About The Midwest Prepper

The Midwest Prepper is about being ready for the things that actually happen: the ice storm that takes the power out for three days, the tornado warning at 2 a.m., the boil-water notice, the week the roads close. It's written for ordinary households, not doomsday bunkers.

What we cover

• Backup power: portable and standby generators, battery power stations, transfer switches, how to size a system, and how to run it safely.
• Getting through outages: keeping food safe, staying warm, keeping the sump pump running, and what to do in the first 72 hours.
• Food, water and supplies: what to keep on hand, how much, how long it lasts, and what's worth buying before the shelves empty out.
• Midwest weather: tornadoes, blizzards, ice, floods and heat waves, and how to plan for each one.
• Self-reliance at home: gardening, canning, food storage and the other skills that make a household a little less dependent on the store.

How we work

Every article is built on published sources: government agencies like FEMA, the CDC and the National Weather Service, manufacturer manuals, university extension services and safety organizations. We link those sources in the article so you can check them yourself.

Safety comes first. When a topic involves carbon monoxide, electrical work or fuel storage, we say so plainly, and we tell you when a job belongs to a licensed electrician.

Prices, rules and product lines change. When we find something that's out of date, we update the article.

The advice here is written with the Midwest in mind, but most of it works anywhere the power can go out.