Thursday, December 30, 2010

2010 Preps in Review and 2011 Goals

I can't believe how quickly 2010 went by. I thought it would be interesting to evaluate my prepping progress over five areas.

INFORMATION:
  • I probably made the most progress in this area. I had zero knowledge of or interest in preparedness at the start of the year. Now I have read on the subject extensively and I feel comfortable with many of the most important preparedness areas. I feel confident in my knowledge of food storage, but not so much in areas like defense and alternative energy.
  • I made efforts to preserve my newly gained information. I have an enormous preparedness binder with lots of information printed off and organized. I collected numerous food storage and garden vegetable recipes and have another binder for that.  
  • Hubby Dear backed up our computer on SOS Online Backup. We also have several flashdrives with important items copied onto them.
  • I made an emergency binder with essential documents for our bug out bags (BOBs).
Speaking of bugging out...

SURVIVAL ESSENTIALS:
WATER AND FOOD:

FIRST AID/HEALTH AND HYGIENE:
  • We have first aid kits in several different places, from my purse to our BOBs.
  • We stocked up on items useful in a pandemic, such as N-95 masks and nitrile gloves. I've already been very glad to have the gloves on hand (no pun intended) during our family's bout with stomach flu over Christmas.
  • We've begun to stockpile toilet paper and OTC medications.
That's quite a bit accomplished in seven short months.

My Goals for 2011:
  1. Get a full year's worth of food storage.
  2. Buy an electric grain mill (finally).
  3. Continue to develop our gardening skills. We're converting our vegetable garden to a square foot garden. Hopefully we'll get enough cherries, raspberries, and blackberries to can and freeze this year.
  4. Can a wide variety of garden produce.
  5. Further develop our water storage and purification abilities. This could include: getting a Berkey filter, storing pool shock, mapping out nearby natural water sources, and installing rain barrels.
  6. Deepen our store of first aid/medical supplies.
  7. Lose weight and get in shape - both Hubby Dear and I.
And finally...

    8.    Start saving towards our home renovation that will include the installation of a woodstove.

Whew! That sounds like a lot. Hopefully we can accomplish all of these.

How have your preps come along in 2010? Do you have any big plans for 2011?  

2 comments:

  1. Well you have 12 months, so I bet you will. It takes a well thought-out plan to succeed and you have one!

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  2. Several months ago, I was like you at the beginning of 2010 and clueless about preparedness. Your blog has been a huge source of encouragement and education. I got a pressure canner today and will be canning some ground beef. We have the same goals for 2011, but I'd also like to learn how to properly use firearms and purchase a handgun and rifle.

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