Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Why Prep

If we should be foolish enough to announce to friends and family that we are preppers,  the most common reaction is that look we get like we have just sprouted another eye on our foreheads or maybe have suddenly grown a third arm.  And if we garden or can or dehydrate, the astonishment of those in our circles is increased.

The first remarks are usually, "Why would you go to all that work when you can just go to the grocery and buy what you want?"  Then we are called conspiracy theorists because nothing bad will ever happen.  And then they want to know what on earth will we do with all that food.  Or all those medical supplies.  Or all of those candles, flashlights, whatever.  Followed by the inevitable. "Well, if anything bad ever does happen, I will just come to your house."

No.  You won't.

Like many who are into preparedness, my main concern is my family.  A few of them are on board and understand why I do what I do.  The rest - not so much.  But that doesn't mean that I will turn any of them away should things go south.  I couldn't live with myself if I denied any of them food and shelter in hard times.

I have had some who want to know what I am preparing for.  There are many reasons to be prepared.  It doesn't need to be an end of the world apocalypse.  Job loss, illness, accident, weather events, anything can cause life as we know it to change.  It just makes sense to have something put away for whatever rainy day happens.

Some of us look at those who homestead, who tend large gardens and raise livestock, who can, freeze and dehydrate vast quantities of food and who are as close to being self sufficient as a person can be these days.  We become discouraged because we are not in a place where we can do all those things.

The good news is that we still can prepare.  A few extra cans of tuna or green beans can be purchased with our regular grocery shopping and stashed away.  If we have the means to home can, there are Farmer's Markets that yield an astounding array of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Frozen vegetables from the store can be canned or dehydrated to extend their shelf life.  When chicken goes on sale at the grocery store, a couple of extra packages can be canned up and added to our food storage.  By watching the store sales, all sorts of items can be purchased at a lower cost.  We don't have to do it all at once.  But little by little we can build up a deep pantry or a stash of medical supplies without having to spend all of our savings to do it.

Some in the prepping community espouse 'bugging out' when things get bad.  That's all well and good if you are young, healthy and have somewhere to go.  I will be staying right where I am.  Here is where the food and supplies are.  With my health and mobility issues, I would be lucky if I made it to the end of my block.  Others say if we are in a city environment, we need to move.  For some of us that is not possible for various reasons.  What we can do is maintain a low profile and stay as inconspicuous as possible. and be prepared to defend our lives and the lives of those with us.  And that may be the best we can do.

Some say that building a community of like minded people is necessary.  I agree that is a good idea, but for many of us, those like minded folks don't live in our neighborhoods.  My community consists of a couple of my kids.  Nobody else in my area would even consider putting forth the effort to prepare.

Many of us feel totally alone in our efforts.  But we are not completely alone.  We have built a community of blogging friends and if the Internet goes away, we still have our faith and nothing or nobody can take that away from us.  Just knowing there are folks all over the country who believe in taking care of themselves, who refuse to count on government solutions to problems, who are  ready, willing and able to defend themselves and their families, goes a long way to keeping us focused on what we need to do to survive any situation.

We are all in this together.

23 comments:

  1. Amen. As for those who refuse to prepare, yet think others will take care of them, I have absolutely no sympathy for them.

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    1. Gorges...Those are the same ones who believe if things get really bad, someone from the government will come knocking on their door, sandwich and soda in hand. PHOOEY!

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  2. I'm always asked, "why do you go through all that work?" and then when they come to my house, they are pantry pirates and try to take stuff I've canned. Then I remind them, yep it was a lot of work, and those jars are staying put where they are, ha ha!

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    1. Good one, Kristina...They want to reap the benefits without the work involved. My kids make off with jars of food, but I threaten them with bodily harm if my jars aren't returned. So far, so good. :)

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    2. Reminds me of the children's book Little Red Hen, I think it was; where the hen does all the work making bread and everyone wants to help eat it.

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  3. I know what you mean by mobility issues.

    And this old farmhouse with no central heat or air presents storage problems of its own.
    The only good thing is if we still HAD to bug out, we do have a friend who invited us, as we could help with defense and hunting. If need be. (Our house has about 25 windows in it. I think about that whenever I think about defense.)

    Anyone who looks at you strange after things like Harvey or Katrina, or record snowfalls, or weeks without electricity -- in just the last year! -- is an idiot.

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    1. LindaG...I can still move well enough to get out in case of fire, but to travel any distance under my own power just isn't going to happen. And I would really hate to leave my storage behind. The way it is now, I could hold out here for a long time, along with some family. Makes the most sense to me. I am not one of those who think they will head for the hills and live off the land. Not likely. Not in a Minnesota winter.

      Having lived in several old farm houses over the years, I get the problems involved. But if it were me, I think I might be tempted to work out something for defense and stay put. I would rather be in any of the old houses I lived in than in a city apartment.

      I have to wonder if folks have just become spoiled. Or preoccupied. Or both. Few seem to see what I consider the writing on the wall. Or they have become so dependent upon government that they assume they will be taken care of. They don't consider that we are now one election away from becoming Venezuela. You are right - idiots.

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    2. Too dependent on everything being available pretty much anywhere.
      Case in point - hubby likes a particular caramel flan. One store doesn't have it? Go to this other store that usually does.
      Usually.
      People look at food and water consumables the same way.

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    3. LindaG...You have hit on one of the major problems. People have become addicted to instant gratification and they believe nothing will ever change. I have pretty much come to the conclusion that you could show them facts like if the trucks stop running, grocery stores will be empty within about three days, and they never in the world will believe you. If you tell them that when the lights go out, water will no longer flow from the kitchen tap, they won't believe that either. I really did try for a while, but the headache from banging my head against the brick wall of indifference became too much. So I now preach to the choir and learn as I do. :)

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  4. Vicki~ I know what you mean. I have a soon to be deceased uncle that would show up at various relatives homes right at dinner time. Then would tell a sob story on how he was short for groceries due to alimony and child support payments. Next thing is he is out the door and the freezer is missing meat. Mind you he never paid alimony and child support. His expectation to this day is someone needs to take care of him. Red

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    1. Red...I will never understand why a person would prefer being taken care of over taking care of one's own self. In that kind of a situation, a person has no say over where they live, what they do, about much of anything. That would drive me plumb nuts. I wonder if that attitude is just laziness or if the person never really grew up and still wants his mommy. I am afraid that kind of lack of personal responsibility is pretty common these days, sadly. Those folks have no earthly idea how to get themselves through a crisis.

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    2. People aren't held to personal responsibility any more. It's always someone else's fault.
      Can't do well enough to win a trophy? Give everyone one. Etc.

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    3. LindaG...Consequences for actions seem to be a thing of the past. Everybody is traumatized because their parents didn't get them a pony for their 6th birthday. Or some other silly excuse for not taking responsibility. The trophy for all really chaps me. Why should a kid try his level best in a sport if the laziest kid on the team receives the same reward as the one who works hard. I am eternally grateful that my youngest son has taught his kids that if they want to win, they need to do the work.

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  5. Very well said, Vicki. It's odd; few understand why it's important to prep. Then there is the fact that some of the ones who do prep, like to judge or critique the plans of other preppers. It isn't a contest. There is no perfect or correct plan. If a person has realized the value of preparing for difficult times that alone is significant. They need to begin with the goals, information, skills, possessions, finances, location, and other circumstances that are available to them. It takes time and effort, but it is very satisfying when goals are achieved. Also, I very much appreciate the blogging community and those willing to share their methods of preparing. I truly believe that those of us who are preparing for rough times ahead were blessed by a nudge from our Heavenly Father. I am very grateful. Take care...CW

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    1. Thanks, CW...I think people fail to look back at history, even recent history, to see what happened when a huge hurricane hit or when there was a major blizzard or what happened in the past when socialism had a strangle hold on some countries. If they are only interested in where to go on Saturday night or who on the block has the biggest TV or the newest gadget, I am afraid they will never consider what to do until the crisis is here.

      You are right, CW. This is not a contest. There is no prize for having the most jars of vegetables on the shelf or the most expensive gear or the best bug out location. I am sometimes a bit fearful that I sound like I am bragging when I write about how many jars I get from a canning session. My intent is to let you all know that if you start out with x amount of product, you might end up with x amount of pints for your storage.

      I have learned so much from those who comment here and from those whose blogs I read. I am more than grateful. I have no doubt that there has been a guiding hand involved. If just one person has found some help here, it is well worth it.

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  6. Indeed! My co-workers give me grief because I prep, but I roll with it. They call me Macgyver. I even have a diagram of a "dream bunker," complete with personal space shuttle, on my office door as a joke. I use humor as a platform to tell people to prep; to do SOMETHING! Where I live, a major earthquake would have people killing each other for water in a couple of days, yet no one does ANYTHING! A few gallons of stored water and some extra food could well be the difference between life and death, yet few go that extra distance. It's both sad and strange...

    People can call me what they wish... as long as they don't do so on my doorstep after the shaking stops...

    ...Waiting until after a disaster happens to prepare is kinda like waiting to accept Jesus until after you're dead! ...Too late and WAAAAYYY too late!

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    1. Pete...Your co-workers may kid you about being Macgyver, but in actuality, they are paying you a compliment. They are acknowledging you know how to do stuff and you can be counted on in a crisis. I like the bunker thing, though. Especially the personal space shuttle. Cool. :)

      I don't know what possesses folks to ignore the fact that bad things can and will happen. Here it is tornadoes and blizzards. There, earthquakes. And yet here - there are so many who can't seem to understand that if you are prepared, you might just live through whatever comes. I don't like to think of people suffering, but taking care of just my family is about all I can manage. I am afraid that those who refuse to life a finger to help themselves are on their own.

      Your analogy of waiting to prepare is spot on. I am eternally grateful that so many of us are preparing for Heaven as well.

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  7. Another great post that hits home. I too appreciate the online community as no one in my real world shares my views. It does get a little lonely at times.
    And it can be little, routine things that bring on problems. A few years ago, our electrical system in the apartment was going through its annual testing. Well, when the power was turned on, one of the transformers blew. We were 48 hours without electricity in 'all electric' apartments. Some of my neighbors, typically the younger ones, had no clue. One young gal didn't even have a can of soup she could open.

    I too have had to build up my pantry slowly. But over time, one or two extra cans put in my shopping cart during my regular shopping add up.

    Looking forward to reading the comments.
    SJ

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    1. Thanks, SJ...I am so grateful to these folks who come here and comment. I have learned so much and you are right - it is so nice to know there are others out there who have the same values as we do.

      It sure doesn't take much sometimes for something to happen. We who prep aren't terribly concerned, but those who don't are often sent into panic mode. Several years a drunk slammed his car into a phone pole a couple of blocks away, breaking it into two pieces and sending us into a blackout for two or three days until they got a new pole in and hooked up. It was inconvenient, but nothing to panic over. But to those who were clueless had no idea of what to do. Sad.

      I often think I take off like a herd of turtles. But it was the turtle who won the race with the rabbit. Same applies to prepping. Every little bit helps and before we know it, we have enough to get by if we need to.

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  8. Reason #1 here in MN. WINTER. Better to have food and supplies when you wake up to a snow drift up to your 2nd floor windows..LOL. Not too much a fantasy.

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    1. That's no fantasy, Rob...Somewhere there is a picture of my kids' Dad standing on a snow drift, resting his elbow on the top of a telephone pole. I remember as a kid, walking with my Dad after a blizzard. We were walking over the top of cars that were literally buried in snow. Every year there are people who are found frozen to death. Minnesota winters are nothing to fool with!

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  9. I lost t\it all the thieves who ransacked my house after the police broke in looking for me. Then, the city said I could not take dishes, food, or clothing.

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    1. Linda...I know nothing I can say will make it better. Your situation is proof positive that disaster can strike any time - anywhere - without warning. I know full well that you don't want anyone praying for you, but I am anyway. When friends are hurting, that's what we do when we can do nothing else.

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