Trio of Helpful Books

When this study of Permaculture, Urban Gardening, small homes, emergency Preparedness started, for me, I had not read much about these subjects and had no reference books. Now, we have DVD's, web resources and many books (hard copy and digital format) that we often refer to. So I thought it might be useful to share some of the resources that have been helpful.

The three books that I have turned to repeatedly are Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen,  Preparedness Now! by Aton Edwards and When there is no Doctor by Gerard S. Doyle, MD. The Urban Homestead book is a great reference for practical skills in an urban garden environment. It covers basics - garden beds, to rainwater to raising small livestock, etc.  The emergency preparedness book breaks down all of the possible crisis that could happen and what would be needed for each to keep your family safe and out of harm's way. The third book goes into taking care of general injuries and ailments should there be a situation (whether hiking, camping or war) where a doctor may not be readily available. One of the things that you have to take into account with all three of these books, is that they cover EVERY possible scenario, and some of it was difficult for me to read and think about, but in the day to day of life, most of the topics will not be necessary.

My thinking is that if you look at the worst case scenario and understand what may be required in that situation, and then plan for your specific family and location and the situation most likely to occur for you (for instance, we are most likely to have a blizzard, hurricane or tornado) then, no matter what happens, you will not be in a panic mode when day to day things occur.

It seems extreme to think of food shortages, gas shortages, water shortages, drought, etc., but in the past two years we have experienced all of these things in our country, and specifically the East Coast and New England have been repeatedly in need of help.

I don't plan to do surgery on anyone I know, but if we are out hiking and one of us falls and get a serious wound of some sort, I would like to know that I will be able to bandage it and act correctly to minimize the trauma and get to the hospital.

I don't plan to be without running water or electricity, but both of these things have happened unexpectedly in the past few months - a main water break in the city shut water off for all of us and then brought the possibility of contamination. There isn't any need to panic if you have a couple of  24 packs of bottled water on hand - most of us have this anyway.

Think through your day and ask yourself where you might be, what are the possible scenarios that you may have to deal with and throw an emergency kit in your car, carry a little flashlight to work in your bag in case you have to get out of a dark building or garage. Get to know your neighbors and your surroundings at work. Just be aware.

At home, we have a drawer of crank/solar flashlights and an emergency radio. Always there, we can find them in the dark if we have to. We have solar lights in the yard that can easily be brought inside if the power goes out. There are little things we can do to make a difficult situation easier.

I have talked before about our Go Bags - these are for the last resort, we need to evacuate our house situation. I don't expect that to ever happen, we cycle out the supplies every few months and refresh them, but I feel better knowing it is there if we need it. And if we go on vacation, we have a little travel bag already packed =)

We all have difficult times. Layoffs, pay cuts, prices of food increasing, gas prices, unexpected health issues, etc.  Being prepared is just smart. I'm not preparing for an earthquake, I'm prepared if one of us loses our job, or if the store doesn't have something I use on a regular basis.

For me, it is mostly about having all of my faculties about me if there ever is a crisis. I've thought about the worst, and appreciate every day that I have a regular, ordinary, amazing day without having to worry about anything.

Peace of mind, for me is the greatest preparation.

Small Treasures: Being Prepared

In the past few weeks, we have had Hurricane Sandy, winter storm Athena and yesterday around noon a water main broke that resulted in water for the whole city of Worcester being shut off last night while they worked on it. 

Amazingly, they worked through the night and it is fixed!

With each of these events, we gathered our “emergency” supplies together and checked flashlights, etc., charged everything up to 100% and waited. We were fortunate with the hurricane and the winter storm. The worst thing that happened was a long wait and a walk for me to get home from work. The city had so many accidents that schedules were off and some buses didn’t run.

The most noticeable change, for me personally, was a sense of security in knowing that we were prepared for most anything that could happen. We have some extra bottled water and food that is easy to prepare. I have a routine that is pretty quick when the news of an impending storm breaks, so I can have things together without much effort and not be stressed. We have wood for the stove, so we will be warm and can cook and none of us works far from home, so walking if needed isn’t an issue. If we had to leave home for an evacuation or disaster situation, our paperwork and “Go Bags” are ready with a few days of necessities.

At one time I would have thought that all of this preparation wasn’t necessary, as many people in New England also thought before these last couple of years. I find the comfort of being clear minded and ready for most any situation keeps the panic, impulsiveness, and fear of last minute chaos away.

I am not a “doomsday prepper”, I don’t have any thoughts of doom at all in what we are doing. We are just prepared in case we need to be. A couple of extra cans of soup or a case of water here and there when we shop for groceries is not inconvenient and we will use it should an emergency not arise, or a job is lost, or pay is reduced while I am out of work unexpectedly for 7 weeks (as I was this past Summer).

What I value most about these situations is the ability to keep as close to a normal day as possible without stress and having the calmness to prevent injury or accident that can sometimes happen in a hasty scramble at the last minute. We have all seen the tragic effects of Katrina, Irene, Sandy and the many other tornadoes, etc. of the past few years and I think it is just smart to gather important photos and documents together in a safe place (digital files too, if possible) and be able to continue on with life in the midst of an emergency. Honestly, it’s good to have the information together anyway, because everyday situations come up that require it.

One of the most helpful ideas I have ever read – was to think through and prepare for the worst case scenario – which for us would be evacuation and having to leave our home. If you prepare at that level and have a plan, paperwork, photos, small treasures, in order. Then when a storm comes, it’s just a matter of keeping a positive attitude. There isn’t any additional work needed. It’s already done.  

In the case of a large disaster like what has happened in New Jersey and New York with Hurricane Sandy…the Go Bag and getting your family to safety really is the only thing you can do. This is an individual decision and there are many different guidelines online if you need help planning a bag.  However, if in that bag you have important paperwork like birth certificates, marriage certificates, passports, financial information, etc. and you have copies of your favorite photos, some toiletries, a change of clothing, and some food and water, it won’t make the difficulty go away, but it will give you some comfort and strength in knowing that everything else can be replaced and what matters most is by your side. We each have a water proof bag with a few things in it that will get us through.

One thing that I thought of in planning is the small treasures that accumulate in our lives. One example for me is a little necklace I won for a story I wrote in 2^nd grade. It isn’t valuable to anyone but me, but I would take that with me. Photos of our family growing up would also be irreplaceable. Everyone’s small treasures are different. Something like this is a talisman to memories….which really are the treasures you keep with you. For children, a favorite blanket and toy keep something familiar, And for pets, a copy of rabies certificates and tags, as well as the things that will comfort them in a new place or during a power outage, etc. If you are prepared, once you and your family are safe, a little bit of home to comfort you will be necessary to gather the strength to rebuild.

The tie in, for me, to minimalism, living simply and with less, so loudly speaks to me here. I could easily gather the things of value to me and leave if I had to.  Once my family and dog are safe, there would be no thing in that house that I would die for.

Again, I find myself faced with the question of whether or not I want to work my whole life to just have more possessions when it seems that in the big picture of life, only the small treasures really matter...