REDUCED « Robin Writes

If you ever hear anyone say, “I love to paint! I can afford to hire someone to paint my house, but I’d rather do it myself!” run far, run fast.

That is a load of hooey.

You can tell we spent the weekend painting. Mostly.

Got up early on Saturday and pulled the irrigation system out of the garden. Damn, hoses are heavy. Especially several, attached. Sure, I could have pulled them all apart, but I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do with them.

By the time I finished that, and picked up the tools to store for the winter and the trash in that one pile—there’s always that “one pile”—I wasn’t in the mood to UNload the truck up at the barn. So I hopped on the mower and headed for the house, mowing along the way.

My husband was repairing the ceiling where he’d removed the walk-in closet.

I mowed around the house and the parking area, avoiding the rocks I’d dug up a few weeks ago. Still didn’t know what I was going to do with them.

Next, since I couldn’t avoid it any longer, I pulled out the green paint and glopped it on the kitchen side of the bathroom door. Glop. Glop.

I’m a slob, what can I say?

A few coats later, and I got back on the mower. Mowed my way back to the barn to unload some supplies we’d brought; looked at the hose in the back of the truck.

Mowed a little more.

My husband was repairing the ceiling. Yep, same ceiling.

Guess what time it was?

That’s right, boys and girls, SKIM-COATING TIME!

Shoot. Me. Now.

So my husband says, “Why don’t you just do those two big walls? But stay away from the trim or the panels, and the doors too.”

Ahem. I mentioned that I’m a slob, right?

I made my rounds, and while waiting for the drying in between coats, I decided to touch up the doors. The outside doors. That ones that already took 3+ coats. Sigh.

I’m smart, though. I didn’t put down the new doormats yet. Smart like a fox, yes?

By four o’clock, I decided it was beer time. And dinner-cooking time. I was done.

Of course, the next day, we weren’t up as early. And it was cold. Ish. Prepper that I am, I reached into my bag for jeans and a sweatshirt.

Oops.

Someone needs to get her brain in gear.

My husband started sanding, which was my cue to spend as much time outside as possible. This is definitely his job. It grates on me like fingernails on a chalkboard.

So I loaded the truck, burned the trash, composted, finally picked up those damn rocks and left them in the wheelbarrow. I still don’t know what to do with them . . .

I pulled out my camping gear for the coming weekend, except for the sleeping bag. No idea where it went. It’s somewhere, obviously, but I couldn’t find it. Missed a few other things too.

Figures. Brain. Gear. Not working.

And then it was time to paint.

Two coats. And counting. This is the WORST PAINT EVER.

But it looks good . . . Even on my boots.

Prepping costs money, no doubt about it. But it doesn’t have to cost very much.

For instance, purchasing a case of water bottles is around $2-3; and that’s at least enough water for one person for four and a half days. Wouldn’t that be worth it? Who couldn’t afford a couple extra dollars at one trip to the store?

Look at sale prices, always. Pick up some cheap food items now and again. You don’t have to be fancy—let’s say you love macaroni and cheese: get some instant stuff. Might not be gourmet (who are we kidding?), but it’ll feed you.

Sure, healthy food is best, but it’s not always practical. Or even affordable.

Keep a good flashlight handy. With a couple packs of extra batteries.

All those extra towels and maybe blankets? Hang on to a few of those too.

If you think you might need weapons for defense—and you might—look around the house for everyday objects that’ll work, like the cliché paperweight, or a brick or a rock from the yard or even kitchen knives or a meat tenderizer.

Sure, you can go the other direction and stock up on everything you might need and purchase a gun for defense or remodel your house with a safe room. And that, friends, is expensive.

I look at prepping from three angles:

Cheap

Moderate

Whackadoodle

The trick is knowing which to choose and when to upgrade.

I have a cousin who, from all reports, lives in his basement; might have to do with the fact that his wife left and took all the “good” furniture that was upstairs, so maybe he just didn’t want to move the old stuff. I get that. Moving sucks.

But.

He also has buried caches of supplies and ammo around his property. He told his sister that she and the girls could visit, but not her husband because he “wasn’t a blood relative.”

I can only imagine . . .

So that’s one example of whackadoodle.

Now, let’s keep things in perspective here. Think about the cost of all this, about which, I admit, I have no clue. Presumably, however, he’s spent a lot of time and effort digging; likely, too, is that he spent money on supplies for those caches. Things we don’t know, but should ask ourselves during our own preps, is whether this guy is truly prepared in the ways that count:

If his municipal water system fails, how long can he last without water?

Does he have nutritious food, or close to it, cached and does he rotate his products? In that case, perhaps he can’t even find those hidey-holes.

I’ve heard he has weapons for defense, and yes, he probably knows how to use them.

But what about this “blood relative” nonsense? Perhaps he doesn’t know that no, the apocalypse has not yet arrived—a healthy way to go about all this is to be prepared, yes, but to continue to live your life. A long time ago, I read something about worry: be prepared for whatever may come, then forget about it.

If you’re ready, you don’t have to worry. If and when something happens, you’re good to go.

One more thing on finances, which I seem to have wandered away from:

When shopping for SHTF, buy whatever is necessary and the best quality you need and can afford. This could mean buying cheap mac and cheese so you can purchase a heavy-duty, better flashlight; this could mean forgoing all the cool gadgets so you can buy more ammo. Or it could mean buying something used instead of new because that used item will work just as well for your situation, or repurposing something old.

Regardless, do what you can, as soon as you can, and have a plan. Then you can relax, knowing you’re ready for whatever comes your way.