An Eco-Friendly Prepper?

Yes, it's possible.  One of the main reasons we need to be prepared is the increase in natural disasters caused by climate change. So it makes perfect sense that a prepper would also be a tree-hugger!

Besides the obvious...water purifiers and large water containers instead of individual plastic bottles of water, digital records instead of paper...there are some products you should have on hand that help you be prepared AND eco-friendly.

Solar Generator

A solar generator will let you get your lights back on and even operate a few small appliances. Unlike diesel generators, these use no fuel for operation so no need to worry about gasoline or diesel. They are also quieter than diesel generators.

It's can also be a good idea to have a portable solar generator, in case you have to evacuate. A small solar generator can power laptops, phones, coolers, air pumps, and other equipment. The one I use is the Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 500.   It provides stable power for a wide range of devices and can be charged by the sun, in your car, or by a standard AC outlet in your home.

If you want to be truly mobile, than a solar-powered phone charger may be just the thing for you. I have one that I use all the time because I am constantly on the go. I don't have to worry about my phone battery running low and not being anywhere I can plug into a charger. (See...sometimes you can get double duty out of your prepping supplies. Which makes you smart about money!).

The cell phone charger I use is the Solar Charger 16000mAh, Portable Solar Power Bank. It's really rugged so I don't have to worry about carrying it around with me. If you knew how many times I've dropped my phone, you would know that's important! It's also easy to charge and it has a flashlight on the back which has really come in handy a time or two.

Solar Hand Crank Radio/Flashlight

We all know batteries are bad for the environment. They are also a big inconvenience to carry when you are trying to evacuate in an emergency. The answer? Tools that are charged by hand cranking. These use motion to recharge the device instead of electricity. Some are also solar powered. You can get hand crank radios, flashlights, or the best of both worlds...a weather radio with a flashlight. Like this Emergency Solar Hand Crank Radio, Portable AM/FM NOAA Weather Radio and LED Flashlight. Many of these hand crank radios have poor reception but this one so far has had a very clear signal. The flashlight is sufficiently bright to actually be usable. And it comes with an SOS alarm. I have not had the need to try that yet. But when I read the reviews before I bought mine, they all said it was LOUD.

Of course there are other ways to be eco-friendly while prepping. But those fall under other topics. Today I just wanted to share with you some of my favorite tools that help me save myself and my family while also saving the planet!

Grandma Is A Prepper

Who would have thought we'd ever witness the entire country...or most of it...on lockdown because of a global pandemic? I'd like to say me, but I'd be lying. But just because I didn't see it coming sooner, doesn't mean I wasn't ready for it! Maybe I didn't know exactly what would happen, but I've always known there is the possibility for life as we know it to be turned totally upside down. Whether it's because of a personal incident (divorce, health issues), a local event (natural disasters happen with some regularity now), or a global crisis like Covid-19, the end result is the same. Things you counted on for your daily existence are no longer available.

Perhaps if I had seen it coming I would have gotten this project started sooner. I'd been thinking about it for a while. But there were so many other things that were demanding my time. It just didn't seem to be urgent.

But in September, something changed. I just had a feeling something was coming. We hadn't heard about the coronavirus yet. But something in my gut just told me I needed to get started. It still took me some time to figure out how to bring everything together under one umbrella. But I finally had a glimmer of an idea that might work and on 9/22/19, Smart About Stuff was born. I've been building it ever since. It's a work in progress. Not only is grandma a prepper, she's also a control freak who has been doing most of the work herself! (Spare me the lecture. I know I'm demanding and hard to work with. I'm also 63 so I don't think it's likely I will change my ways after all this time! And I know a professional could probably have created a much nicer looking site in less time. But then it wouldn't be mine.)

That's more important to me than flashy designs or pretty graphics. Because if there is one thing that bugs the crap out of me it's the number of so-called "prepper" sites that don't really measure up to reality. Sure a piece of property off the grid with all the supplies and equipment you need to survive indefinitely would be ideal. But realistically, that isn't going to happen for most people. I'd rather prepare people to handle a crisis right where they are.

And yes, having stockpiles of food and water and medicines and what not is critical. But it's not all you need. Because not all crises are on the scale of a pandemic. As I've mentioned, something as simple as a divorce can be enough to upend your world. Unless you're prepared, including financially. A health crisis can devastate your family. So it's important to be as healthy and fit as possible to mitigate the effects. A hurricane, a tornado, a flood and you can be homeless, or trapped and injured, with no help available. And it can happen in an instant. You need to be able to survive on your own for as long as necessary until help does arrive. And you need to be prepared to help your neighbors.

That's why I address all of that. So while others may laugh at me and say I'm not really a true "prepper", I laugh at them because I know I am better prepared than most of them.

Yes, grandma is a prepper. I am going to come through the pandemic just fine because I was ready. I'm hoping this crisis will encourage others to join me. What about you? Are you ready? Because being prepared changes everything!