I have a confession to make. I am a "dooms day prepper." Okay, so not like the one's you see on TV, but Nick and I in the last few years have decided to start learning skills, prepping food supplies, etc. I don't have a crazy stockpile of rice and beans in my storm cellar, but I do try to keep at least 2 months of food in the house. Now that may seem either too much or too little (depends on who ya ask) but my theory is this. Even if the apocolypse (cough cough ZOMBIES) never happens, there are a lot of minor "catastrophes" to be had. The one I fear the most deals with the economy. Who is to say that we have job security and whatnot, so by having a little food put away, I am guaranteed that my family won't starve, at least not for two months.
I am teaching myself how to can. We are gearing up for canning season with all of the farmer's markets opening up here in town. Nick is learning how to preserve meats and fish. We are making plans to become as self sufficient as possible. We also make our own laundry soaps and cleaners. Homesteading would be our ultimate goal. I like the idea of raising my own crops and herds. I like even more the idea of going back to simpler living. I want to raise my kids on a farm. I want them to know the hard work and big pay off that that would provide. I remember feeding the animals before we got on the school bus. It was a pain, but as an adult, those mornings remind me of fun times with my siblings.
Another huge benefit of my prepping and dreams of homesteading is the frugality of it. We have become a society of over spenders, one uppers, and never satisfieders. Yes, I know that is not a word lol. I was reading a book about thrift the other day. They wrote something that has stuck with me. During the great depression, people were thrifty out of sheer necessity. You didn't see people throwing out leftovers, old clothes, etc. If you didn't have the money, you literally went without. It made me think. This week, we had a bbq on father's day and my husband smoked $16 worth of pork butt. Add in the $8 for the wood, it was $24 and it fed several adults and kids on sunday and was repurposed for one meal per day for 5 days following. That is a hell of a stretch. I only threw out the bone and sinnews. It felt good to not waste much. That is the kind of living I want to get back to.
So back to the prepping. I feel like homesteading and prepping almost go hand in hand. If I can grow a garden and can enough to get through the winter or eat in season in addition to canning, doesn't that leave me prepped for anything that could come up? I guess since I don't have the fallout shelter (yet?) and gas masks and such you could call me a wanna be prepper, but my desire to do so is there lol.
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