The new year is about to begin and with a new year usually comes thoughts of new goals or resolutions. I usually get a list put together that I can print off and keep handy so I don’t forget through the year what it was I wanted to accomplish. The list is not all “preparedness” related–I have sections for spiritual growth, family time, hobbies, finances, learning, etc. But I do have goals that have to do with preparedness each year. This helps keep me on task!
This last year we got quite a few of the “preparedness” things done on the list. We got the water system figured out in the garden after piecing it together for the last few years. And I might add that the garden was quite happy because of it. We had a lot of produce to can and dehydrate and eat which is never a bad thing. I was able to purchase the Sun Oven I’ve been wanting (just because you’re a dealer doesn’t mean you get to own one without buying it). And thanks to a sweet Santa, I’ve just ordered a CampChef stove so I can do some of my summer canning on the back porch instead of in the two hundred degree kitchen. Really looking forward to that this coming year. I did not go hunting this year (which actually wasn’t on the list either) since the archery deer hunt (the one I really want to get) is always during sweet husband’s busy time for work and the kids starting school and the time I’ve been able to dedicate to the hunt in the past has been minimal. So, saved some money there. I also got a bike which has been on my list for a long time, but just never happened. Can you see how a bike could fit into preparedness? Now I’ll just be needing a baby trailer . . . We also put in 4 new baby fruit trees after our winter kill last year. This winter has been a lot milder, so hopefully they’ll all pull through.
This coming year we’ve got a few things in limbo, so I’ll set some goals and just see how the year goes. With new baby coming in May, we’ve got some house figuring out to do. With five of us and our food storage in this little 2 1/2 bedroom/1 bathroom place, it’s already plenty tight. So there is the dream of adding on or building on our lot or moving, all of which take money and good fortune. Especially if we want to sell our house in a market that just became swamped with houses for sale due to the mine shutting down. And as of yet, there hasn’t been a great place come available to move to in the area, so we’re just kind of hanging out and keeping options open. Good thing babies come small, so there’s no real hurry.
Baby coming will also complicate the garden planting, but I should be able to enlist sweet husband and the kiddos to take care of a lot of it. We need to get some more drip system parts for the fruit tree area of the garden, so that’s on the list.
There are a few things I’d like to add to the preps, like a large capacity water filter, but the majority of things around here I’m feeling pretty good about. Most of the things we’ll be needing this coming year are baby related since I really was done having children after #3 so got rid of most of our stuff. We do still have our now banned drop side crib which I love and will absolutely still be using, so at least baby will have a place to sleep. ;)
I’ve also got some goals set for the blog. I’ve got a bunch of posts and a few “series” posts I already have planned and am planning on putting together some videos and other fun stuff to help lessen the learning curve for anyone else who wants to get better prepared. I’d also like to get the blog off blogger and onto its own address, as well as do a re-design on it, so we’ll see what kind of fun we can have there. Anyone with technical skills is welcome to give advice/help!
So as you’re working on your new years goals, be sure to add some goals that will help you and your family become better prepared and more self-reliant this year and in the years to come. What do you want to learn or do or acquire this year that will add to your personal or family preparedness?
Keep preparing! Angela
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I am not a prepper in the LDS sense, but I do try to be prepared for anything. My main thing for this year is getting the storage issue solved. While I know what to do, money and energy were the problems. By the way, what is a 2 1/2 bedroom home? Is one bedroom really small? You did not ask, but building on seems the right way to go for people in areas where the home might not sell if you do decide to move.
Are there any areas anymore where homes really have a chance of selling? I, too, wondered about the 2 1/2 bedroom home though, lol. I have lived in a trailer that had bedrooms so small that I could not fit a single bed plus a crib so I wonder what you all think is too small. When I was growing up, I had a laundry room for a bedroom once. it fit a daybed, shelf and small dresser for one person I had all I needed and was glad to have it. I was 17 at the time.
Happy New Year!
RW
This year I want to start a medicinal herb garden, build an outdoor shower, learn the art of sourdough bread and maybe how to age hard cheeses.
I just came across your website. I live in Queensland Australia. Throught out December and January we had major floods through about 90% of Queensland. Food shortages were happening. People panicked and bought multiples of bread and milk (what would happen with power failures?). However, it was during these few days I had to do my regular grocery shop for fresh food, etc. I bought what we could, and surveyed my cupboards and was pleasantly surprised that we had close to a months dry food and nearly the same in the freezer. The whole flooding taught me lessons of self and community reliance and helping out each other. I am feeling blessed to have ‘more than enough’.