As a child, we didn’t call what my wife and I do now “prepping”. I don’t know what it was called, it was just what my family did. As I got older, I somehow lost those skills and the desire to keep them up. Shortly after getting married, my wife discovered a new found sense of urgency. This urgency was to become prepared for whatever might happen.
My wife had an inner sense that something was going to happen, almost foreboding. This was after 9/11, and I attributed it to some sort of post anxiety. I made no attempt to stop her prepping activities, and I wasn’t a full time participant either. I did however offer her suggestions along the way. Over time, I became more and more involved, re-acquainting myself with the lifestyle of my youth.
Her prepping started out with couponing. She signed up with a website that would provide her with the weekly sales in combination with the best coupon combination to equate to the best savings. This worked out great for us, on many levels. The most simplest and selfish was, I had tons of almost free snacks to munch on while watching movies and sporting events. The more practical side of this is, I have been laid off twice since 2009, spending a total of 22 months so far unemployed. I’ve also battled Cancer once during this same time period. This greatly reduced my hours at work while attending Chemotherapy. Had my wife not been preparing for “whatever” with her coupon shopping, we would never have made it.
I really got involved in prepping with my wife shortly before I was laid off the first time. This was when Obama was elected, and I saw the writing on the wall. My company told us, if Obama was elected, there would be lay offs, 3 months later, there were. I took my severance pay and purchased some firearms, two safes, ammo for the weapons, a bunch of survival gear and used the rest to live off of as frugally as I could.
I took the time to get my hunters safety. I had never done that before. It was one of those things I had done as a child, yet as an adult, had just stopped doing. I still haven’t been hunting, because of my illness, yet this fall, I will be out there. I will be bringing my son along to introduce him to the activity, as one of great fun and conservation, as well as very necessary preparedness tool. I’ve always fished, that was one activity that I had never given up. I have been teaching my wife and son the different variables involved in fishing, such as live vs artificial bait, and cover vs open water.
My wife and I have also taken up gardening as part of our prepping arsenal. We are still amateurs. I was always around gardens as a child, yet unfortunately, I wasn’t taught any of the secrets; I was just a picker. We have varied success and are eager to learn. We can everything we can’t eat fresh out of our garden. We also can whatever we find on sale at the local markets. This also helps build up our stores as well as keep us fed very well during leaner times, such as we are experiencing now.
R.K. CO
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Comments
R,
Sounds like you're getting ready for a zombie apocalypse. Also, it looks like you've been listening to that crap that Glenn Beck spouts. Do you have food insurance too? :)
I do think that getting firearms and being prepared to defend the house and family is a good thing to do. It's on my short list of things to do in life.
My wife has been gardening recently. She's super new to it, but it seems to be something that would be useful in life.
It sounds like you're prepping well and getting useful skills. My father in law goes fishing once a year over the summer for a week and fills up our freezer with salmon from Alaska.
While I'm not 100% sure that Mitt Romney is awesome, it'll be a better option for us. I'm preparing to go and vote for all the Rs. :)
For being a beginner you were very helpful to my wife and I when it came to canning thanks for the help!
No food insurance Sean. :-) Too expensive for me. I need to go with your father-in-law up to Alaska and catch some Salmon. Sounds like fun, filling and necessary! I have my doubts about Romney's awesomeness as well, still, almost anything is better than what's cooking right now.
It is never too late to start preparing for any disaster. Canning food is one excellent way to do this.
I don't like hunting just for the sport of it, but if you use the meat, your skills could come in very handy to feed your family if it was necessary.
Coupon clipping and using coupons to extend your family buying power is another excellent way to get by. Being out of work in itself is a terrible thing, especially with a young family, but stocking up on good sales and having the coupons, will get you by on lean days.
Having a garden and growing your own food is a real money saver, and canning the extra is a great way to prepare for any emergency. Kudos to you!
I have learned a lot from your essay, and will try to follow some of your guidelines myself. I have thought of preparing a bag with food, water, clothing and blankets in case it was necessary to leave quickly, but your ideas are much better. Thanks for the info.
R
Sounds like you and your family have gone and still are going thru a lot! I'm sooo sorry, but I think it's great with all the things you all are doing!! Good luck and GOD SPEED
R
I think maybe I can take some lessons from you guys. I'd like to garden, unfortunately, I have injuries that dont allow me too. I have no children to help me. I have not considered all these tactics, but it does have the wheels turning in my mind
R
I do buy things in bulk. Do you have a "food saver" vaccum packer? You might think about it. They have a variety of machines. I have a couple. One of the freezer and another handheld for dry stuff. They are very handy!!! Something to consider!!
R
I've tried couponing.. Cut them out and everything, but either forget or dont have them organized enough. Sometimes I feel like I spend more, cuz I see items that I wouldnt normally get, but get them cuz of the coupon. Any suggestions on how I could change this would help. My husband would be happy too!!
R,
What about portion controls. Have you guys thot about storing vitamins, or would that be worth it? What about those water gardens? I think planting your own garden is wonderful. Atleast that why you know what you feed the plants and whats in the soil etc.... So many things to pondering.
Sue, a bug out bag is a great idea. We need to put a few together. We also need emergency kits in our vehicles.
L, we do store vitamins and OTC medical supplies. We have a foodsaver and use it very often. In fact, we are on the 4th one. We keep breaking them. I really don't think they are intended for the kind of abuse we put them through. I'd like to get a better unit, one that does mylar bags as well, yet those are way out of our price range. You may still be able to garden even with your injuries. Depends on the set up. We do raised beds, retaining wall and containers. Each has their advantage and disadvantage.
We do store vitamins, and I try to stay on top of rotating them. I think it's very worthwhile to do this, in case of dietary imbalances/insufficiencies because we didn't store enough of something (hopefully that won't happen). It's good "insurance" anyway. Plus, I know just speaking for myself, I am vitamin D deficient and have to keep up with a supplement even under the best of circumstances.
L...I can definitely help you with couponing. It's really a lot of fun once you get the process down. It doesn't have to be hard or time-consuming. Let's get together!
Steve--we still can a lot, and we'd love to get together with you and do it again! We watch for sales and buy large quantities (25-50 pounds fruits/vegetables, and 100+ pounds of meat when we can get it for a great price). Watch for those sales!!
L--yes, we do have a food saver. Another very valuable tool is the dehydrator. It makes great dried fruit snacks ("fruit roll-ups"). I also like to dry herbs and last year I got a great price on sliced mushrooms which I just dumped out onto the dehydrator. Now I have mushrooms for soups, sauces, etc. whenever I need them. They're very expensive to buy, even at Costco/Sam's. That's just one example of how we use the dehydrator. They're definitely worth the investment!
Fascinating stuff. I find fishing... Difficult.
I never thought about couponing being part of "Preparedness."
What will you be hunting?
Have you thought of putting a bug-out bags together?
What kind of things have you been growing in your garden?
Good Luck!!!
very interesting...
Very thought provoking essay!
its great!!
Intriguing!
This is my vote! good luck!
Great! Got my vote :)
Wow, glad to hear you guys have made it through all your hardships by learning such skills!
now i know what prepping is!
Excellent prepping!
excellent
I've been watching you guys, good job!
I'm not much for the rabbit food. I like meat and potatoes.
Sharon does a really good job with those coupons!
I'm amazed at how much your plants have grown indoors already.
Keep going and your hard work will pay off.
I'm glad that you have taken the time to "prepare". I think that everyone should do this to some extent. I am going to try to acquire the book that you told me about. I may contact you for some insight on the topic. Thanks Rich.
I particularly like your having such confidence in your wife's intuition to get prepared...even if you didn't know for what. None of us know what misfortune may be around the corner....whether it be a power outage for a night....a tornado....a human riot....a terror threat....or total collapse of society. No matter what level of preparedness any of us are currently at ....you are an example that we must at least start.
~Xi Lei
Steve, I think knowledge is one of the most important elements to prepping. Sure, some gear is key, yet not knowing how to use the gear makes it useless, or dangerous even. I'm still learning in a great many areas. I know there are some areas I can learn from you.
Xi, I think some part of me agreed with her all the way, yet didn't want to commit internally to the reality of it all. After Katrina, I couldn't deny it any more. I jumped in full force. I understood the potential danger from weather, it was the Government interference that bothered me more than anything. The Federal and State agencies made things worse, not better. I knew before, yet it became reinforced, that I could not rely on them for any assistance, and in fact, they may be indeed out to harm me ultimately.
Richard, long time no see!!
I'm not a coupon collector :( lol
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and it appears you and your family have been through some trying times, sorry to hear that.
If i had to rely on my gardening talent, i'd starve to death eating grass. lol
Well, i wish you luck and i hope i did this right, win, win, win, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family! Love ya Bonnie
Thank you, Xi...sometimes he actually listens to me. ;)
Thanks for your kind comments Dick!
My sister is so freaking AWESOME!!!!
My sissy is holding her family together. Great job Sharon. <3 you
I know the couponing has saved them lots of $$$.
Sounds like lots of things to do as a family. That's always good.
**Don't want to think about Aidan going hunting**
I love gardening.
I love fishing. I was actually just talking about fishing the other day.
So glad you are back to good health.
I know that I have to start thinking of ways to reduce money spending. It's harder than it sounds.
Thank you for showing this piece to me. I love reading your work.
Sounds like you guys have some good ideas...which of course always stem from the woman! Hahaha!! I get it though! Sharon, you go girl on the coupons! I'm still trying to get Mike to use them! :-) Good Luck Rich!!!
You rock buddy, good luck!
Erica is right, you definitely know how to write. keep it up
I was just thinking, I haven't seen you in a while. Do you still dress like a preppy?
I feel dumb writing all these comments. This is four now (=^_^=) Bwuahahahaha
"Keep on rockin in the free world" Neil, Canadian/American
Gardening is something I would enjoy getting into! Good luck!
Couponing does make the grocery bill better! Way to go!
This really makes me think about my being 'ready'. Good food for thought!
All great ideas to keep your family prepared and doing things together!
Your son must enjoy fishing and spending time with you! Great memories!!
Bonnie, I doubt you'd starve eating grass, someone I think you'd figure it out.
Yes Linda, your sister is freaking awesome. She knows her stuff. She keeps me focused on making sure we have what we need.
Are you really going to teach Aidan to hunt? What the heck does Sharon think about that?
When I was a kid my grandparents had a garden in the back yard. It was pretty extensive too! My mom would send me outside all the time to pick the fresh veggies for dinner!
We even had chickens, but I was afraid of them! Plus I thought of them more as pets than dinner! I did manage to learn how to get the eggs from the nests though. They used to peck at me all the time!
I can definitely see the value in trying to save and prepare for hard times. They certainly are coming. Especially if we continue on this same path. Oh and by the way, when you teach your son to hunt, hopefully you will also tell him it's not just for sport; you have to eat what you kill! Right? Good luck!!!