dystopia « Robin Writes

Remember when President Obama was elected the first time? A lot of folks thought TEOTWAWKI was coming—and again, when he was elected the second time. I’ll admit it, that second election had me stumped.

We don’t hear so much, during the current election season, about either candidate being the Antichrist, but there are plenty of rumors about TEOTWAWKI.

The funny thing is that is depends entirely on which candidate you’re supporting. The news clips and articles, I mean.

Some take the threat of Russia very seriously—and perhaps we should—and are convinced that if Clinton is elected, Russia will act against us. Some also believe that many of our freedoms will disappear, Russia notwithstanding, if Clinton wins the presidency.

Others believe that Trump’s win would set off a world war, based on his personality and other characteristics, as well as set us back, collectively, a hundred years’ worth of civilization.

I think it could go either way.

By that I mean that, regardless of the winner, things could go south in a hurry. Everyone is so eager to believe the worst of their opposing candidate, that I think it’d be silly to dismiss the doomsdayers’ predictions outright.

So what do you think? Is now a good time to prep? Why?

For me, it’s always a good time to prep. I’ve been doing so for over four years now and will continue. I don’t KNOW what’s going to happen, but I’m ready no matter what. Besides, it’s much easier to go the barn storage unit than run into town if I happen to need something I don’t have in the kitchen.

I’ve talked before about the importance of food storage, but a little less about keeping track of what you have and what you might need, as well as rotation.

Now, you should only be stocking food you’ll actually eat, so theoretically rotation should be simple: you remove it from storage, use it, replace it.

For instance, if I’m out of butter, say, here in the house, I can run up to the freezer in the barn and grab a pound or two. If it’s not in the house, it’s in the barn freezer or storage unit; if it’s not there, I make do until our next trip to the store. Rotation, in this case, is simple.

And of course, when shelving items, put the new ones in the back and take from the front. Like your own grocery store.

I mentioned the dreaded “I’m out of ____.” Yes, it happens, even to the most prepared people. This is why I have a list.

I keep it on my computer, and once a month I print it out and check off all the items I have on hand, adjusting quantities as needed. Normally, if we pull something out, I note it right away; likewise, after a shopping trip, I use the receipt to add things we’ve purchased. By using the receipt instead of counting actual items, you’re able to shelve things right away. We usually stop at the barn first and unload whatever goes there.

Normally I’ll make the quantity adjustment as soon as I remove something, but occasionally that doesn’t work out so well. Say, if I’m in the middle of cooking and can’t leave the stove or even when my husband grabs something and doesn’t, ahem, tell me.

It’s important to keep track—what if SHTF and you suddenly can’t find batteries—or butter—because you used them and didn’t write it down? What if your propane is all used up? Or you’re out of bacon? Disaster!

So you not only need to stock supplies, but keep track of them and rotate—otherwise, you’ll be out of something important or, even worse, it’ll be moldy or stale and useless.

Take the time to make a list of all the things you might use in a week, and make sure you have at least one of each item, plus one more to store. That makes your inventory small and doable. As you get better at prepping, you can increase the amount of time and number of items needed to keep yourself in supplies for a longer period.