One of the things you notice when you go minimal and take your show on the road, so to speak, is how fast you wear things out.

When I had a house, I had shoes like most women, a few pairs of sneakers, multiple sandals and boots, some dress shoes, you get the idea.

In Europe, when I didn't have a vehicle, I pared down to 1 pair each of sneakers, flats, sandals, dress boot, hiking boot, and heels. Now that I am traveling with the Jeep and can bring more, I have a couple of extra sandals but my shoe collection has remained minimal.

These are my Nikes after 6 months of daily wear. I walk hilly terrain for several miles every day. The soles have worn completely smooth, there's no longer support in the insole, and you can see my toes poking through.

I started out with 6 pairs of ankle socks and six pairs of crew socks. I've darned them until I finally had to give in and throw some out because they were no longer repairable. I'm down to 5 pairs total of the original socks from last August.

The point I'm making with this isn't, "Oh, poor me." I had just never really worn things out completely before because I had a variety to choose from, so there was no daily footwear in constant service.

I've stashed away a spare pair of walking shoes and extra socks because there could come a day in the not-so-distant future in which grabbing new shoes and socks isn't as easy as a quick dash to the store. When you get down to one thing for daily use, you'll be shocked at how fast you wear it out completely.

It's nothing earth-shattering - just a point to ponder for those of you getting prepped for supply chain disruptions, etc. Grabbing extra shoes and socks for family members (perhaps one size up if you have kiddos) could be a very worthwhile prep.

The other photos are some of the beautiful places I get to walk here in Mexico.

In retrospect, 2020 wasn't that bad.

Yeah, I know 2020 was pretty cruddy. Nearly everyone faced major life changes like job losses, working and learning from home, financial problems, illness, and for some, the loss of a loved one.

But in historical retrospect, the year 536 was way, way worse. In parts of eastern Europe and throughout Asia, the sun didn't shine at all for nearly a year due to a volcanic eruption that triggered the Late Antique Little Ice Age. The disruption went on for a decade, although not quite as badly as that first year and the "dense fog" was reported as far away as Ireland in the years 536-539.

"For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during this whole year, and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear nor such as it is accustomed to shed," was the grim account Procopius, a prominent scholar who became the principal Byzantine historian of the 6th century, gave in History of the Wars.

"And from the time when this thing happened men were free neither from war nor pestilence nor any other thing leading to death."

This caused a mass migration as people desperately sought a place they could grow crops. And with them, some historians believe they spread the bubonic plague, or the Plague of Justinian. "The contagion arrived in Roman Egypt in 541, spread around the Mediterranean Sea until 544, and persisted in Northern Europe and the Arabian Peninsula, until 549."

So while 2020 really did suck, it's not even close to the worst year in the history of the world. You can read more about the universally agreed-upon worst year to be alive here. I found the article susuper interesting.

It's been a few years since we've published one of Selco's anthologies and you guys have been asking for another one. I'm happy to announce...it's here!

These are the articles published by Selco on the website between June 19, 2018 and March 30, 2021. These articles remain on the website at no charge. We have published this 193-page anthology so you can keep all of Selco’s writing in one place and so that your purchase can help support Selco's future work.

It's also really fascinating , in retrospect, watching the last few years through Selco's eyes.

Go here to grab your copy for $5.49.

LINK: https://learn.theorganicprepper.com/product/selco-anthologies-3/

If you missed the first two and would like all three anthologies, you can get this bundle for $12.

LINK: https://learn.theorganicprepper.com/product/shtf-anthologies-1-2/

Thank you for your support!

Do you know how to survive an explosion?

If you aren't already subscribed to Greg Ellifritz's newsletter, I urge you to do so right now. Go here to Active Response Training and find his sign-up on the righthand sidebar. Every Friday he shares a selection of articles called The Weekly Knowledge Dump and I've learned a ton from some of the ones he's curated.

This week there was one I found particularly educational. Folks who have been in the military or other places where things blow up may already know this, but I personally had no idea what to do if I was present when a bomb blew up, nor had I given it a lot of thought. Read this article, What to Do in the Event of a Bomb Blast. It contains potentially life-saving advice.

Here's hoping we never need to use this advice.