Keeping Knowledge

An oft-overlooked concept in prepping is the notion of storing knowledge. In a prolonged disaster situation or in the more remote future when we're less connected to each other, we'll look back fondly on the brief window of time when we had all the information in the world in our pockets. But that needn't be a passing phase.

Anarcho-Solarpunk is an excellent resource for projects relating to what you would expect by the tin: off-grid solar, off-grid internet, an e-book free library, and on and on. I would highly recommend that you visit their site, grab a couple high-capacity thumb drives, and go to town with their guides. Their off-grid internet post includes a number of helpful books should the world suddenly not have internet access.

And, of course, your work of storing knowledge needn't be entirely digital. Buy books on sustainable farming practices, books on medicine, dental care, animal husbandry. Buy books on flora and fauna native to your area. Having this information on your shelf could do you a world of good in the After Times.

Entertainment

Something we don't talk about too much when discussing preparedness is having fun. While you don't see much of it in artistic representations of the apocalypse, fun is actually extremely important and worth investing in. There are some rather obvious ways to go about this, some of which you're (hopefully) already doing, but also some less obvious means of entertainment that have a good payoff.

First, of course and again, books. Books require no energy and are relatively light–unless you have roughly a thousand like I do. Put a couple books in your car, a (small) book in your bugout bag. You get the idea. Also good for cars and bags are playing cards, or, say, Uno, if you're bold. There are travel and mini-versions of board games that don't take up much space, either, and those will do you particular good if you have children.

The big idea that I'm thinking of, though, that may not make a ton of sense to you right away, is a gaming system. There are legit systems these days that are handheld with long battery lives, as well as emulators with and without screens, that you can keep going for a decent amount of time with batteries or small generators/solar rigs. Often these systems can be recharged or kept plugged in, depending on your scenario, and keep you or kids entertained for quite a while.

In Summation

We live in a time of extreme technological luxury. Most any of us can order something on Amazon and have it at our doorstep tomorrow. Beyond just cans of beans and freeze-dried food, we should be thinking about trying to preserve some of the information that we have at our fingertips. Get digital copies of some of your favorite movies and save them on thumb drives. Download survival guides. Buy a handheld game console and pack it full of your favorite childhood video games. It's really hard to overestimate the impact these ideas can have on your survival and morale.