Another Great Preparedness Post

I wonder how they are doing in Japan? She isn't in the news much these days.

The disaster in Japan threw me for an emotional loop. I was heartsick for the people whose homes were destroyed by the Tsunami. For months afterward I found it difficult to write about the small details of my life, things that used to be fun to post about. Time and prayer has begun to heal that wound. Today I look at my life and wonder how far have I come in an effort to know how to live if a disaster strikes my land. The Dervaes, who just happen to write one of my favorite blogs, have posted their effort to date.

http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/2011/11/03/being-prepared/

Their post includes a series of questions to consider.

Weather: Could you tell / forecast the weather without the weatherman?

Medicine: Can you take care of your family without pharmaceutical drugs?

Water: Can you store water or do you know of a water source nearby? Could you filter the natural water source for safety, to make it palatable?

Security: Interesting subject, of course, and makes for very heated discussions.

Fuel/Energy: Could you function without it? Cook, clean, wash without modern appliances?

Food: Having a stockpile is good but think about long term - after the food runs out, could you grow or be able to get local foods?

Currency: Focus on alternative currency options... think beyond gold, can you barter goods or services?

Communications: You are cut off. No cell phones, no computers, now what?

Sanitation: What to do with trash and human waste?

Glancing at this list I can see that I have spent most of my preparedness time on my garden and hen house. Even so I am still not saving a lot of my own seed. Most of my vegetable seed is grown somewhere else. My 2nd food issue is that I have not put up any food this year because of the glass top stove we bought. This is a huge issue that we did not really think about when we were seduced by the pretty new stove. I am also uncertain how I would keep my chickens well fed so that they could feed us.

My guys have firearms, we have small dogs, otherwise security is something we depend upon YHVH for. He did not stop my car from being stolen but he has shown me how to live happily without it. The guys also take care of communication to some degree. Both trucks have C.B. radios. We do not have one at home. In addition, Chris has a shortwave. I have made a decision to not raise carrier pigeons. On a more serious note, we used to talk about where we would meet if communication was cut off if we were separated but that conversation was nearly a year ago.

This could get real boring real fast. I know about herbal medicine, where to find wild herbs, how to grow many other herbs. I do not know what to do with trash if the garbage is not being picked up or the toilet will not flush. If there is no fuel for the burb, I don't know how to get about. I have a small bike but I'm not very strong on hills. We used to think that we could keep toilet paper and cigarettes for barter, but that was before our son became a chain smoker. We cannot keep halloween candy in the house, how would we keep cigarettes?