What are you preparing for?

[okra]

It seems there is little between prepping and self sufficiency or self reliance. It's just how our grandparents lived not that long ago.

 

[moolie]

It seems there is little between prepping and self sufficiency or self reliance. It's just how our grandparents lived not that long ago.

I think that where there are differences between today and "back then", the differences exist in the reasons to do specific things vs. other things. My grandparents were western pioneers who were part of opening up new country, so they lived the way they did out of necessity. I live in a modern city, albeit surrounded by hundreds of miles huge prairie farm tracts and mountain wilderness, and don't have an actual "need" to live the way I do, it's just how I was brought up. And it makes sense to me to live in the most cost-effective way possible, plus I enjoy the "doing" of it all

 

[okra]

It seems there is little between prepping and self sufficiency or self reliance. It's just how our grandparents lived not that long ago.

I think that where there are differences between today and "back then", the differences exist in the reasons to do specific things vs. other things. My grandparents were western pioneers who were part of opening up new country, so they lived the way they did out of necessity. I live in a modern city, albeit surrounded by hundreds of miles huge prairie farm tracts and mountain wilderness, and don't have an actual "need" to live the way I do, it's just how I was brought up. And it makes sense to me to live in the most cost-effective way possible, plus I enjoy the "doing" of it all

Totally agree Moolie - my grandparents were country folks who lived in small village, there lives were hard but simple and enjoyeable. Today we have plenty of goods they couldn't dream off but are we any happier or healthier?

 

[Marianne]

This is the first time I read this thread.

I don't have any use for 'chicken little syndrome' (the sky is falling), but IMO there is nothing wrong with learning skills and having a stocked pantry.

None of us have a crystal ball, so who knows? Maybe nothing will happen. But in the meantime, I'll still be eating pretty good, staying warm and reading a good book. Life's good.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

What am I preparing for? Anything and everything.
I don't know that something will happen, but I don't know that nothing will happen either. I prefer to try and be prepared for whatever comes.
I do know with being so sick this year and some of the other stuff that's happened here, if we didn't have lots of canned goods from the garden in the pantry and chickens, pigs, rabbits and such to dress and eat - well, we would not be eating right now.
Anything can happen. Economic collapse, inflation, unemployment, disease, ice storms, floods, droughts, tornado, a crazy mob of zombies or just a gang of crack heads out rioting. I discount nothing but don't really plan for any one thing either.

I just want to know in my heart that no matter what happens I can provide for my family for as long as possible. Anything else I'll just have to deal with when it comes. Like others have said before, living simple is a way of life for me. If I was rich I'd still live the same way I do now. I don't know any other way to live.

 

[Hinotori]

I'm not prepping for anything in particular. I just want life to not really be interrupted if some sort of disaster happens. (If that big volcano that's less than 30 miles from us starts bulging out like St Helens did, I'm packing up important documents, animals, and DH and heading down to Moms. I'm not waiting out that.)

When we have a wind or ice storm that knocks out power we are towards the bottom of the list for repairs. When the next earthquake hits this area, it may knock out services for a while. When a lahar hits the river valleys it may knock out services. The next normal volcanic eruption could as well.

So just being prepared for all that makes life easier when it happens. Nothing there would be life changing in the long run, but would alter life for a little while.

 

[so lucky]

The "experts" in my area keep warning us that a big earthquake is emminent. I'm not that far from New Madrid. But few people take this very seriously. The main thing I feel really unprepared for is having no water. I want to look into digging a well on our property, but DH keeps putting me off. I know it is expensive, but our water bill is about $35 a month anyway. And the water is crappy.
And I'd like to get a small generator, to keep the freezers frozen. Of course, if something like Hurricane Sandy happened here, a generator would be no good unless we had gasoline. But you gotta start somewhere. And stop somewhere.....

 

[k15n1]

Just trying to live in a way that makes sense. You know, considering energy, environment, natural disasters, etc.

 

[Denim Deb]

The "experts" in my area keep warning us that a big earthquake is emminent. I'm not that far from New Madrid. But few people take this very seriously. The main thing I feel really unprepared for is having no water. I want to look into digging a well on our property, but DH keeps putting me off. I know it is expensive, but our water bill is about $35 a month anyway. And the water is crappy.
And I'd like to get a small generator, to keep the freezers frozen. Of course, if something like Hurricane Sandy happened here, a generator would be no good unless we had gasoline. But you gotta start somewhere. And stop somewhere.....

The trick w/a generator is to NOT run it constantly. I was talking to someone who lost their power when we had the storm in June. They lost their power for over a week. And, by running a generator just a couple of hours every day, they were able to keep it cold enough. Plus, you want to keep it full. If there's not enough food in it, put gallons of water in there and let them freeze. They'll help keep it cold in there even if you have no power.

 

[Bettacreek]

Mostly I prepare now because I grew up in the mountains, where blizzards often took power out on a regular basis and we had no way to the bottom of the mountain half of the time. We had family berry picking, come deer season we had the entire extended family of hunters and even family friends who came up to have their deer processed at the house, since we had the setup, the equipment and the huge smoke house (about the size of a 1.5 car garage), and my parents have always been frugal and saved money. We never gardened or raised livestock, but we bought amish produce and canned that up, along with the venison and such. I remember filling the tub up with water and such when we were expecting a storm, and making snow icecream. Ah, the good old days. So, for me, it's mostly in how I was raised, and I've just tried to add to it. I've also had some rough times when I was with my ex-husband... I remember eating ramen noodles and white cheddar cheez-its for two weeks straight. Ever since then, I've always had a large mass of food. When I moved in with my mom, she complained a lot... "I know to never send Lindsey to the store, because you ask her to pick up something and she brings five of everything home!" When mom finally brought over the last of my food stuff from her house to here, big G came home, looked around and said "where are we going to put all of this stuff?!" Well, it's all neatly organized now, but our counters were stuffed with stuff, and most of it had already been put away. I just don't feel secure without having about 3 months worth of food around. I guess you could just about call me a hoarder with it, though it's kept organized (for the most part, except when the kids get into the cabinets) and it doesn't go to waste. I like to open my cabinets (and will build a pantry when we move) and have it be like walking into a grocery store. This is the first time I've ever stored water, but I don't store a lot, unless we have a chance of the power going out, then I fill food grade buckets. On a regular basis, I have a few gallons stored up, mostly because then I only have to mess with the filter every week or so instead of every time I want a drink. So, for the most part, I prepare for my own peace of mind, so I don't have major anxiety about it. If you want to really get down to it, I'm prepping for typical stuff... Power outage, no money for awhile and to save money (when prices jump, I still have some that I bought cheaper, and I buy in bulk to get the cheaper rate).

Ah, sorry for the ramble. I've been pretty sick and miserable the past week or two, so my brain isn't fully functioning and I'm not really focusing!