One Thing Everyday

Many experts will tell you that any goal you have should be worked on everyday.

Preparing for an emergency is no different. The more you work on it the better you will get at it and the more comfortable you will be when the time comes to break out those skills.

You don't have to reserve hours a day to work on it. Just taking a walk around your neighborhood for 5-15 minutes or using commercial breaks between your favorite t.v. show can help immensely with your mental and physical preparations.

Can you identify the "weeds" growing in your yard? Many so called weeds commonly found in yards can be used as food or medicine. Do you have at least one potted herb, fruit or veggie? Do any fruit or nut trees grow in your area that you can gather from? Are you lucky enough to live near a lake, creek or river? If so take time to learn how long it would take you to get to those water sources, gather water and take it back to your home.

Gather materials and learn how to build a small "salad bar" in your home. Lettuces, chards, kales, radishes, small tomatoes, sprouts, carrots, green onions, etc, can all be grown in small spaces, harvested as needed and during an emergency will be like gold when it can be used to break up canned and pre-packaged foods.

Hobbies you can work on during an emergency can help keep you in a better state of mind. Would you like to learn wood carving, knitting, crocheting, simple sewing, HAM radio, herbal identification, etc? All these and more can be done with a little time a day and the internet is a great place for any information you need to help you.

Have you ever thought of dehydrating your own supplies? Or how about learning dehydrating just to help with quicker food prep on a regular basis? During the winter and spring depending on where you live you can use the extra little warmth from the dehydrating process to keep your house warm and thermostat down a few degrees.

You can dehydrate herbs to cook with, cooked beans and rice for a quick dinner next week, eggs and sausage for that upcoming camping trip, fruits and veggies for meals or quick snacks.

Canning something that has your interest? Many things can be canned safely now that was once taboo. Meats, butters, prepared foods like chilies or vegetarian options like tofu can all be canned and saved for future use. If you have a special dish your friends and family know you for you can now make it, can it and give it as a gift to your loved ones.

Research into the things you would like to learn can be done in any chosen amount of time. Keep a notebook with you so you know where you left off and can keep track of questions, answers and locations of information.

If you have access to a printer you can print out the information you need and look over it during commercial breaks, bathroom breaks, lunch breaks, etc. You don't have to buy any books on the subjects but if you do don't be afraid to underline, highlight, dog ear and become thoroughly familiar with it. Look at second hand stores for the books you are interested in. You can sometimes find a 30$ book on a subject for as little as 50 cents.

Don't let a lack of free time hold you back from making a future emergency go as easily as humanly possible. Finding that time during your carpool time to work, bath time, cleaning the yard, etc will pay for itself in no time at all.

Remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

-Bones

https://www.minds.com/LeftOfCenterPrepping