Self-Reliance vs. Preparedness - Getting there.

[macman37]

Hi Barbara...

You are indeed well on the way to having the ultimate bugIN location. Indeed, Preparedness is a way of life rather than a hobby.

My wife and I undertook this journey as well about 3 years ago now. We lived in the 'burbs, every house looked the same and were a driveway apart. When we moved out I had specific wants for what we were looking at ... Land, a good house, a basement, access to water, etc., and we got it. I'm not going to bug out anymore, this is it.

There are still things I'd like to do - like figuring out how to put a mess o'solar panels on the garage so I can have "free" electricity if things REALLY go downhill - but I feel like I've done what I can (within my means) to prepare myself, come what may.

Your head is in exactly the right place, and that is a VERY good thing.

jim

[T-Dog]

As far as going without electricity, I think that is a mistake. Yes, you can go without lights, TV or even the internet, but going without a refrigerator or freezer is just silly. Some things store well canned or just on the shelf, but others are much easier in the freezer or fridge.

I completely and totally disagree as everything that we prepare for we must actually put into action to see where there are holes. My family and I have been preparing for many years now and I can tell you that when you actually put your preparedness into practice you will find issues that need fixing. Power is something that we have become totally dependent upon and for many power itself is an integral part of their plan to make it if things get bad which is something none of us should depend on being there the same as the sun coming up. I am not suggesting never using power again it should be something that people deal with in their preparedness planning and execution. To be quite frank I cannot think of many things that would be "silly" to try and live without at least for a while.

[RWBlue]

Power is something that we have become totally dependent upon and for many power itself is an integral part of their plan to make it if things get bad which is something none of us should depend on being there the same as the sun coming up. I am not suggesting never using power again it should be something that people deal with in their preparedness planning and execution.

I have to ask a couple questions:
1. How do you store your meat?
2. How do you store fruit and vegetables?
3. How long have you lived off your stored food without going to the store? (If you state an extremely long time I am going to ask for a list of what you ate.)
Some items are shelf stable and good, others are not .
4. What climate do you live in? I am also going to pick your brain on some items if you live in the right climate.

And before someone argues that the pioneers did it; yes, they did, but it was not as easy. It took everything they had. Many pioneers died very young, and the old were not that old. They also had a community. For the most part they were not trying to survive on their own.

As far as living without power for a couple days to see what it is like, I think it is a good idea.
As far as planning to live without power, no thank you. It is not efficient or affective.

[Barbara]

I could live quite a long while on just what I have in my house, and other than fresh fruits and vegetables, and maybe the occasionial Monster drink, not really miss anything.

I think you're missing the point. I don't *plan* to live without electricity. I intend to be *able* to live without electricity.

As was said, too many people's plans revolve around electricity and how to maintain it..and that's fine if there's a short term outage. But if something truly catastrophic happened? How long do fuel stores last? I honestly don't expect anything of that nature to happen in my lifetime, and if I did, I'd probably be more willing to invest the large amount of money required to maintain minimal electricity, but as it is, I think its a better investment, and frankly, a lot more enjoyable, to learn to live without the benefit of the local power company. And knowledge, unlike solar panels, can travel with you.

Eventually, I hope to be able to live, with electricity, undependent on outside sources. But that's a ways down the road, and expensive on the startup.

[Barbara]

Bought an old Simplicity lawn tractor today. This is only going to lead to more money spent because now I *need* a plow. and a disk. and a trailer. and of course, a yard roller.

Ok, maybe not a good example of self-reliance. But fun.

[Barbara]

Hi Barbara...

You are indeed well on the way to having the ultimate bugIN location. Indeed, Preparedness is a way of life rather than a hobby.

My wife and I undertook this journey as well about 3 years ago now. We lived in the 'burbs, every house looked the same and were a driveway apart. When we moved out I had specific wants for what we were looking at ... Land, a good house, a basement, access to water, etc., and we got it. I'm not going to bug out anymore, this is it.

There are still things I'd like to do - like figuring out how to put a mess o'solar panels on the garage so I can have "free" electricity if things REALLY go downhill - but I feel like I've done what I can (within my means) to prepare myself, come what may.

Your head is in exactly the right place, and that is a VERY good thing.

jim

Yep..this is home. I'm not heading anywhere but here. I'm interested a lot in sustainable energy and after a lot of other details get worked out, I'll probably start going down that path.

Hope we get a chance to do some shooting this year. Does your wife shoot? Bring her with you..would love to meet her.

[RWBlue]

As far as your overall idea, I agree.
I want to be able to live with out electricity. This falls in line with me wanting to be able to survive in the woods, ride a horse, swim, and a lot of other skills.

As far as your specific needs, it is on you.

For me, I find UPSs useful. I don't want to loosea freezer full of food, it costs to much.

Some day I want to be more self sufficient, but HOA, and.......

[Mac5.56]

Sustainable living is something I have a lot of experience in, and know several people that do it with little to no over head (minus time and energy both of which in the modern world mean money). I have worked on several sustainable pieces of property.

Some other things you can look at that are simple to do:

Rain Barrels for roof run off. You can collect enough rain water in these barrels to irrigate a garden that can support a small family (if you live in a farm friendly climate). Also if your house is higher then your garden, you can gravity feed the irrigation line so that no power is needed to move the water.

Can you gravity feed from a water source near by? If so you can actually use the movement of water as an electrical power source if you want to do some basic conversions.

Compost, compost, compost! If this is your first year, you should start now with a two pile compost heap. Every non meat food scrap, mixed with ash from the fire, egg shells, the occasional bone, ext should be added daily to a "hot" pile.

Also

Consider your crops. You are planting high yield crops all of which are "easy" to grow, but all of which fall victim to various natural pests. Do you have a sustainable way to deal with the potential of blight? I can see your entire harvest being whipped out right now in two weeks based off of what you want to plant.

There is a lot that you can do, and while I love to shoot, and I own multiple firearms, if I had your property I would be spending every second of a carbine class on working on my property, and not paying someone to teach me how to shoot. Your a long way from being sustainable, but you are at a good starting point.

[RWBlue]

Consider your crops. You are planting high yield crops all of which are "easy" to grow, but all of which fall victim to various natural pests. Do you have a sustainable way to deal with the potential of blight? I can see your entire harvest being whipped out right now in two weeks based off of what you want to plant.

Irish potato famin?

[Mac5.56]

Irish potato famin?

Well I haven't seen that, but I have seen entire squash gardens whipped out three weeks prior to harvest because of fungal infections. Entire tomato crops destroyed from rain storms, pests, and freak wind. Ext.

I was discussing Barbara's set up with my fiance, including her acreage, and desires. I am really curious if she can provide us with a bit more info, maybe we can offer some crops that may help counter some natural pests, as well as some other ideas. Also the acreage we are looking at in her case could become crowed very quickly if she intends on a large chicken farm, as well as adding in larger animals at any point.

I'd like to see this thread expand more, as I feel it is very relevant to our current world, and the idea of being prepared.