Friday, February 5, 2010

Addiction?

I don't really know exactly when I started prepping.  I have always been frugal. (ok ok cheap) I started noticing the prices of groceries starting to rise a bit a couple of years ago.  I started stocking up on things that we normally used. You know, an extra couple of cans of green beans when they were on sale.  That extra bag of sugar when it's on sale. Slowly but steadily I was able to build up the pantry.  It made me feel better knowing that we had a couple of weeks worth of groceries put away.  Being self-employed at the time you just never knew how long it might really be between contracts.
And then a little over a year ago, I ran across a couple of blogs that got me curious and eventually I found my way to the American Preppers Network.  I had found  a home.  I also found out that I had a new name!  I am a prepper.  The initial shock of finding so many like-minded people about blew me away. It also inspired me. 
One thing you have to know though - the one thing they don't tell you - is that prepping is addicting.  Once you start to see your preps growing you just want to do a "little" more. And a little more.  So you go from a few extra cans of food in the pantry to realizing that you need to find a place to store those beans.
Then comes the realization that maybe this year would be a good year to grow something besides tomato's and peppers.  You know, eat what you grow.  Hey, another way to save some money! I'm always up for that being frugal and all.(ok cheap)
So you get your garden spot picked out and ready to go. Then the fun of deciding what you want to grow. Things you know you like and will eat.  With a little luck and a bit of work things start popping out of the ground. And before you know it, your eating fresh veggies right out of the garden! Oh there is absolutely NOTHING better than that first bite of homegrown tomato still warm from the sun.  Eating it out there, standing in your garden! 
Then you realize you can't possibly eat all these veggies.  What to do, what to do?  The prepper "addiction" kicks in and you decide canning can't be all that hard.  After all, people have been doing it for years right?  So if you are cheap (there I said it) like me you start looking for the best deal on a canner you can find. Jars, lids, rings, a cheap set of canning tools and you are in business. 
Ok so now that you have those items you find yourself picking up one or two extra packages of lids every so often. You know, just to make sure you won't run out....

5 comments:

  1. great post! I just came back from shopping. No garden here yet. I picked up 20 pounds of pasta...cause it was on sale, and ya never know!
    (my name is Herbalpagan, and I'm an addict)

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  2. I, too, am frugal (ah...cheap). But we not only need to can things, I'm obsessed with converting our favorite recipes and botten items to using dehydrated stuff from our garden...from our own stove-top stuffing, to "Betty Crocker" potatoes, to pumpkin pie from dehydrated pumpkin from our own garden. My husband says pretty soon I'll stop using the fresh from the garden and have to dehydrate it before I am able to use it.

    Great Post... (my name is Rebecka, and I AM an addict)

    Take care and God Bless

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  3. It's pretty nice to know I can eat from my preps for a month without worry. I am an addict.

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  4. My name is Treesong and I'm a prepping addict. Nice to be amoung friends!

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  5. Addicts Unite!!..does this mean we have our own 12 steps?...Scifichik...please remember to add me to your blog role...Marcy

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