ADVICE | SURVIVALIST | HUMOUR

Confessions from a closet prepper

I didn’t really know what a prepper was until the quarantine.

I knew there were people who thought the end of the world was coming. They were the ones that had the cabin out in the boonies, fully off grid, prepared for anything. But I didn’t realize it was a thing.

I thought being prepared was something everyone did.

Living in Canada, you always have a bag of extra clothes in your car. Also a blanket. And food, some snacks at least. I lived in areas where the roads weren’t very well travelled and who knew what could happen? If I was stranded, I wanted to be able to take care of myself.

This was before cell phones existed. It’s easier to call for help nowadays. But the habit of being prepared stuck with me.

I’ve lived in an earthquake zone for 20 years.

When I was a single mom, I put together a tote full of supplies for the car. I called it the earthquake kit, but it was more like an ‘I never want to be in a situation where I have a toddler and no clean diapers’ kit.

Also, one of my boys would get really ‘hangry’, so I always had to have snacks on hand.

The experts here recommend that you prepare for an earthquake. It’s suggested that you put together a kit that has enough food and water to feed your family for at least a week.

Here’s the food that’s currently in my kit.

• Dried chicken soup mix
• Bag of almonds
• Bag of dried apricots
• A case of corn
• A case of Spam
• A flat of water
• Coffee — can you imagine caffeine withdrawal on top of everything else?
• Several boxes of crackers
• A huge bag of rice
• A flat of canned tuna

When I go shopping now, I buy more non perishable items so I can limit the number of trips to the store.

I was writing a list and realized most of it was in the emergency preparedness kit.

The trouble is we’re going to have to eat Spam.

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