Feeling Grateful To Be A Prepper

People make fun of preppers, but let me tell you– it pays to be prepared!

Just last week into the weekend, we had temps drop and many people lost power. We were lucky and did not. But two years ago we lost power after nearly 2 feet of snow fell, breaking all records for a century or more. But we were okay because I’m a prepper.

This week, I hear from friends all over Oregon that they lost power and have yet to get it back. Those with wood and a wood stove or fireplace are making do fairly comfortably. Those without are miserable. I have friends that sleep in their cars (parked OUTSIDE, not in a garage like one story I heard) because it’s warmer. My friend Amber took her laptop to a store and plugged her phone in using outlets in the lamp section of a Fred Meyer (general store including groceries.)

Having wood and a wood-burning thing in your house in such cases is crucial. I insisted we couldn’t buy a house (even though it’s not my house really…) without that, and already we’ve seen the difference that makes in the winter.

And having weeks or months worth of supplies is also important. It made dealing with the pandemic issues easier to bear, let alone any weather disasters or fallout from such.

I’m a prepper because I lack trust in others to keep things going perfectly all the time. I know I can’t live in a zombie apocalypse type of situation, but for most shorter-term catastrophes, I am GOOD.

Looking around me this winter, it’s clear it was smart to lack trust. Things fall apart sometimes, and they will do so with greater frequency and for longer periods of time as Decline continues it’s inexorable plod towards a darker age. Maybe clever minds will come up with solutions along the way, and I hope so!– but I’m preparing for a future when shit goes sideways on the regular. The longer I live, the smarter that attitude seems. I’m grateful to be lucky enough to have that choice. So many don’t, and I’ve OFTEN been one of those people who could not afford to prep.