SHTF - Information?

You know, if the S actually *should* ever really HTF, you are not going to be needing things like recipes for facial cleanser scrubs (I mean think about it) or laundry detergent (lye soap yes; detergent made from now-unobtainable ingredients no) or compost bin info (honestly stuff rots down just fine on its own).

The majority of what you'd need is EXPERIENCE. Meaning, doing things regularly (growing plants, cooking basics, foraging, fixing/building things, etc).

The relatively small number of things where exact info is important yet hard to remember with just a "normal" am't of experience... THOSE are the things you want reference books for. Medical stuff, wild plant ID (specific to your area), and possibly recipes for doing stuff that you have not got round to doing but would be genuinely useful (lye soap making, for example)

A book (let alone a web printout or magazine article) is really really really NOT a good substitute for experience though. Those who find the S hitting the F without having grown many seasons' worth of veg gardens, or preserving the food for later use, are going to be up S creek (so to speak) no matter HOW many books they got on the shelf.

JMHO,

Pat
 
Exactly, Pat. Practice makes perfect, and the sooner I get started, the better. Ya gotta set up good habits & methods. Boy, is my to-do list ever long :th
 
Pick something and get started. It rolls downhill. :D I mean, it will get easier and easier as each skill builds on your growing store of knowledge and experience.
 
I know a little about the USPS. I think its the third or fourth largest employer in the US, so if it were to fail, that would be the S in the SHTF, and if there is no gas there is no mail delivery, but the government would go to great lengths to give the USPS priority to deliver the mail. DS is a mail carrier. They would not get rationed.

That being said I think you might as well count on Kevin Costner at that time. :gig

The modern day pony express has no ponies. :gig
 
from Heavy Horses by Jethro Tull

"... Heavy Horses, move the land under me
Behind the plough gliding --- slipping and sliding free
Now you're down to the few
And there's no work to do
The tractor's on its way.

Let me find you a filly for your proud stallion seed
to keep the old line going.
And we'll stand you abreast at the back of the wood
behind the young trees growing
To hide you from eyes that mock at your girth,
and your eighteen hands at the shoulder
And one day when the oil barons have all dripped dry
and the nights are seen to draw colder
They'll beg for your strength, your gentle power
your noble grace and your bearing
And you'll strain once again to the sound of the gulls
in the wake of the deep plough, sharing. ..."

Maybe we need to keep a few Express Ponies around as well.
 
http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download.php and fastonline.org both have good stuff free for downloading. I downloaded Where there is no doctor and Where there is no dentist they are long and a little technical, but they could be of use. There is also a download about bringing up water without electricity I think.
 
Pat - the things I listed before are only a sampling of what I have in my notebooks. (Insert evil laugh here.) I focus sometimes on simple things because the experiences and skills my husband and I would need we already use and have, for the most part.

Simple cooking - a 2-inch thick binder full of simple recipes, and only cast iron to cook on so it can be used over a fire. Gardening and canning already in the works, just need to get into dehydrating. I sold my old dehydrator because I never used it, and now I'm thinking that was a stupid move.

The foraging thing I would have to work on on a bit more. I know where the good gooseberry and raspberry patches are, but that's about it. Morels grow around here somewhere, but I was never a huge mushroom fan. I also just discovered that balsam poplar grows here, the buds of which are called 'balm of Gilead.' I had no idea that grew here, but this spring I'll be out climbing trees to harvest the buds.

Building - husband used to do work as a carpenter, and we have access to a large supply of old barnwood and my father-in-law has a sawmill.

I already grow medicinal herbs and know where to find the ones that grow locally, like wild bergamot and wild rose hips.

I think any info/experiences you have will help you out if the SHTF. You never know what you may need/want in the future, so you may as well write all of it down. It can't hurt.

The other thing I want to do is get out my old maps of the area and mark down where all the good berry and mushroom patches are, what lakes are best for fishing, etc. I'll make copies of those and stick them in with my notebooks. I think that would definitely come in handy later.
 
Farmfresh said:
from Heavy Horses by Jethro Tull

"... Heavy Horses, move the land under me
Behind the plough gliding --- slipping and sliding free
Now you're down to the few
And there's no work to do
The tractor's on its way.

Let me find you a filly for your proud stallion seed
to keep the old line going.
And we'll stand you abreast at the back of the wood
behind the young trees growing
To hide you from eyes that mock at your girth,
and your eighteen hands at the shoulder
And one day when the oil barons have all dripped dry
and the nights are seen to draw colder
They'll beg for your strength, your gentle power
your noble grace and your bearing
And you'll strain once again to the sound of the gulls
in the wake of the deep plough, sharing. ..."

Maybe we need to keep a few Express Ponies around as well.
Click to expand...
ITA.
I bought a saddle a couple of years ago. Then my brother gave me two of his old ones. Seems that the pony is still the best cross country traveler in times when things do south.
 
I have a wonderful old MEN from the 80s that describes in detail, with great pics, how to turn your riding horse into a work horse for the small homestead.

I think, as with any good homestead animal, horses that can fill both requirements~more versatility~ would be the most desirable.

I'd like to work on training my sheep to work in harness if I could find harness that small without paying a fortune.

Ultimately, though, I would love to have more acreage and have my own small work horse for such situations.
 
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