If you’ve never gone camping and wonder what you’ve been missing, consider this. While being united with Nature may equip you with the ability to adapt and a few life lessons, you’ve probably experienced similar adventures from staying indoors.
Every time Mother Nature’s fury causes you to batten down and brace for the unexpected and she limits your options and takes away your privileges, you are then offered a camping moment, at home.
In a blizzard or hurricane you can be stranded at home, quite literally for days. Yet, all you’ll need to do to make it a real camping experience is to imagine that your house is a tent and that is not very difficult to do under extreme gale force conditions that challenge your home’s foundation.
Treat the experience for what it is: a camp in with little or no access to modern conveniences and a dependence on your wits to get you through.
When the Lights Go Out
Preparation is essential for any outdoor adventure and it is no different indoors. Your willingness to adapt to problem-solving scenarios may correlate with your general outlook to life challenges. In this scenario, your first real test is likely to be a power outage. During a storm or hurricane your electrical power is usually the first to go. Exposed power lines are no match for stormy winds and power companies would sooner shut down a connected grid’s generating capacity than risk the integrity of their infrastructure.
You will rely on your supplies for a questionable amount of time. One week’s supply is usually the minimum recommended. Before the light goes, you may want to assemble your candles, flashlights, lanterns and battery powered radio and keep them close by. A gas stove and generator are prized investments, particularly in the winter and when small children are around. Your first order of things however, can be a festive one. Consuming fresh foods is a good idea before everything begins to rot in the refrigerator.
Running Water is Life
Because energy and water systems are connected, when the light goes water tends to follow. With no running water, your basic comfort level may be shaken. When you’re deprived of both water and light a debate usually ensues on which convenience we can better manage without in the short haul. Now it may start to feel like a real camp experience.
You might start by keeping your drinking water safe with plans to boil and treat stored tap water if necessary. Collecting water for different sanitary purposes keeps your household organised and living conditions tolerable. You may consider using catch basins and set them along the eaves of your home to fill and carry off rainwater to flush toilets. Casual acts of bathing and washing dishes now require your full creative input.
Canned Foods, Snacks a La Carte
When your fresh foods have all been consumed, it’s time for your preserved supply of canned meats, soups, vegetables and snacks. Disposable utensils and dinnerware are desirable items to have, so too are large garbage bags to collect accumulated trash and debris. A manual opener will solve some of your can-opening needs; otherwise skilful use of a prying instrument may become a newly acquired skill.
After the worse is over and the sun comes out, all will seem well in the world. You may feel the need to bask in the sun and harness some of the sun’s rays. Solar power systems would do the trick. The damp interior of your home will need the disinfecting action of heat and solar power systems produce high energy yields with home-design PV systems. By the end of your indoor camp you may want to take a break before you test your adaptation skills outdoors.
Sally Dimmock is a freelance writer who embraces natural alternatives to everyday conveniences. She believes that solar power systems are a great step forward in spreading awareness of sustainable power generation and how to live in a greener fashion.
What do you suggest is the best mini survival kit for world travel backpacking?
I love how this could go along with travel backpacking survival. sort of.