«-- Odds 'n Sods: | Main | Letter Re: Hardening Gates for Retreat Security --»
Four Letters Re: A Twenty-Something EMT with Limited Preps Storage Space
Hello,
The recently-posted letter "A Twenty-Something EMT with Limited Preps Storage
Space" is something that a lot of us apartment dwellers struggle with
all the time. I read and re-read the article
several times.
She never mentioned about space under the bed. I jacked my bed frame up, quietly
mind you, with cinder blocks. Not only do I have a whole extra
foot
of height worth of space. I also have a
bed where as I am not climbing out of but am sitting up and sliding off. Makes
a big difference in the morning at least for me.. Between my headboard (also
sitting on blocks) and my bed sits 4 weeks of freeze dried rations in various
totes.
Underneath my bed sits 20 weeks of MREs
also in various totes. Just be ever mindful of the blocks by wearing full-toed
slippers around the bedroom. You mindlessly kick your foot under the bed and
might very well need a paramedic.
Also I just finished reading this book."Long
Term Survival in the
Coming Dark
Age" by James Ballou. It covers how to successfully bury your stuff,
what
to bury, how to bury it, and what skills one could use in a post SHTF scenario.
I
found it to be an interesting read. Although I already know the basics of survival
caching. Still a nice overview. A good Cliff Notes-type book. (Clear, precise
and
straight
to the point )
Also have other thoughts of continuing education in the EMS field. Depending
on where you live. There are many private ambulance companies that will pay for
your on going education while you continue to work for them while going to school.
Personally for me nothing reinforces my book learning like having repetitive
hands on experience. May take longer to get to be an EMT-P .
You defiantly have
EMT-P experience by the time you achieve EMT-I status.
And the money saved
could
be used for prepping because well we are running out of time. - Scott V.
Mr. Rawles,
I'm a long-time reader, but I've never written before. I wanted to reply to the
EMT in
a slightly different way than you did. The contingency lockers are a good
idea, but something I would look at in
her area is (besides her boyfriend) other people who have the the same kind of
forward planning outlook, and to network with them. Michelle is an EMT
in training to be a paramedic--exactly the set of skills many of would need
WTSHTF. Yes, she does want to have a BOB ready to go, but if she were in my area
I'd set aside food and goods
for her in exchange for her professional services. In fact, I'd start a fund
for
the equipment and medical supplies that she would be trained for but might not
want to have to lug around everywhere. Perhaps the makings of a small clinic
can
be set up before the Big Day.
Sometimes we forget that what we have isn't as important as what we know.
Keep up the good work, Mr. Rawles!
SurvivalBlog Readers,
This is in response to the twenty-something EMT. I agree with Mr. Rawles
on his ideas for your storage problem. Also , perhaps since your mother and
her
new husband are no help to you in your storage, maybe your boyfriend and his
parents may help until you two marry and get your own place. It is worth a
try. As far as funds, or the lack thereof., any is some, but none is
none! My wife and I have been married a little over 10 years now.
We have
a son
who
will be 8 in May. Until recently we would have been one of the huddled masses.
But we both saw the need to prepare for BAD times. We do not have a lot, but
it is all ours. Our home was a wedding gift from
her parents, for which we are both grateful. It is a small home, on a concrete
slab, no basement, no
garage, and only a garden shed of about 230 sq. ft. We both work jobs for poor
man's wages, but we still find a bit of extra cash here and there to add to
what we have on hand at the time. For instance: While her employer does nothing
special for the employees at the holidays, mine does a catered dinner at Thanksgiving,
and gives each employee a $20 gift card to the local chain grocery. And about
1 month later, another dinner for Christmas, and a $100 cash bonus. I take
both the card and the cash, and use them for our preps, be it beans, bullets,
or band-aids. I get something we need or can use.
During the year I do small
odd jobs for family and friends, and any cash they give me for that or for
gifts goes to buy preps. As for storage, space at our house is at a premium,
but we do the best we can with what we have,and we look for useful things and
space for storage wherever and whenever we can. For instance: {Locally]. we
have a annual [curbside] junk [collection] week. Recently
I found a 5 shelf bookcase someone threw away. The only thing wrong with it
that
I could find, was a one-inch
chunk
of wood missing
from the base. I put it in this tiny extra bedroom we use as our catch-all
/ computer room, and I filled it with books and pretty "dust catchers".
We soon after, ran out of space in our tiny pantry for any extra food. I boxed
up the contents, and put it in the shed. Now, by my best guess, we now have
another week or two of canned and dry stock food stores for the three of us,
and a bit extra for any family or friends if need be. Remember, any
is some, but none is none! Do what you
can and keep your eyes and ears open. It will surprise you what you can do
when
you try. Recently, Mr. Rawles asked folks to send in
some quotes for his Quote of the Day. My wife has one that she uses from time
to time, and I shared it with him,s and I would like to share it with you. "All
you can do, is all you can do, and that is all you can do." So do what
you can when you can, but do something and you will be better off than a lot
of folks when things do go bad. Good luck, and may God bless you in your preparations.
- Dim Tim
Hi, Jim,
You had a letter from " A Twenty-Something EMT with Limited Preps Storage
Space". I also have very limited storage space, so thought I'd share a
couple of ideas.
First, about half of my clothes closet (which is five feet wide) is filled
with stored food in plastic tubs, and camping gear.
Second, for a desk I have a 30" wide door blank on top of a file cabinet
and another small cabinet. There is space behind the two support cabinets for
my water bottles.
Third, I put my twin bed up on top of a nine-drawer dresser (the mattress is
on a piece of plywood, which is fastened to the wall). Not only do I still
have my original dresser plus the nine-drawer one, but I also have an eighteen-inch
wide space under the bed, behind the dresser. Access is a little difficult,
so I don't store things there that I need to get at frequently, but there is
quite a bit of space.
And fourth, because my closet juts out into the room, the door is in an alcove.
This is a newish manufactured home with 'cathedral' ceilings, so the ceiling
in the alcove is high. I put a small loft up there to store some things I don't
need very often (such as my suitcases, which could also have stuff stored inside
of them).
This room is only about ten by twelve, and (going counter-clockwise from the
door) holds an old blanket chest (full of preps); the bed on top of dresser;
the 30" x 70" desk with a bookshelf on top of it; my grandmother's
old treadle sewing machine; a tall bookcase; the closet; a small floor-cabinet
with my medical supplies in it; my old four-drawer dresser; and some hooks
on the wall by the door. There are also four, four-foot shelves on the wall
above the bed (I don't put anything heavy up there, because we are in an area
which can have earthquakes.)
It takes ingenuity, but it is possible to store a lot in a small room, and
still be able to live in the room! (I share the room with my two large dogs
at night, too!) - Freeholder
