Are YOU Ready?

It was time to re-stock our emergency supplies this week.  You know, give the kids all of the energy bars that are going to expire (or did...) soon, purchase more.  Make sure that the extra sets of clothes in the 72 hour kit actually fit the children we currently have (they don't), check to see that all of the battery operated things and/or wind up things still work (they do!), and make sure there is enough water for each person in our family, especially as each one grows and has different needs.

This time, I checked some preparedness books out from the library, to make sure that we had covered our bases.  They are just duffel bags, packed and ready to go, but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything, and preparedness books tend to have great checklists in them.  While reading, I had a thought come to me, and I'm hoping to work out a plan to follow through on this thought.

The thought came that I'd been reading a lot of my friends facebook and blog posts about how they were getting bored being at home, that they didn't feel that they were really doing something necessary.  I sat there wondering how people who are solely responsible for the care and well-being other many other human beings (in my case, 4 others) could be bored.  My answer came while reading the preparedness book...the skills that I am striving to acquire, including being self-sufficient and prepared, are NOT common place.  Somewhere in my brain, I knew this, but given that I'm often working on these skills, I forget that others are not.   I forget that many people do not know how to preserve their own produce--let alone grow it.  I forget that turning a gallon of milk into yogurt or cheese seems foreign to many.  To some, it's a waste of time.  However, I have a question to ask:

If an emergency hit your city today, and your city was shut down for two weeks, would your family be able to thrive?  Not just make it, but thrive?  Often, I hear of those that have emergency rations, but they don't use them on a regular basis.  Do you really think, that if your child is used to purchased, processed foods, that you will be able to convince them to eat a bowl of homemade porridge or beans in a situation that is stressful to them?  Will you be able to handle this added stress when you're already stressed with the situation?  Just a thought...

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting ways to be a bit more self-sufficient, even if you're living in an apartment (as I am).  In all honesty, I plan on moving out of this apartment in June, and moving into a home with a yard where I can garden.  But I've been doing some apartment living for the past year, and I think I have a few things to share.  Some things, I'll be conquering for the first time, but I feel it's worth my time to conquer them if not to just help those who will be living in an apartment for a long time (and will need a little boost, knowing someone else did it too!) but also, each skill I learn here will help me in my homesteading efforts.

Also, if you are conquering these things as well, please give some input.  I think one of the wonderful things about the internet is that we can exchange helpful information.