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Tag(s): Food Rationing; Food Supply; Survival; Survival And Success Tips
Group(s): Reality-Based Community (rbc)Add to My Group

March 2, 2008 at 18:30:14

Surviving the Middle Class Crash - Part 4

by Barbara Peterson

www.opednews.com

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Sustainability

If you’ve taken my advice in previous columns and prepared for hard times, then you have ample food to last for a while, and an adequate water source. Kathryn Smith has some good advice regarding an emergency preparedness kit. Here is a LINK to her article.

Keeping the shelter where you have everything stored, whether you live in a city or the country, is now a high priority. If you need money to keep your house, consider renting a portion of it to a family that has lost theirs. If you live in an apartment, consider getting a roommate. Unless you like living under a bridge, in a car, or under a tree, make these arrangements quickly.

While food storage is essential, when it is gone and there is no way to replace it, you go without. Therefore, our attention must turn to inexpensive ways to keep our food supply re-stocked. Here are some suggestions:

If you have a large enough garden, you will be able to can and dry your own vegetables and fruit. When you harvest your crop, make sure to harvest some seeds also. You will need them for the next planting.

Consider getting a couple of chickens or geese. Geese love free ranging, are easy to keep because they eat grass and weeds, and love stormy weather. They are also good watchdogs. Don’t be afraid of stocking up on the eggs. Eggs can be dried and kept in the cupboard for a long time. The shells can also be dried and ground up for a good calcium supplement.

If you like milk and cheese, consider that goat’s milk is some of the healthiest milk you can get. Goats are easy keepers, and will eat your brush and weeds. This milk, if processed carefully, is very sweet and you can make various flavors of cheese from it just by adding a few different ingredients. It is not a difficult process. All it takes is a bit of vinegar, the goat’s milk, cheesecloth, and whatever flavorings you want to add.

What one person doesn’t have, another will. When money and commodities are scarce, bartering is the way to go. Start networking with others, and let the trading begin.

With the looming financial crisis, it is necessary for us to be as self-sufficient as possible. By growing and raising most of our own food and getting together with others that are doing the same, we can make it through hard times and be healthier for it.

Barbara H. Peterson is retired from the California Department of Corrections, where she worked as a Correctional Officer at Folsom Prison. She was one of the first females to work at the facility in this classification. After retirement, she went to college online to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Business, and graduated with honors. The most valuable thing she received from her time with UOP was a realization that her life's passion is writing. Now her business degree sits in her desk drawer, and she counts herself in the category of Writer/Activist. Someday she will make money writing, but that is not why she does it. "I do it because I must. A driving force compels me to reach out to others with what I learn about the condition we the people are in, and that is what I devote my time to. After all, time is the most precious thing we have, and the older I get the more I want to use it wisely." Barbara lives on a small ranch in Oregon with her husband, where they raise geese, chickens, Navajo Churro sheep, Oggie Dog, a variety of cats, and an opinionated Macaw named Rita. She believes that self-sufficiency and localization of food sources will be necessary to survive the coming depression. To this end, she has put up a website to share information at: http://survivingthemiddleclasscrash.wordpress.com. Her philosophy is this: You are on this earth for a reason - to fight for the light. Your words are swords that penetrate the darkness with truth and light. You have a purpose.