Every time a tremor passes, that voice in your head says: I really need an emergency kit.
Every fire season (because that’s a thing now) you wonder what you would grab and where would you go if you needed to evacuate.
Every time you see disasters on the news — flood, blizzard, hurricane, tornado — you cycle through the emotions: grief for the people affected, relief that you’re safe, guilt that you haven’t put your emergency kit together yet, even though you know you should.
By the end of this program:
No more what-if-ing
You will know what risks you realistically face, and you will be ready to face them
No more should-ing
You will check this huge project off your mental to do list
No more paralysis
You will feel the confidence that comes with being the prepared leader your family needs you to be
Ready Set Emergency Prep is a 12-week online program we go through together
This 12-week program combines project management, habit formation, and mindfulness to make the work doable.
As a working mom myself, I understand and account for real-world limitations on our time, money, and energy.
We meet on Zoom every other week, a pace that gives you time to get the work done and ask questions between meetings. Can't make a session? Recordings will be available, and I'll help you stay on track.
Module 0: Prepping for Non-Preppers — What normal people need to know and do to go from panicked to prepared (Get instant access to this free workshop in the yellow band above!)
Module 1: The Risk Ready Roadmap — Our clear path forward, including scenario planning and determining what YOU need
Module 2: Emergency Response Plan — Information and communication that will keep you, or get you, safe
Module 3: Emergency Fundamentals startup — Ready your home to prevent and handle emergencies
Module 4: Here for this — What you need to know, do, and have to shelter in place and recover
Module 5: Ready to Go — What you need to know, do, and have to evacuate and return
Module 6: Resiliency Habits — Moving forward present and prepared
Erika Friday DBA Ready Set Moms makes no guarantees regarding health, safety, and survival. No one can do that. The purpose of Ready Set Emergency Prep is to enable parents to plan and prepare for emergencies and become informed, capable leaders.
Project management tools — See where you are and where you’re going. Maintain your preparedness with good habits, and make it easy.
Shoppable lists and product recommendations — Start with what you have, add to it, organize it
Private Facebook Group — Share wins and resources, stay accountable, ask questions, troubleshoot
Special appearances by people who've been there*
Emergency services personnel
Wildfire survivors
Earthquake survivor
BONUS sessions with subject matter experts*
(1) Estate planning fundamentals for families with estate planning attorney Patricia De Fonte
(2) How to prevent accidents and handle emergencies, a panel discussion with pediatrician Dr Molly O'Shea, pediatric nurse Judy Kivowitz, and LMFT Brittany Williams
(3) Financial security fundamentals for parents, a panel discussion with certified financial planner Kara Smith, personal finance coach Angela Hacche, and insurance specialist
*Details subject to change
*MORE BONUSES*
One sign-up gets your whole household into the program (you're in this together!)
Access to me and my network of experts for Q&A
The tools are yours to keep
Access to recordings for at least a year
$397
Q. How much money should I expect to spend on building my emergency supplies?
A. The answer to this question depends on what you’re planning for, what you already have, and how kitted out you want to be (from bare minimum survival to comfortable). For example, a family of three with camping gear and a deep pantry will likely spend less than a family of six with a dog and a cat and few tools and pieces of gear.
While I can’t give you a concrete dollar amount, I suggest being prepared to spend between $700 and $2500 on supplies.
Note that I encourage you to utilize what you already have and to spend thoughtfully. This program emphasizes gaining knowledge and organizing supplies rather than going out and spending heaps of money on new gear.
Q. Here are my concerns: I don’t want to spend money on things we won’t use (if we’re lucky!) and I don’t want to clutter my apartment with gear and boxes. So, what can I do?
A. I get it. Like you, I don’t want to spend money I don’t have to and I don’t want clutter.
In the program you’ll learn tips that support cost-effectiveness, such as a cost-conscious shopping sequence, using what you already have, and stocking up on foods and supplies that your family will actually eat, whether in an emergency or when you rotate goods from your emergency kit into your pantry.
Ready Set Emergency Prep has supported families who live in tight apartments in San Francisco and large homes with garages and sheds in Bend, Oregon. We will come up with organizational hacks that will make sure you’re equipped, without feeling like you live in a bunker. The best part of going through Ready Set Emergency Prep together live is that if you can’t solve an organizational challenge, we can troubleshoot it together.
Q. Will this program fit my family’s specific needs?
A. Yes. I can say that confidently not because I have all the answers to every circumstance but because I give you a strategy and structure that can apply across circumstances, whether you live in a city in a small apartment or in a big house with lots of property. Whether you live in earthquake country or a place with wildfire season, or a place at risk for dangerous heat, cold, wind, flooding, etc. Whatever the circumstances, this plan can wrap around you.
Q. My greatest concern is civil unrest. Will you cover that?
A. No. This program puts an emphasis on community and being a source of strength and support for your neighbors. This program does not cover bunkers, ammunition, or anything of the sort.
Q. I have the checklists, I’ve bookmarked the websites, but I’ve never actually done the work, and I don’t feel prepared. Why will this time be different?
A. Many valuable resources exist. I’ve referred to many of them. But what’s missing from a checklist is execution, trouble-shooting, accountability, mindset, and follow-through. In Ready Set Emergency Prep you will get not only the strategies (which you could get free in various forms from various sources, including the free workshop Prepping for Non-Preppers) but also structure and support. That’s why this time will be different.
Q. I bought an earthquake kit. Shouldn’t that be enough?
A. Well, it’s SOMETHING. A prepacked “go bag” might cover the essential needs — like water, calories, first aid. But according to all my research, these kits are inadequate in terms of how they’re organized; the quality of what’s included; incompatibility with each family’s makeup, preferences, or specific needs and risks; and the suitability of the “food.”
Without plunging into overwhelm, ask yourself if a pre-packed kit would help you with the following:
Knowing what to do in various scenarios
Clearing your home of broken glass after a mega earthquake
Managing bathroom needs without plumbing
Providing shelter and warmth
Providing comfort and diversion (because kids will still be kids, right?)
Aiding communication within your nuclear family and beyond to people outside of the disaster
And what's more, building your own kit is in itself practice for emergencies. You’re contemplating what you might need, touching each item, packing them in an organized way. Your brain is making connections that will serve you well in the face of an emergency.
Q. I have another question.
A. I'm here for that. Please email [email protected] with the subject: RSEP Question and I'll be sure to get back to you within two business days.
Hi, my name is Erika Friday. I’ve guided dozens of families through emergency preparedness. By learning my strategies, adopting my project management approaches, and receiving my morale support, these families feel prepared and present. And I want this for you, too!
I built Ready Set Moms on everything I've learned over the years:
In my 19-year career as a copywriter and creative director (clear communication, systems thinking, project management, people management, vision, leadership, and adult learning modalities)
In my personal experience (daughter of an elementary school principal and clinical psychologist; wife and mother of two; recovering perfectionist and survivor of postpartum anxiety)
In my studies of parenting, personal development, mindfulness, wellness, habits, lifestyle design, and emergency preparedness
I've always had a knack for making the complicated simple and the simple clear, and now I do that for parents. I know how people learn and how to guide you to make real changes and reach real goals.
We all have a moment when we cut the crap and get serious.
My moment was the day the sky glowed orange (San Francisco, September 9, 2020) and I robotically biked my kids to school anyway. I didn’t know what was happening, and I didn’t know what else to do, so I went through the motions of a normal morning. (We later learned the phenomenon was a confluence of wildfire smoke, San Francisco’s signature fog, and our collective brain fog at that point in the pandemic.)
When I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed and want to soothe and calm myself, pausing to look out the window and breathe is a go-to tactic for me. That doesn’t work when the sky is glowing an unearthly shade. That day showed me I needed better strategies and skills.
And I wasn’t the only one.
I reached out to a local moms group, and hundreds of women agreed — getting prepared for an emergency, and even understanding what that means, is critical, and we need to treat it like it’s urgent.
Even though we understand how critical it is to be prepared, it’s no wonder we keep putting it off. We have a million other things going on (work, parenting, life). It feels like a huge project, and we don’t know where to start. We avoid it altogether, because this it's scary. We don’t know what materials are best (decision fatigue) or how we’ll store and organize them, so we don’t get any. We're afraid of doing it wrong, and we end up doing nothing.
Then the smoke clears and we move on to all the day-to-day things that demand our attention.
Until the next time.