Resource Management as a Dystopian Survival Skill

By Tim Gamble

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Resource management is a very important dystopian survival skill. It involves the efficient allocation and conservation of resources such as food, water, shelter, medicine, electricity and fuel. Even your time and energy is a resource to be managed. Resource management includes acquiring and stockpiling supplies, something most preparedness-minded folks practices, but also goes beyond that paradigm to include the allocation and conservation of resources. 

In a survival situation, resources are often limited and may be difficult to replenish, so it is essential to make the most of what is available. Think through these issues and prepare now, before it is too late. Here are some key aspects of resource management:

• Water: Finding clean water sources and conserving water usage are vital. Having well water with handpumps, collecting surface water from streams and ponds, rainwater catchment, and melting snow are some of the ways to replenish your water supplies. Knowing how to treat water using using various filtration methods, chemicals, and boiling is vital.
• Food: Growing (gardening, fruit and nut trees) and raising (chickens, livestock) your own food is the best way to replenish your food stockpile in a long-term emergency. Foraging for edible plants, hunting or fishing, and setting traps are also ways to secure food (however, seasonal scarcity and overhunting are a real thing). It's also important to preserve food through techniques like canning, smoking, drying, or preserving in salt.
• Fuel for Warmth: In colder climates, and in the dead of winter even in warmer climates, finding and conserving fuel for warmth is essential. This most likely will include gathering and cutting wood. Having plenty of warm clothes and blankets and perhaps cold-weather sleeping bags would help reduce the amount of fuel for warmth you may need. 
• Fuel for Transportation: Hardly any of us will be able to drill and refine our own fuel, so efficiently managing what fuel we do have will become extremely important. Even then we may eventually run out before the emergency is over. What then? Bicycles are one possibility. Even a horse and buggy would be useful. Then there is always your feet and perhaps a wagon to pull. That will require you to be in shape and have proper footwear. 
• Electricity: There is no power coming from the grid. Or perhaps the power is spotty and unreliable. What then? Solar or wind generation, or even running water if your property has a stream, may offer possible solutions.  Energy efficiency, and even learning to do without, will reduce you need for electricity. 
• Medicine: What happens when the pharmacies are no longer open? That is a difficult question with no easy answer. Get as healthy as possible now so you will need less medicine later. Many chronic illnesses, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, can be managed through a strict diet, exercise, and smart lifestyle choices. Medicinal plants, herbs, foods, and spices may offer some answers. 
• Time and energy: Managing your time and energy effectively is crucial. Learn how to prioritize tasks based on their importance and conserve energy for essential activities.

By effectively managing resources, you can increase your chances of staying alive and thriving in challenging environments. But you have to think through these issues now, learn and practice the necessary skills, and prepare now. Wait until disaster hits, and it will be too late. 

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