Sunday, August 26, 2012

Weekly lnspiration

"Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food... and were debt-free.  Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse; they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."

"Noah heeded God's command to build an ark... that they might be saved from the floodwaters... Yet there was no evidence of rain and flood... His actions were considered irrational... The sun was shining and life moved forward as usual.  But time ran out.. The floods came, the disobedient were drowned.. When God speaks and we obey, we will always be right."  Thomas S. Monson

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

August Bargains

There are a few coupons available for some things that would be a good thing to add to your 72 hour kit or to get your started in making your 72 hour kits.

Go to coupons.com and if you browse through the pages of printable coupons you should come accross a $.75 off 1 Minute Maid Juice Box.  They are around $2.99 a box or you can get the Minute Maid Coolers for like $1.99 at Walmart/Winco.  The kids love them and they are a great thing to add to your 72 hour kit because they will last for quite a while.

You can print these coupons 2 times per computer.




 
Another good one for your 72 hour kits is this $1.00 off one 4-pack of Mott's Snack & Go Applesauce pouches.  Compact, stays good for a long time and the kids love them!  Sorry I don't have a price on these.  I haven't seen very many coupons for them though so if you use them, you should print it and save some money!  Again, 2 times per computer.



You may have also seen hand sanitizers, ziploc baggies, cleaning wipes and fruit snacks on sale.  Smiths has Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks for $1.49 when you buy 10 participating items.  You can find coupons for these fruit snacks on bettycrocker.com or boxtopsforeducation.com to make them about $1.19 a box. 

Another one of the participating items at Smiths this week is $.99 Hefty One Zip storage bags.  It's only 13-22 ct bags but if you are freezing fruit or veggies from your garden they are great.  They also work super well to store things in and throw in your 72 hour kits!  The kids have an easier time zipping than using the pinch ziploc kind.

Also at Smiths American Beauty Pasta is only $.49 (when you buy 10 items).  I usually grab a few and put them in food storage.  That's a great price.

You can get some Nature Valley granola bars at Smiths for $1.69 a box when you use the $.60 off 2 box coupon from bettycrocker.com or boxtopsforeducation.com

If you are out and about and have some extra cash, these are some great deals and would make a great start or addition to your kits!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Water Storage - How Much Water?

Thanks to all who have given their comments on the blog and through talking to me.  It has been helpful to get a small idea of where we should start with the preparedness blog.

We will be starting this week with water storage.  Just for fun I would like you to take this little quiz.

#1  How much water does your family need in a 72 hour kit?

#2  What kinds of containers are best to use for storing water?

#3  Is there a certain location in your home to store water that is better than another?

#4  Do you know how to purify water that is not safe to drink?

I hope these are a few of the questions we can answer in the following few weeks.  I am no expert, but I am sure learning lots and will be documenting my own experience along the way.

During an emergency, water may or may not be available.  However, water is the single most important item.  You may find water at an evacuation center, but there may be lag time until water becomes available.  The body can live without food for extended periods of time but can live only about 3-4 days without water.  This is not considering stressful or emergency situations.

So we will be prepared!

Here is a link to the church website on Water Storage

How much water do we need?

Having an ample supply of clean water is a top priority in an emergency. A normally active person needs to drink at least two quarts (half gallon) of water each day.   My family has 5 people and for 3 days that is 7 gallons of water we need stored in our 72 hour kits.  

If you are like me you thought, "Why do I need that much water?  I rarely drink that much water now."  Here is what I have come to realize.  If there were a crisis situation for example the wind storms in Davis County Utah in 2011, we would be spending the day helping rebuild our community.  Moving trees, shoveling debrit, etc.   We would likely need that much water and on a hot summer day we might even wish we had more.

After browsing Walmart here are a few options I found:

The Fiji water bottles have 1.5 liters for $2.07 so we need 4 bottles per person to make half gallon a day = $41.40 for my family

Smart Water had a 1 liter bottle for $1.25 we would need 6 per person. = $37.50 for my family


Or you can go with the 11 Arrowhead waters which are usually about $2.99 a 24 pack. = $8.97 for my family
The Preparedness Store on Yellowstone uses these water pouches in their 72 hour kits.  They are $.40 a piece or a box of 60 for $22.80.  They said they do not expire which is a big pro for the water pouches.  You would just need a whole lot of them in order to get your gallon and a half per person.  They have an example - basic kit that only includes 15 packets so I suppose you could survive on that much.

The reason I decided to use already bottled water is because I don't have to worry about preparing all the containers and changing them every 6 months.  They are good until the expiration on the container which is usually a year or so away.  We have a few Fiji bottles stored in Dustin's kit because he is carrying a few more things than the rest of us and the compact bottles seemed better.  The rest of us are carrying the inexpensive option of a bunch of Arrowhead waters.

As you decide how much water to carry with you, consider the number of people in your family and their ages, health and strength.  If you are a nursing mother you are going to need more water. 




For longer term storage we are advised to have one gallon per person per day for 2 weeks.  This will be for food preparation, hygiene and drinking.    As I explored the options for holding this much water here is what I found:

Preparedness Store has the biggest selection.  Not pictures are a 250 gallon for $399.99 and a 100 gallon for $119.95 which has a spigot.
Different from the Preparedness Store, Cal Ranch has a 50 gallon barrel for $35-40 which has previously been used for food items like pickles.  It has a spigot on it.  We purchased 2 of these a few years back and try to rotate the water yearly, however if you use this option they do need to be cleaned out really well with come bleach water before filling up the first time.

I'm not sure it would make the best drinking water, but would work just great for hygiene, boiling and washing dishes or flushing toilets if that's an option.  We keep ours in the corners of our garage to make for easy rotating.

I also saw this ION at the Preparedness Store for $16.95 which would be good for a barrel like this.  You put 1/2 bottle in a 55 gallon barrel and then don't have to rotate the water for up to 7 years.

Walmart had a 5 or 6 gallon jug for $6.38 which beat out the price of these two stores in case you are looking to store in this size container.



I kept seeing these:

Anybody know what it is?  Leave a comment or email me with the answer.

Another, much less expensive option is to reuse your containers from home.  Here is what the church website tells us about that.

Use only food-grade containers. Smaller containers made of PETE plastic or heavier plastic buckets or drums work well.

Clean, sanitize, and thoroughly rinse all containers prior to use. A sanitizing solution can be prepared by adding 5 ml (1 teaspoon) of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) to 1 liter (one quart) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.

Do not use plastic milk jugs, because they do not seal well and tend to become brittle over time.
Do not use containers previously used to store non-food products.

Pretreatment:
Water from a chlorinated municipal water supply does not need further treatment when stored in clean, food-grade containers.

Non-chlorinated water should be treated with bleach. Add 8 drops of liquid household chlorine bleach (5 to 6% sodium hypochlorite) for every 4 liters (one gallon) of water. Only household bleach without thickeners, scents, or additives should be used.

I have been using these Hawaiian Punch bottles left over from a party, because they are 1 gallon each and have a nifty little handle for easier carrying.  However, I never cleaned the containers before I added the water.  I rinsed them and then just thought we'd be good.  Since learning a few things I cleaned the bottles and made sure they are filled all the way to the top and marked with the date so I can know when to rotate again.  (6 month time)   I just want to add that it always feels like just another thing to do and I put it off and put it off and it took a whoppin 5 minutes to get these containers cleaned out and refilled and my conscience feels a lot better!



In all my readings I have found that these are a "better than nothing" solution.  If you are unable to purchase new containers for water storage this will be a great option until you are able.

I want to encourage you all to find a way to store some water for you and your family.  If you have some empty containers, fill them up.  If you don't, save them the next time your family drinks a 2 liter of pop and refill them!   You won't be sorry.


Sunday, August 19, 2012

Inspiration to Start Today

In reading over many materials available about emergency preparedness I have read a plethora of quotes and council from prophets and want to share a weekly quote to hopefully help inspire you to get started or continue with your preparations for you and your family.

"How often do Church members arise early in the morning to do the will of the Lord?  ... How often do we say, "Yes, I will obey the commandment to store food and to help others, but just now I have neither the time nor the money to spare; I will obey later"?  Oh, foolish people!  While we procrastinate, the harvest will be over and we will not be saved.  Now is the time to follow Abraham's example; now is the time to repent; now is the time for prompt obedience to God's will."  President Spencer W. Kimball

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Welcome!

Friends,
I am humbled to have the calling as RS Emegency Preparedness Coordinator.   I am far from perfect in this area and recognize this as an opportunity to better prepare myself and my family for a crisis.  I am excited to learn some new things and hopefully help educate all of us a little more.

I have been a bit overwhelmed with where to start because there is so much helpful information out there.  I decided a good place might be to request some questions from you.  I want to list a few and ask you email me or comment on this blog post with some ideas of where we should focus.  I would love to do a weekly Q & A on here and give me some specifics to research.  I also might ask a few of you experts to "guest post" occasionally if you are willing.
I hope you will check back often and join me on the journey to emergency preparedness!

Should be loads of fun!
                   Jessica Braithwaite


What area of emergency preparedness do you feel you need the most help?
                     water storage                72 hour kits              food storage             other

Is there a specific part of emegency preparedness you would like researched?
                    For example:   I don't know which kind of storage container is best for water.

Any other questions you might have about emegency preparedness that we could answer on this blog?