Self-sufficiency
So, I read this article recently. My husband and I are always joking about preparing for the zombie apocalypse, but when I really think about it (and read stuff like this), I find that I'm a bit uncomfortable with just how much we (as a household) depend on others, and on electricity, for our survival. For example:
- Our well. We have an electric well pump. No electricity means no water. According to the guy who came out to fix our pump once, our only option for a manual pump is to dig another well. (Edit: And according to the guy I just called out of curiosity, that will likely be $3-4k. o.O)
- Our food. We've found that gardening in the sandy soil in our yard (north-central Florida) is nearly impossible. (I need to find a talkative local farmer...) We've had the most luck container gardening, but that ends up with us buying soil, seeds, fertilizer, things to deal with pests and plant diseases...
- Raising livestock. Something we've discussed, never done, but there still seems to be a lot of buying feed, antibiotics, etc.
- Going solar. WAY too expensive for our whole house. (I believe $25k was the last price we were quoted.) Generators require gas of some kind, generally in short supply during an emergency.
- Money. I have money saved in various places - emergency account, 401(k)... Have I ever physically seen it? No. Could I get to it without electricity? No. I've considered burying a few hundred dollars in a jar in the yard... :-)
I lived in Miami when hurricane Andrew hit, so I got a bit of a taste of total chaos. (Empty store shelves, no electricity... The electricity took a while, but the stores did restock pretty quickly.) That's what originally got me thinking along these lines. My husband and our two roommates (both of whom have extensive military training) are very capable at growing, raising, hunting, and fishing for food if it came down to it, and I think we could manage making rainwater drinkable (although it's not like rainy season lasts all year down here), but I'd really like to be a bit more prepared for longer-term emergencies than just having candles, some gallons of water, and canned food stored somewhere.
So how many of you here have taken serious steps to prepare for the zombie apocalypse? :-) Well, more seriously, to become more self-sufficient? What have you done? Any good communities or websites on the subject?
- Our well. We have an electric well pump. No electricity means no water. According to the guy who came out to fix our pump once, our only option for a manual pump is to dig another well. (Edit: And according to the guy I just called out of curiosity, that will likely be $3-4k. o.O)
- Our food. We've found that gardening in the sandy soil in our yard (north-central Florida) is nearly impossible. (I need to find a talkative local farmer...) We've had the most luck container gardening, but that ends up with us buying soil, seeds, fertilizer, things to deal with pests and plant diseases...
- Raising livestock. Something we've discussed, never done, but there still seems to be a lot of buying feed, antibiotics, etc.
- Going solar. WAY too expensive for our whole house. (I believe $25k was the last price we were quoted.) Generators require gas of some kind, generally in short supply during an emergency.
- Money. I have money saved in various places - emergency account, 401(k)... Have I ever physically seen it? No. Could I get to it without electricity? No. I've considered burying a few hundred dollars in a jar in the yard... :-)
I lived in Miami when hurricane Andrew hit, so I got a bit of a taste of total chaos. (Empty store shelves, no electricity... The electricity took a while, but the stores did restock pretty quickly.) That's what originally got me thinking along these lines. My husband and our two roommates (both of whom have extensive military training) are very capable at growing, raising, hunting, and fishing for food if it came down to it, and I think we could manage making rainwater drinkable (although it's not like rainy season lasts all year down here), but I'd really like to be a bit more prepared for longer-term emergencies than just having candles, some gallons of water, and canned food stored somewhere.
So how many of you here have taken serious steps to prepare for the zombie apocalypse? :-) Well, more seriously, to become more self-sufficient? What have you done? Any good communities or websites on the subject?