Your Castle Is Your Shelter – A Highest Priority
Or perhaps, your shelter is your castle. Or maybe, your castle is shelter from the storm. Shelter is one of the highest priorities in survival & preparedness. Shelter – Water- Food – Security (and more).
It’s taken for granted. A roof over our head. In it’s most basic form, it is our shelter from the outside elements. It literally provides life-saving protection.
This morning Mrs. J and I were doing our near-daily walk up and down our private way to the crossroad. It’s 1/3 mile of which we usually do at least several laps to get the blood flowing in the morning. Well this time it was very windy – gusting 20-30 or so…with some biting wind chill. There’s nothing quite like the sound of strong winds in the forest pines – sometimes literally roaring. Anyway, we did one lap and said that’s enough.
What a stark contrast from being outside in ‘the storm’, to walking through your front door into a warm and cozy shelter. Upon closing the door, the howling winds are left outside. Inside one’s castle, it’s calm and quiet. Makes you appreciate having shelter! Of course the same holds true regardless of the storm (usually). Driving rains. Winter storms. The cold of winter. On and on… Anyway, it struck me again as to how important shelter is with regard to survival & preparedness.
Shelter (our castle) can also be our biggest expense in life. Paying rent, mortgage, and then one day finally owning our own shelter free and clear – except for the endless lifelong taxes on it.
So where am I going with this? I suppose I’m simply pointing out the raw basic high priority of one’s shelter. Regardless of your stage in life (renting apt., renting house, paying mortgage on house, or finally owning the house), it really is a priority #1, with few exceptions.
In today’s world, you only have shelter in so far as your ability to pay for it. If you cannot pay, there’s a high likelihood of becoming homeless. And that’s not a good place to be. Above most all else, one’s financial priorities should be placed upon securing one’s castle. That includes the ability to pay for it into the future (which means smart financial planning and budgeting – securing a cushion).
If you’re renting or paying a mortgage, you do not own your shelter. There are circumstances that could get you evicted. It happens. In my view, it should be a high priority to strive towards owning your own castle, free and clear. At least then, should your income encounter a bump in the road (or worse), at least you’ll have shelter – as long as you pay the taxes (but that’s another story).
Your shelter is so very important. Don’t take it for granted. Pay it off. Keep it in good shape. After all, it is your castle! (A moat sure would be cool too)..
A moat and some T Rex
Living in a small 1950’s era ranch-style house on 1/2-acre, well outside of a small New England city. Not optimal (that would be a small farm in a Red State), but it is what we have. Easy to maintain, plenty of room for chickens, vegetable gardens, and berry bushes.
Very secure, dry basement for preps. SHTF defense would have to include several like-minded neighbors as none of us has 100 yards of property in front or on the sides, (but are well-sited for supporting fire).
I think very few of us here on MSB have the perfect SHTF shelter, but surely most of us have made the best out of what we do have. And thanks for giving us a steady diet of food for thought, Ken.
No matter where we are settled, we always think somewhere else could be better. Find a reasonable plot of land where your neighbors aren’t 10 feet away, and you are not competing for what you are growing, raising or storing. It takes a long time to develop infrastructure and to learn how to grow both plants and animals. Also, to make relationships with other people who can be trusted. Use your time wisely. Would I settle in the middle of a large population? No, but then I have never been comfortable with the press of humanity surrounding me. Logic tells me I would have more competition for my limited resources as well.
We have family that is always trying to convince us to move south where they live. That area is too heavily developed for my liking. The resources of good soil and water are not as abundant as where we currently live. And we would need to start from scratch.
We will stay where we are and deal with the poor politics of the state. And winter gives us a nice break because lazy people do not like to trudge through snow and most do not have the correct clothing to live outside in winter climates.
Time to get outside in the sunshine and work towards our goals of being able to sustain ourselves. I wish everyone the best as you each work towards your goals. BTW Lauren, darn deer destroyed one of my six year old Chestnut trees! I was not happy. Must have been a buck because it is rubbed to death at the correct height – right outside our equipment barn!! Brazen creatures!