed clothes by hand?  If not, you should try.  What do you need to make doing laundry by hand easier?
• Gather any unused drink containers (do not use old milk gallons), clean, disinfect them and fill them with water.
• Learn how to repair drywall.
• Clean out your dryer hose and vent.

Prepper Tasks Category:  For Your Family 

• Are you or is a member of your family on medication?  Research alternative options for that med – to be used in an emergency.
• If you or a member of your family are on medication, see if you can get ahead by one month on your meds.  If you are already ahead, try to get another month ahead.
• If you and your family are on any medication, check out the GoodRx for savings.
• Walk through each room in your house with your children and talk through two exits for each room in case of a fire.
• If you have any bedrooms on the second floor, do you have an escape ladder for them?  If not – buy one.  If you do, have you and your children ever used it?  If not practice using it.
• Write down a list of last minute items that would need to come with you if you had to leave the house in a hurry.  Keep these on your phone, but print out a copy too.
• Help your children memorize the phone numbers of two relatives.
• Designate an emergency contact outside of your area that in the case of an emergency, everyone is to call if you get separated and cannot contact each other.
• Play hide and seek with your children and look for places to hide in your house and on your property case of an emergency.
• If you have young children, teach your children to play “the quiet game” and see if they can actually be quiet for a period of time.  If you don’t know what the quiet game is, it is simply not talking or making noise.  The first one to make noise looses.
• Find five of your favorite games that use regular playing cards.  Print these off and put them in your Prepper File Box.
• Learn various ways to keep your children occupied.
• Research which of your water appliances will not work if the power goes out.
• Learn a little bit about the history of homeschooling and get a basic ‘how to’ intro in case you ever have to teach your own kids.  Covid anyone?
• Go through the games that your children have.  Are there any games that you’ve lost enough pieces to or card decks that you’ve lost cards to, so that they are unplayable.  Throw them away.
• Donate 1-2 games that you no longer want or play.

Prepper Tasks Category:  Communication

• Develop an effective Emergency Communication Plan.
• Learn what frequencies you can utilize when using a handheld radio.
• Go through your Apps on your phone and decide if you don’t use some or if there are other apps that you need for preparedness situations.

Prepper Tasks Category:  In Bedrooms 

• Inventory extra blankets – how many do you have?  How many do you need if the power were to go out?
• Does everyone have at least one pair of long underwear or underlayers.
• Does everyone have a warm hat, gloves, and a scarf?
• Does everyone have a sleeping bag in addition to their blankets?
• Check for air leaks around windows.  Fill in any cracks or crevices with foam.
• Go through one drawer of yours and/or your children’s clothes and donate any clothes that don’t fit and throw away any that are irreparable.

Prepper Tasks Category:  Skills 

• Learn how to take any water and make it potable – Part 1 and Part 2.
• Learn how to start a fire without matches.
• Learn how to bake bread from scratch.
• Learn how to ferment vegetables.
• Learn how to ferment dairy.
• Learn how to start seeds inside.
• Learn how to harden off plants before you plant them into the ground.
• Learn how to water bath can.
• Learn how to pressure can.
• Learn how to tap your maple trees.
• Learn how to dehydrate spices for use.
• Learn how to dehydrate fruits.
• Learn how to dehydrate vegetables.

Prepper Tasks Category:  Vehicle Preparedness 

• Learn what items you should have in your vehicle if your car ever has mechanical issues or gets into physical problems due to an minor accident.
• Learn what you need to be ready for preparedness emergencies when you’re in or near your vehicle.
• Learn what overnight and family supplies you should keep in your vehicle in case you’re stranded and have to sleep somewhere other than your home.
• Make a list of items that you want to gather to add to your vehicle.
• Spend 15 minutes gathering and adding those items to your vehicle.
• Declutter the inside of your vehicle
• Do you have snacks in the house that you can stash in your vehicle for emergency purposes?
• Gather 2-3 gallon-sized zippered bags, 2-3 quart-sized bags, and 2-3 trash bags to keep in your vehicle.
• Grab one book that your family enjoys listening to and stash it in your vehicle in case you get stranded.
• Do you have any travel-sized games – or two decks of cards?  Stash a game or two decks of cards of them in your vehicle.
• Print out instructions for 3-4 card games (or purchase Hoyle’s Card Game Rules) and keep them in your vehicle along with the decks of cards.
• Do you have any extra blankets in your house.  Keep 1-2 of them in your vehicle.
• Keep an extra pair of undergarments for each member of your family in your vehicle.

What About You?

What other fifteen-minute preparedness activities do you do?  Can you think of other items that should be added to this list?  What do you think should be removed?  I’d love to hear!  Leave a comment section below.  And as you start to tackle some of the items on this list remember . . .

You’ve Got This, Mama!