Random Stuff to Consider

Well, here we are in a New Year and while I have enjoyed a few days of wallowing in the decadent pleasure of browsing seed catalogs (fruit and veggie porn!), there are a few pressing issues on my mind.

One is how many people say "I don't have the money to buy ...insert random prepper thingabob here... .
A neighbor told me "I would have a garden, but I don't have the money to buy the plants and no way to start seedlings." I asked what they were talking about. They seemed to think you had to have perfect little peat pots and such to start seedlings.And potting soil from the garden center. Etc., etc.
Bull hockey!
I have recently started seeds (we have an early growing season here in south east Texas)
Soil, I dug myself.
Pots? The bottom section of 2 liter bottles.Plenty of room for a seed to get started. To lessen shock when transplanting, I just cut the very bottom off when I put it in the ground, leaving a band of plastic around the plant. (Stops various cutworms) I save the top of the 2 liter bottles to use as little mini-greenhouses for my seedlings after I put them in the ground. Protects them from chilly winds that may crop up or the surprise little frost that may occur. In cool weather it will also heat up the seedlings...but not to worry about it getting too hot, just take the caps off! Some tops of 2 liter bottles get recycled into funnels. Handy things to have around.

Quit looking at what you don't have and look around at what you DO have!

I need a curtain for one window. I have a sheet. I make a curtain. It is simple, functional and looks nice. If I want to dress it up a bit, I can make tie-backs of a pretty material or add trim.
I didn't freak out about not having the money to buy a new curtain or new fabric, I used what I had on hand.

Perhaps that is the lesson here...most of us (in the US, at least) have LOADS of stuff. A lot of it just *sits*. We do nothing with it. It takes up space and adds no function.
Today I am going through my room and pantry and seeing what I have that is just taking up space without providing function. If something has absolutely no function in my life, it will go on to someone that can use and appreciate it. (Freecycle!!!) I honestly do not think I will find a lot of *non-functioning* items. I try to have everything serve several purposes.
The exception would be the art work on my walls...but then again, that serves a function for me. I paint to relax and the majority of the artworks on the walls are ones I did myself. I'll never be a famous artist, but it makes me happy to paint.
I don't have a lot of *knick-knacks* as I hate to dust. There is the odd vase or two, but I use those to hold things like my hair scrunchies, paperclips and office items, etc. Pretty containers.

I watch t.v. on occasion and I have been driven into fits of giggles watching the HGTV when people go to buy a new house. 2500 square feet? Please, people...that is unnecessary unless you have 6+ kids...and even then, it is kinda large. I had 7 kids and I don't think we ever lived in a house that was over 1500 square feet.
But many of these are young couples buying themselves into poverty by mortgaging their futures for 2500 square feet of suburbia on a less than a 1/4 acre of land. Worse yet are the ones that get loans for 200 or 300 thousand to buy an APARTMENT! Okay, I am being judgmental here and I know it. But why not take that 30 thousand they saved for a down payment and buy a couple of good acres on the outskirts of town, slap a decent trailer/mobile home on it and build their own home as they can afford it? Little to no debt, room to garden or raise small livestock and a healthier lifestyle.

I am not jealous of those people. I actually feel sorry for many of them. They buy those huge houses and have the next 30 or so years looking down a long, black tunnel of debt. What if they lose their jobs? What if someone in the family gets sick or has an accident and there are huge medical bills?
So many things to consider...but many people just don't think things through.
Hence we have people living in homes that are worth thousands less than they paid for them, we have people defaulting on mortgages and walking away from homes, we have many unemployed that had not prepared themselves for the possibility that the good times were  going to end.

Sit back today, even just for 30 minutes, and take stock of how truly you are prepared. Make a few lists. Make a *what if* list. It really does help to write it down.
*What if* you lost your job?
*What if* your spouse had a serious accident or died?
*What if*  you had to raise 50% of your food?
*What if* , *what if*, *what if*...if you have personal fears/concerns for your particular situation, write that down and figure out a Plan A, Plan B, heck, go all the way to Plan Z if need be.

90% of being prepared is MENTAL preparation. Panic will kill you and yours. If you have a plan, you won't panic. Sure, we all get those stomach-in-knots moments, but with calm reasoning and planning, we can survive.

Back to functionality...go through your house this week and find 5 things that are sitting there doing nothing. Either re-purpose them or get rid of them.