Friday, June 4, 2021

Flexibility and Solutions

First there was the attack on the oil refinery. Then came the hack of the meat processing company. So I have to wonder, what's next. My best guess is the power grid.

My crystal ball is broken, so I can not see into the future. But common sense tells me that should we lose power, I could lose all the meat that is left in my freezer. And there is a substantial amount and it would cost me a fair amount of cash to replace what I bought at last year's prices.

So the plan was to thaw out much of it tonight and start canning it in the morning. Until I took a look at our local weather forecast, which is for temps in the mid 90's for the next several days. When you live in a three room apartment in a building that was constructed in the late 1800's and has an air conditioning system that sometimes struggles to keep up, perhaps heating the place up by running a pressure canner is not the smartest move. A cool down is coming. I will wait.

Most in the prepper community know about flexibility. Things don't always go according to plan. Which is why we usually have a plan B.

This same three room apartment is sorely lacking in storage space and if I don't come up with a solution as to where I am going to put the additions to my preps, I am soon going to be tripping over cases of canned goods.

I asked my youngest son to bring me some of those banker's boxes with lids. Unlike buckets or plastic tubs, the boxes can be folded up and stashed behind the couch when not in use.

Three of the boxes fit in front of my couch. Three more fit on top of the first three. I plan to spend the next few days filling them mostly with canned food from the grocery store along with some of my home canned food. That will get some of the food off the floor and make walking through the room where most of it is stored less of a hazard. Each box is labeled as to contents. Toss a quilt over the boxes, add a couple of books and maybe a potted plant on top and – drum roll, please – a storage coffee table.

Even though I have been taking time to do some of the things I enjoy – this past week it has been sewing – the need to continue to add to the stores doesn't go away. Learning to be flexible and finding practical solutions to problems are just a part of preparedness.

I doubt things are going to get better any time soon. The tyrannical politicians, both local and federal, aren't going to relinquish their power easily. We have a better chance of surviving the insanity if we can roll with the punches and find solutions to problems. That being said, it is my sincere belief that the most important thing of all is heartfelt prayer.

11 comments:

  1. You are spot on. Those who want to control every aspect of our lives are becoming more desperate every day. Loss of the grid will bring things to a halt and panic will set in. Being prepared and resourceful along with using some common sense will go a long way in difficult times. Faith and Prayer will give us the strength required. God bless you, Vicki...CW

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    1. CW...It just is not worth risking losing frozen food to a power outage. Especially at the rate prices are increasing. As long as those who wish to bring our beloved country to its knees are busy working to achieve that end, we can not afford to slow down with our preparations. Our hope is in prayer. God richly bless you and yours, CW.

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  2. Just remember to keep rotating your stock.

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    1. Good advice, Gorges...Takes time and effort to rotate, but is well worth it.

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  3. It seems they are gradually conditioning us to start expecting these kinds of things in our lives.

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    1. Of course they are, One Family...After all, they spent a year conditioning most that masks really work and now that we can never be safe without the vax. The end game is fear and control.

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  4. It was while I was in prayer God told me to prepare for something that was going to "turn the world on its ear, so prepare, I do and PRAY, I do. Some may think me crazy for saying I heard the voice of God, but I don't care. God told me He talks to all of us, but that few listen. ...And for the record, God's voice isn't booming, as in The Ten Commandments. God's voice, as described in the Bible, is a whisper...

    ...You're doing the right thing, Vicki...

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    1. Pete...Call it gut instinct. Call it a little voice in the back of my head. Call it whatever you wish. But I know for absolute certain that God speaks to us and guides us. I could tell you of several occasions where I was physically saved from disaster by listening to that whisper and obeying.

      There is no way on earth that I would have thought to prepare to the extent that I am preparing now. And what I hear is that I need to do more. So I am.

      There are those who think my tin foil hat is on way too tight, but I don't care. I do not answer to them. I answer to God. And of He is telling us that we need to prepare for what is coming, then that's what we do. It's really quite simple, isn't it. Listen. Do it. Now.

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  5. Hi Vicki, Again I find myself agreeing with you! I looked at my small chest freezer and decided our food was way too dependent on that freezer. Also, we will most likely be moving. Hard to move a freezer full of valuable food. But I decided to dry a lot. Made lots of jerky and pemmican out of some great beef that was gifted to us. Dried food takes up so much less space and weighs less too. Not to mention it can be stored in free containers. Oh man is that jerky good! and free - compared to super store prices! What with eating, sharing, drying, canning we are now just down to the small freezer attached to the fridge. We are continuing to use that up too. Next church potluck is getting many more casseroles than usual. After planning to feed seven people three meals a day - and now being down to two people eating two meals a day. Well, its really hard to figure out. But it is a good thing that our food lasts so long! Anyway. Carry on Vicki. You're doing great and I love reading your posts.

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  6. I'm signing out as Janie, but header shows up as unknown. hmm don't know why. trying another method

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    1. Janie...Glad the idea of emptying the freezer is working out so well for you. It just makes sense to me to have most of my food storage in forms that will keep should circumstances like a power outage happen.

      Unfortunately, at present I am not able to practice what I preach. Here in Minnesota we are in the middle of a heat wave. Running a pressure canner now would turn my little apartment into a sauna. But as soon as it cools down some, food in jars will happen.

      I have stopped trying to figure out how much food I need for family and I am just continuing to add as much as possible. We live in uncertain times. Food prices are headed skyward and shortages of all sorts of goods are appearing. What's the worst thing if nothing bad happens? We will eat well for a very long time. :)

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