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Three blackouts in two years. That's what started this.
I live in regional New South Wales — near Bathurst — where the power goes out more often than city folk expect. The third blackout lasted eleven hours. My wife and I sat in the dark with two kids, no way to cook, and phones slowly draining. It was inconvenient, not dangerous. But it made me realise how completely unprepared we were for something that was only going to become more common as Australian infrastructure ages and extreme weather events increase.
Around the same time, our grocery bill started climbing in a way that felt structural rather than temporary. Produce prices up 30% in two years. The kind of increase that doesn't reverse.
"I wasn't interested in bunker mentality or survivalism. I wanted practical answers to specific, real problems that a normal Australian family actually faces."
I spent months reading about family preparedness. Most content was American, most was extreme, and almost none of it acknowledged what it was actually like to be an ordinary Australian family dealing with ordinary Australian problems — blackouts, water bills, grocery prices, weather disruptions.
PreparedFamilyGuide.com started as a way to document what I was actually testing and building, with honest assessments for people in similar situations — in Australia, in the UK, and in Canada, where many of the same conditions apply.
Every guide on this site is analysed the same way: manufacturer documentation and specifications, published build instructions, and aggregated user reports and build logs from buyers of the actual product — not summarised secondhand from other review sites. Here's what's under the microscope right now:
The reviews for Joseph's Well (UK market) and Pocket Farm (Canada market) are written from an Australian reviewer's perspective, with specific research and user data relevant to each market. I'm transparent about this in each review.
Raised two kids in regional New South Wales. Worked in project management for most of my career. Not an electrician, not an engineer, not a survival professional — just a reasonably practical person who can follow instructions and use a drill.
Three power outages in twelve months — the last one eleven hours long — pushed me to start actually researching backup energy. The Ultimate Energizer kept coming up in every forum thread, so it became the first guide I dug into in depth.
Built the Joseph's Well AWG system. Started the aquaponics project. Launched PreparedFamilyGuide.com to document what was working and what wasn't — with specific attention to Australian conditions, and honest coverage of UK and Canadian markets where the same guides are sold.
Running all three systems. Reviewing new guides as they become relevant. Expanding coverage of Australian market conditions in particular — blackout preparedness, water independence, and food resilience for ordinary families.
My review process is straightforward and consistent:
I'm not a qualified electrician, plumber, engineer, or survival professional. I'm not affiliated with any of the products I review beyond the standard affiliate commission. I'm not paid to recommend specific products, and no advertiser has placement on this site.
The content on this site is for informational purposes only. Always consult qualified professionals for electrical or construction work. Results from any DIY system will vary based on your skill level, local conditions, and how well you maintain it.
Ask me about any of the guides, how they perform in your specific situation, or what I'd recommend for your household setup.
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