Reality check ahead...
At this point I hope you have all started making plans for maintaining your families security as best as you can. I have been talking about it for awhile now and hopefully you are seeing what is happening around us. Real time. Get what you can to finish systems now.
Make sure that you have resources for what you need to secure food for next year. If you have the space, finish garden preps for the spring...now. If you don’t have space, be creative! There are a lot of small square foot garden spaces that can be utilized, even if it’s in buckets.
Finalize your seed orders now.
Get what you need and buy heritage seed so that you can save seed to plant the following year. I hope that this year you experimented with how much space is needed to make enough food for your family for a year. Think of spices, herbs and medicinal seeds to have at your fingertips. I hope that you have spent time learning how to utilize the plants around us and learning to safely ID them.
Think through your water systems... do you have a filter system? How about your heating system? Do you have warm clothes and heat that can be achieved without power? What are you lacking?
Be ready to kick in the plans.
Make sure you are stocked up on dry ingredients. Things like beans, and baking ingredients. You can store cans of soup OR you can glean many more meals by storing ingredients to multiply your food. Learn how to make things from scratch so that if you have to, you can still make tasty good food and not have to just eat plain beans and rice. Have your recipes on paper and not online or in your device. Learn how to cook what you have in many different ways and start “weaning” your family now of the “extras” that they are so used to and take for granted. Try to break the habits now when you have time and it won’t be an instant withdrawal “hangry tantrums”...That will just lead to more stress as a parent when these things cant be acquired and you have done nothing to teach your kids not to be picky eaters.
When thinking of Holiday presents think entirely on “the basics” as gifts. Board games, paper and writing/coloring utensils, camping and warm gear. Extra food treats, books and manual toys are great stocking stuffers. Sleds and outdoor toys for the summer, extra clothes they will grow into and sleeping bags. Hiking and survival gear is always good, ranging from back packs to fire starters. The list goes on, but don’t wait and think along these lines when thinking of presents.
I know it is hard to think like this, but you have to face the reality in front of us. Being prepared is not hoarding.

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