'That feeling' and The Rule of 3

I don't know about you, but 'that feeling' is growing stronger! Are you feeling it? That thing. That voice that tells you that you need to do more, prep more, save more.....NOW!!! I usually assume that when I'm feeling something strongly and it doesn't go away, then the Holy Spirit is speaking to me and I need to listen. If you're feeling 'the feeling', don't ignore it. Heed the warning that is being spoken to you. I'm sure all the info on the tragedy in Haiti is helping to feed the feeling. Boy oh boy, I sure don't want to be waiting for food and water to be airlifted to me, if there's anything I can do about it. Hubby and I were sick last week, so I didn't get to do any of the canning that I had hoped to do. I'm back on track this week, though, and I can't wait to come back at the end of the week to share what I've gotten done. I hope you're working hard on your food (or other necessary) storage this week, too.

I wanted to talk about The Rule of 3. This is a guideline that will help prevent you from putting all of your 'prepping eggs' in one basket, so to speak. The rule is: Try to set up 3 different ways to accomplish your needs. For instance, we need to be able to cook food and right now most of us cook on a gas or electric stove. Well, if the gas or electric are out we need an alternative. What are our choices? How about the outdoor grill or camp stove with propane? Can you cook over an open fire with or without cast iron pans? Maybe you have an outdoor brick oven or a solar oven (homemade solar oven plans abound on the internet). We've just listed 5 alternatives to the indoor stove. For most of us the grill is something we already own and you could very easily start a small fire in a fire pit out in the backyard. So, without much money we figured out some alternatives to our need to have hot, cooked food. My own personal alternatives are the gas grill, the open fire with cast iron, and the camp propane stove. Don't forget to store the charcoal or gas necessary to run your grill or camp stove if either of those are your alternatives.

What are the other needs that need to be met? How about light (flashlights, candles, oil lamps, solar lights), heat (wood stove/fireplace, stand alone heater), water (bottled, filter, hand well pump)? Pay attention to all of the things you do during the day and think to yourself, "How would I accomplish this task if the traditional way wasn't available?" Not every 'need' will have 3 alternatives (toilet facilities come to mind), but you want to name as many as you can.

The next step is to practice with your alternatives. This is one area we are personally lacking. We have alternative heat, but we haven't used it yet! I really should know how to work the heater if and when the need arises, so it's on my to-d0 list! Having alternate ways of doing the everyday tasks in your life, and practicing them so that you feel confident in what you're doing, will go a long way to ensure that your life is fairly calm in the midst of an emergency.

Prep on!
Gen-IL Homesteader