The Start- How to Be Prepared
Something shady is going on……
And I’m not referring to the buds starting to pop (way to early) and eventually give shade to the ground. I’m talking about our phones and social media.
Recently I’ve personally experienced phone outages and facebook outages. I know, I know it’s like the apocalypse when social media and ways we typically “connect” with people are compromised. But seriously, it makes me realize two things.
- I am way to dependent on my “phone” as part of my world.
- Something shady is going on.
Let’s elaborate about #1. Our phones have become so attached to us both physically and mentally it’s pretty sad actually. How can you be present and pay attention to what’s in front of your face when your phone is literally blocking the view? How can we even discern what’s “really” important? (for me it’s the Lord, my family, food)
It’s a love hate thing for me personally. I use social media and my phone to communicate ways to hopefully help enrich people’s lives by growing food, learn gardening, and Old Fashioned Ways in a Modern World. Modern = social media.
So what would I do if I didn’t have my phone and all my social media outlets? I’d probably be pretty content working out in my gardens, kneading my sourdough bread and teaching my kids real life. BUT I feel this call to teach others to make places in their lives for gardening, food and learning and connecting it to God- so I keep trudging along “connecting” with as many people as I can through my website, social media platforms and my Kitchen & Garden Revivals. And I say trudging because I really do LOVE helping other people. (Maybe to much)
So how can I balance this? During the summer I will not be as involved or on my phone because I’ll actually be doing what I’m teaching – Homesteading!! Here in Northern Michigan we have a short summer and we need to accomplish a lot in order to feed the family (and friends & family) all winter long since we grow at least 80% of our own food (organically to). I will still document and record so I can continue to teach people exactly how we are doing all the things. But I will dial it back. During the winter it feels less even though every day is completely full.
How will you balance this love/hate with technology?
(comment below)
Ok let’s move on to #2. Something shady really is going on. It’s progressing and happening more often than we realize. It’s never a total black out for everyone at the same time so it’s confusing, it’s lurking in the shadows, it’s not as apparent. But it’s there, it’s just showing it’s ugly head at times. And what am I referring to? Honestly I don’t even know what “it” is, but when it happens it’s like a what the?!?!?! moment and no one is sure what’s going on. Why are millions of people not able to connect to the network? What does my husband do for his job when his phone is completely useless? How will I check to see if other people are down as well? And more vain reasons – I can’t scroll through my feed, who posted on my page? What questions do people have?
I’m not sure we can ever be prepared for when there is a total black out and this post isn’t about going all the way there. It’s to point out the fact that we may eventually go there and maybe it’s time to start coming up with some actionable plans. (Plus we’ve seen a lockdown happen ahem in 2020 where people literally ran out of toilet paper and fights ensued- Let’s not go there again please)
When you find GOOD information – PRINT IT OUT!!
Keep a binder with the information that you find useful and “try” to organize it.
Because I’m a homesteader here’s the topics I find useful
- Gardening
- Foods to cook with no power
- Herbs for illness
- Recipes
- How to’s
- Back up power supplies
Again we could absolutely go on a rabbit hole and I plan to be more comprehensive in the future but I wanted to get the ball rolling with something because it’s a HUGE topic and VERY important.
What to have on Hand AT ALL Times!!
- Toilet Paper
- Canned Food
- Water
- Paper Products
- Shelf Stable Food
Again this list could really go on and on, but I”m just going to start here and we’ll see where we end up.
Get thinking- Get Planning- Get Ready
Grab my Ultimate Gardening Bundle for $50 off by using code “Prepared” this bundle will teach you
- Seed Starting
- Seed Saving
- Canning
- Pressure Canning
- Fermenting
- Dehydrating
- Garden Planning
- Growing Your Garden
- + You can ask questions!
