Don’t let the name of my blog fool you. I’m not a full-time dreamer. I am very goal oriented, do what I have to, to get where I want in life. In the next few years, while I’m living in a new location, close to where my son goes to high school, I will be learning new skills, (work skills and personal skills) to take my life and career mobile. I’d like to be able to travel and make money while doing it. Whether in a hotel, staying in an apartment for part of the year, or start prepping and off-grid living.
This will include learning anything from Coding and web design to archery and shooting a gun. I have a lot to learn, and I understand that! I have skills currently that I’m using and will be sharing with others as well. However, this post is more about prepping and off-grid living.
Courtesy of offthegridnews.com
I don’t want to be someone who is not prepared for what may come at us. There are a number of things, that we should be ready for if you start your process of prepping and off-grid living, such as:
- Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) – This could happen at any time if another country who has the capability to attack the U.S. This event will shut down anything electronic. Cellphones, Car, Airplanes. This could be one of the most disastrous events as we, as a society, are so dependent on anything electronic.
- Financial Collapse of our country – Look at what happened to Greece recently. The U.S. has gone through several recessions. What is to say the next one, we will recover from.
- Natural Disaster – Earthquakes, Asteroid hitting earth, Tsunami, Hurricanes/Tornadoes.
These three are the most likely to occur in my lifetime. My son, who is 15, just shakes his head when I buy something new for this possible future of ours. I tell him that it doesn’t hurt to be prepared and casually bringing some teachings into our conversations.
This seems to be a very popular topic lately as more and more people are becoming more aware of what could happen. I’ve read One Second After recently and am getting ready to read One Year After: A Novel
Now, I’m not one of those who has YEARS of food ready if something were to happen. Heck, I don’t have a lot of tools that I know I will need if our lifestyle were to change. I am slowly building this up. I’m not rich. I’m not going to go crazy and spend all my money on this. Why? Because I also know that we have to live in the here and now.
Recently, in my efforts of getting prepared, I’ve bought the following:
- LifeStraw Personal Water Filter
- Emergency Mylar Thermal Blankets (Pack of 10)
- Mountain House Breakfast Skillet Wrap (1 Pouch)
These are just a few things I’ve bought to place in my 5 gallon bucket. I’ve bought enough to put in the bucket for myself and my son’s. Some of the items that are overlooked are fun things. You need your morale during rough times! I’ve included playing cards as well as chocolate in my buckets. Included is also glow sticks. For the stay at home emergencies, make sure to have water stocked up. It is best to have one gallon of water per person, per day. Protein bars are very important, as are medications.
If you have daily medications that you need to take, make sure you try to put some aside. I have hypothyroidism. So, I do take a daily pill. There are times I do not take them every day, so, I’ll estimate what I may have missed, put them in another pill bottle and keep them in my fire box. Every three months, I’ll change them out with fresh pills.
I also have a bug out bag. A backpack that holds pretty much the same items in my 5-gallon buckets. The bags will be easier to grab and go if we have to leave in a hurry. The next thing on my list is a bike. This is because, in the event of the EMP, my 2014 car is not going to cut it. My son has a bike at his father’s, but, I’ll need one. I plan to start riding it and building up my stamina.
That leads to another topic. Your energy. I know that I have a few pounds to lose. Okay, if I’m being honest, more than a few pounds. I’ll be doing this with walking, biking and other forms of exercise. Being fit is pretty important if you have to survive a new life on the move if you have to get out of your area.
In the case of the financial collapse of our country, I also have cash stashed in different locations. Not just the bank, but, none in my home. That’s just asking for trouble! Realistically speaking, I know that the money I have put aside will vary. Vacations come up as do emergencies. An example is my daughter needing braces. My half, as my son’s father and I split his costs, is almost $2,000. Another example, during the sale of my home, my neighbor was selling his home as well. We had to share the cost of replacing the steps in front of our homes. So, having that money put aside was a blessing!
Emergencies come in different forms. Being prepared for a week of power outages is just as important as being prepared for a long term life altering emergency.
So, this is just some of what I’ve done to be prepared for certain types of emergencies. What have you done to with your family in prepping and off-grid living. Or, do you think this is something that will never happen in your lifetime?
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