Casual Conversation About Prepping

Most of my life is casual. The way I live without watching a clock, most of the time.  The way my work schedule is. Usually.  The conversations that I have with most people.

If you have a fairly large group of friends and family, you most likely have some who are into the prepping, some who barely talk about it and those who you dare not mention it for fear of them attempting to have you committed.  We all have the variety to deal with.

Back to the casual conversations -
Recently I was having a conversation with my brother and the subject came up about toilet paper.  Strange but don't forget we are talking about casual, and now  random.  I said that I only have a couple months supply, and that is just for me.  Not for my 10 people for a month.  Or as I am doing now to maintain a more achievable goal, 10 people for 10 days, at a time.  Anyway, the brother said that I was really lacking on the paper.  Duhhhh - I know this. I will get it built up again soon.  But then my mind started thinking about just what I would do if shit hit the fan right now and I barely have tp to last any time. I thought about what I do have that could be a substitute.  I have fabric.  Lots of fabric.

I sew for a living.  Most of what I make is not made of cotton fabrics.  But over the years I have gathered many yards of cotton or cotton blend fabrics.  If I had to, I could cut the cottons into pieces to use as substitute tp.  Not that I want to but I could. And - fabric is not going to break down like paper would. But - - -

From this point I began thinking about the other uses for the fabric that may be more important than tp.  Think about it and make a list in your head.  Bandages, shade, head coverage (bandana), message flags, clothing, body covers (blankets), ground cover, frost protection for plants, cleaning rags, added privacy over windows, and the list could go on and on.

I got sort of excited and very into being more prepared with my fabric. Standing in th middle of the shed, I looked around and checked out just what I would not use for business (in an emergency it would all become prepping items) and pulled some larger pieces off the shelf. They got washed, with detergent and a tiny bit of bleach, then a second wash with plain water, dried in a very hot dryer and then sealed in large Zip Loc bags to keep them clean enough for most any situation.  Best to be prepared and able to use for medical purposes.  I am feeling pretty good about having a dozen bags with 3 to 10 yards of cottonish fabric in each one.

Hello to my prepping friends.  Guess what you may be getting for Christmas this year! 

Here's an important suggestion when it comes to fabric collecting.  I use my business as an excuse to purchase fabric.  Now I am glad that I have been doing it for years.  Now, if I am looking for prepping fabric I will have specifics and so should you.  

Go to a discount fabric store or check out a clearance bin.  Sometimes I can find pieces for as little as one dollar per yard.  That is super.  Very important - if you have a choice, purchase solid, light colored fabrics with a large content of cotton.  If and when you have a need to use this, you'll find that there are many more uses for this fabric.