Weekly Assignment, Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness Ideas (Week of June 2nd)

Hi Carson Ward Family, Family and Friends,

First, thank you for all the wonderful comments last week. Love them and they help others.

Be Committed

I know we all have so much going on in our lives, but we all need to do a little more regarding being prepared, so do I! I often think our household is prepared pretty well, then I think about it, are we really? I think you really never know until you go through something.

I heard a gentle man who lives in the country speaking on television and he thought they were prepared until they had to take shelter in their tornado shelter and found out they forgot to store bottled water in the shelter. He also realized when they lost their electricity for several hours they forgot to hook up their water well pump to their emergency generator.

I know when my husband was in a serious car accident while on the job several years ago we used our 6 months food storage we had on hand. It really helped out while he spent 3 month recuperating, and since we did not need to spend much money on food, it could go to the other bills, disability checks are a lot less than your regular salary. We were grateful we had out food storage at the time with several small children to feed.

This past week in the United States we have watched unfold on television, or if you live in those areas, flooding in the mid-west, tons of snow on the East coast, fires on the West cost, tornado threats, and of course, those people in Moore, Oklahoma and other surrounding cities devastated by the EF5 tornado. And, we hear about earthquakes all over the world almost daily. You might say, but why have food storage and emergency supplies if they are going to be destroyed by flooding, fires, tornadoes, etc.?

Why? Because you are being obedient. We have been admonished in the scriptures and by our General, Stake and Ward leaders to be prepared. If we are obedient Heavenly Father will bless us and provide for our needs. Not what we want, but what we need. In Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 we read, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." In Romans 8:28 we read, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” If we love the Lord and are obedient to His teachings in the scriptures and follow the council of our church leaders, Heavenly Father will watch over us and provide for our needs.

You are not alone! Work as a family, or with a friend, make goals and work towards them.

Weekly Assignment: 72 Hour Individual Emergency Personal Hygiene Kit

This week add the following...

3 Respirator masks per individual personal hygiene kit--I have found these at WalMart, Target, Sporting Goods stores, and on emergencyessentials.com. Just type in "respirator masks" in the search box. There are two types, one for $12.95 (10 in a box), about $1.30 for each one, or $14.95 (20 in a box), about 70 cents for each one.

Note: The next two weeks we will be adding rain ponchos and emergency (reflecting, space) blankets. They are about a $1 each on Emergency Essentials. If you order the respirator masks you might want to order these too to save on shipping. Their shipping is either $6, $9 or $12, depending on how much you order. You could also go in with someone to shave on shipping.

Place these items in the large plastic zip lock bag for each household family member along with the other items we have already added: tooth brush, a small tube of tooth paste, a bottle of "no rinse" shampoo (one per every two people in the family), a small bar of bath soap with a wash cloth, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, heavy work gloves, roll of toilet paper, and feminine hygiene items or diapers. Note: I placed the toilet paper in a medium size plastic zip lock bag separate from the other items, and then put it in the backpack. You may be able to get the toilet paper (if you smash it down) and the feminine hygiene items in a side or front pocket.

Emergency Preparedness Ideas:

You can do it...just a little at a time! If we would just purchase a few extra cans or packages of food each week we go grocery shopping before you know it you will have a month, two

months, or even three months of food stored. This also goes for paper products like toilet paper, paper plates, etc and emergency and medical supplies. Just a little at a time is better than nothing. It does not take much to add to our food storage and emergency supplies.

EmergencyEssentials.com--I find them to be one of the lowest priced companies when it comes to food storage (dehydrated or freeze-dried foods) and emergency supplies. They also have low shipping fees. I once ordered 30 portable toilets for our church members and the total cost for shipping was $12. The UPS truck was full of portable toilets. Big 5 in the United States is another great place to purchase camping equipment like tents, sleeping bags and other items. They have great sales all the time.

WATER!!! I cannot say this enough...one of the most important things to store is drinking water. You can live without food for several days, but you can only live without water for about 3 days. Figure out how much your family uses in water a day, then multiply by the number of weeks or months you want to store. Remember, you will also need water not just for drinking but for cooking and hygiene.

"Leading experts suggest one to two gallons of potable water per day for each person in your home as a good amount. Drink enough water to ensure each member stays hydrated and the body can function properly (two quarts or a half gallon per day).


You will also need water for food preparation and hygiene. A two week period supply for each member of your family is recommended. It is also smart to have a purification system or device to purify water to

aid in long-term situations where you may be using a stream or rainwater as a source.

Your drinking water is best commercially packaged in bottles or pouches and not opened until it is ready for use. Stay mindful of the expiration date." (SurvivalBased.com)

WaterBrick Water Container 3.5 Gallon BPA Free Portable and Stackable: I love these, great for storing water because you can stack them in your closets, put them under your beds and even make a side table by stacking them and putting a top, like glass, over then and then cover them with a table cloth. You can purchase them on Amazon.com for $25.95 each. If you fill them with regular tap water see the link below on how to treat the water before storing it.

Remember, do not store plastic water bottles or containers directly on your concrete garage floor, they will absorb the chemicals in the concrete. Place them on wood 2x4s so air can circulate around them. All water should be stored in a cool place. If not insulated and cool inside, your garage is too hot! If you store regular water from the tap make sure you treat it correctly before storing it. See the "Postings" on the right under "Water Storage and Water Barrels".

Comments: All your comments, ideas, suggestions and experiences are welcome! We all learn from each other. Thank you for your comments.