Preppers: Let's talk about "stuff"

As we head into severe supply chain problems it’s time to re-asses the value of things.

This was filmed quite a while ago when I was homesteading in Texas, and it is still appropriate today.

Many decades ago prior to ever even thinking about sustainability, I was visiting Viet Nam. I was quite young, carefree, and although I didn’t think so, in that place I was fairly wealthy. I’ll never forget the moment when I realized how much I took for granted.

Waiting for a friend, I set an empty water bottle beside a pile of rubble on the street. A woman came by and shyly picked up the bottle and scurried off. The way she held it, that woman valued the bottle very very highly.

I was struck. I realized that yes, that bottle is very valuable. It was clear, unscratched plastic which I still find quite magical. It was strong and lightweight. I had capped it before setting it down so it had a lot of functionality for carrying fluids.

I once read about the destruction of a large seed bank in Afganistan (I think). The seed was eaten of course. But the reason the thieves had come was for the jars the seeds were stored in. Jars were extrmeley valuable.

It’s difficult for us now to think that things could get that bad here in the US. But history has proven over and over again that it can get much worse, and it will. Few fiat currencies have lasted as long as the US Dollar.

The more you get into living as self reliantly as possible, the more you value ‘stuff’. And finding a new use for something is a creative joy. I’ve become more to see things in terms of function: lashing, tubing, container, connector, divider, protection….

On a farm you are continously scavaging from one project to build another.

So in this video I go over the different ways I look at what I’m storing by what sort of protection do the items need? Some things can just stay outside and be OK for quite a few years. Some things need cover from the sun (a powerful dissolver of plastics). Some things need a garage type envirnoment (tools, hardware). And then we built a small 10’x10’ insulated house with a tiny a/c to keep it cool for the very precious stuff like backup food and musical instruments.

It is time now to start saving those thing we would normally toss: jars, plastic pill bottles, wire, plastic cups. You don’t want to be a hoarder and you don’t want to be a junk yard. But you definitely will need resources for what is coming.