How hardcore are your preparations?

Ludwig · Post by **Ludwig** » 26 Nov 2009, 23:44

I'm interested in how much people on PS have changed their lives on a practical level in advance of PO.

For the record, I have done bugger all, really.

fifthcolumn · Post by **fifthcolumn** » 27 Nov 2009, 02:04

f. none of the above. I plugged back in to the matrix somewhere else

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 27 Nov 2009, 07:14

Depends on what you mean by self-sufficiency.

It's almost impossible in the UK for an individual family.

However for a GROUP of families it might work.

On this basis I voted 1.

nnnnnn · Post by **nnnnnn** » 27 Nov 2009, 10:17

I voted:
I am making fairly minimal changes (stocking up on tinned food, investing in gold, etc.), but don't have the time/inclination/space/money to do anything more substantial.

Plus I'd rather not be fixed into one location by too many preparations as it could be hard to leave that much work behind if I had to move in hurry (floods? riots etc)

Keela · Post by **Keela** » 27 Nov 2009, 10:21

I voted 2. However we do have a fairly large plot of land and various animals.

Self sufficiency is an interesting concept.

If there was no-one else in the world and we had to survive alone I reckon we could. However that is not a scenario IMO so we will be surviving as part of a community if we like it or not.

So I didn't vote 1 but chose 2 instead.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 27 Nov 2009, 11:26

I voted 1 and would have done many years ago, long before I heard the term 'PeakOil'. (Though of course I did read and inwardly digest Limits to Growth back in the '70s.) For the last 30 years I've had enough land and knowledge to be able to survive without starving though unless push comes to shove I will choose to eat more satsumas than jerusalem artichokes.

Joules · Post by **Joules** » 27 Nov 2009, 14:34

I voted 3.
I would prefer to be at 2, but don't have the money nor my family's inclination.
Bugger.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 27 Nov 2009, 14:48

I voted 2 but it's really a combination of 2 & 3. Not enough money really to do what I want, so I'm trying to aim for living with very little.

Veganism is a cheap diet, which is a good start. We have a reasonable community spirit around here. A partner willing to muck in with anything is a great help. Optimism is useful too.

Andy Hunt · Post by **Andy Hunt** » 27 Nov 2009, 16:18

emordnilap wrote:Optimism is useful too.

Ah but as an optimist you would say that, wouldn't you.

I voted 2 too, although like you I'm probably 2/3, I've just done everything which it's physically possible to do with a terraced house with a small back garden.

contadino · Post by **contadino** » 27 Nov 2009, 16:54

I voted for 1, but it would be unjust to claim it all as PO preps. I'm heading down the self-sufficiency path not through fear of PO, but because it's what I want to do. PO just influences the way I do things rather than being the main driver for change.

Catweazle · Post by **Catweazle** » 27 Nov 2009, 17:38

I'm at number two. I bought land with 2000 tons of standing timber on it. I aim to supplement my income with wood products such as fuel and fencing as well as producing a fair proportion of my own food and selling a surplus of nuts and fruits.

If, as is looking likely, the industry I work in collapses then I will have more time to spend planting, beekeeping and woodworking - all within walking distance of my house.

I'm actually pretty confident that I could feed my family on what I can grow or shoot and I have been thinking up designs for a communal boiler system from which I could sell heat to, say, 5 of my neighbours.

Janco2 · Post by **Janco2** » 27 Nov 2009, 17:52

I voted for 2 but to be honest that has been our way of life for over 30 years now - long before I really thought much about peak oil

hardworkinghippy · Post by **hardworkinghippy** » 27 Nov 2009, 18:03

Janco2,

Peak oil gave me the excuse I needed to do what I've wanted for the past 20 years !

I voted for 1, but it would be unjust to claim it all as PO preps. I'm heading down the self-sufficiency path not through fear of PO, but because it's what I want to do. PO just influences the way I do things rather than being the main driver for change.

I'm a 1 voter too and that's exactly how I see it too contadino.

We don't do our own shoes or plastic buckets, healthcare or computers but we can eat and drink, build and make most of our own clothes. We only need to earn money to pay taxes....

UndercoverElephant · Post by **UndercoverElephant** » 27 Nov 2009, 18:19

I'm a 2 that wants to be a 1 but does not currently have the means to do so. I can't grow anything in my garden because of the infestation of snails and slugs. Guess I could eat the snails. But I make up for it by foraging for food.

I just (today) bought a new Citroen C1, which is supposedly the second most efficient production vehicle on the market after a Prius. That is a car for the 21st century.

Ludwig · Post by **Ludwig** » 27 Nov 2009, 18:33

I should have made the last 2 options less facetious. A single option, "I'm just going to wait and see what happens" might have been more appropriate

It's interesting how many people here seem to be naturally attracted to the practical lifestyle, rather than having been reluctantly persuaded it's the only way forward. I probably fall into the latter camp!