August 17, 2023

Does Prepping Make Sense and How to Start

Stormy Ocean Shore
Photo by Ray Harrington on Unsplash

This article also appears in my personal blog https://www.geraldmorse.com but I also think it is appropriate here.

What is Prepping

This is not the typical article for my normally geeky self.  However all the storms, floods, and wildfires happening this summer got me thinking about prepping.

Prepping has been around for decades.  It got a little more attention with a television show a few years back.  At its most basic form prepping is simply preparing for a disaster or the unknown.  Those that prepare in this way are known as “Preppers.”  Depending on who you talk to they are either really smart or just a little “nuts!”

Back in the fifties and for much of the sixties the US government wanted us all to be preppers.  This was during the cold war and the fear was a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.  The government provided pamphlets and movies with direction for building your own fallout shelters.  Many cities had fallout shelters in the basements of public buildings stocked with food, water and supplies.

When I was a youngster I remember nuclear attack drills in school.  We were told to get under our desks, or sit in the hallways away from glass windows.  It seemed all too real at the time and I remember coming home and trying to convince my Dad to start digging a fallout shelter in the backyard.  The local shopping center even had a display from an enterprising company that sold pre-built fallout shelters that they could bury in your backyard, for a price.

The push to build fallout shelters has diminished over the years, but prepping seems to come and go in popularity.  But it never goes away and there is always a selection of books, magazines and Internet sites offering advice.

What Kinds of Disasters?

Other kinds of disaster beyond nuclear attack have become more evident.  These include things like hurricanes and storms, flooding, and wildfires.  The threat of climate change has accentuated these threats.  The Katrina hurricane disaster really showed how ill prepared we are as a country for a major disaster.  And wildfires that leave hundreds or thousands of families homeless are unfortunately in the news almost every week.

My Take

So here is my take.  It is just my opinion, so feel free to have your own!

Like many things the key may be moderation.  I don’t think it pays or is even possible to prepare for the complete collapse of civilization.  If things get as bad as some of the apocalypse movies I don’t know why you would want to be around anyway!

However, storms, flooding, and wildfires are real.  And I’m sure there are other short term disasters that can occur that we haven’t even thought of.  The key is “short term” I think.  So being prepared with supplies for a couple weeks or a “go bag” with supplies for a few days might be reasonable.

How to Start

Again, this is just my opinion.  I’m no expert.

Maybe start with a week or so of non perishable items.  Make these things you actually use so you can rotate your stock.  I’m thinking things like canned soup, tuna and canned meats, rice, and things like that.  You can build up your stocks slowly so it doesn’t strain the budget.  As you use up items, replace them so you always have fresh stock.

Possibly add a camp stove, flashlights, lantern, matches, and that sort of thing over time.  Again these things could serve a dual purpose for camping and similar activities.  Just keep things in good repair and make sure fresh batteries are available.

Another real practical item I think is a “go bag.”  This can be a knapsack or duffle bag with basic necessities to last just a few days.  This is especially needed if you live in an area that is prone to storms, flooding, or wildfires.  Insidet can be a little food and snacks, change of clothes, and other necessities like prescriptions, diapers, maybe something to read, and small new toys to keep  the kids happy.  Sometimes when these short term disasters strike you may have to relocate quickly, and you don’t want to be fumbling around trying to find what you need.

So there is my take on prepping.  What is yours?

Filed Under: General, Housing Leave a Comment
April 9, 2022

Making One Room Off Grid

Solar Cells
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Been Thinking About This

Ok, this post is going to seem a little crazy.  But I’ve thought about it occasionally for years and I thought I would share.  Like many people I am environmentally conscious and solar energy has always been an interest.  An off grid home has been a goal, and still is, but is there an “in between alternative?

My crazy idea is to have one room in my house off grid!

I’ll Cheat a Little

I’ll fully admit I’ll cheat a little.  Heating and air conditioning for the room is a challenge.  Not impossible, but not easy.  I guess you could always use a wood stove and cut dead wood,  Or your room could be south facing and rely on solar heating.  However I envision more of a small room internal to the rest of the house so that the room benefits from the insulation and residual heat and cooling of adjacent rooms.

What Will Be In My Room?

Office / Reading Room

Obviously a good room candidate wouldn’t be power intensive like a kitchen or laundry room.  I’m thinking of a small combo office and reading room.  I like to write and read, and the basic requirements would be a laptop and lighting.  A cell phone could be included as they are easy to charge with very little power.

So we’re talking about an easy chair for reading and a small desk for writing.  Everything else is optional.

There are lots of low power consumption lighting solutions.  Powering a laptop with long battery life requires enough power to charge the battery.

Video can be on the laptop as can music.  Probably headphones or ear plugs work well.  Maybe a simple radio with rechargeable batteries ..In fact I have an old Grundig radio that charges with a hand crank.

Sleeping Room

A plain old sleeping room would probably work fine too.  Again you need lighting, but not much else, power-wise.  Your alarm could be your phone or a small rechargeable battery unit.  And again, low power lighting solutions are available here too.

Where To Go Next

So how to power all this?  I think a fairly simple solar panel setup charging a couple of solar batteries would work fine.  There are plenty of 12 volt lighting options available.  You might need an inverter to provide 110 volts to provide a charging outlet for your laptop.

I’m starting to see various levels of solar generators on the market.  Some would probably work fine.  A quick search on Amazon shows models from a couple hundred to several thousand that claim to be able to power your home for days.  Or you could go with a DIY approach.  There is lots of solar information available.  You just need to do your research.

Either way you will need to find a way to route some wires from your solar source to your room without destroying your house!

So what do you think of my crazy idea?  I’ll keep you informed if I decide to give it a try.  And of course if we ever take the plunge for a full off grid homestead I’ll let you know that too!

Filed Under: Housing, Things To Do Leave a Comment
June 20, 2015

Self Designed Communties

Family House Picture

Image courtesy of arztsamui at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We have talked previously about housing alternatives in retirement. A recent article I read in Marketwatch talked about some people that are living this reality. Below is the article:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/create-your-own-retirement-community-2015-04-06?page=1

Comparison to “55 Plus” communities

These housing arrangements share some things in common with builder’s “55 and Over” communities, but they are self created by groups of people who have carved out little communities for their shared use. Some people don’t like having all the people the same age group in a big retirement community. They would prefer a tiny community within a large general population community of many ages.

While these communities will vary greatly, here are some common chracteristics:

People watch out for each other

People share resources – this can be appliances, tools, cars, or almost anything

People share skills – maybe somebody is good at carpentry, another is good with computers and still another likes to fix cars

Sometimes there are shared common areas – like a shared backyard or deck

In general people have the opportunity to form lifetime friendships

Some Self-Created Community Ideas

Here are just a few examples of how a shared community might be created:

A townhouse or condo with 3 bedrooms is converted to 3 little studio apartments with shared areas for watching TV, relaxing, snd socializing.

A 3 or 4 bedroom fixer upper is gutted and converted into three apartments with a shared backyard and storage areas.

A group of friends take over a building in an existing apartment complex. Say a complex has several bulldings with 8 apartments in each building. You make an arrangement with the owner so 8 friends can reside in the building and created your own little community without the need to buy a building.

A group of retirees take over and renovate a small dilapidated motel – a recent trip along the old Route 66 gave me this idea. There are still some struggling motels that were bypassed by the interstates long ago. Some are located in nice little communities. Why not take one over with a group of friends?

Share a big McMansion. As some baby boomers shed their McMansions there might be some opportunities for a small group of people to share them. Note that some communities limit the number of unrelated people that can occupy a single house. However I see this changing as millions of retired baby boomers look for affordable housing alternatives.

Some questions to consider

No arrangement is ever perfect and difficult scenarios will sometimes arise that affect all members of the community. None of these reasons should stop the idea. Here are just a couple:

What happens when someone cannot keep up financially?

People get sick and grow old, both physically and mentally. What happens in this situation?

What happens if someone gets ill?

What happens when someone passes away?  The reality is that this will happen someday. Is the deceased person’s share  in the community sold? Split up amongst the remaining membes? How are expenses handled while the transition is taking place. Are legal documents in place to handle this situation?

I hope this article keeps you thinking about housing alternatives and the need for community in retirement. What are your ideas for self created communities?

Filed Under: Housing, Money Stuff Leave a Comment