With so much to prepare for, where do I start?

When I decided that I needed to take our family's preparedness seriously, I began to get overwhelmed. When you think of all that can go wrong and how much stuff you need to get ready for every scenario, it really is quite intimidating.

Then I read a great post on the Survival Cache blog. You can read it here, and I suggest that you do, but the gist of it is that you should divide your preparedness planning into phases. First prepare for emergencies that are of short duration. An example of that is a chemical spill near your house that requires you to quickly evacuate your family until the danger is past. Or maybe there is a heavy snow storm and you have to make do with what you have on hand for a few days. Once you have that taken care of, you should gradually move on to preparing for emergencies of longer and longer duration until you are prepared for true long-term survival. The Survival Cache guys came up with this clever visual illustration of the concept like the food pyramid:

With this in mind (and some tweeking of my own), I have made a tentative plan for the next year. I've budgeted about $300 towards each month's preparedness purchases. This will take us a long way towards my goal of preparing our family for whatever may come.

Go visit The Survival Cache site! It's got tons of great information that even a newbie like myself can understand.

Coming Soon: My Month One Preps

Prepping and History

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

- George Santayana

I don't know who George Santayana is or was, but he sure gets quoted often. The reason for that, of course is that George Santayana was right.

I think history is fascinating and have studied it much of my life but it wasn't until recently that I started thinking about the implications of history when it comes to prepping.

One thing I've been ruminating on is the fact that there is not one civilization that has managed to prosper throughout the entire scope of human history. The Sumerians, Babylonians, Persians, Ancient Egyptians, Romans? All Gone. Every other ancient or even more recent civilization or empire that you ever learned about in history class? Toast. Parts of the cultures may remain, but through wars (international or civil), famine, plague, natural disaster, social strife or whatnot, there is not one civilization that remains unscathed. You maybe could make a case for the Chinese, who have many years of history. Chairman Mao and the Communist Revolution created enough upheaval, however, that I think you can count them out as well.

Our own country is young. Our 200+ years of history still qualifies us as the new kid on the block. For the moment we are dominant, but how long will that last? I am not arrogant enough to assume that the fate that befell those who came before us will not happen to us.

Today I was flipping through the channels and stopped at a show called "The Plague" on the History Channel. It was about the bubonic plague that ravaged much of the known world during the 1300s. Not only did it kill off a huge number of people (I've read estimates of anywhere between 25-50% of the population of Europe died), but it also had a lingering effect on the people who lived through it. Tremendous social upheaval followed. Because of the scarcity of workers, many former upper crust people - nobles, clergy and the like - were forced to work their own fields. Predictable pitiful results followed. Some turned away from agriculture and instead decided to make their living by stealing from others, which was always a popular pastime in the Middle Ages.

Hundreds of years may have passed since The Plague, but our society remains vulnerable to a similar situation. Today we are so dependent on technology and removed from making our living off the land that if we had to start our civilization back over at zero, most of us would not make it. The average American simply does not have the skill set needed to survive. If we listen to the lesson of history, we'll recognize we need to change.

It's not a matter of IF it will happen. It's a matter of WHAT will happen WHEN.

Questions from a child

We got a delivery from Fed-Ex this morning that included many of the elements that are going into our bug out bags (more on those in a future post). My oldest child, The Thinker, was confused.

"Mom, if you and Dad have been married such a long time, why are you just now getting this emergency stuff? Shouldn't you have all of this already?"

I had to answer honestly - we hadn't really thought about being prepared for emergencies until recently. Hopefully prepping will become such an ingrained part of our family culture that when our children go off on their own they will naturally do it. They shouldn't be married for over a decade before they get their act together.

Off to make our bug out bags...

What is Prepping?

Prepping is taking the Boy Scout motto of "Be Prepared" and running with it. The ultimate prepper is one who will be able to respond to and survive in any of a number of situations - earthquake, hurricane, economic meltdown, terrorist attack, etc. In other words, when the you-know-what hits the fan (SHTF, an acronym you'll see a lot on Prepper sites. Also, TEOTWAWKI - the end of the world as we know it), Preppers will be prepared. Everybody else will have to rely on the Federal government. Ask the people of New Orleans how well that works out.

A prepper should not just have a bunch of camping equipment "just in case". Most preppers that I have read about think that survival knowledge is just as important as the having right kind of gear.

How is this different from being a "survivalist"? My understanding of the difference has to do with the extreme measures survivalists usually take. Whereas most preppers blend into society, survivalists tend to make preparedness their complete lifestyle with living off the grid the goal. I'm sure that is pretty simplistic and a matter of debate, but that's how I understand the difference.


Why am I prepping?

I hadn't really thought much about emergency preparedness until late in my fourth pregnancy when I felt the urge to prepare my family for... something. Nothing in particular sparked my concern, I just felt the nudge to prepare. Maybe it was pregnancy hormones, but I tend to think it was the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I have a family that I love dearly and four little souls that depend entirely upon the care that Hubby Dear and I give them. My house and vehicles are valuable, therefore I insure them. It is unlikely that my house will be consumed in a fire or that my car will be totalled in an accident, but I have the insurance on standby so that I can replace them if the unthinkable occurs. How much more precious are the lives of my children? Why would I not do all that I can to insure those lives?

Preparedness seems daunting and there is a lot I have to learn, but I am slowly taking the measures I need to prepare my family for what the future may hold.

Who is "The Harried Homemaker"?

Who am I?

My name is Emily. I live in the Midwest with Hubby Dear and four children ranging in age from early elementary school to infant. I have earned the title "harried" the hard way. I not only take care of the business of our home, but I also homeschool our children, one of whom has special needs.

I started this blog because I recently started "prepping" and want to blog about it. (Duh!) ;)

I already have another blog where I discuss the events going on in my crazy family, but I decided to start this anonymous one just about prepping. Why is that, you might ask? Well, one good reason is that many more experienced preppers say it is best not to advertise the fact that you prepare to the public at large. I think that is wise advice. If there is ever a situation where SHTF (more about that later), the low-life scum who know you have a large amount of survival goods might decide to come and forcibly take it away from you. If you don't think that will happen in a SHTF scenario, where have you been recently?

The other reason I have chosen to remain anonymous on this blog is because when it comes to matters of survival, I am completely helpless. Those near and dear to me are very aware of that and would be in complete disbelief that I have decided to get into prepping. Quite honestly, I don't care to hear their opinions on the subject.

I am more known for my academic bent rather than my physical prowess. My midsection closely resembles a marshmallow. I've given birth to four children, don'tcha know! I freak out at the thought of having a mouse, much less a deadly weapon like a shotgun, in my house. I also think air conditioning and Diet Coke are necessities of life. But I'm determined to change my wimpiness and this blog will chronicle the journey.

Exactly what is "Prepping" and why am I doing it?

That is the subject for my next entry.