Into The Grey Zone The future is always a grey zone, never black and white.

Before you can even begin preparing for "hard times" you should have some idea of what "hard times" you expect. The fellow who is preparing for 7% unemployment and the loss of his job has a very different set of boundaries than the fellow who is preparing for total global thermonuclear war.

Right off the bat, I am going to assume a financial collapse scenario that looks, at least for the next few years, like the one described in Lessons From Argentina's Economic Collapse (PDF). That's a pretty rough and unforgiving environment yet it's also very possible given our current course in government and finance. It's not Mad Max and it's not just having some cash and food squirreled away for an extended layoff from work either, so it gives us a good set of conditions for which to prepare.

Personally, I agree with much (but not all) of what Ferfal writes in his description of life in post-collapse Argentina. But that is an abstraction that many won't have time or resources to handle. Instead, I am going to write about minimal preparations that can protect you right now. Also, I am going to assume that you are able to stay in your current home, rented or owned. If you cannot, you will have to adapt these suggestions to your situation.

As Ferfal noted, one of the first problem areas was food. Distribution systems broke down and became irregular and unreliable. For this reason, you will want to set aside a large surplus of canned and dry goods. Don't over invest in refrigerated foods unless you have a guaranteed source of electricity to keep your refrigerator operational, such as a solar power system. Instead, assume that you need foodstuffs that can be preserved with a minimum of special handling. This means canned goods, vacuum packed goods, and dry goods. Don't forget salt and spices. These can help make a bland diet more palatable. The last thing you need when under stress is diet problems due to bland food.

One problem in adding a large amount of food storage is in rotating your goods. There are systems like the Cansolidator as well as large scale free standing units that do the same things. These units can be relatively expensive (several hundred dollars) but they can also be imitated fairly easily and cheaply if you choose. Systems like these, either bought or home-made, can help ease rotating your canned goods to ensure that you use what you buy and use it in the optimal order.

Dry food goods must be handled differently. Rice, beans, and even grains are subject to a variety of insect born problems if stored for long periods. The best option with these is to store them in large plastic containers that can be sealed with air-tight seals. Start to fill the containers about 1/3 to 1/5 full. Next place an appropriate sized piece of dry ice on top of the dry goods. Now fill the rest of the container with dry goods. Finally place the air-tight sealing lid on top of the container but do not seal it yet. As the dry ice sublimates, it will displace oxygen in the container. After about 30 minutes, you can close the container. If Wait another 30 minutes and if the lid bulges due to additional dry ice sublimation, simply "burp" it as you would a tupperware lid. Then seal the lid. Any insects that do hatch in such an environment are rapidly asphyxiated and unable to breed further.

The final thing to do is to begin acquiring seeds, preferably heritage seeds instead of versions that won't produce useful seeds at all, but in a pinch, any will do to start. As soon as the weather permits, you want to begin gardening to supplement your food supply with fresh fruits and vegetables. Gardening can take a long while to learn so I recommend starting before things get really bad so you can acquire a season or two of working knowledge about what works and what does not.

Depending on your available land, you can grow anything from a few tomatoes to an entire garden to supplement your meals. Personally, I use raised beds and apply the Square Foot Gardening method. It's worked for me but it might not for you. You should begin experimenting now to see what you can grow. Also consider planting fruit or nut trees, if you can afford to have one brought in that is at least a few years old in terms of maturity.

A final option is to begin learning what wild plants are safe to eat in your area. If you live in a heavily urbanized area, your options in this regard might be few. But anywhere else and there should be lots of options that you may have never considered before. There is plenty of information on this topic out there on the web, so I won't cover it in detail here other than to mention it as a way to supplement your diet.

In the next article in this series, I will look at issues other than food.