These days more and more people have started what is known in survivalist circles as “prepping”. This is essentially the preparation for some perceived imminent apocalypse at the hands of climate change, a global pandemic or, increasingly, zombies. Whilst paranoid billionaires can purchase private islands or building luxury bunkers beneath their homes to survive a Nuclear Winter, for many people prepping involves increased self-reliance and taking steps to live more off the grid.
Whether you are genuinely concerned about the end of human civilization or would just like to become more self-reliant, a little prepping can actually save you money, reduce your carbon footprint, and prepare you for an emergency situation. Here are some easy tips to incorporate a little survivalism into your home.
Get a reliable generator
A home generator can act as back-up power during a power outage or for running household appliances. There are many different generators on the market so you have to do careful research about what kind of generator suits your needs. There are two types of generator, standby generators, and portable generators but for your home, you should choose a standby generator. There are a huge number of standby generators but the best value for money is diesel-powered generators as they use less fuel and so are much cheaper to run.
Different diesel-powered generators have different power capacities and the list you can see here has a generator to suit every need. Standby generators have power capacities ranging from 7,000 and 20,000 watts and vary in price accordingly. There are many websites where you can find out the wattage requirements of different appliances. Calculate how many watts you will need before choosing a generator for your home.
Start growing your own food
Growing your own food may seem really difficult but with a little homework and some trial and error, it is not only easy but can be a lot of fun. Growing food can save a lot of money, reduce your carbon footprint, reduce plastic pollution, and transform your outdoor space. Growing seasonal produce, as well as year-round staple crops, will provide your family with healthy, diverse meals 365 days a year. Any kind of fruit and vegetable that can grow in your climate can be grown by the home farmer.
Even if you don’t have a garden or outside land, you can grow fruits and vegetables on your apartment balcony or in window planters. You can even make a little herb garden on a windowsill that gets a lot of sun. Growing your own produce is a fantastic way to guarantee you are eating all organic fruits and vegetables which have a range of health benefits. If you are lucky to have outside space, another great way to produce your own food is to get a few chickens. Feeding chickens are very cheap and as the hens lay one egg a day on average, just a few hens can provide all the eggs your family needs at a fraction of the price of eggs bought in stores.
Not only that, but you will know exactly what your chickens have been eating and so both their eggs and meat will be free of pesticides and other harmful chemicals.
Get a water filtration system
A water filtration system can provide many benefits to your family and is an excellent addition to any home. The first benefit of a filtration system is that it can significantly increase the quality of your water by eliminating hard minerals. Not only will this improve the taste and smell of your tap water but it will also make your water much cleaner and healthier. If your family usually drinks bottled water, investing in a water filtration system will save a huge amount of money over the course of a year. On average each person drinks over 30 gallons of bottled water a year so it is far cheaper to drink filtered tap water instead. As well as saving money, water filtration can also save water which is in increasingly short supply in the world and will also reduce plastic pollution. 75% of all plastic pollution is water bottles and they are causing huge problems in the oceans as well as polluting groundwater supplies and food chains.
Incorporating a few survivalist tools and methods into your home is a great way to save money, reduce pollution, and live a healthier life. Whilst armageddon may not necessarily be just around the corner, a little prepping can provide many benefits for your family. A reliable power source of power, clean drinking water, and healthy home-grown food are all fantastic ways to start living more self-sustainably and conscientiously.
Thank you for mentioning generators as one of the best survival upgrades you can make to your home. Relying on computers and laptops all the time for studying and working has made my family extremely reliant on power, so I’d need to make sure we can secure a constant supply of it at all times. Once I find an automatic generator business in the area, I’ll make sure I have them install one for us.