Hello my friend and welcome back! In today’s post we are going to look at the blind spots that we as Preppers tend not to see. It’s the little things that we do or use or do that we don’t really think about. It’s exactly these things which will cause us some of the most frustrating times when SHTF hits. Grab a cup of coffee and have a seat we visit.
Blind Spots are the things we just don’t see, usually because we deem them as trivial, or unimportant, in our daily lives. It is kind of like the light in your refrigerator. While we never really think about it in our daily lives, let it go out and it becomes a glaring inconvenience. Will the world stop because it went out? No, but when added to other blind spots, it can make your life harder. The last thing you are going to want in an SHTF world is more headaches caused from overlooking something simple.
Today I’m going to try to touch on a few of the ones I have thought of and maybe help you think of a few more, and then you can share with us.
Shoe Laces are one I had over looked. Recognizing that I need a couple of good pairs of boots was obvious, but what about the laces for them? If you’re like me, then you have broken more than one pair before and had to start looking for a substitute. The trouble with substitutes is that they never seem to work as well as the real thing. Because of this, I have now added several pairs of new shoelaces to my preps. They were in my blind spot and I had overlooked them. What about your water well? Do you have extra parts? You see, we tend to see many items such as those above as being complete without thinking about what we will need to repair them when they break. It’s just another blind spot we tend to overlook.
While parts to repair items, we have in our preps, are one of the biggest blind spots we face, it is not the only ones. Another one is having the materials and equipment to make tools you will need long after the ones you now have are gone. While lumber can be harvested from a nearby forest, do you have the tools you will need to convert that wood into something you can use?
Many of us tend to think in short term on tools required to do something. A post SHTF world will be anything but short term. This is another blind spot many of us just don’t see. We are so focused on making sure we can survive in the short term that we tend to overlook the things we will need for long term survival. Oh sure we think of things like seeds, needed to create a garden and grow our own food, but we tend to overlook some of the tools we will need to process the very food we grow.
Tools like a hand powered corn sheller, to remove the corn from the cob or a way to separate the wheat from the chaff are important tools to have. Oh sure, we can do it the way the Native Americans did long ago, but isn’t that one of the reasons we prep? So we don’t have to go completely native to survive when the time comes?
Failing to see and recognize the blind spots in our preps is something that can be deadly as well. For example, if you break an axe handle in the dead of winter, do you have a way to quickly repair it? Without it, you could possibly freeze to death before spring arrives. Now I know that most people keep plenty of wood cut a stockpiled for the winter, but what if you were forced to abandon your home and your wood? Without a way to cut and gather more, you could quickly find yourself in a bind.
I hope you see what I’m trying to say. We all have blind spots and learning to see them and address them is a big part of knowing what you need when you prepare to live in a post SHTF world. Remember, you will only have one chance to get it right so don’t let the blind spots be your point of failure.
Well, I guess that is it for today and I hope you have found this post worth your time. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared. God Save America!
-Sarge-
Don’t forget clothes pins and suitable clothes line material as gas or electric clothes dryers might not work or the energy to run them might not be available. Another easy to store item is candle wick material and bulk wax. Sooner or definitely later you’ll be down to using candles as a light source. Last, but not least, is a simple sewing kit or sewing basket like your Grandmom once had. Like spare shoelaces a simple mending job or replacement button can give a simple pleasure to someone who might be having a last-straw-moment.