dystopia « Robin Writes

Hey, SHTF peeps – it’s been a while, huh? Well, I’m a little busy with a lot of this-and-that going on, but I’m back now, and posing a question:

If you believe that a collapse (fill in your preference) is imminent, would you start a business? Would you continue to run your own business – probably yes, considering you know, income and all that? But most importantly, would you try to increase and build that business?

Okay, that was more than one question, but seriously – what I want to know is why, if you believe civilization as we know it could come to an end, you’d continue to strive to reach particular goals.

We opened our bookstore almost two and a half years ago, and now that we’re facing closing up shop in the next few weeks, I’m trying to pull together those two things: why struggle to stay open, if SHTF is coming? I mean, books aren’t going to be a priority right after an apocalypse, although I can safely say that E-books are going to disappear as the grid goes down and “charging a device” becomes obsolete. All those folks who proudly disdained paper books are gonna be really, really sorry!

Now, depending upon how long the immediate crisis lasts, and for many people it will be an ONGOING crisis, just to obtain food, water, and shelter – not to mention medical care, self-care of course – and others will work long, hard hours just to survive, but eventually books will be back in vogue.

And needed. After all, I doubt school will be session, right? The schools we have now, that is. And kids will still need to learn, adults will still need entertainment as well as lifelong learning. And new skills.

So at some point, books will be back, and popular, and necessary.

In the meantime, how do you reconcile what you do now with SHTF? If you work for someone else, obviously it’s a paycheck. Which you can use to prepare for the future. But a business? What’s the point?

Yep, it’s been a while. No excuses, no apologies. Okay, the holidays were hectic, and I’m still working on end-of-year stuff, but . . . here I am!

Here I am, sitting in sub-zero temps – outside, not inside, thank heavens. Although my tub/shower pipes seem to keep disagreeing with that.

My point is that, while I can’t get outside and do much of anything in the way of prepping or, really going into the garage is a bit painful too, I have resolved (ahem) to do at least ONE THING, every day.

So far, I’ve packed up and labelled my generally useless drawer of sewing supplies. It’s not a lot, none of sew, actually; I even gave up on buttons and such over the years. I’m not very good at it. But who knows, maybe someday? And, of course, when SHTF, I’ll be forced into it. But at least I have those supplies!

I’ve also counted, rearranged, and re-catalogued my indoor supplies, as well as my freezer. You know how sometimes you need just ONE THING to make dinner, so you grab it out of the supplies? Yes, I’m guilty. On the other hand, it is important to rotate supplies on at least a semi-regular basis. And I’ll be restocking as soon as the roads clear up and the temps rise.

Something else to consider – I’m sure you’re familiar with all the “stuff” we all accumulate. Well, when SHTF, what’s going to happen to it? Now, I can be as sentimental as the next person, and there’s no reason not to enjoy our “stuff” as long as we have it, but what about all the things you DON’T need, or DON’T use, or even don’t really want or need to keep?

Like old clothes, most of which are too small. For me, that is. Maybe not for you. And, of course, if you bug out or stay in and lose power, you might want to forgo fashion and just layer up. Unless what you have is too small, of course. So keep what’s useful, but that old cocktail dress you’ve held onto for years that’s a size or two too small? Sell it. Sell whatever you can, and sock away that money in your cash stash.

Keep the blankets, old sheets, ugly sweaters. Especially right now, I’m thinking of all things warm. Single gloves gone the way of old socks? Keep them. Again, layers. But really think about the other “stuff,” stuff besides clothes, maybe old DVDs or CDs, maybe a box of computer parts and wires, maybe things you were going to repair, someday, or whatever you don’t use or need or will probably never look at again.

So there you have it – no outdoor action right now, unless you have livestock, so get busy on the inside!