Living Life in Rural Iowa

One of the things that could most annoy me is when some one close me to goes "Oh my gosh, she's a prepper! You should see all the stuff she has put anyway and all the gadgets she has!" Doesn't matter the glare I give them. Doesn't matter if I deny it or semi deny it. Doesn't matter if I walk away from the conversation or try to change the conversation, it goes back to that. And guess what? It really irks me, politely saying. I don't want everyone to know what I have. I am actually quite private about what I have. I have a small group of people who know what I have or hoping to acquire. That is it. I do that on purpose. I don't want everyone and their cousins to show up on my doorstep looking for hand outs or a place to stay. There is actually a term for this: Operational Security. Otherwise known as OPSEC. Operational security means that important information is hidden, protected, and not divulged to anyone determined to be an "unfrie

August is in the books! Yeah! The kids went back to school on the 20th and we have settled very quickly back into a routine. School was a bit more expensive this year to enroll. In the past six years, we have qualified for free lunches which also qualifies us for free registration. While I do not care for the program, it did give me some breathing room in the budget and it does help the schools out a lot with extra funding. This year we have reduced cost lunches, but my kids take cold lunches a lot anyway so that will be okay. Since we make a lot from scratch I don't see this impacting our grocery budget too much, but we shall see. Keeping it real. My kitchen floor right now! Speaking of the grocery, that has been staying steady at $200 a month. Actually in August, I spent $175. I blame the garden for that! Ha! Yeah for gardens! We were also blessed with a lot of free produce and have been canning like crazy. I actually ran out of jars this year canning and will be getting

Some beliefs I have encountered: Many people believe that kids need a gentle, coddling introduction to being a grown up. Many people believe that kids cannot function on their own until they are 22-25 years old. Many people believe kids do not need to have a job while in junior high, high school, or college. They should just concentrate on their studies and being involved. They have the rest of their life to work. If the kids have jobs, they still don't need to pay any of their own expenses. They should save their money or just blow the money on junk. Many people believe that kids need to go to college in order to be successful. As long as they graduate with a degree, they will be successful. Many people believe that it is okay for kids to move back home after being gone for a few years and not have to contribute to the home or pay bills. They need to concentrate on finding a job and saving money to buy a car or a home. All of these beliefs? They are the reason why we

When you go out for the day, do you know where you are going? Are you aware of potential situations that may impact you? How do you plan to protect yourself (and loved ones) if danger threatens you? Those are questions I think about everyday. They are not easy questions, but they need to asked just the same. Many people think the officers of the law will protect or they will depend of the kindness of strangers to protect them, but that is not good enough for my family and I. Many people also think that having just a gun will protect them, but without the right skills and smarts you may be in just as much trouble. Personal protection and awareness is just that: being aware of yourself in your surroundings. You should have the skills to be aware of the dangers of almost any situation and the smarts to understand how to deal with that situation. You need to ask yourself these questions: 1. Where are you? 2. Who is around you? Is someone causing trouble, acting foolish, or look

People often forget that while they need to have plenty of food stored, they also need the other essentials in life. What would be those you ask? Items such as batteries, toliet paper, feminine supplies, soap, deodorant, and other essentials make life so much easier and better smelling for all of us! Plus there is a lot of items we do not use every day, but we would certainly need in case of emergency! How do you plan to address these things? Do you plan on making them yourself or having them on hand? Either way, you need to have the items on hand! What do you need to have on hand when stocking non-food items? I have a list of things I definitely want to have on hand, but that list could look different for everyone. Here is some questions I ask myself and you may want to ask yourself to start or beef up your non-food stockpiles. 1. What are you prepping for? For example: power grid failures, EMPs, natural disasters, financial collapse, job loss, rising food costs, etc. What