With the earthquake in Japan we have returned to the thought of preparing ourselves for a disaster. We do live near a fault line but disasters can take many forms, a home fire, a death in the family, a community in need. We had a power outage last fall that lasted 8 hours so we went to town, got Chinese take-out and had a candle-light dinner and played Rummy. I happen to have three oil lamps so I can put one in the kitchen, one in the dining room and one in the bathroom. [If you put it in front of a mirror you get a lot more light.] Some disasters you have prior notice, most you don't. If my house started shaking right now I would probably grab my cpu and my great grandmother's picture.
My planning takes various forms, from food, to shelter, to protecting our selves, and don't forget how important your data on the computer is. I also have family photos that are over 100 years old and are irreplaceable. For foods I like to have canned, dry and frozen foods on hand. When we lost power for several hours the frozen foods were not compromised because they keep each other frozen for a long time, when you don't open the door. If they are packed closely together they stay frozen longer. If we were going to be without power for several days I would use the frozen food first. We keep one 5-gallon tank of propane full for the grill and we have a camp stove that we could use. When I was a girl we had a storm that took out power and it was two weeks before we got it back. In those days we had a small stove in the kitchen called a 'trash burner' and we cooked on it. I am looking at a duel fuel stove for when we rebuild our house. It has wood and electric. I'll have to see if it justifies the extra expense, but it would keep a small area warm as well as being useful for cooking.
Keeping paper supplies on hand is a good idea as well. Plates for eating, towels for cleanup, toilet paper, etc.
We have well water so we keep a few gallons of water in containers and my husband is designing a rainwater collection system that we could use for flushing and irrigation.
A gas can with some fuel that you can use for the lawn mower so that is doesn't get old is handy.
We have pets so I am thinking about their needs as well, although the dogs love eating people food as much as their own food.
My sweetie has medications to take every day so we get a three month supply. We actually save a little money this way and don't have to worry.
I think the key thing for me to remember is not to be motivated by fear, but to see what might be coming and be prepared. I won't spend money I don't have and won't buy things I would not use ordinarily around the house.
I would love more ideas for this planning.
My planning takes various forms, from food, to shelter, to protecting our selves, and don't forget how important your data on the computer is. I also have family photos that are over 100 years old and are irreplaceable. For foods I like to have canned, dry and frozen foods on hand. When we lost power for several hours the frozen foods were not compromised because they keep each other frozen for a long time, when you don't open the door. If they are packed closely together they stay frozen longer. If we were going to be without power for several days I would use the frozen food first. We keep one 5-gallon tank of propane full for the grill and we have a camp stove that we could use. When I was a girl we had a storm that took out power and it was two weeks before we got it back. In those days we had a small stove in the kitchen called a 'trash burner' and we cooked on it. I am looking at a duel fuel stove for when we rebuild our house. It has wood and electric. I'll have to see if it justifies the extra expense, but it would keep a small area warm as well as being useful for cooking.
Keeping paper supplies on hand is a good idea as well. Plates for eating, towels for cleanup, toilet paper, etc.
We have well water so we keep a few gallons of water in containers and my husband is designing a rainwater collection system that we could use for flushing and irrigation.
A gas can with some fuel that you can use for the lawn mower so that is doesn't get old is handy.
We have pets so I am thinking about their needs as well, although the dogs love eating people food as much as their own food.
My sweetie has medications to take every day so we get a three month supply. We actually save a little money this way and don't have to worry.
I think the key thing for me to remember is not to be motivated by fear, but to see what might be coming and be prepared. I won't spend money I don't have and won't buy things I would not use ordinarily around the house.
I would love more ideas for this planning.
Now that I know how to cold press coffee we won't have to worry about making that :)
ReplyDeleteWe went to Washington last week to visit with our kids and grand kids. We passed a Fire station that had a sign saying, "Are you Ready? 3 Days 3 Ways". Maybe we aren't the only ones thinking of this.
ReplyDelete