Intro to my new blog on being prepared

How 'Just in Case' came about.

That's me below doing a little recon and enjoying a beautiful day of hiking.

The idea for a Just in Case blog came from a desire to do a personal journal of things I’d learned or read about becoming prepared. But I wanted to share everything with my friends.

I consider myself a baby prepper. Not necessary for the possibility of end of world, but also for smaller disasters. Even a short time without the modern conveniences most of us are used to would be a bitch to deal with.

The first event that triggered my interest was watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of the beautiful cities and towns of Louisiana. My sister sat next to me in front of the TV. She commented how if something like that happened in our city it would be total chaos. We live currently in Las Vegas, Nevada. Not only does it have a large population, but it daily has thousands of tourists needing to be taken care of while they try to GO HOME in a crisis. That’s a lot of people without even a refrigerator’s worth of food.

A secret hidden behind the bright neon lights is the fact that, since we are so close to Los Angeles, we have a significant gang problem. Also, we are surrounded by mountains with only a few roads in and out of the city. Being in a desert, we do not have the resources to provide for so many in the valley. There are not many corner farmer markets in my city.

Boulder Dam or the Strip full of vacationers would be tempting targets for terrorists. Even riots in Los Angeles are used as an excuse to do the same.

We just had a flash flood and severe lighting storm. The Strip was without power for a short amount of time, but it could easily been for a day or two. The week before a huge forest fire burned on Mount Charleston and all the homes and the ski lodge employees were subject to a mandatory evacuation. They had to wait for over a week before they could return home.

So, not the place to be if unprepared. Am I building a bunker in my backyard? Nope, but I’m certainly putting aside a few extra cans of soup.

I’m writing this from a beginner’s point of view and one on a budget to boot. As I use this blog to keep myself on the right track, I hope a few others find it helpful as well. Everyone that buys an extra item at the grocery store because it is on sale could be considered a mini prepper. I would rather have my neighbor be the shopper that frequents Costco than the one that relies on frozen diners and fast food joints.

Now I do not consider myself a die hard prepper. National Geographic is not knocking on my door to have me featured in an episode of Doomsday Prepper. I do love watching that show and have a great deal of awe and respect for those that can devote that much time, effort and money to prepping. I also love disaster movies and often critique the characters, much to my sister’s amusement. I don’t feel that have a few weeks to months worth of extra supplies is crazy, just a little added peace of mind for me as I watch the news.

Below is a funny pic made from ‘The Walking Dead’. I feel though, that the word ‘prepper’ could easily be substituted for ‘redneck’. (And Daryl Dixon can soooo be a part of my prepping team.)

I would love any comments or thoughts from others and I hope this might help or encourage you to buy that extra can of soup. (You can always eat it next month.)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel