"prepping" without panic - part two
Author’s note: This is a long one. Maybe go fetch yourself a cup of coffee or a pot of tea before diving in. I tried to cover different topics as robustly as I could muster and this, believe it or not, is the edited down version.
When I told my husband, Troy, that I was going to write this essay, he said, “You should start by explaining the framework of how to approach preparing for such things.”
“Hmmm…”, thought I. Yes, a framework. Of course, yes. I am, after all, a woman of systems and frameworks and organisational structures and… hey, would you look at that! That cloud out my window looks exactly like a kitten wearing a fedora with tap shoes on! I think it’s reaching for a steaming latté from an alligator barista! So cute! But, what was it we were talking about?
Ah yes, frameworks!
Okay, he’s right and so I shall endeavour to start things off with just that. Let’s make it clear from the outset that I’m fully cognisant that many of you reading this may not live on a farm and grow your own food. Each of us has vulnerabilities and dependencies in our lives. In many ways, we don’t have enough interconnected dependencies and that shows up as fractures in communities that should be tightly bound together. That, too, is something to consider. But for now, let’s begin this essay with the understanding that in everything there’s scale to apply. Only you can do that, but you should do that. In other words, while you may live in an apartment in the city with only a tiny bit of space, there are still many ways you could, and should in my estimation, build in some securities and fallbacks into your life.
The other boards in our framework include the consideration of actually trying out the plans and supplies you have in place. It’s not enough to pack away tubs of food and not have conversations around the what-ifs. And there are plenty of what-ifs that look very different based on short-term inconveniences to longer term calamities. If you’re planning on cooking on outdoor stoves, do you have back up parts? Are they operational? Do you have fuel? If you have equipment and supplies that you need to transport elsewhere, how will you do that? Will you need fire? How will you light that fire? Hoarding matches ain’t gonna’ do it unless you’re going to fill garbage bags full of matches while you’re on the move. What if you don’t need to be on the move? What if you’re just staying put? Will you need anything to defend yourself? Are your tools transportable on your person or will you need sleds or backpacks or… What exactly will you need?
Without running through your equipment and scenarios, you won’t know. A great way to do this is to get outside and try things out. Go camping in different seasons. Develop your skills, even just to garner rudimentary survival knowledge. Learn basic emergency first aid. These are all things we’re shielded from by modernity, but things we should all know regardless. If this is an area you need to develop, get some books from the library or seek out courses or people in your area that can teach you. There are endless courses available with this type of information on offer.
Finally, in our last consideration of our framework we need to look at plans. Real, flushed out, hashed out plans. This is where conversations come in. Maybe you don’t know what you need or what you would do. Fair enough. Identifying shortcomings is the goal here. Identify them and then figure out what you need to shore them up. Loose plans aren’t really plans at all when the power or communication goes out. What do things look like depending on seasonal weather? If you’re in the rental in a city, is it your plan to get out of the city if something happens and if so, what are the markers that you’re looking for to sound your internal alarm to go? Maybe you’re in the country and it’s day three and all is still well. Maybe you’re in the country and it’s day sixteen and people from the city are coming to sniff around for food. What will you do? Seriously, sit with these questions until you have the exact, implementable answer and then practice that response to see if it actually works as designed. If not, again, that’s great. You’ve identified the holes to patch up.
Now that we’re all on the same page with our “framework” built and steady (thanks, Troy), let’s move onto the different categories to consider in preparing ourselves and our families for whatever unknowns may befall us. There’s endless ways to approach