Starting Point

The other blog got me to thinking: Where exactly is the starting point for being self-sufficient?  For survival?

For each family, the starting point will be different.  Someone who already grows their own food, and cans it, will be far ahead of the game and will start at a different point than someone who is just starting out like myself.

So, where do I start?  What do I need for my family?

This is a bit tricky, because I can't have excitotoxins and my daughter can't have soy.   In an emergency, we would both eat small amounts of it in order to survive, but not enough of it to cause massive reactions.  I had two helpings of KFC and, on top of other food I'd eaten, it almost killed me.  We will also not eat pork or shellfish due to our beliefs.

Obviously, our needs will be different than a family without food issues.  So, where do I start?  First, I need to set my priorities.  What do we need to survive?

The major things we need, and I will write about, are:

Shelter
Heat
Food
Water
Cooking
First-Aid
Hunting items

The other things we need are:

Barter items
Clothing
Cleaning items to prevent disease
Comfort things like "treat" food, a game that can be brought out when cabin fever sets in, something to lift morale.

I also need to think and decide whether or not I want to keep animals like chickens, rabbits (for meat) and/or goats.  They come with their own problems like needing to stock up on feed and medical supplies.  

Some obviously have a higher priority than others.  The key for anyone is to identify the areas they or they're family need in order to survive.  Someone in the country will have different priorities than someone in the city.   Someone with a lot of disposable cash will have more options that someone who is struggling with the day-to-day aspects of surviving.     You need to identify priorities for your family.

Blogs That Bind

While checking Facebook, because my mom and daughter seem to send messages through it and not the phone, I noticed a friend posted a link to her friend's new survival/food storage blog.  I'm always on the look out for new info, so I headed on over.  What I landed on was a big advertisement for buying freeze-dried foods.

Compound Bow

I've been researching compound bows.  I don't know anything about bows at all.  At first, I wanted a crossbow, but my Marine son suggested I start off with a compound since it would be easier and less costly.

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Or, in my case, Attack of the Killer Blight.  One plant is dead.  The second one is going.  I was only able to harvest 3 tomatoes off the blighted plant.   I've gotten 6 off the other one.  Unfortunately, the growing season here is coming to a close.