What do I need?

Today I was thinking “What do I need?  The answer is very little compared to what I have.

This brings me to today’s blog.  What is necessary to thrive?  We all need food, water, clothing, and shelter.  After that the list is non-existent.  I went through my house and looked at all the stuff I have.  All of it is useful to one degree or another.  But not all of it is necessary.  I like my hobbies such as knitting, sewing, spinning, and mechanical drawing.   I like that I have two sets of dishes; enough for ten people to sit down for dinner.  I think the most we have had over in the past three years is three people.  And that happened only once.  I have enough crystal glass ware for a bar and way too many books.  I sometime wonder is it possible to have too many books?   But that is another discussion.

When I was much younger could fit everything I owned into a ¼ ton pickup truck and leave without a care.  The last move took a 40 foot trailer and my wife left a lot of stuff behind when she packed up out house back east.  I have found I only missed a few of the things she left back east and then only on occasion.  I am now looking at starting a new career and trying to decide do I need everything in my house and yard?

I believe not.  I want to keep the garden tools and supplies the chain saw for cutting wood and my fiber arts tools and supplies as they are useful for making clothing and generally useful item for the house I would otherwise have to buy.  The shop tools are a good thing to keep. As they let me make some of the garden and greenhouse items that are necessary.  The TV, and half a dozen radios can go.   We rarely watch TV because in my opinion it is nothing more than propaganda and mindless drivel.  Reality TV???  What is this about?  I could go into a several hour-long rant on why TV is a total waste of time. But I will spare you the diatribe.  Radio is only marginally better.  There are stations that play decent music and I enjoy listening to the shortwave radio broadcast from different parts of the world.  During emergencies and natural disasters HAM radio is the best source of information.  I recommend everyone have a SW radio receiver.  A complete HAM radio setup is a good thing but they require more work and money than I feel is justified for me.

In a sustainable lifestyle I believe I need to let go of the unnecessary thing in my life.  If the grid goes down as many are predicting; all electric appliances are useless.  My fancy computer controlled gas oven and stove will be of little use since with no electricity there will be no gas to cook with.  I have an alternative to my stove and oven.  Electric lights will not work and heaters will be useless.  I have alternatives for all of these and I have paper books on various subjects to help my family thrive.  My neighbor across the street has a similar mindset and he prepared for a grid down event.  I cannot say the same for most of my other neighbors and friends.   This November when the doomsayers were predicting the grid will go down as part of Gridex 2013 I took the opportunity to check my stated of preparedness.  We have food, water, and fuel for a fire to heat and cook with.

So now I know I have too much stuff; what to do next?  Lighten the load to what is necessary.  I am looking at what I need:

• Food for two for at least a month.
• Water for two for a month.
• Season appropriate clothing for each person.
• Fuel for cooking and heating.
• Some type of light source (Candles, hurricane lantern, manual crank lantern…)
• Gardening tools and supplies.
• Medical supplies and necessary medicines for two months’ as a suggestion.

This is a very short list.  Now for the “What do I want list”:

• Books and paper for writing.
• Radio for information and entertainment.
• Hobby tools and supplies (mechanical drawing tools, knitting, sewing…  These kinds of hobbies can help thrive for bartering/trading)
• An alternative fuel vehicle for transportation; a pedal bike for getting around town.
• A couple of decks of cards or other portable games for entertainment purposes.
• For children you will want some favorite toy or stuffed animal to help them with anxiety.

There are many other things people will want to have.  This is just a short list of nice to have items.  Everyone will want to define their own needs and nice to have list.  Your location and time of the year will determine what you need to thrive.  I’m certain you will not need a heavy parka in Kansas in July.  You will need it in December.

I bring up these things so you can think about what you need and what you can walk away from if necessary.  Many people are acting as the proverbial ostrich and putting their head in the sand saying “It will never happen.”   I have found in my life whenever I have used a universally declarative statement the universe had taken a great pleasure in making me eat my words.  So I try to not use words such as always, never, everybody, and nobody.  I realize I have used this type of statement here in my blog.  I am certain one day the universe will conspire to make me eat these words also.  Till then I will wait and see.  The world is in a constant state of flux; changing to meet the current situation.  We as a race need to adapt to the changes so we can thrive.

In the end of the 1800’s people did not need cars and advanced communications equipment such as cell phones and WI-Fi enable computers.  They did not exist. People relied on each other and they talked to one another in person.  People now will send a text to a person in the same room.  Or they will email someone in the next office.  Whatever happened to talking to each other?  People do not need high-tech toys; we like having them and they are convenient.  We need to move forward to a state where we can rely on ourselves and our neighbors and not on a distant government.  The neighborhoods that band together and have everyone pull their own weight so to speak, by sharing resources and skills will be the ones that thrive.  I do not know when a situation will occur.  I just believe it will; as it has happened over and over in human history.  Many civilization have started grown and withered away over the millennium.  They all believed they would last forever.  Nothing last forever.

To close I hope we all thrive in the uncertain time ahead.  Rome lasted for nearly a thousand years with bread and circuses for the citizens.  We have the internet and mass-media entertainment.  They are very similar; they both distract us from the real problems.  We are facing many new and unprecedented challenges.  Never before have we had so many global challenges at one time.  It will all come down to each of us choosing to be ready and then acting on that choice.  As for me and my family we have chosen to look ahead and be ready not in fear but in hope.  We hope for a better world in the future and prepare for a time of change.  It is what I believe we all need to do as responsible citizen and members of the global community.  Plant a tree and then tend a garden.  These are two of the best therapies I know.

What If’s in Life

Today I was thinking about where I have lived and where I would like to live. I have lived in many parts of the world. The U.S. Asia, and Europe. All of them had something to recommend themselves. NYC, San Francisco, L.A., Washington DC, Baltimore, and Boston to mention just a few. Were all good at the time. Now I live in a medium-sized town in the South West. There are many thing I miss on the Coasts. The Diversity of the people of the large cities was great. As a friend said in Washington D.C. “Every time there is a new war or Natural Disaster DC gets a new Restaurant.” It was true. We ate many different types of food.

But now I am glad we are away from the large cities and the Megalopolis of the East Coast. NYC and L.A. are two places I am glad I left. They are death traps by any estimations. There is no way for the majority of the populace to get away from either city in the event of an emergency. To make this point I have a personal event that happened back in 1998. I was in Manhattan and wanting to leave for Philadelphia after a long week. Someone dropped a box off of their vehicle in the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. The brave men and women of the Police and Fire department closed the tunnel. It took several hours to decide the box was harmless and it was just an accident. The bad part of this is traffic grid locked up to the Holland Tunnel. A trip that should have taken only a few minutes lasted for several hours. I saw many vehicles run out of gas and add to the problems. People were getting frustrated and very angry. I learned a few new words that summer night.

So if there is a major event such as a prolonged power outage or the main water pipe to the island breaks many people would not be able to get off the island. L.A. is just as bad the road are not able to handle all the people trying to exit the valley at the same time. Last time I was in L.A. the traffic jam reports started at 2:00 pm. They lasted till past 7:00 pm. The first day I asked if there was a special reason for the report so early in the day. My co-worker said it is the normal time for the reports to start.

I am not proposing any conspiracy theory or enemy attack just a thought. What will happen when there is another Coronal Mass Ejection similar to the one in 1859 that melted the telegraph wires in the US and Europe? It is only a matter of time before this very natural and unpredictable event will happen again. With many of our basic services dependent on computers; how are we going to manage the nuclear power plants with the computers permanently offline? Fukushima and Chernobyl are just a precursor to a global level nuclear power plant meltdown.

If you are in a major population center with limited resources such as food fresh water and heating fuel you and just about everyone else will be wanting to leave to a safer place. We moved away from Philadelphia to the more sedate South West. It is a healthier lifestyle where we can ride our bikes or walk to work. There are the mountains for recreation and providing water and food. The Great Plains are east of us; Nebraska or Kansas are a few hours drive from us where there are large farms and areas that are still growing food. The mountains provide food if you know where to look foraging, fishing and hunting are still possible in the mountains. I prefer to do my foraging in the foot hills and around town. When a major event happens there will be too many people in the forest and mountains for my comfort. This is also true for large cities. Many people struggling for the limited resources. There is a lot of food available if you know where to look and what to look for. I spend a lot of time improving my foraging skills and finding better low and no tech ways to thrive.

I would urge everyone who is reading this blog to consider; “What will I do in a prolonged emergency?” My wife was correct when she convinced me to leave the East coast for the South West. We left a year before Super Storm Sandy hit the East Coast. I have many unprepared friends back east caught flat-footed. They had a day or two of food and no stored water. A couple of batteries for the flashlight. Some of them were out of electricity for more than two weeks. Many homes flooded and one of my friends had a generator. The problem was it was under three feet of water in the middle of the storm. Many believed the outages would only last for a few hours. They did not put aside any food or water nor did they have an alternative means to cook food or heat their homes.  There are those who did prepare and still had problems such as my friend with the submerged generator. There were more people who just did not believe it can happen to me. Too many people suffered needlessly. All it would have taken was a little forethought and planning. Every month put aside some non-perishable foods and a buy a few buckets with lids for water and storage of dry goods such as flour, rice, and beans. Granted these are not the tastiest meals but when you are hungry a bowl of rice could be considered a feast.

As with my friend bad luck happens and no matter how well you plan something can go wrong. Murphy’s Law stated it best “If anything can go wrong it will and usually at the worst possible time.” O’Tools commentary is also true “Murphy was an optimist.” He said only one thing will go wrong. It is best to have at least one back up plan in the event the original plan is untenable. I like several options I have made friends throughout the area and have options of where to go and what I can do to thrive in an unpleasant event. In the Army we knew the first casualty of any engagement was the Battle Plan. So a second or even a third fall back plan is something to consider. Don’t over think the issue. A major plan and a backup are all you really need. Keep some basic resources on hand such as money, medicines, food, and water. You and your family will most likely be fine and weather the storm; whatever its cause.

As I have said before Barter will be the continuing economic model. You will need either commodities or in demand skills to trade for what you need and are not able to make or grow. Many people today barter skills and services. It will be very important to learn or refine skills and maybe start a garden. During both World Wars it was your patriotic duty to grow a victory garden. The reasoning was simple if you could feed yourself the major farms could grow food for the soldiers, marines, and sailors who are not able to tend a garden. I have two greenhouses in my back yard that extend the growing season up to 10 months in the year. I will be able to start putting out plants at the middle of February where last year I had to wait till the end of March and into April. My tomatoes and peppers will be out in the middle of March. Which means I will have garden fresh tomatoes in June. This is the best way to provide food for my family. Heirloom seeds and lots of love and attention.

To close, living in a less populated area where there are more natural resources is in my opinion the best option. I realize it is not possible for everyone. Being ready for a week of no electricity is something you can do. Look at how much your family eats and drinks in a week. Over time you can stock up on non-perishable food stocks. Canned food is not the best as the canning process cooks the food  to death. There is very little nutrition left in a can of vegetable. But they will help satisfy you hunger and give some calories to keep going. Stocking up on grains such as millet, oats, quinoa, rice, beans, and a week’s worth of water are something everyone can do to prepare. They are also great trading commodities. Have a few hurricane lanterns and oil ready and flashlights with fresh batteries. I keep my batteries in a cool closet so they stay fresh longer. Do not keep them in the flashlight as they will go dead. A radio with a battery or manual charging crank for official information is a good item to have. Shortwave radio receives are great as the ham radio operators pass information very quickly and in my experience provide valuable information on resources and where to go for help. The government cannot always be where you need them. So the ham radio operators pitch in to help where they can. To live a sustainable life you must think ahead and plan for the “what if’s” in life. An alternative way to cook other than the microwave is also a good idea.