So we've taken care of water. Now let's talk about food. You don't need to buy food that you don't like to be part of your 72 hour kit! Heck, you don't even need to buy "special" food at all!
We have a "snack station" set up in my kitchen in the space above the microwave. That's where I keep the grab-and-go snacks that go into the lunch bags, diaper bags, and my purse. We have all sorts of snacks that don't need any cooking or preparation at all, plus some minimal preparation foods. In the pantry, we also have plenty of peanut butter, those sausage and cheese gift sets, crackers, cereal, and pretzels.
In an emergency situation where we HAVE power, life as usual would go on. I've got plenty in the fridge and freezer to feed us!
If we're talking no power, but we still have gas- then I can still cook. I can make anything that doesn't require a microwave.
Now, let's assume there's no power, no gas, no water for three days. What would we do? Well, that's where our charcoal grill comes in. I stocked up on briquettes last year when they hit the clearance rack. I can cook plenty of stuff on the grill or in foil nestled in with the coals.
What if it were winter time? Well, in winter it would be too cold for us to use the grill outdoors- we'd be having lots of cereal (since we'd have milk to use up before it goes bad!), nutrition bars, whatever bread we had in the house, and the shelf-stable sausage and cheese snacks.
Have you thought through your options?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
72 hour kit
Do you have a 72 hour kit? Chances are, you have most everything you need- just not in one place.
You need food for 72 hours (we'll cover that in another post)
You need a basic first aid kit (again, I'll cover that in another post)
You need alternative cooking/lighting: charcoal or propane grills for the cooking, lighting can be flashlights (don't forget the batteries!), candles, oil lamps, etc. I have all of the above- charcoal grill is smaller, but the gas grill is more expensive to run. Flashlights are kid-safe, but batteries tend to die quickly when little ones have them in their possession. Candles last a LONG time and are portable, but not safe for use with toddlers. Oil lamps last a long time as well, are safer around my kids (they know not to touch them!) but aren't very portable. We also have glow-stick necklaces for the kids. Eventually, I'd like to get some of the solar lights that are meant to be used for walkways.
You need a source of news- a radio is a good resource for this. We've killed two birds with one stone on this one- I have a couple wind-up, LED flashlights with a built-in AM/FM radio.
I'd also look into those battery operated cell phone chargers, if you don't have a car charger or an emergency jump kit (mine has both AC and DC plugs). Remember, if "all circuits are busy" on the phone lines- try texting. You're more likely to get through that way.
You need food for 72 hours (we'll cover that in another post)
You need a basic first aid kit (again, I'll cover that in another post)
You need alternative cooking/lighting: charcoal or propane grills for the cooking, lighting can be flashlights (don't forget the batteries!), candles, oil lamps, etc. I have all of the above- charcoal grill is smaller, but the gas grill is more expensive to run. Flashlights are kid-safe, but batteries tend to die quickly when little ones have them in their possession. Candles last a LONG time and are portable, but not safe for use with toddlers. Oil lamps last a long time as well, are safer around my kids (they know not to touch them!) but aren't very portable. We also have glow-stick necklaces for the kids. Eventually, I'd like to get some of the solar lights that are meant to be used for walkways.
You need a source of news- a radio is a good resource for this. We've killed two birds with one stone on this one- I have a couple wind-up, LED flashlights with a built-in AM/FM radio.
I'd also look into those battery operated cell phone chargers, if you don't have a car charger or an emergency jump kit (mine has both AC and DC plugs). Remember, if "all circuits are busy" on the phone lines- try texting. You're more likely to get through that way.
What if we were stuck at home?
If you were unable to leave your home for whatever reason, do you have what you need?
Ready.gov recommends having a 72hour kit. Something about the word "Kit" makes people picture something elaborate- but it doesn't have to be.
One of the recommendations is for water- 1 gallon per person per day for at least 3 days. Personally, I am using 2L soda bottles washed out well then refilled with filtered water. Our city water smells and tastes like chlorine- a turn off for me! At any given time I have at least 10 2Ls full , plus a jug in the fridge. In addition to this, I have about a case of gatorade and a bunch of shelf-stable juices. I'm working on boosting my 10 bottles up to 20 or 30.
Remember, in a disaster, you may still have water flowing through your pipes. Your best bet is to boil the water if you are unsure of its purity. You only need the water to REACH boiling, you don't need to waste fuel on boiling for several minutes.
Ready.gov recommends having a 72hour kit. Something about the word "Kit" makes people picture something elaborate- but it doesn't have to be.
One of the recommendations is for water- 1 gallon per person per day for at least 3 days. Personally, I am using 2L soda bottles washed out well then refilled with filtered water. Our city water smells and tastes like chlorine- a turn off for me! At any given time I have at least 10 2Ls full , plus a jug in the fridge. In addition to this, I have about a case of gatorade and a bunch of shelf-stable juices. I'm working on boosting my 10 bottles up to 20 or 30.
Remember, in a disaster, you may still have water flowing through your pipes. Your best bet is to boil the water if you are unsure of its purity. You only need the water to REACH boiling, you don't need to waste fuel on boiling for several minutes.
Home preparedness: Overview
What would you do if....
This is a question I ask myself pretty frequently. Listening to the news and wringing your hands will get you NOWHERE. Glenn Beck recently aired a "Wargame" special, where he had several experts explaining what could happen- and it got me thinking.
If there were a disaster and we couldn't leave the house, what would we need? What if there were no power? If our heat got knocked out?
If we had to evacuate, what would we need? Where would we go?
What if we were in a disaster zone, similar to post-Katrina Louisiana? What would we need to know to survive?
I'll be addressing all of these questions in upcoming posts. And, because I'm a mom with little spare time and even less spare money, I'll show you how to do it all on the cheap and quick.
This is a question I ask myself pretty frequently. Listening to the news and wringing your hands will get you NOWHERE. Glenn Beck recently aired a "Wargame" special, where he had several experts explaining what could happen- and it got me thinking.
If there were a disaster and we couldn't leave the house, what would we need? What if there were no power? If our heat got knocked out?
If we had to evacuate, what would we need? Where would we go?
What if we were in a disaster zone, similar to post-Katrina Louisiana? What would we need to know to survive?
I'll be addressing all of these questions in upcoming posts. And, because I'm a mom with little spare time and even less spare money, I'll show you how to do it all on the cheap and quick.
Financial- Part One: Wallet and Purse Contents
Recently, I had my wallet stolen. There's a sick feeling in your stomach when you realize that your wallet is gone- your mind starts to race, you wonder where it is, you search your memory to remember what was in it....
There are several things you can do NOW to make this problem a blip on your radar. Here's a step-by-step process to make it easy for you!
1. Take out your wallet. Empty EVERYTHING out of it. Receipts, cards, IDs, EVERYTHING.
2. Ruthlessly cull what you carry with you. Don't even think about putting your Social Security card in your wallet! Loyalty cards from your grocer? Get the keychain version. You don't need to carry 5 credit cards- I only carry a debit card, my ID, and one credit card in my wallet, along with cash.
3. Photocopy your "keepers", front and back. Take the copies and place in an old dayplanner (We'll add to this in later posts).
Now, if your wallet or purse is stolen, you will have on hand a copy of your ID, and the phone and account numbers for the debit and credit cards you were carrying. A few simple phone calls and your cards are "hotcarded" which means that they're disabled.
Yes, you'll still need to file a police report, go to the RMV, and possibly make a trip to the bank. But your collateral damage will be limited- all of your paperwork is in one place, your information is at hand, and you will be able to go right down the list and turn a potential disaster into a relatively minor inconvenience.
There are several things you can do NOW to make this problem a blip on your radar. Here's a step-by-step process to make it easy for you!
1. Take out your wallet. Empty EVERYTHING out of it. Receipts, cards, IDs, EVERYTHING.
2. Ruthlessly cull what you carry with you. Don't even think about putting your Social Security card in your wallet! Loyalty cards from your grocer? Get the keychain version. You don't need to carry 5 credit cards- I only carry a debit card, my ID, and one credit card in my wallet, along with cash.
3. Photocopy your "keepers", front and back. Take the copies and place in an old dayplanner (We'll add to this in later posts).
Now, if your wallet or purse is stolen, you will have on hand a copy of your ID, and the phone and account numbers for the debit and credit cards you were carrying. A few simple phone calls and your cards are "hotcarded" which means that they're disabled.
Yes, you'll still need to file a police report, go to the RMV, and possibly make a trip to the bank. But your collateral damage will be limited- all of your paperwork is in one place, your information is at hand, and you will be able to go right down the list and turn a potential disaster into a relatively minor inconvenience.
Readyness
"Save for a rainy day"
We've all heard it, over and over again. And you know, the rain is always coming. We don't know if it will be a drizzle or a monsoon, but it is always advancing in one way or another.
I believe in being prepared. I believe that as a wife and mom, it is my job to make sure that my family is prepared for an emergency- whether it be a jobloss, illness, or outside influences like natural disasters, economic issues, an epidemic, or civil unrest.
But being prepared is a daunting task. How do you start? Where should you begin? That's why I created this blog.
We've all heard it, over and over again. And you know, the rain is always coming. We don't know if it will be a drizzle or a monsoon, but it is always advancing in one way or another.
I believe in being prepared. I believe that as a wife and mom, it is my job to make sure that my family is prepared for an emergency- whether it be a jobloss, illness, or outside influences like natural disasters, economic issues, an epidemic, or civil unrest.
But being prepared is a daunting task. How do you start? Where should you begin? That's why I created this blog.
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