72-Hour Kits

Being prepared is not all or nothing. Having something is a whole lot better than having nothing, especially in an emergency situation. The best way to start preparing is to start small and work your way up. First get your 72 hour kit ready, then your 3 month supply, then 6 months, and finally a year supply. Don't go in to debt to get it all done, buy what you can afford.

Start by going through your home and compiling a list of items that can be used for an emergency situation. Do you have flashlights? Spare blankets? Unused jackets? Shoes? An extra can opener? Or any other items that you have extras of that aren't being used.

If there is a disaster in your area, such as a earthquake, tornado, hurricane, or flood (depending on your climate) and you are cut off from your food and water supply, based on pass history it takes an average of 72 hours before emergency response can get to you. Having a 72-hour kit for every member of your household is absolutely essential.

Because I don't feel the need to re-invent the wheel, I've posted a link to a website that has a list of items that you should have in your 72-hour kits.



Here's a list of items you should be sure to include in your kit:
Feminine Needs
Hand Sanitizer
Wet Wipes (Bath in a Box)
Lip Balm
Prescription Medications
Can Opener (If you pack cans with a pop top lid, you won't need to pack one of these)
Compass
Small Radio
Gloves/Hand Warmers
Sewing Kit
Pliers
Poncho (Pack more than one, so you can cover things other than yourself)
Money
Maps
Garbage Bags
Water Purification Tablets
Extra Ammunition (If you carry a gun)
Light Sticks (They don't usually give off a large amount of light, but if you have a child who can't sleep without a night light these work perfectly for that purpose)

Important Documents to have in your 72-Hour Kit:
Legal-Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificate, Wills, Guardianship etc.
Medical Records-including immunization records, and prescription drug information.
Financial Records (Tax Returns, Bank Information etc.)
Insurance-Be sure to include your agents contact information, and policy numbers.
Misc-Fingerprints of your immediate family members, and recent pictures.

Once you have your kits assembled, make sure that everyone on your family knows where to find them. You also need to rotate out the items in your 72-hour kit. If you don't rotate them then what good are diapers going to do you when all of your kids have been potty trained? You want to rotate out the food as well, thus insuring that when you need to eat it that it's safe to eat. Rotate the clothing you have in your kit as well, how will shorts and t-shirts help you in the middle of December?

You should rotate your kits every 6 months, once in the fall, and once in the spring. In the fall stock it full of stuff that would be beneficial to you in the winter time, such as coats, extra hand warmers, packets of hot chocolate, gloves, etc. Then in the spring take out the winter stuff and add stuff that would be beneficial in the summer such as shorts, a light jacket, sunglasses, bandannas, etc.

Be sure to pack morale boosters, such as a copy of a favorite book, a toy car, doll, or even some candy. Packing all of these things will help you to survive a disaster, and to survive it in good fashion.

Food Storage Should Not Be Your Grandchildren's Inheritance

Growing up I have watched my not only my mother, but many other women in my life attempt to build up and integrate their food storage into the diets of their families. I have seen many different strategies in building up, and utilizing food storage. I am very sad to say that the majority of the examples I have seen have been rather fruitless.

I have often pondered as to why these women have failed at their attempts. I have concluded that the vast majority of all failings in food storage all go back to one root cause: inadequate knowledge.

People don't know how to properly store their food storage, or they don't know what they should store, or they know what to have, they just don't know what to do with it. A perfect example of this is my husband. When we got married he had two 5-gallon buckets full of whole wheat kernels. However he did not have a wheat grinder, bread pans, a mixer, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, yeast, or anything else you would use to make whole wheat edible. Needless to say, after our wedding I rectified that situation.

You see it time and time again, families will buy number 10 cans of whole wheat, which can store up to 25 years, and never do anything with it. Then of course they never use it, so they give it to their children and grand-children. Food storage should not be your grandchildren's inheritance. It should be for the here and the now. It's not just for emergencies. It's for eating healthier, it's for when you don't have time to go to the store, it's for being self-reliant, it's for when you are out of work, or it's for blessing the lives of those who are in need.

In the last several months I have looked at and examined the examples of preparedness that I have been given, and concluded that I need to do better. I've been spending my time doing research, and learning about the subject. Not only have I been learning, but I have also been using what I know.

Which brings me to why I am writing. I am posting what knowledge I have gained on this blog to help educate others. I know there are many people out there who don't have the time to read all the websites, and books that I've been fortunate enough to come across, or to experiment with several different recipes that involve only ingredients that can be stored in your home for months. I hope that through my knowledge I can help bless the lives of those around me, and inspire people to become more self-reliant.