It’s hard to know how much of one’s time and treasure to spend preparing for unpredictable events. Too little, and you’re left hanging in the wind when life throws a curve (as it inevitably will, eventually). Too much and you short change the life you live today. The optimal answer is when you can put your resources into things that both enrich you today and help you be more prepared for times of trouble.
The simplest and one of the most useful ways to do this is just ‘spares’. Salty and I have talked our docs into letting us get a bit ahead on our prescriptions, so we order when a bottle runs out but the replacement goes into storage and the storage bottle gets opened. Easy and works like a charm (yes that keeps us well within expiration dates). Besides giving us a grace period during an emergency, it reduces the hassles of ‘I need a refill but I just don’t have Time today/was delayed getting to the pharmacy/their phone system was down/whatever’. We do the same for various nonperishable goods, which makes forgetting something on one shopping trip way less annoying.
This one’s probably a pretty easy sell too: Buy quality, especially for things that could become real needs. Sturdy outdoor wear is high on my list here. Good rain gear. Waterproof, solar powered flashlights. Good hand tools; and don’t forget to maintain them properly! Who was ever sad that their raincoat didn’t feel like wearing a trash bag, or that they didn’t have to replace a cheap flashlight that had failed the first time it was really needed?
Also on the subject of tools … consider going with a good set of battery operated small tools. Why? Battery operated tools are more reliable, for one thing. They’re far less finicky and require a lot less maintenance than gas-powered equipment. Also, they’re quieter. Especially in a preparedness situation, you don’t necessarily want to advertise to everyone within a mile that you’ve got a power tool running. My favorite aspect though is … backups. All of my small power tools use the same type of battery. Each implement comes with a battery and a charger, so I have spare chargers and a big ole bucket full of batteries that I keep charged. When the wind blew a chunk of tree onto the house, we had plenty of power available. Yeah, so the weed whacker isn’t a critical survival item; but we use it regularly and it was another battery to add to the bucket.
On the subject of buying quality, how about a couple of items that most people use frequently even in ‘blue sky’ times: ice chests and grills. Paying up to get the better ice chest could easily pay for itself in a single, common and tame sort of emergency: a multi-day power outage. Saving one freezer full of food is a chunk of change already — and you didn’t have to run out to buy extra ice during your family day at the lake, either. A grill that doesn’t rust out its first season and has solid connections and controls will last twice as long, so you might as well pay twice as much … and if things go south, you’ve got a reliable cooking method. Sorry guys, this argument doesn’t really extend to buying all the bells and whistles on the grill; as those tend to increase your gas use.
For the gardeners out there, or anybody with a flower box they want to fill anyway, herbs are a great choice. I’ve found mint, oregano, sage, rosemary, chives, and garlic will happily sustain themselves with very little work on my part. Basil I have to replant every year, but that’s a five minute job. I boggle at the prices they want for fresh herbs at the grocery story — I boggle, but I don’t pay them. I have my own, organic and couldn’t be fresher, two steps from my front door. The bees absolutely Love the rosemary, and all of these look good in a mixed bed. (If they are in a mixed bed, you will have to be a bit ruthless pruning back the mint and oregano. They have all the territorial ambitions of Ghengis Khan.) And seriously, have you Tasted your long term prep foods without added flavorings such as herbs? Yuk.
Make life good today, and make life stay good when challenges come. Those are the goals; and many of your preps will serve both. We put in a lot of work at The Place, but it’s not just a prepper’s retreat. It’s a place where the only loud neighbors are wildlife and you can fill your soul with the peace of a dark night under the Milky Way.
