Don't Forget The Can Opener
Being prepared requires not only having the proper food and equipment, but the proper tools to keep that food and equipment useful. For example, if you have an oil lamp without any oil, what good is your lamp? Without the proper fuel to keep the thing going, you would be better off using it as a weapon against possible intruders because it certainly isn´t going to provide you with any light. A lamp is not a lamp until it qualifies as a year´s supply lamp. When you have a year´s supply of oil, wicks, and matches, then you have a lamp. Propane lantern? How many propane tanks, mantles, and matches will be required to run it for a week, month or year? An axe and a hunting knife are useless when they are too dull to cut anything. A gun becomes nothing but a heavy hunk of metal if you don´t have the tools to keep it clean, or worse, if you don´t have enough ammunition. You bought seeds for a garden, but do you have the proper tools? Do you know how to garden? Do you have ten thousand pounds of wheat but no wheat grinder? Canned goods without a spare can opener? When thinking about preparedness, we have to think outside of this box of convenience we are so used to. All the wheat in the world will do nothing but take up room if you don´t know how to turn it into bread.