Hoarding or Hibernation?

Let’s face it…unless you live under a rock or you turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to what is happening in the world around us, I feel it is safe to say most people are aware of the increasing earth/climate changes and subsequent natural disasters that continue occurring, with increasingly devastating proportions.

Some people say, oh this has always happened…it is natural for the earth to behave this way and always has, this is just another of the earth’s cycles, etc. I can’t figure out if those people are so unaware (or afraid?) that they bury their heads in the sand and then, for their own comfort, try to pass it off as media fear-mongering. It seems that way. But some people may honestly believe nothing is going on, and that’s their right to feel that way. So long as it hurts no one else. Just as those who believe the earth is in flux, should also not promote or push their feelings and ideas onto non-believers. But healthy awareness and discussion is a good thing.

It is hard to get this message across to a child sometimes though. Especially my extremely opinionated seven year old son! He is eager and excited to correct people who litter, smoke or seem uncaring about the environment. And because he watches a lot of documentaries on the earth, the solar system and a fair amount of global news coverage, he is also very apt to want people to be aware of what he interprets as major earth changes. I gently encourage him to express his feelings and opinions, but not to become upset or angry if others do not agree with him. Which is a good reminder for my own conduct too.

During the recent media storm surrounding both the “Super Moon” and the Japan earthquake, followed by the new war erupting in Libya, he began to wonder what we could do to help? And what if that happened to us? Who would help us? We engage in lengthy discussions about such possibilities, and I share information with him of both fact and speculation. No one knows for sure when or if we will be hit by any type of natural or manmade disaster but one thing we can do, is be aware enough of the POSSIBILITY to take a few, low-key precautions.

My mum talked to the children about Libya and used it in conjunction with the ongoing real-life history lessons she teaches them, based on her personal experiences serving in WW2, followed by life as an immigrant to North America. One point she stresses to all of us is how important it is to be prepared for any potential crisis in a similar way to how she (and all of England) mobilized and steeled themselves for WW2. She reiterates how “together” the entire nation was and how ready each person was to go with less and to fight hand-to-hand, if need be, every single German that tried to invade and conquer them. She talked to them about rationing and hoarding, and appreciating the value and use of every item you own. These sentiments are lost in today’s world but she aims to keep those teachings alive and remembered in me and mine.

We are so lucky to have this living history with us all the time. A lesson most recently (re)-learned is that of (useful) hoarding. One of my ex-best friends would chide me for any unnecessary “hoarding” and she was often cynical and lacking in compassion to my tales of how many glass jars, coffee containers or paper and plastic bags I would discover my mum had been secreting away in cupboards over the years, as my role of caregiver grew. On the advice of my ex-best friend, I began discarding all of these items mum would be hoarding. They weren’t messy or nasty at all; everything was clean and tucked away in cupboards. This is nothing like those horrible car-crash-mentality hoarding shows that are on TV. Gross.
No, this was just my mum’s wartime thinking so deeply ingrained into every fibre of her being, that she was always sure to “waste not, want not.”

As I have quietly taken in all of the earth changes and worldwide political upheaval, with either a disaster or a war on every day’s news headlines, I started thinking hmmm, maybe my Mum is right about the selective hoarding. Maybe it is smart to save. Recycle that which is NOT useful, but hang onto all that has value and/or potential future value. Not just for ourselves, but for those in our neighbourhood…friends…family. I would happily share with anyone who asked for my help. And I would not charge a dime. (Unlike far too many right-wing bible thumpers (or just ignorant thumping of any type!) that I have had the misfortune to encounter.)

So in the spirit of this thinking, the children and I decided to start a water farm. This came to mind after the Japan earthquake of March, 2011. The big one for Japan. And what does that mean for us? One story we heard from Japan, repeated many times over, was the lack of water for the people who survived. So many people who thankfully only had minor home damage, were left without water. No water for flushing toilets, bathing or drinking. And should a disaster befall the Pacific west coast that we live on, it would be good to be prepared with water. Thus, the water farm was born.

No longer do we put our plastic 4 litre milk jugs in the recycling bin. We now clean them and fill them with water, then store them in our massive basement storage room. They are not taking room away from anything else. They sit on shelves and floor space that was formerly bare. But we go through three 4 litre jugs in a week, as well as assorted 2 litre pop bottles, and after only two months of working our water farm, we have amassed over 40 bottles of water. The children are so proud of these efforts to be prepared and to not waste the useful containers. And I am so proud of them for realizing how important this type of thinking is, and their ability to be diligent and sensible about it instead of freaked-out or overly sensational.

So many items we have been encouraged to recycle have more value than we realize. My mum knew what she was doing with the WW2-mentality “hoarding”. She was actually wise to save all those plastic and paper bags, glass jars, coffee containers, used gift wrap, various sizes of cardboard boxes, and many other assorted potentially useful items. My ex-best friend did not see the value in these items, much in the same way she did not value my friendship. Just throw it all away was her mantra, don’t keep clutter, don’t hang onto anything, bulldoze that clutter down for a happier life!

I have come to see how wrong she was. One day these items could be useful, so isn’t it best to be prepared? Better safe than sorry? Shouldn’t we try to learn from those who came before? Those who lived through harsher times? Those who know better?

Because as Oprah recently summed up beautifully…when you know better, you do better.

We live with awareness. We are not consumed with worry but we are aware. Just in case. This is not the ugly hoarding that is sensationalized on TV. This is prepared hibernation. For when and if we ever need it.