The Importance of Keeping a Survival Journal
Keeping Track of Your Supplies On Hand
Prepping is something you are constantly doing. Every day you may add something new, whether it is big or small. To you, it is habit to add a few cans of canned corn or a box of bandages every time you go shopping. You don’t think twice about it and just add it to your shelf. After a few weeks of doing this, it is easy to forget exactly what you have on your shelves.
Keeping a running inventory will serve as a reminder of just what you have and what you still need. You can print out an inventory list and keep it in the journal. When you add items, make a tick mark to show how many cans/cases/boxes you put in your stash. This will serve as a quick reference when you don’t want to move things around or spend a lot of time counting items.
Calculations of What You Need
Sometimes, math can be a real pain, especially when you are trying to add, subtract and multiply large numbers. Having some scratch paper to calculate or write down the numbers from your calculator will be a huge help. When you are building up an emergency supply, you need to be able to figure out how much food you will need on a 30, 60 and 90-day basis. Keeping your calculations written down in a survival journal will prove to be a handy reference point. You will be able to see why you decided you needed 90 cans of corn for your your supply or whatever the case may be.
Personal Notes about Survival Training
Part of your prepping should include some hands-on survival training. Watching videos and reading books is great and will gain you a lot of book knowledge, but you need to get out there and try it with your own two hands. This will help you get a feel for how to do things like start a fire with a magnesium stick or how to build a shelter. During your training, you are going to realize there are little things you can do that make the process go better. These are things you want to write in your survival journal. Write down it helps to hold the flintrod still while you scrape the metal across the top instead of the other way around and any other things you discover through your trials.
Little things like that will help you be more successful in an actual survival situation. You may not remember every little detail during your training and your own hands-on experience. Jotting down notes is the best way to keep the information handy and organized. Don’t assume you will remember everything when your world is falling apart around you.
During a Survival Situation
When you are in the moment, take a few minutes to write down anything pertinent to the situation in your survival journal. Again, when things are chaotic, it is very normal for you to completely forget doing something. Maybe you give away a case of food or used up your last box of bandages. The following day, you may not immediately remember doing so. You can also use your journal to note how far you have traveled and what direction. Write down things you saw, people you talked with and what you ate if you happened to do any foraging. Don’t overload your brain with information and expect to retain it all.
Keeping a journal is also cathartic. You can write down any adventures, trials and tribulations you may have experienced. You will appreciate your effort to document everything.
