As I sit here on my smartphone scrolling through my photographs, I recall how things used to be. You'd take a whole roll of pictures with your film camera, take the roll to be developed, and come back in a week or so to pick up your photos. Only then did you discover whether or not you captured the moment perfectly, or if it's just a blurry waste of time and money.
In these modern times, we point, shoot, edit, and make entire videos from our PHONES, as well as send them through thin air to be captured on the internet and distributed to other devices all over the world. Amazing just isn't a strong enough word to describe this technical wonder!
Why does this matter? Well, it's a good example of why we shouldn't let go too fast of some old ways. Those photos were tangible. The photos on our phones aren't, and many people today lose their precious memories because technology can fail. Recently, my phone glitched and I lost several videos I was working on.
Now, what if that happens to the electricity? Your car? The grocery supply systems? Emergency services? Are you prepared to handle being without food, water, transportation, electricty, medicine, first aid supplies, self-defense?
Many people think "Oh, I don't need to prepare for anything. I've got ramen noodles and band-aids. The stores have the rest". I promise you, you are WRONG. There doesn't have to be a huge end-of-the-world event or a superstorm in your area. A life-altering emergency needs only to happen to YOU and YOUR family to constitute an event!
I am giving you this expert advice because I've been there. All it took was an ER trip for my husband to find out our lives were upside down. There were times when the power got shut off, the water was off, the mortgage went unpaid, and the cabinets were empty. Paychecks don't come in if the breadwinner can't work, and I was a Home school mom with 5 children ages 13 to 4. Here's what I did:
*SACRIFICE: Sell all jewelry (or other items worth money but not really needed). It's not a life necessity. I hung on to my wedding ring until I absolutely had to sell, but guess what? We're still married without it! I paid the mortgage to save the house (which we sold later at a profit) and got the water and electric back on. Done.
*HAND WASH: I couldn't risk running up the electric bill, so with water and homemade laundry soap, I was able to take a clean 5-gallon bucket and a clean plunger and wash all the clothes. I rinsed them in the tub and hung them to dry. Wash for 7 was done every other day. Done.
*MAKE FOOD FROM SCRATCH: I took $30 and bought baking supplies. Flour, sugar, yeast, baking soda, etc. I baked fresh loaves of bread and dozens of cookies and sold them at local businesses. Got $200 and bought my family groceries to go with what I was growing. Plus more baking supplies to do the same thing week after week. Done.
*BE RESOURCEFUL: I took $17 to a thrift store and asked how many VHS tapes could I buy? The manager said if I took them ALL, I could have them. There were 12 large totes full. I sold them on eBay and made around $60 per week. I took that money and bought other stuff to sell until I was making about $1200 per month!
This all occured while my husband was in Intensive care off and on for 5 months. His long-term disability insurance finally started coming in and we started being able to breathe a little bit again.
That's just one personal experience. As far as an environmental event, I am a Florida native and have been through 5 major hurricanes. I don't think I have to tell you that it's devastating to have your life literally turned upside down by Nature, But being prepared makes it a whole lot easier!
We also have plans for sharing with others, an escape route, and hiding places if the need arises. The children are also trained to survive in case we get separated, i.e. wild edibles, self defense and weapons, and evasion techniques.
Please, take the time TODAY to prepare. You don't have to call yourself a prepper, just call yourself a responsible person! Prepare NOW and have no regrets later!
Now, I make blogs for Steemit while in town since we don't have internet. I will continue to do this because my husband's illness just went to the next level and I may soon be a widow. Our family will survive this and be stronger though!
My next "big" post will be on our survival backpacks so stay tuned!
FREE FOOD FOR LIVESTOCK HERE:
@farmandadventure/free-food-for-your-livestock-and-bonus-survival-stuff-for-you
