The Preparedness Project-December 2012

Here's the December issue of The Preparedness Project. This month we're focusing on "When the Power Goes Out". You can download here:
Download The Preparedness Project-December 2012

In the September 2012 issue of The Preparedness Project, we had a "Generator Purchasing Guide". 

The Preparedness Project-November 2012

Here is the November issue of The Preparedness Project Newsletter. This month we are focusing on Powdered Milk and First-Aid kits. You can download it here:
Download The Preparedness Project November 2012

We had a Powdered Milk Taste test and here are the results:

Download Great Ohio Powdered Milk Taste Test Results

Update: We held a "Best of the Best" and tested the top four. Here are the results:
Download Best of the Best Powdered Milk Taste Test Results

The Preparedness Project-October 2012

Happy October! Here's our latest issue of The Preparedness Project Newsletter. This month we are focusing on legumes, and emergency lighting. Check it out:

You can download the entire newsletter here:

Download The Preparedness Project-October 2012

Here's a handout on Cooking the Perfect Beans: Download A Near Perfect Health Food: Beans Handout

The Preparedness Project-September 2012

Fall is in the air! Now's the perfect time to prepare before disaster strikes. Check out our latest issue of The Preparedness Project where you'll find tips on food safety when the power goes out, extreme weather tips and a generator purchasing guide. Here's a quick peek:

You can download the entire issue here:

Download The Preparedness Project-September 2012

Here's a handout on "If your Freezer Loses Power":

Download If your Freeze Stops Working Handout

The Preparedness Project-August 2012

Here's the August issue of The Preparedness Project. This month we're focusing on using your grains-part 2, and developing a communication plan. Check out the sneak peek:

You can download the entire issue here:

Download The Preparedness Project-August 2012

We're using this worksheet to help us fill in our recipe cards and make a master shopping list. Download all the Worksheets on our previous post.

The Preparedness Project-July 2012

Here's July's issue of The Preparedness Project. This month we're discussing grains and family communication plans. Check it out:

You can download the issue here:

Download The Preparedness Project-July 2012

Here's what the Emergency Information Cards look like:

These are the instructions for determining our Three Month Supply

Don't forget the recipe cards!

We are using the Ready Steps Worksheets to help us obtain our Three Month Supply. You can download them here: (We obtained written permission to use these from www.thereadystore.com)

Download Ready Steps Worksheets

The Preparedness Project-June 2012

Here's the June issue of The Preparedness Project. We're discussing emergency plans, storm prep, and the difference between short term and long term food storage. Here's a sneak peek:

You can download the entire issue here:

Download The Preparedness Project-June 2012

Emergency Preparedness Seminar Part 2

Ok, so I decided to break up this post into two separate ones. So the handouts that I used for water storage and sheltering at home without power, water, etc, are located at the beginning of the previous post.

Please see my notes for water storage information. Additional information that was asked last night was about where to buy the different storage options. Here's what I remember:

5-gallon plastic water containers with spigot-a lot of stores carry these in camping department. I think they are between $7-10.  Here's one from Emergency Essentials:

http://beprepared.com/5-gallon-water-jug.html

Might be able to get on clearance in Aug/Sept. Most of these won't stack, though. If you want the stackable kind, you'll need to look on a preparedness or camping website. Emergency Essentials has the Aqua-Pak brand for $13.95. Just Google "Aqua-Pak 5 gallon water container" and you might find it cheaper.

http://beprepared.com/aqua-paktm-5-gallon-water-container.html

They have a 7 gallon one too, for a couple dollars more.

I also showed the 5 gallon mylar bag/box combination. They are stackable and I like the fact that when you're moving, they fold up real flat, so they don't make up much space. I'm sure there are many brands out there. Emergency Essentials has sells them in a kit of 5 boxes, for a total of 25 gallons of water. The kit sells for $34.95.

http://beprepared.com/basic-25-gallon-boxed-water-kit.html

If you want a hose to fill your containers, that doesn't have lead in it, here is one to look at. I think Home Depot carries them too, but this will give you an idea. I know they come in shorter lengths too.

http://beprepared.com/25-foot-drinking-water-safe-hose.html

If you need a syphon to get water out of your 55 gallon barrels, you can use a small piece of hose, or a syphon like this:

http://beprepared.com/emergency-siphon.html

Or the pump that we have is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000638IB4/ref=oss_product

It's $14.18 plus shipping, and it does come apart so you can store easily in smaller space.

If you're looking for the water filtration bottle we purchased, you can find the one filter here:

http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_715839595_10557_21003_-1__196989

It's usually out-of-stock, along with the two filter one. But just place to order and they will ship when it comes back in stock.

If you want a new 55 gallon barrel, I pick mine up at Dayton Industrial Drum Company for $50. They sell smaller ones too, but they are only $5-10 cheaper. I was a little intimidated going there first as it's not a typical store. If you want one from there, I'm happy to go with you  or pick it up with there are several that want them.

If you don't mind a food grade used 55 gallon barrel, I have purchased over 75 from www.ohiobarrel.com. Joe is great to work with!

As for the shelter-in-place items, my husband did most the research on them. Here's what we have:

Portable Butane Stove-safe to use indoors

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E58GB6/ref=oss_product

(works great for fondue too!)

The fuel for the stove (couldn't find it locally at the time)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I1XYYA/ref=oss_product

Coleman 6-Day 82 Qt. Ultimate Xtreme Wheeled Cooler and 50 qt.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FAH8V4/ref=oss_product

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G64I0Q/ref=oss_product

Coleman 8D Square Pack-Away Lantern with Remote Control

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00168QWVQ/ref=oss_product

Coleman 4D Rugged Personal Size Rugged Lantern

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009PUQ6O/ref=oss_product

I love these-this is what I showed at the class-gives off a bright light, light weight. We keep one in the upstairs hall closet and one in the downstairs closet (batteries in a ziploc next to light)

Duracell DPP-600HD Powerpack 600 Jump Starter & Emergency Power Source with Radio

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TKHMWK/ref=oss_product

This was the battery pack I showed you, which is constantly charging in our food storage room. Great to take on campouts, jump car batteries, etc.

Our generator we purchased at Home Depot-it's a 3500 watt. It kept our freezer, fridge, running and we also hooked up various other items to it at the same time (like the kids' dvd players, computer, sewing machine, cell phone chargers, the battery pack to charge it). Do your research on generators to make sure you get one that is large enough for what you want to run off of it. There are charts out there that will tell you how much energy your appliances use.

There may be cheaper places to buy these, and they may come on sale. I noticed that the battery we got for $40 cheaper than what it's currently listed for. We just like Amazon because they have competitive prices and we usually get free, 2nd day shipping. Most camping gear comes on clearance in the fall and generators and such in the early spring.

If I left something off, that you'd like more information on, please ask. My husband does the research for these products and I think he's pretty thorough. We've used them all and like them-haven't had any issues, and would thus recommend them, if they suite your needs.

Emergency Preparedness Seminar Part 1

We had our food storage group monthly meeting last night, here at my house and I was tasked with teaching 72 hour kits and water storage. I kind of expanded the subject to include "sheltering at home" in case you are able to stay in your home, but you may not have power, water or gas for several days-weeks.

It's A LOT of information to try and pile into a couple hours (so we ran over, as always), but I had fun and learned from all of the sisters.

We had several sisters that couldn't make it, but they wanted information. And the sisters that were there, had other questions and wanted information that I didn't have on hand. So, with this post, I'm going to try and sum up the night, post all my information, and answer the questions that I couldn't last night. So it's going to be a long post, but read it in bits and you'll get through it.

Download Teacher Notes Emergency Preparedness Seminar

Download Water Storage Information

We first took a preparedness quiz, then discussed what disasters can happen, what's most likely to happen in our area, and the most likely scenario (sheltering at home without power). Then I covered what you need to survive for three days-it really isn't much!

I figured I better cover the 72 hour kits and water storage first, since that's what the night was all about.

Here are my notes for the night (lengthy-but have great information).

In addition to these notes, I did attach this document in case you really wanted a list to start from, for your kits:

Download 72 Hour Kit List

Download 72 Hour Kit List Pg. 2

If you need more ideas and directions, the lady that does this blog has some great information on putting together 72 hours kits, etc.

http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/2010/03/food-storage-shelf-labels-how-to-make.html

I love that she has pictures and is very down-to-earth about it all. On the right hand side of her blog, she has links to her specific blog posts.

If you want to take the quiz, here it is...

Download Emergency Preparedness Quiz (the answers are at the end of the quiz)

72 Hour Kit-

So if you read my notes, you'll see that you can die within 3 hours, if you don't have shelter (depending on the weather-too hot or too cold). The other three essentials are water, first aid, and sanitation. (No, food is not on here because you can last 3 weeks and we're discussing 3 days survival).

Here is a picture of my BARE NECESSITIES kit:

It consists of:

A bag to hold it all in

Water and water purification tablets (as 3 gallons of water is heavy!)

Emergency Blanket

Poncho

Toilet paper, hand sanitizer and garbage bag (sanitation needs)

First aid kit

Now, I don't know about you, but that's just not going to cut it for me and my family! ROFL  Here are some pictures of what's in our kits, along with a list of the items and where I got them.

 

These are our supplies for communication, light, tools, shelter, water. 

Starting at the top:

compass and map (probably Walmart)

Work gloves (Dollar Tree)

Multi-function tool (knives, screwdrivers, pliers, cutters, etc)-Emergency Essentials $4.95?

Tarp (I got a 2 mil one so it's a decent thickness)-Walmart around $2-3

50 foot rope (Dollar Tree)

Sewing kit (had for years-probably got free from a nicer hotel)

Emergency Blanket (Emergency Essentials) $1.25

Poncho (Dollar Tree-pack of 2)

Crank LED flash light (got online last year from a "Deal of the Day" store) Probably $1 on clearance but they sell for around $9+ I believe, elsewhere

Water Purifier (www.providentliving.org) I bought the one with the extra filter so it will do 100 gallons per filter-$16.50 for the bottle and one filter, or I believe $21.50 for the bottle, and two filters

Liquid Emergency 100 hour candle (I got mine free when a friend moved and the movers wouldn't take it)-Emergency Essentials $4.50

Whistle/Compass/Flint starter/waterproof match holder-Emergency Essentials $1.95

Duct tape (Dollar Tree)

Eton Hand Crank/Solar Weather Radio/flashlight/cell phone charger-American Red Cross $30 (other places sell these but I don't know the price off the top of my head so check outwww.amazon.com or visit your local Red Cross)

 

Clothing: 1 sweatshirt, long sleeve shirt, sweat pants, underwear, socks, shoes (I only put shoes in for adults since my kids' feet grow too fast)-I plan on cutting of legs and sleeves if it's warm weather-place in ziplocs to keep dry

Kids' clothing is one size too big (in case they grow, but because of elastic, will still fit them) and I pick one color for all of them so I can pass down the clothes, no matter if boy or girl.

Personal Hygiene-

Wet Ones-Grocery Store

Comb-had in my drawer

Toothpaste and toothbrush-Free from the dentist at my cleaning (or Dollar Tree)

Bar of Soap-(double bag it so it doesn't make your food and clothes smell and taste like Irish Spring

Hand sanitizer (Dollar Tree-2 larger bottles for $1)

Toilet paper-can remove the carboard if you're running out of space

Garbage bags-(just grabbed a couple from my kitchen bag stash)

Kleenex packet (Dollar Tree-I think they are in a packet of 5 for $1)

I put all my personal hygiene products in one ziploc (one ziploc for each person)-My husband's bag does have a small kit with razor, shaving cream, deodorant and shampoo)

First Aid-

The kit is pictured in my picture of ESSENTIAL items. I keep the kit in my car, which is in a garage most of the time. We use it all the time for vacations, park visits, etc. It's constantly stocked with meds, etc. I purchased a premade kit and then added the meds and stuff to it. Think we got ours at Sam's Club years ago.

Food is probably the most individualized. I showed them different options-everything from your standard jerky, instant soup, granola bar, hot chocolate kit (very popular but not my choice because I have to rotate it every 6 months), to MREs (what we have-along with other stuff), Freeze Dried (have a couple of these), Energy Bars (we have a 3600 calorie one but it's not in the picture for some reason).

We used to have those small containers that have spaghetti, mac/cheese, lasagne-you know, those Chef BoyR Dee things-have a pop top, don't need to add water, etc. Well, when it came time to rotate them, my kids either didn't like the look if it and refused to eat it, or they took one bite and spit it out.

So, after talking to the hubby, we decided on MREs (he said he lived on them over in Qatar and said they aren't bad). So we hit the local commissary and picked up a variety-spaghetti, penne and veggies, beef stew, beef enchiladas, etc. The ones they sell (for $4.34) are the deluxe ones. They have something like this: Main Entree, peanut butter packet, crackers packet, fruit packet, snack (M&Ms!), tea, spork and napkin, salt and pepper, and the heating unit.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice so we're trying these MREs. Last night I actually opened the spaghetti one and warmed it up for the ladies, using the heating unit. I then rehydrated some Freeze dried scrambled eggs and bacon, and opened one of the Main Stay Energy bars, so they could sample it all. I thought it was all edible, and my son just finished off the spaghetti for his after-school snack!

Our Freeze-dried food I got from Emergency Essentials since I was already ordering from there. They have it in single servings, 2 person, and 4 person. Walmart also sells some in 1 person servings. Just remember, you do need to add a little hot water to reconstitute it-I just poured a cup of hot water in the bag, zipped it up for 5 minutes, and then drained the extra water and served!

So in our bags, we have several MREs (because of all the food that's in them, we plan on spliting one MRE between one adult and one child). Then we have a couple Freeze dried pouches for variety, and then some carnation instant breakfasts and granola bars.

The great thing about MREs and Freeze Dried is they are good for a long time. MREs say 5-10 years (I error on the 5 year side), freeze dried says "best if used in 5 years" but they say it will last 30 years. They do cost a little more than the smaller stuff, but if I have to rotate other foods every 6 months, I'll definitely pay a little more so I don't have to rotate them.

Misc. Items:

Hat, Gloves (clearance at K-mart) $2

Hard Candy and Gum (if your gum is spearmint or something, double bag or everything will smell like it)

N95 Mask (Walmart) Box of 2-less than $5

Glow light sticks (I got the ones on strings to wear around neck)-Dollar Tree

Hotties Hand Warmers (www.amazon.com) I bought a box of 40 to cut cost and use for a variety of things

Pen and post its-(pen from my junk drawer-post its-bought the cheap brand from Walmart) So I can leave notes on my front door, or whereever else to pass on information

Sudoku book, Playing cards, kids matching game- (Dollar Tree)

Binder-copies of all our important documents and information. You can put the papers in a ziploc bag instead of a binder with sheet protectors. I'm converting my binder right now to a thumb drive so that it's a lot smaller to store and I can carry it around my neck if I'm in a shelter where someone might try to steal my stuff.

The vacuum bag with pink things-this is my money stash. I have small bills ($1, $5s, $10s and some quarters) in an envelope, along with a credit card. I thought that by disguising it with feminine panty liners on both sides of the envelope, and vacuum sealing it, it's less likely to be stolen, and less likely that I will try to raid the cash!

You may ask, why cash and credit cards? Well, during our storm here, there was no power so the stores only took cash. During Hurricane Katrina, stores didn't want large stashes of cash in fear of being robbed, so they only took credit cards. So our bank doesn't cancel our credit card, I have the number stored so I can order something online, once a year, and use the card. That way, I don't have to open the package.

The last thing in the back are our emergency information tags (laminated). I have these for two reasons-first, most people now days don't memorize phone numbers because we store them in our phones. Well, in your emergency plan, you want an outside contact that you could call, to tell them that you're ok, along with any family you might be separated from. Second, I have our home address, drug allergies, dx, and prescription drug information on the other side. I made these when my kids couldn't communicate, or in case I was unconsious and couldn't give out the information. My family thinks I'm crazy, but when the tornado sirens sound, I make them wear their tags because if a tornado picks up my body and throws me in the next county, I want someone to be able to identify me-I know, gross, but things happen.

So that's what is in our backpacks. Now, each backpack doesn't have 1 of each of these! Each person has clothing, personal hygiene, poncho, emergency blanket, crank flashlight, N95 mask, light stick, hand warmers, whistle and water.  I have two of the filtration bottles (one in my pack and one in my husband's). Then I divide all the other supplies up between the packs.

Because I'm the one at home with the kids, I put the essential items in my pack, in case my husband isn't around and I couldn't carry both his and mine. The lighter stuff I put in my kids' packs. Then any duplicates and the extra food and such are in my husband's bag. I'm hoping that if I had to evacuate, I could take my husband's pack, in our car, so that when we met up with him, he would have it. If I can't take my car, I'm going to put his pack in a garbage can or wagon and pull it, along with some other items.

Here are our bags, with some extra water. I store them in a closet just around from a door. Then, on the wall, I have my list of "To Grab" in case I have an extra 5 or 10 minutes before I'm forced out. If I had to evacuate, my brain would freeze so the list includes:

First aid kit (in car)

cell phone and charger

wallet/purse

car keys

computer and backup harddrive

prescription meds (so I have more than 3 days worth)

air mattresses

outside gear

5-gallon water containers

extra clothes

glasses

lock box

kids' stuffed animals or blankets

I also listed the location of the items in case anyone was helping me to pack.  So if I had a little extra time, and could take my car, I have my additional supplies organized in the garage.

EXTRA Emergency Supplies:

In the event that I could take my car, I have tubs and a closet in my garage specifically for my extra supplies.

These tubs contain most of our camping gear. So I have everything from sleeping bags, tarps, lanterns, camping stove, fuel, soap, pans, 5 gallon bucket (for toilet), hammer, hatchet, large knife, cooking utencils and pots and pans, etc, etc. Each has a tag and I have marked what's in it so I know where to put the items when we use them for campouts.

The cabinet right next to the bins has additional items like fishing gear, dutch oven, camping chairs, etc. Above the cabinet we have ice chests, tents, and pump for 55 gallon barrels. I have my portable 5-gallon water containers filled and stored out in the garage too.

Whew! That's quite a list, now that I see it written out. But we felt like it was worth the investment because we don't just let the items sit on the shelf and never be touched. We use them for camping (and make sure to put them back), and for when we're sheltering at home (loss of power, water, etc). When the tornado sirens sound, we grab our 72 hour backpacks and take them into our bathroom with us. I have the flashlights, radio, etc in an outside pouch so we can get to them easily. I also have a water container, hard candy, and the games in an outside zippered pouch because the kids get bored while we're huddled on the floor. It's a great "practice run" and to double check that everything still works.

Before I forget, it's recommended to have car kits and work kits. I just finished updating our car kits.

This one is in our truck. It really doesn't take up much space. It has:

fold up shovel (Emergency Essentials) $8.95

light sticks (Dollar store)

Small first aid kit

Whistle/compass/match holder/mirror (see above)

Liquid Emergency Candle (see above)-it's wrapped in the green plastic bag in the picture

Fix-A-Flat (Walmart) Think it was 2 bottles for $7

Flash light (Dollar Tree)

Batteries (Stored in a ziploc)

Multifunction tool (see above)

Energy bar (See above)

Water (Dollar Tree)-I liked that it had a little handle to make it easy to carry

Rope (Dollar Tree)

Plastic Sheeting (Walmart) Bought the cheap stuff because I figured I would double it up and use to fix broken window, etc) Pack of 3 for something cleap

Duct Tape (Dollar Tree)

Post-its and pen (Walmart)

Hotties Hand Warmers (See above)

Emergency Blanket (See above)

Poncho (see above)

Fleece blanket (make when fleece comes on clearance)

Jumper cables (not pictured as they are under a seat in the truck)

Small Bag from American Red Cross-they gave it to me for free and I figured I'd put it in here in case I had to backpack away from the car-it was easier to haul things in than the plastic tub

Provident Living-Store what you eat (Wendy DeWitt)

As I've been attending our food storage meetings, talking with friends about food storage, and surfing the web, I keep coming across people who are using Wendy's system for food storage. So I thought I'd go ahead and post a little segment on it, and then put a little note back on my 3 month supply post.

Wendy's philosophy is basically the same that I've been saying, "Store what you eat." So it's basically what I posted in the "Three month supply", but she's doing it for a year. So she doesn't have the "short term" and "long term". She tries not to store anything that doesn't have a shelf life of at least 3 years. At first when I heard her plan, she talked about 7 dinners and 7 breakfasts. I couldn't eat the same meal each week for 52 weeks! But like she said in her YouTube videos, she can't either! So she's doing 14 dinners and 7 breakfasts.

If you're interested in learning more about her method, She has a series of 9 short YouTube videos that talk about compiling your meal cards, shopping list, rotation, solar oven, canning meat, vacuum sealing, etc. I found them very informative and they are short so you can work them in to your schedule easily. She also has a blog http://everythingunderthesunblog.blogspot.com/. During the seminars that she gives, she hands out booklets with all the information in them. You can find it on her blog, under the Nov 2008 post I believe. But I've copied it into a Word document and you can find it here (don't worry, she says we can post, copy, handout to whomever). Download EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN (click on this blue link).

For her videos, here is the first. Then you can access the next ones on the right hand bar on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhGaTlwYs-s

There are a couple things that she points out that are great. First, she talks about how food storage costs about $1 a day, per person. She's quick to point out that we spend that much on our cell phones. So what's more important to you? A fancy phone/phone plan or food?

Second, she says that a year's supply for one person will store under a twin bed. So you really have no excuse for not storing it. Most people have one bed for each person in their home, or a larger bed for two. So clean out whatever is under beds, if you have no other space to store it, and do it!

Provident Living-Longer Term Storage-what is it and how to store it

We're moving on, from Short term storage, to Long term storage. Some of you might be asking, "What's the difference?" When I think about Long term storage, I think about the BARE MINIMUM food that you could eat to keep you alive. This isn't anything fancy, it's truely the bare basics. The church has been emphasizing this storage since the Great Depression. And it used to be that they said to store 2 years! They have even cut back on what is actually in this storage.

From "Safely Gathered In", we learn:

Longer-term Storage

 

Besides having a three-month supply of everyday food, you should also have a one-year supply of basics: oats, rice, wheat, and beans, for example.  Stored properly, each of these foods has a 20-30 year shelf life! (However, they will lose nutritional value of the years so you'll still want to rotate these, just not as frequently as your short term)

These basics can be stored in #10 cans, mylar bags, and/or 5 gallon buckets.  

Check out this food storage calculator

 

( http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,7498-1-4070-1,00.html)

 

to determine how much food your family needs.
Besides these 4 basic foods, there are a few other things that the church suggests we  have a large supply of.  I'm not necessarily aiming for a year's worth (not until I have the basics done, anyway), but I certainly like to have more than three months' worth.  These "extras" include:

white sugar
yeast
powdered milk
bouillon cubes
pasta
white flour
honey
salt

Everything in the above list (except for the honey) can be stored in #10 cans, mylar bags, and/or buckets - the same way you store your basics. (Note: if you are canning up your own white sugar, donot include an oxygen packet.  If you do, your sugar will become rock hard!)  

How to store your Long Term Storage?

 

There are a couple different ways to store your Long Term Storage: #10 can, mylar bags and plastic buckets.

 

#10 cans are the very large cans that you can purchase from the cannery. They hold around 4-6 lbs. of food. Some of the pros to using these cans is that they are rodent proof, stack easily, and you can purchase a plastic lid so, once opened, you can keep the food in the can while you're using it, and just keep the plastic lid on it. The church sales boxes that fit these cans-6 cans to a box-makes it really easy to transport or stack and and store them. The cons to using the cans are: they are currently about $1 each (when you add in the metal lid), you cannot seal them more than once (unless you have a reflanger), and if you are canning at your home, it takes a lot of room to transport cans back to your home to can.

 

Mylar bags are relatively new to the cannery. They are made of a food grade foil and have a liner in them. They hold between 5-7 lbs of food. The pros to using these are: they are about 1/3 the cost of the cans, they are reusable (they will just be a little shorter each time you use them), they are easily transportable because they are flat, and they hold more food than the cans so you need less of them. The church also makes a box to fit these, though it's not too often that I can fit 5 pouches in a box (I fill my pouches quite a bit). I actually prefer to get the #10 can box, and use with my pouches. Because the #10 can box is shorter, I can store it easier under beds and such. The cons to the bags are that they are not rodent proof, so you need to store your bags off the ground on shelves, or in plastic buckets or bins to keep the mice out. Also, once you open a bag, you don't have an easy way to close the mylar bag so you need to transfer the food to another container, such as Tupperware or an equivalent. With that said, I still prefer Mylar over the cans.

 

Plastic buckets can also be used to store your long term food. You need to make sure that they are "food grade". They don't sell them out here, so I don't currently use any. I've been told that many bakeries sale their buckets for a couple bucks. You can also order them online. There are two different types of lids. One lid just snaps on, and the other is a gamma lid that has a seal and it twists for access. Once you have your buckets, it's easy to refill them, and they stack also. This is a great way to go, if you are constantly rotating your food. Many friends keep their rice, sugar, flour and wheat in buckets for easy access.

 

Next, I'll discuss ways to get rid of the oxygen, which is what spoils the food.

Gardening-Starting from Seed

I've had a couple people ask me how we start our garden. So I thought I'd do a little tutorial for you.
We started our garden, from seed, several weeks ago. You'll have to look on the back of the packages of seeds to see when you need to start yours.
One misconception is that you can start them indoors, under normal light, and then transplant outdoors when it's warm. Been there, done that, doesn't work. The plants won't be strong enough. You need to grow them under plant lights, and the light needs to be adjustable because you want it just a could inches higher than your plants. As your plants grow, you adjust the height of the light higher and higher.
I'm sure there are plenty of websites out there that can give you more information. But here are a couple pictures of ours, in case you're interested.
We purchase these little pods. You could use dixie cups and a bag of soil, but I like these because I can just pour the water in the tray that these sit in, and the soil will soak up whatever it needs. If you use the dixie cups, you have to guess at how much water to put in.

So the first step is to put these pods in a tray and get them wet. They will soak up the water and grow tall.

Once they have expanded, we put them in the tray and poked holes in the soil (the depth of our hole was depending on what was being planted-read the back of the seed packet for guidance) The sharp end of a pencil works great for going down 1/4" or deeper. The eraser end worked well for those that were suppose to be shallow (less than 1/4" deep).

Plant your seeds according the the directions on the package and use the eraser side of the pencil to cover them with dirt.
Once you have them planted, get them under the light. This is ours. It's 2' long. G ordered it online somewhere. If you want to know, email me and I'll get the info. You can find the bulbs at Lowe's or Home Depot and they have ballisters too. I think he ordered this one because it holds 4, 2' long bulbs and the ones in the store only held 2.

The important thing is to have something adjustable. You can make a stand out of wood or PVC pipe, and attach the light using chains. G decided that he could put these hooks under the cabinets in our food storage room, and adjust it this way.
These are our tomato plants. See how close the light is. That's key. You want it just a couple inches higher than your plants.

Don't forget to make yourself a "key" if you're planting more than one thing. They all look alike in the beginning and you don't want to find yourself planting "flowers" in your "vegetable garden" in the sun when they were suppose to be in your shade flower garden.

Usually we just grow veggies, but I thought I'd try some flowers for all my flower gardens this year, as flowers can be expensive if you have a large yard. So far, they are doing great.

I know, I can hear some of you saying-"Why go through the hassle when you can buy the plants already grown?" You're right. You can buy them and skip this process. But I think my rationale is that, in the past, I have always taken things for granted. I've always expected there to be tomatoes in the store, that tasted good, and were a decent price. Or that the nurseries would have plants for me to purchase. I've taken the easy road and leaned too much, in my opinion, on others. But I'm now seeing that tomatoes aren't always in my stores (yes, remember the scare and they didn't even sale them). In fact, I saw a sign at Wendy's that said that I had to ask for a tomato on my hamburger, otherwise they weren't going to do it because of the cost as Florida's tomato crop has been wiped out this year (2010). And, the tomatoes in the store are expensive, $2.99/lb, and have no taste! Now, we're probably going to start seeing the plants show up in stores, but who knows, there may come a time that some insect or something wipes them out. So I want the knowledge, and experience, of how to do it from seed.

I asked G when we started this, if you could grow a tomato plant indoors, and never transplant it outside. I was worried about pollination and such. He said that most are self pollinating and that, theoretically, you could. So that's on my list for this winter-to grow a tomato plant indoors! Doesn't it sound like fun? Fresh, home grown tomatoes in Dec-Jan. Yah, I know all of you New Mexico, California and Florida people probably have tomatoes in Dec outdoors, but in Ohio, not a chance! Wish me luck!!

UPDATE: The tomato didn't survive. He got over a foot tall, and then died. I'm not sure if he just didn't get enough light, or developed a disease. I'll stick to growing outdoors for now!

Provident Living...just a note

I've had a couple friends approach me and tell me that they are reading the blog, but they can't keep up. You don't have to!! And I'm not expecting you to! I'm trying to post as fast as I can because I have friends that are not working on a three month supply, or water supply. They want information on long term storage, and recipes on how to use their storage. But I believe that long term storage is for those that already have their water and short term, so that's why I've chosen to post these things first.

Don't get stressed out if you're way back! Believe me, I'm not even personally caught up to where my blog is!!! It's not something that you can rush out and do, nor should you. I'm really putting a lot of time and effort into my personal one because I want it to fit the needs of our family. And I'm working on it together with G and we are finding that we don't have a lot of time to sit down and discuss it. We're trying to use every minute we have, in the car, or at dinner (after the kids have eaten and left), to make the right decisions for our family. The object is to start, keep going, and growing. It doesn't matter how long it takes us to get to the end!

Got it?! I could blog once a week and give you an "assignment", but it would probably only work for one or two of you. Some have less time to spend, others want to get it all done today! Some are just learning about food storage, and others have it all stored and they just need to learn how to use it. It's going to be up to you, to set your goal, and your timeline. I firmly BELIEVE that you do need to set a goal and timeline.

G and I have a timeline for getting our short term storage done, and a goal/timeline for our long term. We sat down and figured out about how much it was going to cost, and what our budget was each month, and then figured out a realistic goal. I urge you to do the same!

I'm going to keep posting, as fast as my schedule will allow, so I can share as much as I can. Just know that I'm way back at the beginning, probably working on the same step as most of you!!!

Provident Living-Three Month Supply (Part 5)

Ok, this is the last post covering three month supply-at least for awhile.

I thought I'd share a couple more tips....

A three month supply is suppose to include more than just food. You will want to include all personal care products, cleaning products, paper products etc in your list. The easiest way to see how much you need to to write the date on a package that you open. For instance, if you pull out a new shampoo today, write today's date on that with a permanent marker. Then, when you go to throw it away in a month when it's empty, you'll know that your family uses about 1 shampoo each month. That means you need 3, for a 3 month supply.

For toilet paper, you can do it two ways. We have a cabinet above each toilet where I keep the extra rolls. I could either put "X" amount of rolls (6 rolls for example) in each cabinet, and then at the end of the month count how many I have left and subtract from 6. Or, you can save the cardboard rolls, every time you empty a roll, and total them up at the end of the month. This is the one I thought I would try because I figured if I did the first one, by the time I got to the end of the month, I would have forgotten how many we started with! ROFl Yes, my memory is THAT BAD! However, my husband was right when he told me that collecting a bunch of tubes wasn't the smartest way to do it. Let's just say that your bathroom begins to become a stock pile of cardboard tubes that seem to roll everywhere, or your kids think that they could recycle them and make something cool so they end up walking off with them. If I had to do it over again, I'll go for the first example, put a sticky note on the inside of the cabinet telling me how many I began with, and call it good!

Another thing, if you're working with TP. Maybe it's just me, but it totally bugs me that TP comes in at least 3 sizes-large, big, and mega, at least in my brand, Charmin. This is important to take note of if you just buy whatever size is on sale, ladies! For instance, if you purchased 6 mega rolls and stash them in your cabinet and track your consumption for the month, let's say you find that you use 4 a month. Well, that doesn't mean that you can then stock your food storage with 4 rolls of large, or big. You'd have to double that 4, for big rolls, and quadruple it for large. I think I'm going to eventually give up the battle and just purchase 1 size for the rest of my life because I don't have to have to double and quadruple rolls to figure out how many I need!

Last, I'll give one more tip if you're trying to save money. If you don't want to store the "good" TP (as it's not the cheapest thing out there), you can always stock up on the really cheap stuff, stash it away and don't worry about rotating it as it's not going to go bad (unless you get it wet). Then buy whatever brand you want for your daily use. Totally up to you!

Here's something for you to laugh about...Way back when, I having a conversation with my mom about this very thing, TP. We decided that in a time of crisis, we didn't want to be using the paper thin, sandpaper-esk toilet paper! We wanted something that brought a little comfort (seriously, was I really thinking that TP could be comforting!!!) Anyways, I decided to stock what I was used to using (and it's soft enough that it could double for kleenex!, or I could stuff my clothes with it, if I needed insulation, etc). Makes me wonder, could I use it as a strainer?!?! JUST KIDDING! If you go for the cheap stuff, stock some rash ointment too, in case you get a rug burn from it!!!

Provident Living-Three Month Supply (Part 4)

Yeah! This is it ladies! We're ready to complete our lists for our Three Month Supply. Then we'll be ready to shop.

You'll need all your papers that we've been working on so pull them out and grab a pencil.

Yesterday we figured out how much of each ingredient we needed, for each meal. Now we need to take those numbers and multiply them by the number of times we're having that meal. Here's an example:

Dinner Menu A (make 7 times)

1. Spaghetti with veggies

• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 lb. noodles (LTS)
• 2 cans green beans

This is what I figured out yesterday. So I need to transfer these items to my shopping list and multiple them by 7 because I'm going to serve this meal 7 times during the 3 months. So my shopping list says:

Shopping List

7 jar shaghetti sauce

14 cans green beans

Cannery List

7 lbs noodles

I made a shopping list, both for the grocery store, and one for my cannery, to help we start planning what I need in my long term storage.

Continuing on, my shopping list would be:

Dinner Menu B (Make 6 Times)

4. Bean Burritos and Spanish Rice

• 1 can refried beans (or use LTS)
• dehydrated cheese (LTS)
• 1 cup dehdrated onion (LTS)
• 1 1/2 cups rice (LTS)
• 1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes

Breakfasts

1. Cereal and milk (making 18 times)

• 4 cups Smart Start Oatmeal Cereal
• 3/8 cup nonfat milk, dry (reconstituted it makes 2 cups milk) (LTS)

2. Cinnamon Oatmeal with milk (making 18 times)

• 4 cups Oatmeal, Instant (LTS)
• 3/8 cup nonfat milk, dry (reconstituted it makes 2 cups milk) (LTS)
• Cinnamon (LTS)

3. Pancakes (making 18 times)

• 2 cups Krusteaz Pancake Mix
• 1/2 cup syrup
• butter, dehydrated
• Non-stick spray

Shopping List  

-7 jar shaghetti sauce

-14 cans green beans

-9 boxes Smart Start Oatmeal Cereal  

(there are about 8 cups in one box)

-6 cans refried beans   

-6 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes  

-1 Sam's Bag Krusteaz pancake mix

(I need 36 cups and 1 bag has 40 cups)

-1 Sam's Maple Syrup

(I need 9 cups and a bottle has 16 so

I can use it for some of my waffles too)

-1 can Non-Stick spray

-1 Sam's Cinnamon (lasts me a year)

Cannery

7 lbs noodles

9 cups rice

27 cups nonfat milk, dry (this would cover 36 breakfasts-

18 cereal and 18 oatmeal)

6 cups dehydrated onion

Emergency Essentials

Dehydrated cheese

Dehydrated butter

Is it making sense? After you're done with all your meals, you should have a list of exactly what you need to purchase/store for your three month supply. Now, I'm not saying to buy this all at once. That's too expensive. However, if you'll carry around this shopping list in your purse, you'll be able to pick up the products when they are on sale, or you can grab a couple extra items each time you shop. If your budget is super tight right now, start small. Over the next month, gather all the groceries you'd need for 1 week. Then expand to 2. Baby steps!

Now, how are you going to make sure that you don't eat it all up?!?!! Here's a great way to rotate and store it. It's perfect for those of you that don't have one large area to store your food in, but it's also great for those that do!

What you're going to do separate your food into the 13 weeks. So in my first pile, I'd have all my food to make each dinner for Menu A, then 7 lunches and 7 breakfasts. I'm going to place all of these in one container (I'd use plastic container with lid), and label "January". I'd also include a copy of the week's menu (and shopping list) so I know what I was suppose to be making!

My next pile would be a week's worth of food, including the 7 dinners on Menu B, 7 lunches and 7 breakfasts. I'd label this "February" and include a copy of the week's Menu (and shopping list).

I'd continue this on with the rest of the food until I had 13 containers (You'll have to use one month twice).

Here's how to rotate. It's March right now. So I'd go find my "March" container and empty all the food out, and put in my current pantry so I can use it sometime this month. I can either make the spaghetti that it was intended for, or I can make meatball subs with the spaghetti sauce, and an alfredo with the noodles. Get it? You can use it however you want. Then, on my "current" shopping list, I'd add everything that was in the box (which would be listed on the "shopping list" that I printed and included in the container). Once I purchased these from the store, I'd put the new ones back in the container and go store the container away for a year.

It sounds like a brilliant plan to me, and I can say that because it wasn't mine! ROFL Now, you might be asking, "what about the Mayo? I can't use a whole jar of Mayo each month". For my lunches, I will need Mayo but I don't want, nor need 13 jars. If I needed 4 jars (just making that up) for my three month supply, I'd space them out over the year. So I'd put one in January, and one in April, July, and Oct.

Now I know you're going to be writing me saying, "But Karisa, Mayo takes refrigeration and aren't we suppose to be preparing for power outages?"

Here's my opinion-and ONLY my opinion. You can decide for yourself what you're going to do. This applies to the use of a freezer too. I don't see my 3 month storage as the "end of the world so use it". When I think of the things that would cause me to use it, this is what comes to mind:

-earthquake, tornado, flood (If power was out for more than 2 weeks, I'd take my family to go stay with other family that has power)

-Hubby loses job, becomes ill, or temp. disabled (I have enough financial savings to pay for my electricity so I'd still have power-I'd be able to shift my "grocery budget" to help cover these other costs like electricity)

-Quarantine (I had no idea that some years ago there was a 3 month quarantine-you were confined to your home due to the bird flu. If this is the case, I would hope that we'd still have power, but I'd have to have all my food at home as that's where we'd have to stay)

-Had to take in family members who needed assistance (I'd have power here too)

-You have to fork out a large sum of money for an unexpected expense (car, medical etc). (I'd have electricity-I'd be using my grocery budget to pay off this expense)

If this is what my short term storage is going to be used for, and I have a gas generator and financial reserves to pay my electric bill, I should be able to run my fridge and/or freezer and I can have my MAYO! lol

If I end up without power, then I still have a couple options. I can have my sandwiches without Mayo, or I can invite all my ward members over (unless we're quarantined) and we'd open up my jar of Mayo and make 100 sandwiches and feed everyone. And then the next day we'd all get together and open Karen's jar of Mayo! Thanks, Karen, for storing some Mayo for me in case I don't have power! ROFL

That's my rambling thoughts on my three month storage. Feel free to form your own opinion and type me a comment and let me know what you think. If I see a peace treaty signed in the near future, with Israel, I may change my plan. But for now, this is it.

As far as my LONG TERM storage goes, that's different. That's food that doesn't need refrigeration, and lasts 30 years. We'll talk about that in another post.

There are other ideas out there on how to make and store a 3 month supply. You can purchase already canned/packed meals, or buy 100 boxes of macaroni and live off of it for awhile!! The plans I've seen are far to many to discuss. But the one thing that I like about the above plan is that it's what you already like, and eat, and is easy to rotate.

We're moving onto Long Term Storage, tomorrow, unless you need me to clarify or explain the 3 month in more detail. Just let me know...

PS-It would be wise to make a couple copies of the papers you're making right now (Menu, Shopping list, etc). We all know how we put the list in our purses and it disappears. And even better yet, put a copy of each in a binder, label the spine "Food Storage" and start including all your notes and tips in the binder, for easy access. A 3 ring binder and some sheet protectors will get you started.

PSS-Once you have your three month supply, you might want to expand your dinner, lunch, breakfast menu to include snacks and an occasional dessert. If we had to live off this food, we know our life would probably be stressful. That means we'll all be craving some dessert! So throw in a cake mix (you could cook it over a fire if you had to!!) and a tub of frosting!