self-sufficiency | Being prepared today

October 18, 2023October 18, 2023

Dangers of power outages and how you can prepare

Numerous sources today predict rolling power outages and shortages of electricity worldwide not to mention disasters or other scenarios in the coming years. The extreme push towards clean renewable energy and away from fossil fuels will only put a strain on this situation. The threat of war and conflict puts strains on economies, so, thankfully there are many options and products to help you Be prepared for these events. Investing in a few things to defend your home and livelihood from power outages will pay off in the long run.

Training your brain to think in terms of preparedness is no easy thing. Try to think about all the situations that could happen and ways to mitigate, then gather supplies and practice putting skills and interests into use. Changing your lifestyle can either be a chore or a growing experience. I personally choose the latter.

Why would power outages happen

Its important to pay attention to what’s going in our societies and culture and as much as some people hate it, like politics, government and local conflicts even. There is a saying: You may not take interest into politics but politics will always take an interest into you. Meaning you need to participate in voicing your opinion and let your representatives know how you feel because if you don’t, others opinions will be the policy makers and become law whether you like it or not.

Tensions are escalating between countries and world superpowers. Everyone’s picking and supporting/supplying sides and issuing warnings to each other. As a result, the reality of an EMP or other devastating attack is becoming more and more likely.

The constant showcasing of bickering and conflict between the two so called political powers in America, the Democrats and Republicans and the crappy policies they propose and pass are destabilizing the economy of today. To top it off, our government seems to want to force us into clean renewable energy without having proper technology in place.

Wind, solar and hydroelectric alone without fossil fuels as a backup, are just flat out unsustainable at this point in time. Technology has not gotten that far. They are mostly unreliable.

With more children being born and people immigrating to the land of the free, the population is increasing and so is the need for housing, electricity and energy.

Dangers from power outages

Lack of electricity or energy has the potential to be devastating to life. Not only in the sense that our advanced medical and research technology would come to a screeching halt but also that exploration technology would cease as well. The systems that control and safeguard Nuclear power plants from failure would go down and all communications too. Water treatment plants would no longer function and provide clean water. But, I digress into worst case scenarios……I think you get the point of this one.

We’ve all seen or had that relative or friends relative that is bed ridden or on life support at home or in the hospital. If that equipment fails from a power outage, even for a few seconds in some cases, it could be devastating. Gas pumps do not work without electricity and neither do ATMs. Damage could occur to some appliances from flickering power and computers are the most susceptible to damage from power outages, surges or flickering energy.

A freezer full of meat or other goods needs to be kept frozen right? Also the central heating and air conditioning in your home would not work. To say the least even creature comforts would be inconvenient. These are just some of the more obvious examples of things that could happen.

Ways to prepare

Thankfully we have not given ourselves over to complete dependence of electricity, so things like candles do still exist! Have a few flashlights stored away too, even cheapies will work in an emergency. Batteries, I think, are an obvious. Gas and/or battery lamps come in handy as well.

Knowing how to can or jar foods for storage and having a sufficient food storage will be invaluable in an extended power outage.

candles/lighting/ batteries for light or radios
have a backup or a way to run your fridge or freezer to keep food for about 48 hrs
alternate power or connection for your furnace/ AC dependent upon season
charging capabilities for phones or computer

There is a pretty handy little trick that I learned of a few months ago. A clay flower pot of decent size flipped open side down and supported over a lit candle can supply a meager amount of heat for a bedroom sized area. There are dangers with this though as you don’t want to use too many candles and get it too hot. You will inadvertantly start a fire.

Some prepared minded people will have their AC and furnaces installed with an option to be able to plug it into a generator. Ya know, just in case. A 2000 watt generator with 2 plug in points is recommended as a minimum size. This will possibly provide enough power to run both your furnace and refrigerator, depending on the size of each.

Sufficient power generation

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Conclusion

Whatever your reason for being prepared, it is a good idea. There are so many skills, techniques and processes that have been lost to history because of technology. Lifestyles and ways of doing things that worked so well for its time. We should not let ourselves become too dependent on electricity and other energies because of complacency. Even the current system can be unreliable at times and if even that is taken from us…..It will be hard times for us indeed.

Thank you for reading. I hope this article was helpful or informative.

If you have any comments, questions or input please do so in the comments.

May 16, 2023May 16, 2023

financial self-sufficiency: how self-sufficiency effects personal finances

Many times people find themselves unprepared for an event that puts a strain on their bank account or ability scrounge up funds to pay for even some basic things. At times like this we think to ourselves “I wish I could do something differently so that I could save some money on this or that”. Learning financial self-sufficiency requires changing one’s thinking and maybe even living habits or daily rituals so that money can be saved, obligations or emergencies covered, stress can be relieved and life lived.

My aim in this article is to help with advice and direction in others’ journey to this destination of financial self-sufficiency through planning, budget, self-control, action, being proactive and thinking ahead.

Defining financial self-sufficiency

Let’s define practical thinking: It is defined as; ways to adapt to your environment or changing your environment to fit you, so that you are able to pursue a goal.

There are a few different ways to define financial self-sufficiency. One way I would define it is changing your financial environment to fit to you and your financial needs, such as not needing a lot of money to have the necessities of life and be happy. Living frugally, keeping your own personal cost of living down and providing as much as you can for yourself such as I have touched on some of these topics in other articles here on Being Prepared Today.

An Entrepreneur is one example of financial self-sufficiency. Finding new ways to actively generate or make money work for them creates Financial self-sufficiency. By doing so, they do not depend on a company, corporation or the government for their well-being or social survival. They are supporting themselves.

Educate yourself on various topics so you have the know-what and know-how to get things done. I have linked here in the picture, a book called The Ultimate Self-Sufficiency Handbook. It will be of immense help in any goal to be educated in certain areas of getting things done for yourself, your family and your self-sufficiency.

Frugal living and penny-pinching can help financial self-sufficiency

Cutting unnecessary spending, eating only home-cooked meals and leftovers as much as possible as well as saving any extra money as often as you can will lead you to this frugal lifestyle that is a staple of financial self-sufficiency and independence.

Growing a garden every year and learning how to store, can and jar foods will save you some money in the long run.

Buy certain non-perishable foods when they’re on sale and have a rotating food or cold storage.

That doesn’t mean to live like you’re broke by any means. It means to live smart, not beyond your means and build a lifestyle that suits you while at the same time having everything you need.

Be debt free – save first spend after. Even if you need to take out a loan or borrow money, pay it off as fast as possible. You will save money on interest by shortening the length of your loan payments.

Set goals or objectives. Take action so that your actions become habits. This is by far one of the most effective moves you can make towards being effectively financially self- sufficient.

Living off the land

This is one that a lot of people think of when the term ‘self-sufficiency’ is spoken. It is also another very effective way towards that goal of independence.

Growing your own food is effective because you not only save money on food from the grocery stores, you know where that food came from and how it was treated. Or rather, not treated with harsh chemicals and poisons. It can be a clean source of wholesome foods for you and your family.

Hunting game and raising animals such as chickens, cattle or pigs provides meat and eggs and usually doesn’t cost outrageously to keep them fed. Nor do you need tons of land to do it. So many people choose to raise Hens in their backyard because of the price of food and eggs inflating to ridiculous heights. Check your local laws concerning this however!

A lot of people here in America are still living off the land as much as possible and an increasing number of people are learning to grow food for themselves. There is a movement happening now, as folks want to be food secure.

Farmers and homesteaders

Homesteaders are ultra efficient in their methods because most have had the traditions passed down in their family for generations. Don’t let that discourage you as you can always learn for yourself and from others!

Food prep for winter is a skill that you can definitely start practicing. Plenty of people still jar and can their own foods from their gardens for winter and even all year ’round use. Pickling and preserves/jams are the most common but you can also do salsa, tomatoes, fruit and pie fillings too. Smoking and curing meats is a skill that some have perfected into an art form. Myself, I love smoking meats and making jerky on my smoker.

There are markets called farmers markets or town markets. Some participate in markets to bring in cash to support the rest of the farm/homestead as outlined below. They produce or craft wares that will be sold at these local farmers market

Small business and entrepreneur

Small businesses support can their lifestyle by selling or bartering surplus of goods, whether grown or handcrafted. Doing the small business thing if you have surplus of items, you will even bring in a bit of extra cash if there is a decent demand for what you are creating.

There are plenty of ways to bring in a supplemental income online as well by e-commerce, drop shipping and even affiliate marketing. This requires some measure of creativity and ambition so check it out and see if you have what it takes! you could open the door to so many possibilities.

financial self-sufficiency — Farmers Market

Families or homesteads will participate in farmers markets, own nurseries for trees and plants as well as buy and sell livestock and animals. They are the backbone of communities and can be the ultimate example of independence and self-sufficiency. A lot of times you will buy products that you never knew were produced by families or small businesses like these.

My Conclusions

This shouldn’t intimidate or overwhelm you or make you think ‘Hillbillie’ or anything like it. If anything you gain an appreciation for the natural cycle of the world and of life in general. You will learn quite a few cool things about self-sufficiency along the way and be knowledgeable in these areas.

There are plenty of other ways to save money and cut back on costs of various things such as biking or walking whenever you can, saving and recycling aluminum and other metals as well as line drying clothes and composting. All these things if done right, will save money and help you provide for yourself and your family. Whatever choices you make, with commitment, a little hard work and forward thinking your path will lead you to the independence you seek.

I hope you have found this article to helpful and informative. If you have any comments, questions or input please do so in the box below.

Thanks.

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November 30, 2022November 30, 2022

Seed banks and seed storages

Collecting seeds is a good hobby. It is even a preparedness skill. Saving for a garden in the near future or saving for hard times to come. Whichever your purpose for saving seeds might be it is a good idea to read up on the storability of each and know what you are doing. Planting a bunk seed is always disappointing. I’ve done it a few times and learned the hard way that seeds only keep for so long and that most have a germination process. From corn to melons to tomatoes, each seed is unique in size and shape. Here are some basics to Seed banks and seed storages.

Storing in your Seed bank

Most seeds may be kept in a plastic Ziploc or similar, however there are some seeds which do require a paper bag or something neutral that will let it breathe. You don’t want your seeds to get moldy. Seeds that are store bought are usually in a paper type of pouch or packaging.

Personally my wife and I keep ours in a shoe box, in bags all labeled because we get a lot of ours from the fruits and veggies we eat. I probably don’t have to explain that one to you. It’s fairly simple. Every spring we go through them all and throw away the shriveled and bad ones and every couple years we start certain seed collections completely over. Be observant and check them out a couple times a year, they are definitely not like food and won’t spoil in the same way.

We have planted bunk seeds quite a few times and we still don’t have it down perfect but we do our best. Persistence and observance is the key. Also, if you buy your gardening seeds that produce foods from a store the package should have full details on what you are planting as well as care for it.

Professional or commercial seed banks store seeds to preserve genetic diversity; hence it is a type of gene bank. Of the many reasons to store seeds, one is to preserve the genes that plant breeders need to increase yield, disease resistance, drought tolerance, nutritional quality, taste, etc. Another is to forestall the loss of genetic diversity in rare or imperiled plant species in an effort to conserve biodiversity.

Many plants that were used centuries ago by humans are used less frequently now and seed banks offer a way to preserve that historical and cultural value.

Location and conditions

Really, seeds prefer a cool dry room or closet to be stored in. A cold storage or concrete room would be the usual suspect and that is where we keep ours, along with most of our canned and dry food storage.

Other kinds of foods have to be seeded by root. Collecting roots and storing them in the proper place is semi crucial too. A root cellar needs to be cool, dark and slightly damp to help keep roots good. Proper packing material for the type of roots stored need observance. For instance, Potato storage containers can range from cardboard boxes to special baskets made of burlap.

Knowing what to plant when…

Most seeds can be planted in the spring but some seeds are picky. Some seeds grow foods that are biennials like cabbage or onions which only seed on the second year. Some have depth requirements such as carrots or beets at a quarter inch compared to spaghetti squash and zucchini at an inch.

The best time to plant all plats is during what’s called a ‘dormant season’. In North America, this is usually late fall through early spring. While it is OK to plant during the rest of the year, It will take a lot more attention and maintenance such as fertilizer and water.

Foods such as zucchini will produce almost all season long while others will take time to grow such as some melons, peppers and Tomatoes producing later in the summer or fall. Most seeds have a specific germination process and others can be varied slightly, so make sure they’re stored properly to get the best results.

Heirloom seeds

Heirloom seeds are seeds that have around a 50-year open pollination. Meaning that they have been growing and reproducing with very little or no human intervention. These seeds are always non GMO and have been growing along a genealogy of the same plant-to-seed line.

Regular store bought seeds, known as hybrid seeds, are usually produced in a greenhouse setting that is specifically designed to harvest seeds.

Heirloom seed vault from My Patriot Supply can help you get a head start on the right seeds you will need and want to start your garden or store away.

Germination prep

The exposure to cold, damp conditions is called seed stratification. It is a process of pre treating seeds in order to simulate natural conditions that a seed would experience in the soil over winter time. There are 2 types of stratification; dry and moist.

Most seeds will need this mock freeze to imitate winter in order to stimulate a germination process. You can put them in the fridge for a week or two to imitate this process before planting in soil. Some seeds require more time than that. You can usually tell which seeds need that cold period before planting because they will have a hard, bony coats that are impervious to water.

Protecting and valuing your seed vault

Having a seed storage of your own gives the sense of self-sufficiency and self-reliance. Knowing how and being able to put those seeds to use growing your own food is an even greater feeling.

Storing for seasonal or yearly use requires maintenance and a little work but pays off in the money you will save and health benefits received from eating garden fresh.

Storing for when and if SHTF? You will definitely be one who has a fighting chance if you are as prepared as you can be and seed storage will help you do just that.

I hope this article was helpful and informative in explaining some basics of seed banks and I hope to help make everyone self-reliant and as prepared as possible.

If you have any questions, comments or input please feel free to comment in the section below.

Tag: self-sufficiency