Greetings SuzieQ! I'm glad that you have decided to join us.
In regard to your questions, I offer the following:

1) Yes, there are several ladies that have joined this site and they ALL make valuable contributions.

2) Look at www.standeyo.com Stan and Holly Deyo have a great deal of preparedness info at their site and Holly has written a very good piece dealing with getting your "significant other" to come onboard the "Preparedness Wagon". It greatly helped me out with my DW but it still took time.

3) There are a couple of good threads already written on this website concerning storage of goods in homes, small apt's, etc. Use the search engine to find those threads.

4) "The longest journey begins with the first step".
Keep hanging with us and you will receive a "Survival Education" in a rapid order. You'll also learn about other websites that teach specifics about woodsmanship, survival, etc. Above all,"ASK QUESTIONS", we love to share knowledge around our campfires.

Good Luck!!!