I believe we are in the Middle of Great Shifts that began in 2008 and will continue till at least 2017...
I believe the economy is far, far worse than we hear about in the controlled media.
I believe the day Iran gets nuclear weapons they will start a Holy War. I have foreseen New York, Washington DC , LA , Las Vegas(you know sin city) London and Israel being destroyed in a day- I saw a mighty fire and the Earth opening up.
I believe the Earth is in physical shift and we will have increases in Ocean levels, more and more Earthquakes,Tsunamis and Hurricanes,Tornadoes,Dormant Volcanoes erupting and either flooding or severe drought.
I believe solar flairs will knock out our modern energy grid- leaving us to go back in time pre-electricity for at least 3 years...and people will never want to get that dependant on anything ever again.
I believe all of these events will wipe out at least 2/3 of the Earths population through trauma, starvation and sicknesses that will spread rampantly .
I believe in being as ready as I can be for this future I and many others have foreseen!
It doesn't have to be as hard if folks will move away from the coastlines and get themselves at least 100 miles inland and stay away from below sea level areas... but only a few will listen-until it is too late for them..The oceans -the lovely,lovely oceans-therein is your main killing field.
They may as well not even prep- their end will be swift- but for those living 100 miles inland and are at least 900 feet above sea level- you need to be preparing for (A MINIMUM-BETTER YET 2 YEARS)...a year off grid- a year w/ no stores open and a year where ones will try to take what you have prepped...
Musings...
Wouldn't it be great if everyone prepped? It used to be that way you know- people called it "putting things by for the Winter"
I grew up that way- for me it is totally natural.
I always heard- have 2 years worth of food stocked up. My Grandparents lived through the depression- My Mammy told us stories they heard about people in the Citys being hungry-but for them it was just like any other time-they were completely self sufficient.
Well they had a little country store to trade for sugar, flour ,chocolate and such- they usually traded eggs or blackberries.They made things from the flour sacks. I still have some of the items they made- a curtain and a table clothe-I know they made dresses too...
I know she said they had very little money- the crops they raised brought in some-but not alot-yet they managed just fine.They bartered for what they needed!
Cut their own wood - hauled their own water.. that was the sweetest well water in the world-they would draw up a bucket everyday even when they had running water inside- and to drink that cold, cold water was such a treat!!
Part of the reason they did so well was - they had NO debt! They owned what they owned. If they could not afford it or trade for it- they just didn't worry!
My parents were preppers- well more survivalists.. we lived on a back to the lander organic 50 acre farm- we did everything from grow and preserve our food,raised pigs,chickens, had milk and beef cattle,my Dad hunted...we had a small orchard and honey bees - we picked wild blackberries and morel mushrooms-our water came form a spring and a well...we sewed our own clothes and many times when it snowed we would not have electricity for days.. and we managed just great!
I wish people would wake up and get back to self sufficiency.
I watch Doomsday Preppers-I learn something everytime. One thing though- when they talk about starving hoards of people trying to steal your supplies and defending what is yours- I can imagine myself making a big pot of soup every day and feeding people passing through- I would have a hard time harming someone that was hungry....But we would guard the line w a rifle and I would not allow them to stay -it would be OK- move along... because what we have is primarily put aside for our family.. if I had more money I would prep for a 1000 people!!
IF each and every person would practice prepping or just plain stocking up for a rainy day- if each person had 6 month to a year of supplies on hand... then instead of some zombie apocolypse- we could come together and rebuild. No worries-no panic.
How does one start though in this suck egg economy???.. well let me share..
It is not all that hard if you work at it a little at a time- and if you practice frugality and don't depend on the best name brands. If when things are on sale you pick up 2 or 3 instead of 1 !
Let me tell you some of the things we have done to be able to afford to prep!
I want to note that my husbands job involves seasonal lay offs- he is laid off as we speak- and it is iffey as to him being called back because of the economy.( He is a superintendant on a building project- construction management)and certainly my work as a Medicine Woman working on love offering/donations will never make me rich! ..so I am saying we are working with a modest budget here!
1) Stop expensive recreation and eating out - we watch movies on TV and do things like picnics and hikes -if we eat out it is actually take out for chinese and occasional pizza -on sale! We 2 can eat for $12 dollars total once a week.
2) No credit cards- we have 1 small one for emergencies but otherwise-if we can't pay cash we leave it alone.
3) Do it yourself- I groom the dog and am getting back to dyeing and cutting my own hair,my husband cuts his own hair. He does home repairs, and I do the gardening.He is not a mechanic but we have one we have worked with a long time and he let's us make payments if the car needs work(which is a huge relief!) Living by the bus stop we could probably let go of owning a car -but right now we have 2 -1 is rarely driven.
4) Live within your means and try to get out of debt! We have a simple home and basically no debt except for a small house payment and a car payment -so it really helps!
5) When you come across sale items -get several- non perishables-shelf stable!
6) Cheapo holidays- and get them something practical! Remember this is time to come together-over spending catchs up later- and it is mass media and advertising that made things so commercialized! I refuse to let ads make me feel "less than" anymore or to overspend while I need to focus on prepping! ...
I will make the holidays nice by cooking a lovely meal,having time together to laugh, simple homemade gifts or items my loved ones need for THEIR prepping!
My suggestions and how we did it..a little at a time-week by week-buy what you like to eat and drink
WATER IS VITAL FOR LIFE...let's start there....
Every week get a case or 2 of bottled water-just 5 bucks- adds up over time!
I keep our laundry detergent bottles -put in water and will use that for cleaning-it still has alot of soap in it so it can work wonders ! We buy extra plain bleach to purify water!
I wash out juice bottles and put in water and we are going to work on a rain barrel system this year to harvest ore water-plus we have a nice fresh water spring not far from here...
Now onto food stores..
Start cheap with beans and rice -loads of ramen noodles and mac n cheese, 6 cans of tuna and some canned salmon, olive oil and canola oil,powdered milk,then add in canned veggies and fruit-then some canned meat-then dried fruits and veggies... pasta and pasta sauce... then cake mixs,brownie mixs,pudding mixs...(I know it's alot of mixs and preservatives but this is for emergncy stocks and to give us time to get the garden and homestead going!!
NOTE: Make sure you get loads of HEIRLOOM seeds- I got 2 of the Victory Gardens from www.heirloomseeds.com 1 for next year-the other is vacuum sealed to last for several years in case we have a bad harvest-we will keep seeds and expand our seeds saving over time-the extra gives us a back-up if needed!
Even if you are in the city you can figure out ways to garden!
BACK TO FOOD STORES...
Then add in things like condiments, soups, things like beef stew and spaghettios ..some tasty items that are easy to prepare w just boiling water- get some coffee,tea,sugar,baking items..then you are in a good position to get some long term food -like dehydrated veggies and soups( you can get alot of these at regular stores and then buy from survival food centers)
Get some chocolate and booze for barter and for comfort!
PROTECTION
You need some protection so look at having a deer rifle,shot gun, a pistol or 10-lol and loads of ammo- we are fortunate to have a family member doing that while we focus on food ,fuel.lighting, 1st aid and garden-we are well covered anyway - but our family member is taking it to a whole other level!!
We also plan to take Krav Maga self defense classes, we have survival knives-need to get a cross bow and loads of arrows. .. and learn to make traditional bows and arrows, hatchets and throwing sticks-for hunting and low tech protection..
Alright-back to frugal prepping...
As you go along go to the Dollar Tree and get extra soap,shampoo, 1st aid and hygiene supplies- plastic wrap,garbage bags, paper plates and cups -you can spend 10.00 a week on these and soon you will be well supplied!
Lots of times drug stores have great sales on toilet paper and paper towels-stock up honey-you will be glad you did!
Restroom needs ....
For a bug in potty should the water go out- for solid waste-a 5 gallon bucket lined w garbage bag-after each use cover w a tad of pine shavings or lime to keep down odors and germs.. get some hand sanitizer for sure- and baby wipes to keep really clean!! They do have portable potties at camping supply stores...
For liquid waste- let the fellas pee off the porch like old days and country folks still do - ladies we need to have a pail and throw it far from the house or bury it-actually putting it around berry bushes is good- not ON them but about 2 feet circle around the soil .(if you have a water source a once a day flush by putting water into the tank is how we did it during power outages in the country(well pump needed electricity-sorta nasty by the end of the day but it worked )
Lighting and Healing
Get matchs ,candles , oil lamps and extra oil and then ways to cook should the power go out... a grill -extra charcoal or gas, a camp stove- an emergency sterno cooker- loads of ways to do this a little at a time- army navy surplus stores- walmart camping dept.
I suggest you get yourself a kerosene heater- you can usually cook on top w cast iron-I have done that many times( male sure you have ventilation!!) -make sure to get extra containers of kerosene and a fuel hand pump .
Load up on blankets at thrift stores and yardsales!
Get yourself and every family member- extra socks,undies ,coats,work gloves,hats, sunglasses and some rugged clothes and work boots or shoes.
Lifeskills and community- get healthy now!
Learn lifeskills that will help you in the future-I do healing.. and garden-sew -know how to work with some wild edibles for foraging and learning more as we speak .. and cook- well really a chef but am a great camp /roughing it cook ...know how to preserve foods and make food and funds stretch so would be a valuable member of a rebuilding society.My husband knows how to build, he does masonry-he is learning self defense- he also knows how to lead a group to get things done -he is also learning to do energy healing.
We are learning about beekeeping- raising meat rabbits and raising goats and chickens in an urban setting.
We are also working to form a community of likeminded folks-this year we are growing a big garden together- well each person has a garden patch-but we will aid each one as they need! We will preserve our food together and have lots of time to talk and figure out where our strengths and our weaknesses are.. then work to correct any deficiency.
We are working toward better eating habits and to get into decent physical condition and to be in great health!I believe that is very important! I have a longer way to go on that than my husband-he is a body builder- and very healthy-more disciplined than I am... alas!!
Well I could go on all day -but there is work to be done...I will be back this week to add in on the different things I wrote about- just touched on today!
SO FRIENDS-LET'S ALL PREP....
Just like our Grandparents and Great Grandparents.. let's get it together- have our stores for the winter.. the more people that do this-the easier it will be for everyone!!
