Tag Archives: prep

Work Wednesday—The Remodel


We’ve been working more on the house remodel than anything else lately, especially due to the heat. Every day, of course, there are chores like composting and burning trash, weeding and checking over the garden, and tracking the progress on the old house.

Which, I’m thrilled to say, now resembles a one-story A-frame. They pushed it over Monday afternoon, and by next week, it should all have disappeared! Fencing and a second gate will go up across the front to fill in the gaps.

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So, the remodel. Well, I’m not going to move in and THEN try to re-do everything, so we’re removing plywood (??) and replacing almost all of it with drywall. I say “almost,” because the front of the living room and soon-to-be office are also plywood, with lots of windows. What a pain. Besides, those pieces don’t look as bad as the rest of it did. I can live with it.

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Then there’s the closet. The seller didn’t like walls, apparently, but when he built them, he went all-out. The three closet walls—it’s built into the center, load-bearing wall—are all super-reinforced. Since it’s just on one side (keep in mind that the entire house is 30X30), we finally decided it must be a safe room, for tornados and such. Down it comes. Husband has been moving electric, taking out some outlets and moving switches.

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Next week, we’ll be adding some half-walls to divide things up a bit. Also, I need more wall space. Interesting how so much furniture is designed to be set against a wall.

After that, we’ll de-popcorn the ceiling, replace 2-3 of the fans, and start painting. Then we’ll have just the kitchen to work on: adding a double wall oven and extra cabinets and counters, removing the dishwasher, and replacing the existing counters.

Move-in date is still ten and a half months away, but—and this is a big but—we’re rapidly closing in on the start of school, which means we can only come down on weekends, for two days at a time. So that gives us a total of about three months.

However, I’m happy to report that the garage is almost empty! All the storable stuff, kids’ things and memorabilia, etc., has been moved. Next up, getting rid of this giant garage sale pile—coming in October. I think. I hate doing these, but we’ll see. Maybe I’ll just call a charity and have them pick up the whole lot!

 

 

Prep Monday—Upcoming Event(s)


Recently, I’ve been reading a few articles about “something big” coming, this fall, to a location near you. What big “event?” No one knows, but there are a lot of theories, the usual suspects.

Some are expecting civil unrest, or economic collapse, or war, or an EMP event. I don’t even pretend to understand the ramifications of the latter, but the first two seem, to me, much more imminent. Will it happen this fall? I don’t know. I do expect sooner rather than later, and yes, that’s vague, but it’s really all anyone’s got at this point. Maybe the “experts” know more, but I suspect it’s mostly conjecture on their parts, too.

The timing is tricky. We all know things have been happening around the world, even here in the US, that could contribute to any of these things. But here’s the problem: the media, and social media in particular.

News media used to be perhaps a morning show and the evening telecast; now it’s 24/7, and not just on the three major networks, but hundreds of channels broadcasting. Plus the Internet, and all it entails: YouTube, blogs, ads, online newspapers—both those in print and E-zines. News is everywhere, and some outlets are more reliable than others.

And that’s not even mentioning the bias that’s inherent in major news outlets. Come on, we’ve all seen and heard it, you all know what I’m talking about.

And what’s a more compelling a headline, “Gloom and Doom Imminent!” or “US Economy Now Similar to 1930s and We All Mostly Survived?” I’m making these up, obviously, but I want to urge all of you to make your own decisions, go with your gut, whatever it takes to make a plan.

Really, how can you know for sure? Even experts can’t reliably predict a large-scale natural disaster, except   in the movies. You should, at the very least, be prepared for that, with more than a gallon of water and a flashlight.

We have a plan. Whether we’ll need to move forward with that now or in six months or less or in five years or never doesn’t matter. If something happens, we’re ready, but in the meantime, we live our lives. Just a bit more cautiously, perhaps.

We don’t hang out in large crowds or travel to dangerous areas. We have food and supplies. We have a place to go. We can defend ourselves. What does this sound like? I’m expecting civil unrest leading to economic disaster. Ever since the Michael Brown shooting, things have been going downhill. Fast.

What can you do? For starters, have an emergency plan in place. A plan to gather all family members, at a location of your choosing, probably your home. A disaster or “event” probably isn’t going to happen on a weekend when you’re all together.

Store enough water to have a gallon per day per family member, for at least three days. Alternatively, you can hope for notice before the public water system is cut off or contaminated and fill empty containers—which you should also store. And that three days? That’s what FEMA recommends, but personally, I’d shoot for a week.

Stock up on food, also for the imaginary three days or longer. Food that you and your family will actually eat, even junk—although I’d caution against the latter. Nutrient-dense food is best; less to buy, less to store. And always do first in, first out; rotate, like the grocery stores.

Check your power sources, especially for cooking. You can cook anything on a grill or in a firepit that you can cook in your kitchen. Have flashlights, candles, matches, and extra batteries too. Radio, too, for updates and news.

If it’s winter, make sure you’ve stored extra blankets. You can always layer-up, and if you have a fireplace or firepit, have some extra wood on hand. Wouldn’t hurt to have backup propane, either.

Keep some cash on hand. If the power goes out, no ATMs, no grocery checkout, no gas—and speaking of, keep your car’s tank at least half full.

With all the electronics available today, TV channels, etc., it would be smart to have some entertainment available: cards, board games, crafts.

I’m not going to go into home defense here, although I think everyone should consider it. It doesn’t have to be a gun. However, all family members should have some idea of self-defense and you should have a plan in case of home entry. All of this is, of course, a “just in case” scenario.

But stop and think for a moment: regardless of a “big event” coming this fall, or next year, or in ten years, or never, ANY area is subject to the possibilities of flood, fire, tornado, hurricane, earthquake, strikes, riots, disease, and a host of other things. Also, the US is not insulated from the rest of the world. Keep that in mind. Many of us tend to think too provincially, in spite of the Internet and global connection.