Calm & Prepared

There is an order to the life priorities we carry as survivalists, and they apply whether or not we are in a “survival situation” or not.  I think sharing this information with everyone can help organize thoughts and priorities for people in a way that makes them less stressful to think through.  It is important that we solve problems related to these issues in this order.  Circumstances don’t change these priorities, although in certain situations some of them may not be fully available to achieve.  Let’s go down the list and see what needs to be done to check these boxes.

*Trigger Warning*  The purpose of sharing this information is to aid people in organizing their thoughts and to stay calm, not to be alarmist or sensational.  Mike and I were educated as survivalists so much of this information is framed around not dying.  Please do not take that as a sign that Mike or I are under the impression that civilization is about to collapse.  We both believe strongly that that is not the case, and that sharing information like this can serve to provide confidence to our community.  Remember that community is our greatest survival tool, if we take care of eachother during difficult times, we will all be fine.

1. Attitude
A person’s attitude is the single most important thing to maintain during any day, but especially during stressful times or survival situations.  If our attitude falls out from underneath us it can lead to bad decision making, which is the most dangerous problem to be dealing with in a survival situation.  The decision to consume unfiltered water or consume unfamiliar plants/ rotten food based on hunger, thirst, or desperation can kill a person in a survival situation.  An ‘Attitude of Gratitude‘  is your best friend during situations like these.  Taking a few minutes each day to count your blessings is a really good idea all the time, but especially is right now.  During this extended opportunity for family time adding a Thanksgiving Address to your rhythms is a great idea for more reasons than I can even list.  Remember that a positive attitude boosts the immune system, and will help you think through things clearly.  Checking this box is up to you.

2. Shelter
This is more about protection from the elements than it is about four walls and a roof.  Your ability to keep your body temperature in the appropriate space, stay dry, and have a safe place to sleep is paramount.  Luckily as far as I know we are all fortunate enough to have this one covered.  We don’t need to talk about building survival shelters or anything like that.  Consider this box checked.

3. Water
The availability of clean water to drink.  There have been no signs that we are losing water utilities, despite that, many people are buying every bottle of water they can find.  While I don’t judge anyone for reacting that way to feelings of a potential water shortage, I do have to say that it is a shortsighted solution that should be avoided for many reasons.  We shouldn’t be buying bottles of water anyway for ecological reasons, but buying them as a replacement for the effectively unlimited water we currently enjoy is an uninformed strategy to say the least.  This water filtration system is great and a sawyer filter will be safe for close to 100,000 gallons of water.  It will not remove heavy metals, but pathogens and particulate will be removed.  Berkey filters will do a better job with that, but are more expensive.  I seriously doubt our water source will suffer any setbacks, but if it did, it is more likely that our water will lose filtration than be turned off.  But you could drink from Lake Travis after running the water through either of these filters if you had to.  Get a good filter and call this box checked.

4. Fire
This is about the ability to cook food or boil water.  If your shelter is an appropriate temperature it is not necessary for heat.  A campfire is also a very comforting thing to sit around.  All the kids know how to help with or make fires, many of them can do bow drill.  Having extra propane around and a propane stove in the case that it is necessary is a good idea.  And being able to have a barbecue is always nice.  Consider filling your gas tank more frequently than you might otherwise  Get set up to have some neighbors over and grill some food and check this box.

5. Food
Food is the last priority because a person can survive for a month without any.  Canned goods, dehydrated foods, rice, beans, etc.  Are good foodstuffs to have on hand at any point.  Currently the any potential quarantine timelines are around three weeks.  Having three weeks worth of food is a good starting point, having three months is likely overboard.  I believe most of these things are still available to be ordered online, and stores should be restocking soon either way.  I do not see a disruption in food distribution coming.  But I understand the economic effects may leave parts of the population vulnerable for financial reasons down the line. Please don’t eat anything that you aren’t 100% confident about.  While it’s always a good time to research local plants and what small supplemental foods we can gather from the outside, and there are plenty of edible leafy greens available right now that would always be nutritious foods to add to our diet.  Please be smart and safe about the adventures you choose.  Get a reasonable three week supply of food and check this box.

In general in situations like this I encourage everyone to consider what materials most of the population is using to solve these issues, and then think about alternatives to the most commonly used solution. Paper products are a prime example right now.  Reduce your need for TP with a bidet attachment.  Use rags instead of paper towels when you can for cleaning and bleach them in between uses.  Everclear will disinfect things just fine and was still available last I heard.