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If you went out and bought three or four cases of tuna and a table round and covered it with a pretty tablecloth to make an end table, you have made me proud! I hope that you took a second look at the different ways you can incorporate your food storage into small houses or apartments. For those of you who have plenty of space for food storage – did you get your water storage filled and put into place? Two gallons, per person, per day, for a two week period. Of course you did! Let’s talk about attitudes, food storage attitudes. There is a wonderful food storage book that I would recommend, called “Food Storage for the Clueless” written by Clark L. and Kathryn H. Kidd (Bookcraft). They explain the three different types of attitudes about food storage in the most succinct and clear way I have ever seen. They put food storage attitudes into three different categories, explaining the three different personalities, the benefits and/or downfalls of each group. Siege Storers: They use money outside of their regular food budget to buy in bulk those foods that they hope they’ll never have to use. Barrels of wheat, jugs of water and cartons of powdered milk fill their shelves, but they really don’t know how to use them. They are waiting for the end of the world to use their food storage. Practical Storers: Eat what they store and therefore don’t spend extra money to buy food that will never be used. Their shelves are full of foods they like because they buy a few extra cans or cases or boxes of those things each time they go to the store. Eventually, they will have a cache of tuna, or peanut butter, or frozen corn on hand that could readily be used in case of a winter storm, or a break of employment. Provident Storers: Spend less money on food and less time in the grocery store because they produce and preserve many of the foods they eat. There is no “emergency food” for these storers. Their regular diet includes their food storage. They can/bottle, garden, dry, dehydrate, freeze, and culture their foods. Therefore, they’ve learned to not rely so much on others for their food. Think about the descriptions above. Which category do you fit in? Which one would you like to fit in? What changes are you going to have to make in order to feel comfortable with your choice when you go to use it? We’ll look at each personality type, one each for the next three weeks, and talk about the “The GOOD, the bad, and the ugly” of each – giving you the information for you to choose which type of food storer you will become. I’m a Practical Storer with tendencies of being Provident. Let’s start our food storage with something inexpensive (actually you will find that if you take it a “bite-at-a-time” your food storage won’t be as expensive as you might think). I want you to go buy SALT. Don’t buy it in the little cardboard cylinders Buy it in a 25lb. bag. You can find it with or without iodine (without for canning) and it only costs, on average, $2.79 a bag. (This price was in 2006.) It is suggested that you have 8lbs. of salt for each adult, per year. At this time, we only have three adults in our family and so we need no less than 24lbs. (When my children were small, I counted them as adults because they were growing so fast.) I actually keep 50lbs. on hand because it is inexpensive, less than $6.00 for more than a year’s supply, and I could use it to preserve meats or bottle food in an emergency. It is also a good barter item. You can find 25lb. sacks at most grocery and bulk buying stores. It is a good start, a really good start. (Hint – don’t store in a metal container, it will rust. A plastic 5-gallon container is best. This is from experience.) A quick recipe using salt. Tortillas 3 cups of flour 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking powder ¼ cup oil 1 cup of warm water Mix ingredients together and knead until smooth. Cover with moist cloth and let rest for about 5-10 minutes. Cut dough into 12 balls and roll out, without flour, until round and thin. (They do not have to be perfect. They eat well in any shape.) Cook on a dry, cast iron skillet, on medium high heat until it starts to bubble up, flip and take off heat when it starts to bubble up again. If you cook it in oil, it will make it crispy (chips), without oil it makes it soft and pliable. This is a good “kid-can-make” recipe. Enjoy.

Ok. Enough with the earthquakes and kits. Those things are for immediacy during an extreme condition – and we must be ready for those types of experiences when they happen, but let’s go on now to life, everyday life. When I lived in Denmark, the families that I lived with didn’t know about the concept of food storage (AAAGHHH). Every morning my Danish father would go downtown to get the mail and breakfast at a Danish bakery (which by the way was PHENOMINAL) and my Danish mother would go shopping nearly every day for what we were to eat that day. I was in a panic. What would happen if some tragedy occurred, and they couldn’t get to the store? When I lived at home, I never worried because we had two rooms in the basement dedicated to food storage: 1) the “freezer/wheat room” and 2) the “rest of the food storage” room. You would think that after going through WWI and WWII and the other catastrophes that Europe has experienced, that the people would store more food. But the families I knew didn’t. I realize that not everyone, everywhere, can have a good food storage program because of climate, availability, and laws against “hoarding” (which to me is just next month’s casserole, I don’t understand the problem), but we don’t have any of those problems in this area. As a matter of fact, we are ENCOURAGED to have at least a one year food and sundry supply storage for every family. Some of you may think that I left out the lack of storage space as a deterrent to a good food storage program. WRONG! I have been there and done that and believe me, you can store a lot of stuff in a two bedroom apartment. Let’s talk about the storage side of food storage. Where do I put it? When we lived in our two-bedroom apartment, I had to get very creative. We had moved from a house that had plenty of storage room to an apartment that was meant to store only four people and little else. I found that the biggest thing that I had to overcome was the “this can’t be done” attitude. Once I started to get creative, the thoughts and ideas just started coming to me. I used a case of toilet paper, with a piece of wood on the top and covered with material, as a nightstand between my kids’ beds. It was big enough to hold two lamps (one for each child, of course), a radio/alarm clock, a couple of dolls and my son’s dinosaur collection. I was reminiscing with my married daughter, about creatively hiding food storage items, when I reminded her of that. She had no idea that her nightstand was a box full of toilet paper. She just thought that it was big so that she and her brother wouldn’t fight over space. My year’s supply of flour went behind my couch like a couch table. It was up against the wall and all I had to do was put a plank down and cover it with more material. It looked nice and we had a place to decorate and keep the remote. In your clothes closet you can put down cases of cans and use them as a place to put your shoes on instead of a shoe tree, one row of shoes on the box and one row in front of the box. You can also store water on each end of the closet. (Two gallons of water, per person, per day, for a two week period.) Another good place is under the bed. But not like you think. This takes a little more planning. Use either a strong blanket that can be pulled on or better yet, a sheet of plywood with handholds cut out. Place the items to be stored on the blanket or plywood and make a map of it and then just push or pull it from under the bed. You can cover the items with a sheet, and it will help with the dust problem if you want to. With your map of items stored and the ability to expose the items easily, food storage will be easy. Coat closets are also good. I “built” shelves with five-gallon buckets and planks to hold cases of canned and bottled goods. We had one of those under the stair closets that was shaped in a triangle. All of the 25-lbs. and 50-lbs. bags of stuff went in the extreme part of the triangle and everything else went on my bucket shelves by the door. I kept a map of this too. Believe me, food storage maps are very helpful. I bought a coat stand for the coats. It was kind of cute. Now stop making excuses and go get creative. I’m thinking three or four cases of tuna and a table round would make a darn cute end table (did that too)!

I have made a list (finally) of important items that should go into a 72-hr. kit. List This by no means is the “end all” list. There are thousands of lists, and variations of lists, on the Internet or in preparedness stores. Like I said before, sit down with your family and make up YOUR OWN LIST using this as a reference guide. Listen to your kids. Get their insight. If they say it, then “it” is important to them, you should heed that. It will help them during the disaster to know that what they “need” is in their kit. Make a personalized kit that each child can carry – don’t try to carry everyone’s stuff. Share the load. One thing to keep in mind, tools (knives, hatchets, small shovels, string, rope, etc.) should be made a priority. If something you include in your kit breaks, then a tool can help you replace it. Also, make sure that everything included in the kit can be used for more than one purpose. 72-hour kit list and Explanation • 2 gallons of water per day, per person, for two weeks. The water should be stored for sanitation and drinking – and you will DIE if you don’t have clean water to drink. Make water portable so it can be carried. • Method of water purification (e.g., filters, straw filters, bottle of potassium iodide tablets, etc.). • Food – Easy to prepare and nutritious. Twinkies just won’t do it here. Make sure that you include items that are high in protein. Try out the MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) and see which ones your family likes and which ones they won’t eat. They also have TV dinner type MRE’s that come in a tray and are self-heated in the box with included heat packs. Check them out. Expensive, but very convenient. • Windproof/Waterproof matches and a SECOND method to start a fire just in case the matches won’t start. Fire starters. • Lightweight camp stove, fuel, mess kits and other cooking equipment and utensils. • Tent and/or shelter (garbage bags can be used in an emergency until you can buy a tent). • Wool-blend blanket (not cotton) or sleeping bag AND an emergency reflective blanket (good to help keep out wind and cold). • Hand and body warm packs (these are cheap and oh-so effective). • Poncho or large garbage bags (garbage bags are very versatile). • Light sources such as: Flashlight with batteries, candles (also good for heat source and cooking), or light sticks. • Tools: Pocket knife, shovel, hatchet or axe, adjustable wrench and multi-use screwdriver – or just get a Leatherman™. • Sewing kit – make sure that the thread and needles are good quality – the cheap emergency sewing kits just don’t cut it. • 50-foot nylon rope. • First aid kit and supplies. Make it a good one, don’t skimp here. Make sure that the bandages are the ones that actually stick. Also include sun block, insect repellent and anti-itch cream. Hand sanitizer and wet wipes are also good. • Vitamins and extra medications, including prescription drugs. Talk to your doctor about getting an extra months’ worth. If you wear glasses, make sure that you include a backup pair. • Burn gel and dressings (Sun Burn Care™ is the BEST burn care ointment I have ever used). • Radio with batteries or radio with alternate power sources (you’ll want to hear what’s going on). A handheld “walkie talkie” FRS radio to communicate with your family or authorities. • Whistle with neck cord (you have one in your “Under the Bed Kit” – get more, they are not expensive). • Personal sanitation and comfort kit. Include toilet paper, soap, toilet paper, toothbrush and gel, toilet paper, brush or comb, toilet paper, sanitary napkins, razor, wet wipes, dental floss, and did I mention toilet paper – you just don’t want to run out of that, and other needed items. If you have young children remember diapers, wet wipes, and baby stuff. • Complete change of appropriate clothing for each family member. Include extra socks, underwear, hat, sturdy shoes, and gloves. This is very important, especially for a positive mind set. It also helps if you need to layer during cold the season. • Money – $100.00 minimum in small bills; it is hard to get proper change back during an emergency. Be sure to include a roll each of quarters, dimes, and nickels if possible. Pre-paid card - but remember, there may not be electricity and you might not be able to use them. • Stress Relievers such as games, books, and inspirational reading (scriptures are good.) For children: small toys, paper and pen, or favorite security item (i.e., blanket or doll). Hard tack candy. It is good to suck on and it lifts the spirits. • Copies of important papers and documents that are important to your family such as: birth certificates, marriage licenses, wills, insurance forms, out-of-state and important phone numbers you might need, and credit card information. Put these in a sealed bag for protection. • Duct tape – your 72-hr. kit won’t be complete if you don’t have duct tape. • Don’t forget what you are going to carry your kit in – a durable water-resistant duffel bag, frame pack or daypack is best, but until you get what you want, use what you have. For other ideas and options, you can search the internet for “72-hour kit” or “Bug Out Bag” (BOB) and get thousands of results. Do some research and planning and then take action and put it together. Have fun gathering your 72-hr kit supplies, you will feel sooo very good after.

Last week I said that I would talk more about 72-hour kits. I also said that the name of these kits could give us a false sense of security. Let me explain. I am the biggest believer of 72-hour kits, and I also believe that if you are caught in a disaster, you will be very sorry if you don’t have one. I think that what makes me nervous is the name “72-hour kit”. It could give us the false sense that after the initial disaster that we will be taken care of, by somebody – anybody (the government), within three days’ time. Sorry, won’t happen. My friend talked to two gentlemen whose families lived in two different communities in California but lived through the same earthquake. Both of them said that WATER was important to store (two gallons, per person, per day, for a two week period) AND that it was 14 days before either community saw anyone from outside their cities. That is two weeks without outside help. Some people have said that the church groups will send help, and I’m sure that they will, but remember – their warehouse and distribution buildings may likely be in the same disaster that everyone is experiencing. If you live in small communities you have to live with the fact that the larger metropolitan areas will be helped first and then when they are under control, and only then will the help that you need start looking for you. You will not be first on their list. Don’t feel bad about it, just get prepared so you can survive and play the waiting game. 72-hour kits can be used in at least two different ways. You will “grab n go” and park your family on your front lawn, possibly still having access to some supplies in your house, much like those caught in earthquakes or tornadoes. OR, you will literally have to take your family and physically leave the area, like those in New Orleans. My friend’s sister was one of those that had to leave. She lives in Slidell, Louisiana and she packed her car and left the area before the storm Katrina hit. When she got to the first motel that had rooms available, she was barely in an area where she could find food, WATER, and other necessities, but just barely. And, she had traveled over 500 miles. Everything up to that point, including gas, was either sold out or in short supply. Chances are we here in Utah will be in an earthquake and we won’t be able to jump in a car and drive very far before the road will give out on us. The people in New Orleans had to deal with extreme heat and humidity. We may have to deal with extreme cold and/or heat, and very uncomfortable situations. You won’t know what kind of situation you and your family will be in, so pack your 72-hour kit for either situation. It would be a good idea to go through it every six months and pack it according to what season is coming up. Every April and October. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints General Conference weekend would be a good time for review. Or remember every Easter and Halloween to re-evaluate and take a good look at everything. Change out food that might go stale and change the clothing to be appropriate for the next six months – hot or cold. Make sure that you have a good first aid kit and extra medications that you will need. Talk to your doctor about stockpiling extra medications. Another thing that you might consider is if you have medications that require refrigeration, how are you going to keep them cold? If we stay near our homes, we can use generators to run a refrigerator, or you can use propane fridges in your trailer. Another alternative is to buy those little mini fridges that you can hook up to your car accessory power outlet to keep them cold. Next week, after you have discussed with your family what your needs are for your 72-hour kit(s), I will give you a list of items that will be helpful to include in your kit (really, I will this time). I want to emphasize, again, that 72-hour kits ARE CRITICAL TO YOUR SURVIVAL. Even if your neighbor has food storage that they might be willing to share with you during a crisis, their 72-hour kit simply won’t be big enough to share. Take responsibility and get yours put together today - NOW. Make kits for your children that they can carry – share the load. Now, go talk to your family about what they need to survive for three days, or 72 hours – whichever.

72-hour kits. Yeah, that’s right, we’re going to talk about 72-hour kits. No, I’m not going to tell you what to put in them. Well, I might. Okay, I am, but basically you know the drill – anything and everything that you need to survive for three days, or as we like to say – 72 hours. What is it that is magical about 72 hours? It is the amount of time that the government, or other agencies, say that they need to activate and come to our rescue. I like the idea of the 72-hour kit, and I definitely think you should have one, but I think that it gives us a false sense of hope in one respect. I’ll explain myself later on, but for right now let’s discuss the actual 72-hour kit first. It has to be mobile. You have to be able to get to it and be able to move it when there is an emergency. That means that it is NOT a good idea to store it behind the Christmas decorations under the stairs and behind your water storage (you didn’t think that I would be able to fit that in did you – two gallons, per person, per day, for two weeks. Hah!). A better place for it would be in the coat closet next to the front door or in a cupboard, or the mud room by the back door. A garage would be a good place for it ,too. (I’m envisioning a relatively clean garage that has a place for everything and everything in its place.) You want to make sure that furry little rodents and pesky insects don’t take up residence in it, but you can get creative about how to protect it and yet get to it quickly. Maybe hang it on a hook near the garage door. Next, again, it has to be mobile. This time I mean that after you grab it you have to be able to physically pick it up and transport it. I have heard of a lot of different and creative ways to transport 72-hour kits including the use of wheelbarrows. The most obvious way is to get a backpack. Easy, lots of pockets, can store enough food and clothes for a teenage boy out in the wilderness for a week (unless they bug out and go out for pizza on the third day, but that is 72 hours) and you can keep your hands free while carrying your load. My son keeps his scout backpack packed and ready to go all the time. We have incorporated it as part of our 72-hour supply kit. The other part of our 72-hour kit is a big sturdy bag, with big sturdy handles that I bought at Deseret Industries (DI) for $1.00. It isn’t as cool as my son’s backpack, but it holds my stuff. I can carry it, but it does require that I trade off hands because it is heavy. When my kids were small, l made their own 72-hour kits inside school backpacks that I bought at D.I. for $1.00. (You can get really good deals at thrift shops on bags.) (I have since upgraded to a medium sized backpack) I have also heard about people filling five-gallon buckets with lids and handles to carry their stuff. It would keep the contents free of pesky critters, free from water damage, and also give you a place to sit when you are tired. (Some people say that they will use the bucket as a portable toilet, but that gives me the willies if I had to use the same bucket to re-pack my stuff and move on. Maybe you could take two buckets.) Old suitcases work well and even pillowcases with drawstrings work okay if you have nothing else. The big thing is that you can grab it and go. As you build your 72-hour kit you will be able to upgrade things over time and you will eventually be able to get it set up like you want it to be, but what you need to do first is to START, and you don’t need to start perfect, just start! I don’t have space to tell you what to put in your kit this week, so I’ll do that next week, but what I want you to do is to get up, take a pillowcase, or sack, or bag and just start walking around the house gathering things that you think might be useful to take during a “grab-n-go” situation – matches, flashlight (not the one from the “Under the Bed Kit”, but another one), WATER, a roll or two of toilet paper, MRE’s from your pantry. Okay, most people don’t have MRE’s in their pantry, but maybe an unopened jar of peanut butter and some utensils. UNO cards (with instructions, I don’t know how to play), an extra pair of scriptures, a survival handbook (depending on who you are, you might have to buy this item) and some socks — two pairs without holes. Now you have started. You are probably nervous because you know that your kit is lacking. BUT YOU HAVE STARTED! Next week ,we’ll see how far you’ve gotten and what you need to add to complete it. Sardines sound good. Maybe I’ll go grab a can to supplement my 72-hour food pack. Dawn

Whew! Ok, everything has settled down now. Thanks to the shoes, gloves, whistle, and flashlight kit that was next to everyone’s bed, everybody got out safe and without any serious injuries and now the earthquake aftershocks have stopped. Thank goodness that you got your water stored because the local water source has been disrupted (repeat after me, AGAIN: two gallons of water a day, per person, for a two week period.) CERT and 3 Step (we’ll get into those programs later) have activated and are going around helping those in need. Everything is OK at your house (other than you are shaken up a bit), but no one got seriously hurt. CERT team members and other emergency personnel are out going door to door to see if anyone needs help to narrow down the neediest and those with life threatening injuries. Time is of the essence. How do you let the emergency volunteers know that they don’t need to take the time to go to your house and look for injured people? You don’t want to stay at your house to wait to tell them. You and your family want to head down to the designated local emergency gathering place to see what your leaders need you to do next. But you want people to know you are OK — to skip your house and go on to the next emergency. Time for another kit. We will call this one the “Emergency Signal Kit” It is really quite simple and very ingenious and uses a color code system that anyone who drives will understand. Get three large ribbons or sheets of paper: red, yellow and green. The paper should be 8 1/2x11 to post in your front window, and the ribbon needs to be a minimum of 2″ wide and about 20″ to 24″ long (they need to be long enough to tie around your door handle and to be easily seen from the road.) In an emergency, use the following descriptions to decide which paper to post in the window or which ribbon to tie to the door: GREEN: There are no serious injuries. IMPORTANT: If you evacuate your home, please tie a large white ribbon, or any white article, to your door after everyone has evacuated. (If you are worried about looting, you don’t have to do this, but make sure that the green ribbon is still in place) YELLOW: There is an individual present who will need medical attention eventually, but the injury is not life threatening. RED: An individual has been fatally injured or needs immediate emergency medical attention. IF YOU DISPLAY THE RED RIBBON, HELP WILL COME AS SOON AS AN EMERGENCY VOLUNTEER IS ABLE TO GET TO YOUR HOME. This is why it is so important to display the correct color on your door immediately after a community wide disaster. If emergency personnel have to stop at EVERYONE’S house, instead of just the houses that have an extreme need, they are losing precious time to help those who really need help. If your house does not display a colored ribbon, the emergency personnel can only assume that someone in the house needs help and wasn’t able to put a ribbon on the door. In talking to those who are in emergency volunteer organizations, they have stated that their goal is to help as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time possible, and they can only do that with your help. You don’t have to use ribbons, you can use an appropriate colored T-shirt, but who wants to go looking for a shirt to tie to the door. An eagle scout made a ribbon kit for each house in my community. I have taken my kit and put it in a one gallon plastic bag and put it on a nail just on the inside of my coat closet, near the front door. It is easy to access and even the kids know where it is and what to do with it. Dawn

CRASH! BANG! SNAP! It’s an earthquake IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, but that’s okay because you have discussed with your family what to do when an earthquake happens. You have a family plan, which is a good thing. Everybody grabs their 72-hour kits and runs out of the house and meets up at……., hey wait a minute, how are they running anywhere? How did your kids find their shoes in the dark, they can’t even find them in time to catch the bus every morning. What? They don’t need shoes to get out of the house – just run? But what about the glass and the fallen furniture and whatever else happens during an earthquake? Ouch! My mantra is: BE PREPARED - ahead of time! Today I am going to ask you to do something that is very simple so that you will be prepared (this is even simpler than filling your water jugs, which of course you all did – two gallons of water, per person, per day, for a two week period.) I am going to ask you to assemble a kit, not a 72-hour kit, that is something that we will talk about at a later time; I am going to ask you to assemble an “Under the Bed or in the Night Stand” kit. I know, weird name, but I don’t know what else to call it. You only need 5 items for this kit and you probably already have them: #1) plastic grocery bag, old pillow case or large shoe box #2) pair of slip on shoes – close-toed, like tennis shoes or boat shoes #3) heavy duty leather gloves (not cloth garden gloves – you need something a little sturdier), #4) a whistle on a sting, and, #5) a flashlight – that has working batteries. Put items two through five in the container (#1) #6) once it has been assembled, place it under your bed (if it won’t collapse) or in your nightstand. You will want to keep this kit in a place that is close by, and you can find it in the dark, grab, and use immediately. Some of you with small children will argue that they will play with the kit and lose the items, but with my children we just incorporated using the kit with our emergency plan. Once your children understand how important those items are in keeping them safe, they will leave it alone – eventually, especially if you have emergency kit spot checks and reward them with a treat for having everything in place, maybe some freeze dried food – haha, just kidding! Have them practice using it. Another concern that you might have is that your children will grow out of their shoes, and you are right – they will, but you can buy boat shoes, or inexpensive tennis shoes for only $1.00 to $5.00. The shoes don’t need to be the latest and greatest with a brand name attached; all they need to do is to protect your children’s feet. Don’t use sandals! I know that it is tempting because kids can wear them longer, but they don’t offer protection to the toes and if they have to climb over stuff their footing won’t be sure. Make sure you and your family have shoes that protect their feet – top and bottom (just think of the last time you stubbed your bare toes). My biggest concern is not the children losing items from the kit, but rather the adults “borrowing” a flashlight or maybe some gloves. I’m not going to tell you that CAN’T use them, but I am going to suggest that you buy extra items – like flashlights, so that you don’t have to borrow anything from your kit. IF you do borrow something from your kit, please take it right back so that you aren’t left unprepared. It will haunt you if you don’t. Now, when an earthquake or other disaster happens in the middle of the night, you will have at your fingertips: shoes to protect your feet from glass and other sharp items, gloves to protect your hands, a flashlight to see your way out and a whistle to let everyone know where you are – either outside and safe (thank goodness) or still inside and need help (can you hear my WHISTLE?). I was right wasn’t I, this kit is easy to put together AND you already have everything (if you don’t, I’m sure that you will remedy that today, or tomorrow at the latest.) I think I’ll go check my batteries. Dawn

You have probably heard the saying, “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.” Well, like I promised in my introduction article, we are going to talk about storing WATER, so that you will have more than a drop to drink. First things first: two gallons of water, per day, per person, for a two week period. (Don’t worry, you will see that again and again and again – at least until I know that everyone has it memorized AND has stored their water.) The majority of our bodies are made up of water and we can only live about 3 days without water before our bodies start shutting down. The common consensus is that we need eight cups of water a day. When I say “eight cups” I mean eight, eight ounce servings. I measured that out. The average glass is 16 ounces (with about a 1/4″ to a ½” space at the rim of the glass), so technically you only have to drink four full glasses a day, minimum – that is on a typical, not too hot, no too windy, or not exerting your body, kind of day. BUT, we are talking about storing water for emergencies; probably hot – maybe cold, very stressful, and physically taxing kind of day(s). I’m still saying that you need (repeat again): two gallons of water, per person, per day, for a two week period, but would it be so bad to store more? How much for your family? Get your calculator out. In an emergency things are not usually calm (understatement) and your situation, and that of your family, will become quite stressful and your body will react to that. You will need water more than you think. When I got my C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) training, one of the trainers told us that when he was in California, after one of the earthquakes, he purchased a two liter-bottle of water for $15.00 (that is not a misprint, $15.00 FOR A TWO LITER BOTTLE OF WATER- THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS!) for a total stranger. A woman was going into shock, partially because of dehydration, and her husband didn’t have the cash to buy the water. (Some of the side effects of dehydration are: headaches, nausea, aches, cramps, and orneriness - not to mention DEATH! STORE WATER and avoid all of that.) Apparently, the profiteer hadn’t been trained in compassionate service and on top of that, he wouldn’t take credit. He was selling one gallon jugs of water for $50.00 – and that was assuming that the water he was selling was pure and safe to drink. Don’t think that won’t happen where you are. Again, please: two gallons, per person, per day, for a two week period! When asked the three most important things to store for an emergency, a friend of mine from California said: 1) Water, 2) Water, 3) WATER! Water is just about the easiest and cheapest thing to store. All you have to have are some containers and your kitchen faucet. Really. There has always been a lot of discussion about how to store water, how long you can store the water and when you need to rotate it. Dr. Callison, UVU professor and Program Coordinator for the Environmental Management Program at UVU, gave a wonderful community class on water storage and purification. It is very simple, just DO IT! Professor Callison also shared, with a picture drawing, plans on how to make your own ceramic water filter for about $35.00 to $50.00 (equal to that of $200.00+ unit.) This filter will take out just about any kind of nasty little nuisance, including giardia and other icky things. You can find several variations of it on YouTube which involve two five-gallon buckets and a ceramic filter. If you don’t buy a professionally made filter, take the time to get the right equipment to make one. My feelings are that you need to have four different kinds of storage containers. First: Get a 50 to 250+ gallon water container(s) and fill it. Make sure that you put it in a place that it doesn’t have to be moved, believe me you won’t be able to budge it, also keep it out of the sun or hot areas. Changing the water every six months is best, but you can do it once a year. You don’t need to add chlorine if you fill it from a city source. Make sure that you have a pump to extract the water. Second: Five and/or seven gallon containers. You can buy them just about anywhere. These units are more portable (if you are strong) and can be taken with you if need to evacuate. Make sure that you don’t stack them because water is heavy, and the containers can fail over time if they have a lot of pressure on them. Just as a side note, a gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds. Third: Two liter bottles or individual serving bottles. These are very portable and even small children can carry them. After drinking your soda pop, rinse out the two liter container and fill it with water. My mom and dad have built up a HUGE water supply by doing this – and they even had to use them during a household water crisis (the water main broke). Fourth: I buy my liquid hand soap and dishwashing soap in large gallon size containers and when I use up all of the product, I fill them with water without rinsing them out. The reason I do this is because I will have hand washing and dish cleaning water without using the ever precious, clean drinking water. Make sure that you label the containers as “Cleaning water only”. You can also do this with laundry detergent bottles and use it to wash your clothes in an emergency Now go get a drink of water. I know you’re thirsty. Dawn

In 2006 I was writing a preparedness column for my local newspaper when it was requested that I post my information on a website. I did for several years, but then life got the better of me and I was pulled in too many directions and so I slowly slipped away from it all. Well, I’m back and have even more to offer this time around. As I was reviewing my old articles, I was reminded of how much information they contained. I’m going to start bringing them back with possibly a few small updates but mostly as they were when they were originally published. The prices have changed (and how they have changed!), but the advice and information is still sound. I hope you enjoy. The emphasis of the A Prepared Home website, will be day-to-day preparedness and food storage. ARE YOU STILL THERE? I really hope so. I know that the fastest way to lose somebody’s attention is to say the words: preparedness, grain, food storage, or even worse (whisper) suggesting you actually eat from your food storage. I have gathered a group of very intelligent and highly capable women who have walked the walk and talked the talk. If we have experienced something we will share the good, the bad, and the ugly. We hope to take you with us on our journey of preparedness. If at first it is kicking and screaming, that’s ok, we’ve raised children. What we are hoping for is that you really won’t notice that you have changed your thought process until after you have adopted a new way of looking at food storage and preparedness and are no longer afraid of it. We want to show you that with a few small changes, a bunch of new ideas (that are easy and very reasonable) you won’t want to go back to your old ways. We don’t want you to be overwhelmed, and if you take it “bite by bite,” you won’t be. We look at food storage a little differently than most people. We don’t prepare because we think that the world is coming to an end, this is just how we live as families day-to-day - although, one of us has lived off the grid for more than 16+ years. What we do want is to be a part of our community and to take care of our families – especially during difficult times. We believe that for the majority of people the crisis that they will endure will be closer to home: loss of jobs, a downturn in the economy, too much debt, poor health, and a variety of other problems. Yes, there will be community wide disasters too, you hear about them daily in the news, but being prepared for any situation will do nothing less than give you the confidence and ability to face any problem head on and overcome challenges with confidence. We don’t want you to be afraid of the future – we want you to prepare for it and enjoy the journey. In my house I don’t really store my food; I just have lots, and lots, and lots of what I like to eat stored. That way I can shop in my basement like it is a store and just replenish my shelves when they get low, just like a store. I call it R&R – rotate and replenish (preferably when it is on sale). I also like to cook big meals (yeah right – with a hint of sarcasm); actually, I like to cook quick and easy, yummy and nutritious meals, and those are the types of things that we will be sharing with you. Being prepared, in all aspects of your life, for a disaster, personal, community or national, is the best way to maintain peace of mind. It doesn’t mean that the disaster won’t come, but it will make it more manageable when it does happen. One of my favorite sayings is: Knowledge is Power. I’m going to provide you with knowledge to empower you during a crisis, of any kind, large or small. In my next article I am going to talk about water. I love water; eight glasses of water? Pshaw, child’s play. Ok, I hear the moaning right now, “but I can’t drink water, I can only drink gallons of _______________ (insert favorite beverage here – e.g., Pepsi/Coke, coffee, Kool-Aid, or whatever has sugar or caffeine in it) every day”. That’s all good and dandy, but you will NOT die if you don’t have a Diet Coke™ (quit arguing with me – you won’t, really!), but if you don’t have water you can die. So, to prepare you for next week just remember: Two gallons, per person, per day, for a two week period. Remember that, and I’ll fill the rest of it in next week.