It was in the heaviest part of the COVID lockdown. My wife had tested positive a few days prior and had isolated herself in our bedroom. It was dinner time and while my kids wanted SpaghettiOs, my wife did not. While I was working on my wife’s dinner, my oldest volunteered to make the SpaghettiOs.
I could tell that the can opener was causing much more of a struggle than usual, but I didn’t have the focus to micromanage because while I was filling a pot with water to boil for my wife’s food, the water stopped flowing. I checked the other faucets… same result. I called the neighbors and confirmed that they were out of water, too. After waiting on hold with the city, I was told a repair crew had caused an incident at a water main up the street and it would be at least a few hours before water was flowing again.
While I was trying to work out my next steps I heard, “Look, Dad!” and I saw my oldest holding up an empty SpaghettiOs can. “Look at what?” I replied and with a smile my child turned the can over to reveal a pop top with the pull tab still perfectly in place. My kid had opened the bottom of the can which such force that, to my chagrin, the can opener was bent and useless.
I had a wife to feed, a dog to water, dishes to do, and kids to bathe and I was down one can opener and one source of water. One was none.
“Two is One and One is None” has been adopted as a prepper mantra meant to emphasize the need to plan for constructive redundancies. (Prepping is all about being resilient to the disruption and/or loss of a comfortable status quo.)
Fortunately, I had multiple can openers and many gallons of water stored. To my surprise, it was the water I had stored in old two-liter bottles that proved to be the most convenient. I didn’t have to haul up any of the 5 gallon containers to soak the dishes or water the dog. The water came back on before bath time and the whole event ended up being the smallest of speed bumps.
A dropped flashlight and you are down one source of light.
A busted shoelace and you are down one pair of shoes.
A broken window and you are down one secure shelter.
A curious, boisterous, or determined child and you can end up being down a remarkable number of assorted possessions.
While there will be times when we may just have to deal with None, a judicious preparation of Two (or more) can make all the difference in many cases.
I say “judicious” because Two of everything can easily result in None in your bank account… and that’s not the goal, either.
Other fun COVID adentures included when our furnace went out in the middle of the winter and a viciously cracked windshield took our vehicle out of operation. It took us a lot longer than anticipated to replace both of those, but space heaters and a second (albeit ancient) car led to those being just another set of smallish speed bumps.
One of the first things you should get two of is a paycheck. I am not suggesting that you get another job, but an additional paycheck’s worth of money in an emergency fund can help turn full on sinkholes into speed bumps. (See this article for more info on financial preparedness.)
After you have a financial safety net, I would recommend doing an audit of the critical single points of failure in your life and do a cost/benefit analysis to determine which Ones you want to have become Twos.
For instance, a second car might not be in the cards right now, but a cheap 2-pack of can openers that you can just store in one bug-out bag (or Two) might be more attainable. Maybe someone in your household is currently relying on a single pair of glasses or maybe you have just one lighter for your BBQ? Do you have a backup jacket? A winter power outage while your coat is wet in the washing machine can be inconvenient to say the least. Are your most valuable photos and/or documents only on one hard drive?
Another concept to consider is that you don’t necessarily need two of the exact same thing. Is your phone your only flashlight? Then a separate flashlight (or headlamp) could come in handy if you need to preserve your phone’s battery during a power outage.
Common Categories to Consider:
- Light – We’ve all been through power outages and it can get dark inside even during the day. Not only is it a good idea to have multiple lights for redundancy, but if you have multiple people in your home, you will typically want multiple light sources.
- Water – We may not run out often, but if we do it can literally be a matter of life or death. Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Texas during the winter storm of 2021, and many other storms have caused serious disruptions to our water supply. See this article for more information on storing water and this article for more information on filtering water.)
- Temperature Control – How often do you use electricity to control the temperature of your environment? If the power goes out, do you have any mechanisms to actively control your temperature?
- Communication – If your phone dies, or even just its battery, do you have a way to communicate with loved ones outside of your home?
- Money – If you lost your wallet or your purse or if the power went out, would you be able to make any purchases?
- Tools – This is a very broad category and can cover everything from glasses to can openers to microwaves to keys. Is there any one thing that would really put you in a bind if it broke? Would you have the means to restore or repair that item?
Necessity is the mother of invention and your ingenuity can go a long way in recovering from the loss of useful assets, but it can also go a long way in your efforts to be prepared for the pot holes and sink holes of life’s journey. All the best to you in your preparedness efforts.