Buckets!

Over at the Just in Case Book blog, she made a post today about where to find ridiculously cheap, food-grade storage buckets. Does that sound like useful information to you? It does to me!

http://www.fivestarpreparedness.com/

There's the website. They have storage containers, storage aids (like drying packets and such), shelf stable food, and manners of cooking said food. Their tag line is: "We make preparing possible! Delivering Peace of Mind through preparation!" along with a kitchy little pic of a 1950s style mom. Because everyone knows, Mom back in the day could fix anything. :-P [N.B. they appear to be Mormons, so if you have a problem with that, you know now!]

In reading the JiCBB (Just in Case Book Blog -- too lazy to fully write it), she talks about the prep for what will basically be the end times -- i.e., her son keeps 5 jugs of gas in his basement, so that when the world ends, he can get to his mom's house. Isn't that kinda cute? As well as very doomer. I approve.

But that brings to mind: how would I manage if the world ended tomorrow? I'm not sure, but probably not that well. [Side note, why does the teakettle smell like soup cooking...? Whoops! Wrong burner!] Just that, is an example. We don't have any alternate form of cooking! Well, we have a small grill, but that runs on propane, and I'm sad to say, it noms it up ridiculously fast. So if I were to have that as my backup plan, I should probably get more propane cans. Then, I have the crockpot (if the electric still runs but not the gas lines -- you never know!), but that should not be counted on. Now, I love Zu'ul, and we are perhaps MORE prepared than a lot, but there is so much to be done.

Items Needed To Survive the Apocalypse

-- large, full pantry and root cellar (halfway there I feel)
-- alternate source of heat
-- alternate form of cooking
-- source of transportation independent upon outside influences (Dan has a bike -- if the apocalypse was tomorrow, I'd get my bike from my mother)
-- cat food stockpiled
-- medicine stockpiled (VERY important, and probably very difficult)
-- manner of paying rent (ouch)
-- water stockpiled (we have some)

I'm trying to think of what else -- basic necessities are: food, water and shelter. Yet, I feel that if we dropped into a barter economy tomorrow, we'd be ok. We'll be better when we get the chickens from Beth! :-D Oh fresh eggs to eat and to barter... looking forward to it.

The dependence upon the stove does bother me -- if we were using a wood burning cookstove, that would also be heat! Two birds with one stone. Ah well -- that is waiting for the day I have my own place.