Attitude toward being prepared - very mildly ranty

[helwen]

I know I'm just preaching to the choir here, but I'm feeling just a wee ranty. Was just reading some comments on someone else's blog about being prepared for potential disasters -- natural ones like the recent ice storm or economic ones like losing one's job. One person commented on all the various names she's been called, and "pessimist" was probably the strangest one. It's her favorite "You are such a pessimist! All gloom and doom! Never any hope!" -- as if, she said, being prepared were a disease.

How silly is that, that being prepared should make folks like her or me considered to be a bit touched in the head. Keeping more than a week's worth of food (assuming one has the space) was commonsense when I was a kid. My in-laws buy some things regularly (perishables like milk), but have a freezer full of food just like my mom did. Having the freezer full meant that when we lost power for a few days that most everything stayed frozen, thank you. She even has food that she can't eat herself because for health reasons. Why? Because she likes to be able to entertain unexpected guests. So she keeps some tasty quickbreads like zucchini, carrot, and pumpkin breads in the freezer just in case. We defrosted one on Sunday of the power outage in fact, as part of a rather tasty lunch together, enjoying each other's company.

Just read a news article this afternoon about how all the police in Atlanta are now on furlough. They got a 10% pay cut as of the day after Christmas, so everyone will be taking one day off every other week. So even the most "recession-proof" jobs aren't completely proof. Now there's some doom and gloom for you, if you aren't prepared, have your cards maxed out or maybe a big mortgage or an equity loan on the house.

And yesterday I went through Yang-style Tai Chi 24-form three times in a row. It's a relatively gentle exercise but between that and some yoga exercises I discovered just how tight some muscles are and also that I need to wear a knee brace for Tai Chi, at least for now.

I talk about being prepared here on my LJ now and again, and for sure we found out what worked a few weeks ago. One thing I hadn't really thought about was how much more work physically it was than I thought it would be. And thank goodness I didn't have to do the heaviest stuff! But on the good side of things, it's gotten me back into practicing Tai Chi, and that's a good thing.

If I want to live longer than my dad did, I need get in better shape -- something I've been doing right along, but the ice storm and reading about what's happening to other folks has definitely boosted that desire to a higher level. And also the desire to buy less, which I guess is too bad for the retailers (estimate is 148,000 stores closing in the U.S. in 2008), but I like having manageable debt thanks.

Still, I like my internet and my electricity, yes I do. I may use less than a lot of other people, but I do like having it and intend to keep it, thank you very much. But modern 'conveniences' make it easy to get lazy about some things, for sure.

There are many good things about being "prepared" that I don't consider to be at all negative -- more exercise = better health. And because I'm doing more stuff around the farm, I get to do it without going to a gym, saving money. Although if I had no idea what I was doing, I'd probably go to the gym to learn some things first -- all the weight training I do are things I was trained in first. Same with the Tai Chi -- and I'm happy to say that in repeating the form I could tell I was improving each time, even with the knee giving me grief.

Actually, even knowing what the current limits are on my activities is a positive for mePreparedness aside, being in better shape means being able to do more fun stuff! It means not running out of energy as quickly, whether for getting some more wood or water, hiking Mount Sugarloaf for a picnic, checking out the latest museum exhibit, walking to classes at Pennsic, or staying up partying on New Year's Eve.

Other positives to prepping -- food, shelter, and power security. CDC recommends having 12 weeks' worth of food on-hand, and plenty of water and/or a good filtration system (seriously, who could fit 12 weeks' worth of water in their home?). That's a worst-case scenario for a pandemic, but look at something like a large-scale disaster like Hurricane Katrina? Or how about Gustav this past summer? Mind you, if your home is completely washed out to sea those food supplies won't do much good -- hence the bugout kits some folks recommend, which should have 3-days of supplies. We've already seen that FEMA, although they did a lot better this summer, can't get food and water to everyone who's in trouble.

Of course it would be pretty hard to fit 12 week's worth of food into a lot of people's homes, but I think a month's worth should be quite do-able. Might have to get creative, and it probably won't all fit in the kitchen and pantry, at least not if you lived in a place like one house I rented with some folks many years ago. Three of us, not sharing any supplies, had a third of the fridge and freezer and about 4 shelves in the rather small pantry. I was a starving student in those days, but I did manage to keep the shelves and fridge filled. Whole chickens were .49/lb that year, and boy did I learn how to cut them up and use every bit, including using the bones and scraps to make a very tasty soup. None of us stored water though -- in part because bottled water wasn't as much of a thing back in the 80s. If we'd gotten a serious storm warning while I was living there I just would have done what my mom always did -- fill the biggest pots and the pitchers with water, as well as the bath tub (you need a good plug or rubber cover seal).

Unemployment benefits have a limited lifespan if you lose your job or are given fewer hours. Some extra vittles are nice then, too.

Preparedness, whether it's getting in better shape or having some extra lighting, blankets, food and water set aside, paying down one's debts, putting money in the bank, or whatever, is all about having a positive and sane attitude. And you know, having the candles and oil lamps makes it easier to set up a romantic dinner or two as well ;)

Comments

[druidharper.livejournal.com]

That's fear talking. Lot of desperation out there, and for good reason too. ;)

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you're probably right. And a fair amount of complacency too I suppose. Like cats, most folks don't like change unless they're the ones initiating it. Me, I prefer to know as much of what's happening as possible, even whether or not there's anything I can do about it. It's the _not_ knowing that can drive me crazy, like when I tested positive on a health test once, and then had to wait 2 months to take the test again. Sigh. Not that you can know about everything but... if I can know about it, I want to.

I have my own fears, they just happen to be the opposite of those people who thinking being prepared is crazy.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

You make many good points, especially for people (like you) who live up in the hills or in a similarly isolated area. I'm close enough to settled areas that I *could* have gotten along without electricity for a bit as long as I opened the taps to keep the pipes from freezing...but being prepared is never a bad thing.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Actually we saw people every day, even on Friday although that was folks coming here not us going out. And in Holyoke we wouldn't have had a way to keep warm besides blankets, layers of clothing, and exercise. I think we could have still sort of managed for a day or two, by moving down to the first floor and closing off the rest of the house. And the pipes in that house couldn't have been kept from freezing by opening the taps -- we would have had to drain them.

Lyle and I talked about this, comparing what happened up here vs. what would have happened in Holyoke and concluded we were better off up here. Although when he mentioned that we would have had to drain the pipes, I commented that at least we would have had a good water supply for flushing, etc., if we drained a bunch of it into buckets. But more than a couple of days and I would have been ready to find someone to stay with for the duration -- esp. with having an elderly kitty. I don't think she would have been pleased with being held all day to keep her warm!

In Northampton we used to lose power at least once a year because of storms and such when I was a kid. Wasn't a problem by the 90s, so the town must have done something to improve the infrastructure. Anyway, my mom made sure we had a candle and matches with it in every public room in the house because of that.

Every house is different. The key is to know what you can and can't do with that house (or apartment) if there's no power, and plan accordingly.

btw, I'm so glad you work closer to home now -- with the crazy weather we're having this year I'm just as happy you don't have to drive all over the place!

[hiddennature410.livejournal.com]

I actually am curious on how we can try that out with our apartment. I too want to some what safe proof my house and would love your help because u seem to have more expiernce knowledge sorta on this. Our apartment is decent and has decent space. Its a third floor three family home and we got top floor and its a two bedroom. The only issue were dealing with right now is that the windows are old and there the old rope pully windows with cracks and the cold comes in bad. We even have central air in our apartment but it never does much good. I do have heavy curtains right now up so that blocks some and i taped up some spots where the glass was comming out from the wood frame and air was getting thru. Usually we just wear heavy clothes and have my moms long but safe floor heater in the bedroom and a big old comfortor for the cats to crash on to sleep. They seem to be fine tho and sleep anywhere around the house lol. Our landlord is right now and has been in the process of getting the new windows in. (Our Landlord is my close best friend and he's surviving since the recession or what not like us so i understand his dilemma and the guys been a dick too him so he knows hes got to get it done soon) Anyways, so based on what i've described, what kind of check list would you suggest besides blankets and food we should have? Thanks for any info, lol. :)

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Plugging leaks on the windows is good -- check once more to make sure you got them all. Then you might want to put up some heavy-duty sheet plastic over the leaky windows and tape it onto the window frame. The extra layer will help -- both the plastic itself and the air that is trapped between the plastic and the window.

When checking for window leaks, also check where the window frame meets the wall (inside the apartment) -- sometimes the window frame itself is leaky. Painters tape or some of that clay rope caulk would help to block these leaks, without damaging the paint on the wall.

I like wearing leg warmers, although might not care for them. They help keep my ankles warm, which helps keep my feet warm. On warmer days I shrug them down around the calves and on colder days I can put them up over my knees if I need to.

I like vests as well as sweaters with sleeves. Wool's best of course, and if you have a limited budget try Salvation Army or one of the used clothing stores that seem to be around here and there. You'd be surprised at some of the nice stuff that shows up at these places. Silk can be nicely insulating too, and I've gotten silk blouses for $2-4 each at these stores.

On outer walls, if you don't have a radiator there, you can put rolled up comforters and blankets, pillows, bags of off-season clothing. If you want to try to stack them up higher to cover more of an outside wall, use shelving or stacked milk crates. If you use milk crates and are stacking them higher than two rows, use twist ties to attach them to each other.

You can do the above under windows even. You could even do this and then put a bench over it if you have that kind of furniture and then you'd have a windowseat ;)

Or if it's too cluttered-looking, put a table against the outside wall in question, stuff lots of clothing and blankets and stuff underneath it and then throw a tablecloth on over the whole thing, covering up the stuff underneath.

***
Foodwise, tea, hot chocolate, and soup are all great things to have. I like the soup especially because it lasts longer than the drinks and stays hot longer.

Hope that helps!

[oakmouse]

The kind of folly that sees preparations for a reasonably likely event as "doom and gloom" is definitely fodder for rants. *g*

People get so wrought up over space issues, but 12 weeks of food for two or three people can fit under the bed or on the closet floor. Sack (25#) of rice, sack (5#) of beans, sack (25#) of flour, box or two of dry milk for those who can do dairy, 5-lb can of honey, some dried fruit, a case of canned tuna, some beef jerky, and a mixed case of canned veg. Not optimal, but doable and cheap and can be rotated periodically with fresh purchases. We've lived in apartments so small the whole thing including bathroom would fit into most house living rooms, but we always were able to find room for a sack of rice and some canned goods.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it's the amount of prepared foods... a lot of folks are used to always having fresh food (fresh being relative when some of it is shipped 1,000s of miles, but you know what I mean).

And if you don't typically keep more than a week or two of food in the pantry, it can seem intimidating -- thanks for the sample list there, btw!

We get a little extra here and there, whenever there's a sale. It adds up after a while. And we compromise, with some things being a little fancier and some things being on the cheap side and of course some in the middle range. I like having some extra baker's chocolate on the shelf, so we get some Ramen too. Why yes, I _do_ consider chocolate a necessity :D And tea. Must have tea.

[oakmouse]

Good point about fresh food. Also, a lot of folk aren't used to having to cook from scratch, as opposed to opening boxes and cans and warming up the contents or tucking something from the freezer case into the microwave or grabbing something from a take-out window or a grocery store deli. Thus, A) they probably freak at the prospect of actually cooking, and B) 12 weeks worth of fresh and prepared foods would take up much more space than 12 weeks worth of raw ingredients. Finally, people probably are thinking in terms of the variety of their regular diet, not in terms of "what will keep me alive for 3 months", and 12 weeks worth of foods for a varied diet would be more space-intensive than the sort of basic life-sustaining foods I mentioned.

We have the bulk supplies (bag-o-rice, bag-o-navy-beans, bag-o-pinto-beans, bag-o-rolled-oats, bag-o-masa, bag-o-pearl-barley), and then we have the smaller quantities: 5 # of dried split peas, ditto kidney beans, ditto soybeans, cans of corned beef and tuna, home-canned jams and pickles and chutneys, a few cans of tomato products, a few jars of applesauce, a few boxes of rice milk and soy milk. The fact that we have no choice but to cook from scratch actually makes it very easy to keep plenty of food on hand. We also have a good camp stove and a sheltered place to use it outdoors, plus a gas stove in the kitchen to start with. So food's pretty simple for us. Some of the other preparedness things, not so much.

[harpnfiddle.livejournal.com]

the grasshopper and the ant

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Indeed.