# Boredom



## cazetofamo (Mar 18, 2012)

What will you do to pass the time in a SHTF situation? U cant be rambo 24/7!


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

A lot of the work will have to be done manually which will take up more time. If that does not work then I'm going fishing!


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## Attila (Jan 30, 2011)

Buy a book on knot tying, and practice tying knots. Keep a good library and read. Learn new skills, and practice old ones. And like cnsper FISH. Never had a bad day fising.

I think everyone should buy a large diary and keep a daily journal. Also, write down in part of it your family history, or what you know of it up to you. Have something to pass on. Future generations should have this information. Find a good quality journal, or make one with a three ring binder and a good quality paper. Also purchase a number of good ink pens that are permanent and archival, (won't fade over time). Besides, writing is good for you to do. Pass on what you know, and history as it happens. Your children and their children's children should know what happened to us, and why.


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## Outpost (Nov 26, 2012)

cazetofamo said:


> What will you do to pass the time in a SHTF situation? U cant be rambo 24/7!


I think you'll be pretty busy finding stuff to eat, finding water, staying warm, mending your clothes, fixing the leaks on the roof of your shelter/house/BOL, maintaining your vehicle, cleaning guns, keeping track of your crew/family, trying to figure out just what the hell is going on in the rest of the world, shooing away the Zombies..... 

You know... same crap we do now, just in a different way....

(ok.... for the metaphor-impaired, zombies = undesirables)

:hmmm:


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Ever since I was a kid I was always confused when people told me how they were bored, especially when they were at home. It could be because of growing up on a farm but I know others who did who were bored anyways. The only times I have been bored is in the city, whether stuck in some sort of lineup or just stuck inside the box. As long as there are things to build, resources to gather, animals to work with I will never be bored.
Entertainment is another matter, we all crave it to some degree. Having a good collection of videos in any format for most people would be a good start. Lots of books. Card games. Board games are great for a family, especially higher end ones like settlers of catan. Music and dancing obviously. 
Maybe the most efficient way in todays society would be to have a laptop and or tablet set aside with all these things loaded onto it, they even make board games on them. For myself I much prefer the tangible experience in general but have fallen in love with audiobooks.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Our son got tons of Legos and kinects for Christmas and we are teaching him things that will keep him occupied, me- I love to read so that's not a problem.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I have a good study bible and a vasectomy. My free time is well covered.


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## Country Living (Dec 15, 2009)

We live out in the country and always have something to do around the ranch so boredom has never been a problem. Right now the %[email protected]# beaver is garnering our attention because the darn rodent is taking down some large hardwoods. We haven't managed to be out with a rifle when the oversized rodent is chewing on trees because it's been too cold at night so we set some conibear traps and are getting ready to set snares. If those fail, then I'll sit in a chair with a warm sleeping bag and a spotlight. Darn river rodents. Just when we got rid of the nutria.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

Send me the TAILS!!! Joking but I really have wanted to try beaver tail since readng about the Fur trappers and mountain men of the past and how they supposedly loved the beaver tails roasted over a fire. 
As for boredom post SHTF I doubt I'll live long enough for us to have all the old ways refigured out to the point of having much "FREE" time to get board in. I do have tons of books to read for most reading levels. But I will likely not make it through the ones I NEED to read to figure things out and get us running smoothly. I have cards and I have books on old teck games tat require very little. I don't really understand kids needing toys to be occupied I never had much and I had no one to play with most of the time but I was able to take sticks and occupy myself for hours and days and run in the woods for most of a day. I do have a couple red ryders and bunches of bb's I can make lil stick bows, traditional slings, so I should be able to find somthinbg for most kids the spoiled ones can just sit in a corner and pout until there is work to do for all I care. (yeah the fiance's kids are in that group) 
for just take a day off things I have lots of DVD a protected 12v dvd set up with 2 lil screens and a plug in for a bigger screen if we have the power to run one. Cards board games and I know how to make an aggravation board and can find or make somthing for marbles as the game peices I really would like to make one I used to love playhing that game with my folks my grand parents and some of my great uncles and aunts and cousins. yahtzee is easy just need some cubes of some type to make dice and yeah I have the games and spare dice already. Tons of dice games. I like throwing things darts are fun so is throwing a hawk or knife and that makes a good game though I m more of a spectator now my shouders really won't tolerate much throwing. Probably always have a woring air gun around really not that hard to make parts and peices if you need em and I have a mould to make lead round balls that fit my 22 air guns  so you can always target shoot. I have no doubt I could make lead pellets to work in my 177's to.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Here is an 8 page thread on the subject.

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f26/survival-entertainment-3147/


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## trikey (Nov 8, 2012)

I don't think there would be much time there would be much free time. Right now we have free time because we can go to the store and get food instead of hunting it, we eat fast food instead of making it over a fire and building that fire, we buy our water or have city water instead of transporting it or collecting it, we take showers at home instead of finding a river or lake to bath in, we drive places and get gas from the stations instead of walking or cycling places, we rely on police to make sure our homes are protected instead of being on watch and building up defenses(which could always be improved when and if there is any free time), we flush the toilet instead of finding a place and transporting our waste to a suitable place, we keep our selves warm in the winter by turning up the thermostat instead of building a fire or other methods, we turn on the lights at night instead of lighting candles or using flashlights and finding batteries, We talk to our neighbors or other people in town now without much care instead of thinking and wondering if they are going to harm you or your family. After all that you still find free time after doing all those things and have all the food and water you can possibly store and your in a completely secure (unlikely) play some monopoly or learn to play chess. I am sure that when/if SHTF then we would all need a break from the work once in awhile and during that time to relax (given its appropriate time to) Board games, Religion, Books, Meditation, Or if possible music would all be great ways to relax and free the mind from the chaos of the rest of the world. If anyone found their selves bored with nothing to do after SHTF then you are either not doing very well at preparing/surviving or you are so well prepared that you and the people in your group have a unlimited supply of food, water, everything and live in a fortress. If so congrats!


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## Startingout-Blair (Aug 28, 2012)

I have to agree with most people here: I doubt you'll have time to get bored. But, if down time does occur and you're caught up on sleep, that would be a great time to learn new skills. Whittling, carving, playing an instrument, learning to smelt PM, and basic defensive training are just a few things that come to mind. If you have a stream nearby and kids, and you have downtime, help them build a dam for a swimming hole. If it's winter, maybe iceskating or sledding...as long as you have your security in place. Also may be a good time to do a little scouting.


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

I just bought a flint knaping book. Even if it does not hit the fan, maybe I can make some $$$ off of it... LOL


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## AuroraHawk (Sep 12, 2012)

Sentry18 said:


> I have a good study bible and a vasectomy. My free time is well covered.


::SNORF::

OMG, now I have to clean orange cream soda off my monitor. ROFL!


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

I have a good (real books) library, musical instruments, cards & a book of Hoyle's rules, lots of office supplies AND a manual typewriter. Im going to make the gelatin duplicator and start a newspaper....or a technical school. (My price as ever, for learning skills one on one is a single live hen)


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## haley4217 (Dec 16, 2012)

*Getting prepared for the results of a SHTF event and changes to our everyday life*

I looked through the forum and this is the closest thread that I could find to stay on subject so here goes.

I've given some thought and consideration into the planning for entertainment in the event that we loose our creature comforts. But I had never really looked at it like I did last night. Most of the comments in this this thread talk about how busy we will all be just surviving when we have to deal with a SHTF event. I believe that this is true but thought about "later on" when the initial shock is over and we settle into a new normal routine. I know its going to be different in each local and area of the country and for each individual, but in my case we live in a very rural small community and will not have any family other than my wife and myself. The neighbors are all 300 or more yards away and we are friends but not what I would consider close friends.

So here's the scenario; it's winter, it's cold (doesn't have to be a bitter blowing snow bound cold) and the days are shorter. If you go to bed with the chickens about 6:30 PM it's hard to stay in bed until the sun comes up the next morning about 7 AM. No electricity, no television, no internet. How does one prepare for passing the time. Yes, you might have to be up many hours of the night guarding your property, but what if you don't. With limited light in the house and rationing of heating during the night it's cold, dark and lonely sitting in your chair. Reading gets harder on us older folks in the limited light of a candle or LED light. Games can fill the time as long as you've got someone to participate with.

Summer makes it easier with longer days, warmer nights and staying up outside to enjoy the night and gaze at the stars. The problem comes in the dark cold of winter.

It looks like its time to run a drill with the wife and turn off the lights, television, internet and turn down the heat and see what we would do and what preps we are missing.


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

Sentry18 said:


> I have a good study bible and a vasectomy. My free time is well covered.


You beat me to it. I was going to say the same thing we did when there was only 11 channels on TV and we were poor.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Bored? Or boring?*

I cannot imagine being bored. I can imagine for those who are boring. No interests, no hobbies, no skills, like many children today who think part of their parent's job is to also provide entertainment.

I was provided with the following entertainment on Saturdays when I was a child, from the age of 6: laundry for 7, first by stripping beds, wringer washer, clothes hung on the line no matter the temperature (South Dakota winters in the 1960s), dry clothing brought in and folded or prepared for ironing or used for remaking the beds for whole family, cleaning the whole house, ironing. All this was done while brothers: watched cartoons, played sports, went to the movies, played outside and I was cleaning their rooms, remaking their beds, ironing their clothes.

Bored? No time to be bored. Actually, no time to do the things I wanted to do. I have always like creating: knitting, sewing, art work, gardening, wood working.

If you were holed up in a bunker, there are many things that could be done: cleaning, reading, carving, sewing, art work, journaling, exercising, practicing an instrument, creating something (LOTS of possibilities), knitting, crocheting, cooking, baking, planning, teaching someone something. If someone, anyone, is up doing something, pitch in and help with your hands and body.

So will you be bored, or boring?


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

As long as the doctors and hospitals survive we won't be bored.


Jim


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## AmishHeart (Jun 10, 2016)

I watch my family switch gears in the winter. They are farmers and do not use electricity or cars. Winter is a time for winding down and doing other things..if you are a farmer. Most have a stack of books that they're looking forward to reading. Women have sewing projects that they've been putting off. There are games to be played, and family to spend time with. It doesn't have to all be about electronics. I would hope people have hobbies that don't require electricity. Usually there's a 500 piece puzzle sitting out on a card table ready to be worked. I do worry about people (young and not so young) that have their face in their phone all the time. If an EMP hits, I am sure after the outrage, they will be bored. And useless. And pitiful. And forever waiting for someone to flip the switch again. How sad.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

I cant imagine going to bed at 6:30 at night. Even in low light there is stuff to be done. The only time I cant see well enough to do something outside at night is during a new moon even with bad night vision.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Yes, there will be boredom. We're not going to be busy every waking hour. There will be plenty of times when there's nothing fun to do. No TV or computer or internet.

It also depends on your prepping situation. I don't have a farm or animals or a place to grow crops. I have a year's supply of food and water stored. If it goes on longer than that I'm going to have to start hunting and fishing.

Just after the collapse when there's no electricity I'll be sitting around the house with my loaded shotgun waiting for something to happen. I'll probably play hundreds of games of Solitaire with a real deck of cards.


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## AmishHeart (Jun 10, 2016)

Take up fly fishing and you can tie flies.
You don't have to go to bed at 630...propane lights are great. They also keep you warm.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

AmishHeart said:


> Take up fly fishing and you can tie flies.
> You don't have to go to bed at 630...propane lights are great. They also keep you warm.


And fire light. I love sitting in front of a fire listening to the night.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Every winter after the holidays I buy a large zillion piece puzzle to add to the game cabinet. We have board games, card games, dice games, traditional games/toys like jacks, pick-up stix etc. I am a bibliophile so we have tons of books of all kinds.

Not to mention I sew, crotchet, knit, paint, draw, and K plays guitar.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

For us, winter is pretty mild. It gets cold but it usually only lasts a few days then it warms back up. We'll still have a garden & animals to tend to but we have a nice library, a small collection of games, decks of cards (I can play Solitaire for hours). I have piles of projects that'll keep me busy for the next decade. Personally I'd like to try sleeping 12 hours. After a summer of manual labor & a vegetable based diet, I imagine many of us will spend the winter taking in our clothes so they'll fit. .


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Some decades back someone told me that "bored people are boring". Since then every time I start feeling bored that expression pops into my head and I get off my butt and find something to do. I guess I just take responsibility for my mood.


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## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

Considering it's winter and the days are short and the nights are long, give me a little snow and a moonlit night and I will grab my bow and make meat all night. We call it "critter whumping" and it's never boring.


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