Preparedness has gained a lot of attention and a whole new meaning in 2020. First, everyone got hit with the threat of infection. Next, a lot of supplies which some households stock regularly, while others buy as needed, went out of stock in the stores causing further panic. Next came civil unrest because folks could not seem to obey simple instructions and suddenly the bad guys became saints and poor victims, but I digress. Altogether, I have to be honest – I’m waiting now for a threat of a meteorite strike or an alien invasion! It seems that in 2020 anything is possible!
With any and all threats, for years there have been groups of folks who had a plan and those who got caught unprepared. For some folks the plan is to get the heck out of Dodge, while for others it is to shelter in place and build bunkers or bunker-like structures. What is often overlooked by those who are ready to bug out, is that leaving is not always an option as your way out might be blocked by fires, protests, quarantine, or some other factor that is beyond your control. Additionally, if you planned to bug out, but have a family member that is sick and can’t be moved for a time or maybe is making his or her way back home to bug out with the group, you might have to wait things out. What do you do then?
Since March 2020, people including myself have experienced an array of problems starting from toilet paper shortage down to meat shortage. Coming from a formerly communist country, I have to say that I have lived a much worse version of it as a kid and while it was very inconvenient, it was not the end of the world. I recall being 6 years old and standing in line to the butcher shop with my mom, hoping that by the time our turn comes, there will be something left to buy. I remember abandoning all planned activities and getting in line to purchase toilet paper because there was a delivery made. We were hoping that more would be sold over the counter to customers then through the back to the friends and families of the store employees. Seems very similar to what we have experienced in the first half of 2020. So what’s different this time around?
Under the communist rule, the issue was poor planning, poor management of delivery routes and the fact that quality products were sold elsewhere (Soviet Union or the Western Nations) and the citizens were left with poor quality products or with nothing at all. It taught me how to plan for the future. Now I live in the United States and going shopping has not been much of an issue, but I do live in California, the earthquake capitol of the United States. This means that I have to be prepared any day of the year for a breakdown in supply infrastructure. WIth that in mind, I have always made sure that we had at least a month of food supplies and about one week of drinking water supplies with the ability to purify our own water, as needed. Add to that two generators for power, reasonable fuel supply, firewood and charcoal for the grill and the smoker, propane canisters for the portable stoves – I believe that we would do pretty good if push came to shove. If needed, we could make the supplies probably stretch beyond a month.Continue reading“Hardening Your House, by R.R.”
