BE READY: Bugging In or Bugging Out: A guide to staying or leaving (BE READY A practical beginners guide to prepping)

When an emergency happens, should you stay at home—or leave? It sounds like a simple question. Until the power goes off, the roads start flooding, your phone battery turns red and everyone in the house looks at you for the answer. BE READY: Bugging In or Bugging Out helps you think through that decision before you’re trying to make it under pressure. Written in plain, down-to-earth language, this practical guide explores two approaches to emergency preparedness: bugging in, which means staying at home, and bugging out, which means leaving for somewhere safer. Whether you’re preparing for a power cut, severe weather, flooding or an unexpected evacuation, the aim is to build a realistic plan that fits your household, your circumstances and your budget. Inside, you’ll explore: • Staying or going: How to think through your options, recognise changing circumstances and plan when you might need to leave. • Preparing your home: The essentials to consider if you need to manage without your usual services, deliveries or easy access to shops. • Emergency bags and supplies: Planning what you would need to take, what matters most and what you can realistically carry. • Water and food: Thinking beyond a full cupboard to drinking water, preparation and cooking when everyday facilities are unavailable. • Medication and personal needs: Making room in your plans for prescriptions, hygiene, comfort and individual requirements. • Your household: Considering the needs of children, older relatives, people who need extra support and the animals who depend on you. • Communication and meeting points: Agreeing how to contact one another and where to meet if you become separated. • Routes and destinations: Thinking ahead about where you could go, how you might get there and what you would do if your first option became unavailable. • Practical checklists and planning prompts: Turning “I really should sort that out” into manageable steps. Preparedness doesn’t have to mean buying mountains of equipment or expecting the worst every time it rains. It can start with a conversation, a written plan and a few useful supplies gathered over time. Written by Debra Ann De Ste Croix, whose experience of living in a tent with her husband and their two dogs informs her practical approach, this book encourages you to consider what your household would actually need when normal life is disrupted. Part of the BE READY series, it will help you ask useful questions, spot gaps in your preparations and make a start. A little planning now could give you one less thing to be anxious about later. Check out my practical workbooks BE READY and A womans guide to prepping