Well I hope you like to read and watch videos.
In my opinion the place to start is with a 72 hour emergency kit for your home
Being that winter is coming you should also create an emergency kit for your vehicles

If you look at the advertisement above for Briden they sell 72 hour kits so you can get an idea from there
also google it and check it out on you tube there are some great videos

The basics are
1 water for drinking cooking and hygiene
2 food you may not have refrigeration so canned dehydrated or freeze dried
3 a method of cooking I have a wood stove in my house and a cole man stove with stored fuel for summer
4 shelter proper seasonal clothes tent or space blankets for emergency
5lite head lite cole man lantern flash lite
6 tools a device to signal help pry bar hammer gas and watershut off tool whistle
7first aid a good kit and knowledge of its use
8 hygiene white kitchen catchers kitty litter (to line toilet) loilet paper
9 container to store with an inventory list and familiarize all family and practice ( have no power weekends )
10 kid stuff puzzles books dollar store stuff to keep them busy crafts are good (get kids the same flash lite as mom and dad not toy ones its the ones they'll want any way)

This is by no means the "THE" list just off the top of my head please read research and have fun with it.
It is only a place to start and you probably have most of it already.
The trap I fell into was trying to do to much all at once so use what you got and later on up grade if you feel you need to
You are going to hear a lot of name brands for expensive gear thrown at ya rite away but that can come with time
If I can be of any help after 3 posts on here you will be able to PM or private message so feel free
Mule Skinner

Agree with most of what Mule said.

Start small, and constantly learn how to improve.

From an implementation standpoint, start with your 72hr emergency kit and develop a plan for bugging in, bugging out, going to nearest community emergency shelter, etc.

Once you have that, you're more prepared than 90% of all North Americans.

Then look at expanding your food, water & other essential stocks to the 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, 1+ year levels. As you're hoarding these supplies... begin considering all the many emergency scenarios you could possibly face - no matter how unlikely - and choose the most concerning to build your prepper plan around.

As this plan morphs the more you learn, the more you experiment, the more it will change exactly what & how you prepare.

Questions about what is "essential"? Well, i always enjoy to test, rather than speculate. Plan a 1 week or 2 week vacation next year where you camp/live rural. Take everything you think you'll need to survive. By the end of day 5... take everything you haven't touched, everything that's broke, everything that's failed your expectations, everything that's a hindrance and throw it in a pile and you'll quickly realize that what's required to be prepared is not quite as complicated as many choose to make it.

Being that winter is coming you should also create an emergency kit for your vehicles

*tee hee*

Sorry, someone was gonna say it 😉

Lets begin with the simple stuff.

Store food. Because its cheap. Because its easy. Because your great grand parents wouldn't understand why you didn't and would be really, really angry about why you didn't.
Learn to manage a food pantry. As you grow to becoming a survivalist ninja, you can also grow to being able to learn to grow it yourself, forage it and store that through the winter. Water is easy to find. Food, not so much.

Store heat. Same message from great grandpa. Hypothermia kills faster than starvation or dehydration. Get a woodstove or some equivalent. This is Canada. Never forget that. Firewood needs a year to season and takes a lot of time...Each and every year. Learning to start a fire that starts each and every time is also a basic boyscout skill that takes practice and I am amazed how few people can do this. Practice, practice, practice. Storing plenty of blankets incase this lesson is ignored...may keep you alive. 1 foot of layered blankets...above and below you.

Store Fuel. Learn to rotate it every 6 month to a year. Its the first thing to disappear in a disaster.

That should get you started and occupy you for years as you master that. The other stuff is fluff.

The title pretty much says it all but while dozens of things run thru my head, I am at a loss on where I should begin. I want my family to be prepared in case of the unknown.

So how did you all begin?

I can't disagree with any of the suggestions in this post. They're all good ones.

At the risk and irony of being too overwhelming with this post I've decided to 'write-away' anyways.

I know where you are psychologically and I know how you feel. It's overwhelming when you come the realization. The information on the web is overloading and endless. One blog leads to another video which leads to another endless path of knowledge that you must learn. You're spending a lot of time in front of a computer researching and the more you do the more you realize how much more you didn't know and don't have. It can have a sense of panic at times.

Am I correct so far?

The reason I'm saying this is because a lot of people get stuck in this mode and I don't want that to happen to you. The term coined is arm chair preppers. It's important to recognize and break free from it. I personally know preppers that have been stuck here for months if not years. Here's some helpful advice that will assist in this regard and get you on to a healthy path of feeling more confident with your prepping journey:

-> Don't let it consume you. There's many preppers that don't have a life because they're obsessed with prepping. Enjoy your life while taking time to prep.
-> Get out and learn. There's plenty of hiking groups, bushcraft clubs and many other relating groups that can offer direct, relevant knowledge for free. Join them and get out on the weekends with your family.
-> Take one day at a time. There's no need to master food preservation, firearms and shelter building all in one weekend. Recognize that this is a process that takes time.
-> Diversify what you learn. This is where most preppers fail. Their prepping equates to living on a farm with some chickens. Others equate it to exclusively what they purchase. Others limit themselves to shooting guns on the weekend. Prepping isn't something you purchase or how many food stores you have - it's a diverse portfolio involving a very wide range of knowledge, skills and resources. Don't limit yourself in one area. Recognize and appreciate the vast areas of knowledge that you can learn. You're above 99% of the population now my friend. Congrats. Now take your time and diversify what you learn instead of limiting yourself like most preppers do.

All preps should derive from a core 8 of essentials that I eventually concluded all on my own: Oxygen, Fire, Water, Shelter, Food, Security, Healthy (Psychical and Psychological) and Communications/Awareness.

What will set you above and beyond most other preppers is the the fact that you're taking the time to continue to research while also learning invaluable skills in the woods, classroom or simply in your own backyard. It can even be a fun, family event on weekends. I previously mentioned hiking. Why? Because you may have to 'bug out' on foot. Regular hikes with the bugout bag that you're carefully building with your family and/or hiking groups can be fun.

A couple of the biggest personal reliefs you'll have is when you get out and meet other preppers face to face. Communicate with them. Pick their brains. 'Talk' 'Prep'. I've always found that people feel very relieved when they've met others 'like them'. The other is food storage. If anything I would be focusing more in that area then anywhere else. Learn how to pressure can food. You can find many videos online on how to do this. Furthermore, you can start to preserve your own food quite cheaply. I know for most new preppers there's a great sense of 'reassurance' when you look at your wall filled with canned goods. I still feel that way even today. It's a great way to overcome that feeling of being overwhelmed. When you're ready to buy a pressure canner, let me know and I'll tell you which one you should get and why it's superior. After learning pressure canning the following weekend build a shelter in the woods. The weekend after that - build a bicycle generator. That weekend after that - take a course on first aid. Do you get the idea?

We're here to help. As any question regardless of how silly it may seem and we'll gladly assist as we've all been there.

The folks above have mentioned the basics. There are lots of online resources out there. One I found really helpful to get you going, and is really detailed is Ready Nutrition 52 weeks to preparedness:
http://readynutrition.com/resources/52-weeks-to-preparedness-an-introduction_19072011/

She sells a book, but if you click on the Week 1, Week 2 along the right margin, all her articles are available online at no cost.

Hey TheH's and everyone else. (I just introduced myself but the article has to be approved).

I might have something of interest for you. ArcContinuity.com. We operate a company in the security/defense industry that provides design and consulting services for people who wish to harden their home, start prepping, design/build/install a fallout shelter, etc.

That being said, we also offer a program called "Subsidized Provisions". In this program we offer provisions for you and who ever else you wish, for 6+ months. The provisions are stored at a hardened facility accessible 24/7 via security card. You would get immediate access to the supplies after the intial payment is made. We also offer several other plans and we understand people have fixed incomes, so we do offer a subsidized/displaced payment plan, giving you a longer pay period. If this interests you please feel free to contact me. Head on over to the website and give it a look.

We welcome all! Good luck TheH's