Winter is Coming

With fall rolling in at full force and winter soon on the horizon you can expect certain environmental changes to occur. The Most obvious changes are temperature drops, leaves falling and the usual rain and snow that accompanies the season. What most people don’t expect are the possibility of flooding, fire or wind, rain and thunder storms. Mother Nature never stops and so it’s good to remember that Preparation shouldn't stop either. Here are a few quick tips to get your winter preparation underway.

1. Food storage – This is something that really applies traditionally to winter time but is something to even think about throughout the year. Ensuring you have enough water and food to last you in case any of the public works fails is essential. The last thing you need is to be in a situation where you've become dependent on them to supply you what you need. We call this a “single point of failure” in the military and it’s a bad situation to be in. Having enough food and water for at least 72 hours is a must and enough for two weeks is ideal. Most public works issues are limited to under two weeks but it couldn't hurt to be more prepared.

2. Heating – Knowing how best to heat your home is essential. A significant chunk of money is spent annually on heating your home and there are a few tips out there that can help lower the cost. If you have a fireplace then having sufficient firewood is always important since this is very easy to find for free on sites like Craigslist.com. Look into high efficient portable heaters to place in the rooms you occupy most. There isn't a huge need to heat the whole house when you spent most of your time in only part of it. Look into homemade/DIY style heaters like my favorite “terracotta pot” heater (instructions for this can be found just by doing a web search). Also ensure that you have curtains that help hold in the heat. Check the attic to ensure you have proper and sufficient insulation. Renew your weather stripping around doors and windows if needed. Sealing up the house might take most of an afternoon but saves you on so many energy costs that makes it plenty worth it.

Terracotta Pot Heater

3. Contingency Planning – Most people think of the first two items but they forget that there are many other things they need plans for. Flooding and fire can occur frequently during fall as the seasons change and precautions should be taken. Have evacuation plans and thoughts of a secondary location if you need to leave for an extended period of time. Inventorying your valuables is one that most people forget. This is not only good in case of burglary but also for insurance purposes. Have a plan for every possible disaster. Most of these plans will look exactly the same but it’s good to consider them each individually.

4. Know your neighbors – I've found great value in knowing your neighbors and I encourage everyone to get to know theirs. There are some people that might live in areas where it’s a little frightening to become close to them. Each situation will be different but knowing who they are, what they do and their willingness level to assist you if you need it is paramount to a complete contingency plan. With a lot of people taking time off to travel during the holidays a good neighbor can help keep an eye on things while you’re gone.

5. Learn – Don’t be afraid to go out and do some research. I don’t believe that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I think that there is so much that can be learned and so little time to learn it. YouTube.com has become one of my favorite sites to learn about new and innovative ways of taking care of home issues. There are thousands of quick fix and DIY videos on a wide range of topics. Go to the library and pick up some books about any survival and preparation topics.

Being prepared is the best way to have peace of mind over the things you can’t control. By expecting a wide range of possible occurrences you’re diminishing the potential danger to yourself and family. Please comment below about your own winter preparation preferences and what you plan to do this fall before the cold comes.

Peace Of Mind

     The greatest consequence of preparation for any event is peace of mind. There can be no greater feeling of relief before, during and after a terrible event than knowing that you were prepared. The eastern United States was hammered by one of the worst storms seen in years causing flooding, power outages, fires and even death. The complete consequences are still unknown while people crawl out of the devastation to see what waits. I first wish to express my deepest condolences to anyone who has been severely affected by this storm and wish a speedy recovery for everyone. 

     What really struck me was the amount of people that are completely unprepared for such events. I believe everyone understands the dangers of a hurricane, tornado, earthquake or other natural disaster but they lack the wisdom to prepare for these events. About four days prior to the storm making landfall the media and local leaders advised the citizens on how best to prepare. Most people ran to the grocery and hardware stores to gather supplies, fighting over the last jug of water or loaf of bread. Lines were seen out the door and most people left empty handed having to drive to another store in search of supplies. 

     Two nights prior to the storm making landfall I realized we had run low on milk and I went to the store to get some groceries. I was amazed that there was so little on the shelves. The normally stocked milk locker was empty of all but a few gallons of 2%. I walked past the empty shelves of the soup isles and the now barren drink isle. Even the bakery had been picked clean leaving just a few bagels and only one loaf of bread. 

     I smiled to myself at how wonderful it felt to have already had these items on hand. To be honest I should have picked up some milk earlier knowing that the unprepared were going to raid the stores but I could have lasted a few more days without milk. Preparation had once again saved me so much stress and hassle of not only fighting with people to get basics but waiting in endless lines for things I could have picked up weeks ago. 

Food Storage closet of an avid prepper.

     Not everyone has extra money lying around and I understand the economic strains that most of us deal with. The greatest thing is that if you can plan to have even $10 extra a month and you spend that on supplies you might need, you will be ready for almost anything. I set aside about $20-30 a months for my preparation fund. This means that I spend it on water, medical supplies, Go-Bag replenishment items, batteries, food storage and other items. My normal grocery list is full of items that I can use as food storage and I try to buy one extra can than I need so that I can stockpile some of the items. By using items I eat on a regular basis I can cycle through the items to make sure they’re fresh and ready. 

     I don’t have large food stores like I would need if it came down to surviving for months. Money is so tight I can only afford my $20-30 and at times I can’t even do that. Even at that level of preparedness I was able to ride out this storm comfortably without any fear of the dangers that were presented. I had a peace of mind and was grateful for it. 

     Storage space is also sometimes and issue and living in a small apartment like I do can be difficult deciding where best to store things. You would be surprised at the little amount of space six months’ worth of food storage can really take. I think that most people can find a place for it. Buying items like rice and oats are a sure way to stock your supply quickly and cheaply. Most of these items store well for extended periods and are great food in an emergency. Canned foods are also ready for easy storage and there are multiple options on how best to store them. Many storage container supply stores offer racks, shelves and other reasonable ways to store your food in ways that best minimize the amount of space they occupy. 

     The bottom line is that a month’s worth of food storage is minimal and nearly essential for everyone. Building up to six months or more can be difficult but worth it. Remember that preparing for these natural disasters is as important as providing everyday shelter and food for your family. Without these items you’ll be stuck in the line with others fighting over the last gallon of water or loaf of bread. Don’t be caught without the essentials when the time comes. Be prepared and receive that peace of mind.

Prepare or Not to Prepare?

     I understand there has been a while since I've posted and my weekly article isn't so much "weekly" anymore but I've struggling with how best to approach this topic. Since the inception Jack of All Spades, I've had numerous people contact me on social sites and other venues wanting to “friend” me or to follow the Jack of All Spades. The popularity is something I’m excited and grateful for. The only thing that is alarming is that a high number of these individuals are “Doomsday Preppers”. 

     On the grand scale of survivalists there is the slothful couch potato to the left and the Doomsday Prepper towards the right.  This scale paints a very clear picture between doing and not doing. As for Jack of All Spades we fall in a happy middle ground between the two ends. There exist extreme levels of hoarding food and arms, and even larger claims of apocalyptical endings but that is where difference between an Everyday Jack and a Doomsday Prepper lies. An Everyday Jack divides the two groups nearly equally in terms of preparation. Most people’s preparation standards fall on the left side of the scale while the more extreme Preppers fall to the right. 

     The grand difference between the Doomsday Prepper and the Everyday Jack is the purpose behind the preparations. Jack of All Spades prepare for events to either prevent or be ready to cope when they occur. This keeps our life from falling into personal and financial recessions. A Doomsday Prepper does all this because he expects the world to fall and he and those like him will be the only ones left standing. They might claim that inevitable catastrophic failure in government or mankind but they prepare so that they can be left standing when everyone else falls. Everyday Jacks don’t want to be the only ones left standing. We prepare to prevent such disasters if possible and deal with them afterwards if we can’t stop them. 

     Apocalyptical disasters might stand a credible chance of happening but the likelihood is much less than the ones we prepare for as Everyday Jacks. Using your efforts to prepare for a flood or fire is much more productive than preparing for nuclear war or alien invasion. I don’t want to degrade those that prepare to such extremes because many of their techniques and processes are enlightening and available to those that want to learn. I have learned many things from them and encourage everyone who wants to learn “pre-modern world” techniques to seek out this information. 

     Not all Doomsday Preppers are bad either. There are varying degrees of preparation and some of them only prepare “just in case” but Jack of All Spades does not prepare for the end of the world. There are too many other things to worry about throughout our normal lives and too many things that we can do now to prevent those far off disasters from happening. There might be a day that government failure will be more likely. When those odds become more likely Jack of All Spades will be ready to start offering advice, but until that point take care of your family, your friends and your community so that we as a people are better. Prepare for muggings, rape, kidnapping, home invasion, credit card fraud, terrorism and international dangers when at home or abroad, natural disasters and even personal and public medical emergencies. All of these things and more will be the end of us if we don’t stand together as Everyday Jacks and Everyday Jills against the evil that is presented to us. 

     Jack of All Spades is a community based on the principles of knowing the danger, training for them, and then providing an ever-evolving safety net of friends and teachers. We’re not a remote commune of people waiting for the world to end. If we are anything, we’re a group of people preventing the world from ending. Is it not true what Albert Einstein once said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing”?

     Spend your time and money on things to improve the situation and not wait for it to get worse. Running from the problems will only make it worse when you try to step back into the situation. To be clear, Jack of All Spades is not a community of Doomsday Preppers. Think Jack of All Spades as a neighborhood watch for the United States. We know the threats, we’re trained for them, and we share our knowledge among ourselves to better our preparedness. No longer will we stand still as danger approaches because we’ll see it approaching and have a plan to combat it.