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I've been preparing for many years. We originally went the bucket and bulk purchase storage route. Over the years we went with a balance of freeze dried with the standard bucket storage. We have balanced it out further with canned goods and a deep freeze. Spices are an important part of the preps. We now refer to our food storage as the temporary, the deep, and very deep. Freeze dried does give that option of very long term storage, however we did not purchase prepared meals.

One of the final areas of food preparation has been acquiring adequate fats and protein. I have been doing low carb now for many years. Many of the prep diets are heavy on carbohydrates. This will not bode well for may people who will develop metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes from this dietary change. Just another consideration. I have many suggestions for those who are concerned about this.

We are currently updating our power backup system with more batteries and an improved transfer switch. One of the items we have always been prepared for is water. We learned over 15 years ago when the power goes out the toilets don't flush. That is the one problem with a water well. Hence, we went a combination of solar and a generator years ago. We have kept our feet in both worlds of having electric service and switching over to batteries when there are outages. That seems to happen regularly where we live.

Having a backup system helped us to prioritise our electric needs versus our wants. Water and refrigeration have always been a priority.

An area of consideration we are completing now is waste disposal. There may not be trash pickup. We have kept a burn barrel for years but have now updated to a link-log incinerator. They are made of a concrete aggregate and you put them together the same way you put the lincoln logs together as children. We have found the link-log outdoor fireplace to be reliable for ten years now. The beauty of the concrete incinerator is that it does not rust out and blends nicely into the landscape.

Finally we are getting the last of the raised beds in. We are installing 12-4X4 drip irrigated units. We are all getting older and square foot gardening makes sense for many reasons, besides being able to keep the animals out when necessary. With our greenhouse we should be able to push three cycles of weather related crops from this garden.

Just a few of my current projects I thought I would share with you. I don't consider prepping to mean sacrificing, though I have been at it now for 12 years. I consider it self-sufficiency to be able to grow and store food, burn wood for heat, provide a minimum of electricity and to continue on as if nothing has happened. The sun will still come up every day and the seasons will change. I have found it important to keep the modern technological diversions in perspective.

PaEngineer

Perfection personified....:o)

Same plan here....not a hobby but a lifestyle. If my electric bill increased fourfold tomorrow it would still be only half of what my neighbors pay. Folks need to think through the basics of life now an just consider such as a foundation of everyday needs. Because soon it may be to late.

Stay Safe.... Nice garden PAE !

Wow, your garden looks like a science project! Great job... Did you purchase the raised beds or is that a design of yours?? Looks great.