The word prepping brings to mind many different scenarios. Some people think of a bunker in the back yard and some think about a few extra cans of food.
I think that prepping gets a bad rap. Too often people think of an episode of hoarders or people that live in what looks like a military compound. That’s not the kind of prepping I’m talking about. The prepping I’m talking about is being prepared for the emergencies in life.
PREPPING FOR LIFE
Things happen: job loss, financial emergencies, illnesses – just to name a few. Having the right things on hand to cover these emergencies can make life a lot easier. Use this list as a starting off point and see where and how it fits into your life.
JOB LOSS
A job loss can can really throw you for a loop. It has a major effect on your emotional and mental well-being. It’s said that the stress of a job loss is up there with divorce, a death in the family or a major illness. Finding another job, applying for unemployment and waiting for approval can take some time. If you’re in a one income family, the stress can be astronomical. The last thing you want to be thinking about during a time of financial crisis is what am I going to feed my family. Making sure you have some extra food on your pantry shelf can help ease that burden. Grabbing extra items when they’re on sale can help you easily stock up.
FINANCIAL EMERGENCIES
If you own a home or vehicle, you know things break down. The washer & dryer, dishwasher, water heater (this list can go on forever) can suddenly stop working. If you have a septic tank, it can back up. Brakes, belts, shocks, etc. can go out on your vehicle. It can be almost anything. Having a financial reserve can be a huge help. As a Dave Ramsey follower, I’ve learned to have an emergency fund. This gives me peace of mind in times of financial crisis. Since I’ve taken the time to add extra food to my pantry I can also use this to help rebuild my emergency fund for the next time I need it.
ILLNESS
Illness can stop life in it’s tracks. Knowing I have what we need in the house to combat this is priceless. We rely on natural, homeopathic remedies. Making sure that we have elderberry syrup, salt, essential oils (You can get a free sample of Lavender, Lemon and Thieves essential oils here) and our homeopathy kit stocked and ready to go gives me peace. If something would happen and I would get sick, my family would survive too. Keeping home canned soups, meat and other quick, easy meals on hand. My hubby or kids could open up a couple jars of homemade chicken soup, toss in some noodles and dinner would be ready. If hubby or one of the kids are down, I don’t have to leave the house to take care of them.
PANDEMIC
Right now we are staring down the possibility of the Coronavirus coming to the US. I’m not worried about the illness hitting my house. We have the immune systems of a rock. We’re almost never sick. What I am worried about is other people panicking and wiping out the stores. Knowing that we could just hunker down for a few weeks in the house without worrying about running out of supplies is a huge relief to me.
NATURAL DISASTERS
This one hits home for me. Growing up in WV, snow was a big thing a few months out of the year. Sometimes it would start snowing and 20 minutes later you couldn’t go anywhere. The roads would just be too bad. Getting home and staying home was the name of the game. Here in Charleston, we worry about hurricanes. Two separate issues but the concept is still the same. Shelves empty fast! You can’t get out to get any food. Sometimes you have to evacuate and when you come back, the store shelves are still empty.
A year ago, we were hit by a random snow storm. There were 90 wrecks in our county on the first day. No matter what, we weren’t leaving the house! We stayed home the entire week. While other people were posting on Facebook looking for open stores and running out of food to feed their children, we were safe. We had food. We had an alternative way to cook that food. I was so grateful that I didn’t have those worries!
YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE A BUNKER OR HOARD FOOD
See…prepping doesn’t have to involve the end of the world or a zombie outbreak. It can involve little mishaps in life. Being prepared for them can make your life so much easier. It’s easy to start the process. When you’re grocery shopping, pick up a few extra items to put on your shelf. If your budget is really tight, start very small. Add an extra can of soup this week and an extra bag of beans next week. Just a couple dollars each shopping trip and you can build your pantry. One of the most frugal ways to build your pantry is to shop sales. If your favorite kind of soup, tuna, canned fruit, canned veg, etc. is on sale this week, use those couple dollars to buy extra.
STOCKING FOR SPECIAL DIETS
One of the most frequent questions I get when speaking to someone about stocking their shelves is “What do I do about X dietary restrictions?”. It’s easy to make it work for you and your family’s diets. Since we started following a traditional diet, my stocking has changed. I now buy organic and nongmo pantry staples by the 25 and 50 pound bags from Azure Standard. I grab a few things from Thrive Market but most of our food comes from Azure. Ordering from Azure every month and checking for the sales is helpful. Buying as I can of the sale items so I’m getting more for less money.
We buy a whole beef each year and I’ll can some of the meat for my shelves. Buying chickens in bulk and canning the meat and broth is another way I stock my shelves. When I start with the sales first I can buy dry, organic beans cheaper than I can get conventional at the grocery store. Whether you’re gluten free, dairy free, soy free (like us) or any other combo of food restrictions, you can make this work for you.
What do you think? Did I miss anything? What do you consider prepping? Let me know in the comments below!
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