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Before I go into any specifics, I would like to cover what it takes to survive.  In the new Discovery TV series “The colony” they did not utilize a list like this, although I think that show is highly scripted and it was by design.  By knowing this list, and following it in your decisions you greatly increase your odds of survival.

The following is in order of what you need based on how quickly the average person will die without it.  When you assess your situation it is important to think  of these requirements for life in this order.  Do not focus on food if you do not have warmth.  Do not focus on building a fire if it will take away your oxygen.  Do not focus on building things that are nice to have but not actually required until you have everything that is actually required for life.

Security

I cannot stress this enough.  Security is vital to protecting the things that keep you alive, as well as safe from physical harm.  If someone steals your food or water, you are as good as dead unless you can get more.  If someone breaks into your new home,  you are as good as dead if you cannot get off the streets when the zombies start to prowl. Security needs to be addressed immediately. I will write more in depth on security and what it takes to be secure

Air

Humans generally can only survive a few minutes without oxygen to breathe.  In the atmosphere there is normally about 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and 1% other gasses.  Too much oxygen also poses a risk, over 25% oxygen and the air can become flammable. Additionally some gasses are deadly almost instantly.  A simple filter may be a wet cloth pressed against your nose and mouth, however this is not suitable in all situations.   I will cover various methods on how to survive when clean air is a problem.

Environment

Humans need to be kept in the right climate zone.  If it is too cold hypothermia can set in, if it is too warm heat stroke and dehydration become problems.  Cold will kill faster than heat in a normal world, although extremes of either will kill just as quickly.  You may have as little as 5 minutes before hypothermia sets in if you are in cold water, you may have as litttle as 3 hours if in a blizzard.

In contrast over-exposure to sun can be harmful.  Too much wind can cause damage.  Basically you will want to be in a climate controlled environment, with appropriate temperatures and environmental protections.  This can be clothing or if the weather is more extreme you may need to construct a shelter of some type.  I will discuss various different types of shelters that you can make and what protections they afford.

Water

Humans are about 2/3 water.  It is still important to regularly drink water.  Water may be polluted with toxins, from heavy metals to chemicals to bacteria.  The average human will die without water in about 3 days.  I will discuss ways that you can take potentially unsafe water and make it safe enough that it wont kill you.

Food

Humans require a constant intake of food to stay healthy.  They require different substances which are often found in items we call food.  Vegetables contain starches and nutrients, meats and beans contain protien, fruits contain sugars.  Some things we need to stay healthy and in top form, others we require to stay alive.  In addition malnutrition can cause other problems, for example if you do not have enough sugars you may be weaker than normal and not able to outrun the zombies that are chasing you.  If you do not have a balanced diet your immune system may be weaker and the zombie virus may infect you more easily.

Medical

This is a hard one to quantify.  Some medical conditions require more immediate attention than others.  If you are bleeding you can bleed out in a few minutes and die if the bleeding is not stopped.  On the other hand, if you have a minor cut it can get infected and take days or weeks before the infection kills you.  I will also classify sanitation in the medical class, since improper sanitation generally causes a medical condition, which ultimately causes you discomfort or death.

Due to the inherent problems with diagnosing a condition and providing a proper remedy that does not cause people an alergic reaction I will generally not include much on the diagnosis and treatment of a medical condition (is the FDA happy now?).  I will provide some information on herbs and other things that are known to have a positive effect for generalized conditions.

For example white willow tree bark has salicin, a chemical similar to asprin (acetylsalicylic acid).  It can be chewed on (just like it was thousands of years ago) to help with inflamation, pain and in some cases fever.  Remember, some people are alergic to different things, and some of the people that have alergies do not even know it!  Anaphlaytic shock can be lethal within minutes.  It also may not help to use any herbal remedy for any specific condition, since most remedies only treat symptoms and not the cause of the problem.   The problem may persist, and may become  worse by masking the symptoms.

It is highly advised that if you want to be prepared for a disaster situation you take a proper first aid course.  There are many that offer them, and I do not mean a simple CPR course, I mean something that will go more in depth.  In areas where there is a volunteer fire and first aid crew (much of rural America) you can often volunteer and get training in real life situations, things that may be very handy to know if there is no one available to come to your aid when the time comes.  You also get to help your neighbors in  the same way you would want them to help you, so even if nothing bad ever happens in your life, you at least can help out those around you.