The biggest problem I always face with a niche blog is that there comes a time when you just can’t think of anything to write about in that niche, and that’s what has happened with me here lately. It’s not so much that I’ve said all I have to say on the topic of prepping as that I just got a little burned out on the subject. I needed to back off for a while from the doom and gloom of the prepper community and stop worrying about what’s going to happen. I just needed a break.
But while it’s good to take a break when you start to feel burned out on something, that also makes it really hard to get going again. I have a list of topic ideas in a notebook from a brainstorming session I did over a week ago. But it’s hard to get re-started after a hiatus, even a relatively short one, because I always feel like said hiatus is the elephant in the room and I need to mention it so we can move on.
So here, to re-break the ice and jump-start this thing, is a random list of what has been going on with me.
- We went to a town hall meeting with Newt Gingrich a couple of weeks ago. He made a lot of sense and didn’t really say anything that I didn’t find myself in agreement with, and he also outlined a lot of plans that I thought sounded really practical. And now I’m left with this depressed feeling that he’s probably the candidate with the best hope for bringing our economy back from the brink of disaster, but the chances of him winning the nomination seem slim to none. Our state’s primary is tomorrow and I’m planning to cast my vote for him, for all the good it will do.
- I finally made that homemade deodorant recipe, and I’ve had plenty of chances to test drive it under warm and busy conditions. I’ve worn it through some pretty intense house cleaning and through jogging workouts in warm weather, and I’m pretty impressed with how it’s held up. The best thing about it is that it doesn’t leave that nasty residue build-up on my shirts that the store-bought kind does.
- Bit by bit, we’re trying to build our food stores back up to where they were at the beginning of the year when we had to start dipping into them to make our money stretch. Although, my business has slowed down and if it doesn’t pick back up soon, we might have to dip into it again. I’m trying to find ways to generate extra income so we can afford to prep, but so far nothing I’ve tried has panned out. This blog, for instance, hasn’t yet generated any income. Although it would probably help if I updated more consistently.
- I’ve also been working on cleaning and organizing our house, and I’m trying to build better housekeeping habits. For one thing, we need to organize and reduce clutter so we’ll have room to store our preps. But my other big motivation is the realization that it’s pretty foolish of me to think we’ll be able to keep our own homestead and keep up with all of the responsibilities involved with that when the truth is that we’re lazy urbanites who can’t even properly take care of our house. I mean, how do I expect to be happy having to get up every morning and gather eggs and clean out a chicken coop and feed small livestock if I can’t even stand to scoop out the kitty litter boxes on a regular basis? But I’m making progress, and I’m starting to feel a little more confident in my eventual ability to be a responsible homesteader.
- With spring upon us, I need to carve out the time to clean out our bedroom closet and stock it with emergency supplies, because it doubles as our best excuse for a storm shelter. I’ll write up a post about it once that’s done, hopefully within the next week or two.
- Oh! And I started my vegetable garden. Well, I’m trying to start it. I have a mini greenhouse that fits in my husband’s south-facing bedroom window (the only window in the house with southern exposure) and holds about 4 dozen peat seed cups. So far I’ve planted peas, broccoli, arugula, spinach, and red and green cabbage. If they grow as hoped, then they should be ready to transfer outside by the time it’s officially spring, and then I’ll see about starting a few more types of veggies. This is the first time I’ve ever grown any kind of garden on my own, so it’s a learning experience.
And that’s what’s up at Casa de PrepperGirl. So what’s up with you? Let me know what I’ve missed while I’ve been out of the loop.