I think we should all be prepared for tough times ahead – am I being a scaremonger, or just resilient?
The small things I do at home to make a big impact
Amanda Jones is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on sustainable living and decorating a home in way that is good for the environment. See the rest of her articles here.
I usually write about intentional homes and slow interiors, but I also believe we should have resilient homes too. We live in a world that has an increasing number of shocks, causing waves that impact our daily lives.
1. Have an emergency fund
In my article Our Low Spend Year, I talked about my anxiety being triggered when we had used up all our emergency fund during our renovations. An emergency fund is money you put to one side, just for emergencies, not for a weekend away, or a new dress. It’s money you forget about, literally, until there’s a real emergency, and it helps alleviate financial stress.
For years having money put aside to buy a few household items that stopped working felt an adequate amount. Now however, I’m looking to build three months of our monthly income (and eventually six months). But how do you build up a fund, when things are already tight?
- Look closely at your budget, is there anything you can cut out? Are there subscriptions you could stop? Could you manage your food spending better? Can you get a better deal on your WIFI? Look at where you can make savings on you monthly budget. Instead of spending those savings, funnel them into your emergency fund.
- Decide how much you feel your fund should be and work out a plan to do just that. How much do you need to save each month, and how long will it take you.
- Could you do a No Spend month? Any money you’ve saved, put into the fund.
- Are there any items you could sell, to generate extra income?
- Any money you do save, put in a separate account, to avoid spending it accidentally, or to be tempted to buy that new dress!
Having the financial buffer can make all the difference in time of economic stress.
2. Have a working pantry
I had been very lucky in my life to never experience hunger, or the inability to access food. That all changed in March 2020. It was at the very beginning of the pandemic, my husband had gone to our local supermarket, shopping list in hand, to find the shelves almost stripped bare, he came back very shaken, with only a handful of the items on the list.
We were a family of four, with just a little food in our cupboards, we lived close to the supermarket, I had never questioned the possibility that food supply chains could break down.
Since 2020, I’ve read a lot about the vulnerability of food supply chains, and the ‘just in time’ delivery systems all supermarkets have now adopted. Given global geopolitical events, our changing weather patterns, and inflationary factors, I now keep what I call a working pantry.
A working pantry is a way of ensuring you can feed your family for several weeks, should food supply chains break down, or in an emergency. It doesn’t have to be a global issue, it could also be redundancy, or illness issues. Food must be shelf-stable, dried or tinned food is best. Some people also include frozen food, but that would require the availability of a constant electricity supply.
The UK government, in their preparedness guidance, recommend households always have some food/water available at home in case of emergencies, several weeks if needed. It might not be the variety of meals you are used to, but having some food is better than going hungry. Here are my tips to building a working pantry, slowly and sustainably.
- Only buy what you know your family will eat.
- Buy shelf stable food, tinned or dried.
- Ensure you include all the food groups, protein, fat, carbs, fruit and veg etc.
- Include salts, herbs, spices and flavourings, you are likely to be eating a more restricted diet in the time of an emergency, so make meals as flavoursome as you can.
- Include some shelf stable treats too, especially if you have children.
- Keep an inventory of what you have, that way you know if there are any gaps. Date everything and rotate what you have, don’t let any of the food go to waste.
- Learn new ways to store and preserve food, we just need to think about the methods our grandparents used.
- Build up your pantry slowly, buy items when on offer, or just buy an extra few tins/packets each week to put away.
- Also consider having a few non-food items too, medications, personal hygiene products, remember the toilet roll fiasco! Don’t forget any pet supplies.
If every household had a working pantry, would we have seen the mass panic buying and stripped shelves at the beginning of 2020?
Having some food set aside, will help you become more resilient to changing economic and supply chain issues.
3. Grow your own food
If you have access to some outdoor space, learn how to grow your own food. If you don’t have access, there are allotments, community gardens, and garden share schemes up and down the country.
Knowing how to grow food to a great skill to have, it takes practice and patience, but in my opinion, very rewarding. Organically home-grown food, eaten fresh from the garden tastes delicious.
I certainly can’t feed a family of four on what I grow, but I do supplement what we buy, and if needed, I could scale things up.
4. Grow a community
In 2020, I witnessed how much my local community helped each other and looked out for the most vulnerable. If you don’t already know them, get to know your neighbours, at least on first name terms.
Is there a local group you could get involved with? Community volunteering is a great way to find out what’s happening in your local area and meet new people. Community reliance, in my opinion, is much more effective than self-reliance.
5. Small things, big impact
There are other small things we can do to make life easier in times of uncertainty. Having a small amount of cash on hand, essential should your banking app stop working, or payment infrastructure goes down, even for a short period of time. Supermarkets may close their doors, but most small local ‘corner’ shops will readily accept cash and remain open. Get to know your local shopkeeper.
The UK government also advise you have a battery-operated radio, power pact to charge phones and alternative lighting sources, in the events of energy blackouts. I remember the blackouts of the 1970s, my parents always seemed to be prepared.
As I write this, we are still yet to understand how present geopolitical tensions will affect our fuel supplies, it could easily disrupt them and our delicate global supply chains.
If you would have told me 10 years ago, I would have been thinking this way in 2026, I would not have believed you. We live in a turbulent world, and I have absolutely no control over what the people in charge do, or don’t do. I can however put some resilient systems in place, to buffer those waves, that might lap at our door.
