E-Mail 'Prepping and Practical Minimalism- Making Them Coexist- Part 2, by FLSnappyTurtle' To A Friend

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1. Another great and mindful article, thank you. Like many, I went insane when I started this journey. My Spouse thought I did too, and did not see things the same way. We know we are moving at one more time, and while I have at least one month’s food supply, plus other stuff, I have looked things over and tweak as needed. At present mine fit in one big tub and three 5-gallon totes. All the extra BBBs are in other locations, but close at hand.

2. Great article that brings a unique perspective not often found on survival sites.

   I’m also in the same mindset and have been pairing down my items the last few years as well. It is possible to strike a balance between prepping and minimalism.

   One tip that works well for me with clothing is if I buy something new I force myself to donate an existing item. So if I like a new t-shirt enough to spend money on it, it means I like it more than something I already own so make myself donate the old one. If you do things like that it will help prevent you from ending up with a closet of stuff and also donating to someone in need.

3. The power of 3 is an excellent way to downsize. I have been slowly getting rid of excess clothing and other things. At age 74 it’s time to employ the power of 3 to make live easier. Great article. Thanks.

4. I understand the articles minimalist concept but cannot get aboard, If your are forced to do this due to space considerations fine, if not and you believe in a long term scenario you still have to eat and food for a year or two takes up a lot of room. Minimalism sounds to me like the “Tiny House” mind set. Personally I would find another place to live that allows me to store the items that we will need in the event of an event, running out of food and begging for a meal isn’t going to work in the long run. As a grandpa I still believe that I have duties as the eldest member of the family that include protecting my family. Although I sometimes wish I phones and computer games were edible, that would help with food storage. At least they will know about a disaster sooner than I and can commence running around like chicken little.

   1. Joe, I felt the same way at first. But then I thought back to when I was young, as in college & in my 20s -moving from apartment to apartment, & renting a room while in grad school. There are other times when one may be forced to downsize, as in after a divorce or when your job is “downsized” & your new job pays less. So believe this article has some merit.

5. My parents and my family were military and we moved every 2 or 3 years for most of my life. While moving keeps the collections at a minimum, we had two sets of every essential household item…vacuum cleaners, brooms, dishes, pots and pans, sheets, blankets, pillows, etc., etc. One set was shipped in the household goods to our next assignment and one set went into storage for when we moved to the next new area. When I finally retired and swore never to move again, I had an estate sale and sold more than half of everything I owned. BUT, this did not include my preps, because, if you don’t have it when an emergency/economic/grid/crash or other SHTF event(s) occur, you won’t be able to get it. (Think: One Second After…)

6. Well i am certainly not a minimalist but i have implemented some ideas of removing clutter. One idea i read about is taking a good picture of things you love and don’t use but want to remember, like the poster mentioned. You can then donate or get tid of it but the memory won’t be forgotten. And photos take up much less space it s a good thing your wife is on board with you.

7. Great article, but I question the 5 books for your child. This will change dramatically when the home schooling kicks in. I know you can get most everything on line nowadays, but it’s seriously unhealthy for them to stair at a screen all-day.
   Our library at the homestead has no less than 2500 volumes, plus no go for the computers when the powers out. Most peppers plan for grid down events when you can no longer buy sell or trade. This would mean having access to items that may not be available anymore, to us this is our “money in the bank”. I do fantasize about living with less. And my wife and I have lived in everything from small boats to semi truck cabs for extended periods, so less was more in those situations. Right now we are in the, as JWR states ” two is one and one is none mode”. And storing up allows for us a bit of security if times get tough. We can always sell items to get by, so there’s value in that.
   I hope one of those five books yours child posses is a Bible. Most importantly we need to stand on God’s word as to how we are to prep and take care of the family. We pray you find a suitable piece of land and that you go forth and continue to multiply your flock. Bless you and keep on writing.
   Patrick

   1. I have to agree with Patrick. As a parent we tended to save too much stuff but as grandparents I am seeing the wisdom of downsizing most everything….but with one exception to the 5 book idea for kids. Kids gain a whole lot from reading….and not from a screen. 5 books even for one toddler really limlts what you can read to them. Wait til you have more…..I recently got rid of a lot of our adult and kid books but we still probably have 20-30 kid books left that our grandkids love. At least 200or more adult books that we may read Again. Otherwise great article!

      1. Not to pile on, but I have to agree about the books. Everything else sounded great, but that had me scratching my head. We read 3 to 5 books to our kids every night. That would get old real quick for them. You don’t even have to spend a lot of money. You can get used children’s books for $1 or less at used book stores, libraries and garage sales. You can never have too many books. Also, if you ever DO need those preps because shtf, you’ll need to keep the little one busy.

8. “rule of three”

   (laugh) does this apply to guns too?

   (yes, I can hear all of you screaming “NOOOOO!” like darth vader ….)

9. “minimalism”

   luke 12:33, 14:33 – “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.” – “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

10. As usual, what this looks like in practice is different for every family. Donating the kiddo clothing after they have grown up and outgrown it, etc. Keeping up with this on a regular basis will prevent the dreaded “purges” later on.

    While our family parameters are slightly different this article makes some excellent points.

11. This article roused my curiosity, and I did a bit of research on the Missouri Self Defense Force (MDSF). Apparently the Governor approved a plan to stand up a modern version of a State Guard, with the initial core coming from the Missouri National Guard, followed by recruiting from general veterans, and finally opening up to the general public. Since an internet search didn’t return any news about recruiting for the MSDF, nor any MSDF activities, I assume the plan accomplished its purpose of strangling the State Guard in the cradle by giving it to the National Guard to implement.

    That search did reveal a non-authorized militia, the Missouri Defense Force which at least has a website and sufficient uniformed members to post lots of photos on their facebook site. But since there are no links to either the Missouri Adjutant General or other official State website, I assume this is an unofficial militia.

    Does anyone have information on that?

12. Great perspective and article. Another thing to consider is that most of what is gotten rid of are not preps, but other clutter. Having a more organized household means it is easier to find your preps and hit the road in a hurry if you need to bug out. Let’s face it, the most likely SHTF for most of us will be relatively personal, local, or regional – fire, flood, wind, chemical spill, or other disaster. The less you leave behind, the less you have lost. Intelligently minimizing your possessions means you spent less and saved more. Barring total economic collapse, in most cases, money is the best prep, once you have survived the initial event.

13. I must assume the author does not have a large family or many friends! Simplification has helped me with both storage and rotation, but I still have multiples of everything that may be needed!

    I no longer keep multiple types of the same thing. Defense has been reduced to deep inventory of a few calibers and the tools to go with them. Food is basic ingredients that can be combined in many ways.

    Clutter was controlled by building proper storage and using standard sized containers that are properly labeled. They stack easier and take up less space!

    The author may not care about family legacy, but next generations may not feel that way. I would hate to think, that I would never have touched my great grandfathers tools or Bible, because someone considered them clutter.

    Proverbs 13:22

14. May not apply to the younger folks, but I once ‘cleaned out’ my home of percieved nonessentials.
    This mostly included worn out clothes, toys, comic books, childrens’ books, and musical instruments. Most of it was trashed!
    Some of your childrens’ toys may be worth beaucoup bucks on today’s market. Check before you toss. I tossed a Nintendo 64, game boys, and many games. (some still in original packaging, also 60’s ball cards) I’m still berating myself! 🙁

15. My step-father used to chide me continuously to throw out anything I hadn’t used in the past year. He drove me crazy with the constant bickering. I have a large workshop. More than a year or even two might transpire before I need to break out the oxy-acetylene torch or use the rotary table on my milling machine. Or for that matter, I might only use the 7/16″ or 5/8″ sockets this year (probably more than that, but you get my point). No, I’m not going to discard all of the unused tooling. In fact, I’m usually looking for additional tools for some specialty task or just to make life a little easier.

    I don’t make a living with my tools or the VERY large collection of supplies like raw materials and hardware. But I could. I can fix just about anything and can run my shop on my home-engineered solar power system.

    I’m sorry, but I’m not getting rid of any of it.

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