Part of a preparedness lifestyle includes learning to be self-sufficient. There are many forms of self-sufficiency. Providing for one’s family is one of the finest forms of self-sufficiency. How you provide in such a manner can be as varied as there are people on this earth.
I remember when my husband got laid off from his work. He’d previously been in a very stable position at a leading software company. Just prior to the pending layoffs, he’d been offered a job in a completely different department.
He verified over and over again with department heads and even with a Senior V.P. that if my husband took the job, he would be immune to the pending layoffs.
Over and over again, my husband received promises that if he took the job, he would be immune to the layoffs. My husband took the job because it was a dream of a job and one that would move him in a better career path (or so we thought).
Now mind you, this also came during a difficult time in our lives. Our second child had just passed away. We already were reeling from the shock of that situation. So having a new and apparently better job was a blessing during an otherwise somber time.
Not five weeks after my husband began his new job, he indeed received notice that he was being laid off. If he’d stayed in his old position he would not have received this news (since layoffs at this company were according to seniority in position). But there we were – with my husband laid off and I was expecting our next child. Sigh. Things were about to get really interesting.
My family and I are now more than a decade from those events. We made it through them. I’m grateful for that. What have I learned from them? Those things can happen more suddenly than we expect. And that if we’re prepared, unpleasantries can be softened.
Now often as I’m out and about town, I’m thinking about preparedness issues. I can’t help it. When I’m in the checkout lane and notice 4 lip balm in a pack, I’m thinking, “Oh, that would be a perfect addition to our emergency evac/72-hr kits!”
And no longer do I purchase just one pack of anything. I always buy double when my budget allows it because I know little by little soon becomes a lot. I’ve foregone replacing my Lane rocker with a big tear in the front so that I can continue to build a storage of goods that would sustain my family should grocery stores no longer become accessible for a while.
And that is why I’m now learning to garden. I’m doing it the easy way – with Earthboxes. They are the most incredible thing. Whereas one tomato plant normally might yield maybe 10-20 pounds of tomatoes, a tomato plant gardened in an Earthbox will yield on average 70 pounds of tomatoes per year! Here is a picture of my planting efforts just today…
I may not be able to grow enough food to live off of, but I can at least begin in small ways to increase my family’s self-sufficient ways. I selected some baby lettuce plants, in addition to other plants, and planted them in my Earthboxes.
I’m so excited for the outcome; I’ll keep you posted on their progress. In the meantime, what great things have you been doing to live after a wise preparedness lifestyle? I’d love to hear from you. We’d love to learn from your successes, even your failures, and what you’ve learned from them.
