Preparing Every Needful Thing

My husband says I worry too much about what “might” happen. He’s right. Finding a balance between preparing for the future and enjoying what we have now can be difficult. Every day I find myself battling the urge to have a year’s supply of laundry detergent when my family could really use a night out. I am generally a glass half-full type of girl. But when I watch many countries around the world failing economically and politically, I can’t help but wonder if it could happen here, in the good ‘ole USA.

It’s times like these that I find solace in the words of Matt Savinar who was the editor of “Life After the Oil Crash.” He said, “There is a difference between an ‘optimist’ and a fool. An optimist is somebody who looks at bleak facts and decides to make the best of the situation that they can. A fool is somebody who looks at the bleak facts and decides to ignore them because they are too upsetting.” I’m an optimist and therefore work to prepare my family for what might happen.

Preparedness is more than stockpiling food and toilet paper. Much to my husband’s dismay (he believes a 2-star hotel is hard living), having portable temporary shelter and the skills to “rough it” if necessary are just as essential as food.  Additionally, alternative medical knowledge and skills could be useful if doctors aren’t available.

There is a wide range of things to consider when working toward becoming prepared and as self-sufficient as possible. I will write about a number of them and hope to increase your knowledge base, and mine, in the process.