I get this question or something similar to it every so often and, to be honest, it’s a hard one to answer. Why? Because they’re not really asking what they think they are. What they’re really asking is if it’s time to “run for the hills” or not. They’re wanting to know if they should do something drastic like completely uprooting their family to hunker down in the middle of nowhere. They’re wanting to know if it’s time to panic.
My opinion: I’d say it’s time to be concerned. And it’s certainly time to be preparing yourselves if you’ve been complacent. Should you panic? No. But you can’t assume everything is going to be fine going forward. It’s time to prepare for something worse. Is that a civil war? I don’t know. What I can say is that it’s obvious there are major underlying problems here in America, and it’s obvious that we’re no longer willing to use our words to settle disputes.
I can say that if things were different for us that I would be doing a lot more to prepare myself and family this year. In fact, I would’ve been doing so all last year too, but we’re planning on moving back home to Missouri this summer which has put a lot of my plans on hold, and that sucks like you wouldn’t believe. I truly feel like I’m stuck in some sort of prepping limbo; I’m at a point where I know I should be doing a lot more but can’t because of our intentions to move.
So, let me answer the original question by stating my prepping intentions when we move, assuming there’s still time to make this all happen over the next year or two. If not, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Priority #1: Location
We haven’t fully researched where we want to live (although family proximity is a big draw) but I really want to get away from the typical suburban neighborhood. I’d much prefer a more rural location; I don’t mind neighbors so long as they’re not within rock-throwing distance. Aside from that, I’d prefer to stay well away from any large cities. In fact, I’d like to be far enough away that my house isn’t listed on the GPS, lol. We’ll see how that goes.
Priority #2: Water
Even if we live somewhere with water already provided by the city or county, I’d like to install my own well. I know they can get expensive but water independence is so crucial that I simply cannot do without my own well any longer. Yes, I plan on installing a water catchment system too which would provide a backup water source or alternate source for gardening and whatnot.
Priority #3: Food
We plan on living with my in-laws which is great. We get along wonderfully, really! One of the most important things my father-in-law wants is a greenhouse or two…or three. Who knows. The more the merrier if it means being able to produce more of the most nutritious foods.
He’s also interested in aquaponics which is something else I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now, I’ve just never taken the leap. So I’m looking forward to that.
My wife wants chickens, but mostly because she thinks they’re cute. She even wants to name them so I’m guessing we won’t be eating them, even if they die of natural causes. In any case, the eggs will be good to have which means I’ll be building a chicken coop at some point. Not sure it that will get done this year, but it will be on the priority list for sure.
Fruit trees sound wonderful too. And, of course, I’ll be purchasing a lot of bulk foods from our local LDS cannery and elsewhere when we move.
Priority #4: Hygiene / Sanitation
And here you thought I was going to say self-defense, didn’t you? Nope, not yet. I’m not sure what I want to do here yet, as I’m sure it will depend on what’s allowed where we purchase. A septic system would be most likely, but I can see myself also wanting to dig an outhouse hole or two for “just in case” scenarios.
I’ll also want to stock up on a ton of personal hygiene supplies and cleaners since most of it should last for years without concern. I want to start making my own soap as well. In fact, I think I’ll start making a bunch of my own cleaners and deodorants and whatnot again like I used to. It’s getting back to self-sufficiency 101 for me!
Priority #5: Defense and Safety
Aside from purchasing more firearms and ammo–which may be a problem with the Democrats in office–I want to harden my home’s structure. This would include doing things like replacing and better securing exterior doors, adding special window film to lower-level glass to prevent breakage, creating a safe room with a hidden exit, and a ton of other things. Yeah, the safe room with hidden exit might not happen, but I’ll dream about it. At the very least, I’ll have a safe room for tornados; most places in the Midwest at least have basements, so that’s a start.
I might install garden beds around the house as driving deterrents, plant nasty bushes and fencing to funnel foot traffic (and deter wildlife), and maybe even build an off-grid cabin with a variety of caches as a last-ditch retreat.
Priority #6: Power
I’m not sure if I want to go all-in and do a full house solar setup which would require me to hire somebody (and would still be VERY expensive), or if I want to do my own DIY setup that’s just good enough to run a well pump, a refrigerator or two, and maybe a few other things. But even that could be a considerable investment. We’ll just have to see what the money situation looks like when we get to this point; my guess is that I’ll be lucky to build a larger DIY system that I’ve got now.
Priority #7: Heating, Clothing
For the longest time I’ve been wanting to convert to a pellet stove because they seem to be very efficient, but that’s not sustainable long-term. Maybe I’ll have one of each: a pellet stove and wood burning stove. After all, “two is one and one is none.” And, of course, I’ll want to stockpile all the stuff to procure more firewood on my own.
Where we live now (in Seattle area) it doesn’t get very cold, so it’s obvious that we’re going to need better clothing and boots for the winter again. Man, I hate being cold in the winter.
Other Considerations
No doubt, there’s a lot more to do besides the above, but prioritizing what I’ve talked about already should keep us alive and healthy enough. That said, I want to get back to using more reusable supplies (e.g., dish towels instead of paper towels, rechargeable batteries instead of alkaline) and I’m sure my wife would agree.
We also need to consider medications and supplements. Unfortunately, about the only solution I have right now is to stockpile more of what we already use with regards to pills. OTC medications won’t be hard to stock up on either, but Rx antibiotics and antivirals will be…still not sure what to do about that and never have been.
Really, it’s just about getting us to be as self-sustainable as possible over the next two or three years. There’s nothing more to it than that. Well, that’s not entirely true. There is something to be said for thinking ahead to future problems. For instance, I know I’ve got issues reading small text out of one eye but I refuse to get glasses, so maybe it’s time to get that sort of stuff figured out now as well. And let’s not talk about my teeth…they WILL be the death of me, I’m sure of it. 🙂
What If You Can’t Do This?
Look, I understand my advice above isn’t for everyone. A lot of it takes time and surely isn’t cheap. So, what can you do if you can’t do what I suggest? I would suggest you do the best you can because, believe it or not, most of us can do more than we think.
For starters, you can purchase more food, right? After all, you’re going to eat it at some point. You can setup some way to collect water too, even if it’s just a few barrels placed under rooftop downspouts. You could still create a small solar setup, at least enough to power a refrigerator. You can make plans to “get out of dodge” if you had to.
Perhaps even more importantly, you can create alliances with family, friends, and neighbors; I discussed this a while back for those folks who are disabled. These people sure have skills and knowledge that you do not, and vice-versa. Perhaps there’s a trade where they help you survive (with food, shelter, etc.) and you perform work or chores for them? Who knows. But I do know that now is the time to start making things happen.
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