Resilience in the City--Accountability Thread

You are all hereby dubbed my "accountability partners" as I seriously begin to build a more resilient way of life in the city. Some call it "Prepping," but I want to do this even if future years are an infinity of sunshine and roses. If I have a thread going to share what I'm trying, I am sure I will get tons of ideas and good advice, and it will encourage me to my efforts and projects in motion.

As of today, I have

about 3 months' worth of nonperishable food for my family

I also have a Berkey water filtration system (it will need a new filter this year, so I should order another very soon).

In the small yard I have a little tiny herb/annuals garden

A HUGE personal library of permaculture, gardening, hunting, foraging, and cooking books

(And I also have two vacuum-packed seed kits, for the future, if I ever get to a situation where I can have a big garden.)

There's lots more to be done, but at least I know that we have food and water for a little while, even now.

Upcoming projects I will soon be starting include: learning how to store and prepare the acorn deluge falling (literally!) in about six months, obtaining tons and tons of free wood chips to improve my front yard's hard clay soil, and foraging mushrooms at my parents' forested property.

Last year I purchased a bag of soapnuts and rigged up a greywater system for my little washing machine, and built a dolly for it.   So I can roll it over to the window and hook it up to the garden hose.   Irrigating my trees, flowers, and lawn with it, so I can save rain barrel water for veggies.    A tiny splash of vinegar for extra dirty laundry doesn't seem to bother the plants any either.

I've also now got a breeding pair of rabbits;  illegal technically but my neighbors are great and we have privacy fencing all around.   I'd prefer them colony style (loved that when I had my farm) but for now discrete hutches will have to do.    Manure for the compost bins.  

I lost count of how many species of trees/ shrubs/ perennials I have around my small yard,  while keeping it looking like "gardens" around a "lawn."  

I'm getting my soil tested this month (cart before the horse, I know... ) for more information about what I need to be doing to make things healthier, if anything.

All organic matter stays on my property;  leaves, twigs, branches, grass clippings, weedings, etc.   Except when I trim my rose bushes, lol.   Those I put out for city collection, but they compost it.   I also collect urine for composting as well instead of flushing.   I add my used coffee grounds to it before taking it outside,  for the benefit of my neighbors, so it doesn't LOOK like urine ;)

Then I give away as many seeds, seedlings, plant divisions, etc. as I can to encourage other people to get involved as well.

Oh!  Edit to add my new projects I want to get to:   building both a solar oven and a solar dehydrator!

sending lots of support from up north.

Hey Rachel,   one of your accountability partners here, checking in ;)   How's the project list for improving resilience coming along?   Any set backs that need commiserating, or brags and progress that need congratulating, or slumps in motivation that need a cheering?!   Check in!

Heather Staas wrote:Hey Rachel,   one of your accountability partners here, checking in ;)   How's the project list for improving resilience coming along?   Any set backs that need commiserating, or brags and progress that need congratulating, or slumps in motivation that need a cheering?!   Check in!

Checking in on you too.  And I will share that I have definitely got a mixed bag to show for my time here though I’m in the countryside.  I could be saving my pee more, since i don’t see much miracle growth over the leach field at all!  Seems worth doing that kind of thing I used to do more… though my partner is not a big fan.

A big obstacle I’m finding is “trash.”  Processing trash, triaging trash, decisions (is this burnable?? Too toxic? Can I live with myself if I let go and give it to the landfill?), and quantity of placements of trash (the cat has three favorite places to eat cans of cat food—grrr).  It is surprisingly draining, and I think that I’m focusing on pennies and missing pounds.  

I have kept 15 fowl alive and 6 guineas here (vs escaping) and 2 pigs, and the hugelbeds sort of ready for next spring (drought has been tough and greywater would be lead-challenged).  

I hope it helps to have me share my journey a bit , if not let me know what support would help you most.  

If you have weird hangups like multiplying cat food cans it can help to talk it out and get some outside perspective.

Congratulations on all that you have done!

Rachel said, "Upcoming projects I will soon be starting include: learning how to store and prepare the acorn deluge falling (literally!) in about six months, obtaining tons and tons of free wood chips to improve my front yard's hard clay soil, and foraging mushrooms at my parents' forested property.

I love your upcoming project!

Heather Staas wrote:Hey Rachel,   one of your accountability partners here, checking in ;)   How's the project list for improving resilience coming along?   Any set backs that need commiserating, or brags and progress that need congratulating, or slumps in motivation that need a cheering?!   Check in!

Joshua Myrvaagnes wrote: Checking in on you too.

Thanks for checking in! I really needed that!

Setbacks:

I'm too chicken to try Chicken-of-the-woods--so I haven't gotten courageous enough to try the mushroom foraging yet. There's a book called something like "How to Forage for Mushrooms and Not Die" and I need to see if my library has it!

I only called one local company about wood chips, left a message, and never heard back. Have been wondering if I can trust urban wood chips to not be clean? People around here...do lots of things I can only talk about in the Cider Press.

Good things I've done:

Checked out all of Samuel Thayer's books from my library--but there was so much info I didn't quite know what to do with any of it. I think I should buy that book I've linked to before just for acorns, to deal with the imminent October harvest

Harvested juicy green peppers (and cucumbers) this summer, which saved LOTS of money and food waste because produce gets forgotten in my fridge and dies. This is not a problem if it lives on the plant until harvest time. It's magic!

Got more disciplined to menu plan. This also has saved tons of money and food waste (and cleaned up our diet)!

I learned that my family LOVES potato pancakes, as in: salt, basil, and grated potatoes fried in grass-fed butter. It doesn't get better or easier than that!

Your check-in has inspired me to get back on the bandwagon. Y'all are just the best!

Cool thread! Can I join in?

I like to think in terms of building community and family resilience to change, rather than prepping. I don't want to lock the doors of my "bunker" and leave people starving on my doorstep - I want my whole community to adapt and hopefully thrive despite the upheavals.

I've been focusing a lot on urban foraging (found amazing wild plums earlier in September! And I'm in a fairly big city) and soil building/carbon capture on my small lot.

My other focus is sharing knowledge and an attitude of connectedness with nature with my kids. This year we all learned to make rope out of natural materials, and I'm getting halfway decent at basketweaving. It's not so much about ropes or baskets, but rather knowing that one can do things with one's hands and one's brain. No one can take that away.

My husband is also volunteering for a "eliminate food waste and food insecurity" community group.

I read in a history book that through victory gardens, Montréal was self-sufficient in fruits and veggies during WWII. And we are the North American city with the longest history of community gardens. All that is giving me hope for the future.