The S-word! You know what I’m talking about. We’ve been talking about it for a while in the Preparedness Community. All the major preparedness websites have talked about it at some point or another. Of course, all the Preparedness Youtubers have talked about it. And now, you are starting to hear all the mainstream media really talking about it. Shortages are a real big deal now.
Prepping for Christmas and Other Events Early!
I wrote an article on Prepared Christians a couple of weeks ago called Christmas in September, talking about, if you’re going to celebrate Christmas, that you might want to get those Christmas gifts early. That is what I told my wife to do! Christmas is a big deal for my wife. I know that she would have stressed if she wasn’t able to do Christmas like she normally would. So with a little bit of planning and thinking ahead, she’s going to be way ready for Christmas!
In the Prepper Website Exclusive Email Group, we have so many people from all over the US. Really, we have people from all over the world, sharing experiences, advice and other things. So of course, we have some that are involved in trucking and they are telling us that they go and drop off their load and there are signs on the gate of the facilities that say something like, “we’re not accepting shipments right now, we don’t have the people to offload it.” They’re having those experiences right now and really the labor shortages are everywhere.
Someone else in the email group mentioned that a family member went to go get some work done on their vehicle. The auto mechanic told them they can’t get that part for a few weeks.
Listen to a recent episode on shortages – Stock and Organize Your Food Pantry Before the Shortages
Are You Comfortable with Shortages?
Here’s the thing, we’re going to be experiencing shortages, whether you think it’s planned or on purpose. Let me say that again, we are going to experience shortages and they will get worse. We should get ready to experience it and be prepared for it!
This is going to cause more divisiveness. People are already at that anger level right now! People are frustrated and they are going to continue to get frustrated! It’s like when you pour water into a glass and you can get it right up to the rim. Then you pour one more drop and it causes a spill over the sides. I think we’re going to get to a place where a lot of people are going to be like that. The tension is there, but we’re going to start experiencing it more and more.
But for those of us who prep, what do you need to do if your vehicle breaks down and you can’t get parts? What if you’re a one vehicle household and your vehicle breaks down? How are you going to get to work? If you’re on mass transit lines, then of course you can take buses or trains. If you’re really close to work, you can ride your bike or even walk. But you might need to be creative and setup a carpool!
It just seems prudent to start thinking through some of these things now. Some people are buying items so that they have them to fix whatever they need to fix. Some people are looking a head at the Winter or next Spring and planning on what they will need then so they can source it now.
Calling All Creative Preppers!
We might all need to get to that place where we are being more creative and thinking ahead. We’ve been such a consumer led society. When something breaks down, it’s just so much cheaper and easier to throw it away and go buy another one. We might need to get to that place where instead, we’re fixing things more and more. That need creates opportunities for people who can fix things and DIY. And right now, we’re in a place where knowledge to fix things is pretty ease to acquire, like finding a video on Youtube.
Different Strokes Shortages for Different Folks
During the lockdowns, when we would do our online meetups, some members of the PWEEG who live up north mentioned having issues with canned goods or even canned soups. It was crazy, because we didn’t have any issues down here in Houston, Texas. But that is what we are finding, different places are having different shortages. Some places are short on toilet paper. Other areas of the country you can pick any brand of toilet paper you want. Some might be down on certain kinds of vegetables and other location might have issues acquiring chicken.
There’s been different times where I’ve gone into my store and haven’t found what I wanted. For sure, my experience has been that the bigger companies have more clout to bring in more lines and have more product than the small mom and pop stores. I finally found my favorite coffee creamer after looking for three weeks. I jokingly made a post about it here and here on BMC.
So remember, different places around the country are going to experience different shortages and we just need to be prepared about that.
Be Smart – Plan Ahead
Those who are wanting to be better prepared during our time of shortages should have a planning session with their significant other to get ready. Ask them, “what is something that you know you’re going to want and you don’t want to miss? We should go ahead and buy it ahead of time.”
Someday, there could be a time when we have a really hard time getting in the things that we truly want. We might have bleak Christmas’. Things might need to get a lot worse for that to happen, but nothing seems to surprise me anymore.
Right now, we know that there’s going to be shortages. We also know that we can still get what we need. So prepare accordingly!
Peace,
Todd
