This weeks preps – December 21, 2019
Spent the last 2 weeks working on refinancing a hard money loan on one of our properties. Four different banks. Every bank has a different set of documentation they want. Some won’t let you apply online, only face to face. It’s a bigger hassle than it should be because my credit score sucks. It’s my fault, I made some poor decisions in the past. So I’m not blaming anyone besides myself, but it reinforces the idea that finances should be part of your preps. Because of the time spent on finding a mortgage, I didn’t get a lot of “big” preps done, so I concentrated on the “small” things.
Why are you prepping anyway?
I mean besides the basic will to live that most (all?) people have. I’ll agree that’s a pretty good reason, but the best preps in the world will only keep you here for so long. A couple other good reasons to prep – the ability to care for and protect your clan, and the ability to pass on your values. This is talked about occasionally on the Mountain Guerrilla blog and in detail in Forging the Hero. Since I haven’t had time for major preps and not much extra money, I focused on values and “little” preps.
Something else, too, reminded me of the importance of passing on values. My wife is not a Christian. I want her to share my faith, so a few years ago I would gather the family every night and read from the devotions booklet that my church gives out. It didn’t work, we got busier with our side jobs, so after a few weeks I quit doing it. For some reason last week, my wife said she wants me to start doing it again. That got me thinking about my values and passing them on. It’s also something that doesn’t take a lot of time. One of the “little” things.
“Little” preps…
Nightly devotions – at the suggestion of my wife, I started reading devotions to the family every night.
Exercise – I’ve been working out on and off since July, but over the past 2 weeks I’ve really tried to be more consistent. One of the things holding my up was my back. I’m at the point where trap bar dead lifts are harder on my lower back than my legs. I got a lifting belt, and yes it really helps. Now I can lift heavier with no back pain. Also I’ve tried to get the kids more interested in working out with me. That is still definitely a work in progress…
Besides weight work, I’ve been pretty consistent with walking at least 1-1/2 miles a day, every day. I’ve also started putting on a pack when I walk. Currently mine is loaded to 20 lbs. Not a lot, but I think it’s better to work up slow since I haven’t carried a pack in a long time. Besides, the stuff I’m adding for weight is all stuff that will be permanent content of my bug out/micro adventure bag. The weight will build as I get more gear to add.
Misc. :
- Got my workbench cleaned off and organized.
- Boxed up a bunch of books I no longer read and offered them to my prepping friends.
- Got my mule scope mounted on a rifle I bought last summer and haven’t had a chance to shoot yet.
- Traded an ALICE pack I’m not using for a nice 10×10 silnylon tarp with stuff sack and a single person mesh tent. Both are now in my bug out bag.
- Added 45 lbs (10 4.5 lb bags) of organic quinoa to my food supply. Instead of opening the bags and dumping them into a 5 gallon food bucket, I left them in bags and put 5 bags each into 2 food buckets. Bulkier but more versatile.
That’s it for the past 2 weeks. Last time I said I wanted to start some micro greens, but I just didn’t have time. Hopefully I will over Christmas and News Years. What did you dou to prep this week? Until next time…
Peace out,
porcupine