A project that's never done

Over the years, I've bookmarked many fascinating websites, articles, and other online resources that I thought worthy of future reference. I have a massive "bookmarks" file on my computer (which, I suppose, I should really clean out one of these days). Sometimes I bookmark a site for a passing fancy, and sometimes I bookmark a site for a legitimate interest.

But in the early days of having my own laptop, I was naive about a few things, most notably that articles and website can disappear. Bookmarks aren't forever.

I realized this a few years ago when I went back to look for an article I know I had bookmarked some time before. I found the bookmarked, clicked on it, and it brought up... nothing. The page was gone.

After a few more similar experiences, I realized that if I really wanted to keep an article, I had better start copying-and-pasting the relevant information into a Word document, and include the online link just in case.

This became particularly important as I began collecting information on preparedness, homesteading, gardening, etc. If I wanted to keep the information from an online source, I'd better copy-and-paste.

But even that only goes so far. It goes without saying that if the power is out, those copied-and-pasted articles are useless. So... I needed hard copies.

I began the very lengthy process of printing off my collection of information last April.

But I only got so far before my elderly and much-loved printer broke down. Such is life.

This is our new printer. It's one of those whiz-bang combo models that scans, copies, prints, waxes floors, and hangs laundry.

Last week I set up the printer on the kitchen table with my laptop and finished the job of printing the articles I had accumulated.

I have the information roughly divvied into nine categories: General Preparedness, Farming, Building Projects, Cleaning, Hygiene, Medical, Lighting, Kitchen, and Recipes.

Coupled with the material I printed last April, the binder is filling up.

It goes without saying that this project will never be "complete." There's always more information to be found, but it's an easy thing to make sure I have a hard copy should the need arise. Just this morning, for example, I printed out articles on how to make vegetable rennet as well as animal rennet. Hey, ya never know.

I urge everyone to consider doing the same thing. Computers are marvelous things, and the internet is just about the best invention since sliced bread; but if neither functions, nothing beats hard copies of important information.

Prepping reference binder

Today was cold, windy, and rainy -- hideous weather for doing anything outside. It was a good day for doing an indoor project, and I had something very specific in mind.

For the last several years, I've been accumulating prepping-related info on my computer. If I see something interesting online, I copy-and-paste it into a Word document, and save it in a file. I've acquired quite a collection of information -- everything from making ash lye for soap to how to build an ice house, and lots of stuff in between. Bottom line, it would be a valuable reference collection in a "bleep" situation.

Except, of course, it's all on my computer.

Whatever is on my computer would be useless in a power-down situation. I wouldn't be able to access it, I wouldn't be able to print it. In short, I may as well not have it at all.

So, I needed to print it all and keep it in a binder. And today, with the girls out of the house, it seemed like as good a day as any to get started.

I brought my printer into the kitchen in hopes of babying it through this project. My old, faithful, saintly printer finally died after 15 years and tens of thousands of pages of trouble-free use. We purchased an identical replacement off eBay last week, but it's been making funny noises so I wasn't sure it would be up for the sudden demand for its services.

First thing I did was create a subfolder on my computer designating which files had been printed. Then, as I printed, I moved the file to the "Printed" section so I could keep track. I also created another subfolder for recipes, since I had so many. These aren't necessarily prepper-related recipes, just interesting-sounding stuff I've copied over the last few years.

And then I started printing. I printed and printed and printed, for hours and hours.

I stapled each file and put it in an ever-growing pile.

As the printed material piled up, I began noticing distinct categories. I finally ended up with nine separate areas.

And then, half-way through a large file on pressing sunflower seed oil, my "new" old printer just up and died. Kaboom. Oh bleep. I had 62 files in my "Printed" folder, and 33 more files to go in my unprinted section.

Well, not much I could do about it, so I gathered up what material I had printed and started separating and hole-punching it.

I found an old binder and some used binder separators and began making labels. ("Farming" fit better than "Homesteading.")

Soon I had everything tucked neatly away in the binder.

I'm nowhere near done -- only two-thirds of the way -- but there's lots of room in the binder. And meanwhile it gives me a more secure feeling to have a physical copy of what could someday become very important information.

The nice part about this system is I can now copy-and-paste interesting information as I find it, but won't have to worry about getting mixed up between what files I've printed and what files I haven't, since all printed files are in their own subfolder.

Like all preppers, we've accumulated an impressive library of reference books over the years, and this is just another addition to that library.

You might consider doing the same thing!