Monday, August 31, 2009

Being prepared

This morning as I am wandering through the house doing laundry and getting the Sunday newspapers cleaned up my mind is going a hundred miles per minute thinking about what I need to do to prepare for the next couple of months. Those of you who know me, I know, are thinking, "there she goes again on food storage." For those of you who don't know me, I am normal enough. I don't think constantly about grim situations and morbid outcomes. Hear me out. Please. I can't help lately but to ponder about all of the reports I'm hearing on the news about the predictions that they have for the swine flu in the next couple of months. Have you heard the numbers? They are staggering. Half the nation will be sick and 90,000 will not outlast it. I don't know how they can know all of this, but I am not pooh-poohing the reports and thinking that it won't be a serious national crisis either. These are not the mindless rants of a housewife, I am concerned for all of you out there. So, I have been asking myself the last couple of days, "what do we need?" What would we need to have in the house that is extra in case no one would be able to get to the store for a month (or longer)? Or what if so many people are sick that the stores are not staffed well enough to be open? What if we are quarantined to our homes? What then? What kind of comfort foods does my family need or want when they are sick? Do we need medicine? What do we need?!?! The $50 Stockpile is an excellent resource for this, her blogsite is listed on my sidebar. Also Wendy Dewitt's youtube seminar, which is also listed on my sidebar as well as her blog, the everythingunderthesunblog. It goes in depth as to food storage, so if you're not ready for it, take baby steps. So far, in MY mind this is what I am going to start buying extra of, maybe one or two, when I go to the store. Keep in mind that I am in a grocery store at least every other day. If you only go once a week, step it up and buy more of anything at a time. Buy what your family likes and will eat.

Toilet paper

Feminine needs

Hygiene needs(shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, extra toothbrushes if they are free with a coup)
Diapers, pull ups and wipes, if applicable

Formula and baby food if applicable

canned soup

canned broth

canned vegs

canned fruit

canned meat if your family will eat it

Dry soup mixes, boullion or Ramen noodles or dry side dish mixes

Rice, pasta and beans are cheap

Orange juice concentrate or other juices you like to freeze

Bottled juices (and on it I'm writing, Do not drink this unless you are sick, dying or desperate! Bottle juice gets inhaled down quickly in this house. Juice could also be used to make popsicles or slushies if someone has a sore throat when they're ill)

7 Up or Sprite or Gingerale(same note written on the soda)

Pudding, jello or foods that could be soothing if someone had a sore throat

Pet food, if applicable, a month supply, which is a big bag for us (so you'll be rotating it, you're just going to be a month ahead or more at all times) Remember fish food also! Or bird food! Or food for whatever you're keeping alive in your house.

Powdered or evaporated or shelf stable milk if you don't have a freezer

Meat, frozen vegs., bread, milk, butter/margerine if you have a freezer

Cleaning supplies, bleach(one or two bottles ahead)

Dishsoap or dishwasher detergent(one or two bottles ahead)

laundry detergent(one or two bottles ahead)

Possibly flu medicine and fever reducer such as tylenol (acetomenophine(sp?)

Now some of you are thinking, "I am not going to be fanatical and do this. This is crazy thinking. Even if something does happen, the government or Red Cross or someone will be there to help." Really? To come house to house giving aid, food and support to people? Really? In a perfect world, yes. But in this world? Really? Think about it. Tons of relief workers, who have not gotten sick themselves, will be out in force throughout the nation going door to door to hand out supplies that they've gotten from.... where? Give yourself some peace of mind and buy an extra pack of toilet paper, some soup or juice and bag of rice today. If I've missed something crucial, write it on my comments below.

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4 comments:

  1. How long did it take the government to bring aid to the victims of Katrina? I'm with you. I wouldn't count on it. So much better to be well-stocked. Who wants to be worried about toilet paper if everybody in the family is coughing and sneezing?

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  2. Hey J,
    I remembered at one time you had told me that you could use bleach to sanitize drinking water????? But it was a specific kind of bleach. Right? What kind and where do you find it. And is it just a drop per gallon of water?

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  3. MK--I'll have to look it up again. It is very little to a gallon, like maybe a 1/2 teaspoon or couple of drops. It just needs to be pure bleach, not the kind that they put scents or additive for laundry in.

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  4. Having said/written what I did in above post, let me now tell you that the water that I have stored does not have bleach in it. I empty it out and put fresh in every year. I hope to buy some day soon a water purifier, the kind like they use for camping or that soldiers use, that you can run the nastiest water through and it comes out clear. Top of the line is costly, but I am sure that there must be knock offs.

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