Living Life in Rural Iowa

We are getting a wake-up call as a nation and a world right now. Many of us are experiencing a new kind of reality at the moment. Some of us are working at home. Some of us are still working away from home. Some of us are not working, not getting paid, and aren't sure when we will be again.

Some of us still remember the recession and dot com bubble from 2008-2009 that hurt many people. People lost their homes on shady mortgage deals and no income. Small businesses collapsed due to a lack of work. Construction companies went belly up when the home building came to a halt. A lot of people were hurt when that happened.

That kind of reality is scary. You are not sure what you should do and can do right at the moment except hunker down at home and hope you don't run out of money. You need to keep a roof over your head, water running, and the power on, but you need money for all of that. Some people already struggle with this. However, with the current situation that we are in, times …

Generally, most people are not prepared to be home for extended periods. We are mostly on-the-go people who have jobs outside the home and have our kids in school. We have our days planned for that and don't always consider that school or work could be shut down for extended periods.

When something does happen that you have to be home for long periods, you may wonder exactly how you are going to handle that. You have to balance your needs with your family's needs as well as keep everyone as healthy as humanly possible. You may still need to go to work or work from home. Your kids may have been given homework to do over the break or be asked to use a virtual classroom for schooling.

You have this. Trust me. You can do this even though it may seem overwhelming. A self-quarantine (or social distancing) may only last for two weeks or it may last for two or more months. You need to get some things in place.

I am a huge believer in routines and schedules. I don't adhere to strict s…

There is a lot of insanity going on right now. We have dismissed other pandemics as minor things, but we have been literally slapped with this current pandemic due to the mass media and the advancements in social media. As more information comes out, we are starting to see how this one could affect us more than we originally thought.

Colleges are moving to online classes. Schools are restricting or canceling activities as well as classes. Major sports arenas and groups are canceling major events and delaying seasons. We are also starting to see events being canceled where there would be large groups of people.

To say that this is concerning is an understatement. While I am happy to see this pandemic being taken seriously, I am a bit disturbed to see the overreaction of people on a personal level.

As a prepper, you should be prepared for this. You should already have food and supplies at home. You should have supplies at home like masks, gloves, cold/flu meds, vitamins, and more. I can un…

In this day and age, we are used to being able to go anywhere and be entertained. Even as adults, we struggle to deal with our downtime. We fantasize about being home for a whole week with nowhere to go and nothing to do but don't know what to do when it happens.

When you are told that you cannot go anywhere for a week or longer, the first thing you may want to do is panic. (Unless you are a prepper and then you are ready for this!) However, panicking will not get you anywhere except to create more chaos and confusion. You need to be calm and focused.

First of all, if you are in a quarantine whether it is self-quarantine or a mandated quarantine, you should plan to be home for a minimum of two weeks. Most people will only plan to be home for one week, but you should at least double that time. To be safe, I would plan for four weeks just to err on the side of caution. If you or your family ends up sick, you will need to be home for as long as it takes to recover and recoup.

Next, you …