Good Morning Preppers to Be!
I am a 63 yr.old grandmother and I have been a 'prepper' for years. I always aspired to be self sufficient and I'm still working on getting off the grid. That being said I feel that everyone is looking for some way to get out of debt and out of the fast lane. We all complain about stress but, are you doing anything to reduce your mental stress of everyday life?
I never realized that I like to garden and grow my own food till a few years back and now we have a garden each year and I found I LOVE to can! After discovering the internet and all the blogs & websites about prepping I gave it a name.
I always thought of myself as frugal. I am frugal but I am also finding a deeper feeling of contentment knowing that my family will not go without food, water and other necessities if and/or when TSHTF. You can start by buying a couple of extra canned goods and putting them back for the proverbial 'rainy day' or buy that 9 pak of toilet paper on sale (it may not be your usual brand but compared to newspaper or leaves it will be really soft).
Water is something that everyone needs and doesn't ever put enough back. You don't need to buy expensive bottled water; you drink tap water all the time, just figure out a way to store some. You'll get more inventive as you go (I have a friend that stores water in empty wine bottles). I am lucky enough to know someone that works at soft drink plant and ALL their buckets, barrels and the like are Food Grade! Fast food places get pickles and other items in resealable 5 gal buckets also.Think about all your friends & family and where they work or what they do as a hobby. You have resources you haven't even thought of yet.
IF you are fortunate enough to live in a rural setting you should get a few chickens for both eggs and meat. I love knowing that we are eating what we raise both crops and animals. Living in the country gives us an opportunity to 'practice' being off the grid as the power goes off from time to time during storms or just because. When it does, I don't panic; I get the lantern or candles out and depending on the time of day I start a fire in the grill or in the ground to cook and heat water. If you don't know how to cook LEARN! When the SHTF you won't be microwaving dinner.
Cooking is an art and one skill I have had all my life so that part of being ready for anything wasn't a problem for me. Another thing only store food you like and that you know how to prepare. NEVER store raw grain unless you have a grinder and know how to bake bread over an open fire. Don't store 100 cans of tuna and 50 jars of peanut butter. No one can live on those items alone for very long. My best advice to you is to plan a 'camping' weekend at home. Turn off all utilities (including the cell phones) and see just what you are not prepared for and then you will know what to work on. You will be surprised what not having Facebook, TV or phones will teach you and your family. Crank/Solar radios are cheap and come in very handy both for entertainment and news. These are just some of the things that I do and there are lots & lots more that you can do.
Prepping gets into your system and can be a stimulating 'hobby' with a great payout! So go forth and Prepare for........................
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Knowing her for 10 years now, I do know that she is a fabulous resource. Find yours. Also I read recently that if you raise chickens or rabbits for potential food source, practice making them dinner ready "BEFORE" it happens. Because if you have to really eat it will be difficult to make Fluffy Sunday Dinner if you have not practiced. (Side Note: our sheep, chickens, peacocks, ducks, rabbits are our pets, not mutton, drumsticks, under glass, duck l'aorange, or rairbet ). So you see everyone has challenges, and for now we'll enjoy the eggs.
Good ideas, neighbor, especially the camping at home idea to figure out what you're not prepared for. I guess I think back to the hurricanes that have made it here & other big wind storms we've had, as well as fires, so I think of weather related SHTF. Chainsaws & some cans of gasoline come in handy where we live, & of course it helps to know how to operate them. I guess being prepared with a network of neighbors with different equipment, like our bulldozer, our friend's trailer & truck big enough to haul it, etc would be good, even if you live in town, but especially out here in the country. Hmmm, maybe I need to enter this contest!
Very nice, I like this...
I'd just like to say I have been "prepared" for all of my adult life. Every since I had kids and got snowed in for over a week I realized how important it can be. Grandma taught me how to can and she always had extra food, and whatever she would use in day to day life, stashed away. I guess I absorbed it without even knowing it. I have an in town home, with huge shade trees in the backyard so no sun for a garden. So, since the driveway gets sun out front, I have a full orchard in 55 gallons stock tanks in the driveway. The fruit is great. The lawn is gone and there is a vegetable garden large enough to provide vegies for daily use and canning or freezing. Half of the garage is a greenhouse that produces vegetables all year round. I teach my Grandson how to garden, bake bread, can food, and to stash what every family is going to need to survive. He an I are the "preppers" of the family. We have storage of sanitary products, foods, water, chickens for eggs (for now) and we go shooting with all kinds of guns. I don't think of this as prepping though, it is daily life. Quick story: I am a business owner with just under 40 employees. Over the last few years the company was very badly affected by fuel prices, (it is a transportation company), and customers going bankrupt or severely downsizing. I needed to meet payroll, so for over a year I did not draw a check. My habit of being stocked up is what fed me, and supplied whatever I needed for 16 months. Regardless of what the future is going to bring, being prepared is just common sense.
Excellent ideas.
Having known you for over 50 years now, I've always known that you were thrifty and resourceful besides being a true blue friend that would give the shirt off your back. You have really enlightened me on some really simple ideas for being prepared. Great write up! :)