Welcome aboard!

1) Determine the threats that you want to prepare for. For example, at home I plan for short (three days or less) to medium term (between three days and three weeks) loss of utilities. In the car, I plan for being stranded (perhaps in a snow drift) for three days. On the commuter rail I plan for an unexpected overnight if the train breaks down or there's some other kind of transportation disruption. In addition to the gear I carry on the commuter rail, I also have some extra food and clothes stashed at the office if I get stuck there.

2) Figure out what skills you'll need, and find ways to get them. If you want to learn about wild edibles, for example, Blast teaches a class in his area that gets rave reviews. There are some great first aid classes from the basic to the very advanced. Several schools teach wilderness survival skills as well.

3) Make a plan. Written emergency procedures and information can really make a big difference; if you're not home when the emergency occurs, your loved ones will know what to do. If you are home chances are that you'll be pretty frazzled and forget something important; with a procedure and a checklist you reduce that chance.

4) Get your gear together. Once you know your threats and have the appropriate skills and plans, putting your gear together should be a snap. Many people make the mistake of starting with gear and then moving on to the other things. The best survival kit in the world is useless if you don't know what's in it or how to use its components. With that said, for your situation it might be relatively obvious that it's a good idea to have extra water and food, so by all means you can start working on those sorts of things while working on the other parts.

Most important is a prepared mindset. Complacency kills.