Excellent response. Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Tell yourself you can take control. It will be incremental control over time, not complete control by tomorrow.<br><br>In all situations you need Water, Shelter, Fire, Food. Start with the basics build to levels that make you comfortable.<br><br>Water, to start with you should have at least 1 quart a day for 3 days. That is the barest minimum to keep you alive. Much better would be 1 gallon a day for 3 days, for every person you want to care for. From there you would look at bulk storage of water, water collection systems, and water purifers. Filters and purfiers are different and you need to learn the difference.<br><br>Shelter. Your primary residence is a good start. From there expand your definition of shelter to include clothing, outer wear, rain gear, makeshift shelters, tarps, blankets, etc. A plastic lawn sized trash bag is inexpensive and very versatile. A good wool blanket, a space blanket, poncho or rain gear, and tarp would be inexpensive materials to allow you to provide shelter under different conditions. Think about having a change of durable clothes. Although skirts and dresses may look nice, think about how much protection they would provide if you were in the WTC environment.<br><br>Fire will allow you to cook food, provide heat for your shelter, signal, and provide mental comfort. Have several means to light a fire in bad conditions. Practice starting fires in ideal conditions so you will be prepared for difficult conditions. Matches, lighters, batteries & steel wool, flint & steel, magneisum blocks and strikers, artificial flints, etc. Start with the common matches and lighters. Once you can build a fire with only one match, then begin looking at the only slightly more difficult alternative methods. <br><br>Food: Your body can go 30 days without food and live. You will be uncomfortable and very weak by the end of a month. A couple of days without food but water is not life threatening. You will want to have a store of food to get you through the first 72 hours. These are typically long shelf life type products. Once you have the first 72 hours covered, investigate what products store well, provide balanced nutrition, and you will eat. Food storage and rotation is a change of life style and life long habits for most people. Start slowly and build up to stores that make you comfortable. <br><br>Fear can be overcome by knowledge. As you begin to gather supplies, also be sure to gather knowledge. Knowledge about how you can provide for yourself. A warehouse full of equipment is no use if you don't know how to use it. <br><br>Also try not to fall in the trap that you are so far behind that you will never catch up to where you think you need to be. Set small goals. Develop a basic 72 hour kit, probably in a day pack. Then think about would you add to extend it to a Week kit. How about a Month kit? 3 months. 6 months. 1 year. 3 years. <br><br>Somewhere between a Week and a Month kit, it will no longer be portable. You will come to realize you might want two kits. A portable kit to Grab & Go, what some refer to as a Bug Out Bag (BOB). Then you will have your extended kit if you decide to stay put. At this point you will be hopelessly overcome and will start building mini-kits that fit into Band-aid size boxes that you carry without at all times.<br><br>There is no magic silver bullet. There is no one perfect list of supplies. There is no one answer that is right. You need to determine what are the most likely problems to effect your area. Do you live in Tornado alley or Avalanche country? Do you live in the coastal region subject to flooding or do you live in earthquake country? Are you near nuclear facilities or large military installations? Do you have heavy rail lines or interstate roads near your area of operations that might carry hazardous materials? Are there any manufacturing facilities? Once you identify the hazards in your area, prepare for those first.<br><br>Once you are prepared for the local hazards, you will find it will not take much more to be prepared for a broader range of possibilities.<br><br>