Is it too late to prep?

Just yesterday, someone posed this question to me.  “Is it too late to prep?”  Indeed, as people around the world wake up to the economic calamity that hovers the globe, they begin to wonder what they can do, if anything, to protect their families.  So, is it too late to prep?

I say, “No!”  Every extra can of soup you set aside represents a meal for one or two people.  Twenty cans may mean as many as twenty meals.  Boxes of cereal (on sale, please! and watch the expiration dates) equate to a series of breakfasts and boxes of macaroni and cheese keep my own kids happy meal after meal after meal.  Every bit of food you can set aside now is equivalent to meals at a future time when certain foods may not be as plentiful, or, more likely, your income takes a plunge due to unemployment or increased taxes.

image by Viewoftheworld

Right now is the time to begin to plan a spring garden so your family will continue to have fresh produce.  If you have never done this before, there are dozens of books out there to help the beginning gardener.  First, find out when your region’s growing season begins and plan backwards from that point.  You’ll need to figure out which vegetables and fruits to plant, how to compost, how to prepare your soil, and how you’ll organize your garden.  All that takes time. 

At the same time, take a look at the non-food items you use, and use up, everyday.  Begin to purchase kids clothing a size or two bigger whenever you find them at bargain prices.  What fluids do your vehicles need, and about how much laundry soap does your family use in a month?  All of these are also part of prepping.

Prepping takes time, focus, space and money.  Six months worth of food doesn’t happen overnight, and learning the finer points of food storage takes time and research.  Yes, you’ll have to figure out how and where to store water as well as how to purify it.  You will probably have to cut back on your expenses even more, shop garage sales, and ferret out good deals in the want ads and on Freecycle, but it can be done!  Be careful of that feeling of overwhelmedness that every beginning prepper faces, but this site and others like it have step-by-step directions and baby steps for you to follow.

Everything you do now, whether it’s food and water storage, survival gardening, shoring up the security of your home or apartment, or learning new, practical skills will, at the very least, buy you time when an emergency or widespread catastrophe hits.  While others wait in line for groceries or a check from the government, you and your family will have enough provisions to see you through and perhaps even enough to share with others.

Clearly, we face multiple “perfect storms.”  Our economy is at a teetering point.  The political future of America is on shaky ground with more and more citizens losing all faith in our leaders.  The global economy, which, for years, has depended on a healthy American economy, is showing signs of failure.  Preparedness minded people around the world are actively taking steps, doing whatever they can, as much as they can, to prepare. 

Even in the midst of the Great Depression, every extra jar of jam or basket of tomatoes was better than nothing.  Home-grown food could be eaten immediately, preserved, sold or bartered.  Extras of anything came in handy in one way or another.  Preppers, keep your focus on your long-term goals of self-sufficiency and provisions for your family and loved ones.  Beginners, jump right in!  Prices are still relatively low and goods are still plentiful.  Today is a good day to begin prepping.

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